The Cowboy's Sweet Elopement

by Jean Oram

  “It’s on the shelf over here,” April said, getting up to show her.

  “I’ll grab it.” She placed a tube on the counter. “Did Travis tell you the Hill Country Community College is doing an animal husbandry study? He’s hoping to get some ranchers on board as well as a vet from our area. Would Brant be interested?”

  “I’ll ask.” April knew Brant had been approached already, but since the project was obviously up his alley, nobody seemed too eager to take his “too busy” excuse as his final answer.

  “So when are you going to be ready for a relationship?” Jackie asked April. “Because someone around town seems very interested.” She tilted her head toward the back of the clinic.

  Donna and Jenny leaned in, all ears.

  “He’s only doing his rescue thing.” April worked on ringing up Donna’s toothpaste purchase, in hopes of hiding the way her face had heated with the partial lie. She knew Brant was interested in her. She just wasn’t certain how much was genuine attraction and how much was due to her needing his help.

  “Yeah, sure he is,” Jackie said skeptically.

  “We’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Jenny added with a wistful sigh.

  “My marriage just ended,” April said, reaching for an excuse, and hoping her friends would play devil’s advocate and convince her that Brant’s attraction was one hundred percent real. “It would be a rebound relationship. And you know how that worked out for me last time.” She tapped the debit machine to get Donna’s attention, so she’d start paying for the toothpaste.

  “So you and Brant aren’t an item?” the mayor’s wife asked, her brow furrowed, the device slack in her grip. “Everyone’s talking about you and Cole, since, you know… The divorce and all, and Kurt needing a daddy.”

  “Kurt isn’t Cole’s,” April said, her heart beating faster at the thought of her son overhearing someone speculating about his parentage.

  “Oh, I know,” Donna said quickly. “People are just talking, that’s all.” She gave April a sympathetic look. “You know how the gossips can be.”

  “Maybe you need to get obvious with Brant,” Jackie suggested with a sly smile.

  “That would kill the rumors about Cole trying to win you back, or returning to be a daddy.” Jenny nodded thoughtfully.

  “And getting close with Brant would help Heath take a hint, too,” Jackie said.

  “Is he still bothering you?” Donna asked worriedly.

  “It’s fine. Really.” Heath was playing games, but he wasn’t an evil ex. April tore Donna’s receipt from the debit machine, unable to erase the idea of how following her heart with Brant might help quell some of the rumors that might confuse Kurt. It would also likely help to settle her feelings of uncertainty around Brant’s attraction, as she’d learned from experience that there was nothing like a relationship to show two people whether or not their attraction had any staying power.

  “You and Brant would make a wonderful couple,” Jenny said with a small smile. Donna and Jackie nodded.

  April glanced over her shoulder to make sure Brant wasn’t about to enter the reception area. “If I get involved with a certain someone so soon, I’m afraid everyone will think he broke up my marriage.”

  “Heath was never the man for you,” Jackie said dismissively.

  Donna placed her debit card back in her purse. “That marriage was all about doing the right thing. I’ve seen the way you and Brant look at each other, and that is something. Something good.”

  “But she says she’s on the rebound,” Jackie said, narrowing her eyes at April, obviously trying to think of a loophole. April found herself leaning forward, ready to hear it.

  “So, technically, since you and Heath had a marriage borne out of duty, you wouldn’t be on the rebound with Brant, right?” Jenny suggested.

  Jackie’s eyes widened with glee and she high-fived the shop owner. April couldn’t help but smile. Her friends wanted something good for her, and were making some very compelling arguments. Ones she’d already had with herself on numerous occasions. Still, she knew it would be best to wait a while before diving into something.

  “Y’all, I appreciate it, but… me and Brant are still a no.” At the moment.

  The trio gave her pleading looks that made her laugh. “Must I remind you he’s my boss?” she asked lightly.

  “Do you need me to get you fired?” Jackie whispered. She began looking around as though seeking something to destroy, then blame on April.

