Jesse (10 page)

A lump the size of Texas filled his throat as moisture filled his eyes. His voice useless, he answered her the only way he knew how, by wrapping his arms around her tiny little frame and hugging her close. The precious life in his arms snuggled close as if she were settling in for the night.

“All right, sweetie, Jesse has to go home and get some rest if he's going to be getting up at dawn to take care of the ranch animals.”

Grateful that she intervened, yet at the same time sorry that he had to go, Jesse eased back from the little one and brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Sleep tight.”

“…and don't let the bedbugs bite!” Lacy finished, smiling as she closed her eyes.

Jesse didn't know how long he would have stayed there if Danielle hadn't grabbed a hold of his hand and given it a tug to get him moving. When they were in the hallway, she stopped and looked up at him. “Thank you, Jesse.”

After the outpouring of affection he'd received from both of the Brockway ladies, he was the one who should be down on his knees thanking her. “I didn't do anything special,” he finally grumbled.

“There's where you're wrong,” she told him. “You just proved to my daughter that a man can keep his word and can be trusted.” She lifted her hand to touch his face but hesitated, drawing back at the last moment.

He snagged her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “You and Lacy are something special,” he rasped. “I can't wait until you come out to the Circle G. There's so much I want to show you.”

“Tomorrow,” she whispered, tilting her head back.

“Tomorrow,” he rasped, sealing his words with a kiss.

Jesse smiled and touched the tip of his tongue to the back of her knee. The soft, sweet moan of pleasure was his cue to begin licking a path up her toned and tasty thigh. His fingertips circling her hipbones had her squirming and shifting. He smiled as he pressed his lips to the top of her thigh and inhaled her sweet, subtle scent, reminding him of—coffee?

“What the hell?”

“'Bout time you woke up, Bro.” Tyler held out a mug of coffee.

“Explains why her thigh smelled like coffee,” he mumbled, reaching for the cup.

Tyler grinned. “Sounds like you had a good time last night.”

Jesse drank deeply and sighed. His brain would start working by the time he got to the bottom of the mug.

Tyler was leaving when he turned back. “By the way, where'd the money come from?”

Jesse wondered how long it would take before somebody asked him. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to say anything just yet. He shrugged in answer.

After a few moments of silence, his brother took the hint and left. Getting out of bed, he stepped into his jeans and pulled on a pair of clean socks. Man, he'd have to do something special to thank Emily for doing his wash. What, he had no clue, but he'd think of something. Right now he had to get a move on.

“No rest for the wicked.” He pulled on a clean shirt and his boots, and was ready for the day.

Over breakfast, Dylan asked him about the money, but he ignored him. He'd have to change tactics by tonight, because the longer he held out, the more his brothers would try to pry the truth out of him. It wasn't a big deal, just something he wanted to keep to himself just a little longer.

“Talked to Tommy yesterday,” Jesse said to change the subject.

Tyler reached over to squeeze Emily's hand and explained, “He's one of our New York City cousins.”

“The fireman?” Ronnie asked.

“One of them. He and his three brothers are firemen.”

“Yeah.” Jesse grinned. “Pat and John can't make it, but Tom and Mike will be here. They're coming in a week early.”

“Maybe they could help move the herd. Did you ask them about it?”

Jesse scooped up a mouthful of fluffy scrambled eggs and nodded.

Dylan asked, “What about the Justiss side of the family?”

“Matt and Ben will be here, but they, uh—” He looked from Emily to Ronnie and back and shrugged.

Tyler caught Jesse's look and nodded. Jesse was glad his brother understood; where Matt and Ben were concerned, there had to be women involved. Not that they expected their Garahan cousins to line up dates for them; they just liked to know the lay of the land and availability of female distractions in the vicinity of the ranch. Time was always at a premium when they visited, especially since they spent a good chunk of each visit working the land with their cousins.

“Something wrong?” Emily asked.

“Maybe we can help,” Ronnie offered.

