The Cowboy's Lady Read online

  You need to take care of yourself. Don’t count on a man to take care of you.

  The lesson her mother drilled into her head wasn’t easily forgotten. Vivienne knew this was a lesson her mother, widowed and left with three children, knew all too well.

  Her mind slipped back to Darlene and Macy. Another woman left alone by a man to raise her child. Just like her sister, Brooke, when her boyfriend abandoned her. Just like her own boyfriend who had walked out of her life because they were on “different levels.”

  And yet the lonely part of her wanted to believe that men could be counted on. Didn’t Cody look after his sister? Wasn’t he an example of faithful love?

  She turned her head to look at him, unnerved when she caught him looking directly at her.

  “What is going on behind those beautiful blue eyes,” he asked quietly, his hat shading the sun for her, as well.

  His flirtatious comment sent her heart into overdrive. She didn’t think he was the kind to indulge in flattery.

  “I just…I think this is a beautiful place.” It was all she could manage. Cody’s nearness and the intensity of his gaze stole her breath and coherence. She dragged her attention back to the waterfall. “Thank you so much for showing me this.”

  He slipped his other arm around her so she rested completely against him, his arms warm across her stomach, creating a shelter. “To be honest, I had another reason for bringing you here.”

  She stood perfectly still, feeling like a feather floating on a delicate breeze above the chasm. One move in the wrong direction and she could either plunge into the foaming waters below or come to rest on the grass beside her.

  So she said nothing, waiting.

  “I wanted you to love this place as much as I do,” he said. “I want you to be able to see the beauty of the ranch in all its forms.”

  She released her breath and laid her head back against his chest. “I do love this place,” she admitted. “It’s like every day I see something else to appreciate and enjoy. I can see why it’s so much a part of you.”

  His chest lifted in a sigh. “I’m glad.”

  She let the moment settle, wondering what the repercussions of her words would be, then gently pulled away. “I should be getting back.” She shot him a coy glance. “After all, I don’t want to get into trouble with the boss.”

  He laughed at that. “I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s not as miserable as he looks.”

  “I know that,” she said, and then before she could catch his reaction, she turned and walked back toward the path.

  Only her feet, now swollen from not moving, were clumsy and stiff. Her boots, with their high heels, made it even harder to keep her balance. She took a step, turned her ankle and tripped over one of the roots Cody had specifically warned her about.

  She stumbled, reached for a tree branch, caught it, but it wasn’t enough to halt her forward momentum. She landed on her shoulder on the ground, twisting her foot in the process.

  “Vivienne!” She heard Cody cry out, and then he was beside her, turning her over. She pushed his hands away, embarrassed.

  “I’m okay. I just tripped. Like you told me not to.” She tried to laugh as she got up. Pain shot up her leg and she stumbled again. She would have fallen, but Cody was right beside her.

  He held her up as she grimaced and tried to put weight on her one foot.

  “You hurt yourself,” he said, his frown furrowing his forehead.

  “Not really.” But she knew she was lying through her clenched teeth. Her foot throbbed in time to her heartbeat, each pulse sending a shot of pain up her ankle.

  “We need to get you back to the ranch.” He heaved a sigh, looking down the path they had come up.

  “What will you do? Carry me down?” she said with another feeble attempt at humor.

  “Actually, yeah.” He turned and bent his knees. “Get on. I’ll piggyback you down the hill.”

  “I can walk.”

  Cody shot her a warning glance over his shoulder that she knew she’d better not argue with. At the same time, in spite of her tough talk, she knew she wouldn’t make it down the mountain on her own, even if she took her boots off and walked in her stocking feet. So she swallowed her last bit of pride and got on Cody’s back. He tucked her knees over his elbows and got up.

  “Been eating too much of my own cooking,” she said by way of apology.

  “You hardly weigh a thing,” he grunted as he shifted her weight and started walking. Branches slapped at her face as he plunged down the hill, and she struggled not to be too aware of the arms holding her or the shoulders supporting her.

  “So your parents are missionaries and yet you ended up a rancher. How does that work?” she asked, trying to distract herself by making conversation.

  “My mom and dad would send me to live with Uncle Ted, just like they are doing with Bonnie, from time to time, depending on where they were stationed,” Cody said, his voice only a little more breathless than it had been on the trip up. Carrying her didn’t seem to affect him much. “When I was ten I wanted to stay on the ranch full-time. Uncle Ted has only his daughter, Karlee, who didn’t want to have anything to do with the ranch, so I started working with Uncle Ted and worked my way into buying half of his share.”

  “So you’ve lived here most of your life?” She clasped her hands tighter together, trying not to slip. She had been chilled when she got to the waterfall, but now the warmth from Cody’s back seeped into her core and warmed her up, as well.

  “Pretty much. I’ve been blessed to be able to do this. It’s a big commitment, but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

  Cody grunted as he took a large step down, wobbling on his feet a moment, then catching his balance again.

  “I can try walking,” she suggested.

  “Just hold on…I’m not that feeble.” But while they walked, she kept talking, determined to maintain some distance as each step made her more aware of his warmth and his closeness. She talked about the weather, asked about the cows. How many they had and why they had to move them, but nothing distracted her from his presence. She found herself wanting to lay her head on his shoulder, to draw even closer to him.

