The Cowboy and the Doctor

by Eve Gaddy

  “If her husband hadn’t killed her,” Dylan said.

  “Yes. It still haunts me. I wonder if I’ll ever learn to accept it.”

  “Why do you think you were responsible for her death?”

  “I told you, he found her through me. While the ultimate responsibility is his, I made it easier for him. He started following me. I didn’t realize it and led him to the shelter. He must have known or guessed I’d helped Amber find a place to live. Somewhere we thought she’d be safe from him. He watched the place for days, until one day he got lucky and found Amber and me together on the front porch. He shot Amber and while I was trying to stop the bleeding, he shot me.”

  Dylan put his arm around her and gave her a comforting hug. “It’s not your fault, Sam.”

  “Then why does it feel like it is?” she mumbled against his shirt. She slipped her arm around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder. She could feel the empathy flowing from him, washing over her, soothing her, relieving some of her pain.

  “Because you’re trying to make sense of something that’s incomprehensible.”

  Dylan wasn’t particularly happy about the reason he was sitting on Sam’s couch holding her in his arms, but he liked the result. Too soon, she sat up and moved away. She tilted her head, studying him.

  “What?” he asked her. “You’ve got a strange look on your face.”

  “I’m wondering why in the world I told you that awful story. I’m usually much more of a private person.”

  “Must be something about my face. Sometimes I think I should have been a bartender.”

  She smiled. “I take it a lot of people confide in you.”

  “A few,” he admitted.

  Sam lifted an eyebrow.

  “Okay, some. More than some, but less than a lot,” he amended.

  “Is there a word for that?”

  “No, but we could make one up.”

  She smiled again, then turned serious. “Thank you. I hope I didn’t make you too uncomfortable.”

  He stared at her. “Good God, Sam, you’re the one who was shot, nearly died and lost a friend.”

  “Still. We don’t even know each other that well and here I am dumping a terrible story on you. I shouldn’t have done it. But you’re so easy to talk to I did it anyway.”

  “I think it’s a sign that we should get to know each other better.”

  “Do you? And how do you propose we do that?”

  Somehow he didn’t think she’d go for what he thought was the best way to get to know each other.

  “No.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “You didn’t have to. It was written all over your face.”

  “See, you know me better than you thought.”

  “No, I don’t. I just know men.”

  “Ouch.” Dylan patted his chest. “An arrow to the heart.”

  “That’s your sternum you’re patting, not your heart.”

  Dylan laughed. “Why don’t you come out to the ranch again and I’ll introduce you to the horses and show you around. We didn’t manage it this time since we had to take care of Shadow.” He glanced over at the dog. “I hope snoring doesn’t bother you.”

  “I’m sure I’ll get used to it. I’d love to see the horses but I don’t know when that will be. I don’t want to leave Shadow for a long period until I have to.”

  “Bring him with you.”

  “The vet said to keep him calm and don’t let him do much for a few days.”

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.” He stood, reached for her hand and pulled her up beside him. “We’ll do it once Shadow is better. In the meantime, do you have plans for tomorrow night?”

  “Other than taking care of Shadow, no. Why?”

  “Let me bring dinner over.”

  She hesitated for a moment. He wondered what was going on in her head. Then she smiled and said, “I’d like that. What are you going to pick up?”

  “I’ll get Glory to make something.”

  “She doesn’t need to go to that trouble.”

  “Glory’s a romantic. She’ll be happy to do it.”

  “Is that what this is? A romance?”

  He let go of her hand and traced his fingers down her jawline and then over her lips. “I sure as hell hope so.” He kissed her, slow and easy. She tasted faintly of wine, but with a flavor that was all her own. He deepened the kiss, but held back from what he really wanted to do. He wanted her melting in his arms, pliant against him, wanted her breasts in his hands, wanted skin against skin, her hips cradling him, welcoming him.

  She put her arms around his neck and kissed him back, but he felt her hesitancy to give in fully to what was between them. He lifted his mouth from hers and smiled at her before releasing her. “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” he said. Then he got the hell out of there before he took things to their logical conclusion. One she clearly wasn’t ready for yet.

  Sam didn’t sleep particularly well that night. Not because of Shadow. She brought his pillow into the bedroom and he immediately fell asleep and slept like a baby all night. A baby who snored. But she didn’t mind. Having a dog was comforting. She’d had dogs growing up but not since she left home. Her schedule had always been too difficult for her to have a pet.

  But now the hospital wasn’t more than a few minutes away. She was rarely so busy that she couldn’t come home for a short time to check on the dog. Remembering how he’d laid his head in her lap and looked at her with those big, brown, puppy dog eyes—she was falling for him already.

  And what about Dylan? Are you falling for him too?

  Crap. Of course she was. If she’d been just a tiny bit more impulsive she’d had been in bed with Dylan two minutes after that kiss.

  And what’s wrong with that?

  “Stop it,” she said aloud. She fluffed up her pillow, lay back down and tried to sleep. But it was a long time coming. And when she finally fell asleep she dreamed of—who else?—Dylan Gallagher.

