A Cowboy's Kiss

by Trish Milburn

  “What makes her think that?”

  “Something about how Anna looked at you yesterday. It’s one of those female intuition things. Don’t ask me to explain it.”

  Roman laughed. “They should have a class on that in med school, but they don’t.”

  “Women can be complex, but when you find the right one you don’t even mind.”

  Roman thought about what Justin had said all the way back to Livingston. When he walked into his house, it hit him how quiet it was, how empty compared to the homey feel of Anna’s. As he dropped his bag, he wanted nothing more than to return to his truck and drive right back to Logan Springs, confess his feelings to Anna, and hope she reciprocated.

  But common sense told him not to blow what might be his only chance. Though it might feel like torture, he had to take things slowly.

  *

  It came as no surprise that Paige was waiting for her with an expectant look on her face when Anna arrived at the library the next morning.

  “So?”

  Paige didn’t have to say anything else for Anna to know what she was asking.

  “We binge watched the first season of Longmire.”

  Paige continued to stare. “And?”

  “We ate popcorn.”

  “You…are…killing…me.”

  Anna couldn’t help grinning. “Good. You’re nosy.”

  “Come on, was there any kissing involved?”

  Anna tossed her purse in her desk drawer and looked up at Paige. “Honestly, why would there be any kissing? Do you go around kissing your friends?”

  “I would if they looked like Roman McQueen.”

  Anna winced as she glanced past Paige into the main part of the library. She did not need the gossip to start churning.

  “Roman and I are friends, nothing more.” Right?

  Paige sighed. “Well, that’s disappointing. You two would make beautiful babies.”

  Anna dropped into her chair. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, but you need to stop.”

  “Do you not like him?”

  “Of course I like him. Who wouldn’t?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Paige, I love you, but you need to drop it. There is no world in which Roman and I would work as a couple.” It felt like a lie on her tongue, and yet it felt safer to retreat into that mindset.

  “That’s your grandmother talking.”

  “She’s not totally wrong.”

  “She’s completely full of crap.”

  Before Anna could recover from the forcefulness of Paige’s words and respond, a patron required her friend’s help at the front desk.

  Anna tried to bury herself in work, but between pondering what Paige had said, her own fears about misreading Roman’s interest, and a steady stream of well-wishers welcoming her back to the library, she got pitiful little done on her first day back.

  The one good thing was that she wasn’t totally exhausted as the end of the workday approached.

  Her phone dinged and she absentmindedly picked it up. Her heart rate sped up when she saw it was a text from Roman, and she looked out her open office door as if somehow Paige would be able to tell.

  One of the nurses in the office is selling her car. What do you think?

  He attached a photo of a cute little silver crossover.

  She’s moving to New York and doesn’t need a car anymore, he continued.

  It looks nice, but I can’t buy a car yet.

  It’s a good price, and Justin had all the proceeds from the trail ride deposited in your account this morning.

  He had? She thought about the bills stacking up and the ones that hadn’t yet landed in her mailbox. The truth was she might need a second job to pay them off, and for that she might very well need a car.

  And in order to go look at this possibility, she was going to have to make peace with Paige and ask for a ride.

  Melody is coming through Livingston to go to the airport in about an hour. You can catch a ride with her.

  What if I don’t buy the car?

  Then I’ll take you home.

  I don’t want you to have to do that.

  You worry too much.

  She really did need a car, even if the thought of getting back behind the wheel made her stomach churn. And if she was being honest with herself, she wanted to see him again. Still, she stared at the screen of her phone before managing to reply with a simple OK.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  She looked up to see Paige had entered the office at some point.

  “No. I just don’t like to be pushed out of my comfort zone.”

  “I’m sorry if this weekend was really uncomfortable. I just want you to be happy, and I honestly worry that you won’t reach out and grab that happiness when it shows up for the taking.”

  “I know you care. I appreciate it, I really do. You’ve been a lifesaver since the accident. And I can’t lie and say I’m not interested in Roman. But I also have to think about this logically. I’ve known Roman since we were kids. Not super well, but enough to chat a bit when we see each other. It’s a giant leap to think we’d suddenly fall in love and live happily ever after.”

  Though the thought of such a thing filled her with a burst of blinding joy that made her wonder if continuing to deliberately see him was such a good idea. If she let herself get too close, it was going to hurt all the worse if she found out she’d been wrong about him and he ended up with someone else.

  “It doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. All I ask is that you stop letting Helena’s outlook on life be yours. She ended up bitter and alone. I don’t want that to happen to you. You have too beautiful of a soul for that to happen.”

  Tears pooled in Anna’s eyes, and love for her friend propelled her to her feet. She gathered Paige in a tight hug.

  “Thank you for being such a good friend.”

  “You make it easy,” Paige said. “Well, most of the time.”

  Anna laughed.

  Paige stepped back out of the embrace. “Need a ride home?”

  “Actually, Melody Redmond is giving me a ride to Livingston to look at a car.”

  “Oh?”

