Home on the Ranch: Rodeo Legend

by Pamela Britton

  Just smile and be polite. Just because your daughter’s trying to be a matchmaker doesn’t mean you have to go along with her plans.

  “Hey, there,” she heard him say from down the hall. “And look at Balto. I can’t believe how much he’s grown.”

  “Do you think so?” she heard Bella say, the two voices getting closer. “I know he’s getting heavier, but I wasn’t sure if he’s any bigger.”

  Brace yourself.

  “For sure he is,” he said, coming into the kitchen.

  And the damn man hadn’t changed out of his work clothes, which meant he smelled like outdoors and horses and some kind of masculine cologne that reminded her of a forest, and it was all she could do not to gawk. Why couldn’t he be wearing a baggy T-shirt and pants? And how in the heck did he get such a tight shirt over his splint? And why the heck was she so irritated he hadn’t changed when the man had to go back to work after lunch?

  “Wow.” His eyes swept to the oven beneath the cooktop where she’d just put the mac and cheese. “It smells amazing in here.”

  The flush of feminine pride made the tips of her ears go hot. “Thanks.”

  “Wait until you taste it,” Bella said. Balto clattered around at her feet, his big brown eyes trained on the girl he already loved. “It’s sooo good. My mom is an amazing cook.”

  “Really?” he asked with a lift of his eyebrows, his cowboy hat shifting upward, too. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “She can sew, too. Not just with a needle and thread and stuff, but with a sewing machine and everything. She makes me a Halloween costume every year.”

  Ava’s pleasure faded. It was so patently obvious what Bella was doing. Her cheeks were probably the same color as the rose petals in the stained-glass window in the family room. Probably glowed like them, too.

  Carson’s lips twitched before he said, “Sounds like she’s a regular Betty Crocker.” Clearly he knew what Bella was up to and he wasn’t upset by it. If anything, he seemed benevolent about the whole thing. Like someone who was in on a joke, but only laughed because he was expected to. He probably had women fall at his feet all the time. Not here, though. Nope. Wasn’t going to happen.

  “She’s really smart, too. But you probably already knew that. Graduated at the top of her class. She had her pick of jobs when she became a doctor, but she chose here so we could live in the country.”

  “Okay, that’s enough.” Ava hoped like heck he didn’t think she’d put Bella up to this. “I’m sure Carson is tired of hearing all about me.”

  “No, it’s okay.”

  It was definitely not okay and he knew it. He was just being polite, something her daughter would understand when she was older.

  “I’m going to run up and go do homework.”

  Ava couldn’t keep the surprise off her face. “What homework?”

  “Just some math.” Bella patted her leg. “Come on, Balto.”

  And now she’d left them alone. Ava wanted to close her eyes.

  “So should I ask you to marry me right now or what?”

  She wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. “I’m so sorry.”

  He took a step closer to her and there it went again. Her heart, it just thumpity-thump-thumped in her chest. Why did it always do that when he stood so near?

  “Don’t be,” he said. “I think it’s cute.”

  “I should go have a talk with her.”

  “No, it’s okay.” He almost looked flattered. “Don’t spoil her fun.”

  “We can’t encourage her, though,” she said quickly. “No matter what she might think, technically, you’re still my patient.”

  He stared at her a long time and Ava grew more and more warm the longer she held his stare. Lord have mercy on her soul, something about the man made her feel like a teenager all over again.

  “Oh, hey. Before I forget. I’ve got something for you.” He left the kitchen and she damn near clutched the counter for support. This was getting out of hand.

  “What do you think?” he said a moment later, dragging in with one arm...

  A rocking chair?

  He stopped in the middle of the kitchen. “When I was over here the other day, I noticed your family room was kind of barren.”

  Yes, it was. “It’s a big house.” And she never seemed to have time to go furniture shopping.

  “I know. But I had this lying around. I made it for someone but they never paid me for it, so I started to think you could probably use it more than me. I remembered you telling me Bella had nightmares and I thought it’d be perfect for when she’s upset. You know, to rock her to sleep and what not.”

  She stared at him mutely. It was probably the sweetest gift anyone had ever given her. Her heart pounded as she fought to hold back emotions.

  “Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “No big deal. I’ll put it in the family room for now.”

  A rocking chair. What kind of man gave a woman a rocking chair?

  She shook her head, turned back to the kitchen and cleaning up, and to her surprise she felt her eyes begin to burn. It’d been so long since a man had done something nice for her.

  So very, very long.

  She felt more than saw him return. He was probably leaning against the counter like some kind of cowboy pin-up guy. Unfortunately her kitchen wasn’t terribly big. Her Realtor had told her that was to be expected in older homes when kitchens were for servants, not families. It had never bothered her before...until now.

  “Do you need any help?” he asked.

  She stuffed the pot she’d just washed into the dishwasher. “No, no. Just sit down. We’ll be eating in less than a half hour.”

  He didn’t move. She forced herself to face him.

  “You know, it’s okay to let me help.”

