Captivated By A Cowboy (Canton County Cowboys 3)

by Charlene Bright

  This whole conversation has gone from strange to weird. Carissa put Trey’s T-shirt back on and walked out of the ranch house, thanking Nancy before she left.

  “What I really want? What do I really want?” A thousand answers ran through her head but none of them were right. Not until she saw him. Trey Montgomery stood on his porch, his hair damp and freshly washed. He was buttoning up a white Western-style shirt which he wore with a pair of dark blue Levi’s. He didn’t wear a hat but walked across the yard toward her with a smile on his face.

  As she walked over to him, she was thinking of excuses she could use for staying a little longer on the ranch. She needed at least another week to get used to everything. Maybe the snake bite incident would get her some sympathy with her boss, Clare. She could spare her for another week, surely?

  Well, she’d soon find out.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Trey noticed that Devon’s car was gone. The angry Viking had let it be known that he was none too happy with Trey and Carissa. After slamming drawers and stomping up and down the hallway, he’d left finally. That had been a good feeling, watching him storm out of the cabin. No more Devon. Trey knew it hadn’t been a nice thing he’d done and that somehow, karma would pay him back but for that moment he couldn’t be more pleased to have Carissa all to himself. He walked across the yard and stepped up on the porch of the ranch house that Nancy had been cleaning earlier. There she was looking beautiful, even though she’d been riding for hours.

  Which brought him to his next thought—what was the plan? Did he really want to fall for a girl who would be gone in just one more day? Was she the kind of person that he wanted to spend time with? Sure, she qualified. Her beauty set her apart, but she wasn’t just a pretty face. No, she had a heart of gold, like Aunt Nancy. He didn’t know what he felt about her, but he knew without a doubt that he did like her. That was something, right?

  “You still haven’t gotten your shower—what happened to your face?”

  “Oh that? Melody slapped me.”

  “Where is she? What’s her problem?”

  “The same problem that Devon had, I suppose. I see he’s gone now too.”

  “Looks that way.” Suddenly both started to talk at the same time.

  Finally, Carissa said, “I’m calling my office and I’m asking for the week off. There’s no way I’ll learn how to do all this just one week. I think Angela will take care of Rudy for me …”

  “Rudy? Is he your son? Why don’t you bring him too? I’d like to meet him.”

  “No, but that’s very nice to hear that you would want to meet my son, if I had one. Actually Rudy is a monk parakeet who likes to talk. When I’m away for too long, he gets a little nutty because he’s so lonely. My friend Angela usually takes care of him but she’d have to drive him down or I’d have to drive back because I’ve already imposed on her for one week.”

  “I don’t think Aunt Nancy would mind if you brought him up. And it’s been a while since I’ve seen Dallas. I could ride back with you while you pick Rudy up and you could show me the sights,” he suggested.

  “That sounds great. Do you think that you could spare a few hours on your only day off? I know this is kind of short notice.”

  “Sure, I can. I rarely go to the city and I’d like to see where you live.”

  “Great! I’ll let Clare know what’s going on. On second thought, I better stop and talk to Nancy first. She’s the boss around here.”

  “That she is. I’m going to the dining hall. I’ll make you a sandwich if you promise to come eat it.”

  “I will.”

  Trey started to walk away but he turned back. He put his arms around her waist and stood close to her. What should he say to her? I’m glad you’re staying. I’m glad Devon’s gone. I want to kiss you again? Yeah, all those things. He guessed for now, he’d settle for a kiss.

  “Trey,” she whispered.

  “Yes?”

  “Will you kiss me again, please? I think it might help with the snake bite.” It’s like she’d read his mind and he liked that.

  He grinned down at her. “I think I can help you out with that. Let’s see …” His warm lips were on hers again.

