Taming the Cowboy

by Aarsen, Carolyne

  He waited for Kane’s answer, but his brother was slowly shaking his head, still looking away from him. As if still trying to deal with this ghost in Faith’s past.

  “I hope you can find a way to get past this,” Elliot said. “I hope for your and Faith’s sake that this doesn’t come between you.”

  “We’ve talked about it,” Kane said. “I thought I was done with it, and then you returned…”

  “And it all came back.” Elliot finished the sentence for him. What surprised him the most was how much this hurt. He knew Kane wouldn’t exactly welcome him with open arms, but he didn’t think the past would be such a shadow on the present.

  “I can leave if you want me to.” As Elliot forced the words out he realized how difficult they were to say. “I’m sure you can find someone else for your best man.”

  But even as he spoke, he realized he didn’t want to leave. Things had changed for him in the past few weeks, and the dream he had been chasing grew less important. The restless and wandering life he had been living grew wearying.

  Being on the ranch made him return to one of the best times in his life.

  And there’s Kinsley.

  “Of course I don’t want you to go. This is your home as much as it is mine,” Kane said. “You’re as much Zach’s son as I am.”

  “Except I didn’t get adopted.” Elliot was hoping to make the comment sound like he was kidding, but the sudden anger on Kane’s face made him realize the joke had landed with a thud.

  Kane shook his head and then, to Elliot's shock and surprise, Kane grabbed him and pulled him close in a rough man-hug.

  Elliot held himself stiff for a moment, unsure of what to think. He felt a sliver of discomfort, but when Kane wouldn’t let him go, he relaxed into his brother’s embrace. Then, even worse, felt a shiver of sorrow envelope him. He couldn’t cry. He never had even when Dennis was whaling on him with his belt, his fists or whatever came to hand.

  He couldn’t start, because he didn’t know if he would ever stop. And cowboys don’t cry. They man up.

  Yet it felt so good to be hugged by his brother. To have that physical connection.

  Then Kane thumped him on the back and drew back, still holding him by the shoulders as he looked into his eyes. “You’re my brother. I know Mom and Dad would have adopted you in a heartbeat if it wasn’t for—”

  “If it wasn’t for Dennis,” Elliot finished.

  “But adopted or not, you’re my brother. And I wanted you to be my best man, not Lucas. You were always my first choice.”

  “Despite what happened?” Elliot couldn’t stop the surge of blame at the thought that he had taken part in the difficulties Faith had dealt with.

  “Not despite what happened,” Kane said. “What you said just now makes sense. Faith made her own choices. She wasn’t a child. I guess, yeah, it was always easier to blame you than think she wasn’t perfect.”

  “None of us are,” Elliot said.

  “No. But thank goodness God loves us still, despite our messy lives.”

  Elliot felt another shiver of sorrow at the easy way Kane spoke God’s name. God the Father. He still struggled with that idea. But he brushed it aside. For now, God would have to wait. For now he and his brother had breached the chasm that had divided them.

  And for that he was grateful.

  “And now that we’ve got that out of the way, I need to ask a favor of you,” Kane continued.

  “What favor?”

  “We need to go to town and pick out what we’ll wear for this wedding.”

  “Really? Shopping?”

  “Hey, if I can do it, you can,” Kane said, shooting him a warning glance.

  “Ugh, I hate buying clothes.”

  “Cowboy up, mister. Besides, it won’t be hard. Faith said keep it simple, so a nice shirt and new blue jeans is all we need.” He glanced down at Elliot’s scuffed and worn cowboy boots. “And maybe some new footwear.”

  “What? These are my lucky boots.” Elliot held one foot up, inspecting it. “I wear them everywhere.”

  “Which is exactly why, given that we live on a ranch with animals, and that they’ve been in countless rodeo arenas, you will need some new boots.”

  Elliot chuckled, Kane grinned, and then together they walked out of the garage.

