His Forever Texas Rose

by Stella Bagwell

  She cast him a doleful glance. “Don’t put me on a pedestal, Trey. I’m just a regular person. Like you.”

  “Aw hell, Nicci, no one is like me,” he said with an emphatic shake of his head. “Or I should say, no one would want to be like me.”

  Nicole couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “Well, you are a little unique. But that’s what makes you special.”

  They stepped onto the porch, and Trey’s arm settled across the back of her shoulders. The weight of it was a warm reminder of just how long it had been since she’d had any sort of physical contact with a man. So long, in fact, that she’d forgotten how it felt to feel a spark of attraction.

  A spark? Who are you kidding, Nicole? From the moment this evening with Trey started, you’ve been experiencing an explosion of thoughts and urges that could only be described as hot and bothersome.

  He said, “Come over here and try out one of the rockers. I’ll let you sit in Granny’s. She’s the reason I have two. When she comes for a visit, she likes to sit out here on the porch.”

  The yard lamp situated on a pole at one corner of the lawn illuminated the wooden rockers. Both chairs were painted hunter green and possessed tall backs. A padded cushion covered in yellow print calico was in one of the seats, and Nicole didn’t have to guess that this particular chair was his grandmother’s.

  He gestured toward the one with the cushion. “You take that one,” he said. “It’s Granny’s.”

  She sank into the rocker and immediately set it into motion. “I feel ten years older already,” she joked. “I hope I don’t look it.”

  He laughed as he took a seat in the nearby chair. “Rockers aren’t just for old people. They’re good for everybody. The back and forth kind of takes your troubles away and eases your mind.”

  Maybe she should’ve gotten her mother a rocker back when her father flew the coop, Nicole thought ruefully. It would’ve been a heck of a lot better than Angela lying in bed, expecting an anxiety pill to change her life for the better.

  She looked over to see he’d stretched his long legs out in front of him and crossed his boots at the ankles. In spite of his tall, muscular frame, he had a litheness about him that made his movements very sensual. Although, she expected he would laugh at that notion. He’d intimated through his conversation that he considered himself a clumsy oaf in lots of ways, and she didn’t know why. He actually seemed the opposite.

  “Does your grandmother stop by often?” she asked.

  “She drives over to see me at least once a month.”

  “Oh, she drives?”

  He chuckled. “An old ton Ford pickup with a floor shift and dually wheels.”

  “Wow! Exactly how old is your grandmother, anyway?”

  “Seventy. But she’d pass for years younger. She’s a widow—Granddad died about fifteen years ago. Now she works as a waitress in a little café over in Aguila. That’s a community west of here in Maricopa County.”

  Intrigued, she asked, “She still works?”

  He nodded. “She still does everything. In fact, I just learned she has a fifty-seven-year-old boyfriend who wants to marry her,” he added with a touch of sarcasm.

  She glanced at him. “You look and sound sulky. I take it that you don’t approve.”

  He wiped a hand over his face. “Oh, I wouldn’t say I disapprove. I just don’t want her to lose her head and get hurt.”

  Nicole couldn’t help but chuckle. “If your grandmother has been single for the past fifteen years, she hardly sounds like the type to lose her head.”

  “Well, no. She’s very sensible. I guess that’s why I’m a little concerned. Since Granddad died, this is the first time she’s ever acted serious about a man. And Harley—he’s—I guess most women would see him as a virile, good-looking guy.”

  “Is that supposed to be a problem?”

  The smirk on his face very nearly made Nicole laugh out loud.

  “Not exactly.”

  “Then what’s wrong? Is he a deadbeat? A jerk or something along those lines?”

  Shaking his head, he looked out over the shadowy yard. “He’s hardly a deadbeat. He’s a farmer and works hard at it, too. He owns plenty of land and a nice old farmhouse. Lots nicer than the house Granny lives in. And he’s not a jerk—I—hell, I guess it just gets to me when I think about my grandmother with a guy like him.”

  “Not a bit jealous, are you?” she asked, unable to keep a teasing note from her voice.

  He slanted a sheepish glance at her. “Okay. I’m guilty. But dang it, for the past fifteen years she’s been more like my mother than my grandmother, and she’s the only relative I have around here. Guess you think I’m acting like a child.”

  “No. You’re acting like a typical man.”

  His grunt was full of amusement. “Granny says they’re one and the same.”

  She chuckled and then sat back to study him thoughtfully. “You say your grandmother was more like a mother for the past fifteen years. Did your mother pass away?”

  “No. Mom is well and happy. See, my parents divorced when I was a kid. After Dad moved to Montana, Mom stayed here and took care of me. As soon as I graduated high school, she remarried and moved to New Mexico, where a lot of her side of the family still lives. But it wasn’t long after Mom left that Grandpa was killed in a tractor accident. So that left just me and Granny. We’re the only two Lasseters still around here.”

  From Trey’s happy-go-lucky attitude it was hard to imagine that he’d come from a broken home. She needed to take lessons from him.

  “I can understand why you feel a bit overly protective of your grandmother,” she told him. “But on the other hand, you ought to be happy for her. I’m sure she gets lonely. And we all need to feel loved.”

