Christmas On The Silver Horn Ranch

“I see.”

When she didn’t say more, he asked, “What’s wrong? You have something against military men?”

Haunting memories suddenly crowded their way into her thoughts, forcing her to swallow before she could utter a word. “No. I don’t have anything against the military. It’s just that Lawrence was a soldier. In the army. That’s how he died—in the Middle East. He was only twenty-five.”

Once again he lifted his head from the mattress to look at her. The keen search of his green eyes was so disturbing, she quickly dragged her attention back to his arm.

“Oh. That’s rough. I was deployed to Qatar for a while, but never any countries raging with conflict. So I never saw action. Some of my buddies did, though.”

She soaked a cotton pad with peroxide and carefully dabbed at the adhesive residue on his healthy skin. “What made you get out of the service? Tired of the restrictions?”

“No matter what sort of job we have, Ava, we all live with some sort of restrictions. But as for me getting out of the Marines, eight years was enough. I began to get an itch for something new. I started wondering about other possibilities and how I could challenge myself. And my family had been pressing me to come home for a long time. Especially my dad and grandfather. By the time I finished the final year of my stint, I was ready to see Nevada again.”

Ava was exchanging too much personal information with this man, she decided. Yes, there were plenty of patients who wanted to talk about their lives and their families. And she always listened, because talking was cathartic for a sick or injured person. But the more this man revealed about himself, the more she was drawn to him. And that was dangerous for her job and her peace of mind.

She reached for a tube of medicated cream and carefully began to spread it over the raw flesh. “Do your other brothers also live here on the Silver Horn? I know that Rafe and Lilly live here in the ranch house and Clancy and his wife have a home on the property.”

“Finn got married a few months ago and lives in Northern California now. He and his wife raise horses. And Evan married a woman with a ranch several miles southeast of Carson City. My sister, Sassy, is a ranch woman, too. She and her husband, Jett, have their own ranch northeast of Carson City. Although this past month she’s had to slow down much of her ranch work. She gave birth to a baby son about three weeks ago. Little Mason has an older brother and sister, so she has her hands full.”

“Your sister must be quite a woman if she helps run a ranch and takes care of three small children, too,” Ava said thoughtfully.

“Even with two good feet, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Sassy.”

“So all the Calhouns are involved with ranching in some form or fashion. Why aren’t you?”

He didn’t answer immediately, then finally he said, “Never thought I was that much of a cowboy, I guess.”

Ava figured there was much more to his reasoning than that, but she was hardly going to press the issue. She’d already asked him far too much about himself. The last thing she needed was for him to think she was interested in him as a man. Because she wasn’t. She cared about his health, but nothing more. She wasn’t sure she could ever really care about another man. Not after losing Lawrence.

She removed a second bandage from his arm and carefully medicated the area before covering the two wounds with clean dressings. He remained quiet until she started to work on his shoulder blade.

“Your hands are very gentle. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“I don’t remember.”

“You’re not on a witness stand,” he reasoned. “You can answer truthfully without incriminating yourself.”

That teasing lilt was back in his voice and Ava decided he must be Irish to the core. “You’re not supposed to be asking me such things. And I’m not supposed to be answering.”

He chuckled. “Who’s going to know what we talk about? I promise my room isn’t bugged with a microphone or recorder.”

“Look, I don’t date—if that’s what you’re getting at. And frankly, I don’t know why any of that would interest you.”

“Why wouldn’t it interest me?”

Pausing, she studied the back of his head. He had the most beautiful hair. Thick and wavy, the tawny color gleamed like a polished penny. “I’m sure you have a busy life. With plenty of girls to keep you occupied. I’m boring stuff.”

“Hmm. You don’t look boring to me.”

Each time she thought she could shut him up, he came back with something she wasn’t expecting. Perhaps if she remained quiet, he’d do the same. But she seriously doubted that would work. He seemed to be enjoying himself too much.

“Are you one of those guys who are attracted to older women?”

“Never thought about it before. You’re the first. I mean, the first older woman I’ve found attractive.”

Dear heaven, she was thirty-five. That was hardly ancient. But compared to him she felt like it. He was still very young, with so much in his life to look forward to.

