Second Hope Cowboy Read online

  Hope’s heart jerked. She’d often wondered what her and Tucker’s son would have looked like. Would he have Tucker’s dark hair, smile, and interest in exploring everything?

  “What are you doing?”

  Tucker’s voice made her jump. She jerked her glance up as he approached. “Do you know that man that just drove off?”

  Tucker shrugged. “Jenson Clever. Why?”

  “I don’t know.” She sighed. “He had his grandson Dalton with him.”

  “Yeah. I think the kid’s mom passed away a few years ago.”

  “The grandfather didn’t seem too happy.”

  “That’s because he got denied credit in the store. I heard him and the owner talking.” Tucker turned and started toward his truck.

  “Wait. Where are you going? What about my car?” She raced after him and barely caught up before he was opening the driver’s door.

  “Hinshaw said he’ll come out and take a look as soon as he finishes his oatmeal. Then he’ll give us an idea of what we’re looking at.” He was already climbing into the seat, agitation carving new lines around his eyes.

  With a sigh, she climbed into the passenger seat, turning so that she could see Tucker’s profile. “What do you mean he was denied credit?”

  Tucker met her gaze and sighed. “The guy must be having it rough. The owner told him they couldn’t give him anymore credit because he didn’t pay his last tab.”

  “What was he buying?” she asked.

  Tucker scratched his jaw. “I dunno. Some meat and cheese I think. And a six-pack. I don’t like to lend my ear to rumors, but he’s known for his habits.”

  “And did you offer to pay?” she asked.

  His gaze narrowed. “No. Why the sudden interest?”

  “The little boy. He looked so lonely and sad sitting on the steps. I’m not sure why but he made me feel sad too.”

  He squinted. “The kid is quiet from what I understand. Doesn’t talk much. Not since his mom died.” He started the engine and took out of the lot leaving a long trail of dust behind them.

  “You should have offered to pay.”

  A moan escaped his chest. “Damn, Hope, give it a rest.”

  “Give what a rest?” She wasn’t backing down.

  “You’re always trying to save the world. Sometimes you have to let people take care of themselves. I know ol’ Jenson enough that if I’d offered to pay he wouldn’t have taken it. He has a thing called pride and I know better than to offer a handout.”

  Hope could see his point. “I guess you’d know a few things about pride, huh.”

  He darted a glance across the seat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, I’m only saying, you have enough for ten men combined. How many times did I say it’s okay to show some vulnerability?” She turned and stared out the window. In the distance she could see Jenson’s truck. They came upon it turning right. The little boy was turned so that she couldn’t see his face. Hope swallowed the constriction in her throat. “You could have even paid the tab.”

  She didn’t even look at Tucker but could feel his eyes penetrating her.

  Once they were on the narrow road that led to the cabin, they pulled over at her abandoned car. “Let’s give it a try to see if it starts. If we’re in luck you can take off.”

  Hope doubted it. When she hit the ditch she could have sworn that she’d seen a puff of steam.

  He unlocked the door to her car and climbed in. When he slid into the seat, he hit his head, sending his hat to the ground. He mumbled a curse word, picked up the hat and laid it in his lap. He looked out of place in the small, economical vehicle. His brawny body barely fit behind the steering wheel. “And you like this car, do you?”

  “I could travel and use less gas and less of a—”

  “Footprint. I already know.” He narrowed his gaze.

  “It might be small but it got me where I needed to go just fine,” she huffed.

  “I beg to differ.”

  “Point taken.” No use in arguing the truth.

  The engine made a winding sound but didn’t catch. He slammed his palm against the dash. He hit the button to release the hood and she watched as he stomped around the front. As he lifted the hood, his arms tightened, his muscles moved like vises. He bent over and she watched his tight bottom in the worn Wranglers. He was still as solid as ever. He became more handsome as he aged.

  “Come here and look. I think your radiator is busted.”

  She swallowed and walked next to him, peering into the maze of metal parts and black hoses. She just as easily could have identified an unknown planet in the universe. “Yeah…if you say so.”

