A Cowboy's Heart

He doubted she would ever get the show biz bug out of her system. Connor couldn’t blame her for that, any more than he could stamp the rodeo bug out of his blood. She was pursuing her dreams. With the right marriage she could go on doing it.

Key at front desk. Let yourself in. Middle of night doesn’t matter. Dying to see you, lover. Miss u more than ever.

Connor couldn’t honestly say the same. What was going on with her?

The snow kept falling.

Shielding his phone, he replied with his own text message.

Reva? May not make Las Vegas by tomorrow. Can’t stay at Mirage. Give u a call later.

The Mirage was home to the NFR steer wrestlers, but she knew he preferred staying in his own trailer. After he put the phone back in his pocket, he walked around to the entrance. Shaking more snow off everything, he stepped inside and hung his things up. No sign of Liz, which meant she was in the bathroom. She’d cleaned up the kitchen. Her appeal was growing on him in ways he hadn’t anticipated.

He washed his hands and poured himself another cup of coffee. While she was busy, he phoned Wade. He and Kim had made it to Evanston. So far, so good. They talked about the weather for a minute before hanging up.

He made one more call, to his grandfather, who sounded relieved to hear Connor’s voice. After assuring him that he and Liz were fine, Connor asked how Ralph’s day had gone. That was when he learned Ned would be coming home tomorrow for a supervised overnight visit. His first since being at the mental health facility.

Connor put his coffee down. “Does Jarod know?”

“Yes. I told him that he and Sadie ought to go out to the reservation while he’s here.”

“Good plan. You don’t want anything to go wrong that could set him off.”

“According to the doctor, Ned is making a turnaround. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed.”

“I will, too.”

“Bless you, son. What you need to do is keep concentrating on the competition. Tell me about the little princess.” That was what Ralph had always called Liz.

“She’s a great vet and terrific company.” All of it true. But he’d already found out she was a lot more than that.

“That’s what I needed to hear. I assured her father you were taking good care of her.”

“We’re taking good care of each other. Let him know Millie’s chili and rolls were a sensation.”

“I’ll tell him.” After a silence, “Son?” Connor heard him hesitate. “Reva called the house earlier. I told her you were already on your way to Las Vegas.”

He gripped his phone tighter. “She texted me.” Connor could hear the question his grandfather didn’t ask. It was the question Connor couldn’t answer.

Ralph never pried. That was what made him so lovable.

“I’ll call you tomorrow night, Grandpa. Maybe by then you can tell me how the visit went with Ned. Sleep well and don’t worry about a thing.”

“Ha! Just wait till one of your grandchildren tells you the same thing.”

That last comment stayed with him as he hung up the phone. Since the divorce, he couldn’t see himself having children, let alone grandchildren. Much to his grandfather’s disappointment, as well as Connor’s own personal pain, that didn’t appear to be in his future.

Right now he didn’t want to think about it.

Chapter Three (#ulink_85db5d64-073f-592e-ba14-3151edbe512e)

“Connor? Is everything all right?”

His head jerked up.

Liz had just come out of the bathroom in her new nautical-design pajamas in navy with polka dots on the bottoms. She’d washed her hair and had braided it again.

“Perfect,” he said automatically, but she didn’t believe him. “Where do you want to sleep? Up in the niche or near the floor? Both are comfortable.”

“I think the sofa pullout bed.” It was closer to the bathroom and the kitchen if for any reason she had to get up in the night. In the back of her mind she imagined Connor had probably slept with Reva in the niche with its pull-down ladder.

“Good. I’ll take my shower now. By the way, I had keys made for you to open the trailer and the truck. I put them there on the counter.”

“That was very considerate. Thank you.”

“Anything to oblige.”

By his tone of voice, something was wrong and it worried her.

She turned on the TV to the weather channel and then made her bed. To her surprise, his low-profile satellite dish was still allowing transmission despite the snow. The forecast predicted more intermittent flurries through Wyoming and the northern half of Utah tomorrow, but the southern half would be warmer and might see a little sun. Las Vegas was enjoying sixty-three–degree weather during the day and lower forties at night with some wind.

Liz still couldn’t understand why she didn’t feel uncomfortable in this situation. Maybe it was because they both knew so much about each other’s lives, there was no mystique. Connor didn’t feel like an acquaintance or a confidante, brother, cousin, best friend or boyfriend.

He existed outside those categories, though he wasn’t a figment of her imagination. She didn’t know what he was, but so far the inside of the book matched the cover. That didn’t bother her, either. Curious.

Once under the blanket, she made a call home and thanked her mom for the food. Liz assured her parents that she and Connor were snug as a bug in his trailer while they waited out the storm in Kemmerer. The horses were in great shape. Connor was an expert—behind the wheel or mounted on his horse.

“Good night, you two. Thank you for being the greatest parents on earth.”

When she clicked off, she discovered Connor standing there in a pair of navy sweats. Their nightwear more or less matched. She could smell the soap he’d used in the shower. She’d left hers and he’d used it.

“Your parents are very trusting, you know that?”

“Besides the fact that you’re one of the famous Bannock brothers, don’t forget I was away at vet school for a long time and am not exactly a little girl anymore.”

“No, you’re not.” His emphatic tone sent a shiver through her before he picked up the remote and flipped the channels to an old creature-of-the-lagoon movie. After tossing it to her, he turned out the light and climbed into the niche using the same masterful agility with which he threw a steer. She laughed when he got comfortable and looked down at her over the edge. “Monsters don’t scare you?” His mood had improved.

“Not really, if that was your intention. I’m laughing because I meant this. I’m having fun. Being in the trailer is like we’re in a little hut deep in the forest of some mysterious kingdom.”

“With satellite TV, no less.” His sudden smile turned him into the most attractive man she’d ever laid eyes on. “In truth, I’m having more fun than I’ve had in years, stranded with a vet who’s writing a romance article about the mating rituals of horses. After it’s in print and you’ve won the prize for the world champion barrel racer, what do you plan to do for an encore?”

She raised herself on one elbow. “Mind if I try something out on you?”

“What do you think? Go ahead.”

“Well, the Crow council in Pryor has asked me if I’ll be one of the vets for the reservation. Even if Jarod had everything to do with the offer, it’s such a great honor I can hardly believe it. But I haven’t given them my answer yet because I’m committed to Dr. Rafferty at the vet hospital. I’d have to stretch myself thin to do both.”

He rested his chin on his hard-muscled arm. “And here I thought you were worrying about what you were going to do with the rest of your life once the rodeo was over. Winning money to buy a new truck is going to come in handy with you driving back and forth from White Lodge to the reservation.”