Cowboy Six Pack

by Kari Lynn Dell

  “Coffee,” Zach said.

  “Milk,” Kitty responded. She rarely had milk. The apartment had a small refrigerator, but it barely held the vegetables she liked, let alone a quart of milk.

  Mr. Minto poured a cup of coffee for Zach while his wife filled a large glass with milk.

  “This is fresh, whole milk,” she said, placing the glass in front of Kitty.

  She swallowed a good gulp and closed her eyes relishing the taste.

  “Have you had fresh milk before?” Mrs. Minto asked, taking the seat on the other side of her.

  “No. But it’s been so long since I had milk, I wouldn’t know the difference.” She picked up a cookie and bit into a wonderful mix of spices. “This is delicious!”

  “Thank you. It’s a family recipe.” The older woman smiled.

  The couple and Zach discussed his new practice and what all he planned to accomplish at his clinic. Kitty ate cookies and drank her milk, taking in all the information about Zach’s business.

  As soon as her glass was empty, Zach stood. “We need to get going. I need to check on another patient and get the surgery set up for tomorrow.”

  Kitty stood. “Thank you for the milk and cookies.” She smiled at the couple and followed Zach out to the truck.

  Once they were headed down the drive, she asked, “What other patient do you need to see?”

  “Apache.” He glanced over at her. “If you have anything else at the stables you need to gather we can do that, too.”

  She wasn’t sure how she felt about seeing Marcella. She’d more or less left the woman without a word. “I need to explain to Marcella what’s happening.”

  “I told her.”

  “But she needs to hear it from me. I might have planned to run, but I was going to give her a call when I landed somewhere and explain it to her.”

  “You didn’t tell her beforehand because you didn’t want her talking you into staying.” He captured her hand. “Just like I did.”

  What he said was true. If Marcella had offered to help, she would have caved and stayed. Instead, the handsome man holding her hand and making her experience feelings of security and love, had insisted she stay. Her chest ached with the knowledge she felt loved by this man she’d only known for less than four days.

  She couldn’t answer him because of a lump in her throat. This wasn’t good. She couldn’t fall in love with him. Once he knew her secret, he’d leave her and she’d feel as empty as she had the day Mom and Dad told her she couldn’t stay with them any longer. She’d been rejected so many times, she couldn’t believe she’d allowed herself to fall for this man.

  “Hey, you’re quiet over there.” He squeezed her hand.

  “Just thinking.” She tried to ease her hand out of his, but he held it tight.

  “What were you thinking about?”

  She forced a laugh. “You don’t really care.”

  The truck swerved over to the side of the road. He put the vehicle in park and turned toward her. “I know you’ve had few people in your life that you trusted.” He drew her hand and her body across the seat toward him.

  She pushed Winnie over her to the passenger side.

  Zach peered into her eyes. “You can trust me. When we sang together, it felt right. As if I’d known you my entire life instead of mere minutes. You are someone I can be myself with and like what I see.” He put a hand behind her head, bringing her lips close to his. “And I do care what you are thinking about. I want to know everything about you.” He pressed his lips to hers.

  Tears burned the backs of her eyes. Her heart swelled to think he wanted to get to know her. That he cared about her thoughts and her. She kissed him back, putting all her pent-up love into the kiss.

  His hands grasped her head, turning her slightly. His mouth opened, and she followed the motions of his tongue, tasting the faint trace of coffee and sweet cookie. She’d never kissed like this before. The sensation of his tongue in her mouth, his breath on her cheek, and his hands holding her head so gently sent her mind racing and her body heating.

  Barking echoed through the cab and penetrated the blood whooshing in her head.

  Zach slowly released Kitty. His body hummed from kissing her. Pulling to the side of the road, all he’d thought about was showing her he did care about everything that she cared about. Now as he peered in the rearview mirror and saw a deputy approaching the truck, he was having second thoughts about his actions.

  “Quiet, Winnie,” Kitty said, putting her arm around the dog’s neck.

  He rolled his window down and greeted the same deputy who had taken the vandalism report.

  “Are you having car troubles?” the officer asked.

  “No, just having a discussion. I didn’t want to have my mind distracted while driving,” he said.

  The deputy’s gaze drifted to Kitty. His eyebrows rose. “Probably a good thing you pulled over. Have a good day.”

  Zach turned his attention to the woman beside him. Her lips were puffy and a deeper rose color than normal. He hadn’t shaved this morning. His whiskers had left her upper lip and chin red. The deputy took one look at Kitty and knew there hadn’t been any talking going on.

  He couldn’t take her to the stables until the redness had lightened. “How about some ice cream?”

  She started to move over to the door. He put his hand on her thigh, holding her in the middle of the seat. “Winnie likes to look out the window.”

  Her big violet eyes studied him.

  “And I like you sitting next to me.” He shifted, rested his hand on her knee, and eased the truck onto the road.

  “My sitting next to you makes me look like your girlfriend rather than your employee.” Her tone was reserved, but he heard the question in her comment.

  “Is there a reason you can’t be both?” He glanced at her. “I think we will get along well enough to work together and spend our non-work hours together.”

