Page 29 of Take Me Please, Cowboy (The Calhouns & Campbells of Cold Canyon Ranch #1)

A nsley didn’t arrive back at her uncle’s ranch until eleven thirty. It had been an incredibly long day, after a very grueling couple of weeks, and yet she was so keyed up she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep, not right away.

What a strange crazy unexpected night it had been.

She’d hoped for a decent turnout at the gallery. She’d hoped some of her paintings would sell. Reality had exceeded her hopes, and she’d been blown away by the reception. The gallery was packed and except for two of her nineteen works, everything had sold by the end of the party.

She hadn’t thought even half would sell, especially marked at the prices Marcia had set, but her most expensive works sold first. Clearly, Ansley wasn’t the best one to judge her work or price it, and then before she left to have dinner with Rye and Josie, Marcia mentioned that she’d love to feature Ansley in another show, perhaps in January or February, if Ansley had new work by then.

Ansley would have new work. She’d make sure of that, especially now that she knew there was a market for what she did, and a waiting list for her new pieces.

Ansley put the kettle on the stove, boiling water to make a cup of Sleepytime tea. She needed it tonight as she didn’t feel sleepy, or calm, and the lack of calm was due to Rye.

He wasn’t supposed to be there tonight and seeing him had knocked her off-balance.

She’d pretended to be fine, but on the inside, she was far from fine.

She still felt so much when near him. It confused her that she still cared so much.

Worse, she knew he cared. It was clear he cared.

So why had he put them both through all the pain and drama?

As if thinking about him could conjure him, her phone rang, and she knew it was him.

Taking her phone from her purse, she was right.

His name flashed. He’d unblocked her. She was tempted to ignore his call.

She should ignore his call. She shouldn’t give him an inch.

But when it came to Rye, Ansley was weak.

She answered the call, picturing Josie, remembering what Josie said about their brother Jasper.

Apparently Ansley still didn’t know the real Rye.

“Hi,” she said, shifting the kettle off the hot burner before it could begin to whistle in earnest.

“Just want to make sure you got home safely.”

“I’m home. Safely.”

He hesitated. “I’m truly proud of you, Ansley, and I’m glad I got to see you in your element. It was impressive. You’re going to be incredibly successful.”

“Is that a bad thing?” she asked, leaning against the counter.

“No. Why would you say that?”

“Because it’s not a competition between us. We’re both successful, just in different areas.”

“I don’t feel competitive with you.”

“Then why did you push me away after you broke your arm? Why did you choose then to block me?”

He didn’t have an answer, not at first. “It wasn’t about you, it was about me, and the fear that I was losing focus and failing to take care of my responsibilities.”

“Meaning, your family.”

“Yes.”

“You support everyone.”

“For now, yes. Someday, my sisters will be independent and then it will just be my parents and brother.”

“Jasper will always live at home.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me this?” She wasn’t angry with him, but rather, it would have helped to know his world, to understand his commitments. But she couldn’t know him if he didn’t let her in, and he’d never been willing to do that.

“I don’t discuss my family with others, and it has become a habit to protect them. But I wish I’d talked to you, or tried to explain what was happening. Instead, I cut you off thinking it was the best thing for both of us.”

She pushed away from the counter and poured hot water over the tea bag in her cup. “You shouldn’t think for me. I have my own brain and it’s a good one.”

“I didn’t think of it that way. I believed I was tackling the problem head-on, making the necessary decisions—”

“You do realize that’s rather condescending.”

“My dad was injured when I was seventeen. I became the breadwinner in my family then. I had to figure out how to make things work for my family, which wasn’t easy when we were deeply in debt.

I didn’t know how to make money, not as a high school senior, but I learned, and I figured out what I needed to do, and I still tend to make decisions first and then deal with the consequences later. ”

She sighed and wrapped her hands around the hot mug. “As long as it works for you.”

“It doesn’t. I think you know that.”

Silence stretched, filled with unspoken meaning.

“I’m okay,” Ansley said after another long minute. “You don’t need to worry about me. You have a lot of people to take care of, and a lot of pressure on you. I don’t want to add to that. I refuse to be a burden—”

“You’ve never been a burden. You were the opposite. You were like sunlight and oxygen.” He stopped talking, exhaled. “Next thing I’ll be saying is that art is transformative. I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be. I’m glad we’re talking. We should never have stopped talking. Communication is everything.”

