Cowboy Rising (Cowboy Cocktail Book 5) by Mia Hopkins

Author:Mia Hopkins [Hopkins, Mia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Little Stone Press
Published: 2016-11-22T05:00:00+00:00

They got dressed and rested next to the dying fire. Georgia sat between Daniel’s legs, her little body nestled in his arms as she ran her fingers over the beach sand.

“I’ve always wondered,” she said, “what is sand made of?”

He watched her slender fingers sliding through the grains. “All kinds of stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Uh, quartz. Chert.”

“What’s chert?”

“Sedimentary rock, like the stripes on the cliffs.”

“What else?”

“Bits of shell and volcanic rocks. All crushed up.”

She grabbed a handful of it and held it up to the light. “Each little grain is its own little world. Like a whole galaxy you’d never see unless you looked closely enough.” She rubbed her fingers together and the grains tumbled from her hand.

He kissed the top of her head. For the first time in a long time, Daniel felt at ease. His body and mind were calm. He took a deep breath and exhaled, letting the fresh, cold air cleanse his lungs and his thoughts.

After long stretch of silence, she said, “So, what are you going to do next?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to stay on the ranch?”

“We have our inspection in a few weeks. We’ve been working on going organic for three years. It’s a big deal.”

“And after that? Are you going to stay?”

He leaned back on his hands. The last log on the fire had gone gray. The weak embers gave off a whisper of heat. “I don’t have much choice.”

“If you did have a choice, would you take that job in Texas?”

“Yeah. Of course. But it’s not going to happen.”

“Why not?

“Because…” Daniel trailed off. His chest began to tighten up again. He didn’t want to talk about this. He wanted to savor this moment, his one wild escape before the real world came crashing down on him again. “It’s complicated,” he said at last.

“Clark said you had an older brother. Dean. Where is he? Why isn’t he helping on the ranch?”

She was picking at wounds that had just scabbed over. Still struggling with his anger, Daniel cleared his throat and said simply, “Dean took off.”

“Why?”

Frustration bubbled up. Take a hint, Georgia. Back off. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“Clark is what, eighteen? He seems eager to take over the ranch. If your dad can mentor him for a couple years, maybe that will leave you free to—”

“Nope. Not going to happen.” Why did she have to push so hard? Daniel let go of her and got to his feet. As she sat there looking up at him, he kicked sand over the fire and started to gather up his things.

“Don’t be annoyed,” she said. “I’m just trying to figure out—”

“I’m not annoyed,” he lied. “Come on. Let’s get going. We still have a long drive.” On the road, he could turn up the radio or roll down the windows for noise. Anything to keep from answering her questions. He’d come out here to run away from his problems, not to talk them out.

Georgia looked at him with a sideways glance while she picked up the blanket and rolled it up.

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