The Discreet Cowboy (Cowboys of Nirvana Book 6)

by Rhonda Lee Carver

  Birds chirped in a nearby tree and she searched for them, finding them on a branch prancing back and forth. “Oh, so you are putting your two cents worth in also?” She shook her head, feeling somewhat ganged up on.

  “I see it could go two ways really. Last night was amazing. How lucky is it that I have gotten to spend time with Dade? Yes, I feel rejected, but it wasn’t as if I meant the proposal.” The bird chirped loudly. “Okay, fine. I did mean to ask him. I guess I could have waited until we knew each other better—or maybe waited for the traditional proposal where he popped the question.” When had she ever not followed her impulse? Dade had found his way inside of her heart. He made her feel joy, excitement, exhilaration, and even sadness, and sometimes every emotion all at once.

  “In this day and age, it’s okay for a woman to ask a man to marry her. Right?”

  Isabella tooted and groaned.

  “Okay, I’m not taking advice from someone who still wears diapers.” Felicia laughed.

  What if he didn’t feel the same as she did?

  How could she backtrack and pretend she didn’t pop the question?

  Maybe he had been consumed in the throes of passion and hadn’t heard what she’d asked?

  Yeah, right!

  Keep dreaming.

  Well, if he didn’t want to marry her, she couldn’t just continue to have sex with him. She’d have to come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t on the same page as her. She’d watch him from afar…the way he smiled as if he’d just tasted sweet cream. The penetrating gaze of his hazel eyes that pulled her into glorious heaven, melting away all doubt. The way his body moved, the way his muscles coiled. She no longer noticed the limp, and didn’t care, never really had. She would love him, yes love him, even if he couldn’t walk.

  She blew out a long breath.

  Isabella moaned and grunted, and her face turned a bright red.

  “Okay, child. What’s wrong?”

  “Are you asking me that question?”

  She’d know that deep southern drawl from anywhere and it made her heart all topsy-turvy. She looked up into the very hazel eyes that she was imagining moments before. Dade. The man she loved. The man who probably came to tell her to take a swim into the lake.

  ****

  Dade had seen Felicia sitting on the bench and had sprinted, more like hobbled in an awkward way, to see her. He’d thought about her all morning and here she was. He’d thought of nothing else but the question she’d asked him last night. He wanted to drag her into his arms so badly that his biceps naturally clenched and unclenched. She smiled but there was a new reservation in the action. Had she changed her mind?

  He strolled to the bench, sat next to her, and then he saw the baby who was as red-faced as an apple. “Is she okay?”

  “Yes, sure. I think so.”

  The redness faded, some. “Can we talk? I know Chase is occupied and I saw Kaycee leaving for town.”

  “I guess we do have a blue elephant between us.”

  Isabella grunted loudly.

  He laughed. “Something like that.” Every time he saw Felicia, he couldn’t breathe normal. What the hell had come over him? She shifted and her knee brushed his thigh. His blood pressure rose to a dangerous level. And he was sweating.

  “Oh, no. I think she left me a surprise.” Felicia waved a hand in front of her nose.

  “What?” He inhaled sharply and his nose hairs singed. “Oh…a surprise as in something in her diaper?”

  “Yes.” Felicia’s nose wrinkled. “Wow. Babies smell like that? How is it possible?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t have a clue.”

  She stood up. “I have to take care of this. Fast.”

  Isabella waved her chubby fists in the air, smiling.

  “I’ll walk you back.” He stood, shifting from boot to boot. This wasn’t what he’d planned, to talk about a baby poo, but shit happens.

  Once up at the house, his plan to turn and leave was thwarted when Felicia dragged him across the threshold. “Just where do you think you’re going, cowboy?” she asked with a raised brow.

  “I have work to do.”

  “Of course you do, but you can’t leave me now.” She placed her hands on her hips.

  “Can’t you change a diaper?”

  “Of course I can.”

  “So you’ve done it before?”

  “No…but I’ve seen it done.”

  “Okay, seeing and doing are two different things.”

