Chapter 20
20
Aria
L ying in bed later that night, Aria couldn’t help comparing Daniel to the other men who had been in her life. More specifically, her father and Cayden. She could almost laugh at how ludicrous it was that he’d apologized. She’d snapped at him like that before.
Maybe it was the way she’d flinched when he spoke to her in those harsh tones that got him worried.
She closed her eyes against the memory.
His sharp words had been a stark contrast to the quiet moodiness she’d grown accustomed to when he wasn’t happy. It was easier than ever to see what the people in town meant when they said Daniel Keagan wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
But all she saw when she looked at him was the battered little boy who had to stick up for himself or get ground into the earth.
Aria rolled over onto her side and stared at the wall in the darkness of her room. When Cayden got upset with her, he’d yell. But he’d also throw things. Then he’d put her down and blame her for things that she had no control over. He made sure she knew just how small she was.
Once again, she squeezed her eyes shut at the memories and a solitary tear slipped out from beneath her lashes. After their fights, he would apologize with flowers or sweets. He’d tell her he’d lost his temper and that she made him go crazy sometimes. That their love was a passionate love, even in anger.
In the beginning, she’d accepted his apologies for what they were. She’d agreed to give him chance after chance.
Was she making a mistake?
Her eyes flew wide at that thought. Making a mistake with Daniel? She couldn’t be. He was nothing like Cayden. Even though he got short with her and immediately apologized didn’t mean that his anger would escalate like it did with Cayden.
Daniel was a good man. The fact that he was worried he would become something worse should be all she needed. She truly believed he would keep himself in check.
A sigh burst from her chest and she threw herself onto her back to stare at the ceiling once again. Daniel hadn’t exactly yelled at her, but he’d raised his voice at her enough to make a difference. The calm collected Daniel she’d gotten to know had been absent when he’d arrived with that packet.
It was her fault. She’d not only done something he hadn’t wanted, but she’d also kept it a secret, so he’d been thrown off when the news came. Maybe she should have warned him? The embarrassment over her behavior reared its ugly head once more, and the heat flooded her face until she had to throw the comforter off her body to cool her warmed skin.
She refused to believe this was the beginning of his temper showing through. He wasn’t Cayden. He never would be. Daniel had a right to be upset with her and she should accept that she’d been the only one in the wrong.
Aria allowed herself to close her eyes and a small smile touched her lips. He’d won. Everything in her essay was about him. She’d used only what she knew about him and wrapped it in a neat little bow. The draft of that house was all him. She didn’t care what he thought about her writing the essay for him. He still would have won; she just knew it.
The following day, she hovered, unsure of how he’d react if she got too close or tried to talk to him before he’d made his decision. Apparently, Camilla had had enough of the rambunctious pups she was training and needed a break. Together, they leaned against the railing that surrounded the area where Daniel continued working with the most stubborn horse.
Camilla snorted when the horse took off before Daniel even got within a few feet of the animal. “I don’t know why Sophia is so adamant that we get that horse saddle ready. I’m sure there are other things she can be used for.”
Aria glanced at her cousin and her brows knit together. “Like what?”
Camilla shrugged. “Pulling a cart or breeding. I wouldn’t be surprised if we could sell her at auction for something like that. She’s been the most stubborn horse I’ve seen, and that’s saying something.”
“Is she good with the dogs?”
Her cousin nodded. “Most of the horses here are since our focus is more on training the dogs. Sophia has a soft spot for this one, I think.” Camilla’s eyes shifted to Daniel. “Any word on when everything will be wrapped up back home? I’m getting tired of having to deal with my brothers without Mateo here to mediate.”
A smile tugged onto Aria’s face. Nothing was more important to Mateo than his family. She wouldn’t have been surprised to discover that the man had refused to find a wife because he was more concerned about his family and this ranch. He’d been the one to start up the ranch dog training program, leaving his folks back in Montana.
Aria’s uncle and aunt worked on a ranch up there—one that didn’t belong to them. Her cousins hadn’t wanted to stick around working something that didn’t belong to their family. She’d been surprised to discover that the siblings all stuck together and made this place work.
