Untamed Cowboy

In Gold Valley, Oregon, love might be hiding in plain sight…

Some things are too perfect to mess with. Bennett Dodge’s relationship with Kaylee Capshaw is one of them. They work together at their veterinary clinic and have been best friends for years. When Bennett’s world is rocked by the appearance of a son he didn’t know he had, he needs Kaylee more than ever. And he doesn’t want anything else to change. But then Kaylee kisses him, and nothing will ever be the same…

Kaylee’s done her best to keep her feelings for the man she’s loved since high school hidden away, but one unguarded moment changes everything, and now there’s no more denying the chemistry that burns between them. But the explosion of desire changes all the rules, and what’s left could destroy their bond—or bring them to a love that’s deeper than she ever imagined…

Also includes a bonus Gold Valley novella, Mail Order Cowboy!

Praise for New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates

Yates’ new Gold Valley series begins with a sassy, romantic and sexy story about two characters whose chemistry is off the charts.

—RT Book Reviews on Smooth-Talking Cowboy (Top Pick)

Fans of Robyn Carr and RaeAnne Thayne will enjoy [Yates’s] small-town romance.

—Booklist on Part Time Cowboy

Passionate, energetic and jam-packed with personality.

—USATODAY.com’s Happy Ever After blog on Part Time Cowboy

[A] story with emotional depth, intense heartache and love that is hard fought for and eventually won.... This is a book readers will be telling their friends about.

—RT Book Reviews on Brokedown Cowboy

Yates’s thrilling seventh Copper Ridge contemporary proves that friendship can evolve into scintillating romance.... This is a surefire winner not to be missed.

—Publishers Weekly on Slow Burn Cowboy (starred review)

This fast-paced, sensual novel will leave readers believing in the healing power of love.

—Publishers Weekly on Down Home Cowboy

Welcome to Gold Valley, Oregon, where the cowboys are tough to tame, until they meet the women who can lasso their hearts:

Cowboy Christmas Blues (ebook novella)

Smooth-Talking Cowboy

Mail Order Cowboy (ebook novella)

Untamed Cowboy

In Copper Ridge, Oregon, lasting love with a cowboy is only a happily-ever-after away. Don’t miss any of Maisey Yates’s Copper Ridge tales, available now!

From HQN Books

Shoulda Been a Cowboy (prequel novella)

Part Time Cowboy

Brokedown Cowboy

Bad News Cowboy

A Copper Ridge Christmas (ebook novella)

The Cowboy Way

Hometown Heartbreaker (ebook novella)

One Night Charmer

Tough Luck Hero

Last Chance Rebel

Slow Burn Cowboy

Down Home Cowboy

Wild Ride Cowboy

Christmastime Cowboy

From Harlequin Desire

Take Me, Cowboy

Hold Me, Cowboy

Seduce Me, Cowboy

Claim Me, Cowboy

Look for more Gold Valley books coming soon!

For more books by Maisey Yates, visit www.maiseyyates.com.

Maisey Yates

Untamed Cowboy

Table of Contents

Untamed Cowboy

Mail Order Cowboy

Dear Reader,

I’m so happy to welcome you back to the town of Gold Valley for another story about hot cowboys and true love.

It’s true that the best-laid plans often go awry. But that doesn’t stop us from trying to make them anyway.

That’s exactly what Bennett Dodge, the hero in Untamed Cowboy, is doing. But his relationship with the woman he thought would be perfect for him has dissolved, and now she’s fallen in love with someone else. And to top it all off, when he gets home one night, he finds a fifteen-year-old surprise waiting on his front porch.

About the only thing in his life that has remained the same is his friendship with Kaylee Capshaw. But with one kiss, that’s about to change, too.

I loved writing Bennett and Kaylee’s relationship. They were first introduced in Christmastime Cowboy, a book that’s part of the Copper Ridge series, and I knew immediately that I was going to have to write their story. And even though Bennett was with another woman then, I knew that ultimately Kaylee was the right one for him.

Bennett just has to realize that the plans he had for his life weren’t the best thing for him. And what he really needed was right within reach all along.

Happy reading!

Maisey

Untamed Cowboy

Haven, this book is for you. In the past nine years you’ve gotten a lot of them, but that’s how it should be. You’re the one who taught me that friendship is the perfect foundation for true love.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

KAYLEE CAPSHAW NEEDED a new life. Which was why she was steadfastly avoiding the sound of her phone vibrating in her purse while the man across from her at the beautifully appointed dinner table continued to talk, oblivious to the internal war raging inside of her.

