Cowboys Don't Marry the Beauty

by Jessie Gussman

  “Sawyer told me to try to be charming. So I tried to listen to him this week.” He stopped and tilted his head. “I’m not sure why. Since Sawyer isn’t married, and he’s such a workaholic, he’s never even had a girlfriend. What made me think it was a good idea to listen to him?”

  She lifted her shoulders.

  He shook his head like he considered himself hopeless. “Yeah. Anyway, I was trying to be charming this week, but I got the feeling today that I didn’t succeed.”

  His eye searched her face, looking for her reaction.

  “So I thought about it some more. About what I’d want if you...someone were to try to ‘charm’ me.”

  “And?” she prompted when he didn’t keep talking.

  “And I discovered that material things wouldn’t really matter. I’d want time. That’s something you can’t buy more of. Everyone only has so much. To give it is a real gift. Valuable.”

  “I agree,” she said softly. “What else?”

  “Loyalty. You can pay workers, but you can’t buy loyalty.”

  “I see. That’s good. What else?”

  “Trust.” He broke eye contact and looked over her head. “A hard one for me, but if someone were trying to charm me, I would require it.”

  After his accident, his girlfriend broke up with him when he was still in the hospital. No wonder it was hard for him to trust. She put a finger on his collarbone, running it out along his shoulder and arm. “So that’s why you’re here without your cape?”

  His chest went in and out, deep breaths. “Yes.”

  His hands moved up, slowly, until they took hold of his eye patch. He hesitated, as though he really wasn’t sure he wanted to do it.

  She held her breath, tempted to help him, to put her hands over his and take it off together, but feeling like it was something he had to do himself.

  She couldn’t look away as the black slipped up and the puckered skin of his eye appeared. The light wasn’t perfect, but it was more clear than it was the other night when they were outside. The vulnerability on his face was more apparent.

  Her heart clenched as the black patch slipped from his head and dropped with his hand, leaving him open and exposed.

  They stared at each other, her heart pounding in her chest, their chests heaving in and out together.

  The puckered and twisted skin on his face truly did mar his handsome perfection. Before the accident, he must have been so beautiful it would have hurt to look at him.

  “Say something,” he said on a puff of breath.

  What could she say that didn’t sound trite or insincere? He was beautiful to her, not just because his heart was pure but because the marring of his face only made his handsomeness bearable, but he’d never believe it.

  She could say she didn’t care what he looked like, which was true, but he’d hardly believe that either, and she couldn’t deny that she admired his firm lips, his broad shoulders, his narrow waist and long legs.

  She wanted to touch him. She wanted...more.

  “Thank you for trusting me,” she finally whispered, her voice husky with emotion.

  The seconds ticked past, and neither of them moved. Had she said the wrong thing?

  “That wasn’t really what I came in here for tonight.” He finally spoke, moving closer to her at the same time. The air between them contracted.

  “No?” She couldn’t resist anymore and put her hand on his chest, sliding it up to his shoulder, feeling the hardness and warmth of the man under it.

  “No.” His hand, with five long fingers, touched her hair, running lightly down it. “I figured you needed to see that before I could ask if I could kiss you.”

  Her eyes widened as an electric shock coursed through her body.

  “Have you seen enough? Can I ask now?”

  Her head shook back and forth, and “No” slipped out of her mouth.

  The lid on his good eye drooped, and one side of his mouth drew back.

  “No, you didn’t have to show me anything.” She closed the rest of the distance between them, and their bodies brushed. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since at least last Saturday when I couldn’t stay away.”

  His hands came around her and pulled her even closer to him. She explored the broadness of his back, the strength of his shoulders, before she touched her lips to the cleft in his chin.

  He shook.

  “Are you waiting to see if I’ll beg?” she asked, touching her tongue lightly to the indent and feeling the tremor that rocked through his body.

  “No,” he breathed out on a trembling sigh. “I just can’t believe I’m holding you in my arms. I can’t believe you’re willing to kiss something as ugly as me.”

