Have Cowboy, Need Cupid (17 page)

But Cupid had failed miserably. No, Cupid hadn’t failed. She had.

She was the screwup, the one who had hurt Rafe.

And she would never forgive herself.

Needing a distraction, she decided to visit her father. She’d check on him and tell him in person about her proposal. Resigned, she climbed in her car and drove out of town, thoughts of Rafe flooding her as she passed the Dusty Pub, the bar where she had first met Rafe. She spotted his purple pickup truck, the one that he hated, and slowed.

He was inside now. Having a drink at the bar.

She could see him tipping that Stetson toward her the night they’d met. If she were completely honest with herself, she would admit that she’d fallen a little bit in love with him that first night when he’d held her in his arms and danced with her. And the day he’d given her riding lessons. And that day in the waterfall.

Pain seared her chest.

Was he holding another woman in his arms right now? Crooning soft words in her ear until he danced his way into her bed and her heart?

Chapter Sixteen

Rafe frowned at the juke box; Elvis’s words about being lonesome tonight ringing way too close to the truth. Damn it, he was lonesome and he didn’t like the feeling. Even worse, he had been at the pub for over an hour, three women had hit on him, and he had been unable to muster enough interest to even buy one of them a drink. And the last one had been a blond bombshell with blue eyes that could sink a man, and boobs that would have once sent him over the edge.

But the blond didn’t compare to Suzanne’s dark hair. Or eyes.

Suzanne Hartwell had ruined him for other women.

Which made it ten times more difficult to forget her.

And he wanted to forget her. He
desperately
wanted to forget her.

But fear niggled at him—when had he let her get under his skin? When had he started to care for her?

Had he fallen in love?

God help him. No. He could not be in love with a city girl who made ten times more money than him, one who had lied to him and nearly stolen his home right out from under him.

Hell, he still wasn’t sure the ranch was secure. The deal with Landon had helped, but Wallace was being a stickler about making up for the missed payments.

“Hey, cowboy, how about a dance?”

Rafe told himself to say yes. But then he looked into the redhead’s pretty green eyes and thought, why bother? It wouldn’t be fair to this lady to hold her in his arms when he really wanted to hold someone else.

“Sorry, darlin’, but I was just leaving.” Cursing himself for being even more of a fool, he threw down a few bills to cover the bar tab and limped outside for some fresh air. He should have stuck with training horses.

“D
AD, YOU LOOK
so much better.” Suzanne hugged her father, then placed the box of chocolates on the end table, relieved to see some color had returned to his cheeks. A potted plant sat on the coffee table, a fresh flower arrangement on another end table, and other flower arrangements covered the piano.

He clasped Eleanor’s hand in his and smiled. “My wife has been babying me to no end.”

The comment was so unlike her father that Suzanne laughed. Worry lined Eleanor’s face and the affectionate way the two were holding hands created myriad emotions inside Suzanne: happiness for her father that he’d finally found love again, as well as sadness that she’d failed so horribly in her own personal life.

“I see you’ve been keeping the florist busy.”

His father grinned, his face reddening as if embarrassed. A cactus from her uncle Wiley. The orange-and-yellow-striped bow should have been a dead giveaway.

“Now, what’s wrong, Suz?” her father asked. “You don’t look like yourself.”

Suzanne shrugged. “Just tired, Dad. You gave us quite a scare.”

“I’m sorry.” He squeezed Eleanor’s hand again and she kissed his cheek.

“I’ll go make some tea for everyone.” Tucking a curl behind her ear, she hummed as she headed to the kitchen.

“You two seem like you’re getting along well,” Suzanne said.

“That heart attack was the wake-up call your old dad needed.” He patted the space beside him on the sofa. “Life’s too short not to appreciate the nice things in life. You have to stop and smell the roses.”

Hadn’t her grandmother said as much in her letter to Suzanne?
The simple things are the best.

Unfortunately Suzanne had realized it all too late.

“Tell me what’s really bothering you now.” Her father lifted her hand in his, his eyes narrowing at the absence of the sapphire ring James had given her. “You turned down James’s proposal?”

Suzanne nodded, uncomfortable with this tender side of her father. “Have you spoken with him?”

“Not about personal matters, but he was ecstatic over your ideas for Sugar Hill. Specialty shops and antiques and arts and crafts stores should go over well there. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself.”

“Grammy Rose and Rebecca and the girls gave me the idea.”

“It’s brilliant. And it should make everyone in the town happy as well as boost the economy.”

