And damn if a small part of Cooper’s heart didn’t fall head over boot heels for her. The feeling was so foreign, he couldn’t name it and refused to even try.
He gave his head a quick shake to dispel the crazy notion and crossed his arms over his chest. Thankful when his brain finally engaged, he said the first thing that came to his mind. “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”
Kelsey Hunt froze at the masculine voice. From where she stood she couldn’t see a face, only a pair of well-worn jeans and cowboy boots that looked as broken in as her own.
Had JR hired another stable hand? In the last year, her boss had turned Molly’s Pride into a bustling ranch with new help starting every week. Having come home to Red Rock and this job eight months ago, she was already considered an old hand.
Might as well set this Romeo straight.
“Sorry, cowboy, but the stall is freshly cleaned of manure. I won’t allow you to drop any more in here with pick-up lines like that.”
She offered a wink to her horse, Harley, and she could’ve sworn the mare winked right back. Having her heart broken not once, not twice, but three times in the last decade was enough to convince her that the no-strings-attached approach was the best. Her life was about the four-legged creatures she understood with a spooky clarity.
Men? Forget it.
“That bad, huh?”
His raspy chuckle caused a ripple through her insides so intense it actually made her knees weaken for a moment. She chalked up the reaction to her inability to get enough sleep the night before, a rarity for her as she worked hard and slept harder. For some reason, she’d spent hours tossing and turning, leading her to impulsively take a ride at dawn. In her nightgown, no less.
She walked to the end of her horse, smoothing her hand down the glossy coat as she went. Might as well look this guy in the eye and let him know they were coworkers and nothing more. “Believe it or not, I’ve heard…w-worse.”
She cleared her throat, blaming the catch in her voice on the dryness of fresh hay she’d just put out for Harley. That had to be it. It couldn’t be because of the intensity in the cowboy’s chocolate-brown eyes as he stared at her.
He wasn’t overly tall, just shy of six feet and he filled out his T-shirt nicely with wide shoulders and muscular arms that came from hard work. The straw Stetson had seen better days, but he wore it as naturally as if he’d been born in it. His faded jeans fit him like a second skin.
His gaze slowly traveled the length of her, too, but she didn’t feel annoyed as she often did by a man’s stare. Maybe because there wasn’t any unseemly suggestion in his eyes, just warm appreciation with a hint of—
Wariness? Now, that was odd for a flirty cowboy.
She swallowed hard before she spoke. “It’s best if I make it clear right now. I don’t play where I sleep.”
That brought his attention back to her face. “Excuse me?”
“What I mean is, I don’t get involved with the people I work with. In my experience, mixing business with pleasure can be toxic, so it’s best to nip things in the bud right up front.”
“I’ll keep that in mind considering I don’t work here.” He pushed himself away from the stall door. “Cooper Fortune.”
Another Fortune? The town of Red Rock was crawling with them. He wasn’t one of JR’s brothers—those she knew by sight—so he must be a cousin. Is that why the name sounded so familiar?
“Wait, you belong to Solo.”
He grinned, his smile rising into one dimple. “That’s an interesting way of putting it. I prefer to think of him and me as buds, belonging to each other.”
She blushed. “I’m sorry. I just naturally pair up the human with their animal instead of the other way around. Professional habit.”
“And what profession is that?”
“Horse trainer. I’m in charge of the equine program here at Molly’s Pride. I’m Kelsey Hunt.”
He took a step forward but stopped short of entering the stall. One hand stretched outward. “It’s good to meet you, Kelsey.”
Because it would’ve been rude not to, she placed her hand in his. Calloused fingers spoke of hard work as much as his tanned, weathered skin spoke of a life lived outdoors. She tried to remember if JR had told her anything about the owner of the beautiful stallion they’d been housing for the last couple of weeks, but nothing came to mind.
“Are you in town for a visit, Mr. Fortune?”
He released her when she pulled away. “The name is Cooper and I’m here for more than a visit. I’m moving back to Red Rock. Permanently, I guess.”
She tucked Harley’s grooming brush and mane comb on a nearby shelf and grabbed her ball cap with the ranch’s logo. “You guess?”
“JR and his gang of brothers are my cousins. My brother, Ross, and sister, Frannie, live here, too.” He answered while backing up, allowing her to leave the stall and closed the door behind her. “And my son is here as well.”
He was married.
And here he was handing out pick-up lines. Geez, she felt like a loser. One would think with her history she would be able to spot a married man by now.
His slow drawl about “falling from heaven” had been a line if ever she heard one. She prayed he wasn’t another cowboy who figured whatever happened in the barn was okay as long as the little woman in the main house didn’t find out. She loved her job, but fighting off one of her boss’s rich relatives wasn’t part of her job description.
Tugging on the cap, she pulled her long ponytail through the back keyhole. It was time to start her workday. This cowboy didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave, even though he was checking his watch for a second time.
“Well, I should get to my office.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around the oversize facility. “This is some place you have here. I know JR refurbished the original barn, but this one’s brand-new, right?”
