His Cowgirl Bride

by Debra Clopton

  They stared at each other, locked in a battle of wills. No doubt he would see the light. The man was smart. Surely his common sense would kick in and he would realize this was different from when he’d allowed his sister to climb up on the back of an unbroken horse.

  After a tension-filled moment, he stepped back. “What I do with the colts is not your concern. You aren’t—”

  That did it! “You are a real piece of work, cowboy,” she snapped, taking a step toward him, invading his space this time. “Here I thought you had a brain and maybe a heart, but you’re just closed-minded and selfish!” Turning away, she stalked toward her truck but spun back to face him again. “I can ride those colts. And even if I were to get on one and get thrown on my backside, it would be better than being too afraid to give it a go. You know what you are, Brent Stockwell? You’re a chauvinistic chicken!”

  She stormed to her truck and fumed all the way home. She felt childish and validated at the same time. She didn’t like anything about this. Not one single thing.

  Despite his foul mood, Brent stayed after church the next day because Norma Sue wouldn’t hear of him leaving. They were eating and then playing volleyball—and she was determined to get Brent to participate.

  He’d never seen so much food in all his life, but Applegate assured him that come next week at the churchwide Thanksgiving dinner, there’d be twice the food. Brent probably wouldn’t see that spread, but he didn’t tell App. Instead, he piled his plate full, carried it over to a table and sat down. His gaze drifted across the fellowship hall to the table where Tacy sat with a group of women around her age. She was laughing, and hearing it made his stomach roll over like the first time he stuck his boot in the stirrup of a rodeo bronc. He’d instinctively known what to do with that bronc…. He didn’t have a clue what to do with Tacy, and it was driving him crazy.

  Unlike him, she seemed to be having a great time today. When she’d left his house the day before, she hadn’t been happy—oh, no, the redheaded troublemaker had been hotter than a firecracker on the Fourth of July. And despite everything—every harsh word he’d said to her—it had bothered him all night long. She was under the wrong assumption that he enjoyed denying her something she wanted so much. She had no idea what havoc she was causing within him.

  Seeing her happy now gave him pause. Was everything about their relationship—what little they had and however odd it might be—purely a ruse to get on a horse’s back? The thought plagued him like a nail in his boot. He understood perfectly that it bothered him because he wanted her to feel something for him that went far beyond getting her way.

  As if feeling his eyes upon her, Tacy looked his way and held his gaze for a second. A second that stilled his heartbeat and stole his breath.

  He was floundering, and he knew it.

  He was supposed to be training horses, and all he could think about was a green-eyed gal with copper-colored hair and a fiery determination that drew him like a flame. Tacy Jones was becoming important to him, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

  “She’s a complex piece of work, isn’t she?”

  Brent pulled his head out of the clouds and stared at the cowboy who’d just taken the chair beside him. It was Jess.

  Brent stared at him, not sure how he was supposed to answer. He kept his mouth shut so Jess could clarify it on his own. At Brent’s hard stare, the cowboy glanced toward Tacy and shrugged.

  “I’m just saying she’s a puzzle. I can’t figure her out, though I’m trying my best. You’re looking at her like you’d like to—” He paused.

  Brent’s mood went south with that pause. “To what?” he asked, the edge to his voice as sharp as the way his temper had spiked.

  Jess’s brows dipped. “Hey, nothing bad implied here, so back down, man. All I’m saying is, you look like you want to get to know her, too. She’s great. Who wouldn’t want to be the guy to get past that barrier she’s put up to block us out?”

  Brent’s temp backed off a few degrees. Maybe he’d jumped to conclusions he shouldn’t have, but the thought of this cowboy or any other even thinking about Tacy didn’t sit well with him. Not caring to continue the conversation with Jess, he picked up a forkful of stuffing and rammed it into his mouth.