Jesse smiled into his cup. “Uh, no thanks. Got it covered.”

“Well,” Emily said, “if you change your mind.”

He set his mug down and stood up. “I'll let you know. Thanks again for the clean clothes.”

She smiled. “My pleasure. Do you have any for me today?”

He shook his head. “No, ma'am, not yet.” He grabbed his Stetson off the peg by the back door. “Maybe tomorrow.”

“You'll tell us eventually where the money came from?”

Tyler's question had him pausing to answer. “I didn't steal it. Can't you just accept it and let it go?”

“For now,” Dylan agreed.

Relief arrowed through him. A reprieve… for now.

“Danielle and Lacy will be stopping by this afternoon. Will you and Ronnie be here?”

Emily smiled and said, “We'd love to meet the ladies responsible for turning your head.”

“Who said anything about that?” Jesse grumbled.

Emily just smiled. “Tell them we can't wait to meet them.”

Jesse shrugged and followed his brothers out to the barn.

***

“So what's up with Matt and Ben?” Tyler asked as they rode out to the west of their land.

Dylan moved closer so he could hear their conversation.

Jesse shrugged. “They just wanted to make sure there were females over the age of twenty-five.”

It was Tyler's turn to laugh. “Something must have happened since we saw them last.”

Dylan chuckled. “Yeah,” he snickered, “they got older.”

Jesse started to laugh. “Maybe he remembers the last time they were here—and what happened with the Johnson sisters.”

“Yeah,” Tyler said. “Those two were set on meeting up with two real, live U.S. Marshals.”

“Where did they get those police-issue handcuffs?” Jesse asked.

Tyler shook his head.

“Well, they returned the favor when you went up there a few years ago.” Dylan smiled. “When they sicced those redheaded sisters on you.”

Tyler shuddered. “Maybe I have a way to get even with them. I think Jolene could help with a couple of names.” Jesse smiled. This was gonna be fun. “They have a couple of regulars that would be just what the doctor ordered for our cousins the lawmen.”

“They'll be pissed.” Dylan was smiling.

“Yeah,” Jesse said. “We haven't had a good old fashioned donnybrook with our cousins in a long time.”

“That's because the last time, Ben broke your nose and you couldn't ride herd with us for a couple of days.”

“So I owe him.” To Jesse's mind, it was that simple.

Riding side by side, the brothers were united in their quest to outdo their know-it-all cousins from the Rockies.

Tyler looked up and smiled. “It's gonna be a good day.”

“Always a good day when you can spend it in the saddle, riding our land,” Dylan added.

“We're burning daylight.” Jesse squeezed his thighs against his horse, urging more speed from Dodge as they rode away from the sunrise.

Hours later, exhausted, needing to refuel, they rode back to the ranch house. Giving their horses a much-needed break, they rubbed them down and set them loose in the corral. Ready to grab some grub themselves, they filed into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

Jesse pulled out a tall glass pitcher of iced tea and rasped, “Bless you, Emily.” He tipped back his head and lifted the pitcher high—

“Damn it, Jess,” Tyler grumbled coming in behind him. “Get a glass.”

Dylan chuckled. “Saw him kissing Dodge this mornin'.”

Jesse stretched his arm as far as it would go and poured icy cold tea down his throat. Wiping his sleeve across his mouth he grinned. “And my lips never touched the pitcher.”

Tyler shook his head. “Baby brother's got talent.”

Dylan grabbed for the pitcher, but as he lifted the pitcher, Tyler shoved a glass at him.

Shrugging, he poured a glass and passed the pitcher. By the time it made it back to Jesse, there was less than half a glass left. “Hey—”

“Ronnie said she was leaving us some salads and sandwiches and not to touch the casserole filled with meatballs and sauce.”

Jesse's eyes widened. He'd do just about anything for his sister-in-law's meatballs. “I'll bet she didn't count 'em when she was making 'em.” He pulled out the macaroni and potato salads and handed them off to his brothers. With a quick glance over his shoulder at Dylan, he grinned and said, “She'll never know.”