You have plenty to look forward to, also, Ava. You just don’t want to see it. You’d rather stare into the past and wonder how things would’ve been if Lawrence had lived.

There it was again. That little spark in her that refused to surrender to reality. If she ever let herself be swayed by it, she’d be in big trouble, Ava thought.

“Thank you for the compliment,” she told him. “If that’s what it was meant to be. But my life consists of working, eating and sleeping.”

“No playing mixed in with all that?”

She kept her gaze fixed firmly on the tortured flesh of his shoulder. Apparently this part of his body had taken the major brunt of the flaming tree. Evidence of contusions spread away from the burned area. The yellow and purple shades told Ava he was healing, but she couldn’t help thinking how fortunate he was to be alive. He’d said he was thankful he’d been rescued, yet she wondered if he was actually aware of the extreme danger his life had been in.

“I’m not the playful type,” she answered.

Before she could guess his intention, he lifted his head and rolled onto his good shoulder so that he was looking straight at her. “Then we need to do something about that.”

There was no mistaking the wicked little grin on his face, and she promptly placed a hand at the back of his head and pushed him back down to the mattress.

“You’re in no condition to be doing anything,” she said flatly. “Except following doctor’s orders.”

His chuckle was muffled by the bedcover and for some reason the sound made her wonder what it would be like to be between the sheets with this man and have nothing between them but hot skin. How would it feel to surrender to all that masculine strength and passion?

The fact that she was even imagining such things was enough to jangle her senses. Lawrence was the only man she’d ever made love to, and since she’d lost him Ava had balked at the notion of another man touching her in an intimate way. So why was this man breaking into her safe little world? Why was he making her breath catch and her heart pound? It was crazy and scary and she had to put a quick end to it.

“I won’t be in this condition too much longer,” he reminded her.

His taunting voice broke into her runaway thoughts, and she resisted the urge to rip a piece of adhesive tape from his healthy skin. “That’s right. And once you’re healed, you won’t ever see me again.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that.”

The teasing tone of his voice had changed to a husky promise, and Ava inwardly shivered. There were all kinds of retorts and reprimands she could shoot back at him. But it was becoming clear that if she jumped into a verbal sparring match with Bowie Calhoun, she’d wind up the loser.

With her lips pressed to a determined line, she silently redressed the remainder of his wounds, then turned back to the nightstand to gather her things.

“Are you finished?” he asked.

In more ways than one, Ava thought grimly. “Yes. You may sit up and put your shirt on.”

“Aren’t you going to help me with it?”

She wanted to bark a loud, clear no. But his arm and shoulder had to hurt. To punish him because of her body’s crazy responses was hardly professional. And that was the sole reason she was here at this sprawling ranch—to be this man’s nurse.

Sighing, she reached for the gray shirt lying at the foot of the bed and carefully eased it over his left arm and shoulder and then the right. When she finally pulled the fronts together in the middle of his chest, he lifted his head and Ava found herself looking straight into his eyes. The connection caused her heart to take a wild leap.

“I’m sorry if I made you angry,” he said gently.

She dropped her gaze from his and focused on buttoning the shirt back together. “I’m not angry.”

“Good. Because I like you, Ava Archer.”

Heat suddenly rushed to her face, and in an effort to hide it, she turned and grabbed her tote.

“Don’t worry about it, Bowie. It’s just a nurse thing. You’ll get over it.”

He chuckled again. “I wouldn’t bet on that, either.”

Not daring to glance his way, she walked to the door. “Remember to keep your ankle elevated as much as possible. And make sure you don’t get your bandages wet.”

“I already know all that stuff. Tell me something I don’t know.”

She glanced over her shoulder at his fresh, rugged face and realized she felt more alive than she had in years.

A faint smile tugged at her lips even though she was trying to stop it. “I like you, too, Bowie Calhoun.”

“Will I see you tomorrow?”

“You’ll see me every day until my job here is finished.”

A corner of his mouth lifted in a sexy grin. “Then I’ll have to make sure your job lasts a long, long time.”

And she was going to have to make sure to keep this man at a safe distance, she thought as she quickly stepped through the door and shut it firmly behind her. Otherwise, she was going to forget she was a nurse and remember she was a woman.

