Her Cowboy Billionaire Bachelor

by Liz Isaacson

  Oh, he did. Rose’s phone number. Where she was staying. How long she’d be in town. He needed to see her again soon, and find out everything about her.

  “No,” he said. But he didn’t move.

  Rose lifted her eyes and they landed on Liam. He knew the moment she recognized him. Time stalled for that moment. Then she smiled, tucked her hair behind her ear, and ducked her head to talk to the woman in front of her.

  She handed something back to her, and looked at Liam again, this time lifting her hand in a general wave.

  He’d been caught. Heat rushed through his body, but he managed to wave back. Then he wrenched his gaze from her and strode out of the airport and into the frigid January weather.

  “Liam’s here,” his mom called when he stepped through the front door of their house. “Oh, Liam.” She was already crying by the time she wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her tight, inhaling the powdery scent of her skin and the freshly laundered scent of her blouse.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  His dad entered the foyer, which stretched for forty feet above their heads, a wide smile on his face. “Liam.” He waited his turn to hug Liam, and by then, Lars had come in also. It was a regular Murphy family reunion, with everyone there.

  His brother was a decade younger than him, but somehow Liam and Lars got along great. He worked in their father’s real estate office, set to inherit that business when their dad retired.

  After all the hugging and sniffling and smiling, Liam looked at his parents. They had gray hair he didn’t remember, but they were still the same. Proper all the time, even while relaxing on a Saturday afternoon. His father wore black slacks and a white short-sleeved shirt as if he’d show houses later that day.

  No tie, and the buttons didn’t go all the way to his throat. But still. Who wore slacks and a dress shirt around the house? Apparently his dad—and Lars, whose shirt was a pale blue instead of white. But he could’ve thrown on a tie and a jacket and been the best dressed man at any event.

  His mother wore a denim skirt and a blouse as she ushered him into the kitchen for something to eat. “Are we going somewhere later?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, pulling out a bowl of what looked like pasta salad. “Why?”

  “You guys are all dressed up.” He was obviously the slacker, wearing only a polo and a pair of Dockers. Heck, even his shoes weren’t up to par for hanging around the house.

  “Oh, we had lunch with the Stout’s,” she said, as if that explained everything. When she caught him looking at her like, And?, she added, “They own a ton of land on the east side of town. It was a business lunch.”

  “Oh, a business lunch. Got it.” Liam thought of his last business lunch. They’d had sandwiches from a box that a company had donated, eaten under a tent in a remote village in Nigeria, and gone over who needed the medicine they’d brought the most. There wasn’t enough for everyone, so lists had been made. Those who were the most susceptible to the meningitis and malaria outbreaks would be vaccinated first.

  As it turned out, there had been enough for everyone, due to Director Bisset’s string-pulling to get another shipment sent.

  Liam still couldn’t believe that had been his last assignment. He’d returned to Geneva for a few weeks while he made sure he was disease-free and all his documents and tickets were ready for him to return to the US.

  He’d miss his work with Doctors Without Borders, that was for sure. But he had new adventures to look forward to.

  “So, do you have the keys to the summer cabin?” he asked.

  “On the hook there.” His mom nodded toward the row of hooks by the fridge. “When are you going?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” He sighed as he sat at the bar and let her put a plate of food in front of him. He marveled at how much they had. The opulence of where they lived and how they just opened the fridge and pulled out anything they wanted.

  “It’ll be difficult to get there,” she said. “Coral Canyon’s had a lot of snow this winter.”

  “Worse than here?” he asked, picking up a few noodles with his fork.

  “That’s what I’ve heard.” She smiled at him. “It’ll be so good for that town to have an emergency clinic.”

  “Hmm.” Liam didn’t want to talk about the clinic. It wasn’t set to open until summer, and he had a ton of details to work out first. Thus, why he was moving into his parents’ summer cabin when it wasn’t summer.

  And it wasn’t a cabin either, Liam knew. It was easily as big as the mansion where he now sat eating pasta salad, and the only reason it could even be labeled a cabin was because it sat in the mountains and had a lot of wood inside. Wood floors. Wood paneling on the walls. Even a wooden countertop in the second kitchen on the bottom floor.

  Liam shook his head as he thought about the place. Who needed two kitchens in a house they only stayed in for a month out of the year? It seemed ridiculous compared to some of the housing he’d seen in Columbia, Nigeria, and Chad.

  It was ridiculous.

  “So tell us about your latest assignment,” his dad said, sitting next to him.

  Liam didn’t want to talk about that either, but it was infinitely better than them gushing about how charitable he was being by opening an emergency clinic in Coral Canyon, the town where he’d spent summers growing up.

  The truth was, Liam wasn’t being charitable. Sure, on the outside, it looked like he was. He’d contacted the hospital administrator and asked about space for a non-profit emergency clinic that would relieve the busyness and overcrowding in the emergency room there.

  Pearl Wiley had been grateful, but skeptical. When he’d assured her he’d cover all the costs, all he needed was space, she’d still taken a couple of months to come around. But the fact was, Coral Canyon was growing and the current hospital was too small for the more robust community.

