Ayden shrugs. “I’ll try. But I may not hear the phone.”
“Ayd, I swear to fuck, if you don’t pick up that damn phone…”
He grins. “You don’t have to marry this woman. Just enjoy your night. Maybe you’ll even get laid and get out of this funk you’re in.”
“Fuck you. I’m always like this.”
Cooper snorts with laughter. “Ayden, how do you handle Michael’s grumpy moods?”
“My brother’s put up with me his entire life,” I say as I grin at Ayden. “He knows when to take a loss.”
I wave goodbye, grab a flannel overshirt, and step off the porch. It may be summer, but the night breeze is cool.
The sounds of my cousins’ laughter follow me as I head toward a line of parked trucks.
I love having a big family, but I’m definitely not used to the nosiness. Back home in Maine, Ma and Ayden would bug me to a point, but they knew when to back off. And then Ayden moved away, and my mother couldn’t challenge me as well one-on-one. Here, with so many Wilds up in my business, my privacy’s gone out the window. Reminds me of when Dad was alive. He never let me stay stuck.
I swallow hard.
But then he died, and my entire life changed forever.
I jump in Luke’s spare truck he let me borrow while I’m here. I glance out the window at the view. It still blows my mind to see the mountains so clearly. I do miss the salty air of the sea, but I’m certainly not going to complain about this either.
As I turn the key in the truck, I remember the dark-haired beauty from outside the coffee shop. She’s been infiltrating my thoughts since I met her yesterday, and I can’t shake the feeling of familiarity when we locked eyes.
I’d rather spend more time with her tonight than go on this blind date.
But then again, I only date women casually. It’s an unspoken rule I have with myself.No forevers.
I drive down the long, winding road of the property until I’ve left Wild Ranch behind.
Because of my dangerous line of work, it would never be fair to bring someone permanently into my life. I saw how it skewered my mom to go through my dad’s drowning, and I won’t do that to someone else.
I make the turn for Main Street and head for Lucky Cowboy.
As I park behind the bar and step out of the truck, I push all thoughts of the woman from yesterday out of my head. It’s for the best that she had to leave. I’m not the right man for a woman like her. She deserves commitment, and that’s something I can’t give her.
CHAPTER SIX
Emery
I halt outside the door to Lucky Cowboy. I drove around in circles for over ten minutes, stalling before I finally parked. And yet, somehow, I’m still early.
My stomach twists with nerves, and I nearly text Alyssa that I’m backing out.
I’m not blind date material. I’m not the kind of girl a guy notices at first glance. This fact doesn’t bother me; it’s simply the truth.
I’ve always considered myself more of a slow burn, someone a man could truly fall for, but onlyafterhe gets to know me and accepts my quirks.
I smooth the front of my floral mini skirt and glance at my reflection in the glass wall next to the door. My hair’s windblown, and my cheeks are flushed from the Montana mountain air. I don’t look neat or sophisticated.
God, I can’t believe I let Alyssa talk me into this.
But then I remember what happened yesterday with Fred and the lost promotion. I have nothing to go home to otherthan a couple weeks at a ranch. In other words, I have nothing to lose. So…
Time to cowgirl up and have a good time, Mimi.
I take a breath and pull on the door handle of the Lucky Cowboy. My brain can’t stop hope from entering my heart and taking up residence. Hope that this guy I’m about to meet will be someone I actually like. God, at least let him be better than my ex.
