Melt My Heart, Cowboy (Love at the Chocolate Shop Book 1)

by CJ Carmichael

  She had a hard time processing this. “You’re going to build horse barns?”

  “Yup.” He didn’t look very excited.

  “But I thought you loved working as a ranch hand.”

  “That life style is fine for a young guy. But I’ve got responsibilities. This job at Miller Barns will offer regular hours and make it possible for me to find a place in Marietta where I can make a home for my sister.”

  “Wow. I had no idea you were contemplating such a big change.”

  “I didn’t either. People have been telling me for a while now that the May Bell Care Home wasn’t right for my sister. Just this morning it hit me what I needed to do.”

  She was impressed with the maturity and thoughtfulness behind his decision. But she also felt sad for him, that he was giving up a lifestyle he loved to take care of his sister. She would have asked more questions, but Brant was holding the door open for her, and inside Sara Maria was waiting for them.

  Brant’s sister looked pleased at this unscheduled visit, but also curious. “I got your text message Brant, saying you were coming to visit. But it’s Thursday.”

  Rosie’s heart ached a little to hear that. What must it be like to only have visitors on a regimented basis? It must make Sara Maria feel like she was an obligation, a chore.

  When she thought of the news she was about to impart, Rosie felt even worse.

  “Let’s talk outside.” Brant suggested. “It’s so nice out.”

  Sara Maria and Rosie settled on a vacant bench to the left of the main doors, while Brant remained standing. He took a wide-legged stance, resting his weight back on his heels.

  “We have some news,” he said getting straight to the point.

  Sara Maria’s face tightened with anxiety. “Is it good news?”

  Brant sighed. “You remember Rosie is planning to move to Los Angeles to live with her brother one day?”

  Sara Maria’s eyes widened. “It’s not happening soon, is it?”

  Rosie reached for her hand and squeezed the cold fingers. “I’m afraid so. My brother needs my help on an important project. I’ll be leaving next Friday.”

  “No. No. No.” Brant’s sister withdrew her hand and pulled it in close to her body. She shook her head violently and her face went pale.

  “We can still talk. I’ll come back for visits,” Rosie said, desperately trying to reach the younger woman.

  But it was clear Sara Maria couldn’t hear her. She’d withdrawn inside herself, tucking up her legs and covering her ears with her hands, all the while chanting that one word over and over. “No. No. No…”

  From the beginning, Rosie had dreaded having to deal with one of Sara Maria’s meltdowns. And now it seemed it was finally happening. She tried to touch the other woman, but Sara Maria recoiled with such force that she upended herself onto the lawn, with her back against the metal bench legs.

  She was moaning now, the sound like nothing Rosie had ever heard before.

  In desperation Rosie turned to Brant, who was fixed in the same spot, hands fisted, jaw clenched, apparently petrified.

  If his sister was being attacked by a grizzly bear, Rosie had no doubt Brant would leap forward to protect her. But these fits of Sara Maria’s, these psychological breakdowns, they rendered him helpless.

  She had to take charge.

  “Brant, go tell the staff what’s happening. I’ll stay with Sara Maria and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.”

  To her amazement, Brant didn’t take off running. Instead her words seemed to have galvanized him. He blinked, and then stepped around her.

  “No, I’ll stay with my sister. I can handle this.”

  *

  Brant’s earliest memories of his little sister were of a sweet, smiling baby. As soon as she learned to crawl, she would follow him everywhere in the house, and he played endless games with her, willing to do almost anything to hear her infectious, gurgling laughter.

  As a toddler, she’d been precocious, always getting into his stuff and interfering when he had friends over. He hadn’t minded much. She was still so darned cute.

  Shortly after her second birthday, though, all that changed. Almost overnight Sara Maria transformed from a chatty, curious being, to a silent, unresponsive one. Neither Brant nor his mom could get her to smile anymore, let alone laugh.

  And Brant would never forget her first no-holds-barred fit. It happened in the grocery store when the sales clerk offered her a sticker. She went crazy, crying and whimpering and covering her ears with her hands in a characteristic maneuver that Brant would come to know extremely well.