  Whose damn dog is barking? Sam sat up, rubbing her eyes. A glance at the clock showed seven a.m. The barking dog, she realized, was hers. Shadow was barking madly at the front door.

  Oh, shit. I forgot about Bianca. In lieu of a robe, which she didn’t own, she pulled on a sweatshirt over her T-shirt and flannel pants and went to answer the door.

  “When did you get a dog?” Bianca asked immediately. She held out the back of her hand to Shadow, who sniffed and wagged his tail, apparently signifying his approval of their guest.

  “Yesterday. Obviously, I forgot we were running. Do you want coffee?”

  “Does a bear shit in the woods?”

  “I’ve never seen one doing it. Have you?” She led the way to the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker she’d prepared the night before.

  “No, but they’re bound to. So, where did you get the dog? He’s awfully skinny. Is he a stray? Did you get him from the shelter? What’s his name?”

  “His name is Shadow. I’ll tell you all about it once I’ve got my coffee.” She opened the back door and let Shadow out, watching him from the doorway. His limp was already better, even just since yesterday, though he still strongly favored his injured leg.

  “I couldn’t figure out why you’d bailed on me without calling,” Bianca said.

  “I totally forgot. Sorry.” Sam fixed a bowl of food for Shadow. By then the coffee was ready, and she poured them both a mug, setting Bianca’s down in front of her. “He’s a stray. Dylan found him out at the Gallagher ranch and I wound up offering to take care of him.”

  “How did that happen? Did Dylan just call you up and say, ‘Hey, I found a stray. Want him?’”

  Sam rolled her eyes. “I was with him when he found him. We were riding.”

  “Aha! You gave in. About time. I figured you would after I saw you two together at my birthday party. You left at the same time, too. Did you two spend the night together?”

  “No, and what’s with the inquisition? We talked about hors
es and one thing led to another. I went out to his ranch to ride the next morning and that’s when we found the dog.”

  “When are you seeing him again?”

  “Tonight.”

  Bianca whistled, causing Shadow, who was lying at Sam’s feet, to prick up his ears. “Sounds like things are heating up.”

  Sam didn’t answer that directly. “You know my track record with men. I always go for the wrong guys.”

  “I’ve already told you, Dylan’s a good guy.”

  “That’s what I thought about the others.”

  “Would it help you to know I never slept with Dylan?”

  Sam looked at her closely. Bianca wouldn’t lie about something like that. “Why didn’t you?”

  “We didn’t date long, and it was very casual. We liked each other but neither of us was that involved. I don’t think I’m the only woman he’s gone out with who he hasn’t slept with.”

  Maybe it was unreasonable of her, but knowing that did make her feel better. “He’s easy to be with. Easy to talk to. I told him about Dallas,” she added. “I don’t know why I did. He asked me why I left Texas since I was obviously close to my family. The whole story about Amber just came out.”

  Bianca was staring at her with her mouth open. “I didn’t think you ever talked about that.”

  “I don’t. That’s why it was so strange that I told Dylan.”

  “How did he react?”

  “He was sympathetic. He told me it wasn’t my fault and that I was trying to make sense of something that was incomprehensible.”

  “He’s right about that.”

  “There’s a women’s shelter in Billings,” Sam said. “You volunteer there, don’t you?”

  Bianca nodded. “Not a lot, but they’re grateful for any help I can offer.”

  “I’ve thought about it,” Sam said. “But I just can’t do it. Does that make me a coward? I know that what happened is the exception and not the norm. But I can’t make myself volunteer.”

  Bianca reached out and squeezed her hand. “I doubt many people could after what you went through. Don’t beat yourself up over it. You do a lot to help people as it is. There’s no need to put yourself through something that would be so traumatic for you.”

  But if I don’t face my fears will I ever be able to truly put the past behind me?

  Chapter Ten

  The next morning Sean came out to help Dylan with Trouble. But when they took him out to the round pen the stallion scorned Sean’s attempts to bond with him. He didn’t bite or kick him, which Dylan saw as progress. But he wasn’t having any of Sean’s magic way with horses.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Dylan. I don’t get the feeling he’s mean. He reacts out of fear, but I don’t know how to reach him.”

  “He’s gotten a little better with me. He’ll let me brush him and pick out his hooves. He wouldn’t do that at first. He still won’t let me do anything to his mane, except brush it occasionally. That’s progress, I guess. But damn, it’s slow going.”

  “He’s a beauty.”

  Dylan didn’t often question his decisions about horses but he was beginning to get worried that he’d made a mistake. “Do you think I’m crazy to keep trying?”

  Sean rubbed the back of his neck. “Not necessarily. How is Riptide doing? How badly do you need another stud?”

  His original Fjord stud was the backbone of his breeding program. But if he wanted to expand he needed at least one more stud. “Riptide is good. He’s got a lot of years left. But I’d like another bloodline too.”

  “Not a bad idea. If he doesn’t work out are you going to sell Trouble?”