  “Not willing. I want to. Please.”

  “And I’m afraid that if I touch my lips to yours, the bubble will pop and I’ll wake up, alone, in my bed, knowing it was all just a dream.”

  “Don’t be afraid.”

  “Then I can’t look too far into the future, because I can’t help thinking that you’ll regret this in the morning. The sunlight is unforgiving.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I don’t care for my sake. I don’t want you to have regrets.”

  She pressed her lips together. She’d never begged anyone to kiss her before. She’d already asked. He knew what she wanted. And he was trembling with the need to kiss her. Yet he resisted. What more could she do?

  When she wanted a modeling career, she didn’t sit back and wait for agents to come to her.

  Skimming her hands up his back, she slid them both into his hair on the back of his head. She stretched up on her tiptoes and put pressure on his head at the same time, lifting her head.

  Their lips touched for a second before she pulled back just a bit.

  His body jerked, and he pulled her closer.

  She held his gaze as she moved toward him a second time, their lips touching again.

  She drew a small groan out of him when she drew back. Her lids lowered at the sound, and her lips drew back in an ageless woman’s smile.

  His eye moved to her mouth, staring. She touched her tongue to her lip, teasing, maybe.

  This time, his groan was loud and guttural. It snapped off short as his lips landed on hers. Her world spun, and her hands slipped out of his hair to grip his shoulders.

  His hands moved over her back, anchoring her as waves of sensation washed through her. Nothing in her life had ever made her feel that amazed and alive. When he finally lifted his head, she clung to him. Now, she trembled.

  He kissed her cheek and her forehead, finally tucking her head under his chin and holding her tight against him. His heart beat strong and fast. She could feel it knocking against his ribs. The same way her heart was knocking against hers.

  She could have stayed like that all night, but it felt like a very short time later, although it must have been at least fifteen minutes, he spoke above her head. “I think I’d better leave, now. I have to face you in the morning.”

  Turning her head, she pressed her lips against his neck.

  His breath rushed out.

  When she spoke, her lips brushed his skin. “I would look forward to it more if you said, ‘In the morning, I get to kiss you again.’”

  His breath huffed out in a choked laugh. “I like your wording better, too.”

  “Maybe if you gave me a kiss good night, I’d have more to look forward to.”

  He put his lips on her forehead. “Maybe you’d better quit talking like that. I’m not sure my heart can take it.”

  “I think you just figured out a way to stop me from talking.”

  He smiled and lowered his head. His lips took hers, carefully and gently. The whirlwind of the last kiss quieted into a sweet summer rain. She loved both sensations. He lifted his head, kissing her cheek, then her eye and her forehead.

  “Go, please,” he whispered against her forehead.

  The temptation to linger was strong, but she appreciated his respect and considera
tion and didn’t want to destroy it. So, she slipped out of his arms and out of the room, tapping up the stairs and eventually dreaming of a cowboy so beautiful the angels had to mar his face so it wouldn’t hurt the eyes to look at him.

  Chapter 10

  The next morning, Morgan sat down at the breakfast table. She knew she probably looked like a dork with a dreamy smile on her face, but it wasn’t like there was anyone around to see her. Except Mrs. T. Although she was bustling around so furiously that Morgan was pretty sure she barely realized Morgan was at the table.

  Her hurried “Good morning” was a lot different than her normal chattering.

  Since it was Saturday, Morgan made a mental note to ask her if she needed help with anything if she came back in. There was nothing on her list that she could do today, and a restlessness ran through her, making it hard to concentrate. All she wanted to do was think of Ford. She was infatuated, no doubt.

  She had the first bite of breakfast on her fork when the door connecting the hall to the dining room cracked and slowly slid open.

  Sometimes Lolli pushed it open with her nose if Morgan hadn’t shut it tight, but Morgan hadn’t seen Lolli all morning, and no little claws clicked on the tile.

