The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek) (6 page)

He worked through the room from guest to guest, exchanging greetings and news. He finally got to Hannah just as Ethan and Jamie headed back to the kitchen for another beer.

He smiled at her. “Hey, Hannah. Sorry I had to take off in such a rush this morning.”

“It wasn’t your fault. Work never ends on a ranch, right? I talked to your dad after you left, though.”

Uh oh
. “What did he say?”

Hannah shrugged, but her cheeks grew pink. Jake’s heart sunk. His father was capable of all kinds of breaches of etiquette. At least she was still speaking to him.

“I get the feeling he’d rather not keep Gladys around much longer.”

“Don’t mind him.” Jake was worried, though. If Holt kicked him out, he’d probably demand they remove Gladys from the ranch. It figured the old man would urge him to get married, then screw up his chances with the one woman he wanted to spend his life with.

“Holt’s more bark than bite,” he said, then clenched his jaw at the lie. Holt barked like a pit bull and attacked like one, too, if he felt provoked.

“I don’t know. I’m taking what he said pretty seriously.”

“I’ll work on him,” he promised her. “Meanwhile, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you. Would you…”

“Hey, everybody. Pick a table and sit down. We’re about ready to get started,” Ethan called.

Morgan, passing by, smiled at them and gestured toward the card tables. “Come on, guys. You heard the man.”

“We’ll be right there.” Hannah turned back to him. “What were you saying, Jake?”

But with Morgan watching he couldn’t ask her out. “Nothing. We’ll talk later.”

‡
Chapter Three

J
ake had been
seconds from asking her on a date. She was sure of it. So why wouldn’t everyone back off and give him the chance?

Not that she’d say yes.

Or maybe she would but she wouldn’t get serious with him.

Unless you called a fourteen night stand serious.

Which she had no doubt it would be.

Hannah moved quickly to a table to cover her confusion and sat next to Morgan. The rest of the players took their places at the tables with much jostling and joking. When Jake slipped into the chair on the other side of her, she figured she hadn’t been hallucinating about his attentions.
Interesting
.

Interesting in a fling way, she reminded herself. That’s all she could afford right now—no heartfelt romances, not even with Jake. Especially with Jake, who could wrap her around his little finger without even trying. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as he joked with Ethan. He was muscular, confident, his legs taking up way too much space under the table. His thigh brushed against hers from time to time, igniting the longing she’d felt ever since their time in the break room. She would not fall in love with Jake. But couldn’t she have a little fun with him before school started at the end of January?

Ethan dealt the first hand of Hold’em and she forced her concentration onto her cards. She was a lousy player and lost money every week at these tables, but the stakes weren’t that high and by tradition the winner donated half the proceeds to the kitty for the next weeks’ drinks and munchies. Since she’d spend more by far at the local bar if she went out for a night of drinking and dancing, she figured it was a small price to pay for the good food and company.

Jake surveyed his opponents around the table. He must have already looked at his cards, figured his odds and moved on to size up the competition. She’d seen him take the pot many times. Hannah sighed. She’d even gone online to learn more about winning this game, but the truth was the odds and calculations didn’t interest her. She came for the chatter and friendship.

Still, she’d better do her best or she’d find herself out of the game, off the table and over with the other losers playing pool.

All the way across the room from Jake.

As he placed his bet, Hannah finally admitted the truth to herself; she’d give anything to get a whole lot closer to him. Two weeks in bed with Jake?

She was there.

Jake placed his
cards on the table and waited for the groans of the other players to subside before he raked in the pot. Again.

He was on fire tonight, and not just because he was lucky with cards. When he’d spoken to Hannah earlier, he’d seen the interest flare in her wide, blue eyes. He felt confident that given enough time he could win her, just like he was winning this game. Too bad he didn’t have much time.

He let his thigh brush hers under the table and was rewarded when she gave a little jump. When he looked her way a blush was creeping up her cheeks. Poor Hannah. Didn’t she know she’d never win a poker game with that tell-tale face? What was she thinking about? Getting closer to him? Touching more than his thigh under the table? He’d sure like to touch a lot more of her. Hannah filled out her casual jeans and sweater in all the right places, curvy as a movie star with a mouth made for kissing. As he knew too well. He’d thought a lot about kissing Hannah again since the Mortimers’ wedding. Time to get this show on the road. As soon as he managed to ask her out.

Ethan was just dealing out the cards for the next round of play when the house phone rang and Autumn excused herself from the other table to answer it.

Jake studied the new hand he’d been dealt. He could work with this, he mused. The real question was whether he could work with the cards life had dealt him. An interested woman. An ultimatum from his father. Could he take the two and create a winning hand out of them? A lifetime with the woman who’d tormented his dreams for weeks now?

The timing was short but you only got so many chances in life to hitch your yoke to another person who not only attracted you physically but also stimulated your mind. He felt confident he wouldn’t regret marrying Hannah, if he could get her.

Could he get her? That was the real question.

“I see,” Autumn said into the phone. “Um… yes, of course. Yes, we have openings for that time period.” She had moved to the small desk and computer off her kitchen space where she took bookings for the guest ranch and kept her accounts. She pulled up the booking software.

“Looks like someone’s coming to stay,” Jake said to Ethan.

“Good thing. It’s been pretty thin this past month. Can’t blame people for not wanting to visit a ranch in November, but we need the income from the guests or we’ll have to tighten our belts.”

