Serious Cowboy (Cowboys of Duncan Ranch #2)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

At the end of his shift, Zeke hopped into his rebuilt 1967 International Harvester pickup, shivering. It’d been an especially glacial day today, the sun never once breaking through the gray overcast. It smelled like snow, too, so he knew getting home would be in his best interests.

Prior to sticking his key in the ignition, though, he flitted a hand over the dashboard and gave the old girl a friendly pat. It was a sort of ritual he liked to maintain. This truck—decades older than he was—had been his first project as a teen, and he’d never looked back.

He’d worked on it for years before it would run, and it was years after that before he put the finishing touches of new chrome accessories and a pristine ivory white paint job to complete it. In a lot of ways, this shiny hunk of refurbished metal was his baby.

He would run it through the carwash to rinse off the dust if it weren’t so cold, but Rocky Ridge in late November wasn’t for the faint of heart. Last night, it’d gotten down to three degrees, and he’d had to coax his engine to start at all this morning. Even with its many new parts and numerous improvements, it took a minute for the Harvester to warm up enough to rumble down the road.

Since the mercury hadn’t risen much throughout his workday, he had to sweettalk his truck to life again now. It took a while, long enough that he wondered if he’d have to open the hood and see what was going on, when the engine finally caught.

That was when the sky opened up and huge fluffy flakes of snow began to fall. He’d traveled less than a mile from the ranch when it coated everything in sight, and he double checked to make sure his lights were on. He loved the color he’d painted his old girl, but it made her hard to see if not lit up properly.

The sun—already dim—had totally disappeared by the time he turned onto the main lane that led back into the city limits of the town, and it was taking all his concentration just to stay on the pavement.

That’s when he caught sight of a flash of crimson red and carefully tapped on his brakes. Regardless of his skilled ability to drive in such conditions, his tires still slid and he found himself nose to nose with a car so tiny and low to the ground it almost seemed like a toy one of the Blum children would play with.

The windshield wipers were on, so he assumed the driver was still inside. Flipping on his flashers, he hurried over to see what might’ve happened. The last person Zeke ever would’ve anticipated being out here in such an inappropriate-for-the-mountains little car—a later model of Mazda Miata, he realized—was Callie Blum.

Yet there she sat.

“Wreck your car or did it break down?” he asked her, getting right down to business. He registered the floral scent of spring flowers which were utterly out of season right now. The fragrance must be coming from her.

“Got a flat, I think, and it made me lose control.”

She did look a bit… rattled. Callie wasn’t tearful or anything, but her usually pink lips were colorless. He frowned.

“You have a spare?”

“Yeah, it’s one of those little donuts I think.”

Of course, it was. That’s about all you could get these days unless you had a truck or SUV.

“That’s not going to be safe in these conditions.” Speaking of the conditions, several large flakes slid down his neck and behind his shirt collar. He yanked up his hood, even if he should’ve already. “Have you called anyone?”

“I was about to. It just happened.”

Her hands were shaking as she reached into her purse for her phone. The problem was that with her facing the wrong direction in the wrong lane, this tiny toy of a car could easily get smacked by a big pickup or SUV and wind up totaled. Maybe even left in pieces. That wouldn’t be good for the Miata or the other vehicle.

And she’d just been sitting there like that. Had she not recognized the danger she’d been in?

Through the blowing snow and the beam of his headlights, he spied a small pull off area up ahead next to a cattle gate. It was her best bet.

“See that spot?” He pointed. “Think you can get your car over there?”

If she could, she’d at least be off the road. It wasn’t the most optimal of solutions, but it was better than nothing. Then, in daylight when there weren’t snowy conditions hampering things, he could help get her into a tire shop.

“Maybe…”

He stepped back and observed her as she slowly maneuvered over to the point in question. Then, he approached and opened her door. She glanced up at him in confusion.

“Come on. You can’t stay out here all night.”

“Thank you,” she said, and while her voice was filled with relief, the blue illumination from her dashboard displayed her features to be edged with something else. Unless that was just how the shadows had feathered across her face.

“Are you hurt?” He should’ve asked that earlier.

“Oh, no. No, not at all.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

He held out an arm for her to take to guide her to his passenger side. Normally, he wouldn’t act as chivalrous as this, but she seemed unsteady on her feet. She might think she was uninjured, but Zeke didn’t feel as confident. People could sometimes have injuries or wounds they were unaware of.

“Want me to take you to your brother’s?” It was what Zeke felt compelled to do. Tim would know what to look for to make sure she was okay.

“Not necessary. I’m fine. I’d rather… If you would be so kind as to take me home, I can give you directions.”

