She’d spent the morning finding five possibilities in the tiny Wolf Paw Pass Pioneer want ads, all within walking distance of her apartment. The most desirable was a receptionist and administrative assistant’s position in the local real estate office that would pay sixteen dollars an hour. She’d known the two owners for years, and she felt confident she could handle the position. Another job was at the yarn shop, one at the small grocery store on the far end of Mountain Street, a fourth at a storefront women’s gym, and finally, a last resort right above her in the thrift shop.
She had her route planned so she could use her crutches and not her wheelchair, which she figured would make for less dramatic entrances. She dressed in a pair of dark purple dress slacks that hung on her hips now, a white silk blouse with a modest open collar, and a patterned, pink-purple-and-red, short-waist jacket she’d always loved. She camouflaged her scar and highlighted her lipstick, and by the time she left, optimism practically oozed from her pores. Today she would finally accomplish something worthwhile.
Two hours and three very friendly interviews later, her pores produced nothing but frustration and sweat in the form of rivulets down her spine. The admin position had been filled. The grocer took one look at her and sorrowfully explained that the job required long periods of standing, some lifting, and ladder climbing, and could she handle the physicality? She’d asked question after question, but in the end, it simply wasn’t a practical job for her. Two other positions had also already been taken—the receptionists at both the gym and the yarn shop, Have You Any Wool? To her sorrow, there’d been a second job opening there for a knitting instructor. Her grandmother would cluck at her lack of qualifications for that one. Sadie had been trying to teach all her granddaughters to love knitting their entire lives. Five of the six could make a passable garment or blanket, and Grace had inherited Grandma Sadie’s exquisite talent. Joely was the last-place sister in that lineup. Her basic garter stitch scarves were warped disasters, and it was sad. Who couldn’t knit a row, purl a row?
All that had been left was the thrift store option. Kitty Carlson had tearily and with great hopefulness offered her the job on the spot. Kitty, a heavyset woman of great, sincere feeling, was lovely, but Joely wasn’t certain after talking with her that she could handle the emotional coziness. She’d told her she had several more interviews and would get back to her.
Traversing the length of Mountain Street had led her to a bench just outside Dr. Ackerman’s veterinary clinic. The little storefront window was charming, with a series of animal silhouettes marching across the bottom of the picture window and friendly but professional lettering spelling out Wolf PAWS Pass Veterinary Clinic. Subtitling below it read Hooves, Claws, Feathers, and Scales Also Welcome.
Joely smiled. The neat brick matching so many other buildings in town, the picture on the door of a welcome sign hung around the neck of a whinnying foal, and the door handle, shaped like a gecko, all made the little business friendly and enticing. Anyone would want to bring a beloved pet here.
The door opened and Sheila Ackerman stepped through. To Joely’s surprise she waved and beckoned. “I saw you sitting here, and you look hot and thirsty. Come on in, I’ve got iced teas or waters in the refrigerator.”
“Hey, Thanks, Sheila. That’s awfully nice of you.”
After she had a cold bottle of iced tea in hand, Joely sat in one of the comfy purple armchairs in the narrow lobby. Sheila, a tall woman with black-rimmed glasses and a mop of pretty strawberry blonde curls, was maybe ten years Joely’s senior. She’d started her practice fresh out of vet school and had been a favorite in the area from day one. An all-around practitioner, she really could treat anything from a hamster to a llama.
“I’ve wanted to call you and check up on that little guy you delivered last week. When I spoke to his owner last, the foal was doing well?”
To her embarrassment, Joely found she had no idea. She’d seen the colt a few times in the pasture with Pan, but she’d never given him more than a passing glance. She hedged her answer.
“He looks good. I think he’ll make it.” She had nothing on which to base that opinion, but she shrugged.
“What are you up to today that brings you to my end of town?”
Joely hesitated briefly and then shrugged. “I was job hunting, truth be told. But I had no luck at five stops.”