Do not look at your phone.

The stern internal admonishment didn’t help. Everything in her was still seized up with adrenaline and anxiety over the fact that she had texts she wasn’t looking at.

Not because of her job. Any and all veterinary emergencies were being covered by her new assistant at the clinic, Laura, so that she could have this date with Michael, the perfectly nice man she was now blanking while she warred within herself to not look down at her phone.

No. It wasn’t work texts she was itching to look at.

But what if it was Bennett?

Laura knew that she wasn’t supposed to interrupt Kaylee tonight, because Kaylee was on a date, but she had conveniently not told Bennett. Because she didn’t want to talk to Bennett about her dating anyone.

Mostly because she didn’t want to hear if Bennett was dating anyone. If the woman lasted, Kaylee would inevitably know all about her. So there was no reason—in her mind—to rush into all of that.

She wasn’t going to look at her phone.

Going over the statistical data for the last quarter was really very interesting. It’s fascinating how the holidays inform consumers.

Kaylee blinked. What?

Sorry. I’m probably boring you. The corporate side of retail at Christmas is probably only interesting to people who work in the industry.

Not at all, she said. Except, she wasn’t interested. But she was trying to be. How exactly did you get involved in this job living here?

Well, I can do most of it online. Otherwise, I travel to Portland, which is where the corporate office is. Michael worked for a world-famous brand of sports gear, and he did something with the sales. Or data.

Her immediate attraction to him had been his dachshund, Clarence, who she had seen for a tooth abscess a couple of weeks earlier. Then, on a follow-up visit, he had asked if Kaylee would like to go out, and she had honestly not been able to think of one good reason she shouldn’t. Except for Bennett Dodge. Her best friend since junior high, and the obsessive focus of her hormones since she’d discovered what men and women did together in the dark.

Which meant she absolutely needed to go out with Michael.

Bennett couldn’t be the excuse. Not anymore.

She had fallen into a terrible rut over the last couple of years while she and Bennett had gotten their clinic up and running. Work and her social life revolved around him. Social gatherings were all linked to him and to his family.

She’d lived in Gold Valley since junior high, and the friendships she’d made here had mostly faded since then. She’d made friends when she’d gone to school for veterinary medicine, but she and Bennett had gone together, and those friends were mostly mutual friends.

If they ever came to town to visit, it included Bennett. If she took a trip to visit them, it often included Bennett.

The man was up in absolutely everything and the effects of it had been magnified recently as her world had narrowed thanks to their mutually demanding work schedule.

That amount of intense, focused time with him never failed to put her in a somewhat pathetic emotional space.

Hence the very necessary date.

Then, her phone started vibrating because it was ringing, and she couldn’t ignore that. I’m sorry, she said. Excuse me.

It was Bennett. Her heart slammed into her throat. She should not answer it. She really shouldn’t. She thought that even while she was pressing the green accept button.

What’s up? she asked.

Calving drama. I have a breech one. I need some help.

Bennett sounded clipped and stressed. And he didn’t stress easily. He delivered countless calves over the course of the season, but a breech birth was never good. If the rancher didn’t call him in time, there was rarely anything that could be done.

And if Bennett needed some assistance then the situation was probably extreme.

Where are you? she asked, darting a quick look over to Michael and feeling like a terrible human for being marginally relieved by this interruption.

Out of town at Dave Miller’s place. Follow the driveway out back behind the house.

See you soon. She hung up the phone and looked down at her half-finished dinner. I am so sorry, she said, forcing herself to look at Michael’s face. There’s a veterinary emergency. I have to go.

She stood up, collecting her purse and her jacket. I really am sorry. I tried to cover everything. But my partner... It’s a barnyard thing. He needs help.

Michael looked... Well, he looked understanding. And Kaylee almost wished that he wouldn’t. That he would be mad, so she would have an excuse to storm off and never have dinner with him again. That he would be unreasonable in some fashion so that she could call the date experiment a loss and go back to making no attempts at a romantic life whatsoever.

But he didn’t. Of course, he said. You can’t let something happen to an animal just because you’re on a dinner date.

I really can’t, she said. I’m sorry.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. She put it on the table and offered an apologetic smile before turning and leaving. Before he didn’t accept her contribution to the dinner.

She was not going to make him pay for the entire meal on top of everything.

