Counting on a Cowboy

by Debra Clopton

  Within a few minutes, with Pebble watching Levi, Abby went and pulled the playpen from the car. Mr. Radcliff came across the road as soon as he saw what she was doing.

  “Here, let me do that for you.” He reached for the small fold-up playpen that was compact enough to be easily carried by anyone.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “My pleasure.” He tipped his jaunty hat then walked beside her toward the gazebo.

  Pebble looked up from singing “Pattycakes” to Levi just as they came to a halt, and Abby thought she felt an arc of tension as Pebble looked at Rand. There was definitely something up between them.

  “Hello, Pebble,” he said gently, removing his hat and bowing a touch. “You’re looking lovely as usual today. You looked just as lovely at lunch yesterday.”

  Pebble looked down at Levi, her cheeks slightly pink when she raised her eyes back to the man who clearly had a thing for her.

  “Hello, Rand, you are looking well yourself.”

  “Thank you. I expect we will have a large crowd of out-of-towners coming in tomorrow—it should be a good piece for the paper.”

  “I think you’re right,” Pebble said with stiffness.

  Abby was getting mixed signals from Pebble, but there was absolutely no mistaking the very distinguished newspaperman’s interest. His boyish good looks contrasted with his silver hair. There wasn’t a stitch out of place, from the creased khaki pants he wore to the starched oxford shirt tucked perfectly at his trim waist. Add the hat and he appeared to be the perfect gentleman. A perfect match, Abby thought, for the trim and delicate motel owner who also didn’t have a hair out of place.

  “I’ll just set this up for you.” Rand went to work on the playpen. Abby knew from experience exactly how to unfold the playpen, but she let him show off his skills in front of Pebble. Though he had to pull his glasses from his pocket and read the instructions on the side.

  After a moment he had it open without a hitch.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Radcliff.”

  “Any time. And once you’re in the house next door, if you need anything, you just ask me and I’ll fix it for you.”

  With that he tipped his hat at her then turned to Pebble. Abby was certain there was something going on.

  “You have a nice afternoon. And the same goes for you at the motel. Call if you need anything.”

  He tipped his hat and headed off toward where Doonie and Doobie were clearly arguing over something that had to do with one of the banners.

  “I do believe you have an admirer.”

  Pebble blushed scalding pink. “Please don’t think for one moment that I’m happy about that,” she said. Her expression troubled, she stared after Rand and her eyes grew sad. She gave Abby a small shake of her head and walked away.

  Abby watched the petite widow leaving. Did this have to do with losing her husband ten years ago or was there more? Abby thought of Bo and knew from the attraction she felt toward him that being drawn to someone after losing the love of your life was uncomfortable to say the least.

  Bo was standing at the entrance of the stable when Abby drove into the yard that afternoon. She’d taken Levi to town for the decorating. His gut bucked as she got out of her car and eased her door closed.

  She left her hand on the door handle. “Levi’s sleeping, so I’ve left the air running and will take him on up to the house in a minute. I just wanted to let you know we had a great day.”

  “Great.” Bo had thought about her all day.

  “He just played with anyone who would give him some attention and that was everyone. The ladies are all so nice.”

  He liked the way her eyes lit up with happiness. “I’m glad they’ve taken you under their wing.” Bo set down the feed bucket he was holding. He’d done the feeding today instead of the ranch hands. It had felt good to get around and back to his usual schedule, though he’d been working at high speed all day trying to make up for lost time. There was something about walking inside the hay-scented building to the soft nickers of the horses as they greeted him that just pulled all his worries aside for a little bit. Riding was even better, but he’d not had time to even think about that in the last few days. But standing here beside Abby brought a whole new energy into the building and he wasn’t thinking about a horse or feed or riding as he fought off the need to touch her.

  “They are just as I’d pictured them from Maggie’s description,” Abby said with a sigh. “I’m so glad I came here, Bo. This is just what I needed.” She walked over to a stall where one of the new arrivals had craned his neck over the gate and was beckoning her with his snorts. “He’s gorgeous.”

