Roping in the Cowgirl

by Judy Duarte

That was true, but in Shannon’s case, both her father and mother had died. Of course, she’d been an adult when her dad passed. And Blake still had his mom, although they weren’t particularly close. He suspected that was because he resembled his father so much—at least, in appearance.

  Even as a young child, he’d known his parents hadn’t been happy. He’d also suspected that he reminded his mom of his dad and the mistake she’d made in marrying him. That was one reason he’d tried so hard to make her and his grandparents proud of the man he’d become.

  “How old were you when you lost your dad?” she asked.

  “I was six. While he was snow-skiing, he hit a patch of ice and crashed into a tree. He died instantly.”

  “Where were you when it happened?”

  “At home with the nanny. He and my mom had gone to Vail with my grandparents.”

  “I guess it’s probably good that you weren’t with them.”

  Blake shrugged. “My parents and grandparents used to vacation together, but they didn’t include me very often.” In fact, they’d only lived an hour or so from Disneyland, and his first visit had been with a friend from school.

  “So you didn’t have any big family vacations?”

  “Only when we visited Sam and Nellie.” His thoughts drifted to the loss that had nearly unraveled him as a kid, the one he’d thought he’d put way behind him. “The sad thing is, I hardly remember my dad anymore. Most of my memories are just the things Sam and Nellie told me about him, things he’d said or done long before I was born.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was fortunate because my dad kept a lot of pictures of my mom around. In fact, I don’t think he got rid of any of her belongings. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought that she still lived with us.”

  On the other hand, Blake’s mom had cleaned out his father’s side of the closet before the funeral, which was one reason he’d taken it so hard. It was as if the man had completely disappeared from their lives without a trace.

  “I guess you could say that I was fortunate, too.” Blake offered her a wry grin. “My grandfather paid for me to see the best therapist in LA.”

  Granddad had also purchased him a new bike, as well as a PlayStation, which he’d hoped would take Blake’s mind off his grief.

  All of that had helped, he supposed, but it would have been nice to have had someone in his mother’s family to talk to. Sam and Nellie were always available, but he hadn’t been allowed to travel to Texas to visit them until he was twelve.

  When the waiter returned for their empty plates, he left a dessert menu and mentioned that the tiramisu was a customer favorite.

  Before either of them could look over their other options, a boom of thunder sounded outside, followed closely by a flash of lightning that lit up their cozy corner booth.

  Shannon glanced out the rain-splattered window then set the dessert menu aside. “Maybe we ought to return to the house. If you want something sweet, there’s ice cream in the freezer and probably plenty of leftover chocolate chip cookies.”

  Blake wasn’t a big dessert eater, unless it was a special occasion, which this evening seemed to be. But Shannon was already reaching for her purse and was clearly ready to go.

  “Is that thunder bothering you?” he asked. “Or are you just worried about the weather?”

  “The rain we’ve had over the past couple of days was only part of a series of storms on their way in from the gulf. And when we drove here, I noticed that the creek had already risen pretty high.”

  Blake signaled for the waiter, then asked for the bill. After paying with cash and leaving a generous tip, he stood and waited for Shannon to slide from the booth. Then he followed her out of the restaurant.

  Once they were standing outside under the awning, the rain was now coming down at a steady clip. So he said “Let’s hurry to the car to avoid getting soaked.”

  Melissa would have balked at an idea like that and insisted he leave her under the awning so she wouldn’t get her hair wet or ruin her makeup.

  On the other hand, Shannon, who’d been fidgety just moments ago, appeared to be delighted at the suggestion. “I love the rain. When I was a kid, I used to slip outside and play in it whenever I got the chance—or thought I could get away with it.”

  “No kidding? I wish I’d known you back then.” It had been an odd thing for Blake to say, let alone think, but it was true. Shannon was an enigma, and he could only imagine the little girl she’d once been.

