by Jodi Thomas
Dani offered to call her boys and have them pick up the kid some clothes. “I wouldn’t even bother to use the outfit he had on as cleaning rags.”
When she set down his plate on the kitchen table, Elliot picked it up and carried it to the dining room. “Fix the accountant a plate. She might as well eat while we talk.”
“Will do,” Dani answered as he closed the swinging door to the dining room to offer them a bit of privacy.
For a moment, Elliot stared at Jess. He had a hard time believing she was in his house, even though the proof was there. She was still dressed for the office, her blond curls neatly brushed back from her face, her makeup perfection. But he remembered her in jeans and her face scrubbed clean.
He took the seat across from her. Close enough to study her. Far enough to remember this was today, not a yesterday in his past.
Before Jess could start talking, the cook swung through the door and set a plate of pancakes and sausage in front of her.
“I—”
Dani interrupted, “Just eat what you can. Boss told me to feed the accountant, and that’s what I plan to do. You could carry a few more pounds. You could blow away in this open country.”
Elliot fought down a grin. His cook couldn’t have been more obvious about what she thought of Jess.
When the door finally clicked to a stop, he realized he was alone with a woman he’d been talking to in his head for years. The thousand things he’d wanted to say to her drifted away as he took the time to really look at her.
She was thinner than she’d been in college. Her eyes looked bigger in her slim face. Sad velvet eyes, he thought. He’d known Jess better than he’d ever known any girl or woman, but he couldn’t read her now.
“I must say before we begin that it was not my idea to come here.” She picked up her fork and poked at the stack of pancakes.
“Your name’s on the firm, Jess. I’m guessing near a hundred accountants work for you. You could have simply passed me along. The Maverick Ranch has to be one of your firm’s smallest accounts.”
“It’s not that simple. I’m engaged to another partner’s son who also works in the firm. Richard Moore. When your brother hired us, Richard thought I should come and maybe get closure on what was between us. In fact, he insisted I do just that.”
“I find it hard to believe that any man is bossing you around, Jess.”
“I go by Jessica now. He was not bossing. Richard thinks everything through. I’ve known him all my life. His father and my father have been partners since we were born. But they never thought we’d get together. He’s twelve years older than me. Plus, he said he needed some time to tie up a few ends. Richard seems to do that a lot lately.”
“You love him?” Elliot considered slamming his head into the plate of pancakes even before the last word was out.
“That is none of your business. But, of course, I love him. We have everything in common. We like the same things. We both love Paris. We both believe we can grow Moore and Brantley to be a national contender in the accounting world.”
“Sounds good. What about Karter? You remember, the third partner.”
She waved her hand as if brushing away one partner’s name from the marquee. “Oh, he’s older than our dads. Plus, he didn’t have children. Richard figures in five years we’ll buy him out.”
“That’s nice. I was afraid you were going to say ‘kill him off.’”
She made a face he had once thought was cute. “Elliot, that sounds like something the Holloways would do. After all, you’re still living out here in the wild, wild West.”
“We’re wearing shoes regularly. Keep our six-shooters locked away unless rustlers come around. Gave up making our own moonshine.”
“Says the man who’s dripping blood from his neck.”
Elliot touched his throat, and his hand came away with red drops on it. “I thought it had scabbed over. I must have opened it when I dressed. We had to lug Cooper through a stand of trees with dried weeds up to our necks. We all took on a few wounds.”
She leaned over and patted the tiny wound with her napkin. “Spare me the details. I tried to domesticate you, but I failed. How could I expect anything less?”
He managed a smile. Too many years had passed to argue over dead topics. He didn’t want to walk through that graveyard. “How about we start work? I can show you a few things, answer questions until I have to go. The faster we get this done, the better.” He tried to smile. “You don’t want to be here, and I don’t want you here. At least we’ll start by agreeing to one fact. I’ll dedicate every hour I can to getting this done.”
She seemed to relax a bit. “All right. I have to say, you do have the books in good order. I had no idea how complicated a ranch could be.” She tapped the book she’d been reading. “I think I’ve already found a few deductions you might not have considered.”
She left her plate on the table with one bite out of one pancake. He carried his breakfast in the office and propped up on a file cabinet while she began her questions.
This, he could handle. Keeping it professional. He told himself he wasn’t even attracted to her anymore, but he knew he was lying. Jess was exactly his type. Smart, beautiful, quick to fire up and quick to love. Only problem was, no heart beat inside her perfect body. No compassion flowed through that sharp mind. This Richard Moore guy would probably be perfect. It seemed he thought more about the business than he did her, and Elliot would bet a hundred dollars the loose ends he was tying up were other women in his life.
An hour later, Dr. Westland interrupted them. “I’m ready whenever you are, Elliot.” Hayley had on a clean pair of baggy trousers and what he guessed was one of Sunlan’s Western shirts. She filled it out more than his sister-in-law did, but Hayley looked cute. The leather jacket she wore had been one of the cousins’. He wasn’t surprised they’d left clothes behind. Amazon boxes full of clothes followed them wherever they traveled.
