Breakfast with a Cowboy (3 page)

“Hey, there, what’s the problem?”

“Everything but you probably
don’t
want to hear about my troubles.”

“Now, that’s where you’re wrong. My dad always said
a problem told is a problem halved and eventually solved.”

He put his arm around her shoulder and wiped a tear
away from her cheek. She had soft skin that felt as pretty as it looked. “Tell
Quinn all about it,” he said.

“I woke up with a migraine. I reached over for my
bag to get my medication and I accidentally knocked over the urn and some of
the ashes spilled out onto the floor before I could catch it.”

He looked once again at the small pile sitting by
the leg of the chair.

“One of your parent’s remains?” he asked.

She shook her head.
“My sister.
She requested I take this trip because she…”

She burst into tears again.

Quinn sat her down on the chair she’d turned into
her bed and squeezed in beside her. He wrapped both arms around her and let her
sob into his chest. She was warm and soft and he almost felt guilty about the
level of pleasure he was getting from comforting her like this.

“You want to tell me more about it?” he whispered.

“She had breast cancer and this cross country trip
was on her bucket list, but time ran out. She made me promise anything that
wasn’t crossed off her list I had to do in her place and take her ashes along.”

“I think that’s the most wonderful thing I’ve heard.
And I admire you for keeping your promise. I know it can’t be easy for you.”

She pulled away from him. There was sadness in those
pretty eyes. And he meant what he’d just said. It showed she was a special type
of woman doing something that obviously made her heart so sad.

“We can scoop them up, no problem,” said Quinn. Had
he said the right thing, was scooping the verb he should have used?

“I tried, but most of them are now embedded in the
carpet.”

“You said she wanted to make this trip. Maybe it was
supposed to happen so she could continue to make it.”

She smiled at him. “You do have a way of making me
feel better.”

He winked at her. He hoped she didn’t mind him
taking the initiative, but he got down on his knees and scraped up as much as
the ashes he could, and put them back into the urn.

“What was your sister’s name?”

“Jennifer, and she would have been forty
tomorrow…well actually today, hence me taking the trip now. And the reason I
was crying when you heard me.”

“I’m sure she’s looking at you from someplace having
a good laugh about all this.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Second thing you’ve been
right about since I met you.”

“Ah, you mean the steak instead of the chicken?”

She nodded. “Now if you have any easy solutions to
get rid of a migraine, you’ll be my hero forever.”

“You tried something sweet to
drink,
and something cool for your head?”

“Nope.”

“Worked for me this morning when I woke up with a
slight hangover. Sit there and I’ll see what I can find.”

****

Josie felt better already. Quinn was right. By
telling someone else about her sister’s request, she’d shared a secret and the
weight of what she faced ahead of her had been lifted. He was one nice guy. If her
sister was really looking down on her from someplace, Josie was sure she was
smiling from ear to ear thinking how her little sister had met a cute man on a
trip she’d insisted she take.

She remembered them sitting thigh to thigh on the
wicker couch on their parent’s porch when they’d driven from the doctor’s office.
There she’d been told the cancer she thought she’d beaten was not only back,
but was now in her lungs and bones. Neither of them had cried but sat on the
couch with Jennifer squeezing Josie’s hard.

“Promise me you won’t end up a career-minded single woman
like me. If I’d know this was going to happen, I would have found myself the
perfect guy and settled down and had lots of kids. I thought I had time for all
that, but I guess life has other plans for me, so promise me you’ll starting
looking for your knight in shining armor soon.”

A tear ran down Josie’s cheek just as Quinn returned
to the compartment. She wiped it away, hoping he didn’t see that she’d been
crying yet again.

“Found just what you need. A can of ginger ale and
some ice I’ve wrapped in a towel.”

He opened the soda and poured it into a glass she
had sitting on the shelf in her compartment. He handed it to her and she took
tiny sips as he placed the ice against her temple. She closed her eyes. The
combination felt so incredibly good. The man was a miracle worker.

“I’m guessing you did some heavy drinking if you had
a hangover,” she said, the bubbles from the soda going up her nose as she
spoke.

“Had the perfect excuse.
I
was at a wedding reception. I was best man to a guy I grew up with. He married
a girl from Chicago.”

“And you’re taking the train home to Seattle?” she
asked.

He shook his head. “Montana. I traveled to Chicago
by plane, but my buddy, the bridegroom, thought I’d like to see the plains and
Montana by train, so it was his gift for my services as best man.”

He rocked the ice gently over her temple.

“That was nice of him.”

“I guess so, although it’s taking me longer to get
back to work than I’d really like.”

“And what is your line of work?”

“I guess I’d call myself a cowboy.”

“Really.
I’ve
never met one of those before.”

“See how interesting this trip’s turning out to be.
Jennifer probably guessed it would be.”

She was impressed. He’d even remembered her sister’s
name. It showed he paid attention to what she was saying. Not many guys did
that.

“So I take it you’re riding the wheels all the way
to Seattle?” he asked.

Her body tensed up again at the mere mention of the
end of the line.

“I am, but I’m not sure I’ll be ready to scatter my
sister’s ashes once I finish this trip.”

“She
request
the ocean as a
resting spot?”

Josie shook her head. “She told me wherever I
thought she’d be happiest.”

“Then you’ll know where that is. Your heart will
tell you.”

