Her Unforgettable Cowboy

by Debra Clopton

  The next summer when the river was up, she sneaked down to the water and experimented on her own. He’d been hotter than molten lava when she told him she’d taught herself how to roll—which was no small thing—and several other tricks of creek kayaking.

  But what could he do? There had been no stopping her. She’d had no fear of the water and she’d felt invincible.

  Until now.

  Staring into her clouded eyes, he realized he’d not had any idea how badly her brush with death on that river in West Virginia had affected her.

  He studied her face. “I knew it was bad,” he said, quietly. “But to make you afraid of the water? I can’t grasp that.”

  She gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, unbelievable. The girl you couldn’t keep off the water is now afraid to go near it.” She released a heavy sigh and rubbed her temples. “I can’t get things straight in here. My head is so messed up. I’m in jeopardy of losing my sponsors if I don’t get back out there soon.”

  Like the quick snap of a whip, anger ripped through him. “Don’t they understand what you’ve been through?”

  “I’m a professional. They pay me to compete with their logo on my shirts. I’m a billboard to them, and when I’m not on the water or doing press for an upcoming competition, they’re not getting their money’s worth out of me. It’s understandable.”

  “Understandable? Yeah, I understand. You nearly died! They should have some sympathy for that.”

  “They do, to a point. I have to be back by Christmas, ready to shoot a commercial and test a new kayak for my biggest sponsor. We have to leave the country to shoot it in a warm climate, so they have to start making arrangements.”

  He had to admit that her life was interesting. She grew quiet, staring at the river that was just barely visible from where she’d chosen to sit. “If you’re afraid to get in the water,” he asked gently, “how are you going to train?”

  “I’m still weight training, and I run each day before work.”

  “But you have to be in the water. You have to stay conditioned to it.” Even he knew that jumping back in without being sharp would be suicide.

  Jolie put her fork down. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to get back in the water, Morgan. I—I lost something when I was pulled under and I couldn’t come up. I left part of me down there. I’ve had close calls before—that’s part of the sport. This, this was different. It’s like I lost my heart beneath the water.”

  Her eyes were huge, haunted. And he reacted on instinct as much as anything else when he slipped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her into hug. She responded by laying her head on his shoulder. “It’s going to be all right, Jolie. Coming here, getting away from everything was probably a good idea. Distance sounds good to me.”

  It hit him that he could run with this. If he wanted her back in his life, then he could milk this for everything it was worth—and get her to stay here on the ranch.

  His own thoughts startled him. Did he want to do that?

  He still had feelings for her—he couldn’t deny that any longer. He might have buried them deep, but right now they were pounding at the steel plate encasing his heart.

  Could he finally have what he’d wanted six years ago? Could he talk her out of trying to go back to life on the water?

  His conscience pricked. This wasn’t the way he’d want to be with her, no matter how tempting the option was. It wasn’t honorable, and that was what he’d promised God he would be.

  “It’s going to be all right. You’re the toughest girl I know, and I’ve never seen anything keep you down or hold you back.”

  She straightened, lifting her head off his shoulder. “Thanks for believing in me. I’m just not sure if I want to continue.” Her beautiful green eyes shimmered. “I came back to reevaluate my life. And I’m not sure, Morgan, but I think I might have made a mistake when I left here six years ago.”

  A mistake? Morgan stared at her, shaken by the emotions richocheting inside him. His heart pounded as he tried to form a coherent string of words. None came. She thought she’d made a mistake when she’d handed him back his heart—did she get that? Did she get that she’d been holding his heart in her hands when she’d held that ring?

  He shot to his feet. “I have to check the horses,” he managed to say with reasonable calm. Then before he could say anything stupid, he strode away.

  There were moments in a man’s life when the best course of action was to keep his mouth shut.

  This was one of those moments.

  Chapter Ten

  Jolie’s words were on Morgan’s mind the rest of the week. After she’d dropped her bombshell, he’d gotten as far away from her as he could get.

  And he’d stayed clear ever since.

  Actually, he’d stayed clear of pretty much everyone. Because there were times a man couldn’t hide how angry he was.

  Four days after the drive, his dad met him coming out of his office.

  “All week you’ve been about as ornery as that stallion we sold last year. What’s bothering you?”

  “You brought her here,” he snapped, scowling at his dad. “What do you think?”

  Randolph raked his hand through his hair in frustration. “Look, I know this is a tough situation. Nonetheless, I’m trusting God that it’ll work itself out.”

  “That’s mighty good of you,” Morgan grunted, feeling no better for his father’s answer. He was the one who’d done this to him; he should be the one to fix it.

  “Morgan.” His father’s voice stopped him as he started to leave. “You’re going to need to forgive her, you know. For your sake.”

  Morgan kept on walking straight to his truck, started it up and drove. He just needed to go.

  Forgive her? His dad had no idea what Jolie had said to him. She thought she might have made a mistake. A mistake! So, what if she hung around here, he let her back into his heart and then—boom!—she realized that the water was pulling her back? Where would that leave him?

