MULE HOLLOW MATCHMAKERS 21: NEW HORIZON RANCH 01: Her Mule Hollow Cowboy

by Debra Clopton

Suddenly starting his business of breeding bulls, warriors for the circuit couldn't happen fast enough. He was still sorting through why this change had come over him.

  "Do you know of any small, good places around here for sale?" he asked, needing space between him and his thoughts.

  "Me?"

  "I was thinking since you live here, you might know of a place or two."

  He glanced back at the road but out of the corner of his eye he caught her bite her lower lip.

  "What um," she cleared her throat, "sort of facilities do you need? What plans do you have for it? It'd help to know."

  He shot her a grateful look and she gave him a small, not-quite-certain smile.

  "Bulls. I'm going to raise bucking bulls for the industry. I have some young stock housed at different breeders across the country and I figure it's time to gather them all together and get down to business. And now that Rafe is going to settle here for good, since being named partner in the ranch, I'd like to be near him." It was true.

  "That's nice," she said, but didn't look exactly thrilled at the prospect of him hanging around.

  He realized that he on the other hand, found the prospect of being around her intriguing. He laughed. "Don't look all gloomy. I promise not to come over every day and fire you up."

  Her cheeks flamed. "I wasn't worried about that."

  But they both knew that had been exactly what she'd been thinking about.

  He had things about his past that he needed to come to terms with, to try and make sense of...but for reasons he was suddenly interested in figuring out, getting to know Maddie Rose put a whole other spin on things.

  Chapter Four

  Maddie spent an hour soaking in a sea salt bath. The rose scent lingered on her skin as she eased into soft, sweat pants and an oversized, poppy colored top. When she and Cliff finally made it home from dropping off Buford, she'd been worn out and nearly doubled over from the pain radiating through her back and ribs. She hurt everywhere.

  Despite the tension that still stretched between them like a thick rubber band, tensing and giving, but threatening to snap at any given moment, he'd helped her from the truck and she leaned on him as they entered the house.

  She'd barely pointed him in the direction of the upstairs guest room before shuffling through the lower level to her room down the hall from the kitchen.

  The soak and more pain killers had eased some of her discomfort. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since grabbing a couple of pieces of bacon that morning. But though she felt better, she did not feel like cooking. She didn't even feel like making a peanut butter sandwich.

  But most of all, like a big chicken, she didn't want to run into Cliff again. Chicken was the right word, too, because she really wanted more than anything to go back in there and see if she was as attracted to him as she thought.

  And if so, what was she going to do about it? She had to have a little talk with herself during her soak about the way she'd treated him all afternoon. And she'd had to ask the Lord to forgive her and to also help her understand why she was so affected by him. No answers had come, but it hadn't even been an hour—she should probably give the Lord a little more time than that.

  Cliff was bossy and infuriating. And gentle and caring.

  True. How could a man rub her the wrong way one minute and make her all gooey inside the next?

  She'd known him all of one afternoon so this conversation seemed premature anyway. Wasn't it?

  She needed to focus back on finding a way to feel deserving of owning this ranch. It was proving to be a hard thing to accept—especially after days like today. It had taken her a long time to accept God's love too, but she'd finally understood that John 3:16; For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in him should have everlasting life...

  For a sick kid abandoned by her parents—rejected, unwanted for adoption and then raised in the foster care system like she'd been, it had been hard to believe that God actually cared for her. Much less loved her and gave His son for her.

  She'd learned to trust God. But she was still having trouble trusting that anyone other than God would leave her something like the partnership in this ranch.

  She was also having a hard time believing she could ever trust someone with her heart. Abandonment issues were tough. They were real. And they scared her to death.

  Because unless she ever got past them, she would never be able to let a man get close enough to her to fall in love...and if she couldn't do that then she'd never have the family and the white picket-fence-happily-ever-after buried deep in her heart.

  She'd never found a man who tempted her to throw caution and fear to the wind.

  But Cliff Masterson was different.

