My Favorite Cowboy

by Donna Grant

  And how would he even know what to do if he had her?

  “Fuck,” he mumbled and straightened, running a hand down his face.

  If he even had a remote chance, then he had to face his fears. How could he think about a future with Audrey if he was still terrified of people leaving him?

  He thought of Brice and Abby and, for the first time, realized that family never really left—at least not the family that counted. His brother and sister had always been by his side. And they always would be.

  Why had it taken Caleb so long to see that? To understand such a crucial part of his life?

  But he did now.

  Caleb scrubbed the dirt and sweat from his body and hair. Finally, he turned off the water and reached for a towel. He didn’t bother with clothes as he walked from the bathroom while drying off.

  He glanced at the bed and briefly saw an image of Audrey lying on her side, showcasing her beautiful curves. But it disappeared as soon as it came into his head.

  Without realizing where he was headed, he made his way to the spare bedroom once more. She wasn’t there, but at least her clothes were. She’d have to come back for those. All he had to do was wait.

  And make sure he was there when she did.

  When he found the bag gone, Caleb jerked to a halt, his stomach tightening. He anxiously searched the room, thinking that he might have moved it and forgotten. Next, he went room by room in the house, looking for the bag until he finally realized that it was indeed gone.

  There was only one person who would have done that.

  Caleb stalked to grab his cell from the kitchen island. Except it wasn’t there. He glanced into the laundry and remembered that he hadn’t removed it from his jeans. After he retrieved it, he called his brother.

  “What the fuck?” Caleb said when Brice answered.

  There was a brief pause. “Am I supposed to know why you’re upset?”

  “Where is Audrey’s bag?”

  “Ah.”

  When Brice didn’t continue, Caleb squeezed the phone. “An answer would be nice.”

  “I took care of it so you didn’t have to.”

  “I didn’t ask you to do that.”

  Brice snorted. “Of course, you didn’t. I saw that you were upset about Mom—”

  “Helen,” Caleb interrupted.

  “—and I knew you wouldn’t want to deal with Audrey,” Brice continued.

  Caleb squeezed his eyes shut. There were so many things he wanted to say. Some to Brice, some to himself, but he didn’t dare let any of them pass his lips.

  “Oh, fuck,” Brice said, shock and surprise in his voice. “You wanted her stuff there. Naomi was right.”

  Caleb sighed and opened his eyes as he walked to the sofa and sank down. “Yeah. I wanted her things here.”

  “I’ll go get them right now. She’ll never know they were gone. I just figured—”

  “I know.” Caleb leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “You were trying to do me a favor.”

  Brice mumbled something away from the phone. Then he told Caleb, “Naomi just reminded me that the bag wouldn’t have been a big deal if I hadn’t also found her cell phone in the stables.”

  If this wasn’t the universe telling Caleb that they didn’t belong together, he didn’t know what would.

  “I’ll be right back,” Brice said and disconnected the line.

  Caleb knew it would be pointless to tell his brother not to bother getting the bag and phone back. Brice was doing what Brice always did—fixing things. Caleb couldn’t even be mad at him for taking Audrey’s things because his brother had only been looking out for him.

  Another ten minutes went by before Caleb rose and put on some clothes. He was in the middle of buttoning his jeans when there was a knock at the door. A moment later, he heard Naomi’s voice.

  He walked into the kitchen and found his sister-in-law setting down a dish on the counter. She turned and looked at him, her gaze sweeping over his face.

  “I told Brice to leave things as they were,” she said.

  Caleb shrugged. “Maybe it’s for the best.”

  “Do you like her?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t even have to consider the question.

  Naomi smiled sadly and leaned against the island. “Then what’s the problem?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve not been in this situation before. I mean…” He looked around and shrugged. “What do I do?”

  Naomi shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Men. I swear.”

  “What?” Caleb asked, more confused than ever. “I mean it. I don’t know—”

  “What to do. Yes, I heard you,” she said over him. “You watch movies, right? TV? Everything you need to know is right there for you to get. See how a couple holds hands. How they kiss, how they have their arms around each other.”

  Now he was offended. “I know how to do that bit.”

  “All the other things you want to know are in there, as well. What the next step is, how to talk about the next step, how to treat her, and everything else.”

  “You make it sound as if the bible to figuring out women has been right in front of us all this time.”

  Naomi cocked her hip and gave him an icy glare. “Honey, it has been. Pick up a romance book. Watch one of the chick-flicks that men always roll their eyes at. You’ll find all you need to know.”

  “You want to be wined and dined. You want someone romantic.”

  Naomi sighed loudly. “Yes and no. Being romantic isn’t always about flowers and gifts. It’s about something that’s meaningful to the one you care about. Follow your heart, Caleb. If you like Audrey, then don’t let her slip through your fingers.”

  “I’ve never met anyone like her before. She’s…” He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s everything.”

  “Brice will bring her things back, and when she comes to get them, you need to tell her how you feel.”

  Caleb took a step back, appalled at the idea. “What? You’re crazy. We just … what I mean to say is we’re just getting to know each other.”

