Dearest Cowboys Box Set

by Mia Brown

  “Yes, you should ask someone out. Come on, we’re living in the twenty first century now. There’s nothing wrong with asking a guy out. And you’re gorgeous, Dallas. Guys will go crazy over you. You’re like every guy’s dream. I doubt there is one guy out there that would turn you down.”

  “Oh, you’re exaggerating. Thank you for the compliment, but it’s not entirely accurate.”

  Madison groaned. “Will you promise to at least try? Come on, just for me?” she pleaded.

  “Okay, fine. I will think about it,” I told her. I wasn’t going to think about it but I wanted to shut her down. I had work to do and I was a bit tired of talking about my non-existent love life. It was easy for Madison. She had a natural affinity towards relationships that I didn’t seem to have. What came easy to her simply didn’t come easy to me and she couldn’t understand it.

  She scoffed. “Ha, I doubt you will, but I will keep reminding you.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you will,” I said.

  I heard a rap on the door and I got up to see who was there. It was a delivery man with another huge bouquet of flowers, even bigger than the ones on Madison’s desk. I was certain it was for Madison, probably Jack’s idea of being romantic. How many more flowers would be coming for her that day? Was I going to have to sit in an office with more flowers than anything else? I imagined Madison lost in a sea of flowers at her desk. I signed for them and took them straight over to her.

  “More flowers,” I said.

  “More flowers? But I already have some,” she said. “Hey wait, these aren’t for me. They’re for you.”

  I turned around in surprise. “What do you mean?”

  Madison grinned. “Look, the note is for you.”

  I went over to her desk to take a look at the flowers. She was right. The note had my name on it, but nothing else. I glared at her.

  “Is this your idea of a joke?”

  “What?”

  “Are these from you?”

  “No, I swear, Dallas, they’re not from me. Ooh, who do you think they’re from?”

  “I have no idea,” I said. I ran out the door and called the delivery man over before he drove off again. “Sorry, do you know who these flowers are from? There’s no name on them.”

  The man looked at his board, but then shook his head. “Sorry, I have no idea. I was only given the name of who to deliver it to. You can probably call the florist and enquire, but I’m not sure if they’ll give you the name. Maybe you have a secret admirer.”

  I smiled. “I doubt it. But thank you.”

  I went back inside and told Madison what the delivery man had said. As expected, she reacted dramatically, swooning as if she was in some sort of theatre show.

  “Oh, Dallas, you little rascal. You’ve been holding out on me, haven’t you?”

  “I haven’t. I honestly have no idea who this is from.”

  “You don’t? Really? Or are you just messing with me?” she asked. “Because if I find out you have a boyfriend you haven’t told me about I’m going to be very upset.”

  “I don’t have a boyfriend, and I’m not messing with you. You heard what I was saying before this. I’m not at all interested in Valentine’s Day and I don’t have any love interests at the moment. I wonder if this was a mistake?”

  “Doesn’t seem like a mistake to me. Seems like you have a secret admirer.”

  “I highly doubt it.”

  Madison groaned. “Oh come on, why can’t you be excited for once in your life? This is something all girls dream of. A mysterious man sends the most beautiful flowers to a girl he likes. That’s the sort of things movies are made of.”

  “It’s probably a prank.”

  “You are the most annoying person in the world. Fine, I’ll be excited for you then.”

  I laughed. “Go right ahead. I’ll continue to be suspicious.”

  “Are you going to at least try and find out who sent these to you?” she asked. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to just through the flowers in the trash and pretend like this never happened because I might never speak to you again.”

  “I won’t throw them in the trash. The flowers are beautiful. And I will definitely do my best to find out who they are from. I still don’t think I have a secret admirer, but I would like to know who sent them, and why.”

  “Because they’re in loooooove with you,” she sang as if she was back in school again.

  I sighed. “This day has turned you into mush.”

