Cowgirl Up and Ride (Rough Riders #3)(126)

Every week different businesses would come to the college to recruit students. AJ


could probably pick and choose where she wanted to work—but none of the health care companies were in Wyoming. Where her heart was.


Her weary head fell into the couch cushions. For the first two weeks after her house burned down and she’d returned to Denver, Cord called her every day. Sometimes twice a day. She never picked up. The messages weren’t sweet and loving, but terse. Typical.


Then he’d stopped calling altogether.


AJ knew things were crazy at the McKay ranch. Colt had returned home after a month-long stint in rehab. Channing’s pregnancy wasn’t going smoothly and the doc put her on partial bed rest, which worried Colby. Carter postponed his art show to help out on the ranch since Kade was gone for the whole winter. Quinn and Bennett pitched in.


Macie ran into major remodeling snags with the diner, which required her constant on-site supervision.


And Cord…well, evidently Cord was the glue that held it all together.


So who held him together?


No one. She had no doubt Cord worked all day, came home and cared for his son, and fell into bed exhausted and alone every night.


Which made her heart hurt. AJ hadn’t stopped loving him, she was pretty sure if Cord could love any woman, it would be her. She wondered fifteen times every day if she’d done the right thing in walking away from him, when he’d offered her exactly what she’d wanted from him.


Wrong. You wanted his love. You didn’t get that.


Two loud raps on the metal door startled her. She stood and looked out the peephole.


A deliveryman. With flowers.


The safety chain clicked. “Yes?”


“Flower delivery.”


Great. More flowers for Keely from one of her many admirers. Still she knew to ask before she opened the door. “Who’re the flowers for?”


“AJ Foster.”


“Really?” she squealed and flung open the door. She’d never gotten flowers before.


Ever. She took the bouquet to the table to rip open the card: AJ—Close as I could get to Wyoming wildflowers. Hope it reminds you of home. I miss you. Cord Her mouth hung open. Cord had sent her flowers? She peered at the small purple daisies and the big yellow mums and the thick greenish-yellow stem which sort of resembled goldenrod. And the tiny white baby’s breath, which reminded her of cow parsnip. She sniffed. Yep. He’d even had the florist use sage as the greenery. She grinned. Probably cost him an arm and a leg for that extra touch. Still, his sweetness touched her.


The next week Cord sent her two tickets to the Big and Rich concert at the Pepsi center. Shocked her he’d remembered they were her favorite band. She dragged Keely along and bought a “Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)” concert T-shirt and wore it to bed instead of his T-shirt she’d ended up with after the fire.


The following week a plain brown box arrived with FRAGILE stamped all over the outside. AJ opened it to find dozens of peanut butter kisses cookies. The note read: Ky helped make these. Not as good as your sweet kisses, baby doll. Think of me while you’re eating these and studying…Love—CWM.


Oh man. The man was trying. Really trying.


Less than a week later, she received a box with the silver boots she’d forgotten in his front closet—along with a new ballcap that that read: You Gonna Cowgirl Up and Ride? Or Lay There and Bleed?


No note. She wondered if the hat was a challenge.