  Brothers in arms, Elliot thought as a weight he’d been carrying for years slipped off his shoulders.

  Chapter 11

  Kinsley pulled up to the ranch, her head buzzing. It had been a long busy day, and she was tired.

  She turned her car off, thankful for the quiet that washed over her after the busy traffic and endless roads of the city. She’d only been away from Calgary a week and a half, but it hadn’t taken her long to get used to the peace and quiet of the ranch and the country roads.

  Rolling her head eased the kink in her neck, but her hip ached with all the sitting. As she got out of the car she faltered, then took a moment to stretch it out.

  “Are you okay?”

  Kinsley spun around just as Elliot came sauntering toward her, the sun catching glints in his perpetually tousled hair.

  “Of course. I’m fine.” She couldn’t help the defensive tone that entered her voice. The past few days she had been growing more and more self-conscious around him, and she hated it.

  “So you got everything you needed in Calgary?”

  “I sure did,” she said, wondering why he was here. Had he been waiting for her?

  “You were gone a long time. Did you take some time to catch up with old friends?”

  And why was she even the smallest bit pleased that he had noticed her absence?

  “No, I spent a lot of time in my car driving.”

  “That sucks. I hate traffic.”

  “Especially considering that for you, a traffic jam means waiting ten seconds to make a left turn in Rockyview.”

  Elliot laughed, which gave her a small thrill of pleasure.

  “You got me pegged,” he said as he took a few steps closer. “So did you miss me when you were gone?”

  “I haven't been gone long enough for that.”

  “I actually kinda missed you,” Elliot said, giving her his most charming smile.

  “I’ll bet you did.” Kinsley tried to sound like she was joking, but was surprised at the little thrill of pleasure his words gave her.

  A strand of hair, lifted by an errant breeze, caught on her lipstick. She lifted her hand to remove it but Elliot was already there, his fingers teasing it away.

  His fingers lingered on her face for a heartbeat, sending shivers dancing down her spine.

  “I know you don’t like to look messy,” he teased, his eyes flicking down, then up again.

  “I had business to do today.” And why did she feel like she had to justify what she was wearing? Suddenly she was self-conscious of clothing she had chosen with such care this morning because she wanted to look professional when she stopped at Jills’s shop.

  Jill had offered to let her use one of her backdrops for the head table as well as candleholders and a variety of other decor items that would add to the table centerpieces. Thankfully it all fit in her car.

  “You look very professional. And uncomfortable.” His eyes teased her as he loosened the single button of her blazer.

  She swallowed, her heart racing.

  It was a simple gesture. But the way he looked at her created an intimacy that, she was sure, he was doing on purpose.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, feeling a need to call him out on his actions.

  He didn’t answer her question and took a step back, his expression shifting. Instead of answering he looked into the back of her car. “Faith told me you were picking up stuff in Calgary and that I needed to help you bring it to wherever it needs to go.”

  His practical question brought her back to reality and settled her on solid ground.

  She just wished she wasn’t so disappointed about his matter-of-fact statement. Wished he didn’t creat
e this vulnerability she wasn’t sure what to do with.

  “That would be great,” she managed, turning away from him. She opened the back hatch and was about to take the boxes out when he stepped past her and took over.

  “Where do you want these?” he asked.

  “I think just put them in the garage for now,” Kinsley said. “It’s all stuff for the wedding.”

  “I kinda guessed that.”

  She picked up a box, ignoring Elliot’s frown.

  “I can take care of all this,” he said.

  “Maybe I don’t trust you,” she returned, trying for some levity.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t.”

  She tried not to read more into his comment than simple banter. So she simply handed him the boxes and he walked away, whistling.

  Four trips later, they had the backdrop, the boxes of napkins, candleholders, cutlery, and wineglasses stacked inside the garage.

  “It’s a good thing the guest list isn’t huge,” Elliot said. “You’d have a lot more stuff stashed in here if it was, and I imagine it would be a lot more work.”

