Her Forever Cowboy (5 page)

He scowled. “It ain't no wonder Cole Turner had to rescue ya out of that ditch. It's a wonder you didn't fall asleep sooner and get yorself killed.”

“Sam, I'm trying to slow down. If I can get a contractor out there working, the sooner I'll get to sleep more.”

“I'm on it.”

“Thanks. I'm sure if there is a contractor out there to be found, you'll find him—or you'll help me find someone who knows one.”

“Yup. I might jest have a good 'un in mind already.”

“Really?” Susan's hopes shot up. “Who?”

“Can't say just yet. You comin' to the barbecue tomorrow night at Clint and Lacy's ranch, aren't you?”

“Yes,” Susan said, wondering who he had in mind. “Are you?”

“Yup. Got my relief cook lined up fer this place. Me and Adela will see you thar.” He nodded. “Probably gonna be an interesting night since Cole will be thar, too.”

Just what she'd been afraid of—the man was going to start turning up all over the place. There would be nowhere to hide until he got bored and left. “He won't be around long from what I've heard about him,” she said, and then wished she'd just taken her burger and hit the road as planned.

“Maybe.” Sam slapped his ever-present dish towel over his shoulder with a grin. “And maybe not.”

C
ole's gaze swept over the gathering as he trailed behind Seth and Melody toward the backyard barbecue. Clint and Lacy Matlock had a beautiful ranch. The main house sat on a hill and overlooked a stunning valley.

It wasn't the view that had Cole's attention, however, it was the tall beauty leaning against the deck banister watching him.

He'd wondered if she was going to be here. As much as they had a weird kind of thing going on, he realized the minute he saw her that he'd been hoping to see her.

As he passed a tub of iced-down sodas he grabbed two and headed her way. Maybe he should have stayed back, but that wasn't part of his makeup. Even if she didn't look happy to see him.

He mounted the steps. “Don't look so hostile, Doc. I come with soda.” He popped the top of a can and handed it to her; she didn't take it. “Come on now, it would be rude to snub your handsome rescuer.”

She reluctantly accepted the drink. “You are going to milk that accident for all it's worth, aren't you?”

“Maybe.” He opened his drink and took a swig. “I have to say, I'm pretty good at reading people, but you are a puzzle.”

“How so?”

“Despite my being your knight in shining armor, I continually get the feeling that you'd as soon see me run over by wild horses.”

Susan almost choked on her soda. “I do not.”

She had added a touch of shimmer to her lips and now she clamped those pretty lips together. It was a warm day for April but the temperature edged up a few more degrees as they stared at each other. “Oh, you know it's true.”

“For your information, I know you aren't going to be in town long. So, I—”

“How do you know?”

“Well, um…you never come home much.”

The good doctor was flustered. “Have you been checking up on me, Doc?”

“No. Of course not.”

Call him crazy for flirting—and he was, but he was enjoying himself. He was about to press further when Norma Sue Jenkins rounded the corner of the house and spotted him.

“Cole Turner,” she bellowed and engulfed him in a bear hug. The short, stout woman practically lifted him from the deck in her enthusiasm.

“You are a sight for sore eyes!” Norma Sue declared.
She was married to Clint Matlock's foreman, Roy Don. She and Roy Don had been friends of his grandparents and his parents. As a boy he and his brothers had spent almost as many evenings at Roy Don and Norma Sue's house as their own. Norma was pure robust Texas cattlewoman from the tip of her boots to the top of her white Stetson. She'd always worn jeans and pearl-button, Western shirts or blue bibbed overalls—except on Sunday when she was partial to striped dresses. Tonight she'd chosen jeans and a pale blue, pearl-button shirt. Her kinky gray hair poked out from beneath the Stetson and tickled his jaw when she yanked his head to her shoulder and smothered him as if she hadn't seen him in years.

Norma Sue had always been a big hugger and he'd hated it as a kid. But as a man who often missed his parents and grandparents, he enjoyed the comfort her hugs always gave him. “I missed you, boy,” she said, finally releasing him.

“Norma Sue, I saw you at the wedding, so if you keep this up folks are gonna start talking.”

