a nine-year-old boy.
“I have Seth to consider.”
“We’ll take him with us.”
“I can’t just pack up and go. He has school. I have a house and a job.”
“Then join me as soon as you can.” He cradled her face between his hands, brushed the pad of his thumb across her lips.
His touch was bliss, and Paige found herself leaning into him.
Before she quite realized what was happening, he maneuvered her toward the bunk.
“No, Wyatt. Wait.”
He stopped, groaning low and harsh. “You’re right. My timing stinks.”
“For a lot of reasons.”
“I don’t think you realize how much I want you. How much I always have.”
Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. “I want you, too.”
His fingers sifted through her hair. “You’ll love Wyoming. It’s beautiful. Wild. The town where we have the rodeo school is straight out of a picture book.”
Saying yes would be so easy.
“No. I’m sorry.” The strength of her refusal took both of them by surprise.
Wyatt stepped away, as far as the cramped space would allow. “I guess I misunderstood.”
“You didn’t,” Paige said and gently took his hand. “I’ve cared for you since we were teenagers. But I’m not leaving with you. We’ve been through this before.”
“It’s different now. I have a place to go, a job, money in the bank. I won’t disappoint you.”
She raised her chin. “If you want me, Wyatt—and my son because we’re a package deal—you’re going to have to prove it by staying. I’ve suffered enough broken promises and won’t chase after any man. Not even you.”
Paige’s speech came straight from her heart. She wanted someone willing to sacrifice for her. Who’d fight for her and their future.
Wyatt reached out—not for her but his cowboy hat on the counter. Plunking the hat on his head, he adjusted the fit, a forced smile firmly in place.
“You and my mother are the only people in Roundup who matter to me and who want me in their lives.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Really?”
“Dinah’s still your friend. And Ace and Austin Wright.”
“Maybe. But tomorrow, after I’m gone, their lives will be exactly the same as before I came to town. Yours and Mom’s will, too. Might take a little longer. A week or two.”
“Do you seriously think that’s how little you matter to us?”
Was that how little she mattered to him?
A few steamy kisses didn’t a lifelong commitment make. However, she and Wyatt had been a huge part of each other’s lives for years. They could be once more.
Wyatt lifted his duffel bag from the bench seat and dropped it on the table. “No one wanted me to come home, least of all my dad and brother. Even you weren’t happy to see me at first.”
“I was hurt,” Paige said. “You didn’t send for me, then forgot all about me after we’d been such good friends.”
“I didn’t forget about you. Not a day passed you weren’t on my mind.”
“Stay a while longer,” Paige implored. “Just until after the party. There’s supposed to be a blizzard tonight. The highway will be a mess.”
Fear and disappointment kept Paige from asking Wyatt what was truly in her heart: to give them the chance they both deserved.
“You know what’s funny?” he said. “I still don’t know who sent me the invitation.”
Paige did, but she wasn’t ready to tell Wyatt. “Would it make a difference?”
“Depends on who, I suppose.”
He’d given her an answer, whether he realized it or not.
“Please come.” He tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear, let his fingers linger.
“Stay.”
His smile fell.
She stumbled backwards, his rejection too painful to bear. “I’m worth fighting for.”
“How can I live in a town where everyone thinks the worst of me?”
“Everyone? Or, just you?”
Pain flared in his eyes.
Paige started to apologize, only to hesitate. She wasn’t sorry.
“I’m going,” he said.
Simple as that.
She opened the motor home door and stepped outside. Snow
“I have Seth to consider.”
“We’ll take him with us.”
“I can’t just pack up and go. He has school. I have a house and a job.”
“Then join me as soon as you can.” He cradled her face between his hands, brushed the pad of his thumb across her lips.
His touch was bliss, and Paige found herself leaning into him.
Before she quite realized what was happening, he maneuvered her toward the bunk.
“No, Wyatt. Wait.”
He stopped, groaning low and harsh. “You’re right. My timing stinks.”
“For a lot of reasons.”
“I don’t think you realize how much I want you. How much I always have.”
Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. “I want you, too.”
His fingers sifted through her hair. “You’ll love Wyoming. It’s beautiful. Wild. The town where we have the rodeo school is straight out of a picture book.”
Saying yes would be so easy.
“No. I’m sorry.” The strength of her refusal took both of them by surprise.
Wyatt stepped away, as far as the cramped space would allow. “I guess I misunderstood.”
“You didn’t,” Paige said and gently took his hand. “I’ve cared for you since we were teenagers. But I’m not leaving with you. We’ve been through this before.”
“It’s different now. I have a place to go, a job, money in the bank. I won’t disappoint you.”
She raised her chin. “If you want me, Wyatt—and my son because we’re a package deal—you’re going to have to prove it by staying. I’ve suffered enough broken promises and won’t chase after any man. Not even you.”
Paige’s speech came straight from her heart. She wanted someone willing to sacrifice for her. Who’d fight for her and their future.
Wyatt reached out—not for her but his cowboy hat on the counter. Plunking the hat on his head, he adjusted the fit, a forced smile firmly in place.
“You and my mother are the only people in Roundup who matter to me and who want me in their lives.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Really?”
“Dinah’s still your friend. And Ace and Austin Wright.”
“Maybe. But tomorrow, after I’m gone, their lives will be exactly the same as before I came to town. Yours and Mom’s will, too. Might take a little longer. A week or two.”
“Do you seriously think that’s how little you matter to us?”
Was that how little she mattered to him?
A few steamy kisses didn’t a lifelong commitment make. However, she and Wyatt had been a huge part of each other’s lives for years. They could be once more.
Wyatt lifted his duffel bag from the bench seat and dropped it on the table. “No one wanted me to come home, least of all my dad and brother. Even you weren’t happy to see me at first.”
“I was hurt,” Paige said. “You didn’t send for me, then forgot all about me after we’d been such good friends.”
“I didn’t forget about you. Not a day passed you weren’t on my mind.”
“Stay a while longer,” Paige implored. “Just until after the party. There’s supposed to be a blizzard tonight. The highway will be a mess.”
Fear and disappointment kept Paige from asking Wyatt what was truly in her heart: to give them the chance they both deserved.
“You know what’s funny?” he said. “I still don’t know who sent me the invitation.”
Paige did, but she wasn’t ready to tell Wyatt. “Would it make a difference?”
“Depends on who, I suppose.”
He’d given her an answer, whether he realized it or not.
“Please come.” He tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear, let his fingers linger.
“Stay.”
His smile fell.
She stumbled backwards, his rejection too painful to bear. “I’m worth fighting for.”
“How can I live in a town where everyone thinks the worst of me?”
“Everyone? Or, just you?”
Pain flared in his eyes.
Paige started to apologize, only to hesitate. She wasn’t sorry.
“I’m going,” he said.
Simple as that.
She opened the motor home door and stepped outside. Snow
Similar Books
