Cooking For Cowboy (Stampede Sizzlers) (13 page)

Sierra reddened clear up to her hairline. “I’m so sorry you heard that. Sometimes my temper gets the best of me.”

Mrs. Parker laughed heartily, reached out and patted Sierra’s hand. “Let’s finish our lunch and not dwell on that unfortunate incident. And thank you once again for your swift action, dear. I won’t forget this.”

“Maybe we should order dessert after all,” suggested Sierra, smiling. “Something sweet sounds really good right now.”

* * *

Chad pulled his pickup into his spot against the picket fence near the old spruce tree that his great-great-grandfather planted the year he bought the ranch. He climbed out of the vehicle, strode around to the passenger side, and grabbed two bags of groceries off the front seat. He kicked the door closed with his boot and stopped beside his truck for a moment before heading toward the house.

He noticed the ranch’s minivan was parked in front of one of the garage doors. Sierra and his mom were home.

He’d reluctantly asked Sierra to drive his mom to her doctor’s appointment. He hadn’t a choice. But his mom had disliked Sierra the second he’d introduced them. Sierra had been a good sport about it, taking into account his mother’s reluctance to accept being confined to a wheelchair. But even the nicest person extended compassion only for so long before it started to wear thin.

His mom had become self-indulgent to the point that words were slung like arrows intent on wounding the person on the receiving end. He cringed at the mean-spirited, hurtful words she uttered daily that no amount of apologies could undo. His mother’s personality seemed to have deteriorated in direct proportion to the ravages her body endured from MS over the years.

Would there be bloodshed?
Please let them both be alive
, he silently prayed as he strode around the corner of the house and climbed the stairs to the deck doors. He balanced one grocery bag against the jamb, yanked open the door, and tentatively stepped inside.

He immediately noticed his mom and Sierra seated at the wooden kitchen table, heads together, laughing uproariously. A dozen or more photo albums were strewn across the table in front of them. He stood, speechless; his brain was unable to register the scene before him.

“Chad actually said that?” Sierra wiped the tears from her eyes.

“I swear he did.” His mom shook her head, wiping the tears of laughter from her own eyes. “Four years old and he had no idea what it meant. He’d heard one of the ranch hands saying it, and he innocently repeated it a couple of times before his father and I recovered enough from our shock to forbid him to repeat it.”

Chad’s jaw fell and he almost dropped his purchases on the floor. What the hell had happened today? “Mom?”

His mother turned and faced him. “Oh, you’re home, dear.”

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” He still couldn’t fathom what he was seeing. Had he stepped into the wrong house?

“I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?” he asked, incredulously. His mother hadn’t sounded so cheerful in months.

“Of course, I’m sure.”

“What are you doing? Why were you laughing?” Chad shook his head. It appeared they’d become friends in the past few hours. How could that be? Since arriving home from the hospital, his mom had barely tolerated the sight of Sierra. And Sierra had almost chewed his head off this morning when he asked her to drive his mom to her doctor’s appointment. Maybe he was being punked by that Ashton guy, and he’d jump out from somewhere with a camera any second.

“Just sharing with Sierra the day you discovered the ‘f’ word.” His mother beamed. “Oh, I remember it like it was yesterday.”

“By ‘f’ word, I assume you don’t mean ‘father’.” He smiled at them.

“Very funny, son.” His mom leaned back in her chair. “By the way, I cannot thank you enough for suggesting Sierra drive me to my doctor’s appointment and lunch date today. This lovely young lady actually saved my life.”

“What?” asked Chad, setting the groceries down on the counter before he dropped them. Had he heard her right? This just kept getting stranger by the minute.

“I choked on a piece of chicken from my salad, and Sierra performed that Heimlich thing on me while I was busy turning blue. Cathy was useless, and she showed her true colors with a rather shocking outburst when I threw up all over her silk blouse.” She smiled adoringly at Sierra. “This young lady was an absolute life saver today.”

“Oh, my God. Are you okay, Mom?” Chad slumped into the chair beside Sierra.

“Yes, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” His mom leaned over and patted his arm.