She slapped him on the arm and frowned. “I'm gearing up for when you leave town and don't come back again for years. Like
before Seth's wedding
,” she said accusingly. “I can't believe you came home twice in the same year.”

Roy Don had come over and now reached in for a quick fatherly hug of his own. “Welcome home, son. She gets plumb mad when she thinks about you off running the roads and not having enough time to come
home. I didn't hardly have any peace after you rode off into the sunset only hours after the reception.”

“Sorry about that.” Cole had planned on staying around longer after the wedding, but as happy as he'd been for Seth and Melody, emotions he hadn't expected had slammed into him during the evening. He'd had no choice but to leave. He'd been in a blue mood for weeks afterward.

He'd been furious with God after Lori, and it had taken him a long time to regain some kind of relationship with his God. Just like the relationship between father and son can be strained, so had his become with his heavenly Father. But as a father and son reconciled so he had been trying. Unexpectedly Seth's wedding had almost taken him back to square one.

There was no way he'd ever want Seth or Melody to know that…Wyatt, on the other hand had figured it out—not that he'd figured it out completely, but still…that was Cole's reason for being here now. His big brother had decided it was time for Cole to come home for an extended visit and had threatened to tell Seth all if he didn't cooperate and return. Wyatt reasoned that if Cole came home and spent time with the newlyweds it would help him get over his past. Cole didn't want to get over his past…and that, Wyatt had argued, was the problem.

“Now—” Roy Don grinned beneath his wide mustache “—you can well imagine my
delight
to hear you were coming back for a visit so soon.”

Cole chuckled at the old cowboy's use of the word
delight
. “I'm glad it's helped you out.”

Norma Sue beamed, her round cheeks so tight they
shined in the dwindling sunlight. “Two times in one year, that's a record. And a long time coming.” She glanced at Susan. “We're hoping maybe he'll stay.”

“I see.” Susan's skeptical, blue gaze hit him full force before dropping to the can of soda.

Something about the look he'd just seen had Cole stumbling over a reply. “I've been real busy,” he said, yanking his gaze from Susan's and meeting Norma's hawk eyes. The woman's brain was clicking along as she studied him and Susan. “Unfortunately there's been lots of rebuilding needed along the Gulf Coast.” He needed to get this conversation back on track and fast.

“We know you've been doing great things,” Norma Sue said, jumping on board.

“You represent your hometown very well,” Roy Don chimed in. “Don't you ever forget how proud we are to call you our own.”

“That's right,” Norma Sue agreed. “We're just glad to get to see you. We can't help but hope you settle down here with a nice girl who'll give you lots of babies.” Her gaze slid toward Susan and his followed—like an idiot. Susan's eyes flared but she did a great job holding her expression neutral.

He swallowed hard and hoped he did as good a job. “I'm not really lookin—”

Norma broke in and slapped him on the back. “We're sure glad you were there for our Susan. God knew what He was doing when He had you there to help her. At exactly the right moment—isn't that something. I tell you, I
do
believe in God's timing.”

Susan's eyes widened. If it hadn't been so off base for him he might have found her reaction funny. Norma Sue never had been one for beating around the bush.

“Now, Norma, don't go thinking of matchmaking me,” he warned. Norma Sue and her two best friends, Esther Mae Wilcox and Sam's wife, Adela, were eaten up with matchmaking. They'd saved the town from drying up and blowing away by coming up with the idea to advertise for wives. They'd found their calling, that was for sure. The proof stood around the yard—most all of the couples at the ranch tonight had been matched up by them in some way.

“Cole!”

The shriek came from Esther Mae Wilcox as she emerged from the house carrying a big bowl of fruit. She plopped it down on the long table then hustled his way. Esther was as loud in person as she was in attire. She wore purple-and-pink-striped calf-length pants and a purple shirt with a humongous pink rose across one entire side. It was as bright pink as her hair was brilliant red. Her personality was just as vibrant.

“About time I got a hug. I heard you were back in town.” She threw her arms around him.

“Esther Mae, how in the world are you?” he asked. When he was five he'd been squirming to get away at this point. “Is that Hank still treatin' you right or are you ready to run away with me?”

