Page 43 of A Cowboy to Call Her Own

“So, you came home, rather than reset in the city,” he said, his words casual.

She nodded. “The city is his place, not mine.”

Asher wanted to argue. The city was a place of opportunity. There was room for Kelley. With him. It could be their place, too. Now Asher sounded like he wanted a relationship. With her. Coming home certainly turned him around in more ways than one. Nothing he couldn’t straighten out once his boots hit the hard pavement alone like he preferred. Frowning, Asher worked the brush over Pride’s back.

“My ex-husband is thriving in New York,” she stated, her words flat and indifferent. “He is with an investment company that is more interested in profit margins than culinary experiences for their group of restaurants. From what I’ve heard, he is making quite the name for himself and surpassing their expectations.”

Asher was not all that interested in her ex-husband’s achievements. It was his cowgirl who fascinated him. He asked, “What do you want to do now?”

“I want to do something that matters. That has an impact.” She paused and shifted to look around Pride’s head. She met Asher’s gaze. “You’re going to tell me that’s what everyone wants.”

He finished brushing Pride’s tail and gave her his own truth. “That was not what I wanted when I moved to New York permanently.”

“What did you want?” She searched his face.

He considered her, considered even more keeping the next truth to himself. But it was best if she understood exactly the kind of cowboy he was. Driven. Singularly focused. Selfish and emotionally unavailable. Those were only a few of the things his ex-girlfriends accused him of. He said, “I only wanted to prove my father wrong.”

“And have you?” she asked tentatively, then more boldly. “Have you proven your dad wrong?”

“He’s not here to ask so you’ll have to tell me.” Asher dropped the comb into the grooming bucket and reached for the halter and lead rope hanging from a hook on the wall. “My father warned me I would never become anything without the Blackwell name and his stables to lean on.”

“So, you went to New York where the Blackwell name carries no weight and became successful on your own terms,” she said, approval clear in her tone. Her grin was playful, her mood light. “It is safe for me to assume you are successful, aren’t you?”

His chuckle was short and abrupt. “According to the partners at the investment firm, I’m the best they’ve got.” That was not by accident. It came from hard work and an uncompromising resolve. “According to the articles written about me, I’m at the top of my financial game.” Where he had fought to be.

Her eyebrows winged up.

He held her gaze and said, “If financial security for myself, my family and future generations is a criterion, I have that, too.”

Because it was not enough to prove Walter wrong. It was about standing as his father’s equal and providing for himself and his own, rendering his father’s so-called goodwill unnecessary.

“Impressive,” Kelley murmured. “I would have to say you achieved your goal.”

“I’m not even sure it matters now.” The words slipped out before he could stop them and yet he continued to spill his truths, “Dylan isn’t here. Walter is gone, too.” As was the reason Asher pushed himself. He never wanted to give his dad a reason to tell him that he should have—or could have—accomplished more. Now Asher was more alone and more restless than ever.

“What is next for you?” Kelley asked.

Asher slipped the halter on Pride’s head and paused to give the colt a moment to adjust. He said, “When I finish up here, it’s back to the city and my job.” Where he would certainly find his new reason to keep moving forward like always. He took hold of the lead rope. “Right now, it’s time to get Pride someplace he can run like he’s meant to.”

“You look like you have a place in mind.” Kelley opened the stall door.

“There’s a trio of retirees out in the farthest pasture,” Asher said, then guided Pride from the stable and straight outside into the evening. “They’ll teach Pride how to be a horse again.”

Kelley walked beside them and smiled. “I like that idea. Pride has earned the freedom to enjoy himself.”

Asher could not deny he was enjoying himself. It was a far cry from his fast-paced days of back-to-back meetings, conference calls and heated negotiations where he chased improved bottom lines, and business came before all else.

The night air was cool, and the hum of nature surrounded them. And for the first time in a long while, Asher was content in the silence.

It was just a cowboy, a cowgirl and a horse.

Suddenly, Asher wondered what more he could ever want.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It was confirmed. Asher was headed back to the city. Back to the job and life he had there. As it should be.

The only missing piece was when. When exactly would Kelley have to tell her cowboy goodbye for good? That was as it should be as well. After all, Kelley had known there would be an end from the beginning.