Her Troubled Cowboy (Harland County Series Book 9)

by Donna Michaels

  Caitlin’s throat heated. “Thanks.” She gave her sister a squeeze before drawing back. “I don’t foresee there being any problems. Nothing can happen without Keiffer’s consent, and you saw his expression in there. He does not want to pick up where we left off. So, we’ll be fine.”

  Her sister actually snorted. “Oh, hon. I remember thinking the same thing about Kevin when we first moved here. Sometimes fate has its own agenda. I’m just hoping neither of you get burned. Lord knows you’ve both been through enough in your lives.”

  Understatement of the decade.

  “We’ll be okay.” Maybe. She hoped.

  And after getting in her car and waving to her sister, Caitlin sent a silent request to fate to pretty please, perhaps let Keiffer and her alone.

  Then, immediately worried she may have just put a big bullseye on their foreheads.

  ***

  The next morning, Keiffer woke at the sound of a door creaking a second before Caitlin entered the stall.

  “Keiffer…sorry, I…” She stopped short and frowned down at him. “Did you sleep here all night?” Then she hit her palm off her forehead and rolled her eyes. “Of course he did. He’s in a sleeping bag, you idiot.”

  A smile tugged his lips. “You always talk to yourself?”

  “Yes, especially when I’m being stupid,” she replied, still standing in the doorway.

  What she was being was adorable, and potentially dangerous. One of the reasons he’d made a point not to be there during her visit last night. The stall was too damn small of a space for the two of them to occupy at the same time. He’d planned to be showering in the cabin during her morning visit, but thanks to a rougher-than-usual night, he hadn’t fallen asleep till nearly dawn.

  “You don’t need to get up. I won’t be long,” she said, straightening her shoulders as if mentally talking herself into entering the stall completely.

  Yep. Adorable.

  He had no time or need for adorable, though, so why the hell was he watching her?

  Try as he might, Keiffer couldn’t drag his gaze away from her sweet body, taking in the determined tilt of her head as she glanced over the feeding chart he was told to keep for Benny. The way she pulled her lower lip between her teeth while making a notation on her phone. How she was dead-sexy with a stethoscope in her ears while examining the horse, putting unwanted thoughts of playing doctor with her in his head. And her ponytail? Hell, that was damned unfair, and fueling erotic thoughts he did not want, or need.

  He concentrated on the soft sound of her voice as she talked soothingly to the gelding while she worked. Carefully running her hands over Benny from top to…

  Son-of-a-bitch.

  His heart stopped, then rolled when she bent over to examine a sore on Benny’s hind leg. Need fisted Keiffer’s groin so fast his dick became instantly intimate with his zipper. But did he look away? Hell no. He shifted to get a better look.

  Who was the idiot now?

  His whole body strummed with awareness as his gaze lingered on the sweet curve of her ass filling out a pair of jeans tight enough to be considered second skin. An ass he vividly remembered cupping while he drove into her sweet heat in the shower of his townhouse at the resort. Twice.

  Shit.

  Silently spewing several more curses, he closed his eyes and fought for control. Either it’d been too long since he’d had sex, or the woman was even more dangerous than he’d thought. Considering he’d had sex with a blonde waitress in Austin two nights ago, he’d have to rule out the former.

  “Oh!” Her startled gasp had him opening his eyes to find her hand on her chest and gaze on him.

  Benny shifted his feet, but didn’t seem too disturbed by her sudden intake. Glancing down to see what had caught her attention, Keiffer discovered the erection throbbing behind his zipper was a noticeable bulge in the sleeping bag. He lifted his gaze and watched, mesmerized by the color flooding her face. And, heaven help him, a wave of heat flickered in her eyes.

  “I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “It’s morning. You haven’t had a chance to…I get it.”

  Even though he knew better, he couldn’t quell the sudden and foreign urge to tease. “I’m not sure you do, Caitlin.”

  Confusion furrowed her brow. “I—what do you mean?”

  He placed his hands behind his head and grinned. “I mean my erection has nothing to do with morning and everything to do with you.”

