Second Hope Cowboy by Rhonda Lee Carver

brought me here, to ask again.”
    He swept the back of his hand over his brow. Several expressions flickered across his face but night was coming on fast and they were now in the shadows. She could no longer see his eyes. Several seconds floated by and her head spun. Would he turn her away? Had he changed his mind? Her stomach fluttered and her throat tightened, and she could barely breathe.
    “You have changed your mind. I should have mentioned why I needed to see you over the phone. It would have been a lot easier.” She spun on her heel and got to the bottom step when he wrapped his fingers around her elbow, gently holding her still. She turned her cheek, peering up at him. He was close enough that she got a whiff of soap and sandalwood.
    “Hey, don’t be so quick to walk away. I didn’t say I’ve changed my mind. I just needed a minute to digest what you’re saying.” His soft voice dug into her reserve.
    “I-I guess I am a bit anxious.”
    “Are you sure about this?”
    “If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be here.” Her confidence was shattering inside. She wasn’t sure about anything anymore—especially when it came to Tucker. What she was confident in was the idea of getting the house. Her heart ached for home. And this was her only home.
    When the four weeks were over, she’d have a place to call hers again. She never realized how important that was until all was lost.
    “But this would take effort. I couldn’t have you here, miserable and moping—” His sentence broke off with great meaning.
    She felt salt in old wounds, became vulnerable. “You mean like before.”
    “That’s not what I said.”
    “You didn’t have to.” Hope shook her head. “Look, Tucker, I’m agreeing to your request. I can’t guarantee how I’ll feel—especially after I walk in.” Sweeping a glance toward the open door, she cringed and her knees wobbled. She leaned against the porch rail for support but it did little good for the weakness within her.
    “Let me make this clear without you reading anything into it. I don’t want this to feel like a prison sentence or revenge on my part.” He shifted his booted feet and stepped back away from her. Cooler air swept across her exposed skin and she shivered.
    “Then why do this? You believe all of your troubles of the past will melt away and life will be fantastic?”
    He shrugged and she swore she heard seams break. “I’m not five, Hope. I realize we have a lot of hurtful moments in the past that won’t just go away. Those things aren’t fixed overnight…or even in years. And despite what you might believe, I’m not doing this because I’m hell bent on a future with you. I can take things slow…figure things out. Hell, I might figure out that we’ve grown too far apart.” He twisted his hat.
    Staring closely, she searched his expression for any signs that he was skirting his true emotions. But all she saw was sincerity. She wasn’t sure how to accept his words. What if, by some slender way, her feelings changed and then he made a choice that he no longer wanted her?
    The thought swept through her like a raging forest fire, burning away her confidence of believing she could walk when the time came.
    “I need to know, what does your fiancé have to say about this?”
    The air grew chillier. “Blaise and I are not engaged at the moment, remember?” Would he leave it at that?
    “You should know, when we were at the cabin and you were at the bottom of the hill mud diving, he sent you a message. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I read it.”
    He studied her in a way that made her stomach topsy-turvy. She wrapped her brain around his words, attempting to remember the message he’d read. She cleared her throat. “The one where he’d apologized and asked for me to come back?”
    He gave her a slow nod. “Does he have something to do with encouraging you to get this house?”
    She shook her head, tendrils of hair brushed her cheeks. “No, Tucker. And no you