Free A Cold Creek Noel (The Cowboys of Cold Creek) by RaeAnne Thayne Page B

so. We cleared his lungs. If he has any more
breathing trouble, we’re going to want to x-ray to see if something else is
going on. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stick around a little longer to make
sure he remains stable.”
    “Can I get you something? Coffee probably isn’t a good idea at
three-thirty in the morning if you want to catch a few hours of sleep when we’re
done here, but we have tea or hot cocoa.”
    “Cocoa would be good.”
    He didn’t want to think about how comfortable, almost intimate,
it was to sit here in this quiet kitchen while the snow fluttered softly against
the window and the big log house creaked and settled around them. Only a few
moments later, she returned with a couple of mugs of hot chocolate.
    “It’s from a mix. I thought that would be faster.”
    “Mix is fine,” he answered. “It’s all I’m used to anyway.”
    He took a sip and almost sighed with delight at the rich mix of
chocolate and raspberry. “That’s not any old mix.”
    She smiled. “No. I buy from a gourmet food store in Jackson
Hole. It’s imported from France.”
    He sipped again, letting the sensuous flavors mix on his
tongue. Worth an interrupted night’s sleep, just for a little of that divine hot
chocolate.
    She sat across the table from him and he couldn’t help noticing
how the loose neckline of her shirt gaped a little with each breath.
    “So how is the house working out?”
    “Fine, so far. But then, I haven’t even had one full night’s
sleep in it.” And what little sleep he had enjoyed
had been tormented by futile dreams of something he couldn’t have.
    “I’m sorry again about that, especially considering you had to
stay the night with Luke last night.”
    He shrugged. “Don’t be sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just
part of my life, something I’m very used to. I often get emergency calls.”
    Even without the work-related sleep disruptions, his sleep was
frequently restless. “The house works well. The kids are happy to have a little
more room and Mrs. Michaels is over the moon to have a kitchen again. She made
her famous macaroni and cheese for dinner. You’ll have to try it sometime. It’s
as much a gourmet treat as your hot chocolate. I have to admit, I’ve missed her
cooking.”
    “You must feel very lucky that she was willing to come with you
from California.”
    “Lucky doesn’t begin to describe the half of it. I would be
completely lost without her. Since Brooke—my wife—died, Anne has kept us all
going.”
    “Of all the places you could have bought a practice, why did
you pick Pine Gulch?” She seemed genuinely interested and he leaned back in his
chair, sipping at his drink, enjoying the quiet conversation more than he
probably should.
    “Doc Harris and I have known each other since before I
graduated from veterinary school. We met at a conference and had kept up an
email correspondence. When he told me he was retiring and wanted to sell his
practice, it seemed the perfect opportunity. I had...reasons for wanting to
leave California.”
    She didn’t press him, though he could see the curiosity in her
eyes. He wanted to tell her. He wasn’t sure why—perhaps the quiet peace of the
kitchen or the way she had looked at him with such admiration after the
thoracentesis. Or maybe just because he hadn’t talked about it with anyone, not
even Mrs. Michaels.
    “My wife has been gone for two years now and I think the kids
and I both needed a new start, you know? Away from all the old patterns and
relationships. The familiar can sometimes carry its own burdens.”
    “I can understand that. I’ve had plenty of moments when I just
want to pick up and start over.”
    What would she want to run from? he wondered. He had a feeling
there was far more beneath the surface of Caidy Bowman than a beautiful cowgirl
who loved animals and her family.
    “So you just packed everybody up and headed to the mountains of
Idaho?”
    “Something like that.”
    She sipped at