“Yes. Yes, I think we can accommodate you. What time will you arrive?” As Autumn went on speaking into the phone, asking questions and answering them, they continued to play, but Jake could tell Ethan’s mind was on Autumn’s conversation. He could believe that bookings were important to him. They’d been able to have Thursday night get-togethers here every week for the past month. That meant no paying guests, which meant business wasn’t as good as it needed to be. Everyone knew Ethan’s mother had spent much of the ranch’s earnings on travel and, as it turned out, funding programs to help women in Afghanistan. When Ethan inherited the ranch it was deeply in debt. Over the last six months he’d banded together with Autumn, Jamie, Claire, Rob, and Morgan to pay down the mortgage and solidify its earnings. With all the businesses they were starting together, they should soon have plenty of cash. Jake envied them their togetherness and the variety of their income sources. He and his brothers and parents worked the Double-Bar-K together, but it was strictly a cattle ranch, and if Holt had his way, that’s what it would stay.

Autumn hung up and turned to Ethan. “You’re not going to believe it!”

“Tell me.” Ethan set his cards face down on the table and rose to go to her.

“A huge family get-together. They want to rent the entire house for four weeks!” Her face alight with happiness, Autumn crossed the room and hugged her husband.

“When are they coming?” He kissed her, but Jake could see he wanted to know the details.

“Next Saturday. We’re going to have to work like crazy. They’ll stay through New Year’s. Apparently they had another lodge booked but a pipe broke there and flooded the place. They won’t be back in business for months. I feel awful being so happy when someone else is in such trouble, but I can’t help it. Twenty people here for a month! We’ll be able to pay our bills for the rest of the winter, easy!”

As people congratulated Ethan and Autumn on their good luck, Jake glanced at Hannah and took in her still, worried expression. Mia was frowning too, and Fila was just as tense.

“What’s wrong?” he asked Hannah, bending closer to her. The fresh floral scent of her shampoo teased his senses. He had to hold back from touching her arm.

“Twenty people staying here? Hannah, Fila and I will have to move. I guess we could stay in the bunkhouse, but…”

“You could come stay with me. I have a spare room.” He had surprised himself as much as he surprised her. The words just popped out, but the moment they did he wanted her to say yes. He braced himself for the stinging answer he was sure she’d fling his way. The offer was obviously self-serving.

Hannah swallowed, her gaze never leaving his face. “That would be great. Can I move in tonight?”

‡
Chapter Four

“Y
ou sure you
don’t want me to stick around and carry your things to the car?” Jake asked. They were alone by the front door, the other guests having already left, but with the open-floor plan of the Big House, Hannah was all too aware of Autumn, Ethan, Mia and Fila all working to clean up the dishes from the get-together.

“No. I want to help clean up first and then I’ll need some time to pack. You go on home. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” For a moment she thought Jake would lean down and kiss her, but then he glanced over her head toward the kitchen area and pulled back. “Don’t be too long.”

“I won’t,” she promised him and hurried back to help the others, her body alight with the knowledge that she’d sleep with him tonight.

Sleep with him, not make love to him. Just like Holt said.

Of course, she could be flexible on that point.

As Mia loaded the dishwasher and Fila fetched a broom, Hannah knew each of them was worried about their living situations, but she wasn’t sure how to speak up and tell them she was moving out.

“You know we’ll make room in the bunkhouse for all of you,” Autumn said to them, returning to the kitchen with a tray of glasses. “It’ll be a little tight, but it’s just for one month.”

More than a little tight. The bunkhouse only had two bedrooms. Ethan and Autumn stayed in one. She suspected neither Fila nor Mia relished sharing the other one, certainly not with two other women.

“Maybe I should find my own place,” Fila began in her soft voice. Her shoulders looked tight and Hannah could tell the entire evening had placed a strain on the young woman. From what she gathered, it had never been a good thing for Fila to be noticed during her years in Afghanistan. She still seemed to want to escape attention as much as possible. Trouble was, everyone here wanted to make her feel at home and went out of their way to notice and talk to her. On most occasions, Fila slipped off to her room before the poker nights were half over.

Autumn and Claire had helped Fila find a lawyer who could track down information about her parents’ estate. Since more than a decade had passed since they died, it was unclear whether there would be anything for Fila to inherit. Sooner or later she’d have to find a job, but everyone agreed she wasn’t ready for that yet. Her offer to move wasn’t practical.

“No.” Autumn moved to her side. “Your place is here with us. Trust me, Fila. We’ll work this out and it will be no bother to anyone.”

“That’s right,” Hannah said. Fila needed Autumn’s caring presence right now. As much as she’d adapted to life here, she had a long way to go. While Fila had told them much of her story, Hannah knew there was more she hadn’t told. She could only imagine the abuse she’d witnessed and maybe experienced herself during her years in captivity. Then, when she’d stepped forward to tell the American authorities her story, she’d been grilled by law enforcement and FBI agents to find out everything she knew and to verify that she herself wasn’t a terrorist. Sometimes Hannah thought those interrogations did more to hurt Fila than her time in Afghanistan. She’d expected to find safety in Chance Creek. Instead she’d been treated like a potential criminal. She didn’t know who to trust anymore. Didn’t know if anyone trusted her. Fila had folded in on herself. She needed gentle company, warmth and safety. The last thing she needed was to rent an apartment somewhere in town and live alone. Not to mention she couldn’t afford it. “I’m moving out anyway, so there will be plenty of room in the bunkhouse for you, Fila.”