Cowboy for Keeps (3 page)

Action: that was what he needed.

He needed a therapist capable of helping him achieve his goal. The soft, sweet-faced Amanda Hathaway hadn’t been up for the challenge.

Still, even he couldn’t help admiring the way she’d walked away with her head held high.

A
s dismal as Amanda felt, the sight of Mule Hollow perked her up the instant it peeked over the horizon. Why, it was darling! So cute with its bright stores, welcoming flowerpots along plank sidewalks and window boxes. Driving down Main Street, she began to smile. It was a wonderful feeling.

There was a pink two-story hair salon called Heavenly Inspirations, a bright yellow feed store with peacock-blue trim, a real estate office painted A&M maroon—which she was a big fan of—and beside it was Sam’s Diner painted a bright grass-green.

Amanda pulled into the parking space and got out. More stores just as brightly painted stood all along Main Street. The dress store and candy store across the street were memorable as well as the community center a few doors down the wooden sidewalk. She watched a cowboy clomp into the feed store down the way and felt very nostalgic. She half expected to see a horse tied to a hitching post. This was smiletown if ever there was one. Just lovely.

There was a really huge older home that anchored the town at one end. It had a green roof with turrets on each corner and a sign that read Adela’s Apartments. Amanda studied the structure with interest. What would it be like to just walk in there and rent an apartment? Start over?

Crazy. She was thinking crazy and she knew it. It had been one thing to pretend she was running away from her life when she was coming here for a job, but this—this was simply a daydream, and it was too much. She was not the kind of person who ran away. At least not for good. She would get her head on straight. She would.

Yet it was as if Wyatt Turner’s stormy scowl had burned its way into her head.

She wondered if he’d slammed the door after she left. Something about the man intrigued her, despite his easy dismissal of her. Maybe it was simply that she hated to see anyone in pain. Maybe it wasn’t the man himself that kept her attention but the fact that she knew she could help him.

She could help him if he’d only give her the chance.

The man had to want her help. There was no getting around that. She couldn’t force anyone to accept her. Especially a man like him! She bit her lip and stared at the rooster weather vane sitting on the top of one of Adela’s turrets. No seesawing or riding the fence for him. Jonathan came to mind and she cringed. Jonathan had probably known his mind long before he’d finally spoken it. Maybe if he’d have cut her loose early like Wyatt had she wouldn’t be hurting so much right now.

At least Wyatt had been honest with how he felt. For that she admired him—even if he
did
need her.

A squeaking door sounded behind her. “Norma Sue, are you or are you not going to come out tonight and see my moon lily?” a woman said.

“I told you I would, but you were too busy running your mouth in there to hear me.”

Amanda turned. Two women were coming out of the diner. They looked up from their conversation and stopped short when they spotted her.

“Hello there,” the one who’d just been accused of running her mouth said. She had bright red hair and was wearing a daffodil-yellow capri set.

“Hello,” Amanda said.

“Honey, you look a bit dazed. Are you all right?” the woman called Norma Sue asked. She was a robust, strong-looking woman with wiry gray curls and a big wide smile that spread all the way across her face.

“Being dazed is understandable when folks first look at all these wild colors. It tends to make people’s heads spin.”

“Now, Norma Sue, we don’t know that this is her first time to see Mule Hollow—”

“Esther Mae.” Norma Sue stared in disbelief at her friend. “Have you ever seen her before?”

“Well, no—” The redhead looked at Amanda sheepishly.

“Then there you go. She’s as new to Mule Hollow as that calf I had born this morning.” She directed her hazel eyes back at Amanda. “Tell
her
this is your first time to our little metropolis, isn’t it?”

Amanda smiled, liking these two on the spot. “First time.”

“See, I knew it was!”

“I’m Amanda Hathaway.” She held up her right hand like she was swearing in at court and said, “And yes, I am new in town and I love it. I was just admiring the colors.”

Both ladies grinned as she let her hand fall.

“It does attract folks—kind of like red flowers attract hummingbirds. I’m Esther Mae Wilcox, by the way, and this is Norma Sue Jenkins.” She leaned forward slightly as if telling a secret. “She’s my sidekick.”

“Ha! Don’t believe a word of it,” Norma Sue huffed.

“She’s
my
sidekick.”

It was easy to visualize these two getting into all kinds of trouble.