  “Roman texted that someone in his office is selling her car because she’s moving to New York and doesn’t need it.”

  Paige appeared to try to hide her smile but failed miserably. “That’s good. Have fun car shopping,” she said as she backed toward the door using air quotes.

  “Be careful or I might fire you.”

  Paige just laughed at the baseless threat.

  After making sure the library was empty of patrons, she turned off most of the lights and headed outside. After locking the front door, she sat on the bench next to the walkway. She planned to use the time to once again convince herself this was a good idea, that she wasn’t just setting herself up for a massive disappointment down the road. But she didn’t have more than fifteen seconds to think before Melody pulled up to the curb.

  “Hey, there!” Melody said when Anna opened the passenger door. “I’m so glad to have company for part of my trip.”

  “Are you flying to Atlanta?” Anna asked as Melody pulled back out onto the street.

  “Yeah, duty calls. Meetings, meetings and more meetings.”

  Anna wondered if some of those meetings had to do with Melody’s stepsister’s upcoming trial. It was a marvel that Melody could be so happy considering last winter her evil stepsister had tried to have her killed. But Justin had helped thwart that effort and won Melody’s heart in the process. It was a modern-day fairy tale when she thought about it.

  “How are the wedding plans coming?”

  Melody spent the next several minutes going over the details with infectious enthusiasm.

  “You’re invited, of course. I don’t think I would have gotten through those first few months here if not for your book recommendations. They kept my mind off of things I couldn’t change.”

  “I’m happy they helped. But I’d say
that pushing through those tough months worked out well in the end.” Anna was afraid if Melody smiled any wider, she was going to pull a muscle.

  “So, how are you doing? I hear today was your first day back at work.”

  “Fine. I was very lucky things turned out as well as they did.”

  “I hope they find the person who caused your wreck. As you can imagine, I’m a bit militant against people hurting others.”

  “I hope they find him, too, so it doesn’t happen again.”

  “Have you remembered anything else?”

  Anna shook her head. “No.”

  “Maybe it’ll come back eventually. But in the meantime, it’s good to see you doing so well. I was worried the trail ride would be too much for you, but you seemed to enjoy it.”

  “I did. Even living here my entire life, I sometimes forget how beautiful it is. Sometimes you just need to look at things from a different perspective.”

  “You’re right about that.”

  Something about the tone of Melody’s response made Anna think she was talking about something other than the view of the snow-capped mountains. And she had a strong suspicion she knew what—or rather, who—it was.

  “Roman seemed to have a good time, too. He works so hard we don’t get to see him that much. But I didn’t hear him mention work once on Saturday.”

  Yep, Melody was definitely playing matchmaker, but Anna was willing to give her a pass because she was caught up in all things romantic while planning her wedding. Plus, she didn’t know Anna’s background the way Paige did. Even Paige didn’t know everything.

  As they rolled into the southern end of Livingston, Melody grew quiet. It hit Anna that they were passing the spot where the police had rescued Melody from her kidnappers, where she’d been taken away from Justin and hadn’t known if she’d ever see him again.

  Anna searched for something to say, but she kept coming up blank. Thankfully, within a couple of minutes they were pulling up in front of the medical building where Roman and Dr. Mills shared a practice.

  “Thanks for the ride. Hope your trip goes well.”

  “You’re welcome, and thank you.”

  Anna started to open her door.

  “Anna?”

  She turned her attention back toward the other woman.

  “I know this isn’t any of my business, and you can tell me to butt out and I will. But I just wanted to say that I think there might be something between you and Roman. You’re two of the kindest people I’ve ever met, so I’d be thrilled if that was the case.”

  “We’re just friends.” How many times was she going to have to say that, both to others and to herself? Maybe one day she’d actually believe it.

  “Justin and I started out as just friends. Something to keep in mind.”

  The way she smiled, Anna couldn’t even be upset at her. But she also didn’t commit to anything because believing in this particular dream felt like she might be setting herself up for heartache. She’d seen what loving someone who didn’t love her back had done to her mother, and she’d sworn at a young age to not go down that same path.

  “Okay.” It seemed the easiest and least committal way to exit from the conversation.

  She waved as Melody drove off, heading to Bozeman and her flight. Anna took a deep, fortifying breath before she headed inside the building.

  “Hey, there,” Dr. Mills said as she nearly bumped into him coming out of the clinic’s small pharmacy. “How are you feeling?”

  “Pretty good, thanks to you and Dr. White.”

  “I hear you’ve come to check out Andrea’s car,” he said as they walked side by side down the corridor.

  “Yeah. Until they invent teleportation, I need wheels.”

  “Oh, wouldn’t that be nice? I could just pop over to Seattle to see the Mariners play and be home in time to go to bed.”

  When they reached the doctors’ office, she started to head into the waiting area.

  “Come this way,” he said, indicating another entrance he opened with the swipe of his ID through a card reader.

  She followed him past a few exam rooms.

  “Look who I found,” he said as she spotted Roman.

