How to Catch a Cowboy

by Tia Souders

  Coward, Rhett thought as he watched him go.

  Turning back to Tess, Rhett pinched the bridge of his nose. “What now, Tess?”

  “Have you noticed you’ve been a little short-staffed around here the last few hours? Has it seemed quiet to you?”

  Rhett’s head snapped up, ready to pounce on whoever was slacking on the job. He glanced around before he remembered it was after six and most everyone would’ve gone home by now. Then it hit him.

  His mouth curled into a grin. “Did your new best friend quit? I told you she wouldn’t—”

  “No. She didn’t quit, Rhett. She’s in the hospital,” Tess seethed.

  Rhett’s smile fell. “What?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded furiously. “Noah drove her nearly three hours ago. I’m lucky I saw him carting her out of here on his own like a sack of potatoes, or I wouldn’t have known either. She’s currently lying in a hospital bed with tubes in her arms and a face the size of a watermelon. Turns out, there was a yellow jacket nest beneath a log, and she happens to be severely allergic.”

  Rhett covered his mouth with his hand.

  Crap. He was in deep water now.

  “How is she?”

  “She’ll live, no thanks to you.”

  “Now, you can’t go blaming this on me. How was I supposed to know, and she could’ve gotten bit at any time. I can’t be blamed for something like that.”

  “Oh, I’m blaming you, all right, because she never should’ve been chopping firewood in the first place. You’re just lucky Noah saw her when he did. Had she not stumbled her way to the stables, she would’ve probably died back there by that woodpile, and it would’ve served you right.”

  Rhett crossed his arms over his chest. He felt terrible. Of course he did. He’d never wanted the poor woman to get hurt. But there was no way he could’ve predicted this, and all it did was prove to him that she wasn’t cut out for ranch work.

  “Well, I’ll pay all her hospital bills.”

  “Dang right, you will,” Tess hissed.

  “And when she gets out, I’ll give her a week’s compensation to recover, two if she needs it. Consider it a small severance.”

  “Wait.” Tess stepped back, eyes wide. “What? Oh, no,” she said, shaking her head. “You are not firing her.”

  “Tess,” he said with a long-suffering sigh. “Don’t be unreasonable. She seems like a nice woman, but if anything, all this does is prove this was a bad idea. I tried to tell you—”

  “If you don’t keep her on, I’m gone, too.”

  “What? You can’t be serious.”

  Tess’s lips flattened into a thin line of resignation with a cool look in her eye. Rhett knew that look, and it didn’t bode well for him.

  “At least let her decide for herself,” Rhett said, mostly because he was entirely certain the second she returned to the ranch, she’d quit.

  “Fine,” she conceded. “But I think she’s a lot stronger than you give her credit for.”

  Doubtful. “Maybe,” he said so she’d move on and leave him alone.

  “Regardless, you owe her an apology—something,” Tess said, poking a finger in his face.

  He was inclined to disagree. Though he felt bad that she got hurt, it’s not like he knew about the yellow jacket nest when he sent her out there. But Rhett valued keeping all his limbs, so he didn’t say so.

  “Noted,” he said. “Now, if you’re done, I’ve got work to do.” Then he turned and stalked away, grumbling under his breath.

  He headed toward the lodge, his stride clipped. He despised being told what to do. Even more, he loathed feeling guilty, and as much as he hated to admit it, maybe Tess was right. Maybe he was partially to blame for Danny’s getting hurt. After all, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t purposefully give her those crappy jobs today to goad her into quitting.

  This was all Tess’s fault. She forced the issue about hiring her because she had some Cinderella-fairy-tale-ill-conceived-notion that Rhett would magically fall in love with the next available woman and all his problems would be solved. That life would go back to how it used to be—he would be how he used to be. But she was wrong. This was the new normal, he thought, even as he stomped inside the lodge, picked up the phone, and dialed the number to Tandy’s, the local florist.

  “Tandy,” he said when she answered. “This is Rhett Montgomery. I’d like to order a mixed bouquet.”

