Cowboy For Keeps. Debra Clopton

Texas, haven’t heard about it. My boss reminded me. I had forgotten about it when I first got my assignment, but I read a few of Molly Jacob’s columns back when they started.” Molly was a local newspaper reporter who’d begun writing a column about the goings-on of the little town that advertised for wives and it had been syndicated across the country. She enjoyed reading, but the column had taken a backseat to her always-full work schedule, training for the marathons she loved to run and…then, the connection she’d finally found with Jonathan. As soon as the thoughts of him came she pushed them away, refusing to go there.

      “Then you know gals like you come from all over to marry our men. See, look over there.” Norma Sue pointed across the diner to a table where four cowboys were hunched over plates of food.

      Esther Mae had slid into a booth and patted the seat beside her. “We’ve married off over a dozen couples with several engagements pending right now. And babies are arriving now, too. It is so exciting.”

      Amanda sat down and inhaled the scent of food wafting through the air.

      “Our church is busier than one of those tacky Las Vegas drive-through chapels.” Norma Sue grunted as she took the seat across from her. “Of course we just lost our preacher so we’ve got to find a new one to carry on the ceremonies.”

      “Oh, brother, you two again!” A little man came out from the kitchen and headed to their booth. “I can’t get rid of you gals no matter how hard I try.” He settled teasing eyes on Amanda. “Hangin’ out with these two’ll get you inta trouble, little lady. Just so you know.” He held out his hand. “I’m Sam. Welcome to my place. These two git my Adela into more trouble than you can shake a stick at.”

      Amanda introduced herself as she grabbed his hand and gave a firm squeeze, nowhere near the iron grip he attacked her with, but still, she gave as good as she could.

      He grinned. “Fer a tiny woman, that’s some shake ya got thar.”

      She flexed her hand. “You aren’t so bad yourself. My daddy always did say a person’s heart was measured by the firmness of their handshake. You must have a giant heart.”

      That won her a big grin; his weathered face creased with a mischievous look. “Ain’t nobody ’sposed to know about my big heart. So let’s keep that one quiet. If these two or a couple of others, who shall remain nameless at the moment, were ta suspect I had a big heart, they’d thank I was a pushover and then I wouldn’t never be able to get my bluff in on ’em.”

      Norma Sue rolled her eyes. “Don’t believe none of it. If it wasn’t for me and Esther Mae and his two ‘nameless friends’ keeping him in line, the man would be bored out of his brain.”

      “Ha! I wish,” he grunted. “So, what brangs you ta Mule Hollow? And why in the world are you brangin’ these two back into my establishment when I jest got rid of them?”

      Amanda laughed—it felt good. “Honestly, Sam, I just met them outside and they dragged me in here—”

      As they all chuckled with her she thought they reminded her of her cantankerous grandparents who lived on a farm in West Texas.

      “We thought she was here looking for a cowboy,” Esther Mae told Sam. “We were just telling her about what nice ones we have around here.”

      Norma Sue nodded toward the window. “There are two of our success stories about to come through the door right now. That taller one is Seth Turner. He got married a couple of months ago. The other one is his younger brother, Cole. Cole is having a wedding in about four weeks—had to be put off because his big brother got injured in a plane crash.”

      The door swung open and the men burst inside like cowboys looking for trouble. Instantly she saw the resemblance to their brother. Their expressions were serious as they scanned the room, but nowhere near the intensity of Wyatt’s.

      Esther Mae nudged Amanda in the ribs. “Those two Turner men are handsome, but you should see that big brother of theirs!”

      “He’s something worth seein’, all right,” Norma Sue whispered, leaning forward over the table.

      She didn’t have to be told that these were the brothers who’d hired her. They’d stopped just inside the door and their searching gazes locked on to her almost instantly.

      Norma Sue looked from them to Amanda as the cowboys advanced toward them. “Hey, boys,” she drawled. “Y’all look like you’re lookin’ for somebody.”

      Both men swept their Stetsons from their heads. The taller one with the more serious eyes that reminded Amanda of Wyatt’s tugged at his collar. “Are you Amanda Hathaway?”

      Amanda nodded as suddenly all eyes turned on her.

      “We’ve come to apologize and ask you to reconsider.”

      “Seth, what in the world do you want Amanda to reconsider?” Esther Mae asked.

      Norma Sue’s eyes widened. “You’re Wyatt’s new physical therapist! Aren’t you? The one that was arriving this morning?”

      “Of course,” Esther Mae snapped. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

      “Was,” Amanda corrected. “He fired me on the spot.” She cringed, not having meant to blurt it out that way.

      “No, he did not,” Esther Mae gasped.

      “I’m afraid so,” Amanda said, more evenly. “So unless he changes his mind, I’ll be leaving after I eat. I can’t help anyone who doesn’t want me to.” It was true. But as she looked around at the faces of her new friends, her heart tugged and she wished things had worked out differently.

      “I’ll be.” Sam rubbed his jaw. “Ain’t this here a bunch of interestin’ information.”

      “It sure is,” Norma Sue drawled. “What you boys got to say about this?” she said at the two men who’d been patiently standing by.

      “First, we should introduce ourselves. I’m Cole and this is my brother Seth. We have most definitely come to hire you back. The ball’s in your court, just name your price.”

      “Well,” Esther Mae harrumphed. “This is getting better by the moment.”

      Amanda hadn’t expected this, but it didn’t matter. She shook her head. “Like I said, I can’t help someone who doesn’t even want to give me a chance. Believe me, it won’t work for me and it won’t work for your brother.”

      “He’s not against you,” Seth said. “He’s got a lot on his plate. Don’t get me wrong, he’s going to be a bear to work with, but he needs you and he knows it now.”

      “What do you say?” Cole asked, giving her a wink and a lopsided grin.

      They were cute and they obviously cared a lot about their brother. But that still wouldn’t make this work. There was only one thing that might. “The only way I’d take the job back is if Wyatt asked me himself.”

      “That-a-girl.” Sam chuckled. “Hold your own. When my Adela gets back home from her sister’s, she’s gonna want to hear all about this.”

      “That’s what he thought.” Seth reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “I think this should do it.” He handed a yellow paper to her.

      She eyed the page as she took it. It was from a yellow legal pad, and when Amanda opened it there was one sentence scrawled in a bold masculine print across the middle of the page.

      If you are up for the challenge, come back and prove it. Wyatt Turner.

      Her lip twitched and she held back a smile. No way had she expected an apology. What really startled her was that he’d written exactly what she’d needed…a challenge. She and Wyatt Turner needed the same thing.

      Folding the paper again, she looked at the brothers. Giving them an encouraging smile, she took a settling breath.