Czytaj książkę: «The Cowgirl & The Unexpected Wedding»

Table of Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Copyright

Prologue

Lizzy gazed at the grades posted for her anatomy exam and sighed. A lousy C. In all of her twenty-four years, she’d never gotten below a B on any test. Studying was second nature to her, cramming for exams as natural as breathing. She’d known the material inside out, but on the day of the test her mind had been somewhere else, not on bones and body parts.

Nothing, nothing about the past weeks of her first year in medical school had gone right. The classes had been the most challenging and fascinating she had ever taken, but she’d faltered more than once on exams she should have aced, like this one. It was a lack of concentration, pure and simple, and she knew why.

Her roommate regarded her with a sympathetic expression. “It’s only because you’ve been worried about your dad,” Kelsey said. “You’ll do better once you’ve seen for yourself that he’s doing okay.”

That was part of it, Lizzy agreed. When she should have been memorizing anatomical details, instead her thoughts had been straying to her father.

Harlan Adams had had a mild heart attack the week before, too mild to require her to come back to Texas, too serious to let her concentrate on her studies. All she could think about was the upcoming spring break and her scheduled visit to the family ranch so she could see for herself exactly what shape her father was in. She wouldn’t put it past him or her mother to keep the truth from her, if they thought it would worry her when there was nothing she could do to change it.

The huge Adams family revolved around her father. Though he was in his eighties now, none of them could imagine life without him. This heart attack had been a warning that he wasn’t invincible. She’d heard the stunned shock in the voices of each of her older brothers when she’d spoken to them. Her older half sister, Jenny, had been even more transparent. Jenny, who wasn’t afraid of anything, was clearly terrified at the prospect of losing their father.

In the end, despite his irksome meddling, Harlan Adams was the force that guided all their lives. And even though he’d hated seeing his youngest—the surprise of his life, he liked to say—go off to Miami to medical school, he’d done what needed to be done to pave the way. Lizzy would always be grateful to him for that, for letting her go her own way.

He hadn’t been so easy on his sons or even on Jenny, who’d been fourteen and hell-bent on self-destruction when he’d married her mother. He’d forced Luke, Jordan, Cody and Jenny to fight for their chosen careers, putting up roadblocks and hurdles that would have daunted them had they been less determined. Lizzy had been prepared to do the same.

She’d begun by using her wiles as his “baby girl” and then dug in her heels as a typical Adams. Not even the formidable Harlan Adams had had the strength to stand in her way. As much as she loved ranching and despite a whole rebellious year during which she’d experimented on the rodeo circuit, medicine had always held a special place in her heart.

Maybe it had something to do with all those TV shows she’d devoured—reruns of the old Marcus Welby, M.D. and Ben Casey series, hot new series like ER and Chicago Hope—shows that had made medicine seem every bit as thrilling as a few seconds on a bucking, bareback horse. She’d thought about medicine all through her undergraduate days at the University of Texas, volunteered at a nearby hospital to soak up the atmosphere, and taken a premed program, just to prove to herself that she’d chosen wisely.

Only one man could have made her change her mind, she thought with a predictable surge of very complicated emotions. Rancher Hank Robbins had had the power to sway her decision way back when she’d first left for college, but he hadn’t. He’d wished her well and waved goodbye as if she’d been no more than a casual acquaintance.

Even now, years later, tears threatened as she thought of how easily that particular man had let her go even after the impulsive, passionate kiss she had initiated had proved just how badly he wanted her to stay. Maybe he’d only meant to do the honorable thing, but rejection was rejection and it had hurt more than she could say.

And yet, if she was to be totally honest, she couldn’t help feeling at least a trace of gratitude that he, like her father, hadn’t stood between her and her dream. He’d been twenty-four then, the same age she was now, and already he’d been wise enough to see she needed to test her wings.

Still, in all the years since, she’d been careful to avoid Hank. Embarrassment over that kiss was only part of it. Stubborn pride had kicked in, too. But the bottom line was something else entirely. She was afraid, a flat-out coward, in fact. To be honest, though, she wasn’t sure what she feared most; that he might not let her go a second time...or that he would.

Yet she couldn’t be back home for long without wondering about him. She was pathetically eager for any mention of him, any hint of gossip about his activities. And every time his name came up in conversation, she was terrified that it would be in connection with a wedding announcement. She’d found she could accept with relative calm the news of his being seen with this woman or that. It was only the repeat of the same woman’s name that stirred a well-spring of anxiety deep inside her.

