Second Chance Cowboy (6 page)

Chance parked in the circular gravel
drive and the two sheep dogs, Coach and Mimi, jumped up from their
sprawled resting position on the porch steps and greeted
them.

Shutting off the engine to the Chevy,
Chance slid out first. He gave each dog a customary scratch behind
the ear and received a wagging tail of thanks.

“
Have the dogs been sick?”
Carly asked. She curiously watched the dogs slap their tongues in
the air and wave their tails. They were thin and their fur scruffy,
but their cheerful disposition remained.

Chance examined the dogs with a long
look, pondering her question. “Coach did just get over a bad case
of worms and Mimi got into the briar patch past the edge of the
woods. We had a helluva time getting the burrs out.”

The squeaking screen door caught
Carly’s attention. She smiled seeing Thelma step out. In a booming
voice, the woman said, “Hallelujah.”

Thelma looked grayer. She’d aged in
the last few days. Her cheeks appeared chubbier and rosier, yet her
welcoming smile remained.

“
It’s about time you
brought my baby home.” The older woman marched toward Carly and
pulled her in for a tight hug.

The scene reminded Carly of mama bear
and baby bear. She seemed to sink and disappear into Thelma’s
protection and it warmed her. Carly pulled back and saw the tear
stains on Thelma’s cheeks. Thelma was known for her sentimental
heart, yet seldom did her emotions lead to crying. “It’s only been
two days, Thelma. You’d think I’ve been gone for years.”

Thelma held Carly at arm’s length,
staring her up and down in serious examination. Thelma’s breath
caught right before she said in her deep Texas strum, “Oh my dear
child. Didn’t they feed you? A brisk wind will come along and carry
you off to the next county. We better get you inside.”

“
I think they did.” Carly
had no idea who ‘they’ were, but she wasn’t starving. “I don’t feel
like my stomach is empty.”

* * * *

Chance stayed behind brooding over his
befuddled thoughts, watching Thelma whisk Carly inside the house,
treating her like a homeless kitten. Knowing Thelma, she’d been in
the kitchen cooking and baking all of Carly’s favorite
foods.

Thelma loved feeding people, and was
even happier when she thought she could ‘fatten’ them
up.

He dropped his keys and hat off on the
table in the foyer. He’d suspected he’d find the two women in the
kitchen with Thelma hovering over Carly.

“
I’ve got the kettle on.
I’ll fix you a cup of your favorite tea, cranberry-apple. I made up
a fresh batch of buttermilk biscuits to go with it.” Thelma’s
softer tone seemed to calm Carly. Her features relaxed and she
eased into a cushioned seat.

Chance peeked into the basket at the
warm biscuits and reached for one. A swat on the back of his hand
stopped him. “Mind your manners, young man. Ladies first.” Thelma
scowled at him in reprimand.

Nothing had changed.

“
I see how it is.” He slid
Thelma an exaggerated hurt expression.

She wagged a chubby finger his
direction. “You behave yourself.”

Chance looked at Carly who sat at the
counter, watching them quietly. His chest filled with...what? Love
and joy? “Thelma will take good care of you.” He snorted a laugh in
Thelma’s direction. “She’ll have you wearing a bigger size before
you know it.” Damn, he liked her just the way she was.

“
Tea sounds great, but I
couldn’t eat a bite. And no one needs to give me preferential
treatment. I have a few bumps and bruises, and I’m missing a few
facts up top, but I’m fine. Don’t coddle me.”

Chance heard Thelma’s gasp, but
thankfully, Carly paid no attention. Although he held his reaction,
he inwardly cringed. A few facts? She had no idea how many details
she was missing.

“
Don’t I know how it is,
baby. I have the same problem. I can’t remember a thing these
days.” Thelma laughed and rubbed her hands down her neon pink
apron. “Last week I forgot to set the timer for my apple pies. By
the time I got to the oven they were burnt to a crisp. The church
bake sale got store bought pies instead.”