Have a good evening, the hostess said as Kaylee walked toward the front door of the restaurant. Please dine with us again soon.

Kaylee muttered something and headed outside, stumbling a little bit when her kitten heel caught in a crack in the sidewalk. That was the highest heel she ever wore, since she was nearly six feet tall in flats, and towering over one’s date was not the best first impression.

But she was used to cowgirl boots, and not these spindly, fiddly things that hung up on every imperfection. They were impractical. And how any woman walked around in stilettos was beyond her.

The breeze kicked up, reminding her that March could not be counted on for warm spring weather, as the wind stung her bare legs. The cost of wearing a dress. Which also had her feeling pretty stupid right about now.

She always felt weird in dresses, owing that to her stick figure and excessive height. She’d had to be tough from an early age. With parents who ultimately ended up ignoring her existence, she’d had to be self-sufficient.

It had suited her to be a tomboy because spending time outdoors, running around barefoot and climbing trees, far away from the fight scenes her parents continually staged in their house, was better than sitting at home.

Better to pretend she didn’t like lace and frills, since her bedroom consisted of a twin mattress on the floor and a threadbare afghan.

She’d had a friend when she was little, way before they’d moved to Gold Valley, who’d had the prettiest princess room on earth. Lace bedding, a canopy. Pink walls with flower stencils. She’d been so envious of it. She’d felt nearly sick with it.

But she’d just said she hated girly things. And never invited that friend over ever.

And hey, she’d been built for it. Broad shoulders and stuff.

Sadly, she wasn’t built for pretty dresses.

But she needed strength more anyway.

She was thankful she had driven her own truck, which was parked not far down the street against the curb. First date rule for her. Drive your own vehicle. In case you had to make a hasty getaway.

And apparently she had needed to make a hasty getaway, just not because Michael was a weirdo or anything.

No, he had been distressingly nice.

She mused on that as she got into the driver’s seat and started up the engine. She pulled away from the curb and headed out of town. Yes, he had been perfectly nice. Really, there had been nothing wrong with him. And she was a professional at finding things wrong with the men she went on dates with. A professional at finding excuses for why a second date couldn’t possibly happen.

She was ashamed to realize now that she was hoping he would consider this an excuse not to make a second date with her.

That she had taken a phone call in the middle of dinner, and then had run off.

A lot of people had trouble dating. But often it was for deep reasons they had trouble identifying.

Kaylee knew exactly why she had trouble dating.

She was in love with her best friend. Bennett Dodge. And he was not in love with her.

She gritted her teeth.

She wasn’t in love with Bennett. No. She wouldn’t allow that. She had lustful feelings for Bennett, and she cared deeply about him. But she wasn’t in love with him. She refused to let it be that. Not anymore.

That thought carried her over the gravel drive that led to the ranch, back behind the house, just as Bennett had instructed. The doors to the barn were flung open, the lights on inside, and she recognized Bennett’s truck parked right outside.

She killed the engine and got out, moving into the barn as quickly as possible.

What’s going on? she asked.

Dave Miller was standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, standing back against the wall. Bennett had his hand on the cow’s back. He turned to look at her, the overhead light in the barn seeming to shine a halo around his cowboy hat. That chiseled face that she knew so well but never failed to make her stomach go tight. He stroked the cow, his large capable hands drawing her attention, as well as the muscles in his forearm. He was wearing a tight T-shirt that showed off the play of those muscles to perfection, his large biceps, and the scars on his skin from various on-the-job injuries, and he had a stethoscope draped over his shoulders. Something about that combination—rough-and-ready cowboy meshed with concerned veterinarian—was her very particular catnip.

I need to get the calf out as quickly as possible, and I need to do it at the right moment. Too quickly and we’re likely to crush baby’s ribs. She had a feeling he said that part for the benefit of the nervous-looking rancher standing off to the side.

Dave Miller was relatively new to town, moving up from California a couple of years ago with fantasies of rural living. A small ranch for his and his wife’s retirement had grown to a medium-sized one over the past year or so. And while the older man had a reputation for taking great care of his animals, he wasn’t experienced at this.

Where do you want me? she asked, moving over to where Bennett was standing.

I’m going to need you to suction the hell out of this thing as soon as I get her out. He appraised her. Where were you?

It doesn’t matter.

You’re wearing a dress.

She shrugged. I wasn’t at home.

He frowned. Were you out?

