She stared at him, her mouth slightly parted, her brown eyes round with denial and confusion.
“I’ll ask you one more time. Will you stay? Will you give us a chance?”
He held his breath, the small flame of hope refusing to go out.
Riley’s gaze moved from one of his eyes to the other, and the flame grew, but when she looked away, the punch to his gut almost doubled him over. “I can’t.”
He fisted his hands to keep from lashing out, the pain in his chest far worse than any he’d experienced with anyone else. Turning on his heel, he strode out, down the stairs and outside, letting the screen door slam behind him.
She’d been right about one thing, when it came to the scarred mess his body was, he hadn’t found the right woman. But he’d been dumb enough to think if he found a woman to accept his body, she’d also love him.
How wrong he was.
~~*~~
Riley checked the room she’d lived in for well over a year and a half. In a way, she was glad that Annette and Ed were still on their cruise. She didn’t like goodbyes. Besides, she looked like shit after crying herself to sleep the last two nights.
Cole had enlisted Wyatt’s help temporarily. Apparently, the morose, by-the-book cowboy had given his stamp of approval to the ranch. The man confirmed what she’d always thought, one had to be drop-dead handsome to be allowed to work at Last Chance. It was too bad the sorrow in his pale green eyes made it hard to look at him. Maybe the ranch could rescue him like it rescued horses. She wished him luck, especially working for Cole.
However, her bosshadoffered to keep Domino until she could get settled. For some reason, he seemed to feel guilty about the mine cave-in, though why she had no idea. She could leave the paint at Last Chance forever, but she’d grown too attached to the horse and now that Domino had saved her life, she couldn’t let her go.
Now all she had to do is say goodbye to Copper and she could move on. She didn’t want to, but he belonged to Whisper. Besides, he reminded her of Garrett and whether she’d wanted to or not, she’d fallen for the man. As usual, she’d ruined it. She was seriously messed up. It was better not to mess other people’s lives up. It was the least she could do for him and Copper.
Zipping up her duffle, she hoisted it over her shoulder and headed out. At the doorway she looked back. “You coming? Whisper will be here soon.”
Copper jumped off the made bed and trotted over to her.
“You’ll be very happy with Whisper and Trace. She’ll take much better care of you than I can.” She snorted. “Can’t even take care of myself.”
Striding down the stairs and outside, she dumped her duffle in the backseat.
Copper hopped in before she could close the door.
“I don’t think so, buddy.” She lifted him out and slammed the door shut before he could jump back in.
He was looking no worse for wear. At least he’d had a few days to recover before Whisper came to pick him up. Whisper would have her head if he looked malnourished. Dr. Jenna had made a special trip out when she heard about the cave-in and gave Copper a thorough examination. He was pronounced in good health.
Now she could hand him over to Whisper with a clear conscience. Though it was morning, it was already hot, so she walked over to the shade of the mesquite tree and sat on the ground to wait for Whisper. Copper followed her and immediately tried to lick her face. “Really. Can’t you just sit?”
Copper instantly dropped his butt to the ground and looked at her expectantly.
“You’ve got to be shitting me. All this time and all I had to do is tell you to sit?”
The dog’s tail wagged even as he lifted his one eyebrow.
“Hell, I’m going to miss you. Come here.”
He jumped in her lap and attempted to lick her again. She laughed, rolling back and protecting her face with her hands. Silly dog.
The sound of a truck approaching had her sitting up. From her vantage point, all she could see was dust. Rising to her feet, she shaded her eyes then looked down at Copper who stood next to her waiting. “She’s here.”
The words barely made it out of her tightening throat. Since when had leaving a place become so hard. First, it was Garrett, then the going away party they threw her last night, now Copper. It just proved she’d put off leaving for too long. She’d remember that next time. Never stay longer than a year.
Whisper’s truck pulled to a stop, and she jumped out before the dust had settled. She strode over to where they stood waiting for her. “I don’t understand why you want to give me Copper.”
That was Whisper. Right to the point. “Because he’s yours.”
“We don’t own animals. They choose us.”