Chapter Two

Later that morning, Bowie hobbled his way down the stairs and into the family room at the back of the house. He was surprised to find his sister-in-law Lilly and Tessa, the Calhouns’ young house servant, decorating a huge Douglas fir. Colleen, his two-year-old niece, and her eleven-month-old brother, Austin, were both underfoot as they tried to get in on the fun.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Bowie asked as he approached the group. “It looks like someone is getting ready for Santa Claus.”

The cheerful boom of his voice had both children forgetting about the tree and racing over to greet their uncle. Colleen immediately grabbed his leg and hung on, while Austin held his arms up and begged for Bowie to hold him.

Lilly called to her young daughter. “Colleen! Don’t grab Uncle Bowie like that! You’re going to knock him over!”

Bowie laughed as he looked down at the two young children. Colleen was the blond-haired, blue-eyed image of her mother, while little Austin favored the Calhouns with his strawberry-colored curls and green eyes. It still amazed Bowie that Rafe had been the first one of his brothers to have children. Rafe had always been such a playboy. But falling in love with Lilly had definitely changed his rowdy ways. Now his brother was more than content to spend his free time with his wife and babies. Bowie adored women, and he liked children, too, but he couldn’t imagine making them the center of his life.

“If little Colleen can knock me over, then I’m ready for the nursing home.” Using his good arm, he scooped up Austin and gathered the boy to the right side of his chest. The effort caused him a bit of discomfort, but he hid it carefully. Showing any sign of weakness wasn’t his style. Which made his injuries that much harder to bear.

He said, “Come on, kids, let’s go have a look at this Christmas tree.”

Lilly shook her head at Bowie. “You shouldn’t be carrying Austin. In fact, you shouldn’t have come down the stairs without me or Tessa helping you,” she scolded. “Why didn’t you call for one of us? And you’re only using one crutch!”

“I was careful. And two crutches are cumbersome. One works better,” he told her. “So what’s with the tree? Isn’t it early to be decorating for Christmas?”

She shot him a playful frown. “This isn’t a marine barracks, Bowie. And it’s the second of December. It’s time to start decorating. Haven’t you looked outside? Dad has some of the hands putting up the lights on the house and in the yard.”

This would be Bowie’s first Christmas since his return home from the Marines. During the years of his military service, he’d managed to get furlough and spend a few holidays here at the ranch, but that wasn’t the same as living here. He’d almost forgotten all the hoopla that took place on the ranch prior to Christmas. The kitchen was always full of rich food and every room was decorated in some form or fashion. Even the barns were strung with lights and the horse stalls adorned with wreaths and bows.

“I haven’t noticed,” Bowie told her. “The nurse was here to change my bandages. I’m still trying to recover from her visit.”

Surprised by his news, Lilly said, “Oh, I wasn’t aware Ava was starting the job today. I would’ve come up and said hi to her. Uh, why are you still trying to recover? Was it that painful?”

“It wasn’t painful at all. I was only teasing.” But Ava’s visit had been eye-opening, Bowie could have told his sister-in-law. He still couldn’t shake her image from his mind, much less the sound of her voice or the tender touch of her hands. He’d been around plenty of women in his life, but none of them came close to affecting him the way she had. “She got me all fixed up. No problem.”

“Great. When Dad said Chet was sending Ava out to nurse you, I knew she’d be perfect.”

“She told me you two are friends,” Bowie commented.

Lilly nodded. “We’ve been friends and coworkers for several years. Although now that I work at the clinic, I don’t get to see her very often.”

There were lots of things Bowie would have liked to ask Lilly about her friend, but he wasn’t going to. He didn’t much care for snooping into a person’s private life. He preferred to ask the person face-to-face. And he’d already found out much more about the nurse during her short visit than he’d expected to. The fact that she was a widow, and had remained single for all these years, was still nagging at him.

“Well, well, little brother has come down to join the land of the living.”

Rafe’s voice had Bowie glancing over his shoulder to see his older brother walking into the room. He was dressed in batwing chaps and a sheepskin-lined coat. A soiled felt Stetson was pulled low on his forehead, while spurs jangled on his boot heels. Rafe wasn’t just the image of a cowboy, Bowie thought, he was a cowboy inside and out. As foreman of the Silver Horn, his brother had the enormous job of keeping a crew of men working and a few thousand head of cattle healthy and producing.

