To Tame a Texas Cowboy

by Julie Benson

  “You wishing you’d done that?”

  Cheyenne nodded, and then after a few bites of fries, said, “Do you think people will ever treat me like a normal person again?”

  “It may take a while, but after you’ve finished treatment or figure out medication, I think they will.”

  “I’ll be glad to get to that point, and not only because of everyone bringing up the issue. I’m tired of researching treatments, doctor appointments, tests, and making decisions, but tonight I’m going to forget all that.”

  While they ate, Aubrey pointed out various people and caught Cheyenne up on what was new with everyone. Then her friend glanced toward the bar and groaned. “Great. Ty’s here. Yet another reason this town needs another hangout. I love Cassie, but sometimes Ty gets on my nerves when he’s in big brother mode.”

  “Maybe he won’t see you.”

  “I’ve got two chances of that—slim and none.”

  Sure enough. When Aubrey’s brother, a pitcher of beer in his hand, left the bar, he headed straight for their table. “I didn’t know you two were here. You should join us. Cassie, Grace and AJ are in the game room.” Ty’s gaze searched the restaurant, then landed back on Cheyenne and Aubrey. “Where’s Coop?”

  “I tried to convince him he should celebrate his first week in business, but he turned down the invitation,” Aubrey said.

  “That’s exactly what we need to do.” Ty placed the pitcher on their table and pulled out his phone. “I’m texting Coop to get his ass over here before I drive to his place and haul him over.” After a few texts back and forth, Ty said, “He’s on his way. Now grab your glasses and join us in the back room.”

  “Sounds great,” Aubrey said.

  “We’re good here,” Cheyenne said at the same time.

  Ty picked up the pitcher and shook his head. “Do whatever you want, but if you stay here, you’ll miss out on a lot of fun.”

  Cheyenne cringed. Seemed as if that was the story of her life lately—missing out on something. Fill in the blank depending on the day.

  Once Ty left, Cheyenne turned to Aubrey. “I know what you’re doing and count me out.”

  “What’re you talking about?”

  “You’re playing matchmaker between me and Cooper.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “No way am I believing that after the invitation, the grilling, and the comment about you possibly being interested in him. You did that to see if you could make me jealous. Well you can’t. I know you’re trying to fix us up, and it needs to stop. Right. Now.”

  “Fine. I’ll quit, but—”

  “Thank you.”

  “You didn’t let me finish, and when I do, you might take back the thank you.”

  Cheyenne crossed her arms over her chest. “Then I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Too bad, because I’m saying it anyway. I’m heading for the game room whether you want to go or not.”

  “That’s your choice. Just take me home first.” When Aubrey stubbornly glared at her, Cheyenne added, “Please?”

  “No.”

  “You’re supposed to be my best friend.”

  “I am. That’s why I’m saying you can either sit here alone or come with me. I hope you choose the latter because you could use some fun.”

  “I want the go-home choice.”

  “You don’t have that option.” An evil I-can-make-you-bend-to-my-way-of-thinking grin spread across Aubrey’s face.

  “Whatever you’re thinking, forget it.”

  “If you really want the go-home choice, you can always call your mother.”

  Cheyenne sighed in frustration. Only a best friend knew the one thing to say to get her to knuckle under. “You win, but only because you played dirty.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Cooper knew better than to call Ty’s bluff because if he did, his friend would show up, hog tying him and hauling him to The Horseshoe. As he crawled in his truck and headed toward town, Cooper hoped one of two things would save him tonight. Either Aubrey and Cheyenne had left by the time he arrived, or he could avoid them. Otherwise he was dead meat, because a man could only resist temptation so long, and Lord help him, he was growing weaker by the minute where Cheyenne was concerned.

  When Aubrey asked him to join her and Cheyenne, the response hell yes sat perched on his tongue. If Cheyenne had sounded the least bit sincere when she’d said he could come, he’d have folded faster than a tent in a Texas thunderstorm. But she hadn’t. Instead, she’d sounded like a kid whose mother forced her to invite someone to her birthday party.

