Destiny Wears Spurs (15 page)

Dammit. Another cowboy had decided to make his move as well. Fisting his hands, Cody calmed his pulse as she searched the crowd for a minute, but then she accepted the arm of her admirer. She tipped her face up and laughed at something the man said as he twirled her around. Obviously, she’d found someone else to satisfy her cowboy fantasy with.

Just like his ex-wife had.

All women really were alike. Cody cursed long and hard as he slipped back out front. Snaking a hand through his hair, he slid it down the back of his neck and then dropped into a wicker chair on the front porch to stare up at the sky.

The only thing he wanted with Monica was a chance to be in her bed. No chance of getting hurt from that. Then why did seeing her smile at another man tear him up inside? It seemed like every moment of the day, she was on his mind. “You up there, Pa? I could use someone to talk to.”

“I’m here, son,” came a voice from the shadows, causing his heart to skip a beat. “I may not be him, but I’m here for you just the same. Same as I’ve always been.”

Jake stepped onto the porch, and Cody closed his eyes as his heart pinched. For a moment there, he’d thought ....

God, he missed his parents, especially his father. As a young boy, Cody would sit and listen for hours as his father told him story after story about his time serving his country. He’d always been a proud man, rarely shedding tears in front of another sole, but when he spoke of the day another soldier had saved his life, the tears would roll down his face.

Had it not been for this friend, Cody might have lost his father long before he had been out of diapers. He’d always be grateful and cherish the extra time he’d had with him.

His old man had given Cody so much over the years. Cody was proud to be his son and carry on the Rafferty legacy. At his parents grave site ten years ago, he’d vowed to keep the ranch alive the way his father would have, and to make sure his baby sister had everything they would have provided for her.

Sometimes the burden overwhelmed him. He worried about failing every day. Jake and Izzy meant the world to him. It felt good to have someone to lean on now and again.

Reaching in his shirt pocket, Jake offered him a cigar. The corner of Cody’s lip turned up, and he accepted with a nod. Several minutes of silence slipped by, the peaceful kind that could only be shared with a comfortable friend.

Jake broke the silence. “I might not know everything, but I know you, and there’s a filly over there that’s got you all tied up in knots.”

Cody sat forward in a fit of coughing, and Jake cackled while he pounded him on the back. “You get right to the point there, old timer,” Cody answered, trying to catch his breath.

“Who you callin’ ‘old timer’? I got eyes, boy. The way you look at her is hot enough to set this place on fire.”

Cody felt his face flame as his foreman grinned wide. “Hell, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. She gets under my skin, like an itch that needs to be scratched.” Cody gave him a pointed look.

“Oh, to be young again.” Jake leaned back and sighed, taking another puff on his cigar. “Why, I remember when I first realized I’d fallen in love with my Izzy.”

Cody whipped his head to the side and stared hard at him. “I’m not in love with Miss Hammond.”

The older man stared off into the night, lost in memories. “Why, I couldn’t eat, sleep, or even work.”

Cody’s tightened his jaw. That was exactly how he’d felt lately. He found it hard to breathe. But this was different. All he had to do was get her in bed, and it would be over.

“Heck, I even dreamed about her. It seemed whatever I did, wherever I went, I couldn’t get that woman off my mind. Then one day it was like a brick up and fell right on my head, and it all became clear. I was in love.”

Cody ground out his cigar. When he’d married his wife, he thought he knew all about love, but he’d missed the mark with her. He’d cared about her, but looking back, he had never really loved her. He’d loved the idea of having a wife, someone to share his dream with, to come home to and have children with. Man, he felt sick. He still wanted those things, but not with someone like Monica. No way.

“Yep. Those were the days.” Jake turned to look at him. “You all right, son? You look a mite green.”

