One Good Cowboy

by Catherine Mann

He continued to work, even on the plane, just as he’d been doing when she’d burst into his office earlier. He’d opened his tablet and fired it to life, sitting on the plane’s sofa. In days past, she would have curled beside him, close, touching. Now they sat on opposite sides of the jet.

  As if he felt her gaze, he spoke without looking up. “We’re flying to Vermont to interview a family for Gem first.”

  “Nice to know you’re finally giving specifics for this trip. Please do carry on about Gem, Vermont and this prospective adoptive family.”

  He flashed a quick dimple without looking up from his tablet. “They have a newborn, so they prefer an adult dog that’s already trained.”

  “They’re wise to know that adding a puppy is like having another baby.” Sounded promising. “Who’s this family?”

  “Troy Donavan and his wife, Hillary.”

  “Donavan?” she repeated in shock. She knew the McNairs had connections, but they acted so down-to-earth sometimes their power still caught her unaware. “The Robin Hood Hacker Donavan? Your grandmother chose a former criminal for her dog?”

  “Where’s your sense of forgiveness?” He glanced up. “His criminal past was a long time ago. He went to reform school as a teenager.”

  She snorted on a laugh of disbelief. “For breaking into the Department of Defense computer system. That’s more than some teenage prank.”

  “True,” Stone conceded, setting his tablet beside his Stetson. “But he’s led a productive and successful life as an adult. Well, once he got past the playboy stage.”

  “People in glass barns shouldn’t throw stones.”

  “I’ve missed your humor.”

  “Thank you.”

  She’d missed a lot of things about him, which had made her question her decision more than once. Except Stone wasn’t known for his forgiving nature. While he’d made it clear he still desired her, she didn’t expect he would get over being dumped or change his stance on having children. So all this flirting was counterproductive.

  “We’re getting off the subject,” she said. “Back to the Donavans, please.”

  “Regardless of Troy’s past, all signs indicate the Donavans are a happy couple. But the whole reason for this visit is to be sure Gem is going to a good home. They understand there’s no promise the dog will be theirs.”

  “Good.” She nodded tightly. “I have no problem leaving with her if we don’t trust them to take the best care of her.”

  His full-out smile pushed dimples into both cheeks, his skin weathered from the sun. “I’ve also missed the way you get fearless when it comes to your love of animals. You never were impressed with my money. That’s a rare thing.”

  His genuine compliment moved her as much as his touch and that was dangerous to her peace of mind. “Back to the dogs,” she insisted. She pulled a manila folder from her carry-on backpack. “I have questionnaires for the families to fill out to help ensure they are a good fit.”

  He cocked a dark eyebrow. “A meet and greet is one thing, but you have an adoption application for them to fill out, as well?”

  “I prefer the word questionnaire,” she said primly. “But yes, it could also be called an application.”

  He leaned back, arms along the sofa. “You do realize they could just buy a dog.”

  “They could. That doesn’t mean we have to give them Gem simply because they have money. If anything, adopting Gem will show their child that love can’t be bought.” Tapping the folder, she sighed sadly. “It’s becoming clear now that your grandmother was right to send me with you.”

  “What if they’re awesome but Gem isn’t a good fit or doesn’t like them? How will you explain it to them?” he asked, appearing to be genuinely interested. “What will you tell my grandmother?”

  “Your grandmother will understand. That was her reason for sending us rather than just shipping the dogs directly to the families.”

  “And the Donavans?” he pushed for more.

  That would be awkward but not enough to make her go against her principles. “I will suggest they go to their local animal shelter to find a forever furry friend.” She couldn’t resist adding, “Hopefully, they’ll make a huge donation while they’re there.”

  “You’ve thought a lot through since just yesterday.”

  She rolled her shoulders in a shrug. “I’m also trusting you to roll out that charisma to smooth over any rough patches if need be.”

  “Somehow I don’t think you’re complimenting me.”

