Healing a Cowboy's Heart (Cowboy Dreamin' 2) (12 page)

“Yes,
Daddy.”

“Where
is it?”

“In
the tub.”

He
held his chuckle in as he grabbed some toilet paper, pulled back the shower
curtain and squashed the spider she called a big hairy bug. “There. It’s gone.”

“You’re
laughing at me.”

“No,
I’m not.” He smiled. He couldn’t help it. She looked so cute standing on the
toilet shaking like a leaf in a wind storm. “It’s all gone. You can take your
shower now.”

She
slowly climbed down with the help from his hand. “Thank you. I hate bugs.”

“You
live in Texas and you hate bugs?”

A
shiver rolled over her frame. “Yes.”

She
glanced through her lashes at him, making him want to kiss the daylights out of
her. “We’ll go now so you can shower.”

He
took Ben’s hand before he headed for the door.

“Jeff?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank
you.”

“I’ll
slay your bugs any day, darlin’.” He glanced over his shoulder, wishing he
hadn’t when his cock jumped to attention. Seeing her outlined by nothing but
the sheet made him wish he hadn’t left this morning. “See you at breakfast.”

“She’s
purdy
, Daddy.”

“She
sure is, buddy.”

“Can
she be my mama?”

“What
makes you ask somethin’ like that Ben? What about your real mama?”

“I
don’t think she loves me. I want a new mama.”

Jeff
squatted down in front of his son. “Buddy, you can’t trade in your mama no
matter how much you don’t like what she does.”

“But
you don’t like her anymore.”

Jeff
tipped his head back on his shoulders. How do you explain dealing with a bitter
ex because you love your kid to a three-year-old? “Sometimes parents don’t get
along anymore and can’t live together. It’s not that I don’t like her, we just can’t
be together anymore.”

“I
still like the
purdy
lady in the cabin.”

“
Me
too, buddy.
Me too.”
He stood
and took Ben’s hand again to head toward the main lodge. “Let’s get some
breakfast, huh? I think Grandma will be wondering where we are if we don’t
hurry up.”

“The
bell hasn’t rung yet though.”

“Well
it will soon. We can get our juice earlier than everyone else.”

“Yay!”
Ben jumped as Jeff swung him up into his arms.

“Hey,
bro!”
Jackson came walking from the barn. “We missed you
at the bonfire last night. Where did you run off to?”

“None
of your business.”

“Ah.
A little more fun with Ms. Terri.”

Jeff
stopped at face his brother. “What I do on my private time is none of your
damned business, Jackson. Back off.”

“Easy,
brother.
I, for one, am thrilled you’ve found a
nice lady. Terri seems to be a keeper.”

“No
one is a keeper for me. I’m done with women.” Jeff glanced at Ben. “Buddy, go
on into the house, okay?”

“All
right, Daddy.”

The
minute Ben disappeared into the house, Jeff rounded on Jackson. “Back the fuck
off.”

“Sounded
like you and Terri were havin’ a good time by the pond. What happened?”

“One
more word and I’ll deck your ass.”

Jackson
put up his hands. “Whoa.
I didn’t mean nothin’, Jeff.
I hope you find a nice girl is all. The way Misha has run you through the
ringer
has
us all worried about you. I think you’d do
well to find a nice woman.”

“I
don’t need a fuckin’ woman. A quick lay is all I’m interested in. Gettin’ tied
up with a woman is the last thing I need. My son and my job are enough to
satisfy me.”

Jackson
glanced over Jeff’s shoulder as he tipped his hat. “Mornin’, Ms. Terri.”

“Morning,
Jackson.”

Terri
walked around the two of them, but he grabbed her arm when she tried to scoot
by. “Terri, wait.”

“For
what?
You certainly don’t give a shit about me or my
feelings, Jeffery Young.” She tried to yank her arm out of his grasp. “Let go.”

“No.”
He dragged her around the corner of the building and pushed her against the
wall of the house.

“You
can’t treat me like this.”

“Listen
to me.”

“No.
I’m done listening to your shit, Jeff. I get it. You don’t want a woman in your
life. You’ve told me enough damned times, I’ve memorized even the fluctuation
of your words when you say it.
A quick fuck.
I got
that part too.” She pushed against his chest. “I don’t need you either.”

“It’s
not what it sounded like.”

“The
hell it wasn’t!”

“Terri,
please listen to me.” He brushed his fingers against her cheek. “I didn’t lie
to you. My life hasn’t been great and my ex is a bitch. I’ve been burned,
darlin’. I don’t have a heart left to give anyone even if I wanted to. All I
have left, I give to my son. I live for him and only him.”

“I
know, Jeff.” Tears streaked down her cheeks. “I never asked for your heart.”

“I
don’t want you to be misled. I want us to be honest with each other from the
start. What I told Jackson is the truth, but you knew everything from the
beginning. Do I want you? Hell yes, baby. I want you more than my next breath,
but I can’t let another woman in only to be dragged through the mud again. I
won’t do it.” He brushed his lips against her cheek, tasting her tears. “But if
you want me to leave you alone, I will.”

“No.”

“No?”
he asked, staring down into her beautiful green eyes as he cupped her face.

“I
don’t want you to leave me alone. I need you. God knows why I’m putting myself
through this with you, but I want you too.”

“Good.”
He stepped back after a quick peck on her lips. “I’ve decided I don’t care
whether anyone on the ranch knows we are together.”

“You
don’t?”

“No.
Hell, half of my brothers probably saw me leave this morning since most of the
time they’re up and in the barn by daybreak to get chores started.” He wiped
the remaining tears from her cheeks. “I won’t put you in front of Ben though. I
hope you understand.”