  They made a mad dash to the car. As he opened the passenger door for her, she paused in the drizzling rain for a moment, then turned to him and smiled. “For what it’s worth, I would have liked knowing you back then, too—during the summers when you visited Sam’s ranch.”

  And obviously not when he’d been living in California, hobnobbing it with the rich and famous. He supposed that shouldn’t come as any surprise. Shannon had been a country girl—and still was.

  As the raindrops continued to fall, dancing on the strands of her hair and dampening her curls, she continued to stand outside the car. In spite of the chill in the air, she studied him as carefully as he studied her.

  She had to look up to meet his gaze, water droplets clinging to her lashes. When she licked at her lips with the tip of her tongue, he did something stupid. Or maybe it was the smartest move he’d ever made.

  He bent his head and kissed her, slowly at first, tenderly. Then, as her arms slipped around his neck, as she pulled him closer, his desire for her spun out of control.

  He lost himself in her touch, in her taste. And it didn’t seem to matter one little bit that they were getting soaked to the gills.

  A burst of thunder roared, and the lightning flashed again. But Blake ignored the weather and focused on the series of fireworks going off in his head.

  No doubt his and Shannon’s chemistry would lead to unspeakable passion—if he dared let it.

  * * *

  Shannon had no idea how long she and Blake would have stood outside in the rain, necking like a couple of kids with no responsibilities, no reason to give their actions any thought. If she hadn’t finally decided to put an end to it, she might have kissed him until... Well, until one of them suggested they go someplace warm and dry, where they could finish what they’d started.

  As she drew her lips from his, she wasn’t sure what to say, so she opted to smile and make light of whatever was burning between them. “There’s nothing like getting heated up and taking a cold shower at the same time.”

  Blake didn’t return her smile. Instead, he placed a hand on her jaw and studied her intently. The blood-stirring arousal in his gaze was just as obvious as it had been in his kiss.

  “For the record,” he said, “that kind of crazy, spontaneous kiss was a first for me.”

  At his revelation, her pulse spiked and her heart raced. Kissing in the rain with such wild and reckless abandon had been a first for her, too. And now that she’d experienced passion like that, she didn’t want it to be the one and only time.

  She wouldn’t admit it, though. Especially to a handsome attorney who could have any woman he wanted. But he lived in California, so his choice of lovers would be limited to that neck of the woods.

  His thumb caressed her cheek, sending her thoughts tumbling into a senseless hodgepodge. Then, with a sigh, he released her. “We’d better get out of here.”

  Shannon nodded her agreement. After slipping into the passenger seat and closing the door, she fingered her lips, still puffed and tingly from the sweet, sensual assault. But once Blake began to climb into the car, before he got behind the wheel, she dropped her hand into her lap so he wouldn’t know how deeply she’d been affected.

  If Blake had any thoughts or reservations about what they’d done, he didn’t mention it. In fact, as he started the engine, he didn’t say anything at all. And neither did Shannon.

  They drove in silence, but that mind-spinning kiss seemed to have taken on a life of its own, becoming an invi
sible passenger that sat between them, clamoring for attention.

  At least, the thought of it was banging and clanging around in her brain like the little steel ball in a pinball machine.

  Kissing Blake had felt so right, yet at the same time, it seemed wrong. He’d be flying back to Los Angeles soon, and where would that leave them?

  Where would that leave her?

  Her life would go back to usual, she supposed. Still, something had permanently changed, and she knew that, in some ways, she’d never be the same again.

  “I’ll get the heater going,” Blake said, a boyish grin tugging at his lips. “Sam and the others would never forgive me if I let the head nurse catch pneumonia.”

  So he was downplaying it, too. Then again, it was only natural that he’d focus on their physical comfort, since they were both damp and cold. But in doing so, he’d bypassed the “now what?” question altogether.

  There really was no reason to bring it up, though. Why even broach the subject when there was no logical answer?

  As the warm air began to flow into the car, Shannon thanked him for dinner.