  Naomi pushed away from the island and walked even with him. “Can you stop thinking about her?”

  “No.”

  “Do you wish she was with you or you with her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do memories of the last time you were with each other run through your mind? Conversations, touches, smiles?”

  He nodded, an odd feeling developing in his gut.

  Naomi touched his arm. “You might not want to hear this, but it sounds like you’ve got it bad for her. After all this time, finally, a woman who can get your attention in a big way.”

  Before Caleb could respond, the back door opened, and Brice walked in. Unfortunately, his hands were empty. And by the look of regret on his face, he didn’t bring good news.

  “Her truck was gone,” Brice said.

  Caleb snorted, feeling as if a herd of horses was standing on his lungs. “Of course, it was. After the way I’ve treated women for years, this is my punishment. This is Fate having a laugh at me.”

  “It isn’t the end,” Naomi said.

  Brice nodded as he came to stand beside his wife. “She’s right. It isn’t. Find Audrey and talk to her. It’s not like you two said you wouldn’t see each other again.”

  “Our last conversation didn’t exactly go well,” Caleb said.

  Brice made a face at him. “So? It comes down to if you want her or not. If I’d known you felt this way, I never would have interfered.”

  “You were looking out for me.”

  “You never bring a woman here, and you were so upset,” Brice said as he scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I can go talk to Audrey.”

  Caleb pointed a finger at his brother. “No. Do you hear me? You stay out of it.” He then looked at Naomi. “Both of you. I know you mean well, but this is my problem to work out.”

  Naomi winked at him. “We hear you loud and clear. Food is waiting. Eat it before it gets
cold. Come on, my love,” she said as she took Brice’s hand and led him to the door.

  Caleb watched as they left and got into Brice’s truck to drive away. He waited until the taillights faded before he grabbed the dish and uncovered it to find Naomi’s famous spaghetti. He grabbed a beer and went to the theatre room. After he got comfortable in the recliner and opened his beverage, he turned on the TV and did a search for romantic movies.

  If—and that was a big if—he were going after Audrey, he wanted to be sure he had several ideas and moves in his arsenal just in case he had to use every one of them to win her over.

  He searched through the entire romance section on Netflix before he grabbed his phone and looked up the greatest romantic movies of all time.

  After reading through the very long list a couple of times, he narrowed it down to a few. Surely, he’d get all he needed to know from one or two movies. At least that was his plan.

  He knew how much his sister loved the old shows. One of her favorites was An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant, so that was the first one he picked.

  Caleb took a bite of spaghetti as the movie opened.

  Chapter 31

  “Damn, damn, damn.” No matter how many times Audrey told herself not to look at her phone to see if Caleb had texted, she still did it.

  She shoved the device into the back pocket of her jeans and continued cleaning up the mess in her clinic. Caleb had Maddy’s number, which meant that he could have gotten hers from her sister.

  Audrey knew that he hadn’t, though, because Maddy would have told her immediately. Still, that didn’t stop Audrey from hoping that every ding of her phone was from Caleb.

  “This is the fourth day of your moping,” Maddy said from behind her.

  Audrey paused in tossing the larger chunks of glass into the garbage to look at her sister over her shoulder. “What are you talking about now?”

  “You, being stupid. Why don’t you just go see him?”

  It was the question Audrey asked herself about once an hour, but with every day that passed without hearing from him, it became harder and harder to decide to go to Caleb.

  Yet she couldn’t stop thinking about him. It didn’t matter if she was in the middle of a movie, talking with someone, or checking on the horses, he was always on her mind. From the look in his eyes right before he kissed her, to the way he held her, to the pleasure he gave.

  Bedtime was the worst. Her dreams were filled with Caleb, reliving their night of passion over and over again. She woke needy and reaching for him, only to realize that she was alone.

  The night before, she’d drunk half a bottle of wine in the hopes that she could sleep the entire night. It hadn’t worked. Not only was she exhausted, but she had a splitting headache, as well.

  Audrey went back to work, deciding that ignoring her sister was the best option. They’d had this argument the day before. And the day before that.

  It was getting old.

  “I didn’t come by to give you a hard time about Caleb,” Maddy said.

  “That’s good to know.” Audrey waited for her sister to continue, but she didn’t. Finally, Audrey asked, “You could help me while you tell me whatever it is you need to say.”

  “I need you to look at me.”

  There was something in Maddy’s voice that Audrey had never heard before. It was fear and anger mixed with worry. It got her attention. Audrey dusted off her hands and got to her feet as she turned.

  Maddy swallowed and licked her lips, her gaze darting away. The one thing her sister hated was delivering bad news. In fact, Maddy despised it so much, she never did it unless she didn’t have another choice.

  “What is it?” Audrey asked.

  “One of the horses at the Hopkins’ stables is sick.”

  Audrey’s gut clenched. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? They should have called me. I don’t care if I took vacation time or not. They know I care about the horses.”

  Maddy blocked the door when Audrey tried to pass. It was the way her sister blinked rapidly that let Audrey know there was something more.

