Page 18 of The Texas Cowboy's Rescue

“It was the truth. We hadn’t gotten to know each other very much before then. And like I’ve said... I don’t say much. I missed the line where the ability to be a sparkling conversationalist was being handed out. Lone Wolf was my call sign in the military, given to me by my fellow soldiers. It stuck. I own it. But yes, I admit to a natural curiosity about Brooke’s father.”

“He was a mistake I made coming out of my early twenties. I had gone to a dance with a friend of mine whose dad was stationed at the base in Abilene. This person walked over to me and asked me to dance. He flew jets, and he was quite a ladies’ man. And it took less than a year to figure out that my rose-colored glasses needed to be filed in the trash can. I was basically the last one on the base to know. One of his women decided to have one too many drinks at the base club one evening and proceeded to enlighten me in front of an audience that everyone knew but me. That led to a second one joining in, and he seemed to be amused by it all and looked even proud of it. Brooke was two months old. I packed as much as I could for us in two suitcases, and she and I left. He didn’t make too much of a protest. I think he was relieved that he was free again.”

Deke felt his appetite slide away. And he would have liked to come across the man in an alley. “You got custody? He doesn’t want to be in his child’s life?”

“Six months later, while in Afghanistan, he was caught trading in ‘souvenirs’—that was his term. The government used the termantiquities. He was sentenced to jail time. But while being transferred to one of his court appearances, the convoy was hit. He was killed. We had agreed that I would have full custody given his situation, but it was null and void when he died. As far as Brooke knows, her father loved her and he was lost in a battle. There’s no need for details. She has no recollection of him. It’s been her and me, and we’ve managed to make a pretty good team, just the two of us.”

And that’s the way she wants it.He read between the lines loud and clear. And yet, he always did have a streak in him of finding a way around roadblocks and solving problems. He might need to give it some thought. The thought that he wanted to solve such a problem stunned him into silence.

“And what about you? The lone wolf never wanted to test matrimonial waters?” Now it was her turn. Fair enough.

“I got to the water’s edge once. Bought the ring and set the date. A month before I was to return stateside for the wedding, I got that infamous ‘Dear John’ letter. Seems she decided that her uncle’s junior lawyer made a better candidate for husband material than a pilot... and certainly one that was leaving the military to take a chance on his own business. Last I heard, she was having her second child. So things worked out well for her, I guess.”

“I’m sorry. That’s a low blow to do something like that in a letter and not face-to-face.”

Deke shrugged and took a sip of his iced tea. “It wasn’t meant to be. Of course, it pushed me to not put myself out there in the trust department again. I had decided that the military would be my life. Until it wasn’t to be, and Ranger and I were ‘retired.’”

“How did you end up with a flying business?”

“Well, I had a bit of luck when the person I had done part-time ranch flying for before my military stint looked me up after I got back stateside. He had an offer to make. He invested in my skills and we partnered with a couple of choppers. Then it expanded. He stepped out of it after five years and I bought it all. He had a stroke last year and we lost him. His widow is a great lady who continues to be very supportive. She’s taught me a lot about the business, but also counsels me in areas I missed out on in my growing up. Who knew I had a head for business? It took someone believing in my abilities and teaching me to do the same. I brought on more pilots and more choppers and now we do medical flying and the ranch work too. I’m considering branching into executive air charters for Fortune 500 companies next. As they say, the sky’s the limit. I might as well see if that is true.”

She smiled. “You say it so nonchalantly, but I’m thinking there was a lot of work mixed in with luck to get you where you wanted to be. I’d also say that an ex of yours might have made a bad decision.”

“I think it wasn’t meant to be, and life had another plan for me. At least, that’s what my mentor told me often enough. My only regret is that my mother never got to know a better life. I wanted to give her that house and ease from worrying about where our next meal was coming from or how to keep the lights on. We all have regrets, I guess. A wise person told me one day not long ago that we have to overcome the fear of where the next hurt or regret might come from. If we don’t, we might miss something amazing in front of us. At least I try to hang on to that idea.”

“That’s a hard one,” she said, a solemn gaze watching the rain fall outside. “I had to learn to trust myself. That’s how Brooke and I survived. I wasn’t going to depend on anyone but myself. So far, it’s working.”

“It would be nice sometime to share the load. Too easy to color others the same shade as the ones who couldn’t be counted on. And that’s a deep subject for a rainy evening. I need to get back to my house and check on Ranger.” He stood and picked up his empty bowl and plate.

She stood and reached for them. He shook his head. “I do have kitchen skills in the cleaning up area. You cooked and I can clean.”

“It wouldn’t do any good to argue, would it?”

“Smart lady.” So he cleaned off the table and put things away where she directed in the refrigerator and cabinets as she made swift work of the dishes.

He dried his hands on the towel she handed over. “See what teamwork can do? Now you have time to relax and enjoy some ‘you’ time while Brooke is off having her fun. No worries about the door. We’ll do it your way. All is good.”

She walked him to her new front door and he opened it. “I’ll make a run for my Jeep. It looks like it’s about to let up in the rain department soon enough. Thanks again for the meal. It was nice having someone with a more expansive vocabulary than barking to have a conversation with.”

“You’re welcome for the meal and for all you did on repairs.”

He smiled. “I’ll just say good night on that note. Sweet dreams.”

*

Sweet dreams indeed.Kenzie opened her eyes the next morning to a sliver of sunlight coming underneath the curtains at her bedroom window. Five minutes and the alarm would sound on the bedside table. She closed her eyes and willed herself to go back and finish the dream, but it was elusive. It had been so very nice.

It involved a rainy evening, lights twinkling in trees. It was obviously holiday time. And she was walking with her arm tucked inside the crook of a male counterpart’s arm. His other hand held an umbrella over their heads. They walked and talked—about what, she had no recall. But it was what they did after they paused and the talking stopped. Kenzie had dreamed of the most romantic, sexy kiss... it had sizzled from the top of her head down to her toes and back again. She had never wanted it to end. She had opened her eyes in that perfect dream and met the gaze of her dream lover... Deacon Hayes. And then she woke up. And she laid there, staring at the ceiling until the buzzing of the alarm would not be ignored.

Why in the world would she have such a dream? And about the man who was her boss? It was wrong on so many levels, yet why did it feel so perfectly wonderful too? Kenzie tossed back the covers and sat up, her feet meeting soft carpet. It was dinner. That’s why he’d appeared in her dream. It didn’t mean anything.

Didn’t mean anything?Then why did it replay so often in her brain? While she dressed for the day... when she made her first cup of coffee... buttered her bagel. Many of her dreams faded the moment she opened her eyes and she couldn’t recall most of them. But this one was on constant rewind.

Why him? She hadn’t even kissed him in reality. Nor would she. That was a line one didn’t cross. At least she didn’t. So why would he be the one that made her feel the power of her dream lover’s kiss in such aching detail that she never wanted to leave his arms? There was no response to that question. Just as well... chalk it up to fantasy and being without the company of a real man in her life for so long... so very long.Snap out of it. You’re just as bad as the nurses you scolded. It didn’t mean a thing.

*

It didn’t meana thing.Did he truly believe that? The fact that he lay awake most of the night after having dinner with Kenzie? Deke closed his eyes and the evening kept replaying word for word. It explained a lot about the way she seemed guarded at times, careful of her words, so determined to be in charge... to not be needy of anyone or anything. Except he had seen the façade slip. And there was uncertainty and fear there for a glimpse. Being vulnerable meant the possibility of letting someone get too close and that might bring the pain back and wreck those walls encompassing her world. She was prepared for that the world to include only Brooke and herself and no one else. Trust was a word, not a reality.

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