Page 137 of Cautious Love

Lawrence chuckles. “No problem, take care of that. I’ll let you know if we hear anything.”

I grab my hat, dropping it on my head, and shake his hand.

For being such a small town, there’s always something going on in Paxton.

I yawn walking through the front door, so tired I don’t even know if I want to eat. We had a dispute with two neighboring ranches on whose cattle was whom’s. That’s normally what my job looks like. I’m the Sheriff, a mediator, and livestock enforcement.

It was quiet at Kensington Ranch. No chatter at all on the wiretap. No unusual activity on the ranch itself, from what we could see. That either means they don’t know or they’re on lockdown. Either way, the dominoes have started falling, and the next step is to wait. If we move too fast, that puts Will in an even worse position. He needs time to get out.

Shiloh is banging around in the kitchen as I walk through the laundry room and set Dozer on his feet.

He runs right up to her, and she smiles, picking him up and nuzzling their noses together. “Hi, baby, did you have a fun day with daddy?” she asks him.

He wiggles in her hands and she sets him down, then stands and glares at me over her shoulder.

Who knew telling your wife you love her could make her this angry?

I come up behind her setting my hands on her hips and kiss her cheek. She’s not stiff under my touch. I’ll take that as a good sign. “I’m going to grab a shower and then we’re going to talk because I don’t know about you, but I can’t keep going like this.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she says with her back to me.

I huff and pat her behind. “Alright, Shy.”

After my shower, I walk past my dresser and pause, staring at the gold ring I bought when we got married. I took it off that because I didn’t want the questions.

I slide it onto my finger and the cold metal shocks me a bit, but the weight feels right.I should have put it back on a while ago.

When I walk back into the kitchen freshly showered, she’s not in there or the living room. A couple of pots are covered. I’m assuming dinner is done. When I look out the back window, she’s running around with Dozer in the backyard.

She laughs going slower than she needs to, letting the dog catch up to her. He leaps onto her calf and she pretends to fall while he yips and licks her face.

I smile at the whole display. She’s wearing those cut-off shorts she knows do things to me and a sweatshirt two sizes too big for her.

Today was unseasonably warm, but the temperatures are supposed to drop again. These sunny and warm fall days arevirtually a thing of the past, and it makes me wonder if what Shy and I have might be too. That’s what hurts the most. It’s not necessarily about her saying the words back, but the cold shoulder, thefearin her eyes isn’t what I expected. I know we’re already married, but it’s not like I asked her to marry me for real … yet. I was planning on it, but saying I love you is part of it.

Grabbing a beer, I go back to the puzzle I started. It’s half-done, and I’m still working on the white pieces.

The back door opens, she and the dog scramble through. “Dinner is ready. I was waiting for you to get out of the shower.”

I stand and grab my beer. My ring clinks against the glass.

Her gaze drops to my hand on the bottle. Something passes through her eyes, then gets two plates for our food. I ordered a bunch of dishes to replace the ones that were broken. At least the front window is in, but the flooring has to wait since it was special order.

She scoops rice and orange chicken onto the plates and I take mine from her. She’s not a waitress in this house.

We sit at the table eating in silence. Normally, the quiet doesn’t bother me. But this time it feels like a cheese grater on my skin. I keep sneaking glances at her, but she won’t look at me.

“Thanks for making dinner, I appreciate it.”

She lifts a shoulder, looking anywhere but at me.

“So, how was your day?” I ask her.

She gives me a deadpan look, and I bristle.

“Mine was busy. The station loved the dog.”

She nods and pokes at her half-eaten food.