When they separated this time, Brock could hardly think straight. That morning he had woken up expecting little more than to hopefully smooth things out with Cassie and continue working on her ranch while also staying as far from her as possible. Now he was kissing her, touching her, and had even more to look forward to in the future.
Well, for the next nine days.
He didn’t want to waste any of it. “Where are Zach and Carter?” he asked.
“Emma’s watching them,” Cassie said, still breathless. “She’s bringing them back around one.”
Plenty of time. On to the next important question. “Have you eaten yet today?”
“No,” she answered. “I didn’t have time before—where are we going?” she asked as he grabbed her hand and began pulling her away from the paddock.
“We need breakfast,” he replied, not slowing down. “We’re going on a date!”
“Oh!” Cassie exclaimed, and Brock paused and looked back at her.
In the rush to get the most out of every second, he was getting ahead of himself. “Do you want to go on a breakfast date with me?”
“Absolutely,” she answered, so emphatically that it made him grin. Or maybe a grin was just permanently plastered on his face after what had happened during the past ten minutes. “I just thought we’d be...”
She looked at the house, and when he realized what she’d been thinking, he needed to take a deep breath to calm himself down. As much as he wanted to, that wasn’t how he did things. “You deserve a delicious breakfast, don’t you think?”
“I should just change,” she said, waving a hand at her scrub and smock.
Brock didn’t think he’d ever seen her in anything so sexy. “If you want to,” he said, “but I think you look just perfect.”
“Two minutes,” she said, running into the house.
Brock paced in front of his truck, which was still parked beside her house, his stomach in knots. He was going on a date with Cassie. And after that, well, he could hardly allow his mind to go there.
Cassie came back out of the house all in a rush, slipping low flats onto her feet as she went. She had changed into a knee-length dress that nearly killed him, made of some shiny brown material that set off the fiery accents in her hair.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date,” she said breathlessly once she reached him. “I want to be dressed for it.”
He managed to unglue his tongue enough to tell her how beautiful she was and give her another deep kiss before helping her into his truck.
In moments, they were out of her driveway and heading to his favorite little restaurant. “I hope you don’t mind cheesy diners with delicious food,” he told her. “It’s one of my favorite places, and it’s a little ways out of town.”
He wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep everything, even them going to eat together, a secret, but if she did, this was the best location. People in town usually went to one of the two restaurants on the main drag, not fifteen minutes out into the middle of nowhere.
“Sounds perfect,” she answered, and he settled into the drive.
The silence between them felt charged and tense as they went. After a few minutes, Cassie said his name in a serious voice that made him worry she was rethinking her earlier decision.
“You should know, before we go any further,” she started.
He waited for the bomb to drop.
“I’m a mother first. This can be a fun thing, but we need to keep it from affecting my kids in any way,” Cassie finished.
Brock laughed in relief. There was no new information there. “I’d never do anything to hurt Zach and Carter,” he told her truthfully.
Cassie leaned back. “Then let’s go have a date,” she said.
* * *
THE LITTLE RESTAURANT Brock took her to reminded Cassie of diners in movies, complete with a cherry pie under glass and a large pottery cowboy boot painted with desert scenes in dusky reds and yellows. Brock maneuvered her through the place to a small corner booth. “Best spot in the restaurant,” he said.
He didn’t need to tell her that. It was secluded, almost private, and small enough that they were sitting nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. Her heart raced as he waited for her to sit before seating himself. “You are quite the gentleman on a date,” she commented.
He smiled. “My ma raised me right,” he said.
Cassie looked through the menu, but the combination of nerves and the variety of options made it difficult to choose. The diner seemed to serve pretty much everything under the sun.
Finally, she settled on the French toast. Brock ordered a corned beef skillet and a side of dumplings.
“Dumplings?” Cassie asked as soon as the waitress was gone.
“Their dumplings are fantastic,” Brock answered. “You need to try them. If that means you’re eating dumplings before ten, well, then, so be it.”
She was skeptical, but said nothing. Brock seemed so happy to be out with her that she couldn’t spoil any part of it, even if it involved having a pan-fried treat with her French toast.