This was not the time for Bennett to go overly concerned big brother on her. It wasn’t charming on a normal day, but it was even less charming when she’d just abandoned her date to help deliver a calf. If I wasn’t at home I was out. Better put your hand up the cow, Bennett, she said, feeling testy.

Bennett did just that, checking to see that the cow was dilated enough for him to extract the calf. Delivering a breech animal like this was tricky business. They were going to have to pull the baby out, likely with the aid of a chain or a winch, but not too soon, which would injure the mother. And not too quickly, which would injure them both.

But if they went too slow, the baby cow would end up completely cut off from its oxygen supply. If that happened it was likely to never recover.

Ready, he said. I need chains.

She spotted the chains lying on the ground, picked them up and handed them over. He grunted and pulled, producing the first hint of the calf’s hooves. Then he lashed the chain around them. He began to pull, his muscles straining against the fabric of his black T-shirt, flexing as he tugged hard.

She had been a vet long enough that she was inured to things like this, from a gross-out perspective. But still, checking a guy out in the midst of all of this was probably a little imbalanced. Of course, that was the nature of how things were with Bennett.

They’d met when she’d moved to Gold Valley at thirteen—all long limbs, anger and adolescent awkwardness. And somehow, they’d fit. He’d lost his mother when he was young, and his family was limping along. Her own home life was hard, and she’d been desperate for escape from her parents’ neglect and drunken rages at each other.

She never had him over. She didn’t want to be at her house. She never wanted him, or any other friend, to see the way her family lived.

To see her sad mattress on the floor and her peeling nightstand.

Instead, they’d spent time at the Dodge ranch. His family had become hers, in many ways. They weren’t perfect, but there was more love in their broken pieces than Kaylee’s home had ever had.

He taught her to ride horses, let her play with the barn cats and the dogs that lived on the ranch. Together, the two of them saved a baby squirrel that had fallen out of his nest, nursing him back to health slowly in a little shoebox.

Kaylee had blossomed because of Bennett. Had discovered her love of animals. And had discovered she had the power to fix some of the broken things in the world.

The two of them had decided to become veterinarians together after they’d successfully saved the squirrel. And Bennett had never wavered.

He was a constant. A sure and steady port in the storm of life.

And when her feelings for him had started to shift and turn into more, she’d done her best to push them down because he was her whole world, and she didn’t want to risk that by introducing anything as volatile as romance.

She’d seen how that went. Her parents’ marriage was a reminder of just how badly all that could sour. It wasn’t enough to make her swear off men, but it was enough to make her want to keep her relationship with Bennett as it was.

But that didn’t stop the attraction.

If it were as simple as deciding not to want him, she would have done it a long time ago. And if it were as simple as being with another man, that would have worked back in high school when she had committed to finding herself a prom date and losing her virginity so she could get over Bennett Dodge already.

It had not worked. And the sex had been disappointing.

So here she was, fixating on his muscles while he helped an animal give birth.

Maybe there wasn’t a direct line between those two things, but sometimes it felt like it. If all other men could just...not be so disappointing in comparison to Bennett Dodge, things would be much easier.

She looked away from him, making herself useful. Gathering syringes, and anything she would need to clear the calf of mucus that might be blocking its airway. Bennett hadn’t said anything, likely for Dave’s benefit, but she had a feeling he was worried about the health of the heifer. That was why he needed her to see to the calf as quickly as possible, because he was afraid he would be giving treatment to its mother.

She spread a blanket out that was balled up and stuffed in the corner—unnecessary, but it was something to do. Bennett strained and gave one final pull and brought the calf down as gently as possible onto the barn floor.

There he is, Bennett said, breathing heavily. There he is.

His voice was filled with that rush of adrenaline that always came when they worked jobs like this.

She and Bennett ran the practice together, but she typically held down the fort at the clinic and saw smaller domestic animals like birds, dogs, cats and the occasional ferret.

Bennett did large animals, cows, horses, goats and sometimes llamas. They had a mobile unit for things like this.

But when push came to shove, they helped each other out.

And when push came to pulling a calf out of its mother they definitely helped.

Bennett took care of the cord and then turned his focus back to the mother.

Kaylee moved to the calf, who was glassy-eyed, and not looking very good. But she knew from her limited experience with this kind of delivery that just because they came out like this didn’t mean they wouldn’t pull through.

She checked his airway, brushing away any remaining mucus that was in the way. She put her hand back over his midsection and tried to get a feel on his heartbeat. Bennett, she said, stethoscope?

