You Had Me at Cowboy

by Jennie Marts

  “Why?”

  “Because your words meant something to me. Because I wanted to talk to you.”

  “You haven’t answered my texts or called me.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I was hurt and pissed off. I needed some time to cool off and think.”

  “And…?”

  “And to tell you the truth, I was just getting ready to come find you.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “I swear. I had just told Aunt Sassy I was leaving when I heard your voice boom out into the room. That’s why I was in such shock… I mean, besides the obvious that you were standing up in front of a whole room of people at a microphone. But I really had just made up my mind to come find you. I was going to drive to Denver. And then there you were.”

  “Why were you going to come find me?”

  “To talk to you. To try to work things out. To tell you that I love you.”

  Her eyes widened and pooled with tears. “You do?”

  “Yeah, I do. I think I have from the moment I met you. The last four days have been incredible. I mean, I feel like my heart’s been thrown in a washing machine and set to spin. I’ve run the gamut of every emotion. I’ve been happy as a pig in mud and mad as a hornet. I’ve wanted you like nothing I’ve ever wanted in my life, but I’ve also felt sorrow deeper than a mountain canyon. Sometimes when I’m with you, I feel like I’m high or drunk, like my head is whirling and I can’t breathe. And other times I feel the purest sense of calm, like I’m right exactly where I’m supposed to be.

  “I had a hard time accepting that I could actually fall in love with someone in such a short time, but if I had any doubt about it, seeing you standing on that stage pouring your heart out while your hands shook and your voice trembled, that cinched it for me. That’s when I knew for sure.”

  He rested his hand lightly on top of hers. “Your hands are still shaking.”

  “That’s because I’m still scared,” she whispered.

  “Of what?”

  “Of losing you. Of screwing up again. I swear, I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt any of you. And I tried to make it right…with the article. I swear I did.”

  “I know. Rock told me. He said that what you wrote was really great. I think he even said it was so beautiful, it might have brought tears to his eyes.” He understood that feeling. He was having it right now as he looked down into Tess’s blue eyes. She was so beautiful that it hurt to breathe, and his throat filled with the emotion building there.

  He offered her a small smile.

  “Thank you. That was nice of him to say. Your brother really is a good guy.”

  “I know.” He sighed, prepared for the feelings of inadequacy to wash over him. But they didn’t. “I feel like I’ve spent my whole life in a race against my brother, and I’ve always felt like I came in second place.”

  He turned his body toward her and lifted his hand to her cheek. “Until I met you. And for the first time, I felt like someone saw me, and liked me, just for me.”

  “I did. I didn’t even know Rock. But even after I met him, he didn’t hold a candle to you. I didn’t like you because you could play some sport really well or were famous or a celebrity.” She touched her hand to his chest. “I liked you for what was inside of you. I liked the chivalrous guy who loaned me a shirt and gave me a piggyback ride in the rain. I liked the guy who went out of his way to make sure everyone else was doing okay before he ever worried about himself. And I fell in love with the guy who made me laugh and listened when I talked, and fed me pie and sugar cubes, and treated my little stray scruffy dog like he was one of his own.”

  Her words touched something inside him, and he knew all that other stuff didn’t matter. He hated that she’d lied, but he believed her now—believed that what she was telling him was the truth from her heart.

  “I know what happened with Dewey. That you traded your favorite purse—the one that reminded you of your mom—for him.”

  Her eyes widened. “How did you know?”

  “I saw a local girl walking out of the reception with it slung over her shoulder. I asked her about it, and she said her boyfriend gave it to her, that some woman had given it to him in trade for one of his farm mutts. I knew it had to be you.”

  “I would have given just about anything I had to get that dog back. Actually, I did. I gave them everything except the clothes on my back. And I would do it again.” She shrugged. “I loved that purse. But I love the dog more. And if the last few days have taught me anything, it’s to go after and fight for what you love. Even if you think you’re unworthy or that you screwed it up so bad that it can never be fixed. Fight for it anyway.”

  She peered at him from under her lashes. “That’s why I came up here and commandeered the microphone at your brother’s wedding reception. To fight for you. To do something I never thought I could do, to prove to you I would do anything to win you back.”

  He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers.

  She tasted like spearmint and vanilla. And home.

  “It worked,” he said.

  She wrapped her arms around him. “Mason, I have made so many poor judgment calls and plenty of bad decisions, but coming up here and putting my fears behind me to fight for you is the best decision I’ve ever made.”

  “Letting go of my pride and forgiving you is the best decision I’ve ever made.” He kissed her again. “That, and the spontaneous decision to invite a woman I just met—but who had already shown me her bra—to be my plus-one for an entire weekend of wedding festivities with my family. I was sure you wouldn’t last a day. I thought you’d make a run for it as soon as you could.”

  She let out a soft chuckle. “You thought wrong.”

  He offered her a roguish grin. “That was only one of the thoughts I had about you. I had plenty more, starting with the moment I met you in this closet and your shirt busted open. I had this crazy fantasy of tearing it the rest of the way off and getting you naked and pressed up against the wall, then having my way with you in this closet.”