Sheila wasn’t listening to the details. “Wait. You’re looking for a job?” She looked to the sky and clasped her hands. “Heaven above, I swear an angel sent you. Come and work here.”
Joely frowned and swiveled her head to search the office. “Am I being punk’d?”
“Lord, no. I’m dead serious.”
“What kind of help are you dead seriously looking for?” Joely still didn’t truly believe it wasn’t a joke. The way Alec went on about her animal skills, he could easily have set this up.
“I’m looking for a genie, that’s what kind of help. The lady who cleaned for me just had to give notice, and my tech found a better-paying job in Jackson where she lives. Techs are notoriously difficult to find out here, but I’m looking. Meanwhile, I desperately need a maid, a nanny, a person to ride along with me on big calls, and an answering machine. Pick any of those jobs and it’s yours. In fact, pick any three and I won’t pay you more, but I will love you with dog-like loyalty forever.”
Joely laughed at the genuine hint of begging in the doctor’s voice. “I can’t say I’m not excited,” she said. “Working for you would be a dream.”
“It would actually be gross sometimes. But I like the phrase ‘a dream.’ We’ll go with that.”
“You know I have limited mobility. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to do all you’d require.”
“Are you kidding? I heard that you moved around the foal last week just fine. If you have the strength to help straighten a dystocia and deliver it safely, you can handle anything a dog or cat can dish out. I admit to you, I don’t pay well—thirteen dollars an hour. But I have all the free drinks, sometimes even alcoholic, that you wish; mostly flexible hours; and I really like sweet foods around here on Fridays.”
“How many hours a week?”
“How many do you want?”
“I was hoping for fifteen to twenty.”
“Sold.”
Joely laughed out loud. “You really are serious?”
“Like I said, deadly so. As of next Monday I am down to two dog-walking volunteers, a board-certified small animal surgeon who comes in Tuesdays and Thursdays to help, and my mother who files for me once in a while. I would love to hire another veterinarian, but I couldn’t staff for him or her. Oh, and a side benefit? You see ninety percent of the strays that ever show up. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet for choosing as many pets as you want.”
“Oh no. That’s all I need. Look, don’t you need references? My resumé? Don’t I need experience?”
“No to the references. You’re a Crockett—best animal husbandry experts around. No to the resumé. You’ve been around animals longer than some of my recent techs. And as for the experience. What I just said.”
“Can I watch you do surgery once in a while?”
“Any time you’re here.”
Joely stuck out her hand. “If I find out I’m being punk’d I’ll cry. When do I start?”
THREE HOURS LATER, Joely could barely contain her excitement as she rode behind Cole on the four-wheeler to the barn. It was just after three, and Alec had agreed to meet her at three thirty. She hoped he wasn’t upset about last night, but even if he was, she had an elaborate apology planned.
“There he is,” Cole said. “Lord, that is one enormous dog.”
She peered over Cole’s shoulder in surprise. She’d hoped for a few minutes to surprise Alec by getting Muddy ready without help, but Cole was right, there Alec stood, looking like a model for a Hot Cowboys calendar—leaning on the round pen fence, arms folded, black cowboy hat pulled low across his brow, and stubble shadowing his cheeks. Rowan sat like a quee
nly guard dog at his side, and Muddy, along with one other horse, was tied to the rail behind him.
Joely’s stomach filled with butterflies, and a hungry pulse throbbed in her throat, making it hard to swallow. Forget guilt. Forget anxiety. He looked good enough to eat.
“Hey, Bronc Buster,” Cole said when he’d idled the four-wheeler just short of the horses. “That your next ride?” He nodded at Rowan.
Joely held her breath. She never would have dared call him by that nickname, but Alec only lifted a corner of his mouth in a lazy greeting. “No. Too placid.”
“She’s an amazing animal,” Cole said. “Never seen one in real life, just pictures. Is she friendly?”