  And yet, here he was at The Horseshoe anyway.

  When Cooper strolled into the game room to join his friends, he spotted a familiar fiery redhead immediately and shook his head. Blast it, his luck was running true to form.

  Cheyenne sat at a table with Aubrey, Cassie, and Grace near the pool tables. How could Ty have forgotten to mention Cassie, Grace, Aubrey, and Cheyenne were there with him and AJ?

  Cassie commented and the other women laughed, Cheyenne included. Her flaming red hair swirled around her face and over her shoulders. For a minute, her face lit up.

  He never should’ve come. Not when he’d finally gotten a handle on the situation with Cheyenne. After they’d kissed, he’d been thrown for one helluva loop and had no idea how to handle their relationship until his logic returned. Then he’d known he couldn’t risk getting involved with Cheyenne on a personal level.

  Telling himself that had been easy. Following through with the plan? Not so much. Being with her, seeing how hard she worked to make his clinic a success, helping in a multitude of tiny ways he never anticipated proved one powerful aphrodisiac. By the time they locked the clinic door behind them, he’d been tied up better than a calf at branding time. That was when he’d come up with the bright idea of avoiding Cheyenne except at work.

  And now he was about to undo the work he’d done. Unless… What were his chances of getting away if he left while his friends were engrossed in conversation? Willing to risk it, Cooper turned to leave.

  Coward.

  You’re wrong. A smart man knows to retreat and regroup when resources are damn near depleted.

  “Hold it right there, pal,” Ty shouted over the crack of pool balls, clanking silverware and friendly conversation. “You’re not going anywhere. We’ve got to celebrate.”

  Cooper froze, inhaled deeply, plastered a smile on his face, and made his way across the room. He’d only taken a couple of steps when a voice called his name. Cooper paused and discovered Howard Eldon at the table to his right. “Good to see you, Doc. Chester hasn’t had a single problem since he got his shots.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Cooper replied automatically.

  Howard hooked a thumb to the equally grizzled man with him and introduced Cooper to his buddy, Hector Hernandez. “Hector and I were talkin’ ’bout you. He said his horse Gertie is favoring her right leg. He was thinkin’ of takin’ her to a vet in Kilgore. I told him there wasn’t no need to drive sixty miles when we got one fine vet here.”

  “Thanks for vouching for me, Howard.” Cooper held out his hand to Hector. “I’d be happy to run out to your place after my morning appointments tomorrow and take a look at Gertie.”

  “That’d be right fine, Doc. I was worried what would happen to us ranchers when Doc King decided to retire early, but now I think we’ll be just fine.”

  Cooper smiled. A man couldn’t ask for better praise than that. “Glad to hear it.”

  He told Hector to expect him around twelve thirty, put the man’s address in his phone, said goodbye, and made his way to his friends. When he reached them, Ty shoved a beer glass into his hand, and raised his. “Here’s to Coop—I mean Dr. Abbott—thanks for taking over for Dr. King. Here’s to you, buddy.”

  His friends raised their glasses and cheered, as did a good portion of the patrons around them.

  “I’m glad to be a part of the community and appreciate the warm welcome,” Cooper annou
nced to the room, and for the next few minutes people patted him on the back, shook his hand and told him how glad they were he’d come to town.

  A room full of people stared at him, most with curiosity, but one feisty redhead sat at a table lobbing daggers his way. Had she figured out he’d been avoiding her after work? Damn. He should’ve known he couldn’t pull off the trick without her getting wise, but he hadn’t trusted himself. Alone. At night. With Cheyenne. Not when simply seeing her left him wanting more. Apparently, his strategy had ticked her off, and there was nothing he could do now but weather the storm.

  “I see you changed your mind about socializing with the help,” Cheyenne said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, when he reached the table.

  Aubrey elbowed her friend in the ribs. “Cause a scene, why don’t you.”

