Jazzy gazed at Brooks in stunned silence. Had he asked her to do what she thought heâd asked her to do?
âI asked you to marry me. I know you think Iâm absolutely crazy.â
âNoâ¦â she started and didnât know quite how to finish or where to go from there.
âThis isnât a joke, Jazzy. Iâm not out of my mind. Really. But I need to solve this problem with my father. The only way heâs going to let me in on the practice, the only way heâs going to rest and stop wearing himself down, is if Iâm really settled. I have to give him what he wants.â
âI donât understand,â she said very quietly.
âHe wants me to have a wife, so I need a wife. The way weâve worked together the past week, I just know youâd be perfect.â
âSo you really do want me to marry you?â
âIt wouldnât be a real marriage.â
When he said those words, she found herself amazingly disappointed. How stupid was that?
* * *
MONTANA MAVERICKS: RUST CREEK COWBOYS Better saddle up. Itâs going to be a bumpy ride!
To my family and friends who love animals as much as
I doâmy husband Steve, my son Ken, Suzanne, Sydney, Liz, Jane, Ryan, Heather, Abby, Sophie, Chris. Special thanks to my pet sitter, Barb, whose expertise allows me to leave home with a free heart.
Chapter One
Brooks Smith rapped firmly on the ranch-house door, scanning the all-too-familiar property in the dusk.
His dad didnât answer right away, and Brooks thought about going around back to the veterinary clinic, but then he heard footsteps and waited, bracing himself for this conversation.
After his father opened the door, he looked Brooks over, from the beard stubble that seemed to be ever present since the flood to his mud-covered boots. Tending to large animals required trekking through fields sometimes.
âYou donât usually come calling on a Tuesday night. Run into a problem you need me for?â
Barrett Smith was a barrel-chested man with gray hair and ruddy cheeks. At six-two, Brooks topped him by a couple of inches. The elder Smith had put on another ten pounds over the past year, and Brooks realized he should have been concerned about that before today.
There was challenge in his dadâs tone as there had been since theyâd parted ways. But as a doctor with four years of practice under his belt, Brooks didnât ask for his dadâs advice on animal care or frankly anything else these days.
âCan I come in?â
âSure.â
Brooks entered the living room where heâd played as a child. The Navajo rugs were worn now, the floor scuffed.
âI only have a few minutes,â his father warned him. âI havenât fed the horses yet.â
âIâll get straight to the point, then.â Brooks swiped off his Stetson and ran his hand through his hair, knowing this conversation was going to get sticky. âI ran into Charlie Hartzell at the General Store.â
His father avoided his gaze. âSo?â
âHe told me that when he stopped by over the weekend, you werenât doing too well.â
âI donât know what heâs talking about,â his dad muttered, not meeting Brooksâs eyes.
âHe said you carried a pail of oats to the barn and you were looking winded and pale. You dropped the bucket and almost passed out.â
âAnybody can have an accident. After I drank a little water, I was fine.â
Not so true according to Charlie, Brooks thought. His dadâs longtime friend had stayed another hour to make sure Barrett wasnât going to keel over.
âYouâre working too hard,â Brooks insisted. âIf youâd let me take over the practice, you could retire, take care of the horses in the barn and help out as you want.â
âNothing has changed,â Barrett said angrily. âYou still show no sign of settling down.â
This was an old argument, one that had started after Lynnette had broken their engagement right before Brooks had earned his degree in veterinary medicine from Colorado State. That long-ago night, his father had wanted to discuss it with him, but with Brooksâs pride stinging, heâd asked his dad to drop it. Barrett hadnât. Frustrated, his father had blown his top, which wasnât unusual. What was unusual was his warning and threatâheâd never retire and turn his practice over to Brooks until his son found a woman who would stick by him and build a house on the land his grandmother had left him.