  I put the flowers in a vase and placed them on my desk. I wasn’t excited, but I was definitely curious. Who on earth would send these to me?

  Two

  Blaze

  I got ready for my meeting and stood in the mirror to assess myself. I knew that I stood out from many of the other people in this small town because of the way I dressed, but that was something I liked. Standing out had always been a good thing in my eyes. It was a very laid back town, but I was a lawyer and it was important that I looked like one. I wasn’t just any lawyer too. I was a damn good one, and I was proud of my achievements. Sometimes I missed living in the city, but I was making a good living where I was, and it was important that I was still close to the family ranch. I had tried my hand at ranching for a while but I always knew I would fall back to being a lawyer. The job suited me. I fixed my tie now, pleased at the way I looked, and popped on my cowboy hat. It was my signature look, and while it might be a strange thing to wear with a suit and tie, I liked the way it made me stand out from the crowd.

  My favorite clients to deal with were women. I was good with them, and I found it easy to flirt my way into getting business. Men didn’t take kindly to me but that was because I didn’t know how to deal with them as well. Unfortunately, today I was not meeting with a woman. Instead I was meeting with Steve Compton, a local aspiring real estate magnate. I was very aware of his reputation when I agreed to meet with him, but I didn’t mind. He was obsessed with money and would do anything to stay ahead, and instead of making me run away it only intrigued me. I liked the challenge and I was the sort of lawyer who wouldn’t shy away from a job just because I didn’t like the person I was dealing with. Most of the clients I dealt with weren’t nice people. That was not why I signed up to be a lawyer. I had long ago learnt do deal with that, and I didn’t mind at all. I could easily separate my work life from my personal life.

  Steve and I were meeting at a local café to discuss business. When I arrived he was already there, and judging by the empty cup in front of him and the way his eyes kept darting around the room, I wondered how many cups of coffee he’d already had. Steve was the sort of man who thrived on erratic energy, and I wasn’t surprised when he ordered another cup the moment I took a seat. He was not a calm man and I was sure he had never been one.

  “Good to see you again, Blaze,” he said to me as we shook hands.

  “Good to see you again, too,” I lied. It definitely wasn’t good to see him again. Steve had shifty eyes, and a way of making people uncomfortable. Thankfully, I wasn’t someone who was easily effected so I didn’t care at all. I was the lawyer, he was the client, which meant I had the upper hand. And if there was one thing I had learned in business, it was that it was always good to have the upper hand. “So, let’s talk business,” I said. I knew that Steve would appreciate this direct approach. This didn’t always work with some clients. With some of them I always had to spend at least half an hour doing small talk and pretending as if I cared about their family and personal life. Clients like Steve would find that annoying.

  He nodded. “Yes. Well, as you know I’ve got some major potential development plans for the downtown area. It’s going to be big and I have tons of ideas for the near future. However, I have a small problem. I have several tenants that I need to get out the building first. I didn’t think this would be a problem at all until I told them about it, but some are proving to be a bit more difficult than others.”

  “Ah, so you’ve told them.”

  “I
have, and like I said, not all of them have been easy to deal with. I have one woman in particular who has put up a fight. Actually, you probably know her because of your family ranch. Dallas Thomas?”

  I nodded. “Oh yes. I know Dallas. The vet.”

  “Yes. The vet. She’s a problem. She is driving me completely insane.”

  I listened as Steve explained how he was going to turn the town of Raindrop into a commercial powerhouse. Steve got very animated when he talked, using his hands as he gestured into the air, and speaking so loudly I was sure the whole café could hear us. He had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into this new venture and he wanted to make it work. While I didn’t like Steve all that much I couldn’t help but admire the way he always went out there and got what he wanted. He was a go getter. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure quite how much Steve would really be able to do for this modest town, but I didn’t share these opinions with him. At the end of the day it wasn’t my place to tell Steve my thoughts, just as it wasn’t my place to care. I was his lawyer, and not his business partner.

