My One and Only Cowboy

by A. J. Pine

  Delaney picked up and stared at her cards, but she kicked his boot under the table, letting him know she not only picked up on his tone but didn’t approve.

  “He means me,” Nolan said, laying down a yellow two on the started discard pile. “My mixing of business and pleasure is why his mother divorced me. I loved her, you know. Still do. Sometimes, though, I forget things.” He sighed. “And then I do things that don’t make sense.”

  Nolan’s episodes of confusion were hard, but sometimes the periods of lucidity were even harder—to see his father realize again and again what he’d lost.

  Sam threw a green two onto his father’s card, and Delaney followed up with a green Reverse card.

  “Sorry,” she said to Nolan. “It’s the only green I had.”

  The older man shook his head. “Don’t apologize for something you wanted to do. The way I see it, apology doesn’t change anything. What’s done is done. You can’t take it back.”

  “I know a lot about empty apologies,” Delaney said, and both men looked up to meet her gaze. “It’s one thing to let someone down once. But soon actions speak a heck of a lot louder than words, and you realize that no matter what you once felt for a person, they aren’t who you thought they were, and you have to leave. Even if it costs you everything.”

  She raised her brows and bit her lip. Sam knew she was talking about Wade, but for all intents and purposes, she very well could have been talking about Nolan and Barbara Ann Callahan.

  Sam’s father blew out a long breath. “Your mother’s gonna love her,” he said to his son, a knowing grin on his face.

  “Just play the game, Dad. Whose turn is it?”

  Delaney slammed down a Wild Draw Four card, and Sam stared at her wide-eyed.

  “Red,” she said, informing him of the color change. “And I can be ruthless too.”

  Sam’s father yelped with laughter while Sam gritted his teeth and drew his four cards. The three of them went on like that for another half hour until Delaney finally won the game. Sam admired her strategy as they played—smart and calculating yet never boastful when she outmaneuvered either of the men. She had the best poker face he’d ever seen, and he realized that while you could take the girl out of Sin City, she never quite lost that Vegas touch.

  “What was it you said you did for the ranch?” Sam’s father asked as they were cleaning up the game.

  Delaney cleared her throat. “Marketing,” she said with enough surety that Sam would have been convinced had he not known the truth. “But my first love is animals. You boarded horses, right?”

  Nolan smiled and perked up. “Boarded ’em. Bred ’em. Started out as an equine veterinarian, and everything sort of took off from there. You ever work with horses?”

  Delaney nodded. “Helped a mare give birth once when I was in school.”

  The older man’s brow furrowed. “You helped a mare foal in marketing school? Something isn’t adding up.”

  She laughed. “I went to school to be a veterinary technician. When that didn’t pan out, I sort of fell into the marketing thing.”

  “And she’s damned good at it too,” Sam added.

  His father crossed his arms. “Foaling or marketing?”

  All three of them laughed, and for a few moments, Sam’s life felt easy and normal rather than like a race to put out one metaphorical fire before the next one started.

  “Maybe you could talk your business partner into bringing me by the ranch to see Ace. I’d love to take him for a ride. Did my son tell you he rescued him from abandonment? Owner dropped him off to board and never came back for him. Ben wanted to sell him, but Sam didn’t have the heart.”

  Delaney’s hand flew to her chest, and she smiled so endearingly at Sam that he had to look away.

  “So I like animals,” he said matter-of-factly. “It’s not a big deal.”

  She opened her mouth to say something else, but he cut her off before any other sort of emotional connection took place. This morning had already been a doozy, and he wasn’t sure he could take much more.

  “We should go, Dad. I mean, you’re doing okay, right? I’ll be back on Monday like usual.”

  His father answered with a plaintive nod. “Of course, son. We should stick to the schedule.” He tapped his temple with his index finger and winked at Delaney. “Routine keeps the mind sharp, and Sam was always good at routine.”

  “Maybe we’ll come by for a rematch sometime,” Sam said, and gave his father’s shoulder a squeeze. “Take it easy, Dad.”

