My Favorite Cowboy

by Donna Grant

  It had taken some getting used to once he moved off the East Ranch. Abby always kept the pantry and refrigerator stocked. It was a chore he hated.

  Thankfully, he and Brice had a system. One of them went each week and bought groceries for both houses. But all of that would change when his brother and sister-in-law had kids. They’d been trying for about a year now. Caleb expected news any day that a baby was on the way.

  He heard the water cut off. Caleb glanced at his watch and grinned. Audrey had heeded his suggestion and had taken a long, hot shower.

  It wasn’t long before she walked from the bathroom with her black tresses wet and tousled. She looked so damn hot, that for a moment Caleb forgot to breathe.

  “I feel like a new person,” Audrey said with a chuckle.

  He swallowed hard, his gaze dropping to the thin gray sweatpants that stopped just below her knees and the black tee that hugged her breasts.

  “Thirsty?” he asked.

  She nodded and shoved her hair out of her face before she sat on the barstool on the opposite side of the island from him. “Sure.”

  “I’ve got milk, water, soda, and beer. Oh, and wine,” Caleb added as his gaze landed on the wine holder on the counter.

  Audrey pressed her lips together as she considered the options. “I’ll take a beer.”

  Caleb took out two and removed the cap from hers before handing it over.

  She lifted her beer and waited for him to clink his against hers. “Thank you for this.”

  “It’s my pleasure.”

  After she took a long drink, she turned and looked at the open floor plan that had the living and dining area behind her. “Wow. This is gorgeous.”

  “It’s my favorite part of the house,” Caleb said as he walked around the island to stare out the wall of windows that looked over the rolling hills. “I knew I wanted this view. I brought the architect out here and showed him. We designed the house around it.”

  “Are there always horses out there grazing?” she asked.

  “Always. Sometimes, I see them playing. I never tire of watching them.”

  She glanced at him and smiled. “They are magnificent.”

  “If you like this view, you should see the one at the East Ranch. It’s where I got the idea.”

  Audrey shrugged. “I think this one is pretty perfect. You should have made sure you have the same view from your bedroom.”

  “I do.”

  Their eyes met and held. God, he wanted her. The kind of craving that wouldn’t be satisfied until he had her. The type of need that intensified until it consumed him.

  It wasn’t the lust he normally felt. The kind that disappeared after sex. This was something more. Something much deeper.

  Caleb wasn’t at all sure he wanted to go down this road. There were too many bumps and holes to navigate.

  Still, he knew he could stop it. The fact that he hadn’t meant.… What did it mean? That he wanted this? The confirmed bachelor?

  “You wake up to Heaven every morning.”

  Caleb nodded. He knew that Audrey meant the horses and view, but all he could think about was waking up next to her. That would be Heaven.

  She faced the windows again and took another drink of the beer. “This is seriously making me rethink my house,” she said with a laugh.

  “How long have you lived there?” Finally, something he could ask that didn’t make him think of sex.

  With her.

  Naked and sweating.

  And moaning in pleasure.

  Fuck. He needed to get himself under control.

  “Seven years,” she answered, oblivious to his internal dialogue.

  Caleb needed to be a gentleman. Audrey wasn’t just any woman. She wasn’t the regular kind that he hit on and had sex with. She was a friend of the family now, which meant that if he slept with her, he couldn’t walk away like he normally did.

  Otherwise, his entire family would be on his ass about it.

  “I don’t have much in the house to cook, but I think we can scrounge something up. And I can order pizza,” he offered.

  She lifted a shoulder. “I’m up for anything.”

  “How about a tour first?”

  “Please,” she said, her dark eyes shining.

  Caleb took her down the hallway where the bathroom was. He showed her the room he used as his office, which, oddly enough, was always kept perfectly neat and orderly.

  Next were the two guest bedrooms, and then the back room, which served as his theatre. With all the windows in the living area, it made it hard to watch TV sometimes.

  They retraced their steps to the kitchen where he took her past it to another hallway that led to the master bedroom and bathroom.

  No sooner were they inside his room than she walked to the windows. And all he could see in his head was him taking her, naked, right there.

  Chapter 18

  The view. Audrey kept telling herself to look at the magnificent rolling hills and the horses grazing, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Caleb.

  She even walked to the windows in his bedroom to put some distance between them. But all that did was remind her that they were in his room.

  With a very large bed.

  Caleb had been kind to her. He’d held her hand, yes, but did that mean he liked her? All he’d done was use that gesture to take her from one place to another. It wasn’t like they were on a date or anything.

  And as for her falling asleep on his leg, most likely, he was just being kind and didn’t want to disturb her. He could’ve gotten up at any time and walked away. But that wasn’t who Caleb was.

  In fact, now that she thought about it, he hadn’t done anything to suggest that he was interested. She’d gotten herself all worked up simply because Naomi had said something about the way Caleb was looking at her.

  Perhaps all the little things—like the long looks and the sexy smiles—were just that. Looks and smiles. Maybe Caleb did that to everyone.

  Audrey usually never hesitated to make the first move on a guy. For some reason, it made it easier when she wanted them out of her life. As if by her going to them, she then had the first right of refusal.

