Page 4 of What the Cowboy Wants (The Westons of Montana #3)

B y the time they reached Cooper’s house, Ebony had at least stopped glaring at Rose.

Cooper swallowed his smile. Ebony always knew how he felt toward other people, and what he felt when the redhead was near him, was a first. No wonder the cat was jealous.

She’d also sensed, though, that he wasn’t going to act on it, hence her more relaxed state.

“If I can use your bathroom, I’ll be okay,” she said as he opened his front door. The dogs were under their feet and immediately charged into the house.

“Sit here, please?” Cooper asked Rose. “Let me check the wound.” He motioned toward a kitchen chair.

“As you can see, it’s fine…”

Ignoring her, he pulled out one of the chairs around the kitchen table.

Rolling her eyes, she sat down. “So, you’re also one of those men who like to get their own way?”

“No.” He stood in front of her. “I want to help you. There’s a difference. Relax and close your eyes.”

Warily, she glanced up.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”

He removed the bandage and put both his hands around her face, his fingers closing over the wound.

Her soft gasp was the only sound in the room. His body reacted. Startled, he looked at her. That has never happened before. Inhaling deeply, he tried again. Miss Rose Dalton was way out of his league, having lustful thoughts about her had to be avoided at all costs.

With an irritated sound, she moved restlessly.

“Shhh. Just breathe. In and out, in and out,” he whispered, directing all his energy toward healing Rose’s injury.

Healing a small wound like this usually only took a few seconds, but today his senses were overwhelmed by her soft skin under his hands, the sound of her breath caressing his face, the smell of wildflowers on a sunny day surrounding her, and the satiny feel of the red strands caught up in his hands.

Focusing on his breath, he willed his body to behave. She was hurt and not just physically. For a moment, he let himself connect with her. Layers of pain, of humiliation, of guilt rolled toward him. Gnashing his teeth, he mentally pulled away quickly.

Everything inside him was urging him to take her in his arms, to comfort her, but it was a bad idea, whichever way he looked at it.

He’d long ago resigned himself to the fact that he would be alone for the rest of his life.

It was difficult enough living with the guilt of his brother Walker’s death and coping with all the pain from the people close to him, he didn’t want another person complicating his life.

And Rose Dalton, lovely as she was, had complication written all over her.

Stepping away from her quickly, he turned his back on her. “You should be fine now. The bathroom is the first door to the right.”

As she left the kitchen, he slowly exhaled. Damn, that was close. If he’d kept his hand on her for one more minute, he wouldn’t have been able to step away.

Molly rushed closer to him. He crouched down and stroked the dog’s head. “How is she?” he asked.

Molly’s eyes betrayed her worry about Rose, but there was something else too. She missed Laura.

“I know you do, sweet girl, but hang in there. I don’t have anyone else right now that can look after Rose the way you do, okay?”

Resignedly, Molly licked his hand before she trotted off to play with her friends.

He walked toward the fridge and took out a couple of steaks. It was time for dinner and he was hungry. Rose probably was too. Usually, he shared his meals with his siblings at Hayden and Laura’s house, but something told him Rose wouldn’t be too keen to join them.

While texting Isabella, wife of Ricardo, one of their cowboys and the woman who cooked for them to let her know he wouldn’t be in for dinner, he glanced toward the bathroom. Rose had been in there for a while.

As he put potatoes on the stove to boil, he tried to make sense of what was going on inside of him. Usually, he understood his feelings, but not when it came to the redhead.

She’d been hurt, he’d picked up on that immediately when he’d come across her after her car had nearly left the road. Not physically, but she’d reacted like a wounded animal—ready to snarl at any helping hand, especially because she’d so obviously needed help. Still did.

Frowning, he looked over his shoulder. Why was she taking so long? Something wasn’t right. With long strides he moved toward the bathroom and knocked on the door. “Rose? Everything okay?”

Silence. Just before he turned around, he heard it. A soft sniff. That was it, he couldn’t stand tears. “I’m coming in.” He opened the door. Rose was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her face in her hands, crying.

Going with his gut, he simply picked her up, and cradling her in his arms, walked back to the living room. The dogs rushed closer, all worried, but Ebony gave him a disdainful look before she disappeared through the cat door he’d installed for her.

