Must Love Cowboys

Read Must Love Cowboys for Free Online

Book: Read Must Love Cowboys for Free Online
Authors: Cheryl Brooks
fixed my computer.”
    The trace of awe in his tone was something I’d heard many times before. The way computers worked was like magic to a lot of people. Being able to fix them made me a magician by default, although it was never that easy. If only I could banish viruses with a wave of my wand and a shout of “ Expelliarmo Virioso !” But then, I’d never received an acceptance letter from Hogwarts.
    â€œThat was nice of her,” Calvin said. “Got her room ready?”
    â€œYep,” Sonny replied. “Clean as a whistle. We’re just on our way out to bring in her stuff.”
    I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke as Calvin sat down in a nearby chair, coughing until he was visibly winded.
    â€œYou’ve gotta quit that nasty habit, old man,” Dean advised him. “Those smokes are gonna kill you.”
    â€œWe’re all gonna die someday,” Calvin said. “Just a question of when.”
    My grandfather had shared that same attitude. Although he’d never explained it to me, I’d heard somewhere that the most valiant soldiers were those who considered themselves dead even before they went into battle. At first, that mind-set seemed rather fatalistic. But if you had to rationalize risking your life to save the lives of others, what better way to do it than to deem it already lost?
    What I didn’t understand was why that outlook persisted even after the war had ended. Was it because they’d convinced themselves of their death to the point they couldn’t cope with survival? Grandpa had never listened to his doctors and only took his meds when I insisted. Perhaps he’d believed it pointless to try to save a man who was already dead and buried.
    Shaking off my morbid thoughts had become increasingly difficult of late, and today was no different. I’d been on such a roller coaster of emotions. One minute I was up, thankful that Grandpa’s suffering was finally over. The next, I was down, wondering how his life would have turned out if he’d been born on a different day and never been drafted into the Army.
    In that moment, fatigue slammed into me like a runaway train, not creeping up on me the way it normally did. I was thankful for the bed I’d been offered, although truth be told, I would have been perfectly content to sleep in my car.
    Ophelia nudged my hand. No doubt she was as tired as I was. This was the letdown after the taut wire I’d been stretched into finally snapped now that my tasks were complete. Silly. I was young enough to be able to handle the physical strain. It was the mental part that was sapping my strength.
    â€œWanna watch a movie?” Dean asked.
    I stifled a yawn. “Sure. Although I’ll probably nod off before it’s over.”
    What kind of movies would cowboys enjoy? Probably not Westerns. Like any romanticized group of people, their lives were nothing like those depicted on the silver screen. I knew the feeling. I had to laugh at the way computer geeks on TV instantaneously hacked into someone else’s machine when in reality it was a fairly time-consuming process. The one thing the screenwriters did get right was the lack of romantic liaisons among geeks.
    And then there was Wyatt’s firefighter thing. I could think of at least one popular series he certainly wouldn’t want to watch. I couldn’t help wondering what the deal was with that, although I had an idea it was destined to remain one of life’s great unsolved mysteries.
    I rose from my chair. “Ophelia needs to go out.” To be honest, so did I. I hoped the foreman’s quarters included a private bathroom or this arrangement would end right quick.
    â€œYou can show us what you want us to bring in for you.” Dean nodded at Nick. “C’mon, Nick. Let’s go get her stuff.”
    â€œHold on a second.” I darted a look between the two men. “This is voluntary, right? If I have to

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