Page 44 of Roping Her In

They finally arrived at his cabin, and he opened the door without using a key. Of course. He didn’t need to lock his place out here at Shiloh Ridge, and Bev wondered if maybe she wasn’t as ready as she thought. She still locked every door behind her, even if she was going to be in the room. She didn’t like surprises, or having people walk in without her anticipating their entrance.

“Welcome to my home,” he said, and Bev finally found purpose beneath the soles of her boots. He continued inside while Bev stood on the threshold, taking in the space that exuded Stetson.

Or rather, as his family and friends and literally everyone except for her called him—Smiles.

“Close the door, Bevvy. It’s cold out there, and I don’t want the ice in here.”

She jumped into action and did what he said, finally edging into the kitchen where he’d opened the box of cupcakes she’d brought.

“There are two.” He looked at her, nothing but goodness radiating from him.

“One for me,” she said. “And one for you. I’m celebrating something.”

His eyebrows went up, and he swept the cowboy hat from his head. “Oh, yeah?” He turned to a series of pegs along the wall near the back door and hung his hat there. “What are you celebrating?”

She shifted her feet and watched as he got out two small plates. She picked up one cupcake and put it on the top plate. “They’re the same. It’s a chocolate cake with caramel filling, whipped cream, and toffee bits on top.”

“It looks incredible,” he said.

She handed him the plate and then got out the second cupcake. His cabin’s furnace worked great, and the air held warmth, the scent of his cologne, and now a chocolate-and-caramel mix that had Bev’s mouth watering for more than one reason.

“It’s my divorce day,” she said.

Stetson came to a complete stop, as if someone had pressed pause on his life. The only thing that moved was his eyes as they searched hers.

“It’s been a year since my divorce was finalized,” she said.

“And you’re celebrating?”

Bev swallowed, needing him to look somewhere else. “Yes,” she said simply. “My—The marriage was terrible, and I’m happy I’m not still living inside it.”

Living was a very generous term for anything she’d done while married. She’d been caged, silenced, neglected. Those all fit. So yes, she was celebrating that she no longer had to endure being married to her ex.

“I’m so sorry, Bevvy,” Stetson whispered, and he took her plated cupcake from her, set it on the counter, and drew her into the warmest, most welcome embrace of her life.

Bev could stand in the safety and strength of Stetson’s arms for a good long while. Perhaps her therapist—and her mother—had been right, and she couldn’t base her opinion of all men on the one who’d hurt her so badly.

Stetson pulled back and gazed down at her softly. She knew this man had feelings for her that went beyond a professional veterinarian relationship, and maybe even friendship. The way adrenaline shot through her and made her muscles twitchy told her that maybe she wasn’t as ready to start dating as she thought.

The light outside shifted, and that horrible scraping sound of ice sliding off the roof and hitting the ground filled the air again. She moved away from Stetson and picked up her cupcake.

“All right,” he said, without missing a beat, his voice still filled with plenty of joviality. “Now, I know we haven’t spent a lot of time together in recent years, but my memory’s tellin’ me that you like a good steak.”

Bev smiled at him, and she could only imagine how whiplashed he felt. She felt up, down, around, and all over, and she was the one driving this bus.

“I do love a good steak,” she said. “But it has to be cooked exactly right.” She raised her eyebrows in clear challenge, doing her best to flirt a little bit without going over the top.

“I can’t believe you doubt me.” He grinned at her and pulled open the fridge. “My family told me about some problems we’re having with some livestock here on the ranch.” He nodded to the papers he’d tossed onto the couch as he’d walked behind it. “You can look at those if you want, or just put a movie on, or take a nap. I’ll make us something to eat.”

“Okay.” Bev nodded, and she could admit that having someone take care of her felt really…nice. Before she’d gotten the job here in Three Rivers, she’d lived with her parents again, as it had become the only safe haven she could find after escaping the condo where she’d lived with Chris.

She stuffed those memories away, because today was her divorce day. She didn’t have any children with Chris, and they’d never merged any of their accounts—or anything in their lives—at all. She didn’t want to think about restraining orders or how she hadn’t locked the door behind her. Here in Stetson’s cabin, she simply wanted to be with him and the scent of butter, and garlic, and a really good sizzling steak.

She picked up the papers as she sat down, and she started reading through the reports of limping cattle and lame horses and tender-footed llamas.

“These are all here at your ranch?” she asked, as she loved nothing more than a good veterinarian livestock mystery.

“Yep,” Smiles said. “I found out about them just before you arrived. I haven’t had a chance to examine or even look at any of them.”