Chapter Seven
“M orning, cowboy,” Amy said as she met Josh on the street in front of the Silver Spur Café. He leaned casually against the wall of the café, hands tucked into his jean pockets, a jacket over his flannel shirt and his hair swept back beneath a Stetson. She sucked in a sharp breath. He really was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, and not for the first time she wondered what it would be like to walk down the street and hold his hand or to run her fingers along his stubbled jaw. A wave of heat washed over her, and she shoved those thoughts aside before they could gallop into dangerous territory.
“Not quite morning anymore,” he said.
“You’re right. Afternoon, then.” Amy smiled up at him. “Should I assume we’re not going to lunch since you told me to wear good shoes?”
“You assume correctly. I wanted to take you somewhere, if you’re up for it?”
“Are you going to tell me where?”
He winked as he looked down at her, his eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat. “If I say no is that going to sway your decision?”
Amy hummed, narrowing her eyes. “What are you up to, cowboy?”
“Nothing, I swear.” He crossed his finger over his heart. “I promise to ensure you enjoy every second of your afternoon.”
“Well, in that case,” she said, “lead the way.”
He grinned and set off down the sidewalk, pausing long enough for Amy to fall in step beside him. Josh led them past Town Hall and the few businesses on Central Avenue before turning down an alleyway next to the Little Cowpokes Daycare Center. He cut across the parking lot behind the building, heading for a grove of trees that was fenced off. Amy slowed as they reached a gap in the fence.
“I’m starting to wonder if I agreed to this too quickly,” she said as Josh slipped through the fence to stand in front of an overgrown trailhead that was blocked by a wooden gate. A no-entry sign was nailed to one of the beams.
“It’ll be fine.” He hopped the gate with all the grace of a mountain lion, then turned around, waiting for her.
Amy slid through the gap in the fence and stopped on the other side of the gate. “There’s definitely a sign that says we shouldn’t be in here.”
“Do you always do what signs tell you?”
“Typically.” She laughed. “I’ve always assumed they’re there for a reason.”
Josh held his hand out for her. “Then you’re just gonna have to trust me. This is one sign you can ignore.”
Amy bit down on her lip as butterflies exploded in her chest. She didn’t want to ignore that sign. She wanted to trust Josh. Not just with this, but with all the feelings bubbling up inside her. She laid her hand in his, and he squeezed once before releasing her so she could scale the gate. At the top, he took her by the waist and helped her down. His fingers pressed against her sides, and her skin heated where he touched her.
“You’re sure you can be away from the ranch this long?” she asked as he stepped away. She stared into the trees, the branches parting slightly, revealing a worn trail cutting through the brush. “Aren’t there afternoon chores and such?”
“There are always chores, but I’ve got my ranch hands covering for me.” He glanced over at her as they started down the path. “I wanted to see you.”
I wanted to see you.
Amy felt like she’d swallowed soap bubbles. Like the elation didn’t fit in her chest. She bit down on her cheek to keep from grinning too hard. “Maybe I wanted to see you too.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. But only to ask how Bitsy’s doing.”
Josh huffed playfully. “Of course. Now that you mention it, though, she’s been all out of sorts with me since the other day. I think she misses you.”
Amy nudged his arm. “I told you she was my girl now.”
“Well, she used to be my girl. Which is why I need you to come by the ranch again sometime. Set her straight for me.”
“I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises. We clearly have a bond that can’t be broken.”
Josh held aside a branch for her to pass. “I can’t believe you’ve usurped my relationship with my horse.”
Amy smirked. “Get used to it, cowboy. Bella and Mac are next. So, how’s your day been? Other than Bitsy giving you the cold shoulder.”
“No calving emergencies so far. Everyone is doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing. How’s the store been? Busy?”
“Not too bad. Though we do have this one customer that keeps coming back again and again.”
Josh opened his mouth to say something, but Amy plowed on.
“The weird thing is he never actually buys anything.”
