The Cowboy's Second-Chance Family

by Jules Bennett

  While he got her meds, she had to admit that having him here was a bit awkward. No, maybe not awkward, but definitely weird. She couldn’t deny that any man in her bedroom would make her take notice, but this particular man had her aching in places that had nothing to do with the accident.

  Between that thick Southern accent and the way he obviously cared, how could she prevent her heart from flipping over?

  After she took the pills, all while Noah stood directly over her to make sure, he then tucked her in like a child.

  “I think I can get it from here,” she informed him, feeling more and more foolish. “Go ahead and get home. Emma is probably wondering where you are.”

  “She’s at the sitter until this afternoon.”

  Well, if she were feeling up to par, she may take advantage of that fact, but as it was, she was in no shape. The longer time went on, the sorer her body was becoming. Besides, she would feel even more foolish if her first attempt at seduction landed her a big fat rejection.

  “I think I need to soak in the tub first.” She sat up and twisted her neck from side to side. Her hip twinged in protest, but she was careful not to show pain. “And I definitely don’t need you around for that. Thanks for stopping to check on me, but I can take it from here.”

  “Are you seriously not going to get checked out?”

  She let out a laugh and came to her feet. “I’m seriously too tired, plus I’d know if something was wrong.”

  Lucy wasn’t going to argue. She was too sore, too tired, and not about to give in. She went past Noah and closed herself in her adjoining bathroom. This was one of those times when she was so glad she’d had an old claw foot tub put in when she’d renovated the outdated bathroom. She’d gone for an old dresser-turned-vanity, kept the old tiles, found a nice mirror at a yard sale, and splurged on the tub.

  Lucy quickly shed her clothes as the tub filled with hot water. She plucked a lavender bath bomb from the basket on the vanity and dropped it into the water. If she could just get ten minutes of warmth to her muscles, she knew she’d feel better and then she could rest peacefully.

  With her bath pillow in place, Lucy eased herself into the hot water that would for sure turn her skin a lovely shade of red. She didn’t hear anything outside her bathroom door so she assumed Noah had left. Hopefully he remembered to lock the door behind him.

  Lucy twisted her hair on top of her head and secured it with a clip. As she nestled against her little inflatable pillow, she closed her eyes and let the hot water and the bath bomb work their magic.

  Maybe when she got done resting she’d feel like figuring out her car situation. Right now, though, she didn’t have the mental energy to worry.

  As the bubbles enveloped her, she couldn’t help but get all giddy as she realized something. Despite his having worked all night and despite the fact that he needed to get home to his daughter, Noah had come to her house when he’d found out about the accident. She’d seen the worry in his eyes. He hadn’t simply asked how she was while standing at her door, but had picked her up and whisked her away to bed.

  She made a mental note to revise her schedule for later today. First on her agenda was figuring out exactly what that all meant.

  Chapter Six

  She’d been behind that closed door for so long, Noah wasn’t sure if he needed to knock, call her name, or barge in to see if she was still alive.

  He’d notified his sitter and explained where he was and that he may be a tad late in picking up Emma. Apparently, Emma was in no hurry to get home because they were baking cupcakes and other surprises for him.

  Noah stifled a yawn and stretched his arms above his head. As tired as he was, he still hadn’t calmed down from hearing Lucy had been in a hit-and-run. Maybe it was the fact he’d lost his wife tragically, or perhaps he’d been so shaken because he’d actually come to care for Lucy. Regardless, he hadn’t been able to get to her house fast enough.

  When he’d heard she wasn’t being taken to the hospital, he’d figured she was fine, but he’d needed to see for himself. He didn’t care if that was crossing some unspoken professional boundary. There was something about Lucy that stirred a desire in him, a desire he’d tried to ignore, but one that was only getting stronger.

  Now that he stood in her bedroom, glancing at the pictures of her and her friends that she’d placed on her dresser, he realized just how intimate this moment was. He hadn’t been in a woman’s bedroom since before he was married. And suddenly he found himself in Lucy’s, a woman he’d only known a short time. But in that time she’d completely taken his world for a spin. She made him fantasize, desire, ache.

  Since when was that okay for a grieving man? What were the rules exactly in this situation?

  Noah glanced at his watch and realized she’d been in there for nearly an hour. He crossed the room, skirting around her four-poster bed and antique trunk.

  Using his knuckles, he tapped on the door. “Lucy, you all right?”

  No reply. He listened, but even the sound of her swishing in the water had stopped. But how long ago?

  “Lucy,” he called louder in case she had earbuds in. Still nothing.

  He rapped his knuckles on the door harder this time. After a minute or so of no response or noise from the other side, he didn’t even think twice. Instincts kicked in and he went for the knob. She’d been in an accident and she could’ve had internal injuries. What if she’d passed out? What if she’d drowned in her bathwater?

  He opened the door and was met with steam. Lucy lay in the tub with her arms resting on the lip of the old claw foot bath, her head tipped to the side on one of those bath pillows. All of that blond hair had been piled up on top of her head with a few random strands clinging to her damp skin.

