The Cowboy's Temptation (16 page)

Elissa took a deep breath. “Well, then. That’s a whole lot of nothing,” she said, wondering how she was going to handle this situation.

“Yeah, I know,” she sniffed. Veronica took a handkerchief and blew her nose, then sighed and stood up. “Okay, what do you say we take these little guys for a walk in the stroller? I’ve been cooped up here for the past thirty-six hours with no one but Rick at night to talk to.”

“Ronny, I’m so sorry I left you alone yesterday,” Elissa said, the guilt overwhelming her.

 

Veronica smiled and stood up. “No problem.”

Elissa stared at her friend as if she’d grown another head. Veronica was halfway across the room before she realized that Elissa was staring at her strangely. Then she laughed at her friend’s expression. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just post partum,” she explained.

Elissa could only nod her head as if that explained everything. “Okay, thanks for the update,” she said.

Veronica laughed again. “It comes each day for about a half hour, then leaves and I can enjoy the twins again. It’s awful so be glad you only caught the tail end of the mood swing. And be grateful I just have the baby blues. I hear that post partum depression is really awful.”

Elissa had to take her friend’s word for it, never having gone through a pregnancy nor having any friends who had gone through pregnancy. The women she knew in New York didn’t want to ruin their figure and their careers for something they considered troublesome and annoying.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Elissa asked, following after Veronica with Maxine in her arms. They put the babies into the double stroller and pushed them out the door.

“Sure I’m fine. For now at least,” she said. She chuckled suddenly. “You should have seen Rick yesterday when I started crying. He just about turned green before losing all color in his face. I don’t think he stopped spoiling me at all yesterday.”

Elissa laughed. “I can imagine. It’s a little terrifying to witness.”

 

“Humph. Try going through it!” she said.

 

They laughed as they walked through the walkways of the immediate ranch area. “Why don’t you take me to see the newest member of the ranch?”

“Oh, Ronny!” Elisa said, eager to share her story. “Have you ever seen anything like it? Did Rick tell you what happened? Jake helped Lucy give birth to a tiny little foal. It was breach and the poor mare was in labor for hours, obviously in pain and straining….” Elissa laughed at Veronica’s rueful expression. “Okay, I guess you know all about the wonder of birth. But that was my first one and you should have seen how wonderful Jake was. He was so gentle, coaxing the mare to make it through the ordeal, then pulling that poor little foal out of her womb. I can’t imagine what that was like,” she said, staring at the barn to which they were heading.

Veronica watched Elissa’s face and wondered about her friend’s feelings towards Jake. “Elissa, when are you going to admit that you’re in love with Jake?” She asked after only a moment’s hesitation.

Elissa sighed heavily. “I have, to myself.”

 

“When?”

 

“This morning,” she replied.

 

“When you were getting out of his bed?”

Elissa’s startled expression snapped to Veronica’s. “How did you know?” Veronica laughed. “Oh, Lissy, when have you ever been able to hide something? An educated guess and only a few clues and I knew as soon as you walked into the house this morning.”

“I’m surprised that you noticed anything.”

 

“I’m post partum, not blind,” she said, laughing again. “So what are you going to do about the situation?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Nothing?” Veronica repeated, astonished.

 

“What is there to do? Jake and I are from different worlds.”

“Don’t you dare give me that load of Malarkey,” Veronica said. “You’ve already said you hate New York, you hate your job and you hate the life you have back there. So if you hate so much behind you, look ahead of you,” she said, pointing towards the barn where Jake was striding across the drive. He started the engine of a truck and drove off, waving to the two of them who were just standing there watching him drive away.

Elissa considered what Veronica had said. “It’s true, I do hate it back there.”

 

“What’s holding you there?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“What’s holding you back from taking everything you want here?”

 

“Jake. I don’t know how he feels about me.”

 

Veronica chuckled at Elissa’s insecurity. “Honey, if you only knew Jake, you’d know he’s head over heels in love with you too.”

 

“Why do you say that?”

 

“Remember his house before you entered it?”

 

Elissa nodded. She remembered the dust and the refrigerator full of sandwich makings.