“Must be the cigar,” Cody replied, surging to his feet. He couldn’t quite look his old friend in the eye. He didn’t believe he could be falling in love. The old fool was just reminiscing about youth. Older people did that sometimes, and what Cody felt for Monica was a good old-fashioned case of desire. Desire didn’t have to lead to love and marriage. He’d learned that the hard way.

“Think I’ll head on up to the house and get some sleep.” He started walking, picking up the pace when Monica and Cassie rounded the corner.

“Cigar, my foot,” Jake hollered from behind him, cackling.

Cody didn’t stop until he reached the homestead and paused with his hand on the door. He glanced over his shoulder. Monica and Cassie stood talking at the fork in the road. They said goodbye, and Cassie headed his way.

Just before Monica turned toward her cabin, she looked up. Her eyes met his, and the world seemed to stop. She smiled, but he could do nothing. He told himself it was the stupid cigar that made his belly flop, not the woman standing in front of him looking at him with heat blazing from her eyes.

But just then her shoulders drooped, and she took the path to her cabin. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he held and watched her until he couldn’t see her anymore. He still stared when Cassie reached his side.

“Cody? You okay?” She laid her hand on his forearm.

He flinched, cursed, and then ruffled her hair. “Never better, shrimp.”

“You’re all decked out. What’s the occasion?” she teased. Cody couldn’t stop from glancing toward Monica’s cabin, and Cassie’s smile became brilliant. She went on, “Or should I say
who
is the occasion?”

“None of your business, Miss Nosy.”

“Have it your way,” she called as she strolled inside, her shoulder-length, pale-blond hair bouncing, “but according to Miss Ladylove, you’re a great big teddy bear who needs a hug. Watch out, big brother. She just might give you one.”

A teddy bear?

Cassie headed into the house, and Cody thought about Monica. The crazy woman had begun to thaw the ice from his heart no matter how hard he tried to stop it. He took a step toward her cabin. Now, what, if anything, should he do about it?

CHAPTER NINE

Monday morning, Monica knelt in Buggy’s stall, caressing her hand down his bony spine, continuing to the tip of his skinny tail while she fed him his bottle. His hide looked less patchy since she’d been brushing him, but he was still ugly. She smiled when he shuddered with delight. She’d grown attached to the little calf in such a short time.

“M-Ma’am?” Bobby’s voice cracked, and he stared at the wooden beams above her head. He snatched his hat off his curly red head and held it with both hands in front of him as if it were a shield. “You didn’t have to feed him. I can take over all the chores, seeing as how I’m back, and all.”

She smiled and stood as she patted his forearm. “If you wouldn’t mind, I really enjoy taking care of Buggy.”

He glanced down at her, then his gaze snapped back up and his face flamed the same shade as his hair. “O-Okay, ma’am. Sure thing. You go right on ahead and take care of, er, B-Buggy, if that’s what you want, and all.” He crammed his hat back on his head. “I best be gettin’ to work. Just holler if you need anything a’tall.”

He took two steps, halted, still not looking at her. “Cookie said your vittles are gettin’ cold. You’d best get on in there before they taste like sh ... uh, before they taste bad is all.” He turned around as quick as his gangly body would allow and tripped over his own boots in his haste to escape.

Monica bit her lip to keep from laughing as she watched him stumble out of the barn. After she brushed Buggy’s fur, she tucked him back into his stall--if you could call it a stall. She’d bought him a blanket to keep that scruffy hide warm and added some toys, along with a fancy plastic water bucket sporting his name in bold letters on the side.

Ridiculous, yes. And she was bound to hear how foolish she was from one big burly cowboy, but she didn’t care. She’d never had a pet of her own. The calf wasn’t technically hers, but while she was here, she could pretend. It made her happy. Besides, she’d spent her own money, so what could Cody say? She bent over and kissed the top of the calf’s head before heading to the cookshack for breakfast.

Festus had his head poked in the back of the chuckwagon, putting his supplies away, then he straightened as she walked up behind him. He snagged his long white beard on a nail and mumbled under his breath about flighty females always being late, never knowing the time of day.