  April choked on a bubble of laughter, with one thought bouncing through her head in a panic-inducing chant. Having a job was more important than a boyfriend at the moment.

  “No, don’t,” she said to Jackie. “I’m just leaning on Brant a lot right now, and getting involved would complicate things. I want to be a strong partner, you know?”

  Donna nodded. “I get it.”

  Jackie and Jenny looked confused.

  “I have a son to think about. I can’t afford to mess up with the man who’s keeping us from living in a gutter somewhere.”

  “Oh, pish-posh,” Jackie said with a frown. “You could come live with me.”

  “Or me,” Jenny offered.

  “Or join the Nestner zoo,” Donna said with a fond smile.

  Jackie was watching April, her lips, glossed a pretty shade of pink that matched her nails, pursed to one side. “So let’s backtrack a sec. You think you’re going to mess up?”

  Donna shook her head, saying with authority, “Life’s different when you’re with the right man.” She gave a small wave and headed for the door. “Wish I could chat longer, but I’ve got to pick up the girls. Happy New Year, if I don’t see you at the Longhorn.” She glanced back and whispered loudly, “Kiss him at midnight!”

  The women laughed, and April rolled her eyes as she joined in.

  “Happy New Year,” the three echoed back as Donna exited.

  Jackie brightened suddenly. “There’s the hunky-hunk we’re talking about!”

  April closed her eyes, fearing Brant might have overheard something.

  And why did her mind refuse to let go of the idea that it would all work out if he was the right man?

  “All good things, I hope?” Brant asked. He was wearing a white lab coat that made him look like a walking contradiction. He was a cowboy, science geek and medical man. Competent, strong, smart, and a bit nerdy in all the ways that turned her crank.

  She caught herself ogling him like a woman on a diet who could think only of cake, cake, cake. But in her case it was Brant, Brant, Brant.

  “You can call Ripley’s owners,” he said, setting a folder down beside her. “Tell them he’s doing well, and they can pick him up at four.”

  April nodded and moved Ripley’s file near the phone so she’d remember to call once her friends left.

  Brant placed his left hand on the armrest of April’s chair, leaning forward to pull another folder from a box near her feet where he was keeping seasonal breeding results of local cattle. A hint of his aftershave filled her nostrils, the same scent that helped her identify which lab jacket to give him when he needed her to run one to him out in the birthing suite off the back of the building. She’d lift the jackets to her nose and inhale. When she reached the right one—Brant’s—memories would warm her and she’d find herself smiling. Every time. If he ever got around to stitching his name across the pocket he’d deprive her of one of her favorite work tasks.

  “Donna was asking about the study again,” April said. She could feel her friends watching her interaction with Brant, and she studiously kept her focus on her desk.

  Brant’s right hand brushed her calf as he bent and reached, causing April’s lungs to forget how to work properly. She could scoot her chair out of his way, but he was using it for support, his body solidly in her personal space and making it even more difficult to recall how to breathe. There was something terrifyingly alluring about his muscular forearms, wide shoulders and the capable gleam in his eyes when he smiled at her
as he slowly straightened, file in hand. He was toying with her. Tempting her. Reminding her of… She didn’t know what, but it felt illicit.

  “I told her you’re busy,” she squeaked, realizing that at some point she’d become distracted and zeroed in on Brant and nothing else.

  “Thanks.” He waved the folder. “Levi’s out back to talk cows.” He nodded at Jackie and Jenny. “Ladies.”

  He returned to the back of the clinic, leaving sparks still zipping through April from his innocent, accidental touch. She let out a long, shuddery breath.

  When she looked up, Jackie was watching her with a slightly evil smile.

  “No. Don’t even…” April began. “We can’t. We work together.”

  Jenny was grinning broadly. “I may have a job coming open at my shop in the New Year. I’ll put you at the top of my list.”

  Brant wrangled a new washing machine for April onto the tailgate of the ranch’s faded red pickup truck. The day after Christmas, the machine that had come with the house had finally met its maker.

