In Debt To The Cowboy (Miller Brothers 0f Texas Book 2)

by Natalie Dean

  “Dropped all of the charges. It’s still being processed, but the additional good news is that your bail will be returned in full. I don’t know if you need me to tell you this, but that means that your contract with the Millers has been paid in full. In addition, the contract states that you will personally be administered a refund for any services you rendered to the Miller family over the amount borrowed.”

  Teddy felt weak and had to lean against the counter, her face burning brightly. “I… are you for real?”

  “Of course, Ms. Parker. I wouldn’t joke about anything of that nature.”

  “I—”

  Roman’s voice interrupted. “Hey sis, look who pulled up as I came back from my walk?”

  With uncanny timing, Roman came in, a nervous-looking Silas right behind him.

  Everything had just changed, hadn’t it?

  “Thank you,” Teddy said to the lawyer, barely remembering that she was supposed to speak. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for my family.”

  “Of course, Ms. Parker. You have a lovely day now.”

  “You know? I think I just might do that.”

  She hung up and turned slowly to Silas, so many thoughts sparking through her head that she almost felt dizzy. She didn’t owe him anything. She wasn’t employed by him at all. What had happened?

  “Oh, um, it kinda seems like you two might wanna talk to each other,” Roman said. “I’m gonna head right back out to get some smoothies from the corner store. You want anything?”

  “Passionfruit guava,” Teddy said, surprised that her brain was able to spit that out.

  “Alright, I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He looked back and forth between the two of them then cleared his throat. “Actually, maybe fifteen.”

  It probably would have been comical if it was any other situation, but Teddy’s heart was beating far too hard within her chest.

  “The lawyer called me,” she said simply. She didn’t have any other words for it.

  “Good. That’s good.” He stepped into the house, looking nervous. How funny to think that a girl like her could make someone like him nervous. “I wanted to tell you that scumbag won’t be bothering you anymore. And my family will no longer be trying to buy up the area for our distribution center.

  “However, we are interested in setting up a sort of community outreach building for events and other things. Somewhere where you all can come together and celebrate or use in case of emergencies.”

  “Why would you do that?” she asked. Her whole life she had been sure of how things worked and what she could expect from which people. But he was turning all of that on its head.

  “Because I’m certain that that’s the right thing to do. And I want to start doing the right thing whenever I can.”

  “I…”

  Another step toward her. “Teddy, you are a good person, possibly the best I’ve ever met, and you’ve opened my eyes to a bunch of things.”

  “Things like what?” she said. The way he was looking at her just wasn’t fair. It made her feel things. Things that she had been trying so desperately not to acknowledge.

  “Things like personal responsibility. And community. And how much privilege I have for just being a Miller. And also…”

  He took another step toward her, purposefully bringing them closer together. It wasn’t like all those accidental times where they ended up right on top of each other. It was purposeful. And boy, was her body reacting to it.

  Silas took her hands in his. “Because I’d like to take you on a date, and I couldn’t do any of that when there was all that paperwork between us. We needed to start on the same footing. You know, equal ground.”

  She was in absolute shock. She must have misheard him! Surely that couldn’t have been what he had said. But then he was speaking again, looking at her with that look that really should come with some sort of medical warning.

  “You’re beautiful. You’re strong. You’re, frankly, amazing. And I know I’ve taken some missteps since we’ve known each other, but if you could see it in you to let me take you on a date, I’d be much obliged.”

  Perhaps she stared at him longer than she should have before realizing that she needed to say something. She absolutely needed to say something.

  “I think I could be amenable to that.”

  “Oh, you think so?”

  She couldn’t stop the broad grin that crossed her face, and she didn’t want to. “Yeah, I think so.”

  22

  Teddy

  A text buzzed on her phone, and a quick check told her that it was Silas announcing that he had arrived. She didn’t need the notice, however, because she was standing at their front door, looking out at the street.

  She bounded out quickly, wearing a comfortable but cute outfit. It was weirdly early on a Saturday morning, but it was when Silas had wanted to pick her up, so she had agreed.

  She couldn’t believe that she was going on a date with him. After over a month of beating herself up and telling herself that they were from different realms of existence, it turned out that he had felt the same way about her.

  Uncanny. Impossible. And yet? Actually happening.

  Of course, there was still that voice in the back of her head, the one that whispered that she couldn’t trust him, that he was too rich, too spoiled, too close to what had almost upheaved her life. She mentally told that voice to shut up more than once, but it was persistent.

  Probably because he was so unlike anyone else she knew. No one in her life would have been able to just casually bail out her brother or remodel their home to make her feel better. He was like a Prince Charming from a book, but she was acutely aware that that kind of thing wasn’t real.

  But if it wasn’t real, did that mean he was faking? And if he was faking, did that mean he would grow bored with her? Get her all warm and comfortable and reliant on him, then disappear in a flash? That was what rich guys did, right?

