Serious Cowboy (Cowboys of Duncan Ranch #2)

Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Hearing Joy’s voice after doing without it for all these weeks made him think of angel choirs and fictional goddesses from ancient stories. It’d been harder than he could’ve imagined to do without her for so long, and maybe he shouldn’t be here now. But he was.

He needed to be.

Or at least, that was what he kept telling himself.

He handed over his reason—excuse—to be here. “These are for Kara,” he told Joy as she stood there looking more beautiful than any woman had the right to be with her green-gray eyes sparkling at him as though misty. That must be his imagination, though. It would be impossible for her to feel his absence as keenly as he’d felt hers.

He’d always felt more strongly than she did. Always.

Joy glanced down, taking in what he’d handed her. “Coloring books?”

“Yeah…” He suddenly felt sheepish. She could likely see right through him. “I ordered these online a while back and…” And he’d had them for a month now. He could’ve brought them over and left them at her door, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to see Joy. To see the look on her face as she saw what he’d done, selfish as that was.

“Aquatic animals, desert animals, and forest animals.” She flipped through all three. “She’ll love these. Thank you.”

He’d really like to catch a glimpse of Kara, too, if he could. Since he never had the chance to.

“She around?”

“At a friend’s house, actually. I’m so proud of her, making friends in a new place. She’s so introverted that it isn’t easy for her. But she did it.”

“I’m proud of her, too,” he blurted, as if he had any right to have an opinion on the matter. Feeling awkward, he took his hat off, playing with the brim. Mostly to have something to do with his hands now that they were empty. “So, how you been?”

“Good. Good. The landlord stopped throwing me the stink-eye once Wayne reimbursed him for the door.”

So, despite everything, Wayne remained in her life. Did that mean they were getting back together, that the divorce had been cancelled? Aaron swallowed, wanting to ask her, but not wanting to at the same time. If Wayne were here, what would that mean for his freshly acquired acting job and everything?

“He staying here with you now?” Aaron finally managed, staring at his hat’s interior so he couldn’t catch sight of her face. He didn’t think he could take it if she seemed happy with her husband after all that had gone on.

“Wayne?” she sounded incredulous, so he peeked up at her. “No. He’s been in rehab for the past several weeks. He is out now, though. Based on what Debbie’s been telling me, he’s doing well so far.”

“He went back to Hollywood?”

“Oh, yeah. They love a good underdog story, you know. Gives writers ideas and people in general hope so see someone who was flailing pull themselves out of a tailspin.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“It’s funny that you’re here,” she said, an odd little smile on her face. “Because I was just coming to see you, but my car won’t start.”

He glanced at the rusted hood of her antiquated car. To be honest, he’d been surprised that the car had been running in the first place. The thing was older than they were. Also, that explained why she kept holding onto the coloring books rather than setting them down in her passenger seat.

Then, the most pertinent part of what she’d said hit him over the head. “Wait… You were coming to see me?”

“Yes.” Her smile became a grin as she set the coloring books down to pick up a large envelope. “Can you guess what this is?”

He couldn’t.

“I haven’t a single clue.”

“These just happen to be my divorce papers,” she said, and his pulse rate doubled.

“Divorce papers?” His voice came out entirely too squeaky, but he didn’t care if he sounded like a prepubescent twelve-year-old or not. “Does that mean what I think… Can you tell me what that means?”

“It means that Wayne Randall, as of today, is officially no longer my lawfully wedded husband. It also means that he’s behaving himself and is willing to work with me on co-parenting Kara. That part might be a little tricky considering such a long distance is involved, but as long as he stays clean, we’ll figure something out.”

Thoughts pinged through Aaron’s head like that silver ball through a pinball console.

“So he went through rehab and agreed to give you a divorce, no problem?”

“Well, we had plenty of problems leading up to this, but yes. He’s finished his rehab and we’re one hundred percent divorced.”

“You’re free to date me?” He knew he must sound like a broken record, but he had to be clear on all this.

“I am. If you want to date me.” For the first time, she lowered her gaze. That was when he opened her door—the thing creaked like the Tin Man after a long rain—and reached for her. She allowed him to tug her to her feet, her eyes wide.

“I do. I really, really do.”

Her features brightened. It was as if the sun had just risen right in front of her. “Then, you should know that I’m available this weekend.”

He smiled back. “Are you now?”

“I am.” He loved her teasing tone. Besides, the forecasters were calling for the first snowfall of the season this weekend. Maybe he’d take her snowmobiling or skiing. Kara had never been out to his place in the woods. He bet she’d like it.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen snow?”

“Years. Since I left for California.”

“How about Kara?”

“She’s never seen it. Not in person.”

“Well,” he nuzzled her nose with his as he spoke. He could already picture it. Making snow ice cream. Having snowball fights. Building her first ever snowman. And he’d be there for it, helping her. Making memories. “Then, I think it’s high time we remedy that oversight, and it just so happens that I have some time open on my schedule then, too.”

“We could get together,” she offered. “The three of us. If you’d like.”

“Oh, I’d like.” He was already shrinking the distance between her face and his. But then, he sobered somewhat. “If you think Kara would be amenable to us recommencing what we started.”

“She would be.”

“How do you know?”

“Because, silly…” She poked him in the chest. “She talks about you all the time. She misses you.”

“Aww,” he said, delighted.

“Almost as much as I’ve missed you.”

He adjusted his chin until their mouths were mere millimeters apart. He could feel the puff of air from her lips with her every word. “Is that right? You’ve missed me?”

“Why don’t I show you?”

With that, she pressed her lips to his in a manner that erased any doubts that he may have ever had about her feelings for him. And with this soft reconnection, everything righted itself in his world.