Suzanne nodded. “I hope so. We have a long way to go to get the project off the ground, though.”

Her father tipped her chin up with his thumb. “So, why don’t you look happy? Having second thoughts about James?”

“No, it’s not James.”

“Then who?”

Suzanne glanced at the door, hoping Eleanor would rescue her, but had no such luck.

“It’s that cowboy, isn’t it?” Her father sighed. “I thought there was something going on between the two of you when I saw you together.”

“There is nothing going on,” Suzanne said. “He hates me.”

“What?” His eyebrows shot up. “How could any man hate my daughter? You’re lovely and smart and—”

“And I deceived him, Dad. I went to Sugar Hill to talk him into selling his ranch, but I didn’t tell him that I was working for James.”

“Oh.” He scratched his chin. “But you were doing your job. The man has to understand that.”

“He doesn’t understand why I lied. He’s an honest man, Dad. And the Lazy M Ranch has been in his family for generations.”

“An honest, broke man but sentimental, huh?”

“Money isn’t everything.”

“But you can’t pay bills without it, now, can you?”

Suzanne shrugged. That was the problem. And short of paying off Rafe’s loans for him, she didn’t know how to help him.

She clutched her father’s hand. That was it, she would find out how much he needed and make an anonymous donation. She had plenty of savings stored away that she’d planned to use to buy her condo instead of renting. And she loved Rafe enough to part with it. To save his beloved land and the memories his mother treasured. After all, life was too short; she could replace the money, but his mother’s memories were irreplaceable. Mrs. McAllister would lose the tree she’d planted when he was born and the one where she and her husband had married.

This was one thing she could do for Rafe and his mother, something to make up for her lies and for hurting him.

And if she worked it right, Rafe would never have to know….

T
HE NEXT WEEK
was one of the longest weeks in Rafe’s life. Every time he turned around, his mother was asking about Suzanne. Or he was seeing reminders of the woman who had glided into his life like a fairy angel, broken his heart and disappeared just as quickly.

Now, when he rode across the pasture and looked at the mountains, he remembered Suzanne’s look of awe at the splendor. When he passed the falls, he saw her nearly naked body, floating in the mist, her smile as radiant as the moonlight skating over the icy water.

Even Hazel and her baby calf reminded him of the danged woman.

Unfortunately, his mother’s newfound romance with Bud emphasized the fact that he was alone, driving the nail of despair deeper into his own wounded flesh.

He had mended every piece of broken fence he could find, he and Bud and Red had branded the new steers, and at night he had labored over the books, trying to squirrel out a few extra thousand.

Thursday afternoon, he entered the bank, his head high, praying Slim Wallace had softened on his demands since Horton Developers had backed off wanting his property. Another reminder of Suzanne.

Apparently, she was the new town hero.

He reluctantly admitted he admired her solution. But he hadn’t admired her lies.

Was she enjoying being back in Atlanta? Spending her days with the city crowd, her nights with Horton? The thought made his stomach sour.

The floor creaked as he stepped past the tellers to Wallace’s office. He was surprised to see Bud sitting in the man’s office.

“Come on in,” Wallace said.

Rafe frowned and raised his brow in question. Bud gave him a sheepish grin and cracked his knuckles.

“You want me to wait till you’re done?” Rafe asked, wondering if Bud was here to borrow money. He sure as hell hadn’t been able to give him a raise lately.

“No, sit down,” Wallace said.

“I asked to join you,” Bud explained, then cleared his throat, his gaze straying nervously.

Wallace laid a folder on his desk, then handed Rafe a copy. “All right, let’s talk business.”

Rafe reached in his pocket and pulled out the check he’d written earlier, hating that he’d had to accept money from Landon, but he had no choice. “This should get me almost caught up.”

Wallace took the check and studied it, then dropped it on his desk.

“And this should cover the rest,” Bud said, drawing out his own checkbook and scribbling out a check.

Rafe swallowed hard. “What the hell are you doing, Bud?”

“Helping out a friend,” Bud said. “Actually two friends. You and your mama.”

“I’m not taking your charity.” Rafe shot to his feet. “Put your checkbook back in your pocket.”

“Don’t be stubborn, Rafe,” Bud said. “You need the money, I’ve got it. Call it a loan if you want.”

“If you’ve got so much money, how come you’re working for me?”

Bud shrugged. “I like the Lazy M.” His grin turned sheepish again. “And I’ve liked your mama for a long time.”

