The Cowboy's Lady

by Carolyne Aarsen

  “Hello, Aunt Katrina,” Vivienne said, not sure if she should give Arabella’s mother a hug or simply smile. Vivienne had never been particularly close to Aunt Kat, but she had a few good memories of visiting Arabella’s house before Arabella’s father and Aunty Kat got divorced. “Nice to see you again.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure it is.” Aunt Kat patted her lightly on the shoulder, her long earrings jangling as she did so. “Hear you’re stuck at the ranch.”

  “I’m cooking there, yes.”

  “If you see that little weasel, Bryce, tell him I need to talk to him.”

  Vivienne frowned at that. She didn’t know Aunt Kat and Bryce knew each other, but then Clayton was a small town. Everyone knew everyone in one way or another. “I’ll tell him next time I see him.”

  “Please do that.” Aunt Kat released a harsh laugh. “And enjoy your time at the ranch. Good thing it’s only temporary. Soon enough you’ll get your money and you can be gone.” She added a wink, then strolled past Vivienne, wafting stale cigarette smoke behind her.

  Then Vivienne turned and almost bumped into Cody. She glanced up and, to her dismay, felt again that peculiar lift of her heart as their eyes met.

  “You ready to go?” he asked, his voice gruff.

  “I just have to find Les and check over the order he put together for me. Make sure he put everything in I asked for.”

  “I’m sure you can trust him, even though he’s one of the ‘evil’ Claytons,” Cody said, his voice holding a sarcastic edge. “We already loaded it all in the truck. Sorry, but I gotta pick up Bonnie from school, and I want to be back at the ranch on time.”

  Vivienne hesitated, torn between a need to make sure she had all the supplies she needed and knowing that Cody had his own schedule to keep. Whenever she took a delivery at the restaurant, she always went over it before the delivery van left, making sure everything they ordered was there. She knew once she got out to the ranch that if something was missing, she would have to make do until they went to the market again.

  She curbed her need to control the situation. “Can we stop by and pick up my car?”

  “Billy Dean said it won’t be ready for at least a week. He had to get some parts from an auto wrecker, and it might take extra time. So you’ll have to ride back to the ranch with me.”

  Vivienne wasn’t sure she wanted to do that, but it seemed she had no choice. So she followed Cody as he strode to the door, yanked it open, then stepped aside.

  The little courtesy was probably second nature to him, and she doubted that he was even aware he did it. And then, when he sauntered ahead of her and opened the truck door for her, as well, his courteous actions created a shimmer of warmth. She was an independent woman of the twenty-first century. Such actions belonged to another time and place. Or so she had been told by her friends in New York.

  Yet, in spite of being a modern woman, it felt good to be taken care of. And as they drove away from the store, she couldn’t help the occasional surreptitious glance Cody’s way.

  He drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting on the armrest of his door. A frown pulled his dark eyebrows together, as if he were already thinking about the work that lay ahead. She didn’t know if she was being hypersensitive, but it was as if a tension had filled the truck. Thankfully it was only a short drive to the high school.

  Bonnie stood with a group of friends when they pulled up to the high school parking lot. As Cody got out and walked toward his sister, Vivienne’s mind trailed back to another time and almost exactly the same place.

  She studied Cody from the safety of the truck. Watched as he lightly touched his sister on the shoulder, felt her heart warm at the gentle smile on his face. He really loved Bonnie. The same way she knew Zach cared about her and about Brooke.

  But Bonnie shrugged his hand away, and from her vantage point, Vivienne easily caught the eye roll and curled lip Bonnie sent her friends. Vivienne wanted to give the ungrateful girl a shake.

  Yet, even as she critiqued the young girl’s behavior, Vivienne wondered what kind of expression she had on her face after she turned away from Cody Jameson. After she had turned him down. What feelings had she telegraphed to her friends?

  She’d had no right to treat him so shamefully. Her age, at that time, was no excuse. Her mother had taught her better than that. She wished she could go back in time. Redo the moment.

  And what do you think would have happened then?

  She pushed the question aside. It didn’t matter. She’d been wrong to treat him the way she had.

