Taming the Cowboy (Family Ties Book 3)

by Carolyne Aarsen

  Elliot looked surprised. “You’re not arguing with me?”

  “I’m not that independent that I would turn up a chance to save myself some money.” Kinsley grinned at him.

  Elliot laughed at that, the sound a lot softer than before.

  And once again it gave her a funny little thrill.

  When Carmen gave her the coffee and the cookie wrapped up in a parchment paper bag, she gave Kinsley a sly little look. Kinsley wondered what she meant by it.

  A few other people were sitting at the mismatched tables in the café. Some nodded at Elliot as he passed, said a quick hello, and gave Kinsley a puzzled look as if trying to figure out the connection between the two of them.

  She agreed that they couldn’t look more disparate. Elliot in his cowboy hat, plaid shirt, faded jeans and worn boots and she in her tailored suit and high heels.

  Country boy, city girl.

  Elliot found an empty spot, pulled off his hat, and set it on the table. He looked like he was about to pull the chair out for her. Though she beat him to it, his attempt made her feel oddly pampered. Cared for.

  Something she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

  As soon as they sat down, the door burst open and Faith rushed into the coffeeshop, looking flustered.

  Her eyes fell on them and she hurried over, yanked the empty chair away from the table, and dropped into it, her phone in her hand. “Sorry I’m late. It took longer at Mrs. Boyko’s than I thought. But while I was there, I got a text from the teacher I’m taking over for. I need to talk with her, but she can only meet me today. I know I said I would go check out the flowers, but I have to do this now.” Faith gave them an apologetic shrug after her rush of explanations. “I feel like I’ve been such a doofus the past couple of weeks. I’m not usually this unorganized.”

  Kinsley knew that. When they were in college together, Faith was the one who was focused and always got her work done.

  “Wedding jitters,” Kinsley said, absolving her with a smile and a lift of her hand. “It’s pretty common.”

  “I know, but I hate being so scattered. I feel like I’ve got too many balls in the air. My upcoming job, my wedding, trying to get ready to move into the house.” She rubbed her forehead with her forefinger, then her phone binged again. She blew out a breath in exasperation as she looked down at it. “I’m sorry, I gotta go.”

  “Did you see the flowers we picked up?” Elliot asked, sounding peeved with his future sister-in-law. “The ones you insisted we get because they were so cheap?”

  “No. I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

  “Will you at least look at them when we get back to the ranch?” Elliot urged.

  “I’m hoping this meeting will only take an hour. That’ll give me lots of time to check out the flowers. We can even figure out where to put them once I’m there.”

  Kinsley flipped through her phone, checking her weather app. “If it doesn’t rain,” she said, feeling a niggle of concern.

  “The forecast is just for scattered showers. I doubt we’ll get hit with that so close to the mountains.”

  “Okay.” Kinsley wasn’t as optimistic as Faith was but then, what did she know about local topography and meteorology?

  Faith shoved her chair back and gave Kinsley a quick hug. “See you back at the ranch. Thanks again for picking up the flowers.”

  She waved at Elliot and with a clamor of the bells on the café door, Faith was gone.

  “Okay, I guess we’re on our own again,” Elliot said, tossing back his coffee. He glanced out the large-paned windows overlooking the patio and made a face. “And it’s starting to rain just like your forecast said. We should get going. I don’t want to unload those flowers in the rain.”

  Kinsley agreed. She set her uneaten cookie aside, finished her coffee, and stood. Unfortunately she moved a little too quickly. Her heel caught on one of the chairs and, to her embarrassment, she teetered.

  Elliot was right there, his hand on her arm, steadying her. “You okay?” he asked, concern etching his features. His hand was warm, his face inches from hers. She could see the gold flecks in his hazel eyes, the faint stubble shading his rugged jaw.

  Too handsome for his own good and too attractive to ignore.