“One flighty female reporting for duty,” she said from behind him.

He hopped and then waddled around looking all blustery. His eyes bugged as he sputtered, “Jumpin’ Jeremiah, girly. What happened to yer clothes?”

“What do you mean?” She played dumb as she glanced at her seduction outfit. Granted, work wasn’t the place to start seducing Cody, but since he was avoiding her, she had no choice, and nothing to lose. Her ad campaign pretty much stunk at this point, so she’d taken the advice Nat gave her last night. “Jeans and a western shirt are perfectly suitable for barn duty or working out on the range.”

Festus whipped off his apron and wrapped it around her like a towel. “It’s indecent, I tell ya. Why, those dungarees are tighter than my drawers.” His face flushed crimson. “And that shirt. Why’d ya tie it? It has buttons ya know.” His eyes popped. “Heck, it ain’t even buttoned,” he stammered as he reached to refasten it but then yanked his hands back.

Okay, so if she bent over, she’d probably split the seat of her pants, but Cody couldn’t say they weren’t durable. And she hadn’t worn any layers. She’d purposely displayed a generous amount of rounded flesh in the opening of her shirt. But darnit, she was determined to get a reaction out of him today.

And he
wouldn’t
be laughing.

“I’m fine, Cookie.” She patted his shoulder.

“Ya won’t be fine wearin’ that getup. Didn’t yer ma ever tell ya the trouble a gal could get into, dressed thataway? Don’t ya know there’s randy cowboys on this here ranch? A man could find it mighty hard to control, uh, certain urges when he looks at ya dressed that way, and all.”

“Ha. Not all cowboys are randy. I know of one big one who has no trouble whatsoever controlling his
urges
when I’m around,” she muttered.

Festus pulled his shaggy white eyebrows together and stroked his beard as a slow smile spread across his wrinkled face. “Aha, I knew it,” he cackled, whisking her in his arms and doing a little jig around the room.

Monica couldn’t help laughing. She was touched he’d come to approve of her. He must, because she knew how much Cody meant to him. She cleared her throat. “What’s for breakfast?”

He disappeared, returning with a tray of eggs Benedict, whole-wheat toast with jam, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and a single yellow rose.

“Thanks, Santa.” She smiled and kissed his cheek.

He waved his hands and blustered, “It ain’t nothin’ but a simple breakfast, and a
cold
one at that.”

Aw, what a sweetie. “Thanks, Cookie.” She had needed that boost of confidence. Squaring her shoulders, she marched toward the barn with her head held high. Festus was right. If Cody didn’t want her, then it was his loss.

Cody walked out of his office saying, “Okay, saddle up, boys, let’s move on ....” He came to a stop and forgot the rest of his sentence. How, in all that was holy, did Monica manage to get those britches on? He stopped breathing, and his heart began to pound, so he pulled the collar of his shirt away from his skin. “Damn, it’s hot in here.”

“Is there a problem, Mr. Rafferty?” she said in a sassy I-know-exactly-what-I’m-doing-to-you voice and fluttered her lashes at him.

His gaze ran over her. Christ. He couldn’t exactly say her clothes weren’t fit for a ranch, since he also wore jeans and a western work shirt. But he sure as hell could say hers weren’t quite appropriate. Yesterday’s jeans had been fine, but today’s were downright sinful. And that shirt. It sure as hell wasn’t fastened the right way.

Cody had a suspicious feeling she was trying to seduce him, but during business hours? Not a good idea. For the time being, he’d divert her attention. “No problem at all,” he answered, “Let’s move it on out, boys.”

A short time later, watching over the breeding herd with her on the sidelines wearing those damn painted-on jeans, he grew flustered and distracted. Diverting her attention had worked like a charm on her. She looked absorbed in the work going on around her. The problem was it hadn’t done a thing to divert
his
attention. He wanted to pull her in his arms and make wild, passionate love to her.