  Right back where you were when she left the first time.

  After what seemed like forever, he ended up at Tucker’s office in Dew Drop.

  His brother had chosen to run for sheriff after his tours of duty in Afghanistan with the marines were done. There wasn’t much happening in the tiny town, but there was still a need for the law since the county was fairly good-size. He had several deputies and Tucker led them well. He was steady as a rock and the brother Morgan went to when he needed good solid advice. Rowdy was more reckless—and the last thing he needed right now was reckless. Morgan entered the sheriff’s department and went straight to Tucker’s office, knocking on the open door. Tucker was pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Hey, Tucker, got a few minutes?”

  His brother grinned and held up the pot. “You are right on time. Want a cup?”

  “Do you have to even ask?” He walked in and took a seat in one of two hard-cushioned chairs. Tucker filled two black mugs and handed him one before taking his seat behind the desk.

  “How’s the situation going out there?” he asked, not one to beat around the bush.

  Morgan knew he meant Jolie. “Is it that obvious why I’m here?”

  Tucker hefted a shoulder. “You have that deer-run-over-by-a-semi-truck look. But then again, I’m trained to be observant.” He waved at the wall of credentials behind him and gave Morgan a wiry grin before taking a sip of his coffee. “Talk to me before you explode.”

  Morgan told him, in confidence, some of what Jolie had revealed to him. He needed Tucker’s black-and-white view on things. Even before he’d gone into law enforcement, Tucker had always had a clear view of the world around him.

  “That’s a tough one,” Tucker said, a slow whistle escaping him. “It must have really messed Jolie up if she’s thinking that way. Trauma has a way
of cutting deep. Changing a person.”

  Tucker had experience with this—he’d seen lots of action on hostile soil and lost comrades during an especially brutal attack. He had a slight limp from the bullet that had sent him home, and scars that he didn’t talk to anyone about. Not even Morgan.

  “She’s scared and she’s not sleeping well. Still, when the boys aren’t asking her to teach them to kayak, she’s herself. Well, almost. But I don’t know if I can—or want to—try again.”

  Tucker nodded although he didn’t interrupt.

  “But if I did, I could talk her straight into thinking quitting was the thing to do. Tucker, this fear could guarantee that she stay here on the ranch.”

  “Sounds like it.” Tucker’s brows met over serious McDermott blue eyes. He frowned. “You’d have it made.”

  Morgan set his coffee on the desk, stood up and crossed to the window, where he stared out at the main street in Dew Drop. From here he could see the Spotted Cow Café on the corner. When they were teenagers he’d bought plenty of pie there just so he could tease Jolie while she worked. She’d loved it. Life had been perfect then. He’d believed they had a future stretching before them.

  “I’d be lying if I said the thought wasn’t flip-flopping around in my head, and that’d be pretty pathetic.” He swung around as Tucker let out a gruff laugh.

  “Yup. So what are you going to do? No, what do you want to do?”

  Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “Hey, you’re supposed to be giving me some advice, not acting like a shrink.”

  “You’re doing fine on your own. So?” Tucker pressed.

  Morgan shook his head, hating what he was about to say. “She needs to get back in that water or she’s going to regret it for the rest of her life.”

  “I agree. Sounds like she needs help from a friend.”

  Was he that friend? Dropping his head, Morgan felt his chest squeeze tight. When he looked up, he met Tucker’s watchful eyes. “That water is what took her from me in the first place.”

  “Yeah.” Tucker’s eyes shadowed and he seemed lost in thought for a moment. “Life comes in circles sometimes. This might be rough.”

  Morgan just nodded, letting the truth settle in on him.

  “You can handle it. Morgan, she came back here for a reason. She could have gone to her family in Houston, but she came here. That says something to me.” Tucker looked down into his coffee cup for a few seconds, and then back up at Morgan. “When I was out there—when things were at their worst and I thought I was going to die before anyone could get me out—all I could think about was coming back here. Coming home. It wasn’t just the ranch. Don’t you get it, brother? Jolie came home. Maybe she doesn’t even know why, but she came. Give this to God and see where it goes. You only live once. Maybe you need to take a chance and have no regrets.”

  Morgan knew Tucker was right. But that didn’t mean doing what he suggested was going to be easy.

  In fact, it was probably going to be the hardest thing he had ever done in his whole life.

  * * *

  Days had gone by since the cattle drive and Jolie felt at loose ends since Morgan had walked away from their conversation. The boys had tried several times to get her to join in on other activities with Morgan, but she’d always managed to have something else to do, enabling her to make an honest excuse. The last thing she wanted to do was make Morgan uncomfortable again.

  It hadn’t taken any gifts of discernment to figure out he hadn’t liked what she’d said. The man had jerked to attention and stampeded to the farthest corner away from her—and he’d stayed there.

  She didn’t blame him really. She was confused herself. She hadn’t even meant to say what she’d said—the words had just come out, like they had a will of their own.

