Her Forever Cowboy Page 7

  He grinned at her as she began cleaning the punctures.

  “Do you often have to deal with that sort of craziness?”

  She shook her head. “Betty usually foresees disaster before it happens. She orchestrates the waiting room and exam perfectly. But today…” She frowned. “Her timing was off.”

  Maybe not, Cole thought, watching her work. He would have missed the feel of her touch otherwise as she gently put antiseptic on the wounds. As crazy as it sounded, the sting of alcohol had never been more welcome. Her blond hair was in its usual ponytail, falling over her shoulder as she worked. She lifted serious eyes to his.

  “This may get infected.”

  “I work disasters, Doc. It’ll be fine. I’ve been attacked by scared animals before.”

  “Really?” Her eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  He shrugged. “You name it, I’ve most likely tangled with it.”

  She started to wrap a bandage around the worst wound. “Did you get some sleep last night?” he asked.

  She stepped away from him. “Yes, I did. That’s two nights in a row. It was wonderful. I may not be so lucky tonight.”

  “Let’s hope the emergency night calls hold off until I get your clinic done. Speaking of which. I stopped by to tell you that I’ve picked up enough Sheetrock and supplies to get started tonight. By the time I get back to Mule Hollow this afternoon the demolition should be complete.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Hey, don’t look so startled. I told you I knew what I was doing.”

  “Yes, I know. I guess I wasn’t expecting you to jump in the very next morning.”

  “Why not?”

  “Where did you find the help so quickly?”

  He liked surprising her. The thought hit him that he liked seeing the light it brought to her eyes. And the touch of a flush it put in her cheeks. “You see,” he drawled, “that’s where it comes in handy to have hired hands already working at the ranch. Cowboys are some of the best jacks-of-all-trades you can find.”

  She crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the counter. “Yes, they are. But still I didn’t expect anyone to have the time.”

  “Seth helped out on that end by making the time for them. He’s managing for a few days.” He didn’t need to tell her that it was a tough time to be loaning out help. Susan knew the business. “The whole town wants their favorite doctor safe.”

  He half expected her to bridle at the mere insinuation that she might not be safe. She didn’t, though—must have been because he was injured.

  “I’m ready to be there, too. You look like that shocks you.”

  “I’m just startled that you didn’t jump on me for suggesting that you couldn’t handle the drive and the work.”

  She smiled, her lips turning up just enough that she looked apologetic. “Speaking of work. I hate this happened to you, but I need to get to my appointments before they pile up so far back we have all kinds of cat and dog fights in the waiting room. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m good as new, Doc.” He hopped from the exam table and rolled his tattered sleeve down. “It’s out there that worries me.” He yanked his head toward the door and grinned. “Who knows what waits on the other side of that door.”

  “Oh, I promise I’ll get you out of here without any more damage to your body. You just stick with me,” she teased, moving to go out ahead of him.

  “I’m feeling good about my chances with you in the lead. Hey, I almost forgot. I came by to ask about some wall placements.” She leaned against the door and listened as he quickly explained a couple of minor changes to what they’d talked about the day before. Hearing she liked his idea, he felt satisfaction knowing she appreciated an improvement and recognized it as such.

  She made the move to open the door. He touched her arm, drawing her attention. “When do you think you’ll get to come out?”

  “Um.” Her brows crinkled. “It will be tonight after work if I can catch up—which I will, if the rest of the day goes without mishap.”

  “Then, I’ll be there. If for some reason I miss you, you know, like if Seth needs me at the ranch or something like that, then call this number and I’ll meet you there.” He tugged his billfold from his back pocket and withdrew a business card. “Hopefully, we will both have uneventful afternoons.”

  She opened the door and he walked out into the reception room, which was in perfect order. The pint-size woman hurried from around the counter.

  “Thanks again for saving the day. Dad-blame horse of a dog had a bee in its bonnet after Susan stuck that needle in him. I’m Betty, by the way.”