  “I have a master’s degree and a high I.Q. How hard can it be?” She closed the door with her foot. “We can unite in this.”

  “Now why would I want to do this?”

  “There’s lunch in it for you. Kaycee has homemade spaghetti sauce in the pot simmering. Trust me, you’ll love it.”

  “So, you’re bribing me?” He lifted a brow.

  “Yes, totally. Are you in?”

  Not really, but he couldn’t have denied her if his life depended on it. She smiled and the room lit up—lit his heart on fire. “Okay, but I better get a kiss too,” he teased.

  “Well, I thought you’d never ask.” She took a step forward, leaned in and kissed him fully on the mouth. He wrapped his arms round her waist, wanting more, but Isabella’s cry thwarted his plan. “I think someone really needs her diaper changed.”

  Felicia lifted Isabella out of the stroller and he followed to a narrow table in the living room that was piled high with diapers, baby powder, and other things he had no clue about. “Wow, this is nifty.”

  “It’s called a changing table. You really have no clue about babies, do you?” She laughed as she laid Isabella down onto the cushion.

  “Of course.” He lied.

  She loosened the baby’s bottoms, and the strong odor wafted up, straight into his nose and he could barely breathe. He looked across the table, checking for a nose plug. Certainly there would be one.

  “Hand me a diaper, please.”

  He took the top one off the stack, shook it out and handed it over. She stared at it a good ten seconds. “That is a diaper, right?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What’s the problem? Is there a variety? Like day diapers and night diapers?” He really wasn’t sure.

  “No, I don’t think so. I just don’t know which side is back or front,” she admitted.

  He smiled. “Doesn’t it say?”

  “Look and see.” She thrust the diaper back into his chest.

  He looked over it, all over the colorful characters. “The only thing I see are pictures on one side.”

  “Okay. If we look at the diaper she’s wearing now, the Disney characters are in the front. So, that’s the answer.” She smiled proudly. Undoing the tape, she pulled the diaper away and that’s when things really turned messy. She turned her head and buried her nose in her sleeve, feeling her eyeballs roll back into her head. “Oh my God. What did this child eat? Rotten eggs?”

  “Worse.”

  “Okay, we can get through this. Hand me the box of wipes.”

  He opened the lid and pulled out a handful, holding them out with an outstretched hand. “Is this enough?”

  “I don’t think the entire box will be enough, but this is a start.” She made a gagging sound.

  He felt his throat constrict. “How do parents do this?”

  She shrugged. “Tell me about it. More wipes.” She held her hand out. “Oh Isabella, how can you smile at a time like this?”

  He obliged her, all the while making sure he kept his eyes glued to the wall. If he saw brown, he might just puke.

  “I’m done. She smells so much better. Don’t you, cutie?”

  Dade was fascinated watching Felicia lift the baby into her arms, a wide smile on her face. She looked at ease, happy, and an image came to his mind. Her holding their child. He’d never imagined anything like that before. Never even imagined it being an option. And yet, it touched a part of him, his warm and fuzzy side. Wow, he didn’t even know he had one of those. The clo
sest he’d ever gotten to feeling this way was over a puppy, or horse, but never over another human being.

  She turned and caught him staring. “Are you okay? You’re pale.”

  He shifted his mind back into manual drive. “I-I’m fine.” No, he wasn’t.

  She smiled and it drilled a hole right into his chest, pumping in love. Yes, he loved her. Wanted her. Hell, he needed her. That made him weak, but he’d survive as long as she was beside him.

  “I’m going to put her down for a nap and wash up. Then I’ll give you what I promised.” Her smile grew and was laced with honeyed whiskey. He couldn’t even remember what she’d promised, but he certainly knew what he hoped for. Calm down there, fellow. You’re at the boss’s house and any hanky panky going on won’t involve one of his employees.

  Later, when she came downstairs, his heart pitter-pattered. “I was hoping you’d still be here,” she said as she strolled barefoot into the kitchen. She’d brushed her hair and it swished around her shoulders. She’d also changed. One strap of the pale pink tank top had floated down her arm. He wanted to put it back into place, with his teeth, but reminded himself where he was at the moment.

