Falling for the Cowboy

It wasn’t as if Maggie didn’t already have her doubts about working for Doc Blake. For one thing, she didn’t exactly love the idea of working around all those high-pitched drills. Truth be told, a visit to the dentist had always put the fear of God in her, but she needed a job and Kitty needed some help, so giving in to her drill fear was not an option.

Hey, all of this was temporary, she reminded herself. Of that she was absolutely certain.

Her sister may have found her niche, her own personal Idaho nirvana, but Maggie belonged to the city, with concrete and skyscrapers—not mountains, as lovely as they were—surrounding her.

She picked up her coffee, then stopped near the glass-front door and took a sip of her double cappuccino. Heaven. She slipped the plastic lid off and breathed in the smooth aroma of real, honest-to-goodness espresso. It was truly an intoxicating experience and she stood next to the condiment stand in front of the windows for a minute to enjoy the moment. Having been deprived of actual coffee for the past few days due to her sister’s coffee restrictions, Maggie wanted nothing more than to wallow.

Before she walked to her car, and while Doc Blake was totally distracted by his phone call, Maggie glanced through the window at him to see what all the fuss was about. She hadn’t actually seen anything special about him during the interview, but then she’d been a bit nervous about meeting him and convincing him to hire her. Focusing on his charms hadn’t seemed worthwhile.

The first thing she now noticed, besides those deep dark eyes of his, and the blond hair that ambled down his neck covering his collar and that sexy mustache, were the well-worn cowboy boots under his frayed jeans, not to mention the chocolate-colored felt cowboy hat he wore low on his head.

He seemed to be in his mid-thirties, and she began to see why half the women in the town had a crush on him. He was all rugged country charisma under that old hat, with a smile that could easily send a naive girl’s heart soaring.

“He sure is something to look at, isn’t he?” An older woman sighed as she came up to Maggie clutching a white dish towel. She wore the same logo apron as the rest of the staff, and her name tag read Doris.

“Very handsome,” Maggie admitted while Doris wiped down the kiosk.

“Wish I was twenty years younger,” Doris cooed, staring out the window at Doc Blake.

But Maggie had had her fill of good-looking, charming men. They pulled out that sympathy card and women threw themselves at their feet. There was nothing like a wounded hero to get an otherwise sensible woman into his bed.

Not this time. And most definitely not in this small town.

Downtown Briggs consisted of exactly three blocks of attached brick buildings with glass storefronts. The majestic Teton mountain range was its backdrop. It could be quite a spectacular place, if it wasn’t for the corniness of some of the shops.

Maggie couldn’t imagine settling in a town that allowed a huge plaster potato to be perched on the roof of the Spud Bank directly across the street from Holey Rollers, or the monster plaster llama that stood watch in front of Deli Llama’s. But her favorite was the black-and-white life-sized cow standing in front of Moo’s Creamery, complete with pink udders. She wondered if the entire business community was caught up in some kind of silly name contest and these were the big winners. Part of her thought they were cute, while the city girl in her thought they should be outlawed.

“Look, Doc’s leaving,” Doris announced as if the sun had just dropped from the sky.

Maggie’s attention fell back on Doctor Granger. He was laughing now as he stood up, a tall, slim man with a muscular build. And when two elderly ladies pushed open the door to the doughnut shop, she could hear his great big baritone guffaw. She liked a man who could laugh like that. Most guys in the business community seemed to be too nervous to really laugh. To let it rip. She’d almost forgotten what that kind of male laughter sounded like. For some reason it made her feel happy and safe…or maybe it was the coffee. She couldn’t be sure.

All she really knew at the moment was that Doc Blake drank real coffee, ate real sugar and had a fabulous laugh. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad working for him and living in this colorful town while Kitty was on maternity leave. At least she could collect a paycheck until something more permanent came along.

This time, Maggie would sit back and watch all the other women swoon over her heartbroken boss.

Maggie thankfully wasn’t the least bit interested in a relationship. And according to Amanda, neither was the good doctor.

Chapter Two

“This is going to work out so perfectly that I feel calm already,” Kitty told Maggie. “I knew it would. I dropped off a thank-you basket of goodies at the ranch about an hour ago.”

Maggie could only imagine what that completely organic basket contained, something raw or dried or juiced no doubt.

