Six Weeks to Catch a Cowboy

by Brenda Harlen

  “Do you want a goodbye kiss, too?” he teased, when he saw that she was watching from the doorway.

  More than she wanted to breathe.

  But she’d learned the hard way that wanting anything from Spencer was only an invitation to heartbreak.

  She shook her head. “I want you to go—and I don’t want you to be late getting back because I need time to make myself irresistible for my date.”

  He paused on his way to the door to give her a critical once-over. “You know, I can probably do this another day.”

  The implication, of course, being that she would need every minute left in the day to make herself appealing.

  She pointed to the door. “Get out.”

  He was grinning as he reached for the handle.

  Then he paused again. “Oh, one more thing.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “What?”

  His teasing smile faded as he lifted a hand to stroke a finger along the line of her jaw. “You’re already a knockout, Kenzie Atkins, and any guy who can’t see that isn’t worth your time.”

  And then he was gone, leaving her cursing his effortless ability to stir her up and make her want something she knew she couldn’t have.

  * * *

  Since he had some time but he didn’t have a supper plan and couldn’t remember what was in his fridge, Spencer stopped at The Trading Post to pick up a few groceries on his way home.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said, setting the grocery bags on the counter. “I ran into Beverly Clayton at the grocery store and had to ooh and ahh over all the babies before I could make an escape.”

  “Macy’s triplets?”

  He nodded.

  “I heard she had the babies, but I haven’t seen them yet,” Kenzie admitted, obviously disappointed that he’d done so first.

  “According to the proud grandma, today was their first outing—aside from check-ups with their pediatrician.” He started to unpack his groceries. “So how was your afternoon?”

  “We had a great time,” Kenzie said. “We walked over to the park so Dani could play on the climber and the swings. There were a few other kids of a similar age there, too—kids she’d go to school with...if you’re still here when it’s time for her to go to school.”

  He flashed her a quick smile as he retrieved a big pot from the cupboard and filled it with water, then set it on the back burner of the stove. “You should bait your hook if you wanna go fishing.”

  “I’m not fishing,” she denied, though they both knew she’d been doing exactly that. And since he wasn’t taking the bait—“Did you know that Ashleigh has a daughter just a few months older than Dani?”

  “Who?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

  Kenzie rolled her eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”

  He washed his hands, then opened the package of ground beef and dumped it into a bowl.

  “Ashleigh Singer was one of your many high school girlfriends. Beautiful, blonde, built.”

  The girlfriend he’d planned to meet in the hayloft the night Kenzie had been there instead.

  Of course, she didn’t say that aloud, but the flush in her cheeks confirmed that she was remembering the same thing.

  “Oh, you mean Easy Ashleigh.”

  “Easy Peasy,” Dani chimed in.

  Spencer choked on a laugh.

  “Of course, she goes by Hutchinson now,” Kenzie told him.

  He added a dash of salt and pepper, a handful of onion flakes and a few shakes of Italian seasoning, then mixed it all together. “She didn’t marry Matt Hutchinson?” he asked, referring to the man who was a good friend and business partner of his brother.

  “No, Matt’s brother, Chance—the firefighter.”

  Dani moved closer, to see what he was doing. “Whatcha makin’?”

  “Meatballs,” Spencer told her.

  Her eyes lit up. “For s’ghetti?”

  He nodded.

  “Yay!” She clapped her hands together. “S’ghetti an’ meatballs!”

  “Anyway, I gave Ashleigh your number so that she could call you to set up a playdate,” Kenzie interjected.

  He lifted his brows.

  “For Dani and Paris,” Kenzie clarified. “And before you get any ideas about anything else, try to remember that your ex-girlfriend is married to a man who knows how to wield an ax.”

  “I have no interest in anything else,” he promised. Then he winked. “At least, not with Ashleigh.”

  “And on that note.” Kenzie picked up her handbag from the counter, obviously intending to head out.

  “Wait—aren’t you going to stay and have pasta with us?”

  “You know I can’t.”

  “Oh, right,” he said, as if he’d forgotten about her plans. “You have a date with...what was his name again?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Right.” He nodded. “Is ‘None’ his first name and ‘Business’ his last?”

  “Good night, Spencer.” She bent down to kiss the top of Dani’s head. “Good night, Dani.”

  The little girl tipped her chin up and looked pleadingly at Kenzie. “Ke’zie, stay an’ have s’ghetti.”

  She shook her head, though she at least looked tempted by his daughter’s request—certainly more so than his own.

  “I can’t tonight, but I’ll see you soon.”

  Dani pouted, obviously disappointed to be abandoned.

  Spencer knew just how she felt.

  * * *

  Her date’s name was Jack Caldwell. He was a pediatrician who lived and worked in Battle Mountain, and a cousin of Jillian, the receptionist at Back in the Game, who’d set up the date.