  The new washer was still in its box, and Brant was fairly confident he could slide it to the ground without disaster. They weren’t as heavy as they’d been a few decades ago, technology stripping weight from the machine. He laid the box on its side and scooted it so the heavy bottom overhung the tailgate. From the ground, he tipped the box upright, his palms flat against its side as he eased it slowly to the ground.

  The box suddenly slipped left, almost out of his reach. Hands smaller than his own caught the bottom edge.

  “You could have asked for help, you know,” April said as she worked with him to lower the box onto the street in front of her house. She smelled like sunshine and roses, and he debated ways to keep her closer for longer. She’d been extra shy since Christmas, and he wasn’t sure if she regretted their kiss or was serious about needing more time. He had a feeling it was the latter.

  “When did you get here?” He’d stuck his head into the reception area at the beginning of their lunch break and overheard MayBeth Albright asking about April and Cole. When Brant’s fingers had begun to ache from clenching his hands, he’d decided it was best he head to April’s rather than wait for her to continue to explain that she and Cole were history. He hadn’t quite escaped before he heard MayBeth asking about himself and April, and if they were out in the open now that her divorce had been finalized. He’d nearly gotten a speeding ticket on his way over, his anger funneling through his foot.

  He figured MayBeth’s statement had likely negated any of the positive encouragement April’s friends had made that morning while trying to convince her to date him. He’d quite liked the tidbits he’d overheard. Maybe he could ask them to come back for a second round.

  “I got here just before you dropped this pretty new baby on the cold hard concrete,” April said, rubbing her hands together in the weak December sun after setting the box down. “Let’s get it in the house and hooked up.”

  “Merry Christmas,” he teased.

  “You already bought me something.” Her fingers slipped to the locket hanging around her neck, accessible through her barely zipped up jacket. “But two thoughtful gifts? You spoil me so.”

  She was leaning close, and he considered kissing her. Instead, he caught himself, inhaling slowly, knowing he had a tendency to run in heart first and hit walls. He didn’t want to do that with April. He wanted to get it right. And she’d said she wasn’t ready. They’d kissed like they were inventing a new sin, but since then they’d remained hands-off.

  It was her call, her move.

  “I don’t plan to stop spoiling you.”

  Her cheeks reddened and her shoulder touched his. Then her eyes shifted to their feet and she turned away, her shoulder still against his.

  She peeked up at him, her nose crinkled. “You mean rescuing me?”

  “No,” he said fiercely, shaking his head. “This is different.”

  He could see the hesitation, the hint of doubt darkening the amber flecks in her eyes.

  This was real. More real than it had been with Shelley or anyone else. And for him it had been like this for years. He couldn’t fake what he felt.

  Even if April hadn’t needed his help, he would still be here, trying to win her heart.

  She was gnawing on her lower lip and finally let out a long sigh. “You don’t have to help set it up. I can handle it.” She dropped her palms on the box.

  He placed his hands beside hers and leaned in, close enough to kiss. “You’re going to wrangle this into the house and into place? What will you do with the old machine?”

  “I thought it would make a beautiful planter in the front yard after I boot it off the front step.” Her chin went up and she gave him a defiant smirk.

  He chuckled and retrieved the dolly from the back of the truck. “You know, it’ll take a lot more than that to get rid of me and my help. And…” He paused to make sure she didn’t interrupt. “…accepting my help doesn’t mean you can’t take care of things on your own. But this is a two-person job.”

  April’s gaze caught on something across the street. Brant turned. A neighbor was watering a potted shrub with her garden hose, water spilling over the rim and running down the walk as she gawked and leaned closer, trying to eavesdrop.

  “We’d better get this inside before we start some rumors. Unless you’d like me to bend you over in a sensuous kiss that’ll have Mrs. Jullium hustling into the house and calling in a complaint to the sheriff about public decency.”

  April’s face turned red and she laughed. “Maybe not today.”

  “Okay, but know the offer’s always open.”

  “Thanks.”

