A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy (Love in Sweet Bloom)

Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Duke held the horse’s hoof between his legs and scraped it clean. Using his tools, he trimmed the hoof that was getting a little long. Then he reached for a new shoe and put it in place before he started the process of attaching it.

He could do this job with his eyes closed. It wasn’t the most exciting or the thing he loved most about his job, but he was darn good at it. There were even other ranchers in the area who had asked for his expertise with their horses. The Duncans were a great family to work for. He couldn’t deny it at all. They didn’t seem to mind if he took on other work as long as he took care of the animals in his care, first.

With the shoe in place, Duke released the horse’s leg and moved to the next one. Two down, two to go. He was so entrenched in his work he didn’t hear the car pull onto the property. Only when the car door shut did he lift his gaze.

That’s when everything went still. The gentle breeze was the only thing that helped him realize the world was still turning. His eyes locked on Sophie as she exited her car. She grinned as she hurried forward.

Duke straightened. Had she come to see him? She was looking right at him—smiling at him like he was her favorite person in the world. His heart practically exploded and he flashed her a smile as he lowered the leg of the horse he’d been working with. He took a step toward her, wondering what had caused this change of heart.

Then Rob materialized from behind him, jogging forward.

Duke froze as Rob pulled Sophie into a tight hug. It wasn’t even clear if Sophie had noticed Duke at all. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Sophie didn’t come here to visit him! Her brother worked on this ranch, too. Her best friend was married to her brother and hung around the ranch all the time. If anything, Duke should have been surprised he hadn’t noticed Sophie sooner—she must have visited countless times before.

He slunk back to the horse and scowled as he set to work getting the next hoof ready. Heat rose to his face faster than a forest fire in the middle of a drought. Heck, Duke wouldn’t have been surprised if he looked in the mirror and found his hair had completely been burned off.

There was no telling what possessed him to look over in her direction. He knew he shouldn’t the second he lifted his gaze.

But then she was looking at him and he didn’t know what to do. Should he smile again? Ignore her? Run and hide like the coward he felt he was?

Just as quickly, he dropped his gaze to his work. He was on the clock. She couldn’t fault him for ignoring her when he had a list a mile long to complete. All he had to do was stay focused.

“Duke?”

Dang it!

His head snapped up and he jumped, finding Sophie a few feet away. She had her hands shoved into her jacket and she rocked back on her heels as she seemed to survey what he was doing. Duke stared at her expectantly and her cheeks filled with a mild pink color. She nodded to the hoof. “Does that hurt?”

He gave her a strange look. There was no way she didn’t know the answer to that question. Her brother was a rancher. Her family probably came from a long line of cowboys. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to say anything she might feel mocked her. “No. They’re like fingernails. They can get trimmed. As long as they’re maintained, the horse is happy.”

“Not even the nails? The ones you hammer… into the horseshoes?”

His brows creased and he glanced around, as if expecting someone to pop out with a camera to catch him doing something wrong. “No…” he drawled. “It’s fine.” His eyes followed her as she climbed up on a nearby fence and perched herself there just like she was a little bird.

“Did you do this sort of thing back home? Where you’re from?”

Duke ducked his head, disliking the way her question tore at him a little. He’d left his family to fend for themselves when he should have stuck around to help them out. But she didn’t have to know that. “A little. Not as much as I do here.” He had to stay busy. If he let himself get distracted by her presence, he could slip up.

That was mostly an excuse. He was completely thrown off by the fact that she was even speaking to him. She barely spoke two words to him when they were at the shelter. Now she was here, where he worked, and she suddenly wanted to get to know him? Something was fishy.

Sophie grew quiet and he risked looking up at her, finding her watching him contemplatively. Her head was tilted to the side and she swung her legs in the air. If he wasn’t mistaken, he would have thought she was here only so she could flirt with him. That was what most girls did when they hung around.

Duke sought a visual of Sophie’s brother. Rob had been here just a moment ago. He had to be around here somewhere. People didn’t simply disappear. He frowned when he didn’t catch even a glimpse of the guy. “You’re brother…”

She didn’t even move to look for him, instead, her eyes danced with what could only be described as amusement. “Rob said he and Pippa were going to take me out for dinner tonight. But he’s running late. He said to hang around here until he comes to get me.”

“Here?” Duke found himself asking.

Sophie nodded with a laugh. “I hope you don’t mind. I just figured I’d come to see what a real job looked like.

Groaning, he dragged a hand down his face. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

She shook her head. “Nope. It had to be the most awful thing anyone has ever said to me about my career choice.”

