Best of Cowboys Bundle

by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Barbara White Daille, Judy Christenberry, Christine Wenger, Shirley Rogers, Crystal Green, Nina Bruhns, Candance Schuler, Carole Mortimer

  “I didn’t put any makeup on.”

  “You don’t need it.”

  Smiling at his comment, she looked out the window at the scenery. She remembered that when she’d first arrived, she’d thought that the saguaros were ominous and foreboding. Now she was used to them and they looked majestic and strong with their arms reaching up to the sky.

  “I told you about my younger days on the ranch. Now you tell Cait and me what it was like growing up in Boston,” Buck said.

  “Well, I’m an only child.” She put a hand over Cait’s. “Like Cait.” Merry didn’t want to talk over the girl’s head as if she wasn’t even there. “My parents are stockbrokers. They have their own business. Turner Brokerage.”

  Buck nodded.

  “When I was growing up, they were busy building up their company and making social contacts—that kind of thing. Luckily I had Pamela.” She smiled at Cait, who seemed to be listening. “You would have loved Pam. She’s just like your aunt Karen.”

  “Was she a relative?” Buck asked.

  “No. She was the housekeeper, cook, my friend and the parents I didn’t have all rolled into one. She was the one who taught me to cook and to enjoy decorating and baking. Pam was the reason why I went into the hospitality and culinary programs at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island.” She turned her attention to Cait. “That’s where I met your aunt Karen. She was taking the business program.”

  “Where’s Pam now?” he asked.

  “She’s living with her sister in Connecticut, but I see her whenever I can, which isn’t often enough. I just adore her.” She patted Princess’s head. “Pam was the one who gave me Bonita, my stuffed cat, when I was a child.”

  “And how did you get on TV?” Buck asked.

  “With hard work and some help from a teacher at J & W who thought I had potential.”

  “Do you like what you’re doing?” he asked.

  “I used to, but somehow it all got too big and out of hand. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lost control of my company,” she finally confessed, blurting out things that had been hiding in the back of her mind. “I don’t enjoy what I’ve become.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A conglomerate.” Merry sighed. “I’ve lost the fun. I’ve lost control.”

  “It’s your life and it’s your business. Take back control, Merry, and trim it down so you’re doing what you want. Then maybe the fun will return.”

  “Do you think it’s that simple?”

  He shrugged. “It’s probably easier said than done. I want to diversify, and here I’m advising you to cut back. What’s more important is what you think.”

  “I think you are probably right,” she said, brushing some stray hair back from Cait’s face. “If only it was that easy. Huh, Cait?”

  Cait shrugged and closed her eyes. Merry put her arm around Cait’s slim shoulders and moved the girl to rest against her side. Cait didn’t protest or move away.

  Merry knew that she’d miss Cait when she was gone. She was like a little lost soul, a lonely girl who couldn’t reach out, who tried to steel herself from hurt.

  In many ways, Cait reminded Merry of herself.

  Merry loved the feed store. It was like a Wal-Mart but with twice as much stuff packed into a tenth of the space.

  The owner of the Lizard Rock Feed and Hardware, Dan Hollister, recognized her immediately and told her right off that he didn’t miss any of her shows.

  He said that he’d owned the store since Buck was in diapers, then proceeded to show her a fascinating cooking kit where two metal plates and two metal mugs were contained in a frying pan bottom and a Dutch oven, complete with lid, and all screwed together with the handle of the frying pan.

  Merry inspected every inch. “Fascinating. I love this.”

  “Dan, Merry needs a pair of nice, comfortable cowboy boots,” Buck said.

  “You know where they are, Buck. I’m enjoying the lady’s company.”

  “But I need the lady’s feet over here.”

  Dan pushed his glasses up on his nose. “I guess that’s the truth.” He turned to Merry. “Go ahead, miss. Buck’s in some awful hurry. It used to be that a man could talk to his customers.”

  The smell of leather and beeswax permeated the store and the wooden floor under her creaked. She wished she had more time to explore. All kinds of interesting things could probably be found in its nooks and crannies.