Kelsey could tell he was impressed and for some reason, that pleased her. She’d started here with two horses and a brand-new building JR gave her total control over. Her program now housed a dozen finely trained horses that sold for top dollar as well as the horses she’d rescued from neglect.
“Yes, it’s just under a year old.” She headed toward her office in the front corner of the barn, keeping distance between them as he walked with her. “So, are you and Mrs. Fortune staying here at Molly’s Pride?”
“Well, there’s plenty of Mrs. Fortunes running around Red Rock, but none belong to me.” He stopped at her door when she did, the power of his gaze commanded she look at him. “I’m not married.”
For a moment it looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t. She grabbed the door handle and pushed with a bit too much force. “Oh, I assumed when said your son…”
Embarrassed, she let her voice trail off as she moved to her desk, oddly relieved to have the two feet of wood between her and this cowboy.
“Anthony and I have—well, we just found each other a couple of weeks ago.” He stood in the open doorway, again not invading her space, and punched at the frame with his fist. Not hard, but there was a hint of frustration behind the controlled action. “His mother and I haven’t been involved in over a year and I never knew she was pregnant.”
Meaning his son was only an infant. “But you’ve worked things out it seems, if you’re here.”
He shook his head. “She died in a car accident around New Year’s. My cousin has been taking care of my son until they found—until I found out about him and came home.”
Immediately, Kelsey thought of her sister, whose husband had died in a construction accident two years ago. Lost for months, Jessica had finally emerged from her grief-induced haze to realize she was doing just fine raising their four young kids by herself, with a little help from Kelsey and Jessica’s parents.
Kelsey sank to her chair and waved at the matching one in front of her desk. The man did look like he needed to sit. “I’m so sorry. That must’ve been
some phone call. I remember reading about that accident…or was it the one involving JR’s father that led to him being missing for months? He’s your uncle, right?”
Cooper dropped into the chair. “Yes, my mother’s brother. I guess there were two eventful accidents back in January. At least William’s has a better outcome now that he’s been found and is back home again.”
Home, but not whole. Everyone in town knew William Fortune remembered nothing of his previous life. He was back at the Double Crown Ranch with his fiancée, Lily, having gone missing on what was supposed to be their wedding day.
“Well, finding out you’re a father must be a happy thing for you.”
The cowboy nodded, but the slump of his shoulders revealed an invisible burden. “It’s taking some getting used to. I’ve never been around kids much and rarely one who can barely sit upright. I feel like I’ve stepped into a parallel universe with strange words like butt cream, binky and onesie.”
He suddenly offered her that lopsided grin again and nudged his hat farther on his brow. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about babies, would ya?”
There was such hope in his voice that she found herself suppressing a snort of laughter. “Ah, horse babies, cow babies, even ducklings and piglets are right up my alley. Human babies, no way. That’s more my sister’s speed.”
“So you’re not married? No kids?”
The closest she’d come to marriage was years ago when she found an engagement ring hidden in her boyfriend’s dresser drawer. Foolishly she’d thought it was meant for her. It wasn’t. Every relationship she’d had since had taught her that falling in love meant saying goodbye. No, thanks. She hadn’t even had a date since moving back home.
“Nope, I must’ve been absent the day they were handing out the maternal gene. I have no interest in marriage or kids.” An idea suddenly came to her. She grabbed the photograph on her desk and flipped it around. “Now, my sister, Jessica, has the mothering gene down pat. I’ll have to introduce you two.”
His eyes went from her to the frame image of her sister surrounded by her four kids, all under the age of eight. It lingered there and Kelsey had to fight back the flame of jealousy that licked at her insides.
You aren’t interested, remember?
A ready-made family wasn’t what Kelsey was looking for. This cowboy certainly wasn’t what she was looking for.
Because she wasn’t looking.
“Are you trying to fix me up with your sister?” he finally asked, looking back at her with those deep brown eyes of his.
Kelsey swallowed hard against the sudden lump lodged in her throat and pushed the words out of her mouth. “You’d be perfect for each other.”
Chapter Three
Cooper wasn’t interested in Kelsey’s sister.
Still, he wasn’t sure if that’s where the pretty horse trainer was going with her insistence yesterday that he and Jessica should meet. Heck, he’d been in a brain fog thanks to a lack of sleep and finding out the beautiful woman he’d seen on horseback was real and working right here at Molly’s Pride.
A woman who’d quickly put him in his place, he thought with a smile as he watched Anthony snoozing on a quilt in the middle of the living room floor.
After returning from the barn yesterday and thanking Isabella again for watching his son, he’d decided getting some sleep was more important than cleaning the house. It hadn’t been as easy as he thought. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Kelsey’s long dark hair or her pretty smile.
She’d been so easy to talk to and hadn’t seemed upset about his clumsy attempt at a line. He’d checked out her ring finger, happy to find it empty. He was even happier about her “no dating coworkers” rule. At least that cut down on the competition.
Because he was definitely interested in Kelsey.
So he’d smiled at the “hooking up with her sister” remark and headed back to the cottage. The rest of the day had been relatively uneventful, not counting the handful of phone calls from his siblings and cousins that had interrupted his nap. Obviously, they were all checking up on him. Later, he and Anthony had joined JR and Isabella for dinner. It wasn’t hard to get JR to talk about his ranching operations, and Cooper soon learned his cousin thought the world of Kelsey Hunt and her horse-training skills.