He frowned. “Yeah, well, being told I was faking my actual accent to get the attention of some pretty girls had to be the worst thing anyone has ever said to me.”

When Sophie flushed and her happy expression faltered, he felt the guilt rise to the surface.

Duke sighed. Why did he feel such a desire to apologize to her about speaking the truth? He needed to change the subject and fast. “What’s the occasion?”

Sophie looked confused. “What?”

“For dinner. You celebrating anything special?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think so. Sometimes we like to get dinner so we can connect. When he moved here, I missed him more than anyone would have ever been able to understand.”

His heart constricted. He knew how that felt.

Her expression faltered. “Oh, I’m sure you’ve experienced that kind of loneliness. Do you have siblings?”

“A sister,” he said softly. Another slice of guilt cut him to the bone. Just thinking about his family right now was impossible without remembering the obligations he worried he'd walked away from.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she hopped down from the fence and moved closer to the horse. She placed her hand against the animal’s neck and trailed her gentle touch there. “I always wanted a sister. I don’t know that I could say the same about Rob.” Her eyes met his. “I count myself lucky he fell in love with someone I could put into that position.”

Duke still didn’t know what this conversation was supposed to be about. Was she trying to throw him off his guard? If so, it was working.

“Do you usually work Christmas?”

His hands stilled and his whole body went stiff. “No, not usually.”

“What was so different about this year?”

He did his best to tell himself she wasn’t trying to open the wounds from leaving his family and moving to Texas. Why would she? She didn’t know about that side of his life. “I gave them a vacation for Christmas last year. They’re currently on a cruise.” It was as if he’d tried buying their love. No one seemed to see that connection but him.

Sophie went quiet. She reached out and touched his shoulder. “You miss them, don’t you?”

He glanced down at her touch then lifted his gaze to meet hers. “Yeah,” he said thickly. “But it’s more than that.” He left it at that. He couldn’t bring himself to voice aloud all the pain he knew he’d caused his family by leaving. Instead, he cleared his throat. “Distance is hard. Maintaining relationships when you can’t see each other every day—well, the cards are stacked against people who even deign to try.”

Sophie frowned. “Yeah, I get it,” she said quietly. They were still so close. She hadn’t stepped back—not even when he lowered the horse’s hoof after he completed the shoeing. They were nearly toe to toe. She stared up at him, her eyes bright and curious.

Why wasn’t she backing up? Normally people couldn’t stand being close to one another—unless there was something more happening—something like an argument… or affection.

Duke swallowed hard, the lump in his throat shutting off his ability to breath easy. It had taken all of one minute for her to notice he was struggling with being home this holiday. Granted, his issues ran a little deeper—but that didn’t change the fact that she’d noticed.

Sophie exhaled a soft breath. He could almost imagine she was leaning into him—an invitation.

On instinct, his eyes dipped to her mouth.

Her full lips reminded him of the impending holiday. They were cherry-red. That sort of color was a little too bold for his taste, but somehow she managed to pull it off without a problem. Her lips parted and he found himself inching closer to her, itching to slip his hand around the back of her neck to hold her in place so he could steal a kiss.

They were alone. If he was quick about it, no one would know. Just a few inches closer.

Sophie’s breath hitched and his fingers twitched.

Heart roaring in his ears, Duke reached for her.

Boisterous laughter shattered the fantasy he’d been locked in. Sophie’s cheeks colored and she took a decided step backward. Her lashes fluttered as she sucked in a deep breath and turned away from him. “I’ll see you later, Duke.” Those were her parting words as she scurried toward her car.

Duke stared after her in a daze not even realizing the laughter had come from behind him in the barn. Three of the men he worked with huddled around him, watching Sophie’s escape, too.

More laughter followed. “You’ve gotta be careful about that one,” one of the cowboys muttered as he elbowed Duke in the side. “Isn’t that Rob’s kid sister?”

“She’s not a kid,” Duke shoved him back. “And he knows.”

A different cowboy lifted a brow. “He knows you were about to lock lips with his sister?” More laughter. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and meet her under the mistletoe.”

It took everything in Duke’s power not to clock the guy or grimace over his crude description. “Rob’s wife set us up.” It was all he was willing to say as he walked around to the final hoof that needed to be worked on. The men cracked a few jokes about Duke avoiding his royal responsibilities and falling for a commoner. None of it came close to what was really happening, but that didn’t mean their words couldn’t sting. Hadn’t he done just that? Avoided his responsibilities back home by moving to Texas?

He worked his jaw. His mother had told him it was fine. She really wanted him to be happy. And for the most part he was. Duke glanced once more in Sophie’s direction as the car pulled away. And perhaps there was a chance for even more happiness.