  Cole took the hand she offered him and shook. “Glad to meet you, Betty. I’m Cole Turner.” No sooner was his name out of his mouth than Betty’s mouth clamped tight and her eyes beaded.

  She shot Susan a weird little look that he was certain had some kind of hidden message in it.

  He lifted a brow and hitched a half grin. “Is something wrong?”

  “Oh, yeah, Buster Brown. You planning to hit the road again after you get that building done?”

  “Betty!”

  Cole not only heard the warning in Susan’s tone, but saw it in her eyes. What was going on here? It was clear that Betty was none too pleased with him. “Most likely. Is something wrong here?”

  “No. Everything is just fine.” Susan glared at her receptionist.

  “It is not,” Betty huffed.

  Cole chuckled. Tiny Betty was like a miniature hen protecting her chick. What was up with her? Did she think he was here to play around—

  “Someone needs to put all the cards out on the table. He needs to know I won’t tolerate him—”

  “Betty, please. Clients,” Susan said under her breath as she took Betty by the shoulders and hustled her toward one of the exam rooms. “I need you to go and check on Tabby and make sure that he’s calmed down after that scare he had.”

  “He is—but—”

  “Go, Betty. I mean it.” Susan opened the door and practically pushed Betty through the opening. Before she disappeared, Betty got in another glare at him that said this conversation would be continued.

  Susan swung around and leaned against the closed door. “Sorry. Betty tends to get riled up easy.”

  “You don’t say? What was she—”

  Susan blushed…a full rose-pink. Not the pink cheeks like he’d seen before but an all-out hairline-to-neckline color change. And then he got it. “Ohhhh, she thinks—”

  “I really have to get back to work.” Susan glanced self-consciously about the packed waiting room and the women who’d all seemed to lean forward in their seats. Cole laughed, knowing that Susan was trying to stomp out a fire that was already well out of control.

  She was definitely the talk of the town—or towns, since this was Ranger and there was no doubt in his mind that the same speculation was happening in Mule Hollow.

  He grinned at her and she did not take it well. Oh, no, she snapped a hand to his good arm, yanked open the front door and shoved him outside.

  “I’ll see you tonight,” she hissed, then pulled the door closed in his face.

  Cole couldn’t help laughing. Small-town life…he chuckled halfway home thinking about the look of horror on Susan’s face. There was one thing for certain and that was Susan wasn’t lovin’ life in a small town right now.

  Chapter Nine

  “Wow!” Susan exclaimed when she walked through the front door around seven that evening.

  Cole pulled the trigger of the nail gun, shooting the last nail into place on the wall he’d just studded in. “It looks different, doesn’t it?” He studied her, having wondered how she would act when she arrived. She had composed herself, it seemed, since there was no pink in sight. He missed it instantly.

  “Are you kidding me? This is unbelievable. You’re practically ready to install Sheetrock.” She was clearly amazed. “How fast do you work?”

  He glanced at the progress, un
impressed. “It’s not that big a deal. Do you know how easy it is to tear stuff out when two men have sledgehammers and Sawzalls? By the time I got back to town the fellas had things cleared out and the place swept. All I had to do was start cutting and nailing. Piece of cake.”

  “To you maybe. I wouldn’t have known the first place to start.”

  “And I’m quite sure that your animal clients would rather you know how to set a bone rather than how to set concrete or use a reciprocating saw. Sampson would have eatin’ all of us if I’d been the one who gave him a shot.” He held up the nail gun, pretending it was a needle.

  Susan laughed. “You’re right. Please don’t remind me. How are your wounds?”

  He shrugged. “I’ll live.” He started to ask how Betty was but decided she wouldn’t find the subject funny. He’d been thinking about that blush that had overcome her after what Betty had insinuated. An antimatch-maker…Smart woman that Betty.