He also learned Kelsey lived in an apartment on the second floor of the stables.
Which was why he’d started today with a morning visit to Solo, although he told himself he was only taking Anthony to meet his best friend. The baby had been fascinated with the horse and all the sights and smells of the stables. Cooper held Anthony in his arms, pride filling his chest as the little boy clapped and giggled.
No sign of Kelsey though, so they’d returned home for another bottle and the baby’s midmorning nap. Cooper sat nearby, reading the chapter on helping your baby to learn to sit when the cell phone attached to his hip vibrated. He rose from the chair and went into the kitchen.
“Hello?”
“Cooper? It’s Lily Fortune.”
Lily was his Uncle William’s fiancée, but she was also a Fortune having been married to William’s cousin, Ryan, until his death years ago of brain cancer. William had lost his beloved wife a few years later, but now William and Lily had fallen in love and had planned to marry.
But William had disappeared on their wedding day.
“Hi, Lily.” He wondered how she got his phone number. “Is everything okay? Is it Uncle William?”
“Oh, no, sweetie, William is…fine. His memory and his emotional state, or lack thereof on both accounts, are the same.”
Lily’s unsteady voice filled his ear. She then paused to take in a deep breath before she continued. “He’s calmer now and seems more at home here on the ranch with each passing day.” She sounded calmer now herself. “I’m sorry if I worried you by calling.”
Cooper released the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. “Ah, no, that’s fine. What’s up?”
“I heard about you moving out on your own with the baby, and I wondered if there was anything you needed? Is there anything I can do for you?”
Lily Fortune was an amazing woman. She ran the Double Crown Ranch and chaired numerous charities supported by the Fortune Foundation, all while doing her best to help the man she loved regain his memories—of his family, and the life they’d planned to live together.
He found himself wishing he’d been lucky enough to have this lady for a mother instead of the self-centered woman who probably had no idea that she had another grandchild living here in Red Rock.
“Thanks, but we’re doing fine.” Cooper peeked around the doorway to check on his son. “It’s a pretty steep learning curve, but I think I’m getting the hang of it.”
“Of course you are. I don’t have any doubt you’ll be a terrific father.”
Her words had him standing a bit taller. “Thank you, Lily. You know, I was planning to come out and visit the ranch soon, but Jeremy recommended we not overload William with too many visitors at once.”
“Oh, you’re welcome anytime. I can’t say for sure what kind of mood your uncle will be in. Sometimes he’s fine and other times he’s a bit cranky, but I think that’s frustration more than anything else.”
They spoke for a few more minutes, but then Anthony started to fuss. Cooper ended the call, having learned his son tended to wake up fast and loud.
“Easy there, partner.” He looked at the baby lying flat on his back, arms and legs flailing. “No need to get all excited.”
Anthony didn’t agree because he let loose a howling cry just as a knock sounded from the door.
Cooper picked him up and the smell and weight of Anthony’s diaper told him exactly why the kid was upset. “Whew, you stink!”
The knock came again, and he went to answer, mentally cringing as he hefted the baby into his arms, the diaper flattening against his forearm. He opened the door to find Kelsey standing on his front porch, wearing the same outfit h
e’d seen her in yesterday.
He appreciated the curves beneath her clingy T-shirt and snug-fitting jeans. A ball cap shaded her eyes and her hair was once again pulled up in a ponytail. He was suddenly struck with an urge to see her hair down around her shoulders. Naked shoulders would be even better, as she leaned over him—
A softly cleared throat caught his attention, and he noticed a pretty lady standing next to Kelsey. They looked so much alike, he knew instantly they were related. The three little kids with them told him she must be Kelsey’s sister.
Boy, she really was serious about her matchmaking.
He didn’t know if he should be amused or bothered that Kelsey had brought her widowed sister, kids in tow, over to meet him.
Had he been the only one to pick up on the instant connection they’d shared yesterday? A connection that had him opening up to a perfect stranger about how much his life had changed in the last month?
“Hey there. Hope we’re not catching you at a bad time,” Kelsey said, a smile gracing her kissable lips.
Yeah, perfect.
“Ah, no.” Cooper patted Anthony’s bottom lightly, sending tiny bursts of a foul odor into the air as if to punctuate where his priorities needed to lie. His nose wrinkled. “The little guy just woke from a nap and I was heading off to do diaper duty.”
“Don’t let us stop you,” the other woman said with a smile. “He’ll probably be happier once he’s clean and dry.”
“Well, come on in—” Cooper stepped back “—and make yourselves at home. I’ll be right back.”
He hustled to the baby’s room and laid a still-crying Anthony on the changing table. Replacing the messy diaper took longer than he planned. Boy, who knew a body as tiny as this could put out so much…stuff.
Finally done, he put a new one-piece sleeper on Anthony, noting the dwindling supply of baby wipes seemed to be in direct correlation to the dirty laundry filling the nearby hamper. Looked like a trip to the grocery store was next on his list.
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