 

“Jake doesn’t let people into his life easily. And especially not women.”

 

Elissa nodded, accepting that Jake might like having a clean house and home cooked meals.

“But you’re not going to listen to me, are you?” Veronica said, knowing Elissa too well. “Okay, I’ll stay out of this. But if I think you two are going to ruin it for each other, I’ll step in and do my worst. So just fix things up between the two of you and do it fast.”

They walked for only a half hour, then headed back to the house. The babies started waking up and demanding to be fed so Elissa and Veronica spent the day taking care of the two little dears. By the end of the day though, Elissa needed a break. She was glad when Rick walked in and took Michael into his arms.

“I’m out of here,” Elissa called but Veronica and Rick were already kissing sweetly, then staring down at their two sleeping children in obvious love and delight. Elissa let herself out of the house, not wanting to interrupt their intimate moment as a family. She knew there were too few of those with twin babies.

It was almost five o’clock and Elissa had no idea where she was supposed to meet Jake. All he’d said was to be ready at five o’clock. She wasn’t sure what she should be ready for but Elissa wondered what she looked like.

All of a sudden, Jake appeared at her side. “Ready?” he asked.

 

She put a hand to her hair self-consciously. “I must look a fright,” she said.

Jake looked at her rumpled shirt and the hairs that had slipped out of her pony tail. She looked like she’d spent the day in a whirlwind. But she looked lovely to him. Her eyes were bright with excitement, her cheeks were rosy and her lips, devoid of lipstick, were still pink and extremely kissable. “You look beautiful,” he said gruffly.

Elissa smiled in appreciation. “You’re pretty handsome yourself, sir,” she replied, admiring the way his shirt pulled across his chest because of all the excess muscles underneath the fabric.

He tipped his hat and smiled. “Thank you, ma’am. Let’s go.”

He guided her over to the helicopter, picked her up and deposited her inside the passenger seat. Elissa put on her seatbelt as he came around the front. As soon as he was in, he pulled down the headphones and told her to put them on, then started the engine. The propellers whipped up the air and built up the necessary torque needed to become airborne. Within three minutes of arriving, they were off and flying over the ranch. Elissa had no idea where they were going but she liked the view from up high. The cattle were running across the fields below and she watched the trees rustle in the breeze. After a short flight that was probably only thirty minutes, Jake landed the helicopter on an open field. “Come on,” he said, shutting down the engine.

He pulled her behind him and set out a blanket on the edge of the field. “We still have about ten minutes”, he said. “Just enough time.” And he leaned over, taking her mouth with his and kissing her, enjoying the feel of her lips and body coming alive under his touch.

A few minutes later, he sat up and pointed towards the horizon. “Look,” he said and Elissa sat in wonder as the sun set over the tips of the trees, lighting the sky on fire as the rays splintered in the night sky.

They made love on the blanket as the sun set on the horizon. Elissa was thrilled that Jake would share this experience with her and showed him through her body that she loved him. She couldn’t say the words though, knowing that he wasn’t really interested in her that way. could give her. into the future and cherish them, relive them over and over as she figured out what to do with her life now.
Elissa could accept that now. She wanted to experience anything Jake When the relationship ended, she would take these moments with her

They flew back to the ranch later that night and Elissa invaded the refrigerator, throwing together some leftovers for dinner. Once they finished eating, they were still hungry, but this time for each other. Jake pulled her towards him on the sofa where they had eaten dinner and pulled her into his arms, making love right there on the sofa, this time with Elissa on the top which gave her all sorts of ideas on the future.

The next morning, she again woke in Jake’s arms as were the following four days. Elissa was thrilled with the way her days were going. She spent most of the day helping Ronny, then the afternoon making scrumptious dinners for the four of them, loving the way everyone raved about her cooking. Each evening, Jake took her to a special place. Sometimes it was just riding along the fences where he would show her special plants that were indigenous to Texas. One night, he took her for a ride in the helicopter and they flew over the ranch. Elissa saw only half of the ranch that night. They only had time for a part of it since it was so sprawling. Friday night, he took her to the dance at the barn again and he danced every dance with her, only stopping to chat with his friends and acquaintances during the breaks. Even then, he kept his arm around her waist and included her in all his conversations.