Josh snorted. “All right. All right. I get it.”
Amy bumped his arm with hers. “To be clear, I don’t mind.”
“Good. I didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”
They emerged onto a wider trail, this one running along a trickling stream. Josh inclined his head, and she followed him downstream.
“You gonna tell me where we are now?” Amy asked. “Or where we’re going?”
Josh gestured to an old, weather-beaten sign. “This is one of the trailheads that would have connected to the Tenacity Trail. When I was a kid, there was this big plan to revitalize it and really put the town on the map.”
“And that never happened?”
He shook his head. “No. There was an incident. The money meant to fund the revitalization disappeared. And when the money disappeared, so did the folks interested in restoring the trail. Soon one small business after another folded. It was a really hard time for folks. A lot of people had to leave town, try their luck elsewhere. Most young people took off for cities with actual industry in order to find jobs.”
“That’s horrible,” Amy said.
“Watch your step.” He held his hand out, helping her over a downed tree. “Those who stayed struggled to make ends meet. I guess in a lot of ways that hasn’t really changed.”
“I didn’t realize.” They climbed down a short embankment, using the tree roots like stairs. “Tenacity has so much small-town charm.”
“That’s the people,” Josh said. “They make all the difference and look out for each other. It isn’t until you really start to look around that you see how run-down the town actually is.”
Amy considered that as they came upon a pond. Streams of sunlight broke through the canopy of leaves overhead, spotlighting growths of new wildflowers.
“Oh, Josh,” she said, taken aback at how pretty and peaceful the place was. “This is…wow.”
“I used to walk the overgrown trails as a boy and stumbled upon it one day. In the summer I’d hunt for crawfish along the banks.” He bent down to pick up a stone from the edge of the water then skipped it across the surface. “I don’t get out as much now, with all the work responsibilities, but next to the ranch, I think it’s my favorite place in the world.”
She could understand that. He was the kind of person who valued quiet, or at least a good place to think, and she couldn’t imagine anywhere better.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“I’ve never brought anyone else here.” He looked back at her, and Amy’s heart skipped a beat. “Sometimes I’m selfishly glad that the revitalization never happened. I might have had to share this place with other people.”
“Thank you for sharing it with me,” she said softly. “You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to.”
Amy didn’t know what to say to that, so she just nodded and let her hair fall in front of her face, hiding her blush. Once they’d had their fill of the burbling stream and the chilled, honeysuckle-tinted breeze, they made their way back to the trail.
She let Josh help her up the embankment. She didn’t need it, but it was an excuse to hold his hand, and she took it any chance she could. At the start of the trailhead, Josh lifted her down from the gate once more, and Amy committed the thrill of it to memory. Her heart hadn’t beat this hard for someone in a long time.
Maybe ever.
They passed behind the squat brick buildings along Central Avenue and cut through that alley next to the Little Cowpokes Daycare Center. People came and went from a few of the businesses, and Amy considered how difficult life must have been since the plan to revitalize the trail fell through. Still, they smiled and waved, and Josh lifted his hat. The people here were bonded by much more than by being neighbors. They were bonded by hardship.
“Do you ever wish you’d left Tenacity like a lot of the other young people?” she asked.
“It’s not something I wished for necessarily. But when I was younger, I did wonder if there was another life out there I was meant to live. You know…just travel and wander and see what happens.”
“As someone who did a lot of traveling and wandering, the thought of belonging somewhere, of having roots and familiarity… It’s kind of nice. I really have no idea what it’s like to walk down a street and look up and know the person you’re passing. Or what it’s like to be able to ask them about their family and their kids.”
“That is nice,” Josh agreed. “Being somewhere people know your history. Where friends feel more like family.”
Amy nodded. Bronco was great, especially now that a lot of her family had settled there, but there was something to be said of a place where everyone would know her name and not just because she was a Hawkins sister.
