Page 47 of Home to the Cowboy

She refused to think about the fact that by tomorrow this time, she’d be halfway on her way back to Seattle. When she’d called Barry earlier to say she was returning, he was thrilled. He loved her story and couldn’t wait to discuss the cover and illustrations with her. Apparently, he also had a proposal for her. At this point she couldn’t get excited about any proposal, least of all something to do with work, but she’d tried her best to sound eager to return.

By seven the table was laid, the food was ready, and she was dressed in one of the dresses she’d bought in Bozeman. This one was a short, blue halter-neck dress in a soft material that ended way above her knees, much shorter than the dresses she normally wore.

Fifteen minutes later she was worried. Dylan was usually on time. Something had to have happened. As she picked up her phone to text Ellie, it rang. Her heart lurched. It was Willow.

“What’s wrong?” June asked.

“Take a deep breath …”

“Willow, what happened to Dylan?” June’s throat was so tight, she barely got the question out.

“He should be fine but he’s been injured. We’ve been struggling with a difficult bull over the last few days who went for Dylan this afternoon. Cooper is with him now. If need be, we’ll get him to the hospital.”

June had to sit down quickly. Her legs wouldn’t keep her upright. “Will he be okay?”

“Yes, he’ll be fine. He’s not going to make dinner tonight, though.”

“Thanks for letting me know.”

“And June?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell him how you feel before you go. See you later.”

As Willow ended the call, June stared at it for another minute. Willow knew she was leaving Marietta, that she had feelings for Dylan, and that June was on her way to see her cowboy.

Within half an hour, she’d put all her belongings that were in the house in her car. She was probably a tad overdressed, but she didn’t want to waste more time changing into other clothes. She cleaned out the fridge, packed up the meal, and put everything in her car. Hopefully Dylan would be fine enough to eat it tomorrow. After she’d left.

The books she’d taken out from the library she left on the table in the kitchen. She’d text Ellie to ask her to return them. The key to the house she left under the flowerpot where Ellie had put it for her when she’d arrived.

She hadn’t finished speaking to either Mitch or Carson about signing them, but she’d schedule a Zoom meeting once she was back in Seattle and email them the necessary papers.

Without looking back to the house, she quickly got into her car and drove away. These two weeks had been like a dream, but it was time to get back to the real world. After she’d seen Dylan.

*

Flowers. Was that the smell? Slowly Dylan opened his eyes. He was in his own bedroom. Everything that had happened yesterday flitted in slow motion through his mind. He’d gotten off his horse, his mind elsewhere when the bull had charged. The shouts from the other cowboys alerted him, but he had been just too late to miss being hit.

A movement to his left had him turn his head. June was fast asleep in a chair next to his bed, Daisy snuggling in her arms. Still expecting to feel the pain after his encounter with the bull yesterday, he cautiously sat up.

Exhaling slowly, he looked down at himself. He’d seen the lacerations and contusions that the bull had left, but apart from one faintly bluish bruise, there weren’t any signs of what had happened. Stunned he looked over his shoulder. Even the mark he had there was gone and … he rolled his shoulders. He had no pain. What Cooper had done, he didn’t know, but apart from a faint ache, he was fine.

June moved and Daisy jumped down quickly, scampering closer.

As he bent down to pick her up, June opened her eyes. “Hey, cowboy.” She smiled sleepily as she sat up, combing her hair out of her face.

“Hey, you,” He grinned, looking his fill. “You look so beautiful, I’m sorry about dinner last night.”

Getting up, June came closer and frowning, she moved her hands over his arms. “Are you okay?”

“I can’t quite believe it myself, but I’m fine. I had a hell of a bruise right here,” he said, pointing toward his chest. “And I was bleeding, but look at me now—” He stopped speaking as her hands trailed over his chest and down his arms.

“What happened?” she asked as she proceeded to inspect his back, her hands skimming down over his skin.

“It’s my own fault. The damn bull has been bellowing all week, trying to keep the other bulls away from his cows. I wasn’t concentrating …”

Soft lips were moving across his shoulder, igniting embers that had been simmering since the previous night. Catching her hand, he brought her around to face him. “I can see your freckles again. Kiss me,” he demanded just as Daisy barked. Someone was knocking on the front door.