Here, he said, taking it from around his neck and flinging it her direction. She caught it and slipped the ear tips in, pressing the diaphragm against the calf, trying to get a sense of what was happening in there.

His heartbeat sounded strong, which gave her hope.

His breathing was still weak. She looked around at the various tools, trying to see something she might be able to use. Dave, she said to the man standing back against the wall. I need a straw.

A straw?

Yes. I’ve never tried this before, but I hear it works.

She had read that sticking a straw up a calf’s nose irritated the system enough that it jolted them into breathing. And she hoped that was the case.

Dave returned quickly with the item that she had requested, and Kaylee moved the straw into position. Not gently, since that would defeat the purpose.

You had to love animals to be in her line of work. And unfortunately, loving them sometimes meant hurting them.

The calf startled, then heaved, its chest rising and falling deeply, before it started to breathe quickly.

Kaylee pulled the straw out and lifted her hands. Thank God.

Bennett turned around, shifting his focus to the calf for the first time and away from the mother. Breathing?

Breathing.

He nodded, wiping his forearm over his forehead. Good. His chest pitched upward sharply. I think Mom is going to be okay too.

They stood watching for a moment as the calf stood up on shaky limbs, taking its first few tentative steps. It was all a good sign, but they had both seen enough to know that there was no such thing as out of the woods.

Give me a call, Bennett said to Dave. If you need anything, anytime of night, give me a call.

I will. I’m going to set up in here tonight.

Good. If he makes it through the night... Well, the odds will be pretty good from here.

Dave shook his head. I didn’t know how stressful all this was.

I know people don’t understand, Bennett said. How you can care so much about animals you raised for food. But I know. They’re your livelihood, and your whole life on top of it.

Dave nodded. They are.

He shook Bennett’s hand, then turned and shook Kaylee’s too. As his hand close over hers she realized what a mess she was. She looked down and saw that her skin was streaked with the aftereffects of touching the recently birthed cow. A fine accessory to go with her flirty date dress.

They collected their gear, and Kaylee followed Bennett outside.

They both looked...well, a little bit ragged.

You’re wearing a dress, he said again.

Yes, she supposed that bore paying attention to, considering her typical uniform was plaid button-up shirts and worn jeans. If she was feeling really fancy maybe a belt with some rhinestones on it.

I was on a date, Bennett, she said, articulating the Ts a bit more sharply than necessary.

Were you? he asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest and leaning against the truck.

She pushed her now-completely-tangled red hair off her face. I was.

Anyone I know? he asked, his tone overly casual.

He was asking so he could cast aspersions. It was what he did. And it rankled. He was never going to be her boyfriend. And yet he took great delight in judging every single one she’d ever had and finding them unworthy.

Depends, she said, keeping her tone sweet. Do you know Clarence the dachshund?

He arched a brow. I do not.

Well, I had a date with Clarence’s owner. And since you don’t know Clarence that doesn’t mean anything to you.

I didn’t think we dated the owners of patients, he said, frowning.

Well, that’s much easier for you, Bennett. If I eliminated every man in town with a pet then I would never be able to date. She pretty much didn’t. And actually, tonight was the first time she’d been on a date in over a year.

Bennett let out a very masculine-sounding sigh, and she ignored the slight shock wave it sent through her. Do you want to come over and have a beer?

She really, really needed to say no. She was supposed to be on a date with another man, she was definitely not supposed to end the night platonically hanging out at Bennett’s house again. It was her default. She did it too often.

She had done it all throughout his dating Olivia Logan, feeling so pointlessly jealous of everything the cute, petite woman was. Certainly everything that Kaylee wasn’t. Refined. Fine-boned. Short. Definitely able to wear giant heels around any man without towering over them. Not that she would tower over Bennett in heels.

At six-four he was definitely tall enough to stand next to her in most shoes. Which had made his association with Olivia even more irritating, since the woman was barely five foot three. That was how that always worked. Tall men with tiny women. Irritating for women like her.

But he and Olivia had broken up a few months ago when Bennett had failed to propose quickly enough for Olivia’s liking, and then, much to everyone’s shock, Olivia had gone and fallen in love with Luke Hollister, who was her polar opposite.

She was from the town’s most prominent family. She was prim. Luke was...not.