  She shook her head as she hopped into the vehicle while Silas held the door open for her. Since when had she grown so untrusting? Had she always been that way? She shouldn’t. People had been generous to her most of her life. Helping out her mother when things were hard, helping out her mother again when the cancer came back. And eventually helping Teddy herself when she didn’t have a mom anymore.

  Maybe it was just the fact that he was an outsider. As a rule, outsiders were people to watch out for. They didn’t get her. Didn’t get her family. Or maybe it was that he looked so similar to the people who had been causing their neighborhood headaches since long before she was born.

  “You ready for today?” he asked, all smiles as she buckled up.

  Teddy couldn’t help the guilt that flashed through her. After weeks pining for him, she finally had a shot at the man, so why was she suddenly so locked up in her own skull? It was like she was trying to purposefully sabotage her own happiness.

  “Are you finally going to tell me where it is that we’re going?”

  He pursed his lips and rubbed his chin as if he were debating it, before punching the location into the GPS. “Well, I figure the standard is dinner and a movie, but we’ve already done that in a sort of backhanded way, so I wanted to do something special.”

  “Right, because remodeling our whole apartment wasn’t special.”

  “That was a gift just because you deserved it. It’s separate from courting you.”

  She felt herself falling back into their usual banter, and it was such a relief. “Oh, so we’re courting now?”

  “We will be if you let me go ahead and finish my sentence.”

  Teddy laughed at that, those dark thoughts edging back from the front of her mind. “Alright, alright. Where are we headed?”

  “I thought it might be fun to go to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. It’s a bit of a drive, but sounds worth it, doesn’t it?”

  Teddy had to hold back her surprised gasp, feeling like it would sound more sarcastic than genuine. “I haven’t been th
ere since I was a kid. I loved it there.” If she closed her eyes, she could still see the beautiful plants, smell the wonderful aroma of flowers and ferns and all the wonderful foliage. Fresh earth and water, even the large ponds full of koi. All of it was wonderful, borderline magical in her head.

  “Ah, so I picked good?”

  “You picked very good,” she said. How could she doubt him when he was so thoughtful? When he so very obviously wanted to make this something special for their first date. It was unlike how anybody else had ever treated her. Ever tried to date her.

  But what if it was all just a front?

  She rolled her eyes at herself. Really? Couldn’t she just enjoy the wonderful moment?

  She wasn’t used to being so on edge around a person. Normally people were so easy to read, but she couldn’t help but feel that Silas functioned by an entirely different set of rules that she’d never heard of.

  It would be a very Teddy thing if she managed to ruin everything all on her own. She needed to get over the uncertainty that was constantly bringing her thoughts down.

  She looked out the window, trying to center herself, and it helped that the drive, in and of itself, was rather soothing. He had some sort of old country music playing softly on the radio, turned down so that he could point out different landmarks and funny stories about them. She appreciated the anecdotes, connecting together more about his life.

  By the time they arrived, she’d managed to calm down for the most part, but a lot of her doubts sank down to settle in her stomach, making her feel like she had eaten rocks. But then, as Silas opened her door and offered her his hand, that bubbling warmth filled her right up again.

  They walked to the front, which was even prettier than she remembered, hands intertwined like it was the most natural thing for them. And the crazy thing was that it did feel natural. Like she was right where she was always supposed to be, with her fingers laced through his.

  He paid happily at the gate and, just like that, they were in.

  And it was lovely. So bright, richer and lusher than her memory could ever hope to recall. It stretched out in an impressive way, and she was incredibly glad she’d worn comfortable shoes. She wanted to see all of it, read every display, soak up every bit of knowledge that she could until her brain was bursting.

  Goodness knew her heart already felt like doing so.

  “I think,” Silas said beside her, voice so quiet she almost didn’t catch it. “That if I could keep you as happy as you are now in this moment, I could die a satisfied man.”

  Oh, if that didn’t just make her heart thunder in her chest.

  “I feel like I should say something witty,” she said, “but I’m tapped out. You’ll have to come again later if you want my acerbic wit.”

  He squeezed her hand, his long fingers big enough to cover most of the back of her palm. “That’s alright. You stay this way as long as you like.”

  “You’ll regret you said that when we’re stuck in here until closing time, and I’m rattling off the Latin names of everything I might be able to grow.”

  “No,” he said with a grin. “I don’t think I would regret that at all.”

  Now that wasn’t fair at all! Feeling like she was already bubbling to bursting, she tugged on his hand and pulled him forward.

  It was like they walked into a magical world, just the two of them, all the other guests fading away. It was everything that she had ever dreamed of and more, making her wonder why she’d never taken herself. She had enough money for admission, and she was pretty much always guaranteed a car, so why did it take some charming man in cowboy boots to remind her that sometimes she needed to do things just for fun too?

  Funny, he said that she had opened his eyes, but she felt like he was the one who had done that to her, reminding her that she couldn’t always just keep going and going and going and going. She loved her community, yes, and she loved the shop, but she needed more than that to be healthy. Hadn’t Andre been trying to get her to get a hobby that was just for her?