  Noah crossed the room, wondering if she was passed out from injuries or just asleep. He crouched down next to the tub and checked for a pulse. Instantly, Lucy jerked awake. Those bright green eyes met his and his worries were put to rest as his question was answered. She’d been asleep.

  And now that she was awake, he felt like a fool for standing here. All of that creamy skin was on display and it took every single ounce of his willpower to keep his eyes fixed on hers.

  “Noah?” she whispered, not blinking or even attempting to cover herself.

  “I thought something was wrong.”

  That sounded so lame, but it was the honest truth.

  Lucy blinked. “I must’ve fallen asleep.”

  When she shivered, he figured the water had gotten cold since she’d come in so long ago. Noah reached for a towel and extended it to her, keeping his head turned away.

  “I’m sorry for just barging in here,” he stated.

  Water sloshed as she must have stood up, and took the towel from him. “No. Um... I just didn’t realize you were still here.”

  Noah turned to give her privacy, but before he could step back into the bedroom, Lucy let out a hiss in pain. He spun back to her, instantly finding his arms around her.

  “I’m all right,” she insisted, but she clutched his arm as she leaned into his chest. “I guess I’m a bit sorer than I thought. I just stepped wrong, that’s all. My hip is not cooperating.”

  She’d managed to wrap the towel around her body, but she hadn’t dried off. Her damp skin soaked his T-shirt, her body lined up with his perfectly, and that heaviness of guilt he’d been carrying since meeting her was growing lighter. Because holding her didn’t feel so wrong after all.

  Without thinking twice, he lifted her in his arms once again and carried her from the bathroom.

  “Noah—”

  “You’re fine. I know.” He went into her room and set her on the edge of her bed. “What else is hurting?”

  She clutched the ends of the towel between her breasts. “Just my hip. I banged it against the door
when the other car plowed into me.”

  Rage coiled within him at the thought of someone hurting her and fleeing the scene. Noah knew the guys were out looking for the mangled car and he hoped like hell they found the culprit.

  “Go home and rest,” she insisted.

  Her eyes held his and he couldn’t pull his gaze away from just how stunning she looked with glistening skin and honey strands framing her face.

  “I’m going to rest here.” He hadn’t thought about that before, but he could grab some shut-eye on her couch.

  “Surely there is some department rule against coworkers fraternizing.”

  Noah crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze never wavering from her. “Are we fraternizing?”

  “Well, you’ve seen me naked and carried me to bed.” She quirked a brow as if she had him. “The closest thing I’ve ever done with a coworker is have breakfast with some guys after our shift. Not one has ever been in my bedroom, let alone seen me without clothes.”

  Noah shrugged. “We’re friends. I was worried and for good reason.”

  Lucy came to her feet, standing only inches from him. “My friends don’t come into my bathroom when I’m taking a bath.”

  Why did his eyes have to go to her lips? And why did she challenge him? Couldn’t she just accept his help and not be so defiant? Yet something about that independent manner turned him on.

  “Get dressed,” he told her. “I’m going to crash on your couch.”

  “Why are you so adamant about keeping an eye on me?”

  There went that guilt growing back to full size. His late wife had said she was fine after the storm that ripped through their tiny town. She’d come up out of the cellar with him and Emma and kept complaining of a headache after a board had hit her in the back when they all raced to shelter.

  Moments after emerging when they all thought it was safe, she collapsed and died. Just because someone said they were fine didn’t mean they knew what was going on inside their bodies.

  “I’ll be on the sofa if you need anything,” he told her.

  He turned and crossed the room to the door, but her words stopped him.

  “I don’t know the circumstances surrounding your wife’s death, but I assume that’s why you’re so protective now.”

  Noah remained in the doorway, his back to her. “You don’t need to know the circumstances.”

  No one needed to know the details of his life before coming to Stonerock. He didn’t know exactly why but it seemed imperative to maintain that privacy. He just felt that if he didn’t discuss the tragedy, then the hurt might ease one day. Maybe he’d be able to leave those painful memories behind and not pull them into his new life. Hell, he had no idea. This was such unknown territory, he truly didn’t know how to react.

  He heard Lucy shift behind him and he stilled, waiting to see what she’d do or say. “No, I don’t,” she whispered. “But I know that you’re still reliving that moment. You probably feel like—”

  He whirled around, surprised to see she’d come so close to him and still wore only the thick terrycloth towel. “You have no idea what I feel,” he growled. “Our situations aren’t the same and I’m not going to let you get into my head and try to fix me.”

  Her bright eyes held his and he hated how terrible he felt for speaking so harshly to her. But, damn it, he wanted his thoughts, his feelings to stay locked inside where they couldn’t hurt.

  “I don’t want to fix you,” she murmured. “I want you to come to the conclusion yourself that you can be happy again.”

  “I’m happy.”

  Okay, that didn’t even sound convincing to him, let alone trying to sell it to Lucy. His eyes darted over her shoulder to the picture on her bedside table. A candid shot of her and who he assumed was her late husband. After two years, the fact she still had a picture of them by her bed proved that she wasn’t as far removed from grief as she’d declared.

