My Cowboy of Convenience by Allie Bock

Author:Allie Bock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Western romance, cowboy romance, Clean and wholesome, contemporary western fiction, fake dating, off-limits, equestrian fiction, small town romance, veterinarian, veterinary medicine
Publisher: Allie Bock
Published: 2023-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Kaleb

I slammed the post-hole digger into the earth, breaking off a chunk of dirt. My muscles strained as I lifted the chunk out of the two-foot hole and tossed it to the side. Sweat ran down my back and my t-shirt clung to me.

“What are you doing?” Katie said from behind me.

“I’m digging a hole.” I leaned on the post-hole digger, wiping the sweat from my brow.

“The question is why?” She placed her hands on her hips. The long skirt she wore swung from side to side.

I shrugged. I didn’t want to examine that too closely.

“Don’t you have the equipment and men to do that? You wouldn’t even have to break a sweat.”

“I need the exercise,” I grumbled.

“Sure.” Her eyebrows raised as her gaze swept over me. “Big brother, you don’t have an ounce of fat on you.”

I rolled my eyes skyward. “Katie, what do you want?”

She laughed. “I heard that Cody is back in town.”

I sighed. “Katie, just tell me what you want.” I turned back to the hole.

“Can’t a girl be worried about her big brother?”

My muscles tensed. “Why?”

“Well, last time Cody was in town he took off with your girlfriend.” Her words hung in the space between us.

I slammed the post-hole digger into the dirt. “That was a long time ago and I don’t have a girlfriend now.”

Her hand rested gently between my shoulder blades. “Yes, but I suspect the wound hasn’t healed.”

Her hand fell away when I didn’t say anything. I kept my back to her.

She sighed. “You worry about all of us and try to fix things for us. But no one is able to help you unless you let them.”

The muscles in my shoulders bunched and I stared down into the hole.

“If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me.” She turned on her heel. Her footsteps receding.

I scooped up a shovelful of dirt and threw it to the side. I slammed the digger back into the hole, sinking it into the soft dirt. Leaning on the handle, I closed my eyes. The scene from five years ago replayed in my mind. My first serious girlfriend, Danielle, left me when I quit medical school to come home and ranch. That was my first experience with fickle women. Then, I found Hayley. I thought she was going to be the one. She was perfect. Until we ran into Cody one night at a local rodeo. By the end of the night, she was laughing and hanging on to his every word. I never heard from either one since. That was the night I swore off women. They either wanted my money or my ranch. They hung around until someone better came around.

I pulled the post-hole digger up and deposited the dirt on the pile. Repeating the action, the dirt pile grew bigger as the hole went deeper. The rhythmic movements lulled me into a meditative state. At last, the hole was as deep as was needed. I placed the digger on the ground.

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