Carla's Cowboys

by Bella Settarra

  “Well if you say so, dear.”

  She needn’t have worried. Delores obviously didn’t think that way and she secretly admonished herself for thinking she would.

  “I’ll get it, you finish your meal,” Delores told her as the doorbell rang. She got up and went through into the shop.

  Carla enjoyed her warm bagel and the coffee was delicious. She thought how kind it was of Delores to let her finish hers—her bosses sure were a lovely couple.

  “Finished your breakfast?” Frank popped through from the storeroom.

  Carla nodded as she took the last swig of her coffee. “Just about.”

  “Think you could help me with something for a second? It’s heavy, mind, I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

  Carla was on her feet before she’d even swallowed. Frank showed her into the little storeroom which was packed from floor to ceiling with non-perishable goods of all kinds.

  “I need to get some of those light bulbs down from the top shelf,” Frank pointed. “Would you mind holding the ladder for me?”

  “Of course. Do you want me to go up?” Carla offered.

  “No it’s fine. I’d just feel a little easier if someone was holding the ladder, that’s all.”

  Carla nodded and held the ladder while he climbed up. She noticed his hands shake a little as he held the sides and he wobbled slightly at first but he was soon up and taking the box from the high shelf. He was as light as a feather, really.

  “Thank you. I knew it was a good idea to get another pair of hands around the place,” he told her when they’d finished.

  Carla felt very welcome and was glad to be of some help to the old man. “Well I’d best get out there and help Delores. I think I just heard the bell again,” she said as she made her way through to the back room.

  “There you are, I was looking for you,” Delores said with a beaming smile.

  “I was in the storeroom with Frank. He asked me to hold the ladder,” Carla explained, a little confused. She was worried that her boss thought she was skiving, but Delores was smiling too much for that.

  “It’s okay. Just that a certain young man came in asking for you. I went to fetch you through, but guessed you must be busy. He said he’d call back a little later.” Delores gave her a wink and Carla blushed.

  “Good morning, could you help me out with some rice?” An elderly man came straight up to the counter, just as Carla was desperate to ask Delores who the ‘certain young man’ was. She knew who she was hoping it was, but wanted to be sure. Now was not the time, though, as she went around to fetch a bag of rice from the bottom shelf at the other end of the shop.

  “Thank you so much, dear. I can’t bend down that far, you see,” the old man gushed when she got back to find Delores gone.

  After that the shop was manic, with customers coming in for all sorts of things. Carla was glad she’d made a mental note of where items were kept or she would have been all at sea. By the time it calmed down a little, Delores had her head stuck in the accounts, and Carla didn’t feel it would be right to interrupt her just to ask which handsome young man had come calling this morning.

  Her heart leaped when the door suddenly opened a while later and a man in a cowboy hat with bright green eyes strolled in.

  “Good morning,” he said cheerfully. He went around to the left-hand aisle and started perusing the shelves.

  Carla felt a huge thud in her stomach. She had dreamed about this guy all night, thought about him every waking minute and now he hardly even spoke to her! He looked as gorgeous as she remembered, and she noticed he had even had a shave today. She liked that look just as much as the stubble. He didn’t look up at her again, just kept selecting his shopping as if she wasn’t there. She felt disappointed and hurt. She was also beginning to feel a little annoyed at his sudden change of attitude. What have I done wrong? As she searched her brain for the answer the doorbell rang again.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” Aiden Fielding swaggered up to the counter offering her a small bunch of flowers. “These are for you.”

  Carla grinned. She loved flowers but had never been given any from Jerome. Aiden was a good-looking guy and he had a definite twinkle in his eye as he smiled at her. Although she was disappointed in the way Matt had greeted her this morning, she was really touched by Aiden’s response.

  “Thank you so much. These are lovely,” she said, taking the small posy from him.

  “And so are you.” Aiden grinned.

  “Thank you.” She blushed. She was deeply flattered, although a nagging thought at the back of her mind wished it was Matt Shearer who was paying her so much attention.

  “Have dinner with me tonight?”

  Carla was stunned. “Well…I…” she glanced over the shelves and saw the gorgeous guy staring at her. For a fraction of a second she thought Matt was going to speak, but then he looked away. Fine. If that’s how you want to play it… “I’d love to,” she said, giving Aiden her best smile.

  “Great.” He grinned. “I’ll pick you up from here. What time do you finish?”

  “Six o’clock.”

  “I’ll be here,” he promised. “By the way, where are you staying? No one seemed to know last night.”

  Carla gaped at him for a second. She was sure Frank had said it was Matt who was asking about her last night. He must have got confused. They were both good-looking cowboys, after all.

  “The Melrose Motel,” she told him with a smile.

  Aiden nodded. “Great. I’ll see you later then, beautiful.”

  Carla couldn’t help smiling at his bright, shiny face. He was fair and had big blue eyes. He was just over six feet tall, the same as Matt, and had the same beefy stature which she loved.

  She thought he was about to leave, when he startled her by leaning over the counter and giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. “Until tonight,” he murmured with eyes full of promise.

