Cowboys & Angels (16 page)

Toweling himself off, he came out of the bathroom and grinned at her. “Better move it, sweetheart, if you still plan to teach a bunch of yokels to ski this morning.”

She scrambled out of bed and pulled her phone out of her duffel. “Yikes.” It was later than she’d thought, but that was better. No time for conversation about delicate topics.

“I thought I’d let you sleep a little longer, so I took first shower. It’s all yours. I’m finished in there.”

“Thank you.” As she passed by him on the way into the bathroom, he caught her around the waist and pulled her close.

“Good morning to you, too.” He gave her a quick kiss and looked into her eyes. “Listen, about what I said last night, I probably shouldn’t have—”

“Don’t worry about it.” She managed a smile. “You got carried away.”

“Right.” His gaze searched hers, and he gave her a little squeeze. “You’d better hop in the shower.”

“Yep!” She heard the note of false cheer in her voice and hoped he hadn’t noticed. She hurried into the bathroom. “I forgot to ask if you have ski pants for today,” she called over her shoulder.

“Rented them yesterday morning. And a jacket. All the guys will be in better shape this morning. You’ll be impressed.”

“I’m sure I will.” She turned on the shower, which cut off any further discussion. So far, so good.

But it was still early in the day. She had to get through the rest of it, including tonight, without giving Trey a hint that she was planning to end their affair tomorrow. Given how perceptive he was, she might be asking the impossible.

16

H
E
’
D
BLOWN
IT
. Trey had been afraid that he’d overplayed his hand by asking her to stay. But the lovemaking had been so sweet, and he’d thought the timing was right. Obviously it hadn’t been and might never be. He wouldn’t ever know, because he’d been impatient, exactly what Watkins had warned him about.

Impatience was a failing of his, with the exception of his work with horses. He could be patient as all get-out with horses, because he made allowances for the language barrier. But communication should be easier between people.

It wasn’t, though, and his lack of patience with that might have cost him Elle. All through the ski lesson he berated himself for not taking things slower. He’d had until
April,
for God’s sake. Rome wasn’t conquered in a day, as they said. He shouldn’t have tried to capture Elle’s heart in a weekend.

But he’d pushed the issue, and she’d decided her answer was no. She probably wouldn’t tell him until tomorrow. She’d want to give him a chance to go home and lick his wounds.

That gave him a choice of pretending right along with her and sharing a bed with her tonight or breaking up with her now. Both options sucked. If he went along with her game, he’d get to hold her for one more night. But the whole time he’d be waiting for the ax to fall.

Debating the issue while trying to control a couple of skinny waxed boards on a very slippery slope meant he fell down a lot. He used up his entire vocabulary of swear words and invented a few more. Jack came gliding by when Trey was berating his
pucking foles.

Jack executed a perfect hockey stop. “What the hell are pucking foles?”

Trey struggled to his feet, yet again. “It’s from the Latin.”

“Doesn’t sound like Latin to me.” Then his frown cleared. “Okay, I get it. Your pucking foles are driving you nucking futs. Am I right?”

Trey stood in the pizza slice position and adjusted his goggles. “You are so right, my friend.”

“Listen, it might be my imagination, but you seem a little off this morning.”

“I’m fine.”

“If you say so. But Elle doesn’t seem quite herself, either. I’m thinking there might be a connection.”

Trey gazed at Jack. “I know you’re my boss and all, but...”

“You wish I’d mind my own business?”

“Something like that. I was trying to find a more diplomatic way of saying it.”

“I wouldn’t be butting in at all, except that I already sort of did.”

Trey’s chest tightened. “Like how?”

“Trying to be Santa Claus. Seeing how well you two were getting along, I checked with Carl about Elle’s work schedule, and he’s fine with her taking Christmas Eve and Christmas morning off. So I invited her to the ranch for the night.”

“What—” Trey had to stop and clear his throat. “What did she say?”

“That she couldn’t make it. Too many obligations here. I told her I’d spoken with Carl, and then she made some other lame excuse about needing to call her folks that night, and they’re over in Germany, and it’s complicated, blah, blah, blah.”

“I guarantee she made that up. She doesn’t want to come to the ranch.”

“Why not? I thought you two—”

“Nope.”

“Since when?”

Pain sliced through his heart. “Last night. Technically, early this morning.” That’s when he’d opened his big mouth and killed his chances.

“I’m sorry.” Jack sighed. “That sucks.” He glanced at Trey. “You sure? Because sometimes a woman acts as if she wants one thing, but she really wants something else.”

“I wish that could be the case, but it’s not. Anyway, thanks for trying.” He desperately wished to change the subject. “Nice outfit, by the way.”

