So he gave her the only thing he could, the truth in the tremor of his hand, the ache in his chest, the way he leaned into her touch like he’d been starving for it.
All true.
“You wreck me, sweetheart,” he breathed.
Her lips brushed his, soft at first, then urgent.NotI love you, not yet, butI want you.I choose you.
When they broke apart, foreheads pressed together, her whisper made his eyes burn.“No more running, cowboy.”
He let out a shaky laugh and felt the fight drain out of him at last.“Not unless you’re chasing me.”
Her smile was fierce and so damn sure.“Try me.”
He kissed her again, just because he could.Just because for the first time in weeks,theywere real—flawed, terrified, but in it together.
No more hiding.
No more trying to go it alone.
10
It wasn’t about keeping them a secret anymore.
Hell, if she’d thought it would help, she would have climbed onto the roof of Buns and Roses and screamed the truth to the whole town.
But Cody needed something different right now.Something quieter.Something gentler.Loving someone meant meeting them where they were, not where you wished they’d be.So she gave him time.
Time, but not space.Absolutely no more ofthatbullshit.
Thursday after work, she drove out of town to Red Boot ranch.The sun had already slipped behind the ridge of the Rocky Mountains, leaving the sky dusky purple as she parked by Cody’s small cabin.He’d left the porch light on the way he did now when he knew she was coming, and that tiny act of anticipation made something squeeze warm and certain in her chest.
He met her at the door, one hand braced on the frame, eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey yourself, cowboy.”
An edge of uncertainty lingered in the way he stepped back to let her in, but it was his right to worry, even though he was trying to move past it.
So she ignored it and refused to treat him as if he might shatter.Instead, she brushed past him and unbuttoned her coat, her fingers brushing his chest in deliberate passing.
They made supper together nearly every other night these days.Simple things, grounding things.Buttered pasta, salad with too much feta because Cody liked it, bread from the bakery she grabbed on her lunch break.
They ate at the small kitchen table, knees bumping under the wood.No music, no background noise.Just the clink of silverware and the quiet rhythm they’d started to build.
Afterward, she curled into him on the couch, one of his thick wool blankets over their legs.Cody’s arm slid around her shoulders automatically, tugging her in until her cheek rested against the soft worn fabric of his shirt.
For a while, they just sat.
No words.No demands.
Finally, his thumb traced a slow line over her upper arm, and he cleared his throat.
“Chance and Rose invited us over for dinner tomorrow night.”
She smiled faintly.“Rose texted me, too.I’m okay with it, but it’s your call.”
“I like doing things with them.”Cody’s voice stayed even, but his hand stilled.“Just not sure if it’s going to be weird since Chance knows about this.”He gestured vaguely between them.“Have you picked up any clues from Rose?Is she still in the dark?”
