Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (37 page)

“I guess you’ve got a big decision
to make, then,” he said.

She nodded and sighed. Guess she
did.

“W
ow,” Hannah said,
still trying to digest the news about her daughter’s job offer earlier that day.
The McCall’s had come over for supper and an emergency strategy meeting. “That
was a major development. Kerri has
always
wanted to work at
Pierre’s
.”

Leeann let out a sad sigh. “What
are we going to do?”

“Not to worry. I have an idea.”
Alex sat back in his chair and grinned. “All those two need is to be thrown
together for a spell.”

“Yes,” her husband agreed. “They
were doing pretty good there for awhile. But lately, they’ve been apart.”

Hannah nodded. “Now, with the
restaurant up and running, Kerri’s busy there.”

“And Connor’s stuck at Wild Creek
with his duties,” Leeann said, turning to look at her husband. “Alex, the two
of them are so busy right now. How are you going to manage that?”

“Not to worry, my dear.” Alex
patted his wife’s hand reassuringly. “I’ll take care of it.”

K
erri took a five
minute break at her family’s table Saturday night at the
Texas Pub
. She
watched them come in, and of course, her gaze was immediately drawn to the tall
cowboy, then held fast. He looked tired and weary with slumped shoulders and a
frown creasing his normally smooth brow. She could no more stop herself from
approaching than she could stop cooking. Dropping into the chair across from
him, she greeted everyone and asked him what was wrong.

Frustration clouded his gaze as he
glanced at her. “Teddy, my cook, has an emergency in New Mexico and can’t make
the drive on Monday. I’ve called all my backups,” he said, shaking his head,
disbelief crowding his face. “It’s strange. Not a one is available.”

“I’ve struck out, too,” Mr. McCall
said. “Tough time of year, I guess.”

From what she’d gathered, Connor
couldn’t post-pone the drive either.  These were the cattle he had to bring in
for his scheduled spring auction next week, and he already had buyers lined up.

“How big’s the heard?” Jordan asked.

“Little over five hundred head,”
Connor replied.

Her sister whistled. “Don’t you
have one in the fall, too?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but that’ll be
smaller.” He stared at the glass of beer he twisted. “This one’s the big one.
Guess the guys will have to make do without a cook.”

“Wait a minute.” His father sat up
straight. “What about Kerri?” Alex leaned forward and waited for his son’s response.

Connor nearly spit out the beer he
had in his mouth. Once he swallowed it safely down, he sat back in his chair
and stared at her, gaze still weary.

She forced herself to stare back
and her pulse picked up speed. Yeah, she didn’t think it was a good idea,
either. The two of them in such close proximity, despite the fact there would
be other ranch hands on the drive, was not smart. She’d deliberately stayed
clear of the guy the past few weeks because being near made her want things she
couldn’t have…

“Well?” his father prompted.

Without dropping her gaze, Connor
shook his head. “Not a good idea.”

“Why not?” Cole asked.

“Yeah, why not?”  Her sister chimed
in.

Great. She glanced down the table.
Yep. Now the whole family was going to push her on the poor guy. Her attention
returned to the silent cowboy, and she watched as a slight twitch tilted his
lips.

“It’s not her cup of tea,” he
replied.

Her brow rose. “Actually, I’m not
crazy about tea, hot or cold.”

He gave her a slight nod, but said
nothing.

“I think he meant you couldn’t
handle it.” Jordan lifted her glass and smirked. “That is an unwise assumption,
my friend.”

Kerri’s gaze bounced between the
two and settled back on the dimpled cowboy.
Huh
. He really didn’t think
she could handle it. And here, she thought he didn’t want her to go because he
couldn’t handle
her
. Indignation lifted her chin. “Is that true?”

“Now, don’t be offended, darlin’,”
he replied. “But the wide-open, barren range is not the same as the one you’re
used to cooking on.” He chuckled into his beer.

Normally, she would’ve laughed, too,
but for some reason, Kerri was galled by his amusement. “What’s so funny?”

“You…a California cook on a Texas cattle drive.” Now he laughed outright,

Kerri was still not amused. Her
expression surely would’ve told him that if he hadn’t been too busy shaking with
mirth to notice.

