Wish Upon a Cowboy

by Jennie Marts

  They settled into eating and talked about what else needed to be done in the bunkhouse, and he told her some of the other chores he had to take care of that afternoon. She planned to do some laundry and clean out the fridge. Apparently she’d found a butter tub of something moldy and mysterious in the back of the refrigerator and planned to scrub the whole thing down.

  Eating sloppy barbecue and talking about moldy mystery food took away the tension of having to talk about the kiss, but that didn’t mean Logan could stop thinking about it.

  They finished eating, and he helped her clear the dishes, this time relishing the moments he bumped or brushed against her. She seemed intent on cleaning up, but he just wanted to get back to the kissing part.

  She finished washing the dishes and stood next to the counter drying her hands, then folding the towel and hanging it neatly on the handle of the stove.

  He stepped in behind her and brushed her hair from her neck. A shiver ran through her as he leaned closer to her ear. “Harper…” he started, then was interrupted by the dinging of his cell phone signaling he’d received a text.

  Dang. What was up with them getting interrupted by dinging, beeping, blasted timing devices?

  The text was from Colt. Logan had promised to come over for a couple of hours to help his neighbor work on a tractor engine that had been giving him trouble. “Damn. That’s from Colt. I gotta go. I forgot I told him I’d help him out this afternoon. I was supposed to be there ten minutes ago.”

  Harper turned to face him, pressing her hand flat against his chest as she looked up at him. “Logan, as scared as I am about what I’m feeling for you, the thing I’m the most afraid of is losing this job.”

  He sighed. “But I’m not—”

  She reached up and pressed her fingers to his lips. “You’d better go. You’re already late. I’ll see you later.” She dropped her hand and strode down the hall, leaving him standing in the kitchen. Alone.

  So that was that.

  * * *

  Logan spent a few hours helping Colt, then put in another hour working in the barn office, but his thoughts kept drifting to the house, and he couldn’t seem to stay away. He told himself he was just thirsty, but he knew he was thirsting for something more than a hot drink. He was craving a little more time with the gorgeous woman who was filling his thoughts.

  She’d shut him down after the kiss, and that was fine, for now. But he still wanted to see her. He tried to convince himself she was simply fun to be around, but he knew it was something more. He was falling harder than a bucket of rain in a downpour, and he couldn’t seem to get his mind off her.

  The kittens were racing around the yard, tumbling over his boots as he crossed to the house. He stepped over Nacho, the mama cat, as she lay in a patch of sun on the front porch. Opening the front door, he walked into the house and inhaled the scents of cinnamon, vanilla, and fruit. “Mmmm, peaches.”

  Harper looked up from where she was folding a stack of towels on the sofa. She cocked an eyebrow. “Did you just call me Peaches?”

  He chuckled. “I will if it’ll score me a piece of whatever you’ve got baking in here.”

  “I told you I make a fantastic peach cobbler.”

  He was starting to think everything about this woman was fantastic. “I had no doubt.”

  The sound of an engine drew his attention, and he swore as he saw the pickup towing a small silver horse trailer pull down his driveway and stop in front of the barn.

  “What’s wrong?” Harper asked, getting up to stand next to him and look out the window.

  “Oh, nothing. I just forgot I had to see a man about a horse today.”

  She offered him an impish grin. “Isn’t that code for taking a leak?”

  “In most cases, yes. But today it’s the real deal. This guy, Gus, has a horse he’s bringing by. Gus is a friend of my dad’s and lives about twenty miles up the pass. He was having trouble with the horse and sold her to me for a song.”

  “She must not be much of a horse then. I’ve heard you sing.”

  He chuckled as he shrugged back into his coat, thankful he hadn’t taken off his boots. “You’re hilarious. That peach cobbler better be amazing to make up for that zinger.”

  “It will be.” She craned her neck to see around him. “Can I come out and see the horse?”

  “Sure.”

  She grabbed a coat and followed him out as another truck pulled down the driveway. She’d worn his coat a couple of times today, and he liked the way she looked in it. Something about her being kept warm and protected by something of his made him feel good.

  “Heck, it’s like Grand Central Station around here today.” But he recognized the pickup and waved as the tall cowboy stepped out.

  “Hey, Zane,” Logan called. “What brings you out this way?”

  Zane reached back into his truck, pulled out Logan’s hat, and passed it to him. “Thought you might want this,” he said. “It fell behind the bar when Ted hit you last night.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it—the hat, not the humiliating reminder that I got sucker punched in the face.” He’d given the hat up as gone, but had mourned the loss of it. It was a great hat. One of his favorites. Which had only pissed him off more that Ted had caused him to lose it.

  He dropped the hat on Harper’s head, then leaned in close to her ear. “Hold this for me, would ya, Peaches?”

  She chuckled. Thank goodness. He figured he might be taking his life in his hands with that comment, but teasing her and drawing out that playful grin she sometimes got was well worth the risk.

  And that grin had just curved her lips. “Sure, Cowboy.”

  A quick yip drew Logan’s attention back to the cab of Zane’s truck where a black-and-white dog sat up in the seat. It looked to be a cross between a border collie and an Australian shepherd. “Hey, good-lookin’ dog you got there. What’s its name?”