  “Since we both know you’re lying,” she went on, “I’d say this conversation is over.”

  Noah shifted his attention back to her. This woman somehow managed to frustrate him and turn him on all at the same time. One minute she challenged him, and the next she tossed out that sweetness that was so uniquely her. He never knew which Lucy he’d encounter at any given moment.

  “Did you have something else to say?” she asked, still clutching that damn towel between her breasts.

  “I have plenty I want to say, but this isn’t the time.”

  When he started to turn, she grabbed his arm. “Spit it out. Don’t run from whatever is on your mind.”

  His eyes raked over her body; he couldn’t help himself at this point. She smelled too damn good, looked like something from every man’s fantasy. She was killing him.

  And he’d rushed over here, so there was nobody to blame but himself.

  But he couldn’t talk. Not now.

  “You’re pretty much naked and we’re both exhausted,” he said, as if the obvious needed to be stated. “Let’s just agree to revisit this another time.”

  Like maybe when his head was on straight and he wasn’t staring temptation right in the face.

  “Revisit this?” she questioned. “You mean the attraction and the fact you’re hiding from it?”

  There she went with that no-holding-back attitude. “I’m not hiding.”

  “But you’re attracted.”

  Gritting his teeth, Noah fisted his hands at his sides. There was no reason to lie about it or even attempt to deny the truth. He knew it, she knew it. The question was: What the hell did he do about it?

  And why couldn’t she just get dressed?

  “You need to put clothes on and get some sleep,” he told her.

  “I plan on doing both,” she informed him, tipping her head to the side. “But you don’t need to stay. My hip is bruised, my back is sore, and my head hurts. I’m well past the age of needing or wanting a babysitter. And I don’t take pity, either, so if that’s the only reason you’re hanging around—”

  He kissed her. Damn it all. She was ranting and he couldn’t take it another second.

  Noah covered her mouth with his, but kept his fists at his side. If he reached up now, he couldn’t guarantee that towel would stay in place. He’d seen exactly what she had as she lay all sprawled out in her bath and now that her body was flush against his, he had a perfect idea of how gloriously their bodies were lined up.

  Lucy sighed into him and he felt her lean against him as if melting into his touch. And he desperately wanted to touch her. He hadn’t kissed another woman in years, but having his mouth on Lucy wasn’t a struggle and he sure as hell wasn’t feeling guilty now. No, if anything he was more ramped up than ever.

  When her hands settled on his shoulders and her fingers curled into him, the last shred of Noah’s control snapped. He framed her face and shifted his stance, spreading his legs wider for her to step into him. She tasted so good, too good. He shouldn’t be craving a woman he’d only known a short time, but there was no way he could ignore this tug.

  Lucy’s sweet body arched against him at the same time she let out a groan. Noah slid his hands down over her shoulders and between them to the knot in her towel. Just as he started to give it a tug, Lucy jerked and stepped back. She clutched that towel as she had before, but now she was panting...and looking anywhere but at him.

  “This is...” She shook her head. “Noah, I can’t.”

  Reality smacked him in the face and he wondered how the hell he’d gotten to this point. He’d been so adamant about not even admitting to the attraction, yet he was ready to take her to bed. And there was that picture just over Lucy’s shoulder that mocked him, mocked them.

  But there was something much larger going on here and it had nothing to do with the way they felt and everything to do with th
e fact that Lucy, who had pursued him, had pulled back and was now trembling.

  Maybe she wasn’t as healed as she thought.

  Would he have been able to go through with this? Would he have been able to shove aside the guilt and all the reasons this was wrong and actually take her to bed?

  She was right for stopping, but he wished like hell she wasn’t trembling as if they’d done something wrong.

  “I... I need to be alone,” she whispered, still not looking his way.

  Noah raked a hand through his hair. “For all your talk about wanting to heal people, did you ever stop to think you need to heal yourself first?”

  She flinched at his words, but remained silent.

  “I’ll be at home if you need anything.”

  Not that she’d call. If she even spoke to him on their next shift it would be shocking. Well, spoke to him on a personal level. Because there was no way they could avoid each other forever. Communication was key to their working relationship.

  And he’d just learned the hard way that they also had a personal relationship, whether either of them wanted to admit it or not. Because even though they hadn’t taken things to the next level, they’d crossed an invisible line that neither of them could come back from.

  Suddenly he found himself in a role reversal with the captivating Lucy Brooks. After all his mental battles with himself over keeping his pain inside, he knew he’d have to be the one to get Lucy to open up and heal because she was more broken than she’d let on...and perhaps more than she even knew.

  Chapter Seven

  “I figured you’d want to know.”

  Even as his captain spoke on the phone, Noah paid him no mind. He was too busy watching Emma play on the floor with her cowgirl doll and horse. She crawled all around the area rug chattering and pretending, looking happy and at ease. He marveled at how quickly she’d adapted to this home, this new life. Now if he could just take a page out of her book and do the same.

  He could start by unloading some of those boxes stacked in his bedroom. He’d tried to make the rest of the house cozy and livable for Emma, but he hadn’t brought himself to unpack the personal items they’d brought from Texas.