Mathew & River (Taylors of Copper Creek #1)

Chapter 1

MATHEW

Dr. Mathew Klein yanked off his blood-covered gloves and tossed them into the trash behind the nurses’ station.

He didn’t have to look at the clock to know it was quarter to seven in the morning.

His shift was almost over, and yet he wouldn’t have minded putting in a few more hours.

It wasn’t like he had anything waiting for him at home.

His place was quiet, especially during the day. His neighbors were good, hardworking people who kept to themselves. No loud parties. No dogs barking half the day. Unless his brother or sister needed him, his life was pretty quiet.

“There’s a rodeo competition this weekend. You coming?”

Mathew paused, hand hovering near the tablet he’d left behind the partition, and looked up at Aiden, who was leaning against the wall like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Aiden was one of the best nurses they had at the hospital.

Then again, “hospital” might have been generous.

Anywhere else, the small country facility probably would’ve been called a clinic.

But in Copper Creek, Colorado, it got the job done.

Aiden pushed away from the wall and crossed his arms. His muscles flexed with the movement, and Mathew was fairly sure the guy did it on purpose.

He might’ve been a nurse, but he was built like a truck.

It came in handy on nights like this one, when the occasional cowboy decided to break in a horse before the town was fully awake.

Cowboys were notoriously bad patients, and Zeke Callahan was no exception. He’d needed several stitches, and it had taken Aiden helping keep him still to prevent the man from storming out of the room half-stitched. He probably wouldn’t have come in at all if one of his daughters hadn’t insisted.

“Well?” Aiden pressed. “Are you coming? I’m competing, and I know how much you like those events.” His hazel eyes flickered with amusement.

Mathew gave him a flat look. “I told you I don’t like going to those things, and you know why.”

Aiden rolled his eyes and tugged off his scrub cap, revealing mussed brown hair. Their twelve-hour shift was almost over. If Aiden looked worn-out, Mathew could only imagine how rough he looked himself.

“You don’t like going because you’re convinced you’ll have a heart attack every time some cowboy gets tossed from the saddle. Come on, man. You moved to a cowboy town. What did you expect?”

“I moved to be closer to my parents.” His mother had been struggling lately.

There were moments when her mind wasn’t as clear as it used to be.

The signs of dementia had been enough to uproot his life in Denver and bring him to Copper Creek.

The hospital had been more than happy to add another doctor to the staff, so at least that part had worked out.

“And apparently my uncle’s been putting my dad to work at the farm when he knows full well Dad shouldn’t be overdoing it. ”

Aiden’s expression softened. “How’s his heart doing? Any more episodes?”

Mathew shook his head and turned back to his tablet to finish his notes on Mr. Callahan’s case. “He’s been okay, from what I’ve heard. Rose would tell me if she thought something was wrong.”

His cousin was good about that. The problem was, she wasn’t always around.

She’d gone off to Cornell on a scholarship straight out of high school, and for a while he’d hoped she might build a life somewhere bigger than Copper Creek.

But she’d come back home. Her business degree still helped her father plenty, but she wasn’t the one running the farm.

Uncle George was too stubborn to hand over the reins.

“How’s Rose doing?”

Mathew’s shoulders tightened, and he slowly lifted his gaze to his friend. Aiden Stone was a good guy, but serious relationships didn’t exactly seem to be his thing. Between work and rodeo competitions, he kept himself busy enough. Anything else got whatever scraps of time were left over.

Aiden smirked, unbothered by Mathew’s stare.

“Leave my cousins alone, Stone.”

He laughed. “Can’t a guy ask about your family without getting the overprotective speech? You’re not even her brother.”

“That’s because she doesn’t have any brothers. Besides, she’s too much for you to handle. All my cousins are. They’re…” He huffed out a breath. “A lot.”

That made Aiden laugh again. “Oh, I’ve heard. They’re all redheads, right?” He rolled his lower lip between his teeth and shook his head. “Redheads are always spitfire.”

Mathew turned fully toward him and pointed a warning finger. “I mean it. Stay away from them. Last thing I need is one of them showing up upset because you broke her heart.”

