A Cowboy State of Mind

by Jennie Marts

  “Brody,” he answered, shaking the man’s outstretched hand.

  Brody Tate, wait, Doctor Brody Tate now, had been the golden boy in high school. He’d graduated with Zane, and they’d played hockey on the same team. But that’s where the similarities ended. Brody came from a good family, a nice family who came to his games and had been at his graduation, cheering him on, instead of at the bar, tying one on. He was smart and earned a scholarship to Colorado State University, where he met Mary, a pretty little filly who was majoring in English.

  While Zane had been sweating and fighting in the deserts of Afghanistan as he tried to shake the memories of his past, Brody had been building a future, getting married, thriving in vet school, and cuddling a new baby daughter. The happy couple eventually moved back to Creedence, where Brody worked at his dad’s practice, and Mary taught fourth grade. He’d seemed to have it all, until the day Mary found a lump in her breast. She’d been a fighter too, but in the end, Brody was left with a five-year-old daughter and an empty other side of the bed.

  Bryn nudged his arm and offered him an amused side-eye. “I didn’t know you helped grade-schoolers with their spelling words.”

  He shrugged, a grin hovering around his lips. “I’m a man of mystery.”

  Brody chuckled. “He’s not that mysterious. Mandy and I were out at Rivers Gulch last week—Logan was having trouble with a horse, and Zane helped Mandy with her homework while I was working in the barn. Apparently, he’s also quite good at fourth grade math.”

  “Just another one of my many talents.”

  Bryn raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a coy smile. Zane held his breath, the anticipation of a flirty comeback already warming his chest. But then Mandy grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the mare.

  “Show me your new horse,” the girl said. “Did you really buy her from some slimeballs at the diner with your tip money?”

  This time it was Zane’s turn to cock an eyebrow.

  “I called Brody from the diner and told him what I’d done,” Bryn explained. “I asked him to come out and take a look at her if he was out this way.”

  How fortuitous that the good doctor just happened to be out this way. They’d only had the blessed horse for an hour.

  But despite the twinge of jealousy he felt at the comfortable ease Bryn had with the vet and his daughter, Zane was still glad to see him. He liked Brody and respected his skill with animals. They needed to get the horse checked out and worm her anyway.

  Brody approached the horse, offering her a couple of sugar cubes as he calmly introduced himself. “Hey, girl. You’re a good horse, aren’t you? I’m not gonna hurt you. I’m just going to check you over.” He ran his hands over the horse, examining her back, her belly, her legs, peering at her infected eye and opening her mouth to check out her teeth. “I’d say you’ve got a pretty good horse here. Other than being a little malnourished and filthy, she seems in fair shape. She looks to be in her late teens, maybe early twenties, kind of on the late end to be in foal, so my guess is it probably wasn’t planned. Not sure why someone would get rid of her, other than the fact that horses are expensive and maybe they couldn’t afford to keep one horse, let alone two.”

  Bryn nodded. “That’s what we were thinking.”

  “I can do a cursory exam, do some blood work to find out more, but how much do you want me to do? Blood work and tests can get expensive.”

  “I don’t have much to spend. And by not much, I actually mean zero. Can you just do the basics to make sure she’s healthy for now?”

  “Sure. The blood work would tell us if she has worms, but my guess would be she does, so I can just give her a little dewormer and spare you that expense. I’ve got some in the truck, and I’ve got some antibiotics for her eye too—should clear that infection right up. That won’t run you much, but if you’re interested in our usual barter, I’ve got an overnight vet conference in Denver next week and could use a hand with Mandy. My folks are out of town; otherwise, she’d stay with them. I’d trade you the cost of the exam and the meds for an evening of babysitting. I’ll even throw in some prenatal vitamins.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” Mandy scoffed.

  “Of course you don’t,” Bryn agreed. “But how about planning a girls’ sleepover for that night? We can eat junk food and paint our nails and stay up late watching chick flicks.”

