Second Chance Cowboy (10 page)

It didn’t happen.

Until now.

She wasn’t actually here on free will,
and it dulled the shine of the reconciliation.

He had one shot to prove to her that
they could make it work. If he failed, and it was possible, at
least he could say he gave it his best try.

Chapter Nine

THE MORNING SUNSHINE that had streamed
through her bedroom window that morning had seeped into her bones.
She had a new bounce to her step as she went down to the
kitchen.

Feeling much better, Carly physically
had the energy to run a marathon, although mentally, she knew she
needed some tweaking.

She stopped when she saw the mountain
of food that filled the bowls and plates covering the counter.
Thelma had prepared a meal for an army.

Carly said hello and the lively woman
popped her head up from her vigorous stirring of the contents in a
mixing bowl. “You look much better this morning, honey.”

“
I’m feeling better.” Carly
slid onto a barstool.

The savory smells enfolded her and
made her mouth water. Stacks of pancakes, loads of crisp bacon, a
large bowl of scrambled eggs, and a pot of steaming coffee called
to her growling stomach.

“
If this is for me you’re
taking this weight issue a little too far.” Carly gave Thelma a
wink and a grin.

“
Oh dear, a couple of
pounds would do you wonders, but all this would put you out of
action. We don’t want that, do we?”

Thelma poured hot homemade syrup into
an antique container. The sweet smell of brown sugary goodness
floated to Carly and a strange thought crossed her mind. She hadn’t
eaten the real stuff in years—or had she?

“
Chance’s workers act like
they haven’t eaten in weeks.” Her dark eyes brightened. She wiped
the rim of the syrup container and placed it on a tray. “They can’t
resist my cooking.”

“
You are the best cook,
Thelma.” Carly reached and grabbed a piece of bacon. Still warm,
the smoky flavor brought her taste buds alive. “This isn’t turkey
bacon?” she asked without reflection. She wasn’t sure why she
expected turkey instead of pork.

Thelma’s eyes popped open in alarm.
“Turkey bacon? Bite your tongue, child.”

Carly shrugged at Thelma’s look of
disbelief. “Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you. I don’t know what I
was thinking.”

Finishing the strip, she wiped her
fingers on a napkin, and glanced outside the French doors. She
expected to find a clutter of cowboys gathering, like any normal
weekday morning, but the patio was empty.

“
Where’s the masculine
brood this morning?”

“
They’ve moved the staff
meeting to the conference room off the new barn.” Thelma didn’t
take her eyes off her vigorous stirring.

“
Chance moved the
meetings?”

“
Chance didn’t want those
men up here disturbing you, Carly. They can be a loud group. He
thinks you need rest, and I happen to agree,” she added
steadfastly.

Carly waved a slender hand through the
air. “Everyone needs to quit babying me. I fell down the stairs,
and the last I heard, amnesia isn’t fatal.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose,
commanding the dull ache to go away. “Thelma, I’m starting to think
everyone around here is hiding something and they are going
overboard to protect me.” She glimpsed at the older woman. “That
wouldn’t be true, would it?”

Thelma continued whipping the eggs
with exaggerated force. “Hiding? No, child. Protecting,
maybe.”

Carly dropped her palms to the table.
“Why, Thelma? What am I forgetting?” she pleaded.

“
That’s a question I’m
afraid you must answer. Only you can see inside your mind and your
heart.”

“
But the heart and mind are
two different parts of the human body, Thelma. My heart feels love,
my mind tells me something isn’t right. They are at a
tug-of-war.”

“
Let one win, honey.”
Thelma shrugged a wide shoulder. “It’s all you can do, let one
win.”

Carly sighed. “Have I changed, Thelma,
because I have no idea what is right anymore? Chance slept on the
couch in his office last night.”

“
People change, but the two
things that always stay true is our heart and our home. The heart
always knows when it feels love no matter what happens in our mind.
Home isn’t just a place. It’s a feeling. It knows where you
belong.”

Carly soaked up the words and filed
them away safely in the working part of her brain. She always felt
at home at the Swift Wind. It welcomed her with its peace and
serenity, and the people inside were her world.

She wanted to see Chance. No, needed
to see him.

“
I’ll help you carry the
trays down to the conference room.” Carly slid off the stool and
started to grab one of the loaded trays when Thelma placed a
pausing hand on hers.

“
I don’t think going down
there is a good idea,” Thelma interjected.

“
Why not?” Carly
asked.

“
The trays weigh more than
you when you’re soaking wet. I don’t think you should be lifting
anything, not even a finger. I’ll call down and have the boys come
and get them.” Thelma reached for the phone. “Those strapping young
men shouldn’t let their muscles go to waste.”

Five minutes later, Duke strolled into
the kitchen. He didn’t see Carly who was intentionally standing
behind the door and went straight to Thelma, placing a sound kiss
on her rosy cheek. “Well, well, well, you’ve gone and outdone
yourself this time, hot mama.”

“
Go on and tease. You plan
on carrying these two trays there yourself?” Thelma pointed a
finger at the laden trays.

“
Do you doubt my
capabilities, woman?” Duke stated.

“
One of these days, Duke
McGraw, I’m going to turn you over my knee and give you the
spanking you’ve needed since you were a boy in kid britches.” She
wagged a finger warningly while she fought the smile turning one
corner of her mouth.

“
Is that a
promise?”

“
I’ll help carry one.”
Carly made her appearance. She rounded the counter, her eyes on
Duke. He twisted around and there was a hint of something—grief
maybe.

“
Hey, Carly,” he said, his
eyes skimming her bruised face. “I’m pissed now.”

“
Oh yeah?” Carly’s finely
manicured brow lifted.

