Cooking For Cowboy (Stampede Sizzlers) (3 page)

“You’re right, it isn’t. But just so you know…I quit my job. Now, I don’t have a job and I don’t have a car. How I am I supposed to job hunt until my vehicle is repaired? I don’t know how…”

“Let me drive you home. You need a good night’s sleep, and then you can worry about all this stuff in the morning.” Chad stepped forward, reached out a hand and gently clasped her elbow, attempting to guide her toward the front doors.

Sierra pulled her arm back, stumbling slightly. She shook her head. “No thank you. I’ll call a cab.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re about to fall over from exhaustion. I assume the doctor checked you over, and you don’t appear to be in shock. Being involved in a car accident is traumatic, however, and you need to go home and get some rest.”

“Thank you, Doctor Whatever-your-damn-name-is. But I’ll be fine.” Sierra dug her hand into her purse, but it slipped out of her grasp, landed on the tiled floor, and spilled its contents. “Damn,” she muttered, shifting the leather case out of the way while she knelt to retrieve the items.

“My name’s Chad Parker.” He crouched down to help her pick up her belongings. “That does it. You’re coming with me. No discussion. No argument.”

“I’m perfectly capable…”

“Forget it.” Chad rose to his feet and handed her a small round mirror. At least, it hadn’t broken and saddled her with seven years bad luck on top of everything else.

Sierra stood and stuffed the mirror into her purse.

When he’d stood, Chad tried to avert his eyes from her stunning pink top, but he received a clear view of her substantial cleavage and a hint of two beautiful full breasts. He felt his face redden and he avoided her eyes

“Okay. Okay. Drive me home,” she whispered, sounding defeated.

Chad noticed the tears that welled in her eyes before she ducked her head. Those beautiful, troubled eyes were almost his undoing. He yearned to wrap her in his arms and hold her close. Gently brush his lips across her bruised forehead. Possess her mouth, kiss all the worries and hurt away. But wisely he controlled himself. Considering how pissed at him she was, he might receive a knee to his groin.

“I have to call a tow truck and get my car…”

“After the paramedics drove away with you in the ambulance, I called a tow truck to haul your car to the body shop at the Honda dealership. There was a sticker beside your vehicle’s license plate.”

“The dealership? Do you know how expensive…”

“I told the tow truck driver to get someone to sign for it if possible at this time of night. Maybe a security guard is there. Doesn’t matter. I left a note on the windshield that you would contact them in the morning, and they won’t start any work on it until the insurance people look at it. Besides, judging by the vehicle’s age, my guess…it’s a write-off.”

“Oh, my God.” Fresh tears welled in her eyes.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of here,” he insisted, removing the strap of the heavy knife case from her shoulder and slipping it over his own.

Sierra nodded her head in resignation, appearing too exhausted for further argument. She clutched her purse to her chest and accompanied him through the sliding glass doors. A gentle drizzle had started to fall and she paused just outside the door. Her eyes closed, and she inhaled the rain-freshened night air, perhaps to cleanse her lungs of the antiseptic hospital smell. She’d argued about the ambulance trip and insisted on leaving as soon as the doctor saw her. Chad decided, for some reason, she had an aversion to hospitals.

They hurried toward the parking lot, and Chad couldn’t stop himself. He settled his arm around her shoulders, drew her against him, and led her toward his pickup which hadn’t sustained a scratch during the parking lot mishap. As he tightened his hold on her, he felt her entire body shaking. She couldn’t be chilled from the rain already. “Are you certain you shouldn’t have stayed overnight in the hospital?”

Sierra raised her head, met his eyes. “I hate hospitals. I insisted on coming home.”

“I suspected as much. The doctor was okay with that?”

“I told him I lived with my mother.”

“That’s good.” Chad blew out his breath. He was genuinely worried about her, he admitted to himself. And then he noticed the strange expression that flashed across her face. “You don’t live with your mother, do you?”

“Well, I did for the first fifteen years of my life. The doctor just assumed I
still
lived with her.”

“You’re a bad girl, Sierra.”

“Nothing short of being in a coma would keep me there overnight.”

“I’d wager there’s a story that would explain your decision, but I won’t pry.” Chad unlocked and opened the passenger door and helped Sierra inside. He hurried around to the driver’s side and climbed in.