  Mandy eyed her for a second, then nodded. “I guess I could agree to a sleepover. Could we get cookie dough ice cream?”

  “Uh…yeah. Of course we can. I’m already mentally adding it to my shopping list.”

  “Okay, it’s a deal then.” The girl glanced at Zane. “Want to come to our sleepover next week? Sounds like we’re doing manicures and eating ice cream.”

  The idea of a sleepover with Bryn had Zane’s mind going to all sorts of places—most of them involving licking ice cream from Bryn’s naked body. But he kept his expression in check as he glanced down at his fingernails. “I have noticed my cuticles could use a little work, but it sounds like this party is for girls only. Maybe next time.”

  “Sorry, Zane, no boys allowed.” Bryn offered him another of those flirty smiles causing him to wonder if she hadn’t had a passing thought about him sleeping over as well. But no, she’d just told him she wanted someone safe and boring. His life right now might check the “boring” box, but he wasn’t the guy she was looking for if she wanted nice and safe.

  “Speaking of cuticles,” Brody said, drawing their attention back to the horse. “This mare’s hooves need some work. They’re too long and look pretty dry and cracked. You’ve done some farrier work, haven’t you, Zane?”

  “Yeah, and I can manage her hooves. Bryn’s grandfather had a stocked tack room, so I’ve already got the tools I need.” He gestured to the small pile he’d set on the ground earlier. “They’ll look and feel a lot better once I trim ’em and clean ’em up.”

  “I agree.”

  Zane leaned a hip against the stall and watched Brody and Bryn further examine the horse. They were perfect together, with their blond hair and all-American good looks—they could have been the prom king and queen. And Brody was just the kind of guy Bryn needed—he had a good job, came from a nice, respectable family, worked hard. And had an adorable daughter. A ready-made family and everything Bryn said she wanted.

  Now he just had to get out of their way and let it happen. “I’m going to call Logan, get a lift back into town so I can pick up my truck,” he said, pushing off from the stall door.

  “We can give you a ride,” Brody offered. “I’m almost done here, and we’re headed that direction anyway.”

  “I don’t want to put you out.” So much for giving them time together.

  “It’s no trouble.”

  “All right then. I’d be obliged if you could drop me at the diner. Then I can run into the feed store, pick up some supplies, and stop to check on Bryn’s car on my way back out.”

  “I could come with you,” Bryn offered. “Keep you company.”

  “Nah. It’s all right. I’ve got the dog.”

  “Gee thanks, glad to know my company ranks lower than the dog.”

  Crud. “That’s not what I meant.” Heat flamed his skin, and he hoped his neck wasn’t beet-red. This wasn’t going as he’d intended. “You can come along if you want.”

  “I’m just teasing you.” She nudged his arm. “But I do think I’ll tag along. I want to see what you get at the feed store. And on the off chance all my car needs is a jump start, I can drive it home.”

  Brody spent another fifteen minutes with the horse. He rubbed worm paste along her gums and put a little goop in her eye, then showed Bryn how to use the eye drops. They talked through some general care, then all piled into the truck, with Zane, Brody, and the dog in the front, and Mandy and Bryn in the smaller back seat. Bryn had left Lucky in the house.

&
nbsp; Even with the distraction of all the conversation and the dog resting her head on his leg, Zane was acutely aware of Bryn sitting behind him. Her arm was on the seat next to his neck, making his skin feel prickly and warm, and her perfume swirled in the air around him every time she leaned forward to ask Brody a question. He’d made a point the last few months not to run into her and to try to put her out of his mind, and now here he was, spending the whole day with her and imagining his hands on her skin as he inhaled her scent.

  He could still smell the faint traces of her perfume in the cab when he opened the door of his truck after Brody dropped them off. Or maybe that was the scent of her hair as she climbed into the other side. Not that he preferred the normal smell of dirt, dog, and horse that usually permeated his cab, but this woman’s scent was making him crazy.