  Jeans and a cowboy boot stepped in, followed by the slim hips that she’d seen for the first time last night. A green checked shirt made his shoulders look a mile wide, and a cowboy hat, but nothing else, partially shielded his face.

  Ford stopped just inside the room, allowing the door to close behind him. His eye stayed on her. He held his head high, but there was a little vulnerability in the tilt of his brow.

  Her silly smile grew wider, into a smile of pure pleasure. She could stare at this man all day long.

  “I wasn’t sure if eating with me would turn your stomach,” he said slowly.

  Her smile fell, and her eyes widened. How could he think that? Not for the first time, she wondered what, exactly, his fiancée had said to him when she broke up with him in the hospital. Or maybe he’d overheard other people talking? Surely no one would have been ignorant to his face. But something had happened. Something beyond his accident, she was sure. All the confidence, the swagger and laughter that she remembered, was gone.

  Her fork clattered to her plate, and her chair legs scraped across the floor as she pushed back, almost leaping to her feet as she hurried over.

  “You do realize that I want to grab anyone who would even suggest that such a thing were true, and do something really hurtful to them?” she said as she walked toward him.

  One of his lips quirked up, and his eye lost most of its insecurity. “Really hurtful?”

  “Yes. Like pluck their fingernails out with tweezers.” She stopped in front of him.

  “Ouch.”

  “Exactly. That’s the reaction I’m going for.” She wished he’d put his arms around her and draw her closer, but he made no move to touch her.

  “I had no idea that under all those brains and beauty you were so brutal.”

  She tilted her head. “I didn’t really know it either. Just thinking about someone hurting you makes a red haze cover my vision and these violent thoughts I didn’t even know I was capable of boil over.”

  “Remind me to stay on your good side.”

  She tried to look coy. It wasn’t an expression she had much practice using, but Ford made every feminine molecule in her body want to simper and flirt. “A good morning kiss might help with that.”

  Ford gave her a full-on grin, showing his straight, white teeth, but he didn’t move to touch her. “Kissing you should come with a warning label. It’s dangerous and addicting. I couldn’t sleep last night for reliving every second of the two I had.”

  Good to hear his night was just like hers. “Dangerous?”

  For the first time, he looked uncomfortable, and his eye dropped. He shifted and shoved a hand in his pocket. “Yeah.”

  “In what way?” She wasn’t sure she liked being called dangerous.

  “You’re just down the hall.”

  She looked at him blankly.

  “I never thought about it before.” He spread his hand out. “This is my office. It’s where I work. All my employees, the few that I have, live here. I gave you a room and didn’t give it another thought. But that was before...I would never have considered moving a girlfriend in. Not that I ever thought I’d have a girlfriend.” He shifted again and met her eyes. “I don’t know what we are, exactly. What you want us to be. I’m good with girlfriend. More than good. But I don’t know how safe it is for me to have my girlfriend sleeping right down the hall from me.”

  She knew her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn’t seem to close it.

  “Maybe girlfriend is too much for you. I get that. That’s fine. That’s more like a fairy tale to me anyway. But whatever you call it, whatever label we put on whatever is between us, it’s going to be torture to kiss you then know you’re sleeping right down the hall. Not impossible. But hard. Dangerous.”

  She managed to get her tongue unhooked from the roof of her mouth. “I see.” She turned her head to the wall. She hadn’t been around chivalry like this since she left North Dakota for college.

  Normally it was her fighting off the increasingly insistent advances of whatever guy she was dating. Funny, because she hadn’t wanted to fight Ford off at all. She wanted him closer.

  Disappointment dripped like curdled milk down her throat.

  It sounded like if she were going to stay here, there would be no kissing and no girlfriend label. She respected that, even admired it, but didn’t like it.

  Finally, she looked back at him. “So we’re friends?”

  Something that looked like relief moved across his face. “Yes.”

