Her brothers knew nothing about the bargain, and Ivy had vowed not to say anything to them when she’d discovered it herself. When her father had suddenly passed away from a heart attack, Ivy had been sad because he was her father, but she’d also been relieved. She wouldn’t have to keep up the pretense of being in love with Corbin anymore. The night she planned on telling her brothers her true feelings, she’d overheard them talking about the dire straits their father had left them in. When she heard Morgan say the only chance they had of getting out of the red this year was by acquiring the lost water rights, she knew she couldn’t back out of the deal.
With that sobering thought, Ivy realized how stupid it was to daydream about the cute cowboy. Even if she found out his name, and he happened to ask her out for dinner or a dance, Ivy would have to say no. She couldn’t let her brothers down.
After using the facilities, Ivy washed her hands. She was tempted to splash cold water on her face. Her cheeks looked flushed. She opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the empty hallway. It took a great deal of self-control not to peek inside the room again for one last look at the hot cowboy.
The waiting area had a couple of people in it, and Ivy took a seat in the back corner. She fished her e-reader out of her purse and turned it on. Her current book was about a Navy seal turned bodyguard who was protecting a beautiful heiress from a crazy stalker. It was hard to get lost in the story because she kept envisioning a cowboy with a square jaw and very blue eyes.
Several times she was tempted to cue up her library and re-read the cowboy romance book. Maybe if she were to read the story again it would satisfy her sudden craving for a cowboy. She resisted the temptation, and soon Aunt Tillie was coming her way. She was smiling, but Ivy could see the pain etched on her face.
“I hope you had more fun than I did,” Aunt Tillie said.
Ivy held up her reading device. “I did.”
“We are ordering me one of those eBook thingy’s when we get home.” Tillie grimaced as she hobbled toward the door. “I need the distraction of a nice-looking man.”
“Don’t we all,” Ivy muttered as she followed her aunt outside. Although the good-looking guy she’d locked eyes with earlier was too much of a distraction, messing with her ability to get lost in her book.
A slight breeze had kicked up, making Ivy shiver. The early April weather was typical for Montana, which felt very similar to winter. It was cold in the mornings and evenings and in some of the higher elevations there were still several inches of snow on the ground. She zipped her jacket up before opening the passenger door for her aunt and helped her inside.
Aunt Tillie was quiet during the ride home, keeping her eyes closed. For once Ivy had wanted to talk. She was sure with a few well-placed questions she could discover the name of the mystery man. He had to be one of Dr. Marshall’s assistants.
Ivy spent the rest of the day with her aunt. First they ordered an e-reader that would be delivered by mail in two days. Then they discussed the itinerary for the Snow Valley library. Aunt Tillie was one of the four volunteers who kept the library open for a few hours Monday through Thursday. Ivy would also be doing the children’s story hour twice a week.
By the time she crawled into bed that night, Ivy had pretty much forgotten all about the cute cowboy… until she closed her eyes. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 2
Kellen Thomas climbed into his truck after a long day at Dr. Marshall’s. This was his last internship day at the office, and he was relieved it was over. He rubbed his thigh, tempted to lower his hand to massage his lower limb that was now made up of carbon-fiber composites. Although it occurred less and less, there were times when he could still feel his missing lower leg and the phantom muscle spasms.
Two years had passed since an explosion from an IED had taken the lives of four of his buddies and left Kellen with a below the knee amputation. While the incident from Afghanistan was something he’d deal with the rest of his life, he’d learned how to physically and mentally cope with the accident. He’d learned how to appropriately deal with survivor’s guilt and he’d let go of the anger too.
Glancing up he saw Cassie, Doc Marshall’s receptionist, standing next to the door. Kellen wanted to hang around the office a little longer to see if anyone else knew who the pretty dark-haired girl was that he’d caught peeking in the window. Cassie wasn’t any help at all. He knew she knew something, but wasn’t talking.