They were standing in Kitty’s overly bright and cheerful kitchen, completely created with vintage linens, salvaged wood and reclaimed natural materials. Lovely as everything was, Maggie longed for the familiarity of laminated flooring and labels like Ikea, Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel.

“I wouldn’t say we hit it off. It was more that we can probably work together effectively.”

“He’s the easiest boss ever. You’re going to love working for him.” Kitty peeled the top off a pint-sized plain Greek-style yogurt, sat down at the table and dug in.

“How can you eat that stuff? Don’t you miss the fruit and sugar?”

“Refined sugar is the enemy. It’s responsible for a litany of bodily ailments, including heart disease.”

“Yeah, but it tastes sweet.”

“So does radiator coolant.”

Maggie looked at her, puzzled. “How do you know these things?”

“My sweet hubby’s parents own a hardware store over in Idaho Falls. Nice town, but a little too big for us.”

“Unless they drink the stuff for breakfast, how would they know that?”

Kitty shrugged. “They just do.”

“Oh, okay then. Sugar is off the table. Is honey acceptable?”

Kitty hesitated, as if making up her mind. “It’s stressful to the bees.”

“Isn’t that their job?”

“Not all jobs are good for you.”

Maggie stared at Kitty then blinked a couple times. Ever since she’d moved in a week ago, she had learned how to create her own kitchen compost, how to recycle effectively, and more recently, how to bake the perfect flourless cake using some kind of cactus sugar. A dessert Maggie would never be fully able to appreciate.

“We can’t have this conversation.”

“Okay,” Kitty said, then made a couple of yummy sounds. She took another big bite of the yogurt and put the spoon down on the table, resting her hands on her belly as a smile stretched across her sweet face. “Thank you again for doing this. Except for a couple of Tim’s cousins, and an obstinate great-aunt who pops in whenever she sees fit, and the occasional visit from Tim’s parents—I couldn’t ask for more supportive in-laws, but with their store hitting some rough times, it’s hard for them to leave it—I’m kind of on my own here. Not that I mind. We chose to live in Briggs, and I love it. I’ve made a lot of friends here, but family is different.”

Kitty looked radiant, and seemed happy to have Maggie living with her. For that, Maggie was willing to endure just about anything.

“Don’t be silly. You saved me. My unemployment checks were barely making it, and I had no idea how much longer I was going to be able to keep my car. Plus, searching for a job in Silicon Valley was getting me nowhere. If I were Allison Bennett, the absolute goddess of marketing, I’d have twenty job offers by now, but I’m Maggie Daniels. Nobody cares.”

“I care, and you’re a fantastic marketing, social media guru. People will be knocking down your door. They just don’t know you’re free, that’s all. When the right person finds out, he or she will come calling. You wait and see.”

Maggie loved her sister’s enthusiasm, but no one had come knocking so far, and they clearly wouldn’t come knocking in this remote potato town.

“Country life is a nice change. But I have to admit, working in a dental office five days a week, and being that close to all those nasty little drills, may put me over the edge. You know how much I hate having my own teeth worked on.”

“That’s not what’s bugging you. Not really. I think you’re upset because you think it’s an insignificant job with no future and that your baby sister should be soaring up the ladder, like you, instead of stuck on a broken lower rung.” Kitty’s eyes welled up. “You just don’t get it. I’m not that corporate person anymore.”

“Why are you crying? I would never think any less of you or your choices.”

“You’re my sister. You’re supposed to say that. I love you, and—” She paused and took a few ragged breaths before continuing. “I’m pregnant, and my husband is a million miles away and I miss him.”

The woman would cry or rage at least twice a day. Maggie didn’t know how Tim, her husband, would ever have been able to deal with it. Although, Tim was one of those rare men who actually loved everything about his wife. It seemed that anything Kitty did or said, especially during her pregnancy, was just short of perfection.

But he wasn’t around every day to enjoy all her hormonal moments. Captain Tim Sullivan was busy on the other side of the world, fighting a war.