  The doorbell had rung again but Carla didn’t look up. She was too busy gazing into the handsome face in front of her. His lips were sweet and she licked hers to prolong the flavor. He winked at her as he turned and left. Carla put the flowers on the bench behind the counter with a smile. When she turned back to attend her next customer her face fell.

  “Good morning.”

  She felt another gigantic thud in her stomach as she gazed into two huge green eyes, which stared accusingly at her. As her brain struggled to compute she watched the guy walking slowly toward her.

  “M-Matt?”

  “Hi, Carla.” His face was taut as he stared at her, and she didn’t like to see the hurt in his eyes.

  “B-but I thought…”

  The man came up to the counter and stood next to Matt. Now that they were both together she could tell that the guy who she had first seen had a slightly more serious demeanor about him. Matt, who had appeared really lighthearted and fun yesterday, looked withdrawn and hurt today. Damn!

  “You’re twins!” she blurted out.

  “That’s right, ma’am. I’m Dyson Shearer, pleased to meet you,” the first guy said, offering her his hand.

  She placed her trembling palm into his, and enjoyed the size and warmth which enveloped hers, just as Matt’s had yesterday.

  “Um. Pleased to meet you. I’m Carla Burchfield. I’m sorry, I thought you were…”

  “Me,” Matt said through gritted teeth.

  “Yes.”

  She withdrew her hand from Dyson’s, feeling stupid and awkward. Matt was still staring at her and she didn’t know what to say. She was getting a fuzzy feeling in her stomach just looking at the two hot guys, but she knew they weren’t happy with her. Why? Because I was asked out by someone else and said yes? Is that such a crime? After all, neither of you guys bothered to ask me! Her guilt soon turned to anger and she straightened her back and stared back at Matt.

 
“Why didn’t you tell me you were a twin?” she demanded, sick of feeling bad over something that wasn’t her fault.

  “Why would I? Did you discuss your family with me?” His voice was low and his face was sullen.

  “Does it matter?” Dyson asked, placing a couple of cans on the counter.

  Glad of something to do, Carla rang them up straight away.

  “No,” she said, giving Dyson the change. “It just would have saved some confusion, that’s all.”

  “You didn’t look very confused when you were kissing Aiden Fielding.” Matt had a face like thunder as he spoke.

  Ire rose in Carla’s body until she almost burst. At the last minute she remembered where she was and turned her voice to a low murmur. “Is that a problem to you?”

  She watched a flare spark in his eyes and for a split second thought he was going to yell at her. He, too, must have realized his whereabouts at the last moment as he practically whispered, “Why would it be?”

  Now it was Carla’s turn to be hurt as she gasped and stared at him. She watched him swallow hard before he turned and both brothers left the shop without another word.

  Carla was so busy staring at the closed door that she didn’t notice Delores come through. “Was that Matt Shearer again?” She threw Carla a knowing look but her face fell as she must have realized that Carla wasn’t smiling. “Oh, honey, what’s wrong?”

  Carla thought she was going to cry but she took deep breaths to prevent it. “Nothing. I’m fine,” she lied.

  Delores frowned then her eye caught the flowers on the bench. “Are these from him? Has he asked you out? He said he was going to. Where’s he taking you, somewhere nice I’ll bet?”

  Carla felt sick. It was obvious that Delores knew the guy had feelings for her, and she wondered just what had been said earlier. When she’d seen Aiden she’d assumed it must have been him who came by this morning, especially when the guy she thought was Matt practically shunned her. What a complete mess!

  Chapter Five

  The rest of the day went really slowly for Carla. Guilt and remorse took residence in her gut and she found it hard to think straight. Twice she made a mistake on the cash till and Delores had to come through and sort it out. The older lady said she didn’t mind, but Carla was sure she must have been having regrets about hiring her now.

  At lunch time, Carla had taken a sandwich from the café in the next street and gone for a walk toward the meadow. She picked a secluded spot to eat her meal, not daring to venture anywhere near the diner.

  Her mind raced and she dreaded the sound of the doorbell all afternoon. She looked up each time the door opened, but none of the men on her mind showed up in the shop.

  She liked Aiden Fielding. He was a handsome guy and very attentive. Any girl would be lucky to go out with him, she told herself over and over. And Matt hadn’t asked her out. He hadn’t even come to see her until later in the day. She shouldn’t feel bad about Matt, it didn’t make sense. The way he had made her feel yesterday—and last night—was totally different to how he reacted to her today. She was cross with herself for feeling so damn guilty. After all, she wasn’t Matt’s girlfriend, was she? She’d only met him yesterday!

  She quickly reapplied her lip gloss and combed her hair as soon as she finished work and went outside to find Aiden waiting for her. He had a clean shirt and Levis on, and wore a brown hat which matched his boots. He really was lovely, and he smelled good, too.

  “Hi,” she said, as brightly as she could. It wasn’t that hard, this guy looked great.

  “Hi, beautiful. I didn’t come in the shop in case I got you into strife with your boss.” He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, before putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her to his pick-up.