The door pushed open and Kellen quickly started his truck, eager to leave before she came outside. No matter how many times he’d shot her down the past two weeks, Cassie continually tried to get him to go out for drinks with her after work.
As he backed out of his parking space, Cassie exited the building. He waved at her, and sped away toward home. If he hurried he could make it in time to help Jace out with the evening chores.
Jace McAllister, part owner of the GH Ranch, was also Kellen’s best friend and surrogate big brother. It would be nice to get Jace’s opinion on what Kellen should do. The nearest accredited PT program was over three hours away in Great Falls, and Kellen wasn’t sure he wanted to make that kind of move.
For nearly a year Kellen had been taking online college courses in preparation to apply for the physical therapy assistance program at Montana State. While Kellen enjoyed his classes, he found he missed his ranch work more and more. He liked learning and wanted to get a degree, but he wasn’t so sure about PT school anymore. Besides that, Caytie, Jace’s wife, had announced that she was pregnant a couple of weeks ago. The baby was due sometime in early September, and Kellen didn’t want to miss out on the event.
His cell phone buzzed an incoming text message. At the stoplight he read over the message from Jace.
Caytie said the baby is craving a cheeseburger and fries from Big C’s. Do you mind stopping by to pick up the food?
Kellen chuckled as he quickly typed his reply. Jace’s wife was a handful, and he had a feeling they were all going to be experiencing her pregnancy together.
I can stop. Does the baby also want frozen custard?
Ha ha. You know my wife so well.
Kellen tossed his phone on the passenger seat when the light turned green and headed toward Snow Valley and Big C’s. If he moved to Great Falls he’d miss out on so much. His grandma was in perfect health right now, but one of her friends, Sophie Morris, had unexpectedly passed away a few weeks earlier. It had been sobering to know how fast someone could be gone.
Of course in his twenty-two years he’d already experienced the effects of unexpected death. First his parents had died in a plane crash when he was only seven. Then there was the explosion in Afghanistan that had taken four members of his platoon.
Kellen had come close to dying himself. If not for his family, he knew he wouldn’t be here today.
Big C’s wasn’t too crowded so the food was ready in no time. Kellen ended up buying food for Jace as well. Caytie wasn’t much of a cook, so Jace did most of the cooking, but usually he would stop by the house to be fed by Grandma Ilene or Mama Ilene as Jace liked to call her.
Snitching a few of the fries, Kellen bypassed George’s house and his grandma’s cottage, finally coming to a stop on the freshly asphalted driveway of Jace and Caytie’s new home.
Kellen took a moment to admire the incredible structure. Jace had always planned on building a modest house here some day, but not something as elaborate as the gorgeous Victorian farmhouse with a wraparound porch that led to a deck as big as Grandma Ilene’s cottage.
Caytie had inherited a substantial trust fund from her grandmother, and liked to share her wealth. The house was her gift to Jace, along with a new truck, a barn, and two new mares with incredible pedigrees.
Cutting the engine to his new truck, a birthday gift last month from Caytie, Kellen grabbed the food and made his way to the front door. Caytie opened it before he made it up the porch steps.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”
&nb
sp; “Yeah, yeah,” Kellen said, handing over the bag of food. “Anything to keep the baby happy.”
She grinned. “You’re going to be the best uncle ever.”
Technically, Kellen wasn’t related to Caytie or her husband Jace, but when his parents had died, he’d come to live with his grandma at the GH ranch. Jace had also lost his only parent and Caytie’s uncle, George Holbrook, had taken Jace in to live with him.
“You bet I am.” Kellen leaned in and gave Caytie a kiss on the cheek. “When do we get to find out if I’m getting a nephew or a niece?”
“On Wednesday.” She motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen. “Are you eating with me?” she asked, pulling out both cheeseburgers.
“Nope, grandma has something warming up for me.” Kellen slid onto one of the kitchen chairs. “Jace can have it or maybe the baby needs two?”
“The baby might.” She put one of the burgers back in the bag. “It depends on how fast his daddy is.”