It was all ridiculous, of course. In almost five years away, she’d dated dozens of men herself. After the first couple of years when she’d stared at an old snapshot for hours on end, lately she’d gone for entire weeks without once picturing Hank’s rugged features or wishing she could hear the low, seductive sound of his voice.

Eventually, she had buried the snapshot in the bottom of a dresser drawer and rarely took it out deliberately. When she stumbled across it, though, her heart always lurched, the pain as fresh as it had been five years ago. Schoolgirl crush or not, she had idolized the cowboy next door.

And all it ever took to resurrect the memories of that long-ago and very much unrequited love was the thought of going home. She’d been thinking about Hank nonstop for the past few days, ever since her mother had called to tell her about her father’s heart attack.

The two men were so much alike, despite the decades of difference in their ages. Stubborn, strong men, both of them. Men with staying power. Men capable of powerful emotions and guided by a deep-rooted sense of honor.

So, the truth was, Kelsey was only partially right about Lizzy’s thoughts being on her father, instead of concentrating on her exams. In addition, she’d been wrestling with the thorny question of what to do about Hank Robbins, how to—or even if she could—shake the hold he had on her. She’d finally concluded that there was only one way to get Hank permanently out of her thoughts. She had to swallow her pride and see him again. This time she wouldn’t avoid him. This time she’d discover if the attraction was still alive.

Maybe then she would be able to put Hank Robbins behind her once and for all, get her medical degree and begin practicing in some big city so far away that she’d never be reminded of him at all. Maybe then she would be able to stop comparing every man she met to the one who’d gotten away.

Or maybe things would get a whole lot more complicated, she conceded candidly. More fascinating, yes. She recalled the way his lips had felt on hers, the way his arms had felt around her. Definitely fascinating. But there was a price for fascination, a whole Pandora’s box of complications.

“Lizzy, are you okay?” Kelsey asked, her brow over her thick horn-rimmed glasses knitted with concern. “You’re not really worried about this grade, are you? It’s a tiny blip on your academic record.”

Lizzy forced a smile. “I’m fine,” she insisted, setting out for the chemistry lab. “One more exam to go, and then I’m out of here.”

Unfortunately, the chemistry exam had nothing to do with the hormonal tug-of-war between a man and a woman. In her current state of mind, she could have written lengthy essays on that particular subject.

On a more optimistic note, it was a written test, rather than a practical exam. The way her mind was wandering, if she’d had to conduct experiments, she very likely would have blown up the whole blasted building.

Chapter One

“Lizzy’s corming home,” Cody Adams said casually as he and Hank sat on a fence rail between their properties.

Hank had no difficulty at all keeping his expression impassive. He’d had lots of practice over the years at pretending that he had no interest whatsoever in Lizzy’s comings and goings. Unfortunately, Lizzy’s big brother had his own opinion of Hank’s fascination with his baby sister and he used almost any opportunity to taunt Hank about it.

“For how long this time?” Hank inquired, keeping his tone every bit as neutral as Cody’s. Most of Lizzy’s visits had been whirlwind affairs during which he’d never once caught a glimpse of her. He suspected that was deliberate on her part. He also had no reason to think this time would be any different.

In fact, he’d long since come to terms with the fact that keeping his distance from Mary Elizabeth Adams was the wisest thing he could do. The woman had a way of clouding his thinking, of making him want things he had no business wanting if he expected to turn the run-down ranch he’d bought into a respectable neighbor for the Adamses’ White Pines operation. Besides, Lizzy wasn’t interested in being a rancher’s wife. She had her own dreams.

“A couple of weeks, I suppose. Whatever spring break is these days,” Cody said.

“I see. I imagine she’s been anxious about Harlan.”

“That’s part of it, I’m sure.” Cody grinned. “Then again, I don’t think Daddy’s the only reason she’s coming.”

“I’m sure she misses all of you,” Hank said, ignoring the blatant innuendo in Cody’s remark.

Cody chuckled. “Give it up, Hank. You’re not fooling anyone. Why don’t you ask what’s really on your mind?”

“Which would be?”

“When she’s coming home for good.”

“She’s not,” Hank said flatly. “She made that clear way back. She’s going to be a hotshot, big-city doc. From the day I bought this place, all she talked about was her fancy office and her fancy patients.”

Cody shook his head. “For a smart man, you are the dumbest son of a gun I’ve ever met.”