Aiden lifted both hands, still chuckling. “Okay, okay. So back to my earlier question. Are you coming? You could bring a date. I could even set you up with someone if you need me to.”

“Pass,” Mathew deadpanned. “You know I don’t date. I don’t have time.”

“Maybe you would if you stopped taking extra shifts. Seriously, man. No one works as much as you do.”

Before Mathew could answer, a familiar voice called his name. He looked up and smiled when he saw his sister heading toward them.

Penny’s smile always had a way of settling something in him. She was the one person who could calm his mind without even trying. She was strong and sure, with the kind of presence that could stop a stampeding herd of cattle with one look. The Lord had given her something special.

He pulled her into a hug. “I thought we were meeting at the coffee shop.”

She nodded. “We are. I’m just dropping off some paperwork for a doctor who sent me a referral.” Penny turned toward Aiden. “Hey, Aiden. How was your shift?”

“Better now that you’re here.” He winked.

Mathew shot him a look over Penny’s head.

She laughed off the flirtation and turned back to him.

It took effort not to frown. He knew she wasn’t interested in Aiden.

She hadn’t been interested in dating since college.

Whether that had to do with the trauma she’d been through or the fact that she worked as much as he did, he didn’t know. Maybe it was both.

Penny patted him on the chest. “Your shift is over in ten, right? Want to drive over together? Parking on that street is always a mess. Then I can bring you back here for your car.”

“Car?” Aiden cut in. “Man, you need something bigger if you’re living out in the country.”

Mathew ignored him and nodded at Penny. “Sure. Sounds good. Let me wrap this up, and I’ll meet you out there.”

As soon as she was out the door, he turned and poked Aiden in the chest. “Off limits.”

Aiden stumbled back a step and covered his chest with his palm. “Ow.” But the smirk on his face gave him away. He’d only been trying to get a rise out of him, and he knew exactly how to do it.

Mathew should’ve known better. Still, if there was one thing he’d never apologize for, it was looking out for the people he loved.

“I mean it,” Mathew said. “You can be friends, but that’s it.”

“Relax, man. I’m off the market.”

That made Mathew lift his brows. “Really? Who?”

“Ah, ah, ah. I don’t kiss and tell.”

Aiden shrugged and pulled out a chair in front of a computer. “Maybe I’m growing up.”

Mathew snorted and returned his attention to the tablet. “Callahan is ready to be discharged. You can tell him…”

“Oh, he shot out of here like a bronc out of the chute about ten minutes ago.”

Mathew looked up. “Ten minutes ago? That was right after I finished stitching him up. He needed instructions for the wound.”

Aiden spun in his chair with a laugh. “You’ve been here long enough. Do you really think Zeke Callahan would sit through a lecture from another man telling him what to do? He’s worse than your Uncle George, and that’s saying something.”

He was right. Of course he was. They were lucky Zeke had stayed long enough for Mathew to finish the stitches. He blew out a breath. “Fine. Finish the paperwork so he’s discharged from the system, then head out. I think I saw our replacements coming in.”

Aiden nodded. “And this weekend?”

Mathew didn’t answer. He just turned and headed toward the changing room while Aiden’s laughter followed him down the hall.

“Have Jason and Isabelle set a date?” Penny asked as soon as they picked up their drinks. She’d gone with coffee, and Mathew had ordered tea. The last thing he needed was more caffeine when all he wanted was a few good hours of sleep. He had another shift in ten hours.

“How would I know?” Mathew muttered, glancing around the coffee shop. “You’re the girl. Sisters always hear that stuff first.”

She rolled her eyes. “You and Jason are closer. I haven’t heard anything.”

“Not even from Isabelle?”

Penny gave him a pointed look. “The fact that you even know she’s my patient is bad enough. I’m not giving you information from behind closed doors.”

He smirked. “I wouldn’t have known it was behind closed doors if you hadn’t just said that. You two are friends now, right?”

She ignored his question as she leaned back in her chair, both hands wrapped around her cup. “Have you started seeing anyone?”

He blinked. “Since the last time you asked? How long has it been?” He lifted his smartwatch and checked the date. “About two days. New record.”

