The Doctor's Cowboy

by Trish Milburn

  Chloe inhaled and caught the scent of hay, earth and that intoxicating male scent that made her want to drag him over to her bed and do more than kiss. The tiny sliver of rational thought that remained told her that she couldn’t do that, and not just because he was injured.

  But it was Wyatt who pulled away, though the hungry look in his eyes and his labored breathing told her he didn’t want to. If she had to guess, she’d say he was having thoughts similar to her own.

  It wasn’t until she’d taken a couple of breaths that she realized why he’d pulled away. The familiar sound of her brothers and dad clunking through the house on the hardwood floors caused her to jump away from Wyatt as if they might have suddenly developed X-ray vision and could see through her bedroom door.

  The idea of her dad, Garrett or Owen knowing what she and Wyatt were doing caused her skin to flush hotter than it already was.

  “I better go fix dinner.”

  As she started to walk past Wyatt, he caught her hand, stopping her. She expected him to say something, but he only stared at her for a long moment, his mouth slightly open as if on the verge of speaking, before he simply let her go and broke eye contact.

  Instead of being thankful for how easy he was making it to walk away, that empty place inside her grew. Not wanting to examine the reasoning behind that too closely, she hurried from the room.

  As she walked into the kitchen, she did her best to act normally. But it had been anything but a normal day. She felt as if she’d just stepped off a day-long roller-coaster ride. Losing Ruth... Chloe couldn’t explain why, but it had brought the heartbreaking memories of her mother to the surface. Though she’d lost patients before and would no doubt do so again, she just felt as if every one of her nerve endings were raw. She hated the way someone could be there talking to you one day and the next they were gone forever.

  Wyatt walked into the kitchen on the heels of that thought, and she realized she was setting herself up for more heartbreak if she didn’t make sure their kiss was a one-time thing, a necessary release after a terrible day.

  How had she let him matter to her so much in such a short time? Was it just that he’d wandered into her life as she was beginning to become aware of the empty space inside herself? Or was it more than that? Would he have made the same impression if she’d met him a year ago? When her gaze met and held his for a moment, she knew deep inside that her feelings toward Wyatt had nothing to do with timing.

  But it didn’t matter, and she had to make sure she wasn’t in the position again where they could act on their mutual attraction. It might not bother him when he left to go back to his normal life, but it would her. And yearning for someone she couldn’t have wasn’t high on her wish list.

  She shifted her attention to her dad as he approached. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick but firm squeeze.

  “I’m sorry about Ruth. She was a good woman.”

  Chloe nodded. “Yes, she was.”

  As she went about the normal motions of making dinner and setting it on the table, Chloe felt as if her muscles were stretched to the breaking point from the tension of not making eye contact with anyone and trying not to be obvious about that fact. If she met Wyatt’s eyes, she feared her flushed skin would give her away. And Owen’s gaze? Well, he’d walked in on her in Wyatt’s arms in the barn. What was going through his mind about that? Garrett and her father might pick up on the fact that she was nervous and ask why.

  She had to force herself to eat so she didn’t draw any unwanted questions. But as soon as everyone was done eating and she’d loaded the dishwasher, she knew she couldn’t spend the rest of the evening avoiding making eye contact. And she couldn’t even retreat to her bedroom since she’d given that to Wyatt. That left one option.

  “I’m going to run back to the office for a bit. With everything that happened, I didn’t get as much paperwork done as I needed to today.”

  Her dad looked up from where he was reading the local paper. “You’ve had a long day. Can’t you do it tomorrow?”

  “I have a full day tomorrow, too, so it’s better if I don’t start it already behind.”

  She’d swear she could feel Wyatt’s stare burning into her, but she didn’t look in his direction. Instead, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door. As she drove into town, she wondered if she could stay gone until Wyatt and the temptation he presented left Blue Falls behind.