  As soon as she jerked away from him she knew she had overreacted. But not for the reasons he expressed when his smile faded and his eyes narrowed.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean you to think—”

  “I just…just caught my heel, that’s all.” She wished she didn’t care, but his visible retreat bothered her. “Thanks though,” she offered.

  He returned her comment with a vague smile. She was thinking he might say more when the bell above the door jangled again and a tall young woman walked in, paused, then called Elliot’s name.

  “Hey, mister, I heard you were back.” She strode over and without a moment’s hesitation wrapped her arms around Elliot in a hug, her leather purse swinging against him.

  “Denise. Hey.” Elliot returned her hug, grinning as he did so.

  Another old girlfriend? She seemed his type, Kinsley thought. Denise's hair hung loose, her curls flowing down the denim vest she wore over a plain white shirt. Her faded and torn blue jeans and scuffed and worn cowboy boots completed the look of country girl comfortable in her own skin.

  “So I'm guessing you're in town for Kane and Faith’s wedding.” Denise still had her hand on Elliot’s shoulder in a proprietary and natural manner.

  “Yeah. I’m helping Kinsley here. My future sister-in-law’s wedding planner.” Elliot gave Kinsley a sheepish look as he took a step away.

  Denise turned to Kinsley, her smile shifting just a little, her eyes narrowing as she took Kinsley in.

  Trust me, I’m no threat, Kinsley wanted to say as she held her hand out to the beautiful woman. “Hello. Nice to meet you,” she said instead.

  Denise gave her hand a perfunctory shake, still looking at her. “So, a wedding planner. Kind of lah-de-dah, no? I didn’t think Faith was like that.” Though Denise was still smiling, her voice held a faint note of disparagement.

  “It’s easier for her,” Elliot put in before Kinsley could say anything. “Faith’s busy with getting ready for her job and helping out her grandfather. Besides, Kinsley is an old friend of Faith's and offered to help.”

  “Good of you,” Denise said, still looking at Kinsley.

  “That’s me. Kindness personified,” Kinsley couldn’t help but retort. Denise’s jealous look was annoying and, frankly, a waste of energy.

  “If you need any help, I don’t mind pitching in. I helped both my sisters with their weddings,” Denise said, her smile shifting again.

  “Thanks for the offer,” Kinsley said. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “As for you,” Denise said, turning her attention back to Elliot and tapping one perfectly manicured finger on his chest, “Don’t be such a stranger. We don’t live that far away. Stop by sometime. We could go out for a ride like we used to.”

  “We’ll see,” Elliot said, slipping one hand in his back pocket, his grin widening. “Those were good times, for sure.”

  “They sure were.” She held his gaze a beat longer than necessary, as if recalling those very good times, then pulled a pen and notebook out of her purse and jotted something down. She tore off the sheet and held it out to Elliot. “That’s my new cell phone number. Give me a jingle. I’ve got the next week off. It would be fun to reconnect.”

  Elliot took the paper, glanced at it, then slipped it into his pocket. “It was great seeing you again, but Kinsley and I have to get going.”

  His simple connecting of their names gave her an obscure niggle of pleasure.

  Which she stifled. What did it matter to her that this stunning woman wanted to reconnect with Elliot?

  And yet, as he walked ahead of her and held the door open, she couldn’t help a quick glance his way, pleased to see him smiling down at her and not looking back at Denise.

  Rain splattered down,
harder now, making the sidewalk wet, and she forced herself to take her time. She didn’t want to slip in front of Elliot and, even worse, in front of Denise, who was watching them through a window of the café.

  Elliot paid no attention to Denise and opened the door of the truck for Kinsley.

  Just before she got in she looked at him again. “I’m sorry I overreacted. Back there when I stumbled. I knew you were just trying to help. But I was okay.”

  A slow smile crawled across his lips as his eyes crinkled, rain dripping off his hat. A smile that only increased her awareness of him. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have jumped in. I thought you were going to fall.”

  “I…I tend to get a bit touchy at times,” she said. “About my balance and, well…” She let the sentence trail off.

  “Your limp,” he finished for her.

