by A. J. Pine
She thought about one of the items on her list. Go skinny-dipping.
Her stomach tightened. They couldn’t do that on a ranch excursion. And the list didn’t exactly say she was supposed to do it with Colt—or anyone for that matter.
But he wanted to help her check those items off the list, which meant…
“Let’s eat,” he said before she blurted out something to the effect that skinny-dipping was her love language too.
They stepped through the door and were greeted not only by the refreshingly cool air but also by the cacophony of guests talking and silverware clanking against dishware.
“It’s like a high school cafeteria,” Jenna said with a laugh, more to herself than Colt. Because now it really was as if she’d stepped through some portal to a parallel universe where she was another Jenna.
“What’s that?” he asked, placing his palm on the small of her back as they took their place in the short line for the gourmet-yet-serve-yourself-style lunch.
“Nothing,” she lied. She was just having lunch with the cutest guy in school and then planned to sneak off with him on their upcoming field trip for a little more of what they’d been doing outside before Luis and Anna found them.
He smiled and nodded toward a table where Sam and Delaney sat with an older woman Jenna hadn’t met yet.
“Looks like Clan Callahan saved us a couple of seats,” he said.
They piled their wooden trays with gazpacho, salad, and hunks of rustic bread Jenna guessed was home-baked by Luis himself.
She followed Colt to the table and took the seat next to Delaney, who had her swollen feet propped up on an extra chair, a bowl of gazpacho balanced on her pregnant belly.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Delaney teased.
Jenna held her hands up in surrender. “I wasn’t judging,” she said with a laugh. “In fact, I think I was the one who suggested we get you off your feet. If that also means using your abdomen as a table, so be it. As long as you’re comfortable.”
Delaney lifted the bowl so it was under her chin, and Sam—even though he was saying something to the woman on his other side—seemed to instinctively place his hand in the spot the gazpacho had vacated.
The simple gesture made Jenna’s throat grow tight.
She tamped down the silly urge to cry. After all, it wasn’t Delaney’s pregnancy that had her choked up. She saw pregnant women all the time and was perfectly content knowing her child-bearing years were behind her.
It was the connection between the two of them and Jenna realizing she’d never had that before.
And wanted it. For a fraction of a second she thought about adding it to her list but then remembered she wasn’t in Meadow Valley for a happily-ever-after—only a happily-for-now.
“Barbara Ann,” Colt said, and the other woman smiled softly at him. “I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to meet Jenna Owens yet. She’s the Everett brothers’ aunt.”
Jenna shook away the thought and forced a smile. Barbara Ann reached a hand across the table to shake Jenna’s.
“It’s so nice to have you, Jenna. My boys grew up with the Everetts until they were sent to live with you. I remember when they lost their mama. Your sister?”
Jenna nodded.
“The missing them? It never goes away, does it?”
Jenna shook her head this time. She knew Sam lost his father only months ago.
“I’m—” Jenna started.
The other woman cut her off. “No apologies, honey,” Barbara Ann said, her voice warm and reassuring. “Loss is a kinship of sorts, isn’t it? Those of us who know also understand that all the apologizing in the world can’t change what’s done. But just knowing you understand me and that I understand you—it’s more than enough.”
Jenna swallowed and nodded once more. Barbara Ann Callahan put her at a loss for words.
“We’re going to be fast friends, Jenna. I can feel it,” she said.
“Hey,” Delaney complained as she held a perspiring glass of iced tea against her forehead. “I found her first.”
Barbara Ann waved her off. “You can share. Besides, another few weeks and you’ll be so sleep-deprived, you won’t remember your own name let alone whether or not I stole your new friend.”
Sam laughed, but then his face grew serious—and possibly a little green.
“Oh my God,” he said. “In another few weeks, I’m going to be a father.”
“And I’m going to be a grandmother,” Barbara Ann said with much more confidence than her son. “Uncle Ben and Charlotte are going to visit from New York for the holidays. Even Delaney’s sister and folks are flying in.”
Delaney nodded. “It’ll be a Christmas miracle, my parents leaving their little Vegas hotel in the hands of their new manager. They’ve never actually taken a vacation together for more than two days.”
