Second Chance Cowboy--A Clean Romance

by Claire McEwen

  “It was hilarious. We took a walk and we howled a bit, but then we realized that the official full moon wasn’t until tonight. And then Kathy stepped in a gopher hole and twisted her ankle. And Eva was getting all artsy on us and trying to take these nighttime photos, but no one would hold still for long enough.”

  Wes laughed softly, not wanting to startle Fancy. “It all sounds very Northern California.”

  “You mean women don’t go outside and howl in Texas?”

  “Hey, maybe they do. I never thought to ask.”

  Her blue eyes shone with laughter. “It was pretty silly. But we had fun. How about you? Did you ever reach your brother? You mentioned yesterday that he wasn’t returning your calls.”

  A ripple of worry stirred in Wes’s stomach. “He left me a message last night. I was asleep when he called and I guess I’d turned my ringer down at some point. He said he’s doing fine. But that’s about it.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever stop worrying about him. I guess this is what a lot of parents feel, too. I just want him to be happy and settled and I have this gut feeling that he’s not.”

  “Maybe he’s just trying to find his footing in a new job and a new city,” Emily said. “He could be out trying to meet people, or putting in extra hours at work. There are a lot of reasons he might not be calling you back as often as you want.”

  “You’re right.” Wes tried to let her words sink in and soothe. “I guess I had to be so vigilant for so long, it’s hard to let go.”

  Just then Fancy’s curiosity got the better of her. She took a step toward Wes, then another, and explored his T-shirt with her nose, blowing horsey breath all over him. “Hey, girl.” He kept his voice quiet. “Nice to see you, too.” Slowly he lifted a hand and placed it on her neck. She didn’t flinch but she froze, ears forward, regarding him with intent curiosity in her pale eyes. Wes ran his hand down her neck, brought it back and did it again.

  “This is great,” Emily said quietly. “She’s making so much progress.”

  “We’re proud of you, Fancy Face.” Wes moved slightly so he was facing the mare. “You’ve been through a lot. We’re here to help you.”

  Fancy lifted her head and knocked his hat off.

  Wes grinned, stepping back to retrieve it and put it back on his head. “Is this going to be our thing, then? I try to make friends and you knock my hat off?”

  Fancy leaned forward and knocked it off again.

  Emily started laughing. “She’s getting downright sassy.”

  The rumble of wheels had them both turning toward the driveway. A big red pickup came down the grassy hill toward them and pulled up alongside the pasture. The woman driving leaned out the window, her dark hair woven into braids that hung down past her collarbone. “Hey, Emily,” she called. “Gorgeous horse.”

  “Hi, Jayna. Thanks for coming out on a Sunday.”

  “No problem.” Jayna hopped lightly out of the cab, clapped a straw cowboy hat on her head and closed the door softly behind her. “Sounds like this poor horse really needed some help.” She squinted at Fancy. “She sure is thin.”

  “I know. She was found wandering up off Simmons Road.” Emily motioned toward Wes. “This is Wes Marlow. He’s started working with me.”

  “You’re a vet?” Jayna took a few steps toward him and they shook hands. She had a firm grip.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She grinned. “And not from around here.”

  “Texas. Houston area.”

  “I like your accent, cowboy.”

  “Are you from Shelter Creek?” He didn’t recognize her from high school.

  Jayna shook her head. “I moved out here from the Central Valley.”

  Another transplant. He wasn’t the only one who saw something special in this little town.

  “Wes is really good with horses,” Emily said. “Fancy is still pretty skittish, so I asked him to come by and see if he could give us any tips to make this go smoothly.”

  “Let’s take a look at her,” Jayna said.

  Emily pulled a carrot out of the back pocket of her jeans. “Want to start with a bribe?”

  Jayna laughed. “Sure.”

  Wes watched as Fancy accepted the carrot. The horse seemed at ease with Jayna. It was definitely men she had a problem with. Jayna ran a confident hand down Fancy’s right foreleg and picked up her hoof to examine it. Fancy’s ears went back.