Esther Mae giggled and stepped away. She was a tinge of pink herself. “You always were a charmer—you and Wyatt got that direct from the Turner side.”

“True, but the offer stands.”

She elbowed him. “My Hank wouldn't know what to do if I ran away.”

“I know that's the truth.” He laughed.

“Our forty-year wedding anniversary is tomorrow.”

Norma Sue gave everyone a comical grimace. “You two are sure getting old, Esther Mae.”

“Hey, don't try that. You and Roy Don are coming up on forty-three years.”

“True, but I was a baby when we got married.”

“So was I.” Esther Mae giggled. “That's my story and I'm sticking to it.”

Cole chuckled and his gaze slid toward Susan. He was startled at the wistful look in her eyes as she stared at Esther Mae.

“That's wonderful, Esther Mae. I'm so happy for you two,” she said. “Um, I need to head inside. I told Lacy I'd help her.”

Cole watched her leave. This evening was good for her. She wasn't working; she didn't look tired. On the contrary, she looked fantastic. Yet there was something about her that didn't seem right. And he couldn't help but wonder what that something was.

 

“Lacy!” Susan entered the kitchen and was relieved to find her friend alone. She'd just finished icing a cake and was running her finger along the rim of the bowl of leftover icing.

“What's up, girlfriend? You look like you've seen Elvis or something.”

“I wish! It's Norma Sue and Esther Mae. I think they're up to something. I see it in their eyes.”

Lacy plopped her icing-covered finger into her mouth on her way to the sink with the knife and bowl. “I hate to break it to you, but you're right on target with that. This afternoon they came into the salon buzzing like bees,” she confided, grimacing. “Cole's coming home has put a sparkle in their eyes and you know what that means. Adela's in the back room rocking Dottie's baby to sleep, but believe me, she's on the same page with her cohorts. The matchmaking posse is locked and loaded.”

Susan bit her lip. “Any idea what they're locked on to?”

“They're determined to get Cole to stay home. They're looking for a match for that hunk of hometown cowboy, convinced falling in love will do the deed.”

Dread filled Susan. “But he's not looking to stay.”

“A man can change his mind.”

“Well, yes, but he just seems like he loves the road.”

“The road gets old. Or so they say.” Lacy picked up the cake and beamed at her. The petite blonde's blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “You worried about something?”

“N-no. I mean, the man doesn't mean anything to me.” Susan meant it, too.

“You two sure sound like y'all have hit it off.”

“Oh, no, we haven't.”

Lacy laughed. “That cowboy had you in his sights the minute he got out of his truck and headed toward this house. And you zeroed in on him just as quickly.”

“That is so not true. And besides, you weren't even outside.”

“Ha! I was looking out the window. The temperature went up twenty degrees.”

“Lacy Matlock, you better back up right now. Do not put any ideas in the matchmakers' heads. I'm your basic homebody tied to my job and he lives on a Harley. He and I just don't compute as a match.”

“That is just typical Susan Work-and-No-Play Worth,” Lacy practically sang. “I thought you were moving here to have a social life. The gals have that in mind for you, so relax, get to know the guy. Have a little faith.”

Susan felt hot. Hot as in get-sick hot.
Cole Turner
—no way.

No matter how attractive she found Cole Turner he wasn't the one for her. The risk was too great where he was concerned.

Faith was good to have, but God didn't just give people good heads on their shoulders. He put a brain inside, too. If she threw caution to the wind and let the ladies match her with a rolling stone, she'd be crazy.

She was startled when Lacy sobered and suddenly hugged her.

“It's okay,” she said. “You know the gals well enough to know they only want the best for you, right?”

“I know what's best for me and it isn't Cole Turner.”

Lacy hooted at that and it didn't make Susan feel very confident as Lacy tugged her toward the door. “You are about the wariest gal I ever saw. It's time to eat, Susan. But remember that sometimes God does open others' eyes to things to give us little nudges in the right direction.”

“I've got a great sense of direction and that's why I'm staying as far away from Cole as I can get while he's in town.”

Lacy glanced over her shoulder as she led the way outside. “Whatever you say. But I've got a feeling it won't be that easy.”