  Zane shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s not my dog.”

  “Then why is she riding around in your truck with you?”

  “Because every time I open the door, she jumps in.” He shook his head. “She was hanging around the alley behind my dad’s house, and I made the mistake of giving her some food.”

  Logan reached a hand toward the dog who sniffed it, then gave his palm a friendly lick. One of her ears folded forward while the other stood up straight, and when the dog opened her mouth to pant, her lips seemed to curve into a smile. Almost as if she understood what Zane had said and was grinning at her own cleverness. “She seems sweet.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I get for tossing a few scraps to a stray. Now she thinks my house is her home and that she gets to run my life.”

  “Strays have a way of doing that.” Logan scratched the dog under the chin, then glanced toward Harper, thinking she’d want in on petting the pup, but her gaze was trained on the ground, her mouth stretched into a tight line.

  “What’s with the trailer?” Zane asked, drawing their attention from the subject of the dog as he eyed the man trying to back the trailer closer to the corral.

  “Picked up a horse from this guy, Gus. He’s a friend of Ham’s, so I got her for a steal. Guy says she’s green broke, but for the deal he gave me, I kind of doubt it. Still, I figured I could work on truly breaking her myself this winter, then most likely sell her this spring. I seem to recall you’ve got a gift when it comes to horses. You wanna take a look at her?”

  A gift with horses was an understatement. Zane connected with the beautiful beasts like no one Logan had ever met before. It was like they looked into his eyes and saw something there, something that made them trust him. It was the real deal—almost like a mystical connection. Zane was a true horse whisperer.

  Logan wondered if the abuse Zane had suffered at the hands of his father had contributed to his gift with animals. As if he was hypersensitive to their nee
ds and feelings or saw things in them that others might miss. He also had the patience of a saint. Whatever it was, Logan had seen it happen time and time again, the utter and complete trust a horse that might have been given up on had with Zane.

  “Sure. I’ll take a look.” Zane followed Logan over to the trailer where the other man was opening the back gate. Logan introduced the men, and they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

  Zane peered into the trailer at the sorrel-colored quarter horse. “She’s a feisty one.”

  Great. Another feisty female. Just what Logan needed.

  The horse was not happy about being in the trailer, but she was less happy about trying to get out. She stamped and kicked and huffed every time Gus or Logan tried to get close to her.

  “She’s just nervous from the ride over,” Gus explained. “You know our ranch is close to twenty miles from here, and it wasn’t a peaceful ride.”

  Logan knew Gus was just making excuses for the horse so he wouldn’t change his mind and back out of their deal. The horse did seem a little crazed, but he’d dealt with crazy before.

  “You can stop trying to sell me on the horse, Gus. I’m not gonna back out of our deal. But I do have to be able to get her out of the danged trailer.”

  Zane stepped forward. “Mind if I take a crack at it?”

  “Be my guest.”

  Zane opened the side door at the front of the trailer and spoke softly to the horse. He cautiously climbed in, holding out his hand as he continued to offer quiet assurances.

  The horse reared back, throwing her head and sending spittle and slobber flying as she pulled against the lead rope holding her to the front end of the trailer. She let out a whinny, then a huff, but her wild eyes seemed to settle a little as she stared at Zane. He spent a few more minutes talking to her in hushed tones, then released the lead and gently guided her backward.

  Logan and Harper stood together as they watched Zane work his magic. Harper seemed fascinated and moved closer to get a better view.

  The horse’s back feet caught on the edge of the trailer as she tried to step out. She stumbled and spooked, fighting the lead. Releasing another anxious whinny, she reared back, kicking and bucking right toward Harper.

  Logan reacted on instinct. He stepped in front of Harper, wrapping his arms around her to shield her as he pushed her out of the way.

  Zane grabbed the horse’s halter and worked to settle her again.

  Harper gripped the front of Logan’s jacket, her breath coming in hard gasps.

  “You okay?” he asked, not quite ready to let her go as his own heart pounded against his chest.

  After a few seconds, she nodded. “I’m okay. But oh my Lord, horses are much bigger in person than they look on television. I thought she was going to trample me.”

  “That would be terrible, seeing as how we haven’t even had the peach cobbler yet. I’d feel awful eating it if you’d just been killed in a freak horse-trampling accident.”

  “I’ll bet you would. But you’d still eat it.” She grinned, but he noticed she didn’t let him go either.

  “Well, of course. It’s peach cobbler.”

  She chuckled, then pushed away from his chest. “With all this talk about the cobbler, I think I’d better go check on it. Bring Zane in when you’re done, and I’ll dish some up for both of you. It’s best when it’s warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.”

  A lot of things were best when they were warm, and he was warming again just watching her walk back to the house. She still wore his cowboy hat and looked cute as hell. Except they were going to have to find her some cowboy boots. He needed to get her out of those combat boots—and while he was at it, out of those jeans too. But for now, he had to focus on this horse.

  He strode back to Zane and Gus. The men worked together to get the horse into the corral, then Logan settled up with Gus, and he closed up the trailer and drove off.