  Bonnie slung her knapsack over her shoulder and handed Cody her jacket, like he was her personal valet. And in spite of her own degrading memories, or maybe because of them, Vivienne promised, first chance she had, she would let Bonnie know how disrespectful her behavior to her brother was.

  As Bonnie came near the truck, Vivienne got out to let her in, but Bonnie held back. “I don’t want to sit in the middle,” she said, pouting.

  “You can there or you sit in the box with the groceries,” Cody replied, getting into the truck.

  Bonnie stood by the open door, her bright red lips clamped together, her expression mutinous. “I want to sit by the window. I get car sick if I sit in the middle.”

  “Missie, get in the truck. Now. I don’t have time for this.”

  Vivienne glanced from Bonnie to Cody as the tension mounted. She guessed Bonnie wasn’t giving in. Yet if she sat in the middle, that would put her right up beside Cody.

  Not preferable.

  “Then I’ll walk home.” Bonnie tossed her hair and was about to turn to leave when Vivienne caught her by the arm.

  “Don’t be silly,” she reprimanded. “I’ll sit in the middle.”

  She tried not to let the girl’s triumphant look get to her as she climbed in. Because once Cody drove away, she had other things to keep her occupied.

  Like how she could keep her distance when every corner he turned brought the two of them in close contact.

  She kept her eyes on the road, but it was as if every nerve of her being was aware of Cody beside her. She could smell the scent of his aftershave, could feel the warmth of his arm as it brushed hers when he shifted.

  Keep your eye on the prize, she thought, staring out the window as they drove out of town. Don’t think about the man sitting beside you. Don’t let yourself be distracted.

  Chapter Six

  “Did you check all your work?” Cody dragged his hand over his face, then pulled his chair closer to the kitchen table and picked up the math textbook again.

  He was helping Bonnie with her homework. It had been years since he’d done this, and his own calculations were rusty. As a result, things were not going well.

  Bonnie tossed her pencil down on the table. “Of course I did. And the answer is still wrong.” She dropped her arms over her chest in a gesture of anger and defiance. “I hate math. I hate school and I hate being stuck out here on the ranch.”

  Cody winged up yet another hasty prayer as he repressed his frustration. Why did the women in his life hate living out on the ranch so much? “But it’s so peaceful here,” he said, trying to show her the positives. “It’s quiet and you can think out here. You can go out for a walk anytime you want. I always feel freer out here.”

  You’re feeling freer right about now?

  He pushed the traitorous question aside. Sure he was having his struggles right now, but in time it would all resolve itself. In time he would forget about Tabitha’s betrayal. In time his life would fall into some kind of rhythm.

  And he’d get used to being alone.

  “You know you’re only staying on the ranch until mom and dad come back,” he told his sister, hoping to reassure her. “I lived out here, too, whenever they would leave.”

  Bonnie pressed her lips together as if angry, but not before Cody caught a telltale quiver and his anger melted away.

  “Hey, Bonnie, they said they’re calling tomorrow.” He remembered the ti
mes he would stay out on the ranch, as well. Bonnie was young back then, and being on the ranch was still an adventure for her. She used to love picking wildflowers, feeding carrots to the horses and going for aimless walks. How things changed.

  “As if that will help,” she groused. “I’m still stuck out here.”

  A knock on the door saved him from his sister’s melodrama. Probably Ted coming to go over the plans for the next week.

  “Come in,” he called out, picking up the pencil Bonnie had tossed on the table.

  “Sorry to bother you…”

  Cody dropped the pencil and spun around. The quiet voice was definitely not his uncle’s.

  Vivienne stood in the doorway of the kitchen, holding a folder. The glimmer of dangly earrings in her ears, the shine of her lipstick and the flowing dress she wore suddenly made the kitchen seem old and decrepit.

  “No problem. Come in,” Cody said, pushing back the wooden chair he was sitting on a little too quickly. He caught it before it tipped and chose to ignore the little smirk his sister sent his way.

  “I don’t need to talk long,” Vivienne assured him, flashing him a quick smile and smoothing her hair, pulled it away from her face. “I came to go over the menu for the next week with you. To make sure I’m on the right track.”