Caytie took a bite of the cheeseburger and moaned. “This is so good.” She chewed for a few seconds and then took a sip of water. “I haven’t been able to keep anything down today, and then suddenly I woke up from my nap without any nausea and this is the first thing I thought about eating.”
“When does the morning sickness go away?”
She scowled. “Morning sickness, ha! More like all-day sickness.” She grabbed a fry and popped it in her mouth. “I asked Mama Ilene the same thing, and she said it varies. Some women are sick the entire nine months.”
Kellen raised both of his eyebrows. “That’s harsh. I hope for your sake you aren’t one of those women.”
Caytie nodded her head in agreement as she took another big bite from her cheeseburger. If Jace didn’t come in soon he was going to miss out on his dinner. Maybe Kellen should go finish up his chores for him.
“So,” Caytie said, before he could volunteer to help Jace. “Did you call Stormy yet?”
Pushing his hat back, Kellen shook his head. “Sorry, but I’m with Jace. Any girl named Stormy isn’t a good omen.”
Caytie looked disappointed. She was always trying to set Kellen up with girls she met in her specialty store Rodeo Drive Boutique that had opened last fall. “But she’s adorable, and her name doesn’t necessarily reflect her personality.”
“True, but after doing a little bit of Facebook stalking I found out Stormy gets around. She likes to follow the rodeo circuit and is into bull riders.”
“Really?” Caytie peeled the lid off of her strawberry frozen custard and set it on the table. “She seemed like such a nice girl.”
Kellen shrugged and thought about the dark-haired girl today. He wished Caytie could find out her name. He’d never felt that kind of instant attraction to a girl before. He reached over and snagged one of Caytie’s fries since she was digging into her custard.
“You really don’t have to find me a girlfriend. I’m too busy to date, anyway.”
“Don’t take my fun away from me.”
The back door opened, and a few moments later Jace walked into the kitchen. “Hey, there.” He stopped at the sink to wash his hands. “Is the baby enjoying dinner?” he asked, drying his hands with a paper towel.
Caytie grinned. “Very much.”
“I’m glad.” Jace crossed the floor and gave Caytie a lingering kiss. When he pulled back, the look he gave his wife made Kellen want to leave the newlyweds alone. “You had me worried today,” Jace said. “So far the nausea hasn’t come back?”
“Nope.”
Jace glanced at Kellen. “Hey, man, thanks for bringing the food.”
“No problem.” He pointed to the bag. “I brought you something too.”
“Sweet.” Jace took a seat and found his food. “You’re not eating with us?”
“Nah, after eating fast-food for lunch everyday this week, I’m ready for some of grandma’s home cooked meals.”
“So how was the last day at the office?” Jace asked.
Kellen appreciated how supportive everyone was, and hoped if he decided not to go to PT school they’d continue with their support. Since he had plenty of good stories to tell for the next thirty minutes he told them about his day, including the angry fifteen-year-old who had thrown her prosthetic leg at him. He was tempted to tell them about the pretty mystery girl, but decided there wasn’t much to tell.
Caytie finished her meal and then looked like she was going to throw it back up. Kellen left when Jace followed his wife into the bathroom.
When he got home, he found his grandma watching Dancing with the Stars. She paused the show and got up to give him a hug. “I was starting to get worried about you.”
“Caytie was craving Big C’s so I stopped by their house first.”
“I’m so glad she felt like eating something. Although a greasy cheeseburger and fries might not sit well with her.”
“Yeah, she was starting to feel a little queasy when I left.”
“Oh, dear. I’ll call and check on her later.”
“What’s with all the boxes?” Kellen asked, counting two good-sized boxes on the floor on his way to the kitchen.
Grandma Ilene followed him and pulled out his dinner. “Tillie Cooper and I have been buying up children’s books from libraries who are turning over inventory. Her books came in last week. Mine were delivered today.”