Luckily, the meal ended up being fantastic, dumplings and all. Almost as good as the conversation and sexual tension.
By the time they’d finished eating, she wanted nothing more than to take Brock home and fulfill a few of her fantasies. So when they were both in his car and he asked, “Do you want to go see a movie or something?” she put her foot down.
“You’re killing me, Brock!” she said, exasperated.
He laughed. “This is how I treat ladies I’m dating,” he said. “Would you rather we just go back to your place?”
“Yes!”
“Thank God,” he said and turned the truck in the direction of her ranch.
The drive felt far too long for Cassie, and she wished they’d gone to eat somewhere in town, despite the chances of gossip and missing out on amazing dumplings. She could feel the time dwindling away, even though she knew they still had a couple of hours before the boys came home.
Brock seemed to be thinking the same thing, because the moment the truck was parked in front of her home, he leaned over and pulled her into a kiss ripe with urgency, as if every moment counted.
That could’ve just been desperate need, though. She felt that, too, as all the pent-up desire from the past few days took over, and she nearly crawled into his lap to get closer. The heat of the day quickly warmed the car to an almost unbearable temperature, and finally they broke apart, gasping. They looked one another in the eye, and as if by silent agreement, they opened their doors and rushed for the house.
Inside the dim, cool house, Brock seemed to feel the need to slow things down. After the door closed behind them, he took her in his arms and ran one hand over her face, moving her hair out of her eyes. She nearly melted from his tender touch.
Just as he leaned in toward her with agonizing slowness, the tinkling music of Cassie’s phone broke through the moment, making her want to scream with frustration. She briefly considered letting the phone go to voice mail, but reminded herself that it could be Emma or a patient and they came first, and she dug it out of her purse.
“Dr. Stanford speaking,” she said, hoping it would be quick.
“Dr. Stanford, my name is Melody. I live in town. Got your card from the bakery.”
Cassie could hear a baby wailing in the background. “Hi, Melody. What can I do for you?” she asked, even though she had a guess, based on the strength of the cries.
“It’s my daughter, Lizzie. She’s sick and won’t stop crying. Is there any way you can see her?”
Cassie could hear the worry in the woman’s voice—one that sounded quite young. She knew that anything between her and Brock would need to wait. “Bring her over as soon as you can. You still have my card with the address?”
“I do. Thank you, Doctor,” Melody replied, and the gratitude in her voice tugged at Cassie’s heartstrings.
After Cassie had hung up, she kept looking at her phone. She didn’t want to see the disappointment in Brock’s face.
“Is there something wrong with Lizzie?” he asked, catching her by surprise.
“How did you know?” she asked.
Brock didn’t look disappointed like she’d expected. Only worried. He said, “Melody had a baby girl six months or so ago. My ma says she’s a sweet little thing. She’s helped Melody out some when she can. Her fiancée up and left when she was a few months pregnant, and she’s been working herself to the bone to provide for Lizzie. She’s Melody’s whole world.”
Cassie put her hand on his arm. “I’ll do everything I can for her. She’ll be here any minute.”
Brock nodded. “How about I work on getting Zach and Carter’s room ready for painting? If you’re still with Lizzie when the boys get here, I’ll keep an eye on them. And if you finish up in time...” he said, brushing his lips against hers in a way that both excited and frustrated her.
He seemed to sense her mood and chuckled. “Hey, worst-case scenario, you can always hide me under your bed until the kids are asleep, and I can sneak out the window in the middle of the night. Real clandestine secret-affair type stuff.”
She laughed, though she wasn’t completely sure he was kidding. The idea didn’t sound half-bad, either.
Cassie hardly had time to change into her scrubs before the doorbell rang. By the time she got to the door, Brock was there, holding a screaming baby and talking to the anxious-looking mother. She only caught the end of what he was saying, “—will do everything she can to help.”
Melody’s forehead smoothed a little at his words, and Cassie put her hand to her heart at the sentiment. She quickly gathered her wits and walked up to the small group. “Hi, Melody, I’m Dr. Stanford. This is Lizzie?”