  She startled at the bold pronouncement, her cheeks warming with embarrassment.

  “I’ve had to struggle along a couple of times myself,” he added. “One broken leg, one sprained ankle.”

  Part of her felt like she should take issue with his comment. A one-time injury wasn’t the same thing as a lifelong disability. But when she chanced a look his way she caught gentle understanding in his deep hazel eyes.

  “I know it’s not the same but, well…” He let the sentence drift off and added a shrug. His words combined with his killer smile eased her protestations.

  This time he allowed her to get into the truck on her own and he didn’t help her even though he could see she was struggling. As she settled into the seat, she shot a quick glance down the street at the coffeehouse. But to her relief she couldn’t see Denise anymore. The difference between them couldn’t be more pronounced.

  Denise, easy and comfortable with Elliot. Obviously comfortable with horses as well. She looked and dressed the part of a girl from a ranching background.

  And she didn’t limp.

  Kinsley pushed the unwelcome thoughts out of her mind. Denise shouldn’t matter to her.

  She set her purse on the seat and pulled her phone out to check her schedule as Elliot drove.

  She shivered a moment, her clothes damp from the rain, which grew louder and harder despite Faith's optimistic forecast.

  “I’ll turn the heat up,” Elliot said.

  She gave him a nod of thanks, glancing behind her at the truck bed. “I hope the flowers survive the rain.”

  “The tarp I covered them with should help.” Elliot looked back at the load then gave her a quick smile. “I don’t want to have to go back to the greenhouse again.”

  “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

  Elliot shrugged and flicked on the windshield wipers. The rain was coming in hard drops, falling with heavy splats on the truck window. “Actually, no. I used to go with my mom every spring.” He shot a glance her way. “By my mom, I mean Grace Tye.”

  “I assumed that,” she said.

  Faith had said little to her about Elliot’s past, other than they had brought him into the family as a foster child. “That’s kind of neat that she took you along.”

  “She was a great mother.” The hitch in his voice was so small she might have missed it had she not been watching him. Had she not caught the way his jaw clenched and chin lifted.

  “I’m sorry about her death.”

  Elliot shrugged, as if erasing the flash of pain she had seen. “It was a tough time for the family. Things kind of went off the rails for a while.” The truck slid on the now-muddy road but Elliot corrected, slowing down.

  “I understand that was when Tricia and Drew got married?” Kinsley asked. And when Elliot and Faith had run off together, though Faith had repeatedly assured Kinsley that nothing had happened between them. However, she heard from Faith it had caused estrangement and tension between Kane and Elliot.

  Elliot released a harsh laugh. “If you want to call it a marriage.” He turned off the radio, still looking ahead. The windshield wipers were slapping in double time, as the rain had become a torrent.

  His terse comment ignited her curiosity. “What do you mean?” she asked, knowing she was prying yet unable to keep her questions at bay.

  The increasing bad weather was making her nervous, and she wanted to talk about something, anything, rather than focus on the roads that were now like grease.

  “We got into an accident on the way back from their elopement. I think she and Drew were legally hitched for about forty-six minutes.”

  “Forty-six minutes?”

  “Drew died in the accident.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” This was news to her. She knew Tricia was a single mother, she just didn’t know the entire family dynamics and history. “That’s so sad. That's a lot of sorrow for your family.”

  “Yeah, well, Drew wasn’t the best boyfriend material, and he wouldn’t have been a great husband or father either.” Elliot pulled his hand over his jaw and then flashed her another signature grin. “But now Tricia has met Mason, who is a way better guy than Drew ever was.”

  “And now Tricia and Mason are engaged.”

  Elliot nodded, still grinning. “If you do a good job with this wedding, maybe Tricia will hire you to plan hers.”

  “I think we’ll take it one wedding at a time,” she said, but couldn’t keep herself from returning his smile despite the tension now gripping her neck. She hoped the rain quit by the time they got back. “However, all these celebrations, this must be such a happy time for your family.”