  Liam wanted to help that, if he could. So maybe he was being charitable.

  But no, he wasn’t. He needed a fresh start, somewhere to call home, and a bit of anonymity from the Murphy name that was plastered all over Jackson Hole. And he’d loved Coral Canyon as a kid, and it felt natural to be going back there.

  All he needed now was a truck to get through the snow, some clothes and shoes and winter gear, and the keys to the cabin.

  Oh, and to detail his latest assignment in Nigeria. He glanced at his father, who was still waiting for him to talk. “It was great, Dad,” he said, deciding to go with the lighthearted version of his job he’d been giving them for a decade. “Really great.”

  Chapter Three

  Rose arranged the last of the diapers on the changing table and stepped back to survey her work. The nursery was complete. Ready for when Charlie would be able to come home from the hospital.

  Everything in Rose hurt. Her muscles, from all the work putting together the crib, shopping for the dresser and changing table, hanging curtains, and setting up the rocking chair. But when tiny Charlie came home, he was going to have the best room in the whole lodge.

  Lily had been home for three days now, and she was recovering as well as could be expected for a caesarian section. Her blood pressure had spiked again, and the baby was in distress. Instead of medicating her, the doctors had decided to deliver the baby as quickly as possible.

  And so, five days ago, Charlie was born eight weeks early and weighed only three pounds and four ounces. He was still in the neonatal intensive care unit, and Lily and Beau spent almost all day there with him.

  Lily cried every time she had to leave him there in the care of the nurses, and Rose had taken to curling up with her in bed until she quieted. Then Beau would come in, and Rose would tiptoe upstairs to her room in the lodge and shed her own tears.

  Their mother was coming in a couple of days, and Vi had brought chocolate and pastries every day. Celia, the chef employed at the lodge, had made more food than an entire army could eat in a week, and Rose was so glad her sister had the love and support she needed.

  And now the
nursery was done too.

  She turned, her thoughts also rotating to someone else. Liam.

  He’d seen her signing autographs in the airport, and she wondered if he’d looked her up online. No, she wasn’t Lily, out front with the microphone in her hand. But Rose was easily identifiable if someone went looking. She was in tons of pictures with Lily and Vi, and they’d even done two album covers with the three of them as the jacket.

  She hummed to herself as she went down the hall past the office and into the kitchen. Whiskey Mountain Lodge was beautiful, and Rose knew why Lily had fallen in love with this place, this town, and Beau.

  Coral Canyon possessed a sort of magic Rose hadn’t known existed. It was peaceful. Small, but growing. Beautiful, with the Grand Teton Mountain Range hovering over it, with lakes and fields and hills and mountains.

  Rose normally detested the snow, but she even found that had quite a different kind of beauty she hadn’t been expecting.

  In the kitchen, she poured herself a cup of coffee and moved into the dining room to look out the windows. Everything was either white with snow, or brown with mud, bark, or pathway. There was something about the contrast that spoke to the songwriter in Rose, and she thought about someone who was so black and white that they couldn’t see the colors in the world.

  Colors in the world. That would be a great song title. Maybe even the album title.

  Rose let her thoughts rotate around, going wherever they wanted. She knew she wouldn’t be writing and recording anything with the Everett Sisters for a while.

  Vi was in a serious relationship with Todd Christopherson, and while she didn’t wear a ring yet, Rose expected she would be soon. And with Lily and baby Charlie…there would definitely be no songwriting in the near future.

  Sadness pulled through Rose. Her entire life had been the Everett Sisters, as she was the youngest when their first album hit shelves. Only twelve. And it had been her whole life since.

  She turned away from the wintry landscape and swiped her keys from the counter. Lily and Beau had already gone to the hospital that morning, and Rose said she’d be along once she finished the nursery.

  She couldn't stand the thought of waiting at the window for something to happen to her. So while she didn’t think hanging around the hospital sounded all that fun, it was better than being alone and wishing she knew who she was or what she wanted now that her sisters had moved on from their country music careers.

  It’s happening again, Rose thought as she got behind the wheel of the SUV she’d rented. She was the last to realize she even needed to move on, and the last to figure out what to do with her life now.

  At the hospital, Rose basked in the busyness of it. The population in Coral Canyon had outgrown the hospital, and it had a vibrancy that didn’t usually accompany a place where people came when they were sick or hurt or worse.

  She looked at a sign announcing the phases of construction the hospital would undergo over the next few years as it expanded to meet the needs of a growing community. A new emergency clinic was opening in a few months to alleviate some of the traffic in the emergency room, and she liked the thought of that.

  It was amazing how people had the ideas and the resources to make things better for other people. How they banded together—the way several people had around Lily and Beau during this hard time of their lives.

  Rose peered closer at the sign, noticing there was a website she could visit to donate to the new clinic. A warm feeling came over her, and she pulled out her phone to type in the website. She could certainly afford to donate to a good cause.

  “The new hospital is going to be nice, don’t you think?”

  That voice… Rose turned, but it seemed to happen in slow motion. And then she was looking into those gorgeous, ocean-colored eyes.

  “Liam?”