Hank refused to take offense. “Thanks,” he said dryly. “I’ve always held you in high regard, too.”

“Can’t you see that all that talk about setting up practice far away from Los Piños was so much nonsense? All she wanted was for you to ask her to stay. One little sign from you, and she’d be back here in a flash.”

Hank wished he could believe his friend, but Cody was every bit as capable as his daddy of wishful thinking. “Did she ever once say that?” he demanded. “Or are you into mind reading now?”

“It’s as plain as day,” Cody insisted. “Always has been. Don’t you think it’s time you did something about it?”

“Me? Not a chance. I don’t intend to tangle with a woman who’s got her mind set on a certain path for her life, especially when that path takes her far away from Los Piños. I chose to be here. She couldn’t wait to get away. She’d just end up resenting me, and then where would we be?” He shook his head. “No. This is for the best. Lizzy’s smart and ambitious. She’ll get the life she wants.”

“Paths have a way of coming to a fork,” Cody advised him. “Leastways that’s what Daddy always says. Maybe when Lizzy hits that crossroads, you could help her decide which way to go. It’s always been plain that you have more influence over her than the rest of us. Even Daddy admits that, though it clearly pains him to think that he can’t control her.”

“I don’t think so,” Hank said. “That’s just Harlan dreaming up a new way to get what he wants and using me in the process.”

Cody regarded him knowingly. “Are you saying you aren’t already half crazy in love with Lizzy?”

“I’m saying that it doesn’t matter whether I am or I’m not,” Hank said impatiently. “I’m not what she wants.”

“A hundred bucks says otherwise,” Cody taunted.

Hank stared at the older man, whose own kids were about the same age as his baby sister. He wasn’t sure he’d heard Cody right. It had sounded an awful lot like he was actually daring Hank to make a pass at Lizzy.

“You’re betting me to do what?” he asked cautiously.

“See Lizzy, flirt with her, see where it leads. If she blows you off, I’m wrong and you win.”

“And just how far am I supposed to carry things to win this bet?” Hank asked. “I don’t want you and Luke and Jordan chasing after me with a shotgun.”

“Not that far,” Cody retorted with a hard glint in his eyes and a harder edge to his voice.

“See what I mean. You all would have my hide if I actually pursued your baby sister. You chased off every other man around these parts who was interested in dating her.”

“It wasn’t the dating we were concerned about,” Cody said, his temper visibly cooling. “Besides, even though you’re too stubborn to admit it, I know you care too much to ever hurt her.”

“I’d say your logic is twisted,” Hank retorted, torn between anger and laughter at the pure foolhardiness of Cody’s plan. “You want me to put my heart on the line, then be glad of the hundred bucks you’ll give me if your sister tells me to take a hike?”

“Then you’re admitting your heart would be at stake,” Cody said with a hoot of triumph. “I knew it. Daddy said so, too.”

“I suppose he put you up to this, too. Well, it’s wishful thinking on your part and Harlan’s. I’m not admitting a damned thing,” Hank corrected. He allowed the weight of his words to linger, before adding impulsively, “But what the heck, you’re on.”

He wasn’t going to admit it to Cody, but he’d been looking for an excuse for a very long time to see Lizzy Adams again. Maybe there’d be fireworks. Maybe there wouldn’t. But it sure would break up the monotony of his unceasing thoughts on the subject of the pretty little gal he’d let get away.

* * *

“Will you get that danged stethoscope away from me?” Harlan shouted at Lizzy. “You’re my daughter, not my doctor.”

“I just want to see for myself how you’re doing,” Lizzy protested.

She’d been home less than a half hour and so far she was no closer to knowing exactly how her father was doing than she had been back in Miami. The only certainty was that he was every bit as cantankerous as ever.

He scowled at her, daring her to put the stethoscope anywhere near his chest again. “You got a degree yet?”

“No.”

“Then keep that thing away from me.”

Lizzy sighed and put the stethoscope back in her medical bag. “I don’t suppose you’ll let me take your pulse, either.”

“You think I don’t know why you’ve been clutching my wrist every few minutes since you walked in the door?” Harlan grumbled. “If you haven’t found the pulse by now, I must be dead.”

Lizzy resigned herself to getting a complete picture of her father’s medical condition from his doctor and not firsthand. She leaned over his bed and hugged him, relieved by the strength with which he hugged her back.

“What’re you checking for now?” he grumbled as he released her.

“That was a daughterly hug, nothing more,” she reassured him.

