The Heart of a Cowboy

“So what brings you to town?”

She searched for a truth that wasn’t the entire truth. “I used to live here when I was a kid.”

Before he could respond, the bartender stopped in front of her dinner partner.

“Hey, Garrett. What can I get you to drink?”

Natalie choked on the fry she was in the process of swallowing. She sensed the men staring at her, probably wondering if she needed the Heimlich performed, as she reached for her glass. When she got the cough under control, she took a long drink.

“You okay?” Garrett asked.

Garrett. What were the chances that she’d run into another Garrett who was the right age in a town the size of Blue Falls?

When she noticed him looking at her with concern in those dark eyes, she realized she hadn’t responded. “Yeah. Just went down the wrong way.”

Natalie’s stomach started to turn again, changing the fries from a treat to a disaster waiting to happen. She’d settled into the idea that she wouldn’t have to face the Brodys until the next day, and now here she was sitting next to Chloe’s older brother. Everything she’d planned to say, the words she’d practiced as the miles ticked by from Wichita, were nothing but a jumbled mess in her head.

Chapter Three

“You sure you’re okay?” He sounded so genuinely concerned, and she had to fight the knee-jerk reaction that she didn’t deserve it.

She nodded then fiddled with one of the fries but didn’t bring it to her mouth. At the moment, she couldn’t imagine ever wanting to eat again.

“So, you used to live here, huh?”

Instead of answering, she spun halfway to face him. “Are you Garrett Brody?”

His eyes widened briefly before he tilted his head to the side as if trying to place her. “Do I know you?”

She swallowed and did her best to ignore the queasiness invading her middle. “Natalie Todd. I used to be friends with Chloe when we were kids.”

Garrett tipped his hat back and looked at her closely. His scrutiny made her even more aware of just how good-looking he’d grown up to be, as if carved by a modern-day Michelangelo of cowboys. Not that it surprised her. He’d been cute even as a boy, so much so that he’d been her first crush. Leaving him behind in Blue Falls had broken her heart almost as much as realizing she might never see her best friend again.

“I remember you. The two of you used to be thick as thieves. I also remember Chloe wailing as if the world was ending when you moved away.”

Guilt, even though it wasn’t her fault, roiled inside her, dancing a tango with her anxiety. “Yeah, it was hard.”

Natalie glanced at some of the surrounding patrons, not wanting to go into any more detail in the middle of a room crowded with people who didn’t need to hear them. “Are Chloe and Owen here?”

She shifted her attention back to Garrett in time to see him shake his head.

“I just came from Owen’s wedding, so he and his new wife are headed to Austin for the night and then the airport in the morning for their honeymoon. Chloe got married recently, too, so all four of them are jetting off to the Caribbean.”

God, could fulfilling her father’s dying request get any harder? Part of her wanted to just blurt it out to Garrett then race as fast as her truck would take her back to Kansas. But that was the coward’s way out, and she wouldn’t walk the same road her father had.

While she mentally cursed the entire situation, she grabbed her glass with a hand that was a little too shaky. But Garrett either didn’t notice or chose not to comment. She knew she should make her exit and go back to the motel to regroup, but her brain refused to send the appropriate signals to her body to make it move. If she stuck to the plan of telling all of the Brodys at once, she either had to go back home and come back at a later date or stick around until the honeymooners returned. Both options held about as much appeal as lying down on a fire-ant hill covered in honey.

If she went home, she wondered if she’d find the nerve to come back to Blue Falls a second time. But if she stayed, what the hell was she going to do with all the free time? What about her job? And was it fair to Owen and Chloe to hit them with this type of news during what was likely the happiest time of their lives? An ache started throbbing in her forehead between her eyes.

Garrett snatched another French fry, evidently oblivious to her inner turmoil. And she needed to keep it that way.

“They didn’t feed you at the wedding reception?”

“Yeah, but there’s always room for cheese fries. So, where you living now?”

“Wichita.”

“That where you moved when you left Blue Falls?”

Natalie resisted the building urge to flee. “Yeah. You still live at the ranch?”