“I don’t think it’s funny, Connor.
I think you should consider her.” Alex sent his son a stern look.

“Oh come on now, dad. You can’t be
serious?” Connor shook his head and took another swallow of beer.

“But I am, son. Kerri knows how to
cook, and she knows how to ride. The way I see it, she’s the answer to your
prayers.” Alex McCall sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his
chest.

Both men were carrying on as if she
wasn’t there, and Kerri had just about enough. Sending a glare across the table
to Connor, she ignored his sexy dimple before rejoining the conversation.

“I get the feeling, Connor, that
you really
don’t
think I can handle it.” She told him with her gaze she
was talking about the work, not their attraction.

He winked. “Then you’d be right,
darlin’.”

Sexy bugger.

“Then
you’d
be wrong,” she
corrected, sending him an identical look.

 He sat stock still, and his eyes narrowed
in a challenge. “Would I now?”

“Yep.” She meant it.

“Seems to me the only way to settle
this is for Kerri to go on this drive with you, Connor,” Cole spoke up.

“Yeah,” Jordan agreed.

Kerri looked from one brother to
the other. “Sounds fair to me.” She folded her arms and waited for Connor’s
objection.

It never came.

Instead, he surprised her by searching
her face and looking at her thoughtfully. After only a minute of contemplation,
he placed his mug firmly on the table.

“All right. Fine. Are you sure you
want to do this, Kerri?” he asked, giving her one last chance to back out.

Not going to happen.
Even
though she was not sure, she told him the opposite. “Yes…I’d be happy to help
you out,” she replied, careful to let him know she was doing
him
a
favor.

“Well, in that case, thank you,
darlin’. Get plenty of rest tomorrow, because I want you at the ranch early
Monday morning.” He was still obviously trying to scare her off.

It didn’t work.

“Fine. Is there someone who can
fill me in as to what you usually eat on these drives?” she asked as the whole
table sat back with silent, grinning faces.

Connor nodded. “Stop by the ranch
tomorrow. Cal will tell you what you need to know.”

“Okay, I will. Now if you’ll excuse
me.” Kerri got up from the table and her gaze swept the occupants before she
continued. “My break is over, and I have to get back to work.”

As she walked into the sanctuary of
the kitchen, she took a deep breath and quaked like a mother inside.
Holy
smokes. What the heck did I just do?

She leaned against the back counter
and drew in another deep breath. Cripes. Why did it feel like she was somehow
hoodwinked into that cattle drive?

Judging by Connor’s first reaction
to her going, she didn’t feel it was from him. No one was that good an actor.
He’d been generally amused. She was just getting her mind around to Alex McCall
when the swinging doors opened and Jordan breezed in.

“Good going, Kerri.” Her sister
smiled as she joined her by the counter, careful not to get in the way of the workers’
busy pace.

“I’m not sure if it’s good or bad
yet,” Kerri admitted as she washed her hands, then began to chop onions.

“It’s good of course.”

An odd look crossed Jordan’s face
as she glanced around the kitchen. Uh oh. Alarm raced through Kerri. Her sister
was about to have a profound moment.

Jordan leaned in and spoke quietly.
“If Connor told you he loves you and wanted you to stay, would you?”

K
erri’s heart rocked
at the thought. “Yes.” It was a no brainer.
If he said he loved me, I’d
stay.

Jordan nodded. “Well, now you’ll
have three days, or at least
two good nights
to get Connor to admit his
feelings for you.” Her sister grinned and folded her arms across her chest in
triumph.

Kerri began to peel and chop all
the onions until they were done. “I guess.” She tossed them into a buttered pan
on low heat to caramelize.

“What do you mean you guess?” Jordan followed her to the stove. “It’s the perfect situation.”

“I know. I’m just worried about
this place.” She turned and looked at her sister. “Who is going to cook while
I’m gone?” she wondered frantically. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.” What if he didn’t
feel the same?

“Oh no. You
are
going, and
this place will be fine. You hired good cooks.” Jordan’s hand swept around the
bustling room, before she grabbed Kerri’s shoulders. “They will do just fine,
and I’ll be here to lend a hand, so no more talk of not going.”