  “Okay.” This definitely wasn’t what she wanted or expected, but just because he was stiff-arming her didn’t mean they couldn’t have fun together. Maybe that would be for the best, anyway. Ford needed to learn to laugh again.

  “I’ll go get you a plate and silverware and let Mrs. T know you’re eating here,” she said, turning.

  He put a hand on her arm. “I can do it.”

  “After everything you’ve done for me this week, let me do this little thing for you. We’re having waffles and cream cheese this morning. I suspect because it’s one of my favorites?”

  He grinned. “Guilty.”

  “I thought so. Sit down, I’ll be right back.”

  Morgan walked into the kitchen. Mrs. T held her phone to her ear. Her brows were knotted, and she had her thumbnail caught between her teeth. “Are you sure?” she asked, taking her thumb from her mouth, only to bite her lower lip.

  She glanced up at Morgan’s approach and held up one finger.

  Morgan nodded, stopping. Should she walk back out and give Mrs. T privacy?

  “I have to finish some things up here. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Probably this evening.”

  There was a little more back and forth before she said goodbye and hung up.

  “I’m sorry about that,” she said.

  “Sounded like someone’s in the hospital?”

  “That was our son-in-law. My daughter is in the hospital over in Fargo. They’re not sure what’s wrong with her. They’re running more tests, but if they can’t figure it out, they’re taking her to the Cities.”

  They were about three hours away from Fargo. “What do you have to do? Can I help? I can make dinner and supper.” If it wasn’t too complicated. Surely Ford would let her take off.

  “They’re just casseroles, and I have them ready to bake. What I really need is someone to drop these groceries off at Elaine Anderson’s house.”

  “Groceries?”

  “She’s a single mom with four kids trying to keep her ranch together. Ford buys her groceries every week.”

  Why was she not surprised?

  “Normally Sawyer takes them to her, but he didn’t show up yesterday.”

  Hmm. Morgan made a mental note to ask about Sawyer, too. If it were
summer, she could see ranch work getting in the way, but since it was late October, he was hardly putting up hay, and his harvesting should be done.

  “I can take the groceries. As soon as Ford gives you permission, you can go.”

  “Oh, pshaw.” Mrs. T waved her hand. “I could have dropped everything and went running out, and Ford wouldn’t have minded. In fact, if he knew, he’d probably insist. I just couldn’t have left him with no meal prepared, and some of Elaine’s fresh fruits and vegetables will be spoiled if I don’t get back for a few days.”

  “Don’t worry about her groceries. I’ll get them to her.” She looked down at the plate in her hand. “Oh. Ford is in the dining room, and he’s going to eat breakfast with me. Is it okay if I take some more food out?”

  Mrs. T stopped in the middle of the kitchen, a dirty pan in her hand. “Ford’s eating with you?”

  “Yes.” Morgan couldn’t help the excited smile that tilted her lips up.

  “Oh my.” Mrs. T’s brows rose up almost to her hairline. “Oh my.” She nodded. “That’s about the best thing I’ve heard in years.”

  She set the pan on the table and came over and enveloped Morgan in a maple syrup-scented hug. “That boy just needs someone to give him back what that witch Shauna took away from him.”

  “Maybe someday you’ll tell me the story?”

  “I will. But I’m thinking Ford will tell you anything you want to know. That’s the kind of man he is. He’d do anything for anyone. But his pride was destroyed, and he fixed the hole with bitterness and anger.”

  “I see.” She did, a little. But there was more to the puzzle, she was sure.

  Sticking silverware under her arm, she picked up the tray Mrs. T had made with waffles and orange juice along with syrup and butter.

  “I’ll clean up,” Morgan said as she pushed the door open with her hip.

  “I’ll let you. This time. I’ll set Elaine’s groceries out on the back porch. They’ll stay cold out there.”

  “Is she expecting you at a certain time?”

  “Nope. She’ll probably tell you she doesn’t want them either. She’s got pride. Just give them to her kids.”

  “Okay.” It sounded like delivering the groceries could be an interesting experience.