  “What will your clients think when they realize I’m living in your house?” she asked, hesitantly.

  “They’ll think I’m smart to keep my help on hand at all times.” He pulled into the drive-through. “What kind of ice cream would you like?”

  “Chocolate.”

  He pulled up to the microphone board.

  “I can take your order.” The voice was tinny and garbled.

  “One chocolate cone and one vanilla cone, please.”

  Garbled words he didn’t understand rattled from the box.

  He pulled up to the window to pay. The teenager smiled, took his money, gave him change, and then handed over two chocolate cones.

  “I ordered a chocolate and a vanilla,” he said, handing the first cone to Kitty.

  “I said we only had chocolate. You didn’t respond, so I thought you didn’t care.” The girl smiled brightly.

  “I didn’t hear anything but garbled noise.” He took the second cone and pulled out of the lot and back onto the road.

  “Don’t you like chocolate?” Kitty asked, licking her cone and sending his thoughts to a part of his anatomy she could taste like an ice cream cone.

  “I don’t mind it, but I like vanilla better.” He bit the ice cream to cool his thoughts. The cold went straight to his brain giving him a sharp pain in his head. Better that than where his thoughts had headed.

  “Are we going to the stable now,” she asked.

  He kept his gaze on the road. “Yes.”

  For a Sunday late afternoon, there was quite a bit of traffic. Their ice cream was gone by the time they drove up to the barn at Dunn Stables.

  Marcella and a middle-aged woman were in a discussion at the end of the barn.

  “That’s Shirley, the woman who works when I help Marcella at shows.” Kitty stayed with him rather than going to where the two women stood.

  At Apache’s stall, she opened the gate and they both walked in.

  Zach listened to the horse breathe and checked his neck and nostrils for swelling or irritation. “He looks mu
ch better.”

  “He’s doing a lot better,” Marcella said, hanging her arms over the stall gate. Her gaze was on Kitty. “How are you doing?”

  He stepped next to Kitty, hoping she took it for the support he was offering.

  “Okay, considering.” She walked over to the gate. “I’m sorry for not telling you.”

  Marcella raised a hand. “Dr. MacDonald told me how much help you are. I’ve always said you were better than a stable hand.” The woman shot a glance his direction.

  “We decided it would be best if Kitty stayed at my place. She won’t be staying here at night.” Zach motioned to the apartment.

  Marcella nodded and studied the younger woman. He could tell she wanted to ask about the man harassing her. But he’d asked her to act as if she didn’t know anything.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Kitty saw the glance that went between the two of them. She had a pretty good notion Zach had told Marcella about Paul. She didn’t like that they were keeping secrets from her.

  “I’m going to get a few more things from the apartment.” She brushed through the gate and strode up the stairs. Winnie came bounding from the open end of the barn. They climbed the stairs to the apartment.

  Would she ever come back here? Once Zach discovered she wouldn’t be as much help to him as he thought, he was bound to fire her. She touched her lips. What about the kiss they’d shared only an hour ago? Did it mean as much to him as it had to her?

  She sat down on the stripped bed and rubbed Winnie’s ears. There really wasn’t anything left in the apartment that was hers. She’d put the small amount of food she’d had in the apartment in the tote along with her clothes and toiletries when she’d packed to leave.

  Marcella didn’t know she’d planned to leave. The idea the woman would find out, made her sick to her stomach. She’d been a wonderful employer and friend. Kitty scolded herself for thinking she could just drive away and leave Marcella worrying about her.

  Heavy steps climbed the stairs. A rap on the door started Winnie barking.

  “It’s okay, girl.” She quieted the dog. “Come in.”

  Zach opened the door. “Did you really have something left in here?” he asked, walking in and closing the door. His gaze took in the small room.

  It felt crowded with him standing in the center.

  “No. I could tell you told her about Paul. I was mad and wanted to get away.” She stood, facing him. “Why did you lie to me?”

  “Because I knew that stubborn pride of yours would have you storming off.” He stepped closer. “I told Marcella so she could be safe. There’s no telling what that lunatic will do. I wanted her to be on the lookout and it made sense for my reason of keeping you with me more than you working for me.”

  “I still haven’t agreed to that.” She lowered her gaze to his boots. Working for him as an assistant would be the best move she could make. However, her reading skills would be a detriment.

  “I thought you moving in with me and not running away was your agreeing.” He put his arms around her. “This is all going fast. Faster than I normally make decisions about my business and my personal life. But the threats to you have made me accelerate my thinking.” He tipped her chin up. Their gazes met. “I’ve never had an assistant who knew my every move like you and we’ve only worked together once. And I’ve never had anyone challenge me or have me thinking about them constantly like I have since meeting you.” He dipped his head and touched her lips. A soft gentle brush of sensitive skin to sensitive skin.

  Tingles shot to her toes.

  “Come on. It’s time to take you home.” He released her and walked to the door. “We’ll discuss your employment over dinner.” He opened the door and Winnie bounded out.

  Kitty inhaled deeply to give her wobbly limbs oxygen. He waited patiently by the door.