  “My pleasure,” he said.

  They both let it go at that, and the silence continued for another mile or two.

  Finally, Blake shot a glance her way. “Are you doing okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.” And she really was. She might be a little surprised and conflicted by it all, but she was definitely okay. In fact, even wet and chilled to the bone, she’d never felt so alive.

  Who would have guessed that Blake’s kiss could make her feel this way?

  Clearly, he wasn’t the right man for her, so nothing could ever become of the passionate moment they’d shared in the drizzling rain tonight.

  As she tried to convince herself of that fact, her argument fell flat, and she realized she was wrong. Something certainly was going to come of it. The memory alone was going to last a long, long time.

  Sure, she’d been kissed before, but never like that. Her mind and her hormones were still swirling, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  One thing was certain, though. Now that she’d experienced passion and desire at their finest, she’d never settle for less in a kiss.

  Or less in a man.

  * * *

  Last night’s rain had been a big one, no doubt closing the road. But the storm that had raged inside Blake had kept him tossing and turning all night.

  He’d never been so tempted to revamp his plans for the sake of spending the night with a woman. But Nurse Shannon had knocked him completely off stride.

  Not that he’d let his law firm down, close his practice and remain in Texas, but he couldn’t just walk away from the Rocking C without...

  Oh, hell. He wanted more time to get to know Shannon a little better. The woman hadn’t just intrigued him, she seemed to have cast some kind of spell on him. Suffice it to say, he wasn’t ready to leave just yet, so he’d have to get ahold of Carol.

  Out of habit, he reached for his cell and dialed the office, but he couldn’t get a signal. So he picked the landline in Sam’s kitchenette and placed the call.

  It was two hours earlier in California, which meant Carol hadn’t gotten to work yet, but he left her a message and asked her to cancel his flight. He used the rain and flooding as an excuse, telling her that he couldn’t make it to the Houston airport until the water receded. Which, technically, was true. But that wasn’t the only reason. Even if the road was open, he was still reeling from that kiss he’d shared with Shannon.

  He wrapped up his message by saying, “I’ll let you know when you can reschedule my return.”

  Carol would assume that he was eager to get back to Los Angeles because of all the work piling up on his desk. But why wouldn’t she? She knew how focused he was on his law practice, so it would never cross her mind that he might not be in any big hurry to leave the Rocking C, even if the creek hadn’t risen.

  After disconnecting the line, he headed to the barn, taking care to avoid the puddles and noting the mess last night’s wind had left behind, the scattered leaves and twigs. Now that he would be staying on the ranch a little longer, he’d better make himself useful, and the best way to do that was to go in search of his uncle and find out what he could do to help out around the place.

  When Blake was a kid, he knew to look for Sam in the barn first. And sure enough, that’s exactly where he found him this morning, repairing one of the stable gates.

  A big black mare with white fetlocks was tied to a post about five feet away. She snorted and appeared fidgety. Clearly, she wasn’t too happy about being temporarily displaced.

  “What’s going on?” Blake asked.

  Sam looked up from his work. “Lady Luck over there went ballistic during the thunderstorm and kicked her stall apart last night.”

  “Need a hand?”

  Sam’s brow furrowed. “I can use all the help I can get around here, but the hands are fixing a downed fence along Greenly Road. And Nate’s looking for lost cattle.”

  Blake slipped his fingers into the front pockets of his jeans. “I’m available.”

  Sam looked at him as if he’d fallen off a skittish horse and conked his head.

  Blake bit back a laugh. “I might not have done this kind of work in years, but I had a good teacher, and I still remember my training. You know what they say. It’s just like riding a bike.”

  When Sam realized Blake was serious, he chuckled. “I wish it were that easy. But I gotta tell you, some of the hands I hired would be better off working at a bicycle shop in town.”

  “Are they that green?”

