“I’m already missing those delicious breakfasts at the inn,” he said. That was true enough, though Mrs. Michaels was also an excellent cook and had taken great delight just that morning in preparing pancakes from scratch and her famous fluffy scrambled eggs.
In his three weeks of staying at the Cold Creek Inn, Laura Bowman had struck him as an extraordinarily kind woman. The whole family, really, had welcomed him and his children to town with warm generosity.
“The guy over there on his cell phone is my husband, Trace,” Becca said. “He’s the police chief and is lucky enough to be off duty tonight, though his deputies often forget that.”
The man in question waved and smiled a greeting but continued on the phone. Ben suddenly remembered the toffee and pulled out the tin. “Where would you like me to put this?”
“You didn’t have to fix anything,” Becca scolded.
“I didn’t have anything to do with it,” he admitted. “My housekeeper did all the heavy lifting. She sends her apologies, by the way. She would have come but she needed to take a call from her daughter. She’s expecting her first grandchild and the separation has been difficult.”
He felt more than a little guilty about that. Anne had come with them to Idaho willingly enough but he knew she missed her daughter, especially during this exciting, nerve-racking time of impending birth. They communicated via videoconferencing often, but it wasn’t the same as face-to-face interaction.
“Let’s just set it on the table here. Wow. I’ve got to taste some first. I love toffee.”
“Ooh, send some this way,” Taft said, so Becca passed the tin of candy around to all the brothers.
“She also made a salad. Greek pasta.”
“That sounds delicious too. I’ll take it in to see where Caidy wants it.”
“I can do that.” His words—and anticipation to see her again—came out of nowhere. “I should probably check in on my patient while I’m here anyway.”
“Okay. Sure. Just through the hall and around the corner.”
He remembered. He had a feeling every detail of the Bowman kitchen would be etched in his memory for a very long time.
When he entered, his gaze immediately went to Caidy, and the restlessness that had dogged him all day seemed to ease. She stood at the stove with her hair tucked into a loose ponytail, wearing an apron over jeans and a crisp white shirt.
She looked pretty and fresh, and something soft and warm seemed to unfurl inside him.
She must have sensed his presence, though it was obvious she was spinning a dozen different plates. She glanced around and he saw her cheeks turn pink, though he wasn’t certain if it was from the heat of the stove or the memory of the kiss they had shared in this very room.
“Oh. Hi. You’re here.”
“Yes. I’ve brought a salad. Greek pasta. My housekeeper made it, actually. And toffee. I brought toffee too.”
Good grief. Could he sound any more like an idiot?
“That’s great. Thank you. The salad can go on the buffet in the dining room. I don’t imagine the toffee will last long with my brothers around.”
“They were already working on it,” he said.
“Oh, man. I love toffee. They know it, too, but do you think they’re going to save me any? Highly doubtful. It’s going to be gone before I get a taste.”
“I’ll have Mrs. Michaels make more for you,” he offered, his voice gruff.
She smiled. “That’s sweet of you. Or I could just arm wrestle my brothers for the last piece.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Uh, I’ll just take this into the dining room.”
This was stupid. Why couldn’t he talk to her? Yes, she was a beautiful, desirable woman who had moaned in his arms just a few hours earlier, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t carry on a semi-intelligent conversation with her.
Determined to do just that, after he had taken the salad into the dining room he returned to the kitchen instead of seeking the safety of the great room with the rest of the Bowmans.
Caidy looked surprised to see him again so soon.
“I wanted to check on Luke,” he explained.
“He seems to be feeling better. I moved him into my room so he has a chance to rest during all the commotion of dinner.”
“You mind if I take a look at him?”
She glanced up, surprise in her eyes. “Really? You don’t have to do that. Ridge didn’t invite you to dinner to get free vet care out of the deal.”
Why had Ridge invited him? He had been wondering that all afternoon. “I’m here. I might as well see how he’s progressing.”
“Can I take over stirring the gravy so you can show Ben to your room?”
For the first time, he noticed Laura Bowman, who had been standing on the other side of the kitchen slicing olives.
“Thank you. It should be done in just a few minutes.”
Caidy washed her hands, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, nibbling her lip between her teeth just enough to remind him of how that lip had tasted between his own teeth and sent blood pooling in his groin.
She led the way down the hall to a door just off the kitchen and he heard a little bark from inside the room just before she pushed open the door.
He had a vague impression of, not so much fussiness, as feminine softness. A lavender-and-brown quilt and a flurry of pillows covered a queen-size bed, and lace curtains spilled from the windows. His gaze was drawn to a lovely oil painting of horses grazing in a flower-strewn field that looked as if it could be somewhere on the River Bow. It hung on the wall at the foot of the bed, the first thing she must see upon awakening and drifting off to sleep.
He shouldn’t be so interested in where she slept—or what she might dream about—he ordered himself, and he quickly shifted attention to the dog. The border collie was lying beside the bed near the window, in the same enclosure he had rested in while in the kitchen.
When he saw Caidy, Luke wagged his tail and tried to get up but she bent over and rested a comforting hand on his head. He immediately subsided as if she had tranquilized him.