  “Emily, distract her,” Wes said softly. “Talk to her. Pet her head.”

  Emily rubbed Fancy’s nose and spoke to her quietly.

  “Do you have any of those alfalfa cubes you mentioned the other day? The ones she liked?”

  “In the bin in the cabinet.”

  Wes went to the cabinet and took the lid off the metal bin. He scooped some cubes into a bucket he found there and brought them to Emily. “Try feeding her one.”

  Fancy immediately took the cube and her ears relaxed as she chewed. “Good idea,” Jayna said as she made her way around Fancy, checking on each of her hooves. “This all looks pretty straightforward. I’ll go get my tools.”

  “You need some help?”

  “Sure.”

  Wes followed Jayna to her truck. She opened one of her back cabinets and pulled out a pair of nippers, handing them to Wes. They looked like huge pliers. She’d use them to trim off the excess hoof, kind of like how people trimmed their fingernails. She strapped on a pair of thick leather chaps to protect her legs and found her rasp, which was basically a giant file. Then she put a small hoof knife in her pocket. “All right, let’s do this.”

  It took surprisingly little time to get Fancy’s hooves trimmed. Jayna didn’t want to take off too much at once, so she clipped and filed them to what she called a reasonable length. “It’s not ideal, but we’ll work our way down to ideal,” she said.

  “Fancy handled it like a champ,” Wes said to Emily.

  She beamed with pride and hugged Fancy’s neck. “I’m so relieved. We’re on our way to getting her all healed up.”

  Jayna was ready to leave, so after she and Emily said their goodbyes, Wes carried the nippers for her and watched as she packed her gear into her truck. “Thanks again for doing this on a Sunday. It’s hard for Emily to find time during the week.”

  “I know you vets must be busy.” Jayna shut the doors to the cabinets on her truck. “But if you find some time and you want to grab a cup of coffee, let me know.” She gave him a flirtatious smile and climbed into the cab. “See you around, cowboy.” She started the engine, backed up the hill to the driveway and turned her truck toward the road in one smooth arc.

  Wes walked back to Emily, a bemused smile on his face. It had been a while since a woman had made the first move. He didn’t want to take Jayna up on her offer, but it was flattering.

  “What’s going on?” Emily had turned Fancy loose in her pasture and was standing with her arms folded on the top rail of the wooden fence, watching her horse. The mare was on her way to visit Beatrice and Rosalind.

  “I think Jayna might have asked me out, just now.” He folded his arms up on the top rail, too. “She asked me for coffee, whatever that means.”

  Emily glanced at him, then quickly looked at Fancy again. “It means she likes you.”

  Was he wrong or was there a sharper note in Emily’s voice? “That’s flattering,” he said.

  “I’m sure it is.”

  Wes studied Emily as she studied her horse. There was a tightness to her jaw and an intensity to her gaze. Fancy was interesting, but not that riveting. Hope stirred inside, the hope he’d been trying to ignore since last weekend. “I don’t think I’ll take her up on the offer, though,” he said.

  “Why not? Jayna’s nice.”

  She was being so casual. Too casual. Wes might not know her as well as he used to, but he could see through this. “She is n
ice. But she’s not you.”

  Emily looked at him, her eyes widening. So blue. So sweet, with the faint smile lines radiating out. Those freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. He wanted to know them, to map them like constellations. “I want to be with you, Em. I want to spend time with you, outside of work. But I can back off, if you’d rather.”

  She shook her head. “I’d rather you didn’t. Back off, I mean.”

  That flicker of hope sparked into flame. “You mean you’d like to spend some time together, too?”

  She nodded. “I would.” Her smile widened. “I like spending time with you.”

  “Well, all right, then.” He looked back at Fancy because the grin on his face must make him look like a total fool. “I’m looking forward to that.”

