The Cowboy Meets His Match

by Jessica Clare

  And wasn’t that everything he’d ever wanted for Libby? Not just for him but for his daughter? A mother that actually cared about what was best for her? Becca had never acted like his daughter was a nuisance to have around. She just always made room for her, even if it encroached on their private time together.

  He hated the thought of sending Libby off to a stupid school all day. Thought it was pointless. But the teacher had said that Becca would appreciate a big gesture, and that he’d know what it was because he knew Becca.

  So he sighed and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll fill out the paperwork tonight.”

  She bit her lip, smiling slyly at him. “Bring it over to my house and I’ll help.”

  Something told him that paperwork wouldn’t be the only thing happening that evening. Hank grinned.

  * * *

  * * *

  Days passed and they settled into a routine. Hank spent his days on the ranch, working alongside his brothers. Once the day’s chores were done, he drove into town and headed for Becca’s salon. They had dinner together at her house—and he cooked if she had an appointment that ran late and took the puppy out for walks.

  He’d gotten the puppy for her so she’d have company on lonely nights, but for some reason, he was the one lonely at night. So he spent every night at her place and just woke up bright and early to go back to the ranch for another day of work. They made a room for Libby at Becca’s house, and Libby loved sleepovers. They’d all play a game together—usually slapjack or I spy or something easily doable with a four-year-old, and then they’d tuck in Libby together and then go to bed early themselves. Not that there was much sleeping getting done. It was a challenge to remain quiet enough throughout sex so they wouldn’t wake up Libby down the hall, but that was part of the fun. Becca and Libby woke up extra early to have breakfast with him, and he kissed both his girls goodbye as he headed out in the morning. Libby spent the day with Becca, “helping” in the salon and chatting with customers as if she’d always been there. That weekend, Becca took her into Casper for some new school clothes, and Libby had loved her cute, frilly little dresses so much she hadn’t wanted to take any of them off. She’d slept in them, too, curled up with little Alaska in her bed, and her room got ever pinker and girlier because Becca couldn’t resist buying Libby girly things. She loved spoiling his daughter.

  Hank had never been so damned happy. Life felt pretty damned perfect. Was Wyoming the same as Alaska? No, it wasn’t. There were far too many people around, even in this small town, and everyone wanted to know your business. People started recognizing him as Becca’s boyfriend and would stop him in the street and ask how they were doing, or if Becca could squeeze someone in later that afternoon for a highlight.

  Like he knew what a highlight was.

  It wasn’t the wild, untamed wilderness of northern Alaska, that was for sure. There were no moose, no foxes hiding in the bushes, no rivers brimming with salmon and crusted with ice from the mountains. There was scenery, and it was nice, but there were ranches and cattle and he stayed in a cozy little house with a bedroom for Libby and a bedroom for him and Becca, and it wasn’t quite the same as his rough-hewn cabin he’d shared with his brothers. No, it wasn’t quite the same at all . . . but that didn’t make it bad.

  With Becca around, nothing seemed quite so bad.

  Just her smile brightened his day. Her laughter was addictive, and he was starting to need the warm clasp of her body like the way he needed air. It was so different than it had been with Adria—he realized that now. Being with Adria had scratched an itch, but it hadn’t satisfied the lonely parts of his soul, parts that he hadn’t realized were there until Becca curled up against him and gave a bone-deep sigh after sex. For the first time ever, he felt connected to a woman. Like they were on the same page, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

  Like they wanted the same things in life.

  It was funny—before he’d started dating Becca, he’d never thought he’d end up with a woman. Thought he’d live his life out alone in Alaska, turning into a grizzled old mountain man alongside his brothers. Now, he was starting to see a different life in the future, one involving growing old with a woman who worked as hard as she loved, who claimed she was needy even if she had an independent streak, and who adored his daughter as hard as she adored him . . . and her dog.