Josh fit here so perfectly, and she couldn’t help wishing that she’d fit here, too. Someday. When she left Bronco, she didn’t think Tenacity would be somewhere she’d want to stay for long. It was supposed to be a pit stop on her road to heartbreak recovery. But now, well… Josh’s hand lingered near hers, and Amy thought about how easy it would be to take it. To lace her fingers through his.
She wondered if he’d pull away. If she was being too forward. Reading too much into this.
“Back to the ranch for you?” she asked as they wandered down the sidewalk, neither of them seeming to be in a hurry.
He nodded. “Back to the store for you?”
She shrugged. “I might pop by. See how things are going. Might also just go back to Faith and Caleb’s and call my mom since it’s been a while. She likes her regular updates.”
Josh laughed. “Mine, too. My only excuse right now is she’s on a cruise with my dad. So reception isn’t great.”
“Oh, where are they traveling?”
“Alaska,” he said. “They’d been saving for the trip for a while, and I want them to enjoy these years as much as they can. While they can. My dad’s got pretty bad arthritis, which acts up a lot.”
“Is that why you ended up taking over the ranch?” Amy asked.
“Partly,” Josh said. “Also because, well… I was a little bit of a surprise. My mom was pretty convinced she couldn’t have kids, and then I showed up when she was almost forty. My parents like to joke that I ran them ragged for those first twenty years.”
“I doubt that,” Amy said. “A quiet thing like you?”
Josh smirked. “You didn’t know the terror I was when I was young. Anyway, by the time they were pushing sixty, they were already feeling ready for retirement. I was old enough to take on the responsibility by then, so I took over and my parents rented a small place just outside of Bronco to be closer to my dad’s rheumatologist.”
“Well, I hope they’re having a great time.”
“Me, too.” He stopped walking. Amy hung back, looking at him. “There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
“What?”
“Do you think… Is there a time limit on you staying with Faith and Caleb?”
Amy raised her brow, a bit surprised by his question, wondering if he was asking for the reason she thought he was asking. “Despite what my sister might say, she loves having me here. So I don’t think so.”
“You got any designs on leaving?”
Her pulse raced. “Why? Would that inconvenience you?”
“Someone’s gotta keep Bitsy on the straight and narrow, and she’s clearly not listening to me.”
“Right. The horse.” Amy couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her face. “Any other reason I should stick around?”
Josh took a step forward. They were close, maybe too close, and she looked up into his eyes. They were deep brown, with flecks of hazel. She could have counted each striation.
“Because I want you to?”
“Is that a question or…”
“No.”
“No what?”
She could smell his soap and see the stubble along his jaw, and she lost her breath suddenly, looking at his lips.
Josh was gazing at her like he might just lean down and close the distance. But then a horn wailed, and the spell broke. Amy sucked in a sharp breath. Had he really been about to kiss her?
Josh was now glaring at a pickup truck that had stopped on the side of the road. Two men hopped out of the truck and came over to greet them.
“Amy,” Josh said as they drew near, “this is Noah and Ryder Trent.”
“In case it’s not clear, I’m the good-looking younger brother,” Ryder said, reaching for her hand.
Amy shook it.
“So, this is Amy,” Noah said, also shaking her hand. He had a kind smile but looked exhausted. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Have you?” she said, glancing at Josh, who was now conveniently looking everywhere but at her.
“What’re you two up to?” Noah asked, smirking like he knew exactly what they’d almost been up to.
Josh cleared his throat. “Took a bit of a break from work this afternoon. We just got back from walking the old trailhead.”
Ryder made a face. “That’s definitely a…choice.”
Amy and Josh laughed in tandem. “It was nice,” she said.
“You don’t have to pretend for us, Amy,” Ryder said. “Blink twice if you need to be rescued from this guy and his horrible attempts to show you around town.”
“Really,” she insisted. “It was great.”