He regarded her warily. “You sure about that?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay, then. Sit down here and tell me what you’ve been up to. Don’t leave out any of the juicy stuff, either. Have you found yourself a man yet?”

She should have known it wouldn’t take long to get to the subject nearest and dearest to his heart. “Daddy, not every woman needs a man in her life,” she explained for the thousandth time, even though she knew she was wasting her breath.

“Don’t give me that feminist hogwash. How’re you going to give me any grandbabies if you don’t find a man?”

“Maybe I’ll just have them on my own,” she taunted because she knew it would irritate him. Clearly, he was well enough to argue. He was probably well enough to be out of bed, too. His wife Janet had hinted that he was playing invalid just to entice his baby to stay around a little longer. If his doctor confirmed that, Lizzy was going to drag him out of bed by force and put him on a regimen of exercise that would have him pleading for mercy.

She shot him a deliberately innocent look and added, “I think I’d make a terrific single mom, don’t you?”

“Over my dead body!” he shouted.

“You keep losing your cool like that, and you will be dead,” she informed him mildly.

His gaze narrowed. “You said that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Lizzy grinned. “Yep.”

“Daggone it, girl. You know my heart’s weak.”

“I don’t know that,” she reminded him plaintively. “You won’t let me check it.”

He scowled at her, then said casually, “Cody saw Hank Robbins the other day.”

“Really?” Getting that word out without betraying any emotion was harder than tangling with her daddy over the state of his health.

“He said Hank was asking about you.”

Lizzy’s heart did a little tap dance of its own. “Oh? How is he?”

“Getting along right good,” Harlan said. He shot her a sly look. “Cody says he’s thinking of getting married and settling down.”

This time her heart plummeted straight to her toes. “Married?”

“You sound surprised. Ranch life’s a whole lot easier if there’s a woman you love by your side. Besides, he’s not getting any younger. I’m sure he wants kids.”

“I suppose,” she said as her heart thudded dully. “Who’s he marrying?”

“I didn’t say he had anyone special in mind, just that he was thinking of it.”

Lizzy stared at her father’s innocent expression and chuckled. She should have known he was up to something. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

He grinned. “Yep. Worked, too.” His expression sobered. “Why don’t you just break down and see the man, Lizzy my girl? You know you want to. You were always crazy about him. For a few years there, you were thick as thieves. It made me hope that you’d settle down right next door. I never did figure out what happened between the two of you.”

“Nothing happened.” Which, of course, was the whole point. She stood up and leaned down to kiss her father’s weathered cheek. “Stop manipulating, Daddy. I’d already planned to see Hank while I’m here.”

His expression brightened. “Whooee! It’s about time you showed some sense.”

“Daddy! Don’t make too much of this.”

“Okay, okay. You going to see him today?”

“I don’t know when I’m going to see him.”

“Don’t waste too much time. Spring break’s short.” He regarded her wistfully. “Or were you thinking of sticking around?”

“Daddy,” she pleaded.

“Okay, okay,” he said again. “I’m an old man. I’m allowed to indulge in a little wishful thinking.”

“Don’t pull that old-man garbage with me. You’re going to outlive all of us. You’re too ornery not to.”

“Sooner or later, age catches up with all of us.” He caught her hand in his and clung to it “Don’t let life pass you by, Lizzy. I know you love medicine, but I know something else, too. You’ve always had a soft spot in your heart for that man up the road; Don’t pretend you don’t, not with me. I’m just saying whatever you do, don’t wake up one day with regrets.”

“I told you I was going to see him, didn’t I?”

“No need to get defensive, darling girl. I can’t help doing a little prodding. It’s my nature.”

Lizzy sighed. “It surely is.” She leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Now, get some rest and leave Hank Robbins to me.”

Harlan Adams grinned, the color in his cheeks getting better every second. “Something tells me the poor man doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Maybe you’re overestimating my charm. Hank didn’t have a bit of trouble saying goodbye when I went off to Austin to college or down to Miami for med school.”

“Maybe he was just wise enough to let you go after what you wanted. That’s not the kind of thing you should blame a man for. In fact, maybe you ought to take a good hard look at what it cost him to let you leave.”

Lizzy touched a finger to his lips to silence him. “You’re overselling, Daddy. I already know what a paragon of virtue Hank Robbins is. I fell for the man when I was sixteen years old and he bought the old Simmons place. Nothing’s changed in the eight years since.”