  Her mouth dropped open. Then closed. Then opened again, as she sucked in air.

  God, she was adorable.

  And killing him. He stilled and inhaled sharply when her gaze dropped to his crotch, and—son-of-a-bitch—she licked her lips.

  Ah, hell. He was in trouble. His teasing backfired. Dammit. It wasn’t funny anymore. Neither was the need surging through his body in an almost painful rush. He hadn’t felt anything so strong since their weekend together.

  Shit.

  She shifted her feet and crossed her arms over her chest, but not before he noted two very pert nipples poking her polo shirt. Apparently her body remembered his, too.

  Damn. He didn’t need to know that. Hell, no. It only increased his desire.

  In an attempt to dispel it, he sat up, and her eyes widened when the sleeping bag fell to his waist. Her hot gaze raked over his bare chest with slow, thorough approval, lingering on his tattooed arm before meeting his gaze.

  She cleared her throat. “Can I ask you something?”

  Ah, hell. Here it comes. He lifted a stiffening shoulder. “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”

  “How in the world can you sleep without a shirt? Aren’t you cold?”

  Caught completely off guard, he blinked, then laughed. His first real laugh in ages. He wasn’t sure who his outburst startled more. Him, her, or the horse.

  “This sleeping bag is army surplus,” he replied quietly to keep the atmosphere calm for Benny. “Trust me, I’m not cold.” He cocked his head, the urge to tease, once again, front and center. “What makes you think it’s just a shirt I’m missing?”

  Those beautiful baby blues grew round. “You’re naked under there?”

  “Why don’t you come join me in here and find out?”

  Holy shit. What the hell was wrong with him? He didn’t give his mouth permission to say that.

  The color in her face deepened to a pretty crimson, but before she could answer, Benny made the decision for her in the form of a loud snort directly behind her. Startled, Caitlin stumbled forward, right into his legs, which knocked her off balance and she pitched toward the ground.

  Even though his lower half was trapped in the sleeping bag, Keiffer managed to move close enough to grab hold of her and break her fall, absorbing the impact with his body. After a few seconds, he became increasingly aware his hands were full of her soft curves.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Me? Yeah, what about you?” She lifted her head and frowned down at him. “I’m not the one who had a clumsy idiot fall on him.”

  “First off.” He rolled them over to switch their positions. “You are not an idiot, so stop saying it. And second, you’re light as a feather.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, a hundred-and-thirty-pound feather.”

  His lips twitched and body rejoiced at the feel of her softness shuddering underneath him. “A perfect one.”

  Pleasure brightened her gaze and he watched the fading of amusement and appearance of heat deepen her baby blues.

  Suddenly, all that need percolating earlier returned with a vengeance. His brain warned disaster was imminent and ordered him to release her and get up, but the lure of her lips and trembling curves countermanded the order.

  With a groan signaling he knew he was making a mistake but he was doing it anyway, he lowered his mouth to hers.

  Chapter Four

  Keiffer’s lips tingled with the briefest of brushes but he pulled back at the last second when, once again, he heard the sound of the outer door opening. Two seconds later K
ade walked into the stall.

  “Keiffer, I have—” The guy halted in his tracks and blinked down at them.

  If the man was shocked to find his brother-in-law rolling around with his cousin’s sister-in-law while half naked in a sleep bag, he didn’t show it.

  In fact, Kade didn’t show any emotion at all. How the hell did he do that? No reprimand or judgement. He just regarded them with a neutral expression.

  “It’s not what it looks like.” Caitlin pushed out from under him and shot to her feet. “Benny snorted and I tripped over Keiffer’s legs, then he caught me and we rolled over—”

  Kade held up a hand. “It’s okay. I was just checking in. It looks like you two have everything under control.”

  Control?

  Keiffer swallowed a snort. Far from it. Another two seconds and he would’ve done more than brush her parted lips, and who the hell knew where that would’ve led. Especially with them both already aroused beyond reason. He rose to his feet and stepped out of the sleeping bag, vaguely aware her gaze fell to his jeans.

