No Getting Over A Cowboy

Loretta did, but only after Nicky started mumbling to herself as she looked over the new to-do list. The moment Loretta was gone, however, Nicky slipped off the ribbon, lifted the lid a fraction and looked inside.

Oh, God.

Two yellow roses.

Her stomach went into a spin, and for a couple of seconds, it felt as if someone had sucked all the air from the planet. But the oxygen was there, and Nicky took several deep breaths, hoping they would steady her. That was asking a lot of mere air, but it helped some. It helped even more when she tossed the box in the trash bag that she’d been using as a garbage can.

The roses were nothing, she reminded herself.

Nothing.

It took a couple more repeats of that mantra, more deep breaths, too, but Nicky finally gathered some composure. She didn’t have time for games like this.

She glanced at Kaylee to make sure she was still asleep and then went in search of a plunger. She only got a few steps before she saw a familiar face headed her way. Gina Simpson, car accident. But this was one additional widow Nicky actually wanted to see. Gina was not only Kaylee’s nanny, but she was also Nicky’s best friend.

“There’s a really hot cowboy unclogging a toilet.” Gina hitched her thumb in the direction of the other side of the house. “Never thought of that as hot, but he managed to make it look spellbinding. He’s got an audience, too. I think a couple of the women are hoping for a butt-crack showing.”

With that, Gina pulled Nicky into her arms for a too-hard hug. Gina was built like an Amazon warrior and sort of resembled one, too, with that untamed mop of brunette hair and six-foot body. The tattoos helped with that image. She had one on her arm, another on her ankle, and a gold nose ring that always seemed to catch the light just right.

“What’s wrong?” Gina said after looking at Nicky’s eyes.

Nicky dismissed her worry with a wave of her hand. “Just tired, that’s all.” And to get them on a different subject, she added, “Who’s the toilet-cleaning cowboy?” Because she couldn’t imagine Garrett volunteering for that. Of course, she couldn’t see him refusing to do it, either. Beneath all that growl and hiss, she suspected he was a nice guy. He just hadn’t been a nice guy with her.

“Lawson Granger,” Gina provided. “A brother?”

“Cousin. Garrett’s brother doesn’t live here at the ranch.” Actually, Lawson didn’t, either. He had a place in town.

“I got your messages about the dead body and the change of location.” Gina glanced into the office, smiled when she spotted Kaylee. “Thought you could use some help so I picked up fried chicken and pizza. It’s on the counter in the kitchen. Oh, and I hauled my camper trailer here. Figured you could use the extra space. It only has one bed, but I can double up.”

Nicky could have kissed her. And she did. She kissed Gina’s cheek. “Sometimes, I think you have ESP.”

“Oh, I do.” She winked, but it wasn’t exactly a joke.

Gina did have a knack for anticipating problems, which made her an excellent nanny. It also made her a little creepy sometimes, and it was impossible to keep a secret from her. Not from others, though, thank goodness. And Nicky had some she wanted to keep secret. A couple of them she was trying to forget, two that could further complicate what she was trying to do here in Wrangler’s Creek.

And one that could destroy her.

Gina leaned in. “So, how’s it going with the ex-lover boy? Is he helping the women get settled in?”

Nicky was thankful for the question. It got her mind off those secrets, even though the new topic wasn’t an especially happy one. “No. He’s probably staying as far away as possible.” Nicky sighed. “I told him he wouldn’t notice we were here, but he definitely noticed.”

“Poor baby.” There was plenty enough sarcasm in Gina’s voice. “Serves him right after the way he treated you. A teenage girl’s heart is a fragile thing, and breaking it requires some getting even.”

Nicky sighed again, something she’d likely be doing a lot. In hindsight, it hadn’t been a good idea to tell Gina about the deflowering/breakup incident with Garrett. But there’d been margaritas involved, and Nicky usually got blabbery after a couple of those. Of course, Gina had taken her side on this. That’s what friends did, but now that Garrett and Gina would be in each other’s company, Nicky hoped her friend didn’t dig up those old bones with Garrett.