“Nah,” Ryder said, looping his arm through hers. “For example, if you’d allow me to escort you this way—” he steered her down the sidewalk, gesturing with his hand “—I’d like to draw your attention to this here alleyway where our little Joshy had his first kiss.”
“I didn’t know this kind of tour was an option,” Amy joked with Ryder. “Tell me more.”
“How about we don’t,” Josh said.
Noah needled him in the side, making Josh flinch. “What were you, Joshy? About fourteen, I’d say. A whole group of us saw it.”
Josh dropped his head into his hand and massaged his brow. “Which is why we don’t need to relive it.”
“I think Amy would like to hear the story,” Ryder said.
“Actually, I would love to hear the story,” Amy teased.
“I hate you both,” Josh muttered to the brothers.
“He was shaking so bad I don’t know how he even stood up straight,” Noah said.
“I imagine you were an adorable, sweet-talking young man,” Amy told Josh.
He laughed. “Oh, I was shy as anything. Couldn’t get a word out. Luckily there’s not a whole lot of talking needed when you’re kissing.”
“It went well, then?”
“Lord no.” Ryder cackled. “They never spoke again after that.”
“Anyway, this was my first job outside the ranch,” Josh said, pointing out the barbershop.
“Stop trying to change the subject,” Noah said.
“I’m not. I’m just saying, I swept up after school sometimes for extra cash.”
Ryder winked. “‘Cause he clearly wasn’t sweeping up with the ladies, if you know what I mean.”
“Okay!” Josh said, steering Ryder away. “I think she’s heard enough.”
Amy could just make out what they were saying from where she stood.
“Not gonna be able to call you president of Lonely Valley much longer, am I?” Ryder said.
“I think you need to go back to work.”
“I’m serious, man. This is good for you. I’ve been saying forever that you needed to get back out there after… What was her name? Erin? Eliza?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Josh muttered.
Ryder looped his arm around Josh’s shoulders. “That’s the spirit.”
Josh shrugged him off, practically escorting Ryder back to the truck. Amy would have laughed at the sight if not for the giddy butterflies dancing in her chest. Josh’s friends clearly thought she was a good thing. It reassured her to know they approved of…whatever this was.
“It was good meeting you,” Noah said, pulling Amy’s attention. “We’ll have to catch up later. We’ve got plenty of stories about Josh you probably want to hear.”
“I’d like that,” she said, then waved as the brothers drove off. She didn’t miss Ryder shooting kissy faces in Josh’s direction through the window.
Josh cleared his throat. “I’m really sorry about them.”
“Don’t be. They seem like great friends.”
“For the record, you can’t trust ninety percent of what Ryder says.”
“Sure.” Amy winked at him. “I think you just don’t want me to have access to all this insider information.”
“I’ll tell you whatever insider information you want.” Josh smiled at her so warmly she could have melted against him. “I should be getting back though.”
She didn’t want him to go.
“I’ll call you later,” he said.
Amy nodded. “I sure hope so.”
Josh backed away down the sidewalk, like he wasn’t quite ready to stop looking at her. Or maybe that’s just what she was telling herself. When he turned around, Amy slumped down on the nearest bench, feeling like she needed to catch her breath.
***
Faith dumped the basket of washing on the bed between them, and Amy reached for a towel, folding it neatly and setting it aside. Next she picked up a few pillowcases, folding them into perfect little rectangles. She usually hated doing laundry, but at least with Faith as company it felt like less of a chore.
“Why do you always avoid the fitted sheets?” Faith asked as Amy tossed one sheet-looking clump back into the pile.
“Because they require an advanced degree in mathematics to fold.”
Faith cocked her head and shook out the sheet. “Grab that end and help me.”
Amy did, dutifully following Faith’s directions as they folded the sheet.
“So, I can’t help but notice that you were out with Josh. Again.”
“Is there something you want to ask?” Amy said, hearing the unsaid questions in Faith’s voice.
“Did you have a nice time on your walk?”
“I did,” Amy said. “He took me down part of the Tenacity Trail.”