Chad noticed Sierra’s expression had changed while he was talking with his mother. Was she embarrassed about last night? She’d been really pissed off when he’d asked her to drive his mom into Calgary. Was she still angry with him about that? “What Mom just said? Is that true?”

“I only did what anyone would do. She was choking. I dislodged the obstruction. No big deal.” Sierra played with a strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail without meeting his eyes.

“No big deal my foot, young lady.” His mom reached over and patted Sierra’s hand. “If you weren’t there…I’d hate to think of what might have happened to me.”

“I’m just happy it all turned out well for you.” Sierra smiled.

Chad gaped. Sierra actually smiled at his mother. All because she’d dislodged a piece of chicken when his mom had choked during lunch. At the right place, at the right time. And then the reality of what had happened hit him. Sierra had saved his mother’s life. He felt himself pale. He could have returned home from his meeting with the banker and discovered a police officer waiting for him, waiting to relate the sad news of his mother’s unfortunate passing. Bile rose into his mouth. He swallowed hard.

My God! How would he ever thank Sierra?

“So, how did the meeting with the banker go, darling?” asked his mom. “Anything new transpire? Or just the same old things: signature required for overdraft coverage on our accounts and investment renewal instructions to be determined?”

His mother’s questions drew him out of his thoughts. “Yep. Pretty much what you’d expect. The guy provided me with a few new investment options to consider. Introduced me to the new assistant manager who just transferred to our branch,” he reported.

Sierra rose to her feet. “Thank you for picking up these groceries for me, Chad. I’ll put them away and then I’ll serve supper. It’s all ready I have to just…”

“Nonsense,” interjected his mom. “Chad, this young lady deserves a reward for saving your dear mother’s life today. You should take her out to dinner tonight.”

“What?” asked Chad.

Sierra’s mouth dropped open when Mrs. Parker winked at her. “Really, ma’am, that isn’t necessary,” she protested.

“Of course, it is,” insisted his mom. “Now run and change, you two, while I make a reservation for you at a nice restaurant.”

“Not Romeo’s!” warned Sierra.

“Okay, I can’t remember the name, but I’ll have Celia call that new steakhouse downtown we liked so much,” she stated, beaming. “Stampede starts tomorrow, but hopefully I can get you a reservation even at this short notice.”

“Why don’t you come with us?” suggested Sierra.

“No, I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day. I’ll have supper with Celia and Charlie as usual.”

“Whatever you think is best, Mom,” said Chad.

He turned to Sierra, giving her his hundred-watt smile. “See you in a half hour, Sierra. I’m looking forward to dinner with you.” Man, was he ever. This would be his chance to make amends for last night. And to thank Sierra for her heroic actions today. He couldn’t think of a more pleasant way to spend the evening. Well, yes, he could. But that probably wouldn’t happen again. At least, not for awhile.

“Hurry up, dear.” Chad’s mom waved Sierra toward her bedroom. “You don’t want to be late.”

Sierra stood gaping.

Chad grinned, stepped around her, and headed down the hallway.

Chapter 11

Sierra escaped to the safety of her bedroom. Not only did she not care if she was late, her head pounded with a full-blown headache, and her mind swirled with a dozen excuses to just stay home. How was she going to survive an entire evening with the cowboy she’d almost made love with on his mother’s dining room table? And making matters even worse…the guy was her boss!

In preparation for a normal date her first thought would be, what am I going to wear? She’d brought a whole closet full of clothes with her, in anticipation of several job interviews. Her wardrobe wasn’t the issue. Chad Parker was the issue.

The handsome, wealthy cowboy she’d only known a short time was the issue.

Dying for another kiss was the issue.

She’d never survive dinner. And what would happen afterward?

This date couldn’t happen. Period.

She charged across the hallway, knocked on Chad’s bedroom door, and listened for permission to enter.

Silence.

She knocked again, louder.

Nothing.

She tried the door handle and it turned in her hand. She cracked the door open and peered inside. “Chad, are you in here? I need to talk to you for a second.”

“Come in,” called the familiar male voice.

Sierra slipped inside and closed the door. A small squeak escaped her lips when Chad sauntered out of his en suite and stood dripping wet, hands on hips, wearing nothing but a towel around his middle. “What did you want to discuss with me?” he asked, confusion evident on his face.