  Still, he’d been thinking about Susan off and on all afternoon. That blush showed the softer side of the doctor. He wondered if she showed that side of herself to anyone—freely. Today it had been forced.

  “You want to help?” he asked, deciding to steer away from what he knew she was embarrassed about. After all, she’d slammed the door on him. He hid his grin. “I mean, you don’t need to. I have it under control. But anytime you want to learn a little about the construction business you just let me know. I’m your man.” He was teasing her, but she bristled.

  “I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” she said primly. “I have plenty on my plate.” No way was she helping him.

  “Susan, relax. I was just teasing. I wasn’t really expecting you to learn construction.”

  “Right. I knew that. I—Well, it’s been a frantic day and I’m still a little keyed up,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “I actually do know how to use a hammer. My dad made sure of that.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing,” he mused, enjoying watching her. The fact that they were alone in a big room that suddenly seemed to shrink about them had his attention.

  She looked away and it hit him that they’d been staring at each other for a lengthy moment. He plopped his boot to the concrete—back to work. “Let me show you what will be happening tomorrow.” He grabbed the plans and rolled them out on the plywood board set across two sawhorses. “You can change anything you don’t like now, but if you want the job finished quickly, I’d hold off on changing things as I’m working.”

  She moved to stand beside him and studied the pages. He couldn’t help taking a deep breath—she’d obviously showered before she’d driven to town and she smelled of soap; it was as appealing as the clean crisp air of a new spring morning. Nothing floral or too sweet for Susan; this scent fit her. He forced his attention to the plans, wishing she’d smelled of dogs, horses and antiseptic…only problem was he didn’t think even that would have taken away from the way she had his attention.

  “These are the walls we talked about and the changes we discussed this morning.” Whipping the pencil from behind his ear, he pointed to the prints he’d drawn. “On these four walls I added a few more plugs for you. No one can ever have enough.”

  “You’re right about that.” She leaned forward and studied the page. Tucking her loose hair behind her ear exposed her profile more clearly. Again, there was nothing about Susan Worth that resembled old Doc Crampton—the crotchety old man who had been the veterinarian in this area for as long as Cole could remember. When he’d been a kid, Cole had thought Doc Crampton was a hundred years old. But Doc had only just retired a few years ago…. Nope, Susan didn’t look like the vets he was used to seeing. And he liked it—matter of fact, if he lived in Mule Hollow he’d be tempted to manufacture emergencies just so she would be at the ranch as much as possible.

  “It looks just like what I explained to you,” she said. Turning her head to face him, she caught him staring. “I like it.”

  He liked her. The knowledge hit him like a hundred-mile-an-hour wind gust. As if feeling the same blast, Susan inhaled sharply, gave him a tart nod and stepped away.

  There was chemistry here.

  Wide-open attraction…and he was enjoying it. He grinned at the idea. Not Susan, though. Oh, no, the good doctor’s eyes narrowed, making him want to grin bigger. He didn’t.

  “I think you have everything under control,” she said. “I’ll leave you to it, then, so you can get home at a decent hour.” She glanced at her watch as if to underscore her words.

  “That sounds good,” Cole said. Dropping his pencil on the plans, he removed his tool belt, still holding her gaze as she backed toward the door. “This is a pretty good time to call it a night.”

  “Oh. Okay,” she snapped, turned and strode quickly out the door.

  Ran was a better word for how fast she exited. He followed her, pausing to set the lock and pull the door shut behind him. “I thought I’d head to Sam’s for a bite to eat. Want to join me?”

  She stopped with her hand resting on her car door handle. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  “And why is that?” he asked. He’d expected her to turn him down but hadn’t expected it to be so disappointing. “You have to eat. I have to eat,” he pressed—crazy as it was, he did it anyway.

  Crazier still was her hesitation. “This is true…but I just think you and me together, dining in public, isn’t a good combination. This—” she waved her hand toward the clinic “—this is a business association. Nothing more.”

