Calico Cupid Read online

  Calico Cupid

  Quinn Valley Ranch Book 22

  Kay P. Dawson

  Contents

  Thank You

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Kay P. Dawson

  Thank You

  Thank you for purchasing Calico Cupid - I hope you enjoy Travis and Caroline’s story!

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  Dedicated to all of my readers who’ve offered so much support. I couldn’t do this without you.

  Chapter One

  “We’re excited to welcome you to the Quinn’s Accounting family. Our office is small compared to city standards, but we have more work than we can handle, so having another set of hands will make things so much easier on us.”

  Caroline MacGregor smiled at the kind woman who was showing her around the office building where she’d now be working in Quinn Valley. Irene Quinn owned the accounting firm with her husband Harold, and over the past few weeks they’d spoken on the phone and through email, Caroline already felt completely at ease with the couple.

  “Well, I’m excited to finally be here. I’m grateful for the chance you took in hiring me without meeting me in person first. I was hoping to have a bit of an adventure away from where I grew up in Florida, and this was the perfect opportunity for me.”

  Harold put his arm casually over his wife’s shoulders and smiled down at her. Caroline could feel the genuine love emanating from the couple and she felt a sudden twinge of pain in her chest. She’d always hoped she might have that someday but had doubts it was attainable for most people.

  “We aren’t getting any younger. Someday, we’d like to maybe travel or enjoy our retirement. However, even with five children, we always thought at least one would come to work here, but we were beginning to think there’d never be anyone interested in working the business with us. Our kids all chose careers as far away from accounting as they could possibly get.” He shook his head sadly, but the grin on his face gave away his true feelings. “They’re such disappointments.”

  Irene slapped him gently on the chest and rolled her eyes in Caroline’s direction. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just sore because all our children seem to find themselves in the medical profession in some way or another. But we’re proud of every single one of them, even if they hate everything about accounting.”

  “You have five children?” Caroline came from a small family, with just one older brother. Her mom passed away when she was just a young girl, so most of her life had been spent in the company of men. She’d always imagined how nice it would be to have a sister or more siblings.

  “Three girls and two boys. And they all still live in Quinn Valley.” Irene was beaming with pride as she spoke about her children. “My oldest, they’re twins, are both engaged to be married and actually just called me this morning to let me know they’re doing a double ceremony in a couple of weeks. That will have three of my kids married, and only two more to go.”

  This time it was Harold who rolled his eyes. “And if my mother has anything to do with it, the rest will be married before the year is over.”

  Caroline smiled as she imagined the large family who were obviously quite close.

  “Hey, Mom. I was just on my way over to the taco truck to grab some lunch. Want me to pick you guys up something?”

  Caroline whipped around at the voice that came from the open doorway. A tall man with a large dimple on his cheek stood smiling at her as Irene walked over to him.

  “Oh, Travis. I didn’t even realize it was close to lunchtime already.” She turned to Caroline. “This is my youngest son, Travis. He has an office just up the street, so sometimes treats us to lunch. Travis, this is Caroline MacGregor, the new accountant I told you would be starting here this week.”

  Travis stepped into the office with his hand out to her. “Nice to meet you. I’m glad my parents have found someone to help them with the workload.”

  “Well, if just one of my children had taken an interest in the family business, things wouldn’t have been so busy for us.” Irene gently slapped Travis on the arm but had a wide smile on her face, showing she wasn’t serious.

  Travis rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  “Not me. Numbers are way too boring for me. Besides, you know math wasn’t my strong subject in school. I would have made more work for you both by having to fix all my mistakes.”

  Irene nodded her head. “That’s likely true.” She turned to face Caroline again. “Travis is a physiotherapist in Quinn Valley. If there’s anything you need fixed, he’s the man to do it. I’m not just being a proud mother when I say he’s one of the best in the business.”

  Travis raised an eyebrow, his grin emphasizing his dimple even more. “For a woman who has spent the past few years moaning about the fact none of us took up accounting as a trade, I take that as very high praise. But I’m sure there’s perhaps just a bit of mother’s bias in your statement.” He faced Caroline and smiled. “Did you just move to Quinn Valley?”

  Her eyes were locked on his and she was having a hard time remembering what he’d even asked her. Something about the way he looked at her just made her feel completely relaxed while also being thoroughly tongue-tied. She felt like a teenage girl standing in front of the boy she’d had a crush on for months and he’d finally said hello to her.

  “Um, yes. I just arrived a couple of days ago. I lived in Florida.”

  He gave a whistle. “Quinn Valley is a long way from Florida. What possessed you to come all this way here?”