  Were his feelings really hurt? He seemed so confident most—all—of the time. She unbuckled and walked across the aisle to sit beside him and oops, she hadn’t given much thought to the fact that his arms were extended along the couch, which in effect put his arm around her.

  She held herself upright to keep from leaning into his hold. “Why don’t you just keep Gem? Didn’t some client give him to you?”

  “He’s not really mine. He may have been given to me, but he always preferred my grandmother.” He picked up a lock of her hair. “Truth is, Gem was a gift from a guy who had the hots for my grandmother and was trying to wrangle an in with the family, since she loves dogs.”

  “Run that by me again?” How had she not known that?

  “After my grandfather died of a heart attack, a lot of guys made moves on Gran,” he said darkly. “She was a rich widow. Pretty. Guys were lining up. Some were genuine,” he conceded. “Some were fortune hunters.”

  “Yet she never remarried.”

  “She says no one matches up to my grandfather.”

  Johanna’s parents had felt the same way about each other. She wanted a love like that for herself and she wasn’t willing to settle. “That’s sweet and sad at the same time, loving that much and losing it.”

  He shifted in his seat. “Back to the story of how we got Gem as a puppy...”

  “Not so at ease with the emotional stuff, are you?” How many other times had he dodged speaking about deeper feelings when she’d just assumed he was jaded or insensitive?

  “Puppy. Gem.” His firm voice made it clear he wasn’t taking her bait. He would stay in control of the conversation, going only as far as he decided to go.

  “This guy thought he was being original giving me a dog to get to my grandmother. Little did he know, he wasn’t the first dude to try that. The first guy brought a puppy—Gem number one—when I was around nine. The guy who’d given him to me to get to my grandmother... Boy, did that ever backfire on him. The puppy hated kids, had zero interest in playing ball or sleeping at the foot of my bed. He just wanted to go on lazy walks, which sounded boring to me at that age.”

  An image unfolded in her head of Stone as a little boy. And what little boy wouldn’t be thrilled over a puppy? How sad he must have been to have the first Gem ignore him, reject him. He wouldn’t have understood.

  She leaned toward his hand ever so slightly as he toyed with her hair. “That’s why all the family members should meet a pet first before deciding on the best fit for their family. Otherwise, it’s not fair to the dog or the people.”

  “So the guy learned as my grandmother showed him the door.” He wrapped the lock of hair around his finger as the jet engines hummed in the background. “The guy offered to drop the puppy off at the local shelter, which was totally the wrong thing to say to my grandmother. She dumped the guy flat and kept the puppy for herself.” He smiled fondly at the memory, his gaze shifting to the yellow Labrador asleep in her crate. “So the next time a guy brought a puppy trying to win Gran over, we named him Gem II. Both Gems were her favorite walking companions.”

  Affection for his grandmother wrapped around his every word. Saying goodbye to Gem would start that letting go, the beginning of a grieving process Johanna wished she could take from him or make easier. Even thinking about all the pain he would fa
ce watching his grandmother’s health fail squeezed at Johanna’s heart.

  Before she could stop the impulse, she wrapped her arms around Stone.

  Five

  Kissing Johanna had rocked his world, always had. But since they’d begun this trip, he’d been the one to make the first move each time they’d touched. Having Johanna reach for him sent Stone rocketing into another orbit altogether.

  He didn’t need any further encouragement.

  Sliding his arms around her, he breathed in her flowery scent and savored the silky tease of her braided hair gripped in his fist. The plane engines hummed an echo of the desire buzzing through his veins.

  And to think, he’d almost messed this up.

  His first instinct when she’d offered consolation had been to shrug off her sympathy. Then his better sense had kicked in. He had Johanna in his arms. Touching him. Sighing.

  He skimmed a hand down her pulled-back hair, releasing more of that floral scent. Her slim body molded to him, the softness of her breasts against his chest so familiar. So damn perfect. He nuzzled her ear, right beside the filigreed dream catcher dangling from her lobe. Her arms tightened around him, her hand cupping his neck. Just the feel of being skin to skin sent his heart slugging against his ribs.