  He pointed to a rectangular-shaped metal part in the front. “See.” He uncapped the lid and peered into the hole. “No fluid.”

  “Hmm…okay.” She tried to seem interested. After all, this was her mode of getting home.

  He looked at her over his shoulder. “I’m speaking alien, aren’t I?”

  “Basically, yes. But thank you for sharing.” She shifted in her boots.

  He dropped the hood back into place and swiped his hands across the thighs of his jeans. “Either way, it’s going to take a few days. Obviously. And your passenger window will need fixed.”

  His expression was blank and she didn’t know whether he was angry or careless that she’d be stuck a little longer. And she wasn’t sure why she didn’t feel more upset. Whatever the radiator did, something to do with fluid, it sounded serious.

  “Should you call someone and tell them you won’t be back today?” His brow curved. His hat was still off and his waves of dark hair looked like black silk in the sunlight. His eyes were a clear blue and she swore she could fall into them and lose herself. “Hope?”

  “Oh…sorry. The sun is very bright.” She turned. “I guess I should call Barb and tell her she’ll have to start on the fundraiser for the hospital without me.”

  “Another fundraiser, huh?”

  The accusation in his voice made her stop and turn on a heel. “Are you still jealous of my work?” She planted hands on hips.

  He chuckled. “Jealous? Of your work? Like I ever was and as if I have a reason to be now.” He shook his head, dusting off his hands. He went to the front seat, grabbed his hat and slammed the door. “But, you’re always trying to fix someone or something.”

  Not sure why, but his words reached deep inside of her chest and squeezed her heart. “Well, someone has to raise money for the people who need it.” She flipped her hair over one shoulder. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we all could bury our heads in the sand and pretend life is magnificent? Some people rely on grants and donations to pay for medical care. But you wouldn’t know this because you think everyone is responsible for themselves. Plant a gun in one hand and fishing pole in the other and everything is just grand. ” Waving a hand through the air, she opened the car door to grab her purse. Digging into the bag, she pulled out her cell phone.

  “Ouch, that hurt.” His voice dripped of sarcasm.

  “It wasn’t meant to hurt. Only to get your attention.”

  “I think the only one who dug her head in the sand was you. Or maybe I should say dropped everything and took off.” He was standing within feet of her. She didn’t want to look at him. Couldn’t face what she’d see in his eyes.

  “Are we going to take a stroll down memory lane again?” She moaned and punched in a number on her phone. It rang.

  “Yes, we are.” He grabbed the phone.

  “What are you doing? Give that back.” She reached for it but he pulled it high above his head. Because he was so much taller, she gave up.

  “Not until we discuss why you left. Then you can have it back and call Barb, or Binkley for that matter.”

  She gritted her teeth as irritation spiraled through her like a hungry monster. “How many times do I need to tell you that his name is Blaise? Blaise!” She wrapped her arms around her waist. “And why talk about why I left? What good will it do? Now
, give me my phone.”

  “No, I won’t. You came out here, disturbed my sanity, so I believe you deserve to be put on the line. That is unless you’re too much of a coward to step up and face what you’d done.”

  “Give me the phone!” She held out her hand. He shook his head. Her patience thinned.

  He turned his back to her, making her angrier. Before she thought things through, she grabbed his hat off his head.

  He growled.

  “Woman, you know you should never mess with a cowboy’s hat—especially his best hat.” “And you should know you should never mess with a woman.” She squinted, heat scorching her insides.

  “If I want the hat, I’ll get it.” He lifted a brow. “You have the disadvantage of height.”

  “Is that right?” Smirking, she buried the hat inside of her shirt. She knew she’d gone too far and this was childish behavior, but she couldn’t back off now.

  ****

  Tucker couldn’t believe his eyes. Hope buried his hat into her shirt, smashing it, part of the rim stuck out. He gritted his teeth. “You’re gonna wrinkle it!”

