I’d been trying so hard to put her at ease this last month in the office. I always kept the door open when she and I were in the same room, never moved in too close even though I ached to be near her. I’d maintained the perfect, courteous gentlemanly demeanor. But it was clear that despite my best efforts, she was still nervous around me. I just hadn’t had an opportunity to prove I wasn’t that guy. But Bob? He was totally that guy. The fucker.
I would have given up the ranch and all my savings for a chance to go back to that day at the rodeo and do it all over again, listened to the voice of reason that had said “this woman is no buckle bunny.” I’d give her a chance to explain who she was and what she was doing there before leaping to stupid conclusions. To keep her away from the other ho
