Lucky Cowboy

by Heatherly Bell

  “Thank you for concussion duty,” she said. “You’re a prince.”

  He slid her an easy smile. “Not exactly a hardship.”

  “Let me make you some coffee. I at least owe you that.”

  “Nah, that’s all right. I’m already gettin’ a late start.” He tugged on his belt, grabbed his hat, and shoved it on.

  “Um. Okay. Thanks for career day. The kids loved it.”

  He winked. “Until their favorite teacher got hurt.”

  “Oh, I bet they knew I’d be fine. I’m made of tough stuff.”

  He gave her a little once-over, as though he didn’t quite believe that, and broke out in a slow smile. “Yeah, but you’re pretty soft, too.”

  Gulp. She didn’t know quite what to say to that, so she blinked twice, hoping that wasn’t Morse code for “I love you.”

  She walked him to the front door.

  “Had a good time hanging out with you,” Lincoln said, squeezing her hand.

  “Even in the ER?” She gaped.

  “Yeah, even there.” And then he spun her right into his arms and kissed her.

  She seriously did not know what to do with him. Except kiss him back. Her hands fisted his shirt, pulling him close. He deepened the kiss, which seemed to last forever. When he broke the kiss, she traced her bruised lips, missing him already.

  “Okay. I’ll see you later.” And then he shut the door behind him.

  She stared at the shut door. That’s it? He’d kissed her, set them both on fire, and then given her the complete brush off.

  See you later?

  See you later?

  She wanted to stomp and scream and yell obscenities out her front door, but this was her fault. She’d laid out her life plans to him. Should she be so surprised that she’d scared him off?

  Damn it, damn it, damn it!

  Sadie finished brushing her teeth and heard a knock on her door. She prayed there would be no more flowers. Chocolate she would take in a heartbeat.

  Eve brushed by Sadie and went straight to the coffeemaker. “Tell me everything!”

  “Lincoln just left.”

  “I know, I saw him. I waited until he’d left.” Quite comfortable in Sadie’s kitchen, Eve reached for the coffee grinder and scooped beans inside.

  “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m so confused.” She sat with a plop on one of her two kitchen stools. “Lincoln kissed me.”

  The whir of the coffee grinder going, Eve suddenly stopped the noise and turned to stare. “I’m sorry, I thought you said he kissed you?”

  Sadie nodded. She should be happier than this. But she didn’t know what it meant when a guy kissed you and left with no plans to see you again.

  “He didn’t just kiss me, he kissed me.”

  “Not on the cheek?” Eve cocked her head.

  Sadie quirked a brow. “With tongue.”

  Eve gaped. “Well, butter my biscuit!”

  “But when we were at dinner—”

  “Wait. He took you to dinner?” She held up a palm in the universal stop sign.

  “Right before he kidnapped me and drove me to the hospital!”

  “Good grief, a lot has gone on!” Eve covered her mouth. “Oh, no. Did you have a CAT scan? Was it okay?”

  “No,” Sadie said miserably. “The same thing happened. I panicked. And the worst thing? That made Lincoln feel guiltier. It wasn’t bad enough that he felt responsible for my concussion, he got to see me have a meltdown, too. That’s the first time he kissed me.”

  “The…the first time?” Eve forgot all about the coffee, simply holding the filter in her hands, not moving.

  Sadie rose to take the filter from her and take care of coffee-making duties. “The second time? Right there. Over by the front door. Out of the blue he just grabbed me and kissed the stuffing out of me. I thought I would dissolve.”

  “Oh, my.”

  “And then he said, do you want to know what he said? Sure, you do. He said, ‘See you later.’” Sadie held up air quotes. “Then he left.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Okay, so it’s not just me! I’m not overreacting. No, ‘hey, I’ll call you later today.’ Or, ‘how about we go out sometime?’ Not even, ‘hey, I sure liked kissing you. How about we try that again sometime?’ Nothing!” Sadie shoved the filter into the coffeemaker with force.

  “Yeah, that’s weird.”