  She swallowed as the memories slammed into her. She wasn’t about to give him the full details of why she’d come this far. “I just wanted something different. So, when I saw the ad for this job online, I decided to apply.”

  Travis laughed. “Well, Idaho is definitely something different than Florida, I’m sure. Once winter hits, you might be wishing you’d never left the warmth and sun behind.”

  Caroline laughed and shrugged. “I’m actually looking forward to snow and cold. I grew up in Florida, so I’ve never really had the chance to enjoy it.”

  “After the first snowfall, you might be changing your mind on that.”

  “Oh, Travis. Stop it or you’ll have her racing back to Florida before she even starts the job.” Irene shook her head in Caroline’s direction. “Don’t listen to him. Winters aren’t that bad here at all.”

  His dimple drew her eyes once more. If she wasn’t careful, she could see herself really falling hard for a guy like him.

  But she was never going to let that happen. After Lawrence, she was sure she would never date again.

  Chapter Two

  “She seems nice. Have mom and dad said much to you about her?” Travis glanced up from his stove to look across the island at his sister Vicki. He was trying out a new recipe, and since she hated to cook, most nights she would eat here. It made sense since they were both still single and it was easier to make food for two than one.

  “Not much. Just that she’d applied online and moved here from Florida. But you already know all of that. So, why all
the questions?”

  He ignored his sister and continued to stir the meat in the pan. “I’m just curious. She’s going to be working with our parents, so we need to be sure she’s trustworthy.”

  Vicki had been munching on the nachos he’d set out and started to choke. After a quick sip of water, she was able to speak again. “You’re afraid she isn’t trustworthy? They’ve had employees before and I don’t ever remember you asking anything about them.” She laughed and shook her head quickly, the bun on top of her head almost falling from its pins. “You have a crush on her!”

  “I do not. I’m a grown man. Men don’t get crushes. I’m just curious about her, that’s all.” He wouldn’t ever admit he might have a slight crush on the beautiful woman he’d met yesterday.

  As soon as he’d walked into his parent’s office and seen her standing there, he’d been unable to think straight. Not only was she stunning, but she had a great laugh, and was obviously smart. What more could a man hope for in a woman?

  But he’d also sensed a sadness around her and he hadn’t wanted to do anything that would scare her off. He’d almost asked her if she would like him to show her around town a bit, but he got the impression she might already have someone in her life, and he wasn’t sure how to come out and ask without looking like a fool.

  And apparently Vicki wasn’t going to give him any more information either.

  “Why don’t you ask her to the upcoming weddings? I’m sure no one would be upset if you brought a date, especially Grams.” Vicki chuckled to herself as she dipped another nacho into the salsa.

  “I’m not asking anyone to any wedding. Besides, it’s hard enough being a groomsman for one wedding, never mind two at the same time. I’m going to be too busy doing my duties to worry about entertaining a date.”

  Vicki laughed and nodded. “I have to agree with you on that.”

  Since their oldest siblings, twins Brooke and Joel, were each getting married in a double ceremony in just a couple of weeks, they’d decided to go with a mutual wedding party consisting of immediate family only. Vicki and their sister Robyn would be standing up with the brides, along with Joel’s soon-to-be sister-in-law, Claire. Travis and Robyn’s husband, Ben, were standing up with the grooms. And, of course Joel was insisting his dog Stanley should be by his side too, so Travis knew he’d be in charge of keeping the big bundle of fur under control during the ceremony.

  Thankfully the couples were keeping everything fairly small and not too extravagant, so things hadn’t really gotten too out of control as far as wedding planning.

  “There’s always the next double wedding right after this one. You won’t be as busy for that one.”

  Travis groaned as he shook the spices into the pan. “Don’t even remind me. Why can’t our family ever do anything like normal people? How many other families have so many people getting married in one year, they need to start doubling up to fit them all in?”

  Another couple of weeks after their twin siblings double ceremony, two more Quinn cousins were having their weddings on the same day. Riley and Raina had been waiting for their older brother to get home from the Marines to get married. So, before the dust on their dancing shoes had even settled, the Quinn family would be gathering for another wedding.

  Luckily, family get-togethers were always surprisingly easy. Nothing was more important than family to the Quinns, so everyone made sure they were there for the big events.

  A loud bang on the back patio startled him, and his eyes shot to the glass doors leading outside. “Did you hear that?” He slowly walked toward the door as Vicki turned to watch.

  “It was likely just something falling that you had leaning against the wall.”

  Travis looked at her in confusion. “Like what? All my gardening tools?”

  His sister laughed as she probably realized her mistake. Travis had a square backyard without any flowers or any kind of ornament whatsoever. He liked to keep things to the bare minimum.

