A Real Cowboy

She laughed and shook her head. “In the last two years I’ve only had two priorities in my life, Sammy and the store I co-own with Cassie, and they don’t leave any time for dating. Besides, I’m not looking for a romance right now. Since my divorce two years ago I’m just trying to figure out my life.”

She was far too conscious of his nearness, of the scent of him, the heat of him and the allure of his beautiful eyes. Once again she looked up at the stars as they both fell silent.

There were so many things she wanted to ask him, such as how he’d come to work for Cass Holiday and where he had come from. Did he have a close family who lived in the area? And yet she knew Cassie was right—she’d be a fool to get close to anyone here.

“I guess you haven’t had a chance to get into Bitterroot yet,” he said, finally breaking the silence that had become more uncomfortable by the second.

“Actually we need to go there tomorrow to return the rental car. We were going to ask one of you to follow us so that we’d have a ride home.”

“I’d be glad to do it,” he replied instantly. “I’ve got a king cab pickup so there would be plenty of room for everyone. Maybe you all would like to go a little early, have some lunch at the Bitterroot Café and take some time to soak up some of the local color.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll talk to Cassie in the morning and see if we can make plans to go around eleven or so. Sammy wants a cowboy hat, so before lunch we could get that. We could arrange for a time for you to come back and pick us up so that you aren’t cooling your heels while we do a little exploring of the town.” She was babbling and she knew it, but seemed unable to help herself.

He stood and held out a hand to help her up from the porch stoop. “Why don’t we plan on eleven.”

She hesitated only a moment and then held out her hand to grasp his. Warm and big and slightly calloused, his hand engulfed hers. She stood, half-breathless by the simple contact.

“Okay, then I guess I’ll see you in the morning around eleven,” she replied.

Only then did he release her hand. With another of his gorgeous smiles, he grabbed his hat, put it on his head and then turned and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Nicolette released a deep breathless sigh and went inside the house. She locked the door behind her, wondering how on earth she was going to sleep with the smell of him filling her head, with her fingers tingling from the contact with his and the thought of those slightly calloused hands moving all over her body.

Chapter 3 (#ulink_0c74a295-a6fe-5b3f-b4ae-ed2884d60315)

Sammy danced along the back porch with the excitement of new adventures to come. Nicolette stood at the back door, a different kind of excitement stirring in her as she watched for Lucas’s truck in the distance to follow them into town.

It was ridiculous how long she’d tossed and turned the night before with visions of the handsome cowboy dancing in her head. Cassie was at the kitchen table, reading the Monday morning edition of the Bitterroot newspaper that Adam had brought to her earlier that morning.

“There isn’t much here as far as hard news,” Cassie called out. “Although there is a report of a missing woman who worked as a waitress at the café. Her name is Wendy Bailey and she hasn’t been seen or heard from for over a week. Other than that, I can tell you that there’s a big sale at the discount store and Jerry and Wanda Swaggart celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary yesterday with a reception at the Methodist church.”

“That’s nice,” Nicolette replied. She’d once thought she and Samuel would be married for fifty years or more. When she’d married him she’d believed in a happily-ever-after, but her happy had really lasted for only about a year.

She shoved aside thoughts of her broken marriage as she saw a black pickup driving up from the large building that housed the vehicles.

“He’s coming,” she said to Cassie. “Come on, Sammy. We’ll meet him out front by the rental car.”

By the time the three of them got to the front door, Lucas had pulled his truck up next to the car. “Good morning,” he said.

“I really appreciate this,” Cassie said to him. “We were told there was a place in Bitterroot to return the car.”

“Gus’s Gas Station,” Lucas replied. “Gus dabbles in a little bit of everything, including rental cars. His place is right on Main Street. You can’t miss it as it’s the only gas station in town.”

“Can I ride with Lucas?” Sammy asked Nicolette.

“Oh, I don’t think...” she began.

“I wouldn’t mind his company.” Lucas cut to the chase.

Nicolette shrugged helplessly as Sammy raced to the passenger door of the truck and climbed up inside. “We’ll see you in town,” he called to her and gave her a beaming smile.