  “But the thing is, I keep thinking that it might be because during dinner, well, I mentioned how I wanted to have three children. That I wanted to get married, and probably soon.”

  “That’s…wow…not something you want to say to Lincoln. Or probably, you know, any man. At least not the first time you’re out on a date together.”

  “But isn’t honesty good? That’s what I want, after all, and he said it isn’t what he wants. So, there it is. At least we know.”

  “Um, okay.”

  “I’m an idiot, right?”

  “Well…”

  Sadie went hands up. “I don’t know what I was thinking!”

  “It’s just…how can I say this? I mean, if y’all just give yourself a chance, you know, he could change his mind. Who knows what could change if he falls in love? There’s a thing called compromise. How’s he going to know if he doesn’t ever give you two a shot?”

  “Right.”

  “But if you’re asking him straight out the gate to be ready for babies, car seats, and spit-up, I don’t think that’s going to work too well for you.”

  “Did you and Jackson talk about babies before y’all got engaged?”

  Sadie already knew the likely answer to that question. They were teenagers when they started to date and twenty-somethings when they were planning a wedding, so they’d had plenty of time ahead of them for that sort of thing.

  “Not at all, but we probably should have. Even when we were engaged, we never talked about any of those things. We were our entire world. We never gave much thought to anything or anyone else.” Eve’s expression grew soft and weary at the same time and Sadie regretted bringing Jackson up.

  “Well, I feel like I’m running out of time,” Sadie said, changing the subject.

  “You’re twenty-eight!”

  “My mother had two children by twenty-eight, as she so often reminds me.”

  Eve waved that away. “You have a career. And a calling, I might add. What you do is important.”

  “Thank you, Eve.”

  Maybe Sadie should just throw herself into her career and give up on the quest for true love.

  It wasn’t going well anyway.

  Later that Saturday, Sadie drove out to the General Store for the weekly delivery of her mother’s homemade jam. Since her parents were out of town on a rare vacation, Sadie offered to take on this chore. After her children were grown, Wanda Stephens wound up with too much free time on her hands, so she kicked the fruit canning into overdrive. That led to jams and jellies, and when she took them to her book club and everyone raved, she started to sell them to her friends. Wanda’s Jam was born. The General Store offered to stock them and just like that Sadie’s mother became a businesswoman. Her bestseller? Peach jam from her own trees. Sometimes Sadie wished she could bathe in the stuff.

  She pulled her truck up to the back-alley entrance of the General Store and opened her tailgate.

  “Hey there, sugar,” said Lloyd Hayes, Beulah’s long-suffering husband. “Got your mama’s jam for me?”

  “Two cases.”

  “Well, that ought to last us a week if we’re lucky.” He carried a case inside through the back door, and Sadie brought up the rear with the second one. “Got to say, I didn’t expect to see you walkin’ around like nothing happened. Lenny said you looked like you’d gone on to glory and then he saw you breathing. We’re going to be offering some prayers of thanks tomorrow.”

  “Aw, thank you, but it wasn’t that bad. They gave me a CAT scan and I’m absolutely fine.”

  “Well, helps to have a hard head, I guess.
” He set a case behind the register and reached for a box cutter. “Heh, heh, heh. That was a joke, sugar.”

  “You’re funny, Mr. Hayes.” Sadie laughed and shook a finger at him.

  The bell over the store entrance jingled and Ada Armstrong walked in. “Sadie Stephens, sweetheart! Let me look at you! Oh, good Lord, you look like you’ve been through hell without a passport. Leave it to that awful Carver cowboy to lasso you for career day. Whoever put that fool idea in his head?” She waved behind her, barely taking a breath between sentences. “I want you to meet someone.”

  Sadie usually couldn’t get a word in around Ada, today being no exception. She’d started to explain that the whole lassoing thing had been her idea, or rather a student’s idea she’d foolishly agreed to, when a handsome man entered the store behind her.

  Ada waved him over. “Get on over here, honey. Sadie, I want you to meet my nephew, Judson Grant. He’s a doctor!”