He stood, politely introduced her to Jess, then put his arm around Hayley. “You look like you’re going to the rodeo, Doc. You sure those physicians at the hospital will believe you’re a real doctor?”
Hayley laughed. “I’m a vet, remember? Medical doctors don’t talk to me unless they’re holding a pet.”
Elliot winked at Hayley. They’d been through a war together yesterday. They were soldiers after a battle, forever friends.
He walked out with her already laughing at a few of the mistakes they’d made yesterday while trying to get Coop out of the trees and down the hill. Like letting Dallas hold the keys. When they’d reached the truck, they’d all yelled at her as she emptied every pocket.
Looking back at Jess sitting at his desk, he almost felt sorry that he was leaving her alone with the files. Maybe she’d gotten just the life she wanted. Looked like her dreams were coming true, only he wasn’t in them.
Get over it, Elliot, he thought to himself. He could handle her here. Maybe old Richard was right—this could be good for them both.
When he opened the door to leave, a dozen men who worked on the ranch were waiting. Elliot thought they might have questions about the work, but all they wanted to do was talk to the little vet. Three or four thanked her for saving Cooper’s life. Two said they’d go up and get her Jeep with her anytime she wanted. One said she was a hero. And Charlie Daily, the ranch’s oldest hand, asked her right out for a date. If they could have carried her to the pickup, they would have.
Elliot felt like the invisible man standing next to her.
Once they were headed toward town, Elliot whispered, “You’re a hero, Doc.”
“I just did what anyone would have done.”
“No. You did much more. This family will count you as one of us from now on.”
She was silent for a moment, then asked shyly, “Is there any way I can spend another night at your place? Tomorrow morning I’
d like to head up and help with the horses at Winter Valley if the snow’s melted some. If another storm comes in later this week, we may not have time to check each horse before winter pushes the mustangs farther into the canyon.”
“Of course. Stay as long as you like. Your grandfather often stayed over when he came out and worked until dark. We tried to get him to stay in the house, but he liked sleeping over in the bunkhouse. Said he liked swapping lies.”
“That’s Pops. He loves animals, but he loves people more. I miss him, but he won’t be back until after the New Year, if then.”
“I’ll bet you missed him when you went away to school.”
“I did. I think I’ve spent every summer with him since I was ten.” She stared out the window as they passed under the ranch gate. “Until I left for college, I thought all men were like Pops and my dad. I had to learn the hard way that they weren’t.”
Elliot had a feeling there was an untold story on her tongue, but they weren’t close enough friends yet for her to open up.
They rode in silence for a few miles before she changed the subject. “After we check on Cooper and talk to the doctors, I’d like to sit with him. I know you’ve got your hands full—you’re one man doing the job of three at the ranch. If he’s able, maybe he’ll talk to me about the mustangs so I’ll be more prepared when I go up tomorrow.”
“Four. I have to take over Creed’s job, too. Dani told me most of the men stood around all afternoon waiting for orders yesterday, so we’re a day’s work behind. If you’d sit with him, I’ll work today and pick you up tonight when I bring Tatum in to see him. Plus, I got an accountant in my office. Not sure how I feel about that, but I need to deal with her.”
“Then it’s settled. If Cooper is on the mend, I’ll sit with him and we’ll trade out when you bring Tatum up.”
“All right. I’ll have one of the hands come pick you up if you get ready to head back to the ranch before I return. But it won’t be Charlie Daily. He’ll think he’s engaged to you if he drives you home. He’s a good man, but don’t talk to him. He’ll scare you.”
“Why would he scare me?”
Elliot grinned. “Last year a girl smiled at him at church and he wrote her at note saying he’d like to take all her teeth out so he could take them home and see her smile all the time.”
Hayley took a playful swing at him. “You’re lying.”
Laughing, he added, “Maybe I am, but you’ll never know for sure, and I’m betting you’ll never smile at him again.”
Elliot liked the easy way they talked. It made the trip to the hospital pass faster. Once they reached Cooper’s room, he and Hayley had moved from being polite strangers to friends.
Cooper frowned at them both. “I’d rather go through the trees and roll down the hill again than stay in this torture chamber,” he announced before they could get out a greeting. “You are not going to believe what they serve as food around here.”
To Elliot’s surprise, Hayley stepped right up like she was in charge of the hospital and needed to tell his little brother what to do. An hour later, they were still arguing when he headed out to go home. He grinned. Nothing would make Cooper get well faster than having a cute little doc picking on him.
Now he could stop worrying about Coop and handle everything else he had to do today.
By noon, he’d set up his desk to work with Jess on the taxes, but men kept coming in with ranch business, his broker called twice and Dani was banging around in the next room trying to decorate for Christmas.
Jess made an impatient little sound for about the tenth time. “Is it ever quiet around here? I’ve added this one column three times.”
“No.” He was trying to concentrate, too, but at least he wasn’t complaining.