She tried to raise her shoulders but couldn’t
because suddenly the tension was back in them.

“Here turn around. I know what’s causing your
headache.”

“You do?”

She turned around, not realizing he was intending to
massage her neck and shoulders until they made contact with her body.
 
His hands were strong and she wasn’t exactly
sure what cowboys did, but she could imagine him using a rope to round up cows and
horses. She closed her eyes, seeing him on a horse and wearing a cowboy hat.

 
His hands
felt so good, even downright sexy, and she wanted more. She wanted him. She’d
only just met Quinn, but she could imagine having sex with him. And if that
wasn’t naughty enough, doing it right here in the compartment.

Josie turned around to look at him.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Kiss me.”

Chapter
Four

He hadn’t seen that coming. He’d thought he was
being a little pushy with the massage, and now this. Her lips, those gorgeous
full pink lips were mere inches from his. A guy would have to be crazy not to
act upon that very generous offer.

Quinn leaned toward her, connecting his lips with
her mouth. It soon became obvious it wasn’t going to be a quick peck. She
wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers running along the nape of his
neck close to his hairline. He already had the mother of all erections when she
opened her mouth to him and now his cock was twitching, too. His tongue slipped
over her lips, introducing
itself
to hers.

The compartment was small, meaning sex would be fun,
and it would also be a challenge. And shit, just his luck, he didn’t have a
condom. He hadn’t thought he’d get lucky on this trip. Damn. Maybe she had one.

Her fingers moved through his hair some more, making
his nerve endings go on high alert. He knew it was stupid to get into this
thing deeper, but he did it all the same. He eased his hand underneath her
t-shirt. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Of course, she wouldn’t be, it was
nighttime, and this was her sleepwear.

Her nipple hardened as he waved his fingers across
it. He cupped her breast. It was gorgeous and heavy.
His
favorite kind.
His cock twitched again. He wanted her to touch him, open
his fly and stroke his cock. They were bound to have condoms somewhere on this
train. Hell, he’d even go compartment to compartment tracking one down if need
be. His hand slid over her belly, down inside her panties.

Time
to go look for a condom, Nolan.

But
just a little foreplay first.

His fingers went south into her curls. They were
thick and he wondered if they were strawberry blonde, too. He parted them with
his index finger, dipping lower until he made contact with the tiny bud beneath.
He ran his finger around her clit, feeling its heat radiate back into his skin.

Fuck,
get that condom and soon.

He flicked it one more time, thinking he had it
under control when Josie pulled away, sending his hand sliding from her body
and panties.

“I’m sorry. This is really embarrassing. It’s just
I’ve been so upset and…” She put her head into her hands.

Even though he was hard and ready to make love to
her, she was right. This wasn’t the right place to have sex, even if he could
track down a condom. He rested his hand on her shoulder.

“Nothing to be ashamed of.
I
got lost in the moment, too.”

She looked at him, blushing as she did so. He pushed
a stray piece of hair off her cheek where one of her almost dry tears had stuck
it to her skin.

“Please don’t think badly of me or that I’m a
tease.”

“Nothing like that entered my head.” He stood. “You
get some rest and I think you’ll feel like a new person in the morning.”

“Thank you, and thanks for the ice and drink and
the…”

“Anytime.”

He turned and left, his cock still twitching. He
liked her a lot. He’d like to get to know her, ask her out, but they were on a
train and soon he’d be back in Montana, her on her way to scatter her sister’s
ashes in Seattle.

Maybe if it was meant to be, life would have a way
of working it out.

Chapter
Five

Josie woke up the following morning wondering if
she’d dreamed the whole thing. She sat up, touching her lips as she did so.
That kiss had felt pretty damn real. It had also felt pretty damn good, too.

She rested her hand on her right breast. The sensation
of his hands on her nipple had made her legs feel like they were on fire. Her
panties had grown damp when he’d played with her clit, and that’s when she’d
realized what a fool she’d made of herself.

Not that she wouldn’t have wanted him to have sex
with her, but deep down inside she wasn’t a one night stand sort of girl. Okay,
Jennifer had encouraged her to go a little wild, live her life because you
didn’t know when your time was up, but she couldn’t bring herself to have sex
with a guy she’d just met, no matter how sexy and nice he was. Especially one
she’d never see again once he got off the train in Montana.

Facing him again was going to be embarrassing, but
she only had herself to blame.

She stretched out her legs, feeling hungry all of a
sudden. Glancing at her watch, she noticed it was already eight and the
restaurant car would have started serving breakfast an hour ago.

She pulled on her jeans and blouse, slipped on her
sneakers, and headed out and down the corridor, wondering if Quinn was awake
yet. Maybe she should get him a coffee and Danish and leave it outside his
compartment as a way of saying thanks for being there last night, and sorry I’m
a big tease. Maybe she’d leave out the second half.

Josie pulled back the door to the restaurant car and
stepped inside, noting that it wasn’t as packed as she’d imagined. She saw the
seat yourself sign by the cash register, and sat herself at the closest table.
She pulled the menu from the stand, glanced at it, and then looked up and saw
Quinn waving to her.

Her cheeks burned. It was obvious they’d run into
one another again before they got to Montana, but she’d hoped there would be
more time between what happened last night and now, so maybe he’d forget most of
it.

She waved back, but then he picked up his coffee mug
and newspaper and was heading her way.