  “Oh, well . . .” Her voice perked up. “What’s the occasion?”

  “It’s for someone in the hospital.”

  “So something that says ‘Get well.’ Got it,” she said.

  “Yeah, with a side dose of, ‘Sorry.’”

  “Uh-huh. I have just the thing. I can make a gorgeous mix of yellow Asiatic lilies, lavender monte casino asters, pink carnations, pink roses, and lush—”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Rhett pinched the bridge of his nose. “That sounds good. Whatever you’ve got.”

  “And who is this going to?”

  “It should go to Danny—er, Danielle Roberts,” he said, remembering Tess calling her by her full name. “She’s at St. Christopher’s. But it’ll need to go today, if possible, since I’m not sure how long she’ll be there.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll bill it to your account and get it ready before I close up for the night.”

  Rhett gave her his thanks and then hung up, trying to ignore her all too enthusiastic tone. The gossip train in Cedar Falls would be working overtime after folks found out he sent flowers to a woman. Tandy was used to him ordering flowers for the lodge, but he hadn’t ordered anything for a woman—let alone for personal reasons—since Mae Beth. Until now. And that fact alone didn’t sit well with him.

  CHAPTER 6

  When Danny first met Neil, she was working in a small salon in Pittsburgh. It may not have been glamorous work—cutting and styling hair—but it paid the bills, allowed her flexibility in her schedule, and provided a simplicity to her life she craved. Something was satisfying about providing a service that made people feel better about themselves in this fast-paced, crazy world.

  The day Neil walked into her life—and into her salon chair—she’d been ready to end her shift. With her purse slung over her shoulder and her keys in hand, she greeted him and kindly informed him there were no openings for the day. But all Neil had to do was bat his baby blues, say “please,” and she was sunk.

  Five months later, they were married, and several months after that, he convinced her it was a good idea to quit her job and work at his law firm.

  “Won’t it be nice?” he said. “No more weekends. We’d be on the same schedule. We can ride together, come home, and cook dinner together. We’ll have so much more to talk about.”

  In the end, Danny thought it was sweet he wanted to see her more, and so she started her job at Lee & Lewis. Soon, she lost touch with the ladies she had worked with, and over time, she and Neil formed a group of mutual friends—mostly wives and girlfriends of his colleagues and associates. Nights out were consumed with couples dates, while girls’ nights fell to the wayside.

  Only now did she see how much of a mistake that was. At the time, it seemed like a minor sacrifice. It’s not like she had some prestigious high-end career, she told herself. She wasn’t a doctor, a lawyer, or even a school teacher. She cut hair for a living. Big deal. And as for her friends, wasn’t it only natural to grow closer to their married friends and further apart from her single girlfriends? Going on couples’ dates made sense.

  At least, that’s what she told herself.

  But looking back, she’d given so much of herself in her marriage and got very little in return. While her life changed drastically the day she met Neil, his changed very little. He cast the mold, and she allowed herself to be sculpted to fit.

  But now was her chance to find herself again. This was her fresh start, an opportunity to create the life she wanted. And though she wasn’t entirely convinced that place was Cedar Falls, she had nowhere else to go at the mom
ent and nothing to lose. Besides, she’d already made at least one friend. She’d felt a kinship with Tess almost immediately, and it felt good. So good, in fact, that even after her two-day hospital stay and a week recovering in her cabin at Montana Wild, she was throwing herself back into the fire.

  Unless she felt otherwise, Cedar Falls was her home—at least for the time being—and so there was no way she’d back down. Not even the likes of Rhett Montgomery could scare her away. He needed a ranch hand, even if temporarily. And she needed a job, a purpose, a place to call home, at least until she figured out where she really belonged.