  She didn’t think it was possible for skin to feel as if it were burning, as in literally on fire, but that sure was what it felt like.

  “I know.” She shrugged. “I’m just used to doing things on my own.”

  He moved toward her. She told herself not to move even though she wanted to press back against the counter.

  “Why is that?” He took another step closer. “Why don’t you have someone in your life?”

  You are a grown woman, Ava. You don’t need to be intimidated by him.

  “Because the older you get, the less you believe in fairy tales.”

  He stopped right in front of her. “That’s so sad.”

  “It’s reality.”

  “Don’t you ever wonder what it might be like to forget the real world for a little while and to just let go?”

  No. She worked in a vocation where things were often black-and-white, life-and-death. She couldn’t afford the luxury of a fantasy life.

  Liar.

  She’d fantasized about him. Right after they’d had coffee, she’d had a dream. A good one. It’d woken her up in the middle of the night and then immediately filled her with embarrassment.

  She tipped her chin up. “I’m a little more grounded than that.”

  “That’s sad, too.”

  She started to shake her head. A hand brushed her jawline. She gasped.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I don’t know,” he said softly. “I keep telling myself to stay away from you, but here I am.”

  She gulped. “I feel the same way.”

  “And the craziest thing of all is I want to kiss you right now.”

  Yes. She wanted that, too. It must have been that damn chair. It’d weakened her resolve.

  “You’re my patient.” It was all she could think to say.

  “Then maybe you could fix my broken heart.”

  His broken heart? He’d had his heart broken? When?

  But he didn’t bend down. Didn’t move. Didn’t do anythi
ng but stare into her eyes, and she knew he was waiting for her to move away. He was giving her an out...if she wanted it. But it was time to admit she didn’t want an out. She wanted him no matter how crazy it was and how unprofessional and how much she worried that this might lead to a place she didn’t want to go. He smelled so good. And he was so damn good-looking. So when he slowly bent down, she closed her eyes.

  His lips touched her own.

  She went limp. She wanted so much more than a kiss from him. She wanted his hands and his body and his touch and his kisses. All of it. Something she hadn’t had in so, so long.

  He tipped his head sideways and she did, too, and when he increased the pressure she opened her mouth and thought she might fall to the floor. His left arm wrapped around her, pulling her close to him, his tongue testing the feel of her lips before slipping between them. And it was heaven, just heaven. She felt his left hand touch her side, a part of her careful not to move because she wouldn’t want to hurt him.

  At least, that was what she told herself.

  She groaned. He might have moaned, too, but all too quickly he let her go.

  She turned her back to him, rested her hands against the kitchen counter, tried to get her bearings.

  Dear goodness.

  “Wow,” he said.

  Yes, wow.

  “If I’d known it would be like that, I would have kissed you days ago.”

  He’d wanted to kiss her days ago?

  She whipped around, rested her backside against the countertop. “We can’t do that again.”

  “I know.”

  He knew?

  “I know you would never date a man like me.”

  Date a man like him? What did he mean? She examined his eyes, surprised to see disappointment in his own gaze.

  A man like him. A man like Paul. Someone who had rocked her world and swept her off her feet before she’d had time to think. But she couldn’t afford to not think about things now. She had Bella. And a career. And, God help her, a life she’d carved out for herself with hard work and determination. A man like Carson was the last thing she needed. Someone who flitted from rodeo to rodeo. Who seemed to live life by the seat of his pants. Dear goodness, he still lived at home.

  “This has nothing to do with what kind of man you are.”

  Liar. It had everything to do with that. “Let’s just forget this ever happened.”

  The oven dinged. Saved by the bell.

  Chapter 11

  He’d kissed her. Why the hell had he kissed her? And then to go and whine about how he wasn’t her kind of man, like he was some kind of insecure idiot low on self-esteem. Humiliating.

  “Lunch ready?” Bella said, breezing into the room.

  “It is,” Ava said brightly. Too brightly.

  Bella skidded to a stop. “What happened?”

  He found himself glancing at Ava. She refused to meet his gaze. “Nothing.” She waved her daughter to the table. “Let’s sit down and eat. That way, Carson can be on his way. I’m sure he has lots of work to do this afternoon.”

  He did. If it wouldn’t have been rude, he would have seized that excuse and left right now.

  “I never did see your model horses.”

  Bella brightened. “You didn’t. Mom, can I take him upstairs and show him real quick?”

  Ava couldn’t have looked more relieved. “Sure. That’ll give the mac and cheese time to cool.”

  They were barely out of earshot, heading upstairs, when Bella said, “Okay, what did you do?”

  He damn near missed a step.

  “She has the same look on her face as when I forget to take out the garbage.”

  He clutched the rail with his good hand. “I gave her a rocking chair.”

  It wasn’t exactly a lie and it served its purpose. Bella stopped on the stairs. He’d climbed a few before he realized it then stopped and stared down at her.

  “You gave her a rocking chair?”

  He shrugged. Honestly, he had no idea why he’d done it. He’d just seen it sitting in his workshop the other day and thought, Why not?