Minutes later they were on the road, following the big black pickup. “Sammy seems to have taken a real shine to Lucas,” Cassie said.

“I know. He seems to be a nice man and he’s already spent more time with Sammy than Samuel ever did.”

“Doesn’t it worry you a bit? I mean, we aren’t going to be here that long...maybe a couple of months at the most, and that’s it. We’ll want to be back in New York before the school year begins in September.”

Nicolette stared out the side window, where the rural landscape was beautiful in its vastness. Of course, spring in New York held its own special kind of beauty.

She finally turned back to gaze at Cassie. “I want Sammy to enjoy every minute of his life, and that includes his time here. He needs a man’s presence around him even if it’s a cowboy and even if it’s only temporary. He’ll be better for this experience when we get back to the city.”

“I just don’t want to see him hurt,” Cassie said. “You know I love that kid like he is my own.”

Nicolette smiled. “I know and I appreciate it. I don’t know what Sammy and I would have done when I left Samuel if not for you.” She hesitated a moment and then added, “But you know we can’t live with you forever. I’ve got to figure out a path that has me earning enough money so that Sammy and I can make our own way.”

“Just wait. Once I sell the ranch and invest the money into our store, you’ll be making plenty of money.” There was a confidence in Cassie’s voice that Nicolette wished she felt.

Although Cassie painted beautiful paintings, she did so in a city where talent was on every street corner and in hundreds of galleries. She was attempting to sell her work out of a store that also carried clothes, purses and shoes that Nicolette chose to go on the racks and displays.

So far their joint venture could scarcely be called a huge success. While they made enough each month to cover the bills, there was rarely any money left over for anything else.

There had been a time when Nicolette had met Samuel that she’d dreamed of being a teacher. She’d been working as a dress saleswoman in an upscale store and taking night classes when she’d first met the man she would marry.

After their marriage, he’d insisted she stop going to school because being his wife was a 24/7 kind of job and it didn’t look right for a woman who had married as well as she had to be taking classes to become a teacher.

She cast aside all thoughts of the past as they drove by the sign that indicated they’d entered the city limits of Bitterroot, Oklahoma. They had driven past the town on the highway when coming in from Oklahoma City, so this would be her first real glimpse of the town that would be a part of their lives until they left here.

Main Street consisted of three blocks of businesses. Nicolette sat up straighter in her seat as they crawled along behind Lucas’s pickup.

They passed the Bitterroot Café with its bright yellow awnings. The police station, a one-story brick building, was next door. She spied a shop that sold Western wear and knew that was probably where they’d find the hat for Sammy.

There were the usual businesses you would expect to find in any town, a post office, a bank and a hardware store. There was a grocery store, a feed store and even a little boutique and a tearoom that looked interesting.

Gus’s Gas Station was at the end of the business district, a small two-pump station with signs advertising the rental of everything from cars to wedding champagne fountains.

Lucas pulled up in front of the building and Cassie parked next to him. Sammy jumped down from the passenger seat as Lucas leaned out the window.

“You want me to wait for you to get the car checked in and then take you to the café?” he asked.

“No, thanks. We’ll just walk back,” Cassie replied. “If you need to head back to the ranch, then I can call Adam to come and get us later.”

“Actually, I’ve got some shopping to do myself. Cookie gave me a huge list of supplies he needs and so I’ll probably still be in town when you all finish up. I’ll park in front of the post office and we can meet up there later.”

He backed away and Sammy, Cassie and Nicolette headed into Gus’s business to return the rental. Gus was a character, with wiry white hair growing everywhere but on the bald dome of his head. Hairs sprouted out of his ears, his eyebrows were forests and a pure white mustache covered his upper lip and drooped down on the sides to his chin.

He flirted with both women, teased Sammy and took care of the business efficiently. Within minutes they were leisurely walking toward the center of town.

“I suppose the first thing we should do is get this little cowboy a hat,” Nicolette said, and was rewarded by the huge smile from her son.