  “Me, too,” she said softly and scooted a little closer to him so their elbows touched on the fence. Wes closed his eyes for an instant, relishing that tiny bit of contact and the words they’d said. Somehow he’d earned a little more of her trust and regard. He’d do his best not to mess that up again.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  WES SWALLOWED THE last bite of apple pie and folded his hands as if in prayer. “Meg, that meal was better than anything I’ve eaten in a long time.”

  “Even better than your favorite deli sandwich?” Emily, sitting next to him in her parents’ dining room, tossed him a sidelong smile.

  “Yup.”

  Meg reached for the pie pan. “I can cut you another slice, if you like.”

  “I would, but I’d like to be able to fit in Emily’s truck tomorrow. We’ve got a full schedule.”

  Tom took a sip from the mug of herbal tea that Meg had made for him. “I thought you two were going to start dividing up the cases, so you’d both have more free time.”

  Wes suddenly found it challenging to meet Tom’s gaze. “We were. And I still take more of the cats that come in, since Emily apparently isn’t a cat person. But I don’t know, I guess we kind of like doing the large-animal work together.”

  “Really?” Meg leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her folded hands. “And why is that, do you think?” Her knowing smile made it clear that she’d already intuited the answer.

  “We like hanging out together.” Emily glanced at Wes, her skin turning that sunset pink. “We work well together.”

  She was so cute when she was embarrassed. But he didn’t want her managing this situation all by herself. “We’ve actually decided that we’d like to spend a little more time with each other away from work, as well.”

  Meg looked from him to Emily and back again. “That sounds like a great idea.”

  Tom grinned. “Glad you two are finally figuring things out.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Emily said, then glanced at Wes, her brows raised. “I mean, I guess we still have some things to figure out. Don’t we?”

  It was kind of fun to see calm, in-charge Emily floundering around. “I suppose we do.”

  There was an awkward silence. Rex and Mavis must have sensed it because the two dogs rose from where they’d been curled up together in the corner of the room and came over to the table. Mavis snuffed underneath for crumbs, but Rex, intuitive dog that he was, pushed his nose into Wes’s hand. Wes buried his fingers in his dog’s thick fur. “I truly appreciate the way you’ve all welcomed me back, after the way I treated you. I don’t think a lot of people would be as forgiving. I hope I can show you all that I deserve your faith in me.”

  “You have,” Tom said. “You stayed with my family at the hospital. And you’ve already taken some of the burden off Emily at work. We’re glad to know she won’t be working every waking moment.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Wes couldn’t resist teasing Emily a little. “Maybe if I can get her to stop looking over my shoulder...”

  “I’m not looking over—” Emily stopped. “Oh. You’re teasing me.” She smacked him gently on the forearm. “Don’t be mean.”

  “Seeing you two give each other a hard time at the table takes me back in time,” Meg said. “Remember the time you made Emily spit out her water, she was laughing so hard?”

  Wes grinned at the memory. “She took out the entire salad, if I remember correctly.”

  “This is getting embarrassing.” Emily hid her face briefly in her hands. “Can we talk about something else? Dad, how have you been feeling?”

  “I don’t know how those doctors do it, but I almost feel normal. Still a little achy and slow, but I’m getting stronger every day.” He grinned at his wife. “Meg here won’t give me any other choice.”

  “You’re going to heal a hundred percent, Tom Fielding, or you’ll answer to me.”

  “See?” Tom laughed. “She’s a bully.” But the love in his glance when he looked at his wife contradicted his words.

  “It’s tough love,” Meg retorted. “And self-preservation. I don’t want you to scare me like that ever again.”

  This was what Wes wanted. A love that stayed strong through the hard times. Love that could inspire laughter, even when things were rough. He glanced at Emily, who was watching her parents with a slight smile on her face. She was it for him. He knew that like he knew how to breathe.

  “Why don’t you two go and do something fun tonight?” Meg glanced at the clock on the stove. “It’s only eight.”

  “We’ll stay and help clean up first,” Emily said.

  “Not tonight.” Meg stood, reached over and picked up their dessert plates. “I’ll clean up. You two go out on a date.”

