Cowboy Baby Daddy

by Hamel, B. B.

I nod a little bit. “When I was working in the ER back in New York, it was hard coming home after a long shift to an empty apartment. Especially when I’d seen… you know.”

  She nods, her expression grave. “You must’ve had rough nights.”

  “Sometimes I didn’t go home. Just slept in an on-call room and worked the next day. Didn’t bother going back to that empty apartment.”

  “That why you’re here?”

  “I don’t know,” I admit. “I guess I gave up one kind of emptiness for another.”

  “True. But this is a good kind.”

  We reach the paddock and look out across the landscape. It’s beautiful and I know what she means. The land is empty, or at least sparse, but it’s not exactly that. There’s grass and stubby trees and bushes and animals all over the place. There’s constant motion and sound, even when it’s quiet.

  That’s the good kind of empty. The empty that isn’t really empty, but just filled with different things if you look hard enough.

  “He likes you, you know,” she says quietly.

  “Connor?” I ask, startled.

  “Of course.” She gives me a sly look. “He wouldn’t keep you around if he didn’t. And that shit you pulled yesterday has him fascinated.”

  “I just helped out.”

  “I know. But he liked it. Not many people would take a risk to help when they didn’t need to, not like you did.”

  “I’m just happy I wasn’t in the way.”

  She laughs and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Thanks, Holly. I appreciate the help, and so does Connor, even if he doesn’t say it.”

  “Any time.”

  She’s quiet for another second. “And one more thing. Don’t push him too hard on his past.”

  I frown. “Football?”

  She nods, her face slightly grave. “It’s not a nice memory for him. So go easy. He’ll open up eventually if he’s ever going to.”

  “Okay,” I say. “Thanks.”

  She gives me another wide, open smile, before walking off. I watch the older woman step through a side gate, her words running in my head.

  He likes me, that’s what she said. I don’t know if she means, he likes me as a person, or if it’s something more. There have been moments between us, tense moments where I thought he’d kiss me, but they always passed. If I’m honest with myself, I wish they hadn’t.

  I walk slowly back into the barn and toward Dodger’s stall. As I get closer, I spot Connor leaning up against the gate, looking in at his horse.

  “Hey, you,” I say, Faye’s fresh words in my mind. I wonder if he overheard anything, but I doubt it, we were too far away.

  “Hey.” He looks over at me. “He looks good today.”

  “Antibiotics are helping.”

  I join him at the gate. Dodger nuzzles his outstretched palm with his nose and lets out a soft snort.

  “How’d you sleep last night?”

  “Like the dead.”

  “Good.” He laughs. “After all the hard work you put in, you deserved some good sleep at least.”

  “Just happy to help.”

  He nods once and doesn’t thank me, but he doesn’t need to. Faye did that for him. I wonder if he suspects she would.

  He cocks his head at me and looks into my eyes. We’re standing close, shoulder to shoulder near the horse. He turns toward me.

  “You don’t have to stay, you know,” he says softly.

  I look up into his pretty eyes and feel my breath catch in my throat. “I want to make sure Dodger’s okay,” I manage to whisper.

  “That’s sweet of you.” He leans toward me, tilting my chin up toward his. “But is that really why you’re here?”

  “Why else?” I bite my lip, staring into his eyes. His hand moves over across my chin then laces into my hair. I nuzzle back against him, feeling a thrill run through me.

  “You know why,” he says, his voice suddenly deep and husky. He steps closer, his other hand on my hip. “You can just say it.”

  “No,” I whisper. I don’t move though, don’t pull away, because I know he’s right.

  “You’re still here for this.” He leans forward and finally,

  Finally,

  Finally,

  Finally he kisses me.

  I lean into it and let it linger on my lips, sweet and earthy like fresh melon and grass.

  God, it feels good. His lips are firm and soft at the same time. The stubble on his lip is slightly scratchy while his tongue rolls against mine. I let him pull me tighter against him, his hard body swallowing my own. I let out a soft moan as I feel the hand on my hip slide around to cup my ass, his other hand gripping my hair.

  We kiss like that for what feels like hours. There’s nothing else in the world suddenly, just this rancher and his incredible kiss, and I know he’s right. I stayed because I secretly wanted this, wanted it so badly.

  He breaks off slowly, looking into my eyes. He turns me, pins me against the gate, and kisses me again. This time, he cups my ass with both hands and I wrap my arms around his neck, feeling his heat roll off him in waves, the wet pooling between my legs.

  “Hey, Connor! Where the hell you get off to?”

  We break apart suddenly. His eyes are burning and I feel the redness coming to my cheeks. I recognize Bryant’s voice, but he’s not inside the barn, just calling from out near the paddock.

  Connor looks at me with pure lust and longing. “Work never ends,” he says.

  “Yeah. Of course.”

  He turns and leaves without another word. I watch him go before collapsing against the gate, breathing hard.

  What the hell just happened? He swooped in here, kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before in my life, and then just walked off like it’s nothing. My god, I’m breathing so deep I feel like I might pass out, and I’m absolutely dripping wet.

  Dodger snorts from in his stall.