  “You’re right about that,” Kinsley agreed.

  “I’m guessing things are going good with the preparations?” Elliot asked.

  “All the boxes are getting ticked,” Kinsley said as she walked back toward the car. She was tired and still stiff, and she was trying hard to keep her stride even. Though she had felt self-conscious around Elliot from the beginning, the last little while had seemed to be even worse. Especially after seeing Denise with her perfect body, perfect hair, perfect teeth, and perfect everything.

  And she could ride a horse.

  “So what did you do today?” Kinsley asked, needing to shift her silly thoughts away from self-pity toward practicality.

  “Kane and I bought our shirts and pants for the wedding,” he said. “And, you’ll be pleased to know, I bought some new boots.”

  Kinsley glanced down at his worn and scuffed cowboy boots. “Those look like they’ve had a few miles put on them, that’s for sure.”

  “A few miles and a lot of rides. But I figured I would cut loose for my brother’s wedding.”

  Kinsley nodded as she opened passenger door of the car.

  “And what is that?” Elliot asked as she pulled out the garment bag.

  “Is Kane anywhere around?”

  “He’s working with the horses. Tricia and Mason went to town to get wedding clothes for the kids and I went back to the shop to finish up my work on the wagon. Faith told me to keep an eye out for you.” He glanced at the bag she held. “So, satisfy my male curiosity. What’s in the bag? Another suit for you?”

  “You don’t like my suits?”

  “I think you look better in blue jeans.” His eyebrow twitched upward and he added a grin.

  He was flirting with her and, she had to admit, it made her feel good.

  “So. The bag?” he repeated.

  “It might be Faith’s wedding dress. That’s why I was asking if Kane was around.”

  “You got her dress in Calgary? I thought Nelly Boyko was making it.”

  “She was. Is. We looked at what she had done yesterday and…well…I thought we could give Faith another option.”

  “Looks like you got it at a fancy place.”

  “You can tell that from looking at the garment bag?” Kinsley teased as they walked toward the house together.

  “For one thing, the name of the shop is written in gold swirly letters and for another, the address isn’t exactly in a strip mall.”

  “You know where the high-end stores are in Calgary?”

  “Sort of. Denise loved shopping and a couple of times she dragged me to a store close to that one,” he said, waving his hand at the bag. “Let’s just say I didn’t blend. It was one of those memories seared on my subconscious and rises up now and again to haunt me.”

  Denise again. A good reminder that the way he was talking to her was how he talked to any woman. And yet…

  “Well, you’re right. This came from an exclusive wedding dress shop.” One that Drake and his mother had a discount with because of the business they sent their way.

  “I can’t believe Faith would buy her dress at a boutique shop. She keeps saying how she wants this wedding simple and not spendy.”

  “This dress won’t cost her a thing. It was…” She hesitated, fighting down the sting of humiliation of not only still having her wedding dress, but giving it away.

  “It was…” he encouraged.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’d like her to try it on.”

  But as he opened the French doors for her, she caught his curious glance and the questions lying behind his gaze.

  Kinsley was thankful the house was empty. She was tired and her hip ached, and all she wanted to do was soak in a hot tub and—

  “Do you want a cup of coffee?” Elliot asked, walking over to the kitchen counter.

  “Um. Yeah, but I can make it myself.”

  “I don’t mind. I know a guy should never say this to a girl because it could be read wrong, but you seem tired.”

  “As in haggard and drawn?” she said, chuckling at his honesty as she draped the garment bag on the back of a kitchen chair.

  “As if you could look that way,” he protested as he filled up the coffeepot with water. “No. You’re just walking slow. Does your hip hurt?”

  “There’s no beating around the bush with you is there?”

  “Why? I know you injured your hip, and I can tell when you’ve been pushing yourself too hard physically. It’s no secret.”

  To her surprise Kinsley felt a whisper of thankful relief. Elliot truly was easy to be around. No nonsense, and straightforward. She appreciated that.

