Cowboy Creed (Cooper's Hawke Landing Book 1)

by Rhonda Lee Carver

  And then there was Creed.

  To deny how he made her feel would only be lying to herself. The connection between them remained and grew stronger each time they were together. They could toss inflammatory insults at each other and a second later he would do something kind and big-hearted, like offering his coat because he knew she was cold. These acts of thoughtfulness were what drew her to him. Yet, what would happen if he knew about Jane? Would he forgive her? Could he?

  Chapter Nine

  KEEPING HIS EYES on the road ahead was a challenge with the beauty sitting next to him. Mindy was relaxed back in the seat, her boots off and her bare feet pressed against the dashboard. He wasn’t much into feet, but she had nice toes with bright pink painted toenails. She tapped her toes to the beat of the music and stared through the side window.

  He didn’t like talking about Melody with her. Or Branch. He felt a mixture of jealousy and humiliation when those two names crept up into the conversation.

  What right did Creed have to feel jealousy? He too had a child with another woman.

  Maybe those feelings stemmed from the life he’d wanted with Mindy. A family. A house on the west property.

  It was too late…

  Or was it?

  He stole glances between her and the road ahead, slowing the truck so he could stare a little longer.

  What the hell had he done?

  He’d allowed her to slip through his fingers.

  Why hadn’t he chased after her?

  Because he’d been so wrapped up in his immaturity that he’d been incapable of seeing outside his own pleasure bubble. He’d made the mistake of believing she’d always be around. That wasn’t the case.

  He inhaled deeply, trying to make heads or tails of his emotions. The task was almost impossible.

  Creed bereaved the loss of time they could have had together. The life they could have shared here in Cooper’s Hawk. She wanted him to sell her back a portion of Sage Ranch, but what he wanted was for them to share it together.

  And there it was.

  A part of him still believed they could be together.

  Since she’d come back, he’d noticed that the dark circles under her eyes were fading, the hollowness of her skin was now sun kissed. The light was returning in her eyes. That’s what this place did for people. She couldn’t deny that this place was where she belonged.

  He rubbed his brow and sighed. What if he could have Mindy as his wife? The attraction remained. The desire was stronger than ever.

  Creed didn’t just have himself to think about. His daughter mattered, what she wanted mattered. Although she probably didn’t think he cared. He loved her and wanted her to be happy.

  Looking up into the sky, the sun was starting to come up. This was his favorite time of day when the light pushed through the darkness. When a new day was at his fingertips. He’d been around the world and he’d never seen a better sunrise than those here in Montana. It took his breath away no matter how often he watched.

  He turned into the cracked asphalt lot of Hawke Landing but instead of pulling in front of the building, he continued the dirt lane that took them through the field of purple wildflowers and closer to the mountain. The truck rocked back and forth, and he slowed to ease over the bumpy landscape.

  Mindy dropped her feet and sat up straight. “Why are we here?”

  “You’ll see.” He tamped down her curiosity as he drove the truck along the mountain side until they came to a pull off next to a row of tall trees.

  “Let’s get out.” He grabbed a flashlight from the glove compartment and a blanket from the backseat.

  He met her at the front of the truck, grabbed her hand and led ger toward the trees.

  “Slow down,” she said.

  “We have to hurry. We don’t want to miss this.”

  He clicked on a flashlight and shone the light ahead of them as they followed a worn, rocky path he’d walked a hundred times.

  Creed still held her hand and she didn’t make a move to pull away from him. It felt nice to thread his fingers around hers, palms pressing to each other, as if they were more than just the history they’d shared.

  “How far do we have to walk?”

  “Patience,” he muttered.

  Her breathing was labored as they continued up the incline. “I didn’t realize I was in such bad shape.”

  “It’s the air. We’re almost there.”

  The path branched off and they steered left, then pushed through a line of trees. This took them into a small clearing.

  “No one comes here.” He laid the blanket over the large, flat rock where he’d come and sit for hours. “Have a seat. Then watch.”

  The fluid orange of the sun peaked up from the horizon. The rays crawled across the sky, slowly. It first appeared like a blaze and soon became an awe-inspiring golden ball bidding farewell to the darkness and hello to the new day. The view went for miles and if they looked closely, they could see Cooper’s Hawk, Sage Ranch and the Farm in the distance.

  “This is wonderful, Creed,” she said, still watching Mother Nature’s show.

  They sat on the rock at the edge of the cliff, holding hands, like they were kids again and feeling the excitement of what was to come. The feelings and desires rolling through him weren’t that of a child though.

  “No words to describe it, is there?” The sun was now up and lighting the pale blue sky.

  “It’s amazing. It’s like I could reach up and touch the sky.”

  “I told you it was worth the effort. I come up here as often as I can.” He squeezed her hand tighter.

  She lifted her chin to look over at him. A piece of her hair had fallen over her cheek and without a thought he reached and slipped the tendril behind her ear. Her mouth curved into a smile and her eyes were like windows into her soul. Had she felt the surge of electric that passed through them?

  Her hand came up and she wrapped her slender fingers around his wrist, staring at him with a host of emotions that he couldn’t quite read. “You shouldn’t touch me like that, Creed.”