  No, his control took a hike around Caitlin. Prolonged exposure to that woman would definitely break through his barriers. As it was, his defenses were already quaking in the presence of her sweetness.

  Thank God Kade was starting that school in two days. That meant Keiffer just had to get through the next three weeks. He could resist temptation for three weeks. Resist the need to strip them both naked and make her scream his name. Okay, no, that part was going to be tough as hell. But, he’d figure a way. He had to. The woman made him feel and he definitely didn’t want that.

  Any more than three weeks, though, and he was sunk.

  Kade turned to face him fully “I just came here to tell you I received an email this morning. My course has been postponed until the first week of January.” He went on to explain something about the instructor and emergency surgery, but Keiffer’s mind was stuck on the part about January. He had to wait until January?

  Ah, hell-fuckin’-no.

  “Sorry. I know you only planned to stay until the end of this month, but now I need you to stay until the end of January.”

  That was too long. Too long to pretend he was fine in front of his sister. Too long to be social with her friends. And a hell of a lot longer than he needed to be around Caitlin if he had any chance of resisting the damn attraction already gripping him deep. This morning’s roll on the hay-strewn floor and near kiss proved it.

  Hell, he’d only been in Harland County a little over twenty-four hours and she’d waltzed right past his walls, resurrected feelings, awakened hunger, and trampled his restraint.

  All without trying.

  “You could always leave and come back,” Kade stated, giving Keiffer pause for thought. “But, I hope you’ll stay. You’ve made a connection with Benny, and I’m not sure what he’d do if you left so soon.”

  Every single reason for bailing just hit the dirt. He glanced at the bag-of-bones horse staring at him with his soulful eyes already so full of grief Keiffer would be a pure bastard if he left, knowing his departure would add to the anguish.

  Then his gaze shifted to the stethoscope-toting temptation watching him quietly by the horse.

  “I’ll stay,” he said. And because pleasure flittered through her gaze, he decided to make his reason for staying clear. “I won’t do that to Benny.”

  What happened that morning between them was a fluke. A fleeting moment of weakness. He wouldn’t allow it to happen again. Couldn’t allow it again.

  Exactly how he was going to manage that feat he had no idea, but he’d figure a way. If there was one thing Keiffer was good at, it was denying himself pleasure. He didn’t deserve it. And Caitlin was a direct conduit to pleasure.

  Therefore, it was simple. He didn’t deserve the pleasure of her company.

  Since she was one of Benny’s caregivers, he couldn’t avoid her around the horse, but anywhere other than the rescue stable was a different story.

  ***

  All during her morning barn calls, then two pre-spay evaluations, and one emergency C-section assist of a pregnant pug at the clinic, Caitlin couldn’t stop thinking about her Keiffer encounter, or how amazing it’d felt to be under him again. On top of him again. In his incredible arms again. Brushing lips with him again.

  She was an idiot, again.

  Her actions were foolish. Thinking about them was even more foolish. Did that stop her?

  Nope.

  Especially the lip-brushing part. Pretty damn amazing, although, she couldn’t discount the aggravation mixing with the heat in his eyes. Poor guy was not happy about wanting her. She saw it. Felt it. Would’ve tasted it, too, if Kade hadn’t walked in.

  Which was a good thing. Yep. A very good thing, she told herself repeatedly, and by the time she met Lacey and their friend Gwen at the Tex Pub for lunch where Gwen cooked, Caitlin was halfway convinced. Mostly.

  “Ah, there she is,” Lacey said when Caitlin entered the kitchen and headed for the same table she’d seen Keiffer at yesterday.

  Was that only yesterday?

  Her poor body and emotions had been through a lot in that short period of time.

  Thanks to Keiffer.

  “And just in time, too.” Gwen set three bowls of chicken enchilada soup on the table, along with fresh breadsticks that had the kitchen smelling so good Caitlin’s stomach growled.

  The last time she’d smelled breadsticks that amazing had been at a cute pizza shop in the Poconos the weekend Brandi got married.

  “Okay. What gives?” the model-turned-cook asked, hand on hip, gaze unblinking.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you didn’t even ask what you were in time for, so something is occupying your brain.”