  * * *

  STAYING AT THE home of his doctor was bad enough, but at least Chloe was usually around as a buffer. But with her escape back to town, that left Wyatt in the house with her brothers and dad and feeling more awkward than he had when he’d gotten caught looking at a Playboy magazine by his grandma.

  Damn, he wished he had his truck. Injuries or not, he’d get out of here before he did something he couldn’t take back. The kiss had been great, but also a mistake. And he could tell that Chloe knew that. Buckle bunnies at rodeos didn’t mind a kiss from a guy they didn’t know just as long as he had on cowboy boots, a hat and snug jeans. But Chloe Brody wasn’t that kind of woman. She was the kind who deserved a man who doted on her, who would be there for her every morning when she woke up and every night when she went to sleep, a man who did more than scrimp by and who didn’t have convicted felons in his family.

  Needing to get outside where he could breathe, he headed out the front door without a word. Considering he’d already reinjured himself once that day, he took it easy as he descended the front steps and walked toward the barn. With each step he took, the pressure in his chest relaxed a bit more.

  When he reached the fence that ran alongside the barn all the way to the road, he propped his arms along the top and stared out toward the sunset. He’d never experienced longer days in his life than those since he’d gotten tossed off that bull. While he was happy to not be in the hospital anymore, his days still stretched long and empty. When he’d been working in the barn earlier, that had been the best he’d felt since before his run-in with Beelzebub. But he’d pushed it too far. Three steps forward, two steps back. He wanted to growl like a frustrated animal.

  He heard the front door open then close. Looked as if his solitude wasn’t going to last long. He was on the verge of taking off for the road, maybe hitching a ride into town, when Chloe’s dad stepped up beside him and propped his foot on the bottom slat of the wooden fence.

  The older man fixed his gaze on the setting sun, as well. “Doesn’t get much prettier than that, does it?”

  “No, sir.”

  Mr. Brody let the silence sit between them. Normally, Wyatt was comfortable not having to make conversation, but something about standing next to Chloe’s dad, wondering what was going through the other man’s head, made Wyatt want to fidget.

  “Heard Chloe had to sew you back up this afternoon.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t mean to cause extra work or concern for her.”

  “But you were getting stir-crazy sitting around the house doing nothing.”

  Wyatt glanced at the older man, saw the tan, lined skin of his face and arms that spoke of a lifetime working outdoors. “Yeah.”

  “I totally understand. I’m a terrible patient myself. So bad that I think my own daughter was on the verge of disowning me.”

  Wyatt chuckled. “Then it’s a wonder she hasn’t run me out of the state.”

  Mr. Brody smiled and tipped the front of his hat up a bit. “Nah. She might fuss a lot, but she does it because she cares, maybe too much.”

  Wyatt wasn’t sure if there were any deeper meaning to Mr. Brody’s words. Was he warning Wyatt to not give Chloe reason to care too much for him? No need for that because Wyatt had already sent that message to himself.

  Still, he couldn’t get the memory of their kiss out of his mind. He’d swear he could still taste her on his lips.

  Mr. Brody p
icked at a loose splinter atop the fence. “She’s so much like her mother that sometimes it’s hard for me to watch her. That girl has the same big heart, too.”

  Wyatt searched for something appropriate to say but came up empty. It was all he could do not to fidget.

  “You feel like you can drive yet?”

  Had Mr. Brody figured out what had happened between him and Chloe earlier? Was he kicking him off the ranch before Chloe could return and protest?

  “I believe so, though my truck is still at the fairgrounds.”

  “No need for that right now. I know you’re bored and would much rather be doing something useful, but Chloe will skin us both alive if I have you do something before you’re physically ready.” Mr. Brody turned toward Wyatt. “I have an order of feed and supplies waiting at the feed store in town. If you think you’re up to it, I’ll send you to get it tomorrow.”

  “Sure.” The prospect of doing something useful felt great.

  Mr. Brody held up his index finger. “But I better not hear of you lifting anything. The guys there can load it for you. You’re just the driver.”