Zeke hesitated, tightening his lips. He didn’t mind driving her wherever, but if she had a concussion or something, her being alone wasn’t a good idea. He looked her over. Zeke wasn’t a medical expert, but he knew some of the signs.

“Do you have a headache?”

“A headache? No.”

“Are you feeling nauseated?”

She blinked. “No.”

“No dizziness or disorientation?”

Callie’s mouth curved into an ironic smile. “I don’t have a concussion, Zeke. Like I said before, I’m fine. I wouldn’t let you take me home to be alone if I honestly believed anything else.”

He assessed how directly she’d stared into his eyes, heard the iron in her voice, and nodded. “All right.”

The rest of the trip was uneventful since the snowplows were in action once they hit the streets more regularly driven. She resided in a quaint little cottage of a home with a craftsman style facade and covered front porch. It suited her. But once he pulled in the driveway, she remained.

“Can I take you to lunch? It’s the least I can do after you helped me out,” she said.

He was shaking his head before she finished her sentence. “Not necessary. Um, I can take you back out there tomorrow to check on your car, if you’d like.”

Zeke expected her to turn him down, to say that Tim or Amanda would help her get her car, but she didn’t.

“Oh, that would be lovely.”

Too late to back out of it now. “Just uh… give me a call then, I guess.”

She handed over her phone, and he put his number in and sent himself a text. It worked.

“Lunch, though,” she brought up the notion again rather than opening her door. “I really would like to take you out to eat. I’m so thankful you came along to help me.”

“You don’t owe me a thing.”

Her smile came back, bright and beaming as ever. “I disagree.”

“I—” he tried to come up with a better, more solid objection, but she interrupted him.

“I’m not taking no for an answer.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her wide grin now stretching from ear-to-ear. “So, tomorrow’s Saturday. Where can we meet?”

Sensing that he would lose this argument no matter what, he gave in. What harm could spending a few minutes with her do, anyway? She hadn’t asked for a commitment or even a date on the town. She’d simply said lunch, and he supposed he could cope with that much.

He ignored the niggling at the back of his brain warning him that his reason for agreeing had more to do with him liking her than anything else. He didn’t have the time for any warm feelings right now.

When he didn’t offer up any meeting places, she sprung one of her own on him.

“What about the Bookish Bistro, that new place on the square? It’s an independent bookstore that has sandwiches.”

A sandwich sounded good. That would mean he could just eat a bit of something and go. Quick and easy.

“All right.”

The next day the storm had cleared, and the sun had come out. As he ambled into the Bookish Bistro right on time, Callie was there waiting for him. He’d called her first thing that morning to see if she needed help with her car, but she told him she’d already been set to rights. Probably by her brother.

Then, when he came in, she lit up like someone had flipped a switch inside of her and waved him over as if he were some sort of celebrity. He felt his neck heat at the special treatment.

She behaved as if he were important to her. That was a new thing for him.

Perusing the menu surprised him. Their specialty might be sandwiches but they had quite the selection. Finger sandwiches with every lunch meat and cheese imaginable as well as some vegetarian options. Small bowls of hearty soups and stews. Pita bread with dips.

And that was just to start. They had salads, fried cheese and marinara, tortilla chips with salsa, as well as a full selection of desserts—again, all in miniature. A little bit of everything.

The place even had a special clear rack built into each table to have access to the books while eating. Callie already had a stack of books sitting beside her.

“I didn’t know what you might like, so I picked up a variety.”

To his surprise, she’d collected a repair manual on small electronics, a new edition to one he had at home. He seized it, flipping through to determine what had been updated.

“Nice choice,” he commented.

She offered him half a smile. “So, what it is that makes Zeke Knight tick, anyway?”

“Not much,” he admitted, a little taken by surprise at her direct question. He’d never thought much about it if he was honest.

“I doubt that’s true. In fact, I think we should play a game.”

“A game?” He couldn’t help but let some of his trepidation enter his voice. As the kid who’d never been chosen for teams back in school, he’d only excelled in the types of games played indoors.

“Yes. I tell you something about myself, and you’ll have to determine whether it’s true or false. And vice versa. How about it?”

Why not, he supposed.

“Go ahead.”

“I traveled all around North America in my early twenties, true or false?”

Zeke regarded her. He’d guess her to be somewhat younger than his own thirty-six, but not by that much. And the sage-like look in her eyes might be conducive to someone who’d wanted to see where the wind would take them.

“True.” It was a guess, of course, but that was the way he was leaning.

“It’s true. I did.” She smiled brightly. “I was pretty nomadic in my youth. Drove all through the U.S. and Canada and even spent a few months down in Mexico, especially around the coast in Baha.”

