LITMIR.BIZ

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was still feeling strange about a man she barely knew. The last thing she needed was her dad or either of her brothers sensing something was off about her and digging until they found out what it was.

      She glanced at herself in the rearview mirror. “Stop being an idiot.”

      Even though she told herself to stop thinking about Wyatt, her thoughts kept going back to that grin of his, the one he shot in her direction despite the pain he was experiencing. She’d seen his type before, tough as thick leather and used to charming the pants right off a gal. Well, she wasn’t a buckle bunny happy to draw a cowboy’s attention. If she wanted a cowboy, she didn’t have to wait for one to stroll into town, or be wheeled into her ER. This was Texas, after all. Cowboys were a dime a dozen, even without the regular rodeos bringing them to Blue Falls.

      It was a ten-mile drive out to her family’s ranch, and she told herself that she could think about Wyatt and his grin until she pulled into the driveway. Then she needed to leave those memories behind. Her thoughts wandered back to how he’d flirted with her in the ER, the fine cut of his chest and abdomen that she’d noticed despite his injuries, the way his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled. Though she’d never seen him standing, she imagined he was one of those guys who had a sexy saunter, the kind that made women think losing their pants might not be such a bad idea.

      The moment the entrance to the ranch came into view, she forced thoughts of Wyatt Kelley from her mind, replacing them with anything she could think of—the acreage of the ranch, the book she was reading, trying to remember the names of all the women her brother Owen had dated. That last one took long enough that she was parking next to the house by the time she ran out of names.

      Once inside, she changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, then mixed up a batch of cornbread muffins to go with the roast she’d put in the Crock-Pot that morning. The delicious smells filling the kitchen reminded her of Henry’s complaints about his hospital food, which of course led her to wondering if Wyatt hated it, too. Or was he so used to eating junk on the road that hospital meals were actually a step up?

      Damn it, here she was thinking about him again.

      The back door opening caused her to jump, but thankfully her dad and brothers didn’t notice as they hung their hats on the rack by the door and slipped off their dirty boots.

      “That sure smells good,” her dad said as he crossed to the refrigerator and pulled out a cold root beer, his favorite drink. He downed about half the bottle in one go, following it with a satisfied smack of his lips. “How was your day?”

      “Fine, long. Henry Stillwater’s in the hospital again.”

      Garrett, her older brother, walked to the kitchen island and nabbed a couple of the white chocolate-covered pretzels she’d been snacking on. “That old coot is in the hospital so much, I’m beginning to think he has a crush on you.”

      Chloe snorted. “More like he should stop smoking, but I’d be less surprised if UT decided to get rid of their football team.”

      Owen, her younger brother, snatched the pretzel bag from Garrett. “So, did that bull rider survive last night?”

      A momentary flare of panic hit her right in the chest, fear that he’d somehow found out about her attraction to Wyatt. But unless Owen had suddenly developed the ability to read minds, there was no way he could know. Unless one of the nurses made some comment about her flirting in the ER.

      “Yeah. Dr. Pierce had to sew him up, but he’ll make it.”

      “Huh. I thought he might be a goner after what that bull did to him.”

      Chloe didn’t want to encourage her brother to share any gory details so she turned to the Crock-Pot and started dishing up bowls of roast.

      While her family ate dinner, as they had countless times before, Chloe found it hard to pay attention to what her dad and brothers were saying. She kept thinking about how close Wyatt had come to dying. She might not know him beyond a few minutes of conversation, but the idea that his life might have been snuffed out the night before bothered her. Really bothered her.

      Of course it did. She was a doctor, charged with saving lives.

      Even the lives of ridiculously good-looking cowboys.

      “Earth to Chloe,” Owen said as he waved a hand in front of her face.

      “What? Sorry.”

      “How are things in la-la land?”

      She swatted his hand away. “I’m just tired. Didn’t sleep well last night.”

      Normally, sleeping like a log wasn’t a problem, especially on days when she worked a twelve-hour shift. But for some reason, she’d woken up several times the night before. She’d gotten the sense she’d been dreaming a lot, but she couldn’t remember about what. Now she wondered if it might have been about a certain injured bull rider.

      “I think I’m going to turn in early if someone else can handle the dishes.”

      “Go on,” Garrett said. “I’ll get them.”

      She gave him a tired smile. “Thanks.”

      “Good, because I got a hot date,” Owen said as he scooted away from the table.

      “You always have a hot date,” Garrett said.

      “You should try it sometime, big brother.”

      Not really in the mood to talk about her brothers’ dating lives or lack thereof, Chloe headed to the bathroom. After a quick shower to wash away the day, she trudged into her bedroom and climbed into bed. But despite the fact that she really was tired, sleep seemed far away as she stared out the window at the sliver of moon.

      The tug of loneliness made a reappearance, as it had several times recently. It didn’t make much sense considering she was around people all day long and still lived at home with her family. When she’d first started feeling as if something was missing a couple of weeks earlier, she’d wondered if for some reason she’d started missing her mother again. Honestly, she missed her mom every day if she thought about it, despite the fact it’d been more than twenty years since her death.

      But as she thought about that loss now, it didn’t seem to match the empty spot that had opened up inside Chloe. Not knowing how to tackle the unfamiliar and unwanted feeling proved frustrating. She was the type of person who saw a problem or obstacle and faced it head-on. But how did you do that if you couldn’t identify the culprit?

      She listened to the movements of her dad and brother downstairs, and it hit her that they were every bit as alone as she was. Only Owen had an active love life, but even he showed no signs of getting serious with anyone.

      Chloe laid the back of her hand against her forehead and searched for the moment when she’d first noticed the emptiness. She realized after several minutes that it had been shortly after her friend Linnea had announced her engagement and started planning her dream wedding. Is that what Chloe wanted—the big wedding, the happily ever after?

      Of course she did. So did most women. But it had always been a “someday” sort of thing. It seemed as if someday were catching up with her, but getting married and having a family of her own wasn’t as simple as it sounded, either. You couldn’t just go shopping for a husband like you could a new car. Not to mention that her schedule was always crazy busy between working at the clinic and hospital and helping out her family.

      Still, she couldn’t dispel that line of thought as she tried to force herself to go to sleep. Her mind began to manufacture scenes as she started to drift, scenes of her with her own house, a big yard where two small children laughed and played. She looked toward a barn in the distance, saw someone walk out of it and head toward her. Her heart leaped and the excitement of anticipation rushed through her. As the man drew closer, the thought that he was her husband, the love of her life, settled comfortably within her.

      When he came near enough for her to see his face, she smiled. Wyatt didn’t stop until he pulled her into his arms and

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