“I think I made a mistake, trying to put all of this together,” Nicky confessed.

She’d wanted a place of respite for women who’d lost their partners. Women who were trying to piece their lives back together. Something Nicky had been trying to do since her husband had died almost eighteen months earlier. Of course, her piecing together wasn’t solely from grief. She’d had plenty of other things to deal with because of Patrick. By giving back to the women, Nicky had hoped she would work things out for herself, too.

“The Widows’ House looked good on paper, but maybe I need to throw in the towel.”

Gina dismissed that with a pshaw. Whatever that meant. “You’re just tired and maybe still a little queasy. Did you throw up when you saw the dead body?”

Nicky nodded. “Three times. But it’s more than the dead body.” Something she thought she’d never hear herself say. “It’s, well, being here around Garrett. I didn’t think it would bother me this much.”

“Again, that’s fatigue.” Gina shrugged. “And maybe leftover lust,” she added in a whisper. “If he looks anything like his cousin, then he’s lust-worthy. But you also know lust leads to crushed hearts.”

Yes, she did know that. But knowing it didn’t make her feel any better. She needed to heal, and it was best not to get broken again while she was trying to do that.

Gina put her arm around her. “Tell you what. Let’s wake up Kaylee, get some pizza in both of you and then Kaylee can sleep with me in the camper. That’ll give you that itty bitty sofa all to yourself.” She paused. “That is where you planned to sleep, right?”

“Yes.” And that wasn’t exactly ESP on Gina’s part. Gina just knew her well enough to know that Nicky wouldn’t take one of the beds. Not when she felt personally responsible for this situation.

“Let me get that doll baby.” Gina hurried in to scoop up Kaylee. The little girl protested, whined, yawned and then smiled when she saw Gina. Lots of hugs ensued as if they hadn’t seen each other for days instead of just hours.

Nicky followed Gina and Kaylee to the kitchen, but before she made it there, her phone dinged with a text message.

Call me soon, the text read, and it wasn’t from just any ol’ somebody.

It was from Meredith, Garrett’s ex-wife.

Nicky frowned. Then frowned some more. Meredith could be another complication that she didn’t need, but sooner or later she was going to have to call the woman back. And tell Garrett all about this.

After another frown and sigh, Nicky opted for later.

* * *

GARRETT HAD FIGURED since it was four in the morning that there’d be no one in the house up and about. He’d figured wrong.

Mrs. Batson, heart attack, was on the back porch steps, and she was smoking a cigarette. She quickly snuffed it out, and as she’d done at Z.T.’s place, she skittered back inside. Well, at least she hadn’t gotten in his way.

Garrett slipped inside, glancing around the kitchen. No one. But there were some pizza boxes on the counter so he helped himself to a cold slice and a Coke before he went up the hall toward his office.

He passed the family room along the way and spotted two women on the sleeper sofa. Heaven knew how many of them were scattered throughout the house by now. Or how long they would be there. But in a couple of hours he could start bugging Clay about getting Z.T.’s place cleared so the women could return to it. It had only been a day since they’d discovered the body, but maybe Clay could work extra fast on this.

By the time Garrett got to his office, he’d nearly finished the pizza, but he clamped the remainder between his teeth so he’d have a free hand to grab some files from his desk drawer. He opened the door.

And froze.

There was enough moonlight coming through the window that he had no trouble seeing the woman lying on his desk. She was curled up in a fetal position and was using a book for a pillow.

What the hell?

It was Nicky.

She lifted her head. In the same motion, she gasped, grabbed a pen and jabbed it at him the way a person would wield a knife. She missed, but a strange garbled sound left her mouth. Maybe trying to choke back a scream.

“Garrett?” Nicky said on a rise of breath. “You scared the bejeebers out of me.”