“Yep, just me and Dad now. Chloe and her husband, Wyatt, have their own place on another part of the property. Owen’s living in town, above Linnea’s bridal store, but still works out at the ranch.”

So, Garrett seemed to be the only unmarried sibling, and she tried not to be happy about that. His marital status shouldn’t matter to her at all. It wasn’t as if she had a chance with him, even if hundreds of miles didn’t stand between where they lived their lives. Once she revealed why she’d come back to Blue Falls, he would never want to see her again. And she wouldn’t be able to blame him.

“What do you do in Wichita?”

“I’m a vet,” she said absently, still stuck on why she was sitting here in a town she hadn’t seen in two decades.

When Garrett picked up yet another fry, she slid the plate the rest of the way in front of him.

“Sorry. I’ll stop stealing your food.”

“It’s okay. I realized I’m too tired to eat.” Another glance at him and the resultant pull she felt toward him was enough to propel her to her feet. “I’ve had a really long day, so I’m going to call it a night.”

As she started to step away, his voice, that delicious voice that could so easily seduce, stopped her.

“How long are you in town? I know Chloe would love to see you and catch up.”

The lonely, fragile part of her wanted him to be asking for himself and not Chloe, but she knew her thoughts were irrational. If she managed to get a solid night’s sleep, she’d probably wake wondering what had possessed her brain tonight.

“Not sure. But I’ll get in touch with her when she returns.” She wasn’t positive that was true, but she had to put some distance between herself and Garrett before she cracked and spilled everything too soon, in the wrong place. Before he could say anything else, she pushed her way through the crowd toward the door.

By the time she reached the parking lot, she felt genuinely ill, the kind of ill that came from too little food, not enough rest and nerves frazzled almost to the breaking point. As if to match her mood, it started to rain as she drove back to the motel.

This time, she managed to exchange her clothes for her pajamas and slid underneath the covers. She lay on her side, wondering if she’d made the biggest mistake of her life when she’d promised her father that she would deliver his confession and apology. What could possibly be gained from telling the Brodys the truth? All it would do is hurt them by reopening old wounds.

You don’t know that.

She hated that voice of doubt in her head, the one that said that maybe the wound was already open, that it had never healed and wouldn’t until all their questions had answers, no matter how painful they might be. Plus, she knew herself well enough to realize that if she didn’t fulfill her promise to her father, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. Lying was one thing, but lying to a person about to take his last breath was something else entirely. She couldn’t let her promise be a lie.

* * *

THE NOISE AND activity around Garrett faded as his thoughts zeroed in on the unexpected meet-up with Natalie Todd. He continued to eat the cheese fries she’d left behind and sip on the beer he’d ordered. He had only a vague recollection of what she looked like when she’d been a kid, but she’d certainly grown up to be a beautiful woman. The moment he’d seen her profile as she sat on the bar stool, it’d been as if he’d known he had to sit next to her, talk to her. The totally irrational knowledge that he might have pushed anyone who got in his way out of his path made him pause with a fry halfway to his mouth.

What was going on? Had some sliver of what Chloe said at the reception wormed its way into his brain, putting him in some sort of primal wife-hunting mode? He shook his head and pushed away both the unfinished plate of fries and the three-quarters-full beer bottle.

“Done already?” James Turner, who was tending the bar, gave Garrett a questioning look that also managed to convey that he knew exactly what was going on.

“Yep. Long day.”

“Takes a lot of fuss to get two people hitched.”

“Amen to that.” Garrett pulled out his wallet and placed a five-dollar bill on the bar before standing. He chose to ignore the grin James wasn’t even attempting to hide. But as he made his way outside, he found himself wanting to smile, too.

Damn if he didn’t feel as he had when he’d been twelve and bumped into Lila Croft as she came out of the girls’ locker room after PE. His eyes had locked with hers for a moment before she walked away as if nothing had happened. But he’d fallen head over heels in love in the space of a heartbeat, a great and all-consuming love that had lasted until he’d asked her to a homecoming dance in seventh grade only to be shot down as if he were the ugliest, stinkiest boy on the planet. That had been the end of his foray into instant love.