  Bo went to stand beside her, not ready to let her get too far away. The soft scent of her hair tickled his senses. He stepped a little closer. “He’s new. He arrived just the other day and is waiting for Tru to train him.”

  “Does Tru work with a lot of other people’s horses?”

  “He does. He trains them, and then he competes on them for a fee. It works well for him. It keeps him on the road a lot, though I know he’s really starting to wish he could be here more. But it’ll be at least another year, maybe two, before he can do that. With Maggie’s writing, she can pack her computer and travel with him. It’s a real blessing that he’s found someone who can ease the road weariness he’s feeling.”

  She touched the horse’s neck, unafraid of the animal at all, like many people might be—including Maggie when she’d first come to the ranch. No, Abby looked at Bo over her shoulder as if she’d been around animals all her life. “I can see where that would be terrible if your heart was now longing to be at home.”

  He had to think about what she was saying and remind himself they were talking about Tru. “Oh, yeah. I think that describes it very well,” he said, almost mesmerized. “His heart is longing for more. A family, to be specific.”

  He couldn’t stop staring at her. She swallowed hard and held his gaze.

  “You are beautiful,” he laughed. “I can’t seem to stop looking at you.” It was the truth, but he could see by the flicker of diminishing light in her eyes that saying so was a mistake.

  “Your cowboy is showing in that statement.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She gave a small laugh. “Cowboys are flirts, didn’t you know?”

  Okay, so he knew he shouldn’t, but his mouth was overriding his brain. “Yeah, that may be true, but they are also not blind. And honey, your beauty is not all in the outer layer, either. When you laugh and that twinkle comes into your eyes, it’s just downright attractive.”

  She stared at him as if she didn’t know what to make of his boldness. He sure didn’t know what to make of it. The woman had just started working for him—was he trying to run her off?

  “I appreciate your opinion, but I’m not looking for a boyfriend. I’m here to work.”

  “There you go. I’m not looking for a girlfriend. I just need someone to work for me. I’ll keep my opinions to myself from here on out. How’s that sound?”

  The tension hummed like a buzz saw between them as they stared at each other.

  He hoped he hadn’t just made the mistake of a lifetime.

  “Fair enough,” she said. “So, moving on, is there something between Mr. Radcliff and Pebble?”

  Relief slapped him—remember to tow the line like you would with a skittish colt. Abby Knightley had walls up around her that screamed no trespassing. He wasn’t going to tell her this, but he knew that there was no way he was going to be able to stay on this side. Trespass or not, he wanted to know why that wall was there. He’d just need to be patient.

  “Well, let’s just say Rand would like there to be.” Boy, did Bo understand that feeling. “But so far he’s not making any headway.” Ditto with a capital D . . . but Rand had made some pretty big and stupid mistakes where Pebble was concerned. Bo hoped he hadn’t just done the same with Abby. The woman was skittish enough without him opening his mouth and running her off.
r />   13

  Abby, Abby, Abby—stop overreacting.

  Abby tried to tell herself to calm down. Bo had knocked her feet out from under her with his blatant compliment earlier. She deflected it as best she could. The last thing she wanted to do was lead him on when she had no intention of dating or building a relationship with a man.

  Thankfully he was letting the awkward conversation go and moving on to another topic as she’d prompted. “I suspected something was going on,” she said. Her gaze strayed to his broad shoulders. His thick biceps. Those were powerful arms—and she remembered the feel of those strong arms holding her. Her mouth went dry and her mind shifted to thoughts she was alarmed about. She turned back to pet the horse again and fought to calm the galloping of her heart and the rushing of blood crashing through her. It was suddenly far too hot and suffocating in the airy stable. “I need to check on Levi,” she said, and it was true . . . hurrying to the car, she peered through the cracked window. The kid was practically snoring, he was so contentedly sleeping.