  Cooper cringed and glanced at the folks nearby. Yup, they had everyone’s rapt attention. Thankfully he’d never been a tie-one-on guy, but still, living and working in Wishing would require some adjustments, especially when he socialized. If he sneezed tonight half the town would be at his door tomorrow with chicken soup.

  He leaned closer to Cheyenne and lowered his voice. “Do you want me to leave?”

  “After what the mayor said the first day? You’ve got to be kidding. If you leave, I’d be run out of town.”

  “And it would be my fault.”

  “You wouldn’t be blamed. You’re too crucial to the community.”

  Ty walked up behind them and placed an arm on each of their shoulders. “The rest of us came here to have a good time, not watch a prize fight. Either make nice or take it outside.”

  Cooper turned to Cheyenne. “We should talk.”

  “You saying that is hilarious, since you’ve barely said two words to me outside the office.”

  “It hasn’t been that bad,” Cooper insisted, stretching the truth as far as he could without lying.

  “Oh, please. Don’t give me that,” Cheyenne snapped.

  “That’s it,” AJ snapped. “Outside, and don’t come back in until you two can get along. Otherwise, I’ll haul you in to work it out in a jail cell.”

  “You wouldn’t,” Cheyenne countered.

  “Yes, he would,” Cooper said.

  She turned to her friends. “Help me out, gals. You wouldn’t let him haul me to jail, would you?”

  “You are being a wet blanket tonight,” Aubrey said.

  Cassie placed a hand on her husband’s arm. “Reminds me of us when we met. We could fight about the weather.”

  “I think we probably did a time or two,” Ty said with a disgustingly lovestruck smile on his face.

  “Seems we argued quite a bit when we met, too,” AJ said, looking equally besotted.

  “Is there more going on here than we know about?” Grace teased.

  Despite the people around him, or maybe because of them, loneliness swept through Cooper. He wanted what his friends had—a connection with a woman. One where they were in everything together for better or worse. The whole deal. He wanted someone to come home to. Someone who wanted to discuss her day with him and listened to the details of his. He wanted a woman to bounce ideas off and to shoot the breeze with. Someone to be quiet with.

  You have most of that with Cheyenne if you quit this dumbass ignoring her plan.

  Damn the little voice in his head.

  Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “Forget, I asked. Outside is looking way better than this craziness.” She turned to Cooper, swatted him on the arm and grabbed Penny’s leash. “Let’s get this over with.”

  *

  When The Horseshoe’s front door closed behind Cooper and Cheyenne, the night’s darkness enveloped them. The only light came from the square’s few strategically placed streetlights and from the pizza joint on the opposite street.

  Zane’s voice lecturing Cooper echoed in his ears. You need to loosen up, Coop. A woman doesn’t have to be perfect to date. Quit thinking long-term. Have some fun, if you know what I mean.

  Zane was right. He should quit thinking so far down the road and enjoy now. Why the hell shouldn’t he have fun with Cheyenne? ’Course he could’ve blown his chance unless he could fix the mess he’d made of things.

  “You’re mad,” Cooper said, his voice flat as they set off walking.

  “Darn right. Why’re you avoiding me when we’re not at work?”

  The words to tell her that wasn’t what he’d been doing, that he’d ensconced himself in his room to work, sat perched on his tongue. No, he wouldn’t compound his mistake by lying.

  “Since I met you, I don’t know which end is up and being alone with you scares the daylights out of me.”

  “You’ve had me confused a time or two, you know.”

  Her pace increased, as if she needed to burn off energy. He fell in step. They passed various shops on the square, dark and closed tight for the night. Crickets sang. Cicadas buzzed. Periodic laughter and country music spilled onto the street when The Horseshoe’s door opened. Calm and ordinary. An odd contrast to the anger rolling off the woman beside him. Her boots clicked out a harsh beat against the sidewalk. “Are you avoiding me because I kissed you? If that’s it, you don’t have to worry. I won’t pounce on you. You can trust me.”

  “It’s not you I don’t trust. It’s me.”

  She froze, gasped, and her brows knit together in confusion when she finally looked at him. “If we’re interested in each other, what’s the problem?”

