Most Eligible Cowboy (Peach Valley Romance Book 1) (5 page)

I
t’d been
three days since Maya’s run in with the snake. She felt foolish for making such a stupid mistake. Growing up in near the ocean, she’d been taught that nature could be cruel. Her father had advised her never to turn her back on the water, explaining that the waves were ever changing and where one wave might be far away, the next could crash over the top of you and drag you under before you grasped what’d happened. Then there were the jellyfish, sharks, and other creeping things that while beautiful could be dangerous. She shouldn’t have been so reckless. Worst of all, she hadn’t told anyone where she was going. The phone call to her mom and dad telling them about what happened had gone as expected, there had been words of frustration between words of worry and love.

She knew better for next time, especially after her aunt had given her an earful on the do’s and don’t’s of country life as well. The whole time her aunt Patty scolded her, she’d stroked Maya’s hair and once she finished, she’d gone and made her famous chicken and dumplings soup. It was times like those that she remembered she had a great family.

The snake bite hurt and her ankle had swollen up to the size of grapefruit, but gossip of the city girl’s run in with a rattler had given the population an excuse to come and introduce themselves. Everyone she’d met had been cordial and had also brought food. Maya had more potato salad, pretzel and jello salad, beef and bean casseroles, peach pies, cherry pies, apple pies, even chocolate pies than she knew what to do with. Her kitchen overflowed with food. It seemed that was how people in Wyoming said hello, as though their offering was a representation of who they were. It was sweet though, and while she felt a little like an animal on display in the zoo, she was grateful for their kindness.

On the third day, Maya met Milly Bale. The woman knocked once before entering. Maya had been in her bedroom trying to edit the photos she’d taken the night she’d been bitten.

“Hello, Maya. I’m Milly Bale, your next-door neighbor. Just thought I’d come by and introduce myself.” She carried a basket on her arm.

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” Maya remembered the delicious peach pies and had to mention them. “And those pies you made were amazing.” Maya’s mom made graham cracker cereal treats that were a close second.

“Thank you, dear. I hope you don’t mind that I just let myself in. Your aunt Patty told me your parents were in Africa building a school and couldn’t make it home. And I wasn’t sure whether you’d be up and around. But I figured you might need some help with all of the food you’d been given.” She glanced in the direction of the kitchen. “Oh my goodness. It’s worse than I thought. Do you mind if I get to work?”

“Oh, no. Please, Mrs. Bale. You don’t have to do anything. I just appreciate you stopping by.” The waitress Aliza had told Maya that Jackson’s dad had cancer. That had to be hard on Milly. Surely it’d taken its toll on the woman. Yet, she looked beautiful with eyes the same bright blue as her son’s. She had her long gray hair up in a bun and wore a pair of purple cowboy boots that matched her shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Maya set her laptop on the bed beside her.

“Nonsense.” Milly disappeared and Maya could hear her making herself at home in the kitchen.

The doctor had come by earlier and told Maya she could try to get around, if it wasn’t too painful. He’d said the bite wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, that luckily the old snake hadn’t injected as much venom as it could have.

With gratitude in her heart, she scooted to the edge of the bed, and put some weight on it. Pain shot up her leg, but it was bearable. Hobbling only slightly, she made her way over to one of two bar stools at the kitchen counter and sat. Maya recognized Milly had brought over a bunch of storage necessities, including containers and plastic wrap in her basket. She had a bunch of casseroles out and had divided them up before placing double portions into containers and then stacking them in the freezer.

While Milly worked, she glanced up. “The food should last three months in the freezer.”

“Thanks,” Maya said, in awe of Jackson’s mom. The woman was shorter than Maya by at least three inches and she was petite too. But it was obvious she was a confident firecracker who did what she wanted.

“It was your son who saved me, at least that’s what my aunt said.” Maya blurted out the words in a desperate attempt to say something.

“Which one?” But as she asked, she smiled. It was her way of letting Maya know she had more than one son.

“How many sons do you have?” Maya asked.

A shadow passed over Milly’s face, but only for the briefest moment.

Maya had an inkling that the life of a rancher’s wife must be hard.

