Stony Creek Cowboy [Stony Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

Jackson couldn’t help the huge smile that just burst across his face with genuine feeling. He was free. Free to try again. Free to be himself, not pretending to be in love or whatever he was “supposed” to feel. He needed a drink and some man time ’cause he was starting to feel giddy like a girl. Yep, some time with the guys would set everything back to rights.

The divorce was a year ago and now, sitting astride his horse, Lachlan, he wondered what the winter would bring.

* * * *

The six men sitting astride their mounts up on top of the ridge looked down at the new construction home below. The group of gorgeous related men started with William Powell, owner and boss of Rugged Hill Ranch with his beautiful wife, Lillian. His sons in order of appearance in the world were Jackson age thirty-six, Benjamin age thirty-three and lastly Troy, who was affectionately known as “Tiny,” was the baby at twenty-nine. Bill’s brother, Martin, who owned half the ranch with his wife, had tragically died in an accident eight years ago. His Florence and their two sons, Brody age thirty-four and Cole age thirty-two, lived in another beautiful ranch house on the other side of the property.

With its English cottage design and leaded insulated cut-glass windows, the new house was an architectural dream, particularly out in this part of Wyoming. There was a matching barn out back and an inground hot tub, all secluded behind a grove of evergreens near the back door. It needed landscaping, but it was the beginning of November, and that kind of work would have to wait until spring thaw. It was a soft sage-green-colored stucco with a slate roof. It was nice, really nice, if not quite the typical ranch-style house common to Stony Creek. It sat on one hundred acres that was west of the Powell Ranch.

“We kinda must look like a
Bonanza
episode,” Troy said laughingly.

Jackson smirked at his youngest brother while Brody chimed in, “Yeah, but we are way hotter and can actually bale hay while roping calves!”

“Uncle Bill, you so know you want to sing it. Ba ba ba ba Bonanza!” sang Cole.

“Could you guys attempt to act your age?” said Ben, Jackson’s other huge brother. “This New York guy is going to think he has jerkoff neighbors as it is. Building a home like that costs big-time. I wonder who he is and what the hell he is doing out here.”

Bill filled in. “Sam and Phillip just said that he wanted the best and had very expensive taste when it came to the build. Apparently, it is state-of-the-art.”

“Uncle, I say we send Mom and Aunt Florence over as the welcoming committee to see if he is friendly. They live for that stuff. Then we can just be neighborly and get a look at what he had built,” said Troy. “I wonder why he didn’t do any of the work himself,” mused Jackson aloud.

“Maybe he doesn’t know how, idiot,” stated Brody. “Not everybody can be a superman like me.”

“If you are such a superhero, how come I had to wake you up twice this past week alone to get out to the south fields to do the morning check?” inquired Bill smugly.

Cole snickered. “Uncle, he had some, uh, company, that wouldn’t let him alone.” That had all the men chuckling except for Bill.

“Perhaps this new neighbor will show you something about the rewards of success and hard work as opposed to trying to plow fields through all the young women of Stony Creek,” Bill replied.

“Dad, man cannot live on beef alone. We must do our part to entertain the poor womenfolk of our town during the cold winter season. It is our inherent duty as men. Can we help it if they find us irresistible?” Troy piped in.

“They find you the least attractive, Tiny. I have that on good authority!” Ben shouted teasingly at his baby brother. At six feet two inches, Troy was the shortest on their branch of the Powell line.

“Don’t be a dumbass. I am the one all the ladies look for on Friday night at The Pump!” Troy said confidently. “You are always so quiet, if it weren’t for your good-looking brothers, they would never know you were there.”

Bill looked at his boys. “Eh, I blame your mother. She is the looker. However, I seriously doubt that she will find it a compliment to know that you boys, and this goes for all of you, have not been treating the women with as much respect as you should be.”

“She would want us to marry each one, Dad,” groused Ben.