  Wyatt nodded. “Understood. Anything to be of use.”

  “Good. And even though you won’t be doing anything strenuous, I don’t think Chloe needs to know, do you?”

  Wyatt smiled at the older man’s understanding and sneakiness. “No, sir.”

  Mr. Brody nodded. “Now, since we’ve got the house to ourselves tonight and we’ve got a fourth in you, we decided a game of poker sounds good. You any good?”

  “What’s the right answer here?”

  “That you’re terrible.”

  “I stink.”

  “Just what I wanted to hear.” Mr. Brody waved for Wyatt to follow him back to the house.

  He tried to focus on the invitation being no more than what it was, an offer of a friendly game. Not an opportunity to feel even more like he could be a part of this family he was growing to like more every day.

  Chapter Twelve

  “That sounds gorgeous,” Chloe said into her phone after listening to her friend Linnea describe every little detail of her wedding dress. She shoved a cold fry from the Primrose in her mouth, a lunch she’d been nibbling on since the fries were still hot.

  “Are you okay?”

  Chloe stopped writing on the patient file atop her desk at the concern in her friend’s voice. “Yes, why?”

  “You’re responding at all the appropriate places, but you still sound distracted.”

  Guilt welled up in Chloe. Just because she was working herself half to death so that she didn’t have to risk being alone with Wyatt didn’t mean she shouldn’t be excited for her friend. After all, Linnea had found her Mr. Right and was planning a dream wedding. Chloe was truly happy for Linnea, but talking about her friend’s happiness only made her wish more for things she shouldn’t. Like Wyatt Kelley, the guy she’d been steering clear of for the past week by working late and leaving her family with a lot of premade dinners.

  “Sorry. I’m just up to my eyeballs with work—the usual clinic patients, rounds at the hospital and now this free wellness day we’re planning for the community.”

  “When this wellness day is over, you are taking a weekend off and coming to see me. Or maybe we should go to the beach so you can ogle some hot men. You could use a hot man in your life.”

  She had one. The problem was he was only passing through.

  “I’m so tired right now I wouldn’t know what to do with a hot guy if you sat him in front of me.”

  “Oh, dear, you are in need of a vacation.”

  Chloe laughed a little at that then made the excuse that she had a patient to see.

  “Okay, but be sure you have my wedding on your busy calendar. I’d hate for you to forget you’re supposed to be the maid of honor.”

  “I’m not that bad.”

  When Chloe finally got off the phone, she picked up another fry but gagged at the idea of eating it. She tossed the rest of the fries into the paper bag her meal had come in and dumped it in the trash can.

  Leaving the files to finish later, she walked out of her small office and headed out to where Jenna was just putting a patient file in the bin next to one of the examination rooms.

  “A heads-up, it’s Verona in there. And she’s got that dangerous sparkle in her eyes.”

  Chloe sighed. “Just what I need.”

  “She’s already mentioned Wyatt, said that Adam Johnson saw him at the feed store the other day getting a load in your dad’s truck.”

  Chloe froze. “What?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  She shook her head. Of course, she’d barely seen Wyatt in passing the past few days. What did she expect if she wasn’t there to tell him to take it easy? Honestly, she was surprised that if he could drive he hadn’t left yet. A little part of her wanted to believe the reason had nothing to do with his healing process and everything to do with that kiss they’d shared. The kiss she hadn’t given him a chance to repeat.

  “Thanks for the warning.” She put on her game face and headed into the exam room. “Hey, Verona. What seems to be the problem today?”

  “I’ve got some ringing in my ear.”

  “Well, let’s take a look.” She grabbed the otoscope and looked into Verona’s left ear, already suspecting she wouldn’t find anything.

  “How’s the planning for the wellness fair going?”

  “Good. We just have a few more things to wrap up and wrangle a couple more volunteers.”

  “Maybe Wyatt could help. He must be doing better.”