  Brant was scared by these changes. And he was hurt. Why didn’t his little sister love him anymore?

  More and more he avoided being around her. Mom was the only one who could handle her, anyway. When Mom died, he’d turned to others to solve the problem of Sara Maria. The staff at the care home. Rosie.

  But the care home wasn’t the answer and Rosie was leaving.

  So what was going to happen to his sister? Watching her moaning on the ground he fought the urge to turn his back and leave. Instead he tried imagining what was going on inside her head. She had to be suffering terribly to be acting this way.

  Somewhere inside this adult-looking, eighteen-year-old was the sweet little baby sister he’d once adored. Shouldn’t he be doing something to try to help her? Even if he had no clue what that was?

  All these thoughts raced inside Brant’s head in a matter of seconds. He felt like he’d been in some sort of trance, then when Rosie called his name, when she told him to go for help, he suddenly snapped out of it.

  He heard himself tell Rosie that he would deal with this. And then he sat on the grass beside his sister, using his body as a barricade so she wouldn’t bump her head against the metal legs of the bench.

  She turtled into a tighter ball, arms cushioning her head as if she wanted to block out the world.

  Brant fought his own discomfort, instead trying to focus on what she was feeling.

  “I’m sorry. I know Rosie has been a good friend to you. And losing her is going to hurt. That probably scares you.” It sure as hell scared him when he thought about it, which was why he did his best not to think about it.

  Surprisingly Sara Maria grew quieter. Still in her protective ball she murmured. “Rosie is my only friend.”

  “That’s not true. You’ve got me.” He let out a derisive snort. “I know I’m not much. In fact, I’ve pretty much sucked as a brother for a long time. But things are going to be different.”

  Sara Maria was listening, he could tell.

  Since the onslaught of her autistic symptoms, Sara Maria hadn’t tolerated any sort of physical contact from him. Yet he remembered Mom hugging her. She must miss it. Didn’t everyone need some sort of human contact?

  Pushing aside his fear of being rejected, Brant wrapped first one arm, then the other, around his sister. As he held her close, he pictured the little one-year-old smile, heard again her mischievous laughter.

  His sister surprised him again when she didn’t pull away. Instead he could feel her muscles relax.

  “I can’t make the sort of home for you that Mom did. But I am going to do my best. I’ve got a new job, one closer to Marietta, and I’m going to buy us a house. You’ll get to leave the care home. Keep your job at the bakery.”

  Quiet fell as Sara Maria absorbed his words. “I would like that. But why does Rosie have to leave?”

  “She has a special talent as a writer. She and her brother have a chance to have their stories turned into a TV show that millions could watch. This is such a big deal for her. We have to make it easier for her to leave us. Not harder.”

  “I don’t want to let her leave.”

  “But you have to think about what Rosie wants.”

  Sara Maria let out a long sigh. Then something else occurred to her. “What about Huck?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I forgot about that old dog. I know Rosie can’t take him with her
. Maybe she’ll let us adopt him.”

  A shudder of delight passed through Sara Maria’s body. “Ohhhh, really? I would love that.”

  “And Huck would love it, too,” Rosie said.

  Startled by her voice, Brant glanced up. Donna was beside her, so clearly Rosie had gone inside to ask for help. How long they’d been standing here he had no idea.

  “Are we really going to all live in the same house? You, me, and Huck?”

  He didn’t give his word often, and his sister knew it. “I promise.”

  Then the unthinkable happened. His sister gave him a big hug. Over his sister’s head, he saw Rosie watching with tears in her eyes.

  He quickly glanced away. “No need to get all emotional on me.” But even as he said the words, he hugged his sister tighter.

  Chapter Eighteen

  As she left Brant to talk about his future plans with his sister, Rosie realized that her path to L.A. had just become clearer. She didn’t need to feel guilty about Sara Maria—Brant would take care of her. For whatever reason he’d finally moved past his block. He’d managed to be empathetic, to really listen, and to be there when his sister needed him.