“No, she would only want you to be happy, son,” he said, looking sadly at Jackson. “Enough dawdling boys, the herd isn’t gonna feed itself, and I hear there is a new doctor moving in, too. I believe his name is Bill, perhaps it is him? It would be kinda nice having a doc for a neighbor. Very convenient.” Bill laughed.

* * * *

The drive was beautiful. Already Billie felt her burdens lighten and soul soar. Once she entered Wyoming there was an endless parade of snowcapped mountains ringed with evergreens. She couldn’t imagine what the wildflowers would look like come spring. I’m on my way, she thought. She had just gotten off the phone with Sam Tourgent, the contractor for her house as well as her office. She wasn’t sure if she should be offended or laugh at his surprise that Billie turned out to be Dr. Billie Rothman and a lady at that. She chose laughing until the tears ran. He hasn’t been able to stop sputtering that he thought “Billie” was a man. This should definitely be interesting.

She switched thoughts to her new home. Were there any sort of men around the area her age? It had been so long since she thought about that part of herself, but if she was going to be honest and start anew, she needed to acknowledge the part of herself that she couldn’t with her husband. She craved the physical contact that only a lover who understood her could bring. She knew that men found her attractive but hadn’t made her sexual side a priority, having primarily focused on her work. At five feet eight inches with green eyes, she had a generous chest and tiny waist. Her long, silky auburn hair wiped against her neck as she drove toward her future. Hopefully she wouldn’t allow herself be caught under an avalanche of work once she got there. She was going to Wyoming to change her life and find herself.

Through the open window came a sudden gust of air, which swirled her skirt up over her thigh. She had on cotton tights with over-the-thigh boots but gave a shiver anyway. It wasn’t from the wind as much as she was imagining her new lover sliding his hand over the newly exposed section of leg. She caught her breath and wondered how big his hands would be, the scent of his body and taste of his skin. She wanted…

“God, I have got to control myself. I haven’t even gotten there and I am lusting over an imaginary muscled man. I wonder if any of the cowboys on the nearby ranches ever come in for physicals.” She laughed. Her thong had taken on a decidedly damp description as her thoughts drifted. It was one of her secret passions. She loved her lingerie. It gave her such a silent thrill to be wearing nothing more than scraps of lace under either her dress clothes or scrubs. She had quite the collection even before Matthew had passed. He really didn’t care one way or another. Sadly. However, she had. Since then, she definitely had shopped out of control. Just a bit.

“Well, perhaps this new imaginary man will appreciate my taste.” She giggled.

As Billie drove down the long, winding drive that led to her new house, she couldn’t help but feel excited. The house that came into view was exactly as she had dreamed. The contractor had followed the designs to the letter. It was enchanting. It was her own little hideaway. Sam waited on the front porch of the cottage with a smile.

“Dr. Rothman, I presume,” he said with a sexy grin.

“How do you do? I am so thrilled with how the house looks! You have some serious skills, sir.”

“Let me help you out, Doc, and I can show you around your new home. The moving van was here yesterday, but if anything is not where you want it, I would be happy to rearrange it.”

His smile was sincere and welcoming as the beautiful day. She could feel herself blushing. He was a tall man with sparkling eyes. Billie wondered if he was an anomaly or if there were more men from Stony Creek like this specimen.

“Doc, I gotta tell you that you are nothing of what I expected.”

Huh?
What was he expecting? Insecurity ran its undercurrent through her as she wondered what it was he was thinking. “What is wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing at all, Doc, but I think you are gonna have a whole new clientele once word gets around you are a miss and not a mister. You are gonna have lots of ‘visitors’ once they get a look at you.” Sam laughed.

“I assure you that I am quite capable of handling the patients that come into my office, Sam. There is very little that scares me unless you grow them differently out here,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“Nope, Doc, you are gonna do just fine. It’s just, well, you are pretty and all. I am not sure it is what people were thinking when they heard a new doc was coming on in. Doc Finnagan is just old. Old and cranky. Your smile is gonna have them lining up around the block.”