  “That’s a fantasy I could turn into a reality.” She flashed him a flirty grin.

  His heart pounded against his chest. “Tess, as much as I love that idea, I don’t want this to be a fantasy. I want this to be real. I am in love with you, and I want to have a future with you and build a life with you. I want to have a relationship with you that lasts longer than the one you had with your favorite purse.”

  “Keep talking like that, and my dress is going to tear itself off.” She laughed and crawled over him, straddling his lap. Taking his chin in her hands, she gazed into his eyes. “Seriously, I want all of that too. I love you, Mason James.”

  His chest felt light, and he could breathe again. As if all the pain and hurt that had been stuck in his chest had just been released and replaced with pure happiness.

  But he kept his face grim and his tone somber. “I don’t know if it’s gonna happen though.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because I bought that purse back from Angie for a hundred bucks, so it’s still got a good five years on me.”

  “You bought it back? Are you serious?”

  He laughed. “It’s in my truck right now.”

  The biggest grin cut across her face. “You really are my hero. In my eyes, you’ve never come in second place to anyone.” She cupped her palm around his cheek. “Your brother might be the one getting married, but you really are the best man. The best man for me.”

  “I love you, Tess.” Unable to hold back his smile, his heart full to bursting, he pressed a kiss to the spot just below her ear, the spot that drove her crazy, then whispered, “Now, what was that you said about your dress?”

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  in the Cowboys of Creedence series

  It Started with a Cowboy

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  IT STARTED WITH A COWBOY

  Fluffy flakes of snow swirled against the window as Chloe Bishop raced into the kitchen and grabbed the travel mug of coffee she’d set to auto-brew at exactly 7:00 a.m. Several inches had already accumulated, even though it had only started an hour ago, and too late for the district to call a snow day. A few of her students would most likely be absent or late today, but dealing with snow and cold was a normal part of life in the small mountain town of Creedence, Colorado.

  “Fudge nuggets,” she swore as some coffee splashed over the edge of the mug and splattered across the counter. She didn’t have time for this, but she grabbed a paper towel and quickly swabbed at the mess anyway. Nothing in her DNA would allow her to leave the house in disarray—even if she was running late.

  Which she also did not do. Not usually. And this morning, she should have had plenty of time, had she not stepped out of bed and into a squishy pile of cat vomit. Hauling out the steam cleaner and dealing with the disaster had eaten away twenty minutes of valuable currency in the measured moments of her morning routine.

  She tossed the soiled paper towel into the trash, then poured a perfectly measured scoop of kibble into a bowl for Agatha, the carpet-contaminating culprit. Stuffing her feet into her snow boots, she caught a glimpse of red out the window.

  Rubbing at the thin layer of frost, she peered through the pane and sighed, her heart breaking as she saw Madison Johnson, one of her third grade students, standing ankle-deep in the snow and awkwardly brandishing a broom as she tried to clean the snow off her mother’s car. Her scuffed sneakers had to be soaked through, and Chloe recognized the thin winter coat as the same one Maddie’s brother had worn a few years before. Her blond hair was pulled up on either side of her head in uneven ponytails.

  Chloe leaned out the front door, her cheeks tingling with the bracing cold as she called to the girl, “Just leave it, Maddie. I’ll give you a ride to school.”

  “I got it, Teach,” Tina Johnson, her neighbor and Maddie’s mom yelled, her voice carrying the slightest slur, as she stumbled out onto her front porch. She wasn’t dressed much warmer than her daughter in a denim jean jacket over a pair of mismatched flannel pajamas. At least she had on a tattered pair of snow boots. And maybe it wasn’t a slur, maybe Tina had just woken up and her tone was still tinged with sleepiness. Chloe hated to judge, but she wasn’t taking a chance on Maddie getting in the car with her mom if she’d been drinking.

  “It’s okay, Tina,” Chloe called back. “It’s no bother for me to take her. I’m going to the school anyway.”

  The woman swayed from one foot to the other, then nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure. If not, I can take her,” she said, but she was already turning and heading back into the house.

  “I’m sure,” she said to Tina’s retreating back, then she waved Madison up to her porch. “Come on in, honey. I just need to grab my bag, then we can go.”

  The girl dropped the broom, then scrambled through the snow-covered front lawn, a smile spread across her rosy-cheeked face. “Thanks, Miss Bishop,” she said, stomping her feet on the mat before clambering inside.

  “Where’s your scarf?” Chloe made a point to knit each of her students a scarf every year, knowing that for some, it would be the only winter gear they would have. She pushed the door closed against the cold, then grabbed her down parka from the hook on the wall and quickly pulled it on.

  Maddie’s smile fell as her shoulders shrank inward. “I think I left it at school,” she mumbled as she bent down to pet Agatha, who had meandered out from under the sofa to grace them with her presence.

  Chloe sighed as she pulled her pink scarf from her pocket and wrapped it around the small girl’s neck. “You can borrow mine for now.” She tugged the matching hat and mittens onto the girls head and hands. There was nothing she could do about her feet for now. There was no way her boots would fit the girl’s feet, but she added “snow boots for Maddie” to her mental lists of things to look for the next time she was in the local thrift store.