  Damn if her pulse didn’t start racing again. Would she ever be able to see him without that happening? Thank goodness her reaction wasn’t visible. At least she hoped it wasn’t. That would be mortifying.

  “Hey,” he said, and the way he smiled at her made her wonder if Melody might be right.

  For the first time, she truly considered ignoring every single thing her grandmother had ever taught her about managing expectations.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Roman realized he’d been staring at Anna a bit too long when he noticed how Andrew wasn’t even trying to hide his knowing smile.

  “Let me get Andrea,” he said just as the nurse walked out of an exam room.

  “Andrea, this is Anna.”

  “Oh, hey,” Andrea said. “It’s good to meet you. I hope you like the car. If I can get rid of it quickly, that’s the last big thing I have to do other than, you know, actually move. Let me grab my keys.”

  As the two women headed outside, Roman tagged along, having seen his last patient of the day.

  “Roman says you’re moving to New York.”

  “Yeah. My college roommate lives there. She’s an actress and has been in some off-Broadway shows. Her brother is a doctor at Mount Sinai and helped me get a job there. I can’t wait. It’s so different than here, something going on all the time. So much to do and see. Have you ever been?”

  “No, but it sounds nice.”

  Really? He didn’t figure Anna for someone who would like the pace of a city that size. He wanted to ask Andrea to stop talking before she convinced Anna to head to the Big Apple, too.

  “This is it,” Andrea said. “Take her for a spin and see what you think.”

  “You’re not coming?” Anna asked.

  “No, I have a few things to finish up inside. Take Doc with you. He can let you back in the building when you’re done.”

  When Andrea headed inside, Roman noticed Anna staring at the car without making a move to get in.

  “You okay?”

  She slowly shifted her gaze to him. “I’m not sure I can do it.”

  “Buy the car? I think Andrea is willing to come down some on the price to get rid of it.”

  She shook her head. “No. That’s not what I mean. I feel nauseated just thinking about getting behind the wheel.”

  “That’s natural after being in a bad accident. But you have to face it or the fear will just get worse, possibly debilitating.”

  She pressed her palm to her forehead.

  “You can do this. I have complete faith in you.”

  She still looked nervous, but to her credit she opened the driver’s side door and slipped behind the wheel. He buckled himself into the passenger seat. When she drove out of the parking lot, she went slowly, like a teenager with a freshly minted driver’s license. Or one of his older patients with a slower reaction time than when they were younger.

  After she’d made her way up and down a couple of streets, he pointed south. “Head for the interstate.”

  “It’s okay. I can tell the car is fine.”

  “You’ve barely gotten it above fifteen miles per hour. Trust me, okay?”

  For a moment, he thought she would refuse. But then she made the necessary turn. As she approached the on ramp, however, she slowed down.

  “Andrea probably doesn’t want me taking her car this far.”

  “I promise she won’t mind.”

  Despite looking unsure, he took it as a good sign that she trusted him enough to drive onto the ramp. It took her a couple of miles, but she gradually approached a decent speed for interstate travel. Though he noticed her hands were gripped tightly around the steering wheel.

  “How’s it feel?”

  “Okay.”

  He heard the anxiety in her voice, and he hoped he w
asn’t making a mistake as he told her to make a U-turn up ahead.

  “That’s illegal.”

  “No one else is around, and I won’t tell if you don’t. Besides, the next exit is more than ten miles down the road.”

  She looked ahead and then in the rearview mirror before quickly executing the turn. Once she was headed back toward Livingston, she let out an audible breath of relief. He watched her expression and saw the moment she realized this was the stretch of highway she’d been on the day of her accident.

  “Just breathe,” he said.

  “I seriously feel like I’m going to throw up.”

  “Well, if you do that, you’ll have no choice but to buy the car.”

  She glanced over at him as if he’d lost his mind, but in the next instant she laughed. It was shaky but real. He hated to kill it by what he intended to ask of her next.

  Another mile down the road, he pointed to the emergency lane. “Pull over down here.”

  “Where?” The word had just left her mouth when she saw the first of the skid marks, still visible despite the weeks that had passed since her accident.

  She pulled off the road and came to a stop. She yelped when an eighteen-wheeler passed, its wake buffeting the smaller vehicle.

  Roman reached over and placed his hand atop one of hers on the steering wheel. “It’s okay.”

  “Why are we here?”

  “Because I think facing things head-on is the best way to move past them.”

  “How is looking at where I wrecked going to change anything?”

  “You’re going to have to go to Bozeman again at some point. Better to get this moment over with now, when you’ve got someone with you.”

  She stared at him as if she couldn’t understand why he’d do such a thing, why he would care so much. If she only knew. But one emotional overload at a time.

  He got out of the car and came around to her side, where she still sat. After checking that there was no approaching traffic, he opened her door and extended his hand. She took a visible deep breath before unbuckling her seat belt and placing her hand in his. He didn’t let her go as she got out, as he closed the door and escorted her to the spot where the skid marks on the pavement gave way to visible tracks through the grass beside the road.