Page 51 of The Cowboy’s Forever Promise

Taking out his phone, he texted Abby. He’d ask her about the house. Maybe she would answer and maybe they could text now and then.

“What does your dream house look like? And George says to remind you we don’t like blue hearts. Oh, and he and the other inhabitant of this house miss you.”

Staring at the small screen, he willed a text to appear, but no blue marks, indicating she’d received the message appeared. Maybe she’d moved on, maybe she was dating a city slicker already, maybe she simply didn’t have anything to say to him.

“Come on, George, let’s find something to eat. I told Isabella we’d make our own meals while the rest of the family is in Seattle.”

As he walked in the direction of the kitchen, someone knocked on his front door. George barked excitedly and charged to the door.

It was Isabella with a tray of food in her hands. “You’ve lost weight,” she said as he took the tray from her. Bending down, she scratched George behind the ears before she looked Carson in the eye. “You love that girl with the braid and the wide smile, but here you are at home, feeling sorry for yourself instead of going with your family to Seattle to surprise her.”

Carson shrugged. “We’re too different, Isabella. She’s a city girl. Her life is there.”

“Nonsense. She enjoyed the ranch life. Everyone could see that. Besides, the two of you are more alike than you think. She likes to control things, that’s why she loves decluttering and finding calm in the chaos. You like taking photographs because you control what you see, what you capture, what you want to ignore.”

Reaching up, she touched his cheek. “Love hits you when you least expect it and”—she grinned—“it’s not something you can control. You deserve happiness, Carson, we all do. Okay, now I’m done. There’s food there for the weekend for you and George.”

With a wave she walked out to where her husband, Ricardo, was waiting for her in his truck.

As Carson waved goodbye, Isabella’s words replayed in his mind. Isabella had to be the world’s greatest cook, but she seemed to also understand people. She was right, though, the reason why he’d fallen in love with photography was exactly because it had been something he had control over during the times things had fallen apart at home and his mother had been in one of her moods.

And he understood where Abby’s need to tidy up and organize came from. She’d had even less control over her life as a child than he had.

Abby. Braid, big green eyes, toned body, soft curves. Closing the door behind him, he groaned. Damn it, he missed her. Taking the dishes from the tray, he peeked inside each one.

He wasn’t very hungry. Frowning, he stared at the food. He hadn’t been hungry since Abby had left. She’d left a hole, an emptiness inside of him that mere food could never fill.

What he needed was Abby. For another moment his thoughts raced chaotically until everything kind of fell into place.

Of course. He loved her. With everything inside of him. He’d fallen for her the first time their eyes had met.

Inhaling deeply, he tried to calm down. There was, however, still one huge problem. She was in Seattle and he was here. He began pacing, his mind racing. But maybe if he could somehow give her the home she’d been dreaming about, the one June had mentioned, she wouldn’t mind staying here for periods of time? It wasn’t ideal, but at least they’d be together at times. And maybe he could visit her over weekends?

Checking his phone, he sighed. She hadn’t seen the text yet.

*

Abby’s hand was on her front door when she checked her phone. She was waiting for confirmation from a client for an appointment for tomorrow. There was no confirmation text but there was one from Carson.

Struggling to breathe properly, she stared at his name. Then the strangest thing happened. Everything was so clear, so obvious. Why had it taken her so long to understand the reason why she missed him so intensely?

She loved Carson, probably had since the first time she’d locked eyes with his blue and brown one.

While she’d been hell-bent on sticking with her life plan, her heart had known all along what it had taken her all this time to figure out.

Eagerly, she opened the text and read it.

Her heart did a few somersaults. With her hand on her trembling tummy, she inhaled deeply. What did this mean? He’d asked her about her dream house before and she hadn’t told him. Quickly checking her watch, she turned back to get the scrapbook she’d made years ago. Placing it on the table, she quickly took a few photos and sent them to Carson with a text.

Tell George and the other inhabitant I miss them too.

This time she added an emoji with two pink hearts. She’d searched online for the meaning of the heart emojis and this one meant love, affection, and close bonds. Of course, what she really wanted to send was a big, bold red heart but she wasn’t quite that courageous.

Maybe she shouldn’t leave the emoji but okay, here goes. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the Send button.

Her phone bleeped again. This time it wasn’t from Carson, though, it was the Uber she’d ordered. Because she was still feeling a bit wobbly, she’d rather not drive alone in the dark.

Chapter Fifteen