Page 58 of Owned By The Cowboy

“Then I’m in trouble, Mama.”

She smiles softly. “Why?”

“Because I’m falling for him. Hard. And so are my kids.”

“And?”

“And I’m terrified of getting hurt again. Of them getting hurt again.”

Mama gets up and comes over to where I’m standing, putting her arms around me.

“Honey, you can’t live your life afraid of getting hurt. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.”

“And what if I fall?” I ask with a sniffle through my smile.

“What if you fly?”

Before I can reply, Blayne appears in the kitchen doorway.

“Something smells incredible in here.”

And despite my mother’s presence, the deep rumble of his voice hits me straight between my legs.

“It’s just pot roast,” I say, staring into his amazing eyes. “Nothing fancy.”

“Pot roast’s perfect,” he all but whispers, and it’s like we’re having a completely different conversation. Alone. Naked.

Mama gives me a meaningful look, and heads into the living room, leaving us.

“How’s Nia doing?” I ask.

“Good. Complaining about missing her tournament next week, but I told her there’ll be more.”

“Thank you. For today. For all of it.”

“Stop…”

“No, let me say this.” I turn to face him fully. “You didn’t have to come running when I called. You didn’t have to spend your afternoon in urgent care with my daughter. You didn’t have to know her medical information by heart, carry her to your truck or buy her milkshakes.” Yeah, word goes around fast around this town. I’ve received a few text messages….

“Yeah, I did.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s yours. And you’re…” He stops himself, running a hand through his hair.

“I’m what?” I push.

“You’re important to me, Regina. All of you are.”

The simple admission makes my throat tight. “Blayne…”

“I know we said we’ll just see where things go. But there was nothing casual about today. About the way I felt when I got your call, or the how Nia looked at me like she knew I’d take care of her.”

“I know.”

“Do you? Because I’m starting to think we’re way past ‘we’ll see’ here.”

He’s right. We are. And we’ve been since the night he climbed through my bedroom window… even before that.