  Danny left her cabin at just before 7 a.m. and wove her way through the resort property, marveling at the beauty of it. Montana Wild really was something. With the backdrop of the mountains and the crystal waters of the lake, combined with the lush green grass and towering pines, it was breathtaking. To the East were the stables, surrounded by acres of pasture. To the West, were the little cabins—more suited for families than single divorcees on a journey of self-discovery. Then, to the South, there was the resort lodge, forged with rustic log beams and giant glass windows to entertain the view. Attached to the lodge was the resort’s restaurant, and several yards away, a quaint little cabin that held the resort’s own creamery, a favorite of guests and locals alike. All in all, it wasn’t a bad place to live, but it dawned on Danny that she hadn’t seen much else of Cedar Falls besides Montana Wild, unless you counted the hospital, which wasn’t even in town limits, and she wondered if there wasn’t the perfect place for her yet in this tiny town.

  Up ahead, Danny heard voices. Tess had given her the heads-up Rhett regularly hosted all-staff meetings every Monday morning, outside, in front of the lodge, weather permitting.

  Danny had asked her if she should check in with Rhett sooner, but Tess had taken one look at the bouquet of flowers Rhett had sent her and smiled, then told her not to worry.

  The flowers were a peace offering, at least that’s how Danny took them. The card had told her to get well soon and come back to the ranch in a week or once she was ready. Which is why, when she joined the small group of staff—some she recognized like Noah and Tess, and some she did not—and Rhett glanced up at the sound of her footsteps and choked on a sip of coffee, she had no idea why he looked so surprised.

  The to-go cup he held shook in his hands, staining his shirt with drops of coffee, while he coughed, then blinked at her, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

  “I’m back,” Danny chirped, smiling as she tucked her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. Across from her, standing next to Noah, Tess covered a smirk with her hand.

  “W-what are you doing here? I thought you were still sick?”

  “Well, as you can see, I’m all healed.” Danny spread her arms out. “Good as new and ready to get back to work.”

  Rhett frowned. Without even bothering to glance at the others, he murmured, “If you’ll excuse me,” then stepped forward and grabbed her by her elbow and pulled her aside and out of earshot.

  “Excuse me,” Danny said, ripping her arm from his and straightening her shirt. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised to see me. The card you sent with the flowers said to come back next week.”

  “Well, I didn’t mean it.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have said it,” she spat.

  Rhett glanced back at the group before he said, “Let’s face it, you can’t work here.”

  “And why not?”

  He stared at her, his forehead furrowed, and his jaw locked.

  “Was I fired?” she asked.

  “No, of course not, but—”

  “Because I’m no lawyer, but I’d say you can’t rightfully fire me for getting injured on the job or because I’m a woman.”

  His eyes darkened. “That’s not what I’m saying. You can’t work here because . . . because . . .”

  Danny crossed her arms over her chest and arched a brow. “As articulate as that answer is, I’m perfectly capable of working now that I’m better, and I still want this job. Nothing has changed. I just had a . . . setback, is all.”

  “A setback? You didn’t even last the day before you were rushed to the emergency room.”

  She poked a finger in his ribs. “Not my fault.”

  He rolled his eyes in response, but she ignored it.

  “Just give me a chance,” Danny said, dropping her arms. “I don’t understand why you hate me so bad, but if it’s something I did or—”

  “I don’t hate you.” He scowled.

  “Well, you certainly don’t like me. You’ve made that much clear.”

  “I just . . . I can get on until Brian comes back. Tess overstepped, we don’t need a new hire.”

  “She said you’ve been understaffed by one, maybe even two full-timers before Brian even got injured.”

  A flash of annoyance crossed his face. “Yeah, and the last thing I need is some out-of-towner, strolling in here and acting like she belongs. Face it, you don’t know what you’re doing, and I don’t have time to follow you around and make sure you’re getting it all right. Heck, I don’t even have time to train you, and neither does anyone else. It’s just easier to do it all myself.”

  Danny flinched like she’d been slapped. She glanced away, staring into the horizon, at the soft mist that rose off the lake. Part of her wanted to run and dive into it, to see if she could clutch the beauty of it and hold it in her hands.

  When was the last time she fought for something she wanted?

