Count on a Cowboy

by Patricia Thayer

  “I shouldn’t tell you, but I miss you, too,” she admitted.

  The phone to his ear, he walked through the kitchen and turned on the light to the deck. “I keep thinking about last night. I’m looking out at the hot tub and can imagine us there, together. I can still hear your soft moans as I touched you, as I tasted your smooth skin.” His body stirred, but he kept on going. “Do you know how badly I want to make love to you?”

  He heard her sharp intake of breath. “That can’t happen, Trent. I’m leaving soon.”

  “I know. It’s probably not wise for us to think past the roundup,” he agreed. “Of course, you could come back to visit, or I can come to Las Vegas.”

  “I’ll have a new job, and not much time.”

  He heard Laurel’s voice in the background and he wasn’t in the mood to hear any more excuses. “I should let you go. Good night, Brooke.”

  He hung up and decided he needed to go to bed. If he could get through the next few days with Brooke, then send her home, maybe things might get back to normal. Yeah, right. He didn’t see that happening.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A day and a half later the roundup began at dawn. Trent, Mike and Ricky had arrived at the Bucking Q with their horses, and ready for the cattle drive to begin.

  The morning started out cool and a little dry. The bawling cows and calves kicked up enough dust to have the hands riding drag wearing neckerchiefs. That would be Brooke and Laurel and Ricky. The kid had to be where the girls were. Trent and Mike rode flank and Bucking Q’s Chet and Larry took the point position. Of course, Rory was trail boss, and a few of their neighbors, Henry Clark and Jack Hendricks, filled in where they were needed. There would be more people when they got to the branding pens.

  Trent turned toward the back of the herd on hearing Laurel’s excited voice.

  “That’s it,” she called to Brooke from atop her cutting horse, Starr Gazer. “Go get ’em,” she encouraged her newfound sister as Brooke took off on Raven after a calf. He watched amazed at Brooke’s ability. She’d taken to riding as if she were born to it. And she enjoyed it, too.

  Trent smiled with pride when she managed to corral the small animal and send him scurrying back to his mama.

  Ricky and Chet cheered her on as she fell back into her position. He caught a blush over the top of the scarf that covered part of her face.

  “She’s not half bad on a horse.”

  Trent turned to find Rory beside him. “Yeah, and she’s only had a few days of experience.”

  Rory nodded as he rode alongside Trent. “Laurel was working with her all day yesterday. I saw them in the corral.” They rode along with the slow-moving herd. “Have you heard any more news from your friend the PI?”

  Trent had received a text, but he couldn’t call Cody until tonight. “Not yet.” He studied Rory. “What are you expecting to find? For Brooke to have a police record, or maybe she was wanted by the law?”

  Rory glared. “I just want to know if she’s trying to play me like her mother did.”

  Trent frowned. “Has Brooke asked you for anything?”

  Rory kept quiet, staring ahead.

  “I told you Coralee is in a care facility. She can’t hurt you or Laurel. From what I know about Brooke, she is who she says she is. A recent college graduate, and trying to make her mother’s—who’s dealing with Alzheimer’s—life a little better by granting her this wish.” Who was he trying to convince, Rory or himself?

  “This isn’t the first time Coralee has disrupted our lives,” Rory began. “Twenty-eight years ago, out of the blue, I get a call from her, telling me I fathered a daughter. Then in the next breath, she offered me custody. The next day, Diane and I were on a plane to get Laurel before Coralee changed her mind.

  “When Coralee showed up with four-month-old Laurel, she was frail and weak with an ignored asthma condition, but Coralee wouldn’t hand her over to me yet. It took several thousand dollars just to get my daughter. She said it was to pay for medical bills.”

  “Why didn’t you go to court?”

  Rory looked sad. “Truth was Laurel was so sickly, I was afraid something would happen to her before we could get her medical attention. So we paid.” His gaze went to his daughter riding next to Brooke. “I don’t regret a minute, or a dollar of the money it took to get her. We’ve had Laurel all these years.”

  “Is that why you never told Laurel about her birth mother?”