  He smiled and edged closer to her as a couple tried to get past them. Maybe he was the warm feeling she’d felt. She shoved her phone back in her coat pocket.

  “Good to see you again, Rose.”

  Oh, he couldn’t say her name like that. Now she was all tingly too.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I could ask you that, too.”

  “I told you my sister was going to have a baby.” She hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “The blood pressure medication only worked for a bit, and she delivered the baby a few days ago. He’s still here, in the NICU.”

  She looked at him, trying to memorize all the perfectly symmetrical lines of his face. She had the strangest urge to reach up and run her fingers down his smooth jaw, trace her thumb across his lips.

  Everything in her tightened, and she took a step away. He’s one of those people, she reminded herself. And yet, she couldn’t move much farther than a few inches.

  “The baby’s doing okay?” he asked.

  “Well enough,” Rose said.

  “And your sister?”

  “She’s at home now. Well, she spends all her time here, but yes. She’s fine.”

  He nodded like he really cared. “That’s great.”

  It was then that she noticed he wore the white lab coat of a doctor. “Do you work here?”

  “Sort of,” he said.

  “Sort of?” she repeated, her voice pitching up. “How does one sort of work at the hospital?” Feeling flirty and like she was about to step onto very thin ice, she flipped the collar on his coat. “You look like a doctor.”

  “I am a doctor.”

  Oh, be still her heart. In fact, it sort of did stall for a moment. Rose had dated exactly one doctor in her life, and he’d been handsome and charming and rich. Probably everything Liam was. But things hadn’t worked out between them, mostly due to scheduling issues. And the fact that he was fifteen years older than her. Her parents definitely hadn’t liked that.

  But Liam couldn’t be that much older than her.

  “In fact,” he continued. “That’s my clinic. Or it will be. I’m opening it in May.”

  “That’s your clinic?”

  He grinned at the sign as if it were his child and he was proud of it. “Yep. Just here for a meeting, and I got called into a consultation. That’s why I’m wearing the coat.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

  Rose was still reeling from the fact that he lived here in Coral Canyon. What were the odds of that? Was this a coincidence? Or had God put them together on the plane—and again in Coral Canyon?

  “So do you live here?” she blurted, her brain just now registering that he’d said he didn’t think he’d see her again.

  “Sort of,” he answered with a devilish grin.

  She couldn’t help laughing, and when he joined in, her heartbeat went frantic. “Oh, I can see you’re going to be a real barrel of fun.”

  “Well, my parents own a summer cabin here.” He made finger quotes around the words summer cabin. “I’m staying there while I work on getting the clinic open. Then I’ll probably move into town once all the snow melts. Moving in the winter is a bear, you know?”

  “I think driving in the snow would be worse,” she said. He moved away from the sign, and she went with him, a quiet, slow stroll through the hospital. It didn’t sound romantic. Rose had never done it with a man. But now that she was, the situation felt charged and heated in the best way. “Surely a summer cabin is in the mountains.”

  “That it is.”

  “I drive down from the mountains everyday. It’s a bit on the scary side.”

  He looked at her, and every cell in her body burned. She’d felt this gaze on her in the airport too. It had been so strong, she’d looked up to find the person making her body buzz. And it had been Liam.

  “I have a big SUV,” he said. “Fresh off the lot in Jackson Hole.”

  “Are you from Jackson Hole?”

  “I sure am. My parents and brother still live there.” They turned the corner and the cafeteria doors loomed ahead. “
Do you want a piece of pie?”

  “Pie?” she echoed. “It’s ten o’clock in the morning.”

  “Is that a problem? It’s always a good time for pie.”

  Rose had a feeling she’d go anywhere and do anything to spend a bit more time with this intriguing man, so she shrugged and said, “Only if there’s chocolate.”

  “Oh, Rose,” he said with a chuckle. “This is a hospital. There’s always chocolate.”

  Chapter Four

  “I really can’t stay long,” Rose said. “I need to go see my nephew and spell my sister.”

  “Fifteen minutes,” Liam said, desperate to keep her with him for a few more minutes. Long enough to learn her last name and get her phone number. “Do you have fifteen minutes?”

  “I suppose,” Rose said.

  He held open the door for her, and they entered the cafeteria. “So,” he said. “What’s your last name?”

  She cut him a glance. “You’re telling me you didn’t look me up? Do a search online?”

  “I didn’t.” He’d wanted to. Plenty of times. But something always stole his attention, and when he’d come back to the thought, he’d push it away. He didn’t want to learn about her online. She herself was much more fascinating.

  “Everett,” she said. “I’m Rose Everett.” She delivered the name like it should mean something to him. Like he should recognize it. But he didn’t.

  “Murphy,” he said. “I’m Liam Murphy.”

  Her eyes widened for a moment, then she relaxed. “Like the Murphy on all the signs in Jackson?”

  “All my dad’s real estate company,” he said. “And my mom’s a Hughes.”

  “Like the hotels?”

  “That’s right.” He picked up a tray and moved over to the pie counter. “See? I told you they’d have chocolate.”

  She didn’t act weird about his family name. Didn’t gush about how much money he must have. He’d already mentioned the summer cabin, and she hadn’t batted an eyelash at that.