  Her fingers stroked through his hair, and he couldn’t hold back any longer. He kissed her, fully and thoroughly, with his mouth, his hands, his body. From the first time he’d touched her and tasted her, desire had pulsed through him. Stronger than any attraction he’d ever experienced. He’d known then. Johanna was special.

  For years he’d seen her as only that kid wandering around the stable yard. Everything had changed the day she’d come riding in after getting caught in a rainstorm. Her clothes had been plastered to her body. He’d gathered a couple of towels to give her. Two pats in and he’d known. He’d wanted her.

  Still did.

  That had been two years ago, a couple of years after she’d finished vet tech school and taken a job at the Hidden Gem Ranch. A year later they’d been engaged. Five months later, she’d returned his ring.

  His mind shied away from that part and back to the passion, the connection, the need. He stroked along her spine until he reached the waistband of her jeans. Her layered tank tops had ridden up to expose a patch of skin. He palmed her waist, drawing her closer. She wriggled nearer, her fingers gripping his hair, her mouth moving along his, meeting him kiss for kiss, touch for touch.

  She might have only meant to console him, but she was clearly every bit as moved as he was by the moment. She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. There wasn’t a question in his mind.

  He reclined her onto the sofa, stretching out over her. Her long legs twined with his. A husky moan vibrated in her throat. Her head fell back and she arched into the press of his mouth as he kissed down her neck.

  Tucking a hand between them, he slid the button free on her jeans, then flicked her belly button ring. His thumb recognized the jewelry from touch, a tiny silver boot with spurs and a diamond stud at the top. Possessiveness stirred deep in his gut. He’d given it to her early in their relationship, when she’d still wanted to keep their connection a secret. She’d been nervous about people calling her an opportunist.

  That she still wore the gift stoked his passion and made him bolder. He eased her zipper down link by link then dipped his hand inside. He knew the feel of her, had memorized every inch of her, but after months without her, there was also a newness to this moment. He slipped his fingers lower, lower still until he found...

  Yes.

  The slick proof of her arousal set his skin on fire. Her hips rolled as she surrendered to his touch. Her husky, needy whispers caressed his ears.

  Her hands roved his back restlessly, her nails scoring a needy path down his spine, tugging the hem of his shirt from his suit pants. With a frenzied yank, she popped the buttons of his shirt. He pushed up her tank tops, and bare flesh met bare flesh, damn near sending him over the edge.

  This was getting out of control fast. The pilot was a simple door away. Stone had hoped to steal a kiss but he hadn’t dared hope things would go this far. He needed to ensure their privacy. The sleeping area in back was small but plenty sufficient to make thorough love to her. He’d done so more than once as he’d sought to romance her around the world.

  Easing his hand from her jeans with more than a little regret over losing her sweetness for even a brief break, he rolled from her, keeping his mouth sealed to hers. He tucked both arms under Johanna and lifted her against his chest. More than once he’d carried her to bed or to his desk or to a field of bluebonnets. On this realm, at least, they were in perfect synch with one another.

  “Stone—” she nipped his ear with a husky sigh “—you have to know this isn’t a wise idea, but for some reason I can’t bring myself to say no.”

  “I never claimed anything about our relationship was logical.” He shouldered open the door to the jet’s sleeping quarters.

  She cupped his face in her hands. “What do you mean by that?”

  He adjusted his hold on her as he neared the bed covered in a thick comforter. Dim pot lights overhead illuminated the small jet cabin. “I’ve always known that you are too good for me. It was only a matter of time until you figured it out.”

  Her forehead furrowed. “Is that really how you felt, or are you manipulating me because I’m having a weak moment?”

  Manipulating her? Is that what she really thought of him?