  The older man stood as Sam and Delaney did the same. She leaned over and gave his father a kiss on the cheek.

  “It was lovely meeting you, Mr. Callahan,” she said.

  He chuckled. “She’s a keeper, Sammy. Especially if she can stand to be in the same room as your old man when”—his smile faltered—“when I’m having one of my less stellar mornings.”

  “It’s just—”

  “Business,” his father said, finishing Sam’s thought. “Sure, son. Whatever you want to call it.”

  “See you Monday, Dad.”

  He waited for Delaney to step away from the table first, then followed her out into the late morning sun.

  He said nothing as he opened the door on her side of the truck, and still nothing as he backed out of the parking spot and made his way onto the street. He’d have driven the whole way back to the ranch in the safety of such silence, but Delaney seemed to have other plans.

  “Sam, I’m so sorry. I had no idea,” she said.

  He kept his eyes on the road. “About what? Him being a workaholic when I was growing up? A crappy husband? Or that all of it wasn’t really his fault? He was sick, and no one knew it. Our mom left. Ben and I resented the hell out of him. We all basically punished him in our own ways when we could have helped.”

  “Oh, Sam…,” she said, her tone mixed with pity and something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “You can’t blame yourself.”

  Couldn’t he, though? He and Ben hadn’t made things easy for their dad when their mom left. Maybe if they’d paid better attention to his behavior…maybe if Nolan had seen a doctor earlier…

  When Sam didn’t say anything in response, she let out a long breath, and he steeled himself for what was coming.

  “Are you scared?” she asked. “I mean with the possibility of heredity and your dad being so young.”

  His knuckles whitened around the steering wheel. “I’d be one hell of an idiot not to worry, wouldn’t I?” he said coolly. Yet he’d never said it out loud—not to his brother, not to any of the doctors who might have answers for him, and certainly not to any woman he’d ever been with. No one had ever gotten close enough to see what he dealt with—partly because he never let them. But Delaney Harper had done it in a matter of hours. Somehow this woman blew into his careful life and threw everything into chaos in one single day.

  “Mind if I drop you off at my office?” he asked before she had a chance to respond. “I’ve got some image files of the ranch on my laptop that you can use along with what you took in town. Figure that will be enough for the pamphlet. How long do you need to work on something like that?”

  “I could throw something together in about an hour, actually. I’m pretty good,” she mused, and Sam could tell she was trying to lighten the mood.

  He was a jerk for not even cracking a smile, but he knew what he needed to get out of his funk, and talking wasn’t the answer. Sam was a doer, not a talker.

  “Maybe you can work on it while I take care of a few things and meet you back at the ranch for lunch,” he said.

  He remained focused on the road but glanced at her through his peripheral vision. She was staring straight ahead, too, her hand tucking a strawberry-blond lock behind her ear.

  “Sure,” she said. “That sounds great.”

  But she wasn’t smiling, and nor did she do anything to hide the disappointment in her voice.

  He pulled up in front of the main cabin and got her situa
ted in his office when Scout bounded in after them.

  “This is Scout,” he said flatly. “Do you mind if—,” but before he could finish the introduction, Scout had curled up at Delaney’s feet.

  She leaned over and gave the pooch a scratch behind the ear. “I don’t mind at all,” she said. “The more animals, the better. You got a cat too? Maybe a goat? I get along with them all.”

  “See you at lunch, Ms. Harper,” he said, his tone more formal than he’d intended.

  Delaney forced a smile. “Good-bye, Sam.”

  When he picked her up this morning, all he could think about was kissing her—and then some. Now what he needed was to get as far away as possible from the woman who saw him too clearly—who’d already seen too much.

  Chapter Nine

  Delaney Harper, you are a genius!”

  Delaney grinned at the finished brochure in her hand, not caring that she was speaking aloud to herself.

  Scout rolled onto her back and wiggled her bottom, howling for a belly rub.

  Delaney laughed. “I told you I was almost done.” She dropped the brochure onto Sam’s desk and dropped down to a squat, rewarding her graphic design companion with not just a rub on the belly, but also a well-deserved scratch behind the ears.

