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I raised my eyes to meet his. I was sure the exhaustion was evident on my face.

“My friend Talia will be here any minute. She’s bringing me a change of clothes and boots.”

I bit my lip, unsure of what else to say, and willed my tears not to spill over. I never cried, except for when I was tired, and I was beyond tired. He cleared his throat. Of course, I was making him uncomfortable. I was making myself uncomfortable. But exhaustion was exhaustion, and my body was turning on me. I blinked rapidly in an attempt to dispel the tears.

“I don’t think you’re the type of person that someone would run from.” His words were quiet but left me questioning what he truly meant.

A moment later, his phone rang, and the awkwardness lessened. At least for now.

Chapter

Four

Soren

What the hell was wrong with me? You would think I had never talked to a woman in my life. And yeah, it’d been a solid eight years since I’ve been on a date, but hell. I ran a hand down my face as I listened to Lane talk while he loaded up his UTV on his trailer.

I certainly wasn’t in the market to date, but I wanted to think I still had a little game. Lane would say I suffered from “awkward as hell-ness” for the last few years, and on this one count, I might have to say the bonehead was right. That awkwardness may or may not have made me act like a complete jackass when I was unsure of what was going on. It wasn’t every day you walked up from feeding cattle and there was a beautiful stranger sitting on your porch steps. At least not out here in the middle of rural Kansas. Well, there was that one time that made today feel like déjà vu, but I couldn’t dredge into the past right now. I’d leave the women to Lane. The last time a woman sat on my porch in exactly the same way, my life was blasted to pieces. She had dropped a bomb that initiated the second hardest day of my life. Deep breath. I needed to focus, but this woman was entirely too attractive. I needed to help her find this child so she could be on her way, and I could go back to my purposefully female-free life. I was pretty sure I’d scared the hell out of her earlier, and I wanted to go back to square one and not act like an asshole. Something about her told me she was used to assholery, and I didn’t want to be another jerk she had to deal with. I saw her fingers tapping like I’d seen Jonah do on more than one occasion. I knew I’d screwed up and my gut sank at the thought that I had caused that reaction. I was a safe person, but because of the way I’d acted, she didn’t know that. Something about her threw me off-kilter and instead of pausing as I knew to do, I reacted. I made the decision that I’d try to do better. Today was a rough day, but that wasn’t her fault. Abruptly, a knock sounded on the door. I walked toward the entrance with Sawyer in tow. Her faint delicate perfume that smelled of strawberries and cream wafting toward me at her nearness. A woman stood on the other side of the door and lit up like a Christmas tree when her eyes landed on Sawyer.

“Hey, darlin’.” She made an exaggerated sad face, her bubblegum pink lips turning down as she pulled Sawyer into a fierce embrace. She rocked Sawyer from side to side in an exaggerated hug. Everything about this woman screamed loud. Extra loud. Neon loud.

Sawyer made introductions, and I shut the door once Talia was inside.

I’d never seen a more opposite coupling of friends. Her friend was at least five foot eleven, with black, curly hair and brown eyes that danced with amusement. She was larger than life with her neon pink blouse, black leather skinny jeans, and sunshine yellow hoop earrings and matching shoes. Her nails were painted the same color as her lips. Everything about her screamed loud and bold, while everything about Sawyer whispered quiet and soft.

Sawyer turned around, and a wetness covered her pale blue eyes. I scrubbed a hand across my sternum. I hated tears; I never knew what to say. Thankfully, she took the bag off of Talia’s shoulder and quietly padded to the bathroom to change. Talia sashayed deeper into the family room and narrowed her eyes as she gave me a once over. She didn’t hide the fact she was sizing me up. Her gaze made me think of my days in Coach Walder’s class in school. Coach Walder had a reputation of being able to scare the devil straight out of you. Lane was still terrified of her. I’d witnessed all six feet three inches of the man duck under a booth table at Ronnie’s Diner to avoid her. Talia had the appearance of friendliness, but there was no mistaking her protectiveness toward Sawyer.

“You live here?” Talia clarified as she waved one brightly painted nail in a circular pattern. She walked around the family room, scrutinizing an item here and there. She was one of those people that naturally walked into a place with self-possession, as though they owned it. It wasn’t pretentious or haughty, but more of a self-assurance she carried. The more I observed her, the more I realized she and Lane would have a lot in common.

“Yes.”

“Hmmm . . . ” she hummed as she surveyed a photo of me and my best friends, Jonah and Lane, who were more my brothers than friends. We’d known each other since elementary school and played football and baseball together.

“Single?” She raised a brow at me, clearly prepared for an inquisition.

“Uhhh yeah.” I wasn’t a man that blushed, but her directness caused my neck to heat.

“Sawyer is a single Pringle too.”

Her bluntness caused me to chuckle. In what world was someone like Sawyer walking around single? I ran my hand down my five o’clock shadow. Talia lightly ran a finger along the back of a hand-carved wooden horse on my mantel.

“Have you ever met someone who is too good for this world?”

As soon as she spoke the words, his face filled my mind. My throat was dry. My stomach tightened. There was no way she knew. She was only asking a question. I released a pent up breath.

“Yes, I have.”

My throat tightened and my voice sounded hoarse to my own ears. She turned and stared me directly in the eyes.

“That’s Sawyer.”

“What’s Sawyer?”

I heard the soft voice to my left. Sawyer had changed into light wash denim jeans, a thick cream sweater, and sable cowgirl boots pulled up over her jeans. A jacket was folded over her arm. She was breathtakingly beautiful. But the thing that stopped my breath was the wavy, hip-length hair the color of wheat harvested in summer flowing over her shoulders. She was more relaxed, and the color of her hair brought out the freckles that dusted her nose and upper cheeks. Her eyes were a striking blend of light blues that resembled shattered sea glass. They were eyes that stopped men cold in their tracks. Eyes that haunted you long after you caught a glimpse of them.

“Only that you’re the best friend a gal could ask for,” Talia replied cheekily, winking at me as she added, “Let me braid your hair.”

Instead of torturing myself thinking about running my fingers through her hair, I texted Lane and Jonah and got an ETA. Within a couple of minutes, Sawyer’s hair was in a thick braid down her back, with a few soft wisps that had escaped brushing her cheeks. I had to keep myself busy so I didn’t gawk like a high schooler while Talia expertly twisted the golden mass of waves into order. If there was anything I knew, it was that Sawyer was without a doubt the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. I also knew it had been over eight years since I’d made that gamble, and I didn’t plan on rolling the dice any time soon.