Page 22 of Boston (Coral Canyon: Cowboys #12)

She stuffed everything back inside her backpack, flipped open the lock, and practically dove into the king-size bed.

She had no idea how long Boston would take in the kitchen, and she got up and retrieved her charger from her bag, plugged it in to the outlet beside the bed, and then attached it to her phone.

It dinged, saying there was electricity coming through the outlet, but it certainly wasn’t going to be a fast-charging situation. She’d brought a portable charger too, but while the generator ran, she might as well use the outlets.

He knocked several minutes later, and the door creaked open.

“You can come in,” she said, trying to make her voice as normal as possible. This didn’t have to be awkward, but it so was.

He carried his pack and went straight into the bathroom, where he closed the door and didn’t come out for another several minutes.

Cora had taken the side of the bed closest to the door, which left Boston to pad between the bed and the window to get to his side.

He sat down and the mattress barely moved.

Cora lay on her right side, facing him, but without much light in the room, she could barely see his silhouette.

He stood and peeled the comforter back, and then climbed into bed, also facing her.

She reached out, the distance between them as vast as the ocean and as tiny as a grain of sand in the same moment.

“You’re really far away,” she whispered.

“Maybe you’re the one who’s really far away,” he said.

Cora grinned at the easy banter between them. She scooted closer, and he did the same until she could trace her fingertips down the side of his face and along the softness in his beard.

“I didn’t set an alarm,” she whispered.

“I did,” Boston said. “Four-forty-five.”

“Yikes,” Cora said, following it with a slight giggle.

“My stepsister and I used to put up a tent in the backyard,” Boston said. “And we’d whisper secrets until one of us fell asleep.”

Cora smiled, the memories of her own childhood with her twin sister streaming through her mind.

“Kat and I fought a lot,” she said. “But the next day, we’d make up the most amazing roller skating choreography to the top pop songs at the time.

” She laughed softly, the sound a little bit too loud for the quiet bedroom.

“What kind of secrets did you and your stepsister have?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Boston said, his voice quiet, almost drowsy. “Stuff about our parents, grades we didn’t want them to know about, this boy that liked Beth that she refused to tell momma about. That kind of stuff.”

“Tell me one of your secrets,” Cora said.

“I will, if you’ll share one of yours with me,” Boston said.

Cora nodded and whispered, “Okay.”

Boston didn’t spill his secret immediately, and Cora thought he may have fallen asleep. She waited a little longer, and then said, “Boston?”

He didn’t stir or speak and Cora carefully lifted herself up on one elbow to look at him. Sure enough, the gentle cowboy had fallen asleep already.

“My secret,” she whispered. “It’s really a fatal flaw, and it’s that I fall in love too fast.”

A storm raged through Cora’s chest, the words she’d spoken whipping up like wind and rain lashing against her ribs and stomach. She laid back down, her eyes wide open as she stared up at the ceiling. 4:45 was going to come awfully fast, but Cora wasn’t tired at all.

“Come on, Cora-Cat,” Boston urged gently in that sexy tenor voice he possessed. “It’s five after five, and you’re gonna miss the eagles.”

Cora woke fully, her eyes blinking open. Boston held an electric lantern powered by batteries, and it threw light around the room. “I’m leaving in ten minutes, sweetheart, whether you’re with me or not.”

“Okay,” she said, scrambling out of bed and over to her pack.

She pulled out her clothes for the day, threw him a harried look, and headed into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, he led the way outside, this time with a flashlight instead of the lantern. She carried her deflated pillow and both of their three-legged stools.

Once outside, he reached back and took her hand. “Stay right with me. Okay?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, not irritated in the slightest today that he wanted to direct her where to go.

He led her around the back of the cabin, through the towering trees, which blocked so much sunlight that no foliage grew on the ground. They reached a fence, and he turned left and started to walk along it.

Finally, he came to a stop. “I think this is a great place.” He took one stool from her and set it up while she did the other. She then inflated her pillow with a few breaths, set it on the stool and sat next to him.

He grinned at her. “I gotta get me one of those.”

“I can sit here for a long time now.”

The sun had not started to rise yet, though the night had turned gray instead of black, almost signaling its arrival. Boston had told her more about the eagle calls the night before, and she heard a few other birds tweeting, but not them.

She brought her phone out on the off-chance that she might be able to get a picture, and just as the grayness turned into a greenish-yellow, she heard the distinct call of an eagle.

She sucked in a breath and latched onto Boston’s arm. One eagle finished and another picked up, chortling back. Boston turned toward her, his face alight with happiness.

“See, they’re talking to each other,” he whispered.

Cora could not see them, but oh, she had heard them, and she had never truly appreciated wildlife as much as she did in that moment.

She knew God had created the bald eagle, and the land where they lived, and mankind itself, and that He loved them all, including her. Another eagle called, this one just several long chirps.

Boston dipped his head closer and whispered, “I think that’s a juvenile, and he wants breakfast.”

Cora could hardly contain her joy, and she leaned further into Boston.

The air went silent again, and as the tension drained out of her body, Cora knew she’d just been given an amazing gift. She turned toward Boston, and he turned toward her.

“Pretty cool, right?”

She nodded, her emotions and thoughts and feelings all tied up and tangled. He turned more fully toward her and reached to cradle her face in one of his big cowboy hands.

“Thanks for coming out here with me, Cora-Cat,” he said, his voice carrying the most tender note she’d ever heard.

“This is the best morning I’ve had in a long time,” she said.

“Yeah, I know one thing that would make it better,” Boston whispered.

“What’s that?”

As the sun continued to rise and the yellow turned pink on its way to a full blue, Boston’s eyes dropped to her mouth, and Cora instinctually tilted her head back.

His eyes drifted close as he came closer, and Cora’s fell shut as well. It seemed to take an eternity until his mouth touched hers, and then fireworks exploded through her whole body and up into the surrounding atmosphere around them.

Boston kissed her softly, the touch turning more firm as he found his confidence.

Cora had never felt this level of care and passion that Boston possessed for her, and she absolutely could not get close enough to him.

Unfortunately, he pulled away, which left Cora wanting, and a slight whimper came out of her mouth.

“Yeah, that just made my day a whole lot better,” he murmured just before he kissed her again.