How to Rope a Loyal Cowboy by Anya Summers

20

It took Noah forever to get Wade and Zack calmed down once Morgan stormed out of the house. They peppered him with sobbing questions.

“Why did she leave us?” Wade cried.

“Does she not love us?” Zack wailed.

It broke his fucking heart into pieces watching them try to grapple with her departure. It was clear how much she loved them, and they her. The pain on Morgan’s face had been beyond brokenhearted.

In the end, he had simply explained that he and Morgan just had a big fight. That everything was going to be all right. When the truth was, he had no fucking clue whether it would be or not.

Today had been nothing short of a clusterfuck, what with Kate’s duplicity, and Morgan’s exit. But once he got the boys calm, they fell asleep, completely emotionally drained. He carted them into their bedroom and laid them down, mainly to give himself a few minutes alone to figure out what his next steps were going to be when it felt like his world had turned on its axis.

He knew that, with their nap being this late in the day, the boys would be up way past their normal bedtime. But right now, he didn’t give a fuck.

He had to determine how it had all gone so spectacularly wrong today.

When he had woken up this morning, he had been ready to offer Morgan his collar. And he had never suspected her feelings for him. He knew she cared about him. But he had been oblivious.

Morgan loved him.

And after everything, he didn’t doubt that she did.

At the knock on the door, he cursed. He had his cell in his hand, and was getting ready to try calling Morgan. But maybe it was her. Maybe after the fight they’d had, and storming out that way, she didn’t think she could just walk inside like normal.

With hope filling his chest, he strode to the door. But all that hope deflated when he spied his pal, Duncan, and his dog, Sampson, on the front porch stoop.

“Duncan? What can I do for you?” he asked.

“It’s more, what I did for you. Here. These are the keys to her truck.” Duncan jerked his head and held out a set of keys.

Noah looked past him and spied the ancient red truck parked in his driveway, but there was no sign of Morgan.

“Where is she?” he asked, taking the keys from him.

Sampson spied something in the yard and bolted after it. “At Maverick’s, with Bianca. I found her on the side of the road and wanted to make sure she was okay. Poor thing was a wreck.”

Some of the weight lifted off his shoulders. She was at least somewhere safe tonight, and he wouldn’t lie awake worrying about her. “Thanks, man. Want a beer?” Noah sure as shit could use one—or twelve.

“Sure thing.” Duncan whistled, and Sampson trotted back over with his tongue lolling out, happy as a clam.

Noah stood back and let them both inside.

“Where are Thing One and Thing Two?” Duncan asked as they entered and followed Noah into the kitchen.

“Sleeping. They were really upset when Morgan left.” It was a scene he didn’t think he would ever get over.

“Rough gig,” Duncan said, taking the proffered beer.

“Yeah. I don’t know how it all got so fucked up.” Noah took a swig of beer because he didn’t know what else to do.

“Do you love her?”

Wasn’t that the million dollar question? “I’ve not let myself go there, emotionally speaking.”

Duncan snorted. “Well, that’s just stupid, because it was clear to me that woman loves you something fierce.”

“I know. I’ve tried not to go there. I’m not whole, and am older, and come with a boatload of baggage.” But as he listed his excuses out loud, they sounded hollow, even to his ears.

“Who the fuck doesn’t? Dude, either you love her, or you don’t. It’s cool if all it’s been for you is sex. But I’ve known you most of your life, and you’ve never been in the bang-them-and-leave-them crowd. You get involved. I know losing Sara the way you did fucked with your head, but you’ve got to let it go. Morgan’s not Sara, and it’s not fair of you to compare them or hold yourself back because of what Sara did.” Duncan took a long swallow, studying Noah with a raised brow.

“I realize that. The thing is, I swore after Sara died that I wouldn’t ever marry and let myself feel that way again,” Noah stated, still grasping at straws.

Duncan chuckled darkly. “That was a dumb fucking thing to promise to yourself. All it does is keep you from living.”

“You’re one to talk. How many tourists have you banged this month?”

Duncan shrugged. “It’s different for me, man. I don’t want the family and forever gig. Never have, and never will.”

“Yeah, I’ll be glad to have a front row seat to watch you eat those words,” Noah replied.

“Enough about me. When you look at your life one year from now, five years, and then ten, is she there?”

Noah sucked in a breath, and had to sit at the kitchen table before his knees gave out on him.

Oh God! He loved Morgan. Holy fuck!

When did this happen? How did it happen? He had been so careful. But she had wormed her way into his life until he couldn’t see his world without her in it.

“Shit. I totally fucked up.” Noah put his head in his hands.

“Yeah, well, I think that woman loves you enough that if you do a bit of groveling, you’ll get her back. But you’ll have to go all in, no tiptoeing around the emotions any longer,” Duncan said.

All in. Was that what he wanted? Could he do that? Because the truth was, he had never been happier than these last few weeks with Morgan, after the way she had seamlessly entered their lives, and given him a life that he was excited over. Every day when he left for work, he couldn’t wait to get home at night, to see her, to talk to her, to make love to her, and watch her eyes go blind with need.

The truth was, he could see her here in his kitchen, standing at the stove each day when he came home and giving him a big kiss. He could see her in his bed each night, curled against him, her soft snores lightening up his soul. He could see her helping him raise Wade and Zack, who were no longer missing out on a mother’s influence.

She was it for them. Noah knew that to the depths of his soul. And he realized it was time he stopped living on the sidelines.

Wade and Zack padded into the kitchen. Sampson rose from his spot on the floor as the boys played with him.

“Want to stay for supper? The boys and I are going to order some pizza.” This way, Noah could work on the plan to win Morgan back already churning in his brain. Plus, it would distract Wade and Zack from the earlier drama.

Sampson was already keeping them wildly entertained, racing with them through the house.

“Sure. I could be down for some pizza. Long as it’s loaded,” Duncan said with a shrug.

“Like I would order anything else for myself. But I might need you to watch the boys for me for a bit. I need to make a run into town.” There was something Noah needed to get if he was going to set his plan into motion.

“Sampson and I can hang. Just don’t be gone too long.”

“An hour tops, promise. Let me put the pizza order in. That should keep them occupied,” Noah stated, pulling up the pizza place on his cell phone.

“I’ve got you covered.” Duncan nodded and took a drink of his beer.

Once the order was in, Noah headed into town and a certain shop that he had only gone to once before in his life. Now that he had released the floodgates on his emotions, he was having a hard time not smacking himself upside the head, repeatedly, over his stupidity.

Morgan was the best thing to ever happen to him. He wasn’t letting her get away that easily.