The Cowboy Way

by Stevens, Melissa

  "And I spend most of each day at a desk. I get it."

  He closed up the truck, picked up their bags and led her to the room. She'd given up on offering to take her bag. The only time he let her carry anything was when his arms were already full. Even then he took the heaviest things, leaving her to carry as little as possible.

  "Hey, letting you take the desk work means I don't have to do it. And I'd rather be out in the barn, even shoveling stalls, than dealing with the paperwork." He used the plastic card they'd given him to unlock the door, then let her inside before following. Levi set the bags on the end of the bed. "Why don't you take the first shower? I'll see what there is in the way of food around here."

  "Sounds good." She sighed. "I wonder if they have any kind of delivery around here?"

  "Probably just pizza if they do."

  "That's fine by me." She grabbed her bag off the bed and carried it into the bathroom with her. It didn't escape her notice that even the bathroom in this tiny, cheap motel was larger than the one in her apartment. She wondered again how she'd managed to convince herself she hadn't minded and that she was working her way toward something bigger and better. She hadn't been lying to herself and she was headed to bigger and better now, just not in the way she'd thought.

  * * *

  Half an hour after stepping into the shower, Mariah opened the bathroom door feeling much more human. She didn't know what it was, but something about a hot shower in the evening made things seem better, almost as if she'd washed away all the bad, even if there hadn't been any.

  "What's the plan for this evening?" she asked as she stepped out to join Levi.

  "I ordered a pizza. It should be here before too long." He sat on one side of the bed, his legs stretched out in front of him ending in his stocking feet, the tv remote in one hand. She'd noticed he never put his shoes on the furniture, he always kicked them off first.

  "You want to get a shower now?"

  "Nah, I'm good for now." He patted the bed next to him. "Come relax with me. At least until dinner gets here."

  She dug a comb out of her bag and detangled her hair while she stood watching him. Stretching out on the bed with him while they watched a little tv sounded amazing. Not that they hadn't been together, but he'd been focusing on the road, and since she'd never towed anything, she'd been leery to spell him with the driving.

  When she'd finished with her hair she left it down to dry and climbed up to stretch out next to him. She leaned against him, and Levi curled one arm around her shoulders and tugged her close.

  "What are you watching?"

  "I'm not sure. I think it's a movie, but I haven't figured out what it is yet." They watched in silence for several minutes, the movie was in the middle of an action sequence and it require that they had any idea what was actually going on to be entertaining. About the time the fast paced fight scene ended, a knock sounded on the door to their room.

  "That will be the pizza." Levi swung his legs over the edge of the bed and went to answer the door. He tipped the delivery man, took their dinner, closed the door and turned back to her. "You want to eat there, or come over here?" He set the pizza box on the table and flipped it open. "We don't have plates, but we've got napkins."

  "I'll come over there." Mariah made her way off the bed and over to the small round table. "Oh, pepperoni and spinach, you remembered." They'd only had pizza together once, she'd ordered it a few days ago while they were working on packing, that he'd remembered made warmth spread through her and her stomach flip.

  "Why wouldn't I remember?" He looked confused as he lifted a slice and set it on a napkin then slid it in front of her, then served himself.

  "Why do you do that?" Mariah tilted her head to one side and watched him a moment.

  "Do what?"

  "Always make sure I have food before you do."

  He frowned and looked at the food on the table then up at her. That's when it dawned on her, it wasn't an unhappy frown but a confused one, as if he didn't get what she meant.

  "I'm taking care of you," he said it as if it was obvious. "It doesn't matter if it's feeding you, making sure you get enough rest when you need it, whatever. I like taking care of you, it's my way of showing you how much I care about you." He lifted one shoulder in a half-way shrug as he sat down, tore open a packet of red pepper flakes and sprinkled them on top of his pie.

  Mariah sat staring at him for several seconds before she realized her food was getting cold. Hmm. Doing things for her to show how much he cared. It was a concept she'd not thought much about until now. She thought back to her childhood while she ate, trying to remember if either of her parents did things like that, but couldn't remember anything. She did remember them touching all the time. Small touches, large touches, holding hands while they walked down the street. They finished eating, Levi took a shower and they went to bed. They still had a good chunk of the drive ahead of them and they both wanted a good night's rest.

  Chapter 37

  Levi pulled the pickup into the yard late in the afternoon a week after he'd left. He was tired of being stuck in the seat of the truck and his body ached from lack of activity, still they'd managed to get everything done to move Mariah onto the ranch and he couldn't complain about that. He scanned the yard and thought about what needed to be done first. They needed to unload the truck, and at least enough boxes out of her car so he could back it off the dolly. That would have to be returned to the rental agency in the morning. He'd deliberately found a company with an office not too far from the ranch.

  "I'm so glad to be home." Mariah stood beside him, stretching as she let her gaze caress the familiar landscape of Levi's ranch.

  Hearing her call it home sent a surge of happiness through him. "Me too." He wanted to ask her now, but he wasn't sure if the time was right. What if it was too soon? Hell, they'd only known each other a couple weeks, of course it was too soon. But he didn't want to wait. He didn't want to give her a chance to find someone else.

  "Might as well get started. We've got a lot to do." She turned and headed to the car, opened a door and lifted a box out.

  "There's always a lot to do around here." He followed, taking a box of his own and taking it inside. "Let's stack these in the bedroom I gave you to start, they'll be out of the way but still close enough for you to unpack when you're ready."

  "If you say so." She headed for the bedroom and dropped her box against one wall.

  "I'll make sure you have closet space tomorrow, so you can start settling in." Levi headed back out for another box.

  * * *

  Two hours later he'd backed the Miata off the car dolly, they'd unloaded everything, and all that was left was to return the dolly and figure out where it would all go. Levi had spoken with Lewis, Billy and the rest of his staff and made sure everything had gone smoothly in his absence, that everything that needed his attention was taken care of and now he sat on the front porch swing, Mariah by his side as they watched the sun set over the mountain peaks.

  "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She turned to glance at him.

  "It is, but I can think of something that would make it better."

  "What?"

  "Knowing you're mine forever. Maybe even a couple kids running around while we sit here and watch the sun set." He pulled out the ring he'd dropped in the breast pocket of his shirt after he'd retrieved it from the dresser where he'd hidden it several years earlier when his grandmother had given it to him. "Mariah, will you marry me?" His heart thundered in his chest as he waited for her answer.

  Mariah stared at the ring in his hand for several seconds before looking up at him with tear filled eyes. His heart froze. She was going to say no.

  "Yes. I love you so much. But I knew it was too soon to hope for more." She took a deep breath that sounded suspiciously like a sob. "I don't know how it happened so fast, but I've fallen hopelessly in love with you."

  "You captured my heart when you didn't let something as small as a twisted ankle stop you." He s
miled and slipped the ring on her finger. "It's a little big but we'll have it resized."

  "Where did you get it?" She looked at him as if she wondered when he'd had time to shop.

  "I've had it for a while. It's my grandmother's ring." He took a deep breath. "We can get you something else if you like."

  "No, it's perfect. It fits, not just the ranch and life here, but it's perfect for how I feel about you." She tilted her head back and Levi couldn't resist.

  He lowered his head and covered her lips in a soft, happy kiss, unable to resist. She'd just made him the happiest man in Hawthorne.

  Thank you for reading The Cowboy Way.

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