A slow blush crept up her neck as she smiled. “Why don’t we go in and you can dazzle me with your talents firsthand. I cannot wait to see the bathroom!”

“After you, Doc.” He watched her walk past him and a wicked smirk formed on his face as he couldn’t wait to share his newfound information with the rest of the “crew.” He wondered what kind of havoc a woman like this was going to bring.

Billie was blown away from the moment she entered her front hallway. It was warm and welcoming with dark-brown wainscoting on the walls and rough-cut stone on the floors. A charming chandelier aged to resemble an old English candelabra hung above. To the left was a huge living room with the soft chocolate leather couches she had sent over, but it was her oversized chair near the fireplace that made her smile. She needed her cozy chair. It had to come with her. The fireplace was beautiful with layers of stacked stone from floor to ceiling just waiting for its first fire. There was a nook for the stacked firewood outside the back door and beautiful picture windows lining the walls. The view was so breathtaking her chest hurt. She couldn’t wait for the first snowfall to sit gazing out that window with a cup of tea.

She turned her gaze past the man with the perma-grin to her kitchen. It was a sight to behold. It was a cook’s dream with rich wood cabinets, six-burner gas stove, double oven, and sub zero. A sigh escaped her mouth even before she could help it.

“So far so good, Doc?” Sam asked.

“Heaven, I have gone to heaven, Sam, and I refuse to allow you to wake me up.” Billie laughed.

“Upstairs we go, then!”

The stairs were gorgeous with a carved banister and wainscoting up the wall. She was able to get a clear view of the open floor plan of the first floor and paused to appreciate the crown moldings from her vantage point. There were three bedrooms on the second floor. The two guest bedrooms were lovely with all the furniture placed perfectly as she had laid out in her drawings. It was the master bedroom that did her in. She had purchased a carved, dark English oak, king-size canopy bed. It stood in the center of the room amidst a gorgeous combination of caramel walls and white moldings. It gave her decidedly decadent thoughts.

She held herself together until they hit the master bath. Tears flowed down her face unchecked. Happy or sad tears, she had no idea. It was her dream home and it was time to stop dreaming and now start living.

“Doc? Are you okay?”

“Yes, it’s just so much more than even I pictured it to be. I cannot thank you or Phillip enough. You have truly helped make me such an amazing home. Don’t mind the tears. They happen from time to time. A girl thing.”

“When you get settled in, give me a call and I would love to bring my girlfriend Victoria over. She has been dying to meet you since she found out it was a woman physician we were building for and not another loudmouth, arrogant man, as she put it,” he said with a laugh.

She would definitely like that. A few new friends to go with a new house and life. Sounded good. “If this is what the house looks like, I cannot imagine how my office turned out. I am excited to see it, too, but will wait until I get myself situated here.”

As she walked him out, thanking him again, she remembered to ask, “How many neighbors do I have, Sam, by the way? Are there any close by?”

“Yep, the Powell Ranch is just next door, so to speak. You are going to make quite an…impression”

“Why is that?”

“Like I said, Doc, look in the mirror.”

After refusing Sam’s assistance with her luggage and things she didn’t trust to the movers, she turned to her SUV and stared at it with disdain. Could she imagine the suitcases up into the bedroom? It was then she noticed a small piece of shiny metal at the corner of the gutter by the first-floor roof. Finding a ladder left behind by the construction men, she maneuvered it to the edge of the roof. See, I have skills, she thought to herself.
Only in Wyoming for a few hours and already I’m getting handier by the minute.

Billie climbed the ladder to find that she was eight feet off the ground. Not afraid of heights, she tried to convince herself. As she reached up to inspect the shiny object, her foot gave way. She could hear her own screams pierce the quiet of the valley as she hung on for dear life.

“Oh my god!
Help!
” So much for her newfound skills.