Her Forever Cowboy (8 page)

“W
ow!” Susan exclaimed when she walked through the front door around seven that evening.

Cole pulled the trigger of the nail gun, shooting the last nail into place on the wall he'd just studded in. “It looks different, doesn't it?” He studied her, having wondered how she would act when she arrived. She had composed herself, it seemed, since there was no pink in sight. He missed it instantly.

“Are you kidding me? This is unbelievable. You're practically ready to install Sheetrock.” She was clearly amazed. “How fast do you work?”

He glanced at the progress, unimpressed. “It's not that big a deal. Do you know how easy it is to tear stuff out when two men have sledgehammers and Sawzalls? By the time I got back to town the fellas had things cleared out and the place swept. All I had to do was start cutting and nailing. Piece of cake.”

“To
you
maybe. I wouldn't have known the first place to start.”

“And I'm quite sure that your animal clients would rather you know how to set a bone rather than how to set concrete or use a reciprocating saw. Sampson would have eatin' all of us if I'd been the one who gave him a shot.” He held up the nail gun, pretending it was a needle.

Susan laughed. “You're right. Please don't remind me. How are your wounds?”

He shrugged. “I'll live.” He started to ask how Betty was but decided she wouldn't find the subject funny. He'd been thinking about that blush that had overcome her after what Betty had insinuated. An antimatch-maker…Smart woman that Betty.

Still, he'd been thinking about Susan off and on all afternoon. That blush showed the softer side of the doctor. He wondered if she showed that side of herself to anyone—freely. Today it had been forced.

“You want to help?” he asked, deciding to steer away from what he knew she was embarrassed about. After all, she'd slammed the door on him. He hid his grin. “I mean, you don't need to. I have it under control. But anytime you want to learn a little about the construction business you just let me know. I'm your man.” He was teasing her, but she bristled.

“I don't think that'll be necessary,” she said primly. “I have plenty on my plate.” No way was she helping him.

“Susan, relax. I was just teasing. I wasn't really expecting you to learn construction.”

“Right. I knew that. I—Well, it's been a frantic day
and I'm still a little keyed up,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “I actually do know how to use a hammer. My dad made sure of that.”

“Well, that's a good thing,” he mused, enjoying watching her. The fact that they were alone in a big room that suddenly seemed to shrink about them had his attention.

She looked away and it hit him that they'd been staring at each other for a lengthy moment. He plopped his boot to the concrete—
back to work.
“Let me show you what will be happening tomorrow.” He grabbed the plans and rolled them out on the plywood board set across two sawhorses. “You can change anything you don't like now, but if you want the job finished quickly, I'd hold off on changing things as I'm working.”

She moved to stand beside him and studied the pages. He couldn't help taking a deep breath—she'd obviously showered before she'd driven to town and she smelled of soap; it was as appealing as the clean crisp air of a new spring morning. Nothing floral or too sweet for Susan; this scent fit her. He forced his attention to the plans, wishing she'd smelled of dogs, horses and antiseptic…only problem was he didn't think even that would have taken away from the way she had his attention.

“These are the walls we talked about and the changes we discussed this morning.” Whipping the pencil from behind his ear, he pointed to the prints he'd drawn. “On these four walls I added a few more plugs for you. No one can ever have enough.”

“You're right about that.” She leaned forward and
studied the page. Tucking her loose hair behind her ear exposed her profile more clearly. Again, there was nothing about Susan Worth that resembled old Doc Crampton—the crotchety old man who had been the veterinarian in this area for as long as Cole could remember. When he'd been a kid, Cole had thought Doc Crampton was a hundred years old. But Doc had only just retired a few years ago…. Nope, Susan didn't look like the vets he was used to seeing. And he liked it—matter of fact, if he lived in Mule Hollow he'd be tempted to manufacture emergencies just so she would be at the ranch as much as possible.

“It looks just like what I explained to you,” she said. Turning her head to face him, she caught him staring. “I like it.”

He liked her. The knowledge hit him like a hundred-mile-an-hour wind gust. As if feeling the same blast, Susan inhaled sharply, gave him a tart nod and stepped away.

There was chemistry here.

Wide-open attraction…and he was enjoying it. He grinned at the idea. Not Susan, though. Oh, no, the good doctor's eyes narrowed, making him want to grin bigger. He didn't.

“I think you have everything under control,” she said. “I'll leave you to it, then, so you can get home at a decent hour.” She glanced at her watch as if to underscore her words.

“That sounds good,” Cole said. Dropping his pencil on the plans, he removed his tool belt, still holding her
gaze as she backed toward the door. “This is a pretty good time to call it a night.”

“Oh. Okay,” she snapped, turned and strode quickly out the door.

Ran
was a better word for how fast she exited. He followed her, pausing to set the lock and pull the door shut behind him. “I thought I'd head to Sam's for a bite to eat. Want to join me?”

She stopped with her hand resting on her car door handle. “I don't think that would be a good idea.”

“And why is that?” he asked. He'd expected her to turn him down but hadn't expected it to be so disappointing. “You have to eat. I have to eat,” he pressed—crazy as it was, he did it anyway.

Crazier still was her hesitation. “This is true…but I just think you and me together, dining in public, isn't a good combination. This—” she waved her hand toward the clinic “—this is a business association. Nothing more.”

He held his expression blank when he'd felt like hiking a brow at her tone. He got her message loud and clear. A message he found a little insulting, truth be told. “Sorry I stepped over that line. You have a nice evening, boss.”