Rafe stared at him dumbfounded. “But—”

“But nothing, Rafe. I want to marry your mother, so why shouldn’t I contribute to the ranch, something besides sweat and hard work? I want to be more.”

“Like a partner?”

“Gentlemen, this is all very touching,” Wallace said wryly, “but unnecessary.” He handed Bud back his check. “The loan has been paid off.”

“What?” The chair skidded across the floor when Rafe stumbled backward and bumped it.

“You heard me. An anonymous donor paid you up for the next three months.”

Rafe turned to Bud. “Did you do this?”

“No.” Bud held up his hands. “Honest. Else why would I be here?”

Rafe grunted in frustration. “Who did it, Wallace? You have to tell me.”

Wallace tugged at the collar of his shirt. “I can’t rightly say, Rafe. But if I were you, I’d count my lucky stars that someone was looking out for you.”

Rafe swore and stalked out, determined to find out who had done the good deed.

A good deed that he would rectify—a good deed that had humiliated him in front of Wallace and his own ranch hand.

“S
UZANNE
?”

Suzanne glanced up from her desk to see James approaching. Since her return to Atlanta, their relationship had been strained. She hadn’t broken the man’s heart, she realized when she’d heard he was dating their secretary, but she imagined she had wounded his pride.

Men and their darned egos.

The very reason she had to keep the fact that she had paid off Rafe’s debts a secret. She could imagine the cowboy’s reaction. Stubborn, sexy, cowboy—

“Suzanne, did you hear me?”

She startled, dragging herself back to reality. “I’m sorry, I guess I was preoccupied.”

His disgusted frown irritated her. “Listen, the mayor of Sugar Hill called, and the town definitely wants our company to oversee the development.”

“That’s great, James.”

“But they have one stipulation—they want you to run the show.”

“What?”

“The mayor said he doesn’t want to work with anyone but you. Something about being a Hartwell and family ties and that kind of garbage.”

“It’s not garbage,” Suzanne said, bristling. “But he knows I’ll be loyal and do the project right.”

“Then you want to do it?” His incredulous tone irked her more. “It would mean living in Sugar Hill for at least six months. Maybe a year.”

So close to Rafe. Could she stand it?

At least she would have her family close by. Her cousins, her sister. Here all she had was an empty condo that meant nothing to her. And a lot of lonesome nights.

Besides, she probably wouldn’t see much of Rafe, as he didn’t come into town that often.

“Call him and tell him I’ll do it.”

James gaped at her as if she was a fool. And maybe she was, but in the short time she’d been in Sugar Hill, she’d changed. She didn’t want to lose that part of herself.

Even if she never won Rafe back.

“B
UD TOLD ME
what happened in town today,” Rafe’s mother said over dinner.

Rafe speared the man with a cross look. “Yeah, you got any ideas who’d do such a thing?”

“You make it sound like someone stole from us.”

He slammed his fist down on the table, sending cutlery rattling. “They treated us like a damn charity case.” If he found out it was Landon, he’d damn well turn it down. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes his father had. Getting indebted to the man, then owing him and having to trade favors later.

His mother pushed her plate back and glared at him. “Rafe McAllister, you’re acting like a child. Now, stop throwing a tantrum and be grateful.”

“You know who it was, don’t you?”

“No.” She dotted her mouth with her napkin. “I assumed it was Bud.”

“But it wasn’t,” Bud said. “Although I would like to contribute and be a part of the family.”

Bud dropped to his knees. “I love you, honey. I know I’m just an old ranch hand, and I don’t have my own place, but I’ve got money saved that I can contribute to the Lazy M. Would you consider marrying me?”

“Oh, Bud.” His mother pressed her hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Rafe watched in stunned silence, his chest tightening.

“Well?” Bud pressed a hand over his heart. “You’re making me crazy waiting. Please say yes.”

“I love you, too,” his mother whispered in a shaky voice. “And I’d love to marry you.” He kissed her hand, then stood. His mother stood at the same time and the two embraced, kissing and gushing over each other like teenagers.

“Congratulations,” Rafe said as they pulled apart. He hugged his mother. “I’m happy for you, Mom.” He shook Bud’s hand. “And I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have in the family.”

Rafe pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He’d never felt so sentimental.

Or alone.

He strode out to the barn, saddled Thunder and mounted him, then rode toward his favorite part of the ranch. His mother was getting married and he was happy for her. She was past the hurt of losing his father and was moving on with her life. The ranch was saved, temporarily, although as soon as he found out who’d paid off his debts, he would make sure he’d returned the money.