Forbidden Cowboy (Rocky Ridge Creek #1)

Chapter Eleven

HOPE

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TWO WEEKS LATER, nothing has changed—at least nothing between our families.

I look at Levi from across the front lawn of the town hall. He’s kneeling in the flowerbed, digging out soil to plant ornamental grass. He’s always got his eyes on me, like now. Those brown eyes melt my heart through and through.

Jade drops a bag of mulch in front of me. “Your eye fucking is what got us into trouble in the first place.”

I raise my hand to block the sun as I peer up at my sister. “Oh, Jade, we’ve been knocking boots every single night. And there’s not a darn tootin’ thing you can do about it. So I suggest you get on board.”

“No one’s on board. That’s why you’re sneaking out at night and sneaking in early morning. Walk of shame has never looked more pathetic.”

She purposely stomps over the new sod we laid down this week, ignoring the multiple signs Thomas installed that read stay off .

Thomas has a new list every evening, including building another kissing booth. I wondered if the lists would ever end.

Tonight it ends.

And we’re no closer to bringing our families together. On the turn side, I’ve also appreciated the space it granted Levi and me time to get to know each other again. There’s no denying things are different between us. We’ve each grown up and changed. Levi now wears briefs instead of boxers—a couple of prior skinny-dipping adventures in the creek exposed his underwear choices. But a lot hasn’t changed. He would rather spend time outside than inside. And the ranch and his family are his heart and soul. The latter scares me. But truthfully, my family is my heart and soul, too. It’s not looking like either is coming together anytime soon—or at all.

“Hey.” Natalie hunches down and slices the top of the mulch bag. “Listen, I don’t have anything against the Wildes. Josie and Hannah are on your side too.”

My gloved hands shovel out a handful of red mulch. “You’re the only ones.”

“It’s a start.”

“It’s exhausting. The sneaking around. The lies. The glares.”

“What are you saying?”

What am I saying?

“I want Papa to walk me down the aisle, and I want the grandparents of my kids to get along.” I dump out the rest of the mulch. “Deep down, I know I can’t have that with Levi.”

“Hope —”

I shake my head. “Forget it. I’m going home.”

Natalie picks up the mulch bag I toss on the ground. “We’re not finished for another hour.”

“Thomas knows where to find me.” I rip off my gloves and throw them on the ground as I storm to my jeep.

“Hope! Hey! Wait up!” Levi presses his hand on the jeep door to keep it closed. “What’s going on?”

“This isn’t going to work.” I wave my hands in the space between us.

Levi catches them with his dirt-stained gloves and kisses my knuckles. I feel my restraint drop a hundred levels. He has this effect on me. With him, everything feels right. It always has. The only difference was he knew to walk away back then. We’re both fooling ourselves now.

I retract my hands from him. “A handful of people are on our side. The entire town is against us.”

“Wilma and Faye are not against us.”

“A handful plus two.” I roll my eyes. “I’m tired. My papa won’t even look at me. And yours isn’t talking to you. How can we get married and have children when our parents hate each other?”

“Is that a proposal?”

“No.”

“Are you trying to tell me something else?”

He touches my middle, and I slap his hand away. “Gahhh! I’m serious.”

He cups the side of my face. All his joking vanishes. “Come away with me.”

“What?”

“For the weekend. We’ll drive for a couple of hours and rent a room. We can dine out, tour the town, do a little shopping, and do some dancing. Without the feud on our shoulders. Without people watching our every move.”

“And then what? Come back here and hide in the night?”

“We knew this would be hard.” His voice holds a stern tone.

“I didn’t know they’d start the Cowboy Wayne’s statue on fire.”

“He was a bit of a douche. It was well deserved.”

“Is that what they’ll say when they start our house on fire? While we’re sleeping? While our children are sleeping? It was a Fox and a Wilde. It was well deserved.”

“Hope —”

I shake my head. I know I’ll listen to anything he says. “I need a minute to get my head on straight.”

Levi holds open the door. His thick arms lean above the door frame. “Will I see you tonight?”

“In our secret rendezvous spot?” Sarcasm drips off my words.

“I’ll wait all night.” He shuts the door. His fingers wrap over the metal of the open window. “Come away with me.”

“What does it accomplish? We’ll only come back to what we’ve left behind.”

I take the fast way home, and my mama waves when I pull in. “You’re home early. Where are your sisters?”

All my pent-up anger rages out. “You know what, Mama? This feud is stupid. I’m done with it. It will destroy whatever chance I have with Levi, or it will put a wedge between me and my family. I don’t win. I won’t win!”

“I agree.”

“With which part? The part where you tell me to obey Papa? That Levi and I won’t ever be together. That I’m risking losing my family for some guy?”

“The feud is stupid.”

I think I’ve heard her wrong. “That’s the part you agree with?”

“Yes.” She takes my hand and guides me to a couple of unoccupied chairs under a moss-ridden oak tree. “Did you know Mrs. Wilde and I were friends before I started dating your father?”

I stare at her, stunned. “I had no idea.”

“It’s true. And we shared a mutual friend, Naomi.”

“Aunt Naomi?”

My mama nods, and I see sadness wash over her face. I never met my papa’s sister. She died long before I was born. There’d been an accident during a hike on the ridge. No one talks about it, and the details have always been minimal.

“After her death, your father and I grew close. Inseparable. We missed her so much. We’d spend hours sharing stories about her. She was a free spirit, much like you. She didn’t listen to the rules, just like Josie, and she loved the great outdoors like Natalie. I see so much of her in all my girls” She tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “While I was seeing your father, Lillian started dating Mr. Wilde. Our new found loves left no room for our friendship.”

“Mama, I’m sorry.”

“We all have decisions to make. I chose your father over my best friend, and she chose her husband over me. And at the time, we were both fine with our decisions.”

I wring my hands together. “Do you regret your decision to marry papa?”

“Never. I love your stubborn ass of a father. But I do regret not fighting harder. Not setting down rules or boundaries before I said yes to his hand in marriage. Lillian was my friend, and I’d already lost Naomi.”

“Levi has been my best friend for as long as I can remember.”

“I know, and you should fight to keep him like I should’ve fought for Lillian. I should’ve made sure there was room for her. Then maybe you and Levi wouldn’t have been forced to sneak around.”

“He invited me out for the weekend. Just me and him.”

“I hope you said yes.”

“Jade hates him. Papa hates him.”

“Papa doesn’t know Levi. His own issues blind him.”

“He loathes Mr. Wilde. He punched him in the face at the station. Punched him. Papa. I was shocked. I’ve never seen him hurt a soul.”

“Sweetheart.” My mama grasps my hands and pulls me so close our faces almost touch. “Stop worrying about everyone else. First, go figure out if Levi is your man. Go away with him for the weekend. And the next weekend. And the next if you have too. Discover who you both are now. And if he’s the one, you fight for him. You don’t give up because Papa isn’t talking to you. That’s not how we raised you.”

She’s right. I’m not a quitter. And neither is Levi.