  A quick glance at the wall clock told her she didn’t have time to rummage for another set of hat and gloves for herself, but she had an extra set at school. She’d make do until she got there. Her school bag sat prepared on the bench by the door, and she hoisted it and her purse onto her shoulder.

  “Let’s go,” she said, pulling the door shut behind her and shepherding Maddie toward her car. The silver sedan had belonged to her dad—it and the house full of stuff the only things of value she’d inherited when he’d passed away a few years back.

  She clomped through the snow, then helped Maddie climb into the passenger seat and buckle her seat belt. She grabbed the snow scraper from the back seat and gave the car a quick brushing as she plodded back around to her side.

  She dropped the scraper in the back as she got in and then rubbed her hands together before starting the car. The radio blared out a heavy metal song, the thump of the bass rumbling through the car.

  Maddie’s eyes went wide, then she cracked up. “This song is on my brother’s video game,” she said, completely oblivious to the irony of a bashful teacher jamming out to metal as she lifted her hands and did a decent air guitar impression.

  Chloe laughed with her, doing her own headbanging impression as she switched on the wipers and defroster. She knew she should get out and completely clear the windows of ice and snow, but the wipers swished most of it off, and she could see well enough. Besides the fact that now they were going to be even later.

  With the radio blaring and the defroster whirring at full blast, she put the car into gear, looked over her shoulder as she pulled out into the road, and crashed right into the snowplow that had just turned onto the street behind her.

  * * *

  Colton James swore as the silver car pulled out in front of him. He hit the brake, but there was nothing he could do. The car crashed right into the thick snowplow blade affixed to the front of his truck with a sickening thud.

  Well, shit. He wasn’t even supposed to be on this street. He’d been called out early this morning to help plow the school parking lot. But spending time at the school had him thinking about a certain cute curly-haired third grade teacher, and he’d figured as long as he was out, he could swing by her street and make sure it was plowed as well. It seemed like the neighborly thing to do.

  Not that they were neighbors. She lived in a house in town, and he lived in a cabin in the country on ranch land that his family owned. The Triple J Ranch had been in his family for years and he, his mom, his brothers, and a slew of ranch hands ran it.

  Speaking of his brothers, Rock and Mason were going to give him a ration of crap for this debacle. Even if it wasn’t his fault. He’d been helping out the city by plowing roads for years now and hadn’t ever had an accident.

  But his mind hadn’t usually been preoccupied by a woman. A woman who’d so far only offered him bashful smiles and a few kind words.

  He swore again as he peered through the side window of the car that had hit him and saw that same woman behind the wheel. And from the frustrated look on her face, it didn’t look like she was saying any kind words now.

  He cut the engine and grabbed his gloves as he climbed from the truck. The frigid air stung his cheeks, and he pulled up the front of his scarf and dipped his cowboy hat to protect his face from the biting wind.

  The edge of the plow was smashed into the driver’s side door, so he scrambled to the other side and yanked open the passenger door. “You guys okay?”

  A small girl blinked up at him from the passenger seat. He recognized her as a girl in his nephew Max’s class. “We’re okay, but Miss Bishop said a curse word.”

  “I most certainly did not,” Chloe said, leaning her head on her hands, which still clutched the steering
wheel.

  “You said son of a beach chair.”

  “Which is not technically a swear word.” Her face was still buried against her fingers.

  “Then can I say it?”

  “No, you probably shouldn’t.” She pushed her bangs from her eyes as she leaned over the girl. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even see you.”

  “It’s okay. No harm done to me. But your car isn’t going anywhere.” He pulled the scarf down from his mouth. “I’d be happy to give you all a ride to school.”

  Her eyes went wide as she looked up at him. “Oh, son of a nutcracker. It’s you.”

  “You did it again,” the girl pointed out helpfully.

  He tried to keep the grin from cracking his face, somehow knowing that breaking into laughter would not help the current situation. “Let’s get you out of there and into my truck. I’ve got the heat on and it’s colder than a witch’s t—teeth out here.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “Good save.” She nodded to the girl. “This is Maddie, she lives next door and is in my class. I was giving her a ride to school.”

  “Nice to meet you, Maddie. I’m Colt. I’m a friend of your teacher.” He looked down at her sneakered feet, then at the new accumulation of snow. “You’re going to get your feet even more soaked trying to walk to my truck. Why don’t you put your arms around my neck, and I’ll carry you?”

  The girl raised her arms, and Colt carried her to his truck. She weighed less than a bale of hay. “Stay right here, and don’t touch anything,” he instructed the girl. “I’ll be right back with your teacher.”

  He trekked back through the snow to where Chloe was trying to climb over the center console and into the passenger seat.

  “Son of a bacon bit. My foot is stuck,” she gasped, her body spread halfway across the seat.

  Colt leaned into the car, intent on helping, but was instead struck dizzy by the nearness of her and the honeysuckle scent of her hair. She had on black pants that were tucked into her boots, and her coat and pink sweater had ridden up to her waist. He had the sudden urge to reach out and run his hand along the perfect curve of her butt.