  As emotionally unavailable as she'd always been, her emotions had been electrified today. She stared out the window to the back yard as thoughts of how she felt when Cliff looked at her. Her skin tingled thinking about it, as if she'd been out in the cold for too long and his warm gaze was bringing her back to life.

  Someone knocked on her door.

  "Maddie, I've made some dinner."

  Dinner? Cliff had cooked!

  Her stomach rumbled again at the thought.

  "Are you awake?"

  It crossed her mind to pretend she was asleep, but...he'd cooked for her. She'd never had a man cook something just for her. Sure the guys took turns like she did with kitchen duty, but that was for everyone.

  Unable to stop herself, she padded slowly in her bare feet across the cool tile floor and opened the door. Her heart dropped to her toes, Cliff was smiling like he was thrilled to see her.

  It was too irresistible to deny. Her defenses were down already. Her pulse raced unevenly as his gaze slid over her, dropping to her bare feet. Awareness danced across her skin.

  She loved the way it felt.

  "You look good and relaxed. Exactly what the doctor ordered. Now he's ordering food, if you're up to it?"

  "I'm starving. I skipped lunch today and barely ate breakfast. And it smells fabulous out here."

  He chuckled. "Cowboy Mash. It's got a real romantic ring doesn't it?" He stepped aside so she could move past him in the hallway, her pulse jumped at his nearness.

  "I don't know about romantic, but I'm attracted to that spicy scent." She could have said the same for him and his fresh showered scent. Instead she clamped her lips tightly shut on that and ignored the temptation to linger beside him.

  As it turned out, he'd set the table out on the stone patio. C.C. often had eaten his meals out there. When she'd come to the house to report to him they'd sit here and go over the details of the day. C.C. hadn't done a lot of business in his ranch office. Said, he spent enough time in offices when he was away from the ranch.

  "This is one of my favorite spots," she said, seeing the two plates of food and tall glasses of iced tea. "I can't believe you cooked."

  "We have to eat. And I figured you'd probably curl up and go hungry if I didn't do something."

  She laughed. "Bingo."

  He pulled a chair out for her and she eased into it. Her heart hammered in her chest.

  "This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me." She hadn't meant to blurt that out.

  A look of horror flashed across his face. "I hope not."

  She laughed again. "I meant, you could have simply fixed a sandwich. Or at least left it on the stove and said dig in. There really is a nice guy behind that controlling attitude."

  He sat across from her. "I'm going to ignore that remark." He lifted the lid on the pan and the aroma instantly filled the space between them.

  "Please do if it means we can eat. I'm dying over here."

  "Patience, and stop trying to control me." He hiked a teasing brow then scooped out a large portion of the pasta and meat dish onto her plate.

  "Funny." She matched his raised brow with her own. Warning bells of caution rang inside her head, but at the moment she was
too hungry to heed them.

  "I learned this from an old friend on the road. It's easy to make and delicious. But then, anything with green chilies, cheese and tomatoes is going to be good in my book."

  "I totally agree." And she was right, one bite proved it. Cliff could cook.

  "So, how did you get mixed up with this rough group?"

  "They're a great group. Like brothers to me. I--" she caught herself before she blurted out that she was a foster kid. She didn't tell anyone about her past. C.C. had figured out some of it and she suspected knowing had spurred his decision to include her.

  He finished off a bite of Cowboy Mash. "So they have you fooled. But really, what brought you out here to do hard labor on the ranch? Labor you're excellent at from what Rafe says. C.C. must have thought the same."

  "I didn't feel excellent this afternoon. I felt like a beginner."

  "Nah, things happen. So, what brought you here?"

  He sounded genuinely interested. "I was on my way to a ranch in Corpus Christi for an interview and the tire of my truck blew out right in front of this ranch. Your brother and Chase happened by when I was changing it. They stopped and, a little like you, they tried to take over. In the end we compromised and then they invited me up to the ranch. Turned out C.C. was hiring. So here I am. I fell in love with the ranch and Mule Hollow. It's a wonderful community." She didn't mention how for the first time in her life she'd felt like she belonged. Belonging was a very strong need.

