A Valentine For The Cowboy

“Of course.”

She climbed down from the cab and got into the passenger side of his car. Her aunt and uncle had been so wonderful to her that she really hoped to find a stone that her uncle would be excited about to give his wife.

* * *

AFTER WORKING ALL day in the winter pasture, Eli took care of his horse and then left the barn and drove his blue rattletrap of a truck down to his house to shower and change his clothes. He made himself a couple of peanut butter sandwiches before leaving to pick up his daughter at the main ranch house. The ranch foreman, Luis, and several stockmen waved to him from a distance.

When Eli pulled up to the house, he saw an unfamiliar Ford pickup truck parked in front. It could be someone here to talk business with Wymon, except his brother’s truck wasn’t around. Neither was the Land Rover.

Anxious to give his little girl a hug, he hurried inside, but no one seemed to be about. There weren’t any voices coming from the front office. No patter of little feet. He walked through the foyer and down the hall to the kitchen where he found the dark-haired housekeeper at the sink, washing vegetables.

“Solana? Whose truck is out in front?”

She looked over her shoulder. “Roce came home from Missoula and brought a woman with him. I suppose they’ve gone up to the gem shop in his car.”

Whoa.

Maybe his brother had finally found the perfect woman to settle down with. He’d certainly had his share of girlfriends over the years. Roce had probably invited her to tonight’s rodeo. Their brother Toly and his partner, Mills, were competing in the team roping event. “Did you meet her?”

“No.”

“Where’s Mom?”

“She took Libby to the shop with her. They’ll be back soon.”

He checked his watch. “She’ll need to be since we’re leaving for the rodeo in an hour and a half. Are you sure it won’t put you out to watch Libby while we’re gone?”

“Of course not. I love her.”

“She loves you, Solana. Even so, I’m trying to find the right person to take care of her so you and Mom don’t have to shoulder the whole load. Libby’s my responsibility after all.”

“Stop your worrying,” the housekeeper said. “We’re happy to help.”

“And I appreciate it,” Eli said. “But I want you to know that I am looking.” Now that his daughter was fourteen months old, she was a real handful. His mother insisted that taking care of Libby helped her deal with her husband’s death, but it was still hard work and no one knew that better than Eli. “I’ll drive up there and relieve her.” He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge to wash down the sandwiches and went back out to his truck.

After starting the engine, he took off up the road past the barn and outbuildings, but a great weight had descended on him. It wasn’t fair for his mother to be taking care of Libby when she’d already raised four sons and had found fulfillment running the gem shop. Though he was trying to be a good father and pull his weight on the ranch, his guilt about the impossible situation was growing heavier with every passing day.

Sadness filled Eli’s soul when he thought about his ex-wife, who’d become too ill to raise their daughter and had suffered a nervous breakdown. He’d loved Tessa and they’d had a good marriage. Yet after the baby was born, she’d become a different person. He fought hard to keep their love alive and would have done anything to make their marriage work.

When she’d said she wanted a divorce, he was shattered. The word itself—the whole painful thought of it—was the last thing he’d wanted to hear, but she didn’t relent. It left him with no choice since her happiness had to come first. Paying for it had been costly.

He’d been saving money to pay for a woman to watch Libby. But it couldn’t be just any woman. She’d have to be a saint! Could there ever be a replacement for Eli’s mother? She was so wonderful with Libby, but it pained him that she couldn’t spend more time at the gem shop she owned and loved while she was taking care of his daughter.

Before he reached the shop at the base of the mountain, he spotted Roce’s Escalade parked in front next to his mother’s Land Rover. He shut off the engine and climbed down, eager to take his little girl back to his house. She’d become his whole world.

As he opened the shop door and felt the warmth envelop him, he saw his precious Libby in the arms of a shapely woman in a light-colored sweater and jeans standing at the counter talking to his mother. She had to be Roce’s girlfriend. There was no sign of his brother. Where was he?

