Reuniting With The Cowboy. Shannon Vannatter Taylor
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how could he keep his heart in check while he protected her?
* * *
Her mom and the volunteers from the youth group traipsed the property with various dogs while Ally walked the Border collie spaniel.
The kiss discussion was a whole day ago, but her heartbeat hadn’t gotten back to normal yet.
She smelled good. Cody thought she smelled good. Back in high school, anyway.
Now she smelled like...horse sweat, manure and worse.
But twelve years ago, had Cody been attracted to her?
No, she’d just been sad and he’d wanted to make her feel better. She knew it then and she knew it now. Why couldn’t her heart catch on?
If he’d felt anything for her, he wouldn’t have left for the rodeo, wouldn’t have stayed gone so long.
And besides, she did not need a man in her life. Not Cody. Or anyone else. She had to stop thinking about him and concentrate on finding homes for her strays.
Gravel crunched in her drive.
Past her regular hours, clients with emergencies tended to make frantic calls first, and her usual volunteers had already arrived and were walking dogs.
“Let’s go see who it is, Oreo.” She turned the dog back toward the clinic.
As she rounded the building Cody headed toward the barn.
With a woman.
Her heart stammered. His girlfriend? Fiancée?
She couldn’t do this. Meet the woman in Cody’s life. Not with her hair more out of her braid than in. Not with manure on her boots. She turned away and tried to hurry Oreo out of their sight.
“Ally, there you are,” Cody called.
Ally’s shoulders fell. Out of all the horse ranches in Aubrey, why had the one next to her stayed vacant until Cody Warren decided to play ranch?
“Ally, over here.”
Straightening her shoulders, she pasted a smile on her face and turned around.
“Hey.” Feet forward, one step at a time.
Way too fast, the gap between them closed. The woman looked familiar.
“This is my dog.” Cody bent to scratch Oreo. “Or he will be when I get a bit more recovered.”
For you or for your girlfriend?
“We bonded last night, didn’t we, boy? I’d take him now if it wasn’t for my knee, but Ally’s holding him for me.” Cody looked up at her. “You remember my sister, Tara?”
His sister. Ally looked past the blond hair, recognized the familiar green eyes and smile. “Of course.” A fit of relieved laughter clogged in her throat. Did she sound as giddy as she felt?
“It’s great to see you.” Tara hugged her.
“You, too. I didn’t recognize you at first.”
“Well, what can I say?” Tara patted her locks. “I’m a hairdresser. When I get bored, I change my color. So, where is she?” Tara rubbed her hands together much the same way Cody did when anticipating food.
“She who?”
“Remember?” Cody winked at her. “I told you to hold Buttercup until I could check with Tara?”
The wink rattled her already-shaky heart. “Oh. Of course. You’d like to see her.”
“Actually, I want to take her home.”
“Without meeting her first? She’s not full-blood.”
“I know and I was reluctant at first, but not because of her breeding.” Tara’s eyes misted and she pressed a hand to her chest. “I’ve still got footprints on my heart from Ginger and I initially said no. But Cody told me how sweet Buttercup is and showed me a picture. I couldn’t resist, so here I am.”
“That’s wonderful.” Ally transferred Oreo’s leash from one hand to the other as the dog grew restless. “I know you’ll provide a good home for her. But there are a few things to consider before you see her. Didn’t you get married?”
“Yes. We live in Dallas.”
“Does your husband like dogs?”
“Oh, yes. Jared is a major animal lover.” Tara’s smile turned dreamy. “I wouldn’t have married him if he wasn’t.”
“What about children?”
“Not yet, but definitely planned in the future.”
“Chihuahuas aren’t the best breed with small children.” Oreo persisted in wrapping his leash around Ally’s legs. “They can be protective of their people and aggressive, so they’ve been known to nip toddlers for simply climbing into Mommy’s lap.”
“I didn’t realize.” Tara’s eyes widened.
“But she’s not all Chihuahua. So it may not be an issue and if it is, if properly trained or kept separate until the child is older, there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Oh, good.”
“Now, what about where you live?” Ally stepped out of the corkscrew Oreo had created. “Apartment? House? Do you have a yard?”
“We’re in a subdivision, a house with a fenced-in yard.” Tara knelt to scratch behind Oreo’s ears. “We kept Ginger in the mudroom with a doggy door while we were gone. Whoever got home first romped with her in the backyard and sometimes we’d take her for a walk in the evening. When we were home, she had the run of the house.”
Ally offered her hand. “You pass. Buttercup is yours if you want her.”
“I do. Let’s go get her.” Tara stood and rubbed her hands together again.
“Let me walk him back.” Cody took Oreo’s leash, his hand grazing Ally’s. Electricity shot all the way to her toes.
While it took food to excite Cody, and Buttercup got Tara animated, it seemed Cody was Ally’s source of excitement. His nearness propelled her right over the edge of her sanity.
Which was why she’d held off on agreeing to volunteer for the carnival. Spending a day and a half with him certainly wouldn’t help her keep her right mind. But time at the church with her other two dozen or so four-legged friends who still needed forever homes would be good advertisement.
More than anything, she wanted to help the abandoned pets in her care. But could she survive working side by side with Cody?
* * *
It had taken Tara forever to finalize her purchases—a crate, a leash, a chew toy, along with tick-and-flea preventative—before she’d taken Buttercup and been on her way.
Cody loved his sister, but he was dying to spend time with Ally alone.
“So, you’re holding Oreo for me, right?”
“I told you I would.” Ally pointed to the boarding side of the kennels. “See, I moved him over to the boarder side last night. He belongs to someone.”
“Do I need to pay you for boarding him?”
“No. He’s fine until you can take him home.”
“I wish I could right now.” Cody sat on a hay bale and scratched the dog’s head. “Let me at least provide his food.”
“I’m just glad he has a home. Whenever you’re well enough, he’s yours.”
“You hear that, buddy?” The pup’s ears perked up at the enthusiasm in Cody’s voice. He already loved the dog.
“And now that you’re in the longhorn business, Oreo is great with cattle.”