Her Four Cowboys

“I’m not gonna lie, I love where this is going,” she said.

“Shut up and let me talk,” I said, and her laugh over the phone managed to lessen my stress just a little. But now that I was thinking about the kiss once again, there was little chance of my thinking of anything other than how much I was obsessing. “So, we left the room, and went to rejoin the party—”

“DAMMIT,” she called, and the shout caught me so off guard that I had to laugh.

“—and in the middle of the hallway, he stopped me, and pointed out that we were standing under mistletoe.”

“Okay, much better,” she said. “I think I can guess where the rest of this is going.”

“Yeah,” I said. “We kissed. Well, it was more than that. We, like, really kissed.”

“None of this sounds bad, Luce,” she said. “So, I’m not sure why you sound so weird.”

“I’m just so confused.”

“About what?” she asked, sounding quite confused. “Lucy, what do you think of Adam? And don’t think too hard about it. Just say the first thing that comes to mind.”

“I think he’s a great person. I love him as a friend, and I’ve always thought that he was cute, even when I didn’t think of him romantically. Now, when I look at him—” I blew out another breath.

“You can’t stop yourself from thinking dirty, dirty thoughts?” she said.

“You’re evil.”

“I’m also right.”

I laughed a little.

“Hon, there’s nothing wrong with just… exploring,” she said. “As long as you’re honest with him, then take it one day at a time. There’s no reason why this can’t become something more.”

I didn’t say anything about the other thoughts that I’d been having, about Adam’s brothers. It might’ve given her some context about my conflict, but I tamped it down.

If I didn’t say it, then it wouldn’t be real.

14

AUSTIN

I was practically radiating with tension as I waited for Lucy to drive up to the ranch so that she could check in on the horses and their progress. I’d been so tense at first at the thought of the horses deteriorating further that the I’d slept in the barn for a few nights to make sure that they weren’t taking a turn for the worse at any point.

Now, about nine days after the first examination that Lucy had administered to Rosie and Sage, I was pacing back and forth in front of the barn as I waited for her to arrive for their follow-up appointment.

The truth was that I had no reason to doubt that this treatment was perfectly effective. Rock Ledge was a small enough town that whenever I walked around any general area, I either ran into her or someone who wanted to talk to me about her.

Our families’ closeness was common knowledge, both because of Lucy’s old friendship with Adam and our mothers’ friendship. The other thing that was common knowledge was my less-than-official medical knowledge, and the fact that I’d shadowed Doc Boyd a good amount as a teenager.

The result was that I could barely avoid any mention of her when I went out and about, and when I was already trying to just maintain my equilibrium while ensuring that my horses weren’t getting worse, the mere mention of Lucy was proving enough to overwhelm me. Not simply her looks, or her knowledge, or her abilities… but all of it.

It gutted my ego to say so, but she’d been right about the foam supports. Given what both Sage and Rosie’s bodies had been through in delivering their foals, they needed the extra help and support for their joints to heal in the way that they needed to. I’d been so stuck in my ways, convinced that the things we’d always done were the right way to do things, and there had been something in me that hadn’t been willing to admit to the resentment that I felt over her being right… and my lack of knowledge.

I couldn’t just continue lingering around the barn like a bad smell—not when I knew that she would be here at any moment to do the follow-up examination. I grabbed some small apples from the bucket next to Rosie’s stall and held them out to her and Sage, feeling gratified when they went for them immediately. I was happy that the anti-inflammatory medication hadn’t adversely affected their appetites too badly, and that they were making a quick turnaround.

Sliding the barn door open, the cold winter air that came gusting through the field grounded me so that I could get my head out of my butt and meet her with professionalism.

Trekking up to the fence, I set my hands against the wooden posts, watching down the road for her truck. The bracing winter air took my breath away, and I paused for a second to shut my eyes as I waited for Lucy to arrive.