She adored how close they were. Her own relationship with her sister wasn’t the greatest. Aria figured it was due to how absent she’d been during high school and college. It didn’t matter that she’d dropped out of school to help out her mother when things got really bad.
But as soon as her father was arrested, she’d left.
Her stomach knotted and she forced those memories aside to find Daniel watching her.
Camilla nudged her ribs with her elbow. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think that the two of you have something going on.”
There was no use denying it. She’d been out to the cabin every night with dinner. How could something not start between the two of them? Aria shrugged. “Yeah. He’s pretty great.”
Camilla smiled thoughtfully and tilted her head. There was no telling how much she knew about Cayden. Aria had only confided in Sophia—and hadn’t even given her the whole truth. “I think he’s good for you.”
Aria’s head snapped around so she could stare at her cousin with surprise. “What makes you say that?”
A lift of one shoulder was all Camilla offered before she turned her eyes back to the cowboy. “When you got here, you were… different. I don’t know. Something’s changed, and I have a feeling it has more to do with Daniel than it does anything else.”
She glanced over at Daniel, who was smiling at her. A smile crossed her face unbidden. “Yeah, maybe so.”
“Really? You’re gonna do it?” Aria squealed, jumping up and down before throwing her arms around Daniel’s shoulders. She pulled back and gave him a broad grin. “That didn’t take long.”
His arms slipped around her waist like they belonged there. “Yeah, well, you said yourself that dreams are important.”
“And I was right.”
He nodded, a deep-throated hum reverberating from his chest. “You were.”
Her body thrummed with his closeness, especially as his face lowered closer to hers. She found herself leaning into him, arching so she could feel the warmth of his body encircling her. “Just remember that when I tell you to do something in the future.”
He chuckled, the sound like music to her ears. Their strained emotions now completely gone. “What about you?” he murmured, his breath fanning her face as he drew even closer. At any moment he could brush his lips against hers and set her world on fire.
“What about me?” She closed her eyes, waiting for the taste of him, but it didn’t come. When she finally looked at him, she found that he was still as close, his eyes bright with amusement. She scoffed and gave him a little shove. He’d been teasing her in the most tantalizing way, and she’d fallen for it.
Daniel laughed, taking a stumbled step backward. “What about your dreams? What do you want to do?”
She shrugged. “I don’t have anything.”
“There has to be something,” he inched closer to her and she fought the urge to claw him toward her—to take full control and kiss him until neither one of them could breathe. He shook his head. “There has to be something. If I have to chase after a dream, I want you to do the same.”
Aria reached for him, but he made sure to keep his focus on her eyes rather than give in to the desire that had only grown between them.
“Aria…” he murmured, soft and warm. The sound of her name on his lips had her skin erupting with goosebumps. “What do you dream about?”
She could have given him anything at that point just so she could get that kiss she so wanted him to bestow on her. But she didn’t. She owed him an answer—a good one. A sigh slipped from her lips. “I used to think that I wanted to do something with culinary school—you know, go back there and do something great with that. But after living here with my cousins, it seems boring.”
He chuckled once more, and she flicked at him with the ends of her fingertips.
“I’m serious.”
Daniel nodded. “Okay, so if being a culinary wizard is boring, what wouldn’t be?”
She shrugged. “I love helping the animals. I’ve been enjoying my time with the puppies. I like riding with you.” Aria looked away, then graced him with a small smile. “But I’m only really good with cooking and writing. I don’t know what I could do.”
“You mean… what you could do here? In Copper Creek?”
Aria rolled her eyes. “Of course that’s what I mean. I don’t want to go back to Georgia. But I can’t think of anywhere else that feels like… home.”
Finally, Daniel pulled her in for a hug. “I hear they’re looking for a receptionist at the veterinary clinic. With how good you are at computers, I’m sure you’d be able to make something like that work.”
She pulled back and gaped up at him. “That actually… sounds… pretty perfect.”
He laughed, and she tilted her face upward. Then he kissed her.