“The whole family will be in one place to celebrate what’s going to be the most spoiled little baby in the history of babies,” Barbara Ann added.
“And we’ll get married in the snow,” Delaney said, beaming.
Colt shook his head and laughed. “Still don’t get how you’re going to pull that one off,” he said. “It could snow one day and be gone the next.”
Sam shrugged. “That’s why our online ordained officiant is going to be ready to go at a moment’s notice during the two weeks Ben and Charlotte are here. Our officiant will be ordained by then, won’t he?” he asked, brow raised.
“Yeah, yeah,” Colt said with a good-natured groan, and it all clicked into place.
“You’re marrying them?” Jenna asked but didn’t wait for him to answer. “That’s about the sweetest thing I ever heard.”
Colt raised a brow and slid his arm across the back of Jenna’s chair. “Guess I’m just full of surprises.”
Goose bumps prickled Jenna’s flesh, and she felt the heat rush to her cheeks.
Yes. Colt Morgan was full of surprises—surprises that caught her off guard and made her wonder what it might be like to have a man like him in her life for real someday.
Delaney, still grinning, nodded. “He’s about the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet. Next to Sam, of course. But in case you hadn’t noticed, Sam’s taken.” She laughed as she rubbed a hand over her rounded abdomen; then she narrowed her eyes, her gaze darting from Jenna to Colt and back to Jenna. “You two are a thing! How am I just realizing this? I’m usually so good at spotting this kind of chemistry from a mile away.” She straightened in her chair as best she could. “Spill, you two. There’s nothing I like better than a happily-ever-after.”
There were those words again. Happily-ever-after.
And again Jenna reminded herself that it wasn’t why she was here.
“I mean…” Jenna started, then conveniently took a sip of her iced tea. “We only just met, but…” Why couldn’t she say it? It’s nothing. Just a fling. But all eyes were on her like she was seventeen and she’d just announced she lost her virginity. Good Lord, this really was like a high school cafeteria.
“We’re enjoying ourselves while Jenna’s in town,” Colt said. “Nothing more. Right, Jenna?”
He stared at her, a smile painted across his face, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes.
She got it. At least, she thought she did. Being around Sam and Delaney for only a few minutes had Jenna thinking and wanting things that weren’t possible, not right now. What was it like for Colt to be around it every day?
“Right,” Jenna said, forcing a smile of her own. “Just fun.”
Delaney pouted. “But you two look so good together.” She turned to Sam. “And I want to keep her. Can’t we keep her?”
Sam laughed. “Jenna’s not a stray goat, and I’m pretty sure she’s happy back in Oak Bluff.”
Jenna cleared her throat. “I am,” she said. “Happy, I mean.”
But why did it feel like only a half-truth?
Her farm was there.
Her family was there.
Her li
fe was there.
Who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? She’d been given so much.
“But I’m flattered at the thought,” she added, and Delaney’s shoulders sagged.
“Fine,” the other woman said. “But even when I’m sleep-deprived and don’t remember how much I like you, I hope you’ll come back and visit after the baby comes.”
Jenna opened her mouth to make a promise she wasn’t sure she’d keep, but Colt slid his chair from the table and stood abruptly.
“I lost track of time. Gotta make sure the horses are ready to go.”
“How many you got?” Sam asked.
“Riding?” Colt began. “Four plus Jenna, but there’s another five that wanted to hike it and were getting a head start. Figured we’ll pick up the rear and catch anyone who might have veered off trail.” He turned to Jenna. “You need to head back to your room to change?”
His jaw was tight, and Jenna wondered if him having to clarify their arrangement in front of everyone else had pushed a button she didn’t realize was there.
She shook her head. “Got my suit on underneath.” Then she slid her chair back to show him she had her cowboy boots on with her cutoffs. “Figure I’ll dry off on the ride back, so I don’t need a towel.”
She knew something was bothering him, but the mere mention of a towel made her gut tighten. Because she remembered Colt in a towel a few nights ago—and then that towel falling to the ground. And now she was picturing what was under that towel and ohmyGod she was at a table of people who were watching her picturing a naked Colt in her mind’s eye, and for a second she wondered if they could see.