  Trey thought about Jessie, the girl who broke his heart in high school. He’d been crazy about her but they were two awkward teenagers who didn’t know how to do much of anything. Now he was a man and he knew what he wanted. He was beginning to understand that he wanted Carissa. Like a man wanted a woman. He’d felt stirrings before; hell, he wasn’t made of ice. But he didn’t do like some men and sit around thinking about sex all the time. He’d had his fair share of dates, but nothing that had gotten very serious. He had a job to do and he did it every day. No time for such thoughts, but then Carissa Wood walked onto the ranch in her ridiculous white cowboy hat, cleft chin, and soft brown hair. He’d seen her at her worst, flat on her back lying on the ground, bitten by a snake, stalked by a jealous boyfriend. In all things she kept her composure, proving to anyone who’d look that she was a true lady. Yeah, he sure liked that.

  All those thoughts in one kiss. He kissed her again, this time thinking of nothing but her. Again he traced her jaw with his finger and touched her soft hair with his hands. “If I don’t stop now, I won’t be able to finish what I was doing.” He looked blank and continued, “Now, what was I doing?”

  “You were making us a sandwich.”

  “Right! I’m going now.” He left as promised and she followed after him looking for Nancy. She found her quickly enough. She was thankful that the older lady didn’t mention anything about their earlier conversation.

  He walked to the dining hall; it was empty except for a few employees who’d come in for something cold to drink. One was Billy, who asked, “Hey, where you been?”

  “Painted Rock, where you been?”

  Billy and Coleman followed Trey into the kitchen, watching him pull sandwich stuff out of one of the big refrigerators.

  “You know that Coleman broke those other two horses but that big black monster isn’t cooperating. I’m sad to tell you that Camaro might be a one-man animal,” said Billy. The young man laughed about it. He had always admired Trey’s ability to work with the most difficult animals. He’d often considered Trey a kind of mythical horse whisperer although he’d never heard anyone call him that. Trey was only six years older than Billy but the younger man considered him as a kind of mentor. Someone who knew everything about ranching and horses.

  “Is that so? You mean you haven’t gotten your hind end up on him yet?” Trey joked, feeling unusually lighthearted this afternoon.

  “No, but it’s not for lack of trying.”

  “Keep on trying, you’ll get the hang of it.” Trey sliced up a tomato and lathered some bread with mayo and mustard.

  “Hey, Melody, looking mighty fine today,” Coleman complimented the redhead.

  “Oh shut up and get out of here, Coleman. I’ve got something to say to Trey.”

  “Geesh, no need to be rude.” Coleman and Billy left the couple alone in the big kitchen. Trey tossed the bread down and stared at her. He matched her stare perfectly.

  “You’ve got some nerve, Trey Montgomery. First, you lie to that guy sending him back for a snake bite kit that you know he doesn’t need just so you can be alone with Carissa. Then you tell her all kinds of stuff about me. Why would you do that?” Big fat tears were in Melody’s eyes. Immediately he felt uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to comforting crying woman. Honestly, he didn’t spend much time with them but to be around one that’s crying. That didn’t happen every day.

  “I didn’t lie to anyone. She’d had an accident, actually two accidents, and he was hysterical. He was making her hysterical. I gave him a task, that’s all. For the record, I’ve never talked to Carissa about you but I did hear you slapped her. Why would you do something like that Melody?”

  “Don’t you know, Trey, or are you that dense?” The tears began to flow as she talked. Trey didn’t like the way this
conversation was going but what could he do. Walk away? Leave his sandwiches on the counter?

  “What am I supposed to know, Melody?”

  “She said that she knew you better than me. That I didn’t know the kind of man you were, that I didn’t stand a chance with you.” Trey stared at her like she was a snake. How did he handle this? She continued her complaint, “You’ve known how I felt about you all this time and yet you don’t want me. Why? What did I do? What did I ever do except be nice to you?”

  “Melody, I can’t believe this. Is this why you slapped her?”

  “That’s how it is then. It’s all about Carissa, a woman you’ve known a week? Wow, that’s just great, Trey Montgomery! I hope she stabs you in the back and stomps on your heart just like you did me. You’d get what you deserved!” Trey froze—he could hardly believe his ears. What the hell was going on around here? Before he could respond, Carissa appeared in the kitchen, still looking dusty and disheveled from the ride. He watched Melody; if she made one move to attack Carissa he’d stop her. That woman had been through enough today.

