His Outback Cowgirl(11)

“I wasn’t, but Cordell was. My mom found giving Cordell a pebble, or a small ball of putty to play with, helped him settle and focus.”

Bridie’s thumb continued rolling the pebble and she realized her heel had stopped kicking against the rock. “Your mother’s a smart woman.”

Beside her, Ethan stiffened. “She ... was.”

Bridie pulled away a little and turned to look into his shadowed face. From the haunted darkness of his eyes she knew she wasn’t the only one to grieve for a beloved parent. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” He glanced away. “She’s been gone over a year now but I still go to call her.”

“I do the same thing.” Bridie swallowed. “Do you ever think there’ll be a time when we won’t miss them so much?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. But I’ve been told that peace and acceptance will one day dull the pain.”

Bridie only nodded. Grief ached in her throat and she couldn’t speak.

Silence settled between them. The only noise to fill the cave was the steady sound of the falling rain that showed no sign of letting up. They weren’t going to leave anytime soon. She searched for a neutral topic that wouldn’t touch on their shared loss.

“So I’m guessing there’s a story behind the cattle rustler cave name?”

“Yes, this was the hideout for a gang of cattle rustlers. They started off stealing cattle, and then they got more daring and stole Henry’s grandfather’s prize Appaloosa stallion. Big mistake. Even though heavy rain had washed away all tracks, Noah Watson didn’t give up. Everyone thought the stallion would be long gone but Noah was convinced he was stashed somewhere local. He was a big white horse with red spots so would be easy to identify.”

Bridie nodded, needing Ethan to keep talking. His quiet and mellow tone combined with his body heat made her sleepy. An unexpected lethargy dragged at her eyelids. Between poor sleep and jet lag, it had been a long time since she’d felt so boneless. She softened the straight line of her spine and her right shoulder relaxed against Ethan’s chest. If Ethan noticed, he gave no sign. He continued talking, his words low and slow.

“So Noah combed the mountains for weeks and it was on his last trip home he rode by here. When his mare whinnied and a horse answered he knew the stallion was close. With only two ranch hands for backup, he found the cave and had a shoot out with the rustlers. The rustlers escaped but he saved his stallion and found a herd of missing cattle.”

By now Bridie barely registered Ethan’s words. It was as though his heat and stillness had woven a warm and safe cocoon around her. She relaxed even more and her head found the hollow in his shoulder. Her eyes closed. For the first time since she’d sat with her parents in the specialist’s office and heard her father’s cancer diagnosis the world stopped spinning. Her boundless energy drained from her weary limbs. She turned her head a fraction so that her cheek touched the wet cotton of Ethan’s shirt. She almost felt ... peaceful.

Then from the depths of her soul a sob rose. A raw and anguished sob that threatened to consume her. A sob that signaled her grief was close to breaking free.

She pressed her lips closed, sat upright and slid off the rock. Not now. Not here. Not with this cowboy. This wasn’t what she’d planned. She wasn’t alone in the mountains and she wasn’t losing control in front of a man she instinctively knew wouldn’t hesitate to console her. She didn’t need gentleness, compassion and understanding.

For then her tears would never end.



Ethan remained seated allowing Bridie space. One minute she was soft and sweet, tucked beneath his arm and the next she was rigid and agitated. Pale-faced, she now paced the wide mouth of the rock shelter.

He knew there’d been nothing in his story to upset her but they had talked about her father. It was only natural her emotions would be raw and running wild. He rubbed at his neck. She wasn’t the only one feeling out of control. When she’d relaxed into him and turned her head into his shoulder, something had shifted deep inside.

Before Cordell had found Payton he’d broken many a heart and it had been Ethan who’d picked up the jagged pieces. He was no stranger to holding a woman who needed a shoulder to cry on. But this time when he’d held a woman and offered companionship, friendship was the last thing on his mind. All he could feel was the warmth of Bridie’s cheek through his damp shirt, all he could breathe in was the rose scent of her hair and all he wanted to do was to kiss her.

He pushed to his feet, his mouth twisting at the irony that he’d finally found a woman who intrigued him and not only were they from different hemispheres, they were incompatible. He also had no idea if she were even single.