Brock handed over the squalling infant. “She’s been sick the past couple of days, but just a runny nose and a little fever. A couple of hours ago, she started screaming. I’ve tried everything,” Melody explained.
The poor woman looked so frazzled and upset, Cassie gently patted her arm. “Let’s go into my office and I’ll examine her.”
She led Melody into her office and set Lizzie down on the examination table. As she started checking the baby head to toe, she asked Melody questions to determine what could have prompted such a quick change of behavior.
Cassie checked the baby’s ears, mouth and nose, listened to her heart and prodded her stomach for lumps. Nothing struck her as a possible cause for the screaming, and she was starting to worry that Melody and Lizzie might need to go to the emergency room. As Cassie checked the child’s legs, though, her eyes landed on Lizzie’s right pinkie toe, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The toe was an angry reddish purple, and when Cassie looked closely, she found the culprit: a single strand of hair had become wound around the toe, cutting off the circulation and causing Lizzie’s distress.
As soon as Cassie removed the hair, Lizzie quieted into sniffly sobs. Cassie held up the hair to the baby’s mother, expecting her to be as relieved as Cassie was.
To Cassie’s surprise, Melody burst into tears. Cassie sat down beside her, Lizzie on her lap. The baby gurgled and reached out for her mama.
Melody grasped the baby and held her close, continuing to cry. “I never thought to look at her toes. I should have checked everywhere,” Melody sobbed.
Cassie rubbed her shoulder lightly. “You did nothing wrong, Melody. You called a doctor as soon as you realized something was really off, which was the best thing you could do.”
Melody’s tears subsided at Cassie’s words. “I’m sorry, Dr. Stanford,” she said.
“Call me Cassie,” Cassie said.
Melody smiled at her and wiped her eyes with a tissue Cassie offered her. “Cassie. I don’t usually act like this. It’s just... Lizzie’s my everything. It broke my heart to see her cry like that.”
Melody held her baby tight to her chest, where Lizzie gurgled happily, her good mood entirely restored.
“You’re a caring mother,” Cassie said.
Melody breathed out a long sigh. “It’s difficult sometimes. I’m usually at work right now, but I stayed home today when she started screaming and panicked when it didn’t get better. I thought maybe her cold was something worse, and I’d just ignored it.”
Cassie could see that Lizzie’s nose was running. “How about I check her now that she’s calm so you can be sure it’s just a cold?”
Melody’s expression held such gratitude that Cassie took the baby without another word. After a careful examination of Lizzie, Cassie declared her healthy apart from a little cold. “Nothing to worry about,” Cassie assured the young mother.
By the time Melody and Lizzie were gone, Cassie knew the boys must be home, though she’d been so absorbed with the appointment she hadn’t heard anything outside of her office.
Cassie went in search of her children and Brock. It didn’t take long to find them, though, as they were all sitting quietly on the living room floor, studying playing cards. Marshmallows were strewn about between them. What could they possibly be doing?
Before she could ask, Brock said, “I see your three and raise you three more,” as he tossed six mini-marshmallows into the center of their little circle.
“You’re playing poker? With marshmallows?” Cassie said in disbelief.
She couldn’t decide if she was angry or not. She felt like she should be upset about her young boys gambling with little balls of sugar, but something about seeing the three of them together, clearly enjoying themselves, made it impossible.
Brock looked up at her from where he sat, his smile begging her not to be mad. “They wanted to learn how to play,” he explained.
The boys looked up from their cards, faces still serious from concentration. Normally when she walked in after being away, they tackled her as soon as she entered. This time, though, they didn’t budge from their spots, they were so intent on the game.
“They’re four, you know,” she reminded him, the corners of her lips sliding up involuntarily.
Brock shrugged. “Zach’s got a great poker face,” he said, as if that settled the matter.
“Me, too! I have a poker face!” Carter chirped.
Brock smiled at him, making Cassie’s heart thump hard in her chest. “You’ve got Lady Luck on your side. I’ve never seen anyone get so many pairs,” Brock told Carter, making the boy beam.
