Charming the Cowboy

by Liz Isaacson

  She burst out of the house to find both Levi and the goat gone. “Levi?” She scanned the yard, her blood pumping through her body with a speed she’d only experienced a couple of times in her life. Once, when she’d lost a student on a field trip. Again when her fiancé had broken off their engagement only two weeks before the wedding date.

  And now.

  The goat bleated again, but only breezy peach leaves, emerald green grass, and that white gravel path gazed back at her.

  She looked to her right. The deck extended to the corner of the house, and that wasn’t her bedroom window. Thumping down the stairs, she met the gravel path and stepped onto the grass. “Levi?” Around the corner of the house, she found the man only a breath away from the still-angry goat.

  The dog barked. The lazy autumn breeze whispered along the rooftop. Heather sucked in a breath. Levi took another step, his deep voice lifting into the air though she couldn’t make out the word.

  The goat lowered its head and charged. Levi jumped out of the way at the last moment, and Heather only saw the rope when Levi’s arms tensed and jerked and he skidded on the grass a bit.

  “Come on, you stubborn thing,” he said, his face storming with annoyance. “You can’t just eat my whole garden.”

  “Need some help?” she called. Though with a broken arm, she wasn’t sure what she could do.

  Levi’s gaze flickered to hers for half a second. “I’m okay,” he called. The goat strained against the rope Levi had somehow looped around its neck, but the cowboy wasn’t giving the animal a single inch.

  He yanked, and the goat slipped toward him. “Maybe grab me a handful of kale from the kitchen.”

  Heather rushed back into the house and pulled open the fridge. “Kale…kale.” She’d probably eaten the vegetable at some point in her lifetime. She pulled open the drawer which held several leafy greens in a variety of colors. Did it really matter if it was kale or lettuce?

  She grabbed one light green bunch and one dark and went back outside. The goat hadn’t moved, and Levi’s teeth ground together as his muscles bunched and bulged. Heather got distracted for a moment at the sight of his strength, then she held up both bunches. “Which one’s kale?”

  “Dark green.”

  She dropped the wrong one and gave the goat a wide berth as she moved to join Levi at his side. After making two bunches out of the kale, she handed him one.

  He held it up. “Come on, Sundance. You have to go back inside the barn.”

  Heather took a step in the direction of the barn and yard where she’d met the nanny goats yesterday. Somehow, as if miraculously, the goat let up on the rope and stepped toward Levi. He kept his kale held high as he turned and walked normally. Heather kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure the goat wasn’t about to gore her.

  He gave the kale to Sundance when they reached the fence. “You stubborn thing.” But admiration rode in his voice now. And was he seriously smiling at the goat that had tried to ram him?

  Heather shook her head at him and handed him her bunch of kale. He took the goat into the yard and through the open barn door. The goat bleated, the sound echoing inside before it lifted into the sky.

  A few moments later, Levi returned, kale-less, and latched the gate. He checked it twice and then joined her on the safe side of the fence. He exhaled and looked down at her. “Thanks.”

  “I got kale out of the fridge.”

  “He can be a pest.” He bent and patted the dog’s head. “You didn’t do much, Drake.”

  “Is this your dog?”

  “Sometimes.”

  Heather cocked her head. “Interesting.”

  “He lives at my parents’ place,” he said. “You don’t remember my mom bringing him last night?”

  Heather focused on the barn and then the peach trees in his backyard. “I was…a little out of it last night.” When they’d returned from her classroom, his family had shown up with food. Levi had been kind and relaxed, and it was clear that he loved them and they loved him.

  His mother had been compassionate and attentive, and Heather had remembered all the reasons she’d always loved his mom. She’d seen her around town, at church, and she even came out to the ranch sometimes, because she was friends with Heather’s mother.

  But she’d been lost inside her own mind for much of the meal, and she’d excused herself and gone to bed soon after that. So she liked Levi. So he knew she did. So what?

  And he’d said he liked her too. So maybe she’d had to break her arm for him to open his blasted eyes and see her. So maybe he felt guilty. So what?

  But her so what? moments had really taken a mental toll on her, and no, she didn’t remember the dog.

  “Hey, you okay?” His hand, large and warm and everything Heather had imagined, landed on her shoulder and drifted down her arm. His skin on hers sent fireworks through her entire system, and she pulled in a breath. He did too, and when their eyes locked, Heather’s imagination kicked into overdrive.

  “I’m okay.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “I was tired last night.”

  He watched her for another extra long moment, and then bent down to the dog again. “Well, this is Drake. He’s a black lab, and I got him when he was a pup.” He scratched the dog’s head and beamed at him.

  “Why doesn’t he live here?”

  “Oh, he thinks he belongs to my sister.”

  “Elle?”

  “I have to have bacon in my pockets to get him to stay here.” He cuffed the dog along the top of his head. “I guess he didn’t like it that I left the house and didn’t come back.”

  “How old is he?”

  “He’s ten.”

  So Levi had gotten him before he’d left for Kentucky. Sounded like right before he’d left town. Heather’s questions piled up, but she held them back.

  “I think I heard that you had cats.” He straightened and met her gaze, the smile lingering on his strong mouth.