  This created another beat of heavy silence as his smile faded. She wondered if she’d overstepped. Said something insensitive. Then she realized they had just been talking about Grace, his mother. He was probably thinking about her as well.

  Should she speak and risk making another mistake?

  She was about to apologize when Elliot yelled, slammed on the brakes, and spun the steering wheel. She glimpsed a deer as the truck spun sideways then bounced over a rut in the road. She bit down a scream as the truck jolted again, Elliot fighting to regain control on the slick and muddy road.

  The truck spun, bounced once more, and then crashed into a tree.

  Chapter 6

  The truck rocked to a halt.

  Elliot clung to the steering wheel, dazed by the sudden impact. His mind twisted back to that horrible moment almost three years ago. Broken glass, screaming, agony.

  He blinked, dragging himself back to the present. His chest ached from the jolt on the now-deployed airbags, the dashboard was lit up, steam poured from the hood of the truck, but he didn’t think he was injured. To his surprise, his hat was still anchored to his head.

  The window beside him was shattered as was the back window. The windshield was a maze of stars and cracks.

  Kinsley.

  He spun sideways, pain shooting through his body at the sudden movement.

  Kinsley sat slumped in her seat, her head to one side.

  Elliot fumbled for his seat belt, suddenly desperate.

  “Kinsley, Kinsley, talk to me,” he pleaded, lunging across the seat toward her.

  She slowly lifted her head, looking at him. A small trail of blood trickled from a scratch on her temple. Elliot’s heart thundered in his chest with a mixture of relief and concern.

  She was alive, but hurt.

  “What happened?” Her voice was strong, which allayed his concerns.

  “Don’t move,” he said, touching her forehead, his fingers gently probing. He touched her neck, his eyes on her face the entire time. “Does this hurt?” he asked.

  She shook her head, then groaned. “That was a mistake.”

  “Do you feel okay? Are you dizzy? Do you feel nauseated? Like you want to throw up?” He fired the questions one after the other, watching, waiting, anxiety thrumming through him. He’d helped enough of his fellow bronc riders off the arena floor to know what to ask, what to look for in case of a head injury.

  “Just my head hurts,” she said, touching her forehead again. “I’m not dizzy.”

  Elli
ot’s hand still rested on her shoulder, his eyes still held hers.

  He hardly dared believe that nothing had happened to either of them. The last accident—

  He shut his eyes, erasing the image. He had to focus on the now.

  “I’m so sorry. I thought I had control.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she said, giving him a pained smile. “We’ll blame it on the deer.”

  That may well be, but Elliot still felt as if he should have done something. Anything.

  The truck was still running, the lights pointing at an awkward angle, lighting up the glistening trees. Rain still pounded down, coming in through the side windows now.

  “We can’t stay here,” Elliot said, shifting to one side to pull his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at it and his heart dropped at the blank screen. It was dead. He looked around for his charge cord, but then realized he had brought it into the house yesterday but had forgotten to charge it.

  “I can’t phone for help,” Elliot said, feeling stupid and useless.

  Kinsley unbuckled her seat belt, wincing as she did, then bent over looking at the floor of the truck. She frowned and glanced hurriedly around. “I’ve got my phone in my purse, but I don’t see it. My purse, that is.”

  Elliot couldn’t see anything that resembled the large, pink bag she carried everywhere. He lifted the deployed airbag in front of her just in case, but nothing.

  “It must’ve flown out of the truck on impact.”

  “It has everything in it,” Kinsley cried out. “My wallet, my phone, my papers.”

  Ignoring the throb in his chest, Elliot shifted, trying to get a better look around the cab of the truck. Unfortunately he still couldn’t find the purse.

  Kinsley shivered, and Elliot realized the longer they stayed here, the colder and wetter they would get. But what were their options?

  He looked behind him, thinking.

  “We need to get somewhere dry. There’s a house about a half mile down the road,” he said. “It’s abandoned, but I’m sure I can break in.”

  “What about my purse?”