  She said this with the same enthusiasm one might say, “We have a cure for cancer!”

  This would be the nephew Ada mentioned. He was surprisingly good-looking.

  “Oh, well, isn’t that…nice. Congratulations on being a doctor.”

  Judson offered Sadie his hand with a wince. “Sorry about that. She’s just a little bit proud.”

  “Isn’t she beautiful, Judson? Didn’t I tell you?” She elbowed him. “I tried to tell you, but sometimes you just have to see for yourself.”

  “Aw, you’re so sweet, Miss Ada.”

  “She’s right,” Judson said. “And she wasn’t exaggerating. You are quite beautiful.”

  Judson wasn’t so bad himself. Jet black hair, eyes the shade of a strong espresso, and he wore glasses, giving him a real doctor vibe. But he did look a little out of place wearing chinos and shoes with tassels on them.

  “Judson is thinking of moving here, maybe opening up a clinic. I’ll let you two get acquainted.” Ada bustled over to the vegetable aisle.

  “My aunt is getting ahead of herself. I’m here for a visit just to see if it might be a good fit for me and if it’s possible to set up shop.” He smiled. “Just looking at you, I’m already encouraged.”

  “That’s sweet. Where are you staying?”

  “With my aunt’s family for now. Keeping my eyes open for a place.”

  “You should look into the cabins by Lupine Lake. My daddy rents them out. I think we might have one coming up next month or so. I’d have to ask him.”

  “Great. I don’t know if I can last an entire month with my aunt, though.” He winked. “What do you do, Sadie?”

  “I’m a teacher.”

  “That’s amazing. And you like it?”

  “I do. Very much.”

  “Teachers are the lifeblood of a community, aren’t they?” He tipped back on his heels.

  Judson didn’t have any trouble making conversation, and he seemed interested in Sadie’s profession. How refreshing.

  “I like to think so. It’s a calling.”

  “That’s the same way I think of medicine.”

  Sadie thought it should be, but she also knew plenty of doctors who went into medicine to become wealthy. There wasn’t anything wrong with that. On the other hand, she’d accepted the fact that she’d never be rich, or even close to it, as a teacher.

  “Would you like to go out sometime, Sadie?”

  “There isn’t much to do around here.”

  “We could drive into Kerrville, or San Antonio. I have my car. Whatever you’d like.”

  Sadie rubbed her arm. Strangely, she almost felt like she’d be cheating to accept a date with Judson. She and Lincoln had kissed, twice, and maybe they’d started something. Maybe he would call her in a few days. Maybe she should just stay open for that possibility for a little longer. Because maybe “see you around” meant he would eventually call her.

  Or maybe not.

  “Well, um, I just…”

  “I’m sorry to be so forward,” he said. “I didn’t even ask if you’re seeing someone.”

  “No, I’m not really.”

  “Well, then, would you think about it?”

  He had a nice smile. Honest and trustworthy.

  She could almost hear her mother’s voice: if Lincoln isn’t interested, keep your options open, young lady! Those eggs aren’t getting any younger.

  “Of course, I will.”

  And she gave him her phone number.

  Chapter 8

  The afternoon sun beat down on Lincoln’s back as he drove the last nail into the broken-down fence. Nearby, Hank complained every two seconds. Loudly.

  “This took too long. We’re lucky we didn’t lose more cattle.”

  When Lincoln didn’t reply but kept working, Hank kept talking. “I’m thinking of hiring another hand or two.”

  “Couldn’t hurt. You hire help every time I’m gone.”

  “Wouldn’t have to hire anyone at all if your brother would get his sorry ass back home now and then.”

  Lincoln plucked another nail from between his teeth. Said nothing.

  “Sure must be nice to make a living prancing around on stage like you got good sense.”

  Lincoln talked to Jackson regularly, so he knew show business wasn’t all fun and games. But he kept his mouth shut. This diatribe ran on auto-repeat every time Hank got frustrated with anything on the ranch. Jackson wanted to play guitar and make an easy living on a stage instead of helping run his family ranch. And if Jackson were still here, according to Hank, he’d be married to Eve, because on the day of their wedding she’d just had a bad case of the jitters. Life would then, of course, somehow be wonderful.