  Brent knew he was attracted to Tacy on a physical level, but it went deeper than that. She had this uncanny way of knowing what he was thinking—that irritated and intrigued him at the same time. It got him to thinking about things. How did she do that? Like her telling him he needed to go home for Thanksgiving. Tacy had picked up on that instantly.

  His mom’s reaction pricked his conscience. It wasn’t her fault he’d chosen the wrong path—the way of booze and women—when he’d had everything going for him. It wasn’t her fault he’d let his wilder side kick in rather than sticking with the good upbringing he’d been given. It was something he would regret for the rest of his life—and not something he wanted to think about right now. He pushed aside those thoughts and concentrated on the food on his plate. He was staring at his sweet potatoes when Jess elbowed him in the side.

  “Seems like one of us is ahead in the game.”

  Brent glared at him. “What are you talking about?”

  The cowboy jerked his head in Tacy’s direction. “She keeps stealing glances this way and, sadly, it’s not me she’s looking at. Matter of fact, I don’t even think she’s noticed I’m sitting here beside you.”

  Brent slid his gaze Tacy’s way. Sure enough, she shot him a quick, penetrating glance. Her eyes were clear as a green flame and he felt the burn all the way across the room. It left no doubt that she was just as mad at him today as she’d been yesterday.

  “Nothing new there,” he said to Jess. “She’s just mad at me. Again.”

  “Hey, don’t sell that short. At least that’s got her attention. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of the sassy side of her, but that glare you just got—well, that’s one hundred percent, pure-grade emotion right there. That’s priceless.” Jess stood and grabbed his plate. “I wouldn’t waste it if I were you.”

  Jess’s observation was not lost on Brent. Still, the cowboy had no idea what kind of eggshells he and Tacy were treading on. He looked her way again, but she’d gathered her plate and glass and was telling everyone goodbye. He watched her walk to the trash and head out the door. He couldn’t pull his eyes from her.

  He had a problem. What he wanted to do about this unexpected complication was the question he had yet to answer.

  “Birdy, where are you?” Tacy walked into the barn and wasn’t greeted by the familiar bark. Rabbit, though, poked his head over the stall gate and gave her a welcoming snort.

  She paused in her search to gently scratch him between the eyes. “Hey, boy, how’s it going? Have you seen our little mama-to-be today?”

  The horse pawed the ground and batted his big eyes at her.

  “Too bad I can’t understand that answer,” Tacy said, continuing on to peek into the other stalls. They were empty. Anxiety was slowly creeping into her mind. She should have stayed home from church this morning. Birdy had been wearing a look that said today was the day. Not being able to find the expectant mother now had her worried. If she hadn’t been so concerned, she’d have been glad for the distraction from her convoluted thoughts about Brent.

  “Birdy, come on, girl, where are you?” she called as she walked across the yard toward Brent’s cabin. She wanted to find her blue-heeler and get her home before Brent showed up. That had been part of the reason she left the lunch early. She was worried about Birdy, but also if she’d stayed any longer she might have gone over to Brent and made a fool of herself in front of the entire church congregation.

  The sound of a truck gave her a sinking feeling just before Brent drove around the curve and came over the cattle guard. She should have known he’d leave the volleyball game early. She’d kinda hoped Norma Sue would trap him on the sand and not let him go. But, no, the man just couldn’t help but find new ways to mess up her l
ife.

  Her knees felt shaky as he got out of his truck. “I’m looking for Birdy,” she said more hastily than she’d intended. “Did you see her before you left for church this morning?”

  “I saw her head into the barn. Did you look there?”

  “Yes. I was about to look behind the cabin. I’m thinking she’s ready to give birth, and now I’m worried because I just assumed she’d have her babies in her bed. I put soft towels in there for her and everything.”

  “Let me help. She might have decided to hide under the house. When I was growing up, we had a dog that had several litters of pups under the shed.”

  “I can do it on my own,” Tacy said, heading toward the side of the small cabin and crouching down to stare under the dark building.