  “It’ll shake out,” she said smoothly. “Still want to keep my phone hostage?”

  He considered her words. His poor hat—they’d seen some rough times together. On the other hand, if he gave her the phone would she call someone to come and get her? Why did he want her to leave, yet want her to stay all at the same time? His heart and mind were at a tug of war. “Did you leave because you no longer loved me?”

  She blinked. “Tucker, don’t do this.” Her voice rasped.

  “I deserve answers.”

  “I don’t owe you anything.” She took a step backward.

  “Yes, you do. Why did you leave?”

  “I refuse to be bullied into answering your questions!” She took a small step.

  “I’m not bullying you. Was there another man? The doc maybe?”

  “No, Tucker! I left because—”

  “Hope! Don’t move any closer to the side.”

  Too late.

  A scream shot from her open mouth as her boots slipped on the edge of the grass, slippery wet from all the rain. The last thing he saw was her wide-eyed expression as she fell, sliding to the bottom of the hill on her backside.

  Staring down at her, he shook his head, biting back laughter. She’d landed smack dab in the middle of a mud puddle. “Aww…man. My hat!”

  She pushed herself up but fell again, sending mud splattering all over her clothes and into her hair, giving her brown highlights. “Your hat? Is that all you can think about?”

  “It’s my favorite, Hope,” he yelled.

  One corner of her mouth fell as she reached in, fingers dripping with grime, and dragged the hat out. “Is this what you want? Looks like it’s still pretty clean if you ask me. I’d hate for that to change.”

  “Toss it up here, Hope.” He held out his hands.

  The heat from her gaze traveled up the hill. “Oh, you want your hat, do you? Then come and get it,” she snapped.

  “What? Is it really necessary that I come down there and get it?” The hill wasn’t very big. He could maneuver in no time, but he wasn’t much in the mood for getting dirty. Hell, usually he preferred getting dirty. For now, he just wanted to grab his hat and be on his way.

  “All right, must not mean that much to you.” She held the hat between pointer finger and thumb, swinging it as if she tempted the rabbit with a juicy carrot. “I’ll just throw it over in the grass. I’ll need both of my hands to climb back up anyway.”

  “You won’t do it.”

  “I don’t know. You tell me.”

  “For heaven’s sake! Don’t make any irrational moves. I’ll come and get you…and the hat.”

  “Leave the phone up there.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. Damn woman. Always knew how to ruffle his feathers. If his hat wasn’t on the line, he’d have a good mind to toss the cell over the hill too. Hope just stared at him as if this was a battle to the death. When he’d had enough, he rubbed his forehead and tossed the phone onto the hood of his truck. The screen lit up. Tucker wasn’t a nosy man, but the picture that came up made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He recognized the clean-cut, blond-headed man from the engagement picture.

  Pushing a couple of buttons until the cell did what he wanted, the text message came up…

  “Im sorry that we argued, Hope. I shouldn’t have gotten angry and gave you an ultimatum. I hope you’ll get what you want from your ex. Please call me.”

  His body burned while the cave of his chest narrowed. So, they’d discussed the house? Tucker clenched his hands into tight fists. He didn’t want to allow them to influence his feelings, but truth was, he felt the same roller coaster of emotion as he had when he’d heard Hope was getting married.

  “Are you coming?”

  Growling, he went back to the hillside.

  Good thing he’d worn his old jeans…but then again all of his clothes had seen better days. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d dressed in fancy digs—probably the last time he’d seen Hope. She’d always picked out his clothes and he’d gotten spoiled.

  There were a lot of things she’d done for him and he’d never known how useful they were until she’d walked away.

  Pushing aside his irritation, he examined the best route to the bottom of the hill. He realized there wasn’t one easy way down.

  Taking the hillside sideways, his boots sank into the grass but held their own as he slowly made his way to the bottom.

  Five feet.

  Three feet.

  And he was almost there without falling on his ass—

  Then it happened. His left boot slid, he flailed his arms to gain his balance, but then the other foot gave way and down he went onto his backside. His jaw clanked as he hit the dirt. “Shit!”