As if that decided it, Tyler said, “I'll grab the forks.”

“One meatball each,” Dylan warned, “or Ronnie will know we snitched some.”

Jesse agreed. “I'll fill in with sauce so she can't tell where we took them from.” Working as a team, the brothers each took a turn spearing a cold meatball covered with sauce. “Man, Dylan, when you get tired of being married to Ronnie, you just let me know.”

His brother's response was a jab to the shoulder. Jesse could have dodged it, but then Dylan would have been honor bound to try to hit him again. Philosophically, he figured he deserved it, so he may as well accept the punch and be done with it.

Tyler grinned. “So you thinking about convincing Ronnie that Dylan's tired of her?”

Jesse's gaze shot to Dylan's. The deadly intent in his brother's dark eyes told him just how soon Dylan would be giving Ronnie up—never. That was just fine with him.

“Nope, got my eye on a curvy blonde. Danielle and Lacy will be stopping by this afternoon. I'm gonna give her riding lessons.”

“Danielle?” Tyler asked.

He shook his head. “Nope. Lacy.”

Dylan seemed to be listening but didn't say anything. Finishing off his meatball, he hesitated, then speared a second one. “So when are you gonna tell us where the money came from?”

Jesse wondered if he should share his news about his win out at Devil's Bowl. Rather than answer, he chomped on the savory ball of meat and shrugged. “Man your wife can cook, Dylan.”

Dylan was still watching him carefully, as if judging whether or not Jesse was really going to try to steal Ronnie from him. Yeah, like that could happen in this lifetime. “Give it up, Dylan, you know Ronnie's only got eyes for you.”

Dylan finally relaxed and Tyler nudged him. “She's partial to Dylan 'cause he married her to spring her out of jail.”

Dylan shook his head as he stuck his fork in another meatball. Taking a bite, he chewed, swallowed, and grinned. “My woman's a great cook, and I hated the thought of seeing her behind bars, but that wasn't why I married her.”

Jesse and Tyler shared a knowing look. “Must be some hidden skill that she possesses.”

Tyler laughed, but Dylan didn't. “She sure as hell isn't gonna show it, or share it, with anyone else but me,” Dylan ground out.

“Hey, no offense, big brother,” Jesse said, backing away with his hands up in front of him to ward off the impending attack, “but she's taken the edge off of you. The old you would have planted a fist in my face by now.”

“I'm still thinking about it.”

Tyler grabbed for the bowl of meat and sauce. “So who's gonna tell Ronnie what happened to dinner?”

The three looked at one another and broke into gales of laughter. Jesse dug into the potato salad and heaped it onto a plate. “She and Emily really take good care of us,” he said, looking at the plates, utensils, and cups Emily had left out for them to use. “I can't wait till Danielle and Lacy get here.”

His brothers waited for him to say more, but in the end were left wondering. He wasn't ready to say anything else. By the time the hole in his belly was satisfied, they'd polished off most of the potato salad and half of the noodle salad. “Maybe Ronnie won't notice that we ate some of the meatballs,” Jesse said staring at the bowl.

Dylan smacked him on the back of the head. “Some? Hell, we ate half of it!”

Tyler smiled. “It'll be worth catching hell for.” He reached for a sandwich and sat at the table.

“Dylan will have to sweet talk her so she doesn't stay mad at us,” Jesse said. “I'd hate it if she got mad and stopped cooking for us.”

As one, the brothers paused to stare at Jesse as that thought sank in. “Damn,” Tyler rasped.

Dylan's smile was just this side of wicked. “I've got a secret weapon, don't you boys worry none.”

Danielle wondered if she'd ever sleep through the night again. She'd tossed and turned but couldn't get the memory of Jesse pulling her close and kissing her out of her head. Lord, the man could kiss.

