True Love Cowboy

by Jennifer Ryan

  Adria touched her shoulder. “I’ll go make sure everything is okay out front with the staff. You put those pretty flowers in water and pack up his order. I’ll let him know you’ll be out soon.”

  Trinity stared at the flowers and wondered at the kind gesture and how open and honest Jon had been about wanting to see her again. “I can do this.”

  She found a pretty vase in the office and set the flowers on the table while she packed up two containers of brownies. On Emmy’s, she wrote the little girl’s name vertically, then drew butterfly wings on each side and antennae over the top of the E.

  She carried the boxes and her vase of flowers out to the front. She set the flowers next the register where she’d be able to admire them all day, then walked around the counter and met Jon in the middle of the shopping aisles where he stood looking at everything.

  “This place is really great. Have you thought about expanding? I think people all over the country would love a store like this in their neighborhood. Everyone is so busy these days, they don’t want to do everything themselves all the time. This is a great alternative to takeout and delivery, and probably costs less than home delivery meal kits.”

  She tried to contain a laugh but failed. “I know. That’s why we opened two other stores. One in Billings and one in Bozeman. We’re thinking of expanding further, perhaps getting some of the prepared foods into the larger grocery chains, that kind of thing. But right now, plans are stalled until Adria delivers her two little bundles of joy, and we can figure out the best location to move into next. Plus, though we’re doing great business at each location, we don’t want to leverage ourselves too much in case business slows down.”

  “I don’t see that happening. In fact, I might have some ideas for you.”

  She held his earnest gaze. “What is it that you do exactly?”

  “I buy businesses, grow them, expand them, and sell them. At least I did before I moved back to rehab the ranch.”

  “We aren’t for sale. Adria and I have worked too hard, too many long hours to let someone come in and take over just to make a gob of money and sell it all off for more.” Didn’t he think she and Adria could build the business on their own? They were doing a pretty damn good job of it so far. Of course they’d done the whole “What if someone buys us out and we’re rich?” thing. But they loved working in the shop, seeing their satisfied customers, and delivering a product they were proud to make.

  Jon shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I told myself when I moved back here that I’d take some time off, be happy with the businesses I still own, and settle into ranch life again so I can spend more time with Emmy.” He looked around the store again. “I just see what an amazing thing this is that you’ve built and my mind automatically spins all the possibilities of what I could do with it.” He sighed. “What I really need to focus on is renovating the house, rehabbing the ranch, getting my father set up at his new place, and getting Emmy ready for her new school.”

  She held up the brownie containers. “This should help. I cut hers into small squares. Your father’s in big chunks.”

  He stared at the butterfly she’d made out of Emmy’s name. “She’s going to love this. Butterflies are her favorite.”

  “If you’re doing her room, you could buy some wood letters at the craft store and do something just like this on the wall or her door. Put the letters up in a curve and use some paint or even string lights to make the wings. A couple of fat colorful pipe cleaners curled at the top for antennae. It would be really cute.”

  “Now I need to stop at the craft store. She’d love that. And we could do it together.”

  “She could paint each letter herself. Glitter them up. Put stickers on them. Whatever. You should take her with you to the craft store, let her decide.”

  “I’m going to owe you more flowers if you keep helping me out like this.”

  “Oh, well, it’s nothing.” A blush heated her cheeks.

  “Emmy’s been nervous about the move. She’s in a new place and doesn’t know anyone. I think getting her out, letting her see some of the town, doing a project like this together, will help her feel more at home.”

  “I’m happy I could help then.” She touched his arm. “Take a picture of it for me. I’d love to see how it turns out.”

  “Maybe you’ll come see it yourself.”

  She took Adria’s advice and dove in the deep end of the dating pool. “Would you like to have dinner with me this coming Thursday?”

  He smiled. “You beat me to it. I was going to ask you out for this Friday.”

  “Friday is harder to be out late, because I work the early shift on Saturday. I’m up baking and cooking at three.”

  “Damn.” He cocked his head. “Wait. You said you made the brownies. Were you seriously up at three this morning after being at the hospital and driving me home late last night?”

  She simply smiled. “I told you I wanted to drive you home. And I appreciate you coming to tell me first thing this morning that your dad is better.”

  “First thing? You’ve almost put in a full day already.”

  “I’ll work through the lunch crowd, then catch a nap upstairs. I’m covering closing because Adria has a doctor appointment later today.”

  “Well, I better let you get to it. What time should I pick you up on Thursday?”

  “Anytime is good. It’s my day off.”

  “How about five? We’ll have drinks, an early dinner, maybe go see a movie after that.”

  She was used to guys wanting to meet for drinks and not much else on a first date. Jon wanted an entire evening. “Sounds good.”

  “I haven’t been in town in a long time. How about you pick the place?”

  “Do you like rustic Italian?”

  “After eating your quiche, if you like it, I know I’ll like it.”

  “Then we’ll go to Camilla’s Kitchen. They have a great wine and cocktail hour from five to six.”

  “Perfect. I’ll see you then, if not before.” He hesitated for a moment before he smiled at her, then walked away.