“Look who’s here. It’s our friend Dr. Caldwell. Aren’t you glad to see him?”
Because he had spent two hours operating on the dog and shoved a needle into his lungs a few hours earlier, Ben highly doubted he ranked very high on the animal’s list of favorite humans, but he wasn’t going to argue with her.
“No more breathing trouble?”
“No. He slept like a rock the rest of the night and has been sleeping most of the day.”
“That’s the best thing for him.”
“That’s what I figured. I’ve been keeping his pain medication on a consistent schedule. Ridge has been helping me carry him outside for his business.”
He stepped over the enclosure and knelt inside so he could run his hand over the dog. Though he focused on his patient, some part of him was aware the whole time of her watching him intently.
Did she feel the tug and pull between them, or was it completely one-sided?
He didn’t think so. She had definitely kissed him back. He vividly relived the sweetness of her mouth softening under his, the little catch in her breathing, the way her pulse had raced beneath his fingers. His gut ached at the memory, especially at the knowledge that a memory and those wild dreams were all he was likely to have from her.
“I think he’s healing very nicely. I would think in a day or two you can let him have full mobility again. Bring him into the office around the middle of the week and I can check the stitches. I’m happy to see he’s doing so well.”
“You didn’t think he would survive, did you?”
“No,” he said honestly. “I’m always happy when I’m proved wrong.”
“You’ve really gone above and beyond in caring for him. Coming out in the middle of the night and everything. I...want you to know I appreciate it. Very much.”
He shrugged. “It’s my job. I wouldn’t be very good at it if I didn’t
care about my patients, would I?”
She opened her mouth as if to say something else but then closed it again. Awkwardness sagged between them, heavy and clumsy, and he suddenly knew she was remembering the kiss too.
He sighed. “Look, I need to apologize about last night. It was...unprofessional and should never have happened.”
She gazed at him out of those impossibly green eyes without blinking and he wondered what the hell she might be thinking.
“I don’t want you to think I’m in the habit of that.”
“Of what?”
He felt stupid for bringing it up but didn’t know how else to move past this morning-after sort of discomfort. Better to face it head-on, he figured. “You know what. I came over to help you with your dog. I shouldn’t have kissed you. It was unprofessional and shouldn’t have happened.”
Unexpectedly, she gave a strained-sounding laugh. “Maybe you ought to think about adding that to your list of services, Dr. Caldwell. Believe me, if word got out what a good kisser you are, every woman in Pine Gulch who even thought about owning a cat or dog would be lining up at the adoption day at the animal shelter just for the perk of being able to lock lips with the sexy new veterinarian.”
He could feel himself flush. She was making fun of him, but he supposed he deserved it. “I was only trying to tell you there’s no reason to worry it will happen again. It was late and I was tired and not really myself. I never would have even thought about kissing you otherwise.”
“Oh, well. That explains it perfectly, then.”
He had the vague feeling he had hurt her feelings somehow, which absolutely hadn’t been his intention. He suddenly remembered how much he had hated the dating scene, trying to wade through all those nuances and layers of meaning.
“Good to know your weaknesses,” she went on. “Next time I need veterinary care in the middle of the night for one of my animals, I’ll be sure to call the vet over in Idaho Falls. We certainly wouldn’t want a repeat of that hideous experience.”
“I think we can both agree it wasn’t hideous. Far from it.” He muttered the last bit under his breath but she caught it anyway. Her pupils flared and her gaze dipped to his mouth again. His abdominal muscles contracted and he felt that awareness seethe and curl between them again, like the currents of Cold Creek.
“Just unfortunate,” she murmured.
“Give me a break here, Caidy. What do you want me to say?”
“Nothing. We both agreed to forget it happened.”
“That’s a little easier said than done,” he admitted.
“Isn’t everything?”
“True enough.”
“It’s no big deal, Ben. We kissed. So what? I enjoyed it, and you enjoyed it. We both agree it shouldn’t happen again. Let’s just move on, okay?”
As easy as that? Somehow he didn’t think so, but he wasn’t about to argue.
“I should get back to the kitchen. Thank you for taking the time to check on Luke.”
“No problem,” he said. He followed her out of the room, wishing more than anything that circumstances could be different, that he could be the sort of man a woman like Caidy Bowman needed.
Chapter Eight
Insufferable man!
When they left her bedroom, Ben headed into the great room with the others while Caidy, unsettled and annoyed, returned to the kitchen to finish the preparations for dinner.
How could he reduce what had been one of the single most exhilarating moments of her life to a terrible mistake teeming with awkwardness?
Yes, the kiss shouldn’t have happened. They both accepted it. He didn’t have to act as if the two of them had committed some horrible crime and should beat themselves up with guilt about it for the rest of their lives.
It was late and I was tired and not really myself. I never would have even thought about kissing you otherwise.
That removed any doubt in her mind that he was attracted to her. He had kissed her because he was tired and because she was there. The humiliation of that was almost more than she could bear, especially given the enthusiastic way she had responded to him and the silly fantasies she had been spinning all day.