  Rory looked all of his sixty-one years. “There were other reasons, too. I hated the fact that I’d been unfaithful to Diane. I mean, we weren’t married at the time, and we had this big fight before I took off for the National Finals. After your dad and I won for team calf roping, Wade went back to the hotel, and I went to a bar to celebrate alone. Coralee Harper was at the piano singing...”

  Rory paused and the only sounds were from the cattle bawling and men shouting out commands. “She gave me attention and I ate it up. Afterward, I felt sick. I went home to Diane, confessed everything. She forgave me and I asked her to marry me.

  “We bought the Bucking Q and I thought life would be perfect for us.” He smiled. “Diane got pregnant right away, but then she lost the baby. Worse, there were complications that made it impossible for her to have any more children.”

  “I’m sorry, Rory.”

  Trent shifted in the saddle and guided his horse away from the herd, but his gaze stayed sharp on his job.

  Rory continued. “So when Laurel was given to us, Diane didn’t bat an eye whether or not to keep her as her own child. They bonded from the beginning. When Coralee came around when Laurel was five years old, we paid her off again, but this time we had a lawyer draw up the papers to keep Coralee away permanently. That was the last money she got from us.”

  Trent nodded, understanding his friend’s pain.

  “Now, Laurel is grown, and Coralee is asking to see her. Why? You said it’s because she regrets giving her daughter away, but I can’t trust her, and until I know otherwise, that includes Brooke, too.”

  * * *

  AFTER TWO HOURS in the saddle Brooke was exhausted, but didn’t want to quit. She loved riding. There was something therapeutic about the gentle rocking with the horse’s easy rhythm. And getting to spend time with Laurel was a bonus.

  She felt almost giddy.

  And then there was Trent. She glanced across the herd to see him on Rango, working at the flank position. He looked at her and waved. She waved back, eyeing the cowboy’s expertise on horseback. The man did more than warm a girl’s heart; there were a few other places that got all warm and tingly.

  Hearing her name called, Brooke came out of her daydream and saw a calf had taken off.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” She dug her heels into Raven and the mare shot off after the tiny bovine. She nearly caught up to the bawling calf, but suddenly the animal fell when it got caught in some downed fencing in the underbrush. Oh, no. Not wanting her horse tangled in the wire, Brooke pulled sharply on the reins. Raven stopped immediately, but Brooke went flying in the air and hit the ground hard.

  She groaned, feeling pain shoot along her spine and shoulders. Even her chest hurt. Unable to cry with the pain, she concentrated on trying to breathe, but nothing worked. Was she going to die?

  Heart hammering, Trent raced up on Rango, jumped off and was at Brooke’s side in seconds. He tugged the bandanna down. “Brooke. Talk to me, babe.”

  “Can’t,” she gasped for air. She opened her eyes, showing her panic.

  “Breathe slowly. You got the wind knocked out of you.”

  Removing his gloves, Trent moved his hands over Brooke’s limbs, checking for any broken bones. There weren’t any, thank God. Then he began to examine her skull, looking for any sign of blood. When he found none, he felt for bumps. None, again. Relief washed over him.

  “How is she?” Ricky asked as he jumped off his horse along with Laurel just behind him.

  “Hey, Brooke. You okay?” Laurel asked as she knelt down on
the other side of her.

  Brooke nodded. “Just terrific.”

  Trent watched as Brooke’s breathing slowly improved. He exhaled a sigh of relief. “Better now?”

  Brooke glanced around to see everyone crowding around her. “I just feel stupid. How’s the calf? Raven?”

  She tried to get up, but Trent placed a hand on her to stop her. “The calf will survive, and Raven wasn’t hurt. You, on the other hand, might be.”

  “Not my finest moment, but I didn’t hurt anything important.”

  Damn, stubborn woman wouldn’t take help. “Okay, just sit up first, but if you’re dizzy you’re not getting back on the horse.”

  Trent wrapped an arm around her shoulders and helped her into a sitting position.

  Ricky handed her her cowboy hat. “Ah, she’s okay.” He winked at her and climbed back on his mount.

  Brooke felt the heat on her face and it had nothing to do with the sun. She took Trent’s offered hand, and let him pull her up, then he placed her hat on her head.

  “Good job chasing down the calf, but your dismount needs some work,” Laurel said with a chuckle.