“I live in the Southwest near the Lake Bonavista Recreation Center on Acadia Drive,” she informed him while clicking her seatbelt into place.

“House or apartment block?”

“Basement apartment in a house.”

“Who lives upstairs?” he inquired while fastening his own seatbelt and starting the truck.

“My best girlfriend, Diane, her husband, and their little girl.”

“Are they home?”

Silence.

“Are your friends going to be home tonight?” he continued to push.

“Not...exactly.”

“What does that mean, Sierra?”

“Diane and Neil are in Vegas for another few days. Catherine is staying with her granny.”

“So, who’s at home to watch over you tonight?”

“Barney,” she answered without hesitation.

Chad noticed she’d turned and stared out the window after answering him. “Who is Barney?”

Silence.

“Who the hell is Barney, Sierra? Your boyfriend? Fiancé? Husband?”

“My dog,” she whispered.

Chad burst into laughter. “Oh, Sierra.”

“What?” She shifted in her seat.

Chad’s hand reached out and turned her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Can Barney use the telephone? Have you taught him to dial 9-1-1?”

“Barney is a very smart dog.” Sierra’s lips twitched and Chad realized she was fighting back a smile. She added, “He might figure it out in an emergency.”

* * *

Sierra dumped a sheet, a blanket, and a pillow on her living room sofa. She couldn’t believe she’d agreed to let a total stranger spend the night in her home. The same stranger who’d probably totaled her car. The same man who’d insisted she travel to the hospital in an ambulance as a precaution. She swallowed hard. The same devilishly-handsome guy who’d almost stopped her heart when he peered through her car window moments after the accident.

She’d never forget the first time she stared into those sparkling blue eyes. His curly, dark hair skimmed his shoulders in back and his killer smile turned her bones to mush. Tall, dark, handsome and thoughtful. Had she just won the new-man-in-your-life lottery?

Here he was stretched out on her sofa, intending to spend the night in case she required medical attention. Her heart raced every time she looked at him. Cowboys had always been this Alberta-born-and-raised city girl’s weakness. She couldn’t count the number of nights she drank beer with her girlfriends at a western bar and two-stepped the night away in the arms of a hunky guy wearing a Stetson and cowboy boots. She might require a paramedic to restart her heart if this cowboy remained under her roof all night and smiled at her every time she engaged him in conversation.

“Just ignore him,” she mumbled, aloud.

“Did you say something?”

Sierra grimaced, thinking on her feet. “Barney. If he tries to hop onto the sofa with you during the night, just ignore him.”

“He doesn’t sleep with you?” Chad’s right eyebrow rose as he asked the question.

“Every night. But you might be a novelty,” blurted Sierra before she could stop herself. Great! She’d just admitted he was the only male she’d had in her apartment since…forever.

“I love dogs. If Barney wants to snuggle I don’t have any objections.” Chad reached out and ruffled the black cocker spaniel’s furry ears. Chad stood, tucked the sheet in along the cushions, added the blanket, and placed the pillow at the far end.

“I’m sorry. That sofa isn’t very long. And you’re six feet tall at least.”

“Six foot, three. But don’t worry about it. I’ll manage. Just knowing I’ll be nearby if you need me…for a medical emergency…will be worth any discomfort.” Chad tossed her that sexy smile again.

Damn him! Sierra immediately felt aroused. Oh, she might need him all right. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had sex. Well, yeah, she could. December 20, after the company Christmas party at her previous job. One night of meaningless sex with a male co-worker she’d known for five years and considered nothing more than a friend. It had been a total disaster, a complete mistake. She’d vowed to never drink eggnog and rum again as long as she lived. Almost seven months had passed, but she still cringed when she thought about that night.

“Well, I’ll let you get some sleep. The bathroom is down the hallway on the right. Just help yourself to anything you need. Good night, Chad. Come on, Barney,” she called as she headed toward her bedroom. The dog obediently trotted along behind her.

“Good night, Sierra,” Chad returned the sentiment. “Sleep tight.”

Sierra escaped to the safety of her bedroom. Darn it anyway. Why couldn’t she be the type of woman who believed in one-night stands with complete strangers? Instead, a four-footed farting machine would sleep at the foot of her bed, snoring, and whimpering in his sleep while he dreamt about who knew what. She closed the door with a little more force than she’d intended.