Wow. “Was it as scenic as it is on TV and online?”

“Even more. You’ve gotta go there in person to really experience what it’s like. Everything’s at a slower pace. No rat race. It’s just a totally different method of living life.” He nodded, impressed. “But make sure you have some local friends native to the area to act as your guides. Tourists without them tend to get robbed more often. I think we look like easy marks to those who might take advantage otherwise.”

How was it she was younger but had more life experience than he did?

“Okay, your turn,” she prompted him.

But he felt like he didn’t have anything as unique to share. Ensuring quality control of feed grain couldn’t compare. And his personal life was off-limits. His past consisted of a quagmire of misery and heartache unsuitable for public consumption even if he did want to share. Which he most definitely did not.

“I met your brother during an NHL hockey game, true or false?”

Callie narrowed her unique eyes at him. “Hmmm… You said that with no inflection at all, but I don’t know what that means. I’m going to say false.”

Again, he felt impressed. “Correct. We met at a pick-up basketball game at the gym we both belonged to.”

“So that’s why your biceps are so—” Rather than finishing her statement, she crooked her arm into an L-shape and made a muscle.

Zeke felt his neck heat. He wasn’t used to anyone saying nice things about him, particularly not about his physique. He didn’t go to the gym as often as he should—maybe once a week—but his hobbies frequently called for him to use his upper body strength to complete them.

If she noticed his flushed skin, she didn’t say anything. She simply sat there looking placid yet cheerful. It was an attitude that felt foreign to him.

“Here’s one for you. I’m adopted, true or false?”

“True,” he answered too quickly. He probably should’ve taken more time to at least pretend to contemplate the question, but he’d already thought about how differently her appearance was compared to Tim’s.

She laughed. “That was fast.” Inwardly, he cringed. “But I understand. It’s not like my brother and I look like twins or anything.”

“So you were adopted?”

“Oh, yeah. The Blums were family friends with a teenage daughter who got pregnant in her senior year of high school. They decided that adoption was the right path for them and that’s how I got Tim as a big brother. He was eleven when they adopted me.”

“Sounds like you think of the Blums as your real mom and dad.”

“They are my real mom and dad. Biology doesn’t make a family, connection does.”

She didn’t say this with any sense of aggravation or anger, merely as a straightforward belief.

“It’s nice that everything worked out for you,” he told her earnestly.

“It is. I had a very happy childhood. Did you?”

Zeke hadn’t expected the query, and as such was absolutely unprepared for it. He couldn’t get over how direct she was. There was no wondering what she was thinking because she said it all out loud, or at least that’s how it seemed. “Uh, not so much.”

“Oh,” Callie sat back, wilting slightly. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. They needed to change the subject.

“My turn again, right?” The positive bob of her head had him tossing her another inquiry. “I have a dog, true or false?”

“Well, you work on a farm for a living, so I’m gonna say true.”

He made the harsh sound of a buzzer, but then felt silly for doing it around others. Socially awkward as ever, it seemed. “Wrong, sorry. No pets for me. I don’t really have time for a dog.”

“How can you not have time for a dog? You could take him with you anywhere on the ranch.”

“That’s true, but I just never thought about getting one. Maybe one day I will, though.”

They continued to chat for an hour after that, and Zeke felt stunned at how fast the time went. Being in public and especially in a social group always taxed him, but being with Callie wasn’t near as much of a challenge for some reason. Maybe it was because she was such a delight to be around.

Still, it was time to go.

“Can we get the check,” he asked the server who’d brought all their mini dishes. Yet when the server arrived, Callie tried to snatch it. “I don’t think so,” he chastised her.

“Um, excuse me, but I believe I specifically told you that I’d take you to lunch. You helped me, so this meal is on me.”

“Can’t.”

“Can’t what?” she asked.

“Can’t let you pay.”

“Why? Because I’m a woman? You helped me, and I need to repay you.”

“You don’t,” he countered. Not that he was against equal rights or whatever, but it just felt wrong to have her settle up the bill when he’d had such a good time with her.

Her pale eyes sparkled, and he wasn’t sure of why until she spoke. “Fine. But only on one condition.”

“What condition?”

“Give me a tour of Rocky Ridge.”

His impulse was to deny her. “Don’t you have family for that?” It came out more gruffly than he intended. “I mean, we don’t really know each other.”

“So what,” she objected. “I would hope after today that we’re starting to be friends. You were so kind to me and I appreciate it.”

“Any resident of this town would’ve helped you.”

“No one else did, though. Only you.” He didn’t know what to say to that. She gave him a verbal push. “Come on, Zeke. It’ll be fun.”

So, he agreed.