A Cowboy For Christmas (6 page)

The water stretched endless
to the north and south while it faded into the sky in front of
them. She couldn’t distinguish the line where ocean and sky
met.

“
Now do you see why I love
Oregon?” Brent’s soft voice drifted into her thoughts like the
waves moving inland below.

Turning, she hoped her
expression worked for an answer. Something so vast, mysterious, and
alive left her without words for it.

So did Brent. He looked
magnificent with the pale blue sky behind him and his blue eyes
reflecting all the color around them. He sat with such ease, but
his eyes weren’t relaxed. They were fixated on her like the wind
might steal her away.

Well, she gawked right
back, so she couldn’t sass him about it.

“
I’ve never seen the ocean
this way.” Her whisper mixed with the singing breeze and the soft,
subtle ocean music. “Just from an airplane. This is much
better.”

“
I’d have to agree.” He
held her still with his gaze. Just then the breeze brought his
scent to her nose. Man, hay, and something refreshing. Her hair
whipped across her face, and she joined reality with a
jerk.

Something was brewing . . .
weather-wise.

“
Well, we got half a day of
clear skies.” Brent still didn’t look away and now she burned all
over. “Guess we oughta get back before you get soaked.” The corners
of his mouth twitched.

“
Yeah, I’d need another
long, hot bath.” She turned just before she smiled.

* * * *

“
Brent?”

He heard her call from the
stable entrance. His hands paused as he filed Dancer’s hoof, but he
fought the desire to look up at Missy.

He waved instead of calling
back since the horse was a bit jumpy. Dale and Ivan had held off on
taking care of Dancer until he could get there. All three of them
were wary of the horse. It missed Ben something mighty.

“
Sounds like she’s done
brushing Speckle already.” Dale jabbed him. “You can go on with
her.”

“
I started this.” Brent
kept working, knowing Missy would come over to talk to them. “Ivan,
don’t let her get too close to him.”

He glanced up to see her,
but then he couldn’t get his attention back on the job at
hand.

She stood by the corner to
look for him as she gathered her hair over one shoulder. Her petite
body looked delicate, but her eyes said right away not to mess with
her. As he watched, she stuffed her hands in her pockets and
started his way.

The horse partially hid
him, so maybe she wouldn’t see him stare. Her green sweater did
something to her skin, made it richer in color. He thought of her
almond brown eyes watching him as she sat on her horse. Whatever
was happening between them . . . well, it couldn’t be good if it
consumed his mind every second of the day.

Dancer snorted, so he made
a soothing sound as he watched her.

“
Brent!” Dale jerked toward
him.

“
Uhh!” His yell was cut
short as he hit the ground. Pain sparked in his ribs, blocking out
the pain of impact with the ground. Damn horse kicked
him!

He looked up at clouds,
cursing his hormones, cursing Missy, the horse, and his damn
wondering eyes.

He saw Dale and Ivan lean
over him. “That’s one quick horse.” Ivan added a few swear words as
he looked at the horse and then Brent.

“
Ivan get the horse back!”
Dale ordered and knelt down. “Brent?”

He held a hand out so Dale
wouldn’t touch him. He didn’t need fussing over, no matter how many
ribs he’d broken. His side throbbed, but he couldn’t get a breath
in to say so.

“
Brent?”

At her voice, Dale laughed.
Brent tried for an evil glare directed at Dale as Missy came close
enough to see Brent on the ground.

She looked so genuinely
worried Brent wanted to smile, if he didn’t hurt so darn
bad.

“
Holy crap! What
happened?”

“
Not crap, ma’am. The horse
kicked him.” Dale held eye contact with Brent and rubbed his chin,
a nervous habit. “He wasn’t ready.”

“
Yeah,” Ivan joined in.
“His mind must have been elsewhere.”

Brent made a mental list of
everything he’d say to them as soon as he could talk.

“
Aren’t you going to help
him up?” She knelt beside him.

“
Maybe we shouldn’t move
him just yet.” Dale, at last, sounded worried.

Brent didn’t want all of
them to worry over him, so he forced himself up onto his elbows.
This time he couldn’t hide the pain.

“
It’s your side, isn’t it?”
Dale didn’t wait for the answer, but braced Brent against him,
pulled him to his feet, and started for the truck.

“
Do you want me to come
along?” Missy offered, her hands clasped in front of her. He wanted
to reassure her, but he sure as heck didn’t want her at the
hospital with him.

He waited until Dale got
him in the truck before he looked back. Ivan was taking Dancer to
the pasture. Missy hadn’t moved, and still watched as they drove
away.

“
Gets you fast, doesn’t
it?” Dale asked as he steered around a corner.

Brent thought he meant the
horse at first, until he looked over. Dale met his gaze with
knowing eyes.

“
Yup, took three days for
Alice to get me.”

Damn his side. He wanted to
argue the point, but instead he leaned his head back and closed his
eyes. Maybe the pain was good. He could think about it instead of
Missy.

* * * *

They’d been gone all
evening. She paced a while and then cleaned like crazy. Fractured
ribs couldn’t be that bad. Maybe it was a few, or maybe nothing was
broken. She didn’t know yet.

After a huge sigh, she
started dinner. The least she could do was have something ready for
him to eat. They’d been gone four hours when she walked to his
house to leave dinner in his fridge.

She was glad that he didn’t
lock his front door. Of course, the horses didn’t need to break in
and steal anything.

She put his dinner away and
couldn’t help but think of the first time she’d stood in his
kitchen. How had so much changed so fast?

Slowly, she walked into the
other room. She’d clean for him, but he kept the place spotless.
Should she call the hospital? That’d make him happy. She again
noticed how bare the house looked. It needed a few small paintings,
decorative rugs, something. She shook her head at herself and
left.