  It was about two hours later when they reached one of the koi ponds, complete with a beautiful pagoda in the middle of a bridge and dozens of wisterias and weeping willows.

  “Oh! The koi!” she cried, rushing forward. “The fishies!”

  Despite being a twenty-four-year-old woman, she ran right up to the edge and looked down. Most of the koi were by the bridge, but there were a few of them swimming around lazily, the sun glinting off their beautiful sides.

  “Oh man,” she said, following along until she was on the bridge and kneeling down. “I love these little guys.”

  “Really?” Silas asked, sounding surprised. “Is there something special about them?”

  Teddy shrugged. “I dunno. They’re big, pretty fish with kinda cute faces. They look real personable, you know?”

  He laughed, and his expression wasn’t mocking, just gently amused. “If you say so.”

  “I do say so. Ooooh, they used to have these things you can put a quarter into that spits out food for them. I wonder if they’re still around?”

  “I think I see one on the opposite end of the bridge, judging by the line of people waiting patiently.”

  “That’s definitely it. You have any change? I’m gonna get so much of the kibble.”

  Another laugh, and it was still just as lovely a sound as it had always been. “How about you stay here and say ‘hi’ to all your fish friends, and I’ll go stand in line for you?”

  “I mean, if you’re offering.”

  “I am.”

  He headed off and Teddy leaned down to look at the fish. They were so used to being fed fat and silly that even her shadow was enough to bring them curiously up to the top of their water, their mouths gaping at her as if to demand the treats immediately.

  But then she caught her reflection on the water, distorted and rippling, making her face look nearly malformed. It was just a flash, but it was enough to have all those insecurities come creeping right back up on her.

  He was rich. He was out of her league. He would get bored with her. He would realize that she wasn’t feminine or graceful or any of those good things that he and his family probably valued. She was too low class, too dirty. They probably wanted some pristine church girl, a real virginal maiden type who was content to cook and clean and pop out babies. Teddy didn’t even want to think about babies until she was twenty-eight. At the earliest.

  A shadow appeared beside her, darkening more of the water, and Teddy turned, expecting Silas. But instead, it was an older lady dressed like someone might if they were going to church.

  “I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you look like you’re thinking some heavy thoughts.”

  Teddy had no idea who the grandma was, but there was something welcoming about her. Or maybe she was so desperate to get her thoughts out of her head that she was willing to trust a complete stranger.

  “I do?” Teddy said.

  “A penny for your thoughts?”

  No, that was ridiculous. She wasn’t going to spill her guts to some little old lady just because she seemed likable. That would be utterly—

  “I like a guy,” Teddy blurted out.

  “Is that so? I happen to like many people.”

  “I mean, I like a guy a lot. I think that one day, it’d be pretty easy to fall in love with him.”

  “Oh, I see. I remember that excitement. The rush. But you seem more stressed than any of those other lovely things.”

  “I suppose because I am.”

  The woman made an affirmative sound, and Teddy found herself rattling off again. “The thing is, it’s just been me and my family for so long. My whole world has been my garden, the community, and the shop.

  “This guy I like? He’s so outside of all those things that he’s practically on another planet. And I guess that’s kinda terrifying. And I wonder if that makes me a coward, and it also makes me wonder if I’m just setting myself up to be hurt later. My mom trusted the wrong person, and
even though she got me, she carried those scars with her until the day she died.”

  “I see.”

  Teddy waited for her to continue; she could feel that something else was coming on.

  The grandma started talking again, “You are a strong woman, that much is clear. But have you considered that, potentially, you don’t always have to be strong?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, to be strong, you must be rigid. Protected. You spend all this time building up a great and terrible armor around yourself that it’s easy to forget there was ever another way of being. And the thought of being out there, without your armor, of having someone seeing you all vulnerable and weak? Well, that sounds terrifying to me.”

  Teddy let out a heavy breath and looked over her shoulder at the woman. “You do this often?”

  “Pardon?”

  The wizened wrinkles of her face caught the light, making her look somewhat alien and powerful, but her eyes were kind. She reminded Teddy of some of the grammies that were at her own church. “Impart wisdom to random people at ponds?”

  She let out a gentle, lilting laugh. “The pond is unusual, but you wouldn’t be the first young woman in distress that I’ve helped.”

  “So it is a habit then?”

  The smile across her face was ageless but, at the same time, spoke of a rich history that Teddy could only guess at. “Kindness should always be a habit. As with empathy.”

  Teddy nodded, looking back to the fish. “So you think I’m being a coward then?”

  “Goodness no. Being scared doesn’t make you a coward. Do you think David didn’t feel fear when he looked up at that giant who had killed hundreds of his kin? That Joshua wasn’t ever scared? Fear is natural. You can let it control you or choose to defy it.” Her words washed over Teddy, and the mechanic tried to open herself up to the ideas the woman was presenting.

  “Of course, there’s this myth that if the stakes are great enough, that fear shouldn’t matter. But these matters of the heart aren’t quite like that, are they? I think you’ll have to decide for you, and only for you. Not anybody else.”