  “Oh, shut up,” I say to the horse with a huge smile on my face.

  6

  Connor

  I don’t get to see Holly again after that kiss until dinner that night, but unfortunately we’re surrounded by everyone. Tina and Violet keep her busy, telling her stories about the ranch, while the guys all shoot her looks.

  “You tell her you like her yet?” Faye asks me later that night while we’re doing dishes.

  “Don’t know what you mean,” I say without looking at her.

  She laughs softly. “I bet you don’t. Just be careful.”

  “Of what?”

  She looks at me pointedly, but doesn’t say anything else.

  I go to bed thinking about Holly. I want to sneak out and head into her room but Faye’s warning’s holding me back. She thinks I need to be careful and maybe she’s right, judging by that fucking kiss earlier today.

  Something else just overtook me in that moment. I only planned on going to see Dodger, but as soon as I laid eyes on Holly wearing those tight jeans and that old button-down shirt, I just had to kiss her. I had to fucking taste her.

  I haven’t felt like that in so long I didn’t know how to resist. Hell, I don’t know if I could’ve resisted.

  I go to bed that night thinking about her and she’s on my mind when I’m up before dawn the next morning.

  Bryant meets me out front with the horses already saddled. “Ready?” he grunts at me.

  I just nod and hand him a Thermos full of coffee. He takes it wordlessly. We mount and ride off as the sun just starts to peek its way up over the horizon.

  We don’t talk at all which leaves me plenty of time to think about Holly. I keep tasting her on my lips, just momentary glimpses of it. Sweet and light and airy, like the perfect bit of honey in the perfect cup of tea. She’s unlike anything I’ve ever had… and I already know I have to taste her again.

  It’s just a matter of getting her alone on this damn ranch with all these damn nosy assholes. Faye’s warning comes back to mind and my happy mood’s spoiled.

  We crest a hill and ride do
wn the old herding trail. Bryant glances back at me, a little frown on his face, but he doesn’t say anything. We don’t speak as we approach the old bridge that got broken in the storm.

  He dismounts first and I follow. I watch as he walks over to the bridge, checking it closely. I take out my own Thermos of coffee and take a long sip before I join him.

  “What do you think?” I ask him finally.

  He grunts in response.

  “That bad, huh?” I ask.

  “Look.” He points to one of the huge support poles that’s sunk deep into the earth. “Look at how it broke.”

  I look closely for a second… “It didn’t break,” I say, blinking.

  “Right.”

  The pole’s top is smooth, but if it had been broken, it would’ve been jagged and cracked where the wood was weakened with age.

  “It looks cut.”

  “Damn right it does. Look over here.”

  I follow him around and he shows me other spots that look like they were cut. Lots of spots, not even subtle. Clearly sawed through.

  Other parts of the bridge were smashed with something. There aren’t any trees around here that could’ve fallen on it and the wind wasn’t strong enough to blow debris over here. No, there’s no other conclusion but the obvious one.

  We head back to the horses and drink coffee in silence. The sun’s finally peeking up and in the morning light, all I can see is a fucking problem.

  “You know who did it,” he says to me.

  “I know.”

  “You can’t keep making excuses for them.”

  “You really want to rile up the boys?” I shoot back. “You think Jessie’s gonna sit this one out?”

  His face darkens. “She’s not my daughter.”

  “No, but she’s like all our niece.”

  “You can’t let them get a pass just because you’re afraid of what that girl’ll do.”

  “Maybe I can.”

  “You can’t,” he says, anger flashing in his eyes.

  I meet his gaze coolly. “Don’t forget who owns this damn land, Bryant.”

  He glares at me. “I don’t fucking forget, Connor.”

  We look at each other like that for a second before he finally breaks away. “Damn it. We can’t be fighting like this.”

  I let out a breath. Bryant’s the one person on this whole ranch I really need on my side. The others listen to him just about as much as they do me, if not more.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to risk getting into a war and getting any of my damn people hurt.”

  “I know that,” he says. “There has to be another way.”

  I nod a little and look off into the distance. The Bell family has been pushing onto my land for years now. I haven’t done much about it, mostly because I have so much land that it hasn’t mattered much. But I know the Bells are ambitious. They want to be the biggest ranching family in this state, and I’m one of the biggest obstacles in their way.

  Two years ago, the patriarch of the Bell family made an offer on my ranch. It was a good offer, a very good one, generous even. I turned it down and never told a soul.

  I think this is revenge for turning him down. And I think more is on the way until I take that deal, if it’s even still on the table. But I’m not taking any deals from those people no matter what.

  “They’ll make it right,” I say finally. “They’ll rebuild this bridge.”

  “You really gonna make that happen?”

  I glare at him. “Damn right I am.”

  He nods and slips his coffee back into his saddle bag. I follow him and we mount up. We ride back to the ranch in silence, both of us contemplating our future.

  Both of us thinking about what it would mean to go to war with the Bell family.

  When we get back, Bryant dismounts and hands me his horse’s reins. “Got work,” he grunts at me and heads off with a wave. I sigh and lead the horses back into the paddock.

  “Morning!”