Cassie tried to reel in her emotions. “And the marshmallows?”
“We had to bet something,” Brock said, as if it was the most obvious answer. “I figured using real money might make you mad.”
“So marshmallows were clearly the best choice,” she said, grinning so widely that her words couldn’t possibly carry any bite to them.
“Mini-marshmallows. They’re practically a vegetable. Plus, I’m planning to wipe them out before they get to eat any. I promise.”
Cassie shook her head, but didn’t say anything else. “You have ten more minutes to play and then we’re having a healthy snack.”
Cassie went into the kitchen and started slicing celery and carrots. She couldn’t regret helping Melody, but she did wish she’d had a little more time alone with Brock. Just thinking about what could have happened sent shivers of excitement down her spine.
Well, they’d just have to wait. Though with only eight days left after this one, she was starting to wonder how they would ever manage to find another moment alone. Maybe having him hide under the bed wasn’t such a bad idea—
Heavy footsteps behind her stopped her thoughts. Brock moved close, and when he leaned in to see what she was doing, his arm looped around her waist. “What are you making?” he asked, though she was sure he could very well see what it was.
She smiled and leaned into him for just a moment. Then another one. “Just your standard veggie plate,” she told him. Finally she moved away. “Where are the boys?”
“Putting the cards away,” he said, not stepping any closer, but not falling back, either.
She tried to think of something to talk about. Anything to keep her mind off how near he was. “The game ended pretty quickly. You cleaned out the four-year-olds already?” she asked.
His silence in response made her turn to look at him. His face was sheepish. “You didn’t...lose, did you?” she asked, laughing.
“They kept going all-in, and when I called them, they’d hit the best hands. It was the most ridiculous luck I’ve ever seen.”
Cassie just raised an eyebrow at him.
Brock grimaced. “I think your kids hustled me.”
They both laughed, and were still laughing when Zach and Carter joined them, eager to tell their mother about their triumph.
As they all dug into the snack, the conversation turned to paint. “Can we paint our room now, Momma? Please!” Carter implored.
Cassie looked over at Brock. He said, “While you were in with Melody, I got just about everything ready, so we can if you’re up for it.”
“It’s decided,” she told the twins. “Let’s finish eating and then we’ll paint your room the color of dragon scales.”
* * *
BROCK OPENED THE paint cans while Cassie changed out of her scrubs. He wished she was still wearing her date dress, but even her grungiest paint-splattered jeans made her look so good, he wondered if she’d actually let him hide under the bed. The idea was sounding more and more reasonable.
To distract himself, Brock decided to mention the idea he’d gotten while playing poker with the boys. Once Cassie had them occupied outside of the room, as far from the paint as she could get them, he decided to talk to her about it.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever considered getting a dog, but I think Zach and Carter would really love one,” he commented as he began slathering one wall in the lurid green paint.
Cassie looked up at him from where she stood with her own roller, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Did they say something to you about wanting a dog?”
“No,” he said, “but dogs are great for kids on ranches. Though you don’t need to if you think it’d be too much work.”
“Actually, I think it’s a great idea,” she replied, turning back to her task.
“I bet my ma will watch the boys tomorrow for a few hours so we can go down to the shelter and pick one out without them knowing. I bet they’d love the surprise of coming home to find a dog waiting for them,” he told her.
He could think of lots of amazing ways to spend a few hours alone with Cassie, but picking out a pet for her little boys seemed more important. For Cassie as well as Zach and Carter.
Cassie nodded, a small smile on her lips that he couldn’t read. “What’re you thinking?” he asked.
“It’s just odd. You don’t seem to dislike kids,” Cassie said, not taking her eyes off the wall in front of her, “but I get the feeling you don’t want any of your own.”
Brock figured it was best to be as open as possible, just to be sure neither of them got any ideas about what could happen beyond the rodeo. “My life doesn’t really work with children,” he explained. “I like free-climbing cliffs and snowboarding down unmarked trails and skydiving, and I’d need to give all that up if I had a kid at home to worry about. I don’t want any children of mine to go through what I did when my parents died.”