  The only thing I was really concerned about was the fact that Dallas was involved. I had tried to keep my tone neutral so that Steve didn’t pick anything up, but it was hard for me not to get excited when I heard her name get mentioned. Dallas had always intrigued me and I had always had a crush on her, even though she didn’t seem to want to give me the time of day. Dallas was gorgeous. She was the sort of woman who I knew would keep me on her toes and I was desperate to make my way into her life. I already had a few plans up my sleeve, and I had already started by sending her flowers just that morning. I had been thinking about her all day, wondering if she realized who they were from. I figured it would be fun to go the anonymous route to show her that I do have a romantic bone in my body. Hearing Steve talk about evicting Dallas on the very day that I had sent her flowers was quite ironic. It was almost as if I knew it was going to happen and that I was trying to make her feel better. I didn’t say any of this to Steve though. The last thing I needed was for him to know that I had a personal interest in the very woman he was trying to evict.

  “I think I can handle most of the people in the building, but Dallas is the one I know is going to give me a hard time. You know, sometimes I’m not sure if she’s just doing it to mess with me. She seems like the sort of woman who would do that,” Steve said. I tried not to chuckle at that because I was sure he was right. Dallas did seem like the type who would make life hard for Steve simply because she didn’t like him. Not that I blamed her of course. Nobody wanted to get evicted. “So,” Steve continued. “I need Dallas out as soon as possible so that she doesn’t cause any problems for me. She’s got a good six months left on her lease which is where the issue is for me. I need you to look into how I could force her out sooner. Ideally, I’d like her out within the month. Do you think that’s possible?”

  “I don’t believe that anything is impossible,” I said with a grin. This wasn’t entirely true, but it was my way of sweet talking a client. I also wanted Steve to know that I would do anything as his lawyer. This probably wasn’t the part of my personality that I was most proud of, but when it came to business I knew how to charm someone.

  Steve smiled. “Now that’s what I like to hear. So, I have an idea,” he said.

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?” I took a sip of coffee which had now gone cold and noticed that Steve had already finished his.

  “Well, I think the best way would be to get her on our side. I would do this myself but I don’t think she’ll listen to me, which is why I need you. Maybe I can offer her a thousand dollars to facilitate her moving. That’s a lot of money and it will prove to her that I’m serious about this. If she agrees to take the money then she has to also agree to moving out within the month. What do you think?”

  “Hmm, I’ll be honest, Steve, I’m not sure that Dallas is the sort of woman who will take kindly to a bribe.”

  Steve raises his eyebrows. “Oh come on. Everyone can be bribed. She probably needs the money too. And hey, I can get a lot meaner if I wanted to. The fact that I’m offering to actually pay her money to leave should mean something.”

  I nodded. “Sure, it’s worth a try. I’ll definitely talk to her for you.”

  “Great. Well, let’s order another coffee and then make a few arrangements. I’d also like to take you through the developments we have going so that you have a better idea of what this is all about. The more back story you know, the easier it will be for you.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. I got the feeling that Steve just wanted to boast about his work, but I agreed and told him that I would love to know more. While I sipped my second cup of coffee, I pretended to be interested in what he was saying. I nodded in all the right places and threw in a few questions at what seemed to be the appropriate time. The truth was that I was barely listening at all. None of this was of any interest to me. What I was really thinking about was the fact that I now had a reason to go and talk to Dallas again. I couldn’t wait to see her. I wondered what she had done with the flowers I had sent her, and whether or not she suspected they were from me. I hadn’t given her any reason to think that I might send them to her, but I was pretty sure she knew that I liked her. Would she put two and two together when I saw her? And if she did, would she be happy to know that they were from me? I liked the chase, and I didn’t mind going after her even though she had so far shown no interest in me. I was very aware that I came across as abrasive and that I might be intimidating, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try. Dallas was exactly the sort of woman I was after.