  He darted a hasty glance at her before he turned his gaze on the darkened landscape beyond the house. “Yeah. You’re right. And Granny would never quit loving me. No matter what,” he murmured.

  They both went quiet after that, and just as Nicole had decided it was time she start for home, he turned to look at her.

  “Do you need to feel loved, Nicci?”

  Her heart thudded like a slow, heavy drumbeat. “Sure, I do. Don’t you?”

  He looked away from her and made an issue of clearing his throat. The awkward reaction made Nicole wonder if he’d ever talked about the emotion to anyone before now. Had he ever loved a woman? Really loved her with all his heart? If so, it obviously hadn’t lasted.

  He said, “Sometimes I think about Doc and his family. Roslyn is nuts about him. And he feels the same way about her. But a guy like me doesn’t need that much love. What would I do with it?”

  How could she answer his question? She’d never been on the receiving end of that much love, either. And if she wanted to be completely honest about it, she’d never given that much of her heart to anyone. Not even Randy. Funny how she was beginning to see that now.

  Doing her best to put a teasing note in her voice, she said, “Oh, I don’t know. Lock it away in a drawer and take it out whenever you get lonely.”

  He grunted with amusement, then looked at her and grinned. “Heck, I don’t have time to be lonely.”

  She was wondering how to respond to that when he suddenly rose to his feet.

  “I’m a bad host,” he said. “Would you like to go in where it’s warmer? I can still make coffee?”

  Her heart was already hopping around like a bunny on steroids; the last thing she needed was a dose of caffeine. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’d better be going.”

  Leaving the rocker, she closed the short span of distance between them and reached for his hand. His fingers immediately wrapped snugly around hers, and the warmth that emanated from his hand radiated through her whole body.

  “This has been such a lovely evening, Trey. Thank you for being nice enough to sh
are your time with me.”

  The odd expression that swept over his features told her he’d not been expecting such a declaration from her. And she suddenly realized that he was clueless to the effect he was having on her. He had no idea that she was attracted to him, or how much she longed to be close to him.

  “It’s been my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.”

  She continued to stand there gazing up at him, hoping he could read the wanting on her face. When he failed to respond, she let out a long, exasperated breath.

  “Am I going to have to bop you over the head?”

  His eyes widened. “Have I done something wrong?”

  “You haven’t done anything. That’s the problem. I thought you might show your gratitude for dinner by giving me a kiss. Or was it not worth that much to you?”

  His features twisted with comical confusion. “A kiss? From me?”

  She didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. Instead of doing either, she gestured to the darkness around them. “I don’t see anyone else around here.”

  “No. But—uh—have you forgotten who I am?”

  “Not hardly. You’re Trey. Doc’s other right hand. The guy who can sew up a cat better than a neurosurgeon. I think I remember you, all right.” She rose up on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to his lean cheek. “Except that tonight you don’t smell like cow manure.”

  His hand came up to cradle the side of her face, and she closed her eyes as the gentle touch washed over her.

  “That’s because I spent most of my day with cats and dogs.”

  Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at his lips. The alluring curve of the bottom one, the fine vertical lines running through both and the chiseled corners guarded by a pair of irresistible dimples.

  “The only thing you smell like right now is—a man,” she murmured.

  His hand slipped into her hair, and with his fingers against her scalp, he tilted her face up to his.

  Barely breathing, Nicole waited for his lips to settle over hers. By the time the intimate contact was made, her legs were trembling, and she flattened her hands against his chest in order to support herself.

  His kiss was everything she’d imagined and much, much more. Like a double shot of bourbon, the masculine taste of him went straight to her head, numbing her senses to everything but the pleasure he was giving her.

  With an unwitting groan, she wound her arms around his neck and opened her lips to his. This time she didn’t have to tell him what she wanted; he instinctively knew that she was craving his nearness, that she was hungry for the connection of his mouth upon hers.

  Even if a clock had been ticking away the seconds in her ear, she wouldn’t have registered how long she continued to kiss him, or how much time had passed since she’d pressed the front of her body against the hard length of his. All she knew was that she felt warm and alive and wanted.

  It wasn’t until the distant sound of a dog’s bark broke through her foggy senses that she realized she’d lost complete control of herself. The reality caused her to quickly step back.

  With her gaze glued to the floor, she sucked in a long, ragged breath. “Oh, Trey, I’m sorry! I don’t know what happened to me. You must think I’m awful or—worse.”

  When he didn’t immediately respond, she looked up to find a serious expression on his face. The sight of it rattled her almost as much as the kiss they’d just shared.

  “Nicci, I—why are you sorry? Because you regret kissing me?”

  “No! Nothing like that—” She swallowed hard, and then because she just had to touch him, she stepped forward and rested a hand against the middle of his chest. It was like touching a rock wall, hot from the baking rays of an afternoon sun. And the urge to slip her fingers between the snaps on his shirt and touch his bare skin was so strong it was all she could do to resist.

  “I don’t regret kissing you. It’s just that I’ve probably given you the idea that I’m—cheap or on the prowl. That’s not the way it is, Trey. Not at all.”