  Brooke couldn’t help laughing. “One thing’s for sure, Raven has good brakes.” She walked over to her horse. “Don’t ya, girl? You did good.” She rubbed the horse’s neck and got a loud whinny.

  Brooke grabbed the reins, jammed her booted foot into the stirrup and swung back into the saddle. She wheeled Raven around in time to discover Rory headed her way.

  Astride his big gray gelding, he came up beside her. His gaze moved over her. She felt a surge of happiness seeing his concern. “How do you feel?”

  “Really, I’m fine.” She hesitated. “Are you going to take me off the roundup?”

  If so, she’d have to go back to the cabin alone. Since she was leaving in a few days, this would be her only opportunity to be with...family.

  Rory shifted in the saddle. “No, you weren’t being reckless. Good job handling your horse. Besides, most riders take falls.” He turned in the saddle and called over his shoulder. “Chet, you get some of the men out here tomorrow to clear away that old fence. I don’t want anyone else hurt.”

  Rory turned back to her. “Just be careful from now on.” He tugged on the reins and his horse took off back to the herd. She fought hard to keep from calling after him, telling him who she was, but the words died in her throat. She doubted she’d ever get the chance to call him father.

  * * *

  SHORTLY AFTER BROOKE’S FALL, the crew finally got the herd to the branding pens by early afternoon. Side by side, Brooke and Laurel finished off the drive by directing the last of the calves into a separate pen to be vaccinated, tagged, and the males castrated. The bawling intensified after the division of mamas and babies. It was heart-wrenching.

  The men took a break for a quick lunch of sandwiches and drinks, then went right back to work. Brooke wanted nothing to do with this part of the roundup. She and Laurel tended to the horses and stayed out of the sun, letting the men handle the branding.

  Of course, she enjoyed watching Trent. That seemed to be her favorite pastime these days. Astride his horse, lariat in hand and with only the flick of his wrist, he could rope the hind legs of a small calf. A thrill shot through her. It was a sight to see.

  “He’s not hard on the eyes at all.” Laurel nodded toward the branding area, then continued to brush her horse, Starr.

  Brooke looked up to see Laurel watching her. She just continued grooming Raven. She wasn’t going to get on the topic of Trent.

  “It’s all fascinating,” she said. “I’ve never seen cattle getting branded. Does it hurt them?”

  Laurel nodded. “It does, but not for long. I’m sure that you could ask Dad, or Trent would probably be happy to explain everything to you.”

  “I don’t want to bother him.”

  Laurel chuckled. “You’ve managed to do that already. The man can’t take his eyes off you. I’m a little jealous.”

  Brooke froze. Laurel had feelings for Trent? “You and Trent? I mean, you were going to marry...”

  Laurel walked around Starr toward Brooke. She absently stroked Raven’s rump as she grinned. “Stop looking so worried. I haven’t had a thing for Trent Landry since I was fourteen, and he came to visit his dad while in the army. Damn, he did look good in uniform.”

  Brooke could imagine.

  “As for Jack Aldrich, not my finest moment. Now I realize, I liked the idea of falling in love more than actually being in love. And when Jack came along, he knew the right things to say to me. He fed into my lifelong dream of raising and training quarter horses.” She shrugged. “In the end, I’m totally grateful that he couldn’t go through with marrying me. Too bad he had no problem taking Trent’s and Dad’s money.”

  “You can’t blame yourself, Laurel. Men like Jack know exactly how to draw people in.” She knew that because Coralee found a lot of Jack Aldriches.

  “Coralee didn’t have much luck with men, either.”

  “What about Rory?”

  Brooke wasn’t sure how much to tell her. “Honestly, I had never heard about Rory Quinn until about a month ago. Then at Trent’s house, I saw the picture of your father with Wade Landry. He was a good-looking man, and being a rodeo star was what probably attracted our mother to him.” Brooke saw the hopeful look in Laurel’s eyes. “The thing with Coralee, Laurel, she only wanted to have a career, to make it big as a singer. That’s probably the reason why she gave your father custody.”

  “Did she?” Laurel asked. “I mean, did she ever have success at singing?”

  Their time at the cabin the other night hadn’t covered much of this. Laurel had been more interested in Brooke.

