Page 43 of Lassoed Love

“Look, Isla, about the other night,” I start, my voice softer now,more earnest. Inside, I’m urging her to see what I see, to feel what I feel. There’s a spark between us, a connection that’s hard to ignore.

“It wasn’t just a kiss for me. There’s something here, somethingmutual. You can’t deny that you’ve thought about it too.”

I can see the conflict in her eyes, the war between curiosity and caution. She’s contemplating it, I can tell. She shifts on her feet, and for a moment, I think she might actually agree. I raise my brow, waiting patiently for her response. I could sit here all fucking night, waiting if I have to. I’m known to be quite persistent.

Isla releases a long breath, as if she’d been holding it in all this time. “One date? And you’ll promise to leave me alone?”

“Promise, I swear,” I say, nodding.Lies.But she doesn’t need to know that.

She raises an eyebrow, clearly sceptical. “Fine.Onedate... and that’s it.”

I clap my hands together in eager anticipation. “Thank fuck!”

She rolls her eyes. “Can I go now?” she says, waiting for me to unlock the car.

“Nuh-uh. I need your number, don’t I?” I question. She huffs out a breath and rolls her eyes, pulling her phone out of her small bag, which I hadn't even noticed she'd been carrying. She hands me her phone, and I grab it, punching in my number and saving it under my name in her contacts. “Done.”

I press a button on my side of the door, and the faint clicking sound of locks opening breaks the silence. “Uh, don’t you need mine?” she says softly.

“Nah, you message me. Pick a time and day, and we’ll go from there. The ball’s in your court, love,” I assert.

She just looks at me, and I stare back, wanting to know what she's thinking at this exact moment. “O-okay. Well, thanks for the ride,” she says.

“My pleasure,” I respond.

She finally manages to open the door, but before she goes to hop out, I say, “You should laugh more often, you know…? It’s... nice.”Nice? Good one.

She offers a subtle smile, barely visible in the moonlit night. With that, she closes the door and walks around the car and into her building. I wait for her to get insidesafely before driving off.

Pulling into my driveway, the headlights cut through the inky darkness, guiding me home. The familiar silhouette of the farmhouse comes into view as I park the car. The quiet hum of the engine fades into the night, leaving only the rustle of the wind in the surrounding fields.

I reach for my phone, a soft glow emanating from the screen as it lights up the dark confines of the car.

I smirk at their immediate curiosity, typing a response.

Harrison’s quick to respond.

My lips curl into a smirk as I read his message. The guy knows me too well. I respond with a chuckle.

I can almost hear Michael's sceptical scoff through the text. With a smile, I lock my phone, grab my keys, and get out of the car.

Walking into the house, the quiet envelops me, interrupted only by the faint murmur of the telly playing reruns of The Great British Bake Off. Mum is perched on the couch, her eyes glued to the screen.

“Xav, that you?” she asks softly.

“Yeah, Ma, it’s me.”

“You’re home late. What’d you get up to?” she inquires.

“Not much. Went up to Hilltop Creek. They were hosting another rodeo in the showground.”

“Oh,lovely. You went with the boys?”

“Yeah, Harrison and Michael came along. It’s late, Ma. Why don’t you go to bed?”

“I’ll be up for a few more hours, darl. Need to catch up on these reruns,” she replies, her excitement evident as she shifts in her seat.

“Right, well, ‘night,” I say, making my way toward the wooden staircase. As I ascend, my mind inevitably drifts back to Isla, and then a thought stops me dead in my tracks. Now that Dad is asleep, it’s the perfect time to ask Mum what she knows about Isla and her father. Rumours about Isla and her family have circulated through the town, and Mum is usually up to date on all the local gossip. While I remember that her mum lost her battle to cancer years ago, curiosity gets the better of me. I stride back over to her, my eyes questioning her.