“I’m rather fond of it, myself.” Jack’s ski pants and jacket were solid black except for a red stripe down the side of the pants and along the length of each sleeve. He’d chosen to go with a red-and-black headband instead of a hat, which suited a guy who was part Shoshone. His iridescent goggles must have set him back a tidy sum, but they made him look like an Olympian.

“Are you thinking you’ll get into this skiing thing, then?”

“I just might. I’m usually a little bored in the winter. I’ve considered building an indoor riding arena, which would help, but I couldn’t do that until next summer. If I drove up here a couple of times a week and practiced with Elle, I might get the hang of it.”

“You might.” Trey cursed himself all over again. He could have done the same exact thing and taken his time wooing Elle.

“You could ride up with me.”

“That won’t work. Not now.”

“Hellfire, cowboy. You must have really put your foot in it.”

“Yeah, I did.” Trey glanced over at Elle, who’d acquired a new pupil this morning. Redheaded Cassidy O’Connelli, wobbly on a pair of skis, moved slowly down the slope with Elle skiing just as slowly right beside her. It hurt to watch Elle, who was at her best teaching a beginner to ski, so he looked away. “And I don’t think there’s a damned thing I can do about it now.”

* * *

E
LLE
HOPED
THAT
Trey’s inability to concentrate on the skiing lesson was from lack of sleep. She didn’t think it was. He knew something had changed with her, and he was no dummy. He could figure out why.

She also hoped Trey hadn’t been behind Jack’s invitation to the ranch. Asking if Trey had requested that invitation would have opened up a can of worms, so she hadn’t. In any case, Jack was certain to relay her response, which would give Trey further proof that the relationship was about to end.

If he’d put Jack up to asking, then she was definitely doing the right thing by backing away. She wasn’t going to be pressured by Trey or the Chance family. She’d built a life that suited her, and abandoning it on a whim wasn’t her style.

The lesson ran long because nobody was ready to quit, so it was late morning before everyone started packing up. Cassidy still wanted more instruction, but Elle thought the girl needed a break between sessions. As they worked out a time to meet that afternoon, Trey approached, his skis balanced on one broad shoulder. She’d bet he could hardly wait to get rid of them. If today was any indication, skiing wasn’t his thing.

He waited until Cassidy left, but once she did, he wasted no time on pleasantries. “Do you have some free time this afternoon?”

Judging from his expression, he wasn’t asking because he wanted to race to his room and have sex. “I have a little time. Cassidy wants to come back out around three.”

“After lunch, then?”

“Not right after. There’s the send-off for Pam and Emmett. I’m sure you want to be there for that.”

“Yeah, I do. I’d forgotten about it.”

That he’d forgotten the send-off was another sign that he was very distracted. She had a bad feeling about why he wanted to see her this afternoon.

“So after Pam and Emmett leave, are you free?”

“I should be. Alex and Jeb want another lesson, and we settled on four, if the weather holds. But I’m not booked between the send-off and Cassie’s lesson at three.” She sounded like a CEO juggling appointments, but that couldn’t be helped. Now that the stay was almost over, a few people wanted to cram in more time on skis, and she was thrilled about that.

He gave her a wry smile. “Glad you can fit me in.”

“Could this wait until after I’m finished with Jeb and Alex?”

He hesitated. “Not really. I thought we might take a walk, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure. That sounds nice.” Whatever this discussion would be about, she could tell he wanted it over with. A knot formed in her stomach.

“Great. If you’re going to the send-off, we can meet up there.”

“I thought I’d go. They won’t care if I’m there, probably, but...yes, I’d like to see them off.”

“I’ll meet you afterward, then.” He started to leave.

“Trey?”

“Yeah?” He turned back to her, and there was a tiny spark in his eyes, as if some unnamed hope had been momentarily ignited.

“Did you ask Jack to invite me to the ranch for Christmas?” She couldn’t help asking. Before they took that walk, she needed to know.

The spark died. “Nope. That was all his idea.”

Although she was relieved to hear it, she hated seeing the light leave his dark gaze. “I appreciate being asked, but I can’t make it. It’s complicated, but I—”

“I understand, Elle. See you after Pam and Emmett leave.”

When he was gone, she stared at the snowy hillside for a long time. She felt like such a louse. If only she’d followed her instincts in the first place and steered clear of this man, they’d both have been spared a lot of pain.

A few minutes later, as she was headed back to the lodge, Jared called out to her.

She turned around. “Did I forget to put something away?” In her current frame of mind, that was possible.

“Nope. Everything’s shipshape. Did you eat breakfast?”

“Never got around to it.”

“Me, either. Want to go see if there’s anything left in the kitchen?”

