A Cowboy's Pride

by Pamela Britton

  Except...

  It hadn’t felt wrong when they’d been in bed together. It had felt amazingly right. They’d made love two more times—a record for her, although maybe not for him. He’d probably had lots of partners back when he’d been a rodeo star. He might have a score of partners again once he went back to the circuit—

  Stop!

  She would not think about that. She needed to focus on getting back to her house before Cabe realized where she’d been all night, not that he’d have a problem with her and Trent, she just didn’t want him knowing they’d hooked up, and she definitely didn’t want Rana to know. If the girl spotted her sneaking back into her home, not only would Alana be mortified, but she worried Rana might read something into it that wasn’t there, like Alana maybe falling in love and leaving her....

  Never.

  She didn’t go back to bed. There was no way she could sleep. Instead she took a long, leisurely shower, getting to the barn well ahead of Cabe. She threw herself into mucking stalls, so that when Cabe came up behind her and asked, “You going to tell me where you scurried off to yesterday?” she almost dropped the rake.

  “Good heavens, you scared the heck out of me.” She turned to face him, the handle clutched to her chest. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  Her best friend stared at her as if she were a cat that’d knocked over a bowl of water. “Boy, staying out makes you jumpy.”

  Did he know? Had he guessed? Alana studied his face, searching for clues, but all she spotted was a teasing glint in his eyes.

  “It was a long drive back.” She realized her mouth had gone dry and had to swallow a few times in order for her vocal cords to start working. “I took him to the Reno Rodeo.”

  Quickly, she explained what had happened, and how she hoped they’d had a breakthrough. She made no mention of spending the night with him. Nor did she attempt to explain why she driven the truck up to the house so early in the morning, and he didn’t ask.

  “Glad it worked out.” He smiled. “Got a minute? I thought we could go over next week’s schedule.”

  She must have shrunk three inches, her relief was so great. He wasn’t going to push the issue, thank goodness.

  “Sure.”

  She followed him to his office above the barn by the stairwell in a back corner. Their footfalls echoed off the narrow landing above, a single frosted-glass door opening into his work space. It wasn’t big—they used most of the barn’s attic area for storing hay—but it was big enough. As large as her apartment. Arched windows spaced at regular intervals allowed light to pour onto the hardwood floor. Skylights had been built into the ceiling space, giving the room a soft, airy feel. This was where Cabe conducted the business of running a dude ranch. Speaking of which...

  “Did you purposely not book any guests for last week and this week?”

  The question had been bothering her for days now. It was mid-June, a time that was usually quiet until school let out, but not this quiet.

  Cabe nodded. “From everything I heard, I thought Trent might need some privacy, but someone called this morning. A family with a disabled child. I’m thinking I’ll go ahead and book them in since you’re doing so well with him.”

  She nodded, though she had to work to keep her features from giving the game away. Cabe would fall over in shock if he knew what that privacy had led to last night.

  Instead, she asked, “When do they want to come?”

  “Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week.” He turned to his computer, pressed some keys. “I need to call them back. As for Trent’s sessions, are you going to continue with the same type of therapy? More riding? Or are you planning more unscheduled trips to rodeos?”

  “I think we’ll keep it to the riding. He seemed to do great the other day.”

  When he met her gaze, the teasing glint was back in his eyes. “I know. I saw the two of you looking pretty cozy there at the end of the soccer lesson the other day.”

  A flash fire broke out across her cheekbones. “That was nothing. I was just, ah, grateful that he’d agreed to help Rana. That’s all.”

  “Uh-huh,” Cabe teased.

  “No. Really.”

  He laughed. “Honestly, Alana, I wouldn’t care if the two of you had driven off to Reno to get married—”

  “Cabe!”

  “Well, maybe I would mind.” He winked. “I’d at least expect an invitation.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Of course I am.” He shook his head. “My point being that you’ve been living like a nun ever since my brother’s passing. Maybe it’s time to move on. You should know I’m okay with that.”

  He did know. He had to. Why else would they be having this conversation?

  She waited for him to say something more, something about driving the truck up to the house so early in the morning, and when he didn’t, she said, “I could say the same about you.”

  His amusement faded. The top of his desk became the object of his attention, but only for a second or two. “Point taken, but here’s the major difference. I think you like Trent.”

  She leaned back in her chair. Frankly, she was surprised she didn’t fall over backward in shock. “Excuse me? I just met the man.”

  Cabe didn’t have to say a word. He didn’t need to. She’d seen that look on his face before. It was the same expression he used on Rana when she’d told him she’d do her homework right after she rode Scooter, instead of before, which the girl knew would never fly. Still, that didn’t stop Rana from trying.

  “The man has more baggage than a New York heiress.”

  “So do you.”

  “I do not.”

  “They why haven’t you been on a date in years?”

  “Why haven’t you?”

  “Busy.” He smiled.