  “Who’s a good girl?” she asked, and Scout answered by hopping up and giving Delaney a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

  “Okay, okay,” Delaney said. “Are you as hungry as I am?”

  Scout answered with a bark, which meant it was feeding time for both of them.

  The clock on Delaney’s phone said it was already twenty past one. She’d expected Sam around noon but hadn’t thought much of it since she was still deep in the design trenches. But now she was done, and he was nowhere to be seen.

  Her brow furrowed. “Maybe we were supposed to meet him at the dining hall.” She didn’t see a food or water bowl for the dog, but she did see a leash sitting on a corner of the cluttered desk.

  “Come on, girl. Looks like we’re going for a walk.”

  Scout sat willingly and waited for Delaney to clip on the leash. Then the two headed out into the bright afternoon sun.

  Delaney fished her sunglasses out of her bag and wished she had the cowboy hat Sam had loaned her the day before. She could always buy one for keeps. After all, if she was going to spend most of her days outdoors taking care of rescue animals, such a hat would be fitting, right? Wanting the hat had nothing to do with how it reminded her of Sam or their ride to and from the swimming hole, she told herself.

  “What’s with that human of yours, anyway?” she asked Scout as they weaved around the property, the pit’s curious nose leading them off the official path more than a few times. “He’s so—stubborn.”

  Scout barked at a grasshopper, but Delaney took it as Scout’s agreeing with her opinion of one Mr. Sam Callahan.

  “He’s also pretty wonderful with his dad, considering their past, you know?”

  The leash yanked out of Delaney’s hand as Scout bounded after the insect. She had to run to catch up before the dog chased the grasshopper clear into the woods.

  “Whoa, there,” she said laughing, and Scout whimpered as her prey got away. “Keep your eye on the prize, girl. Lunch.”

  She decided not to distract her companion with further talk about Sam’s deep brown eyes or the way he wore his stubble so damned well. It seemed she and Sam had come to an unspoken agreement to ignore Wade’s forged deed until they had to deal with it, which she guessed was good. After this morning she could see that Sam had enough on his plate already. Maybe, though, their land war didn’t have to be a war at all. The property wasn’t huge, but he could build the dining hall up and make that the guest quarters too. And the stable wasn’t full. It could be cut in half and the arena shrunk down to allow for another structure. They could be neighbors. Very close neighbors who hopefully would find a way to get along when all was said and done.

  Delaney groaned. All of that would cost money and labor she guessed Sam didn’t have, especially if he was still working to get people through the door in the first place. No matter which way she sliced it, dividing the land meant something would be lost. She needed to think. And an empty stomach was only making matters worse.

  Five minutes later, Delaney and Scout pushed through the doors and into the modest dining hall. She scanned the tables one by one, but Sam was nowhere to be seen.

  “Can I help you?” someone asked from behind.

  She turned to see a sandy-haired man in the doorway, spinning a cowboy hat on his fingers.

  He spoke around a toothpick sticking out the side of his mouth. He was tall and lean, like Sam and his brother, but other than that, he bore no resemblance to the Callahan men—aside from the air of authority he carried that assured her he knew this ranch inside and out.

  “You must be Colt,” she said, taking a guess.

  “And you must be our stranded guest who’s convinced my partners they don’t know a lick about advertising.” He grinned and held out his right hand. “Colt Morgan.”

  “Delaney Spence,” she said, remembering that she’d given Ben her maiden name. “Thank you so much for your help with the car. Millie’s never given up on me before, so I’m hoping it’s not yet time to give up on her.”

  Colt laughed.

  A fire truck’s siren sounded in the distance.

  Scout whined.

  “You two must be close,” Colt said. “You and the car, I mean. I’m guessing you and Scout here are just getting to know each other.”

  “I think she’s hungry,” Delaney said, and her own stomach growled. “We both are. Sam was supposed to meet us…”

  Colt winced. “I think you’re stranded again, Ms. Spence. Sam peeled off in his truck a few hours ago. Something about taking care of unfinished business in town for the start of the festival.” He shrugged. “The guy never takes a break.”