  I spot Holly heading over to me. She’s wearing another Tina outfit, another button-down shirt that’s just a little too tight in her chest and a pair of tight dark jeans. Her boots are old and stained and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think she actually belonged here on this ranch.

  “Morning,” I say. “You’re up early.”

  “Can’t sleep in around here. Otherwise the cowboys will start calling me lazy.”

  I laugh softly. “Good point.”

  “They already think I’m up to no good out here.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Michael said I’m just trying to steal your ranch out from under you.” She grins at me, cocks her head. The wind blows softly through her hair and the sun shines on her face just fucking right and my heart races. “Think that’s true?”

  “Could be. Are you a spy from another ranch?”

  “I’d be a shitty spy if I told you that.”

  “Good point. How could I figure out if you were?”

  She frowns a little bit in thought. “Not sure. I guess you’d have to test me.”

  “See if you know your stuff,” I say. “Make you slip up.”

  “Yep. Since I’m just a city girl, I shouldn’t know anything about being a rancher.”

  “Well then. I’ll have to put you through the paces.”

  She grins at me, her cheeks slightly red. “I think I want that.”

  “I bet you do.”

  We walk together into the barn and she helps me get the horses unbridled once they’re in their stalls. We get the saddles off, working quietly and in sync together. Once that’s done, she helps me brush them down and gives both of them some oats as a little treat.

  I lean back and watch her with the horses for a second. She’s a natural, even though she’s only been doing this for a little while. I can tell she cares about these horses, loves the animals as much as she’d love a person. That’s important in this line of work.

  The old days are gone, the days where cowboys lived and died with their horses, but we still use the animals a hell of a lot. Right now, the boys are out on ATVs, which is what they ride most of the time. Still though, the horses are important, and you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat them.

  Holly is caring. She’s patient and she’s kind. And she loves, maybe not easily, but she loves.

  “You’re good with them,” I say when she’s finished.

  “I’d better be.”

  I smile a little. “You’d be surprised how many horse docs aren’t.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Lots of them just see these horses as animals, not as patients. Just machines they gotta diagnose and fix, so they can get back to work. But you don’t seem that way.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  She smiles, leaning closer to me. “Maybe not.”

  “How’s my old boy this morning?” I ask her softly.

  She brightens up. “Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. I think I might know what’s wrong with him.”

  I feel a surge of pleasure. “Really?”

  “Really. I’m not totally sure yet, but I’ve got a hunch.”

  “What is it?”

  She darkens a bit. “It’s not great news, if I’m honest.”

  I glance away from her. I feel a pang of sadness. “Tell me straight.”

  “I think it’s something called Cushing’s Syndrome. It’s caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland. It can cause infections more easily, which is why Dodger got better on the antibiotics, it fought off some infection he had. But all the other symptoms you told me about made me think…” She trails off. “Well, I think that’s it.”

  “Tumor, huh.”

  “I’m sorry, Connor.”

  “Can you treat it?”

  “Honestly, yes. There’s a medicine called Pergolide that might actually stabilize him, but it’s not cheap.”

  I feel a stab of hope again. “So let’s do it then.”
>
  “Okay.”

  We drift over to his stall and stand outside of it. “How likely is it that it’ll work?”

  “I don’t know,” she admits. “He’s an old horse. Could just be the end of his life, you know, the natural way he goes. Or it could give him a few more years, keep him stable and healthy. We’ll have to watch him, but… he could be okay.”

  I feel a smile flash across my face. She smiles back at me and I have the sudden urge to grab her close.

  I don’t stop myself. Fuck it. Fuck it all to hell. I grab her and pull her against me. She stumbles into me and I stumble back against a support pole. She looks up at me and I hold her tight against my body before kissing her again.

  I let that kiss linger for a while, tasting her, feeling her. We break apart slowly.

  “You keep doing that,” she whispers.

  “You want me to stop?”

  “No.”

  I run my thumb down her plump, delicious lip. “I didn’t think so.”

  She blinks rapidly. “I’d… I’d better get into town. See if I can get what he needs.”

  “Okay then.”

  “But I’ll be back.”

  “I know you will.”

  She lingers there in my arms for a second longer.

  “You want me to kiss you again, don’t you?” I whisper.

  She blushes so deep and red that I sweat she might explode. She turns away and quickly walks off.

  I watch her go, ass swaying, and feel my heart beat rough and fast in my chest. Damn girl drives me wild and I know she wants it just as bad. If my horse didn’t need that medicine…

  Well, I’m not sure I’d care if we got caught. I’m not sure I could stop myself.

  7

  Holly

  I spend the rest of that day driving to Bozeman and back. I stop over at my apartment, pack a bag, and then grab the medicine that Dodger’s going to need.

  “Cushing’s?” Roy growls at me. “No way in hell. No way!”

  “Way,” I say to him.

  He shakes his head. “What’re you going back for? Just mail him the medicine. It’ll be fine or it won’t, not much you can do.”

  I just roll my eyes at him and drive back to the ranch. By the time I make it, the sun’s already going down. I join the bunch of them for dinner then head to bed early, just like a good ranch hand should. I don’t get any time alone with Connor, but the glances he keeps throwing me are…