Breakfast with a Cowboy (4 page)

“If you’re wondering what to order, they told me the
pancakes and sausages can’t be beat.”

He slid into the seat opposite her and their knees
bumped, reminding her of how good his body felt close to hers squeezed into the
small compartment.

“Oh, and by the way I’m buying,” he added.

“You really don’t have to.”

He raised his hand. “When a cowboy’s been that
familiar with a lady, he buys her breakfast.”

Her cheeks burned again. “Yeah, about last night…
I…”

He put his hand over hers. “No need to explain. I
enjoyed it.”

Me
too.
In fact, more
than you’ll ever know.

The waitress arrived at the table. “What can I get
you?”

“I guess I’m having the pancakes and sausages.”

“And can you make sure our orders arrive at the same
time,” added Quinn. “And put the lady’s meal on my tab.”

The waitress nodded and was gone.

“I guess when you make your mind up about something
that’s it,” said Josie.

“That about sums me up.”

He drank some of the coffee the waitress had topped
up for him, watching her over the rim of the mug as he did so.

“You get to sleep after I left?” he asked.

Josie nodded. She didn’t think she would but somehow
that kiss, and yes, the clit massage, had relaxed her in a way no migraine
medication ever had.

“Have you suffered from migraines all your life?” he
asked.

“Since I was a teenager.
My
mom has them, too.”

“I’ve heard they’re a real bitch.”

Josie nodded. “I guess it was the stress and upset
about this trip that brought it on.”

“Well, just sit back and enjoy the scenery, because
we’ll soon be crossing the state line into my home state.”

She smiled. Montana was a vast area, but it wouldn’t
be long before he’d be getting off the train and she’d be all on her own,
facing the prospect of arriving in Seattle with Jennifer’s remains. She should
have asked her parents to come along too, but she couldn’t bring herself to,
knowing how upset they’d be. Neither of them had fully recovered from
Jennifer’s passing.

“You ever been to Montana before?” he asked.

“No, this will be my first time.”

“You want to see some photos of the ranch where I’m
a cowboy?”

“Sure.”

He took out his cell phone and paged through some
photos.

“My dad owns it and I’m the only son who still works
it with him. My two other brothers are married and have ranches of their own.”

He passed the camera over to her and she sipped her
coffee while she looked at the shots. The first one was truly spectacular.
 
A shot of some rolling hills wrapped around a
pristine looking lake, and a snowcapped mountain stood in the background.

Quinn leaned across to page to the next photo and
she got a whiff of his spicy aftershave. She inhaled it, thinking that its scent
matched his ruggedness.
 
She glanced at
his hands, remembering them on her breasts and clit.

“Josie.”

She was miles away and hadn’t heard him talking to
her.

“Sorry.”

“These are some of the horses. As you can see that’s
me on one of them.”

He was wearing a cowboy hat and a short denim jacket,
and he looked like something from the Westerns her dad loved to watch. Her
heart skipped a beat. Who would have thought she’d have flipped so hard for a
cowboy of all people?

Their breakfast arrived and it gave her more time to
look at the photos of him and his ranch.

At least she could say she’d kissed a real cowboy.
Yeah, Jennifer would be proud. Her little sister had done at least one thing
she could check off from her
must do that
before I die
list.

“And just one more photo to show you before our
breakfast gets cold. This one is me and my dad.”

There was no mistaking it was a snap of father and
son.
Both with their arms around one another’s shoulders.
He had the same shape face as his father and the gorgeous blue eyes.

“Thanks for showing them to me. The ranch looks
beautiful.”

He put away his cell phone. “Oh, it is. I think of
it as a slice of heaven. In fact, if heaven does exist I can’t imagine it could
be any better than the ranch and surrounding area.”

Josie poured syrup over her pancakes. If they tasted
half as good as they looked and smelled she was in for a real treat. She took
her first bite and they melted over her tongue. Hard to believe they were
prepared in a train’s kitchen.

“They’re as good as they say, aren’t they?” asked
Quinn.

“Better than good.”
She
hated speaking with her mouth full, but she couldn’t wait to take another bite
before she responded. “How did you know I liked them?”

He lifted his fork and waved it at her. “I told you
I can read pleasure in people’s eyes. And you’re experiencing pure bliss.”

She laughed, feeling happy for the first time in
what seemed like forever. Quinn was fun company.

“Thank you for recommending them to me.”

“So what you do have planned for the day?” asked
Quinn.

“I thought I’d go to the observation deck and do
some sightseeing.”

“You mind if I join you? We’ll probably be going by
parts of the country I’ve never seen before.”

“Sure, I’d be glad of the company.”

****

Quinn was glad he’d brought his camera along on the
trip. Sure he’d taken one of her with his phone, but he also wanted to snap a
proper picture of Josie. The sun shone through the window in the observation
deck as she sat looking out. Maybe he was torturing himself by wanting to keep
a memory of the pretty girl he’d met on the train ride home. Chances were
they’d never see one another again. But he’d treasure her company and the photo
always.

“Did you just snap a photo of me?”

She had such a pretty smile, too.

“Yep.”

“You could have told me, because my hair probably
looks a mess.”

He reached over and pushed a few curls behind her
ear.

“It looks damn near perfect to me.”