  Merry scanned the selection of boots in her size. “What kind of boots should I buy?”

  “Those black ones over there.” Buck pointed to the ugliest boots in the lineup. “They’ll do fine. You can wear them around the ranch, and go boot scootin’ at the honky-tonk with them at night.”

  “Boot scootin’ at the honky-tonk? Now, there’s something I’ve never done.”

  “Then you’ve missed a great part of our culture.”

  “Indeed I have.” She drew out the words. “And do you scoot your boots often?”

  “Often enough. I’ll take you dancing before you leave.”

  She didn’t think that would be a good idea. She was sure she couldn’t boot-scoot to save her life. Ah…but what would it be like to dance with Buck?

  Cait pointed to a pair of turquoise boots with a big green saguaro on the side with a wolf howling up at the moon under the cactus. They screamed “tourist,” which, of course, Merry was.

  “You know, Cait, I like those. They’re perfect. I’ll try them on,” she said.

  Buck took the boots off the shelf. “Okay. Sit down.”

  Merry sat down on one of the two chairs. Cait sat on the edge of a smaller chair.

  Buck squatted down in front of her, picked up her foot and slid her sandals off. Her foot looked so tiny in his big hand, and she could feel his calluses under the pad of her foot.

  “You should wear socks with boots.” He looked around but didn’t find what he wanted. “Hey, Dan,” he yelled. “Throw me a pair of boot socks for Merry.”

  In seconds, the socks came flying overhead, and Buck caught them in one hand. Merry felt a tingle down her spine as he pulled her pant leg up and his warm knuckles grazed the length of her leg. She held her breath.

  She watched his arm muscles bunch and his shirt pull taut across his strong, wide back as he bent over. She picked up the lid of the shoe box and traced the edge to give her hands something to do, so she wouldn’t be tempted to feel Buck’s muscles moving under her palms. She stared at the tanned skin at the vee of his shirt as she felt his hands on her legs, pulling up the thick white socks, then the colorful boots.

  “Okay. Walk in them.”

  His voice was hoarse. Maybe he was just as bothered as she was.

  When his blue eyes gazed up at her, she had to fight the urge to tell him to take the boots off and put them on again.

  “Merry? Do they feel okay?”

  She snapped back to life and took a few tentative steps. Surprisingly, they were more comfortable than they had looked. “They feel fine.”

  “Good. You can wear them now.”

  A fluffy gray-and-white cat walked over to Buck and scratched her neck on Buck’s jeans. He reached down to give the cat a scratch behind the ears. Merry saw Cait wiggle in her seat. Buck must have noticed it, too.

  “Do you want to pet the cat?” Buck asked her.

  Cait’s hand reached out as Buck scooped up the cat and held it in front of her. “Scratch her behind the ears. That’s it. She likes that.”

  Dan called Buck’s name.

  “Be right there,” he yelled, then turned back to Cait. “Do you want to hold her?”

  Cait sat back and held out her arms as Buck gently placed the cat on her lap.

  “What’s your cat’s name, Dan?” Buck asked.

  Dan peeked over the display of boots. “That’s Ariel.”

  “The cat’s name is Ariel, Caitie.” Then he turned to Merry. “I’ll be right back.”

  Merry petted the cat with Caitlin. Every now and then their hands
would touch, and Cait would glance up at her.

  “She’s a pretty cat,” Merry said, then spotted a rack of women’s jeans. “I’m going to be right over there, Cait, to look at the jeans. Okay?”

  Cait’s attention didn’t waiver from Ariel as Merry looked at the selection in her size. She didn’t mean to overhear Dan talking to Buck.

  “Sorry, Buck, but your account is way up there and way overdue. I wish things were different, but times are tough for us all and—”

  Buck held his hand up. “I understand, Dan.” Merry peeked over the counter and could see Buck emptying his wallet. “Will this do for now? I’ll work on the rest as soon as I can.”

  “Sure.”

  She was hurting for Buck. It must be embarrassing for him.

  A look at Dan told her that he was just as miserable.

  She hurried back to Cait’s side. The cat was in her glory, and so was Cait.

