The Cowboy's Forever Wish

by Lori Wilde

  The Cowboy's Forever Wish

  Wish Upon a Star, Volume 2

  Lori Wilde and Liz Alvin

  Published by Lori Wilde, 2021.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  THE COWBOY'S FOREVER WISH

  First edition. July 1, 2021.

  Copyright © 2021 Lori Wilde and Liz Alvin.

  ISBN: 978-1393044208

  Written by Lori Wilde and Liz Alvin.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Further Reading: The Cowboy's Charming Wish

  Also By Lori Wilde

  Also By Liz Alvin

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  The sweet-faced toddler opened her cherry-pink mouth and let out a screech of such magnitude that had Courtney not been her daughter, Annie Lee Palmer would have sworn the child had suffered a heinous injury, a broken limb, a nasty contusion—something. Instead, an even worse fate had befallen little Courtney. At the tender age of twenty-three months, two weeks, and four days, she had been told “no, no” in a stern voice.

  “That will teach me,” Annie muttered as her daughter launched into her entire tantrum repertoire—the half sob with a partial hiccup on the end, the nerve-racking wail with the pudgy fingers across the face, and finally, the heartfelt boo-hoo with the trembling lip thrown in for good measure.

  It was, even by Courtney’s high tantrum standards, an outstanding performance.

  Realizing that Courtney was drawing a crowd at the only grocery store in Falling Star, Texas, Annie made eye contact with her daughter. “Courtney, this is not how you behave. Let’s sing the bus song instead.”

  Courtney quieted, somewhat, when Annie launched into an off-key version of “Wheels on the Bus.” Even though Courtney’s vocabulary was fairly limited, she understood enough to realize that Mommy was singing her favorite song.

  Badly, of course, but Courtney’s singing standards were fairly low, so she was happy. As Annie sang, Courtney tried to sing along, stating, “Bus round, bus round.”

  When Annie finished the main verse, she leaned over and kissed her daughter on the cheek. Courtney babbled a few times—and then it happened.

  Annie went to raise her head at the same time Courtney flailed her arms and legs, whacking her mother directly in the face. Things might have worked out, except at that moment, Annie lost her balance. For a fraction of a second, she teetered, struggling to find her footing, and she would have made it if Courtney hadn’t still been waving her arms so dramatically. Once again, the little girl came out of nowhere with a left hook any prizefighter would envy. The punch connected with a thud to Annie’s nose. Annie wobbled for another moment and then felt her shoes slide and her feet give way from under her.

  “Oh, no.”

  Twisting her body, Annie landed flat on her back, barely preventing her head from hitting the ground. The drop was so fast and so hard that it momentarily knocked the wind out of Annie. The crowd that had been watching the tantrum now moved forward, leaning as a group over her prone body. Annie closed her eyes for a second, not wanting to see the collection of faces—some amused, others concerned, and a few latecomers perplexed.

  Several people offered to help, but before she could answer, a deep voice said, “I think that’s a TKO.”

  Annie froze. Wait a minute—that voice. She knew that man’s voice. For years she’d heard it in her head, the timbre sliding over her nerves like warm summer rain.

  It was Tyler Nelson.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She shook her head, not in answer to his question, but in denial of his existence at the store. Oh, no. Please, no. Not him. I’ll be good. I promise. I won’t ever scold Courtney again. I’ll donate more to charity. Okay, I’ll even eat Brussels sprouts. Just don’t let it be Tyler.

  “Are you okay?” he repeated. “Let me help you.”

  Reluctantly, Annie opened her eyes. Tyler was indeed standing over her.

  Drat.

  “Wow. Blast from the past,” she said.

  He chuckled and outstretched his hand. “Let’s get you standing upright again.”

  Annie took the hand he extended and with a quick pull, he had her back on her feet. Half holding her breath, she looked into the same wicked brown eyes she still occasionally saw in a dream. Eight years unwound in a heartbeat, and she was again dating the most popular boy in town.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, still hoping she was seeing things.

