Trish Milburn - The Heart of a Cowboy

The thunder and lightning grew closer, but still it only sprinkled. He held on to his hat to keep it from sailing off into the night as he headed for the front steps. When he stepped inside the house, he froze for a moment, the short span of time it took for him to realize that his father was holding one of the family portraits from when Garrett’s mom was alive. In the next breath, his dad returned the photo to its spot on the mantel and turned toward him.

“Good night to fly a kite,” his dad said, acting as if he hadn’t just been having a sentimental moment.

Garrett took off his hat and hung it on the rack by the door. “Maybe if you want to pull a Ben Franklin and get fried.”

His dad chuckled and headed for the kitchen. “Glad we got everything squared away before Mother Nature decided to kick up her heels.”

As if to reply to that comment, a bright flash outside was quickly followed by a deafening boom of thunder that shook the house. Garrett and his dad both jumped.

“That was close,” his dad said.

“Too close.” Garrett strode to the window but saw nothing but the darkness beyond the dim glow of the security lamp on the barn.

His dad blew out a breath. “Well, I’m going to turn in. I’m so tired I think I might be able to sleep straight through this racket.”

Garrett nodded. After his dad disappeared down the hall, Garrett walked into the kitchen to check out back. A peek through the window didn’t show anything amiss, so he, too, headed for bed. Work never ended on a ranch, and that work started early.

He’d just started to unbutton his shirt, his thoughts floating right back to Natalie and the way her lips had moved when she’d smiled, when something made him look out his bedroom window. His heart thumped extra hard when he spotted flames on the roof of the barn.

Thankful he was still wearing his boots, he ran out into the hall. “Dad, call the fire department! The barn’s on fire!”

His dad stuck his head out of his bedroom door. “What?”

“Lightning hit the barn.”

He raced to the barn, hoping the sprinkles would vacate in favor of a downpour to put out the blaze. Already, the horses were agitated, whinnying and unable to stand still in their stalls. Another loud clap of thunder caused Bronson, his dad’s horse, to kick at his stall as his eyes went wide with fear.

Garrett hurried to get the horses out of the barn without causing injury to them or himself, not an easy task. He didn’t like taking them out into the storm, but it was better than a burning roof caving in on them if the fire department didn’t arrive in time to extinguish the flames.

By the time he got to the stall holding Penelope, Chloe’s horse was about to lose her mind with fear. The fire was centered right above the bay mare’s head, so he could understand. But as he tried to calm her, she was having none of it. As he started to ease the stall door open, Penelope kicked, busting a couple of the slats with her powerful hooves.

“Come on, girl, let’s get out of here.”

But the horse still didn’t cooperate, and Garrett was afraid the next thing she kicked would be him. He took a side step just in time as she panicked and busted out of the stall. The horse screamed as she broke free and raced out of the barn. Garrett fell back into the dirt, rolling to avoid being trampled.

The fire trucks coming up the driveway halted Penelope’s flight in that direction. She changed course, only to find herself cornered against the corral fence on one side, Garrett’s dad on another and finally Garrett as he stumbled out of the barn.

Penelope spun, panic driving her movements, her need to flee. Garrett’s heart nearly stopped when he saw a large sliver of wood protruding from the horse’s side. They had to calm her down and get the vet out here, while making sure the barn didn’t burn down and the other horses didn’t break from where he and his dad had tied them several yards down the fence line.

Out of the corner of his eye, Garrett saw the firefighters hopping out of the trucks and retrieving hoses and gear. But even if the barn burned down to a pile of ash, he had to keep his attention on Penelope. He hated to see an animal in pain, and he couldn’t let her injure herself further. He couldn’t stand the idea of his sister coming home from her belated honeymoon to find her horse severely injured or worse.

“Easy, girl,” he said, trying to sound soothing even though his heart was doing its best to beat out of his chest. He slowly moved closer to Penelope, continuing to talk to the frightened animal.

It took what felt like forever to get Penelope calmed down enough that Garrett figured she wouldn’t injure herself further. But if the thunder kept up or the fire grew any bigger, he wasn’t betting she wouldn’t break free again and run until she collapsed or bled to death.

His dad didn’t have to be told to go call Dr. Franklin. He just headed for the house once he saw Garrett had Penelope under control.

With another roll of thunder, the heavens finally turned on the spigot and rain started falling harder. It took less than a minute for Garrett’s clothes to be soaked through, but he didn’t move.

His dad stalked back across the yard. “Doc Franklin is out of town, so I put a call in to Dr. Smith over in Fredericksburg. But his answering service said he’s out on another call. We’re next up.”

The way Penelope was bleeding and breathing hard, they needed help sooner. He glanced back over his shoulder but didn’t see flames anymore. Thank God for that. He returned his attention to his dad.

“Watch her. I’ve got an idea.”

He raced into the house and grabbed the phone. Since he’d been at the Wildflower Inn earlier and didn’t think Natalie was staying there, he called the next best guess for where she was staying.

“Country Vista Inn,” a female voice answered.

“Natalie Todd’s room, please.”

When the person on the other end of the line didn’t come back with a “There’s no one staying here by that name,” instead connecting him with a room, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. But when the phone rang several times with no answer, he started pacing and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Come on, pick up.”

As if she heard him, Natalie’s sleepy voice said, “Hello?”

Despite all the potential catastrophes currently in play, for a moment he stood there imagining her in bed, that blond hair rumpled, her feminine curves clothed in something soft and barely there.

Good grief, he needed to get laid.

“Natalie, it’s Garrett Brody. Sorry to wake you, but I need your help.”

She didn’t immediately respond, and for a moment he wondered if she’d fallen back asleep.

“My help?”

“You’re a vet, and I have a badly injured horse.”

“Doesn’t Blue Falls have a vet?”

“Dr. Franklin is out of town, and the backup from Fredericksburg is already on another call. And Chloe’s horse has a big piece of wood piercing her side.”

He heard movement on the other end of the call and imagined her swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

“Please tell me you’re like Dr. Franklin and pack medical supplies with you wherever you go,” he said.

“I do,” Natalie said through a yawn. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Thank goodness for small miracles. He headed back outside to tell his dad the news, determined not to imagine Natalie arriving in her skimpy sleepwear and bed-tousled hair. Damn if he didn’t get a raging hard-on at that image. This time, he was thankful to be doused by the cold rain.

Chapter Four

Natalie exchanged her pajamas for jeans and a T-shirt. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was go back out to the Brody ranch again and still not be able to tell them why she was in town. Well, she could tell Garrett and his dad, but it just didn’t feel right to not tell Chloe. After all, they’d once been very close. To give the information to the first Brody she could find then race back to Kansas before Chloe even returned from her honeymoon felt like the ultimate in cowardice. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right, no matter how hard it proved to be.