  “If he’d get his butt back home, you and I wouldn’t have to work so hard.”

  Or maybe if Hank didn’t have so many bad days they’d get back on a schedule and not always be behind.

  “If you really want Jackson to come home, you’re going to have to respect his choices,” Lincoln finally said. “He’s a grown man, not someone you can boss around.”

  “If he wants my respect, he’s going to have to give it first.” Hank viciously hammered away at a nail.

  “Jackson loves his family. That’s a given. Maybe if you went to just one of his concerts. Just one.”

  “Hell, I don’t have time for that.”

  Almost every member of the family went at least once to see Jackson and his band. They regularly toured through parts of Texas. They’d all attended at least one concert with the exception of Hank. Somehow, he believed he’d made a bold statement with that choice. Instead, old and painful beliefs were reinforced. Jackson was their mother’s favorite. She’d kept him close, and protected him, which infuriated Hank. Unable to see how much damage their mother’s eventual abandonment did to Jackson in particular, Hank continued to resent their mother’s “favorite.”

  He reminded him too much of Maggie.

  Daisy was a toddler when their mother left the family. An ugly rumor occasionally floated through town that Hank might not even be Daisy’s real father. That she could be the result of Maggie’s tryst with a rodeo cowboy when Hank had been away at an auction. But Lincoln refused to believe that the beautiful mother he remembered would leave behind a daughter that wasn’t actually her husband’s biological child.

  Hank continue to complain about Jackson, as if he were to suddenly materialize out of thin air all their problems would be solved. Whether the old man would admit it or not, he missed his youngest son like he might miss his right arm. Lincoln sympathized because he also missed his brother, but hell, he was having a bad day.

  Hank didn’t care two hoots and a holler about that.

  Now, Lincoln couldn’t see himself going with his original plan to cut loose some weekend and find himself an eager buckle bunny. Not when he’d have Sadie on his mind. Not when he’d compare anyone else to that full sensual mouth that knew how to kiss a man. When he’d compare someone to the way they’d fit together in bed. He’d slept with her all night, the operating word being slept, whe
n he’d never done that with a woman. But he’d eyed the bed, and the comfort of the bed, and not at all considered whom he’d be lying next to. Because he certainly hadn’t intended on waking up with her in his arms. He couldn’t have expected for the whole experience to be so enticing that he didn’t want to move for several minutes after waking up.

  He didn’t want to leave, either, even as he went through the motions of getting the hell out of dodge before she got any ideas. But instead of doing just that, he’d gone ahead and helped himself to another kiss which by all rights he should not have done. She’d responded with a passion which wrecked him. Now he faced a real situation. He wanted to hook up with sweet Sadie. The town’s first teacher, his friend’s sister, Eve’s best friend, everyone’s friend, and practically the girl next door.

  This was not a good idea and he should stay away. Maybe in a few days this attraction would pass. He would stop thinking about her and find some other feminine distraction. Because Sadie Stephens scared the stuffing right out of him. She was the kind of woman who tied a man down. Permanently.

  But two days later, not much had changed. Lincoln drove to the Shady Grind for a cold beer every night and seen hide nor hair of Sadie. Jolette Marie showed up every night, but he still didn’t want to leave the bar with her. Fortunately, Jolette Marie always bounced back and accepted every one of his lame excuses.

  By the end of the week, Lincoln decided he’d bring Sadie some flowers that he clearly owed her for giving her a concussion. It seemed like the right thing to do and he’d failed to do this the first time. Her injury had been his responsibility and all. Wouldn’t have happened without him. He picked up a bouquet of yellow daisies from the General Store, endured Mr. Hayes’s teasing, (“better late than never, son. Heh, heh, heh.”) and got himself over to Sadie’s home late enough in the afternoon that he knew she’d be home from school.

  “Lincoln,” she said, opening the door. “What are you doin’ here?”