  Then he grinned, and she knew he was real. No one man on the planet but Tyler Nelson had that butter-melting grin. “I’m grocery shopping,” he said, then teased, “and maybe helping a stranded woman off the floor.”

  “Ah, yes,” she said, trying to make sense of him being here. “A knight in shining armor.” She glanced at his attire. “Make that worn jeans and muddy boots.”

  He burst into a loud laugh, startling her and making Courtney start to cry. “Oops,” he said, shifting over to the cart. He leaned over and smiled at Courtney, who immediately stopped crying. As she babbled at him, he nodded his head and responded as if he understood her.

  Annie had to admit, he looked the same as he had the last time she’d seen him. Okay, maybe that wasn’t true. To be honest, he looked even better. His dark-brown hair still fell across his forehead, and his deep brown eyes still sparkled with a tempting gleam. Plus, the presence of a few laugh lines on his face didn’t detract from his good looks. If anything, they enhanced the overall effect of his handsome face.

  Then there was the grin. Even after all these years, Annie remembered how it worked wonders on females—all females: classmates, teachers, waitresses. That grin never failed. And judging from the smile on her daughter’s face, it worked on the preverbal age group, too.

  “This little girl is delightful,” Tyler said, turning his head to look at Annie. “Your daughter?”

  Annie nodded and brushed some dirt off her jeans. “Yes. Her name is Courtney.”

  Since Tyler was no longer talking to her, Courtney began to squirm and fuss. Loudly. The little girl raised her arms in the universal “pick me up” position.

  He glanced at Annie. “May I?”

  Annie looked at her daughter. Then she looked at Tyler and accepted the inevitable. “Sure, but I can’t guarantee your safety. She may vomit all over you. She’s still at that oozy age.”

  Tyler chuckled and unlatched the small black seat belt holding Courtney in the cart. Then he picked up the little girl. Her daughter seemed absolutely delighted with the prospect. She went willingly into the arms of the one man Annie had wanted to avoid in Falling Star. Truthfully, she’d known all along that sooner or later, she’d bump into him. Falling Star was a small town. Avoiding someone was nearly impossible, but she’d hoped to put it off as long as possible.

  Tyler tucked the now happy Courtney against his chest, holding her steady with one strong arm.

  Annie glanced around. At least the crowd had dispersed once Courtney had settled down. Well, mostly dispersed. A few people lingered in the distance, looking at them. Annie wasn’t surprised. Their “almost wedding” had been the talk of the town for a long, long time. Falling Star was a small town where gossip thrived.

  And disasters tended to be newsworthy.

  Annie brushed off some dirt on her t-shirt, av
oiding direct eye contact with Tyler. Wasn’t that what you did with most wild animals? Avoid direct eye contact, and they may leave you alone.

  She pulled a baby wipe out of the overstuffed baby bag in the cart and wiped her hands.

  “So why are you back?” she asked, placing the used wipe in the front pocket on the bag. “For a visit?”

  Tyler laughed, the sound deep and rich. “That’s it? After all these years, the only thing you have to say to me is ‘why are you back’—no ‘how are you?’ or ‘nice to see you’? Even Dewitt Pettigrew welcomed me when I stopped by his sandwich shop.”

  “That seems unlikely,” Annie said. “Dewitt doesn’t welcome anyone, even people he tolerates.”

  Tyler simply grinned. “Well, he welcomed me. Surprised me, too. Of course, the way he phrased it was ‘welcome back, you low-down, muck-eating varmint,’ but it could have been much worse.”

  Annie couldn’t prevent the laugh that escaped her. “Varmint? What is this, the 1800s?”

  “Muck-eating varmint,” Tyler clarified, making Annie laugh even louder. “Apparently, there are varieties of varmints. I happen to be the muck-eating type.”

