Redeeming the CEO Cowboy

He glanced at his wristwatch. Eight-thirty. “Okay, here goes,” he said. “Be good, pup.”

Halfway out the front door, he stopped short, turned and walked into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, he stared at the contents. He had to get some food stocked; the fridge was downright depressing. He grabbed two cold beers and shouldered the door shut. “What the heck.”

He didn’t know if Susanna liked beer. He didn’t know much about her at all, really. Not Susanna, the adult. On a deep breath and holding the beers as a peace offering, he exited the house and walked the short distance to his neighbor’s house. Rapping his knuckles lightly on the screen door, he waited.

It took a minute for her to open the door. She stood behind the mesh screen, her eyes focused somewhere between his neck and shoulders. “Hi.” He kept his voice low. “Is Ally sleeping?”

“Yes, I just finished reading to her and she’s out.”

He smiled to himself as the image flashed of Susie sitting next to Ally on her bed, getting cozy and snuggling together. He gestured to the porch. “It’s a nice night. Wanna sit out on the steps?”

Her gaze flew toward the hallway and she listened for a second. “Okay. If I keep the door open, I can listen for Ally in case she wakes up.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She stepped outside, and quietly closed the screen door. Casey waited for her take a seat. Of course, she hugged the farthest side of the porch steps. Casey took his cue and sat on the opposite end. Three feet separated them. It probably hurt her shoulders to sit so stiffly. She hugged her arms around her middle and focused her attention on the sky, a slice of the moon, the large cottonwood by the sidewalk. Anywhere but at him. “Would you like one?” he asked, lifting a beer her way.

“Oh, uh,” she glanced at the bottle. “Sure.”

She reached for it and his finger brushed hers as they made the exchange. Casey met her eyes in that moment and she shifted her gaze to the ground. “How was your day?” he asked.

“Busy, but good.”

“Get all your deliveries made?”

“Yeah, I did. Worked on the books and made a few more batches of muffins and cupcakes this afternoon.”

“For?”

“I have online orders too. I package them up and send them locally to three other counties. There’s just a handful of customers right now but I’m hoping to...” She shrugged. “Never mind.”

“You’re hoping to expand?” Casey guessed. She was passionate about what she did. Her nerves and whatever anger she held toward him couldn’t disguise her excitement.

“Open my own shop one day.” She raised the beer bottle to her lips and took a big gulp.

He nodded and took a swig too. “I remember you liked cooking. You were always helping your mother in the kitchen, but how did you get into this business?”

“I fell into it really. When Dad’s multiple sclerosis got real bad, I quit college and came back home to help my mother care for him. My mom was working part-time back then and she just couldn’t do it all. I could see the strain on her face and it was getting worse every day. My dad had good days and bad days. MS is like that. Every day was a new experience. On the good days, we’d do whatever he felt like doing, playing checkers, watching movies, occasionally we’d go on an outing. On the bad days, when all he could do was stay in bed, I’d dabble in the kitchen and come up with recipes for cupcakes. When visitors stopped by, I’d offer them one of my creations. Everyone seemed to love them and they began asking me to bake for their children’s birthday parties or special occasions. After Dad died, I—I—uh, sorry,” she choked out.

Her eyes clouded up with tears and she didn’t finish her sentence. One tear fell onto her cheek. Oh, man. Why’d he have to ask her about her business? Audrey had already filled him on some of her story. But was it a sin to try to get her to speak to him? Or even look him straight in the eye? Protective urges warred inside his acid-drenched gut. It was all he could do to keep from reaching for her to give her the comfort she needed.

To help make the sadness go away.

He knew the pain of losing a parent. When he was a teenager, a deadly storm had taken the lives of both of his folks. The ache never fully went away. It was there and sometimes a random memory would come out of nowhere and shatter him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She straightened and pulled herself together, using the back of her hand to wipe moisture from her eyes. “I will be. I...I don’t usually do this. It’s just that...sometimes it hits me all over again.”

“I know the feeling.”

A sigh wobbled from her lips. “I know you do.”

Keep her talking. “Audrey told me after George died, you continued living here to help your mother adjust.”

“Yeah, I did.” Susanna leaned forward, braced her elbows on her knees and cradled her face with her palms. Gazing straight ahead, she went on, “Mom was a mess. She needed me, so I stayed, but I had to earn a living. We’d been scraping by and we really needed the money. That’s when Sweet Susie’s was born.”

“You put your life on hold for your dad and mom.”

She shrugged. “I wanted to do it. To me, there was no other option.”

She wasn’t his sister’s silly young friend anymore. Her loyalty and dedication to her family was admirable...and rare. Just when she had an opportunity to branch out on her own, she’d taken Ally in because the child had nowhere else to go, as Audrey had put it.

If only he wasn’t noticing how Susanna Hart had grown into a pretty sensational woman all around.

He studied her profile. Her chin was delicate, her cheekbones high, her skin dewy soft. Her ponytail hung loose. Long wispy strands of hair framed her face, the color reminding him of autumn leaves right before they turned, golden in some spots, red in others, blending naturally into something phenomenal.

His gaze dipped to her soft shoulders exposed by the cotton tank top she wore and then farther down to where her top dipped into a smooth valley covering her breasts, which were round and amazingly full for her small stature. She had to be five-foot-four to his six-foot-two. Because he was a glutton for punishment he gave her legs a quick once over. She was wearing shorts. It wasn’t her fault it was summer and she had long, gorgeous, tanned legs. He tried his damnedest not to stare at them.

Ten years ago, those legs had wrapped around him. She’d fit him perfectly and it hadn’t been awkward making love to her. No, the awkwardness had come immediately afterward, once he’d realized what he’d done.

Crap. He had no business going there. No business stirring up trouble in his head.

He took a swallow of his beer and pulled his gaze away, looking out at the same aggravating tree she’d been focused on since she stepped out of her house.

No one said another word.

Casey sipped his beer quietly and put his thirty-five-year-old hormones on notice. He’d be damned not to say what he’d come here to say to Susanna. His mission was clear. First he needed to break the ice and gain her friendship back. He saw no way around it.

He set his bottle down, stretched out one leg and pivoted his body toward her. “We should probably talk about it, Susanna,” he said quietly.

Her eyes squeezed shut. She made no effort to conceal her dismay and when she opened them again, that damned tree still held her attention. “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“I do.”

“Why? It’s in the past.”

“Because we’re neighbors again and you haven’t looked me in the eye since I got here.”

“Have too.”

“Not for more than a second and only when you had no other choice.”

Her mouth twisted and she turned sharply, forcing her eyes to his. “I’m looking at you now.”

He nodded. “That’s a start.”

* * *