Breakfast with a Cowboy (5 page)

“Have a good trip?” asked his dad. They hugged.

“Yeah, at least I can say I’ve seen
Chicago,
and most of Montana by train.
Anything
exciting happen while I’ve been gone?”

“Couple of the cows gave birth and that’s about it.
How about you, anything out of the ordinary take place?”

They got into the pick-up.

“You could say that.”

****

Josie had attempted to go to the restaurant car, but
then she’d changed her mind. As a single woman, she’d been forced to eat alone
many times, but after having Quinn’s company for the last couple of days, it
would take some getting used to again. Instead, she’d taken a cinnamon roll and
mug of coffee to her compartment and read the Montana newspaper the train had
taken onboard at the last stop.
 

Quinn’s
stop.

She’d promised herself she wouldn’t look for him,
but when she’d felt the jerk of the train stopping, she couldn’t help
herself.
 
She’d rushed out into the
corridor and taken a peek, hoping to spot him for the last time.

If by some miracle, he’d turned around and looked at
the train as it had inched its way along the track. He’d seen her and blown her
a kiss. She rummaged around into her bag for the napkin on which he’d written
his number and the name of the ranch.
Timber Creek.
She placed it inside of her make-up case for safe keeping, knowing that one day
she might get up the nerve to call him.

She looked over at the urn with Jennifer’s ashes.

“Okay, I should have given him my number too,” she
said.
 
“But you have to remember I’m new
at this take life by the horns sort of thing.”

She smiled. It was only the second time she’d talked
to Jennifer out loud, and strangely she found it relaxing, healing almost.

Tomorrow she’d be in Seattle. She’d booked a hotel
near the Space Needle because it had been within her budget. She’d told them
she was staying for two, possibly three nights before she flew back to St.
Louis. She’d have to decide soon where she was going to lay her sister to rest.
She hoped when she got to the Emerald City, she’d find the right spot, and more
than likely that would be out at sea.

“Wherever you think I’d like it
best.
Where I’d like to spend forever.”

Josie squeezed her eyes shut, almost on the verge of
tears again.
She recalling
Jennifer’s words as she lay
in bed, growing weaker as the cancer consumed more of her body.

Panic washed over her again. She’d never see Jennifer
again and Quinn was no longer in the next compartment to take away the pain.

Chapter
Seven

“It looked like a beautiful wedding,” said his dad, peering
at the photos Quinn had snapped with his cell phone. He had more on his camera
but hadn’t dug it out from his bag yet. Quinn poured them both another mug of
coffee as they sat at the kitchen table.

“It was and I hope Mel’s going to be happy there. I
don’t think I could ever leave Montana.”

“Well, he’s got himself a nice wife so that always
helps. And who is this?”

His dad turned the cell phone around. He’d stumbled
upon the shot of Josie.

“A girl I met on the train.”

“Pretty. You get her number?”

Quinn shook his head and his dad slapped his hand.
“Are you slipping in that department or what?”

“I didn’t want to seem pushy. She was taking the
journey with her sister’s ashes, which she was going to scatter in Seattle. The
train ride…it was something on her sister’s bucket list.”

“Well, that’s a wonderful thing to do for your
sibling. And I hope you and your brothers will do the same for your mother and
me.”

Quinn hated to think of his parents not being around
anymore.

“So how are you two going to connect again?” asked
his dad.

“I gave her my number and the name of the ranch.”

“You think she’ll call?”

Shit, he hoped so, he really hoped so.

****

Josie stood at the end of the pier, hugging the urn
to her chest. It was a beautiful afternoon and the view out across Puget Sound
was breathtaking. Calm, tranquil, and she thought Jennifer might like to have
this as her final resting spot. She took off the top of the urn, prepared to
let the ashes be taken into the wind, but when the first pieces were lifted in
the air, she stopped and put the top back, holding her hand firmly over it.

This didn’t feel right. Quinn told her she’d feel it
in her heart, and now she didn’t.

Sitting down on the nearest bench, Josie realized
she wasn’t sure about anything anymore. If this was where Jennifer wanted to be,
then she wouldn’t have stopped, right? She blinked away some tears.
The thought of her only sibling’s ashes being out at sea and miles
from her and her parents suddenly unsettled her again.

She took a deep breath.

“Oh, Jennifer, why did you burden me with this
chore?”

She reached into her bag and dug out her make-up carrier,
knowing her tears were sending mascara streaming down her cheeks and a few
people walking by were beginning to stare.

Her hand caught the napkin with Quinn’s number on it.
It almost blew away but she caught it in time. She fingered each of the numbers
and letters he’d written. She could still smell his spicy cologne on the paper.

Josie dug out her cell phone and dialed.

Chapter
Eight

Hope
you’re looking down at me now and smiling, big sister
.

Josie rested her head against the frame of the pick-up
truck as she headed toward the ranch in Timber Creek. She’d recognized Quinn’s
dad, Rich, from the photo he’d shown her on the train. Rich had answered the
phone at the ranch when she’d called.

“You don’t know how excited he’ll be to have you
stop by. I caught him looking at the photo of you more than once.”

It had been Rich’s idea to surprise his son. He had
suggested to Josie that he pick her up at the train station. Lucky for her
she’d been able to book a seat at the last minute.

“Here’s our town,” said Rich, slowing up so Josie
could take a look.