“And I didn’t put on any make-up.”

He tapped her nose. “Why cover those cute freckles.
So what do you think of Montana?”

“So far it looks vast and rugged.”

“So you’ve never been to Glacier or Yellowstone
Park?”

She shook her head. “But I did use to watch re-runs
of Yogi Bear.”

He burst out laughing. He caught sight of the clock
on the wall, watching the second hand tick by at a speed that seemed faster
than ever. Each click meant he was getting closer to saying goodbye to the
gorgeous woman sitting next to him.

****

She’d forgotten that he’d asked her to have dinner
with him. She almost pretended she had a headache again, because she knew this
was the last night they’d be together. The last time she’d have company on the
journey, and she wanted to get used to being on her own while he was still
actually around, just in case she needed another pep talk. He was great at
those. But at the last minute she’d weakened.

“I hope you’re going to have the steak tonight,” he
said when they opened their menus.

“How could I say no?”

He winked at her before he took a swig of beer.

“Are all cowboys this charming and nice?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess all the ones I
know are nice, but charming well, that might be pushing it.”

The steaks arrived and although it was the best
thing she’d tasted, she just couldn’t eat much. Her stomach was in knots again,
knowing tomorrow she’d be alone with her thoughts and just a day or so away
from the end of the journey and saying goodbye not only to Quinn, but then to
Jennifer, too.

Quinn put his hand on top of hers.

“You look sad all of a sudden.”

He really was an expert at reading faces.

“Just thinking about my sister’s remains and where
I’m going to scatter them.”

He hadn’t taken his hand off hers and now he
squeezed it.

“You’ll know. Your heart will guide you to the right
spot for Jennifer.”

She was impressed he still remembered her sister’s
name. She’d been on dates where the guy couldn’t even remember
her
name.

****

The walk back to her compartment was the worst one
of her life. The train would be pulling into his stop early tomorrow morning.

She turned to look at him.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me while
we’ve been traveling buddies,” she said.

He took hold of both her hands this time.

“I’m glad I was around to help out. And everything’s
going to be just fine when you get to Seattle. I know it in my heart.”

She smiled but at the same time her bottom lip was
quivering. She’d never been any good with goodbyes.

“I’m going to give you my telephone number. And if
you ever find yourself in Timber Creek, just ask anyone there and they’ll show
you the way to my ranch. Just about everyone in town knows everyone else.”

He handed her a napkin from the restaurant car on which
he’d written his name, the ranch name, and his telephone number.

She didn’t think she’d be back this way anytime soon,
but she’d hang on to it as a nice memory of the sweet cowboy she met. It would
be something to tell her kids and grandkids about, the journey she took to
scatter Aunt Jennifer’s remains.

“I guess you should be getting some shut eye,
because you’ll probably be up and gone before I even open my eyes,” she said,
knowing she was on the point of tears. She hoped he didn’t see them forming in
her eyes.

“Yeah, I should do that.”

He leaned over and kissed her. Not the same type of
kiss they’d had last night, but this time a sweet tender one. He held his hand
under her chin so he could lift her face upward to meet his lips.

“Take care and remember to follow your heart about
where to scatter Jennifer’s remains.”

She nodded, biting her lip, fighting the urge to cry
and beg him not to get off the train but to come with her to Seattle, but that
would be asking way too much.

“I hate goodbyes, so I’m not going to say it, but
once again thanks for the meals and the advice,” she said.

He nodded. She couldn’t look at him anymore, so she
darted into her compartment, biting her lip again, and tasting him still on it.

Chapter
Six

Quinn hadn’t slept for more than an hour.
And not just because he was scared of oversleeping and missing his
stop.
He hadn’t been able to get Josie out of his mind. He’d remember the
last time she looked at him,
forever.

He’d contemplated going back and asking her to get
off the train in Montana with him, so they could spend more time together, but
he knew she had to get the duty of honoring her sister’s wishes over and done
with. He sensed it was causing her lots of stress.

While he’d never been given such a task, he could
sympathize with how she was feeling and what would be going through her mind
the moment she opened the urn and freed her sister to the wind. So now wasn’t
the time for thinking about the two of them beginning a
relationship.

And he’d always believed the right woman would make
her way to him. Sure, he’d been the big macho cowboy in the past and he wanted
to be in the driver’s seat about possibly seeing Josie again, but she had to do
it in her time, and only after she’d healed.

Fuck, he hoped he was right about what he felt in
his heart, that one day soon she’d come calling at his door. He picked up his
case and bag containing his suit, and slung it over his shoulders. The train
had stopped and it was light outside. He hoped Josie would be up in time to see
the scenery at the edge of Glacier National Park.

He stepped down onto the platform and was glad to be
home. He couldn’t wait to get back to the ranch, put on his cowboy hat, his
chaps, and go round up some cattle.

Quinn knew it was stupid of him, but he turned and looked
as the train moved. He stood and watched. He was pretty certain it was Josie
standing at one of the windows in the corridor.

He blew a kiss. Even if it wasn’t her, hopefully
he’d made some lady’s day.

He turned back to the exit because he couldn’t stand
to see the train disappear completely down the track. He might get too choked
up. He turned and noticed his dad standing at the other side of the gate with
the pick-up truck. They waved to one another.