Still keeping Rose close to him, he sat down on the couch and pulled her even closer. He wasn’t a great talker, never had been, but keeping his voice soft and low, he talked, telling her about his family and the ranch.

*

At first, Rose didn’t hear what Cooper was saying, she was crying too loudly. After a time, though, comforted by his big, warm hands stroking her back, his voice rumbling against her ear, she listened.

“…me wrong, I love ranch life, but my passion is working with animals, especially horses.” He laughed softly, continuing stroking her back.

“It took me a while before I was brave enough to tell Hayden, though. Of course he was very supportive, he always is. My oldest brother is the kind of leader who knows people do their best work when they do what they’re passionate about. ”

Another hiccup slipped from Rose’s mouth and Cooper stroked her hair.

“Becket, as you probably know by now, has also stepped away from the day-to-day work on the ranch. He still helps out during busy times, but since he married your friend Ellie, his main focus is sketching his three dogs and sharing their antics on Instagram. I don’t know when you’ve last seen him, but he’s very happy, selling his art online and working on his book.

” He chuckled softly. “Being married to the love of his life probably also has a lot to do with his much nicer demeanor.”

Sniffing, Rose pulled out another tissue and wiped her face. Fortunately, Cooper wasn’t looking at her, she could just imagine what she looked like.

“Willow also helps out on the ranch when we need her,” Cooper continued, “but as you’ve seen today, she basically lives in her studio, concentrating on her art and trying to avoid other people.”

Another soft chuckle sent shivers down Rose’s spine.

“Especially since Hunter Grant is now working and living on the Weston Ranch and has his meals with us, we hardly see her. Interesting to watch the two of them.”

Rose moved to sit upright. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry all over you.”

Those big hands kept stroking her back. “Nothing to be sorry for. You’ve been carrying way too much hurt inside of you, it was time to let go.”

Wiping her face, she sniffed. “I must look a fright.”

He turned her face to him. “You’re always beautiful, Red, I hope you know that. Feeling better?”

She nodded. “And stupid.”

He put her next to him on the couch and got up. “No need. I’m going to grill some steaks for us. Could you see what’s in the fridge and make a salad?”

“You really don’t have to feed me, too, I’ll eat when I get home.”

Ignoring her, he walked toward the kitchen. “The potatoes are just about ready, I’ll get the steaks going. How do you like yours?”

The dogs all followed Cooper. Ebony sauntered over to Rose and jumped up to sit on the couch next to her.

Rose had never been a cat person, but before she realized what she was doing, her hand was on Ebony and she was stroking the cat.

Confused by all the strange feelings inside herself, Rose dropped her hand and got up.

Upset and not quite knowing why, she glared at Cooper’s back.

“Medium, please. You’re not always going to get your way.

I want to wash my hands, give me moment.

” And her face, which was probably all swollen and botchy. Redheads seriously shouldn’t cry, ever.

Cooper’s chuckle followed her all the way.

In the bathroom, she gasped when she saw herself in the mirror. Oh, my goodness, she looked even worse than what she’d thought. Quickly, she splashed cool water over her face. As she was drying her face on a soft towel, she froze.

Where was the wound on her head? She turned her head to look in the mirror, but there was nothing against her temple, not even a line.

Okay, she was probably still a bit wobbly after the accident she’d just had, but she clearly remembered she’d bumped her head against the window and there was blood.

Lots of it. She’d even put a band-aid on it.

Stunned, she used a bit of the cream from a beautiful container on a shelf for her face and hands before she walked back to Cooper. He probably had many women visiting him, not that it was any of her business.

He was grilling steaks and talking to the dogs who all seemed to understand what he was saying. Shaking her head, she stared at the picture in front of her. It was weird, right?

“No, it’s not weird to talk to animals.” Cooper smiled as he looked over his shoulder to her. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t have a scratch on me but I had a small wound, I saw the blood.”

“Minor cuts on the head often bleed heavily because the face and scalp have many blood vessels close to the surface of the skin.”

“I know that. The question is what did you do to stop the blood and make the wound disappear?”

“It was a tiny scratch. I’m nearly done. I’ve put everything you need for the salad on the counter. If you don’t mind?”

Silently, she rinsed her hands before she assembled everything he’d left for a salad. “It was more than a scratch,” she said after a while.

“You ready to eat?” he asked, completely ignoring her question.

*