  “Oops…now it looks like we both need a shower,” Hope said through laughter.

  “I’m glad you find this funny.” He shook his head. He slowly came to a standing position, balancing his legs in the mud. “I think you just wanted to see me dirty.” She was still laughing.

  “Want your hat back now?” she said.

  “Well I did come all the way down here for it, didn’t I?”

  Keeping the hat above the mud, she pushed herself to her knees, moving upward like a baby taking its first steps.

  Tucker clamped his fingers around her elbow, helping her. When she was standing ankle deep in mud, he let go and she fell against his chest, her arms naturally came around his waist, holding on.

  He looked down into her beautiful eyes. Tension spiraled through him, excitement traveling across his nerve endings, straight to the one part of him that had been hard since she came back into his breathing space.

  He couldn’t get wrapped up in her beauty or her seduction again. The woman he’d known and loved wouldn’t have walked away from their marriage. She especially wouldn’t have settled for some high maintenance doc.

  She didn’t release her hold on him—and he didn’t move away. They stood there, staring at each other. He should move all right—straight back up the hill and far away from her.

  But what happened next blurred the barrier between right and wrong. She palmed his cheek, sweeping her thumb along the line of his jaw. Her shoulders slumped and her bottom lip trembled.

  “You shouldn’t look at me like that, sweetheart.” His throat ached with each word.

  “Like how?” Her tongue came out and brushed across her bottom lip. The tip of his cock tingled and his balls tightened. The woman had power—he had to admit it.

  “Like you want me to kiss you.”

  “That’s not what I’m thinking.” One corner of her mouth slipped into mischief.

  “Yeah? Maybe I’ve lost my ability to read you.”

  “I’m thinking that I want to kiss you. Any argument?”

  Damn, yes, lots, but he couldn’t find his voice.

  She lifted higher and broug
ht her lips to his. The kiss was warm and nice, but she’d made the move that unleashed all of his guard and resistance.

  Bringing his muddy hands up, he entwined his hands through her hair and tugged her against his chest. “Come on, sweetheart. Is that all you got?”

  “I haven’t even started.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and their mouths met in a frenzied need—tongues battling, tasting, exploring. He couldn’t get enough.

  Burying his hand under her shirt, he slipped his fingers under her bra and claimed one breast, rolling the puffy, thick nipple under his palm. She arched against him, her head dropped to the side and her hair spread like a satin waterfall.

  He lifted his mouth, only slightly, so he could look down at her. “If we don’t stop, this is going to go all the way.”

  “Don’t stop, Tuck. Please.” Her breathless cry did him in.

  Pressing his mouth against hers again, he licked her insides as he quickly undid the belt buckle and zipper of his jeans. He wanted to take things slow, but it wasn’t possible. And by the way she grasped at his clothes, his chest, scraping her fingernails over exposed skin, she needed it to go real quick too.

  But they couldn’t do anything in the mud.

  Lifting her into his arms, he carefully carried her a few feet away to a patch of grass in the sun. He set her on her feet, but she still clutched his shirt in her fists. Moving his fingers to her waist, he realized she was trembling. He was shaking too. It’d been a long time since he’d felt like school boy on his first date.

  Her shorts were easily lowered, falling to her ankles, revealing a slip of red panties. His mouth salivated and his cock twitched, aching for freedom. He pushed his jeans and boxers down to mid-thigh. Her gaze dropped to his length and a sweet smile curved her shell pink lips. That was almost his undoing.

  No words of request were needed. She turned with her back to him, bending slightly, bringing her bottom high in a welcome to sample. He wasted no time, wanting to steal the moment before it slipped through his fingers.

  Grasping his shaft with his clean hand, he swirled his head around her creamy slit, and in one thrust, he buried himself into her tight pussy. Entombing himself in her coiled muscle, she took all of him, but he stilled, needing a moment to adjust as her tight sheath wrapped around him.