She hadn’t really been able to gauge how Bennett felt about it, and selfishly, she hadn’t really wanted to either. She was just relieved. Relieved he hadn’t married her, because even though she didn’t harbor hopes of marrying him herself, if Bennett did get married, things would change.

She didn’t want that.

I...

Bennett’s phone rang, and he fished it out of his pocket and answered it. Hello? He frowned.

Kaylee took a moment to take stock of her appearance. Her dress was rumpled now, and she was...well, she was a mess. And Bennett still wanted to have a beer with her. Well, because she was like a guy to him, really.

He would invite a guy over to have a beer even if he was dirty.

Really? Bennett sounded suddenly irritated. Or maybe, irritated wasn’t quite right. Intense. Really, he repeated. We’ll talk about it later. I’m out dealing with a calf.

He hung up the phone, and looked at Kaylee. That was Wyatt. Wyatt Dodge was Bennett’s oldest brother, and the boss at Get Out of Dodge Dude Ranch.

Really? She unconsciously parroted Bennett. What did he say?

Luke called him. Apparently, he and Olivia are having a baby.

CHAPTER TWO

BENNETT COULDN’T BEGIN to untangle the whole mess of feelings rioting around inside him like coiled-up snakes. He wasn’t in love with Olivia. He never had been. But she had been his girlfriend for a year, and he had been planning on marrying her. They’d had an arrangement that had suited them both.

It hadn’t been a love match in a conventional sense. Her father had asked for him to take care of her after a health scare, and Bennett had thought...

He’d thought she was damned near perfect. He didn’t want a passionate love affair, he wanted stability. Wanted the kind of life he could plan. Put in careful order. And Olivia had seemed to want that too.

But right toward the end, he’d been putting off proposing. He’d known what she wanted and he just...

There was part of him that worried she wanted more than he was giving. At first he’d thought she wasn’t any more in love with him than he was with her. Hell, they’d never gone past second base, at her insistence. And she’d never seemed tempted to go further. He’d respected it, respected her. Hadn’t touched anyone else the whole time they were together, because he was a man of his word.

Then, she had broken up with him over the fact he was dragging his feet, and she had gone and slept with Luke Hollister. Who Bennett would have said was about the worst bet in the entire world. If asked, Luke would probably have agreed he was a bad bet too.

But apparently, not when it came to Olivia. Because that bastard had proposed to her in record time. And apparently had gotten right on starting a family with her too.

It was what Olivia wanted. He knew. Well, not to be pregnant out of wedlock. That would bother her. He had a feeling the wedding was about to get moved way the hell up.

But a family. That was what Olivia wanted. Domestic bliss and all that.

Are you all right?

Kaylee was looking at him with wide amber-colored eyes.

At the moment she made a pretty comical sight. Wearing a dress a hell of a lot fancier than he was used to seeing on her, the delicate floral material swirling around her long, pale legs.

And her arms were streaked with afterbirth.

Her red hair was disheveled, a smudge of something across her cheek. But she was also wearing makeup.

Frankly, the dress and the makeup were a lot more out of place than the afterbirth.

Kaylee wasn’t a girly girl. She never had been. Kaylee had run with the boys from junior high on. She had been one of his best friends ever since then. The kind of friend that he called if he needed someone to help at two in the morning. The kind of friend who would leave a date—apparently—to come and help him birth a calf.

The kind of friend who knew everything about him.

Almost everything.

I’m fine, he said, lying.

But he couldn’t exactly articulate all the things this was bringing up. Because it wasn’t just Olivia. There was something else churning deep beneath the surface and he didn’t want to get into that. He knew what it was. Whenever pain pushed up against that locked door down in his soul, he knew what that pain was. Loss.

All that loss in his life.

And mistakes. Regrets. A time in his life when he hadn’t planned a damn thing, when he had lacked for control and decency, and had paid the consequences of that behavior. Consequences no one, not his family or Kaylee, knew about.

He was different now.

But that didn’t erase the past.

Do you still want that beer?

Maybe let’s take a rain check, he said. You’re covered in...

Kaylee looked down her arms and grimaced. I can shower at your place. The suggestion was casual, and there was no reason it wouldn’t be. He and Kaylee had known each other forever. Had showered in each other’s homes more than once.

For some strange reason, probably because it was late, he was tired, and feeling like his world had been thrown slightly off its axis, he had a momentary blip in his brain, just one bright pop of an image. Pale skin and water sluicing over slight curves.

He blinked heavily in the darkness. He did not think about Kaylee like that. Ever.