Looking over at her daughter, she smiled. Lacy had been good as gold today, and she wondered if it was because her favorite cowboy had tucked her in last night or because they were headed to the Circle G. “Are you sure you don't want to stay and help Uncle Jimmy?” Although she already knew the answer to that particular question, she still waited to hear what her daughter would say.

She was surprised when Lacy answered. “I promised Unca Jimmy we'd help all day tomorrow. Will cowboy Jesse be waiting for us when we get there?”

Danielle sighed. “He didn't say exactly what time this afternoon he'd be able to meet us, but he will be there. Until then, you will have to learn some patience, sweet pea. Besides,” she said, hoping to redirect Lacy's attention, “Jesse called earlier to say that we'll get to meet Ronnie and Emily—his brother Dylan's wife and his oldest brother Tyler's fiancée. They're going to be home when we get to the Circle G.”

“I gots to see him, Mommy. I forgot to tell him something.”

“Don't worry, you will. Now, pay attention, sweet pea,” she said to distract her. “I need you to be on the lookout for a big old tree standing all alone right next to the road.”

“Why?”

“That's the road into the Circle G.”

Lacy was practically vibrating with excitement when she spotted the tree. “There!” she shouted, scaring the life out of Danielle. Before she could remind her not to yell when they were in the car, unless it was a dire emergency, Lacy started bouncing in her seat. “We're here, we're here!”

It was another mile or so before they reached a huge gate.

“Why is there a
C
in a circle?” Lacy asked.

“That's a
G
sweetie. It stands for Garahan.”

Her heart was beating just a little too quickly for comfort, but she put the car in park, patted her daughter's hand, and said, “Sit tight and watch me.”

Lacy grinned. “OK!”

When she opened the gate and got back in the car, Lacy turned to her. “It's like in the movies, isn't it, Mommy?”

She smiled and nodded. “OK. Now wait here.”

Lacy did as she was told and was waiting patiently for her to get back in. “Do you think it's much further?”

“I can't see the ranch house from here, can you?”

Her daughter shook her head so hard, her cowgirl hat flew off. Out of the corner of her eye, Danielle saw Lacy's hand move toward the seat belt-release button. “Don't even think about it, or I'll turn this car around so fast your head will spin.”

“But, Mommy—”

“I mean it. You promised to be on your best behavior today. Unbuckling your seat belt before I stop the car isn't behaving.”

Lacy hung her head but put her hands back in her lap. “Sorry.”

Danielle didn't notice the fork in the road until Lacy was pointing at it. “Which way?” she asked. “I don't see the house.”

Danielle frowned. “I don't either. I didn't remember hearing that the road forked.” Kicking herself for not getting the telephone number for the ranch house, she turned to the left and followed the road, hoping it was the right direction. If they got really lost, she could always turn around or call Uncle Jimmy.

“Oooohh.” Lacy pointed to the pond. “Can we go swimming? I'm hot.”

Danielle laughed. “Not right now. I think we've gone too far. We should have seen the ranch by now. Let's turn around.”

“Can't we just go over and look at the water?”

The plaintive note in her daughter's voice swayed her. It was a pretty sight, with the grass blowing in the hot afternoon breeze and the water rippling as it moved across the surface. “We're only going to look at it.”

“Yay!” Lacy was out of her seat belt in a flash and had her hand on the door latch.

“Wait up!” Danielle called out, but her daughter was already out of the car and running toward the water. Hurrying to catch up, she reached Lacy's side as her daughter got down on her knees and bent toward the water. “I'm just gonna touch it,” she said, looking up at her mother. “OK?”

Moved by a similar need, she agreed. “Let's see if it's a cool as it looks.”

Running their fingers through it wasn't enough; they bent farther until Danielle had Lacy around the waist and her little arms were wet up to her elbows. “That's enough for now, or you'll end up head first in the water and then we'll have to go back to Uncle Jimmy's.”

Lacy sat up so fast they tumbled over into the sweet smelling grass. Laughing, Danielle hugged her to her heart, and Lacy's little arms wrapped around Danielle's neck as she pressed her lips to Danielle's cheek. “I'm ready to go.”