  Bo leaned over her shoulder. “He’s sleeping like a baby.”

  She smiled and tried to ignore his nearness. “They don’t always, do they?”

  “That’s a big affirmative. He likes to wake up in the middle of the night and play.”

  “Not good for you. He was very entertained today by everyone playing with him. But you might want me to wake him up or he might not sleep tonight.”

  He grinned at her. “You can do whatever you want. You’re the expert, I certainly am not. I’m so thankful you had all that day care experience with babies.”

  “Me too.” Abby’s heart tugged with the desperate wish to have had experience with her own sweet child. Regret flooded her mind and heart at the loss of her baby. She forced a smile and focused on Levi. “I think I better wake him. It’s almost five o’clock anyway. Are you going to be able to keep him soon?”

  “Yeah, sure. I’m finishing up here now and can follow you up to the house and take him. Pops is already there. Jarrod dropped him off a little while ago.”

  They were back on stable ground. At least for the moment. “Sounds good. I need to go do some stuff at my house. I think I’m going to spend the night there tonight.” She headed around the car. “See you in a minute.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  She didn’t wait, but got into the car and headed straight to the house. She found Pops taking a nap in the recliner in the den. Solomon trotted out to meet her and the baby, even wagged his tail. It appeared the animal was not just a one-man dog—he had now become a two-man dog: Pops and Levi.

  Abby didn’t waste any time leaving as soon as Bo showed up. He told her that he was going to take Levi to the picnic and they’d make a day of it. So she shouldn’t worry about working. It was Saturday after all, he’d said. She’d been fine with that. Maybe not being around him for the weekend would help her get these unwanted vibes between them under control.

  Her head knew that her heart couldn’t handle chancing a relationship. But Bo was causing havoc on the laws of attraction.

  After leaving the ranch, she went to the store in town and found an air mattress to sleep on until her things arrived on Monday. She enjoyed the motel, but she was ready to get settled into her own place. She needed the grounding, the sense of permanence that it would hopefully give her. Having a place of her own meant this wasn’t temporary.

  Mattress, coffeepot, a coffee mug, and a glass for water along with a few other necessities piled into the car, she went back to the motel and found Pebble to check out. Then she loaded up the rest of her things and headed toward her new home.

  Rand had kept the utilities turned on, so she could move in when she wanted to. That was now.

  The place looked sparkling clean, but Abby started cleaning again the minute she walked in. Cleaning kept her hands and mind busy, and it just made her feel as if this place was really hers.

  But it didn’t work. The things that had been straining to occupy her thoughts kept breaking past her defenses—she reached for her earphones and turned up the radio, singing loudly along with Lady Antebellum as she wiped down cabinets.

  This was all Bo’s fault.

  If he hadn’t gotten her hormones in an uproar or suddenly become the daddy of a precious baby boy, then Abby’s emotions and memories would have stayed locked safely away and not be banging to get out and cause her anguish.

  Yup, it was Bo’s fault and she gave him what-for as she cleaned.

  And tonight, if she couldn’t sleep, she’d take a sleeping pill like the doctor’d ordered, though she seldom did. She only took them when she needed nothingness . . .

  Needed to totally and completely shut her mind down.

  She couldn’t remember what a normal peaceful sleep felt like. She’d been a good sleeper before the wreck. But not since. Not since losing . . .

  Abby sang louder and forced herself to think about how she would decorate the house when her things arrived. The place was going to be darling. She’d make it all her own—fresh, new, and she would be happy here. Completely happy.

  She’d have a sweet baby to keep during the day, one that could satisfy the hole in her heart . . . almost.

  She’d have a handsome man with whom she would just build a friendship. Nothing more. She’d laid it out plain and simple for him. Things would be fine. She wasn’t interested in anything more and neither was he. His plate was full. Her heart was full. They were the perfect match.

  Yes, she had a plan. She was thinking positive.

  Glancing out the window, she saw the lights on at Rand’s and she decided she might need to say hi and let him know she’d moved in.