  They didn’t talk much. She hummed along to the radio as they drove across town to the feed store. The collie followed them in, familiar with Zane’s routine of picking up supplies for Logan. In a small town, especially a ranching community, dogs were welcome just about everywhere, and Sam, the proprietor of Creedence Country Feed & Supply, always had a box of dog treats behind the counter for his canine customers.

  “Hey, Zane. Bryn,” Sam called to them as they entered the store. “Coming in for some supplies for you-all’s new horse? I’ve got some nice sweet feed that might help put a little weight on her.”

  News did travel fast in this town.

  “Hey, Sam,” Zane said. “How’d you hear about Bryn’s new horse already?”

  “Doc Hunter stopped in on his way home. Told me about it. He said he saw the tip money Zane left and didn’t want to be shown up by a young buck in front of his favorite waitress, so he stopped in to add a hundred dollars to Bryn’s farm account. He figured she’d eventually be by to get some grain.”

  “You’re kidding me,” Bryn said, her eyes going wide as she shook her head. “I seriously love that man. And I’m going to give him a big, fat, sloppy kiss the next time I see him.”

  Wait. Where was his big, fat, sloppy kiss? He’d done more than just lay down some money. Although Zane wasn’t just interested in one sloppy kiss from her. He was ravenous for at least a hundred—a hundred slow and easy kisses followed by another hundred hard and fast ones.

  Hell. He needed to get his mind off hard and fast tongue wrestling with Bryn before he gave himself a woodster in the feed and grain store—forget about Bryn’s new horse acquisition; that would surely get the gossips’ tongues wagging.

  “So, about that sweet feed,” Zane said. “We’re going to need a couple of fifty-pound bags, a couple bags of grain, plus a salt block and a vitamin and mineral supplement. The horse is in foal.”

  “Got it,” Sam said, guiding them toward the proper section of the store. He passed the dog a treat and gave her a pat on the head as he walked.

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later, they had the truck loaded with supplies and were back on the highway, headed toward the farm.

  “I can’t believe Doc Hunter stocked my farm account,” Bryn said, rolling down the window and lifting her hair off her neck. “My luck has certainly turned today. I’d say if we pull up and my car magically starts, I think I need to run back to town to buy a lottery ticket.”

  “I probably wouldn’t start counting your lottery winnings yet.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Well, not with that attitude.”

  He chuckled. “Fine, we’ll hope for the best, but I wouldn’t spend too much time thinking up your lucky numbers. It didn’t start the last time we tried. But I’ll take a look at it. I’m hoping it’s just the battery and we can give it a jump start.” Zane pulled off to the shoulder next to her inoperative vehicle. He motioned for the dog to stay as he got out and popped the hood. “Tell me what happened when you were driving.”

  She handed him the keys, hyperaware of his muscled back as she pressed her breasts against him to lean over his shoulder. His shirt was warm from the sun, and sweat broke out on her lower back from being this close to him. Every time he’d touched her today, she’d felt like a bottle rocket had shot through her spine. She hadn’t seen him in months, had tried to convince herself he wasn’t that good-looking, wasn’t that charming, but one flash of his grin that morning had her melting like a Popsicle on a hot summer day. Her brain kept warning her to back off, keep away, but her traitorous body kept finding ways to touch him. “I was just on my way to work like normal, and the car suddenly died. Oh, and I think the check engine light came on.”

  The battery appeared old, the posts corroded with crusty greenish acid. “When’s the last time you replaced the battery?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly. It’s been four or five years though.”

  “Could be the battery, or could be your alternator if it just stopped running. There’s a few tests I can run to figure out which is more likely.” He slid into the driver’s seat and spent a few minutes trying to start it, then went back to his truck and dug out the jumper cables.

  It took another twenty minutes, but he got her car jump-started after diagnosing a faulty alternator. “Hopefully this will give you enough juice to get back to the farm. Why don’t you drive my truck and I’ll take the car, just in case it stalls again or the steering locks up?”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt if something happens. I can drive it,” she assured him.