He probably was wondering what she was doing in his room. She questioned the wisdom of it herself. Maybe she should have just texted him. “I...I…we…” she stammered. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what she’d wanted to say. She should look away. But her eyes were glued to his muscular upper body while her mind imagined what was hidden behind that towel.

“Do you need more time to get ready? I won’t hold you to the half hour. If you…”

“No,” she interrupted. Her heart ricocheted about in her chest like a pinball in an arcade machine. Why did he have to look so enticing in that damn towel?
Lead us not into temptation
…but what a way to go.

“No, what?” he tipped his head, waiting for her answer.

“This is a bad idea on so many levels. We shouldn’t go out to dinner together. It would feel like…like a date.” She swallowed hard. The angel on her shoulder insisted she shouldn’t be dating the boss. The devil on her other shoulder asked, why the hell not?

“It
is
a date. A date for dinner. I’m not sweeping you off to a secret location to elope. It’s just dinner.” Chad’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she accused, noticing how the towel protruded in front. While she stood here making a total fool of herself, he was enjoying her discomfort and becoming aroused to boot. She waved her hand in his direction. “Don’t you have a robe or something? I’m so embarrassed about last night that…”

“Nothing happened.” Chad dragged his hand through his glistening hair. “Well, a lot of ‘almost’ happened, but we stopped before...”

“Yes, well, thank goodness for that.” Sierra blew out her breath. Why did she want a guy who infuriated her as often as he aroused her? Nothing about her attraction to the guy made sense.

“You have no idea.” Chad flopped onto the bed and met her eyes. “Mom rolled her wheelchair into the dining room about two minutes after you left.”

“Oh, my, God!” Sierra’s knees weakened, and she collapsed onto the bed beside him. Her stomach flip-flopped, bile rising. The pain behind her eyes intensified. Could this situation get much worse? She should just hide in her room for the rest of forever. “Do you think she heard us?”

“No, I don’t think so. She would have said something if she had. And nothing good either. I would have gotten the speech about what gentlemen my father and grandfather were. Making love on the dining room table would definitely not qualify as gentlemanly behavior in Mom’s eyes.” Chad grinned and reached for her. “Making love in the privacy of my bedroom though...”

Sierra leapt off the bed and fisted her hands. “No, no, no. We are not doing anything. Your mother expects me to be dressed for a date with you in…” She looked at her watch. “Oh, Lord. Twenty minutes.”

“Better hurry up then.” Chad stood and casually dropped the towel as he strode toward his closet. “I’ll be ready on time.”

Sierra gasped. Warmth rushed through her body and she felt herself moisten. Chad Parker owned the most delectable set of buns she’d ever seen. Well, buns on a man. Her to-die-for cinnamon buns were a favorite with all the cowboys. She caught a glimpse of his erection in the mirrored door before she reluctantly turned and strode out of his room. She couldn’t remain there a second longer, or she would have grabbed him and tossed him onto the bed. They’d definitely never have made it out to dinner.

She charged into her bedroom across the hall and headed for the en suite. A hot shower would do nothing for her inflamed body, but the steam might ease her pounding headache. She stripped her clothes off and turned the knobs on.

“My new floral sundress, strappy tan sandals, hair up in a slightly messy do, minimal makeup, and diamond studs.” She recited what she’d wear while she shampooed and scrubbed herself with scented body wash. “Am I missing anything? Purse, cell phone and lip gloss. I can do this.”

She toweled off, blow dried her hair, and dressed in record time. After applying minimal makeup—the bruise and scrapes had almost totally faded—she spritzed her favorite scent between her breasts and down both arms. The salesgirl who talked her into the sinfully-named, outrageously-priced cologne guaranteed her it would drive her dates crazy. Chad Parker would definitely remember this evening.

Twenty-three minutes later, Sierra strolled down the hallway and discovered Bonnie and Chad in the reading room. Chad wore a white shirt left open at the neck, black jeans that fit in all the right places, a pair of exquisite snakeskin-patterned cowboy boots, and a pale gray suit jacket.

Holy cow, he looked handsome!