Cassie nodded, but she didn’t say anything. Clearly she had some thoughts on the subject.
“You can say it,” Brock prompted her. “I’ve heard it all before from my ma.”
Cassie shrugged. “I have no call to judge your lifestyle. I’m just a nine-day romance,” she said, bumping him with her hip to show she was teasing.
“And I’m just your training wheels,” he responded, bumping her back.
They glanced at each other, and Brock wasn’t sure if they would start laughing or kissing. Neither happened, though, as Zach and Carter ran in at just that moment, looking around the room in amazement.
“You boys shouldn’t be in here,” Cassie warned.
“It’s so cool!” Carter shouted.
“It smells bad,” Zach said. “Is it always going to smell like that?”
Brock ruffled the boy’s hair. “The smell will go away soon,” Brock explained. “It’s extra strong right now because the paint is still wet. Once we finish and let it dry, it won’t be so strong.”
“I don’t want to sleep in here if it smells so bad,” Zach said, looking upset.
“Once we’re finished painting, I’ll help you two get sleeping bags and you can sleep in the living room tonight. How does that sound?” Cassie asked Zach.
He still seemed concerned. “Can we sleep in your room?” he asked his mother.
Cassie paused for a moment before agreeing, and the boys raced off happily.
So much for hiding under the bed, Brock thought. Cassie must’ve been thinking the same thing, because she caught his eye, and when they grimaced at each other, they both burst into laughter.
Once the room was finished, Brock knew he needed to go home, as little as he wanted to. He consoled himself with the thought that he and Cassie would be alone the next day, even if they were spending that time picking out a dog. They’d manage a few kisses, and maybe...
Brock cleared his throat at the thought. Cassie looked at him expectantly. “I should go,” he told her. “With my siblings over and everything—”
“Of course,” she said, though she sounded reluctant. “I don’t have any patients tomorrow or anything, so as soon as you want to go on our errand, the boys will be ready.”
Brock said goodbye to Zach and Carter and walked home. He looked back a couple of times, wishing he had an excuse to stay.
Before he walked in to his parents’ house, Brock took stock of himself. He didn’t want to give his siblings any hint as to what had happened that day. It was better if nobody knew, not even his family.
Which was why he felt so annoyed with Amy when he walked through the door and she immediately asked, “When’s the wedding?”
Jose and Diego, who were sitting across from her on the couch, gave him twin smiles. “You didn’t tell us you were getting married. Congratulations!” Jose said.
“I call best man,” Diego added.
Jose looked scandalized and was clearly about to start an argument when Brock cut him off. “None of that. Don’t any of you start rumors about me and Cassie.”
He looked so fierce that Diego held up his hands. “We were just joking, Brock. We’re your family—you know we won’t do anything to hurt whatever it is you two have going on.”
“Here’s a pro-tip, though,” Jose said. “If you want to keep a secret, maybe don’t make out outside.” He gestured out the window near where Amy sat with her foot propped on pillows.
“Inside your truck isn’t super sneaky, either,” Amy added.
Brock glanced out the window and saw immediately what they meant. From there, his siblings had a great view of Cassie’s paddock and the driveway, too.
Brock shook his head, annoyed at himself. He should have thought of that, but it was too late now.
“Swear you won’t say anything to anyone, not even Ma,” Brock told them.
Amy rolled her eyes. “What are the chances Ma doesn’t know already? I’m guessing around zero percent.”
“Seriously, does being in love really make you that stupid?” Jose asked, which earned him a shove from his twin.
Jose fell off the couch with an “oomph!”
“I’m not in love, and you need to keep your mouth shut, Jose,” Brock said aggressively, standing over his brother for a moment before stalking out of the room.
He found his ma and, to his relief, she said nothing about his and Cassie’s apparently very public display of affection. All she did was agree to take care of the twins while Brock and Cassie went to the animal shelter. “I love those two boys. You let Cassie know that I’m happy to watch them anytime,” she told Brock.
He wasn’t sure if her comment was completely innocent or not, but he decided it was better not to ask.