“I’m already pretty damned bored with that bedroom,” Bowie told him.

“The last time I looked, you had a TV, a stack of movies, books, a stereo and a laptop in your room. That isn’t enough toys to keep you occupied?” Rafe teased.

“You’re making me sound spoiled, when all I want is a little human company. By the way, what are you doing in the house at this hour?”

“Greta promised to make cookies for the fence crew. They’re working out on Antelope Range, replacing barbed wire on some of the cross fencing. And since it’s starting to snow, I thought I’d drive out and give the boys an early treat of hot coffee and cookies. Want to come along?”

“To Antelope Range? If I remember right, that’s several miles out there,” Bowie said.

Rafe chuckled. “Well, if you need to stay where you’ll be warm and cozy, then go ahead.”

“Rafe!” Lilly protested. “Bowie hasn’t been out of the hospital even two days yet. He needs to recuperate before you start dragging him all over creation.”

Just hearing Rafe accuse him of being soft was enough to make Bowie set little Austin on the floor and turn toward his brother. “I haven’t lost anything out on Antelope Range, but I’ll go with you. Otherwise, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Bowie, as a nurse I’m advising you not to leave the house,” Lilly insisted.

Rafe cast his wife a subtle look. One that Bowie didn’t understand, but Lilly seemed to catch instantly.

“Don’t worry, honey,” Rafe said. “I won’t let him out of the truck. He’s only going along for the ride.”

Lilly gave her husband a dismissive wave before she turned her attention back to the tree decorations. “I don’t like the idea at all. But I can’t fight two men at once. And maybe a bit of fresh air will do him good,” she reluctantly added.

“Tessa, would you go upstairs and get one of Bowie’s old coats and a hat?” Rafe asked the maid. “We’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

“I’ll be right down with them, Rafe,” she replied.

Tessa left to fetch the garments, and Rafe and Bowie started out of the room. As they made their way down a hallway, Rafe slowed his stride to match Bowie’s hindered pace.

“Look, Rafe, I know you’re trying to give me a break, and I appreciate it,” Bowie said. “But there’s no need for you to waste time on me. When cabin fever starts driving me crazy, I’ll go outside and walk around.”

“Shut up. This isn’t a pity invitation. And if I know you, cabin fever is already driving you crazy. On the way out to Antelope Range, you’re going to help me check over a herd of heifers. I want to see if you still have the eye.”

“What sort of eye?” Bowie asked as they neared the kitchen.

Rafe chuckled. “A rancher’s eye. What else?”

Yeah, what else? Bowie thought glumly. But he’d never been a rancher. Not like his brothers. Oh, he knew the workings of a cow and he could ride a horse, but he’d never had the natural instinct that Rafe or Finn had, or his two oldest brothers, Clancy and Evan. Yet that hadn’t stopped the members of his family from trying to draw him into the business. On one hand, the idea that they wanted him living and working close to them was endearing. But there was another part of Bowie that none of his brothers or dad or grandfather understood—he needed to be free of constraints. Even those that involved his family. He wanted to do his own thing. Be his own man. Not follow in his family’s footsteps.

“Like I said, you’re wasting your time,” Bowie replied.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

In the kitchen Greta, a plump woman in her early sixties, packed the bagged cookies and a large thermos of coffee into a cardboard box and handed it all to Rafe.

“That should keep everything from rolling around on the floorboard of the truck,” the cook told him. She cast a skeptical glance at Bowie. “You taking this whippersnapper with you?”

“I thought I could put up with him for a little while,” Rafe told Greta.

“Well, don’t shake up little Bowie too much. He’s in a weakened condition.”

Little Bowie. He was six feet tall and weighed a solid one hundred and ninety pounds. He could hardly be described as little. But Greta had been cooking for the family since before Bowie was born. To her, he would always be the last son born to Orin and Claudia.

Bowie let out a good-natured groan. “For pity’s sake, I’m not a helpless invalid!”

Rafe grinned at his brother. “Don’t worry about him, Greta. I hear he’s going to have a pretty nurse to keep him healthy.”