  Melody paused on her way out of the room and smiled at Carissa. “This ain’t over, Miss Wood.”

  “Yes, it is, Melody. You best go on now,” Trey commanded from the island counter. His deep voice boomed through the kitchen and anyone could see that he was serious.

  She left and Carissa stared after her. “I hope I didn’t cost you a friend.”

  “If she was truly a friend she wouldn’t have struck you. A guest at the ranch. Do you want ham or turkey?”

  “Nice way to change the subject.” Carissa leaned over the island and smiled at him. “I’ll have turkey please.” Trey made the sandwiches and slid one to her. He walked to the refrigerator and grabbed two cold cans of soda popping them both open. He knew she liked this kind because he’d seen her drink it the day before.

  “What did Aunt Nancy say? Can you stay?”

  “She said absolutely but you’d have to train me around your regular schedule. She said that as long as you did what you were supposed to do, she had no problem with that. I called Clare, she agreed with me and told me to stay. Now I suppose I need to make a list of everything I’ll need for the week. I’ll do that after I eat and get a shower. Maybe we could ride up to Dallas tomorrow afternoon?”

  “Sure, what’s your bird going to think about a two-hour ride?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve been thinking about that. Maybe Angela would agree to keep him with her if I ask nicely and slide her some extra cash. I miss Rudy but this might be too stressful for him. However, regardless, I’m going to need some personal things. I haven’t had much opportunity to even get out my laptop and I know I’ve got a ton of email to sift through. I can do that while you work.”

  “Okay, to Dallas then.” He raised his soda can as if he were making a toast. Carissa toasted back with a smile.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this. Is this crazy?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean staying an extra week. Is this crazy? Am I overthinking this?”

  “I don’t know, Carissa. Do you think you are?”

  She gazed up on his handsome face, the fine lines around his eyes, his dark intelligent eyes. No, she was doing the right thing. She’d never taken a week off to do anything but she wanted to be on the Easy R with Trey and Sterling and Nancy. She liked it here and felt good about her progress. She even felt good about what was happening between her and her cowboy.

  Who knew what the future would hold? She felt a little nagging worry about Devon and Melody. Carissa felt sorry that something that made her so happy made two other people so miserable.

  Oh well. Nancy had told her the truth. “Sometimes you had to fight for what you want the most.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nancy seemed pleased about her desire to extend her stay at the Easy R, but Carissa wasn’t a kid. She planned on pulling her weight and that would mean really getting into the day-to-day chores. Clare had liked the idea of her staying too, hoping that her student would get the most she could from the experience. Carissa planned on it and if she got to know Trey a little better, so much the better.

  She smiled at him as they drove into Dallas, hardly believing that he was here beside her. She’d wanted to take her car but Trey wanted to put “the Beast” on the road. He’d just replaced the old Ford’s transmission and was anxious to put it through its paces to measure the vehicle’s performance. So far, he seemed pleased.

  “It’s not much to look at but it has some sentimental value to all of us.”

  “Really? Why? Was this the truck you took to the prom?” she joked.

  “I didn’t go to the prom.” He grinned. I think my brother and I went on a fishing trip instead.

  “That must have broken a few hearts.”

  “I doubt that. No, this truck was my dad’s, then my uncle’s and one day, I’m hoping it’s mine. It’s kind of like a big ugly family member. You don’t want anyone to know about but you can’t help but keep it around.”

  Anxious to get to know a little more about him, Carissa asked, “Tell me about your brother. Is he a lot like you?”

  “What do you mean? Does he act like me?”

  “Yeah, I guess. If I’m being too nosy, please forgive me.”

  Carissa liked looking at him. She watched him as he drove. It was a lot like watching him ride a horse only he wasn’t as patient behind the wheel as he was on the back of a horse.

  “I’m disappointed with my brother right now so it’s not fun to talk about him. People say we favor but I think he looks more like my mother. She had dark hair and she was definitely a people person. I’m more like my dad in those two areas.”