  Zane was perched on top of the corral fence, his hat pushed back as he watched the horse run. Logan climbed up and sat next to him. “You did great work with the horse. That was impressive the way you got her out of the trailer and calmed her down after she stumbled.”

  “It was no big deal,” Zane said, chewing on a piece of straw. “She was just scared.”

  “It was a big deal. You’ve got a gift with horses and with all animals. I’ve seen it.”

  Zane tossed the straw and gazed around the corral. “I forgot how beautiful this ranch is. I loved spending my summers here as a kid. It feels good to be back.”

  “How’d you like to be back on a more full-time basis?”

  Zane cocked an eyebrow. “You offering me a job?”

  “You in the market for one?”

  He shrugged. “I could be.”

  “I could sure use the help. With Dad gone and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding my last hired hand, I’m down to me and Harper trying to run the ranch. I just told her she could stay in the bunkhouse, so I can’t offer you housing, but I could offer you a full-time wage.”

  “I don’t need housing. It’s better for me to be at home with my dad in the evening anyway.” Zane stared out across the mountain range. “I don’t know how long I’ll stick around. But I promised Dad I’d be here until after the new year anyway.”

  “That works for me.”

  Zane shrugged again. “Sure. Why not? I might as well be doing something useful. When do you want me to start?”

  “Is now too soon?”

  Zane offered Logan a side-eye.

  “Sorry. I know it’s soon, but I’m coaching a kid’s hockey team and need to be in town tonight. I was gonna run a load of hay out to the cattle in the north pasture before I left, but if you could do it, it would sure ease up my evening.” The two men had done the task together many times, and Logan had full faith in Zane’s abilities to get the job done.

  “Sure. I’ve got some time. I can run it out now, then I’ll be back in the morning.”

  “Great. I’ll help you load your truck.”

  * * *

  Later that night, Harper caught herself humming a Christmas carol as she shook a pillow into a clean case and dropped it on the bed. Logan had told her she could use any of the extra bedding in the linen closet, and she’d chosen a purple comforter and a matching set of sheets covered with lilacs. The slightly feminine style made her think the bedding had either been Quinn’s or was used in the guest room. But Harper liked the purple, and lilacs were among her favorite flowers. Even though Christmas was right around the corner and snow was swirling in the air outside her door, the flowers made her think of spring and new beginnings.

  Could this thing with Logan be a new beginning for her?

  How could it be if she hadn’t even told him about Floyd? How could she consider starting any kind of anything when she hadn’t even told him about the most important part of her life? But telling him about Floyd would mean having to tell him about everything, including the embezzlement charges. It didn’t matter that she’d only been in the county jail or that her sentence had only lasted a short time or that she’d unknowingly committed a crime in an attempt to save her and her son. In the eyes of the law and of society, she was a criminal. And she wasn’t ready for Logan to look at her like an ex-con and a thief.

  For the first time in years, she was feeling something for another man. After Michael died, she’d thought that part of her had died too. Her heart had been shattered into a trillion pieces, broken so brutally she wasn’t sure it would ever beat again. But it had sure been beating earlier that afternoon when Logan had pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. It had been thumping so hard, she was surprised it didn’t leave a bruise.

  Logan had kissed her—kissed her. She still couldn’t believe it had happened. But it had, and her heart had shown up, pounding against her chest as if it wanted out.


  What was she doing? Her sole purpose for being here was to get Floyd and get out of Dodge, not to get involved with a smart-mouthed cowboy, no matter how hot that cowboy was or how delicious his mouth tasted.

  Harper knew she couldn’t have it both ways. Logan wasn’t looking for something serious; he’d made that clear by firing the last two women who’d tried to pin him down. And she wasn’t looking for anything at all. Even if she were, she had her son to think about, so she wouldn’t get involved with anyone if she didn’t think it could become serious.

  That’s part of why she hadn’t bothered dating yet, because she didn’t want to put Floyd through having and losing another man in his life. Well, that and because she hadn’t found anyone she had wanted to date. In fact, she’d thought those parts of her—the parts that yearned for a man’s touch, that got tingly and tightened at the brush of a man’s skin—had broken along with her heart. But they seemed to be working now. When she was around Logan, all her parts were tingling and tightening and yearning as if they’d been doused in flames and were calling out for water.

  She needed her life to be simple. Needed to get her crap in order and get her boy back. She did not need the complications of a man—no matter how tall, dark, and handsome a man he was.

  This job was supposed to be simple—cook a few meals, do some dusting and a few loads of laundry, and collect her paycheck. But it had her head spinning and her heart crashing into her chest just from thinking about Logan. And now the kiss complicated things even further. Especially because she loved the kiss. She’d felt it all the way from her toes to her tingly parts, and she hadn’t wanted it to stop. She wanted Logan’s hands on every part of her body, wanted to feel him touch her, claim her.

  She’d been lost in the essence of him, every one of her senses taking in the way his strong hands held her back, the soft rumbling sound in the back of his throat as he deepened the kiss, the way he smelled like soap and aftershave and tasted like toothpaste. Even now, she could still smell a hint of his aftershave on the front of her shirt.