  Since he’d driven in from out of town, it made sense to eat in Haven, which meant eating at Diggers’. There were other options—Jo’s for pizza or the Sunnyside Diner for all-day breakfast—but the grill side of Diggers’ Bar & Grill was the most popular destination for couples on date night and, despite the casual décor, many of the residents would dress up as if they were going out to enjoy fine dining. Sure, the restaurant had a hostess rather than a maître d’ and the wine list consisted of six lines on the back of the menu, but Kenzie was happy to eat there, confident that the food was always good.

  She had high hopes for the evening when her date held her chair for her to be seated. He was handsome and well-mannered—and not just a doctor but one who specialized in caring for kids. She wondered how it was that he was still single.

  Before she could find the words to ask him that question, she felt a vibration in the outside pocket of the handbag she’d hung over the back of her chair. As she laid her napkin in her lap, she surreptitiously slid her phone out of the bag and unlocked the screen to find a message from Spencer.

  There’s leftover pasta if your date is a bust.

  She tucked the phone under her napkin.

  “Can I get you started with something to drink?” Deanna asked.

  Jack gestured to Kenzie.

  “I’ll have a glass of the merlot.”

  “The same,” Jack decided.

  The server nodded and slipped away to get their drinks.

  “Do you eat here very often?” he asked Kenzie.

  “At least once a week,” she admitted.

  “I should have taken you somewhere else,” he said.

  Her phone vibrated against her thigh. “No, this is fine.”

  “I just wasn’t sure I’d feel up to driving here to pick you up, then somewhere else to eat, then back again,” he said. “Especially after a day packed with sick kids battling some kind of virus that’s going around the local elementary schools.”

  “This is fine,” she said again, peeking at her phone.

  But no ice cream. Dani ate it. ALL of it

  She felt a smile tug at her lips, beca
use she knew how much the little girl loved ice cream. However, she wouldn’t let herself be amused by the interruption. Spencer knew she was on a date and was obviously trying to sabotage her plans for a romantic evening.

  But her fingers moved on the screen, as if of their own volition:

  With sprinkles?

  “This is my first ever blind date,” Kenzie confessed, as she waited for her wine—and Spencer’s response.

  “Mine, too.”

  “Well, I know why I agreed to do this—Jillian couldn’t say enough about her handsome and single cousin.”

  She stole another glance at her phone:

  Lots of sprinkles.

  “Technically, I’m not single... I’m divorced.”

  She blew out a relieved breath. “For a second, when you said you weren’t single, I thought you were married.”

  “No, not married,” he assured her. “My second divorce was finalized almost a year ago.”

  “Second divorce?”

  Her phone silently signaled another message:

  She wants Ke’zie to give her a bath.

  “Yeah,” he admitted. “Is that a problem for you?”

  “No,” she said, because she suspected it was the answer he wanted to hear, though not one that sounded very convincing. And then another thought occurred to her. “Any kids?”

  He nodded. “An eight-year-old son with my first wife and a four-year-old daughter with my second.”

  Of course, his mention of a four-year-old daughter made her think of Dani. Was she really objecting to bath time? Even if she was, Kenzie had no doubt that Spencer would lure her into the tub with bubbles.

  “Do you see them very often?” she asked.

  “As often as I can,” he told her.

  Which somehow managed to sound both noble and vague.

  “So where are your kids tonight?” she wondered.

  Got her in the tub but she says she won’t go to sleep until Ke’zie reads her a story.

  “JJ, that’s Jack Junior, has a youth group thing at the church this weekend. His mother—” he made air quotes with his fingers “—‘found religion,’ supposedly after we split up, and married the pastor six months later.”

  “And your daughter?” she prompted cautiously.

  “Lexi has swimming lessons every Saturday night because her mom, who receives generous support so that she can be a stay-at-home mom to our daughter, always schedules extracurricular activities for the days that I’m supposed to be with Lexi.”

  “That must be difficult,” Kenzie said sympathetically. Sure, he sounded a little bitter, but maybe he had reasons for dumping on his exes.

  She picked The Going to Bed Book—again.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “You’d think my ex-wives would understand that being a doctor means that emergencies sometimes interfere with my plans. Instead, they punish me for the rare occasions when I have to disappoint my kids because another child is sick or injured.”

  Kenzie was grateful to see the waitress returning with their drinks.

  “Are you ready to order?” Deanna asked pleasantly.

  “I haven’t even had a chance to look at the menu,” Jack confided. “I was in the mood for steak, but I’m not sure a place like this would offer the choicest cuts.”

  To her credit, Deanna’s smile never faded.

  “Our special tonight is the bison meat loaf, which has received favorable reviews,” she told him. “It’s served with a garlic potato mash and grilled asparagus.”

  “Meat loaf?” he said dubiously.

  “It’s very good,” Kenzie said.

  “All right then,” he said. “I’ll go with that.”

  “And for you?” Deanna asked her.

  “The strip loin with whiskey-peppercorn sauce, medium, with the twice-baked potato and a house salad, please.”

  “I’ll put your order in right away,” the waitress promised.

  She’s cuddling the book and her blanket, waiting.