“Sure.” She might as well. Although she wasn’t particularly hungry, she ought to eat. It could be a long day.

Jared fell into step beside her. “So, everything okay with you?”

“Yes.” She glanced at him. “Why?”

“Just wondered. A while ago you were staring off into space as if there’d been a death in the family. And Trey didn’t smile much this morning.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t smiling. He wiped out a lot today.”

“I noticed. But you two are okay, right?”

“We have some issues, but it’ll be fine.”

“I’m glad to hear it, because he’s really good for you.”

Elle blinked. Jared wasn’t in the habit of making personal comments. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t take this wrong, but you keep people at a distance. You’re different with him, though. It’s nice to see.”

She stared at him. “I do not keep people at a distance.”

“Yeah, you do, Elle. You’re sweet and friendly and a good teacher. But it’s like there’s an invisible force field around you. Except this weekend, not so much. I figure that’s because of him.”

Her chest tightened. If that was true, then she’d made a big mess for herself as well as for Trey. But she didn’t want Jared to know how his comments had rocked her back. “You’re scaring me. Since when did you turn into Dr. Phil?”

That made him laugh. “I know, right? Totally out of character. Blame it on the fact that I watched
The Muppet Christmas Carol
last night on TV. Now I’m all introspective about the meaning of life.”

“You’re not comparing me to Scrooge, are you?”

“
No.
Nothing like that. Forget I said anything. Sheesh. This is why I don’t get into the touchy-feely stuff.”

“We’ll pretend it never happened.” As if she could. Now she’d be obsessing over what he’d said, damn it.

“Good. By the way, they want us to make another teaching video whenever we can work it in. I’m thinking this week would be good. Maybe Wednesday afternoon. The schedule’s kind of loose on Wednesday.”

“Wednesday would be great.” She welcomed a change of subject, and filling her calendar with activities was a good idea. If Jared was right, and she’d let down her guard and fallen for Trey, even a little bit, then she had some recalibrating to do. Keeping busy would be her salvation.

* * *

T
REY
STOOD
WITH
Watkins and Mary Lou in the crowd of well-wishers gathered in the front driveway of the resort. A long black limo sat under the portico and a uniformed driver stood by the passenger door, waiting. Everyone had been given a bottle of bubbles as a send-off gesture.

The bride and groom had not yet arrived, so Trey had time to scan the crowd for Elle. She wasn’t here. She’d said she was coming, though. And after the limo drove away... He swallowed hard when he thought of the discussion ahead of him.

Mary Lou put a hand on the sleeve of his sheepskin jacket. “Where’s Elle?”

“Don’t know.”

“She’s coming, isn’t she?”

“She said she would.”

“Trey, look at me.”

That almost made him smile. Mary Lou had adopted a parental tone with him, and he loved it. He glanced down at her. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Did you two have a fight?”

“No.”

“Well,
something’s
wrong. I can tell by the—oh, wait. Here she comes.”

Trey had spotted her, too. She hurried out of the resort entrance door, pulling on her ski jacket as she came. He would love to say that his heart didn’t ache like hell at the sight of her. He couldn’t say that.

She smiled as she walked over to where he stood with Watkins and Mary Lou. “I’m glad I didn’t miss them. Time got away from me.”

“You don’t have any bubbles,” Mary Lou said. “They handed them out earlier.”

“Take mine.” Trey held out his bottle.

“That’s okay. I’ll—”

“Take it, Elle.”

She met his gaze. Something in his voice or in his eyes must have communicated his frustration with this entire situation. She must have decided he was nearing the end of his rope, because she took the bottle. “Thanks. That’s generous of you.”

A cheer went up, and Trey broke eye contact with Elle. “Here they come.” Then he gasped. “Good Lord, she’s got him in a white linen suit and a Panama hat. I can’t believe it.”

Mary Lou laughed with delight. “I love it! Look at Pam, all in pastels. They’re ready for the tropics. That’s just the cutest thing ever.”

“I don’t know,” Watkins said. “Emmett’s never worn anything but jeans and cowboy shirts. He’s not gonna recognize himself in the mirror.”

“Give him a week,” Mary Lou said. “Don’t forget that you were wearing shorts and gaudy shirts by the second day of our cruise.”

“Yeah, but Emmett’s not even there yet and he already looks like he owns a sugar plantation.”

“I think it’s great,” Trey said. “Good for Emmett. Two days ago he was ready to ditch the ceremony and head for Vegas. Now look at him.”

“He’s doing it for love,” Mary Lou said.

“And for nooky,” Watkins added.

“Watkins.”
Mary Lou punched his arm, but she laughed all the same.