  It was silly, but it had become quite a habit.

  So it was crazy when she couldn’t even bring herself to flirt with Caleb. He and his family had done so much for not only her and Maddy but also for the horses.

  And to be honest, she wasn’t in the mood to be rebuffed in any way.

  The condensation from the beer wetted her fingers, turning the digits icy, so much that she had to switch hands. She wiped her damp fingers on her sweats. She’d chosen them because they flattered her figure, contouring her legs and clinging to her hips, but they weren’t as tight as yoga pants.

  Audrey fidgeted, trying to find something to say. Normally, she didn’t mind silence, but going in circles over whether or not Caleb might find her attractive was causing the quiet to drive her batty.

  “It’s a beautiful house,” she said.

  Caleb came up to stand beside her, one hand in his front pocket and his gaze out the window. “Abby says I’m a minimalist. I hate clutter, so I only put things in the house that I love.”

  “I think I’m more like you. I bought maybe three pictures,” Audrey said, thinking back. “Then Maddy moved in. The day after, she brought in all kinds of knickknacks.”

  Caleb’s head swung to her. “Did you like the items?”

  Audrey looked at him as she shrugged. “Some, yes. The majority, no. But I didn’t have the heart to tell her. She feels it’s her duty to act like a parent.”

  “She did mention something about making sure you eat,” he teased.

  Audrey rolled her eyes. “I tell her I eat, but in her eyes, if she doesn’t see me with food in my mouth, then I’m lying.”

  “Siblings, huh?”

  “Yeah,” she replied with a nod. “But I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

  Caleb took a long drink of beer. When he l
owered the bottle, his attention was once more out the window. “Abby still mothers me and Brice. It’s not her fault. For years, she was sister, mother, and father to us. It’s how I knew she’d be a great mom.”

  “How many kids do she and Clayton have?”

  “Three,” Caleb said with a grin full of love. “They’re the best.”

  Audrey couldn’t tear her eyes from him. He shared small details of his life, but just enough to make her hungry for more.

  “Do you want kids?” As soon as the words were out, Audrey wanted to take them back.

  “I don’t think so.” Then he looked at her. “You?”

  “I’ve never really considered it. I don’t hate kids.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “Well, that’s a good start.”

  She smiled and chuckled. “I suppose. I’ve just been so involved with work. My friends know better than to mention anything like that around me. For the longest time, they were on me and Maddy both, wanting to know who we were dating and if we were going to settle down.”

  Caleb nodded as he listened.

  Audrey frowned as she thought about those conversations. “Why is it that in this day and age, so many people still consider getting married and having children the only option? Look at the divorce rate. Has anyone pondered that perhaps everyone getting married is doing it with the wrong people?”

  “So you don’t want to get married?”

  His eyes were piercing as they carefully watched her. Audrey wasn’t sure if his inquiry was a trick question or not, but either way, the only option she had was to answer with the truth. If Caleb didn’t like it, he didn’t like it.

  “My parents had an amazing marriage. The kind you see in the movies, you know? I always said that if I decide to settle down, it’ll be with someone that I truly, madly love. I won’t take less than that.”

  Caleb lifted his bottle in salute. “Good for you.”

  “What about you?” Since she’d spilled her guts, she wanted him to do the same.

  He pressed his lips together and let out a long breath. “My parents never should have gotten married. Had my father not died, I’m not sure they would’ve stayed together. Or maybe that’s because I’m biased against my mother.”

  “As anyone in your shoes would be,” Audrey added quickly.

  “Abby wasn’t looking for love. Neither was Brice, and yet both my siblings found it. And I believe it’s the kind of love that’s real. The kind that lasts. The kind that people fight for every day and work to keep going.”

  “They’re so lucky,” Audrey said in a whisper.

  “Yeah. I suppose they are.”

  She pulled her eyes from Caleb and looked out the window. There were depths to Caleb that he didn’t let many people see, but she thought that maybe she’d gotten a brief glimpse. His smile and easygoing nature hid much. That was obvious.

  Then again, she hid a lot, too. She rarely told anyone much about herself. It was just easier to keep people at arm’s length if they didn’t know her.

  “Do you get lonely?” Caleb asked.

  “Yes. You?”

  “Yeah.”

  She switched the beer to her other hand and took a sip of it. “It always hits me when I least expect it.”

  “When you’re surrounded by others.”

  “Or late at night when I can’t sleep.”

  Caleb cleared his throat and shifted his feet as if he were uncomfortable with where the conversation was headed. “What about Maddy? Does she have someone?”

  “Maddy floats through life to the beat of her own drum. She does what makes her happy, and while I don’t always agree with it, it’s hard to argue the outcome when she’s always smiling. There was a guy a few months back. It got pretty serious, but one day, everything he’d given her was packed in a box, taped shut, and put in the garage.”

  One of Caleb’s brows lifted. “Did you ask?”