“
Thelma said those bruises
were god-awful.” Thelma’s gasp of disbelief cracked the air. Carly
instinctively reached up and touched the side of her face. “You
don’t look terrible to me. You look like you’ve had a fight with a
moving vehicle and won. Now that’s hot.” He slid Thelma a wink and
grabbed a piece of bacon, popping it into his mouth. “Chance is one
lucky guy. Two hot women under one roof.”

“
Duke, when are you going
to stop wasting your charm on the two of us and get yourself a
woman who will appreciate it?” Carly asked, and not one second
later added acerbically. “Oh, that’s right, you did have a good
woman, and you broke up with her.” She crossed her arms over her
chest and tilted her chin.

Thelma went back to wielding her
utensils.

“
You’ll eventually have to
forgive me, Carly.”

“
Really?” She looked at him
in bewilderment, curious that he would dare suggest such a
thing.

She shook her head. His dazzling eyes
and smile could knock the socks off most women, and he knew it.
That’s why he used them to his benefit.

They were lost on her.

“
Lila has.”

“
What?” Carly and Thelma
said the word in unison.

“
You can ask her yourself,”
he said confidently.

Carly wasn’t convinced. Duke was a
kind man, but when he dropped Lila with a cold note on the
nightstand, her friend had been confused and hurt.

Nope, Carly wasn’t ready to forgive
him. She had a hard time believing her friend would either. Lila
still got angry at the mention of his name. No, it wasn’t possible
she could have forgiven so soon.

Carly decided she’d drop it for
now.

She started to grab for the tray when
Duke laid a hand on her wrist. Sliding him a disparaged look, she
sighed. “Not you, too.” She moaned loudly. “I’m not incompetent. I
can carry a tray.” She felt her blood pressure rise.

“
Hold up there, Carly.” He
held his hands up in a defeated gesture. “You should carry the
heavier one. My shoulder’s been causing me some problems.” He
rolled his left shoulder and winced dramatically, but a smile broke
out over his handsome features.

“
Carrying around a load of
bull can strain the muscles.”

His mouth opened in imaginary shock.
He cocked his chin in Thelma’s direction. “Are you gonna let her
get by with talking to your man like that, hot mama?”

Thelma laughed and winked. “On this
one, you’re on your own.”

* * * *

Chance was detailing the information
to his crew regarding the new mustang, Wildfire, when his words
dropped off into a sputter. He couldn’t believe his eyes when Carly
walked in. Over her shoulder, he saw Duke and cast him a narrowed
expression. Duke shrugged in apology.

Chance clenched his hands into fists.
What in the hell was Duke thinking bringing her here?

The men sitting around the oblong
table looked up at Chance and followed his path of vision. The room
grew silent when all eyes settled on Carly.

Hadn’t he been trying to prevent
this?

The men continued to stare at her in
question. Some even dared to sweep their gaze down her in manly
appreciation. Chance made a snarling sound low in his
throat.

Damn, how could he blame
them?

Carly was like the first flower
blooming in spring. One couldn’t help but be in awe of her beauty.
Her long chestnut hair with gold streaks brought out the blue of
her eyes that would put the summer sky to shame. The bruising had
already begun healing and with a skilled application of makeup, the
injuries disappeared completely.

The simple yellow dress seemed
anything but casual. The spaghetti straps gave ample view of
shoulders and arms. She was still on the thinner side, yet it
didn’t take away from her exquisite shapeliness. His stimulated
gaze fell to the hem falling an inch above her knees, giving a
teasing view of long, lean legs.

He looked up in time to see her glance
warily across the sea of stunned faces until her pretty blues
stopped on him. His mouth went dry. He hoped he did a good job
keeping his expression uniform. On the inside, he was a bundle of
fury urging for release.

She turned on her heel and started for
the door, apparently for a quick exit, but Chance rounded the table
in long strides and caught her before she could disappear. “Can’t
run away now,” he whispered close to her ear.

Without modesty, he reached up and
touched her face, below the fading purple bruising. Dropping his
hand to her chin, he lifted slightly so that she looked at him when
his lips descended.

Although it took great control, the
kiss was swift, but brimming with latent meaning. He wanted
everyone in the room to recognize, without a scrap of uncertainty,
that she owned his heart.

Taking her hand into his, her
fragility and subtle shudder moved him, and he gently squeezed her
fingers in reassurance. He kept his eyes on her when he said to the
crew, “Men, clear the deck.”

A few of the men could have caught
flies with their gaping mouths. In record-breaking chaos, one by
one, they grabbed their things and emptied the room.

Duke carried the end of line and had a
foot out the door when he suddenly stopped. He backed up, went to
the table where the trays of food sat untouched, and grabbed a
serving dish of eggs and bacon. “I wouldn’t want this to go to
waste.” He winked before making his exit.

“
I’m sorry I broke up your
meeting. I’m not sorry that your kiss knocked the polish right off
my toenails,” her voice rasped.

He chuckled. “Best interruption I can
think of.”

Alone now, he pulled her into his arms
and buried his lips against hers for a longer, more passionate
kiss. She immediately responded by wrapping her arms around his
neck and parting her lips to allow his tongue complete
passage.

When he lifted his face a hair’s
width, she smiled. “I guess you’re not mad at me, huh?”

“
I’m angry all right. Not
in the way you might think though. Did you wear this—” He traced
one slim shoulder strap with the tip of his finger. “To drive me
crazy?” He found it difficult to speak when all the blood drained
from his head and surfaced into the muscle behind his
zipper.

“
I pulled it on and I could
remember the first time I wore it. Do you remember?” Her brow
lifted and a playful smile teased the corner of her lips. “You
wasted no time in pulling it back off.”