  Furthermore, she could now leave Huck in good conscience, knowing he would be taken care of and well-loved besides.

  It was as if the fates were conspiring to get her to L.A.—and to separate her from Brant.

  As glad as she’d been to see him connect with his sister, a big part of her wished it was Brant, not Sara Maria, who didn’t want to let her go. Maybe she wouldn’t want to see him fall apart the way Sara Maria had. But he could at least have the decency to be sad.

  Rosie kicked through a clump of aspen leaves on the sidewalk, already transitioned from gold to brown, reminding her how quickly time was passing. She had just six days to pack up her stuff, and to make arrangements for leaving her house.

  At some point she and Daniel would need to return to do a final clear out of their parents’ possessions and furniture. Oh, how she dreaded that day.

  Throughout the rest of the evening, Rosie kept checking her phone but Brant didn’t call or leave her a message. On Friday, Rosie went to work already anticipating the end of the day when Brant would come by for his box of salted chocolate caramels.

  Portia was off for the day, so Rosie was alone in the front while Sage prepared a batch of champagne truffles in the kitchen. News of her eminent departure had already spread and a few of her regular customers wished her well and told her they would miss her.

  At quarter to noon, Sage emerged from the kitchen to say goodbye. “I’ve volunteered to be a parent helper for Savannah’s classroom trip to the abandoned copper mine, so I have to be going. Did you sell any more tickets for our event?”

  “Two, bringing us to a total of twenty-two—” Not counting herself and Brant, who would not be going after all. “I wish we had more space. I’m sure we could easily sell more than the twenty-six we have room for.”

  “That’s what Portia said, as well. If this event is as successful as it sounds like it will be, I’m going to talk to Stanley Scranton about leasing more space. The travel agency has been gone for over a year. The only problem is, Stanley’s such a crotchety, old guy. He’ll think I’m expanding because I’m making a ton of money and he’ll try to gouge me on the rent.”

  “Still, it can’t hurt to ask, right?”

  Despite a steady flow of customers—and the sale of four more tickets to their event—the afternoon dragged. An hour early, at four-thirty, Rosie was already watching the street for signs of Brant’s long, broad shouldered frame, his purposeful stride, the white cowboy hat that shielded his expression so well.

  But he didn’t show.

  At quarter to five, Krista Martin from Blue Sky Advertising dropped in to see if she could help publicize the upcoming chocolate and wine tasting event. Since the event was practically sold out already, Rosie put her off. Krista was from New York and her big city glamor was a little intimidating. But she took one of Krista’s cards for Sage and Portia in case they decided to use her services in the future. Before she left Krista ordered a hot chocolate to go.

  “This stuff is totally addicting.”

  “Sure is.” Rosie blinked back a tear. Starting Sunday she would have to give up her daily Copper Mountain Chocolate treats. It wouldn’t be easy.

  At five-thirty-one it occurred to Rosie for the first time that Brant might not come at all.

  A customer in a hurry breezed in at quarter to six and Rosie helped him select some assorted truffles for his wife for their wedding anniversary. Normally she would have chatted with the man, asked him what flavors his wife enjoyed most. Today though she just grabbed random truffles, boxed them up and sent him on his way.

  After that she pretty much stared out the window watching couples stroll by with their arms linked, mothers and fathers with their children. It seemed no one in Marietta was alone this Friday night except her.

  Finally it was six. Closing time. She scrolled through her phone looking for missed calls, text messages, an email. But all she found were two messages from her brother and one from her sister-in-law including a picture of the gorgeous casita that was waiting for her.

  “You’ve also got your own private patio if you get sick of hanging out with Daniel and me. Can’t wait to see you! xoxo Glenda”

  Not a word from Brant explaining why, after three and a half months of regular patronage, he wasn’t buying a box of chocolates for his sister today.

  For a man who lived in fear of disrupting his sister’s schedule, it didn’t make sense. Unless something bad had happened to Sara Maria. His sister had seemed okay when Rosie left them last night. But maybe she’d had another breakdown later in the evening? Once she had the idea, Rosie couldn’t stop worrying. She decided to call the care home and check.