  “I see.” Carissa didn’t want to say much because she’d rather listen than talk. You learn more when you listen—she’d learned that as a counselor.

  “When we were kids it didn’t make much difference how different we were because he and I were close. But the older we got, the more our differences became apparent and I guess the harder it was for the two of us to get along.”

  “That can happen.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. I can’t speak for others but it did with us for sure. When my mother passed away he got kind of depressed and couldn’t shake out of it. When my father passed away, he went on an all-out drunk. He didn’t want to work the ranch so we sold it and split our inheritance. I could have bought him out, but he would have come back and expected more. That’s just how he is. Chase was kind of spoiled—I mean, he acts like somebody owes him something. As much as I didn’t want to sell the ranch, I sure as hell didn’t want to get saddled with him as a partner. He can’t be trusted, at least not until he gets back into his right mind. I hope that’s soon.”

  “That’s a tough predicament, Trey. It sounds like you made the right call though. From the sound of it, you knew that you couldn’t leave the door open for him to sue you for more money. I hope things return to somewhat normal soon.”

  “I do too. I miss Chase but I miss the old Chase. Not the booze-soaked, skirt-chaser that he’s become.”

  “Is he really that bad?”

  “Well, he called me from a cheap motel room in Thompson last night wanting me to come get him. He couldn’t remember how he got there or where his wallet was.”

  “Did you?”

  “No, I didn’t. He found his way there; he can find his way home.”

  Carissa didn’t say anything, just stared out the window. It was sad to hear that Chase and Trey had grown apart. She couldn’t help but think about Audrey, her older sister. Would they have grown apart? She didn’t want to think so but anything was possible, wasn’t it?

  “I guess I sound like a hard-hearted bastard.”

  “No, you don’t. I know all about difficult family situations.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Yeah me too. Does the radio work in here?”

  “Sure does. You want to find us something?”
<
br />   “Yep, I can do that but I have to confess, I don’t listen to country music. Or I haven’t listened to country music. I’m willing to try though.”

  He laughed aloud. “Okay, so you think that just because I’m a cowboy I only listen to country music? Actually I know a lot of country because I hear it everywhere but when it’s just me, I listen to everything. Go ahead, ask me something. I’m great with music trivia.”

  “You’re on! Let me find something.” She flipped the channel using the old fashioned dial. A guitar solo filled the air; it was a familiar tune, something from the 80s. Kind of a pop tune. After a few seconds he said, “‘Let’s Go Crazy’ by Prince.” The song ended and the announcer confirmed his guess.

  “Okay, tough guy. Don’t get too cocky. Let’s try another one.” She flipped to a classic rock channel that she was familiar with. A violin sung sweetly, climbing up the scale and down perfectly. Before the singer even began, he said, “‘Dust in the Wind’ by Kansas. You’ll have to do better than that if you want to stump me at music trivia.”

  She laughed and they played a few more rounds; Trey named the artist and song title correctly each time. “Hidden talents, eh? When did you become such a musical savant?”

  “I’ve always loved music. I had a Walkman long before they were cool. I was a little jammer back in the day. I listened to everything. Blues, reggae, rock, of course, and the obligatory country tunes. A guy has to have something to do when he spends time on the trail. I like music and if I hadn’t gotten into ranching, I think I would have been a rock star.”

  She didn’t laugh at him. Everyone needed to have a dream. He was damn sure handsome enough to be a rock star. “Can you sing?”

  “Nope. That’s the only flaw in my otherwise perfect plan. Even the cattle don’t like it when I sing.”

  They both laughed. They drove into Dallas as the sun was going down. The time flew by because they spent so much time talking. Carissa was happy to discover that she was attracted to a straight-up nice guy. That was a relief. No more Devon repeats. No more wasted time. She gave him directions to her apartment building and he pulled the truck into the parking garage. It looked out of place in the rows of shiny new automobiles. She didn’t care—she was proud to walk with him to her apartment.