Faith wrinkled her nose. “That old, overgrown thing?”
Amy laughed. “Part of the trail leads to a clearing that Josh is fond of. I guess he used to go there as a boy. It was quite beautiful.”
“If you say so.”
Amy hummed. It was a shame that the revitalization of the trail fell through. More people deserved to enjoy the beauty that Josh had shown her. Even so, she felt like she’d been given another small glimpse into Josh’s world, and she was eager for more.
“You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with him,” Faith said. “I wondered if maybe it’s turning into more than friendship?”
Amy matched up a pair of socks before meeting Faith’s eye. “I’m not sure if us talking or hanging out or whatever’s happening now was ever just friendship.”
“Okay!” Faith climbed onto the bed. “This is the good stuff. Keep talking.”
Amy sat down, disturbing the laundry piles. “I don’t know. Everything feels so easy with him. Even the silences. And he’s sweet and thoughtful and my heart races when I hear that bell over the door in the store. I’m always hoping it’s him. And the other day on the ranch when we went riding…” She trailed off. “Is it ridiculous to feel this way already?”
“No,” Faith said. “ I don’t think so. These things sort of just happen the way they happen. Time isn’t necessarily a factor. When it’s with the right person, when everything clicks and makes sense, you feel like you’ve known them your whole life. Like there was already a hole carved out for them, just waiting to be filled.”
Amy knew part of her was talking about Caleb now, and she grinned at her sister’s soft expression.
“Do you think Josh feels the same?” Faith asked.
“I mean, I think there was definitely a moment today.”
“A moment? What kind of moment?”
“You know.”
Faith shrugged.
Amy huffed. “The kind where you lock eyes and it feels like you’re just a breath away from stumbling into a kiss for the first time.”
“He almost kissed you? Where?”
“On the street. When we came back from our walk. A couple of his friends showed up before we got around to it, but I was pretty sure it was going to happen.”
Faith wrinkled her nose and groaned. “ Amy … Don’t let the first time be on the street where you’ll obviously be interrupted.”
Amy laughed. “I can’t exactly curate it. The moment happens when it happens. Anyway, it caught me a little off guard, but not because I didn’t want it to happen. I just didn’t realize how much I wanted it to happen.” In many ways, it seemed like they’d only just met, and yet Josh showed up in her life and parked himself at her side and hadn’t strayed far since. Part of her felt like being with him was the most natural thing in the world. When they were apart, she missed his company: his soft, gruff words. His thoughtful questions. That dark stare. The way only one of his cheeks dimpled when he smiled. As the list went on in her head, Amy flushed. She’d wanted to kiss Josh very much. She sort of wished she could just go back to that moment. She would have closed the distance and pressed her lips to his, just to know if he felt all the same things she felt. Were there actually sparks there? Or was she just imagining everything?
“Well, you deserve to have some fun,” Faith said.
“I am having fun.”
“You know, I was so worried about you moping around here, I got Tori, Elizabeth and Carly on the phone.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “You did not drag them into it.”
“Tori told me to get you on the dating apps. She even offered to make your profile.”
Amy huffed. “I can’t believe you four are having secret meetings without me.”
“And that’s not even the group chat Elizabeth started.”
“There’s a group chat I’m not in?” Amy demanded.
Faith burst out laughing. “I’m just kidding. Of course not.” She narrowed her eyes playfully. “Or am I?”
Amy whipped out her phone. “I’m messaging Elizabeth right now to ask.”
Faith nudged her. “I really am kidding. But I’ve given the girls the low-down on Josh. They all agree it’s a good thing. He’s brought your spark back. I’ve missed it.”
Amy wanted to deny it, but she knew Faith was right. She felt more like herself now than she had for months. She picked up a pair of her jeans, shaking them out and tugging on the waistband a bit. “I need to stop putting my clothes in your dryer,” she said. “I think they’re shrinking.”
“There’s nothing wrong with my dryer.”