Kellen sat down at the table, and let his grandma serve him. He’d given up long ago ever trying to warm up his dinner by himself. She wouldn’t have it. He made up for it by running errands for her, and cleaning up after himself.
“Since you don’t work tomorrow, I was wondering if you could deliver the books to the library for me?”
“Sure,” Kellen cut into the tender roast beef with a fork. “But I thought the library isn’t open on Fridays.”
“It isn’t, but Tillie’s niece is here to help out with things while Tillie recovers from her surgery, and she’ll be at the library tomorrow organizing things.” Grandma Ilene pushed the butter plate toward him so he could butter his roll. “I’m surprised you didn’t see Tillie at the office. I know she had an appointment at nine this morning with Dr. Marshall.”
Kellen stopped buttering his roll. “Mrs. Cooper saw Doc Marshall today?” Cassie hadn’t mentioned Tillie Cooper being there when he’d questioned her about who the mystery girl might have come with.
“Yes. After her aide had to leave for a family emergency, a few of us planned on taking turns driving Tillie to her therapy sessions, but then she was able to get her grand niece to stay with her.”
Kellen didn’t believe in fate, but if Mrs. Cooper’s niece turned out to be the same girl from the office then he might need to reconsider his thinking.
“Sure, Grandma, I’ll be happy to deliver the books.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” She kissed him on the top of his head and then went back to watch her show.
Even though he was exhausted, sleep didn’t come easy that night, so Kellen was up early to get in his workout before helping with the morning chores. He loved working side by side with George and Jace. It made him think more and more about accepting the offer George had made to go into a partnership with him and Jace.
Although the air was fairly cool, sweat soaked his shirt by the time Kellen had finished feeding the horses and mucking out stalls. Grandma wanted him to deliver the books before noon, so Kellen loaded the boxes into his truck and then took a quick shower.
Without trying to analyze his motives, he decided to wear one of the many new shirts Caytie had given him for Christmas. The gray and red plaid button down still had the tag on it. On a whim, he used the expensive cologne Caytie had insisted on buying him.
It was stupid to be nervous, but by the time Kellen pulled up in front of the library his palms felt sticky. Meeting a new girl was fun, but eventually he’d have to reveal his disability. He hated some of the reactions he got when he told them about losing part of his leg. A few rare girls didn’t seem too disturbed, mostly curi
ous. But sometimes he could tell it really bothered the girl, making him feel less like a whole man.
Wiping his palms across the top of his jeans, he cut the engine and exited his truck. Before unloading the books, he checked the door to make sure it was unlocked. The door opened easily and Kellen was tempted to sneak inside and scout out the area. He could hear voices, indicating there were more here than just Mrs. Cooper’s niece.
Kellen went back to his truck and stacked the boxes before lifting the big load. When he got to the door, he realized he should’ve propped it open with something. Turning, he started to set the boxes down but then someone pushed the door open.
“Here, let me get the door for you.”
Kellen glanced up to say thanks and grinned. “Hey, it’s you,” he said to the pretty dark-haired girl from the day before.
Chapter 3
Ivy should have said something, but she was too stunned to be standing face to face with the cute cowboy. The minute she’d looked into his blue eyes she’d known it was the guy from yesterday. He was even better looking up close. And he smelled so good.
“Thanks for getting the door.” He set the boxes on the ground and straightened, holding out his hand. “By the way, I’m Kellen Thomas.”
Her mouth had gone unbelievably dry. “Hi,” she squeaked. Gently clearing her throat, she placed her palm against his. “I’m Ivy. Ivy Baker.”
The second she made contact with his skin something happened to her that she’d only read about in her books. A warm, tingly sensation spread from her hand, up her arm and went straight to her head.
The text message she’d read from Corbin just minutes before reminded her that she had no right to feel any kind of attraction for Kellen Thomas.
Sucking in a quick breath, she snatched her hand back and stepped away from him. “What’re you doing here?” she asked, suddenly a little suspicious. “The library is closed.”
Spring in Snow Valley Page 2