Older Cowboy (Cowboys of Duncan Ranch #3)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Erika Cantrell had a soft spot for attending weddings. Maybe because her own had been such a rushed affair in a chapel festooned with fake flowers down in Vegas. Or maybe because those same nuptials had been to the love of her life. Either way, she adored watching when two people committed their lives to one another for eternity. And Callie and Zeke were the perfect eternal match.

Despite already having passed her thirty-seventh birthday, such events brought her back in time to being that innocent schoolgirl full of hope and giddiness for what was to come.

She glanced down at the buttery gold chiffon number she wore as a bridesmaid and straightened one of the lighter-than-air layers. Callie Blum—now Callie Knight—had a whimsical sensibility and had chosen a wedding theme to reflect that. It did, too. Everything from the bright purple blossom in the bride’s hair to the magic fairyland atmosphere up there on the roof of the nicest hotel in Rocky Ridge made that clear.

When people asked them to tell their story, she and her husband Zeke could honestly say they’d shouted their love from a rooftop.

“Look happy, don’t they?” A deep voice resounded next to Erika, one full of gravel but not in a bad way. She peered up at one of the groomsmen she hadn’t yet formally met, even though they had stood beside one another during a few of the pictures taken earlier.

“They do.”

“Hope it works out for them. Seems like they’ve endured a lot together already.”

Erika twisted so that she could scrutinize the speaker properly. She knew from Callie that this man’s name was Cody Stiers and that he worked with the groom. Having grown up here all her life, Erika was familiar with most of the attendees, but not this one.

“Me, too. You’re Cody, right?”

“Nailed it on the first try. Guess that means my reputation is spreading.”

A flirtatious smile danced at the edges of her lips. “And what reputation is that? Are you a scoundrel from the wild west or something?”

A smile ballooned on his features, as well. One that almost had a feline quality to it, like that of a mountain lion. “Oh, definitely.”

She had the strange sensation of feeling as if she already knew him, as well, even though she didn’t. Erika next experienced a wave of something she hadn’t felt in ages thrum through her from head to foot, something powerful. Yet, she decided to ignore it. There was a certain degree of flirtatiousness to their banter, and she’d need to be careful not to encourage him like that.

Not that the man in question wasn’t handsome enough to flirt with. Cody Stiers could’ve been chiseled right out of a boulder, he suited being here in Montana so well. It wasn’t so much his height, though she’d guess him to be just shy of six feet, but his demeanor. What came across as impressive and bigger than life was the size of his overall personality.

“So, you work with Zeke?”

“I do.”

“As an organic farmer.”

“Wow, word does get around,” he sounded a bit surprised.

“That’s the nature of a small town. But you’ll learn that soon enough if you hang around. The gossip mill moves faster than the speed of light.”

He chuckled, and the sound resonated through her in the most delightful of ways. “Organic farming is the best method for raising both healthy animals and healthy people. It keeps the hazardous and toxic chemicals out of the mix while making certain the foods grown are nourishing to the body. Also, the taste is fantastic. I love to do this little experiment where I have someone taste a store-bought tomato and one of mine. Mine are always better.”

“Always?” she asked him, her tone half teasing. He’d been so passionate in his explanation that it made her heart flutter.

“Always.” His eyes fastened onto hers in a manner than had her catching her breath, too. There was just something about him that drew her in and made her react.

Maybe it was that everything about Cody screamed rugged. From the top of his head of thick hair—despite most of it having gone silver—to the tips of the pointy cowboy boots he’d worn with his suit. Even the suit itself, a slate gray, had a denim shirt situated beneath it. No tie, either. But then, none of the men wore one except for Zeke and that was likely to Callie’s insistence for her groom to meet her exacting standards.

Erika knew from working with the bride at the pediatric practice over these past months that Callie might be the cheerful, optimistic type, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be ferocious. Especially when the occasion called for it. Callie simply had a gift for being diplomatic about how she wielded the fiercer side of her nature. At least with patients. And her sometimes bullish older brother Tim, the doctor whom the practice belonged to.

Cody had broad shoulders, a well-kept beard—also heavily silver—and tough-looking tanned skin. White straight teeth and thin lips. A straight nose that a member of royalty could’ve been proud of. There was a subtle fragrance of freshly mown grass surrounding him, which was more than welcome. But it was his eyes that Erika found difficult to detach from once she locked onto them.

Those irises held more than one color. They were ringed with a dark blue with the rest of them being such a pale turquoise that they immediately drew attention. Then, there was the caramel starburst at the center. And the fact that each of those eyes sparkled with mischief as they took her in.

Oh, yeah. This guy was trouble. With a capital T.