  Wes sent Meg his silent gratitude.

  “We’ve got this.” Tom stood, too, and picked up the pie plate. “Me and my heart problems messed up your evening last weekend. Get out of here and forget about work for a while.”

  Emily looked up at Wes, a question in her eyes.

  “I’m up for it if you are.” He scooted his chair back and stood, offering her his hand. “Emily Fielding, will you go on a date with me?”

  She took his hand and held it tight. “Wes Marlow, I thought you’d never ask.” They went to get their coats, Rex at their heels.

  As they said goodnight, Meg squeezed Wes’s hand. “I’m so glad you two are working things out.”

  “I don’t know how I got so lucky as to have you all in my life a second time. But I won’t mess it up, I promise.”

  Meg patted his hand gently. “You never messed it up. You did what you felt like you had to do. I’m just glad we get to have you in our lives again.”

  Wes shook hands with Tom, and then he and Emily stepped out into the crisp evening. Rex ran ahead, sniffing his way through the yard. “The rain has stopped,” Wes said. “It looks like the clouds have moved on.”

  Emily looked up at the sky. “I can see a couple stars. Maybe we’ll be able to see the moon if the sky clears up a little more.” They walked in silence to his truck. Wes opened the back door and Rex settled into the back seat. Once he and Emily were seated in the cab, Wes angled his body toward her and took her hand. “So. A date. What do you want to do?”

  “I actually don’t know.” She looked at him with wide eyes. “I haven’t been on a date in years.”

  He grinned. “What was your last date?”

  “A guy I met at a conference in San Francisco. He works for a pharmaceutical company. We had dinner a couple times.” Her brow furrowed. “That was a few years ago, actually. I haven’t really been focused on meeting someone.” She looked down at their clasped hands. “And you? Do I really want to know who you last dated?”

  “You mean, did I have some big love or something?” Wes grinned and shook his head. “Nope. That’s never happened for me. I dated a few women in college but it never got serious. The last person I dated was a woman in Houston a couple years ago. We both liked to hear live music, so we went to a few concerts together. But it seemed like we l
iked the concerts a lot more than we liked each other.”

  “I don’t think we can find a concert tonight,” Emily said.

  “What do you do in Shelter Creek for fun?”

  She pressed her lips together before she answered. “I’m going to be honest. I don’t think I’m very good at having fun. I’ve been so focused on work for so long. I just wanted to make Dad’s practice a success. I guess there’s some pressure that goes along with inheriting someone’s life’s work.”

  “Well, I’ve got a confession,” Wes said. “I don’t think I’m that good at having fun, either. I spent so many years trying to make everything okay, you know? Trying to make sure I had enough money for Jamie and me to get by, and to get through our schooling. I’m not sure I ever really learned how to relax and just have fun.”

  Emily leaned close and kissed him sweetly on the cheek. “We never got to follow through on the plans we made, to go to college and vet school together. But maybe we can learn how to have fun together.”

  He caught her chin with two fingertips. Pulled her closer and brushed a kiss lightly across her lips. He lingered there, his mouth brushing hers, his heart pounding on his ribs. This closeness, her breath, her eyes wide, taking him in, it was what his deepest dreams were made of.

  “Fun,” he murmured. “I’d like that.” An idea rose in his mind and caught at his imagination. He straightened and reached for his seat belt. “Are you up for a bit of a drive tonight?”

  “Sure. What are you thinking?”

  “Trust me?” He knew he was asking for a lot with those words.

  “Okay.” She gave a little sigh. “I’ll trust you.”

  He started the engine, pulled up a country music playlist on his phone and turned the truck west, heading for the coast.

  * * *

  EMILY GLANCED AT Wes as the winding road neared the coast. “Are we going to the beach?” She could barely see him in the dark cab.

  “That’s what I was thinking. I sure missed the ocean out here, all the years I lived in Houston. The Gulf Coast is nice, but it’s not like this.”