Cathy McDavid - Rescuing the Cowboy

“Sure. No problem.”

“Thanks.” Her eyes twinkled. Getting married looked good on her. On his cousin, too.

Quinn had grown up with both Josh and Cole back in California. They were more like brothers, having lived in the same town and within miles of each other. But he’d always been a little closer to Josh. Seeing him about to get married to a great gal and become a father for the third time cheered Quinn, as did Cole’s relationship with Violet. It made him believe there was still good in the world.

As far as Quinn was concerned, no one deserved to be happy more than his cousins. They’d suffered a lot, having a father who’d abandoned them at a young age and then being raised by a bitter, angry mother. Obtaining co-ownership of the ranch when August died last fall didn’t make up for years of neglect.

Finding their future at Dos Estrellas did. It had changed them. Given them an entirely new outlook. Maybe the same would happen to Quinn.

Feeling his pocket vibrate, he plucked out his cell phone and frowned when he didn’t recognize the number.

“Excuse me,” he said to Cara, stepping away and answering. “Hello.”

“Quinn? It’s Summer. I hope you don’t mind my calling. Cara gave me your number.”

“No, it’s all right.” He glanced at Cara, who smiled guiltily. Apparently, she’d guessed the identity of his caller. “What’s up?”

“I know it’s short notice, but my boss had a cancellation this afternoon. He said he’d be glad to talk to you, if you can be here by four.”

Was it a coincidence he got off work at three thirty?

Cara gave him a what-are-you-waiting-for wave, confirming his suspicions that she was in cahoots with Summer.

“Thanks, but I—”

“I’m sure Martin can help you,” Summer insisted.

Quinn paused.

Her long sigh carried across the connection. “I’m being pushy, and I shouldn’t. Finding your daughter is your business.” She sighed again. “Sometimes I overstep. It’s a bad habit.”

He pictured her sitting at her desk, multitasking while they talked because she was probably a doer and a go-getter. His counselor in prison had been the same way. Except she wasn’t nearly as pretty as Summer and was about thirty years older.

“Fine.” He heard himself agreeing even before he’d decided. “See you at four. Can you text me the address?”

“Of course.” She sounded surprised, then pleased. “I’ll tell Martin. See you then.”

Aware of Cara’s stare, Quinn saved Summer’s number to his contacts before clearing his screen, silently chiding himself while he did. What reason would he have to call her?

“You planned this,” he said to Cara, acting madder than he was.

“I did give her your number when she told me why she wanted to call.”

Quinn grabbed the lead rope from where he’d hung it on the corral post and hooked it to Mama’s halter. Cara tagged along when he led the mare through the gate. As expected, the other five horses trailed behind them.

“Come on, Quinn.” Cara squeezed past Mama. “She likes you, and I think you like her, too. In fact, I’m sure you like her.”

Did being his cousin’s fiancée automatically make Cara his friend? One with rights to butt into his personal business?

Quinn ground to a halt. The horses did, too, bumping into each other and jerking their heads back.

That was the problem with happy people. They wanted everyone else to be happy, too, and went to great lengths to accomplish it.

“I’m not looking for a girlfriend, Cara. Besides, Summer can do a whole lot better than me.”

“She’s not like that. She accepts everyone for who they are. No judging.”

Quinn didn’t doubt it. Nonetheless, he said, “I don’t want to hurt her.”

“What makes you think you will?”

He groaned. “She needs someone who can step up. Be there for her and Teddy unconditionally and without hesitation. Someone who doesn’t come with his own set of problems and can put them first. I’m not that man. And after what I’ve been through, I may never be him.”

This time when he started for the stall, Cara didn’t go with him. She stayed behind, apparently stunned into silence.

Chapter Three

Summer struggled to concentrate. Quinn was due any minute. He hadn’t sounded enthused when she called earlier offering him the open appointment, but surely he’d show up. Finding his daughter was too important to him.

“What’s with you today?” Her coworker Alicia plopped a stack of papers on her desk. In the years Summer had been employed with the small law firm, paralegals had come and gone. Alicia was one of the best.

“Nothing.” Summer gave the stack a passing glance. They’d talked earlier about the copies and packages needing to be mailed before the end of the day.

“Could have fooled me. You’ve been on edge all afternoon. Is Teddy okay?”

“He’s great. Improving every day and talking more and more.”

Most important, there’d been no outbursts for almost a week, which had to be a record. She didn’t count the battle they’d engaged in this morning over which shorts to wear or the one yesterday over lunch—she’d run out of peanut butter, an earth-shattering disaster. Those types of battles were par for the course as far as Summer was concerned. A regular part of their daily routine.

“Then what is it?” Alicia asked. She understood a lot of what Summer had to deal with. Alicia cared for her ailing grandfather, whose senility continually worsened.

“Just a lot going on.” Summer patted the stack. “I’d better get started on these.”

A few minutes later, she gave a nervous start when the door to the office opened and Quinn strode in. He removed his hat with one hand, stopped when he spotted her behind the desk and nodded.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” She stood, automatically brushing the front of her slacks, though not a speck of lint dotted them. “Have a seat. I’ll let Martin know you’re here.” She returned to her computer and opened a messaging window, sending her boss a quick alert. Seconds later, he responded. She read it out loud. “He’ll be a few minutes.”

“Thanks.” Quinn picked one of the five empty visitor chairs in which to wait. He was their last appointment for the day.

Summer came out from behind her desk. “Can I get you a bottle of water or some coffee?”

“Water would be great, if you don’t mind.” He rested his cowboy hat on his lap, unable to look more uncomfortable if he tried.

She hurried to a nearby multipurpose room where a refrigerator was stored. It held a variety of beverages exclusively for clients. She grabbed the closest bottled water, decided it wasn’t cold enough, replaced it and chose one farther back on the shelf.

“Seriously?” she asked herself as she took the cold bottle anyway. On the way back she nearly collided with Alicia. “Oops. Excuse me.”

“Whoa, girl. Slow down. It’s not as if he’s going to spontaneously disappear on you.”

“What? No. Don’t be silly.”

“Right.” Alicia laughed, a full, rich sound. “And your all-fire hurry has nothing to do with that fine-looking man in the reception area and how you went into spasms the second he arrived.”

“Spasms? I think I’m insulted.” And impatient.

“Go on. Get outta here. I’ll answer the phone if it rings.”

“Humph.” Summer, not nearly as put out as she pretended to be, pursed her lips and slipped past Alicia. By the time she reached Quinn in the waiting area, she wore a smile. “Here you go.” Handing him the bottle—the cold bottle—she returned to her desk, which afforded her a nice, unobstructed view of him.

Checking her computer screen to make sure Martin hadn’t contacted her during her short absence, she attacked the stack of documents Alicia had left on her desk.