Time to focus elsewhere. “So, you work with Zeke?” Only after she asked the question did she realize he’d already answered it. He must have too based on the jittering jerk of his one side of his mouth, but he patiently replied as if she wasn’t requesting that he repeat himself.

“I do. And from what I know of him, he and Callie are as opposite from each other as opposites can be.”

He could’ve stolen those words right out of her head. “Right? I’ve thought that all along.”

“Even now, he gets fidgety when more than two people stride up to speak to him.” Cody gestured as a family of four approached. Not only did Zeke take a step back, he also grabbed one of the napkins off a nearby table and began to fold it into a tight ball which he then stuffed into his fist. “Socially anxious.”

“Wonder if Callie will arrive to rescue him,” Erika mused, and within ten seconds, that was precisely what occurred.

“Called it,” he murmured to her, putting his hand up to offer her a high five. She slapped it in response. “Nice one.”

“Callie’s a coworker and friend. I know her pretty well.”

“How long have you been here in town?”

“Always. But you’re a recent arrival, correct?”

“Fairly recent. I’m an import from Minneapolis. But I already love it here. To say that this place differs from the city is a massive understatement.”

She clinked her glass with his, even though it was nearly empty. “I bet.”

“All this land. All this wilderness. And the soil is…” He made a chef’s kiss with a flourish that somehow came off as genuine rather than silly or flippant. “I’ve been here for six months, and I’ve already fallen in love with it.”

The sincerity of his tone couldn’t be denied. It warmed her heart. She’d considered the fact that she might have to leave once she finished her certification as a nurse practitioner in order to secure the type of job she wanted, but she hoped not to have to go far. Most especially, she didn’t want to leave Montana. She’d traveled a bit, but abandoning the Big Sky Country would never be an option for her. Not for long, anyway.

Part of her couldn’t believe that she’d finally progressed to almost having completed her practitioner training. It’d been such a long time coming and something she’d been working on for what seemed like forever in the brief minutes of free time she could carve out of her life.

She wondered if Blake would be proud of her if he were still alive. Automatically, her hand reached for the wedding ring set she kept on a slender silver chain around her neck. He bought it for her while in Vegas. The diamond solitaire might be modest by many women’s standards, but Erika didn’t care. It’d been a symbol of all they had between them.

It’d taken her five years after his death to stop wearing it on her finger, but she couldn’t manage to abandon wearing it completely. That was one reason she’d switched to wearing it around her neck. Another one was so people would stop nagging her about it.

You’ve mourned him for long enough, Erika, they’d say. It’s been half a decade. I’m starting to worry about you, another would say.

And the best admonishment of all… You’re still in your twenties? Are you just determined to stay his widow forever?

Each of these comments had come from different loved ones. Deep down, she knew this came from a place of concern, but she found it endlessly exasperating. And even callous. Why did they care if she chose to grieve Blake for the rest of her days? So what if she wanted to keep his memory close? What impact could it possibly have on them?

But eventually, tired of saying ten versions of the exact same thing, she’d hidden that precious symbol so that only she knew where it resided. Then, she remembered that she was right in the middle of a conversation.

“Rocky Ridge is a hard place not to love,” Erika tuned back to the man at her side, sipping at her drink as she focused back on the proceedings. The dance floor was full and the guests around them seemed to be having a great time.

“Tell me more about you and why you love it.” Cody tilted his head to the side and regarded her with interest, and it’d been such a long time since any man had done such a thing—and it seemed harmless enough in the moment—that she allowed herself to bask in his attention.

He was just being nice, after all.

“My family and friends are here. All my best memories are here. I love the winter and the fact that we have all four seasons. I’m not big on hot weather, so it’s nice that the hot summer days don’t last so long. Spring and autumn are gorgeous. I love the scenery. I’ve been other places, but none of them compare.”

Erika purposely left her job off that list. She adored Callie, and she and Tim now seemed to have an understanding. But she’d be glad to cut ties and move on. She and Callie could always maintain their friendship outside of the pediatrician’s office.

“You’re making me fall in love with the place even more,” he stated, the mischief in his gaze warming into something else. Something she decided she didn’t need to identify. “How about you go out with me so we can discuss more about it.”

Over the years, Erika had been hit on by the occasional man. Some came on too strong, and she’d been quick about shutting them down. Some had been sweet, but she hadn’t been in the place for such endeavors. Cody, however, fell into a whole new category.

Tempting.

It scared her that she felt that way, that she had to remind herself that she didn’t have time to date. And with a man like this, she could end up right in the danger zone. So, she smiled at him even as she took a step back.

“You’re very kind to ask. But no.”