  She watched him go and got that giddy feeling again when he looked back at her and smiled before stepping out the door.

  Adria stepped up beside her. “He’s really dreamy.”

  She hadn’t smiled this much in a long time. “Drinks. Dinner. A movie. Thursday.”

  Adria bumped shoulders with her. “I have a feeling you two are going to have something really special.”

  Trinity hoped she could keep her shit together and not lose it on the first real date she’d had in months, because she felt the spark of possibility and she didn’t want her crazy to snuff it out before it really got a chance to burn.

  Chapter Five

  Jon drove from Almost Homemade through town to meet Steph and Emmy at their new place. Though it was a bit more built up from when he was a kid, it was still a small town. He hoped Steph and Emmy would be happy with the slower pace.

  Jon pulled into the apartment complex, where three two-story apartment buildings surrounded a grass area. He spotted Steph and Emmy running around the big lawn playing tag. He pulled into the empty spot next to Steph’s rental. The back end of the Jeep Cherokee stood open, letting the cats in the two pet crates get some fresh air. He hoped the three cats made it through the flight okay.

  Steph barely paid attention to them.

  He really couldn’t figure out if Steph loved anyone—or anything—more than she loved herself, though right now she seemed to be enjoying her time with their daughter.

  He sometimes wondered if Emmy felt it. When she was younger, probably not, but she was a smart girl, even at four.

  The youngest of four girls, Steph had been the spoiled baby of the family. She got whatever she wanted. Beyond beautiful, men drooled at her feet and wanted to do anything to please her. For a while. Because the shine wore off all too soon
when the real Steph revealed herself.

  It happened to him. He tired of the demanding princess routine right about the time Steph announced she was pregnant, they should get married, and she should stop working and stay home with their little one.

  He partly blamed the sexy, willing woman and tequila for the unexpected pregnancy.

  He equally blamed himself for drinking too much, thinking with his dick instead of his brain, and not using a condom.

  Hit by a moment of clarity that he was going to be a father, he pictured the rest of his life being married to Steph, the girl who sounded like she had it all together but didn’t. A person who couldn’t function unless someone did everything for her.

  If he’d only gotten out a couple weeks earlier.

  But then he wouldn’t have his sweet Emmy.

  He stepped out of his car, checked to be sure there were no cars coming, and held his arms out wide. Emmy ran to him with a bright smile and pink cheeks. She launched herself into his chest. He wrapped her in his arms and swung her around. “Hello, sweet girl.”

  She hugged his neck so tight he almost couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t care. His heart swelled with pride and devotion. He loved her to no end. She made him smile and believe in unconditional love.

  “Hi, Daddy. I missed you.”

  “How was the plane ride?”

  “Awesome!” She leaned back and gave him a very serious look. “Mama’s mad at you.”

  What’s new?

  He raised a brow as Steph joined them and gave Emmy a stern look. “I got a little upset—”

  “She swore.” Emmy tattled on her mom.

  Steph planted her fists on her hips and stared down Emmy. “I’m talking.” She set her perturbed gaze on him. “It was . . . challenging,” she bit out, “getting her, the booster seat, our bags, and retrieving the cats. Not to mention hauling all that to our rental car on my own. The GPS thing didn’t want to work at first. I got turned around leaving the airport, and I may have said a few choice words.”

  “But you got here.” He hoped his easy tone and not making a big deal about swearing around Emmy eased her mind and settled her down.

  “We did. Yes. But it would have been nice if you’d stuck to the plan and come to get us.”

  Steph was smart and capable when she wanted to be. It took him a while to figure out she simply didn’t care to be proficient at anything when she could get by doing the bare minimum. Her beauty helped her out there. People, men especially, wanted to do things for her, hoping she’d pay them attention.

  Which she did when it got her what she wanted.

  Lesson learned. He wasn’t blinded by her pretty face and gorgeous body anymore. That he had been made him feel like a chump sometimes.

  It took him a while to figure out party Steph was fun, but regular Steph liked to get her pout on and leave life’s chores to others.

  If Steph had a headache, she called in sick. All the better to spend a day binge-watching a show while others did her job. She didn’t care if she left work shorthanded or if something didn’t get done.

  If she spent too many days at the spa in a month or spent too much money shopping for clothes she didn’t need, and she couldn’t pay her bills, she called Daddy, gave him some sob story, and he coughed up the dough to cover her.

  In the beginning, Jon had fallen into that trap himself because she’d rewarded him with a good time. Not anymore. He’d closed his wallet, except when it came to Emmy’s needs.

  “I needed to check on my dad at the hospital.”

  “Is Grandpa okay?” Emmy’s eyes held too much concern for such a little girl.

  He brushed his hand over her head. “Yes. He’s much better this morning. I thought we’d go see him later this afternoon after the moving trucks get here.”

  “You’re taking her later?”

  Before the move, they’d agreed to a new equally shared custody arrangement. He wanted more time with Emmy and hoped it took some of the stress off Steph, because he couldn’t count the number of times she called when she had Emmy to complain it was too much, she needed a break, or that Emmy wouldn’t listen to her.

