Country Courtship (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 2) (8 page)

Chapter 5

Kelli knew mischief was in the air because her staff was gossiping about something—or someone. Her gaze scanned the waiting room and landed, more like skidded, on Bobby Gray.

"Not again," she muttered under her breath. Signaling for Dax Stone to join her in the hallway furthest from the waiting room, she waited for him.

Dax had been her sister Lori's boyfriend until he'd found himself. Ever since Kelli graduated from vet school, he'd been her assistant. This was probably another of Lori's grievances.

He reached her side. "'S up?"

"What's
he
doing here?" Her voice was a snappish whisper as she pointed at Mr. Bobby Gray "Sister Trouble" Nelson sitting in the waiting room.

"Sick bird."

She watched as the bird pecked the cowboy's ear. "Sick bird my—"

"Careful," warned Dax.

"My apple," she finished with a smile. Neither she nor her staff were allowed to use bad words because many of the animals were accompanied by children. Besides, her mother always said a well-bred young lady should never be caught with the wrong words in her mouth.

Kelli's staff had set up a money jar to collect penalties from those who forgot, but it had been years since anyone had needed to come up with any cash. In fact, Kelli hadn't even seen the jar for a while and she was momentarily distracted by what had happened to it.

But she had a much larger problem on her hands. About six foot three large. "Did the cowboy claim the bird is his?"

"What a cowboy," said Dax. "Did you see the color of his eyes? Ocean blue."

"Green."

Dax raised a brow.

Thinking he hadn't understood, she added, "His eyes. Green."

"Gotcha." Dax's face lit with amusement. He said in a sing-song voice, "You know the color of his eyes."

She punched his arm. "Brat."

"I'll show the cowboy into an exam room." Dax made a shooing motion. "You, go put on some lipstick."

Lipstick? She rarely remembered to reapply it once she left home. Evidently her liking of the cowboy was apparent to anyone who saw her. Not good. Especially not good if Lori got scent of it.

But it didn't stop Kelli from heading to her office and smearing a dab of gloss on her lips. Not that she was trying to look good for Bobby Gray. She'd have combed her hair if that had been the case. Then she froze in place as she realized she was unconsciously smoothing her bangs.

Whoa. Talk about a mental full-stop.

This was her chance to do right by her sister. This was her opportunity to send the cowboy packing and to make it clear she didn't want him to come back. Even if a part of her did.

Her relationship with Lori was too important to allow a man to get in the middle. And while Bobby Gray Nelson was incredibly hunkilicious, she could always find another hunk around the next corner.

She hoped.

One Lori hadn't dated first.

It could happen. Even if Lori as a flight attendant had access to countless hunks, while the ones Kelli met were mostly pre-adolescent.

But onward to letting down the cowboy. Usually she'd worry about being gentle, but Bobby Gray was so successful women by the thousands were probably waiting for her place in his line.

"Look, Mr. Nelson," she said as she entered the exam room. "It's time to set—"

The bird sneezed.

"I'm so glad you're here, Doc. I'm afraid Vlad is a goner."

She'd never seen a healthier Blue Fronted Amazon. "Have you ever heard of parrots, Mr. Nelson?"

"Of course I have."

"Have you ever heard someone say, 'He parroted her words?'"

"Something like that."

"So you understand the meaning?"

"Perfectly."

"The parrot you brought in, a Blue Fronted Amazon—"

He interrupted. "My parrot, Vladimir."

She repeated the name as if she were speaking to a child, "
Vladimir
—is not ill."

"He's been sneezing."

"He's been parroting sneezing."

"You sure he's not sick?"

"I'm reasonably certain. Look at his alert eyes and the way he's aware of his surroundings. Look at the beautiful condition of his gorgeous feathers. When he opened his beak I observed a tongue in healthful condition."

She grasped Bobby Gray's arm, tried hard to disregard the warmth of his skin and continued in a low voice, "You have to stop stealing animals as excuses to see me."

"I did not steal Vlad."

"Okay." She held up her hand. "Stop borrowing pets."

"I did not borrow him. He belongs to me."

"Sure he does."

"I brought him to you because he's not acting like his normal self."

"And that is?"

He looked around the room and his gaze seemed to settle before he turned back to her. "Fun and flirtatious."

Kelli turned and spotted the magazine on the rack where Bobby Gray had looked before answering. The headline read:
Fun and Flirtatious Summer Flings.

"Third position, squawk," said the bird. "
Plié
."

"Hold still, Vlad, and let the doc examine you." Bobby Gray stroked the Amazon's shoulder.

Vlad blinked, then commented, "
Glissade
."

