Page 5 of My Match with the Cowboy (Sterling Brothers Ranch #4)

FOUR

IMOGEN

“ W hy are you still here?” I ask after putting Iris to bed. Her soft snores and the beeps of her heart monitor sound throughout the dark apartment.

For whatever reason, Calder Sterling stands in the kitchen. I don’t understand him, and I know I shouldn’t want to. He’s the type of man I stayed away from back home. The type who would play with you and hurt you without a care in the world.

Ever since Grandad’s death, I’ve been more and more sceptical of people in general. Not Iris; today I got a real look at the woman she is, the person she’d been to so many people in Willow Ridge.

But Calder is a stern reminder of why I have to protect myself.

I have no doubt he’s used women before. The easy flirting, the arrogant way he carries himself—that’s a playboy who’s never been told no before.

Well, until now.

He leans against the counter in the kitchen, muscled arms crossed over his chest. Unlike a lot of the men in town I’ve seen, he doesn’t wear flannel. Instead, the long-sleeved tee pulls taut over his broad chest. Dammit. He is a specimen.

Bad thoughts . I quickly shake my head and move towards him before he can respond and wake Iris. “You should go,” I whisper.

Calder leans forward, his presence overpowering. The smell of cedar and whiskey fills my lungs when I breathe in deeply. “We still have things to discuss,” he murmurs. “And plans to make.”

I shiver, completely locked in place. I should take a step back but I’m lost in the hazel of his eyes. “Huh?”

A smirk twists his lips. Something about it sends my belly fluttering. It is so, so wrong. On so many levels.

So, why won’t my body listen to my brain? There is no logical reason as to why this man should have any effect on me.

“Well, you said you’d help,” he replies quietly, leaning in closer. “Which means we still have some planning to do.”

I swallow hard. “I’m still on shift,” I tell him, taking a step back.

He shrugs. “I can wait.”

With that, he sends me a wink and leaves Iris’s apartment.

Dear god, please tell me I haven’t made the biggest mistake of my life.

Because I do not want to fall for the charms of Calder Sterling.

Just as he promised, he’s waiting for me at the end of my shift.

The sky has shifted to a deep purple as the sun sets, but dark clouds spread across the horizon, coming in fast. Wind picks up the sweaty strands of my hair, which hangs irritably around my face.

I brush them back with my hand, frowning at the sight of the man who really should not be here.

But he leans lazily against the passenger door of his truck, hands in his jean pockets. “You cold?” he asks as I approach, pushing off the car. “I have a jacket in the back.”

I shake my head, but as the wind blows through the guest parking at the facility, I can’t hold back my shiver. “I’m going home,” I tell him. “Good night.”

He steps into my path, forcing me to run right into his very manly chest. “We have a funeral to plan, nurse Imogen. You don’t want to disappoint Iris.”

I narrow my eyes and glare up at him. He has to be about half a head taller than me, which should not excite me as much as it does. He should not excite me the way he does.

“What I want is to go home, eat my leftover salad, and sleep the few hours I have before I need to be here again at 3AM,” I reply. “Iris isn’t my only patient. And today put me behind.”

I don’t expect someone like him to care, but it takes me by surprise when his eyes soften. “You have a ride home, then?” he asks warily.

I take a step back. “I was going to walk.”I had a car. It worked when driving to Willow Ridge. But it quickly died as soon as I got here. “It’s fine, though. I don’t live far.” I wave a hand, motioning towards the really dark street that vaguely looks like the one I now live down.

Calder glances over his shoulder, then looks at me like I’m crazy. “You walked here? At three in the morning?”

“No.” I shake my head, feeling all sorts of weird now. Warm, under his burning gaze. Fluttery, because it’s kind of hot how distressed he is over the idea of me walking here in the middle of the night. “I walked here at two-thirty. I arrived at around three. My timing is great, thank you.”

He scoffs like I made the worst kind of comment. Moving aside, he grabs the passenger side door and opens it. “Get in.”

I take another step back, this time the one to scoff. “Or what?”

Something shines in his hazel eyes, a kind of mischief that I know will only get me hurt. “Or I’ll pick you up and toss you into the truck,” he replies, dead serious.

I can’t help but laugh at the damned audacity.

Who the hell does he think he is? I’ve been independent most of my life.

Even with my grandfather around, there was a lot I’d been made to do by myself.

I’m a capable woman, and Grandpa had made sure of it.

Even in death, despite Petunia digging her claws in, he’d made sure I’d be okay.

And I don’t need someone like Calder Sterling coming in and playing hero.

I go to walk away when the wind picks up again, this time carrying with it the smell of rain. I glance up at the ever darkening sky, a shudder rolling down my spine. The clouds, which appear like black smudges against the night, are even closer now.

Before I can make it a few more steps, a hand grabs me from behind. I don’t even have to turn to know it’s Calder, but it’s what he does next that threatens to push me over the edge.

