the sweat from his brow as he stretched the new barbed wire between corner posts. Jake clipped the wire to the steel posts while his dad’s blue heeler lounged on the damp earth.
“Can you believe this weather?” Gil stopped his work and met Jake at the four-wheeler where he took a swig from the water jug.
“Spring is in the air.” Jake took his turn at a drink and gave some to the dog. Hank lapped it up as it streamed from the jug. “Good weather for calving too. Counted four baby calves this morning and looks like several more will follow right behind. There’s rain in the forecast. A change of weather always brings on a few births.”
Gil checked the puffy clouds in the blue sky, then stared out at the rolling hills. He recalled the days when he and Frank rode the pastures in search of baby calves. Usually found them in the gullies or brush, all wobbly and shiny new.
Good memories.
His gaze followed the ridge of the hill and stalled when Mattie came riding toward them on Tulip. He tried to hide his delight. Ever since Dusty’s colic incident, he and the doc had grown closer as friends, though he couldn’t deny the deep attraction he felt for the woman. Some days, much to his embarrassment, he found himself staring at her, admiring her thick pretty hair and her controlled movements as though she had everything in life perfectly measured. He knew a romantic relationship with the doc would never work and had tried to drown his yearning in ranch labor. Despite his efforts, he didn’t know how much longer he could continue the ruse.
Mattie drew the gray mare to an abrupt halt a yard from where they worked and slid from the saddle in one effortless motion. She smiled at Gil, and heat blazed through him hotter than the afternoon sun.
“Mildred thought you guys might be hungry.” She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a plastic sack filled with cookies.
Jake whistled. “That Mildred — she’s a good woman.”
“None better,” Gil said, though if there was a contest, the doc might come in a close second.
Mattie handed the cookies to Gil, and her fingers rested on his to send another jolt of fire clear to his toes. “You’ve been working real hard lately. If you don’t already have plans, I thought I might fix you supper tonight . . . that is, if you’d care to come over?” Though soft, her voice had an uncertain edge, as though daring him to accept.
He blinked his astonishment as he considered her invitation. But what was there to consider? The doc was pretty, smart, and strong enough to endure the hardships in life. She’d proven that by how well she’d dealt with the clinic fire. And she didn’t let people bully her either — not even him. Her humor made him smile, and the love she offered her patients was a sure sign she’d make a good mother. What more could a man want? Already anticipating an evening in Mattie’s company, he cupped his other hand over hers before taking the cookies. “What time?”
“Seven?” She smiled up at him with the exuberance of a young filly who’d been cooped up in a stall too long and wanted to be let out to run.
The dry grass crunched behind him, and Gil cocked an eyebrow.
“Tell her yes, already, and quit mooning over the little lady,” Jake said, the smell of wintergreen tobacco on his breath. “And if you ain’t gonna eat those cookies, hand them to me.”
LATER THAT EVENING, GIL KNOCKED ON MATTIE’S CABIN DOOR, THEN checked his pocket watch. Seven o’clock sharp.
Mattie opened the door, and the smell of fried chicken greeted him. “Come in.” She stepped aside and tucked a stray curl into place. “Did you and Jake finish the fence?”
“For today, but we have two more pastures before we’re done.” He revealed the yellow rose from behind his back, and her smile made his chest swell. “A pretty rose for a pretty lady.”
Mattie took the flower, then buried her nose in its petals. She closed her eyes as though immersing herself in the scent. “It’s lovely. I can’t remember the last time someone gave me flowers.”
He kicked himself for not offering her a dozen. If he’d known the reaction one little rose was going to bring, he would have filled the entire cabin. The sizzle and pop of fried chicken drew his attention to the other side of the