“All right. I’ll go. I’ll go.”
Kerri relented. “I rather like the idea of being out under the stars with
Connor,” she whispered to Jordan. “I could do without the cattle and other
eight men, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

“That’s the spirit.” Jordan winked,
and they both grinned then got back to work as the third rush of the night
began.

“I
’ve got to be crazy,”
Connor mumbled to Cole as he watched Kerri disappear into the stable to talk to
Cal on Sunday afternoon.

“What are you talking about?” His
brother joined him by the fence of the adjacent corral.

“For agreeing to let Kerri go on
this cattle drive.” He took his hat off, then shoved a hand through his hair.

Yeah, he had to be insane.

“No. That was a very smart thing to
do,” his delusional brother corrected.

“How do you figure?”

“I know what I’ve seen in both of
your faces. The two of you are in love with each other, but are holding back.
Why?”

“Even if she did love me, which she
doesn’t, she’s better off without me,” he stated, shoving the hat back on his
head, never denying his love.

His brother’s head jerked back.
“Now how in the hell do you figure that?”

“Because I’ve done nothing but hurt
her.”

And he had to stop. He did stop.

Didn’t he?

Cole walked over and grabbed his
upper arms. “Connor, I have a very important question for you.” When he remained
quiet, his brother continued, “Do you trust Kerri?”

He stared into the dark, inquiring
eyes and spoke the truth that went deep into his core. “Yes, I trust Kerri.”

His brother’s smile broadened.
“That’s great, man.” Cole released him and smacked his arm. “So, what the
hell’s the problem?”

“The problem is I don’t want to
hold her back. If she knew how I felt, she might stay behind and always regret
not giving that
Rene’s
or
Pierre’s
or whatever the hell it is, a
try.” He expelled his breath and looked down at his dusty boots, feeling as dirt-kicking-low
as they were.

“If Kerri told you she loved you
and didn’t want to go, what would you do?”

Ah hell. Didn’t his younger brother
have anything better to do than hound him with painful questions? And, God,
this was the most painful of all.

He sucked in a breath. “Cole, cut
it out. Jesus! Don’t you think I wouldn’t die to hear her say that? That I,
Connor McCall, was more important to her than her job?”

Christ
. He longed to hear
those exact words so badly from her sweet lips, he’d avoided her the past few
weeks, knowing they’d never be spoken.

“It’s settled then.” Cole slapped
his shoulder as they turned to walk toward the stable doors. “Kerri has to give
her decision in one week, so that’s how much time we have to get her to tell
you she loves you and wants to stay.”

His pulse kicked up. “Do you really
think she’ll do that?”

It was too good to be true.

“You bet I do. As a matter of
fact…” His younger brother smirked. “I’d bet on it.”

“And you think that will happen on
the range?”

“Yes.” Cole nodded. “Because, my
dear brother, despite your busy days, your nights are a different story. Kerri
will
have
to spend time with you.”

“Yeah, me and eight other men.” He stuffed
his hands in his pockets and sighed.

His brother shook his head. “Not
necessarily. There are a lot of wide open spaces, bro. I’ve been on your spring
drives before and seem to recall some secluded spots.” Cole grinned and slapped
him on the back. “If you can get Kerri alone there by the creek and rocks, I’m
sure you can convince her to stay.”

Connor wasn’t as sure, but knew it
was worth a try. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am. That girl loves
you, why else would she brave a cattle drive and agree to cook for nine ornery cowboys?”
Cole’s grin turned sheepish. “She wants to stay in Texas. She’s just waiting
for you to give her a reason.”

Hope fluttered like a piece of
straw in a south Texas wind. “You really think so?”

“Yes, I do. You have two nights to
give her that reason, Connor.”

If she really did feel that way,
then he’d be able to tell if they touched…

He straightened his spine and
nodded. Two nights. He’d make them count.

W
hat in the world
am I doing,
Kerri wondered silently as she found herself on the back of a
horse very early Monday morning, riding with nine men an hour into her first
cattle drive.