  “I know you can, but I’d rather do it,” he told her, then softened his tone as he placed his hand on her arm. “If that’s okay.”

  She liked the way he tried to protect her without taking away her power. And she really liked the solid way his palm felt against her arm. Before she could argue more, a ringtone sounded from her pocket. She pulled out her cell phone and checked the screen. “Can you hold on a second? It’s my brother.”

  “Sure. Take it.”

  She tapped the phone and pressed it to her ear, the familiar feeling of love and dread swirling in her chest whenever she saw his name on her screen. “Hey, Buck.”

  “Hey, Sis,” his voice boomed in her ear. “What’s up?”

  “Not much,” she said, keeping her answer intentionally vague. “Where are you?”

  “Not sure. Some Podunk town in Utah. Another rodeo.”

  It was always another rodeo. Another purse. Another dream he never seemed to obtain. She strained to hear the sound of booze in his voice. Maybe this time would be different. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine. Same old. Same old. Not like you. I heard you just bought a new horse.”

  How in the Sam Hill had he heard about the horse already?

  “Rescued her more like. She’s in pretty sorry condition.”

  “You must be in pretty good condition though if you had the money to buy her. You get a raise at the diner?”

  “No. Nothing like that,” she answered, sneaking a glance at Zane, who stared at the field across the highway as he rested his hip on the hood of her car. “A friend actually helped me to buy her.”

  “Oh yeah? I wish I had a friend like that. Things are pretty tight for me right now.” Annnd here it comes. Wait for it… “I was thinking if you had come into some extra cash, you could float me a few dollars. You know, just until after the rodeo. The rough-stock events start in a couple of days, and I think I’ve got a pretty good shot with these bulls.”

  She hated to think about her little brother on the back of a thousand-pound bull, but he’d been bull riding for years and seemed addicted to the rush of the rodeo and the occasional win. He did all right, well enough to survive until the next town, the next rodeo, the next event. Well, with a little help from her.

  “Listen, Bucky, I’m a little strapped for cash myself. In fact, I’m standing on the side of the highway right now trying to get my car back to the farm. It broke down on me this morning.” She promised herself the last time she sent him money that it
would be the last time. But she’d made that promise many times before. And she always gave in. Stay strong. Say no.

  “Why don’t you drive Gramps’s truck?”

  Ugh. His comment was like a sucker punch to the gut. A hard reminder of another man she’d let take advantage of her good nature. She hadn’t had the guts to tell her brother yet that their grandfather’s truck had been stolen. She’d been too ashamed. He’d asked about it last time he’d been home, and she’d given him the lame excuse that she’d let a friend borrow it. If she’d said she sold it, Buck would have his hand out for half of the profit.

  “It’s not really an option right now either,” she told him. Which wasn’t entirely a lie.

  “Well, I don’t want to bother you, but I could sure use a little help. I don’t need much. But I understand if you can’t do it. I don’t want to put you out. And I’ve survived on ramen noodles before.”

  The guilt twisted in her chest. She might not have much, but she had food in her cupboard. And more than just a few packages of ramen noodles. Hadn’t she just been glibly boasting about her luck a few minutes ago? Zane, Doc, and Brody had all helped her out today. How could she refuse to help her own brother? Surely she could figure out a way to send him something. Maybe she’d pick up an extra shift this weekend at the diner.

  Her shoulders sagged as she let out a sigh. “Sure, Buck. I’ll send you what I can. But it may be a couple days before I can earn some more tip money.”

  “You’re the best, Sis. I’ll text you the information for the Western Union here.”

  “Okay.”

  “Well, I’d better go. It sounds like you’re busy and all. Good luck with your car. I’ll text you that info. Love you, Sis.”

  “Love you too,” she answered, but was pretty sure he’d already clicked off.

  Zane narrowed his eyes. “Seems to me you’ve got enough of your own financial troubles without trying to find extra cash to send Buck. Although it’s not my place to say.”