A Cowboy's Charm

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “I don’t know. What would your boys think if you got jiggy with Roxanne’s dad?”

  “It would gross them out, that’s what. They’re not going to want to think of their mother having sex.”

  “Logically you’ve done it before. At least four times.”

  “Jo!” She started giggling. “You’re not helping.”

  “Yes, I am. Instead of freaking out you’re laughing.”

  “This is nervous laughter you’re hearing. Thinking of Quinn in the abstract was kind of fun, but the reality is a little intimidating. You know how long it’s been for me. I’m not sure my body remembers how to do this.”

  “Did you freeze up when he kissed you?”

  “Well, no.”

  “Then I’ll bet your body remembers the routine. You’re both consenting adults. What’s the harm in having a little fun?”

  “Kissing him was fun.”

  “So what about the mustache?”

  “It didn’t bother me, but…hey, wait. Where did you hear about his mustache?”

  “It’s a hot topic around here. Does he know that one of your sons predicted you’d fall for a guy with a motorcycle and a mustache?”

  “No, but Ingrid does and on his last visit she suggested he’d look good with one.”

  Jo laughed. “Quite the little matchmaker, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, she is.” Kendra sighed. “I haven’t decided whether to tell him about Trevor’s prediction. But if the boys are thinking he grew it on purpose to fit the profile, then—”

  “There has been speculation along those lines.”

  “Well, he did no such thing. That’s not his style.”

  “I’m sure they’ll figure that out.”

  “I’ll make sure they do. I really didn’t mean for this spur-of-the-moment invitation to turn into a big deal.”

  “I know, sweetie. Don’t worry about what your boys will think. It’s your life and Quinn is your special treat. After all this time, you deserve one.”

  Chapter Seven

  Although Quinn loved every square inch of the historic log cabin, he didn’t sleep particularly well. He’d stayed by the fire until the last ember winked out and stirred the ashes with an iron poker to make sure he could safely leave it.

  Then he’d climbed the hill to the cabin, but not before glancing at the house to see if any lights showed. Nope. Evidently Kendra had gone to bed.

  Later, as he’d tossed around on the perfectly comfortable double-bed mattress, he’d considered the possibility that Kendra wasn’t sleeping, either. That would be too bad. He wanted to make her life better, not worse.

  Despite a sleepless night, he’d have to say his life was infinitely better thanks to Kendra. He’d never expected to find another woman who turned him inside out. Not in this lifetime. Kendra was a one-in-a-million miracle. Consequently, his body, mind and heart were all a-twitter.

  He’d lost track of how often during the night he’d glanced at his watch. Despite having a phone to tell time, he preferred a watch. He seldom wore it to bed—only when something important was happening in the morning. Like seeing Kendra again.

  The watch lit up at the press of a button and he’d pressed the hell out of it until he could finally justify getting up. It was a wonder he hadn’t broken the damn thing.

  The bathroom was tiny but suited the purpose. He shaved, including his upper lip, and showered in a stall the size of an old-fashioned phone booth. But others had managed it and so could he.

  He dressed in a clean pair of jeans and shirt, although he’d come back and change into his clothes from yesterday before working on the bike. He hadn’t counted on a repair job when he’d packed for this trip. Minor issues, though, in the bigger picture.

  After making his bed, he donned his jacket and hat before stepping onto the porch. A pearlescent sky and crisp mountain air greeted him. He took a deep breath, savoring the aroma from the pines that clustered around the cabin.

  His property was flatter than this and not blessed with so many trees. The Lazy S was better for a breeding operation that required a lot of pasture, but not as picturesque as this. Would have been nice to have his sketchpad but he’d been traveling light.

  One truck was already parked by the barn and a second one pulled in. Good. He wanted to help feed and now he wouldn’t have to loiter around waiting for someone to show up and put him to work.

  As he started down the hill, Zane came out of the original barn followed by Cody. They paused, glanced his way and looked at each other. Then they both responded to a greeting from the tall, lanky cowboy who climbed out of the truck that had just arrived.