  A little half grin lifted one corner of his mouth. “I could never think such things about you. If you want the truth, I feel darned flattered. In fact, I doubt I’ll be able to get my hat on tomorrow. You’ve just caused my head to grow about two sizes bigger.”

  His sweetness made tears prick the back of her eyes. “You’re so nice to me. Too nice, really,” she said huskily. “I hope I haven’t scared you off. I hope you’d like for us to spend more time together. Because I’d like it—very much.”

  His green eyes connected with hers, and in that moment, Nicole decided that everything she’d ever believed about herself, every plan she’d held for her future had suddenly changed.

  How could her life shift so drastically in just one short evening? After one sweet kiss?

  He suddenly grinned and tugged playfully on a strand of her hair. “Okay. You said you’d like for us to go panning. We’ll do that Sunday. Just the two of us—like prospectors in the old, Wild West days. How does that sound to you?”

  Like heaven to her ears, she thought, then very nearly laughed at the idea of her hiking a gulch. “I think I’d better go buy myself some sturdy boots.”

  “And a hat,” he added with a wink. “You don’t want to burn your pretty face.”

  Amazed at the joy and excitement she felt at the notion of going out with him again, she laughed.

  “Okay, a hat, too,” she said, then momentarily pressed her cheek against his. “We’ll have fun.”

  “Sure, we will,” he murmured against her hair.

  Knowing if she stayed close to him much longer, she’d end up making a fool of herself, she eased away from him and started toward the steps.

  “I think I’d better be going. Good night, Trey.”

  He lifted a hand in farewell. “Good night, Nicci.”

  She flashed him a smile and then hurried out to her car before she could do an about-face and run straight back to his arms.

  Chapter Five

  Barring emergencies, the clinic was normally closed on Saturdays, but that rarely meant Trey would get the day off. Chandler used most Saturdays to make remote calls to outlying ranches, so Trey was hardly surprised when he called at five thirty the next morning with two jobs scheduled for the day.

  Now it was five in the evening and they were finally driving away from the Flying W to head back to the clinic at Wickenburg.

  “I didn’t ask you this morning if you had plans for today,” Chandler said as he slumped tiredly back in the passenger seat of the truck. “If you did, they’re ruined.”

  Trey chuckled. “Make plans for Saturday? I know you better than to do something like that.”

  Chandler let out a tired sigh. “I always start out with the intentions of taking the day off, but then the phone rings and I can’t refuse.”

  Trey took his eyes off the highway long enough to glance at his boss and longtime friend. Sometimes he really worried about Chandler’s health. Not that the man was ever sick. But he worked himself to the point of exhaustion. Not only at the clinic and with remote calls, but he also handled most of the veterinary work for Three Rivers Ranch, which in itself was a major job.

  “Tomorrow is Sunday. You need to rest, Doc. Have breakfast in bed. Let Roslyn spoil you a little.”

  He let out an amused grunt. “That’s not my style. Besides, Evelyn and Billy are always up early. Those two would have my breakfast scattered all over the bed. As for me needing rest, I’ve figured out how to lighten my workload. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time now.”

  Trey frowned as he pressed hard on the accelerator and shot past a rattletrap car chugging smoke from the tailpipe.

  “How’s that? Close the clinic and just work at the ranch?”

  “Hell! That won’t ever happen. Having the clinic was always my dream.” He straight
ened up in the seat and looked at Trey. “No, the way I figure how to fix this problem is to have another veterinarian working with me. And I don’t mean hire some stranger. I want to have someone I’ve known for years working with me. Someone I can trust. I’m talking about you.”

  Trey’s head whipped around so fast the bones in his neck made a cracking noise. “What? Damn, Doc, I’m no vet. I’m just an assistant.”

  He swatted a hand through the air. “You’re more than an assistant. You’ve been more than that for years now. All you need is a bit more experience with surgeries and a few more years of college and vet school to get a diploma to certify you’re a veterinarian.”

  “You’re helping me get experience by watching you do surgeries. But the diploma is a whole different matter. What are you thinking? That you’ll pay some underworld person to make a fake diploma for me? Won’t work, Doc. Everybody around here would know it was a forgery.”

  Chandler groaned. “I ought to knock you in the head.”

  “You’re not the only one who’s told me that,” Trey said, his mind replaying every word, every touch he’d exchanged with Nicole as they’d stood on his porch last night. He’d never been so stunned in his life when she’d told him she wanted to bop him over the head because he hadn’t made a move to kiss her. Him, kissing a woman like her? A part of him still couldn’t believe any of those moments had happened, while the other part was finding them impossible to forget.

  “I don’t do fraudulent things, Trey. And I wouldn’t buy you a diploma in veterinary medicine even if I could. I want you to earn it the old-fashioned way. With that nose of yours in a book.”

  Trey’s short cackle was full of disbelief, and then he began to laugh in earnest. “Oh, Doc, sometimes you’re hilarious. And the funny thing about it, you’re not even trying to be.”

  Chandler muttered a few curse words under his breath. “What’s so funny about you setting goals for yourself?”