“Four. Jackson is the oldest. Then there’s Everett, the Valiant. Lance, the Strong, and Blaze, the Fiery.” She winked as she cut up an apple pie, obviously waiting for Maya to ask about Jackson.

“What do you call Jackson?”

“The Bachelor,” she said, before giggling.

Maya couldn’t help but laugh with her. “Oh, I bet he appreciates that.”

“Not at all. But when he hit thirty and still hadn’t… married, it became his new nickname.”

“And what was it before his thirtieth birthday?”

Milly tapped on her nose. “Jackson, the Lion-Hearted.”

“I like that one,” Maya said before she could stop herself.

“You’ve seen his big heart?” Milly had moved on to a chocolate pie. The woman was like a kitchen ninja.

“Absolutely.” Maya eyed the pie. Milly placed a piece on a plate and handed it to her along with a fork.

“I mean other than his rescue?” She’d finished. All of the pies were off the counters and in the freezer. She took a dry washcloth from her basket and wet it before wiping down the counters.

“Yes, on the first day, the day he brought your pies, I still had several boxes in my car. He brought them inside for me. Didn’t wait around for me to thank him or receive any kind of gratitude. Just did it and then he was gone.”

Milly smiled. “That sounds like my Jackie.”

“Jackie?” Maya forced herself to keep the pie in her mouth.

“Pretend you didn’t hear that from—”

There was a sharp knock on the door before it opened. “Momma!” Jackson appeared, wearing his tan cowboy hat, a gray button up shirt, with a navy bandana around his neck, dark jeans, and cowboy boots. His tanned skin seemed to glow from the light of the sun.

“Jackie,” his momma appeared flustered. “What are you doing here? I thought you and your brothers were branding cattle today.”

“We were. We did. We finished. I came into the main house and you weren’t there. Valerie told me you’d come here. I was surprised.”

Maya wiped the smile off her face. Why was he surprised? Did he not think she was worth a visit from his mom? “She’s been a lifesaver. Organizing all the food people brought me.” She swallowed. “It’s been nice having her around.”

The strict look on his face softened. “Sorry. I’ve no doubt about that.” His shoulders relaxed. “It’s just…” He let his voice tail off.

Milly smiled. “He’s surprised because I haven’t left our Ranch since my husband was diagnosed with cancer.” She moved to pack up her things.

“Oh, I see.” While Maya watched she thought about what the woman had said. She couldn’t imagine how difficult her life must be. And to think Milly had taken time away from her sick husband to come and help her. The thought filled Maya’s eyes with unshed tears. “Milly, thank you,” she finally said, even though it didn’t feel like enough.

Milly tucked the basket onto her arm, came around and patted Maya’s cheek. “Get feeling better and buy yourself some boots, pronto.”

“I will.” Without thinking, she reached out and hugged the elderly woman, grateful beyond measure for her thoughtfulness.

After several long moments, Milly pulled away and patted Maya’s cheek again. “You’re a good girl, Maya Vance.”

Emotion caused Maya to nod her thank you instead of speaking it.

Milly went over to Jackson. “I’m okay. But now that you’re here, I’ll get back home.”

Jackson took her hand and walked her out to the truck. With both of them gone, the cottage felt empty. Maya took the last bite of her chocolate pie and hobbled around the counter to the sink.

“Here, let me help you with that.” Jackson had returned and took the plate from her before she could object. He turned on the faucet and rinsed the dish off before placing it and the fork in the dishwasher. Turning, he looked Maya up and down, allowing his gaze to linger on her pajamas.

Self-conscious, she glanced down, trying to remember what she had on. It was her taco pajamas. They were baby blue, with dozens of crisp tacos complete with lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes on top. They were also long sleeved and completely modest, but it was just the fact that she stood there in her pajamas unable to remember the last time she’d brushed her hair that left her feeling mortified. Especially since Jackson, on the other hand, appeared completely gorgeous, if not a little rumpled. “Uh,” was all she got out, her face heating up.

A smile pulled at his lips. “Can I help you back to your room?”

She wasn’t ready to go back to bed, nor did she want him to leave. “I was going to watch some TV.” She didn’t even know if the TV worked. “Would you mind bringing me my laptop? It’s on my bed.” She hoped that didn’t seem too fresh, asking a man to go into her bedroom, but she intended to stay right where she was.