  The three of them gathered for a pow-wow, quite possibly about him. Maybe not, but that look between Cody and Zane had been telling. The lanky fellow was likely Faith’s dad, the one who’d taken off early yesterday to get a haircut.

  Only natural that the men of the ranch would keep an eye on the interloper. At least on this first morning, he’d come out the right door.

  “Morning, gentlemen,” he called out when he was a few yards away.

  “Morning, Quinn.” Zane introduced Jim Underwood, Faith’s dad.

  Quinn extended his hand. Everything about Jim indicated that ranching was his line of work, from the slight bow to his legs to the squint lines fanning out from the corners of his eyes. Both came from hours in the saddle.

  “Pleased to meet you, Quinn.” Jim met his gaze with a slight nod of acknowledgment, one seasoned cowboy to another. “Heard you had a bit of trouble with your bike.”

  “I did. Hoping to fix it soon. I don’t want to impose on Kendra’s hospitality for too long.”

  “Did I hear my name mentioned?”

  He turned and there she was, cute as a bug with her hair pulled through the back hole of a gimme cap decorated with the Guzzling Grizzly logo. “Morning, Kendra. Great hat.”

  “Isn’t it?” She flashed him a smile and glanced at his upper lip. Her eyes widened for a split second but she didn’t allow her attention to linger. “I love my Stetson, but this makes for a fun change of pace.”

  “Looks great, Mom,” Cody said.

  “Thanks.” She turned to him. “Where’s your blushing bride? She’s usually Johnny-on-the-spot for the morning feeding.”

  “Like I was telling Jim a minute ago, she’s a little under the weather.”

  “Oh, no! That’s unusual. She’s one of the healthiest people I know. Should I go check on her?”

  Cody shook his head. “Typical Faith, she’d rather ride it out on her own. She assured me this wasn’t anything to worry about.”

  Quinn had to laugh at himself. He’d been so positive they’d been discussing him earlier, but more likely they’d been talking about Faith. He wasn’t as important as he’d imagined. “I hope she gets better soon.”

  “Thanks, Quinn.” Cody gave him a smile. “She does, too. She’s extremely interested in that Harley repair.”

  Jim chuckled. “She would be. That girl loves engines of any kind.”

  “Hey, Quinn,” Zane said. “Was I hallucinating or did you have a mustache yesterday?”

  “Uh, yes, I did, as a matter of fact.” Damn. He hadn’t factored in how the missing mustache could be interpreted by Kendra’s sons. “Turns out it was a pain. Food got in it and I had to trim it all the time. I decided it wasn’t worth the effort.” He avoided glancing at Kendra, but his peripheral vision told him her cheeks were pink. Her upper lip wasn’t pink anymore, but women had makeup for that kind of thing.

  Clearly Zane wasn’t buying his lame explanation, either. “I see.”

  “I had a mustache several years ago,” Jim said, clearly oblivious to the undertones of the conversation. “Finally concluded the same thing. Then Deidre and I got together and she made me promise never to grow one. Said she didn’t relish kissing a scrub brush.”

  “I got the same lecture from Mandy.” Zane kept his attention on Quinn. “She has extremely delicate skin so I—” He was interrup
ted by a loud whinny from the interior of the barn.

  “Winston wants us to speed it up.” Kendra started toward the barn. “I’m sure the rest of them are ready for breakfast, too. Let’s get ‘er done.”

  Bless Winston. Quinn didn’t know enough about McGavin family dynamics to guess whether the conversation would have become even more pointed, but he’d rather not find out. He’d hung onto the work gloves Zane had loaned him the day before. He pulled them out of his pocket.

  The group coordinated their efforts to get the feeding done. Partway through, Zane was called away to handle the rescue of a bald eagle with a broken wing. Quinn ended up paired with Kendra for the rest of the feeding routine.