  “Of course. Yeah.” He blinked, glancing around the kitchen, wishing he’d pushed Bonnie to clean up. Tonight he and Bonnie had taken their dinner and eaten it in the house. Something he tried to do from time to time.

  “And I was wondering if I can have Bonnie help me tomorrow. I’d like to bake some snacks and desserts for next week.”

  Bonnie’s face brightened and Cody bit his lip, thinking.

  “You said I could help,” Bonnie said, a whine entering her voice.

  “Yeah. I know.”

  “I would have come and helped you tonight,” Bonnie told Vivienne, “but Cody said I had too much homework. I’d love to help you tomorrow.”

  Vivienne’s answering smile went right to his stomach, and right behind it came the memory of her sitting beside him in the truck on the way home. He’d had a hard time concentrating on his driving, what with her arm brushing his every time he turned a corner.

  “And dinner was really good,” Bonnie said with a surprising smile.

  “Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I thought you might join us in the cookhouse, though.”

  Bonnie shrugged. “Cody doesn’t like me eating with the hands too much. So sometimes I eat by myself. Sometimes we eat together.”

  Vivienne’s nod and tight smile made Cody feel, once again, like an irresponsible brother. Balancing his need to be present for his sister and at the same time stay connected with his men was tricky. And frustrating, because he never felt like he was doing enough for either.

  “Why are you going over the menu now?” he asked, unable to keep his annoyance from creeping into his voice. “You already bought the groceries.”

  He blamed his curt reply on the way she looked and the confusion she created. Sure, he was attracted to her. Who wouldn’t be? Sure, she was beautiful.

  But she was also the same kind of woman Tabitha was, and if Cody couldn’t learn from the past, then he was dumber than some of his worst horses.

  “I bought some basic staples. But I thought I could get anything extra I might need once we nail down the menu for the week.”

  Cody pulled a chair closer to the table, its legs screeching over the worn linoleum. “Okay. Let’s see what you got,” he said, wishing he hadn’t been so pig-headed on insisting she do exactly what she was doing right now.

  She gave him a tight nod, as if sensing his resistance to her, then with one easy and elegant motion, she smoothed her dress and sat down on the chair. Bonnie, ignoring her homework, leaned closer to look, as well. As Vivienne set the papers on the table, one of them caught on the bandage wrapped around her finger.

  “How’s the injury?” he asked, nodding at her bandage.

  “It’s fine. It’s a nuisance to work with because of food safety, but I wrap it in plastic wrap.” She stopped then laughed lightly. “Sorry. You don’t need to know that.” She turned her attention back to the menu. “One of the reasons I want to go over the menu with you is after dinner tonight, some of the men put in surprising requests of their own.” She gave him a careful smile, which did nothing for his equilibrium. “I think there’s a few gourmet chefs on your crew.”

  Cody ignored the little comment, looking down at the papers she held in her hands.

  She laid a page on the table in front of him, her fingernail polish flashing in the light of the kitchen. “These are the breakfast menus for the next week. I tried to balance simple with tasty with some of the men’s suggestions. And, of course, I will be making enough for everyone to have seconds.”

  Cody glanced at the papers with their neat writing and tidy columns and tried not to feel like an idiot. He didn’t recognize some of the dishes she had written down, and what did it matter what she made as long as the men were satisfied?

  But he had started this. May as well finish it. So he went through the motions of going over the breakfasts, suppers and which meals she would need Bonnie’s help with.

  He pointed to Sunday. “What’s happening here?”

  She frowned and leaned closer as if to get a better look. “Nothing different. Why?”

  “We usually go to church Sunday. And even though he wasn’t always the best cook, Stimpy usually made a big Sunday dinner for all the hands after church.”

  “Of course. Sorry…I forgot.” She looked sheepish. “Do all the men go to church?”

  “Only the ones that want to. And we try not to work on Sunday. Give the men a day off.”

  “Really?”

  “If it’s too much work to do the dinner, you don’t have to,” Cody suggested.

  “No. If that’s what was done before, I’ll do the same. Any suggestions?”