  “A few,” she hedged. Felicity had texted a couple of times to say the felines were doing fine. Dwayne had relayed her mom’s concerns and Heather had assured them all that she was doing great, that Levi was taking good care of her, and that she was thankful for the cat care.

  “So you don’t like dogs?”

  “They require exercise,” she said. “I’m tired after work.”

  He laced his fingers through hers and led her back up the gravel path. She went with him, because she really wanted to be near him, keep this conversation going, learn all she could about him. He seemed to be in a sharing mood, and she wanted to keep him that way.

  “Teaching is a tough job,” he said, bypassing the steps to the deck and going around the back of the house. Rose bushes lined the side of the house, and she admired the blooms, the confession about to spill out.

  “Sometimes I wonder if I can do it for twenty more years.”

  Levi gave her a side-eyed look. “Really? I thought you loved it.”

  “I do. I mean, sometimes. It’s….” She couldn’t explain it. “I just don’t know if I can do it for two more decades.”

  “You can’t really think of it like that.”

  “Yeah, one day at a time, right?”

  He squeezed her fingers. “I didn’t mean it so callously.”

  “If I asked you if you could see yourself running the boarding stable in twenty years, what would you say?”

  A couple of steps passed before he said, “Well, yeah. I love the boarding stable.”

  “I love teaching too.”

  “I’m not saying you don’t.”

  She exhaled, unsure of why she was arguing with him. He hadn’t said anything wrong. “It’s just exhausting, like you said.”

  He walked down the dirt road that led to the main road that went into town, and she enjoyed the silence between them, the way his farm seemed cut off from all the cares she normally dealt with.

  Enjoy it, she told herself. It ends in two days.

/>   “Should we go to lunch today?” he asked. “Is that exciting enough for a first date?”

  A lightness filled her, making her steps feel like she was walking on clouds. “Lunch is always welcome. I usually eat a sandwich in the hall while I’m on the way to the bathroom.”

  He chuckled, but Heather wasn’t kidding. She let him laugh, and when he kneaded her closer and paused at his mailbox, she let go of her negativity about her job.

  “Well, I know this really great barbeque place, but it’s kind of a drive.”

  “I like a good road trip.”

  “I knew I liked you.” He pressed his lips to her temple again and turned them around. “Let’s go get ready.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Levi stayed in the master suite for much longer than it actually took him to get ready to go to lunch. Combined with the fact that he’d gotten up before dawn and that Sundance had woken Heather only a half an hour after sunrise, when he did walk down the hall and enter the living room, it was still only ten o’clock.

  Heather sat on the couch, her dark hair curled around her shoulders. She wore a gray blouse with bright red flowers on it with a pair of jeans that stuck to her like glue as she stood. “Elle didn’t bring the shoes I need.”

  “We can stop at your place.” They had plenty of time, even though the Rib Shack was an hour from Grape Seed Falls. He gazed at her wearing flawless makeup and wondered how in the world he’d never noticed her standing right in front of him. She was gorgeous, and not just on the outside.

  He stepped away from her, because the desire to kiss her had hit him like a tsunami. He paused near the key hooks in the mudroom. “Do you want to take the truck or a convertible?”

  She joined him, inching closer with every breath. Closer than was friendly, that was for sure. “You have a convertible?”

  “And an SUV. It’s nice too. Should we take that?” He plucked the keys from the hook. “I think it has the most gas.” He ignored her wide-eyed look and opened the door to the garage. She exited before him, and he clicked the key fob to make the SUV’s lights flash. “Over there.”

  He opened the garage, revealing the navy blue SUV. The gray leather gleamed, and it smelled like pine trees inside.

  “Do you have a car guy too?” Heather asked as she clicked her seatbelt into place.

  “Very funny.”

  “Well, you have a lawn guy, a chef, and a maid. Oh, and apparently your sister takes care of your dog.”

  “The ‘lawn guy’ is a married couple. They own a landscaping business, and they bring their son.” He backed out of the garage and headed down the lane. “And Drake chose Elle over me.”

  “Semantics.”

  Levi shook his head, his smile perpetual. “I take care of the cars myself.”

  “Shocking.” She shook her head, her playful manner as infectious as her beauty. “Your peach orchard must do really well.”

  Levi’s stomach clenched, and his fingers tightened on the wheel. “I’m sure they do.”

  She turned toward him, and Levi really wanted to derail this conversation. His mouth turned dry, and he braced himself as he turned onto the paved road.

  “So you have an accountant too. He must just deposit money into your account.”

  He couldn’t tell her…could he?

  “I have an accountant, yes.” He spoke slowly, trying to find the right words. “But I don’t actually get any money from the peach orchards.” There. He’d said it.

  “You don’t?”

  “My parents are still living on that income.”

  “Wow, I didn’t think your boarding stable was doing so well.”

  It wasn’t. It barely brought in enough money to pay for what he did. If it was his only source of income, Levi would be living with Dwayne out at the ranch.

  Could he just not answer? She hadn’t actually asked a question.

  “The boarding stable is…functional.” He wasn’t sure where the words had come from, or what he was even saying. The urge to share his life with someone—no, not just someone. Her—was strong.