  It had only been a few weeks, but Hank also suspected that when things lined up perfectly and the world showed you the right person? It didn’t matter if it was three days or three years. You just knew.

  And with Becca . . . he just knew. She was his as surely as he was hers.

  He hadn’t told her that yet, of course. His woman had some hang-ups about relationships, courtesy of the last jackass, who’d left her dangling for ten years. The man was a moron, Hank decided, because he should have had Becca married and claimed as his within months of first dating her. That was Hank’s plan, anyhow. He had to move a little slower than he wanted, though, because she worried people in town would think she was “rebounding,” or that she wasn’t with Hank for the right reasons.

  Like he cared what anyone else thought.

  That had never bothered him before. Even this morning, as he headed into the ranch, he braced himself for another round of teasing from his knucklehead brothers. They loved to rib him about his relationship with Becca, but he didn’t care. He was with a good woman and they were just jealous, alone in their own lonely beds.

  When he pulled up to the ranch house, he headed inside to get coffee. His brothers were in the kitchen, sitting with Doc. All of them looked over at him and smirked as he came in.

  “You look tired,” Jack told him boldly. “Late night?”

  “Early morning,” was all Hank said. He moved to the coffeepot and poured himself a cup.

  “No doughnuts?” Caleb asked, tone mournful. “Damn.”

  “He was too busy,” Jack teased. “Probably took all of his strength just to get out of that bed.”

  “Now, now,” Uncle Ennis said mildly. “Becca’s a nice girl and your brother’s an adult. Let’s leave things alone, shall we?” He lifted his coffee cup to his lips and took a sip, then added, “But you do look like hell.”

  Caleb and Jack snickered.

  Hank made a face at them and gulped his coffee. So he hadn’t been getting much sleep lately. Didn’t matter. Other things were more important . . . like spending time with Becca. Watching movies with Becca. Sliding between Becca’s thighs and staying there for hours while she tugged at his hair and made all those sexy whimpers like she was dying to be noisy and couldn’t because she didn’t want to wake up Libby. “I can always take a nap here,” he drawled, draining his coffee and then pouring himself another cup.

  “If you’re tired, you can take a nap,” Uncle Ennis declared. “Never let it be said I ran my employees into the ground. Where’s Libby this morning?” His uncle loved the little girl almost as much as Hank did.

  “With Becca,” Hank told him. “She’s helping out at the salon and then they’re getting some shoes for school tomorrow.”

  “School?” Jack straightened, disgusted.

  Caleb’s brows went up.

  “Pre-K,” Hank explained. “For learning how to be friends and shit.” It sounded like crap to him, but Becca was excited for Libby, and Libby was excited, so he was trying to be excited, too.

  “I think it’s good,” Uncle Ennis declared with a nod. “That little girl needs friends her age.”

  “But why?” Jack wanted to know. He frowned at Hank. “Why’s she need to make friends here? We’re not staying.”

  He had a point, but Hank didn’t say anything. It was just for the summer. The session was eight weeks, according to the paperwork Becca had made him read. Didn’t seem like that long a time, and he wasn’t ready to head back just yet. The cabin would be falling to pieces and needing all kinds of repairs, and th
eir equipment in storage was going to need tune-ups and work done if they didn’t use them before the cold weather hit, but he found he wasn’t in a rush. Not right now.

  “When are you going back?” Uncle Ennis asked, curious.

  “Calving’s done,” Jack said. “We can train up whoever you need first, of course, but . . . soon? We need to get back to Foxtail before the snows hit.”

  He wasn’t wrong. They’d need time to get supplies, get their gear in working order, and repair anything out of order. Living outside of Foxtail wasn’t an easy life, that was for sure, and you had to be prepared.

  Caleb leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. “Don’t think I’m going back this year.”

  Jack threw up his hands and rolled his eyes. “Here we go.”

  Caleb shrugged.

  “It’s because of that woman, isn’t it?” Jack pestered him. “The one you won’t shut up about?”