  “I don’t know.” Cody glanced at Bonnie. “What did Mom always make?”

  “Pot roast. When she was around. Which she isn’t.” Bonnie jumped to her feet and ran out of the room.

  An uncomfortable silence followed this outburst. Vivienne kept her gaze on the papers in front of her, as if not sure what to say.

  “Sorry about that,” he said, apologizing for his sister’s behavior. “She’s been in a funk the past while. I’ll have to go have a talk with her.”

  Vivienne ran her thumb along one edge of the papers, then glanced over at him. “I wouldn’t be too hard on her,” she said quietly. “I’m sure it’s difficult for her to be away from your parents.”

  “I know. But it is what it is. She just has to make the best of it.”

  Vivienne looked like she wanted to say something more, but then she looked down at the papers in front of her.

  “So I guess I can make pot roast on Sunday,” Vivienne said quietly, making a note on the menu.

  “Sounds good.” Cody blew out his breath. “Look, thanks for coming and doing this, but I don’t think you need to go over the menu with me next time.”

  “So you trust me to feed the men properly?” Vivienne said, a dimple teasing one cheek.

  Cody frowned as he looked at her.

  “What’s wrong?” Vivienne asked.

  He shook his head. “Nothing. For a moment…you reminded me of someone.”

  “Brooke?” she said with a light laugh.

  “No. Someone else.” He waved his hand as if dismissing the thought. “It’s nothing.”

  Vivienne gave him a puzzled look, then gathered her papers together and stood. “So, I can count on Bonnie coming to help me tomorrow?”

  “Yeah. That’d be okay. She doesn’t have school, and any homework she has she can do at night.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” Vivienne shuffled the papers together, then gave him a careful smile. “I…uh…have another favor to ask you.”

  “Sure. What do you need?”

  “While I was at Brooke’s place, Darl
ene Perry and her daughter, Macy, came by. Darlene said something about wanting Macy to learn how to cook, and one thing led to another, and, well…I was wondering if you would let me do a cooking class here. At the ranch.”

  “Why would you want to do that?” Cody asked, confused.

  “I like cooking, obviously, and I thought it would be a nice thing to do for Darlene and Macy. I was thinking maybe next week, Saturday?”

  “Why don’t you do it in town?”

  “I thought it would be more fun to do it here. There’s more room, and being out on the ranch makes it like a retreat.”

  Cody wasn’t sure what to think of this. The ranch wasn’t a resort, but how could he say no without looking like a scrooge? Especially to someone like Darlene, who he knew had a pretty rough life.

  He scratched his forehead, trying to puzzle this through.

  “If it will cause too big a problem…”

  He sighed then lifted his hands. “Okay. Sure. Go ahead.”

  Vivienne’s broad smile brought out the dimple in her cheek and lit up her eyes. “Thanks so much. I really appreciate that.”

  Cody wished her smile didn’t affect him. Wished it didn’t make him feel kind of warm inside.

  Because he knew Vivienne Clayton was a distraction he couldn’t afford to indulge in.

  Vivienne clutched the Bible as the minister spoke, feeling as if his words were directed to her and her alone. They gave her comfort and encouragement. For the first time in years she was sitting in church again, and it felt good to be here. Brooke, Gabe and A.J. were on one side of her in the pew, Zach and Kylie on the other.

  Arabella and her boyfriend, Jonathan, sat two pews ahead of them with her triplet daughters and Jasmine and Cade, and directly in front of them sat Macy and Darlene.

  She was surrounded by family, and for now, all was well in her world.

  Reverend West spoke his final words, said “Amen,” and as they rose for the final song, Vivienne’s gaze stole across the aisle to where Cody stood beside his sister and his uncle Ted.

  Cody held the songbook in one hand, his expression thoughtful as he turned the pages. When Cody had come to her cabin to pick her up for church, she’d had a hard time not staring. His hair, still damp from his shower, curled over his ears and neck. His blazer set off the breadth of his shoulders in a way his denim jackets and shirts didn’t. He wore a white shirt under his blazer. No tie. Blue jeans and shiny cowboy boots.