Maggie went over to her. She hated to see Kitty cry. And even if what she said was true, Kitty was still her baby sister and Maggie would do anything for her baby sister, including giving up honey because it stressed the bees. “It’s okay, sweetie. Don’t cry. Actually, I’m thinking this is a great opportunity for me to make your life a little easier while we wait for those two sweethearts to be born. I’m happy things have happened this way or I would never have been able to spend this much time with you.” Maggie leaned over and gave Kitty a tight hug. “It was my nerves talking. Clearly, I’m thrilled to have a job. It’s just that I’m apprehensive of the actual duties. I don’t have any real experience that relates. You know how I like being prepared.”

Kitty gently pulled away, drying her eyes on the white hankie she always kept in a pocket for just such an occasion.

“Really?”

Maggie nodded, giving Kitty her warmest smile, thinking that her little sister really was quite beautiful, even with a tear-streaked face. Pregnancy agreed with her.

“Thanks,” Kitty said, getting comfy on the wooden chair, her round belly pushing up against the table. “Don’t you go worrying about a thing. I’ll go in with you all week until you get the hang of it. There are no insurance forms, or a paper trail of any kind. Everything is done on the computer.” Kitty ate a couple of big scoops of yogurt and continued. “I’m telling you, this will be the easiest bull you’ll ever ride. Everybody loves Doc Blake. He’s the best in the West.”

Ever since her sister had moved to Idaho three years ago, her language had taken on an odd country flair. Not that it was bad, but it was certainly different.

“It’s really a fun office. You’ll see,” Kitty said.

Maggie flashed on what Amanda from the doughnut shop had said, about how she was going to get closer to kids or something like that. She had been determined to ask Kitty what that might mean, but at the moment, she didn’t want to upset her again. Any little thing could turn on the waterworks and Maggie simply didn’t want to go there.

Instead, she thought she’d gently find out some information. She poured herself a glass of local spring water and sat across from Kitty at the table.

“I was just wondering what, if anything, you might have told Doctor Granger, or Doc Blake as everyone seems to call him, about me?”

“Well, I knew what a pickle you were in, but if you mean did I tell him you were dating a slug who pretended to be in love with you, when, in fact, he was bonking his secretary who turned out to be a crazy woman who most likely keyed your new BMW, punched out your headlights, was responsible for your losing your six-figure position and is most likely responsible for your willingness to come to Briggs, Idaho, for a job that you’re completely overqualified for? No. I didn’t tell him.”

Maggie let out the breath she’d been holding. She so didn’t want anyone in this thimble of a town to know about her sordid past. It was embarrassing enough that most of her friends had abandoned her over the whole ordeal. She clearly didn’t need her new boss whispering behind her back. Not that he seemed the type, but she couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.

“Thanks.”

“I’m your sister, remember? I’m on your side.”

Now Maggie felt like crying. The whole miserable affair with her ex-fiancé was still raw, and talking about it ripped the scab off the wound.

“And you can forget about Doc Blake as a rebound lover,” Kitty added, scraping the container for the last bites of yogurt. “He’s a died-in-the-wool Briggs resident and wouldn’t leave again if his life depended on it. You’d have to move in permanent-like if you two got together.”

“Relax. I have no intention of anything close to ‘permanent-like’ in Briggs. I don’t intend to date anyone while I’m here, especially not my boss. No offense to you or any of the other women in this town, but I just don’t get what all the fuss is about. Yeah, he’s cute, in that country sort of way, but I’m a rock and roll kind of girl. Coldplay, U2 and Daughtry turn me on, not George Jones.”

“We’ll see. This town grows on you.”

“Maybe on you, little sister, but never on me.”

Kitty smirked as she polished off the yogurt and pushed the empty container aside. “Never is greatly overrated. I’m just sayin’.”

“Always the optimist.”

“It’s all about what messages we send out into the universe. If we’re positive, positivity comes back to us, whereas if we’re negative....” She raised an eyebrow.

“I’m a realist. I know who I am.”

“Maybe, but I’m just sayin’.”

* * *

BY THE TIME Blake pulled his mud-encrusted pickup in front of the family ranch house, the sky had turned a brilliant mix of pink, gold and deep blue against the backdrop of the black mountains. The golden aspens that surrounded this old log house were rustling in the warm breeze reminding him of why he had returned to Idaho. This was his favorite time of year, and he was grateful he wasn’t back in L.A., stuck on a freeway.