  That would be neighborly and also a distraction. After all, she’d come to Wishing Springs to force herself to get involved.

  She let herself out the front door and walked across the grass to the front door of his pretty brick home. He didn’t answer. So she walked around to the back and entered the gate. And there, on the back patio, sat Rand. He had his arm on the table and had slumped forward, with his head on his arm. Something wasn’t right. Abby stepped forward, then stopped—there was a bottle of alcohol sitting on the table next to his elbow. No glass, just the open bottle of clear liquid. She was close enough now to see the large letters. It was an open half-empty bottle of vodka.

  She had never pictured this distinguished-looking gentleman as a drinker. Abby knew more than she cared to about heavy drinkers. Drunks.

  Drinking and driving . . .

  Abby knew that not everyone was an alcoholic and she had no business instantly jumping to conclusions. Despite the look of things.

  This wasn’t her business. She should just back away and leave. No one would know she’d even been there. But she forced herself to step forward into the light of the porch. “Mr. Radcliff. Are you okay?”

  He lifted his head and she knew this was no normal situation.

  “Fine. I’m fine . . . wha-ya-want?” he said gruffly, his words slurred.

  Abby cringed. He’s sitting in his own backyard. It’s none of your business, Abby.

  None of my business.

  It was true. He wasn’t on the road. He was harming no one. “I came to let you know I went ahead and moved in. Okay, then, I’ll see you later.” She started toward the gate.

  “Fine. Sounds peeerrr-fit . . .” He plopped his elbow onto the table and dropped his forehead into his palm. “She hates me,” he whined. “Never going to love me.” He looked up through bloodshot eyes. “You know how hard it is to luf someone and not haf that luf returned?” He slapped his heart and hiccupped. “She-wan-gif-me-the-time-of-day,” he slurred, his bleary eyes digging into Abby.

  She felt sick to her stomach. She needed to turn around and leave. “I know how it hurts to love someone and not to be able to be near them. To have them taken away—” She knew that pain all too well. How empty her arms were and the hole that penetrated not only her heart but her soul.

  “That’s just terrible.
I try. I try and try to make amends. But she won-hear me.”

  She’d wondered what the strain was between them, and now she was pretty certain she understood Pebble’s attitude. She reminded herself that she didn’t know Rand Radcliff. Not really. He was now her landlord and she needed to keep her mouth shut.

  Walk away Abby. Just walk away.

  She turned and took two steps toward the gate, then stopped, closed her eyes as the anger mounted and intensified. She turned back. This wasn’t going to be good.

  Crossing to the table, she stared down at Rand with zero sympathy. He leaned his head back as if it weighed fifty pounds and tried to focus up at her.

  “Mr. Radcliff, do you do this often? Drink till you can’t think straight?” She couldn’t stop the anger in her voice.

  “Nooo.”

  “Oh really? I think that right there says you have a problem. I don’t think you realize that or you would have had a different answer for me. I’m not going to talk to you now, because it won’t do any good. But I think you need to set this aside tonight.” She reached for his bottle and walked toward his house. What in the dickens are you doing, Abby?

  She was trying to save a life.

  If not his, some other poor innocent family he could very easily kill with one bad driving choice. Her knees weakened and she shoved thoughts away and kept on going. She opened the patio door to his house, walked in, and heard him stumbling along behind her.

  “Hey, gimme back that. I’m not through.” He grabbed the door frame for support.

  “You are tonight.” She emptied the large bottle into the sink. It was more than half empty so it didn’t take too long.

  “Hey, hey,” he hollered and propelled himself toward her, not anything like the sweet man she’d seen today. Tonight he was pathetic. He glared at her and grabbed the counter to keep from falling. “Ya got no right ta do that.”

  “So sue me.” She took the bottle to the trash and lifted the lid—there was another empty bottle inside. Her stomach lurched. She dropped the bottle inside and spun. “You need to go to bed, Mr. Radcliff.” She needed out of here.