Falling for the Cowboy. Mary Leo
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teeth. I think every girl in this town’s got a thing for Doc Blake. I’d give anything if he was mine, but ever since that low-life, Bethany Walker, broke his heart he won’t even look at another girl. And, like, believe me, plenty of us have tried, but it’s like his heart’s been broken in too many pieces. Sort of like that old kid’s rhyme, Humpty Dumpty. Shame. I’d be perfect for him.” She sighed again, while staring out at Doc Blake, but quickly turned back to Maggie. “So, like, you must be Kitty’s sister?”
Maggie wondered how this girl would know that. After all, this was a coffee and doughnut shop. Two things her sister forbade in her all-organic-all-the-time, eco-friendly house. “You know my sister?”
Amanda cocked her head and rolled her eyes, reminding Maggie of the size of the town. “Large organic chocolate soy, with extra whipped cream. Comes in at least three times a week. She told me you were driving up and might take over her job for a while. Kitty’s, like, the best.”
“Does she ever order anything else?” Maggie had to know if her sister was a closet doughnut eater.
“She looks, and sometimes if we put some pieces out for tasting, she’ll snitch one, but no, just the chocolate soy. Personally, like, when I get pregnant? I intend to eat everything I want. It’s like the only time a woman can indulge without feeling guilty.”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
“Why, are you pregnant, too?”
Maggie blanched. “Me? Pregnant? Absolutely not.” Amanda stared at her. Maggie got the feeling that not wanting children was an unpopular idea in this town. She thought she should clarify. “I’m not very good with kids. An aunt is about as close as I’ll ever come to having kids of my own.”
Amanda blinked a couple times, bagged the muffin and handed it to Maggie. “You’re going to come a lot closer than that working for Doc Blake, that’s for sure.” And she walked away.
The barista called Maggie’s name for her double cap, yet Maggie didn’t move. Instead, she wanted to know what Amanda had meant by that last statement. She tried to get her attention, but there were now so many customers it seemed impossible.
There was something up with Doctor Blake Granger that Kitty hadn’t told her, but what? She knew he was a dentist who worked out of an office on his ranch, but that was about all Kitty had told her. What was the kid connection and how could it affect Maggie?
It wasn’t as if Maggie didn’t already have her doubts about working for Doc Blake. For one thing, she didn’t exactly love the idea of working around all those high-pitched drills. Truth be told, a visit to the dentist had always put the fear of God in her, but she needed a job and Kitty needed some help, so giving in to her drill fear was not an option.
Hey, all of this was temporary, she reminded herself. Of that she was absolutely certain.
Her sister may have found her niche, her own personal Idaho nirvana, but Maggie belonged to the city, with concrete and skyscrapers—not mountains, as lovely as they were—surrounding her.
She picked up her coffee, then stopped near the glass-front door and took a sip of her double cappuccino. Heaven. She slipped the plastic lid off and breathed in the smooth aroma of real, honest-to-goodness espresso. It was truly an intoxicating experience and she stood next to the condiment stand in front of the windows for a minute to enjoy the moment. Having been deprived of actual coffee for the past few days due to her sister’s coffee restrictions, Maggie wanted nothing more than to wallow.
Before she walked to her car, and while Doc Blake was totally distracted by his phone call, Maggie glanced through the window at him to see what all the fuss was about. She hadn’t actually seen anything special about him during the interview, but then she’d been a bit nervous about meeting him and convincing him to hire her. Focusing on his charms hadn’t seemed worthwhile.
The first thing she now noticed, besides those deep dark eyes of his, and the blond hair that ambled down his neck covering his collar and that sexy mustache, were the well-worn cowboy boots under his frayed jeans, not to mention the chocolate-colored felt cowboy hat he wore low on his head.
He seemed to be in his mid-thirties, and she began to see why half the women in the town had a crush on him. He was all rugged country charisma under that old hat, with a smile that could easily send a naive girl’s heart soaring.
“He sure is something to look at, isn’t he?” An older woman sighed as she came up to Maggie clutching a white dish towel. She wore the same logo apron as the rest of the staff, and her name tag read Doris.
“Very handsome,” Maggie admitted while Doris wiped down the kiosk.
“Wish I was twenty years younger,” Doris cooed, staring out the window at Doc Blake.
But Maggie had had her fill of good-looking, charming men. They pulled out that sympathy card and women threw themselves at their feet. There was nothing like a wounded hero to get an otherwise sensible woman into his bed.
Not this time. And most definitely not in this small town.
Downtown Briggs consisted of exactly three blocks of attached brick buildings with glass storefronts. The majestic Teton mountain range was its backdrop. It could be quite a spectacular place, if it wasn’t for the corniness of some of the shops.
Maggie couldn’t imagine settling in a town that allowed a huge plaster potato to be perched on the roof of the Spud Bank directly across the street from Holey Rollers, or the monster plaster llama that stood watch in front of Deli Llama’s. But her favorite was the black-and-white life-sized cow standing in front of Moo’s Creamery, complete with pink udders. She wondered if the entire business community was caught up in some kind of silly name contest and these were the big winners. Part of her thought they were cute, while the city girl in her thought they should be outlawed.
“Look, Doc’s leaving,” Doris announced as if the sun had just dropped from the sky.
Maggie’s attention fell back on Doctor Granger. He was laughing now as he stood up, a tall, slim man with a muscular build. And when two elderly ladies pushed open the door to the doughnut shop, she could hear his great big baritone guffaw. She liked a man who could laugh like that. Most guys in the business community seemed to be too nervous to really laugh. To let it rip. She’d almost forgotten what that kind of male laughter sounded like. For some reason it made her feel happy and safe…or maybe it was the coffee. She couldn’t be sure.
All she really knew at the moment was that Doc Blake drank real coffee, ate real sugar and had a fabulous laugh. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad working for him and living in this colorful town while Kitty was on maternity leave. At least she could collect a paycheck until something more permanent came along.
This time, Maggie would sit back and watch all the other women swoon over her heartbroken boss.
Maggie thankfully wasn’t the least bit interested in a relationship. And according to Amanda, neither was the good doctor.
Chapter Two
“This is going to work out so perfectly that I feel calm already,” Kitty told Maggie. “I knew it would. I dropped off a thank-you basket of goodies at the ranch about an hour ago.”
Maggie could only imagine what that completely organic basket contained, something raw or dried or juiced no doubt.
They were standing in Kitty’s overly bright and cheerful kitchen, completely created with vintage linens, salvaged wood and reclaimed natural materials. Lovely as everything was, Maggie longed for the familiarity of laminated flooring and labels like Ikea, Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel.
“I wouldn’t say we hit it off. It was more that we can probably work together effectively.”
“He’s the easiest boss ever. You’re going to love working for him.” Kitty peeled the top off a pint-sized plain Greek-style yogurt, sat down at the table and dug in.
“How can you