  Brent dropped down beside her. “Good thing about the cabin is the blocks aren’t too low to the ground.”

  She stared at him. Had he not heard a word she’d just said? “Really, Brent, I’ve got this. You probably have horses to ride.” Okay, so she was cranky. Sue her.

  He pulled his head out from under the house and met her glare with dancing, teasing eyes. “What I’m going to do is go get a flashlight.”

  Fuming, she watched him stand and saunter off. She didn’t want his help. She was half-afraid of her crazy self—the one who kept thinking about the kiss they’d shared. The same side of herself that kept tossing around images of the two of them growing old together. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

  Them as a married couple. Ha! They wouldn’t last a month.

  “Birdy, are you under here, girl?” she called, more than anxious to find the missing dog and get the show on the road back to her place. The cabin wasn’t that large, but she couldn’t make out anything in the murky darkness.

  “See anything?”

  She jumped at the sound of Brent’s voice so close. “Don’t do that! You scared me!” she exclaimed.

  He grinned and dropped down beside her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  “Oh, try that one on someone who doesn’t know you, mister.”

  “So you admit it.” He laughed, sending little jolts spinning across her skin.

  “Admit what?”

  “That you know me.”

  She sat back on her haunches. “Well, in a manner of speaking. You are my neighbor. We have argued a lot.”

  He leaned forward on his knees, his eyes dropping to her lips. “Yep. We’ve argued, all right. Kind of fun, isn’t it?”

  Tacy’s heart was pounding out of control. Just another couple of inches and they could be kissing again—Whoa! What was she thinking? She slammed a shaky hand down on his shoulder. “Back up, cowboy. I don’t think we’re on the same page here.”

  His gaze lifted to hers. “Oh, I think we are and you know it.”

  The chemistry sparked between them like a grass fire in July. “W-w-well,” she managed, having to swallow hard because her throat had gone dust-bowl dry. “Wha-what I do know is that Birdy needs us to find her.” There, she’d managed to turn the conversation back on target. Not an easy thing to do when all she was thinking about was the feel of his lips on hers.

  Brent was a fool. He knew it, but that wasn’t stopping him from pushing Tacy. He was losing it because if she was smart—and she was—then she’d take his obvious attraction to her and use it against him to get what she wanted. It was a very slippery slope he was treading on.

  Yanking his head out of the clouds, he bent and shone the light under the dark house. “She’s not on this side,” he said, feeling Tacy’s shoulder against his as she leaned forward to look. He kept his gaze straight ahead and told himself to stop pushing the issue of their attraction. “Let’s go around to the other side.” He hopped up and headed that way without waiting for her to respond. Putting distance between them was a smart move.

  “Do you think there’s another place she would have gone?” Tacy asked at his elbow.

  “Did you check that shed in the woods between your place and mine?”

  There was a trail that ran through the woods between the two spreads but Tacy always drove to the cabin and never walked through the woods. The old shed hadn’t crossed her mind. “No, I didn’t think about it. Let’s look on this side and then head out there.”

  He nodded, hiding a smile. She’d just taken charge. Gone was the vulnerable woman he’d glimpsed a minute before when she was clearly torn over her attraction to him. This Tacy was the one who would do whatever she needed to get him to let her break a horse. The thought gnawed at him as he led the way to the other side of the house: could he keep standing up to her when he was also falling so hard for her?

  He figured he would owe Birdy dog treats from here ’til her pups were grown and gone for giving him this excuse to spend time with her without fighting. But he was under no illusion that things between him and Tacy would ever run smoothly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “There you are,” Tacy said, staring into the dark corner under the shed where Birdy had chosen to hide. It was too dark to count all the pups, but from what she could tell by the beam of the flashlight it looked like about five.

  “She definitely chose to have her babies in seclusion,” Brent said.