  Lacey reached for a breadstick and snickered. “More like a who.”

  “Really?” Gwen raised a perfectly arched brow. “Who is he? Anyone we know? A certain visiting Wyne brother, perhaps?”

  She wasn’t surprised the woman knew of Keiffer’s arrival. Her boyfriend Tanner was best friends with Jesse, so it really wasn’t a shock.

  The heat funneling into her cheeks pretty much answered their question. Besides, she’d discussed Keiffer with them on numerous occasions over the past year or two, so the women knew her history with the guy.

  “Tell us what’s going on.”

  “Does he really have longer hair and a beard?” Gwen asked between bites. “I just can’t picture the clean-cut Keiffer I remember growing up sporting a full beard and shoulder length hair.”

  “I was the same way, but then I saw him and…” her voice trailed off as her heart jumped in her chest.

  “And what?”

  “He’s hot, isn’t he?”

  This was the second time in twenty-four hours she had this conversation. She shrugged and told them about his resemblance to the movie star, and both women stilled.

  Gwen reeled back. “Seriously? Taylor Kitsch?”

  “And why haven’t you kissed him yet?” Lacey stared at her like she was nuts.

  Memories of rolling around with him that morning flashed through her mind and more heat infused her face.

  Lacey sucked in a breath and leaned forward. “You did!”

  “No, I didn’t. I mean, not exactly. Does brushing lips count?”

  “Shit, yeah. But why did you only brush?” A frown marred Lacey’s brow before it cleared. “I bet he pulled back because you make him feel too much.”

  “He pulled back because Kade walked in.”

  The brunette and blonde snapped their heads back at the same time.

  “No!” Lacey’s eyes widened. “Oh my God. And you’re just telling us now?”

  Gwen nodded, her golden ponytail bobbing halfway down her back. “Yeah. What happened?”

  Reaching for a breadstick, she recounted her klutziness that morning and how she found herself underneath her hot ex-fling. “So, it wasn’t exactly a kiss. It was an almost kiss. But it’s probably for the b
est. I really don’t want to complicate his life.”

  “Caitlin, you’re not a complication. You’re a blessing and he’d be lucky to have you,” Lacey stated, her blue gaze clear and earnest, and making hers tear up.

  She drew in a breath and tried to smile. “Thanks. That’s sweet of you. But he’s not staying, so that’s another reason not to start anything.”

  “Did that stop you the last time?” Gwen asked quietly.

  “Well…no.”

  “Did you regret it?”

  A smile tugged her lips as warmth spread through her limbs. “No. Not at all. Just the part where there were too many states between us.”

  “Well, you’re in the same state now,” Lacey pointed out. “Even if he does leave Harland County, he’s working ranches, and there’s a good possibility he’ll do that in Texas.”

  She nodded. “His last job was up in Fort Worth.”

  “See?” Lacey shrugged. “So, even if he leaves, doesn’t mean you two can’t still hook up.”

  “True.” But, even as Caitlin nodded again, she knew a hook up would never be enough. “We’re both different now, though. And the attraction, wow, it’s much stronger. Not really the kind you walk away from without getting burned.”

  Gwen placed a hand over hers. “I get it. Trust me. When I first came here, I wasn’t planning on staying, or hooking back up with Tanner. We had our one great night up in the Poconos, and I was happy to leave it at that. But when we met again the attraction was out of the park. I mean it was insane. And well, you know the rest. We couldn’t stay away, and our bond grew stronger. And now that I look back, I can’t help but feel sometimes things happen for a reason. Tanner and I had our break in between for a reason.”

  “Like Jordan and Cole,” Lacey chimed in, mentioning the local sheriff and her husband. The wonderful couple were definitely fated, and their romance was complicated. They didn’t have it easy. “Those two are kismet. They’ve always been kismet, and yet they were parted for over a decade. And look at me and Jesse. I’ve known him all my life, crushed on the idiot all my life, but he didn’t really know me at all, not until fate decided to step in and open up his damn eyes.”