“
These days, Thelma? You’ve
been forgetful for years.” Chance lifted a brow, biting his lip to
keep from laughing. He sidestepped a wooden spoon aimed toward his
arm and came back to kiss the woman on her plump cheek.

Carly laughed now. Chance hadn’t heard
the sound in so long, literally years long, and it brought him
around to look at her. He couldn’t hide his shock.

Carly’s laughter faded. “What is it,
Chance?”

“
Nothing.” He averted his
eyes. “I should check my office for messages.” He forced a smile.
He needed to get away for a few minutes before he started to think
he’d been transported back four years ago along with
Carly.

“
I almost forgot.” Thelma
threw up her hands. “Duke wants you to call him. He says he needs
to ask you a question concerning the hay shipment.”

Chance looked at Carly across the
short distance and saw her panic-stricken expression. Her eyes
steadied on him and his heart clenched at the vulnerability he saw
in her. He wanted to run away. The confusion whirled his brain like
a tornado. She believed they were still married and things were
okay.

Truth was, everything was
different.

Could this be too much to
handle?

“
Go on, Chance, go to work.
Don’t let me stop you.”

Disappointment laced her voice.
Subtle, but he heard it. He dragged a hand through his
hair.

Dammit
. She might be home, but
it didn’t mean he could drop his responsibilities. If her needs
came to a point where he needed to make a choice, no doubt what
he’d do. He’d give up everything like yesterday’s news to give her
what she needed.

For now, though, he required a break.
The longer he stayed near her the more his emotions
surged.

“
I’ll only be gone for a
short while.” He ran a hand through his thick hair again. “You can
call me if you need me,” he told her, hesitated, and then slowly
started toward the door off the kitchen.

Carly’s narrowed gaze burned a hole in
his back. He stopped with the door swung partly open, one foot on
the step. “Are you okay?” Double damn. He knew he could only ask if
she were okay so many times before she grew suspicious.

He needed a brisk walk to clear his
brain.

Chapter Five

CARLY DIDN’T WANT to feel hurt when
Chance left, but she did. Home a mere ten minutes and business as
usual.

What had she expected?

Falling down the stairs wouldn’t
require special treatment from her husband. Didn’t she say herself
only moments ago she didn’t want coddling? However, she’d said no
to biscuits and cranberry tea, not kisses and closeness from
Chance.

She knew she could have asked him to
stay and he would have, but Carly wanted him to spend time with her
because he chose to, not because he felt an obligation.

So she looked at Thelma and slapped on
a bright smile.

At least she wouldn’t have to hear him
ask her for the umpteenth time if she was okay.

Carly noticed Thelma’s cautionary
gaze. The lines around the older woman’s mouth deepened in
concern.

“
He’s different,” Carly
said in a hesitant tone.

Thelma handed her the cup of steaming
tea and her hand covered Carly’s. “He’s been worried, Carly. He
loves you a great deal.”

“
Worried?” Carly asked. Her
head started to ache again. He must have thought she planned to
never come back.

“
He’s not good at putting
emotions into words.” Thelma clicked her tongue. “It what makes you
special, dear. You can see right through him without a word
spoken.”

Carly’s mind raced. Her head went from
a dull ache to throbbing.

She slid off the stool, finger pressed
firmly at the bridge of her nose. “I’ll be upstairs
resting.”

She headed for the stairs off the
kitchen and Thelma’s words followed her. “Don’t you worry, Carly.
All will be fine.”

Carly stepped into the bedroom and
inhaled Chance’s musk cologne. It twirled around her senses and
heated her skin. She glanced over the cherry wood dresser with the
collection of antique cats lining the top.

She picked up her favorite, a glass
Persian with pale blue eyes and a feather hanging from its mouth.
Chance had bought it for her on their first Christmas
together.

Her heart filled with joy remembering
waking up with her husband that extraordinary morning. They’d
dashed down the stairs, sat on the floor, and tore open the wrapped
presents like two excited kids.