Rye coughed, clearing his throat. “So, are you seeing anyone else?”

“Seriously?” She laughed incredulously. “Not really into dating anyone right now. The last guy banged up my heart a bit. I figured I’d avoid entanglements until I’m ready for fresh rejection.”

“I never stopped caring for you. My feelings for you have never changed.”

“Don’t say that. You’re making it worse. The fact that you could cut me out while having feeling s blows my mind.”

“Why?” Rye asked, voice low.

“Because if you could do it once, you could do it again, and that’s a risk I couldn’t take.”

“Fair enough.”

“So that’s that. We say goodbye—”

“No.” He softened his tone. “I don’t want to do that, not tonight, not ever again. I can’t, not when I care this much for you.”

“How much?” she demanded.

“I want you to come to Eureka and meet my family. I’ve never introduced anyone to them, but I want you to see where I live, and what I do, and meet my parents, and Jasper.”

“What about your other sister?”

“Hannah is going to school in Missoula, but I’ll ask her to come home. I want you to meet everyone.”

“Why now?”

“Because I have to stop protecting you by making decisions for you. In my mind Eureka was not good enough for you. My situation at home didn’t seem good enough, either.”

“How can you say that about your own family?”

He seemed to struggle with his words. “It’s better for me to just invite you to come see us, and let you meet everyone, and decide how you feel, because Eureka is my home.

I can’t move everyone, and the only way you and I could work, would be if you thought you could be happy in Eureka with me… and us.”

“No pressure,” she said, trying to make a joke of it.

“I’ll be honest, Ansley, it’s scary inviting you up. But there’s no other way to know if you could be happy in my world without letting you in.”

*

For the next month, they texted and talked daily. Rye drove down to see here in Marietta, staying for a night at the Bramble House on Bramble Avenue. Ansley couldn’t leave her uncle alone all night, so she returned home even though she wanted to stay with Rye.

Things were good between them again. Things were better than they’d ever been. The sparks and chemistry were still there, but they’d also begun to talk, really talk, and sharing their feelings created more trust and a deeper bond.

“It’s my turn to come see you next,” Ansley said on Sunday when Rye prepared to head back up to Eureka. “Tell me when it would be good for you, and I’ll come up. It’s only fair.”

“How would you leave your uncle for a weekend?” he asked, keeping her securely in his arms.

“My mom arrives this week. She’s going to stay until Thanksgiving.”

“That’s good. But you don’t want to leave your mom, not after she’s only just arrived.”

Ansley pressed a kiss to his neck, breathing in the scent of skin and man and a teasing hint of his aftershave. “One of the reasons she’s coming is so I can come see you and meet your family.”

“Oh.” Rye drew back to meet her gaze. “Well, in that case, just let me know when you’re on the road. I’ll be there, waiting for you.”

*

With her mother settled in the Campbell farmhouse, and comfortable with Uncle Clyde’s routine, Ansley was free to head to Eureka.

She didn’t pack a lot as she was only staying for a couple days.

She did include her paints, charcoals, and a number of canvases in case there was time or inspiration to work.

She set off at dawn and made good time, which added to her nervousness.

Ansley hadn’t told him yet she was coming, thinking it’d be fun to surprise him.

But what if it wasn’t a good surprise? What if his brother wasn’t well?

Or if Rye had changed his mind about her coming?

But this was exactly why she had to go north.

She had to see Rye in his hometown. She had to see him in his environment and, hopefully, seeing him in his world would answer the nagging question—could she be happy there?

Because that was what it would come down to.

She’d have to move to live with him. With them.

Would his family like her?

Would she be welcomed into the family?

Would she be comfortable with them?

When Ansley had met Rye, she hadn’t been looking for forever. She wasn’t in a hurry to marry and settle down, but Rye had changed all that. It wasn’t that he’d changed her, but he’d made her feel stronger, happier, even more creative, and those were all good things.

Could they make it work? That was the big question, and it was what compelled her to Eureka today.

Ansley had never thought of herself as a risk-taker. At home in Last Stand, she’d been quiet, always trying to fly under the radar. But there were things worth fighting for, and Rye Calhoun was one of those things.