  “Me, too.”

  “Bull,” he said, leaning forward. “That hay grower out of Klamath. That man has asked you out at least a half-dozen times. Shoot, the girls at the feed store told me he’s crazy about you. You could go into town and have a quick lunch with him, or dinner, or something.”

  She pressed her lips together in a frown. “I’d rather be here working with guests than out dating some strange man.”

  “That’s just it.” He pointed in accusation. “The hay grower’s no stranger, and neither is Trent.”

  “He is, too.”

  “How is he a stranger when you’ve been watching him on TV for years?”

  He teased her, although not without some seriousness, but unbeknownst to him, his words had the opposite effect. What if he did get better? What if he did return to the sport of rodeo? That would be great.

  She almost sighed.

  That would be wonderful...but not for her, for so many reasons, least of which was her commitment to the ranch.

  “I’m just saying you should think about it.”

  “And you should think about it, too.”

  “I will.”

  “Fine. I will, too.”

  “So when do you plan to put him up on a horse again?”

  She took a deep breath, tried not to think about how awkward she would feel facing Trent after...after...well, just after.

  “I’m not sure. Today, maybe. I was thinking a little aqua therapy might be good.” Man, she wished she could smack the smirk off his face.

  “The hot springs?”

  Being only a stone’s throw away from a volcanic park had its advantages. Hot springs were everywhere. If you drove out toward Elko, Nevada, in the early morning hours, plumes of steam could be seen everywhere.

  “It should be an easy ride.”

  “A little wine, a little warm water—”

  She tossed a Post-it notepad at his head. She hadn’t even known she was going to do it
until the thing flew in his direction.

  “Hey.” He thrust his hands in front of him as if she might throw something else, and she just might.

  “Please stay on topic. I was about to say the past couple of days have undoubtedly taken their toll on his muscles, even if he can’t feel it,” she said, a part of her wondering if he was sore after last night. She was—

  “You think he can make it?”

  She snapped back to the present. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem, and I really think he needs it. I also think he suffers from conversion disorder. The other day, his calf, the one that supposedly had a phantom pain? It had a knot in it, a knot the size of an egg.”

  “Really?”

  “He feels things. There’s just a disconnect in there somewhere. I think he realizes that now, mentally, at least. I need to build on that today.”

  Cabe was nodding. “Good. I think you’re on the right track.”

  He changed the subject to the following week and the guests coming in, but it was all Alana could do to focus.

  What if she was wrong? What if last night had been nothing more than a fluke?

  You’re being silly.

  Maybe, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she still had a long way to go to heal Trent. As far as their relationship went...

  She gulped.

  With any luck, he would understand she regretted their impulsive actions. She would explain that it couldn’t happen again. He was at New Horizons Ranch so she could help him, not sleep with him.

  Too bad she had a feeling he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  * * *

  SHE’D DITCHED HIM.

  Trent didn’t know why it bothered him, but it did. Probably because in the past he’d had to practically push women out the door. Not that he indulged in one-night stands very often, but when he did, there was almost always that awkward moment, the one that happened when two people who’d shared a night realized they had nothing in common.

  That wouldn’t be the case with Alana.

  And so he’d experienced something close to disappointment when he’d awoken to find her gone. Shoving that feeling aside, he hefted himself into his chair and studied his legs beneath the edge of his boxers. He hated the scars, he thought, tracing an angry red line that ran from his knee up his thigh, not that they seemed to bother Alana. But despite Alana’s reassurances, he felt nothing, just the rough puckering of skin and a keen sense of loss.

  Damn. Where had she gone?

  He dressed and shaved as quickly as he could, found his cowboy hat hanging next to the door and crammed it on. He had a pretty good idea where he’d find her.

  It was still early morning, the scent of pine and sage filling the air, the quiet call of the creek fading behind him. Shadows created by the tall pine trees reached out for him, swallowing him up only to release him back to the sun an instant later. It was beautiful here, he admitted, almost as pretty as Colorado, but nothing could beat his hometown’s blue skies and craggy vistas. Nothing.

  His wheels crackled over the dirt path, Trent’s heart rate accelerating with each passing moment, although not because of the exercise. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if she regretted what happened last night.

  She was right where he thought she’d be, working in the barn. The sound of the rake she ran across the barn’s hard-packed dirt aisle masked his wheels.

  “I would never have figured you to be the love ’em and leave ’em type.”

  Her eyes instantly widened, and Trent spotted the telltale signs of discomfort: color blooming along her cheeks, lips trying to smile, eyes that met his own, but only for a second.

  “Good morning,” she said brightly.

  No trespassing. Keep twenty feet away. Use caution. If her body had been a road sign, that’s what it would have said.

  He wheeled himself closer, peering at her from beneath the brim of his hat. He pitched his voice low. “I was disappointed to find myself alone this morning.”