  Carla was sure that he must have washed his car today, as trucks in these parts were always covered in a couple of dozen layers of dust. She climbed in with a smile.

  “I know a great little place to eat,” he told her as he gunned the engine, “I hope you’re hungry.”

  “Oh, I am,” she assured him.

  They stopped in another little town Carla didn’t know and went into a lovely restaurant with views of a lake.

  “This is wonderful,” she told him as they were shown to their table. She felt a little underdressed in her jeans until she noticed that everyone else was dressed casually, too.

  She sipped a glass of white wine while they waited for their meal.

  “How long are you planning on staying in Cavern County?” Aiden asked.

  Carla felt herself flush. She didn’t know the answer to that one. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to see how things go.”

  He smirked. “And if things go well will you be sticking around a while?”

  Carla realized what he meant and gasped. “Um. I mean…I’m not sure.” She felt herself go even hotter.

  He chuckled. “I see.”

  How could he see? She felt a little annoyed at the knowing look he was giving her. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him that actually it didn’t matter how well they got on, she wouldn’t be hanging around too long anyway. She wasn’t safe enough to settle down yet, but at least she felt secure enough to take a breather and decide where to go from here. And besides, she was fast running out of money.

  The meal was delicious and she changed the subject by asking him all about himself.

  “I was born and raised on the Fielding Ranch,” he told her. “Been in the saddle all my life.”

  Carla smiled, deciding against making a comment about how sore his butt must be by now. “You obviously enjoy it then?”

  “Yes, ma’am. My daddy used to take me on treks up in the mountains all the time when I was growing up. And momma was so patient with us.” He smiled.

  “Do you have any other family working there?” She asked as she finished her steak.

  He nodded. “I’ve got an older brother and a younger sister. Ben doesn’t live on the spread anymore, says he prefers his independence, although he still works there. He left home to go to college in Wyoming, but now he lives just outside of town. Josie still lives at home in the big house with her husband, Greg. He helps out with training the horses—darn good he is, too, if I’m being honest. She’s great with figures and always has her nose in a book, although she loves to ride, too.”

  “Do you live with them, then?” Carla asked as the waitress cleared away the plates.

  “Nope. I’ve got a small cottage on the spread. Get the best of both worlds that way—independence and a good home-cooked meal whenever I want one. Josie learned all about cooking from our momma.” He smirked as he handed her the dessert menu. “They do some great sweets to share,” he told her when she shook her head.

  “What’s your favorite?” She blushed slightly, wondering if it was obvious she had a really sweet tooth.

  “Well now let’s see.” He studied the back of the menu. “This sundae’s a lot of fun. Profiteroles, ice cream, chocolate cake, candy, all wrapped up in whipped cream with chocolate sticks poking out the top.” He grinned and she wondered if her eyes had just lit up.

  “Sounds lovely,” she admitted.

  “We’ll have a ‘Decadent Delight’ with two spoons, please,” he told the waitress.

  The dessert was everything she had hoped it would be—and lashings of it. They started tentatively scooping the cream and ice cream from the top, but things got a little more challenging when they had to ‘cut’ into the choux pastry and cake.

  “You hold it still and I’ll cut,” he told her after she’d chased a profiterole around the dish for a few minutes.

  She giggled. His system finally worked and he scooped up a mouthful and surprised her by offering it to her to eat. She bit into the soft pastry and the cream burst into her mouth. Carla couldn’t avoid the moan which escaped her throat, making Aiden
smile even more.

  He reached over and she felt him trail a finger around her lip, where she had spilled some chocolate sauce. He held it up for her then proceeded to poke his finger into her mouth where she licked it clean. The innuendo was lost on her at first, then the glint in his eye alerted her to it, as his finger toyed with her tongue. Without thinking she bit down hard and he yelped as he pulled his sore digit from her mouth.

  “I’m so sorry,” she gasped, suddenly aware of what she had done. She had been so shocked that it was an automatic reaction.

  “It’s okay,” he said, shaking his hand and examining the damage.

  Carla was mortified at first but then she had to try hard to keep from giggling. It suddenly seemed hilarious, especially with the shock on his face. She assumed that girls usually flirted back with him when he did things like that—not bit him!

  She clenched her lips tightly together, trying to keep a serious expression when he looked up at her in surprise.

  “You’ve left teeth marks,” he told her, a little indignantly.

  That did it. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she burst into laughter, and the more she tried to conceal it, the worse it got. Her whole body was rocking and she had to hold her stomach as her sides began to ache. To make matters even worse, Aiden stared at her in horror. She put her hands in front of her face and tried to choke back the giggles, but it just seemed to exacerbate the situation.

  “Are you laughing at me?” He sounded offended and she tried very hard to look sorry, but then the twinkle in his eye told her that he was only joking and he burst out laughing with her.

  No longer able to finish their pudding, they abandoned their efforts and just sat rolling in laughter for the next few minutes. Carla couldn’t remember a time when she had had so much fun, and she felt lighter than air as people glanced over from the other tables to see them both wiping their eyes with mirth.