  When they happened to be picking up hay flakes at the wheelbarrow at the same time, he paused before grabbing the next one. He lowered his voice. “Look, I’m sorry about shaving off the mustache first thing this morning. I just wanted it gone. I didn’t think about how it would look to your sons.”

  “It’s okay. They would have had their suspicions even without that.”

  “But I just confirmed their suspicions.”

  “Oh, well.” She glanced down the aisle to where Cody and Jim were working. “We’d better keep moving.”

  True, but he coordinated his rhythm with hers so he had another shot at conversation. “Then you’re okay with them drawing conclusions about us?”

  She shrugged. “So they know that we kissed. That’s not such a big deal.”

  “Speak for yourself. I thought it was a huge deal. I barely slept last night thinking about it.”

  She looked shocked by the news. “You really didn’t sleep?”

  “Not much.” He carried the hay into the next stall.

  “You need your sleep,” she said the next chance she had to speak to him. “You’ll be working with machinery this morning.”

  “I’ll only be draining the fuel tank. I’m not planning to solder it until this afternoon.”

  “Then you should take a nap before you do that.”

  He couldn’t resist. “Only if you’ll take one with me.”

  She flushed and her eyes darkened. “I have a riding lesson this afternoon.”

  “Just my luck.” He gave her a wink.

  “You’re flirting.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” And he’d keep doing it, too, because she liked it.

  From that first meeting in the bakery, when she’d pretended to fall under the spell of a coffee drink, he’d picked up a craving she might not have acknowledged to herself. It resonated with him because he had the same craving.

  They’d each lost the person they’d given themselves to, heart and soul. After that they’d virtually closed the book, figuring the story was over. What if it wasn’t?

  Meeting Kendra had nurtured the hope that he might find that kind of happiness again. Every time they were together, that hope grew stronger. Last night he’d kissed her and hope had transformed into something more solid, a real possibility.

  What if she was his second chance and he was hers? But it wasn’t that simple. He’d put down roots, building a business and raising his kids on the Lazy S. Her roots were even deeper than his. She’d spent her entire life here.

  He didn’t have answers. But if he kept finding opportunities to kiss her, maybe answers would come to him.

  Chapter Eight

  Kendra and Jim had established a routine of having breakfast together at the house after the horses were fed. Zane usually headed home, but sometimes Faith and Cody would come up to eat and discuss ranch business. Or more recently, wedding plans.

  This morning, though, Cody went to check on Faith, which left Kendra with Jim and Quinn in her kitchen. She’d been relatively calm with having Quinn participate in the meal prep the night before. After sharing her kitchen with Jim most mornings for the past several months, she was used to him being there, too.

  Having them both around shouldn’t have been a problem. And it wasn’t for them. They had a great time discussing the pros and cons of various horse breeds, innovative training techniques and feeding regimens.

  Meanwhile they worked right alongside her to get the meal on the table. She couldn’t find a single thing to complain about and yet she was on edge the entire time. She dropped an egg on the floor, forgot to turn on the coffee pot and turn off a burner on the stove.

  Jim finished his meal first and pushed back his chair. “I hate to eat and run, but if you’ll excuse me, I have a list of chores a mile long.” He put his dishes in the dishwasher. “Nice talking with you, Quinn.”

  “Same here, Jim.”

  After he left, Quinn leaned back in his chair. “What is it?”

  She pretended ignorance. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been acting like a bee caught in a Mason jar, buzzing around, smacking up against the glass. Is it my fault?”

  “No, it’s…okay, not your fault, exactly, but …” She groaned. “Quinn, I’ve never been in this position before! I don’t know how to be, what to do. The last time I felt this way I was a teenager.”

  “So was I.”

  “Oh.” She allowed that to sink in. “Have you been celibate all that time, too?”

  “No.”

  “Then…”

  His gaze was steady. “I didn’t feel like this.”

  “Oh.” Getting hot in this kitchen. She’d almost believe she’d left the oven door open in addition to her other screw-ups. She glanced away. If she kept staring into his eyes, no telling what might happen.