Eli couldn’t help staring. She had the kind of otherworldly gossamer hair he’d always longed to run his hands through. While he was still mesmerized by her, Libby saw him and called out, “Dada!” His brunette daughter started squirming to get to him.

He moved toward her as the woman turned around. Eli was almost blinded by eyes that were the same deep blue as some of the sapphires in his mother’s shop. Libby reached for him and hugged him around the neck, breaking the spell that had held him captive.

“All the light bulbs have been replaced.” Roce’s voice came from the back room. He emerged and gave their mother a kiss. “Hey, bro.” He smiled at Eli. “How are things going? Libby gets bigger and cuter every time I see her.”

“I think so, too,” he muttered, caught totally off guard. “She’s my little cowgirl. Aren’t you, sweetie?” After kissing her cheek, he eyed his mother. “Thanks, Mom. Just so you know, I’m headed home. If you’re going to the rodeo with us, you need to be at the ranch in an hour.” On that note, he headed for the door.

“Wait—don’t forget this.” His mother held up Libby’s little parka.

He’d forgotten because he couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Eli reached for the coat and put it on his daughter, aware of the younger woman’s engaging smile.

“Bye-bye, Libby.”

He suffered another shock because his daughter smiled back. “Bye.”

Their exchange trapped the air in his lungs because Libby had never said that word before. Once back at the truck, he fastened his daughter in the car seat and started down the mountain road.

Eli knew he’d been rude to leave like that. So rude, in fact, that he hadn’t even answered his brother’s question about his welfare. But the sight of Libby in that woman’s arms had jolted him. Normally his daughter wasn’t comfortable with strangers, but she’d seemed perfectly content with this one just now.

As for Eli, he hadn’t been involved with another woman since meeting Tessa two and a half years ago. After a quick marriage and early pregnancy followed by a divorce, he’d devoted his life to Libby and had lost all interest in women, or so he’d thought.

So what in the hell had just happened to him? He’d stood there helplessly assessing her attributes as if he’d never seen a beautiful woman before. What made it worse was the fact that she was Roce’s girlfriend.

Had his brother noticed Eli’s behavior?

Of course he had! Roce didn’t miss anything.

Damn and damn.

* * *

BRIANNA TRIED TO concentrate on the reason why she’d come to the shop in the first place, but the arrival of the little girl’s gorgeous daddy had brought a tension she couldn’t shake. Was it anger she’d felt as he pulled his daughter away from her?

She’d offered to hold her while Mrs. Clayton showed her the sapphires. The little fourteen-month-old was so adorable and Brianna had loved entertaining her. Yet the father had seemed anything but pleased. Brianna wasn’t exactly pleased, either.

Not only had she felt a strong and immediate physical attraction to Roce’s brother—something that rarely happened to her just by looking at a man—it wasn’t until he was putting the parka on his daughter that she noticed he wore a wedding ring.

Life played mean tricks on you. Roce Clayton didn’t wear a ring, but he hadn’t caused her heart to race when they looked at each other.

Time to snap out of it, Brianna.

After a moment’s hesitation, she chose the stone she loved the most from one of the trays. “Can you set this dark pink sapphire aside? My uncle will come to pick out the setting he wants and pay for it then. Will you be open Monday evening? He can be here by six. Their anniversary is on Wednesday.”

“We’ll take care of all of it on Monday,” Mrs. Clayton said, smiling kindly. Brianna could see where her two sons got their good looks. They all bore a resemblance to each other.

The pretty dark-blond widow whose short hair was cut in a becoming style also possessed a charming nature and was wonderful with her granddaughter. She turned to Roce. “I’m ready to go if you are.”

“See you back at the house, Mom.” After he gave Libby a hug, they walked out to his car and started down the mountain.

“Thank you so much for bringing me here. I found exactly what I wanted for my uncle. Your mother is so knowledgeable about these stones. It was fascinating listening to her.”