  The mental image tugged at Kenzie’s heart, making her wish that she was snuggled up with Dani now, instead of making conversation with a man she already knew would never be the father of her children. But Dani wasn’t her child, either, and she couldn’t let the little girl—or her daddy—manipulate her for their own purposes.

  So resolved, she sent a quick response:

  I’m a little busy right now.

  “So...how about you?” Jack asked her now. “You ever been married?”

  “No.”

  “Any kids?”

  She shook her head. “No again.”

  “So who keeps texting you that you’re stealing glances at your phone under the table?”

  She felt her cheeks flush. “Just a friend. I’m sorry.”

  “Maybe you could tell your friend that you’re on a date,” he suggested.

  “I can. I mean, I did,” she said. “But he just had a question about something.”

  “Just one question?”

  “Well, you know how sometimes an answer leads to more questions,” she said.

  “So you and this guy...” he let the thought trail off.

  Kenzie shook her head. “No. Just a friend.”

  “A friend who keeps interrupting though he knows you’re on a date,” Jack pointed out.

  “This is the last time,” she promised, tapping a quick reply that said:

  Unless there is blood or fire, I don’t want to hear from you before tomorrow!

  Then she set her phone on the table, so that Jack could see her turn it off, and so that even if there was blood or fire, Spencer would have to deal with it on his own.

  Not that she was really worried about a major disaster. She had faith in Spencer’s ability to keep his daughter safe and not burn down his apartment. But even as she chatted with her date and enjoyed her meal, she nevertheless found her mind wandering.

  Spencer had taken to fatherhood with an aptitude that surprised her—and made her yearn. Yes, even at twenty-three, she knew that she wanted a family of her own someday. Maybe because she’d never felt as if she had one growing up. Now that she was older, she could appreciate everything Cheryl had done to provide for her, but she’d always been aware of that empty space that should have been filled by a father.

  Spending time with Spencer and Dani, she couldn’t help but admire his dedication to his daughter. And that was what she wanted. Not Spencer, specifically—because she wasn’t foolish enough to give her heart again to the man who had broken it once before—but a man like Spencer. A man devoted to his family.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t think Jack was that man. Maybe it wasn’t fair to make snap judgments, but she didn’t want to marry a man who’d already broken marriage vows—twice.

  But even disregarding his two ex-wives and children, there really wasn’t any chemistry between them. And considering how long it had been since she’d had sex, that was disappointing. Unless it was her unplanned but extended period of celibacy that was the reason for her lack of interest. Maybe she just needed to be warmed up, like the modeling clay Dani liked to play with that became easier to shape the more it was manipulated.

  And was she really comparing herself to a cold lump of clay? Suggesting that a man just needed to warm her up to mold her into an amenable sex partner? The absurdity of the comparison made her smile and, giving her head a mental shake, she refocused her attention on her dinner companion.

  “Dessert?” Jack nudged the menu toward her.

  “Oh. No, thanks.”

  “Coffee or tea?” Deanna asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Just the check then,” he told the server, who nodded and hurried off to do his bidding. Then to Kenzie, “Maybe we could head back to my place tonight? I’ve got early rounds in the morning, so it would be more convenient to
spend the night close to the hospital.”

  It took Kenzie, whose attention was still split between the man seated across from her and the little girl who might or might not be sleeping across town, a minute to realize what he was suggesting. And when she did, she was taken aback by his audacity. “Look, Jack, I don’t know what Jillian told you about me, but I’m not the type of girl who goes home with a guy after a first date.”

  “She didn’t tell me that you were.” He punctuated the assurance with a smile that had undoubtedly persuaded a lot of other women to do just that. “I’m just an eternal optimist.”

  “I did have a good time tonight,” she told him, because he was Jillian’s cousin and she didn’t want to create any tension with her colleague by completely blowing him off.

  “So maybe we can do it again sometime?” The illegible signature he scrawled on the credit card slip attested to his occupation.

  “Maybe.” She offered the noncommittal response as he helped her on with her coat. And though she mentally awarded him bonus points for that, they weren’t enough to make up for the fact that he’d insulted the food before even tasting it.

  She wanted to be attracted to him. He was a good-looking man, nicely built, obviously intelligent and successful. And Cheryl had been thrilled to hear that her daughter was going on a date with a doctor—a tantalizing tidbit that Kenzie had thrown into their recent conversation when her mother started to get on her case about spending too much time with Spencer and his little girl. But despite Jack’s numerous and impressive attributes, there was just no sizzle between them.

  “Thanks for dinner,” she said, when he walked her to her door. “And my apologies, again, for all the interruptions.”

  “Is your phone still off?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Good,” he said, then leaned in to kiss her.

  Though she didn’t think she’d given him any signs that this was a direction she wanted to go, she decided to test her theory. She let her eyes drift shut and hoped that kissing Jack would be the catalyst to start the sparks flying.

  His lips were firm and confident as they moved over hers, and while it was a pleasant enough kiss, it wasn’t anything more than that. Then his hands slid down her back and over the curve of her butt, his fingers kneading her flesh. And with the modeling clay analogy still in her head, she wanted to giggle.