  Almost as strong as needing to be loved.

  *

  Two hours later, with the red glow of the sun settling on the horizon, Cliff stood out by the arena watching the horses when Rafe and Ty Calder drove into the yard. Chase Hartley and Dalton Bourne followed in a second truck pulling a trailer. The sun was disappearing and the heat of the day fading to a low simmer rather than high boil of a Texas afternoon in July.

  He'd met Rafe's partners a couple of years ago when he'd banged his shoulder up and spent a couple of weeks at the ranch with Rafe. That had been the last time he'd been to see his brother and the longest time they'd spent together since walking out of the battleground they'd called home.

  Maddie hadn't been here then. He'd missed her by a month or so if he remembered correctly.

  Rafe bailed out of the truck first, a wide grin on his face. "Hey, brother!" he called, crossing in long strides to meet Cliff, giving him a hard handshake and then yanking him into a quick hug. They hadn't been around each other but they were twin brothers and their bond remained strong.

  They'd also been through a lot together. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And closer.

  "It's been too long," Cliff said, knowing it was true as he stepped back from their hug and grinned. "Man, it's good to see you, Rafe."

  "Tell me about it, world traveler." Rafe's expression teased.

  Chase and the others came up and greetings were exchanged. They were dust covered, sweat soaked and smelling of cattle.

  "Y'all look like y'all've had a day of it." He shook their hands as they held them out. "I still haven't figured out what in the world y'all's boss was thinking though, leavin' yall in charge." He chuckled.

  "Believe us, we wonder the same things," Chase said. Unlike Clint, he wasn't joking. "But C.C. was a good man and he always knew what he wanted and he did it."

  "True," Ty added, scrubbing the stubble on his lean jaw. "I have to say I've had my doubts about a couple of these fellas. Especially your brother. I don't think C.C. ever saw him rope. He hasn't gotten any better with one since you were here two years ago."

  That got chuckles from the rest of the group.

  "Whoa, now." Rafe warned, a grin in his voice. "I'm good with a rope and y'all know it. It's the hopping from the horse at a dead run that had me stumbling."

  Cliff knew that seven years ago when Rafe had blown his knee out had been hard on him. It had forced him to give up calf roping as a sport and take up cowboy'n full time. Shutting the door on a dream wasn't ever easy but Rafe had come to terms it. Cliff had been lucky to have remained relatively uninjured in bull riding. He'd been blessed to see his dream in the rodeo fulfilled for the most part.

  "So, what happened?" Rafe asked. "We thought you were going to drive out to the branding and meet us there."

  Cliff hiked a shoulder. "I got sidetracked. Speaking of which I have a bone to pick with you knuckleheads. What were y'all thinking abandoning Maddie? Leaving her to load that bull by herself was a blamed bad move. If I hadn't gotten here when I did she could have been killed."

  All of them went on alert.

  "What happened?" Dalton Bourne demanded first. "Is she okay?"

  He quickly filled them in on the situation and when he finished they understood full well how he felt about the situation they'd placed Maddie in.

  They all looked uncomfortable and relieved that she wasn't harmed more than she was.

  Chase's serious gunmetal gray eyes locked on him. "I'm glad you were here, and sorry she got hurt? But Maddie's adamant that we treat her like we treat each other. Truth is, she can load cattle with her eyes closed and her arms tied behind her back."

  "True," Dalton grunted. "Still, I've never liked it. But she'd look at it as an insult if we tried to hang around and watch over her while she loads a bull. You've seen how tough she is."

  Cliff saw their point. "She's tough, but still, I'd do what I thought was best. Even if it made her mad." His temperature spiked all over again thinking about seeing her going down in that pen.

  "Oh, you'd have made her mad all right," Rafe chuckled along with the others as they headed toward the house. "Since you're out here and she's nowhere to be seen. I'm thinking you probably already did."