  He held his expression blank when he’d felt like hiking a brow at her tone. He got her message loud and clear. A message he found a little insulting, truth be told. “Sorry I stepped over that line. You have a nice evening, boss.”

  He stalked to his truck. Sure it was a business relationship. It wasn’t as if he was the one trying to do all this matchmaking. He wasn’t even interested that way. Sure there was chemistry there—big-time. But so what? He was doing this job and hitting the road. She and Betty didn’t need to be all up in arms thinking he believed in any of the town’s nonsense.

  He climbed into his truck. Susan hadn’t moved. She was glaring at him from the same spot she’d been standing in as he walked away. Oh, she was hot at him for walking away—he’d given her what she wanted and now she looked insulted. He tipped his cap to her, then turned the key and revved the engine like a sixteen-year-old.

  What a horrible day! Make that a horrible week. She watched Cole’s truck disappear down the road and wondered—as she’d been wondering ever since she hired him—about her sanity.

  Betty had been right on with her concern. Susan wasn’t sure how her receptionist had zeroed in on Susan’s attraction to Cole and the flaws inherent in that but she had…even before Susan had taken a bite of a doughnut that morning.

  Not that Susan needed to be told she’d be alone with an aching heart if she let herself act on her feelings.

  Feelings. They were something that needed to be controlled. Her daddy had taught her to work, achieve her goals and not let feelings get in the way of those goals. Especially feelings for men. She figured out as she’d gotten older that part of that stemmed from the fact that he wanted to spare her the pain of losing someone she loved…but she’d learned after his death that that pain couldn’t be avoided. Still, she’d hardly dated all the way through college. She’d worked so hard to make her daddy proud. He hadn’t been there to push her, but his memory had and continued to give her the spur she needed.

  She blinked against the emotion that welled up and threatened suddenly to overflow. She sniffed and brushed a tear off her cheek. She didn’t cry much. What good did it do? Certainly none to cry over Cole Turner.

  She swiped her fingers across her cheek, catching a lone tear as she stared at her new clinic. She should be happy. This was a great day. A turning point in her life. She’d been alone since her dad’s death. But this was going to change that. She just needed to stop thinking about Cole.

  And she
was thinking about him. Ever since hiring him she’d fretted that she’d made a major mistake. Today had confirmed that on all counts. There was a chemistry between them that she couldn’t deny when she’d tended the wounds Tabby had inflicted on him. Especially every time she touched his arm. Feelings. It was only feelings. Taking the advice of her dad—as always—she knew she couldn’t let her emotions lead her where Cole was concerned. She was looking for a forever cowboy. A cowboy who’d be there for her and help her in her business. Someone who would think she was worth loving and sticking around for…a man who would not only be there for her but also for their children.

  Nope. Susan was moving to Mule Hollow to find a cowboy she could love…not one who loved the road.

  Cole walked out onto the porch of the stagecoach house. The night air was cool and heavy with the scent of honeysuckle and he inhaled, hoping it would calm his restless spirit. Churning thoughts had finally driven him from bed and out into the night.

  He’d dressed in jeans and boots and decided to take advantage of the moonlit night, see if it helped him.

  He’d stopped having sleepless nights over Lori some time ago. Six years was a long time. He missed her and regretted every day of the life they’d not had the chance to have, but he’d stopped waking up over it during the second year. It had just happened, as if his subconscious had accepted that some things couldn’t be changed.

  God did make some dreams come true. Some people’s.

  In his job he got to help rebuild lost dreams.

  It was a satisfying endeavor.

  He’d come to enjoy it and it helped ease his discontentment. Tonight, he’d awakened with Susan on his mind and he had stirred that discontent inside of him ten-fold.

  He didn’t really know her. All he knew about her was that she was a hard worker, stubborn and well respected. She was also beautiful, but he’d been around many, many women since Lori and none of them had cracked the wall he’d built around himself.

  “You’re not looking for Susan to crack it, either,” he reminded himself.