  But it had just felt so right, sitting there with him like old times. There had been such comfort in being with him, in telling him what she was going through.

  And then she’d gone too far.

  Exposed too much.

  Well, at least now she knew that her being back at Sunrise Ranch hadn’t softened his heart to her at all. It was good information for her to have.

  So this morning, she decided she’d throw herself into teaching to distract herself, and it was the perfect day for it—it was science day, and she was teaching the boys how to make a volcano.

  “A volcano!” Sammy exclaimed when Jolie told them what they were going to do.

  Not ever having taught science—or ever thought she would have to teach science—Jolie had been a little intimidated by the subject. But she was actually enjoying the class. She told them they were going to build the volcano with just a two-liter bottle of diet soda, sand and water. And they jumped right in, sculpting the wet concoction around the bottle, which not only resulted in the volcano but in a few muddy teens as well.

  After it dried, Joseph poked it. “Hey, that does look good. I hear they just foam a little, though.”

  “That’s why we’re going to add these candies to the soda. I read online that it will make things a little more exciting,” Jolie said with a wink.

  “Really? What’s it going to do?” Sammy asked, intent on the project. He’d become Jolie’s personal helper, and the happiness it seemed to bring him helped her heart.

  Smiling at them, she opened the Mentos candy. “Now, I’m ready to show y’all what happens when these two chemicals are combined.”

  “Let ’er rip!” Caleb yelped. He was so excited to see the eruption that he could hardly hold still.

  “Stand back, everyone,” she said, looking around the room. If anything, they all crowded closer.

  Wes backed up, giving her a wink. “Bombs away!” he called.

  Joseph gave her one of his thumbs-up and chuckled, “Let ’er rip.”

  The younger kids giggled with glee as she poured the entire tube of candy into the mouth of the volcano. It erupted instantly—spewing everywhere! Foam and gunk hit the ceiling and splashed down on everyone. Jolie yelled and the boys whooped in delight.

  And at that very moment, Morgan strode into the classroom.

  “What is going on?” he yelled above the laughter of the boys.

  “It exploded, Morgan! Look!” Sammy yelled, pointing at the ceiling and wiping liquid from his face.

  Morgan looked up just in time—a glob of foam fell right smack in the middle of his forehead. Eyes flaming, he wiped it off with his shirtsleeve and glared at her. And with good reason. The room was a mess.

  He’d avoided her all week, so why had he picked today of all days to show up?

  “I thought the volcano was supposed to spew a little,” she said. “I had no idea it was going to erupt like Mount St. Helens.”

  Just great. He was going to give her the worst-teacher-ever award. She knew this just made him think of the mishap during her student teaching.

  Hair dripping, she looked around the room. The boys stopped laughing and watched her warily, as if worried she was about to cry. She took in their expressions, and suddenly Jolie couldn’t help it—she laughed.

  Yes, she might look like an inept fool to Morgan, but this was funny. She laughed harder. The kids looked at Morgan and to her surprise, his lip twitched and then he, too, began laughing. And then the boys joined in.

  When the laughter died down, Jolie slipped her arm around Sammy’s shoulders, giving him a hug. “Now we have to clean up this catastrophe.”

  “We’ll help,” Caleb offered.

  Jolie grabbed paper towels and began wiping the sticky soda from the computers. Thankfully, she’d had sense enough not to set the volcano too close to them and the soda had only splattered on the keys.

  “So, were you trying to trump your classroom adventures as a student teacher?” Morgan’s voice was warm with teasing and his eyes warmer as he looke
d at her. But the tingle that raced up her spine was the warmest of all.

  “Just trying to keep things interesting.”

  He chuckled. “Always.”

  She stopped scrubbing computer keys and he stopped wiping the desk. Funny how that simple word affected her—always. What would always be like with Morgan? She’d given that up with him and yet she’d never stopped thinking about it.

  Standing with him so close, feeling the warmth of him and smelling the scent of his woodsy cologne, she began wondering full throttle about him, about feeling his arms around her and his lips against hers....

  Great, Jolie. Just great.

  “You almost missed all the fun, Morgan.” Joseph broke into her daydreaming.

  “Almost,” Morgan drawled, looking at Joseph. “Thanks for inviting me to come to the show. It was a bit more exciting than you’d said it was going to be.”

  So that’s why he was here.

  “If your teacher would read her instructions a little more closely, maybe things wouldn’t get so crazy.”

  “That would be boring!” Sammy defended her, and everyone agreed. “I didn’t even jump when that foam blew out of there,” he continued, big eyes beaming and smile flashing.

  “And that’s saying something.” Joseph gave him a teasing push on the arm. “You’re comin’ around, short stuff.”

  Goodness, Jolie loved these boys. In just a short few weeks they’d dug deep into her heart as if they’d been in her life forever. How had that happened?

  This feeling must be embedded in Morgan even more deeply, she realized.

  “Well, I guess I’d better get back to work,” Morgan said, making no move to go as his gaze latched on to hers again.