The Cowboy's Little Surprise. Barbara White Daille

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      Ally shook her head, sending her dark curls tumbling around her shoulders. “No. You look like you’re in shock. C’mon, let’s get going.”

      Tina moved through the parking lot and out onto the sidewalk on autopilot, in the same manner she had gotten herself to the store. Somehow, she had made it all the way here without thinking again of Cole. Blurting out the news of his return to Ally had brought him back to her again.

      A ridiculous choice of words, since he’d never been hers to begin with.

      All through the years, despite his reputation, she saw glimpses of a Cole no one else knew. Or so she’d thought. Those glimpses gave her just enough hope for him. For her. Just enough reason to keep her crush alive.

      But years of love from afar didn’t equal a real relationship.

      “How long is he going to be in town?” Ally demanded.

      “I don’t know.”

      “Well, we need to find out. And then you need to stay away from him. Hang out at the ranch, that’s all, like you usually do. And keep Robbie with you.”

      “I can’t hide from the man, Ally.”

      “Who’s saying hide? But Cole doesn’t deserve to know the truth. Not when he hasn’t even bothered to send you a postcard in all this time.”

       All this time.

      Five long years.

      Ally shook her head. “After what he did, I can’t believe you’ll tell him anything.”

      What Cole had done to her that lunchtime had been bad, but what she had done to herself leading up to that day was much, much worse.

      In high school, they shared a few classes, and in their senior year, her dream of getting closer to him had come true. She was ecstatic when they became lab partners in biology and then study buddies in English.

      Once Jed hired him to work at the ranch, she was thrilled for the chance to see more of him—whether he knew she was watching or not.

      Evidently, he did know. One Friday night after he had collected his paycheck from Jed, he asked her to go for a ride in his truck. She said yes, proud to have the world—or, at least, the folks in their world—finally see them as a couple, too.

      Only no one had seen them together at all.

      They had gone for a long ride before parking near the school baseball field, where they sat and talked for hours. She was puzzled when he took her straight back to the ranch afterward. But on Saturday, she was pleased again when he finished up work and asked her out for another ride. This time, they trusted each other with glimpses into their pasts. She shared stories with him she had never told anyone else.

      Yet, again, he took her directly home. Alone in her bedroom, she struggled to push away the rising doubts that kept her from falling asleep.

      On Sunday night when they had driven away from the ranch in his pickup truck again, she ignored the replays of childhood memories, pushed away the nagging thoughts of the boy he had been because she saw the boy he was now. The boy who seemed proud to have her with him, too, who treated her as if she were the only girl in his world.

      The boy who was giving her this magical weekend.

      On Sunday, they had done very little talking...

      “You can’t forget what he did,” Ally said.

      “No, I’ll never forget. And luckily, you’re the only one who ever knew.” Cole’s attentions hadn’t lasted long enough for anyone else to realize they had so briefly become partners of another kind outside English class and the biology lab.

      “Why is he here, anyhow?” Ally asked.

      “He didn’t say.”

      “I’m guessing he’s come back to help Layne,” Ally said thoughtfully. “I heard things haven’t been going too well for her. So, everything’s okay—Cole will be busy with her and Scott, and you’ll stay on the ranch. You’ll never have to see him again.”

      “No, everything’s not okay.” She repeated what Cole had told her, which brought Ally to a halt. “Keep moving,” Tina said over her shoulder. “You know I’m tracking our time.” From behind her, she heard a huge sigh. Despite her tension, she couldn’t hold back a smile.

      Once Ally caught up to her again, she said, “He’ll be working on the ranch?”

      “Yes.”

      “Then, we need to find out what’s going on.” Ally took her by the elbow again and marched her down the street. “Let’s stop in at SugarPie’s and talk to Layne.”

      Tina kept walking but pulled her arm free. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’ll just tell Cole.”

      “Not if we handle this right.”

      They were within a hundred yards of the bakery and sandwich shop when Ally came to a stop again. “That day in the cafeteria...”

      “Yes,” Tina said with a sigh. “That day...”

      At lunch in the school cafeteria that Monday, she had invited him to the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance. He had turned her down, then walked away—with his arm around another girl.

      The rejection, coming after what he had done to her—done with her—the night before had left her stunned.

      Yet, as much as it had hurt at the time, she had later thanked heaven for Cole’s brutal response. It had made her face the reality she hadn’t been able to admit during the weekend. The reality that all the magic she had seen in him was nothing but a much-practiced act full of smoke and mirrors.

      Ally shook her head. “It took you forever to work up the courage to ask Cole out, didn’t it?”

      She nodded.

      “But,” Ally said softly, “if I were in your place now, I know what you’d say to me. You’re not that scared high-school girl anymore, are you?”

      “No, I’m certainly not.” Over the past few years, she’d grown up and developed a backbone. She’d learned to stand up for herself, to be a good role model for Robbie.

      Something his father could never be.

      “All right, then,” Ally said, “let’s go inside. We can take care of two birds with one sticky bun—find out from Layne what’s going on with her and get her to tell us how long Cole’s staying in town.” She raised her eyebrows in question.

      Tina nodded firmly.

      Though she had spent five years dreading the thought of seeing Cole again, she had never actually prepared for the reality.

      He would be starting work on the ranch in just a few days and that didn’t give her much time. Before then, she needed to find out whatever she could about his plans.

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