Her Lone Cowboy by Donna Alward

Author:Donna Alward
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-09-19T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

LILY TORE HER EYES FROM the green curves of the valley below. Perhaps they weren’t so different after all. They’d both made choices based on what they didn’t want out of life and along the way found a measure of peace in belonging—him within the army and her in Larch Valley. Now all of that was being ripped away bit by bit for Noah. The life he’d made for himself wouldn’t ever be quite the same again. Andrew was the only family he had left now that Gerald was gone, and the two of them had held on to this family secret, keeping Noah in the dark. Either way, she didn’t know whether to be thrilled or afraid that he had sought her out after a difficult day.

“The afternoon with the guys didn’t go well?”

“It went as well as I should have expected.” There was a harshness underlying the words.

“What went wrong?

“Andrew loves to golf. I thought it would be a fun afternoon. The two of us, Clay, Dawson. I would play chauffeur. Some laughs, a few beers and a steak sandwich at the clubhouse, you know?”

“But?” She prompted him to continue. His eyes had turned a steely dark blue that she recognized as his stubborn, frustrated look.

“But I felt like an idiot. I drove the cart and played caddy and laughed along, but the whole time I was thinking about how Andrew had known about this for years and no one had bothered to let me in on the secret. And then I was sitting waiting as everyone else was playing. And I couldn’t, because I can’t golf with one arm.”

“And so you felt useless.”

“Yes.”

Lily’s heart ached for him. Noah was not useless. He had so much to give. So many talents, so much insight and intelligence. She hated that he’d been made to feel less just because he wasn’t physically capable of hitting a ball with a silly club.

“Andrew should have seen how hard it would be for you and suggested something else,” she replied sharply. “I know, I know,” she continued as Noah started to open his mouth. “It’s his wedding. But still, Noah. A little consideration. After all, he’s the one that dropped the bombshell, too.” She put a hand on her hip.

Noah’s jaw softened with surprise. “Are you defending me?”

“Someone has to, don’t they?”

Without warning, he reached out and pulled her close, against his chest where his heart beat strong and true. A few stones rolled beneath her sneakers as her weight shifted. “Thank you,” he whispered into her hair. “I was feeling pretty selfish.”

She inhaled deeply, absorbing the scent and warmth of him before standing back from his embrace and looking up. “You? Selfish? There isn’t a selfish bone in your body.”

He shook his head slightly, while his hand still rested at the base of her spine. “Oh, yes, I am. I’ve done nothing but think of myself lately.”

“You earned that right.”

“It struck me today that I’ve avoided town, avoided people, because I’m different now.

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