  Why not, indeed. The look on her face. It’d done something to his insides.

  “I think my gift took her by surprise.”

  That was true, too, and Bella seemed to accept it as a reasonable explanation for what had happened.

  He took his time looking at the horses in Bella’s collection. It gave him time to compose himself. Ava, too, by the looks of it. When they entered the kitchen again she had a smile on her face.

  “Ready to eat?”

  A phone rang.

  Bella froze. So did he. Ava dashed for the phone on the counter, a look of dismay on her face.

  “It’s the ER,” she said just before she picked up. “Dr. Moore.”

  They both watched her listen to the caller.

  “There goes lunch,” Bella muttered.

  Was that what happened around here? One ring of the phone and off they went?

  “I’ll be right in.”

  When Ava turned to face them, Bella’s shoulders slumped. “I’ll go get my backpack.”

  “I need to go change,” Ava told him.

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  Ava shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

  No, she wasn’t. She was grateful for the interruption. Work had called her in and it was all the excuse she needed to dash off.

  “Does Bella go into work with you?”

  She shook her head, placing a hand on Bella’s shoulders. “I have an older woman who watches her on days like today.”

  “But she hasn’t eaten.”

  “I’ll pack her some of the mac and cheese to go. And for you.”

  Bella stared at the floor, her happy smile gone now, disappointment dulling her eyes.

  “Look.” Carson told himself to leave it alone, to just leave, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from saying “Why don’t you let me take her back to the ranch? She can help me muck stalls since I’m a little handicapped right now. You could swing by and pick her up afterward.”

  “Oh, Mom! Can I?”

  The way Bella’s face brightened... Well, it made his discomfort with the idea fade. He couldn’t imagine having to go to the babysitter’s all the time while your mom went off to work. It must be tough.

  “You know how much I hate staying with Mrs. Crenshaw,” Bella added.

  Yes, her mom did know, Carson could see it on Ava’s face. She couldn’t hide her guilt even though he suspected she tried.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Pleeezzz,” Bella begged. “Mrs. Crenshaw doesn’t even have internet.”

  Ava nibbled her bottom lip. She glanced at her daughter then at him. “You sure it won’t be a problem?”

  “Not at all. Heck, it might even be good for her. A little hard labor never harmed a kid.”

  It must have reminded her of their conversation about Bella’s sleeping issues, and it broke through the last brick of her resistance.

  “Okay.” Ava looked into Bella’s pleading eyes and nodded. “Fine. But if there’s a problem with having her there, you have to promise to let me know.”

  “It won’t be a problem.” He tried to tell her with his eyes to let him help her out. That it was okay to depend on him for something.

  You don’t have to do this alone, he reminded her with his eyes.

  Yes, I do, she silently answered back. Not this. Watching Bella, she would allow him to do, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that anything more than that would never happen again.

  He turned away before she could see his disappointment.

  Chapter 12

  She was exhausted. Ava leaned against the counter in the staff kitchen and wondered how she’d be able to drive home. Not just one trauma patient had greeted
her at the hospital, but six—all victims of a car crash. Two from one vehicle. Four from another. She’d had to call Carson and explain that it might be a late night. He’d reassured her that it was no problem. Bella had befriended his aunt and uncle and they were only too happy to let her spend the night there. Bella had been ecstatic at the thought of waking up and having horses within walking distance.

  So she’d gone to work on an open compound fracture that’d nicked the femoral artery. A shattered foot that she feared would never be the same. Two other compound fractures that, thankfully, hadn’t ruptured through the skin. Not open, but still required setting and one of them pins. Some other broken bones, ribs, a cracked vertebra. Worse, three of her patients had been children. Damn drunk drivers.

  “Oh, there you are.”

  Ava looked up. Nurse Diaz greeted her with a smile.

  “You have a surprise visitor.” She pointed over her shoulder to the fluorescent-lit hallway beyond. “Something about your daughter insisting he bring you dinner.”

  Carson. Doing Bella’s bidding, no doubt. It didn’t surprise her. She’d have to put the kibosh on Bella’s silly schoolgirl fantasies about the two of them hitting it off. Tonight was proof of why things would never work out between them. Two people constantly being pulled apart by their commitment to their careers would never work. Geez, the only reason he was in town tonight was thanks to his injury. What about later?

  Nope. Wasn’t going to happen.

  “Tell him I’ll be right there.”

  The nurse nodded, and her purple scrubs with yellow smiley faces should have made Ava smile. She could barely summon the energy to do more than lift a hand in thanks. She had no idea how she’d summoned the energy to change into her street clothes. What a blessing Carson had taken Bella, though. That, she wouldn’t deny. She would have hated to pick her up at this late hour. Poor kid had to put up with so much being her daughter. Perhaps that was why Ava spoiled her so much. Guilt.

  For some reason the sight of Carson sitting in the waiting area wearing a fancy black shirt and a matching cowboy hat made her stumble a bit. He’d changed. Maybe shaved, too. It drew her up short.