“Dangerously friendly.” He nudged Rowan on the shoulder, and she looked up at him adoringly. “Look who’s here, big dog. Can you find Joely?”
Rowan woofed and stood, her head turning and eyes scanning. When they locked with Joely’s, she gave a howl of delight and bounded for the vehicle, stopping beside it and whining, her entire body wiggling.
“Hullo, beautiful,” Joely cooed and reached for her head. “You finally got to come. I’m so happy to see you!”
Cole got in a good pat and received a free hand washing from a long gray-and-pink tongue. “Okay,” he said when Joely had dismounted the four-wheeler. “Have a great trip!”
“Trip?” She shot a questioning frown at Alec.
“It’s like this,” he said. “I figured if you’re going to be a proper alumni rodeo queen, you need a proper entrance. That would be on a horse. And if you’re going to ride a horse in a rodeo arena in just a couple of weeks, you need a crash course in getting into shape and riding in a big space.”
“What are you plotting?”
“Nothing you can’t get out of with a simple refusal. But, if you’re ready for an adventure—a real one—and you brought the things Harper told you to bring . . . ”
“Oh my gosh, she was in on this?” Joely held up a small backpack filled with a rain slicker and her favorite thick hoodie. “She lied. She said she didn’t know what it was for except you wanted them for some kind of riding exercise.”
“That wasn’t a lie. This is a very big riding exercise. We’re heading out to check two of the old trail cabins for Cole. Numbers five and six. Nobody’s really been out to any of the eight for about two years according to Bjorn.”
“That’s almost thirty miles one way!”
“We have four days. Longer if you want to take it slower. I took more personal days from that company that loves me so much.”
She shook her head, unable to hide her excitement any longer. “No, I have to be back by Sunday. I got a job with Sheila Ackerman today.”
“Joely, you did?”
The laconic, sexy cowboy morphed into a jubilant, grinning cowboy. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her high, planting a kiss on her lips as she returned to the ground. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Don’t be,” she said and laughed at his brief confusion. “I’ll tell you all about it. But even though I think the job could be pretty fun, I had very little to do with landing it.”
“I can’t wait to hear. But, have I landed you, my little fish? If you say yes, we can leave within fifteen minutes. Everything’s locked up at home?”
“Well, that further explains what all Harper’s fuss at my apartment was all about.” Joely flicked his upper arm lightly with her finger. “Are the windows closed? Is the stove off? Make sure the toilet’s not running, nothing’s leaking. I was ready to brain her.”
“Sorry,” he said. “I got your sisters on board early this morning. We’ve been planning all day. Horses are ready. Harper raided the few clothes you have in your old room and rolled you a saddle pack with blankets, your sleeping bag, extra underclothes, and some supplies. Saddlebags are packed with food.”
“Pretty sure I’d say yes, weren’t you?”
“I wasn’t at all sure. We had a rough time last night. There was every chance you’d be angry enough that you wouldn’t want to spend four days with me.”
“Mr. Morrissey, I would love to spend four days with you, although this is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t let you help with the packing. This plan is only about eight hours old. To keep with the spirit of crazy—I took a chance.”
“I need my hat.”
“Hanging on the saddle horn. And, just so you don’t think I’ll be taking care of Muddy this whole trip, I’ll tell you now. This was a one-time thing. You don’t have to love him, you just have to deal with him.”
Contrition filtered through her, and she nodded. “Not a problem.”
“Then,” he said, “the last question is whether you can spend four days without those.” He pointed at the crutches on the ground beside the fence.
“With you along?” She winked. “I don’t need anything else.”
Chapter Twenty
JOELY LAID ANOTHER piece of wood on the fire and hopped backward two steps to where she could sink back onto her sleeping bag. Instead of reaching it, however, she landed in Alec’s embrace when he caught her and tucked her tightly against him. She giggled. This was positively decadent. Rowan slept, secured to a nearby tree and dead to the world after a slow but long day on the trail. The horses chewed contentedly, tethered twenty feet away, and the campfire’s flames danced crazily in a mounting breeze. All of it led to time. Plenty of luxurious, unscheduled, kiss-all-night time. If Joely’s legs and spine hadn’t ached like she’d run back-to-back marathons from her day and a half in the saddle, the night would have been perfect.