It didn’t matter that his day had been consumed with patients. Looking out over this spectacular piece of land nestled in the Teton Valley, Blake knew leaving Los Angeles had been the right decision.

It had been a long day that started off with caffeine, doughnuts and Maggie Daniels. Both the doughnuts and Maggie Daniels were bad for him, but he didn’t seem to care. Maggie was stuck in his head just as sure as come tomorrow morning he’d be stopping by Holey Rollers for a repeat performance.

Maggie had been jumbled up in his thoughts all day. She’d been there while he was giving Chad a pep talk about how great his teeth would look once the braces were off, and how all smart cowboys had their teeth straightened. She was there as he shared coffee with Chad’s mom, Lindsey, giving her advice on how to handle Chad’s situation in the future.

He had thought of her as he descended Lindsey’s front steps and spoke on his cell to Jimmy Ferguson’s mom, who was requesting an emergency extraction for young Jimmy’s loose front tooth. His mom couldn’t possibly inflict pain of any kind on her son, so it was up to Blake to do the deed.

Back in his office, the tooth slid out with barely a budge. Young Jimmy was so into watching Toy Story 3 on the ceiling monitor that he hadn’t noticed his tooth had been extracted.

Blake gave him the offending tooth in a tiny brown pouch so the tooth fairy could bring him a present in the morning. “I want to go home, home, home, Mommy,” Jimmy said. “I need to put this under my pillow right away, just in case the tooth fairy buzzes our house looking for bags of teeth. I don’t want her to miss mine.”

His mom agreed and off they went.

Blake loved the fact that he had patients young enough to believe in tooth fairies and Santa. Kids were easy. Adults were the kicker.

When that was over and he cleaned up, once again his thoughts drifted to Maggie and that salty walk of hers. Then, just as he was getting into a cozy fantasy about her, his phone rang and he agreed to drive over to Angie Barnett’s house. Angie was a first-time mom with a teething baby girl, who was desperate for some sleep.

After he checked out her screaming tot, he told Angie, “My mom would dip her pinky in whiskey, shake off the excess and rub it on her babies’ swollen gums. But some moms don’t like the idea of alcohol touching their baby, so it’s up to you.”

The baby let out an ear-piercing scream and Angie didn’t hesitate to rub the child’s gums with brandy.

“Please, oh, please,” Angie said as her baby chomped on her fingers, and within minutes the baby was as calm as a cat in the sun.

Blake gave Angie a few rubber teething toys he kept in an emergency kit in his pickup, and the combination seemed to work miracles.

By the time he eventually left, both Angie and her baby were fast asleep.

Another laid-back Sunday.

For once, he’d like to spend an entire Sunday doing nothing of any importance. Not that he didn’t enjoy helping his patients, but the thought of an entire day off seemed almost as impossible as trying to trim the whiskers off the man in the moon.

He climbed the wooden porch stairs of his ranch house and was greeted by Suzy and Mush. He bent over to give both dogs some good lovin’. They were siblings, part wolf with a whole lot more parts mutt. It was the mutt parts that loved attention and the wolf parts that kept critters out of the house and barn.

Wrestling with the dogs reminded him that Maggie Daniels had consumed him the entire day, even while he was singing “Home on the Range” to Angie’s baby.

For some reason, he couldn’t get rid of her image—those long legs, the girly underwear, and that sparkle in her eyes—but that didn’t mean he wanted her there with him. Regrettably, he had almost no control over his subconscious, where she now lived as sure as he knew he was dog-tired and wanted nothing more than to sit down with his family and share Sunday dinner, a perfectly cooked rib roast. Blake anticipated that first scrumptious bite as he grabbed the doorknob and swung open the front door, Suzy and Mush following close behind.

No matter what else happened during the week, come six o’clock on Sunday night it was dinner with the family. He could count on it like prairie flowers in spring.

“Daddy’s home,” his five-year-old daughter, Scout, shouted as soon as she spotted him. She came running toward him at full throttle, arms outstretched, ready to grab hold and give him her tightest squeeze. Her miniature cowboy boots were clacking across the wooden floor, strawberry-colored hair in its usual state of disarray, blue shirt falling out of her britches, and a look of absolute love on her adorable face.