  “Oh, ah, yeah. About that...”

  He watched her swallow, a part of him thinking she put every buckle bunny he’d ever met to shame. She was one of those women who looked just as good with her hair pulled back—as it was now—or loose and down her back. This morning her eyes were as startling as the Colorado sky he loved so much, the combination of sexy woman, cowgirl attire and shy lover one that he’d never encountered before.

  “I thought you could use the sleep.”

  She wore a white shirt, the color reflecting ambient light back onto her face. A photographer would love the way that light combined with the dust around her to create a backdrop that looked like something out of a magazine spread.

  “Are you kidding? That’s all I’ve been doing for months. Eating, sleeping, getting up, eating, sleeping and then doing it all over again.” He gave her a smile.

  She set the rake down. “Okay, so, about last night.”

  Funny how his breathing could simply stop.

  “I’m not certain our, ah...interlude was such a wise idea.”

  He could tell that just by the way she was looking at him. “Interlude?”

  “I’m not— I mean, I never...” She looked heavenward. As if the words she sought might be whispered in her ear by the Great Almighty. “I don’t usually do that with, um, actually, I’ve never done anything like that with a guest.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” He rolled his chair forward, then back again, admitting to himself he had a bad case of nerves. “I would hate to think you made a habit of it.”

  She glanced upward again, and Trent suddenly realized she looked that way because Cabe’s office was up there.

  “I just think that maybe, um, you know, we shouldn’t have done it. What if someone puts two and two together? Not very professional of me to, ah, to do that.”

  “It’s not like you forced me.”

  She drew back. “I know. I just worry that you’ll be gone in a couple of weeks.”

  “Says who?”

  “You mean you might stay?”

  To be honest, he hadn’t given tomorrow, forty-eight hours from now, or even next week, a single thought.

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t we just take it day by day?”

  Clearly, she didn’t know how to respond to that question. “Well, I—”

  “It’s not like I’m proposing marriage or something.”

  The words made him feel funny inside, as if he shouldn’t be teasing her about such a thing, although hell if he knew why. Or maybe he did. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it’d been months, nearly a year, since he’d felt anything other than despair clogging his throat, and now here he was, with Alana, a woman who’d reminded him last night that there was more to life than a wheelchair.

  “No, of course not.”

  He wheeled himself forward and back again. “Good. We’re agreed.” He placed his hands on his lap. “So what’ve you got planned for me today?”

  Clearly, she wanted to continue the conversation. Just as clearly, she wasn’t certain what to say, or how to convince him that she wanted to forget last night had ever happened. That was what she was really thinking—he could tell. He’d just have to convince her otherwise.

  “I was thinking we could take a trip to the hot springs.”

  “Sounds good.” Sounded really good, actually.

  “How are your legs this morning?”

  As a change of subject, it was as good as any, he supposed. He let her get away with it. “Same as always.”

  She frowned. “No improvement?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “That will change.”

  She sounded so positive, so completely sure of herself, he was half tempted t
o believe her. Funny how she could be so certain about one thing, but not about another.

  “Then let’s get to it.”

  She nodded, obviously pleased by his easy agreement, and the fact that he wasn’t rolling up to her, sweeping her into his lap and kissing her senseless, which was something he’d been wanting to do since he’d spotted her in the barn. Instead, he kept out of her way as she led their horses to the cross-ties, although, to be honest, he paid more attention to the sexy sway of her hips than what she was doing with the horses. When she finished, she led the same bay gelding that he’d ridden before out into the June sunshine. He followed behind, half tempted to roll up behind her and smack her in the butt, just to see what she would do. The only blight on his horizon was the stupid rocking chair saddle she’d strapped on the back of the bay horse.

  “You know, I really hate that thing.”

  She led Baylor toward the parallel bars. She didn’t look back as she said, “I know you do, but we can’t take a chance, not until you build more muscle.”

  “I can think of one way to build more muscle.”

  She paused, met his gaze, the sun illuminating her eyes. They were huge. Her best feature with the wide, sweeping brows that framed them so perfectly.

  “Ha, ha, ha,” she said.

  He turned toward the ramp, spotting the saddle as he reached the top of the platform. “How about we ditch the straps?”

  “Nope.” She had stopped, holding Baylor’s reins so he could mount. “Don’t want you to fall off.”

  That got him to move, although not toward the horse—toward the edge of the platform. He saw Alana’s whole body tense when she spotted the wicked gleam in his eyes. He stopped a mere few inches away, Baylor turning his head as if hoping for a treat.

  “What if you fall?” He leaned toward her. “For me?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  He didn’t mean that. He was just teasing her. Of course she wouldn’t fall for him. It’d just been a one-night stand. A momentary lapse in judgment.

  A big lapse, she corrected herself.

  “Ha, ha,” she said again.

  She didn’t like him teasing her. It made her feel all weird inside.