  Annie didn’t want to keep laughing, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d only been around Tyler for a couple of minutes, and he was already making her laugh.

  He’d always been able to make her laugh.

  “Yes, apparently, I am a muck-eating varmint, although I sense he might have called me something worse if there hadn’t been families in the store. Truthfully, I’m not sure why he called me names. I’ve been back a few times over the years. I’ve come to see my folks at least once every year, so he’s seen me several times. And, of course, I was here a few months ago for the funeral.”

  “I was very sorry to hear about your father,” Annie said. Although she and Tyler’s father had a contentious history, she was always sad when someone died.

  Tyler nodded. “Thank you. So, how are you?”

  “Good,” she said.

  He chuckled and looked at Courtney. “Your mother is a woman of few words. So how are you little one?”

  “Courtney,” Annie reminded him.

  Tyler seemed delighted with this news. He shifted Courtney to his hip. “I like your name.”

  “Man Man,” Courtney said.

  Tyler chuckled. “I guess calling me ‘Man Man’ is better than muck-eating varmint.”

  Despite herself, Annie laughed again. Tyler’s sense of humor had been one of the many things she’d liked about him.

  “So what brings you to town?” she asked.

  Tyler shrugged. “Mom hasn’t been feeling well the past few weeks. Plus, I need to make some decisions about the ranch.”

  That was also one of Annie’s main reasons for moving back a few years ago. Her family didn’t have a huge ranch like Tyler’s did, but she’d come back to help. Decisions had to be made. Things were going downhill fast. “I know what you mean.”

  Tyler didn’t seem surprised by her answer. Instead, he said, “When did you move back?”

  “A few years ago,” she said. She considered reaching out for her daughter, who seemed perfectly happy where she was, but she knew Courtney would make no effort to come. The little girl liked where she was, so Annie started pushing her cart again. She might as well finish the shopping.

  Tyler seemed fine with the plan. He trailed after her, chatting with Courtney as he walked. Courtney was delighted, the little traitor. Of course, she didn’t know Tyler. She didn’t know this was the man who’d dropped Annie the week after they’d gotten engaged because his family convinced him the marriage would be a disaster. She’d known what that meant. Her father owned a small horse farm, and her mother was a schoolteacher. Meanwhile, Tyler’s family owned a large ranch outside Falling Star. Dating a girl whose dad raised and sold a few horses each year wasn’t exactly a match made in heaven to the Nelson clan.

  Their breakup had become a joke around the small town. People had teased her dad because his daughter wasn’t good enough for the Nelson boy. Her father was a proud man, and Annie knew the taunts had eaten at him for quite some time.

  But that was in the past, right? She wasn’t eighteen anymore, and her crush on Tyler was history. Their breakup had been a life lesson, like when Courtney learned not to put beans up her nose. As was true with most life lessons, it had been painful, but when it was over, she had learned something about men and trust.

  Annie stopped to look at canned vegetables, well aware that Tyler was standing right next to her. After a few seconds, she glanced at him.

  Rather than being upset that she wasn’t talking to him, Tyler smiled, his killer dimple appearing. She hated to admit it, but she still felt the same old attraction she’d always felt when she was around him. The more time she spent near him, the more aware of him she became. Her heart was racing, and her palms were starting to sweat.

  How dumb was that?

  “I think you’re still mad,” Tyler said. “You can’t fool me. I know it’s been eight years, but you’ve never had the chance to yell at me. How about if I admit I was a jerk? I should have handled things differently.”

  Annie took a deep breath. She didn’t want to go into this at the grocery store, but then again, she hoped this meeting was the last one they would have for a long time. “Fine. I accept your apology.”

  He rewarded her with another grin. “Thanks. You have to admit, we were both too young to get married. Plus, it all worked out in the end, right?” He bounced Courtney on his hip, making her giggle again. “You now have this little one.”

  Eight years later he still knew how to pour on the charm. “True. Want to give me my daughter back?”

