When a Cowboy Loves a Woman (Creedence Horse Rescue #2) - Jennie Marts Page 0,11

and said, “Yeah, okay, that would be great.”

He turned and opened the door, climbing into the truck before he said anything more. Or did anything more—like pull her back into his arms and issue her a proper kiss. One that would take both of their breath away. He offered her a quick wave, then pulled the door shut.

She waved as she took a few steps back. It took everything he had to keep his eyes on the road and not check the rearview mirror. Dang. His hands were shaking on the steering wheel. This woman had really unnerved him. He’d done a femoral head ostectomy the day before to remove a dog’s fractured hip and his hands had been steady as church on Sunday. But a few minutes in the company of Elle Brooks, and he was shaking like his grandma’s Jell-O salad.

Turning onto the highway, he shook his head as he tried to settle himself. He jumped as his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out, he looked down at the screen and couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he saw he’d received a text from Elle.

He laughed out loud as he read the promised “awkward” message:

I like your pants.

* * *

Brody shook his head at his dashboard clock the next morning as he pulled up in front of his parents’ house. He’d told Mandy, his ten-year-old daughter, he’d be there to pick her up at eight, and it was already five after. Not that she would care—she loved being with his folks and usually spent a few nights a week with them, especially when he was on call. But he didn’t usually run late.

He also didn’t usually spill coffee on his shirt or misplace his phone or forget to start the dishwasher. But this morning, his mind had been all over the place and mostly consumed with thoughts of the woman he’d been hanging out with the night before. He’d lost five minutes that morning just ruminating over the way her face had looked as she stared out over the farm and the snug fit of her pajama top, which had hugged her curves just enough to send his mind to sinful places.

He was still shocked that he’d kissed her. Well, not exactly kissed. More of a missed than a kissed. Had he meant to catch the corner of her lip? Or had his body betrayed his brain and actually tried to kiss her? He shook his head, the idea of wanting to kiss another woman so foreign.

His mom had been dropping not-so-subtle hints about him getting back on the dating horse, and he’d even asked a woman out last month. He’d asked out a friend, Bryn actually, thinking it would be a safe way to ease into the dating pool. It was before he knew she had a thing for Zane, although it became apparent when he showed up at the same restaurant where they were having dinner. The whole thing had been awkward and had ended with a disastrous attempt at another good-night kiss that hadn’t quite landed on its mark. Like his lips didn’t want to betray Mary, although it had been five years since they’d kissed hers.

And the experimental kiss with Bryn had been nothing like the tantalizing one with Elle. It had been more like a peck he’d give his cousin—none of the heat that swirled through him when his lips had brushed Elle’s. All that from a simple touch of the corner of her mouth.

He shook his head, trying to clear the image of her face after the missed kiss—her eyes wide, her lips barely parted, as she stared up at him, the same kind of wonder and confusion that was surging through him evident in her expression.

He swallowed as he pushed the thoughts away. That part of him was closed, shut down. It had died in that hospital room the night Mary had taken her last breath.

Now there was only one woman in his life, the one who was waving as she pushed through the front door. A smile lit her face as she strode down the sidewalk.

His heart swelled with love at the sight of her, her long, blond hair already escaping the braids he was sure his mother had meticulously plaited that morning. She wore a teal T-shirt, cut-off jean shorts—he swore that girl had grown an inch in the last week—and her favorite purple cowboy boots. She clambered into the passenger side of