  Caleb just stared off into the distance, but there was a hint of red on his cheeks.

  Hank watched his brother in surprise. A woman? Caleb? And he wouldn’t shut up about her? He tried to think of women his brother had met . . . and only came up with one. “Not that schoolteacher?”

  Caleb turned redder. He jerked to his feet and put his mug in the sink, then silently headed out to the barn.

  Jack just gave Hank a look of disgust. “This is your fault, you know.”

  “How is this my fault?”

  His brother jerked to his feet and shook his head. “You’re changing everything. You know we were just supposed to come down here for a year or so, stock up on some cash for supplies, help out Uncle Ennis, and then head back north. Now Caleb’s pining away for some schoolteacher he ain’t never said one word to, and you’re all over the local hairdresser, and I’m starting to think we’re never going back to Alaska.” He gave Hank a look of disgust. “Do you even want to go back home?”

  “Of course,” he said automatically, a scowl on his face. “The plan hasn’t changed.” He just . . . hadn’t thought about the plan much lately. It hadn’t seemed all that important.

  “So you’re leaving here with me in a few months? Once Uncle Ennis gets a few new hands and we get them all situated?”

  Hank glanced over at his uncle, who mildly sipped his coffee, clearly trying to stay neutral. Was he going to leave in a few months? He hadn’t thought hard about it—hadn’t thought about it at all in a while, really. “If Libby’s done with school,” he began.

  Jack made a noise of disgust. He grabbed his hat off the hook on the wall and turned to glare at Hank. “Is that what you want or is that what she wants?”

  “Libby?”

  “Becca,” Jack spat. “All of this is you changing just to make some woman happy and—”

  “Watch yourself,” Hank said quietly.

  Jack made a sound of disgust and turned and walked out to the barn.

  Hank stayed behind. Sipped his coffee like there was nothing wrong. Inside, though, he was stewing. He was furious at his brother for trying to divide him and Becca. For trying to make it seem like Hank was ruining their lives. Becca didn’t have a mean, divisive bone in her body. All she wanted was to take care of Hank and Libby, and all he wanted was to return the favor. Jack was just stewing.

  He was jealous.

  That was all. He set down his coffee cup and turned on his heel, heading for the door that led toward the barn.

  Uncle Ennis cleared his throat.

  Hank turned. “What?”

  “Do I need to look into hiring some new hands?” He lifted his coffee cup, gazing down at the crossword paper on the table. “I can check with Jason over at Sage’s ranch. Just give me the word and I’ll put out some feelers.”

  Hank . . . didn’t have an answer. He stood, waiting, expecting the right answer to fall to his lips at some point. Yes, they’d be leaving soon, hire away. No, they were staying for at least another winter. He kept waiting . . .

  And all he could see was Becca’s face. Her eyes flashing with welcome as he came through the door. Her soft arms as she reached for him and pulled him close. The way her hair fell over her face as she straddled him and rode him in bed. The way she curled up with his daughter to read a bedtime story.

  He had no answer for his uncle.

  That pissed him off. Now he was in as foul a mood as Jack. With a low snarl, he stormed out of the house without giving anyone an answer.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Even though he thought about the argument with Jack all throughout the day and into the night, Hank didn’t say anything to Becca. No sense in upsetting her. The next morning, Libby was as excited as could be. She wore a brand-new pink-and-white gingham dress with a matching white-and-pink T-shirt underneath the bib. She had cute little pink sparkly sandals, and Becca braided her hair into two pigtails and beamed at her.

  “You are so adorable, Libby. Miss Mckinney is going to be so excited to see you!”

  Libby squirmed with excitement all through breakfast, and that made Hank feel better about taking his daughter in to school. Perhaps Becca was right. Perhaps this was the right thing for her after all. Libby could stand to be around some other kids. Becca loved having her around, and Uncle Ennis adored her, but when she was cranky, it was hard to juggle both her and the day’s work. It’d give everyone a break to have the little girl in school, and she’d get a few new friends.