  She walked out the door and down the stairs. Winnie sat at Zach’s truck waiting for them. It was clear her dog had already taken sides.

  On the drive back to Zach’s, she was quiet as she battled with herself. She owed him the truth. He’d probably kick her out, but she had to tell him she couldn’t read.

  “You’re quiet,” he said as they pulled into his drive.

  “I’ve been thinking.” She scratched Winnie’s back and stared forward.

  “What about?” He parked the truck by the barn.

  She exhaled and turned toward him. “Your offer to be your assistant is a wonderful opportunity for me.”

  He grinned.

  “But there’s something you need to know.” She bit her bottom lip. She’d never told anyone. Could she tell this man?

  “Do you have a criminal record?” His gaze grew more intense. “I saw your aversion to the deputy.”

  “No. I don’t have a criminal record.”

  “You can stand blood. You did a great job with the cesarean.” He opened the door, letting Winnie out. Then he pulled her over next to him. “I can’t think of anything that you could tell me that would make me change my mind.”

  “I-I can’t help you as much as you want.” She stumbled, avoiding what she had to say. It had been her secret since moving here. Thirteen years no one had discovered her flawed brain.

  “I don’t understand.” He rubbed a hand up and down her arm. “What are you not saying?”

  She closed her eyes and blurted. “I can’t read.”

  He laughed. “Quit fooling around. You grabbed the right surgical pack and signed your name on the stalking order.”

  She shook her head and opened her eyes, peering straight into his. “I can’t read. I can make out the beginning letters but everything else is a jumble when I try to read it. It’s like trying to catch the rain. When I focus on one letter the letters ripple like raindrops in a puddle.”

  “But you drive. You had to take a test.” He continued holding her, but his hand had stopped its calming caress.

  “They read the test to me. I pretended I forgot my reading glasses. I listened to a taped version of the book to study.”

  He studied her. “Does Marcella know?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve never told anyone. I kept to myself, so no one would discover how dumb I am.”

  This time he shook his head. “You’re not dumb. Come on.” He grasped her hand and slid out of the truck, dragging her along behind him. “Help me set up the surgery.”

  She followed, unsure why he was continuing to act as if she would work with him.

  He unlocked the building, and they both went to the washroom and scrubbed their hands before entering the surgical room.

  Zach processed what Kitty had said about not being able to read as he set the room up for a spay.

  “In that cabinet, grab the package marked ‘sutures for spay.’”

  Kitty stared at him a moment before hesitantly crossing the room and opening the cabinet. She moved the bundled instruments around and brought him a small bundle.

  “This is the correct one. How did you figure it out?”

  She pointed to the S on Sutures. “I knew the first word started with an S and you said spay so I figured the last word would have an S as well.”

  “Your intelligence is how you’ve survived this long without anyone knowing. But what I don’t understand is how teachers and the adults in your life didn’t understand you had a problem.” Even though his family was on the dysfunctional side, his mother would have been concerned had either he or Julie struggled with reading.

  “I went to half a dozen different schools. About the time a teacher would start asking me questions, I’d be moved to a different foster home. Most of the foster parents wrote me off as slow, and when the other kids did their homework, I was doing chores.” She shrugged as if not having anyone care didn’t matter.

  He knew from the short time he’d known Kitty that she wanted to be loved and cared for, even though she put on a tough act that she didn’t. Everyone wanted and needed to be loved.

  “What about a social worker?” He found
it hard to believe she had so many adults in her life and not a one of them tried to help her.

  “They came and went almost as quickly as I was moved to new homes.” She strolled around the surgery. “I can help you with things where I don’t have to read, but I’ll be of no use to you for other things.”

  He moved to the door. “We’ll see.”

  Back at the house, he waited until they’d eaten and she was relaxed. He went to his office and brought back a book he’d read as a child and loved. It was about animals.

  He sat on the couch next to Kitty and opened the book. “Tell me what you see when you look at this sentence.” He put his finger on the first easy sentence in the book.

  She stared at the page and shook her head. “That’s an A.” She pointed to the stand-alone A. “The next word has a B as the first letter but the rest are all jumbled.” Kitty eased away from him.

  “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable or feel ashamed.” He closed the book and put an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. “If we can figure out what type of dyslexia you have, we can learn how to make it easier for you to decipher the letters and words.”

  She twisted in his arm, facing him. “You mean there’s a way to unscramble the letters in my head?”

  He grinned at the surprise in her voice. “Yes. I had a roommate in college who was dyslexic. It took him longer to read the texts, and he’d usually get an audio version if he could, but he now runs his own animal clinic in Washington.”

  “I can’t believe there is a way to help me read, but I’m willing to try.” Her eyes twinkled, the frown lines at her eyes smoothed out, and her lips curved into the happiest smile he’d seen on her face.

  “It might take some time for me to research and figure out what kind you have and how to help you, but I promise, we’ll have you reading.” Her joy was infectious. He pulled her against him and kissed her smiling lips.

  She pushed against his chest with her hands. He released her. She remained with her hand on his chest, gazing into his eyes.

  “No one has ever tried to help me.” This time she leaned toward him and seduced his mouth, making his body heat and come to life.