  He chanced a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. She wore the curiosity plainly on her face, but Levi suddenly clammed up. Let her think what she wants.

  But he didn’t want her doing that either. He waited for her to ask. If she asked, he’d tell her. He couldn’t quite see her while ultra-focused on driving, but she did huff audibly and turn back to face the windshield.

  She said nothing, so Levi followed her lead. Problem was, now the car was filled with awkward silence. Nothing like the easy, country silence he’d enjoyed while they strolled down his lane toward the main road.

  Heather’s frustration almost had a voice, and Levi sighed. “Just ask me.”

  “Ask you what?” Her voice came out too high.

  He cut her a glare. “Ask me how I made my money.”

  “I don’t care about your money.”

  Levi rolled his eyes, wishing that were true. “I won’t tell you how much I have.”

  They left Grape Seed Falls in the rearview mirror and still Heather wouldn’t ask. Levi reached over to turn on the radio, and her hand shot out to stop him. She caught his arm around the wrist, and he looked at her, his eyes widening and his mind forgetting that he was driving a moving vehicle.

  “If the boarding stable is ‘functional’ and your parents still get the orchard income, where does your wealth come from?”

  He cleared his throat, the moment finally here. She released his hand and he somehow managed to get it back to the steering wheel. He glanced down and realized he’d sped up. Easing up on the accelerator, he tried to order the words right.

  “I’ve only told one other person this,” he said, deciding to start with Dwayne. “And I only told him because he wanted to know how I could afford to buy so many horses.” He chuckled, but the sound was almost unhappy. “And Dwayne only wanted to know because I’d outbid him on Starscape. He really wanted that horse.”

  “Dwayne couldn’t handle Starscape.”

  “Thank you.” Levi hit the steering wheel with one hand. “That’s what I keep telling him. That I’ve actually done him a favor.”

  Heather waited. Sure, Levi could’ve thought she was simply giving him time to speak. Or that she no longer cared. But with Heather Carver, she didn’t do anything that wasn’t deliberate. And her silence meant she was waiting for him to answer her question.

  “I got all my money when I lived in Kentucky.” His throat felt so sticky.

  “Kentucky? What were you doing there?”

  He shifted in his seat. He’d have preferred this conversation happen at his house. Or somewhere on the farm. Or never.

  “Um.” He cleared his throat again.

  “I can see it makes you uncomfortable,” Heather said. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “I want to tell you.” He glanced at her and found disbelief in her expression. “I do. It’s just hard. I’m…not proud of it, and I’ve spent years trying to come to terms with it.”

  “Is it illegal?”

  “No.”

  “Then why does it matter?”

  The questions that would follow this particular revelation threatened to drown Levi and they hadn’t even been asked yet. But Dwayne had asked, and Levi had told him he didn’t want to talk about it.

  “This is the only question I’m answering today,” he said. “Deal?”

  “All day?”

  “This is a big one, and you’ll have a lot more, and I just—I just want to go to lunch and have a good time.”

  “No adult conversation after this, then,” she said. “I think I can do that.”

  His doubts crowded into his mind, but he pushed them back. He didn’t want to doubt Heather, or himself. He felt something for this woman, and those feelings needed time and room to grow, breathe, develop. And he couldn’t give them that if he didn’t tell her some hard things about his past.

  “I—wow, this is harder than I thought it would be
.”

  “I’m not going to judge you,” she said.

  “Yes, you will.” He glared at the landscape passing outside the window. “I won the money, betting on horses.”

  “Oh, well—”

  “I was really good at it, and I gambled every day. It was my whole life, all I lived for. The rush of getting the race list, arguing with others over who would win, placing the bet. Then when those horses ran around the track….” He exhaled. “There’s nothing to describe it. It’s…it’s like this high I can’t explain.”

  And as much as Levi didn’t want to admit it, he missed that high, that rush, that addiction. Craved it still.

  “You really don’t have to explain, Levi.”

  “I didn’t like who I was in Kentucky,” he continued anyway. “And I’ve worked really hard to move past that time of my life. But every time I look at my bank account, I’m reminded of that man.” He looked at her, desperate for her to understand. “So it’s hard to talk about.”

  She reached over and put her hand on his, gently drawing his hand from the wheel and onto the center console. “It doesn’t matter to me.”

  “Money matters to everyone.”

  “Honestly, I don’t—”

  “My bank account has ten zeroes in it.” He practically growled he words. “You’re telling me you don’t care about that?”

  The gasp of surprise that came from her mouth said she definitely did. As did the, “Ten zeroes?” she blurted out.

  “That’s a question,” Levi said. “I’m not answering it.”

  “You just asked me one.”

  “You didn’t specifically say I couldn’t ask you a question.”

  Several beats of silence passed before Heather started giggling. Within seconds, she ramped up to full-on laughter, and while Levi liked the sound of it and that it chased some of the awkwardness away, he wasn’t sure what she found so funny.

  She quieted, and Levi drove. So many miles went by that he began to relax. He was about to mention something about the barbeque when she said, “I’d like to see that many zeroes in a bank account. Can you even spend that much money?”