Lila was married to the owner of a landscaping company in Austin now. He occasionally ran into her and her three kids when she came back to Blue Falls to see her parents, and each time it was as if he’d never harbored any feelings toward her other than a casual acquaintance.

He hurried out into the rain and had just made it to his truck when he heard the unholiest racket. He looked toward the street in time to see the limo filled with his siblings and their spouses rolling through town, all manner of cans tied to the bumper. He laughed and shook his head before hopping into his truck.

He was leaving the city limits before he realized that Natalie hadn’t answered his question about why she was in town. As far as he knew, she had no family left here. Thoughts of her accompanied him as he drove toward the ranch, eventually passing out of the rain onto a stretch of road with dry pavement. Her eyes were the kind of bright blue that would make you stare even though you knew it was rude. Her long blond hair had been pulled up into a cute ponytail, but he bet it was gorgeous down and flowing free. And her body...well, he hadn’t been the only man in the music hall salivating. It was a miracle she’d made it out of the place without a dozen of them attaching themselves to her like sticky weed.

A flash of lightning in the distance drew his attention a moment before rain started sprinkling on his windshield again. When he pulled into the ranch, he spotted his dad’s truck and did his best to put thoughts of Natalie Todd and her perfectly shaped body out of his mind. Last thing he wanted to do was walk into the house aroused.

Thinking of taking a dunk in an icy lake somewhere cold like Minnesota or the far northern reaches of Canada, he stepped out of the truck. The wind kicked up, whistling around the edge of the house like something with a tortured soul. Even Roscoe and Cletus, his family’s two basset hounds, were not in their usual spots on the front porch. He imagined they’d toddled off to their doghouse out back.

The thunder and lightning grew closer, but still it only sprinkled. He held on to his hat to keep it from sailing off into the night as he headed for the front steps. When he stepped inside the house, he froze for a moment, the short span of time it took for him to realize that his father was holding one of the family portraits from when Garrett’s mom was alive. In the next breath, his dad returned the photo to its spot on the mantel and turned toward him.

“Good night to fly a kite,” his dad said, acting as if he hadn’t just been having a sentimental moment.

Garrett took off his hat and hung it on the rack by the door. “Maybe if you want to pull a Ben Franklin and get fried.”

His dad chuckled and headed for the kitchen. “Glad we got everything squared away before Mother Nature decided to kick up her heels.”

As if to reply to that comment, a bright flash outside was quickly followed by a deafening boom of thunder that shook the house. Garrett and his dad both jumped.

“That was close,” his dad said.

“Too close.” Garrett strode to the window but saw nothing but the darkness beyond the dim glow of the security lamp on the barn.

His dad blew out a breath. “Well, I’m going to turn in. I’m so tired I think I might be able to sleep straight through this racket.”

Garrett nodded. After his dad disappeared down the hall, Garrett walked into the kitchen to check out back. A peek through the window didn’t show anything amiss, so he, too, headed for bed. Work never ended on a ranch, and that work started early.

He’d just started to unbutton his shirt, his thoughts floating right back to Natalie and the way her lips had moved when she’d smiled, when something made him look out his bedroom window. His heart thumped extra hard when he spotted flames on the roof of the barn.

Thankful he was still wearing his boots, he ran out into the hall. “Dad, call the fire department! The barn’s on fire!”

His dad stuck his head out of his bedroom door. “What?”

“Lightning hit the barn.”

He raced to the barn, hoping the sprinkles would vacate in favor of a downpour to put out the blaze. Already, the horses were agitated, whinnying and unable to stand still in their stalls. Another loud clap of thunder caused Bronson, his dad’s horse, to kick at his stall as his eyes went wide with fear.

Garrett hurried to get the horses out of the barn without causing injury to them or himself, not an easy task. He didn’t like taking them out into the storm, but it was better than a burning roof caving in on them if the fire department didn’t arrive in time to extinguish the flames.