Kelli raised a brow. How interesting. She leaned forward with her penlight to glance into the parrot's eyes.

"Squawk.
Tour en l'Air
," said Vlad. He flew up slightly from the table, made a turn in the air and gracefully lowered himself to the table again.

Kelli cracked up. "This is
so
not your bird."

Bobby Gray put his hands on his hips. "I don't know why you're so sure of that. Want to see the bill of sale?"

"It must be recent, then."

"Why do you say that?"

"Since when are you taking ballet lessons?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Vlad speaks like a ballet instructor. Say, Vlad,
Jeté
."

The bird immediately leapt from one leg to the other.

Bobby Gray looked guilty.

Kelli laid down her light and stethoscope. "Go away, cowboy."

She watched for a reaction and he cringed slightly, but soon smiled. More like a knowing smirk. So she continued, trying to drive the point home. "My sister's already furious with me and you're just making matters worse."

"Go out with me," he whispered.

His breath was feather-soft on her cheek. Heated. But her gaze landed, just in time for her faltering resolve, on a photo on the examination room wall. Pictured were Kelli and her five sisters, but the only face she saw was Lori's. No matter how tempting the man, she would never choose him over her sister.

She shook her head sadly. "Give up. It's not happening in this lifetime."

He opened his mouth to object.

She was so attracted to Bobby Gray, but she had to resist. She took a deep steadying breath and held up her hand to silence him. "Nothing you say will change my mind."

Some of the color seemed to leave his tanned face and she experienced a moment's regret, a stomach-twisting regret, but Lori had to know she could trust her sister.

Kelli straightened her shoulders.

Resolute. That's what she was.

"I won't charge you for this visit—but understand, I'm instructing my staff not to take appointments from you. Got it?"

He nodded glumly. "Got it. But first tell me this..."

She nodded.

"Why?"

"Why what?" It was hard to concentrate with him standing so close.

"Why won't you go out with me?"

"I can't steal my sister's guy."

He looked like he was going to argue with her, so she quickly added, "It's old history, but my relationship with Lori rides on it. No can do."

The light died from his eyes. "I suppose it won't do any good to tell you
again
that I'm not her guy and never have been?"

"You saw her reaction in the kitchen that day. I talked with her afterward and it was even worse. While you may believe you two are only friends, I fear that Lori believes otherwise." Kelli bit her lip.

Why did this have to be so hard? It had been so easy to warn him off when she'd mentally run through how to handle it. Reality was a lot harder—especially since the guy truly seemed to care.

Nah.

Couldn't be.

She'd merely wounded his vanity. "I'm not going to hurt my sister."

She pointed toward the door.

Bobby Gray turned, feeling as though he'd been stabbed, which didn't make sense. Kelli Palmer was just another woman. Wasn't she?

Instead of hurting her sister, she was wounding him. So he reacted as he always did when faced with pain, when yet another person in his life didn't take him seriously.

Kelli had seemed different, the kind of girl a man's heart was safe with, but he'd been wrong, he'd set himself up for this disappointment. He plastered an idiot smile on his face. "Then I guess a kiss is out of the question?"

Chapter 6

Watching Bobby Gray walk away, his hips swaying in an authentic cowboy swagger, Kelli stood rooted to the spot.

His gait was a tangible demonstration of temptation, wrapped up attractively in the blue denim of Lee 501s.

The most annoying thing about the most annoying cowboy she'd ever met—not that she'd met that many, mind you—was that she'd wanted to give him that out-of-the-question kiss. It had been so tempting.

He was so tempting.

Annoying and tempting. Talk about an oxymoron. She must be losing what little of her mind remained after trying to deal with him.

She buried her face in her hands. If only she'd met him before Lori had.

Dax tapped Kelli on the shoulder, derailing her hadn't-couldn't-shouldn't-wouldn't thoughts. Thank goodness.

"You have an injured dog in Room Three," he said gently.

Kelli nodded and moved toward the examination room. Even though her attention turned to veterinary medicine, Bobby Gray Nelson remained in her thoughts.

* * *

Bobby Gray was a man of action. He didn't take defeat lightly. If he had, he wouldn't have earned all those shiny buckles and become a rodeo champ.

In fact, defeat was not an option.

Accordingly, he was camped out on the doorstep of the apartment Lori called her crash pad because flight attendants were rarely home.

It had been forty-eight hours since he'd seen Kelli and thirty-six since he'd determined to hunt Lori down and force her to give the okay to her sister.

Lori hadn't returned a single one of his phone calls, but she had to come home eventually, didn't she?

The one time they'd gone out, she'd said she shared the crash pad with two other flight attendants. One of her roommates would know her schedule.