Greta rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and remember what happened to you the last time a pretty nurse came to the house?”

Laughing, Rafe said, “Sure I remember. She got Grandfather back on his feet and acting like a young man again.”

“Ha! She also turned you into a husband and a daddy!”

“What can I say?” Rafe said happily. “I know a good thing when I see it.”

Tessa chose that moment to enter the kitchen carrying a green plaid ranch coat and a brown felt cowboy hat.

After propping his crutch against a cabinet, Bowie balanced his weight on his good foot and allowed the young woman to help him pull on the coat.

“It’s hell to be helpless,” Bowie muttered as he jammed the hat onto his head.

“It’s a lot better than being under that burning tree,” Tessa said pointedly.

Because Tessa was normally as quiet as a church mouse, both Rafe and Greta burst out laughing.

“Guess she told you,” Rafe teased.

“Amen, Tessa,” Greta told the maid. “The scamp needs to be reminded how lucky he is.”

Bowie started toward the door. “Let’s get out of here. I’ve had all the women I can take for one morning.”

Thankfully, Rafe had parked his truck not far from the back door of the kitchen, and Bowie crossed the distance without too much effort.

Once the two men were buckled inside the warm cab and headed in a westerly direction through the ranch yard, Rafe said, “You know, Tessa is pretty fond of you. I hope you’ll watch what you say to her. She’s got a pretty soft heart.”

Bowie shot a look of disbelief at his brother. “Excuse me, but aren’t you the same guy who went for years never worrying about breaking a girl’s heart?”

Rafe frowned. “I’ve mended my ways since then.”

“Well, Tessa is like a little sister to me. What is she now? Twenty, maybe?”

“She just turned twenty-one.”

And she was wasting her young life here on this ranch, Bowie thought. She needed to be in the city with other young people, doing fun and exciting things. But he kept his opinion to himself. Rafe wouldn’t understand. He believed there was no place on earth like the Silver Horn. He didn’t understand Bowie’s need to experience a broader life.

He looked out the passenger window and released a long breath. “Don’t worry. I’ll be kind to Tessa.”

The truck rolled by the big main horse barn and Bowie instantly thought of Finn. Their brother lived in Northern California now with his wife, Mariah, and son, Harry. In a few months, their second child was due to arrive.

“I miss Finn,” Bowie said. “When I look at the horse barn, I still expect him to be there, taking care of the horses. The ranch isn’t the same without him around.”

“No. But Dad and Colley are doing a good job keeping everything going smoothly with the horses. And let’s face it, Finn is finally doing what he’s always wanted to do, working with mustangs. I’m happy for him.” He glanced over at Bowie. “Now that I think of it, while you’re off work recuperating, you ought to go up and spend some time with him and Mariah. They’d be happy to have you.”

The idea was appealing. At least then he wouldn’t have to listen to his dad or grandfather telling him he needed to strap on his chaps and spurs and get back to being a cowboy. Not that he’d ever been one, Bowie thought dourly. His being a ranch hand was their delusion, not his.

“Can’t leave now. I have to have these blasted bandages changed every day for the next few weeks. Maybe longer.”

“Oh. Forgot about that. Lilly said the nurse Dad hired is a friend of hers. Have you met her yet?”

Met her? That was hardly the way he would describe the exchange he’d had with the beautiful Ava Archer, Bowie thought.

“She’s already been here this morning and left,” Bowie said as he stared out the passenger window.

“And?”

Rafe’s persistence put a frown on Bowie’s face. “She treated my burns and applied clean bandages. That’s all there was to it.”

Rafe was silent for a moment, and then he burst out laughing.

Bowie cut a sharp glance at him. “You find something funny about that? Maybe you’d like to change places with me?”

His voice still full of humor, Rafe said, “I don’t think Lilly would like that too much. In fact, I think she’d put on her nurse’s cap and take care of me herself.”

When the family learned Bowie was being released from the hospital and would need home care, Lilly had immediately volunteered for the job. Bowie had thanked her for the offer, but he’d not wanted to put his sister-in-law in the awkward situation of seeing him half-naked every day. So Ava had been hired instead. Lovely Ava, who’d lost her husband so long ago.