  “Of course,” Audrey said. “I wanted to know if I needed to go kick some sense into him or whether she left on her own. The fact she wouldn’t discuss it says that it was something bad. I keep hoping that, eventually, she’ll tell me, but I already know the truth. The guy broke her heart. Maddy is the most sensitive person I know. She let him in, gave him her love, and she was left to pick up the pieces.”

  “She seems to be doing all right.”

  Audrey lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Don’t we all do things to mask how we really feel?”

  “Good point. Most people do.” He turned to her. “You hungry?”

  “Sure.” Anything to turn the topic to something lighter or happier.

  They’d managed to traverse into deep waters, and while she hadn’t minded sharing with him—which was odd enough—she wasn’t sure why she hadn’t quickly changed the topic.

  Perhaps it was because there was a possibility that Caleb understood some of the things she had experienced. To reveal even a hint of pain was something she never did. Not even to her sister.

  Audrey told anyone who asked that she wasn’t lonely. How could she be when surrounded by people and horses all day?

  But it was a bald-faced lie. The loneliness went so deep that, at times, her heart physically ached. Not even that could stop her from discarding men as she did.

  Partly because, deep in her soul, she knew that they weren’t right for her. They were Mr. Right Now. But even that was getting old. She was tired of making up excuses not to see them again. She opted for lies rather than the truth because she didn’t want to be mean.

  Once in the kitchen, Audrey was surprised when Caleb pointed to a stool and told her to sit. She sat back and watched as he pulled out sausage and a box of pasta. As he worked, he began talking about the horse he was about to start working with.

  She knew what he was doing. Like her, he wanted out of the deep pool of thought they had been in. This conversation was light and easy. His smile was back as he glanced her way in between chopping onions and bell peppers.

  Audrey laughed and asked questions to keep the dialogue going. She was impressed by his skills as a cook. Obviously, the years spent with Abby had taught him not only how to be responsible, but also how to handle himself in the kitchen.

  He was no novice. Caleb moved as if he had been cooking for years. The expert way he chopped, to the ingredients that he threw together without ever looking at a recipe.

  Audrey could cook as long as she had something to guide her. Without a recipe, she wouldn’t know the first thing about what to put with what. It would be a disaster if she tried.

  As the aromas of the meal filled the kitchen, her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

  When Caleb turned to dish the meal into a bowl, it looked like something she would get in a restaurant. The spiral pasta and veggies were lightly coated with a Parmesan-garlic flavored sauce that made her mouth water.

  Caleb set aside the pots and grabbed his bowl to come around and sit beside her at the island. “During the cooler nights, I eat outside.”

  “You cook every night?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “It’s difficult to cook for one, but I do sometimes. We have Sunday lunch with Abby, Clayton, and the kids. The rest of the time, Brice, Naomi, and I trade off cooking.”

  “That sounds nice.”

  Caleb jerked his chin to the food. “Careful, it’s hot. And it is nice. Naomi is a photographer, so she’s not sitting in the house by any means. Her business has become so successful that she’s having a difficult time keeping up with demand.”

  “Is it hard working with your brother every day?” Audrey asked. “I’m sure there are fights and such. While Maddy doesn’t work for me, she’s almost like an assistant. She does little things to help me out.”

  “And do y’all fight?”

  Audrey grinned. “We’re sisters. What do you think?”

  “Exactly,” he said with a chuckle. “Brice and I argue. It comes with the territory. But at the end of the day, we’re brothers. We work it out.”


  “So did you mind when he and Naomi got together?”

  Caleb paused as he stirred the food and slowly shook his head. “Not even a little. She’s good for him. Naomi is exactly what Brice needed, just as he is what she needed.”

  “I love happy endings,” Audrey said and took a bite of the pasta.

  She closed her eyes and moaned at the explosion of flavor in her mouth. It was the most delicious meal she’d ever had.

  When she lifted her lids, she found Caleb staring at her, his expression unreadable.

  Chapter 19

  “Well?”

  Brice straightened from leaning against the stall and looked at his wife. He couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what she wanted. “Well, what?”

  “It’s been hours since Caleb and Audrey left.”

  Brice lifted his brows and nodded. “That’s right.”

  Naomi sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. “Brice Harper, you can’t tell me you didn’t see how your brother looked at her.”

  Brice adjusted his hat atop his head and rested his arm along the stall door. He’d spent the last hour and a half brushing down each of the horses. “Darlin’, you know I did, but you also know Caleb. There is nothing on God’s green Earth that would get him to commit to a woman. Not even someone like Audrey.”

  “What does that mean?” Naomi asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Someone like Audrey?”

  He shook his head. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m not falling into that trap again.”

  Naomi laughed as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I do love messing with you.”

  “Don’t I know it?” He gave her a quick kiss.

  “Seriously, though. You don’t think there might be something between them?”

  Brice pulled her against him so that her head rested on his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “I know you want Caleb to find someone.”

  “No,” she interjected. “I want him to be as happy as us.”

  “That doesn’t always happen, sweetheart.”

  “It could.”

  Brice looked at the stable roof. “I want nothing more for my brother, but I’m not sure it can happen. Even if the love of his life stopped him in his tracks, I still don’t think Caleb could get past his issues.”