By the time he got to the stall holding Penelope, Chloe’s horse was about to lose her mind with fear. The fire was centered right above the bay mare’s head, so he could understand. But as he tried to calm her, she was having none of it. As he started to ease the stall door open, Penelope kicked, busting a couple of the slats with her powerful hooves.

“Come on, girl, let’s get out of here.”

But the horse still didn’t cooperate, and Garrett was afraid the next thing she kicked would be him. He took a side step just in time as she panicked and busted out of the stall. The horse screamed as she broke free and raced out of the barn. Garrett fell back into the dirt, rolling to avoid being trampled.

The fire trucks coming up the driveway halted Penelope’s flight in that direction. She changed course, only to find herself cornered against the corral fence on one side, Garrett’s dad on another and finally Garrett as he stumbled out of the barn.

Penelope spun, panic driving her movements, her need to flee. Garrett’s heart nearly stopped when he saw a large sliver of wood protruding from the horse’s side. They had to calm her down and get the vet out here, while making sure the barn didn’t burn down and the other horses didn’t break from where he and his dad had tied them several yards down the fence line.

Out of the corner of his eye, Garrett saw the firefighters hopping out of the trucks and retrieving hoses and gear. But even if the barn burned down to a pile of ash, he had to keep his attention on Penelope. He hated to see an animal in pain, and he couldn’t let her injure herself further. He couldn’t stand the idea of his sister coming home from her belated honeymoon to find her horse severely injured or worse.

“Easy, girl,” he said, trying to sound soothing even though his heart was doing its best to beat out of his chest. He slowly moved closer to Penelope, continuing to talk to the frightened animal.

It took what felt like forever to get Penelope calmed down enough that Garrett figured she wouldn’t injure herself further. But if the thunder kept up or the fire grew any bigger, he wasn’t betting she wouldn’t break free again and run until she collapsed or bled to death.

His dad didn’t have to be told to go call Dr. Franklin. He just headed for the house once he saw Garrett had Penelope under control.

With another roll of thunder, the heavens finally turned on the spigot and rain started falling harder. It took less than a minute for Garrett’s clothes to be soaked through, but he didn’t move.

His dad stalked back across the yard. “Doc Franklin is out of town, so I put a call in to Dr. Smith over in Fredericksburg. But his answering service said he’s out on another call. We’re next up.”

The way Penelope was bleeding and breathing hard, they needed help sooner. He glanced back over his shoulder but didn’t see flames anymore. Thank God for that. He returned his attention to his dad.

“Watch her. I’ve got an idea.”

He raced into the house and grabbed the phone. Since he’d been at the Wildflower Inn earlier and didn’t think Natalie was staying there, he called the next best guess for where she was staying.

“Country Vista Inn,” a female voice answered.

“Natalie Todd’s room, please.”

When the person on the other end of the line didn’t come back with a “There’s no one staying here by that name,” instead connecting him with a room, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. But when the phone rang several times with no answer, he started pacing and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Come on, pick up.”

As if she heard him, Natalie’s sleepy voice said, “Hello?”

Despite all the potential catastrophes currently in play, for a moment he stood there imagining her in bed, that blond hair rumpled, her feminine curves clothed in something soft and barely there.

Good grief, he needed to get laid.

“Natalie, it’s Garrett Brody. Sorry to wake you, but I need your help.”

She didn’t immediately respond, and for a moment he wondered if she’d fallen back asleep.

“My help?”

“You’re a vet, and I have a badly injured horse.”

“Doesn’t Blue Falls have a vet?”

“Dr. Franklin is out of town, and the backup from Fredericksburg is already on another call. And Chloe’s horse has a big piece of wood piercing her side.”

He heard movement on the other end of the call and imagined her swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

“Please tell me you’re like Dr. Franklin and pack medical supplies with you wherever you go,” he said.

“I do,” Natalie said through a yawn. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Thank goodness for small miracles. He headed back outside to tell his dad the news, determined not to imagine Natalie arriving in her skimpy sleepwear and bed-tousled hair. Damn if he didn’t get a raging hard-on at that image. This time, he was thankful to be doused by the cold rain.