  A couple of times she was tempted to ask him if he had ever brought his wife, Tabitha, up to see the falls, but she didn’t really want to talk about her.

  “So how long have you wanted to be a chef?” he asked her, shifting the conversation away from him.

  “Since I was little. I remember my grandpa George coming over to visit us while my dad was still alive. My mom was so flustered she asked me to help her.” Vivienne’s mind slipped back to those happier days as she remembered that meal. One of the few times her grandfather had come to visit, and one of the few times that, when he did, her parents didn’t fight with him.

  “And how did that go?” he asked.

  “Actually, Grandpa was very complimentary. In fact, he was the one who told me I should think about going to school. To become a chef. Told me I had a rare gift to make food taste superb.” She shifted her weight and laughed. “Up until then I thought the only thing chefs did was flip burgers like Gerald and Jerome at the Cowboy Café. Grandpa George expanded my horizons that day.”

  “So he wasn’t as miserable as people make him out to be.”

  “Oh, he wasn’t a storybook grandfather by any means,” Vivienne said, clasping her hands tighter around Cody’s neck. “He wasn’t much help to my mom after my father died, though he would come over from time to time to see how we were doing. Too busy running after the dollar.” No sooner had she spoken the words than Vivienne regretted saying them. After all, what was she doing right now by sticking around Clayton?

  “He was a pistol, that’s for sure,” Cody said. He took a careful step and then paused, catching his breath. “Though I heard he had a lot of regrets toward the end of his life.”

  “That’s what Reverend West told me.” Vivienne also thought of the video of Grandpa George they had watched after
the funeral and how he had asked them to find one good memory of him.

  Well, she had it. The memory of her grandfather’s rare smile as he ate the soup she had cooked and the pie she had baked. And how he had told her he’d never, ever eaten anything so good in all his life.

  “I’m sure the inheritance is his way of making up for a lot of things. Though I’m not sure what I’ll do with five hundred acres of land once I’m done my year here. I guess I could sell it when I move.”

  She felt Cody stiffen, which made her think again about their kiss. And the implications of that.

  Could she really walk away in a year?

  Cody said nothing more after that, and then, thankfully, they broke through the trees and were at the ranch. He carried her right to her cabin and eased her off his back.

  “I’ll be okay now,” she said quietly, sensing his withdrawal, wondering if it came because of her comment about selling the land. “Thanks so much for showing me the falls and for, well, carrying me back down here.”

  Their eyes met again. Cody nodded, and for a moment she thought he was leaving.

  But to her surprise, he helped her into the cabin and then, ignoring her protests, slipped her boot off her injured foot.

  “I don’t think you broke anything. Probably just strained your ankle,” he said, holding up the heeled boot as if it was the culprit. Which it probably was.

  Vivienne grew more and more uncomfortable, but she wasn’t sure what to say. Apologize for talking about her plans for the future?

  But were they still her plans? Was leaving Clayton really what she wanted to do?

  As her mind slipped back and forth, she looked down at Cody’s head, bent over her foot as he pulled her other boot off.

  She wanted to reach out and touch his hair. Stroke it away from his face. Lift it up so he was looking at her.

  She closed her eyes a moment, uncertainty about her future battling her growing feelings for Cody Jameson. She had her plans.

  Plans could change, though.

  Cody set the boot aside and then shifted his weight back on his heels, then he glanced up at her again. His eyes held hers and an awareness trembled between them. She knew she couldn’t just brush this off.

  “Tomorrow we’re going down the road to get the first batch of cows and move them home,” he said. “It’s an easy gather. Would you like to come?”

  Vivienne blinked. This was not what she had expected to hear.

  “I could put you on Tango, my horse. He’s quiet. Gentle. You won’t have to use your foot.”

  Vivienne held his gaze, and her second thoughts became a whirling vortex. He was too appealing. Too attractive.

  Too much of a distraction.

  Say no. Don’t go.

  But Vivienne couldn’t formulate the words she knew she should speak. So, instead, she simply nodded.

  His grin made all her second thoughts worthwhile.

  “And don’t you dare think about making supper tonight or breakfast tomorrow. You stay off your foot. I’ll get Delores to whip something up. Bonnie can help her.” He angled her a warning glance, and the concern in his voice gave her a gentle shiver.

  “Okay. I won’t,” she said.

  “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.” He got up, his knees cracking as he did so, then without a backward glance he walked out of her cabin.

  Vivienne waited until he was gone, then she dropped back on her bed, her sigh disturbing the dust motes dancing in the beam of sunlight above her.

  Was she crazy agreeing to go with him tomorrow?

  You will see him every day for the next year, she reminded herself.

  Unless she got another job.

  She pulled her throbbing feet up on the bed and curled onto her side, staring at the door that Cody had just left through, his voice still echoing in her head.

  Just take it one day at a time, she reminded herself. For now, it’s fun and enjoyable.

  Just enjoy the moment. Let the future take care of itself.

  “Just stay here. I’ll be right back.” Cody saluted her with his coiled rope, nudged his horse in the side and cantered off.

