Page 51 of Home to the Cowboy

Dylan was up early Saturday morning, he’d hardly slept. His mind went round and round in circles trying to figure out what had sent June back to Seattle. Damn it, she’d been in his bed!

Baffled, irritated, and frustrated, he called her again. When she picked up on the other side, he didn’t wait for her to say anything, the words simply spilled over his lips. “Maybe you’ve forgotten what we had, maybe you didn’t remember the perfect way our bodies fit, the easy manner in which we read each other’s needs. Maybe I have to remind you about the sheer bliss …” He was still searching for the right words, when someone on the other side cleared her throat. “June?”

“No, I’m Abby. June’s friend. I stayed with her last night, she was so upset. She’s still sleeping at the moment. You’re Dylan, I presume?”

“Oh … um, hi, Abby. Yes, I am.”

“What happened?” Abby asked.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I don’t know why she left. We were having a great time—”

“What did she say?” Abby interrupted him.

“She didn’t say anything before she left! I thought she was going back to Marietta when in fact, she was heading back to Seattle. When I spoke to her last night, she said she had to leave because the longer she stayed, the harder it would’ve been to leave.”

“Aah, I see,” Abby said as if he’d given her a perfectly logical explanation.

“Well, I don’t, dammit,” Dylan barked. “I don’t know why she left!”

“You’re whining like a schoolboy, you know that? You’re a grown-ass man, so figure it out. All I know is that my friend is hurting, and I have an idea you’re the reason. And don’t phone her again until you know why you’re so upset she left, okay?”

Before he could reply, she ended the call.

Just then there was a knock on his door before it opened. Carson stepped in. “What’s wrong?”

Ticked off, Dylan looked at his brother. “I’ve just been told I’m whining like a schoolboy.”

Laughing, Carson slapped him on the back. “Well, are you?”

“I’m not whining, I’m trying to understand why she left!”

“Who left?”

Snorting, Dylan put on the coffee. “I’m sure everything has been discussed either at last night’s dinner or this morning’s breakfast.”

“I had a date last night and had breakfast at my own place this morning. Who left?”

“June.”

Frowning, Carson stared at him. “Oh. I thought she was staying for a while. Did she say anything?”

“Just that if she stayed here, it would be harder to leave later on.”

“You’re upset.”

“Of course, I’m upset. She just left!”

“You’ve never reacted this way about any other girl before. You should ask yourself why. I’m heading out, see you at dinner!”

Of course he hadn’t reacted this way about any other girl leaving. He hadn’t been bothered in the least. But damn it, he’d never felt about anyone the way he felt about June.

Cussing a blue streak, he made sure Daisy had enough water before he left.

*

Tiny men were pounding nails into her skull. With a groan, June opened her eyes.

“She’s awake!” Dressed, Abby was sitting on June’s bed.