Before they could settle back into work, Dani brought in scones to go with the coffee and stayed to give a report on the twins. They’d dropped off the girls for their 5:00 a.m. flight to Boston this morning, after staying out all night showing them Fort Worth and Dallas. They’d closed the bars in the Fort Worth Stockyards district and eaten an early breakfast in the Warwick Melrose Hotel in downtown Dallas. An hour later, as her boys were checking into a hotel to sleep a few hours before driving back, Bethany called to say they’d fallen asleep waiting and had missed their flight. Since their luggage was heading home, they wanted to go shopping before trying to catch another flight.
Dani cleared her throat. “Her exact words were ‘I cannot fly all day in clothes I partied in last night. That is simply not done.’”
Elliot broke into the cook’s story. “The boys picked them up from DFW Airport and are shopping now, right?”
She nodded.
He shrugged. “You may never see your sons again.”
“I’m not the one who should be worried. They’ve got your credit card.”
He glanced over at Jessica, lowered his voice and whispered to Dani, “At least someone is having fun.”
The cook giggled and left the room.
Elliot stood and looked out the window. Then he turned and, for a moment, simply watched Jess work. Part of him wished he could walk over and touch her. Maybe rub her shoulders. She’d been working since dawn.
But touching her wasn’t going to happen. Whatever had been between them was gone, washed away by years of heartache.
As he walked over to his desk, she leaned back in her chair and looked at him. “Is it always this busy? You seem to wear a great many hats.”
“No, sometimes it’s worse. If fire breaks out on the grasslands, or a hundred-thousand-dollar bull gets out, or one of the men gets hurt, it can get real busy around here. Today is one of the calm days.”
She smiled. “And I always thought ranching was a boring job. Just sit around and watch the grass grow, then watch the cows eat it.”
“If you want to see what we do, we could take a break later and I’ll show you around.”
“No, thanks. I have a job to do, and a fiancé to get back to.”
“Right.”
An hour later, when Elliot headed out to talk to the men building a new corral, Jess told him to remind the cook that she didn’t want anything to eat.
When he passed on the order, Dani just shrugged. “I’ll set her a place at supper. We’re having ribs and baked potatoes. If she doesn’t eat, I’ll feed it to the chickens.”
“Good, sounds great. I’m not sure she’s ever eaten either.” As he put on his coat, he remembered a call he’d made between two others. “Set a place for Tatum. The sheriff called. Found a kid Tatum’s age tagged as missing in Altus, Oklahoma. Tatum was honest—he has no living relatives that they can find. His grandmother died weeks ago. Sheriff talked to the authorities in both Jackson County and Lubbock County. When he told them what had happened, they agreed the kid could stay at the ranch until they could get a social worker out here. They could move him to a temporary group home, but the sheriff convinced them to let him stay with us for a few days.”
“So, we keep him?” Dani asked.
“No, but he’s better off here for the time being.” Elliot looked around. “Where is he, anyway?” He fought to keep panic from his voice. The kid had run away once before; maybe he’d decided to hit the road again.
“He’s out helping Tye with the new colt. Tye said he plans to teach him to ride if it warms up.”
“Good.”
She read his mind. “I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t you worry. He won’t miss a meal.”
“Tye or Tatum?” he asked.
The cook grinned. “Both.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
December 19
THE MORNING PASSED with rounds of tests on Cooper Holloway until Hayley wondered how he was taking all the poking and moving and blood drawing without going mad.
He barely seemed to notice her sitting in the corner of every room he was wheeled
to.
The nurses finally got tired of his demanding to leave. They gave him a sedative mixed in with his IV.
As he relaxed he finally looked over at her. “Hi, Doc. You’re downright cute. I’ve been meaning to tell you that.”
She grinned. “Hi, Coop. You hang in there. They’ll run out of tests eventually. How about you take a nap?”
“They think I have brain damage. Would you please tell them I wasn’t all that bright to start with? Both of my brothers will verify that.”
“I’ll tell them. I’ll also tell them that you remind me of a wild mustang. I have a feeling you’d heal if they just turned you loose.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but I’m thinking of settling down. My roaming days are over. Elliot told me last night that if he had to follow the ambulance all the way to the hospital one more time, he’d kill me himself.”
“Maybe you should settle down and marry, like your big brother did. Raise a dozen kids as wild as you are. That would keep you busy.”
“I’m not wild. Trouble just follows me like a homeless pup, and I’m dumb enough to feed it now and then.”
“I believe you.” She’d seen the way he helped Tatum when the kid was so scared. Cooper might have scrambled brains, but he had a good heart.
His eyelids were starting to lower. “Any chance you’ll marry me, Doc?”
“I have seen quite a lot of you in the past few hours, but no, Coop, I will not marry you. I want a man who’ll stand by me until we’re old. Like my grandfather did my grandmother, and my dad does with my mom. I have a feeling you’d be off on some adventure if I ever needed help.”
“You don’t think much of me, do you, Doc?”
“I’ve heard too many stories about you. You’d be a great guy to watch my back in a fight, but I’m not sure you’d be around for the day-to-day.”
“If you ever get in a fight...” His words began to slur. “I’ll be there. I like watching your back... I wouldn’t mind watching your front, too.”