  Vivienne eased her foot out of the stirrup and gave it a tentative turn. Yesterday, after she hurt it, she had done as Cody told her to, thankful for the reprieve from work and from seeing Cody again.

  She stayed off her feet and stayed in her cabin, praying and reading her Bible, looking for solace. Direction. Answers.

  She didn’t find them, but she was nourished and refreshed when she was done. Even more important, she felt as if she had been able to rationalize her emotions toward Cody.

  She read another book but found herself drifting away from the story, her mind zeroing in on Cody each time.

  This morning when he came to see if she was coming on the gather, all her feelings flooded back as soon as she opened the door and saw him standing on the verandah of her tiny porch, filling it with his presence.

  And now she was here, spending time with Cody and watching him in his own element and enjoying every moment.

  “Hold them back,” Cody called out as his horse came nearer to where the cows stood in a bunch, bawling. “They’re crowding the fence.”

  Vivienne leaned forward in the saddle, resting her hands on the horn as she watched him. Cody’s movements were fluid, in synch with the horse, like they were one entity.

  He sat easily in the saddle as his horse sidestepped, spun around, then cantered off again to catch another bunch of cattle heading back up the hills to the old pasture. He brought them back to the herd, now spreading out over the path ahead.

  “Bryce, get your horse beside those lead cows,” Cody called out. “Don’t get in front of them.”

  Even from here, well behind the herd, Vivienne could see Bryce’s curled lip. That boy had such an attitude, Vivienne was amazed Cody still kept him employed.

  Dust roiled up from the hooves of the cattle as they headed along the road toward the ranch. The cows bellowed and the calves bawled and above that the hands whistled and urged, keeping them all together. The sun, thankfully, had lost its summer heat and shone down with benign warmth.

  In spite of that, Vivienne had taken off her jacket an hour ago. Ted had helped her tie it to the back of her saddle.

  When Vivienne had imagined today, she’d pictured a bucolic atmosphere. Cows ambling quietly down the road, accompanied by the cowboys on horseback.

  Instead it had been an initial chaotic move with calves skittering off, cows trying to follow them and men calling and racing after them on horseback.

  They’d been at it for over two hours now, and finally they all seemed to be headed in the right direction. Vivienne had stayed far back, knowing that if she tried to help, she would probably cause a problem. Just like she had when she’d let the horses out of the corral.

  Though she knew she couldn’t do anything, she did feel useless and every bit a city girl.

  “Keep the pressure on, but keep back from the leader,” Cody called out to Bryce as he rode up toward him. Then Vivienne heard nothing else above the bawling of the cows and the pounding of their hooves on the dirt road. But through the dust the cows raised she saw Bryce jerk back on the reins, then spin his horse around and head to the back of the herd. Obviously demoted, Vivienne thought, watching him as he galloped his horse back to where she rode. He shot her an angry look and then jerked his horse around again.

  Vivienne wanted to say something about how he was treating his mount, but she didn’t know enough. So she kept quiet, though it bothered her.

  Grady rode up to Cody and with a nod and a quick conversation, Cody handed the responsibility over to him.

  Then Cody turned his horse and cantered back to where she rode, one hand on his thigh, the other handling the reins with imperceptible motions. As she watched him, his gaze flicked over the cattle, back and forth as if studying their movements. Then, before he joined her, he looked up at the mountains above them.

  His smile was a white s
lash against his dusty face. His coat was streaked with dirt and grime, as were his chaps. But his happiness and contentment showed Vivienne how much at home he was in this element.

  This is where he belongs, she thought. This is who he is.

  She knew that on one level, but watching him working with the cows and working with the men brought this part of him to vivid life.

  For a moment she was jealous of how at one he was in his environment. Because, though she hardly dared admit it, he looked happier here than she had ever felt in any of the jobs she had done.

  What did it take to enjoy your work so much?

  She had always thought owning her own restaurant would give her the contentment and peace she’d been looking for since her father died and their family became fractured.

  But now?

  She wasn’t so sure, and she didn’t like the self-doubts dogging her lately. She didn’t like thinking that the plans she had thought would solve her problems instead distracted her from them. That no matter where she went, this unspoken yearning would follow her.

  “You’re looking pensive,” Cody said as he brought his horse up beside her.

  His horse jigged a bit, lifting his feet as if he wanted to run again, but Cody reined him in without even looking over at him.

  “You’ve been reading your thesaurus,” she returned, trying to create a lighter tone.

  “Word of the day,” he said with a wink. “You doing okay? Your foot okay?”

  “I’m doing fine, and so is my foot.”

  “I could get someone to drive you back to the ranch if you’re too tired.”

  Vivienne waved his concerns off with a gloved hand, feeling bothered that he thought she wasn’t capable of handling this.

  Of course, herding cattle was entirely new and she was a bit stiff, but she certainly wasn’t telling him that now. Instead she glanced over at the cattle now heading, with purpose, down the road. “For a while I didn’t think you would gather them all up.”

  “They were a mite spooky today,” he said, reining his horse in again. “I think they were just nervous, having to perform in front of a city girl.”