  Three

  Dallas

  I spent the first part of the morning at the office, just getting in some work before heading out. My flowers were doing very well, even though I was usually terrible at keeping them alive. It was something Madison had always teased me about. She said I was good at keeping animals alive but that I was a monster when it came to flowers. She was absolutely right. I had a tendency to kill plants off very quickly, either by watering them too much or not at all. I had gone through a stage where it was my mission to keep a plant alive for longer than a week, but I eventually gave up. I was tired of seeing the withering leaves in front of me and I also wasn’t prepared to buy the fake ones. It was either real ones or none at all. These flowers, however, were still perfect. I still had no idea who they were from but I had a sneaking suspicion that the very man I was going to see today was the culprit.

  Will Green was an old friend of mine. The two of us had been quite close in high school and rumor had it that he had a crush on me. He never said anything to me and never acted on it, but the thought had always stayed in the back of my head. I wasn’t even sure why I thought he used to like me, but I was pretty sure someone had told me once. Thankfully it hadn’t made things awkward with us, and to this day I wasn’t entirely sure whether or not he really had liked me. He was a quiet guy, quite shy in many ways, but if he hadn’t asked me out by now than surely he never would. Madison had asked me what I thought of him once, but I hadn’t had a proper answer for her. He was a great guy, and he was doing very well for himself in the ranching world, but I would be lying if I said I thought there was a spark. I had simply never thought of him in that way before, and if I hadn’t thought of him like that after all these years I was sure that was never going to change. Nice guy or not, he was not someone I yearned for.

  “Right, I’m heading out,” I said to Madison.

  “Where you off to?” she asked. Madison was a naturally curious person. She always liked to know what I was doing at all times, and on Monday’s she always wanted a detailed run down on what I had done on the weekend. Unfortunately to her, most of the time there wasn’t much to say.

  “I have to visit Will.”

  “Will Green?” she asked.

  “Yeah, remember his horse had that illness that was going around? I promised I would come around to check up on it and see if there’s been an improvement. By the sound of his v
oice on the phone the other day it seemed like everything was fine, so hopefully it’s all good news when I’m there. I love his horses.”

  “And maybe while you’re there you can thank him for the flowers,” she said with a wink.

  I chuckled. “I doubt they’re from him.”

  “Why not? You said yourself that he liked you in high school. Why wouldn’t they be from him? I think it’s a possibility. In fact, out of all the guys I can think of, I would say that he would be the biggest culprit.”

  I shook my head. “High school was a very long time ago. I doubt he would suddenly start having feelings for me again after all this time. Anyway, I’m not even sure if he did like me. That was just what some of the girls were saying but it doesn’t mean it’s the truth. You know what girls are like. They can talk.”

  “Well, for what it’s worth. I think he’s a very nice guy and I think you guys would make a cute couple,” Madison said firmly and I wondered how many times she had thought this before or if she was just desperate for me to have a boyfriend. Ever since Madison had fallen in love she was desperate to get me to fall in love too.

  “And I think I’m going to leave before you say anything else ridiculous.”

  “Try and find out if the flowers were from him at least,” Madison called out as I reached the front door. “At least try. It would be good to know and I know you’re more curious than you’re telling me.”

  “Goodbye. I’m leaving,” I said and hurried out the office.

  I shook my head as I made my way to the car, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Madison might be right. Could the flowers really be from Will? The two of us had been great friends once a upon a time, but we’d lost touch after I had gone to vet school and he had stayed behind to work at the ranch. The only reason we were now in contact was because I could now help out with his horses, but there was no real reason to think that he might be interested in me. I tried to think back to the last interaction I had with him, but nothing about it really stood out to me. He’d been friendly and polite to me, as he always was, but I wasn’t sure if he had been flirtatious or not. Madison always said that I seemed oblivious when it came to someone flirting with me, so perhaps he had and I hadn’t even noticed? There was no way I was going to come out and ask him if he had sent me flowers, but hopefully there would be some sort of indication to tell me.