Mary Leo - Falling for the Cowboy

“I’m Maggie Daniels, Kitty’s sister.”

She said it as if he already knew this, which he did not, and would never have guessed in a hundred years as he searched for a family resemblance.

Kitty was his pixie-cute office manager; she was getting ready to go out on early maternity leave due to twins. Of course, first she would be training her replacement, which she had already suggested could very well be her sister, Maggie, an idea that now made Blake uneasy. From a purely selfish point of view, he truly hoped his life wouldn’t get any more complicated with the temporary changeover.

Between his willful father, the ranch, their looming potato harvest, his five-year-old daughter, his two brothers and almost-certain dental emergencies, Kitty’s leave of absence could prove to be his undoing. She was his rock, and replacing her for even a few months seemed impossible.

“Great” was all he could manage to say.

Maggie finally let go of his hand, and Blake felt the mud clearing from his brain. “I mean, your sister’s told me a lot about you.”

She chuckled, then offered a flirty smile. “That could be dangerous.”

He liked her sense of humor. “Only to your enemies.”

“I already have enemies?”

“None so far.”

“Give it time. It’s a small town.”

She had an edge to her that Blake wasn’t quite sure how to take. No matter what he eventually decided to do about Kitty’s replacement, he felt certain this woman would be a handful. “So, you’re that kind of woman.”

“What kind is that?”

“The kind that makes enemies.”

“Only with other women. Men seem to like me.”

He figured that was the case. “I come from a family of all boys.”

“Then we shouldn’t have a problem.”

Reason told him Maggie was hell-bent for trouble. He was way over-the-moon attracted to her and he knew from experience what it meant to be attracted to a beautiful woman. His ex-wife was a beautiful woman and she had brought him nothing but grief. Maggie was even more of a threat with her haughty, big-city attitude, but damn it all, he was going to have a hard time saying no to her smile.

Not to mention that she had perfect teeth.

He gestured for Maggie to sit, and she pulled out the green metal chair across from him. The lady was all slicked up with a cream-colored blouse under her jacket that showed just the right amount of skin to make his mind wander to places it shouldn’t be going. As she moved, he caught a glimpse of soft pink lace peeking out from under her blouse. It made him go all warm inside just knowing she wore girly pink under the tailored business suit that hugged her curves in all the right places.

Her face was flawless and her eyes reminded him of the early-morning sky on a cloudless day.

He picked up his coffee mug in an attempt to distract his wicked bedroom thoughts.

“I think you should know,” she began, “that although I’m all for helping my sister, I have applications out to several other companies, and if one of them comes through, I might not be able to continue my employment with you for the duration of my sister’s leave.”

Blake took a long swig of his sweet coffee, thinking that he appreciated her honesty. “Not exactly what an employer wants to hear.” He took another drink then carefully placed the white mug back on the table. “But who said I was going to hire you?”

She sat back and took up space, stretching out her long legs under the table and resting her arms on the chair. She seemed perfectly calm, totally cool and self-assured. “No one.”

Blake eased down in his chair, sliding his Stetson low on his forehead, and pushing his legs out straight, crossing them at his ankles, only inches from her legs. He swore he could feel the heat of her, his legs getting all twitchy. What was it about this woman, that close proximity gave him an immediate physical reaction?

“How do I know you’re qualified to run my office? It takes a special kind of person to work for me. What makes you think you’re that person?”

“Confidence.”

“In what?”

“Myself.”

“Impressive, but can you tell me who Buzz Lightyear’s sidekick is in Toy Story?”

Maggie grinned at him, her amazing eyes sparkling with a bit of wickedness. He couldn’t tell if she was trying to think of the answer or tickled that he’d asked such a childish question. Either way, Blake had her full attention.

Her smile revealed a slight dimple in her left cheek. He was a sucker for dimples, which made this little game they were playing even more perilous. He wanted to get to know her better—much better—but getting to know this kind of woman wasn’t a tangle he needed to get caught up in ever again.

Still, there was something Country about her, something easy she kept hidden under all that city slicker show.

“Sheriff Woody. My favorite character, by the way.”

He leaned in with the defining question, even though anyone listening would probably just laugh. Everything depended on her answer. “Do you own a pair of cowboy boots?”

“No…”

She looked hesitant.

Darn it all, he couldn’t hire a woman who didn’t own a pair of cowboy boots. They were a necessity in these parts, like a Leatherman tool or a trophy buckle. That fact alone proved she was just like his ex, and he didn’t want or need a woman like her anywhere around him. Way too many bad memories of her disgust of everything Country.

“But my sister does, in an array of colors for some odd reason. We wear the same size, so in that sense, I’d have to amend my answer and say yes. I have access to cowboy boots. Why? Are they part of the job description?”

“I’d have to say they are.”

She scooted up straight in her chair, crossing her fine legs under the table. “My sister never mentioned it.”

He felt certain this was the stickler. “Huh. Can’t figure why not. It’s what we wear.”

“Your office has a dress code?”

“Strictly enforced.” Not exactly true, but now he was desperate.

“Anything else I should know about?”

His mind raced to think of something, anything, that this temptation in heels might not like, but mud had once again settled in parts of his head and he couldn’t seem to come up with a thing.

He knew he could save himself a whole lotta grief if he simply hired Mrs. Abernathy, the seventy-year-old ex-nurse who had offered to take the job. Unfortunately, Kitty had already warned him not to do it. Mrs. Abernathy was inflexible in her ways and tone deaf. No way could she sing to his patients or run the office the way Kitty had set it up.

He wondered if Maggie could hold a tune. “We sometimes have to sing to the patients.”

“I don’t sing. Completely tone deaf.”

Her answer was his out. His escape hatch. His adios, amigo. Even Kitty would agree on this one.

Maggie stared at him, looking all pretty in the morning sun, and Blake had to admit a part of him wanted nothing more than to have her around for the next fifty years. But the danger of falling for someone so like his ex-wife meant grabbing the branding iron by the hot end, and he was not in the mood for another round of hurt.

Blake stalled for a time, pretending he was chewing on her answer, while he screwed up his flailing courage.

He had thought moving back to the family ranch in eastern Idaho with his dad and brothers would have slowed his life down, especially after living in L.A. for several years, but it had been nothing like that. When Blake had arrived in Briggs, he’d hit the ground running, and he’d been going nonstop ever since. Maggie Daniels was the kind of woman who would only tangle up his spurs, and at this point, he wasn’t sure he was up for the challenge.