  “Ready, ladies?” When Buck returned to them, he wasn’t the same happy man. “Cait, honey, we have to go now.”

  Cait lifted her hands from the cat, and it ran off. Cait stood and followed them to the front of the store. Merry reached for her wallet and pulled out two hundred-dollar bills for the boots and socks. Dan gave her change and put her sandals in the empty box and slipped the box into a bag.

  “Come again, Miss Turner.”

  “I will. You have an interesting store here.”

  Dan beamed, then gave Buck an uneasy smile. “See you soon, Buck?”

  Buck nodded. “Soon.”

  He turned on his heels and held the door open for them to exit the store.

  On the sidewalk, Merry turned to Buck. “Let’s eat before we see Karen. I’m famished.”

  Then she realized that Buck had probably just given Dan all his money. She didn’t expect him to pay, for heaven’s sake, but she could tell he was the type of man who’d insist on it.

  “I’d like to treat my host and hostess for dinner, to thank you for giving me the royal treatment.”

  Buck opened his mouth to protest, but Merry held up her hand. “If you’d ever watched my TV show, you’d know that’s the proper thing to do.”

  He thought for a while, looking as if he was going to say no.

  “Don’t argue with me, cowboy. I’m dying for real Mexican food, so let’s go.”

  “I know just the place for Mex,” he finally said. “We can walk there.”

  He took Merry’s hand and it seemed like a natural thing, as if they had walked hand in hand many times before. He offered his other hand to Caitlin, but she didn’t take it. Instead she walked to Merry’s side and took her hand instead.

  Even in the dim light, she could see the hurt in Buck’s eyes. The man wasn’t having a good evening.

  “Look at that sky,” she said in awe, hoping to help Buck think of something different.

  It was a beautiful sunset, one that she’d always remember. The setting sun cut vivid streaks of orange and red in the sky, and it was the perfect night for a walk. A warm breeze whispered around them, and Merry took a deep breath of the fresh air. Their boots thumped on the sidewalk and it made her smile.

  She’d never felt better in her life. She was makeup-less, her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing turquoise cowboy boots with big saguaros and wolves on them. She was with the handsomest man in the world and the sweetest little girl.

  She thought of the incident at the feed store and it dampened her good mood. A man like Dan would let Buck owe him a fortune, before he called in the loan.

  “This is it. Casa Juanita.” Buck opened the door for her and she took a deep whiff of the delicious smells.

  A beautiful young woman in tight white jeans and a red halter top headed right for Buck. She stood on her toes, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him full on the lips. He grinned down at the woman and said something in Spanish. Merry heard him call her Juanita as he took her arms from around his neck and stepped back.

  Merry knew instantly that they had been lovers. Or maybe they still were.

  Another shot of jealousy coursed through Merry at that discovery, and she barely nibbled at the delicious chicken chimichangas that she’d ordered, especially when Juanita hovered around Buck and touched him at every possible opportunity.

  “Meredith?” A patron shouted from the booth across the aisle. “Meredith Bingham Turner? I thought it was you! Can I have your autograph?” Soon the woman was at Merry’s side, thrusting a place mat and a pen in front of her.

  Merry signed her name and handed everything back, keeping a gracious smile on her face.

  She could hear the ripple of noise, the scraping of chairs. All too soon, there was a line down the aisle and around the perimeter of the restaurant. Buck continued eating and every once in a while, he would look at Merry and grin.

  Cait was okay. She seemed content to munch on a triangle of chicken quesadilla and shyly observing the people who stopped by their table.

  “Merry’s almost done, Cait.” Buck finished off Merry’s chimichangas then the rest of Cait’s meal when she pushed it away.

  Finally, Buck excused himself to go talk to Juanita.

  Merry felt bereft. She’d just wanted to spend a nice evening talking to Buck and Cait. She didn’t know how much longer she’d be here in Arizona. When the painters were done, she could get down to her real work for the dude ranch. The rest she could handle back in Boston.

  While talking to two elderly fans about her recipe for cookie dip, Merry took the opportunity to pull some money from her purse to take care of the check.