“Then what are you waiting for, girl? Go find him and tell him straight-out what you want.”

“I suppose you know what that is, too,” she said, wishing she had so few doubts. Loving Hank had been complex enough years ago. Now, with medical school convincing her that she’d chosen exactly the right career for herself, loving him had gotten a whole lot more complicated.

“You want a husband and babies,” her father said without hesitation.

“If only it were that simple,” Lizzy murmured.

“What was that?”

“You left out medicine, Daddy. I want to be a doctor, too.”

“So? You won’t be the first doctor to get married and have babies.”

“You seem to forget that I have to finish medical school, an internship and my residency. Do you think Hank’s going to wait all that time? You’ve already said he’s in a hurry to have a family.”

“Darlin’ girl, that’s what compromise is all about.”

Lizzy hooted at that. “What do you know about compromise?”

“Hey, your mama and I don’t agree on every little thing. We work things out.”

“I’ll remind you of that the next time you’re trying to bully her into letting you have your way.” She squeezed his hand again. “Now get some sleep. I’ll be back to see you later.”

“After you’ve seen Hank, right?”

Lizzy rolled her eyes and left the room without answering. She found her mother lurking in the hallway.

“How much did you hear?” Lizzy asked.

“Enough to know that he’s trying to marry you off before you go back to school,” her mother said with a rueful smile. “Thank you for not arguing with him too ferociously.”

“What would be the point? He knows I want to see Hank. He’s just trying to make sure I do it on his timetable. There’s nothing new about that.”

“No, that’s your father, all right. When he gets an idea into his head, he can’t wait to set it into motion.”

“That’s how he got you to marry him, isn’t it?” Lizzy reminded her. “He wheedled and cajoled and finally wore you down.”

Janet Runningbear Adams chuckled. “It wasn’t a case of wearing me down,” she insisted. “I fell in love with him too quick for that to be necessary. I just held out to keep him on his toes.”

“That’s not the way Jenny tells it,” Lizzy said. “She says the two of them had to conspire to get you to walk down the aisle.”

Janet winked. “And I’ve always let them think that It gives me a good bit of leverage around here. Now come on into the living room and tell me all about school and Miami. Did you know I went there a couple of times when I was married the first time and living in New York? Jenny’s father liked to go there on vacation, but from all I’ve read, it’s changed a lot over the years. In those days, there were still old people rocking on the porches of those hotels in South Beach. Now, if the pictures I see are to be believed, the place has been overrun with sexy models in bathing suits and in-line skates.”

Lizzy grinned. “That’s not so far off, but can we talk about it at supper? I’d like to go for a ride. It’s been way too long since I’ve been on a horse.”

“Of course it can wait. Are you going to see Hank?”

“You, too?”

“Sorry.” Her mother studied her intently. “Well, are you?”

Lizzy shrugged. “I’m not sure. I suppose I’ll make up my mind while I’m riding.”

“Well, in case you decide that the answer’s yes, Cody tells me Hank is working in his south pasture today. You know, the one that conveniently butts up against ours. I believe he’s replacing a fence that Cody swears was just fine the last time he checked it.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“Be back by suppertime,” her mother reminded her. “The whole family’s coming for dinner to welcome you home.”

“I’ll be back,” Lizzy promised.

“Bring Hank, if you like.”

“If I see him.”

“Oh, something tells me you’ll see him,” her mother said. “Can I just add one piece of advice to whatever your daddy’s been telling you?”

Lizzy paused in the doorway. “What?”

“This isn’t a game, Mary Elizabeth. While you’ve been gone, the rest of us have been left to watch Hank. The man’s been miserable without you, but he’s gotten by. Unless you’re really sure about what you want, don’t start something up with him.”

Lizzy looked her mother squarely in the eye. “I was never the one who was unsure, Mom. Hank didn’t just let me go. He practically pushed me out the door. You all seem so all-fired sure that he wants me, but he’s never once given me any evidence of that. How come nobody seems worried that I’m the one who’s going to wind up hurt?”

“Because you’ve always been able to pick yourself up and dust yourself off, just the way the song says. And maybe because you’re the one who’s going to walk away in a couple of weeks.” She gave Lizzy a penetrating look. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Lizzy said quietly. No matter how things turned out when she saw Hank Robbins again, she was going to be on that flight back to Miami. She sighed heavily. “Maybe I won’t go for that ride this afternoon, after all. I think I’ll go on up to my room and unpack. I’ve got some thinking to do.”