  “They’re coming along—finally. But I’m not sure you can teach a man how to be a good cowboy. It’s not just a matter of wearing a Stetson and a Western shirt or knowing how to saddle a horse. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a gift.”

  Sam might be right about that, although Blake suspected growing up on a ranch made a big difference.

  “Your dad had a real knack for working cattle,” Sam added. “But he gave it all up when he married your mom. And believe it or not, I once thought you had it, too.” Sam returned his focus to the gate, then nodded at a pile of lumber. “Would you bring a slat of wood over here?”

  “Sure.”

  Moments later, Blake was working alongside Sam, just like he’d done that last summer he’d spent on his uncle’s ranch. Before long, all the training and instruction came back to him.

  “It’s too bad you weren’t able to hire more experienced hands,” he told his uncle.

  “Well, I couldn’t afford to. Things will be different someday, but the money just isn’t there yet.”

  “Is the ranch financially stable?”

  Sam sighed. “It is for the time being, but there were back taxes owed and repairs that needed to be made. Hell, the barn was falling apart, so that was the first thing I had to get fixed.”

  So that was the reason for the fresh coat of red paint. It hadn’t been a matter of making the place look good.

  “Just so you know,” Sam added, “I offered a substantial loan to Chloe and Joe so they could make other improvements, buy more cattle and hire more experienced hands, but they turned me down. They want the Rocking C to be self-supportive, and I have to agree.”

  Blake hadn’t met the couple, but he liked their way of thinking.

  “Chloe and Joe are more worried about having to turn away a retired cowboy who needs a place to live out his final days.”

  Maybe Blake could help with that. “I’ve got some money I can spare, and my CPA is always suggesting that I fund a charity. I could write a check to the Rocking Chair Ranch.”

  “Chloe and Joe would rather not resort to fund-raising—at least, not yet. They’re worried about people wanting to come in and try to change the vision they have for the ranch.”

  Blake pondered that reasoning for a moment, not sure that he agreed. They couldn’t very well help any of those men if they had to shut down and close the doors.
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  “I’ll tell you what,” Blake said. “I’ll write a generous check to pay for my keep this past week. Besides, that’ll also show Joy and Shannon that I have a good side. And believe it or not, I do have one.”

  “I know you do. Nellie and I saw clear signs of it whenever you’d come to visit. But be careful. Your grandfather’s way of showing his love or fixing problems was to shower his family with gifts, just like that fancy video game set he gave you after your father died. I couldn’t see the sense in that. Wouldn’t a fishing trip or a game of catch in the evenings have worked better for a kid missing his daddy?”

  “Probably.”

  Sam let out a humph. “Sometimes a man has to address his feelings and not avoid them, no matter how uncomfortable that might make him. If you’d been living with Nellie and me when your father died, I wouldn’t have tried to distract you from your grief. I would have let you talk about it whenever you needed to.”

  “I talked about it.” He’d also talked about the fact that neither his mother nor his grandparents seemed to be especially torn up by the loss of his father.

  Sam probably wouldn’t think a high-dollar therapist was the answer, especially since Dr. Boroughs had merely given Blake’s mom and her family a way to pass the buck and not have to deal with a brokenhearted kid.

  Still, it was not as though Granddad hadn’t been loving or supportive. He just hadn’t been one to talk about feelings.

  On the other hand, Sam rarely kept his thoughts or emotions secret, which was just further evidence that the two men had been cut from different bolts of cloth. So for that reason, Blake was about to let the topic drop and get back to work when an idea struck, one he never would have considered when he first arrived. “Did you ever think about using the retired cowboys to mentor the younger hands?”

  “I could,” Sam said, “but Rex and the other guys tend to bitch and holler at them more often than not. And so I doubt anyone would listen to them.”

  “Maybe you should have a talk with the older cowboys and tell them how badly their wisdom and experience is needed. They might be easier on the hired men and less critical. I’d think that might make your job a whole lot easier. You certainly can’t be everywhere at once.”