He stalked to his truck. Sure it was a business relationship. It wasn't as if
he
was the one trying to do all this matchmaking. He wasn't even interested that way. Sure there was chemistry there—big-time. But so what? He was doing this job and hitting the road. She and Betty didn't need to be all up in arms thinking he believed in any of the town's nonsense.

He climbed into his truck. Susan hadn't moved. She was glaring at him from the same spot she'd been standing in as he walked away. Oh, she was hot at him for walking away—he'd given her what she wanted and now she looked insulted. He tipped his cap to her, then turned the key and revved the engine like a sixteen-year-old.

 

What a horrible day! Make that a horrible week. She watched Cole's truck disappear down the road and wondered—as she'd been wondering ever since she hired him—about her sanity.

Betty had been right on with her concern. Susan wasn't sure how her receptionist had zeroed in on Susan's attraction to Cole and the flaws inherent in that but she had…even before Susan had taken a bite of a doughnut that morning.

Not that Susan needed to be told she'd be alone with an aching heart if she let herself act on her feelings.

Feelings. They were something that needed to be controlled. Her daddy had taught her to work, achieve her goals and not let feelings get in the way of those goals. Especially feelings for men. She figured out as she'd gotten older that part of that stemmed from the fact that he wanted to spare her the pain of losing someone she loved…but she'd learned after his death that that pain couldn't be avoided. Still, she'd hardly dated all the way through college. She'd worked so hard to make her daddy proud. He hadn't been there to push her, but his memory had and continued to give her the spur she needed.

She blinked against the emotion that welled up and threatened suddenly to overflow. She sniffed and brushed a tear off her cheek. She didn't cry much. What good did it do? Certainly none to cry over Cole Turner.

She swiped her fingers across her cheek, catching a lone tear as she stared at her new clinic. She should be happy. This was a great day. A turning point in her life. She'd been alone since her dad's death. But this was going to change that. She just needed to stop thinking about Cole.

And she
was
thinking about him. Ever since hiring him she'd fretted that she'd made a major mistake. Today had confirmed that on all counts. There was a chemistry between them that she couldn't deny when she'd tended the wounds Tabby had inflicted on him. Especially every time she touched his arm. Feelings. It was only feelings. Taking the advice of her dad—as always—she knew she couldn't let her emotions lead her where Cole was concerned. She was looking for a forever cowboy. A cowboy who'd be there for her and help her in her business. Someone who would think she was worth loving and sticking around for…a man who would not only be there for her but also for their children.

Nope. Susan was moving to Mule Hollow to find a cowboy she could love…not one who loved the road.

 

Cole walked out onto the porch of the stagecoach house. The night air was cool and heavy with the scent of honeysuckle and he inhaled, hoping it would calm his restless spirit. Churning thoughts had finally driven him from bed and out into the night.

He'd dressed in jeans and boots and decided to take advantage of the moonlit night, see if it helped him.

He'd stopped having sleepless nights over Lori some time ago. Six years was a long time. He missed her and regretted every day of the life they'd not had the chance to have, but he'd stopped waking up over it during the second year. It had just happened, as if his subconscious had accepted that some things couldn't be changed.

God did make some dreams come true. Some people's.

In his job he got to help rebuild lost dreams.

It was a satisfying endeavor.

He'd come to enjoy it and it helped ease his discontentment. Tonight, he'd awakened with Susan on his mind and he had stirred that discontent inside of him ten-fold.

He didn't really know her. All he knew about her was that she was a hard worker, stubborn and well respected. She was also beautiful, but he'd been around many, many women since Lori and none of them had cracked the wall he'd built around himself.

“You're not looking for Susan to crack it, either,” he reminded himself.

He would be heading back to the coast as soon as he finished this job for her. And when he finished doing his work there he'd move on to the next town that had fallen victim to a natural disaster.

He'd only taken this job of Susan's because she needed him—why he took all of his jobs, really. He had the ability to fix someone's problems where his hands and backbone were concerned. It was something he was driven to do. It was something he wouldn't give up.

He'd always liked to travel. He'd dreamed of seeing the world through a cowboy's eyes…it had been his dream. But dreams changed. His had changed when he'd met Lori.

Her sweet face hovered in the back of his memory like the delicate flower of a woman she'd been. Pressing it aside, he concentrated on the sound of his boot steps as they clicked along the stone sidewalk. It led to the aged stone wall at the back of the stagecoach house. Needing the distraction, he let his mind wander. The stone wall had probably been built at the same time the house itself was built. The fireplace running up the side of the house was built from the same stone, so it was a good indicator. He liked that the low-slung wall with its iron gate was built in the early 1800s, too. He loved the family history of this place, the lasting power it represented, too. The hinges creaked as he opened the gate, the noise almost lost in the sound of the rushing river. The moonlight sparkled off the twenty-six stone steps that led down to the rocky river edge. It was a great place to think. He'd come here often growing up.

Mostly he'd come here to dream of seeing the world—of leaving.

Tonight he came because a tall blonde wouldn't get off his mind. Susan had drifted into his dreams and thoughts of her wouldn't be denied.

He tucked his hands in his pockets and wished his agitated musings could be tucked away as easily. Not so.

Susan had dreams. She'd worked hard for them and from what he could tell she didn't know when to say no.
She didn't have a balance in her life. For her own good, she needed balance.

He could help there. God had brought him home at the right time to help her. When he finished her clinic, living there would help her be safer, hopefully more rested. Then again, if she was moving to town to find a husband, that'd mean she was going to date. And dating might take up more time than the driving she'd done between Mule Hollow and Ranger.