“I see you have a library. Did Quinn tell you I’m a
librarian back home?”

“No, he didn’t. I love to read, and my wife was a
school teacher, so books were always important in our home. And our local
watering hole is over there.”

“It’s wonderful and the view of the mountains is
just as great.”

Josie didn’t know where to look first. The mountain
range ahead, the river running beside the road Rich drove on. He turned down a
dirt road with the sign Timber Creek on a board.

“When I left the ranch Quinn was out trying to herd
up a few sick cows for the vet to check over, so he might still be out here
someplace.”

He drove over a batch of bumps, making Josie hold
onto the seat. As they turned the corner, she saw him. Up on a horse, cowboy
hat on, denim jacket and jeans, and her heart skipped a beat. Rich stopped the
truck as if he knew Josie would want to sit and take in the view of his son.

“He’s great on that cutting horse, much better than
I ever was, and the animals trust and love him.”

She watched in fascination as Quinn continued to
edge the horse against one of the cattle, separated him from his buddies, and
then finally roped him.

“There you’ve seen what being a
cowboy’s
all
about.”

It was as if he knew she was there, because he
looked across the field and smiled. He touched his hat to her.

Rich wound down the window. “Is this a nice surprise
or what?” he shouted.

Quinn waved his hat in the air.

“We’ll meet you up at the house,” called Rich.

****

Quinn only wished he’d had time to shower, shave,
and change out of his muck-laden clothing, but Josie was waiting for him in the
kitchen. His father had made her coffee and the two of them were tucking into
the carrot cake his mom had sent over for lunch.

“Dad, you knew Josie was coming here and you didn’t
tell me?”

“Early birthday gift.”
He
stood. “Now I have to get home, so you two have fun. Nice meeting you Josie and
hope you’ll stick around for a while.”

“Thanks, and thank you for the ride here. I would
never have found it by myself.”

They shook hands and soon his dad was driving away.

“I’m speechless,” said Quinn.

Josie stood and he couldn’t help himself. He hugged her
and then kissed her on the lips, hoping he wasn’t making this all up in his
head.

“You decided to check out Montana?”

“
That,
and I missed your
company on the last leg of the trip.”

“Always nice to hear.
Did
my dad give you a tour of the area?”

“A little.
I
saw the town and your library.”

Quinn laughed and held both her hands. “And that’s
not made you run, thinking you’ve stepped back in time?”

Josie shook her head. She could get use to a place
like this with its wonderful views. And of course, there was another great view
inside the house, too.

“Are you tired? You want to take a nap?”

“Nope, I did that on the train.”

“Then let me take a quick shower because I probably
don’t smell or look that great.”

Who was he kidding? He both looked and smelled
wonderful.

“Make yourself at home. There’s more coffee and I’m
sure Mom sent enough carrot cake to feed the whole town.”

Quinn disappeared into another part of the house and
Josie sat down and began reading
Ranch
Life
magazine. She flipped through the pages, fascinated with all the items
a rancher needed to go about his daily work.

The phone rang and she wasn’t sure if she should
answer it for Quinn or not, but then he walked into the kitchen, his hair damp,
his chest hair flat against his skin, with just a towel wrapped around his
waist.

Her pussy pulled and danced a steady beat just
looking at his butt as the material stretched across his rear as he headed
toward the phone. Once answered, he turned around and looked at her as he spoke
to whoever was on the other end.

 
She’d been
caught red-handed yet again.

Josie tried to focus on something else in the
kitchen. The old-fashioned stove, or the photos on the fridge door, but she
couldn’t. The only thing she could zero in on was the bulge by the spot where
he’d overlapped the towel to secure it.
 
She shifted her gaze higher, feeling her
panties grow damp, and a sudden rush of her juices escaping from her pussy.

A few droplets of water glistened on his chest and
she was tempted to lick them away.

Josie had been so involved in that sexy scenario
that she hadn’t realized he’d finished with his call.

“I guess the thing on the train wasn’t just you
feeling sad and doing something out of character, was it?”

Shit,
definitely caught red-handed.

“You feel it too don’t you?” he asked.

She was trapped, caught, and there was nothing she
could do but give in to what she truly felt.

He beckoned her over to him. She stood, legs
wobbling on every tiny step she took. She knew what was about to happen here.
Men and women could only keep their hands off one another for so long, and then
bingo
.

Quinn pulled her the last bit of the way, catching
her unaware so she fell against his chest.
The sexy and
slightly damp one.
She ran her hands over it. He drew in his breath. The
firm muscles of his chest pushed against her fingers. Josie remembered him
riding the horse as she drove into the ranch with his dad. The sexy man with
the hat, the boots, and now she wondered what it would be like to be to have
him make love to her.

His erect cock brushed against her thigh and it set
off every nerve in her body, putting them on high alert.
Danger erotic situation ahead
.
He
leaned in and kissed her, putting his index finger under her chin so he could
pull her face up a tad. His tongue slid across her lips. This was a different
sort of kiss than the one on the train.

Daring is how she felt, and daring she’d be. She
might never find herself in this situation with a sexy cowboy ever again. She
ran her hand down the front of the towel, feeling his cock twitch. Becoming all
the more brazen, she eased her hand through the tiny gap that held the two
sides together. She circled his shaft with her fingers, hearing him draw in his
breath close to her ear.