“Fuck around and find out,” he says, before bending over and throwing me over his shoulder.

He throws me over his shoulder.

I’m too surprised to fight back. Partly because I’m not a thin girl. I weigh quite a bit, and my feet hurt because of it. But also because he’s carrying me directly to his truck without making a sound.

Is this man Superman or something?

He doesn’t drop me right away, but I do slowly slide down his front. Those strong, farm boy arms remain locked around me, holding me tightly to his body in a way that feels protective, but also intimate.

One of his arms slips to my ass, which should make me want to smack him. I should be shouting, calling for help. But my mouth is dry, heart pounding.

“I’m taking you home,” he says, voice deepening. “And then I’m going to pick you up in the morning.”

I try to shake my head, but he somehow manoeuvres me into the truck. And I don’t even try to fight it. Maybe it’s shock rushing through me. Or the threat of rain hanging over my head.

Or maybe I’m a little too curious about Calder Sterling and the way his eyes darken protectively when he looks at me.

Whatever it is, I give into it. I buckle in, letting my purse drop to the surprisingly clean floor.

Calder is there a moment later entering from the driver’s side, just as the dark sky opens up with rain.

I release a heavy breath. “So, you have me in your truck. What now?”

“Now,” he says, starting the engine, “I take you home.”

I sit back, watching as he pulls out of the lot. “I live down Conall Street,” I tell him. “At the run down cabin looking place.”

From here, I notice his brows furrow. “That doesn’t sound safe.”

I stiffen. “The house belonged to my grandfather,” I snap. “It’s all I have left of him.”

Calder’s features soften as he looks at me. “I’m sorry,” he replies softly. I don’t say a word until he looks back at the road, but even then, I try to keep my mouth shut.

“Look,” he starts, taking the wet roads carefully.

The rain comes down harder, batting the windshield dangerously.

“I get I didn’t make the best first impression.

But Iris means a lot to me. To a lot of people.

And if she says she wants a grand funeral planned by the two of us, then I’m sure as hell going to give her that.

” He glances at me but turns away just as quickly.

“Now, I will warn you, she’s doing this for a reason. ”

Frowning, my resolve loosens. I try to blame curiosity, and not because I’m comfortable with him. “Why?”

“She likes to play…matchmaker, sometimes,” he admits hesitantly. “Like, once upon a time, everyone called her Cupid.”

I tense up immediately. Something rises within me, an emotion I can’t identify. It doesn’t quite feel like panic, but it’s not far from it.

This is the last thing I wanted when I came to Willow Ridge. I wanted a quiet fresh start. To find my footing and forget about what happened back home. I’m not looking for love or anything like it, and I don’t want it forced on me, either.

But as soon as I think it, guilt washes through me.

I shift, turning in my seat to stare at Calder.

His eyes remain locked on the dark, rainy night.

The light of the dash isn’t much to see by, but despite how dull it is, it manages to highlight the sharp line of his jaw, the slight bump in his nose.

There’s the start of a beard lining his jaw, dark hair covering his cheek down to his chin.

I don’t want to, but my heart flutters when his eyes flicker to mine. In the dark, with his words still hanging in the air, I still blush.

I draw in a deep breath, but don’t take my eyes off him. “I need you to tell me exactly what you suspect,” I say, voice low. “No beating around the bush. Tell me everything.”

Calder shifts, maybe a little uncomfortably. But I don’t get the feeling that he’s lying or intends to. It’s a little strange, but regardless of only knowing him for a day—if that—I do trust him.

“I think Iris is trying to set us up,” he tells me. “That’s the feeling I get. And the wedding comment? That, to me at least, was a hint. She wants to witness one soon.”

My stomach does a little flip as his words sink in. It’s like my worst nightmare wrapped up with a childhood dream. Only, it feels worse because my grandfather isn’t here. He’d always been part of the fantasy of what it would be like to get married.

Of course, that usually meant falling in love with the right guy, doing it all nice and slow. Maybe not being a virgin at the time.

But here I am, sitting in the truck of a virtual stranger, wondering why my new charge suddenly wants us to not only get together, but also get married before she dies.

I can read between the lines of what he’s saying—and I don’t like it.

“That is entirely audacious,” I reply, scoffing. My heart pounds from all the different, conflicting emotions rushing through me. “And delusional.”

Who in their right mind says that to a complete stranger?

Calder pulls into the driveway of the cabin, but he doesn’t shut the engine off. He doesn’t even look at me when he says, “Just think about it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

I fall for you , I think. And you break me more than I already am .

But I don’t say it aloud. I just sigh. “Thanks for the ride home. Really.”

“See you in the morning, trouble.” He winks, that charming smirk falling into place.

I shake my head as I slip out of the truck. The entire walk up to the cabin, my stomach does flips, and I consider what he says.

It’s ridiculous, and yet, it stays replaying in my mind, even as I try to sleep.

Match making . What have I gotten myself into?