  Delaney scanned the dining room once more, then the outside landscape beyond Colt’s broad shoulders.

  “Speaking of town, how far is the walk? I could really use some fresh air,” she asked him. In Delaney’s short time as a Meadow Valley resident, Millie had been as reliable as Delaney’s next breath, so she’d always driven, especially since going to town meant she was shopping for groceries or something else to bring back to the property. The trip this morning with Sam had felt instantaneous, so she guessed it couldn’t be too bad.

  Colt’s brows drew together. “It’s not very long, but even with the cooler temps, the sun’s likely to do you in once you get moving. If you want a ride—”

  “Thanks,” she said, interrupting him. “But I’ve been sitting for hours. I need to stretch my legs. After Scout and I get some food, of course.”

  “Suit yourself,” he said, gesturing for her to lead the way into the kitchen. “I’m sure Luis has something in back for Scout.”

  Turned out Scout got to enjoy as good a meal as Delaney did. The canine feasted on grilled chicken and carrots while Delaney satiated herself with a chicken salad sandwich and the sweetest, juiciest sliced watermelon she’d had in ages. After changing into her tennis shoes and dropping Scout back at Sam’s office, she was ready to hit the pavement.

  Colt had been right about two things. The walk wasn’t that long—about twenty minutes—and even though it was barely sixty-five degrees outside, after she got going, the sun felt hotter than Channing Tatum. She’d tied the denim jacket around her waist, but it didn’t matter. By the time she hit First Street, she was cursing herself for her bravado and for not bringing a bottle of water.

  Closed signs hung in shop windows, but the street bustled with who she guessed were the shops’ proprietors setting up booths and tents for the festival. She walked slowly, scanning the signs until she found what she was looking for.

  IVY’S

  In front of the clothing boutique, a woman struggled with a plastic pole and the canopy into which it was supposed to fit.

  “Need some help?” Delaney aske
d, and the woman looked up from beneath a veil of dark fringe, blowing the hair out of her eyes as she did.

  “Please,” she said. “My fiancé was supposed to help me put this thing together, but he was on call. And wouldn’t you know it? He got called. Some reckless kids decided to set off some pre-festival fireworks and lit a poor tree on fire.” She shook her head. “At least they had the sense to call the fire department rather than flee.”

  “Must have been the siren I heard earlier,” Delaney said, taking hold of the canopy’s corner and keeping it steady as the other woman threaded the pole and locked it into position. “I’m Delaney, by the way. Any chance you’re Ivy?”

  The other woman’s brown eyes brightened. She dusted off her hands and surprised Delaney with a hug. “I’m so happy to finally meet you!”

  Delaney stiffened at first. She’d been expecting a reception more like Pearl’s. But then she realized Ivy was genuinely happy to see her, and Delaney hugged her right back.

  Ivy laughed and gently pushed her an arm’s length away.

  “I knew I recognized that dress! It looks great on you!” she said. “If anyone back home tells you they like it, you let them know it’s an Ivy original. Only available online or in Meadow Valley.”

  Delaney’s brows rose as she smoothed out the dress. “You design the clothes in your shop?”

  Ivy nodded. “Not all the pieces I sell. A girl’s gotta sleep. But yeah. Flowers are kind of my thing. You really like it?” Ivy’s cheeks flushed pink.

  “It’s beautiful,” Delaney said. “You and Sam…Colt towing my car and Luis feeding me and—” An unexpected wave of emotion swept through her. “You’ve all been lifesavers. Well, Sam literally was.” She let out a nervous laugh. “Took a wasp sting for me and everything.”

  Ivy smiled warmly as the two women went to work putting the rest of the canopy together until it stood perfectly over Ivy’s festival territory. “He’s a good man, that Sam Callahan. Even though he didn’t grow up here, he’s one of those people you feel like you’ve known your whole life. He just sort of fits here.”