“What brings you to town?” Esther Mae asked. “Are you here looking for a cowboy?”

The statement took Amanda by surprise, even though she knew the background of the town. She said the first thing that came to mind. “I don’t know, do you have some for sale?”

“We don’t sale ’um, but we sure do give them away at the altar,” Esther Mae volleyed back.

“To the right women,” Norma Sue added. “You need one, don’t you? I don’t see a ring on your hand.”

Amanda glanced at her finger where three weeks earlier there had been a ring. She blinked hard and stilled the sudden rolling of her stomach.

“Honey, you okay?” Esther Mae asked.

“Y-yes, I’m fine.” Meeting two sets of curious eyes, she pushed the jab of pain back into the corner of her heart where she’d barricaded it. “Um, how exactly do you get these cowboys to the altar?” she asked, a little too brightly. A vivid picture of Norma Sue behind them with a shotgun popped into her mind. “And is it legal?”

That got her chuckles from both women.

Norma Sue’s grin was wide. “Oh, the preacher makes it legal and the cowboys usually go willingly after a spell. Ain’t that right, Esther Mae?”

Esther Mae was watching her intently and Amanda feared she might have seen more than she’d needed anyone to see.

“Esther Mae, did you hear me?”

“Of course I did,” she said, her cinnamon brows puckered above alert green eyes. “So are you really telling us you haven’t heard about us?”

“No, I was teasing. I’ve heard a little about Mule Hollow.” It hit her that she had been teasing—it seemed like forever since she’d done that. She glanced at her ring finger, as empty as her heart felt. As her life was now. And yet she’d just teased these ladies spontaneously.

It was a good sign that maybe the entire trip out here hadn’t been a waste. “And no, I’m not looking to marry one of your cowboys. I came here from San Antonio for a job I was supposed to start today.”

“A
job?
” Esther Mae cooed. “What job?”

Amanda’s stomach growled loudly, reminding her why she’d come to town. She slapped a hand over it.

“Whoa, girl, that’s not good.” Norma Sue grabbed her by the arm. “C’mon, Esther Mae, we’ve got to get this young’un inside the diner and fill that stomach up with some of Sam’s good cooking.”

Esther Mae scooted to the door. “While you eat, you can tell us what job brought you to our neck of the woods.”

And just like that Amanda found herself being escorted into the diner by her new best buds. One thing was certain, this trip had been anything but boring. She might be headed home in an hour, but today—though disappointing in that she’d been dismissed basically on sight—she felt better.

“So you know about our little advertisements for wives?” Norma Sue asked.

“Yes, I don’t think many people, at least here in Texas, haven’t heard about it. My boss reminded me. I had forgotten about it when I first got my assignment, but I read a few of Molly Jacob’s columns back when they started.” Molly was a local newspaper reporter who’d begun writing a column about the goings-on of the little town that advertised for wives and it had been syndicated across the country. She enjoyed reading, but the column had taken a backseat to her always-full work schedule, training for the marathons she loved to run and…then, the connection she’d finally found with Jonathan. As soon as the thoughts of him came she pushed them away, refusing to go there.

“Then you know gals like you come from all over to marry our men. See, look over there.” Norma Sue pointed across the diner to a table where four cowboys were hunched over plates of food.

Esther Mae had slid into a booth and patted the seat beside her. “We’ve married off over a dozen couples with several engagements pending right now. And babies are arriving now, too. It is so exciting.”

Amanda sat down and inhaled the scent of food wafting through the air.

“Our church is busier than one of those tacky Las Vegas drive-through chapels.” Norma Sue grunted as she took the seat across from her. “Of course we just lost our preacher so we’ve got to find a new one to carry on the ceremonies.”

“Oh,
brother,
you two again!” A little man came out from the kitchen and headed to their booth. “I can’t get rid of you gals no matter how hard I try.” He settled teasing eyes on Amanda. “Hangin’ out with these two’ll get you inta trouble, little lady. Just so you know.” He held out his hand. “I’m Sam. Welcome to my place. These two git my Adela into more trouble than you can shake a stick at.”

Amanda introduced herself as she grabbed his hand and gave a firm squeeze, nowhere
near
the iron grip he attacked her with, but still, she gave as good as she could.

He grinned. “Fer a tiny woman, that’s some shake ya got thar.”