  “Spit it out,” Audrey demanded.

  Maddy pressed her lips together. “It’s poison.”

  Audrey knew without being told that it was the same people who had gone after the horses at the auction house. Her chest tightened with worry for the animal. “Why are you stopping me from going to do my job?”

  “You’ve been fired.”

  Audrey blinked, unsure if she’d heard her sister right. “What?”

  “Ted called the house phone and talked to me.”

  Audrey looked at her phone and checked. Sure enough, there was a missed call from Ted. That’s when she discovered that the ringer was off. “I … I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t they want me to help? I figured out the antidote with the others.”

  Maddy dropped her gaze to the ground. “They … um … they’re saying that you’re the one who poisoned the horse.”

  It was like the world had flipped on its axis, tossing her head over heels. Audrey was being sucked into a vortex and unable to find her way back. She was so shocked by the allegations that she didn’t know how to respond.

  “I know you didn’t do it,” Maddy said.

  Audrey reached out for the table to keep her feet. Her hand missed it, sending her tumbling forward. Maddy caught her and wrapped an arm around her to steady her.

  “It’s going to be okay. Do you hear me?” Maddy asked.

  But Audrey knew that it wasn’t. Her reputation was on the line. It didn’t matter how good a vet was if their character came into question.

  Caleb had said that someone was out to get her. Audrey had foolishly thought someone wanted to hurt her. And they did, just not physically. They wanted to destroy her career.

  “I’ve got to fix this,” Audrey said.

  Maddy nodded. “Yes, we do. How?”

  “We find out who is after me.”

  “How the heck do we do that?”

  Audrey took in a steadying breath. Now that she had something to focus on, she felt as if she had an anchor of sorts.”

  “Where do we start?”

  “This is about my job.” Audrey pulled away from her sister and paced around the clinic, her boots crunching on the shards of glass still on the floor. “That narrows down the field considerably.”

  Maddy crossed her arms over her chest as she snorted. “Then we start with Patty.”

  “You really think she’s my enemy?” Audrey asked as she came to a stop.

  “She’s not your friend.”

  “She’s nice to me.”

  Maddy rolled her dark eyes dramatically. “I know you’ve heard the saying ‘keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.’”

  “Of course.”

  “Well, there you go,” Maddy said as if that explained everything.

  Audrey opened her mouth to reply but decided against it. Maybe her sister was right. Perhaps it was Patty. But why? Patty certainly wasn’t hurting for business.

  “I need a pen and some paper,” Audrey said.

  They walked back to the house and sat at the breakfast table. While Audrey listed out the equine veterinarians in the area, Maddy set two steaming mugs of coffee on the table.

  One by one, they went through each of the names until they had narrowed it down to four suspects. Unfortunately, Patty was one of them. Audrey really wanted to mark her off, but everything Maddy said kept coming back to Patty. Which is why she was a suspect.

  “Should we call the police?” Maddy asked.

  Audrey shook her head. “We don’t know anyone well enough.”

  “There’s the sheriff.”

  At the mention of Danny, Audrey thought of Caleb. She wanted to reach out to him, to ask for his help. But it wasn’t just his help she wanted. She wanted him. If she called now, he would think that she wished to use his contacts to get information.

  Now she really wished she’d gone to see him the day before.


  “We do this on our own,” Audrey said.

  Maddy gave her a dubious look. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Whoever is doing this has gone to extremes. They’ve killed one horse and poisoned five. They set fire to the building that contained the dead animal you did the necropsy on, and let’s not forget what happened here at the clinic. They’re not stopping.”

  “I’m aware of that, but what would you have me do?”

  “Use the friends we have. You’re not alone in this.”

  “That’s right. I have you.”

  Maddy sat back and blew out a breath. “Your stubbornness might very well accomplish what the person after you is trying to do.”

  As much as Audrey hated to admit it, her sister had a point. “You’re right.”

  Maddy’s eyes widened. Then she slowly sat up, her gaze never leaving Audrey’s face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear that. Can you say it again?”

  “I said you’re right.”

  “I need to get that on record,” Maddy said, reaching for her phone.

  Audrey glared at her. “Too late. I’m not saying it again.”

  Maddy smiled, but it was gone in the next instant. “You know if you don’t go to Caleb first, he’s going to be upset. Regardless of why the two of you are apart, he’ll help. And this is your career, sis.”

  “I don’t want him to think I’m using him.”

  “You aren’t. That’s what friends do. And I remember quite clearly that we were called their friends.”

  Audrey shook her head. “I won’t change my mind on this. We will go to friends, but it’ll be Clayton.”

  “Bad mistake,” Maddy mumbled.

  They rose together and walked out to Maddy’s car. Neither spoke again as they drove out to the East Ranch. Everyone knew the place. It was the largest cattle ranch in over five hundred miles.

  The ranch was so large that they reached the edge of the property long before the spectacular entrance even came into view. Audrey didn’t pay attention to the large structure as they drove beneath it. Instead, her gaze was on the Spanish-style house in the distance that drew ever closer as they made their way down the drive.