  When Emmy started fighting him about going to stay at her mom’s, he’d made her go because he told himself she needed her mother. But then she started acting out at school, the calls from Steph about how overwhelmed she was having Emmy “all the time,” and the state his daughter came back to him in sent up one red flag after another.

  Emmy was so good when she was with him.

  How could she be so different at her mom’s place?

  He quickly discovered the problem wasn’t his bright daughter, but the mother who fed her crap, let her stay up to all hours, didn’t keep to a schedule, and let Emmy get away with everything instead of disciplining her. When she did, Emmy argued, and Steph gave up.

  He couldn’t put all the blame on Steph. He’d worked a lot. He could sometimes be distracted by business when he should be focused on Emmy.

  Then again, he never complained about his time with her. He tried to make it fun while giving her the stability and structure she needed.

  But things were going to be different here. “The hospital isn’t far. We’ll only be gone an hour tops. My dad needs his rest, but he can’t wait to see Emmy.”

  Steph gave him a sharp nod. “It’ll give me a little time to unpack.”

  “Speaking of that, let’s get the stuff out of the car and show the cats their new home.” He tickled Emmy’s belly, then set her on the sidewalk. “Don’t move.”

  Jon turned to the car and pulled out the two cat crates and set them next to Emmy, who promptly squatted and poked her fingers through the grate to pet Razzle.

  Steph joined him at the back of the car as he pulled out their suitcases. She held two shopping bags. “We stopped at the store for a few things to tide us over until I can do a big grocery run.”

  He spied several frozen dinners, chicken nuggets, pizza bites, a bag of Tater Tots, and frozen pizzas along with two bottles of wine. “Um, that’s what you plan to feed Emmy?”

  “What? She loves pizza and nuggets.”

  “I know, but she needs healthier foods than that.” When he started noticing Emmy came home cranky and tired and just off, he started wondering why. He’d even asked the pediatrician what she thought and the first question she asked was, “How is her diet? Does she eat any vegetables at all?”

  Emmy answered and blew his mind away. “Only at Daddy’s.”

  He pinned Steph in his gaze. “We talked about this. The pediatrician said she needs fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods.”

  She set the second bag on the ground and held it open, showing him juice boxes, a bottle of his favorite bourbon, and a pack of yogurt sticks. “She loves those.”

  He knew she meant the yogurt, but asked anyway, just to be a smart-ass. “When did she start drinking bourbon?”

  Steph laughed. She was always quick to laugh at his bad jokes. “That’s for you. For when you come over. You promised we’d spend more time together as a family. The three of us.”

  He didn’t say anything about how he didn’t plan to stay for drinks. He meant to be a good example for Emmy.

  Where Steph was concerned, he planned to keep his head.

  Steph’s expectant and hopeful eyes said she wanted them to give things another go. Not going to happen. He knew what he wanted in his next relationship. Less drama. Someone who made him think of forever. Someone who wanted to make a happy family with him and Emmy.

  Someone kind, who cared about others.

  Someone like Trinity.

  “This is just to get us by while we settle in.” She sounded sincere.

  He let it go, hoping Steph followed through and bought Emmy the fruits and vegetables she needed. If she didn’t, he’d have to stock up himself.

  Emmy needed to see them working together, not always bickering at each other.

  He put a shopping bag on top of each of the rolling bags and let
Steph grab the cat crates. “Let’s go check out your new place.” He led the way along the path. “What did you think of the store?”

  “It’s fine. Not as up-to-date as the ones you own back home, but big. They have a good selection. The cashiers were moving customers along but still chatting with them. I imagine in a town like this, they know most everyone. And friendly, personalized customer service is important.” Which she’d always stressed to the employees at the clothing store she used to manage.

  Good. She liked the grocery store. He hoped she enjoyed the job well enough to make an effort to keep it. Although he got her in the door, it didn’t mean she could slack off like she had at her last job.

  They approached the apartment door. Butterflies took flight in his gut. He really wanted Steph to like the place he picked out for her and Emmy. It would make things so much easier between them. One less complaint he had to hear about.

  Since he was footing the bill, he’d found them a nice place with what they needed. And because the rent wasn’t as astronomical as in California, he’d been able to find a place with upgraded appliances and amenities, better than the place where Steph and Emmy used to live. They even had a bit more space and a private courtyard where Emmy could play on the fenced-in patio.

  He handed Steph her set of keys. “Number one-twelve. Straight ahead.” She went ahead to open the door. Emmy ran after her mom.

  Jon walked into the apartment behind them.

  Emmy squealed from her room down the short hall.

  Steph stood in the entry, taking in the empty living room and kitchen. “It’s so much nicer than the pictures you showed me.” She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a genuine smile.

  His concern dissipated and he breathed easy. “They put in new carpet and painted.”

  The apartment looked and smelled brand-new. A fresh place and start for Steph.

  She swiped her hand over the stone countertop. “The kitchen is bigger than my last place.” She gave him a self-deprecating grin. “Not that I’m a great cook, but it’s really nice.”