The Doctor Wore Boots. Debra Webb
had wrought such devastation for European countries. Was Ty trying to increase the reach of his own ranch’s production? That sounded reasonable to Dex. He’d have to ask Ty about that or risk making a wrong step.
“I’d like to go to Chicago sometime,” Leanne said wistfully, drawing Dex’s attention in her direction. She huffed, her gaze steady on the endless ribbon of blacktop that lay before them. “I’ve never even been out of the state. I don’t know why I’m fretting over Chicago. I doubt I’ll ever be going there.”
Dex looked at her then, really looked at her. She was quite attractive. She wore no makeup as far as he could tell, but she didn’t need any. She looked vibrant, healthy. That notion sent the corners of his mouth tilting upward for some reason he couldn’t understand. She was nothing like the women he knew. Oh, and young. He almost asked her age, but caught himself just in time. Ty would know how old she was. Young, that was certain. Too damned young.
“You should go sometime,” he suggested. “Life is short, make the most of it.”
“I don’t see that happening,” she said regretfully. Her gaze locked onto his as she slowed to make a right turn onto a gravel road. In that infinitesimal moment something electric passed between them. Startled, she looked away.
Startled himself, Dex gave his head a little shake. What the hell was that? He was disoriented, that’s all. He’d be fine as soon as he—
As soon as he what? There was no way he was going to be fine. He was in the middle of nowhere with strangers. Worst of all he was pretending to be someone he’d only just met.
This whole idea had sounded much more doable before he’d sobered up.
Miles of nothing stretched before him as well as behind him. In the time since they’d left the city of Bozeman, they had encountered highway and mountains, nothing more.
A blue sky, fading slowly into dusk, looked almost low enough to touch. Dex couldn’t recall ever feeling this close to the heavens before. He scrubbed a hand over his face. The disorientation was clearly turning to delusions. This was bad. Very bad.
She turned right again, this time onto a long winding dirt road. The sun barely hovered above the mountaintops in the distance. Acres and acres of fenced pasture yawned on either side of the rough road. Cattle grazed serenely on the lush carpet of green grass.
Around the next bend in the road, a sight that Dex would not soon forget appeared before him. A two-story sprawling ranch house stood against the breathtaking backdrop of majestic mountain ranges. A barn right off the pages of a New England calendar lay in the distance, as did other not-readily-identifiable structures. A corral he recognized from its circular design encompassed a large area near the barn. His gaze shifted back to the house. It was the house that held the place of honor among nature’s and man’s embellishments. With the authenticity of a perfect reproduction from the set of an old black-and-white Western movie, the house looked homey, inviting.
“Home sweet home,” he murmured as his heart rate increased, sending adrenaline surging through his veins.
“Yessiree Bob,” Leanne agreed.
She smiled, a gesture that sent a spear of heat straight through him. Were all the women out here so innocent-looking and apparently sweet?
“Come on, they’ll be waiting.”
She got out, skirted the hood and reached in back for his bag before he had the presence of mind to react.
Dex wrenched the door open and all but fell out of the truck. “I’ll get that,” he insisted, grappling for his equilibrium and at the same time reaching for the heavy duffel. She was certainly stronger than she looked.
“Gran fixed your favorite for supper,” she told him with another of those wide, sincere smiles.
He nodded, but hoped to God he could bow out of dinner, er, supper. He wasn’t ready to play Ty Cooper to a larger audience just yet. And he didn’t have a clue what Ty’s favorite meal was supposed to be. Surely the Coopers would understand that he was exhausted after his trip and required an early retirement this evening.
Dex followed Leanne up the steps to the wooden porch that spanned the front of the house. A low growl froze him in his tracks. His eyes widened when his gaze sought and found the source of the sound. A dog. A large, rather fierce-looking animal that appeared poised to lunge at him. Dex had no experience with dogs to call upon. Grandmother Montgomery had allergies. Pets had never been allowed in the Montgomery residence.
“Lady,” Leanne scolded. “Why would you growl at Ty? Just because he took a trip without you?” she said in that child-like tone adults took when speaking affectionately to children or animals. “He’s only been gone a week. Now you be a good girl. You know better than to misbehave.” She scratched the big animal, which Dex now recognized as a golden retriever, behind the ears.
“You should recognize me, Lady,” he put in when Leanne looked up at him as if she expected some sort of reaction. He certainly wasn’t about to reach down and touch the animal.
Leanne gave Lady’s head one final pat. The dog lumbered away, then dropped onto the porch as if too tired or disgusted to pursue the situation further.
“Looks like you’re not the only one feeling out of sorts this evening.”
Dex feigned a laugh. “Jet lag,” he repeated.
Leanne stared at him for one long moment. “Yeah. Maybe I don’t want to go to Chicago if flying is that tough on you.” She opened the front door and entered the house as if she lived there.
No locked door. No knock first. Dex would have been appalled at the Coopers’ lack of security measures had his heart not been pounding like a drum in his chest. He had to find a way out of this. He would never fool these people.
“We’re here!” Leanne shouted as she wandered down the hall.
“Welcome home!”
Dex jerked to an abrupt stop in the middle of the hall. The duffel thunked to the hardwood floor. What looked like a dozen people, of varying sizes and ages, all beaming smiles, and heading for him, crowded into the entry hall. A big banner reading Welcome Home! draped from one wall to the other. One would think that Ty had been gone for months.
An older woman, her gray hair in a tight bun, her hazel eyes shining with emotion, threw her arms around him first. “It’s good to have you back home, son.”
His Grandmother Cooper.
Dex opened his mouth to speak but no words formed. He felt suddenly overwhelmed with unfamiliar emotions as those slim, frail arms tightened around him.
A strong hand clapped him on the back even before the older woman released him. “Take that hat off, young man.”
Dex turned to greet the man who’d spoken. Tall, slim, thinning gray hair, brown eyes. Dex dragged the hat from his head and dropped it on a nearby table. “Pa,” he offered, the single-syllable word steeped in too many emotions to sort. This was his mother’s father.
The older man slung an arm around his shoulder and started down the hall, Dex in tow. “Come on, boy, supper’s waiting.” He paused and beamed a proud smile in Dex’s direction. “We’re glad you’re home, son.”
Everyone started talking at once then. Dex lost track of the number of times his journey was halted so that he could be hugged and welcomed home. His Grandmother Cooper insisted that Leanne stay for supper. For some reason he couldn’t begin to understand, he was glad she agreed to stay. He’d analyze that bit of irony later.
Right now it took all his powers of concentration to watch his step. Especially since three small children all but clung to his legs as he followed the crowd into the dining room. He felt certain his back would be bruised considering all the hearty poundings he’d taken from the male Coopers. For these people, outward displays of affection were apparently a way of life.
The dining table was long, like the one