  “No.” He wouldn’t trust anyone else not to mistreat the horse. Especially given how difficult he was. “I’ve thought about gelding him. But damn, I’d hate to do that. He could be a great stud.”

  “Yeah, if you can teach him not to put people in the hospital. And speaking of that, I hear Clay is going home soon. When does he start chemo?”

  “Jack wants him to be more recovered from his injuries before he starts. You know how hard chemo can be on the immune system.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Dylan knew Sean was thinking of their mother, just as he was. But it was even worse for Sean because he’d been a teenager when their mother died, so he remembered a lot more about their mother’s cancer than Dylan did. “I’ve lined up some help for him when he gets home. Glory found her, actually. She’ll be able to take him to and from his treatments and do whatever else he needs.”

  “That’s good. I’m kind of surprised he’s agreed to it.”

  Dylan grinned. “He hasn’t. He doesn’t know anything about it yet.”

  “Damn. Who’s going to tell him?”

  “Jack’s his doctor. I’m leaving all that up to him.”

  “Good plan.”

  “How’s Honey?” Dylan asked, speaking of Sean’s wife.

  “She’s great. She has a barrel race this weekend. She’s been killing it lately.”

  “Are you going?”

  “Yes, I’m off work.” Sean put a boot up on the rail. “We’ve been talking about having a kid.”

  Dylan joined him, looking at him with amusement. “I have it on good authority that’s not how you get them.”

  “Ha ha. You’re a riot. With Jack and Maya having Will, and Wyatt and Mia due in a few months, it’s no wonder Honey’s been bitten by the baby bug. At least one of my brothers isn’t in the baby business.” He looked at Dylan. “Are you?”

  Dylan laughed. “Are you kidding? Who would I be having a baby with?”

  “Samantha. You two are dating, aren’t you?”

  Were they? “I think so.”

  “Don’t you know?”

  “Sam’s the cautious sort. It took me weeks to get her to admit the boyfriend she told me about was fictional. We’re taking it slow.”

  “Meaning you haven’t slept with her yet. Losing your touch, bro?”

  “Fuck off,” Dylan told him. “Sex isn’t the only reason I’m interested in a woman.”

  Sean started laughing. “You could’ve fooled me.”

  Dylan thought about pasting him one but decided it took too much effort. “It’s not like that. I really like her.”

  “You always really like the women you date.”

  “This is different. She’s—I’m—shit, I can’t explain it.” Not to himself, much less to anyone else.

  “If I didn’t know you I’d say you sounded serious.”

  Well, hell, maybe he was. “I think I could be.”

  “No shit?”

  “You don’t have to sound so happy about it.”

  Sean’s shit-eating grin said it all. “About time you got tangled up over a woman. Wait until I tell Jack and Wyatt.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.” But he sure hoped there would be.

  “Like hell there’s not. I had twenty bucks on Sam finally breaking you down.”

  “You shitheads have a pool going?”

  “Bet your ass we do. Dylan’s finally taken the fall. The big L.”

  The big L? “I didn’t say I was in love with her. Sweet Jesus, Sean, we haven’t even—I can’t be in love with her.” Could he? “I said I could be serious. As in there’s a possibility. That’s a long way from being in love.”

  His brother was still grinning like the goddamn Cheshire cat. “Keep telling yourself that, bro.”

  Dylan’s cell phone dinged, letting him know he had a text. A good thing since he had no answer to Sean’s bullshit. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and read the text, ignoring his brother.

  Traced her to Concepción, Chile. Heading there now.

  “It’s from Hardeman about Glenna,” he said and gave the phone to Sean.

  Sean read it and grunted. “Chatty bastard, isn’t he?”

  Dylan gave a short laugh. “Yeah, I’ve yet to see an update from him that’s longer than two lines.”

  “How in the hell has she managed to ev
ade him for so long?”

  Dylan shrugged. “Obviously, Glenna doesn’t want to be found. Maybe this lead will pan out.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not holding my breath.”

  After Sean left, Dylan put Trouble back in his stall. He had other things he should be doing, but instead he saddled Hawkeye and went to check the fences. It gave him time to think and he always thought best on horseback.

  Was Sean right? Was he in love with Sam?

  How had he gone from wanting to get Sam into bed—which, of course, he still wanted—to being on the verge of falling crazy in love with her? Why Sam when he’d never been anywhere close to being in love before?

  Before he met Sam he’d dated a number of women. Okay, make that a lot. He’d liked them, been fond of them, enjoyed them, admired them, lusted after them but he’d never been in love with any of them. He’d figured he never would be.

  Maybe he was feeling this way because they hadn’t had sex. Maybe then she wouldn’t be a mystery, wouldn’t be as fascinating. But he didn’t think that was it.

  Samantha was beautiful, but to be fair, he’d dated a lot of beautiful women. She was smart, but he’d always liked smart women. She was strong, sure of herself, extremely good at what she did. Which again, wasn’t unusual among the women he’d been involved with.

  But Sam had opened up to him. He wasn’t sure why and he didn’t know that she was either. When she’d told him about her past, she’d let him see a core of vulnerability that she kept well hidden from almost everyone else.