How many more moments would there be before Lacy was too old to want to throw her arms around Danielle and kiss her? Letting her breath go out in a sigh, Danielle gathered her daughter in her arms and got to her feet.

“You don't have to carry me.”

“I want to.”

Lacy leaned her head against the side of Danielle's. “I like it out here.”

Danielle's heart stumbled in her chest at the realization that she did too. “It's pretty special out here by the pond, isn't it?”

Lacy nodded and her hat flopped around from her back to her shoulder. Putting it on Lacy's head, she set her little girl on her feet and opened the door. “Let's go.”

Backtracking, they were at the fork in the road again. Danielle marveled at the beauty of the sweeping pastures and trees lining the road.

“There! It's right there!”

Up ahead, the road widened into a huge area that encompassed the driveway and the road that led to the barn just past it. The old two-story farmhouse was picture perfect with its bright white paint and colorful flowers spilling out of pots on the steps and planters on the porch railing. The back door opened and a pretty redhead stood smiling in welcome. “We thought you'd never get here.”

Danielle turned to help unbuckle Lacy, but her daughter was already running toward the back porch. She was shaking her head as she got out.

“Me too,” her daughter said, grabbing a hold of the woman's hand. “I'm Lacy and that's my mommy.”

Laughing, Danielle bent to touch the tip of her finger on her daughter's nose. “Someone was really impatient to get here.”

“We were starting to worry that you'd missed the turn off.”

Danielle looked up as a beautiful brunette joined them on the porch. “Welcome to the Circle G.” She held out her hand, and Danielle shook it.

“Thanks. In case you didn't hear the introductions, this is my daughter, Lacy.”

“And you're Danielle Brockway,” the redhead answered. “I'm Emily Langley and this is Ronnie Garahan.”

Danielle smiled. “It's a pleasure to meet you both. Thanks for letting us visit.”

“We've been wanting to meet you,” Emily said. “Jesse's been so busy lately that we didn't think we'd get to before the celebration.”

“What are you celebrating?”

Emily smiled at Lacy's question and bent down and brushed wisps of hair out of Lacy's face. “Our town.”

“Take Pride in Pleasure Day,” Ronnie finished for her.

“Can we come too?”

“Absolutely,” Emily said, getting to her feet. “I'm going to be making brownies and helping my cousin with the entertainment for the day.” She stared at Danielle for a few moments and then smiled. “It's going to be quite a hit with the ladies.”

“Sounds intriguing.” Danielle figured she'd be hearing all about it before their visit was through.

“I wish I could chat, but I have to fix a second dinner.”

“What happened to the first one?” Lacy wanted to know.

“Somebody ate most of it.”

“Did they break down the back door?”

Ronnie smiled. “No, they walked right in and helped themselves.”

From the way the ladies were smiling, Danielle had a good idea who the culprits were. “Did they leave any clues behind?”

“Other than demolishing half of the meatballs I made early this morning, so I wouldn't have to cook in this heat?”

“Oh.” Danielle knew what that felt like. She and her uncle worked hard to do the same. “Uncle Jimmy and I do most of the baking and prep work a day ahead.”

“Me too!” Lacy chimed in.

“You too, sweet pea.” Looking up, she saw the undisguised interest on the faces of the two women. She wondered just how much Jesse had told them about her and Lacy. “We're here a little earlier than planned, but Jesse said that would be OK.”

“So, I hear you want to learn to ride.” Ronnie seemed excited about the prospect.

“Yes!”

Laughing at the way little Lacy jumped up and down, Ronnie held out her hand. “How about if I introduce you to a couple of our horses? They love visitors.”

“I thought you had to make dinner,” Lacy said, taking Ronnie's hand.

“I changed my mind. Jesse and his brothers can have the leftover sandwiches they didn't eat earlier, since they ate half the pot of sauce and meatballs.”

“It was cowboy Jesse and his brothers who stole the meatballs?”