“It’s on like turbo heat mode or something.”
“If your clothes are fitting a little more snugly, maybe it’s all these visits with Josh and a distinct lack of rodeo training.”
That was fair , Amy supposed. She was used to a more rigorous training schedule when she was on the rodeo circuit. She’d grown complacent with her simple life since coming to Tenacity: helping out at the store and being with Josh. But it had also been such a nice change of pace, part of Amy wondered if some snug jeans were a worthwhile exchange. Maybe it could always be like this.
Maybe Josh was supposed to be something more permanent in her life.
That thought was quickly overwhelmed by another thought. Was she rushing into these feelings too quickly?
“What are you thinking?” Faith asked. “You’ve gone all quiet and that’s never a good sign.”
“I don’t know. I think there’s still a small part of me that feels like this is too good to be true.” As wonderful as all this felt, she knew she should slow down. Hold off. Pull back.
Tru rose to the forefront of her mind. When she was away from Josh, it was easier to remember how wretched Tru had made her feel. The problem was, it wasn’t like that at first. In the beginning, Tru was a total gentleman. He’d said he liked to keep his private life out of the spotlight, and Amy had been dazzled by the lengths he was willing to go to protect her from the media. He’d seemed every bit as kind and honest as his movie persona as he’d wined and dined her!
She cringed now, reliving the memory of him saying she was like no one he’d ever met. She’d fallen hard, sucked right into his trap. In all those weeks, he never once pressured her for sex, but it had gotten to the point that she was dying to sleep with him. He kept saying she was “worth waiting for,” and Lord, had that just made her swoon harder. Around Christmas, he’d jetted her off to St. Barts, a little island paradise where they could finally be together away from the prying eyes of the media. Amy truly thought she’d found something wonderful with Tru. Only after New Year’s, Tru had to fly off to Europe to film, and though he still kept in touch, as the weeks went on, communication eventually dropped off entirely. It was like a knife to the chest, and only now was Amy starting to realize the full extent of the wound Tru left behind. She’d trusted him, and not only had he basically dumped her after sleeping with her, he’d done it by marrying another woman. She was a damn fool, and that’s what worried her about her own judgment when it came to Josh.
He couldn’t possibly be this wonderful. Something had to be amiss.
It was true, he helped ease the sting Tru McCoy left behind. But what if he left his own wound? Amy didn’t think she could handle that again. Not this soon. What if it turned out he didn’t feel the same? Could she trust these feelings? Could she trust Josh?
“What if it all goes wrong?” she said.
“What if it doesn’t?”
Amy flopped on her back, toppling laundry piles. “Does life really work like that?”
“I mean, it did for Elizabeth and Jake, and Tori and Bobby. Not to mention Brynn and Garret, Audrey and Jack, Corinne and Mike,” she said, listing off their sisters and cousins.
“Okay, okay.”
“It also seems to be working out for me and Caleb,” Faith said thoughtfully. “So I’d say so. Besides, I really do think you should give Josh a chance. Don’t talk yourself out of something that could be so good.”
“Sometimes I worry that we’re different—maybe too different?” she said, trying in vain to keep the concern from her voice. Josh lived in his small corner of the world, and Amy had ventured out to explore all of it. More than that, what she really worried about now was that she didn’t exactly know who she was away from a rodeo arena. What if Josh didn’t like the person she’d become? What if he wasn’t interested in her if she wasn’t this glamorous Hawkins Sister anymore? Though that seemed like a silly concern. He’d liked her before she told him who she was. Right?
“Your differences are probably what’s drawn you together,” Faith said, derailing Amy’s worries. “Josh needs a little adventure in his life and maybe you want someone grounded.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Gosh! Feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life for you to say that.”
Amy snorted, but despite her concerns, one thing was clear. She was going to keep seeing Josh. Maybe he’d only end up hurting her in the end, but Amy was speeding along this barrel run, too far gone to stop it now.