Fortunately, Alec was in the same boat.
“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” she asked, rubbing her thighs. “What were you thinking?”
“More like hoping. That by the time we get back, we’ll magically be in shape.”
“Oh boy, I sure hope you’re right.”
The night before, they’d made it to the first of the two cabins they were checking. All together eight of the one-room shelters were scattered across Paradise’s nearly eighty square miles. In the past they’d been used during cattle round-ups and hunting expeditions. Now they were more curiosities than anything, but they still made good shelter for crews mending fences or for trips like this. It had been fun straightening up and sweeping out animal droppings, leaves, and dust from the tiny house. They’d talked of nothing important, kissed a lot, played cribbage with a travel set Alec had tucked into his packs, and slept curled next to each other.
Rather, Alec had slept. His deep, even breathing had lulled Joely into catnaps, but her insides had quivered all night from being so near to him with his arm flung across her torso, his belly snugged up against her back, and his right leg draped over hers. Every body part that had touched her radiated heat and had sent shards of pleasure at wildly unexpected moments in directions she couldn’t predict. Deep sleep had been permanently out of the question.
At the same time, there’d been relief. She hadn’t had to face baring her disfigurements to his eyes, or his touch, and she hadn’t had to deal with his shock, or for that matter, his sympathy. She wanted his touch. She wanted to trust this man she feared she was falling in love with—but she wasn’t sure how to trust herself with him.
There was also the message he sent by leaving his prosthetic attached. She’d never seen him remove the limb, but she’d also never spent a full night with him before. The assumption that he’d have to rest his own leg at some point seemed to be false, and it confused her. She didn’t know very much about prosthetics, but she did know that even the best could quickly and suddenly turn painful without proper care. Leaving it on seemed an effective way of keeping distance between them. She didn’t know how to broach the subject without having to talk about her own physical issues, but as the anticipation of another wonderful but frustrating, sleepless night grew within her, Alec’s leg—and hers—were nothing less in her mind than two elephants in their midst.
“Warm enough?”
he asked. “Your back’s okay?”
“I’m plenty warm. And my back aches. It’ll be fine in the morning.”
“Shouldn’t we try to make it fine now? What would make it better?”
“Hiring Sven the masseur?”
He chuckled. “Role playing, huh? Your version of the cabana boy fantasy? Fine, I can do Sven.” He made an extremely poor imitation of Leif’s Norwegian accent.
“Oh, this oughta be good.”
She was joking; he was not. “Come on. Stretch out on your stomach.”
She started to turn and changed her mind. “What about you? How are you?”
“I’m fantastic. I have a beautiful woman about to let me touch her wherever I want to.”
“Wait, I never said that.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, long and deep, taking the lead, pushing him onto his back instead of following his directive to lie down. When he groaned and pulled her to lie on top of him, she broke the kiss. She’d done it now, and her nerves almost got the better of her. Instead she closed her eyes and took a brave breath.
“Your leg has to be killing you,” she said. “I’m worried about it. I have no idea how to ask you about it because you never say anything, so I’m just blurting it out.”
“My leg is okay,” he said.
“You haven’t taken off the prosthetic in two days.”
“I have. Didn’t you ever wonder what the heck took a guy so long in the woods at night?” He took his turn kissing her and she reveled, not just in his kiss but in the breadth of him beneath her. And in the swift, undeniable swell that proved what power her mouth had over him. More thrills pooled low in her pelvis.
The next words hung in her throat for a long time. If she said them, she’d have to be willing to offer the same should he ask it. Her greatest fear rose in front of her.
The Bride Wore Starlight Page 27