  The receptionist on duty, however, assured her Sara Maria was fine.

  “She and her brother are watching TV in her room right now. Would you like me to transfer your call?”

  “No, no, that’s fine.” Phone still in hand, Rosie sank to the floor.

  The pain began in her stomach, and then grew hotter and sharper. It seemed Brant was spending his Friday, as usual, with his sister. Not only had he not invited her to join them, but he’d wanted to avoid her so badly he hadn’t even purchased his sister her usual chocolate treat.

  She wasn’t even gone and he’d already written her out of his life.

  She shouldn’t care so much. Ahead of her lay adventure, possibly fame and fortune, too. But her heart and her body ached only for Brant.

  Eventually Rosie picked herself up from the floor. Slowly, like someone who had been very sick and now needed to move with extreme care, she went through the steps of closing the shop for the day.

  On her walk home, she chose a roundabout route that offered no possibility of encountering Brant and Sara Maria as they made their way to the Pizza Parlor. At home she went directly to her parents’ bedroom and sank down beside Huck.

  “He told me from the start he lives for the moment. I guess he’s moved on to the next moment.”

  Huck lifted his head and stared at her with his sad, butterscotch-colored eyes. Then he gave her hand a lick, as if to say “I know how you feel.”

  “When I’m in L.A., I’ll be too busy to even think of him. And I’m sure I’m going to love living with Daniel and Glenda. My room looks gorgeous. Plus, this will give me a chance to really get to know my brother—we haven’t lived in the same zip code, let alone house, since I was eight.”

  Huck licked her hand again. It was as if he was really listening to her.

  She was going to miss the old boy.

  And with that thought, the weight of all her losses became too much for her to bear and she started to cry.

  *

  Rosie spent Saturday preparing for the open house the next day. In the morning, she decluttered, getting rid of old magazines, knickknacks, and everyday objects that somehow hadn’t been retu
rned to where they belonged. She took three boxes of old clothing and household items to Goodwill, a bag of magazines to recycling, and two bags of trash to the dump.

  In the afternoon she cleaned, making sure the sinks and plumbing fixtures sparkled, and placed lavender-scented sachets in all the closets so they would smell sweet and fresh when prospective purchasers checked out the storage space.

  For dinner she ate a bowl of cereal and then rewarded herself by watching old episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. Oh, how she loved the season premiere for that show. It was exciting—and terrifying—to imagine that one day her TV series might be available on Netflix.

  Sunday morning Rosie baked apple cinnamon muffins using Portia’s recipe. The delicious aroma still lingered, as she’d hoped it would, when Maddie came by at eleven to host the open house.

  “The difference in this place is amazing,” she gushed, as she set out a sign-up sheet near the front entry. “I’m feeling really psyched. Today might be the day, Rosie!”

  “I hope so,” Rosie said. But did she?

  When she thought about this house passing on to a strange new family, she actually felt sick inside.

  “What’s that delicious smell?”

  “I did some baking this morning. The muffins are in a basket in the kitchen. Please help yourself.”

  “Isn’t that sweet. Thank you, Rosie.” Maddie moved around the living room, plumping the pillows, and then adjusting the window treatments so they let in the most flattering amount of light. When she was finished, she surveyed the room with a satisfied smile, until her gaze landed on Rosie.

  “It’s best if you take Huck and leave. Buyers feel uncomfortable if the owner of the house is hovering.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll be going soon.”

  Rosie had already made a plan that would get her out of the way of the open house and hopefully take her mind off all the craziness of the past few days. She grabbed her backpack and Huck’s leash, and then whistled to the lab.

  She walked the path to the trailhead for the waterfall hike. While the air had a cold bite today, the sky was clear—perfect hiking weather. She hoped to channel the many times she’d done this trail with her family, but instead she kept picturing Sara Maria and Brant. She recalled almost word-for-word everything she and Brant had talked about that day.