When a Cowboy Loves a Woman (Creedence Horse Rescue #2) - Jennie Marts Page 0,4
to clean up, and we’ll head out.”
Sassy had followed them over, and she tucked a plastic sack onto the floor of the pickup. “I put a spare toothbrush and some other toiletries in there. I’m sure Bryn can loan you whatever else you might need. Now I don’t want you to worry about a thing. I’ll keep an eye on the house and let you know if there’s any trouble.”
Elle rubbed a hand over the woman’s shoulder. “Thank you so much. And thank you again for calling the fire department. I feel like such a fool, but this would have been so much worse if it weren’t for you.”
Sassy waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t give it a thought. You just get some rest. And take a little time to appreciate the view of your cowboy taxi.” She wiggled her eyebrows and nodded to the other side of the truck, where Brody had stripped off his soiled shirt and was wiping his bare chest down with a towel.
Elle swallowed as he leaned forward to dump a bottle of water on his hair, then stood back up to shake his head like a dog getting out of a lake. The muscles of his hard abs flexed as he took another towel and rubbed it vigorously over his hair.
“Whew boy,” Sassy said, her breath coming out in a whoosh. “I think another fire just started…” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper and gave Elle a wink. “I might be old, but I’m not dead yet.”
“Apparently not.” And neither am I.
It was the worst time to be laughing and ogling a handsome cowboy, but Elle couldn’t hold back her giggles as she snuck another glance at the heat-inducing hottie.
She pressed her hand to her chest. Her heart was getting quite a workout tonight, between the fright of the fire and the crazy palpitations the hot cowboy was causing. A niggle of guilt slipped in, as if admiring Brody’s abs was being disloyal to the memory of Ryan.
She shook it off as she gave Sassy a quick hug, then returned her pink jacket before climbing into the truck. Brody got in the other side and passed her a light-blue T-shirt similar to the one he’d just yanked on. “Here. You can have this one if you want. It’ll be a little big, but it’s clean.”
“It’s great. Thank you.” She tugged the shirt over her head, then pulled her hair free. It was too big for her but worked out fine, since she’d pulled it on over the top of her robe. The fabric was warm and smelled of laundry detergent. The words Tate Family Veterinary Clinic were stamped across the breast pocket. Sinking back into the seat, she let out a shaky breath as Brody started the truck and maneuvered out onto the road.
“You okay?” he asked. “What do you need?”
Elle shook her head. “I honestly don’t know.”
“How about some food?” he asked, pointing to the golden arches ahead of them. “My daughter seems to think that fries and chocolate shakes are the cure for just about everything that ails you.”
Elle swallowed. “Fries and a shake sound perfect.” They turned a corner, and she grabbed at the stack of chapter books sliding into her lap. She held up a couple of Baby-Sitters Club books and a title by Judy Blume. “Doing a little light reading?”
He chuckled, the sound of his laugh as warm as the T-shirt she was wearing. “Yeah, Kristy’s Great Idea is my favorite. That girl’s a real thinker.” He pointed to the thick copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. “I am actually reading that one. My daughter loves the series so much, I promised I’d check it out.”
“I love them too. I’ve read them all three times now.”
“I wasn’t expecting to like them so much, but they’re really good. And I never imagined I could spend thirty minutes in a conversation with a ten-year-old discussing which house at a wizarding school a magical sorting hat would put us into, but that’s what happened over breakfast this morning.”
“And?”
He offered her a sheepish grin. “Gryffindor.”
She laughed. “Me too.”
He pulled into the McDonald’s drive-through and rolled down his window to place the order.
They inched forward, and Elle rubbed at a spot of soot covering the back of her hand. “Thank you, Brody. This is so nice of you. Do you often take perfect strangers to McDonald’s after their houses catch on fire?”
“Occasionally,” he said with a shrug and an impish