  Her words splashed cold reality over him. This wasn’t the right time to take her back into his bed again. He’d made considerable progress just now and he didn’t intend to lose ground by pushing for too much too soon. If he slept with her now, she might never trust him enough for a second time...and hell, yes, he knew once would not be enough.

  He lowered her feet to the ground. The glide of her body against his made him throb all the harder, almost changing his mind and to hell with wisdom. He wanted—needed—her now so damn much his teeth ached.

  Almost.

  “You’ll have to decide that for yourself.” He backed away, his hands up between them, trying to keep his eyes firmly focused on her face rather than on the gorgeous tangled mess of her hair and the open vee of her jeans. “And when you do, if you still want us to sleep together again, just say the word and I’ll be there before you can say ‘let’s get naked.’ But I need to know you’re in one hundred percent, no regrets.”

  He pivoted away and out the door before he made a liar out of himself and tangled up in the sheets with her for what he knew would be the best sex of their lives.

  * * *

  Five hours later, in Vermont, Johanna’s brain was still spinning with confusion after how close she’d come to sleeping with Stone again.

  Sleeping? More like unraveling in his arms at just one touch.

  At least she had the distraction of a picnic lunch with the Donavan family while she gathered her thoughts. She and Stone had brought Gem along to meet them, while the other three dogs unwound in a fenced area around the guesthouse where Stone and Johanna would be staying tonight.

  The late lunch with the Donavan family was an intriguing surprise. Johanna sat at a rustic picnic table while Hillary Donavan pushed her snoozing infant son in a baby swing under a sprawling sugar maple tree. Hillary was so down-to-earth she could have been Johanna’s redheaded cousin, complete with freckles and a high swinging ponytail. Johanna felt at ease, something she hadn’t expected once she’d heard who they would be visiting first.

  Hillary’s husband was every bit as approachable in spite of his notorious history as the Robin Hood hacker. Wearing a fedora with his khaki shorts and T-shirt, Troy ran alongside Stone playing fetch with Gem in a field of red clover.

  The Donavan homestead was as understated as the couple. A 1920s farmhouse perched on
a low rolling hill. A porch wrapped around the first floor and black shutters bracketed the windows.

  Bit by bit she saw the amenities added into the landscape so artfully she’d barely noticed. A pool nestled near a wooded area with rock ledges and a waterfall gave it the appearance of a stream feeding into a pond—a clear, chlorinated pond. A child’s playhouse had been built from wood under a massive tree. A security fence enclosed the entire two-acre property—which enabled her to check a box on the adoption application. A lab like Gem would need a safe place to run out her energy with this wonderful family.

  She sipped her iced tea, finally beginning to relax now that part one of their mission appeared to be a success. The lunch together had been just what Johanna needed to unwind after the tension of the past twenty-four hours. The meal had been beyond delicious without being overly elaborate. A juicy fruit salad accompanied loaves of hearty peasant bread and deli meats, cheeses and spreads of their choice. Fresh-squeezed lemonade. And the ice cream... Her mouth watered as she finished off another bite of fresh maple walnut ice cream. These parents were clearly trying to give their child as normal a life as possible, given little T.J.—Troy Junior—was the offspring of one of the wealthiest men in the world.

  Hillary wrapped her arms around her knees as she hitched her feet up onto the bench by the redwood picnic table. “We appreciate you going to so much trouble to bring Gem to us. He’s such a great dog, playful but well trained.”

  “Thank you for letting us invade your home. We could have met in a park or somewhere generic for you to see Gem.”

  “I loved time at the park as a child, but I’m still nervous about taking T.J. out in public for security reasons.” Hillary’s hand fell protectively to stroke the baby’s head.

  The Donavan compound clearly had top-of-the-line security that could rival Fort Knox, including computerized keypads discreetly hidden and staff that could have doubled as bouncers. Johanna had never thought about the safety issue with Stone’s upbringing. How difficult it must have been for his family to balance all that wealth with values. He’d clearly been born into a vast dynasty, but he had a strong work ethic. She’d always admired that about him.