  He was leaning down beside Tacy, and they were sharing space gazing beneath the shed. Tacy pulled back and sank to the ground next to him. “What next? Should I crawl under there and pull them out?” She hated tight spaces, but if she had to do it she would.

  He rose to one knee and crossed his wrist on top of it, letting the flashlight dangle. “No, if there is any crawling to be done, I’ll do it. I’m just thinking it might be easier if I go grab a shovel and dig in from the side. If I don’t, this old building is so close to the ground I might get stuck and you’d leave me there.” He grinned at her and lifted his brows.

  Tacy bit back a smile. “Now, why would you think I’d do something like that? Payback, maybe?”

  “I’ve been on the receiving end of your meat-loaf offer, that’s why.”

  She laughed at that. “You were so easy.”

  “You looked too innocent. I never suspected you’d do something so devious.”

  “Hey, a girl’s got to have some fun sometimes.” She matched his smile with one of her own and for a moment the tension between them dissipated. They were like an on/off switch, Tacy thought. It felt nice, though. More than nice—it felt hopeful. Hopeful of what? The question brought her up short. “You need to grab that shovel,” she said, drawing back from the brink of letting her guard down with him. She’d done that too many times, only to have him be more than uncooperative. It wasn’t happening again. The man would be bossing her around and telling her no within the hour, no doubt. There were only two things she and Brent Stockwell could do well—argue…and tease. Okay, three. But she definitely wasn’t going there…

  “You sure are lost in thought,” Brent drawled, giving her a half grin that made him look as dashing as George Clooney in a cowboy hat.

  Tacy reeled in her runaway thoughts, giving him a stern stare. “The shovel,” she said, pointing in the direction of the barn.

  His half grin bloomed into a full-blown, knee-knocker of a smile. “You were thinking about me, weren’t you?”

  “Don’t get your hopes up. Now are you going to grab that shovel or am I?”

  He laughed, and then, to her total and astounded amazement, reached out and tapped her on the nose.

  “I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.”

  She watched him jog away through the woods and sighed long and slow. What was it between them? They’d been so ticked at each other yesterday that she shouldn’t have given him the time of day today. What was she doing? Why she was flirting with him like a great second date?

  She was still wondering a few minutes later when Brent came back with a shovel and a box lined with a towel.

  “I thought we might need this,” he said, handing the box to her. “Miss me?”

  “Like a migraine.”

  He grinned an
d strode past her. “Yep, you missed me,” he said, then rounded the corner out of sight.

  Instead of following him, she dropped to her stomach and started talking to Birdy, who was a bit unnerved about the sounds the shovel made as Brent went to work.

  “How’s our little mama doing?” Brent called from around the corner.

  “Same as me. Not too happy with you right now. I think she feels threatened. My girl is smarting up about you finally.”

  “Hey, not nice. I’m almost there.”

  “Uh-huh, I see daylight from this end.” As light appeared beside Birdy, Tacy tried to soothe the dog’s nerves. “It’s okay, sweetie. We just want to help.”

  Birdy nudged and licked her babies nervously as Brent’s hand appeared. She continued to speak to Birdy as he scooped dirt from the area, tunneling out enough so that he could reach for the pups. “Brent, I think you’d better start talking to Birdy before you stick your hand any closer,” she warned. “Being a protective mama, she might decide to take a bite out of you.”

  His low chuckle rumbled softly through the musky darkness. “Boy, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

  She couldn’t help smiling. “There have been moments,” she tossed back, “very well-deserved moments.”

  Instead of a comeback, she saw the top of his head come into view behind Birdy. He began talking soothingly to her and the pups. From Tacy’s position, she saw Birdy lean back and look at him, her tail thumping wildly. He’d sweet-talked the dog out of all her anxiety that fast. With a sigh, Tacy rose and walked around to find Brent on his belly, his head and one arm hidden beneath the building. It hit her then that he still had on his dress shirt and what looked like new jeans. But that didn’t stop him from crawling in the dirt to help her dog.