  “Why? You said yourself that there’s something left between us.”

  She lifted her chin slightly. “That’s why you shouldn’t. You and I always had a problem with being impulsive and we’re not those dream-filled kids any longer. We’re adults with responsibilities. We can’t just think of ourselves and satisfying a need.” Her deep brown eyes burrowed into him.

  “Won’t you ever give love a shot again? Will you allow responsibility and excuses to keep you from being happy?”

  “Are you asking for personal reasons?”

  “Well I’m not asking for another man,” he huffed.

  Several seconds floated by. “My divorce was only final six months ago.”

  “But you said yourself the marriage was over long ago.”

  The tip of her tongue came out to sweep along the plush curve of her bottom lip. He wanted to help her with that, but he held himself steady. He swallowed the urgency to kiss her, flooded with all the other desires he’d felt since she’d arrived in town. The bond between them came in pulsating waves of need and urgency and growing stronger by the minute. An undying ache lingered in him, from guilt to wanting her back in his life. How had it happened so suddenly?

  He knew the reason. The love had never left.

  It was like a fire that had been left blazing all these years.

  She swallowed audibly. “What are we doing, Creed? We’ve been here and done this before and look where it got us? Do you even understand the depth of sadness and hurt I’ve endured?” Tears filled her eyes.

  Pain swept through him. “And you don’t think I’ve felt my own pain? Do you think it was my choice that we’d spend so long apart?”

  “For a man who speaks about pain you certainly couldn’t prove it by how long it took you to find someone to fill the void.”

  He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, wishing he could erase all the baggage. When he opened his eyes he saw one tea
r slip down her cheek. He swiped it away with a fingertip. “You have to forgive me at some point, just as I have to forgive you.”

  “Forgive me?” Her bottom lip trembled.

  “You did leave, Mindy.”

  She breathed in, all vulnerability gone. “I came back.”

  “I hear that, but why? If it was for me why didn’t you speak to me? I had no clue you were in town.” He swiped off his hat and pounded it against his thigh.

  “You’re right.” Her voice shook. “I should have. I didn’t know what to do though. I didn’t want to ruin what I thought was your happiness with Melody.”

  Confusion filled his head. What the hell? “Are you that daft? Do you think a couple of months could rid me of my feelings? Or even nineteen years. I loved you, Mindy. I might have been an idiot but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love you. When you left I told myself that it’d get better. That you and I weren’t meant to be. Hell, I might have even had myself convinced for a while, but the second you came waltzing back into Cooper’s Hawk I knew I’d been lying to myself. I might not deserve to have you as a lover, but damnit I want you as my friend. Can’t we find some stable ground to build us again?”

  “Creed…,” she whispered, bowing her head.

  “Mindy?” he said on an exhale of breath.

  “There’s a lot you don’t understand.”

  “Do you believe I chose not to come see you when you came back?”

  Hurt filled her eyes. “All these years I believed you chose not to show up.”

  She did that little move again, the tip of her tongue swept over her bottom lip. He growled as he tried to keep himself in check, but he couldn’t hold back any longer. He pulled her into him and lowered his mouth over hers, reveling in the way her soft lips felt under his searching touch. She tasted like fresh strawberries and smelled like heaven. He thrust deeper, exploring her with his tongue. She made a throaty moan as if she was submitting to the whirlwind of emotions. He wrapped his arm around her waist bringing her closer. She still wore his coat and it was an intrusion on their intimacy.

  He intensified the kiss, seeking something in her that he couldn’t quite understand but it was more than needing satisfaction.

  Her fingers dug into his arms, clinging to him, and then she moved her hands upward until they wrapped around the back of his neck. He could feel her ease into his arms, submitting to the desire she could no longer hide, and he could no longer ignore. Flashes of bright light warmed his blood, settling into his loins that were now gorged with need.

  Burying his fingers in her hair, he held her head as he kissed her cheeks, her ears, nibbling the row of diamond studs. She leaned her head back onto one shoulder, giving him access to the length of her neck. He kissed the silken skin, drawing his tongue over her.

  The flashlight dropped forgotten to the ground and he clutched the back of the coat, pulling her in. Her hands slipped from his neck and he dragged the thick material lower to bind her wrists. He lowered his mouth to the open neckline of the shirt, feeling her pulse thumping under his lips as he kissed the hollow between her collarbones.

  My God. She smelled and tasted so good.

  He undid one button then another until the tops of her firm breasts were exposed to his attention. He kissed the firm mounds, then suckled them. Her moans deepened and there on the rock on an edge of a cliff they found each other again.

  “Creed…” came his name on a moan.

  “Sweet, sweet, Mindy,” he groaned against the cleft of her breasts.

  “We. Must. Stop.”

  Stewing in his need, it took him a good five seconds to wrap his head around what she’d said. He lifted his chin, looking at her. Her eyes were glossy, and her cheeks were flushed. Her lips were rosy and moist from his kisses. “Stop?”

  “Yes. I’m not ready. We’re not ready.” If this was the truth, then why did her enticing eyes tell him something different. He wasted no more time and pulled away, releasing her.