  Chloe felt like smacking herself upside the head. She’d stepped right into that one. “Like most things, his type of injuries get a little better every day.”

  “Doesn’t hurt to have your own personal doctor making sure everything is going well. You must have the healing touch if he’s already up on a horse.”

  “On a horse?” Chloe’s voice was a little loud and a lot more surprised than it should have been, but she didn’t care. She was damned close to racing home and telling Wyatt Kelley just how big of an idiot he was if what Verona said was true.

  “Yeah. David Finch was doing the electric meter readings out your way this morning and said he saw Wyatt out with Owen in the corral.”

  Chloe reined in her emotions and sat the otoscope on the countertop. “I don’t see anything wrong with your ear. Have you been on the phone a lot today?”

  “A bit.”

  Chloe wanted to laugh. Verona’s cell phone carrier was losing its collective shirt by giving the woman unlimited minutes. “Maybe go easy on the phone for the next day or so, and the ringing should go away.”

  Verona’s mouth quirked in a way that told Chloe the older woman knew she’d been caught in her fib. Chloe couldn’t help but smile at Verona’s determination.

  By the time the end of the day rolled around, Chloe couldn’t decide if she were more tired or irked that Wyatt evidently hadn’t learned his lesson when he’d popped the stitch while working in the barn. But as she drove home, she told herself she’d done all she could. If he were determined to reinjure himself, then that was his decision. But he could do it somewhere other than under her roof.

  When she got home, she saw Wyatt standing under the open hood of Garrett’s truck. Great, now he was doing auto repair. Men were idiots.

  She made up her mind to just ignore Wyatt, let him do whatever he wanted, but the moment she stepped out of the car she couldn’t help herself. She marched up to him and crossed her arms.

  “So, how many stitches have you popped today?”

  He looked at her with confusion knitting his brow. “Did I do something to tick you off?”

  “After I told you that you needed time to recover, even after I had to stitch you u
p again, I hear you’re loading feed and riding horses.”

  Wyatt slowly turned toward her and leaned one hand against the front of the truck. “You need to get your facts right before you start making accusations.”

  “So you weren’t at the feed store the other day?”

  “I was. Your dad asked me to pick up a load. I figured it was the least I could do to repay his hospitality. Not that you care, but I didn’t load one ounce of the supplies. I just drove the truck there and back.”

  Chloe hated the feeling of being wrong, but part of her still told her that she wasn’t. “And the horse riding?”

  “Yes, I got on a horse this morning. Sitting around your house doing nothing isn’t going to help me get back to riding form. Every day I sit around on my ass, it’s one day closer to the end of the year and one more day I don’t make one red cent. If I want to get back to riding anytime soon, I’ve got to push myself some.”

  Chloe threw up her hands. “You’re not going to be riding anymore this year, you daft man. If you had a lick of sense, you wouldn’t climb on a bull ever again.”

  “Damn it, Chloe. It’s all I know!”

  Something about the way he said those words, as if some part of him were ashamed, tore at her heart, a heart she realized had been making more and more room for him every day, even when she barely saw him.

  “You’re not so old that you can’t learn something else.”

  “Why are you being so unreasonable about this? Why do you even care?”

  “Because you damn near died, and you might not be so lucky next time.” She felt tears forming at the idea of him being gored to death and hurried toward the house before she let them fall in front of him.

  She made it to the bathroom before she lost the battle and the tears overflowed. She swiped at them, angry that she’d allowed herself to care so much for someone who was going to leave. He’d made that painfully obvious with his insistence that he needed to get better so he could return to riding those damned bulls.

  Also obvious was that she no longer thought of him as only a patient. Somewhere during their Scrabble games and his failed cooking attempts and their butting heads over his recovery, she’d begun to fall for him. She slid to the floor and realized she was every bit the fool he was, only for a different reason. He was a fool because he wanted to leave, and she was because she wanted him to stay.