  So once breakfast was over, they both kissed Becca goodbye, and Libby hugged Alaska. Then they got into Hank’s truck and he drove her over to the school. There were a few other parents heading in with their children, but the moment they pulled up to the school, instead of wiggling with excitement, Libby got quiet.

  “You ready?” Hank asked as he turned the truck off. “Won’t this be fun?”

  Libby popped her thumb in her mouth and started to suck it, her eyes wide.

  “It’ll be fun,” he reassured her again.

  He got her out of the car and tried not to notice how she clung to him, one hand tight on his shirt as she sucked her thumb frantically. He took her to the classroom where he’d met the teacher once before, and inside was chaos. Instead of the quiet classroom from before, the room seemed to be filled with parents, all talking over one another as children ran around the room screaming. Miss Mckinney immediately headed in his direction, a beaming smile on her face. She wore a bright green dress and her hair was pulled back in a bun, glasses on her face, and she looked very much like a teacher.

  Hank had no idea why Caleb was so in love with her.

  “Hello there! You must be Libby,” Miss Mckinney said, beaming at the two of them before her gaze focused on Libby. “Miss Becca has told me so much about you. I can’t wait for you to be in my class.”

  His bold, fearless daughter made a sound of distress, sucked her thumb harder, and then buried her face against his neck.

  The teacher just smiled. “Everyone has a bit of nerves on the first day. It’s totally fine. Just let me know when she’s ready and I’ll take her.”

  He nodded.

  The teacher moved away to greet one of the other parents, and Hank was alone with his daughter. She clung to him like a burr, quiet, and he gave her back an awkward pat. “It’s gonna be okay, Libs. You’ll like it here.”

  She shook her head and burrowed closer. “Daddy, I want to go home.”

  “It’s just school,” he promised her. “You’re gonna play games and have fun with the other kids and then, before you know it, I’ll be here to pick you up, okay?” The paperwork had warned that some kids got shy on the first day of school, but was it supposed to feel like he was ripping his own guts out when he dropped his kid off?

  Slowly, he managed to extricate her from his shirt, but Libby’s thumb popped right back into her mouth. She held his finger tight and looked around the room, nervous.

  He crouch
ed low and gave her a hug. “It’s gonna be okay. You’ll have fun. Trust Daddy.”

  She looked at him, nodded slowly, and when the teacher put her hand out, Libby went to her reluctantly. Miss Mckinney gave him a wave and a thumbs-up, indicating that it was handled, as she took Libby away into the class.

  His chest hurt as he watched his daughter leave. When did she get so damn big? She was just a baby. His baby. She still sucked her thumb and wet the bed when she had bad dreams. She wasn’t big enough for school.

  He swallowed hard and forced himself to walk out of the classroom and back out to his truck. Once there, he stared at the dash for a bit, glancing at the clock over and over again. He needed this morning to go by fast so he could get Libby back. Work wasn’t gonna happen. He was far too distracted. Instead of heading back to the ranch for a few hours of work like he was supposed to, Hank turned and headed down Main Street, then parked in front of the salon and went inside.

  Becca was there, a book clutched to her chest as a redheaded lady chatted with her. The woman was heavily freckled and had a baby in one arm and Alaska in the other. She beamed at Hank as he entered and reluctantly set the puppy down.

  “That’s the best book on training tips for a dog, but if you need help, you just give me a call. I’m happy to be of assistance. I don’t think you’ll have issues with this little sweetie, though.”

  “I appreciate it, Annie,” Becca said, beaming. She touched the baby’s hand and wiggled it. “And Morgan.”

  “Well, we have to stop by Sage’s office and pay the water bill,” the redhead said, heading for the door. The puppy started to follow her and Hank scooped it up as they passed by. “Talk to you later, Becca. Thank you again!”