Page 4 of Wicked Cowboy
He shook his head and guided Chelsea to go with him. “You and your fancy army talk.”
“Sailor, Dad,” I called behind him, though I knew he’d made that mistake to annoy me. The Navy SEALs prepared me to lead this corporation the second the doctors said my father shouldn’t. The skyrocketing profits since proved I’d done a good job.
He offered his hand to Chelsea and she took it like they were friends. “My son never should have served at all. The military is designed to serve us.”
Maybe he was nicer to women than his own son. Or maybe age calmed him down. Anything was possible, but I motioned with my head toward the back door for them. “Get going.”
A car parked in front of my house, and I headed out the front door and closed it. As I stared at my driveway, I vaguely remembered Ridley. She’d been on my arms in that Church at Bernie’s wedding. I’d been his best man.
The woman in a blue shirt, and jeans that hid beautiful curves, pushed her shoulder-length, brown hair behind her ears, and stepped toward me.
My head tilted and she glided toward me. The night of the wedding, she’d worn crystals in her upswept hair. No one had ever captivated me like that before.
I offered my hand to shake when I said, “Miss Ridley Steel.”
She widened her stance and didn’t blink. “Maybe, you remember me? I was Chloe’s best friend. We met at their wedding.”
Her hand fit in mine, and she wasn’t wearing a ring. No ring just as I’d been told. Had no man claimed this angel as his own? I kept that to myself and pointed her toward the house. “Yes, right. That was ten years ago.”
She massaged her temple and her lips thinned. She kept her distance and hugged her waist. “Time doesn’t ever stop, yeah.”
I’d met her after boot camp and before my first mission. My mind had been on proving myself then, but I realized through the years it was always the married men who made it through missions a little better off than the single ones. Studies on the topic made it seem like married men tended to make more measured choices. The theory was they had a reason to return home. If Ridley had been mine, maybe I’d have come home sooner myself.
Not that I’d ever marry. Dora’s blood on my hands was enough reason to keep my distance from good women. I ignored the heat in my veins. “How can I help you?”
She tugged her shirt and her face turned red. “Chloe and Bernie’s daughter was left to both our care, it seems. Chloe asked me to watch her daughter if something ever happened to her, but she never mentioned you.”
I stepped up to open the door. “Bernie asked me the same thing.”
Her eyes widened. “Did he mention me?”
“No.” Hopefully, I figured out her price and sent her home. “You came a long way. My lawyers said you live in Pittsburgh.”
She sized me up like I was a teenager. Most women only notice my muscles then offer their panties. When they discover my bank account, they swear they love me.
She glowered. “Yes, and that doesn’t matter. A promise is a promise.”
Her hips swayed when she stepped past me and let herself inside. I swallowed as I’d noticed. But I closed the door and followed behind her. The way she swiveled her hips made me hard. “I’m getting the picture now. How is it you aren’t married with children of your own?”
“Completely inappropriate.” She curled her nose at me, and it was like her scold was a siren call. I was unexpectedly sprung, like I needed to mate my own filly, as she said, “My marital status doesn’t mean I’m not capable of taking care of Chelsea.”
I kept my distance, half afraid I’d touch her and she’d brand me when I asked, “What makes you equipped to watch the girl?”
Her shoulders were tight and straight, and she stood like she was sure of herself. “I’m a nurse. And taking care of others is in the job description. Do you have any experience with children, Mr. Rockson?”
If we could work this out between us, without lawyers, I’d get to go inside and tell Chelsea tonight. Bernie would want me to do that. So I pointed her toward the couch in the living room we never used. “Carter, please, and unlike you, I know Chelsea and picked her up the moment I heard about the accident, and she knows me.”
“She’ll know her mom and I were close and, hopefully, in time, we will love each other.”
“Love.” I nodded. “It seems you and I have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Okay.” She pivoted and stared at the huge room with a marble floor with red and gold Persian rugs covering the cold stone. Sun shone in the windows and bounced off the crystal chandelier that made the walls sparkle. My mother had created this room to prove to her friends she was as close to royalty in Texas as she could be.
My gut twisted that Ridley wasn’t impressed. She held her head high and marched forward.
I’d not met a woman that stirred anything inside me in a long time, but watching her hips sway stole my breath away.
Chapter 2