“Face it, Sierra…your love life sucks,” she whispered into the dark room.

Almost an hour later, Sierra still hadn’t fallen asleep, but Barney snored contentedly at the foot of her bed. She couldn’t hear any noise coming from the living room. Nothing at all, since she’d heard the toilet flush in the bathroom minutes after she’d entered her bedroom and turned on the light.

Chad was probably sleeping as soundly as Barney. She lay in the dark, wide awake, wondering if Chad snored. God, he looked good in those Wranglers and that black cowboy hat. Deep tan and scuffed but clean cowboy boots that she would guess had seen the business end of a horse. He had to be a genuine cowboy. She felt a sudden need for intimacy with a man, just thinking about the handsome, virile guy stretched out on her living room sofa. And she’d kill for a cup of herbal tea, but she didn’t dare venture out to the kitchen. After another minute, she sat bolt upright in bed.

Why the hell not? she asked herself.

This was her home. Why shouldn’t she make herself a damn cup of tea if she wanted it? Chad wasn’t a houseguest she didn’t want to risk waking. He’d never hear a thing anyway.

Sierra crept out of bed, padded across the carpeted floor, silently opened the door, and tip-toed down the dark hallway toward the kitchen. She shivered in a sleeveless pink silk nightie, and then rubbed her chilled arms. Even the carpeted hallway floor felt cold beneath her bare feet. Basement apartments were wonderful on stifling-hot summer nights, but on a rainy night in late June the house felt cool. She continued toward the end of the hallway illuminated by streetlight streaming through the window. The rain must have stopped.

She was sorely tempted, but she couldn’t convince herself to peek into the living room to check on Chad. She imagined him stretched out on the sofa, the blanket barely covering his sexy parts, him wearing nothing at all. For some reason, she assumed cowboys slept naked as the day they were born. She smiled as a vision of long legs, muscular thighs, and a well-endowed package popped into her head. Her heartbeat quickened and she felt herself getting moist.

Herbal tea, she reminded herself. Keep your mind on the purpose of this late-night reconnaissance mission. Sierra rounded the corner at the end of the hallway and strode into the kitchen. Spotting the outline of a man standing beside the counter, Sierra stopped in her tracks. She screamed at a decibel she wasn’t aware she was capable of.

“Jesus, you scared the shit out of me.” Chad spilled beer onto the faded linoleum when he jumped a foot. “What the hell are you doing out of bed?”

“What am I doing out of bed?” Sierra forced her heart rate to slow as she flicked on the light switch. “What are you doing standing in the kitchen in the dark?”

Just then Barney bounded into the kitchen, barking up a storm.

“Quiet,” ordered Sierra. “Some watch dog you are.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” admitted Chad, chuckling as Barney slunk out of the kitchen, head down and tail between his legs. Chad grabbed a handful of paper towels, wiped up the spilled beer and tossed the mess into the garbage. “I didn’t hear any noise coming from your bedroom so I figured you were dead to the world. You said to help myself to whatever I needed, so I decided to check your fridge for a beer. Don’t tell anyone I drank one of these diet beers with only 67 calories. Desperate times called for desperate measures.”

“I love that beer, and you’re welcome to one.” Sierra strode across the kitchen floor, grabbed the kettle, and filled it with water.

“Thank you,” said Chad, tipping back the bottle and finishing the drink. “Could I talk you out of another one? It’s pretty good actually, but don’t repeat that. I’ll deny saying it.”

“Go ahead.”

“What are you doing? Making coffee?”

“Herbal tea, chamomile. It helps me sleep.” Sierra dug a box of teabags and a coffee mug emblazoned with a variety of catchy sayings out of the cupboard.

“Did you sleep at all?” he asked.

Sierra shook her head. There was no way she’d admit the main reason for her insomnia was digging another beer out of her refrigerator. And then she realized she might as well be naked, wearing nothing but the extremely short, almost see-through pink nightgown that barely reached the top of her thighs.

“Crap,” she uttered the expletive while streaking down the hallway.

Chad shouted after her, “Are you okay? Are you sick? What can I do?”

Chapter 3

Chad halted in Sierra’s bedroom doorway. “Do I need to call for an ambulance?” he asked, slightly breathless from the fright and the adrenaline rush she’d given him.