Page 5 of Mad About Her Cowboys

“Oh, thanks.” Edison smirked. Though many of their friends here in Daly were gay or bisexual, none of the Quists played for the home team—difficult with no available women in the nearby vicinity. Connor knew Edison and Neal occasionally hooked up with girls from Gillette they’d met on Tinder. “So, about Madison. Like Neal asked: What if she hates us?”

“She’s not gonna hate us,” Connor asserted with full confidence. His gut tightened, a flutter confirming the truth in his words. They needed her, and he didn’t know why, but he got the feeling she needed them, too. That wasn’t wishful thinking, but he couldn’t say why he believed that. They’d find out soon enough, wouldn’t they?

Madison was theirs, and soon, they’d know everything about her.

Chapter Three

Fighting her queasy stomach on Thursday, Madison snuck half of a saltine from her purse on the floor and focused on the schedule book River was reviewing. Though everything was mirrored online, Doc preferred the paper book to figuring out the online program.

“Couldn’t we just print the online schedule?” she asked, trying not to move much. Or breathe much. Or live much. This morning sickness sucked! That it was mornings only and contained to the first trimester was a big fat lie. She’d just started the second, and it hadn’t settled. She might have to talk to Doc about anti-nausea meds. Though Riv didn’t know, Madison had confided to her boss that she was pregnant, not wanting the man to feel duped that he’d hired her only to have her need maternity leave soon after. Turned out he loved kids and even had no problem with her bring the child with her to work with her. Madison wasn’t so sure how that would work out, but she’d see.

So far, besides her doctor back in Detroit, Doc Walker was the only one who knew her condition. Well, aside from the father who’d denied the baby was his.

“No,” Riv replied. “Doc likes to see the overview and make notes and changes as he sees necessary. Sometimes, he does that after hours when we’re not here.” She glanced at said doctor as he passed. “You know, when he should be home with his wife.”

“River, are you calling me a workaholic?” he asked in mock horror.

“Never, John. Would never do that.”

Madison chuckled at the camaraderie between the two, hoping it would grow between her and John, as well. Back home—no, Daly was home now. Back where she used to work, the physicians acted as if they were gods and the nurses and techs were their minions.

“Right,” he laughed. “I’m running over to Leena’s to get one of her mochas. She just got in peppermint, and you know how I love them. Text me if my next appointment shows up here before I get back.”

“Sure thing, Doc.” She turned to Madison once he’d left. “You’ve probably noticed this week, we’re pretty laid back. What he didn’t say is that he’ll be a while. The next one scheduled isn’t for a bit. I—”

She cut off as a pair of men walked into the waiting room, their eyes latched on the desk. Madison shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with the attention. She glanced down at the schedule. They weren’t supposed to have anything in yet.

“Good morning,” she called out. “How can we help you this morning?” She’d caught on to the office’s routine quickly. Frankly, the Daly office was easy compared to the larger practices she’d worked at in the Detroit area.

River placed a hand on Mads’ arm. “This one’s for me.”

Madison watched the men watching River as they rounded the desk to the archway that led into the lobby. God, the way they looked at her as if they could devour her. Yet there was a subtle sadness in their gazes, too. She couldn’t blame them, knowing River had only a few months to live. It was shredding her too, though she tried her best to act normal. River didn’t need to deal with a host of morose people in her life while she was still trying to live.

Madison couldn’t leave the desk, but she tried to give the three some privacy while they stood in the waiting room. Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her Facebook feed. Her chest tightened and blood rushed past her ears drowning out everything when she saw a private message from her Martin—her fiancé of four years, ex-fiancé now, the abusive doctor who’d cheated on her with one of their coworkers, another nurse, and also refused to believe Madison’s baby was his. Fine with her. She could raise this child on her own. She certainly didn’t want to see him again.

Ignoring the message for now, she opened her email and found several messages from him, as well. What the hell? Why was he suddenly opening the lines of communication again? And why?

She took a deep breath and closed her mail, deciding to address it all later, and looked up to where the two cowboys were embracing River while she spoke with them. Her friend patted their chests then a few moments later, returned to the reception desk.

“Both of them?” Mads asked once Riv had regained her seat behind the desk.

“Yeah. They’re the ones you saw me with at Moon’s wedding.”

“Both?” Mads repeated.

“Yeah. It’s kind of a thing here in Daly. You’ve been here almost a week. You haven’t noticed?”

Madison shook her head. “No, I’ve pretty much been at the O’Keefe’s B&B or here. I haven’t really gotten out much.” All she’d really noticed about the Daly residents was that there were a ton of men. So. Many. Men.

“Well,” River started. She cleared her throat. “Around here, it’s called the Daly Way. Even if you haven’t gotten out much, you must have noticed the severe shortage of women in town.”

“I thought maybe I just hadn’t seen them. Most people live outside of the town-proper.”

“True, they do, but let’s just say…when my sisters and I moved here, we nearly doubled the female population. This is a cow town, with men who come here just for work. They’re mostly single, without connections. Many are getting away from a world that’s beat them up and escaping to a better place. A lot of them were drifters before they came here and found home.”

“So they’re mostly transient?” That didn’t sound appealing. It sounded unsafe and something she didn’t want to get mixed up in, either.

River shrugged. “Some, I guess. Most come here and stay, though. Those who end up with a woman—especially if it’s one guy and one girl—tend to leave to raise their families in the city. That’s crazy, if you ask me. This is the perfect place to bring up kids. Pretty much no crime to speak of. Everyone knows everyone. A rock star lives on Daly’s outskirts, too—okay, that last part isn’t really a factor. But Daly’s pretty much perfect, save for the lack of women.”

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