  Her tone was light, but he noted how her chest rose and fell as if she was battling an inner heat, like he was. Focusing on the job at hand rather than the sexy woman beside him, he rolled the washing machine to April’s front door like a deliveryman. Wordlessly, she helped secure the heavy box on the cart as they nudged it up the steps, then held the door for him before he steered the machine to the small nook under the stairs on the main floor.

  “They’re going to talk no matter what we do,” he said, as he began extracting the washer from its packing.

  “I know,” April replied. “I can handle this, though.”

  “I know.”

  “I mean, I’m sure you have other things to do with your lunch break.”

  “Trying to get rid of me?”

  She pushed her bangs away from her eyes. They flopped back into place, endearingly crooked. “No, but maybe you need to live your life.”

  He narrowed his gaze, trying to sort out what she was getting at. Maybe she regretted those kisses, after all.

  “I am living my life.” He was exactly where he wanted to be right now.

  “You could help more animals—which is totally your thing—instead of me.” She lifted her brows. “That college study? They need a vet and a rancher from the area, and you check off both boxes.”

  “Maybe I have more pressing things to do with my time.”

  She laughed. “More important than taking care of cows?”

  “Yes. And why is that funny?” He gripped the plastic strapping she was trying to slide off the box. She tugged at it, but he didn’t let go.

  “It’s not. I just don’t want you to spend all your time helping me, and then eventually resenting me.”

  “I would never resent helping a friend. What’s this really about?”

  “Nothing. Just looking out for you,” she said lightly. She released her hold and turned, yanking at the hoses that had the old washer hooked into the water system. Soon the machines were swapped out, the new one hooked up to power and water, the old one left on the curb for the brothers to pick up later. Brant couldn’t figure out what had her so unsettled, but knew he had to remain calm, patient and persistent. He wouldn’t stop being himself. He knew she found it difficult to need help, but soon she’d be set up to live her life as she wished once again. And he wanted her t
o notice that he was still here, still looking for that chance to make her smile.

  “Do you have a load of laundry to try?” he asked, testing the machine’s buttons.

  Without a word, April disappeared with a grin. She returned with a basket heaped with colors.

  As she dumped clothing into the machine, she looked as giddy as she had when Carmichael had presented her with her first rodeo horse, Cookies. She’d been thirteen, and over the moon, she and the horse becoming fast friends.

  Brant still remembered the way she’d looked that day. Maybe because that was when he’d started to see her as more than just a pesky girl stuck on their ranch who was too eager to please his annoying, overconfident older brother.

  A few colorful garments landed near his feet, and Brant bent to pick them up, hesitating when he realized the scrap on his left boot was red satin underwear. He scooped it up along with a peach-tinted bra, clearing his throat as he tossed them into the machine. Apparently April didn’t hand-wash her delicates like the label suggested you should, but rather subjected them to the abuse of regular washing. She never had struck him as the type to fuss over “shoulds.” ’He’d also never imagined her undergarments, but if he had, they likely would’ve been practical and white. Not these playful, bright, sexy and revealing items that would be fun to remove from her…

  It was time to think about something else.

  April started the cycle and did a little dance when the sound of pouring water began.

  “I am so happy I could kiss you.” She turned to him in the alcove, her hands flat against his chest.

  That was all the invitation he needed.

  April’s eyes automatically drifted shut as Brant’s lips lowered to hers. She’d been waiting for this moment since their last kiss on Christmas Day.

  “And here we are again,” she whispered as she closed the fraction of an inch between them, placing her mouth on his. Her earlier fears about getting involved were forgotten as his stubble gently brushed her cheek and lips.

  Her hands were on his chest, and she allowed them to glide up to his neck, cradling his ears as though needing to prevent him from escaping. Her fingers splayed in his soft hair, the warmth of his body pressing into hers. Everything about him felt right. His kiss was like a shelter. Safe to get lost in. She didn’t have to worry about it changing to something dangerous or demanding. She could let go, vanquish her fears and be in this moment. Here, she was cared for and protected.