Chapter Four

Natalie exchanged her pajamas for jeans and a T-shirt. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was go back out to the Brody ranch again and still not be able to tell them why she was in town. Well, she could tell Garrett and his dad, but it just didn’t feel right to not tell Chloe. After all, they’d once been very close. To give the information to the first Brody she could find then race back to Kansas before Chloe even returned from her honeymoon felt like the ultimate in cowardice. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right, no matter how hard it proved to be.

But now, she had to focus on the task at hand. She might not want to be around the Brodys until she could talk to all of them at once, but she couldn’t leave an animal in danger.

The rain was still coming down as she raced out to her truck and drove as fast as she dared toward the Brodys’ ranch. Her stomach knotted, and she hoped the few fries she’d eaten stayed right where they were.

The drive seemed to take three times as long as it had earlier, even counting the stop she’d had to make on the side of the road during the first trip. The rain didn’t slacken until she neared the turn into the ranch, and then only slightly. She hit the brakes, skidding a little, when she came over a small hill and saw two fire trucks pulling out of the Brodys’ drive.

Her heart lurched. Fire trucks? She glanced across the darkened field and made out a lighted window through the slanting rain. At least something was still standing. And Garrett had said nothing about a fire when he’d called. She didn’t think something could have caught fire, the 911 call be made, fire trucks respond and the fire be extinguished in the half hour it had taken her to arrive.

When the trucks passed her, she pulled into the drive and hurried to reach the house. Her headlights caught someone leading two horses toward the barn. The man looked over his shoulder toward her, and though she couldn’t tell for certain, she got the feeling it was Garrett’s dad.

A huge lump formed in her throat and she had to blink back tears. Her father had cost Mr. Brody his wife, the mother of his children. How in the world was she going to face him and not have the horrible truth be obvious in her expression?

Now is not the time. Now you focus on work, a hurt animal, nothing else.

Not even the tall, sexy and currently drenched man she saw beyond the one leading the horses. Even soaking wet and with her vision impaired by the rain battling with her windshield wipers, she knew it was Garrett standing next to a big bay, his hand slowly rubbing down the horse’s neck.

She shook her head as she parked then grabbed the emergency medical kit she kept with her at all times. She never knew when she might come upon an animal in need, whether it was livestock, pet or wildlife. She cared for all of their welfare equally.

Not taking time to retrieve her rain gear, she hopped out of the truck and crossed to where Garrett stood next to the beautiful animal.

“I didn’t know whether to move her,” he said without preamble. He nodded toward the barn. “We had a fire, but it’s out now.”

She stepped close to the mare, shushing her when she tried to sidestep away. Running her hand along the same stretch of neck that Garrett had moments earlier, she said, “There’s a good girl.” She examined the injury as best she could in the dim light. “Bring her inside, but carefully. Try not to let her move any more than she has to.”

Natalie led the way inside the barn, which smelled like a combination of hay, rain and smoke. She glanced up to where the back part of the building’s roof now sported a hole that would make the last two stalls unusable until repairs were made. Of course, one of those stalls also had damage of its own that had nothing to do with the roof damage. She had no doubt that the injured horse had been the one to splinter the wood on the front of the stall.

She pointed toward the smallest stall near the front of the barn. “Put her in there.”

“Won’t give you much room to work.”

“Also won’t give her room to kick me into next week.”

Natalie stayed clear until Garrett managed to get the animal into the stall. He did his best to soothe the mare, but she still didn’t go into the stall willingly.

“Be careful,” he said when Natalie stepped into the stall. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

She eased her hand along the horse’s side, gradually moving toward the spot where the sizable sliver of wood was protruding. “Try to keep her as calm as you can. Keep talking to her, draw her attention that direction.”

Natalie went into a familiar autopilot mode, opening her bag of veterinary supplies and prepping everything she’d need. When she was ready to remove the mother of all splinters, she caught Garrett’s eye across the mare’s back. “Get ready. I’m going to pull out our offender.”