The following Monday, he looked serious. “Elissa, I need to go away for a few days but when I get back, I’d like to talk to you.”

Elissa looked at him and smiled. “That would be fine,” she said, loving the worried look in his eyes. “I’ll be here,” she promised. It worried her only slightly that he might need to end their relationship, but the sweet, gentle kiss he left her with eliminated those doubts.

Elissa sat up in bed that morning and made a final decision. She looked around Jake’s room and felt more at home than she had since she’d left her parent’s house for college. She knew what she had to do. Throwing off the covers, she pulled on one of Jake’s shirts and padded down the hallway to her room. Most of her clothes were now in Jake’s room but she’d left her computer there. It had been a month since she’d communicated with her office. She knew that she was fired. weeks off with the possibility that it might extend to three. weeks with absolutely no communication with anyone, much less her boss, there was not much her firm could do but let her go.
She’d only asked for two

But being gone for four

Two months ago, that news would have sent her into a panic. Now, she was excited about the possibility that she wouldn’t have to go through the awkward activity of submitting her resignation and clean out her office. Hopefully, they had already done that and shipped her personal items from her office to her house. Good riddance, she thought. If she never stepped back into that office, she would be forever grateful.

Elissa logged into her e-mail and started reading from the bottom. There were over five hundred messages, mostly from her clients demanding resolution to some issues. By the time she’d reached the middle, the messages were pretty hostile. But oddly enough, once she reached the most recent messages, they were kinder, as if her clients were pleading with her to get in touch with them so they could continue to work with her.

One of the last few messages was from Jim Tillman. Two weeks ago, he had sent an angry message threatening to fire her if she didn’t contact someone immediately. But just as recently as two days ago, he had sent a friendly message asking if everything was going well and when she planned on coming back to the office.

Elissa made several phone calls and made the necessary arrangements. She wanted to do everything in New York and be back in Texas before Jake came back home. She had no idea what he was going to discuss with her, but she was going to face him with courage and love. Whatever decision he was going to make, she would stand by it. She wouldn’t beg him for a few more days of his time. He’d already been generous enough as it is. He’d taught her so much over the past month. She owed it to him to make a graceful exit from his life if that’s what he wanted.

After she’d made all the necessary arrangements, she packed up a small bag with just enough clothes to last her for the two, possibly three days she’d be gone. She then went to Veronica’s house.

“Good morning,” she said to Veronica whose eyes widened at Elissa’s crisp business suit and perfectly groomed hair.

 

“I don’t think it will be,” Veronica said, hugging a hungry Michael to her chest. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, stifling the tears in her eyes.

Elissa smiled fondly. “I’m going back to New York to sell my condo, pack up my office and quit my job. Then I’m moving out here. I don’t know what I’ll do, but I love this country life.”

Veronica just stared at Elissa for several heartbeats. “Wow!” she said. Then with more excitement, “Oh, how wonderful! You and Jake are going to get married and have babies and we’ll live right next door to each other and our kids will grow old together. I can’t believe it! It’s too good to be true!”

Elissa shook her head. “Yes, it is probably too good to be true. Jake hasn’t said anything about settling down and I don’t want to pressure him into anything he doesn’t want to do. I’m coming out here yes, but I’ll probably live in town somewhere. I was thinking about starting an accounting firm out here. I enjoyed doing Jake’s books and there are probably some other small businesses out here that might need some bookkeeping help. That would be enough to keep me busy with a small enough income. My investments will do the rest. I don’t need a lot anymore.”

Veronica’s mouth dropped open. “What do you mean Jake isn’t going to settle down? That man is in love with you, have no doubt about that,” she said confidently.

Elissa laughed. “That’s just your romantic heart talking. And too many romance novels,” she added. “But the reality is that Jake is his own person. He doesn’t need me around,” she said, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. “He’s even said he wanted to talk when he gets back from a business trip.”