  “That’s true and yes, I am tired. I did a lot of walking.”

  Which made Elliot glance down at her shoes. “Seriously, girl, you’ve got to lose those high heels. They’re bad for your back no matter how hale and hearty you are.”

  Kinsley eased them off her throbbing feet. “Losing them now.”

  “I mean as in forever,” Elliot said. He put a new filter in the basket and filled it with coffee grounds, his movements quick and efficient. He knew his way around this kitchen. “You can look professional without sacrificing your physical health.”

  “Says the man who has heels on his cowboy boots.”

  Elliot laughed at that. “Those heels keep my feet from slipping through the stirrups when I’m riding. There is a practical purpose for them. What’s the purpose of yours?”

  “If you don’t buy my professional argument, then I’m tapped.”

  Elliot chuckled at that. And as the coffeepot burbled he put out mugs, pulled cream out of the refrigerator, and set everything down on the table in front of her.

  “No sugar, right?”

  “I’m surprised you remember.”

  “I keep my eye on you,” he said, tapping his temple.

  “That sounds creepy.”

  He gave her an exaggerated leer. “Maybe I’m a creepy guy.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  He grinned and shrugged then waved his hand at her wedding dress. “Do you want me to take that upstairs to your room? Just in case Kane comes into the house.”

  “It’s okay. I can do it.” She pushed her chair back, struggling to get to her feet.

  But Elliot was already standing, his hand gently pushing her back down.

  “You’re tired. I can do it for you.”

  She was about to protest again, but the thought of getting up and trudging up the stairs was too much for her right now. So she nodded.

  “I’ll be right back,” Elliot said with a grin. “And I promise I won’t read your diary.”

  She laughed at that, and before she could say anything else, he grabbed the garment bag and was gone.

  Elliot’s attention made her smile. Despite his casual attitude, she felt cherished, taken care of.

  Drake, who always prided himself on his gentility, ha
d done nothing like that for her.

  Nor had he ever stood up for her.

  She braced herself for the usual twist in her stomach, the embarrassment and humiliation that accompanied thoughts of him. Especially with Elliot handling the wedding dress she was supposed to be wearing as she married Drake.

  But to her surprise, thinking about him merely brought a glimmer of annoyance and a surprising sense of freedom. She was making her own way now, she wasn’t piggybacking on his success or his mother’s. As Drake had often jokingly intimated. Though the words were spoken with a smile, she still struggled with the idea that they only employed her on sufferance. Only a part of the company because she was marrying him.

  “Okay, I didn’t snoop, but my goodness, you are a tidy person,” Elliot remarked as he bounded into the kitchen.

  “As Benjamin Franklin said, for every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.”

  “Were you scrambling through potential quotes to toss at me because you guessed I would make some comment?”

  “I have a few more up my sleeve, but that one seemed to be the most appropriate. I’m glad I could finally use it.” She smiled up at him and he stepped closer, and for a moment she wondered if he would touch her again. Her heartbeat ticked upward, and her breath caught in her throat.

  Then he turned away and poured a cup of coffee for them both.

  “Here you go,” Elliot said as he set the mug down in front of her and then sat down right beside her. “Nice and hot, just the way you like it.”

  “You seem to know an awful lot about me,” Kinsley said.

  “I’m an observer. I pay attention,” Elliot said. “It’s what’s kept me alive at times.”

  “Really? How?”

  “I need to know how to read a horse, see how he’s reacting, and what he might do as he jumps out of the chute.”

  “Do you have another rodeo this weekend?”

  He nodded, looking down at his mug, his finger running up and down the side.

  “You don’t seem too enthusiastic about it,” Kinsley said.

  “You're not the only one that’s tired,” Elliot said, looking up at her, his hazel eyes holding hers again. "It’s a long season, and with every rodeo I don’t get injured, I get a little more nervous.”