Back in her house, she
tried to finish a book but couldn’t. At eight, she went outside,
thinking she’d missed the truck.

The cold knocked her back
inside, so she got her coat and stepped out again.

A clear night. That didn’t
happen too often. The stars were suspended in layers, some close
and some distant. She stared up for a minute and listened to the
night. A dove cooed several times as it settled in for the
night.

Did Ivan take care of the
horses? Things were messed up tonight, so she’d check. Brent’s
house was still dark when she walked by.

The horses were in their
stalls, but they didn’t have blankets on them.

“
Let’s hope I do this
right. No laughing,” she told them as she pulled a blanket over the
first horse. It looked like a coat to her, with Velcro in the front
to secure it, but Brent had called it a blanket. Course he’d used
the same word for the smaller blanket that went under the
saddle.

She didn’t worry about
getting in the stall with Jeffery, Speckle, or the other horses.
But Dancer watched her with knowing eyes.

“
Hey, there.” She could
feel each beat of her heart. “Don’t kick me, too, okay?”

She didn’t get behind him.
From the railing, she leaned and draped the blanket around
him.

His noises sounded sad. She
stepped back and reached out with one hand. What had happened
today?

When he nuzzled her hand,
she got the impression he knew who she was. Her heart grew heavy,
the same way it had when she’d first slept in Ben’s old
house.

“
I’m Missy,” she said,
surprised that she didn’t feel strange for talking to a
horse.

Dancer snorted. The truck
rumbled softly and grew louder. She patted him goodbye and went to
the entrance to watch Dale pull up and help Brent out. She waited
until Dale left before walking over.

She pulled her coat closer
and rubbed her nose. If she wanted to stay, she’d have to get used
to the weather at some point.

At Brent’s door, she
knocked and went in. He couldn’t get up and come to the door, after
all. Dale had left the hallway light on, and it shone into Brent’s
room.

She sucked in a breath when
she saw him with his eyes closed in sleep. He’d rolled his head a
little to one side, and the light fell on him. She hadn’t noticed
his thick eyelashes before, or how full and pouty his mouth looked.
Add that to his movie-star cleft chin, and he had one handsome
face.

What would it feel like to
cradle his face in her hand? He didn’t seem to have five o’clock
shadow, but the light wasn’t bright enough to tell.

His blanket was pulled up
to mid chest, leaving his bare shoulders exposed. They were as nice
as she’d suspected. She’d like to run her hand down his neck to his
shoulder and feel his muscles. His hands lay on his stomach as it
rose and fell.

She knew she shouldn’t, but
she started toward his bed. He looked unguarded, defenseless. Sweet
and sexy.

Was she high on fresh
country air? Something had taken a hold of her since she came here.
It couldn’t be this man.

The floor creaked when she
reached his bed. His eyes opened and blinked at her.
“Missy?”

She blinked back for a
second. “Thought I’d check on you.” Blushing, she hoped he wouldn’t
ask why she’d snuck into his bedroom. “How bad is it?”

His injury didn’t hurt his
appeal. She put her hands in her pockets, shifted her
weight.
Hmm, interesting floor, isn’t
it?

“
I’m on bed rest for a
month.” His voice was quiet and low. “I think you’re going to be
busy.”

At that comment, she looked
back to his face. There wasn’t the normal lift in his voice or
gleam in his eyes to belie his seriousness. But he couldn’t mean
it, could he?

She looked him over for a
long minute. “A month? I don’t believe a horse could put you in bed
that long.”

He gave it up and smiled.
“A week maybe. Just some bruised ribs.”

“
That’s a relief.” She sat
down on the edge, thought about jumping up, but tried to act like
she didn’t feel awkward sitting there.

“
Is it?” he asked, his hand
sliding down and brushing hers.

“
You brute!” She considered
the best way to get her hands around his neck, but she settled for
a soft nudge to his chest. She just couldn’t punch a man while he
was down. “You’ve thought the worst of me since I
arrived.”

“
And you of me, haven’t
you?”

She crossed her arms,
glancing off to the side in a big show. A guitar case leaned
against the wall in the shadows.

“
You play?” The case was
too small for a guitar. “What is it, a banjo?”

“
A violin, you snob.” He
wrapped an arm across himself when he laughed. Knowing he was in
pain ruined her show of indignation.

“
You know, you’re beautiful
when you laugh . . . or get shy . . . or try to ride a horse and
find yourself out of control.” His fingers grazed the back of her
hand again. Suddenly she had no trouble calming down.

“
Brent, don’t . . .” She
suspected he was teasing again, but she didn’t want him to tease
her along those lines. “Listen, if you’re after someone to take
care of you, I’ll help. You don’t have to flatter me with whatever
that was.”

He pulled his hand away,
with a smile on his face that baffled her. He looked both sad and
intrigued, like she’d just given him a difficult problem to solve.
Well, she wasn’t his algebra homework.

“
Can you eat with that
injury?” she asked before telling him what she’d brought for
dinner.

“
Maybe a little.” He
watched her too closely and she needed to get out of there. So she
left for the soup she’d brought him.

When she brought it back,
and he saw what it was, he asked, “Are you going to feed
me?”

That sincere voice and
innocent eyes almost had her. “I don’t think so.”

She did help him up and
adjusted his pillows for him. He still watched her, and those
intense eyes of his were getting to her. The mood struck her then:
the dim lighting, his shirtless body, his bedroom.

“
I should let you rest.”
She stepped back.

“
I’ll be getting plenty of
rest this week. Stay.”

She shook her head. “Sorry,
it’s been a long day. Goodnight.” She managed not to run on her way
out.