  Now he was the one needing to burn off nervous energy. Or was he hoping to run from images of the past bombarding?

  “I was engaged two years ago to my high school and college sweetheart. She suffered from seizures, too.” Cooper swallowed a nervous laugh.

  What were the odds? He’d loved one woman and she’d suffered from seizures, dying on the operating table trying to rid herself of them. He’d finally found another woman who interested him, and she struggled with seizures, too. He’d have better odds playing the lottery than of this happening.

  “Olivia?”

  “How do you know about her?”

  “I found the funeral service bulletin. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snoop. You really should label your files. It would make papers easier to find. I had to search through everything to get Rowdy and Penny’s vet records.”

  “There’s no need to apologize. I’d forgotten it was there.”

  He started walking again. The town square blurred around him as memories flooded him. “I loved her so much. We had our whole life planned.” He inhaled deeply as the words poured out of him. He told Cheyenne about how once they were married, they planned he’d continue working for someone, pulling down a salary while he helped her get the SeizureReader company going. Then when they were financially stable, hopefully in five years or so, they’d start having kids. Next on the list would be saving for his own practice. “When she died it was like part of me died, too. My plans sure did because my life had been all wrapped up in her.”

  “I’m sorry. Losing someone you love is never easy.”

  He nodded. “Since she died, I haven’t felt much of anything for a woman until now. Until you.”

  Cheyenne tucked a loose strand of flaming red hair he longed to touch behind her ear. Then she shifted her stance. The toe of her boot fiddled with a pebble. “I can’t go on with you avoiding me like I’ve got a contagious disease when we’re home.”

  Home. That was part of his problem. That was how the house felt, and the fact scared the hell out of him.

  “My friend Zane tells me to quit worrying and planning for the future. He says I need to live for now and have fun.”

  “It’s amazing how having a brain tumor has changed my world view, and not just because having seizures can mess with my vision.” Cheyenne chuckled at her attempt at humor. “I think Zane’s advice could be good for us both.”

  To hell with five-year and ten-year plans. He’d dreamed and planned with Olivia and it hadn’t helped one damn bit when fate stepped in with its pla
n. How much of life had he missed living by a timeline? Zane was right. He needed to live for now.

  He thought about Cheyenne and her strength and vitality despite all the rough patches fate had thrown her way. She’d never once complained about her situation. Never once had she asked why her. Nothing got the best of this woman. Not her overprotective mother, a mayor intent on putting her down, or her brain tumor. Cheyenne had guts and fought for what she wanted and what she believed in. She’d blasted into his life like a Texas flash flood, forcing his carefully arranged world into chaos.

  And he was better for it.

  The remnants of his will to resist Cheyenne disappeared. He wanted her. So completely that standing beside her now, he physically ached from the force of his desire.

  He cupped her beautiful face in his hands. Her eyes sparkled with interest and his breath came out in a rush. Her skin glowed under the soft streetlights. Desire rather than anger rolled off her now, drawing him in. This was how she should be all the time: alive, vibrant, and proud. His hand slipped around her waist and drew her against his hard frame. When his lips covered hers, she leaned into him. Her hands slid up his chest, exploring. Her hips pressed against him and he groaned in response as his hand caressed the small of her back. He itched to touch all of her.

  His body kicked into overdrive, blotting out any thoughts except of her. She could make him forget almost anything.

  Tires squealed, shattering the silence.

  She sure made him forget they stood on the town square. Had he lost his mind? Cooper slid away from her and dragged his hand through his hair. His breath came out in harsh bursts. How could they have gotten so carried away standing on the sidewalk in the middle of town? Simple. One touch, one heated gaze from Cheyenne, left him primed and ready to go.

  “Seems like we’re right back where we started, except now you’ve kissed me,” Cheyenne teased.

  “Honey, we’re nowhere near where we started. That day in the clinic, I didn’t want you anywhere near as much as I do now. The question is, where do we go from here?”

  “I say we go home and finish what we started.”