Brenda Minton - The Cowboy's Healing Ways

“You’re welcome.” He tipped his hat and walked from the porch to his truck. And she was alone.

But less alone than she’d been in years.

Chapter Four

“Heard you hired a housekeeper.”

It had only taken two days for the news to spread. Technically she hadn’t really started working until today. The past two days she’d been on the couch of the cottage, sometimes feverish. He’d kept her drinking hot tea and taking cold medicine. This morning she’d stepped out of the house to greet her new life.

Jesse closed the stall door and turned to face the brother who had managed to sneak in on him. Not that Blake typically sneaked. Sneaking would be something Gage would do, or Jackson, maybe Travis. Of all of his brothers, Blake was the one most likely to keep his nose out of everyone else’s business. Probably because he didn’t want them in his.

Blake stopped at a stall door and ran his hand down the sleek neck of the mare Jesse had just bought.

“Yeah, I hired a housekeeper.” Jesse opened the stall door of the gray, snapped a lead on her and led her out for Blake to look over.

“I still can’t believe you’re raising Arabians.” Blake shook his head. “What were you thinking?”

“They’re great animals.” Jesse shrugged it off, the way he’d been doing for six months, since he brought home the Arab stallion and mare.

“Right, I’ll let you raise your girly horses and I’ll stick with a good, strong quarter horse.”

“And I’ll outride you on an Arab any day of the week.”

Blake ran his hand down the mare’s back and shook his head. “I think we’ll have to put them to the test.”

“We can do that. What brings you out here?”

“Thought I’d stop by. It’s been a while.”

“I’m not buying that. You never stop by because it’s been a while.”

Blake walked away. He stopped in front of the stallion’s stall. The big horse moved restlessly around the stall and settled in the far corner.

“I found my daughter.” Blake turned as he made the announcement.

“How?”

“I hired a private investigator. He isn’t sure if he found her or if Jana allowed him to find them. He said it was pretty easy once he got on the right track. She’s in South Africa.”

Jesse whistled and shook his head. Blake’s ex-wife had taken off years ago, filed for divorce and then hightailed it out of the country with their little girl. Blake had been chasing leads for ten years, trying to get his daughter back, or at least hoping for a chance to see her.

“How old would Lindsey be now?”

“Twelve.”

“Man, Blake, I don’t know what to say.”

“Yeah, me either.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

Blake nodded and walked down the wide aisle between rows of stalls. He stopped at the open double door.

“I’ll let you know. And I thought I’d warn you that I stopped to visit our grandmother and she’s on her way out here.” Blake shot a look toward Jesse’s house.

“That’s good to know. I’m sure she only has the best of intentions.”

Blake actually smiled. Maybe because he enjoyed their grandmother focusing on someone other than himself, or because he felt some amazing relief, knowing where Lindsey was. “See you later, brother.”

Jesse waved and went back to work.

When he walked up the steps to the back door of his house, he knew Laura would earn her keep and more. The deck had been swept, the flowers were no longer wilting and the patio table where he liked to drink his morning coffee had been wiped off. He headed for the door but it opened before he could reach for the handle.

Laura jumped back and her hand went to her heart. “I didn’t see you.”

“Sorry about that.” He hung his hat on the hook next to the door and swept his hand through his hair. “I’m going to fix a sandwich. Do you want one?”

“No, I can run up to my place for lunch.”

“I’ll make us both a sandwich. There’s no need for you to walk down there.”

She walked out the back door to the edge of the deck and shook a rug out. After several hard shakes, she turned to look back at him. “I really don’t need to be taken care of.”

“I know you don’t. But I really don’t want you to work more than a few hours today. You need to get your strength back.” He studied the little garden at the side of the house. The garden he’d been meaning to plant something in for as long as he’d had this house. “Did you plant flowers?”

She nodded a little. “I should have asked. It’s just that I saw the plants on the table in your utility room and they were starting to look bad. You had tomatoes, too, and a few pepper plants.”

He motioned her inside. “I’m glad you planted them. I do this every year. I buy plants, consider planting them, get busy, think about them once or twice and then I forget them until they’re brown and long past saving.”

“A doctor who can’t keep a plant alive.” She smiled as she said it. He ignored that smile—with effort.

“Exactly.” He touched her back as she moved ahead of him into the kitchen. The house smelled like pine cleaner and fresh air from the open windows. “This is great. I’d forgotten that a house could smell this good.”

“It wasn’t really messy, just...”

He stopped when he reached the kitchen. “The word you’re looking for is neglected. And what’s in the Crock-Pot?”

She walked past him and lifted the lid. “Roast. I hope you don’t mind. I found it in the freezer and thought it would be an easy meal for you. It’ll be done by six this evening and if you don’t want it tonight, I can put it in a container and you can reheat it tomorrow.”

“Amazing.” He’d lived the bachelor life since he’d left home for college. He’d forgotten what a woman’s touch did for a place.

A car door interrupted his musings. He glanced out the window and saw the corner of a silver car. He pulled ham and cheese out of the fridge. Behind him he heard the water running and Laura washing her hands.

“You have company.”

“That would be my grandmother, here to check on you.” He put the luncheon meat on the counter and found bread in the cabinet.

Laura turned from the sink, a towel in her hands. “Does she know that I’m working for you?”

“I’m sure everyone in town knows. I bought two meals at Vera’s two nights in a row.” He handed her a paper plate. “Don’t worry about it.”

Her eyes widened and pink stained her cheeks. He felt bad about teasing her, but in the past two days he’d learned that she was easy to embarrass, and when that happened, pink crept up her neck to her cheeks.

“Well, I hadn’t planned on worrying until you said something. I don’t want people to get the wrong idea.”

“They won’t.” He grinned because she was watching the door. “Relax, I’m just teasing.”

Before his grandmother could knock, he called out for her to come in. She did. The door banged softly behind her and he heard her mutter something about needing to kick off her shoes before she tracked in mud. The comment reminded him and he looked down at his boots and cringed. Even the hems of his jeans were caked with mud. When he looked up, Laura smiled and shook her head.

“I tracked in on your clean floor.” He reached for a roll of paper towels and she stopped him.

“The mop is still damp. I’ll clean it up after you’re finished with lunch.”

Granny Myrna stepped into the kitchen. She eyed the two of them and helped herself to a cup of coffee.

“Now, isn’t this cozy?”

“Gran, it isn’t what you...”

She raised a bejeweled hand and shook her head. “I know that. It’s just...very domestic. I’m glad to see this place clean and smelling of something other than that dog of yours.”