  “Where else would I be?” He stepped into the kitchen with her, inhaling the trail of her scent—vanilla. He’d never get enough.

  “Probably out trying to breathe in fresh air to get rid of the stink. I’d say it’s best when she’s older, we never remind her of the stink bomb she laid on us today.”

  His heart kicked up in speed. He liked how she used ‘us’ in regards to the future. “Yeah, that might not go over too well.”

  “I promised you lunch and I aim to follow through. But I was thinking, as good as Kaycee’s spaghetti sauce is, I’m in the mood for dessert. Would you mind too terribly if we ate a big piece of chocolate cake and two scoops of ice cream?”

  He smiled. At this point with her smiling, he’d eat a can of mustard sardines dipped in fuel oil just to give her what she wanted. “You’ve talked me into misbehaving.” He winked.

  He watched her reach into the refrigerator and take out an oblong container of cake and a box from the freezer. He couldn’t drag his gaze from her long slender fingers as she used the knife to slice two pieces and place them on plates. As she was scooping out the ice cream, she got a dollop on her knuckles and he ached to lick the sweetness from her skin, wondering what the honey of her skin and vanilla flavor would taste like together. Pure heaven, he was sure. His cock stretched his zipper and, just when he thought there was a chance he’d combust, she brought her hand to her mouth and licked away the ice cream. She could have swirled her tongue around his rod and he wouldn’t have been more turned on.

  “Felicia?” Her name came out on a raspy moan.

  She turned and looked at him, her eyes wildly blue and a spot of ice cream remained at the corner of her mouth. He stepped closer and tenderly wiped it away, bringing his finger to his mouth and licking the dessert off it. “Mmm…good,” he murmured.

  Her cheeks turned a mesmerizing color of awareness, much like the color he’d seen while she was having an orgasm. Damn, what he wouldn’t give to have her anywhere but here. She moved to grab their plates and he sucked in oxygen.

  Only when she looked at him awkwardly did he realize she’d placed their plates on the table and she was waiting for him. “You seem to have lots on your mind, Dade. Care to share?”

  He grabbed the chair, squeezing the wood until he thought it’d splinter. He loosened his grip, pulled off his Stetson and tore a hand through his hair. “I like the idea of marrying you.”

  She blinked. “You do?”

  “I do. How could you doubt that?”

  She shrugged a slender shoulder and there went the other strap. Damn. Pure torment. “Just wasn’t sure.”

  He took a step closer and took her hands into his. “But we have to do things a little differently. Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with a woman asking a man to marry her, but I have to do what’s right. Chase is not only my boss, but he’s my friend. It’s only the proper thing for me to get his permission.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Trust me, he’ll see how I feel.”

  She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled. “Maybe we should start with you telling me how you feel first.” She chuckled.

  He shifted in his worn boots, his balance off and he had to lean against the table for support. “I’m going mad. In other words, I’m in love with you Felicia Sever. If you’ll have me, I’d like to make you my wife.”

  Stepping against him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll not only have you, but I’m going to love you every day for the rest of your life. Can you handle that, cowboy?”

  “Not only can I handle it, but I’m willing to change every dirty diaper when we have our babies just to prove to you how much I love you.”

  Laughing, she laid her head back slightly, showing off the slender line of her beautiful neck. He wanted to trace the curve with his tongue, but knew he couldn’t stop there. “I’ll remind you of those words one day.”

  “Any advice for talking to Chase?”

  “Don’t take no for an answer.”

  “He was in a meeting, but I’ll speak to him ASAP.”

  “Hey, you two.” Kaycee swept into the kitchen, arms laden with bags. She placed them on the counter and groaned. Her hair was half in the bun and half out, as if she’d just ran a marathon.

  Felicia and Dade quickly parted.

  “Are you okay?” Felicia asked.