  “I’ll carry her so you can shop,” he said, his smile still firmly in place.

  Annie sighed loudly. He wasn’t giving up. Typical Tyler. She grabbed two cans of green beans, then started walking again.

  As she walked, she could feel him sizing her up, and she didn’t like it one bit. She knew what he saw when he looked at her. She’d aged and changed and was different in a million ways from the lovesick teenager who had thrown herself at the town’s favorite son.

  She wore her blond hair short now because she was too busy to fuss with it, and she knew her blue eyes showed the fatigue that overwhelmed her by this time of day. But probably the only thing Tyler would notice was how her figure had rounded since Courtney’s birth.

  She didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t let him know how self-conscious she felt. She’d had a long day, and she knew she looked rumpled. But she wasn’t concerned about how she looked to Tyler Nelson.

  Well, maybe a little, but she’d get over that.

  This run-in with Tyler really was too much. All she wanted was to go home, take a shower, have dinner, and rock Courtney to sleep.

  Tyler moved slightly closer to her. “Courtney is cute. And you’ve grown into a beautiful woman.”

  Annie stopped, turned, and looked at him, debating what to say. He tapped the end of Courtney’s little nose and received a tooth-scattered smile in return. “What did you do to this princess to send her into such a tizzy earlier? I heard her fussing when I was coming in from the parking lot.”

  “I didn’t do anything except tell her she couldn’t grab everything off the shelves,” she said. “But Courtney’s almost two, and she’s doesn’t take kindly to being told no.”

  “Who does?” he teased. “Still, it’s hard to believe this perfect child would behave like that.”

  Courtney had such an angelic expression on her face at the moment, it was difficult to believe she’d ever misbehaved in her life. She lifted her plump fingers and tugged on Tyler’s shirt.

  “Spoken like someone who probably doesn’t have children,” Annie said.

  “Sadly, no, I don’t have any,” he said.

  Why sadly? Annie debated whether he meant that, then decided now would be a good time to end this visit. “It really was nice to see you again, Tyler, but I’m busy righ
t now, so unless you plan on kidnapping my daughter, I suggest you give her back.”

  Her tone was forthright and firm. She got more than a little satisfaction out of watching a surprised look cross his face. She’d never been assertive when they’d been dating, so now he knew she wasn’t a pushover anymore.

  He rubbed his free hand across his chin, apparently debating his next move. She watched him warily, and when a gleam appeared once again in his eyes, she braced herself.

  “Now, Annie, is that any way to talk to your first love?”

  It was such an unexpected thing to say that she didn’t know whether to be insulted or amused. She ended up laughing. “You were not my first love. I was in love at least twice before I met you.” She almost regretted her words when he looked genuinely offended by what she’d said.

  “I don’t think I believe you.” He gave her his trademark smoldering look. Even after all these years, after marriage and a child, his look made the blood flood to her face.

  “Been here, done this.” She curled her hands on her grocery cart. “Since you won’t return Courtney, I guess I should tell you she’s a really good eater. Her favorite food is spaghetti; her bedtime is at seven, and she loves to play peekaboo.” Without a backward look, she continued down the aisle.

  “Where’s your husband?” he asked, trailing after her.

  She wasn’t surprised when Tyler once again fell into step next to her. His tone sounded neutral, and she forced herself to keep her own that way, too. “Dead.”

  Tyler stopped in the middle of the aisle. Annie turned and looked back over her shoulder, waiting for him to recover and catch up. The compassionate look on his face made her regret dropping the news on him like that. Even though seeing Tyler after all this time had thrown her, it didn’t justify being so mean. She needed to try harder to be nice.

  “I shouldn’t have said it like that,” she admitted. “He passed away before I even knew I was pregnant with Courtney.”

  Tyler walked slowly toward her. “Mother never told me. She said you’d moved back to town, but she didn’t tell me you’d been married nor did she mention the baby.”