“Is something wrong? Are you ready for us to start taking dishes out to the dining room?” Becca asked.
With a jolt, Caidy realized she had been staring without moving at the roast she had taken out of the oven. She frowned, frustrated at herself and at Ben, and did her best to drag her attention away from her pout.
“Yes. That would be great, thank you. Everything should be just about ready to go. I ought to let the roast sit for another few minutes, but by the time we get everything else on the table, it will be ready to carve.”
Becca and Laura picked up covered bowls and took them out to the table, chattering as they went about their respective plans for Christmas Eve. Caidy smiled as she listened to them. She loved both of her sisters-in-law deeply. Having sisters had turned out to be far more wonderful than she ever imagined. The best part about them was that each was perfect for her respective Bowman brother.
Becca, with that hidden vulnerability and her flashes of clever humor, brought out the very best in Trace. Since she and Gabi had come into his life the previous Christmas, Caidy had seen a soft gentleness in Trace that had been missing since their parents were murdered.
Laura Pendleton was exactly the woman Caidy had always wanted for Taft to soothe the wildness in him. Taft and Laura had once been deeply in love until their engagement abruptly and mysteriously ended just days before their wedding.
Seeing them together, reunited after all these years, filled her with delight. She especially loved seeing Taft shed his carefree player image and step up to be a caring father to Laura’s two children, energetic Alex and the adorable Maya.
She wasn’t jealous of the joy her brothers had found—she was happy for them all. Maybe she grew a little wistful when she watched those sweet little moments between two people who loved each other deeply, but she did her best not to think about them.
Still chattering, both Laura and Becca came back into the kitchen to grab the salads they had each prepared out of the refrigerator. At least the Sunday dinners had become much easier since her brothers married. She used to fix the whole shebang on her own, but now the two women and often Gabi pitched in and contributed their own salads or desserts.
She didn’t know how much longer this Sunday dinner tradition could continue. She wouldn’t blame Taft and Trace for wanting to spend their free time with their own nuclear families. For now, everyone seemed content to continue gathering each week when they could.
“So the new veterinarian is gorgeous. Why didn’t anybody tell me?” Becca said, putting the rolls Caidy had removed from the second oven into a basket.
“I don’t know,” Laura answered. “Maybe we figured since you’re married to Trace Bowman, who is only second in all-around gorgeousness to his twin brother, you really didn’t need to know about the cute new vet.”
Caidy felt another of those little pangs of envy at Becca’s sudden cat-who-ate-the-canary smile.
“True,” she answered. “But you should have warned me before I opened the door to find this yummy man on the doorstep—and added to the yum factor, the very adorable little boy on his shoulders.”
Caidy didn’t say anything as she carved the roast beef. This was usually Ridge’s job, for some reason, but she didn’t want to call him in from entertaining said veterinarian out in the other room.
“What about you, Caidy?” Becca said. “You’re the only available one here. Don’t you think he’s gorgeous? Something about those big blue eyes and those long, long lashes...”
She had a sudden vivid memory of those eyes closing as he kissed her the night before, of his mouth teasing and licking at hers, of the heat and strength of his arms around her and how she had wanted to lean into that broad chest and stay right there.
Her knees suddenly felt a little on the weak side and she narrowly avoided slicing
off her thumb.
“Sure,” she said. “Too bad he’s got the personality of a honey badger.”
She didn’t miss the surprised looks both women gave her. Laura’s mouth opened and Becca’s eyebrows just about crept up to her hairline, probably because Caidy rarely spoke poorly about anyone. Every time she started to vent about someone when they weren’t present, her mother’s injunction about not saying something behind a person’s back you wouldn’t say to his face would ring in her ears.
She wouldn’t have said anything if she wasn’t burning with humiliation about that kiss he obviously regretted.
Laura was the first to speak. “That’s odd you would say that. I found him very nice while he was staying at the inn. Half of my front desk staff was head over heels in love with him from the start.”
After that kiss, she was very much afraid it wouldn’t take more than a slight jostle for her to join them. She couldn’t remember ever being this drawn to a man—the fact that she was so attracted to a man who basically found her a nuisance was just too humiliating.
“I’m not surprised,” she finally said, hoping they would attribute the color she could feel soaking her cheeks to the overwarm kitchen and her exertions fixing the meal. “Do you want to know what I think about Ben Caldwell? I think he’s a rude, arrogant, opinionated jerk. Some women are drawn to that kind of man. Don’t ask me why.”
“Don’t forget, he’s also often inconveniently in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
At the sudden deep voice, she and both of her sisters-in-law gave a collective gasp and turned to the doorway. Every single molecule inside her wanted to cringe at the sight of Ben standing there, watching the three of them, his face void of expression.
“My son spilled a glass of water,” he explained. “I came in looking for a towel to clean it up. Unless you think that’s too rude of a request.”
Becca reached almost blindly into the drawer where Caidy kept the dish towels, pulled one out and handed it to him.
A Cold Creek Noel Page 9