  They'd reached the house and as he said that he entered the empty kitchen, looking around for Maddie.

  "She's already turned in for the night, said she'd see y'all in the morning. And all I can say is she's something when she's mad. Those gorgeous green eyes are more beautiful than a roman candle exploding."

  Four sets of eyes pinned him to the wall.

  He held up his hands. "Hey, just because you idiots and all the other cowboys in Mule Hollow are blind doesn't mean I am." It was when she was calm she was the most spectacular. Over dinner he'd hardly been able to concentrate on the meal especially when they'd gotten to talking about the ranch. Her love of it was obvious. He'd enjoyed listening to her more than he had anything in a long time.

  "We know shes beautiful, but...it's Maddie." Dalton's eyes narrowed to slits. "You watch yourself with her."

  "Yeah, she's off-limits," Chase snapped. He stepped up to Cliff. "She's no rodeo groupie."

  The others quickly echoed his warning.

  Cliff raised his hands to halt them. "Hold on. For one, I've never been into groupies. Second, I'm here scouting ranches to buy for a bull ranch, so relax."

  Rafe's frown turned instantly to a smile. "You're serious?"

  "I told you three weeks ago I was coming to do that."

  "Yeah, but saying it and doing it are two entirely different things."

  So that was why his brother hadn't said anything about him moving here. He didn't believe Cliff was going to do it.

  "I'm doing it. I'm not getting any younger and it's time for me to get the ball rolling on my future." And I like Maddie, he almost said but caught himself. He wasn't ready to voice the interest their female partner had stirred in him. Especially after the warnings they'd issued.

  "What is that smell?" Dalton lifted the lid on the pot sitting on the stove and breathed appreciatively letting the full saucy aroma fill the room.

  That was all it took for the four of them to lay off him as they pounced on the dinner like a pack of coyotes to road-kill.

  Which was exactly what Cliff had felt like there for a few minutes when they'd started warning him away from Maddie.

  Chapter Five

  "Ohhh, tell me I'm not dead," Maddie groaned the instant she woke. Sprawled on her bed she stared up at the ceiling,
like she had for much of the endless night. She lifted an arm and the movement hurt all the way to her bellybutton.

  Bed rest was not for her though. Pushing herself up from the mattress she groaned when her ribs and all the muscles in her back seized up. She bit her lip to hold back a cry of pain.

  Today was not going to be fun. Gritting her teeth, she moved toward the bathroom and a really hot shower.

  Twenty minutes or so later, her muscles more relaxed from the near-blazing hot water, she moved slowly down the hall toward the kitchen. Laughter and joking filled the house and the comforting sound of her friends eased her pain. She also knew working her sore muscles would help as much as the camaraderie she'd have out there with them. It would help take her mind off her pain and make her feel like she was doing her fair share of the work.

  Suffering in her room alone was not for Maddie.

  "Are you looking at land today?"

  Maddie heard Rafe's question as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. Cliff had been on her mind all night—okay, so thinking about him helped ease her pain a few times.

  Then her thoughts had crossed over into remembering how it had felt to be held in his arms and she'd slammed the door on those thoughts. They were too dangerous to contemplate; she was already in enough pain.

  Though she'd expected to see him in the kitchen this morning, she wasn't prepared for the way her pulse took off at a reckless gallop the moment those indigo eyes met hers. A sigh whispered through her looking at him.

  Thankfully the kitchen was alive with activity even though it was only six in the morning and she was able to focus on the activity of eggs frying and bacon sizzling in the pans. Okay, so maybe not that, since she felt like she was in the frying pan herself.

  "Good morning," she said.

  Rafe and Cliff were working side by side at the stove as she passed them and went straight for the coffee.

  "You look better," Cliff said, drawing her gaze. He smiled and for that brief unrealistic moment, all was wonderful in the world.

  Maddie lost her voice. His eyes crinkled at the edges, the blue warming as if he could tell he affected her so strongly.