“Of
course, I do. He’s your son.”

“He’s
my life.” He took her hand, threading his fingers with hers and headed for the
door just as the breakfast bell clanged. “You can sit with the family today if
you want or you can sit with your friends, but I want everyone to know about
you. I don’t want to sneak around anymore.”

“You
don’t have to do that, Jeff. I know how much your privacy means to you.”

“Yeah,
but if you’re with me, my brothers won’t hit on you either.”

She
punched him in the arm.
“Brat!”

He
grabbed her and kissed her hard. “You’ll pay for that later.”

When
they walked into the main lodge with the rest of the crowd of people, he waited
for her to decide where she wanted to sit. He watched as she squared her
shoulders and indicated with a tilt of her head she would sit with him at the
family table. As they approached hand in hand, he garnered some weird looks
from his family. “Everyone, this is Terri.” He named off all of his siblings
and his parents. “Joel and Mesa aren’t here. They’re still on their honeymoon
until the end of the week.”

“How
fun.”

“Welcome
to the family table, Terri. You can sit next to Jeff and Ben at the end,” Nina
said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Thank
you.”

“Aren’t
you one of the guests?” Jacob
asked,
his eyes
bloodshot from a probable hangover.

Jeff
needed to talk to his brother to find out what the problem was now. It seemed
Jacob was drinking more and more.

“Never
mind, Jacob.”

“But
we ain’t supposed to mess with the guests.”

“Terri
is here gathering information so she isn’t really a guest,” he answered his
brother, hoping it would cut off the questions before Terri got uncomfortable
or he had to tell the family her real purpose for being nearby.

“It
doesn’t matter. Welcome, Terri,” Jeremiah said, taking her hand and kissing the
back. “Let me know if you’d like to see more of the area while you’re here. I’d
be glad to take you around.”

Jealousy
reared its ugly head, making Jeff frown. He had no right to be jealous. “I’ve
already taken her out, Jeremiah.”

“Well,
I’m sure there is
something
she
hasn’t seen.”

“Back
off,” he growled, earning a huge grin from Jeremiah and the rest of his
brothers too.

“Actually,
can you show me the barn after breakfast?” she asked, looking between him and
Jeremiah.

“What
do you want to see the barn for?”

“I’d
like to see the entire operation if I can.”

His
eyes narrowed on her. “I’m sure I can find something to interest you.”
What the hell is she up to?

“I’m
sure you can.” One eyebrow arched over her beautiful green eyes.

Did she have an ulterior motive for
wanting to see the barn? Maybe she wants a roll in the hay.
“All right.”

“Great.”
She glanced down the table. “So who does what for the ranch?”

The
table exploded into a beehive of conversation as everyone tried to talk at
once. Terri laughed causing his balls to ache with want. He wanted nothing more
than to take her back to her cabin and bounce the headboard against the wall
some more.

They
all managed to get their plates and sit back down before the talk started
again. She got an earful of what everyone did on the ranch.

Jeff
glanced at Jacob who seemed to be almost falling asleep in his breakfast. Had
he been out all night drinking again? His brother seemed to have some issue. It
was up to him as the eldest to find out what seemed to be the problem.

Jacob
glanced up with a frown. “What?”

“You
okay?”

“Yeah.
Got in late.”

“On
a work day?”

“Back
off, Jeff.
I’m a big boy. I can handle a few late
nights and some beers.”

“I’m
worried about you.”

“I
said back off!”

The
entire group grew quiet.

“We
can talk about this later.”

“It’s
none of your damned business what I do on my off time. As long as I get the
shit done around here, I can do whatever the hell I please.” Jacob jammed his
hat on his head and stomped out of the dining room.

“Well
that went well,” Nina said.

“Sorry,
Ma.
I’m worried about him.” His gaze followed his
brother’s departure.

“We
all are, Jeff, but bringing it up at the breakfast table wasn’t a great idea.”

“I
didn’t plan to. I just asked if he was okay. He exploded in the fiery temper
he’s known for.” Jeff glanced at Terri concerned the ruckus might have given
her the wrong idea of his family. She reached over to lay her hand on his
thigh. A squeeze of reassurance let him know she didn’t mind what happened. His
heart flipped at the encouraging touch. No one had ever felt the need to do
that kind of thing for him before. He held her hand in his for a brief moment
before he released it to eat.

Breakfast
ended without further incident, but he kept a
leery
eye on the female next to him.

“Finished?”
she asked, getting to her feet.

“Yes.”

“Let
me grab the plates then. Did you want another cup of coffee before we head
out?”

“Sure.
Thank you.” He glanced her way, determined to figure out this enigma of a woman
who’d blown into his life like a tornado sure to destroy everything in her
path.

“Black
or cream and sugar?”

“Black
is fine.”

“Be
right back,” she said, her eyes twinkling with laughter. “Did you want more
juice,
Ben.
”

“Yes,
ma’am.”

“Please.”

“Yes,
ma’am, please,” Ben repeated.

Terri
smiled and bent to give him a hug before she picked up the plates. When she
finished depositing the dishes into the dirty dish pan, she got him a cup of
coffee and Ben more juice. “Here you go.”

“You
didn’t want more?”

“I’m
headed back to get me another cup right now.”

Suspicion
raced through his mind. Hadn’t Misha started out sweet to everyone in her path
too? He’d blown off her flirting with his brothers as her being nice rather
than what it really was. She would have slept with any of them to become part
of the family. She just happened to sucker him in with her dark hair and
caramel eyes. Man, she’d done a number on him and still was if her threats
yesterday meant anything.
The bitch.
If she tried to
take Ben away, he’d kill her himself.