Page 9 of What the Cowboy Wants (The Westons of Montana #3)

F riday had been a busy day at the yarn shop. By the time Rose got back home, she was irritable and tired. For the second night in a row, she hadn’t slept well. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep, but that would have to wait; she was expecting guests.

She made sure everything was ready for her guests before heading to her room to shower. The temperatures in the evenings had started to cool down, so she chose a pair of jeans and a soft, green sweater to wear.

When she’d left Seattle, she hadn’t been sure where she was going, she just drove away and didn’t stop.

She’d grabbed her bag and laptop, but that was it.

The only clothes she had was what she’d been wearing.

The first few days, she’d borrowed some of Laura’s clothes before she had the energy to order clothes online.

For the first time in a long time, she could choose what she liked, what she felt comfortable in, and not worry whether she was presenting the right image.

She’d forever be grateful to her paternal grandma who had left her a substantial amount of money. With her dad’s help she’d invested the money wisely and added to it since she’d started working. Money was the one problem she didn’t have.

As she finished brushing her hair, she looked around. She really missed Molly. The little dog had been her constant companion, she’d even taken her to the yarn shop on the days she worked there.

As she walked toward the living room, her phone pinged. It was from an unfamiliar contact. Since she’d moved to Marietta, she’d changed her phone number. Nowadays she hardly received any messages or phone calls. Her friends in Marietta were the only people who had her number.

As her eyes quickly scanned the message, her heart kicked into another gear. It was a text from Cooper.

“I have news”

Frowning, her heart galloping at an alarming rate, Rose stared at the message. What news?

Rose was still looking at the text when the front doorbell rang. It was already half past five, it could be any one of her friends. Or it could be Cooper.

Trying to steel herself, she walked to the door and opened it.

Her heart sighed. It was no use thinking she could prepare herself to see Cooper.

The mere sight of the big cowboy on her doorstep simply took her breath away.

In a jacket, with a denim shirt underneath and a pair of jeans, his hat on his head, he was mouth-wateringly sexy.

“Rose.” He nodded, taking off his hat.

“You have news?” Hopefully she sounded cool and not like the shuddering mess she was feeling.

“I have another dog for you…”

“I told you I don’t want another dog.”

“This one doesn’t belong to anyone else.

She’s looking for a forever home. I was also hoping I can persuade you to stop by sometime over the weekend to see Scarlett.

She’s struggling. The two of you had a connection.

It will be good for her and for you. Afterward, I can introduce you to Lady.

You’re under no obligation to take her, but come and see her, please?

Isabella, the woman who cooks for us, and her husband, Ricardo one of our cowboys on the ranch, are looking after her at the moment.

She’ll need constant attention for the next few weeks.

Isabella keeps her with her wherever she goes. ”

“Cooper, really…” she began, but at that moment Cooper’s mom called out. She was coming down the driveway toward Rose’s house, waving.

“Coop!” she smiled, opening her arms. “I didn’t know Rose had invited you as well? But I have heard you two have been kissing, I’m so happy you’re together.”

With a groan, Rose covered her warm cheeks with her hands. “We’re not together! It was one kiss, it didn’t mean anything and no, Cooper…”

But Arlene had already taken Cooper by the arm and before Rose could blink, they were both inside her house.

“I’m so glad you’re also here, Coop,” Arlene continued seemingly unaware of the undercurrents. “Even if you’re just friends. It’s time to stop the ridiculous rumors going around town about her.”

Rose was still trying to find the words to tell Arlene she hadn’t invited Cooper when her other friends also arrived. Swallowing the groan, she welcomed them. Minutes later, Willow, Ellie and Laura also knocked on the door.

Eyes twinkling, they kept giving Rose knowing looks. It wasn’t hard to guess they’d all heard about the kiss. They’d also seen Cooper’s truck parked in front of her house as the rest of Marietta would have done.

“It was just a kiss, it didn’t mean anything,” Rose said quickly. “Come on in.”

“It’s never just a kiss with a Weston.” Laura grinned as she hugged Rose.

“I have to agree with Laura,” Ellie added.

Vivian and Annie O’Sullivan, their sister-in-law, Riley and the O’Sullivan’s aunt and teacher at the local school, Janice, also arrived. They too, were in the yarn shop on the night Rose stumbled in.

As they all made their way toward the living room, Rose closed the front door behind her. Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm her galloping heart. How did she get rid of Cooper?

He appeared in the door and with his eyes never leaving hers, he stepped closer. “If you don’t want me here, I’ll go.”

“I don’t know why you’d want to stay.”

With a soft smile, he touched her arm. “You know why. It’s not something I was looking for, but there is something here, Rose, whether you want to accept it or not. I’d like to stay. I’d like to hear your story firsthand.”

Rolling her eyes, she brushed past him.

“And Rose?”

She glanced back at him over her shoulder.

“It wasn’t just a kiss,” he said.

She didn’t react before quickly entering the living room, his soft words following her.

*

Cooper kept his eyes on Rose. She was uncomfortable but fiercely determined to get whatever had happened to her off her chest. Fussing, she made sure everyone had something to eat and drink.

He hadn’t planned on staying, but now that he was here, waiting for Rose to tell her story, he knew this was where he was supposed to be.

Eating was the last thing on his mind, but the snacks looked so inviting, he couldn’t resist. After the first bite, he nearly groaned out loud. Everything was delicious, Rose clearly was an excellent cook.

She made sure everyone was happy before she took a seat on one of the chairs.

“Just spit it out,” Willow smiled. “Nothing you tell us will make us like you less, we’re all here for you.”

Sighing, Rose combed her hair from her face.

“I’m not so sure about the not-linking-me-part.

And really, it isn’t that big of a deal anyway.

The reason my life had spun out of control was that I’d been so full of myself, so determined to be someone I’m not.

Nothing that happened was anyone else’s fault but mine. ”

Inhaling deeply, her eyes on her hands, she began to talk.

“I was an interior designer in Seattle, working from home. After a suggestion from a client, I began to post what I do on social media. I shared my initial sketches of the work I was planning to do as well as before-and-after pictures of the projects once I was finished with it. Initially, my posts were mainly viewed by my mom and dad, other family members, and a few friends. Then one day—I’m still not sure why—one of the posts went viral.

My phone blew up. The post racked up nearly forty thousand views in the first few hours after posting. ”

Everyone was on the edge of their chairs, all eyes on Rose.

“I went from having only a few followers to more than a thousand very quickly. I was so excited. So many people liked my work, commented on it, telling me how much they admired what I do. I started posting more. I did more sketches of my projects, I learned all sorts of video tricks, spent hours deciding what captions to use and tried to be witty in the process. I thought I was doing what I loved, and I liked the adulation. It felt nice.”

Cooper couldn’t take his eyes off of Rose. Four months ago, she wouldn’t even leave the house, let alone invite people to her house, now she was prepared to share what had happened to her.

“Because I was posting more,” she continued, “I pleased the algorithm—whatever that is—and I got even more followers. Soon I had eight thousand, but that meant I was still a nano-influencer and I wanted to hit ten thousand so that I can call myself a micro-influencer. I did everything I could and the numbers kept rising, way beyond ten thousand.”

With her eyes on her hands the whole time, she told them about the first brand inquiries in her inbox, how excited she’d been, and about discovering not every message was legit.

Soon she’d been receiving products for free, products she had to advertise even though much of the stuff had nothing to do with her interior decorating business.

The bigger she grew, the more trolls and bots appeared and soon after, many nasty commentaries started appearing on her feed, criticizing everything from her hair color to the clothes she wore.