Lacy's horrified look had Danielle reassuring her that Ronnie was only kidding when she said someone had walked into the house to steal food.

“I'm sorry, Lacy,” Ronnie said. “I was joking. Those men come and go, and eat us out of house and home. It's hard work to keep up with their appetites.”

“Especially when they work so hard during the day,” Emily added. “They use up every ounce of food they eat by lunchtime.”

“But they didn't eat their sammiches,” Lacy pointed out.

Ronnie smiled. “Not all of them.”

Lacy grabbed a hold of Ronnie's hand and danced along in front of Danielle and Emily.

“I learned to ride when I was your age,” Ronnie said, smiling down at Lacy. “And when I was old enough, I learned how to barrel ride.”

“Really?”

“Truly. My parents let me take lessons back East.”

“I thought you were from Texas.”

“I'm from New Jersey,” Ronnie said and Lacy started to laugh. “What's so funny?”

Lacy tugged on her hand and said, “There's no cowgirls from there.”

Ronnie patted the mini pink Stetson and reminded her, “That's where I'm from, and I can tell you, they not only have horses back home, they have cows, sheep, and llamas.”

Danielle watched her daughter laughing with Dylan's wife and felt a sharp tug in the vicinity of her heart. She was grateful that her uncle had invited them to come out for the summer. If they stayed—well, best not to think of that right now.

Wanting to make sure that they didn't wear out their welcome, she said, “If Ronnie said she learned to ride horses in New Jersey, then you should believe her.”

Ronnie was laughing as they disappeared into the barn.

“Ronnie's an excellent horsewoman,” Emily said as they were walking toward the house. “She won't let anything happen to Lacy.”

With one last look over her shoulder at the doorway to the barn, Danielle stopped. “If you're sure.”

“She's great with kids and will watch Lacy like a hawk.”

They were by the back steps when Emily asked, “How long are you staying in Pleasure?”

There was something open and genuine about Emily's question, so she answered honestly. “I'm not sure, that depends on whether or not I can find a job and support Lacy and myself.”

“Ah, so you're not married?”

She tried not to smile at the obvious interest behind the question. “Divorced.”

“Oh,” Emily said, her tone sympathetic.

Danielle wanted to ask her if she'd been married once before too, but heard a faint whinny from the barn and knew she needed to be with Lacy in case she got nervous around the animals.

“Look—” she began.

“Why don't we go see what they're doing,” Emily suggested.

Relief speared through her. “Thanks.” Danielle ran the last few feet and entered the cool, darkness. “Lacy?”

“Back here, Mommy!”

Her daughter sounded ecstatic. “We're introducing her to two of our older horses,” Ronnie said. “On your left is Trigger, he's eighteen, and on your right is Champ, he's nineteen.”

Danielle moved closer so she could rub the blaze between Trigger's eyes. “He kind of looks like the real Trigger, doesn't he Lacy?”

“Uh-huh, just like in the shows Gramma watches.”

Emily was smiling when she asked, “Did you meet Champ too?”

Danielle moved to the other stall and scratched the inquisitive beast behind his ears. “Hello, boy.”

Champ lifted his head high and whinnied in appreciation.

“What do you think of these two, Lacy?” Emily asked, coming to stand next to Danielle.

“They're big.” She stood on her tippytoes and couldn't quite reach Trigger's velvety-soft muzzle. “How am I gonna get all the way up there?”

“I can lift you up,” Ronnie offered. “But there are some things you need to learn before you sit on the back of a horse. Are you sure you don't want to wait for Jesse?”

Lacy's eyes opened wide. “He won't mind, will he, Mommy?”

“I don't know.” Danielle looked at Ronnie, who shrugged.

While Ronnie talked to Lacy about the different parts of a horse, which side to approach first, and which side spooks the horse, Danielle wondered if it was going to be too hard for her little one to remember, but Lacy proved to be an excellent pupil.

“So, I'm gonna talk nice to him, be careful not stand by his back legs 'cause if I scare him, he could kick me.”