Carly put the cat back down and
straightened several other trinkets.

Yawning, she focused on climbing into
the king-sized bed, anticipating the warmth of the chenille
blanket, when something gave her pause. The lowered blinds cast the
room in shadows but a pink hue caught her interest. The curtains,
the ones they’d argued over, were in the large windows. Her chest
swelled to huge proportions.

Chance had hung them after
all.

The gesture touched her deeply. All
couples argued over superficial things. This was Chance’s way of
saying sorry.

The argument hadn’t really been about
the curtains, though. Pride and disappointment made them act
stupid. They were learning marriage took work. A sweet smile and a
batting of eyelashes no longer cured their issues. Too bad make-up
sex, no matter how mind-blowing, couldn’t mend every broken
fence.

She lay in the cool sheets, tossing
and turning, thinking of Chance and wondering where their
relationship stood.

Chance worked non-stop on the ranch.
The stress was taking a toll.

Carly knew she’d have to devise a plan
to get her husband to let go some of the responsibility at the
Swift Wind. By the same token, she’d do her part to show interest
in his day-to-day activities and not say yes to every charity
organization or volunteer service coming her way.

She’d be damned to let the snags of
life wedge themselves between her and her husband.

* * * *

Chance found Duke in the red metal
barn discussing the horses with one of the younger hands, Martin
Kincaid. As Chance approached the twosome across the cement floor,
Duke told the other man they’d finish later. Martin gave Chance a
nod in greeting then disappeared out the wide, double doors into
the horses’ training yard.

“
We got our shipment from
the Feed and Grain Supply Company this morning. The last dozen
bales we unloaded had mold.” Duke pushed his cowboy hat back on his
forehead. “I know Jimmy’s a good friend to you but business is
business and moldy hay is dangerous to our livestock.”

“
Damn.” Chance didn’t want
to worry about hay. Carly filled his mind and one major problem at
a time was enough. “Give him a call. Tell him to get his ass over
here and pick up the ruined bales. We expect credit for the bales
we’re sending back and we want a five-percent discount on the next
order. Let him know if it happens again, friend or not, we’ll take
our money elsewhere.”

“
I’ll call him.”

“
Good.” Chance nodded his
head. “New guy working out?” He cocked a leg up on the bottom rail
of the fence and relaxed his elbows on the top board. From where he
stood, he could watch Martin lead a beautiful mare around the
enclosed fence.

With a roll of a broad shoulder, Duke
answered, “After you talked to him he seemed to buckle
up.”

“
He’d better or he’s out.
There’s no excuse for being late two days in one month.” Chance
rubbed the back of his neck to release some of the tension. “Is
Leslie still coming out later to check the mustang?”

“
Yeah. You want me to call
you when she gets here?”

Chance shook his head. “I’ll let you
handle it.”

“
Why don’t you spit it
out?”

“
Spit what out?”

“
Something has you meaner
than a horse with a bumblebee under its saddle. Not to mention you
have me handling the hay issue and now the mustang. That’s business
you usually handle yourself.”

“
Are you complaining?”
Chance asked.

“
Does it sound like I’m
complaining? I’m just asking what the hell’s wrong.”

Chance wasn’t sure if he should
discuss the issue with Duke, but his friend would find out
eventually. “Carly’s back.”

His friend’s head rotated around. A
flash of uncertainty skimmed his eyes before he smiled. “I thought
I heard you say Carly’s back.”

“
And what if I did?” Chance
challenged his friend.

“
I’d say you woke up in
crazyland this morning, bro,” Duke stated bluntly.

“
Thanks for the vote of
confidence.” Chance grinned. Yeah, crazy was an understatement. She
believed in something that no longer existed and she came back only
for that reason. Although, he’d noticed the way her eyes lit up
when they drove onto the Swift Wind and her beaming smile when the
house came into view.