“Sure.” He held out his arm for her to lean on while she limped over to the couch. After she’d sat, he retrieved her laptop. “Is this it?” He handed it to her.

“Yes. Thank you.”

He seemed unsure about what to do next.

“Did you want to see the pictures I took the other night?” She felt shy, but had already decided she wanted to print and frame the best pictures and give him one as a way of saying thank you for rescuing her. It would be great if she could get his opinion on which one he liked best.

“Sure.” He sat beside her, but not too close. “You take pictures?”

“I do. Up until a few weeks ago, I did it for a living.” The TV forgotten, she pulled up the photo she’d been working on. It was one of the few pictures where Jackson’s face was in full view. With the sun gone, he was mostly in shadow, except the places where the fire brought him to life. The other guys were talking and laughing, but Jackson had a serious look on his face, like he had a lot on his mind. At the time she’d wondered if he’d been thinking about the ultimatum or his dad’s cancer or both. As he studied the picture, she thought it might be that and so much more.

“You took this,” he finally asked.

“Yes,” she whispered, remembering her teacher’s words of wisdom and trying not to interrupt the story he might be seeing. “Do you like it?”

“It’s amazing. What other pictures did you take that night?” They sat beside each other on the couch. Her heart fluttered as his knee brushed against hers. She swallowed and pulled up her pictures. Together, they went through them and as they did, they talked. It wasn’t about anything important, really. But she felt the electricity her aunt had talked about.

During their conversation, Maya found out he’d received a degree from the University of Wyoming. That he’d built his house with his own hands. And Jackson told her that he loved pralines and caramel ice cream.

Around seven o’clock, they paused long enough to warm up some of the ham and tater tot casserole Mrs. Gunderson had brought over. He warmed up the food for them in the microwave, while she made and poured them some iced tea.

While they ate, Jackson asked her about her life. She kept to the basics. She’d graduated from California Berkley and had worked for a foodie magazine. She thought about mentioning her marriage and the details of her divorce, but doing so would’ve brought up feelings she’d sooner forget, so kept them to herself. Instead she talked about spending time at the beach when she needed a break. She also confessed that she had an overabundant liking for the butter mints usually reserved for weddings.

“You’re kidding,” he said, taking their plates over to the coffee table.

She shook her head, laughing, sipping her iced tea. “There’s something about the way the mint starts to melt on your tongue and then it breaks and all of this goodness bursts into your mouth. It’s amazing.”

“Really?” He smiled, his blue eyes sparkling with interest. “The next time I go to a wedding I’ll have to pay better attention to the mints. The way you describe them, they sound delicious.”

“They are and you should.” She smiled as she swallowed a bite of food. Full, she set her plate on the coffee table. “I had a whole bag with me, but accidentally left them in Salt Lake City, where I stayed the night before continuing my trip out here.

“So, you’re out?” His face went mock serious.

Maya punched him lightly in the arm. “It’s terrible, I tell you. I’ve been heartbroken not to have them.”

He chuckled and they continued looking at photos. She also told him about the homeless man, Frankie who’d taught her to play guitar. Jackson said he could play a couple of songs and that they should do a duet for the end of summer fair. She thought that sounded fun, but didn’t commit. He needed to find a wife and that meant he might be in a serious relationship by then.

All the while, the two of them looked at photos. Maya even edited some. She thought he would get bored, but he appeared to like watching her edit, as much as she liked doing it. He even asked questions about why she chose to highlight one part while softening another. His favorite was the one she’d taken where a bumblebee hovered above a daisy.

“It’s as though I can hear it buzzing while seeing its wings moving, and smell the scent of the daisy,” he said.

“Then that means I’ve done my job.” Maya stifled a yawn. She was tired. It’d been a long day, but she was having such a wonderful time chatting with Jackson.

Jackson noticed and glanced at the time. “I had no idea how late it’d gotten. I’ve kept you for to long. You must be exhausted.” He took their plates and glasses to the kitchen sink, rinsed them off, and placed them in the dishwasher. Maya couldn’t help but think he looked good in her kitchen. “I should get going. I have an early morning ahead of me.” He smiled. “Is there anything else I can do for you before I go?”