  Buck returned a short time later and his eyes settled on the check and the money on the table. Without a word, he picked up the check and the money and handed it to Juanita.

  “Sorry, folks,” he said to those remaining in line. “But Meredith Bingham Turner has another appointment.”

  There was a collective groan and then everyone clapped as Merry stood up. Putting his arm around her, he escorted Merry and Cait out of the restaurant. They had almost made their escape when a woman shouted, “Hey, Merry, is that cowboy your new boyfriend?”

  They both turned in the direction of the voice.

  “Who’s the little girl, Merry?”

  Lights flashed. Cameras. She had to get out of there.

  She began running outside, dragging Buck and Caitlin along.

  Finally, Buck pulled back and shouted, “Whoa. What are you running from?”

  “Don’t you understand? By midmorning, everyone will know that I had dinner with you and Cait. I wouldn’t be surprised if those pictures ended up in some tabloid.”

  “Is that so bad?”

  “We’ll be romantically linked.”

  “The broke cowboy and the rich gal? That’s not headline material.”

  “You’re mistaken.” She sighed. “It’s perfect.”

  He put his arm around her waist and smiled, then leaned toward her as if he were going to kiss her. “Shall we give them something to talk about?”

  She pulled away, mortified. “No. Absolutely not.”

  Buck’s smile disappeared as more cameras flashed. He started up his truck and made a U-turn in the road as all his bills slid down the dashboard and fell into Merry’s lap.

  Chapter Ten

  D oc Goodwater extended his hand to Buck. “Your sister can go home the day after tomorrow. I just want to get her eating a little more.”

  “That’s great news. Thanks, Doc.” Buck shook his hand, happy that Karen was well enough to leave the hospital. “Thanks for everything.”

  “That’s what I’m here for.” The doctor checked his clipboard. “See to it that she gets a lot of rest. I’ll have a nutritionist meet with her and prepare some menus.”

  “No problem.” Buck was suddenly glad to have a culinary whiz like Merry at the ranch. She’d know how to cook the right food for his sister.

  The doctor paused on his way out, snapped his fingers and turned back. “Buck, there’s a horse I’m thinking of buyin
g from Olan Gunderson. I’d like you to take a look at him. It’s for my eight-year-old grandson, so he needs to be gentle. I’d appreciate your opinion.”

  “I’d be glad to. I’ll drive out to Gunderson’s tomorrow, then give you a call.”

  “I’ll knock a chunk off Karen’s bill for your time.”

  Even though he was feeling like a charity case, Buck kept the smile in position on his face. Did everyone in town know how broke he was?

  “That’s not necessary, Doc. Matter of fact, I insist that you don’t.”

  Dr. Goodwater nodded, and Buck knew that the man would indeed discount Karen’s bill no matter how many times Buck asked him not to.

  Buck leaned against the wall outside Karen’s room, aware of Karen and Merry talking inside. Karen was still fussing over the pile of napkins that Cait had made into hats.

  Cait was standing next to Merry on the side of Karen’s bed, and Merry’s arm was around her shoulders.

  He decided to leave them alone for a while. If he entered the room, Cait would retreat, and his guts always churned when she did that.

  He was her father, and his daughter couldn’t stand to be near him.

  If only Debbie hadn’t left like she did.

  If only they hadn’t fought like they had.

  Cait had stopped talking to him the day her mother left. She blamed him, and he didn’t have the heart to tell the girl the truth about her mother.

  He let out a deep breath as he walked over to the coffee machine. Fishing for two quarters, he punched the button for a cup of black coffee.

  It had been an interesting day, starting with the early arrival of Merry’s staff. He had to admit, he didn’t mind modeling for her. Well, yeah, he minded the modeling, but he didn’t mind her watching him.

  He rubbed his chin as he watched the coffee pour into the drain of the machine instead of into a cup, which had never appeared.

  He drank too much coffee, anyway.

  Taking a seat in the waiting room, he stretched out. He remembered how he’d enjoyed the ride to the river with Merry’s arms wrapped around his waist. Her cheek was warm against his shirt, and her hair tickled the back of his neck. He could still feel her every breath.