  Kaycee smoothed her misbehaving tendrils of hair away from her face. “I hurried as fast as I could. Everyone and their brother was in the market. You know, everyone’s right about something. When you first have a child, you have baby-brain. All I could think about was Isabella and wondering if she needed fed. Was she cranky? Did she miss me? I hope she wasn’t too much trouble, but who am I kidding? She’s precious and never any trouble.”

  “She’s an angel, and now taking a nap, except, she did scare the hell out of me with what I found in her diaper.” Felicia flicked a look toward Dade who was quickly moving toward the door. “Okay, Captain Obvious. Where are you going?”

  “I thought I’d let you two ladies talk, alone,” he muttered.

  Kaycee didn’t even seem to hear the exchange between Felicia and Dade. “Isabella’s a breastfed baby. Pretty disgusting poos if I say so myself and the reason why Chase and I are on a rotating shift. It works out pretty good.” She pulled off her purse and laid it on the counter. She looked from Dade to Felicia. “Did I interrupt something?”

  Dade and Felicia quickly shook their heads. “No,” they answered concurrently.

  Kaycee smiled. “You both look like you’ve been in the cookie jar.” She looked at the table. “Or just the cake.”

  “I had a hankering for chocolate,” Felicia muttered, realizing she sounded suspicious.

  “I bet you did.” Kaycee winked.

  Dade shifted and stepped toward the door, holding his hat pressed against his chest. “Do you have any more bags in the truck?” he asked.

  “Nope. This was all.” Kaycee took out bags of apples and celery from a brown bag.

  “Okay then. I’ll be on my way.” He smashed his hat on his head.

  “See you later.” Felicia watched him leave, feeling her heart ticking wildly.

  Once the door slammed behind him, Kaycee’s eyes were on her, a knowing expression on her face. “Well, well, just as I thought.”

  “Is it that obvious?” Felicia went to the window and watched as Dade climbed into the driver’s seat of the cart.

  “That you have the hots for Dade? I could feel the heat before I stepped into the kitchen.” She continued removing groceries.

  Felicia helped by taking the celery and putting it into the refrigerator. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen, never would have believed it possible, but I love him. Deeply.”

  “Well, let’s not let this chocolate go to waste. I cou
ld use a good dose of sugar.” Kaycee pulled out the chair and dug into the cake.

  Felicia joined her, but couldn’t quite dip into the yummy looking cake yet. “How will Chase take it?”

  “Like a bear with a tranquilizer dart in his butt,” she said around a mouth full.

  “Seriously?”

  Kaycee shrugged, wiping her mouth on a napkin. “You know how your brother is. He likes to keep personal and professional on two opposite sides of the fence. He’s already ticked that it seems he keeps losing his best hands to Cupid’s bow. He swears before he knows it, he will be hiring new hands every day.”

  “I can understand his concern.”

  “And there is that bit where you and Dade have kept him in the dark and lied, just a little.” Kaycee leaned back into her chair. “That could be the biggest issue.”

  Felicia nodded. “Yeah, that.” She picked at a crumble of cake.

  “Okay, don’t look so glum. What are the plans?”

  “We’re getting married.”

  “Are you kidding me? And you’re just now telling me?” She jumped up, the chair scraping the floor. “We have lots of planning to do.”

  “Okay, speedy. Slow down there. We haven’t set a date.”

  “But we have to get you on the schedule at the wedding venue. It’s booked solid, but you know me, I always keep several dates back for emergency purposes.” She turned to Felicia, a solemn expression. “That is unless you don’t want to get married here at Nirvana.”

  Felicia laughed. “I haven’t thought about it, but now that you mention it, I think here would be perfect.”

  “Oh, and we’ll have to talk to Jax and make sure she’s available to take pictures.”

  “Sweetie, I think you might be getting ahead of yourself, and you’re scaring me. How is it possible you have this much energy with a newborn?”

  She waved a hand through the air. “I had a jumbo cinnamon roll and an extra-large iced coffee while I was in town. Don’t judge me. The doctor said some caffeine is fine.”

  Felicia shook her head. “I never would. I condone anything that keeps you this energetic.”