For the umpteenth time since they had moved back to Briggs, Blake fully realized that his sweet daughter desperately needed what all the kids he’d treated that day already had: a loving mom. Unconditional and all-consuming love was an emotion Scout’s own mom sorely lacked.

Living in a house filled with boys had turned his little girl into a blustering tomboy. So much so that she had wanted to cut off all her hair—something Blake was not ready to accept. Not that he thought there was anything wrong with those tough-boy traits, but he wondered if Scout missed pink and had settled for blue to fit in with the rest of the family. But most of all he wondered just how much she missed the fuss and love a woman could give her. He knew it was time he found someone else to share his life with, but so far, he’d been too busy. Maybe he needed to do something about that.

He whisked his child up in his arms and twirled her around. They eventually landed on the sofa with his younger brother Colt’s three boys getting in on the fun, along with Suzy, who loved a good tussle. Mush sat on his haunches and barked.

Colt’s boys ranged in age from three to six, and all were loved like crazy by their father and the rest of the men in the Granger family. The boys’ mother had passed away from complications right after giving birth to the youngest, Joey. Colt never faltered in his dedication to his boys, especially to Joey.

“Dinner’s sittin’ on the table,” Blake’s father, Dodge, announced. He was a tall man, six foot four, with a stride like John Wayne, and a temperament like molasses. Nothing fazed him, ever, and in the scheme of Blake’s chaotic life, his dad’s rock-solid demeanor was the anchor that kept him grounded.

Dodge ran the house, cooked most of the meals and essentially kept the place from falling completely apart, especially during potato harvest season, which was coming up in a few weeks. This was where Dodge and Colt had it all over Blake. They ran the agricultural part of the ranch while Travis, his youngest brother, took care of the livestock. Blake contributed his time when he could, but essentially he had his hands full with his dental practice.

Blake had wanted to be a pediatric dentist ever since he’d been thrown from a horse when he was twelve and dislodged his two front teeth on a rock. Everyone thought he would lose those teeth, but Doc Greeley saved them with his expertise. Blake thought it was cool and became friends with the doctor who was soon his mentor. Colt and Travis gave him a rash about his obsession with teeth for the longest time, and when it came time for Blake to go off to college or get serious about ranching, he chose UCLA School of Dentistry in Los Angeles. Then when Doc Greeley retired and moved away right around the time Blake and Scout moved back to Briggs, he took over Doc’s practice, a dream he’d had ever since he was a boy.

The kids raced to the table to take their seats. Dodge sat at one end and Blake sat at the other. Travis and Colt sat one on either side in between the kids, acting as wranglers.

The table was set with the same mustard-colored, Fiestaware plates that had been a tradition in the family ever since Blake’s mom was alive. She had liked everything to be neat and color-coordinated just like in a magazine. Unfortunately, she had a house filled with boys, so nothing was ever quite up to her satisfaction.

A large bowl of Idaho mashed spuds sent up steam on one end of the wooden table along with a platter of mixed grilled veggies and a large wooden bowl filled with salad. Simple, but satisfying. A loaf of freshly baked rosemary bread from On The Rise bakery sat on a cutting board ready to be sliced. The two dogs made themselves comfortable under the table near Dodge.

“So,” Travis began once a short prayer of thanks had been said and the side dishes began to make their way around the table. “Amanda, over at Holey Rollers, said Kitty’s sister was checking you out through the window this morning. What’s up with that? Has yet another woman fallen for the poor, suffering Doc Blake?”

“Oh, Daddy, did you eat a doughnut?” Scout wanted to know.

Blake had no choice but to come clean. “Yes, I did.” He was not about to tell her how many.

Colt said, “I hear she’s hotter than a burnt boot. Just your type, big brother. Too much woman wrapped up in a city suit.”

“You were bad, Daddy. They’ll rot your teeth.”

“Yeah, Uncle Blake, sugar is the enemy,” Colt’s oldest, Buddy, chimed in.

“I’m not interested in Kitty’s sister,” Blake told Colt, but he knew he didn’t say it with much conviction.

“Busted,” Joey announced while holding up his fork.

“Out of the mouths of babes,” Travis joked.

Blake held up a hand. “Wait a minute.” He turned to Scout. “I brushed when I got into the office, like any good cowboy should.”