He continued smirking at her, not missing the way she changed the subject. Penny didn’t let many people in, from what he could tell. She kept to herself unless she was seeing a patient or spending time with family.

At least she had their cousins.

“You spent any time with Rose or the twins lately?”

“No. Why?”

He shrugged. “Just making conversation.”

“I heard they hired a new mechanic. Haven’t met him yet, though.”

Mathew’s brow lifted. “Uncle George hired a long-term mechanic?”

“Is that surprising? They’ve got a pretty big farm.”

“That’s not what I meant. Uncle George doesn’t usually like having men around the property.”

“Emerson’s on the property.”

The way she said it made him wonder. Not just her tone, but the way her eyes flicked toward the door. Though to be fair, it had just opened.

“Emerson is different. George took him in not long before Aunt Kate passed away. He was a scrawny teenager running from a bad situation, and Kate had a soft spot for him. Sometimes I think the only reason George let him stay was because she asked him to.”

Penny snorted. “There’s no way he’d send Emerson packing now. Emerson is one of the last living pieces of Kate that he has.”

Mathew laughed. “That’s a dramatic way to put it. It’s not like Emerson was some secret son they didn’t know about.” He leaned forward, eyes widening. “Or was he?”

His sister wasn’t impressed by his question. Her flat look said as much.

Mathew studied her for a long moment, half tempted to ask if she was interested in Emerson, but the thought sat poorly in his chest. It was one thing for their brother Jason to fall in love. But Penny? The idea of her getting hurt again was enough to make him send up a quiet prayer.

She traced a finger around her cup, her expression going distant. Before he could ask what she was thinking, she looked up and pinned him with a stare.

“You think you’ll ever start dating again?”

He frowned, wondering where that question had come from. “What? No. Of course not.”

“Why?”

He lifted a brow. “You’re kidding, right? I’m too busy.”

“If you wanted to date someone, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, you know.”

“Like I said, I’m busy.” Before she could push further, he gestured toward her. “What about you? You planning to start dating?”

“No,” she said a little too quickly.

Definitely something there.

When he gave her a look, she let out an exasperated breath. “If I want to start dating, I’ll ask Aiden out.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” he said under his breath.

She smirked. “Maybe Emerson, then.”

“A little better,” he muttered, though even he couldn’t believe himself with the tone of his voice.

Penny tapped a finger against her chin. “There’s always the option to date one of the Meyers boys.”

His jaw tightened. “Absolutely not.”

She laughed loud enough to startle a few people nearby. “Could you imagine? I think Uncle George would have a heart attack.”

“He wouldn’t be the only one,” Mathew muttered.

That caught Penny’s attention, and they shared a look. Their father wouldn’t approve either. They might not be Taylors by name, but their aunt had married one, and the Taylor-Meyers feud had become theirs by extension.

Penny sighed. “It’s so ridiculous. I don’t even know if anybody remembers why the feud started in the first place.”

“Have you asked Uncle George?”

“Are you kidding? I don’t have a death wish.” She laughed, then took another sip of her coffee.

“What about Rose?”

Penny stared into her drink for a moment before lifting her gaze to his. “Maybe I’ll ask. But I doubt she knows. Apparently it started decades ago, and it just keeps getting passed down from generation to generation.”

She paused, then added, “Seriously, Matty. You should think about dating again. It’s been years.”

His eyes narrowed. “What is this obsession with you and my dating life? Did Mom put you up to this?”

Penny lifted one shoulder. “She might’ve mentioned wanting to give you her ring.”

His mouth went dry.

The ring.

The only piece of jewelry his ex-wife had ever really wanted, and his mother had never let him give it to her. She’d never offered a clear reason. At the time, he’d tried not to think too hard about it. But now that the marriage was over, maybe she’d seen something he hadn’t.

“Anyway,” Penny said after the awkward silence, “I have to get to work. I’ll catch you later, okay?”

He nodded, getting to his feet.

The whole drive back to his quiet, lonely apartment, he couldn’t get their conversation out of his head.

His mother was starting to lose pieces of her memory. And somehow, the things that mattered most kept rising to the surface.

The ring.

She wanted him to find someone worthy of it.

That felt like asking for a miracle.