She flexed her hand. “You aren’t so bad yourself. My daddy always did say a person’s heart was measured by the firmness of their handshake. You must have a giant heart.”

That won her a big grin; his weathered face creased with a mischievous look. “Ain’t nobody ’sposed to know about my big heart. So let’s keep that one quiet. If these two or a couple of others, who shall remain nameless at the moment, were ta suspect I had a big heart, they’d thank I was a pushover and then I wouldn’t never be able to get my bluff in on ’em.”

Norma Sue rolled her eyes. “Don’t believe none of it. If it wasn’t for me and Esther Mae and his two ‘nameless friends’ keeping him in line, the man would be bored out of his brain.”

“Ha! I wish,” he grunted. “So, what brangs you ta Mule Hollow? And why in the world are you brangin’ these two back into my establishment when I jest got rid of them?”

Amanda laughed—it felt good. “Honestly, Sam, I just met them outside and they dragged me in here—”

As they all chuckled with her she thought they reminded her of her cantankerous grandparents who lived on a farm in West Texas.

“We thought she was here looking for a cowboy,” Esther Mae told Sam. “We were just telling her about what nice ones we have around here.”

Norma Sue nodded toward the window. “There are two of our success stories about to come through the door right now. That taller one is Seth Turner. He got married a couple of months ago. The other one is his younger brother, Cole. Cole is having a wedding in about four weeks—had to be put off because his big brother got injured in a plane crash.”

The door swung open and the men burst inside like cowboys looking for trouble. Instantly she saw the resemblance to their brother. Their expressions were serious as they scanned the room, but nowhere near the intensity of Wyatt’s.

Esther Mae nudged Amanda in the ribs. “Those two Turner men are handsome, but you should see that big brother of theirs!”

“He’s something worth seein’, all right,” Norma Sue whispered, leaning forward over the table.

She didn’t have to be told that these were the brothers who’d hired her. They’d stopped just inside the door and their searching gazes locked on to her almost instantly.

Norma Sue looked from them to Amanda as the cowboys advanced toward them. “Hey, boys,” she drawled. “Y’all look like you’re lookin’ for somebody.”

Both men swept their Stetsons from their heads. The taller one with the more serious eyes that reminded Amanda of Wyatt’s tugged at his collar. “Are you Amanda Hathaway?”

Amanda nodded as suddenly all eyes turned on her.

“We’ve come to apologize and ask you to reconsider.”

“Seth, what in the world do you want Amanda to reconsider?” Esther Mae asked.

Norma Sue’s eyes widened. “
You’re
Wyatt’s new physical therapist! Aren’t you? The one that was arriving this morning?”

“Of course,” Esther Mae snapped. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Was,”
Amanda corrected. “He fired me on the spot.” She cringed, not having meant to blurt it out that way.

“No, he did not,” Esther Mae gasped.

“I’m afraid so,” Amanda said, more evenly. “So unless he changes his mind, I’ll be leaving after I eat. I can’t help anyone who doesn’t want me to.” It was true. But as she looked around at the faces of her new friends, her heart tugged and she wished things had worked out differently.

“I’ll be.” Sam rubbed his jaw. “Ain’t this here a bunch of interestin’ information.”

“It sure is,” Norma Sue drawled. “What you boys got to say about this?” she said at the two men who’d been patiently standing by.

“First, we should introduce ourselves. I’m Cole and this is my brother Seth. We have most definitely come to hire you back. The ball’s in your court, just name your price.”

“Well,” Esther Mae harrumphed. “This is getting better by the moment.”

Amanda hadn’t expected this, but it didn’t matter. She shook her head. “Like I said, I can’t help someone who doesn’t even want to give me a chance. Believe me, it won’t work for me and it won’t work for your brother.”

“He’s not against you,” Seth said. “He’s got a lot on his plate. Don’t get me wrong, he’s going to be a bear to work with, but he needs you and he knows it now.”

“What do you say?” Cole asked, giving her a wink and a lopsided grin.

They were cute and they obviously cared a lot about their brother. But that still wouldn’t make this work. There was only one thing that might. “The only way I’d take the job back is if Wyatt asked me himself.”

“That-a-girl.” Sam chuckled. “Hold your own. When my Adela gets back home from her sister’s, she’s gonna want to hear all about this.”