“Blake,” I hissed.

Holding his hands up, he backed away. “I’m done. That’s all I wanted to say.”

“No, he’s right,” my father agreed. “I know you won’t forgive me now, but I hope in time you’ll understand my reasoning. You’re all I have left in this world. When Tristan told me he was responsible for all the threats, I felt like a fool. I played right into his hands.”

I gasped. “What all did he tell you?”

He reached for my hand and I let him take it. “Everything. He said he was going to have me killed as soon as you left for Ireland. When I arrived at the house, I could feel that something wasn’t right, especially when they wouldn’t let me see you. I tried to find you and that’s when everything went blurry.”

“They drugged you just like they drugged me. Connor was the one who told me everything,” I revealed.

“Where is he?” he asked.

I glanced back at Blake and he nodded. “Connor’s dead, Dad. Just like everyone else who was involved.”

“He never hurt you did he?”

“No,” I gasped. “Connor was actually one of the good guys. He might have been on the bad side, but he protected me.”

“So what happens now?” he murmured, squeezing my hand. “Do you think you can forgive me?”

Tears fell down my cheeks. I was still angry at him for what he did, but he was my father. I loved him more than anything. “On one condition.” He lifted his brows in response. “I want you to let me live my life. No more finding me bodyguards, or trying to make decisions for me. All of that is done. If someone calls threatening my life, you tell them to eat a dick.” Blake snorted and my father chuckled. “What I’m saying is, I’m going to live my life the way I want to live it. No more interference. Can you do that?”

Closing his eyes, he nodded. “I promise.”

“There’s one other thing,” Blake interrupted. My father and I both focused our attention on him. “Our stories need to be straight. If word gets out about your involvement with the mafia, you could face jail time. For the sake of Hadley, and your reputation, you need to say you had no part in it.”

My father blew out a nervous breath. “I can do that. Do you think I can get away with it?”

Blake’s gaze narrowed. “Maybe, as long as you keep your word to Hadley. Pull any of this shit again and I’ll make sure it comes back to bite you on the ass.”

“Is he always this brash?” my father asked me.

Giggling, I looked up at Blake and smiled. “Always, but that’s one of the reasons I love him.”

Hadley

Two Weeks Later

“Hi everyone, and welcome to The Helen Carpenter Show,” Helen announced to the audience. Helen Carpenter was not only a TV host, but an actress as well. She was in her early forties with short blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and had a love for designer pant suits. Her show was the most popular one on TV and Felicity thought it’d be the perfect place to make a comeback. Helen took the seat beside me, her eyes wide and full of excitement. “I have to say Miss Rivers, I’m honored you agreed to be on the show after everything that’s happened. It’s your first appearance since then, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I agreed. “But I love your show. When you asked me, I couldn’t possibly turn down the chance.”

She winked at me and smiled. “Well, I appreciate that, and I’m sure our audience does as well. I know we don’t want to spend the whole show talking about what happened, but I have to know, was it scary?”

“Oh my goodness, yes,” I explained. “Everyone thought I was dead. Who in the world is going to go searching for someone who’s supposed to be dead?”

“Obviously someone did. I heard you met him when you were in protective custody. Why don’t you tell me about that?”

I burst out laughing. “Yes, that was interesting. Let me tell you, I hated him when we first met. He was nothing but a dirty cowboy who liked to give me a hard time.” Blake shook his head and grinned when I glanced at him behind the stage.

“What all did he do?” Helen asked. From the get go, I knew they wanted to know about my relationship with Blake. He was still a mystery to them.

“For starters, he made me clean the horse stalls in his barn,” I told the crowd.

They all laughed, oohing and aahing as I continued to discuss Blake, and my entire stay on his ranch. Their favorite part was when I’d brought up the boots.

“That’s right folks,” Helen exclaimed excitedly. “While I was backstage with Hadley, she showed me some pictures she took. Apparently, her new beau is trying to start a new trend. Why don’t we take a look at this?” She nodded at one of the TV producers and then a picture popped up on the screen. It was of Blake in his Mexican pointy boots. The crowd burst into laughter and a ton of them whistled. Blake’s mouth dropped when he saw it.

“Ladies, look at that handsome stud. Much different than the clean cut Blake we’ve seen the past couple of weeks,” Helen said. Another picture popped up of him in a suit, from when we were walking into a restaurant for dinner.

Blake chuckled when more of the ladies started whistling at his picture. “I have to say, I miss his cowboy hat and jeans.”

“What is with those boots though?” The picture bounced back to the one with him in the boots.

“He lost a bet. I picked them out myself.”

“Very nice,” she laughed. “So what are your plans now that you’re alive?”

Taking a deep breath, I smiled at the crowd. “I plan on singing again, but I’ll also be making some changes in my life. And one of those changes, will happen right here on this show today.” My heart started to race; especially when I looked over at Blake. He had no clue what was going on.

Felicity disappeared and then walked out onto the stage, carrying the guitar Blake gave me. His eyes went wide when he realized what was going on. “Knock ‘em dead,” she whispered, passing me the guitar.

I pulled the strap over my shoulder. “Thanks.”

Helen sat back in her chair. “So are you ready to tell the audience what the surprise is?” she asked.

The crowd had given me their undivided attention, including Blake. I was nervous as hell, but I was ready. If there was anything I learned over the past couple of months, it was to get over my fears. Today was the perfect day to start.

I took a deep breath and turned my body toward the crowd. “For years, I’ve performed in front of thousands of people, in different cities across the country, but never have I gotten on stage and sang something new. The song I will sing today is something I wrote a couple of months ago. It’s about a very special person in my life. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Strumming my fingers down the strings, I glanced over his way. “It’s called My Gray-Eyed Cowboy.” Felicity jumped up and down and grabbed his arm, but he didn’t even notice her pulling on him. Drawing in a deep breath, I blew it out slowly and began. Music always came so easy to me, it was part of my soul. I wanted to look out at the crowd, but I couldn’t take my eyes away from Blake.

He loves me, he loves me not.

Oh, how I wish I knew.

We haven’t known each other long,

But when I’m with him,

I feel like I belong.

He loves me, he loves me not.

My gray-eyed cowboy, I want to know. (Please tell me)

Your heart may never be tamed,

But I am not afraid.

Will you love me if I leave, will you love me if I stay.

Dear gray-eyed cowboy, please show me the way.

Time has passed, a new life upon us.