Cowboy Untamed

“I figured it was about time for the evening meal.”

“You figured right.” She put the phone on the counter. “That was my sister, Amethyst. Do you remember her?”

“Sure. She had the lead in the school musical one year.” Amethyst had been the flashier of the two. Plenty of guys had lusted after Sapphire’s younger sister, especially after she’d belted out “Santa Baby” during a Christmas choral program.

Sapphire laughed. “Everybody remembers Amethyst. You didn’t ever date her, did you? She went out with so many guys that I lost track.”

“No, we didn’t date.” Thank God. He and Sapphire had enough obstacles without adding the weirdness of having dated her sister. “What’s she up to these days?”

“Professional singer. She followed my dad’s musical lead.”

“Does he still have that jazz band?”

“The members have shifted around and the name’s changed a couple of times, but yep—he loves it.”

“That’s cool. And your mom’s still teaching art?”

“Absolutely. I asked her to be part of this co-op but she really doesn’t have time. Maybe when she retires.”

He enjoyed watching the love shine in her eyes as she talked. “Creative family you have there.”

“Yeah, I feel lucky. Anyway, Amethyst mentioned that one of your sculptures is in the lobby of the Jackson Hole resort where she’s performing for the next two weeks.”

“I have a couple over there. Which one?”

“It’s the waterfall fountain that goes into a pool at the bottom with a doe and buck drinking. She said it’s huge.”

“Twenty-two feet eight inches, to be exact.”

“Wow.”

He filled the last bowl and closed the bin. “I took it up there in sections and finished the welding on the spot.”

“That must have caused quite a stir among the resort guests.”

“It did. I offered to complete it in the middle of the night but the management thought it would be more dramatic if people could see the final construction phase. It was great PR but I’d still rather work in the privacy of my studio.”

“Is our evening event going to be a problem for you?”

He gazed at her. “It’s not my favorite way to create, but like I said last night, I wasn’t concerned about the how. Only the who.”

“I know.” Her quick swallow betrayed her uneasiness.

“Forget I said that.”

She gave him a rueful glance. “Not likely. But right now it’s feeding time. We’ve tried to keep a regular schedule they can count on. It’s part of building trust.”

“Makes sense.” He pondered that as he helped her carry out the bowls. Trust was an issue between them, too. Whether she didn’t trust him or herself wasn’t clear, but either way, she expected bad things to happen if they gave in to this attraction.

“You can put the bowls down now. They’re waiting.”

“Right.” While he’d been lost in thought, she’d stood waiting as the cats milled around at their feet. “Sorry.”

“It’s just good to put all the bowls down together so they each have one.”

“Makes sense. But Fred’s not here. Do we wait for him?”

“No. He’ll be along. Sometimes he hangs back.”

“Okay.” He lined up the ones he carried, dropped to his knees and sat back on his heels. “Sorry for holding up the show. I got distracted.”

“I’ve noticed that doesn’t happen when you’re working on a sculpture. You’re incredibly focused.”

He couldn’t resist the opening she’d given him. “That’s one of two activities that get my undivided attention.”

“And the other is football?”

Kidding around was a good sign they were making progress. “Guess again.”

Her breathing quickened. “You’re too sexy for your own good, Grady.”

“Too sexy for you?” He glanced over at her.

“I didn’t say that.” She kept her attention on the tree line as she watched for Fred, but her cheeks had turned a pretty shade of pink.

His pulse hammered. Maybe he’d built up a little trust, after all. “Any chance I can cash in that rain check so we can have dinner tonight?”

“I think— Oh, my goodness. Who’s that?”

A large gray cat left the shelter of the woods and bounded toward them.

“You don’t recognize it?”

“Nope. And he’s not acting like a feral.”

“How can you tell it’s a male?”

“I’m not positive but he looks like a tom to me.”

The cat marched right up to the food bowl at the end of the row, within arm’s reach of Grady, hunkered down and began to devour the food. When Fred showed up, the bowls were all occupied. He surveyed the line of cats before sitting down and fixing his green eyes on Grady as if he might be to blame for this fiasco.

“Stay here.” Sapphire slowly rose to her feet. “I’ll bring out another bowl for Fred.”

“Good idea. He’s giving me the stink eye.”

As she backed away carefully, Fred stood, arched his back and hissed. Then he retreated a few feet while the other cats continued to munch.

“She’s going to get you food, bozo,” Grady said. “Show some appreciation.”