  “Damn. Things got carried away.” He heard the unsteadiness in his voice.

  “For both of us.” She hurried to button her shirt.

  “I was thinking with something other than my brain. I haven’t done that in a while. Got so carried away I forgot the consequences,” he admitted.

  She reached up and wiped her finger across his lip. “You’re wearing my lip tint.” Her smile was shaky, but at least she was smiling.

  “We better get off this cliff. I have something else I’d like to show you.”

  Chapter Ten

  MINDY WATCHED CREED open the doors to the metal barn that sat next to the Hawke Landing building. He glanced back at her, looking like the young Creed again. His smile made his eyes sparkle.

  She wasn’t sure there was an underlying meaning to that look, but it unraveled her senses. Still reeling from the intense kiss they’d exchanged on the cliff, it wouldn’t take much to melt her into a puddle at this point. Why had she stopped him? She’d wanted him, more than she could ever admit, but fear lingered in her. How could she get closer to him without telling him the truth? How could she do that to him?

  Mindy had wanted to tell him. The time had come. The longer she was here in Cooper’s Hawk the stakes grew higher.

  What if he never forgave her?

  I loved you.

  Those words played on a reel inside her head.

  Creed stepped into the building while she watched with uncertainty.

  As much as she hated how cold he’d been after they’d made love at eighteen, she also realized he was young and so was she. They weren’t ready. She’d made mistakes too. Angry and hurt she’d left without saying goodbye to spite him but a tiny part of her had believed—wished—he’d come after her. Make things right between them. But he hadn’t.

  He’d taken accountability. He’d acknowledged his stupidity.

  So should she.

  If only she’d known that he loved her back then—loved her like a woman needed to be loved and not just as a friend. Her life would have taken on a different path. She’d loved him with all her heart and that would have never changed.

  He’d truly loved her. He said so himself. But he’d loved the old Mindy. The young, perky girl who thought she had life by the horns. Before she’d betrayed the man who owned her heart.

  Could he still love her?

  Care for her?

  Want her in his life?

  Lord help her, she wanted him to want her.

  But the secret between them was like a mine field.

  The look on his face when he divulged his feelings flashed through her mind. He had looked tormented. Hurt.

  Over the years she’d pushed her feelings for him aside. Reminded herself each day that if they were meant to be, they would have been. When she’d lost her mama she’d been scared, sad and fearful of what life would bring. She’d buried herself in figure skating and Creed had been there for her. Perception was twenty-twenty and clearly losing him had invoked many of the same feelings she’d felt when she had to grieve her mama. Grief was grief, and unfortunately, she’d never been good at finding closure. Branch had blamed her time and again that she didn’t give one hundred percent of herself in their marriage. Damn, he’d been right. She hadn’t given herself fully.

  “Mindy?”

  Pulling herself from her thoughts, she saw Creed motioning for her to come over. A little wobbly, she managed to walk the distance across the hay strewn floor to where he stood in front of a horse stall. Inside she saw a beautiful chestnut mare. “She’s magnificent.” Mindy reached through the slats of the door to pet the horse’s nose.

  “Her name is Maggie,” Creed told her.

  “I like that…Maggie. It’s like Maggie Blue.” When she was little her daddy had bought her a mare and she named her after her aunt Maggie. She’d been the best horse and Mindy would often sleep in the barn to be close. Unfortunately, she’d died from a ruptured aorta a few years later.

  “You should like it. I named her after her moth
er.”

  The air trickled from her lungs. “What? She’s a descendant of Maggie Blue? How? We didn’t keep any of her foals.”

  He unlatched the gate and opened it. “I was able to trace the foals, thanks to Rusty who never throws away any documentation. Fortunately, I was able to buy her from her previous owner. She’s one of the best members of the search and rescue team.” He platted her neck. “Aren’t you, girl?”

  She nuzzled her nose against his chest as if to show affection. “That’s exactly what Maggie Blue used to do.”

  “What do you think of her?”

  “I think she’s wonderful.”

  “I thought you would.”

  “It’s amazing that you have her now, Creed.” Tears brimmed her eyes. What was wrong with her? Why was she crying so much?

  “I’m not completely bad.” He smiled.

  “I never thought you were.”

  The radio buzzed from his belt. “Creed? You there?”

  He pressed the button. “Yes, Willow?”

  “We just got a call from Sheriff Conley about a missing child.”

  “I’m coming in now.” He shoved the radio back into his belt. “I need to get inside.”

  Mindy wasn’t sure what he wanted her to do, so she started for the truck.

  He chuckled and took her hand. “Come with me.”

  “Okay.” She had to practically run to keep up with his long strides. He held the glass door open for her that led into the office lobby. Willow was sitting at the receptionist desk and she stood when she saw Creed. Today she wore a pretty blue dress that complimented her skin tone and beautiful eyes.

  “What do you have, Willow?” Creed hung his hat on a hook just inside the door.

  “A missing female child.” Willow acknowledged Mindy with a quick smile. “Twelve years old. Her name’s Bailey Kenney. She was with family camping along Rock Ridge. Mom and Dad woke up this morning and she was gone from her tent. Her cell was left behind. They last saw her at around one A.M. last night.”