  Brooke glanced away, thinking about all the things her childhood lacked because of their mother’s obsession.

  “Not really. She was a backup singer in her younger years, but as she got older, her voice became weaker, so she mostly worked as a waitress.”

  Laurel paused a moment, then said, “Dad told me she wasn’t a nice person.”

  Brooke knew Rory felt the same way about her, too. “Coralee needed to be the center of attention.” She shrugged. “I guess I’m just used to her that way.”

  “That couldn’t have been easy on you.”

  She didn’t want to talk about Coralee anymore. “Like I said, it’s what you get used to.” She glanced toward the pens. “Do you want to wander over and see if the guys are finished with the branding?”

  Laurel nodded. “Sure. I’ll go.”

  Together, they walked to the fence in time to see a calf being wrestled to the ground. One man shot the animal with a needle, another man tagged the ear, then the last one took the red-hot branding iron and pressed it to the calf’s hip. The smell of burning fur assaulted her nose. Finally the animal was released to go into the pen with its mama.

  Her attention went to Trent on his horse as he swung his rope overhead, then he let the lasso fly and caught another calf’s hind legs. Tying his end of the rope to the saddle horn, he dragged the animal into the branding area.

  “Now there’s a man worth taking a risk on. Trent’s a little rough around the edges from all the years in the military, but he’s a good guy. It’s sad about his dad. I think they left a lot of things unsaid, and never had the chance to fix their relationship. A lot of that had to do with Chris dying. It tore the family apart.” Laurel looked at her. “I bet a good woman in his life could make all the difference.”

  “What are you trying to say?” Brooke asked.

  “Just saying that you should explore your opportunities during the short time you’re here.”

  Brooke knew she was developing feelings for Trent already. Dear Lord, she hadn’t even known the man a week. “I like him, but I’m not the-spur-of-the-moment-fling type.”

  Laurel arched an eyebrow. “Maybe you should consider changing that. I haven’t seen Trent date any woman in a long time. And I’ve seen the looks he gives you, like he wants to
devour you. And today when you fell, he couldn’t get to you fast enough.”

  “He was so angry.”

  Laurel smiled. “No, he was afraid that you were hurt.”

  Suddenly a funny feeling settled in Brooke’s stomach. Trent was worried about her?

  “Seriously, you need to pay attention,” Laurel said shaking her head. “I wonder how many good guys you let get away?”

  They both laughed, then Laurel suddenly hugged Brooke. “I know Mom and Dad are upset you’re here, but I’m glad you came to find me.” Laurel pulled back. “It’s crazy, isn’t it? You’re my sister.”

  Brooke didn’t expect to feel these emotions, but then she realized it wasn’t only her and Coralee anymore, now she had Laurel, too. Of course that didn’t stop the longing for the two men she couldn’t have in her life.

  * * *

  THAT EVENING AFTER a long shower, Trent dressed in an old army T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He came downstairs barefoot and dropped into his dad’s overstuffed chair. He wasn’t moving from this spot for the next few hours, then he’d head back to the cabin. The hot spray had helped his sore shoulders, but he had another day of roundup. They’d gotten Rory’s branding done, and tomorrow it was his turn. He was glad that his herd was smaller.

  He’d made sure that his ranch hands were ready for tomorrow. Ricky promised an early night, and he’d have the horses saddled and ready by dawn.

  His thoughts turned to Brooke. It was difficult leaving her alone today, especially after her tumble off Raven. She had to be sore. He thought about inviting her to use the Jacuzzi, but immediately nixed the idea. She’d be too tempting. He hoped she’d gone back at the cabin at least, and was in bed. He groaned. He didn’t need to think about her there, either, not if he wanted any sleep tonight.

  His cell rang. Seeing the ID, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to answer tonight. Finally he pressed the button and said, “Hey, Swamp Man, it’s about time you called me.”

  “I texted you,” Cody said. “But I had to go back out on surveillance, and I only have a few minutes now to talk, so here’s the scoop. I finished your reports on Coralee and Brooke Harper. The info isn’t bad, but you might find the facts interesting. Also, my guy found out a little more on Aldrich. Not much, but maybe enough to help in the search to find him.”