She wasn’t a woman. She was his friend. His business partner.

And he had more control than that.

Yeah, I think... I think I might go over to Wyatt’s.

Kaylee was clearly somewhat irritated by the fact he was rescinding his invite, but she would deal. They had spent so much time in each other’s company over the years that it was inevitable they sometimes irritated each other.

Anyway, Kaylee was great if you wanted to talk. That was one of the perks of having a woman for a friend, even one who wasn’t especially...stereotypical. She got into deeper topics and longer conversations than his brothers did. Than any of his guy friends.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to talk now. He wanted to drink. And Kaylee would want to know what he was feeling about Olivia. She liked to pick that particular scab. He wasn’t sure why. But it was something that she hadn’t been able to let go since he and Olivia had broken up.

He shouldn’t care at all about this news. Olivia deserved a man who loved her. She deserved to be in love. That kind of thing wasn’t in the cards for Bennett. It wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted a well-ordered life. He wanted one without complications, without big highs and lows. Because God knew he’d had enough.

The whole situation was tangled up, but his heart wasn’t broken. And Luke Hollister was like a brother to him. Even given the circumstances. The man was always going to be part of the Dodge family. So having to deal with Olivia was unavoidable.

Okay, Kaylee said, taking a step away from him. We’ll talk tomorrow I guess.

Thank you, he said, meaning now and for the birth. If you hadn’t been here... The baby probably wouldn’t have made it. I would’ve lost one of them.

Hey, Kaylee said. What’s a date compared to the life of a baby cow? And that’s not sarcasm. I can go out with Michael again anytime. He was very understanding.

Michael, huh?

He didn’t know Michael, and he hadn’t been able to place him when Kaylee had started talking about Clarence the dog either. He didn’t know why he couldn’t picture the guy. Gold Valley was small enough that he felt like he should know men about their age that Kaylee might date, particularly ones that owned pets and sometimes came into the clinic.

But no, he was drawing a blank.

You want to go drink, Kaylee said, waving a hand. Interrogate me some other time.

Good night, he said, getting into the truck that served as a mobile veterinary unit. He might go ahead and crash at Get Out of Dodge tonight, he mused as he pulled onto the highway, putting Kaylee and her date out of his mind.

He could get hammered and sleep in one of the cabins that were currently unoccupied on the dude ranch. They were gearing up for their grand reopening, but it hadn’t happened yet.

Wyatt was working tirelessly—and working the rest of them to the bone when they were doing their real jobs—getting it ready.

Although, his brother Grant officially didn’t have a real job anymore. His real job was the ranch. Jamie, the only girl, and youngest in the family was in the same boat as Grant and Wyatt. Bennett was the only one that hadn’t thrown himself wallet and soul into the place.

But it wasn’t as simple as that for him. Veterinary medicine was his passion. He hadn’t gone to school for all those years so that he could quit when his brother decided on a whim to stop flinging himself around on the back of angry bulls and focus on the homestead for the first time in fifteen years.

For as long as Bennett could remember, he’d liked to fix things. That need had only grown stronger after the death of his mother.

And stronger still later on.

He could have been a doctor, but he truly hadn’t been able to face the idea of working on people and losing them. He lost enough people in his life. But having such a comprehensive veterinary practice in Logan County kept himself and Kaylee fully occupied. Being able to go into business with his best friend was a privilege.

The two of them had talked about doing that from the time they were kids. Usually when you made a pact with dirt and spit and a handshake underneath an oak tree when you were thirteen years old you didn’t keep it.

But he and Kaylee Capshaw had.

She was the truest and most constant person in his world. His friend, his partner. Always. From the moment he’d met her when they’d been in seventh grade. She was new to school, and looked lost, but defiant right along with it. And he couldn’t help but be intrigued by the redhead with a thousand freckles who didn’t talk to anyone for the first half of the day.

Something in her reminded him of his own losses. The way it felt to feel like you were walking through a room of people all alone.

So at lunch he’d sat down and introduced himself.

She hadn’t been friendly at all. Not until he’d asked if she liked horses, and if she’d like to come over to his ranch sometime and see them.

That had made her smile. And something about her smile had felt so damned good. He’d wanted to keep on making her smile.

She hadn’t been smiling when she’d left the ranch just now.

He pushed away the guilt at not having her come over as he turned into the driveway that led up to his brother’s ranch. Well, the family ranch, really.