  When he reached the patio doors, he slid it open and looked around to see what could have caused the sound. A patio chair was on its side, yet nothing else looked out of place. There wasn’t a breath of wind anywhere, so he couldn’t figure out what could have knocked it over. As he stepped out to lift it back up, a large rodent followed by an even bigger ball of fluff raced past his legs and through the open door before he even had a chance to react.

  “Vicki! Catch that thing!”

  His sister screamed and jumped up with her legs tucked under her on the stool as they tried to see what kind of vermin they were dealing with. “I’m not touching anything!”

  Travis followed the trail of destruction as the cat chased the smaller animal around his couch. When it came out the other end, he could see that it was a squirrel, and he just hoped it knew enough to run toward the open door again if he could catch the cat.

  Because he knew there was no way he was going to catch that squirrel.

  As the cat ran past him, he scooped it up and held it tight, while Vicki screamed again when the squirrel jumped onto the stool beside her, before making its way toward the doorway.

  Travis held the squirming cat so it couldn’t follow the poor squirrel until it had a chance to escape. While he didn’t appreciate having the flighty animal in his house, he also didn’t want the thing to die.

  Within seconds, the cat had stopped fighting and was now tucked up next to his chest as he stroked the soft fur, trying to calm it down and draw its attention away from the missed prey.

  “Listen, I’m sorry little fella, but you can’t go chasing wild animals into other people’s houses to kill them for fun. Look what you’ve done to poor Vicki over there. She looks like she’s been trampled by a herd of buffalo.” He laughed as he watched his sister holding her hand over her chest, both legs still up on the stool.

  “It’s not funny, Travis. That thing could have gotten tangled up in my hair.”

  The cat was now lying limply, a loud purr echoing in the room with his eyes closed to fully enjoy the attention he was getting.

  “I’ve never seen a cat go from wildly chasing its prey to being completely calm and relaxed so fast in my life. It’s almost as though it was an elaborate hoax to get inside my house for attention.”

  Travis grinned down at the calico he held in his arms as it lifted its chin higher to allow him easier access to scratch. A name tag jingled against the metal on the collar, so he reached down to look at it. “Bentley.” He looked on the back of the tag hoping there might be an address or name of an owner.

  “Well, Bentley, where are you from? I can’t see any other information here to help get you home, so I guess I’ll just have to let you go and hope you find your own way.” The cat was obviously well-cared for, so he had no doubt he had a home somewhere and likely someone looking for him.

  “But if I put you down, you have to promise to leave that squirrel alone and just head home.” Travis grinned at Vicki who was still sitting in shock at the island. “I don’t think we could handle any more high-speed squirrel chases like that in here.”

  When he set Bentley down, instead of making a beeline to the open door to continue its hunt, the large calico slowly walked over and jumped up on the couch. Then proceeded to lick its paws as though he belonged in this house and didn’t have a care in the world.

  Travis stared at it, unsure what to do now. But one thing was certain, as the cat finally stretched out and rested his head on his paw, his eyes slowly closing.

  Bentley had no intentions of going anywhere at this moment.

  Chapter Three

  Caroline pulled her legs up under the blanket she’d wrapped around herself and rested her chin on her knees as she watched the few people walking around on the sidewalk below. The sun was beginning to set, leaving the streets with an orange and purple hue that calmed her heart just to watch. She never imagined that she’d end up loving a small town, yet here she sat sipping on her cup of tea and feeling more at home than she’d felt in a v
ery long time.

  The Quinns had offered her the small one room apartment above the accounting office until she could find more permanent accommodations. There weren’t many places available to rent in Quinn Valley at the moment, and Caroline knew she couldn’t get a mortgage to buy a house until she’d worked at her new job for a few months at least.

  It wasn’t much more than a fold-out bed and a small line of cabinets with a microwave and fridge. She was sure it was probably more suited to being used for late nights during tax season, but she was grateful for the place to live while she started her new life.

  The familiar ache in her hip urged her to sit in the chair properly, so she set her feet back onto the ground and reached around to rub at the painful spot that was always there. She could manage to walk now without a limp most of the time, but some days nothing she did could hide it.

  Sighing loudly, she leaned her head against the coolness of the windowpane. That day was imbedded in her memory forever, no matter how many times she tried to forget it. Something she’d loved doing all her life had caused her so much pain.

  But she could be honest with herself now and knew that it wasn’t really the fault of the horse. The fault lay with her for pushing herself when she hadn’t ridden in months. And, she shouldn’t have let the anger she was feeling for Lawrence cloud her thinking when she was riding.

  The accident was no one’s fault but her own.

  And Lawrence’s.