  Sure, she could spend the rest of her stay at the resort as nothing more than a tourist—fishing, lounging on a boat in the sun, taking walks around the property, hikes along the rocky trails of the sun-kissed peeks—but at the end of it all, where would she be? Where would that leave her? She’d be no closer to figuring out what she really wanted and where she wanted to be than she was right now.

  She turned her gaze back to Rhett and sighed. As unkind as he was, there was something sort of sad about him, something haunting in his whiskey eyes she couldn’t resist.

  Tess’s words came back to her. He never used to be like this . . . he just can’t seem to dig his way out of the darkness.

  Why did she have a feeling his prickly exterior was merely a shield to preserve the soft flesh inside?

  “Just give me a fair shot. What have you got to lose? I promise I won’t be a pest, and I’ll prove myself a hard worker.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, so she stepped forward, her expression earnest as she said, “Please, I need this.”

  He snapped his mouth closed and ran a hand through his hair before he sighed. “Fine.”

  Danny’s eyes widened. “Fine, like I can stay on?”

  He nodded, and she leapt into his arms, then remembered herself and stepped back, schooling her expression into something slightly more sober. “Thank you. I guess I’ll just join the rest at the meeting, then,” she said, motioning toward the others.

  CHAPTER 7

  All things considered, the morning went without a hitch. Mondays were always crazy with a flurry of activity as new tenants settled into their week and booked trail rides, ATV tours, kayak rentals, and more. So when he first saw Danny show up at the all-staff meeting, he’d been immediately irritated. Babysitting was the last thing he wanted to do today. But she’d somehow strong-armed him into giving her another chance to prove she was cut out for ranch work, and lo and behold, she’d thus far avoided a visit to the ER.

  Still, that didn’t make Rhett happy about her presence there.

  Why couldn’t she just be satisfied with riding the horses, taking a boat out on the lake, fishing, and hiking like the rest of their guests?

  I don’t understand what I did to make you hate me so bad.

  Danny’s words stuck in his craw all morning.

  Hate her? He didn’t hate her.

  Even the notion of feeling something as strong as hate was ridiculous. He was ambivalent toward her, more like it. He didn’t care what she did or
where she was, as long as it was far away from him. And sure, he may have drawn some conclusions about her based on the first time they met. Maybe he thought she felt entitled evidenced by her thieving of flowers and trespassing past resort grounds, but he certainly didn’t hate her. She just had a knack for getting under his skin that he couldn’t explain, and it was starting to rub off on the staff. Noah had been avoiding him all morning, Tess had a few choice words for him when he hassled her at the creamery this afternoon, and even Maggie had ducked into one of the resort rooms on his way into his office earlier.

  Rhett sighed. As long as everyone was getting work done, he supposed they could avoid him all they wanted.

  He and headed toward the stables when he spotted Houston making his way toward him. With a head nod in greeting, he asked, “You here with my hay?”

  “Don’t I always come through?”

  Rhett grunted as he slid off his work gloves and tucked them in his back pocket, then crossed his arms over his chest. “That depends,” Rhett said, eyeing his brother up and down. He wore a crisp dress shirt rolled at the sleeves, a pair of khaki shorts, and sandals. His wavy dark hair curled under the lip of his baseball cap.

  “Are you also gonna help me stack it? Those don’t look like workin’ clothes. I’d hate for them to get ruined.”

  Houston laughed. “I can stack hay quicker than you and keep my clothes clean.”

  Rhett scoffed. “You got a hot date after this?”

  “Why, sir, yes, I do. It’s April’s only day off this week, so we plan on driving into Flathead Lake. I didn’t want to be late, so what you see is what you get.”

  Houston had been dating April for almost a year now, and they seemed pretty serious. If things went on as they were, Rhett wouldn’t be surprised if he bought her a ring.

  “Alright, pretty boy, come on then.”

  Together, they headed toward the barn where Houston’s truck and trailer were parked, loaded with square bales of hay when a high-pitched scream came from one of the cabins.