  “But I don’t want to upset you.” He covered her hand with his.

  Whoa. One touch and she was plugged into a current that traveled straight to her lady parts. She took a deep breath but didn’t move her hand.

  His voice was gentle. “If you need me to make myself scarce, I can do that. I’d offer to leave, but that wouldn’t be so easy right now.”

  “I don’t want you to leave. Or make yourself scarce.” She summoned the courage to look at him. “Not since you were a teenager, huh?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then how come you’re not, as you said, buzzing like a bee caught in a Mason jar?”

  “I am. That’s why I didn’t sleep last night.”

  “But this morning at the barn you were cool as a cucumber. Just now you talked with Jim like nothing was bothering you at all. You handled the comments about mustaches and kissing without blinking.”

  “I don’t tend to let people see what’s going on inside.” His thumb caressed the back of her hand.

  Each slow brush across her skin ramped up the tension coiling in her body. “Is that healthy?”

  “Not particularly. Read an article about it that suggested taking up a hobby as a safety valve. I chose scratchboard art.”

  “Wow, that’s turned out well.” She was surprised she could carry on a conversation considering her insides were dancing the hoochie coochie.

  “It has. If I’d had a sketchpad, I could’ve spent the night drawing.”

  “So you’re a self-contained man, is that it?”

  “That’s my default setting.” He held her gaze. “Until I know I can trust someone.”

  “How do you know you can trust me?”

  He just smiled.

  The wealth of meaning in that smile sent the air whooshing out of her lungs. She was a goner. If he pulled her out of her chair right now…

  Instead he gave her hand a squeeze and let go. “I’d better get started draining that fuel tank.” He stood, picked up her dishes plus his and carried them to the dishwasher.

  She remained seated, not sure if her legs would hold her if she tried to get up.

  He returned to the table. “I’ll check in with you later about our lunch plan.” Leaning down, he lightly kissed her cheek. Then he left the kitchen.

  After she heard the front door open and close, she flopped face down on the table, a dramatic gesture she used to do all the time at seventeen. Seemed about right.

  * * *


  Quinn headed up to the cabin and changed into yesterday’s clothes before walking to the new barn. He’d needed the break to calm the hell down. Falling prey to RWD could be dangerous, even deadly. The acronym fit two circumstances—Repairing While Distracted and Repairing While Drunk.

  He’d never worried about either one. Getting drunk didn’t appeal to him anymore and over the years he’d improved on his natural ability to focus.

  But the lovely Kendra McGavin was messing with his concentration. After he’d stepped inside the cabin, he’d stood immobile for at least a minute daydreaming about her. Then he’d needed another ten seconds to figure out why he’d gone up there in the first place.

  Even then, changing clothes had taken twice as long because he’d ended up sitting there with one boot on and the other dangling from his hand while he relived their kitchen conversation.

  She was so easy to read. She’d been born with her heart on her sleeve and that made her even more precious to him. Toward the end of that discussion, she’d been all in.

  One soft word, one tender kiss, and they would have ended up back in her bedroom. She might have changed her mind after they’d arrived, especially because it was broad daylight.

  He’d had no intention of making love to her this morning, though. Not that he didn’t want to, but she left the ranch house unlocked and any number of people could show up looking for her. He’d forgo taking her to bed if there was any risk of embarrassing her.

  Considering the number of people around the place, finding a private opportunity could turn into a major challenge. And that was assuming she let go of her reservations long enough to let it happen.

  He approached the barn and stopped several yards away, cussing softly under his breath. What an idiot he was. He couldn’t drain the fuel tank without a gas can and a funnel. His preoccupation with making love to Kendra had made him forget to ask her where he might find those things. No question she’d have them but he had no idea where to look.

  But as he drew near the barn’s open doors, the rhythmic swish and thunk of someone mucking out stalls meant he’d find help inside. Sure enough, Faith was at the far end of the barn with a wheelbarrow. He called out a greeting.