“So we should go!” Jenna blurted, sliding her chair out from the table and standing so she could avoid anyone’s direct eye contact. “Sorry it was such a quick visit, but I’ll see y’all for dinner or later this week, I’m sure.”
Colt stood and nodded—clueless, she hoped, as to what was playing out in her head.
“You’re on for the bonfire tonight, right?” he asked Sam.
Sam nodded.
“I’d stand to hug you good-bye,” Delaney said. “But I’m not standing again, ever. So I’m just going to wave from here.
“Jenna…” Barbara Ann said, and Jenna had to look the woman in the eye. Dirty thoughts or no, she couldn’t be rude.
“Yes, ma’am?” Jenna replied, acting like she was a child who’d gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“What does your schedule look like on Saturday?”
Jenna breathed a sigh of relief. Sam’s mother wasn’t reading her thoughts. Looked like that talent still belonged to Lucy alone. And thankfully, her hen’s abilities didn’t extend so far as to read Jenna’s innermost thoughts. At least, she assumed they didn’t. But what did Jenna truly know about a chicken’s brain, especially a psychic chicken’s brain?
She laughed softly and shook her head.
“It’s open,” she said. “The first day, actually, where I don’t have anything booked.”
“Good!” the other woman said, clapping her hands together. “You’re coming with me and Delaney to Reno.”
“Reno?” Jenna said.
“Reno?” Colt echoed.
“Yeah. Reno,” Sam said with a laugh.
“Barbara Ann is taking me to this baby boutique to pick out some final touches for the nursery,” Delaney said. “Please come with us! I mean, the ranch is fun and all, but doesn’t a girls’ day with shopping and lunch and an air-conditioned car ride to Reno sound like an absolute dream?”
Sam leaned over and kissed his fiancée on the cheek. “Sometimes I think you might leave me for a rancher in Alaska if the opportunity were to ever present itself.”
“Never,” Delaney scoffed, waving him off. “You gave me my first snow, and no other man can top that.”
As hot as it was outside, Jenna suddenly needed some air. She liked Delaney. And Sam. And everyone she’d met so far. But she’d come here—according to her nephews—for some her time, and right now she wanted that time to be spent on the back of a horse and not thinking about relationships. She just wanted to be.
“Of course,” she finally said, accepting Barbara Ann and Delaney’s invitation. “Some girl time sounds wonderful.” Then she turned to Colt. “I’ll meet you at the stable,” she said. “Just want to go tell Lucy I’ll be gone for a while.”
She waved to everyone at the table and then pivoted toward the door, not waiting to see if Colt was close behind.
The truth was, she needed a minute to collect her thoughts and remind herself that she was here to have fun—like Colt just said—not to fall for the town or the people, and certainly not a cowboy whose naked form still flickered in her mind’s eye.
She was simply confusing her connection to Delaney and the warm welcome everyone had given her with feelings she couldn’t possibly have after only being in town a few days. Jenna hadn’t taken time for herself in years. That was what she was falling for.
Freedom from worry.
Freedom to simply enjoy herself.
Fun, she thought again, then repeated the word aloud over and over as she strode toward the rescue shelter on the far end of the stable.
But there was still the little voice in the back of her mind, warning her that she hadn’t thought so much about any man—naked or not—since, maybe, ever.
“Hush, you,” she said aloud as she let herself in to say a quick hello to Lucy, who greeted her with her most accusatory squawk.
Jenna squatted down to let the hen jump into her lap.
“I know, girl,” Jenna said. “He’s a good man. But this is only temporary.”
Lucy might be intuitive when it came to sensing chemistry between a man and a woman, but she didn’t exactly understand the finer details of it all.
She was a chicken. Of course she didn’t understand. But it didn’t stop her from squawking, and it didn’t stop Jenna from thinking about what it might mean when the fun came to an end.
Chapter Ten
It hadn’t been an easy ride to the hidden swimming hole. Sure, Colt knew the trail like the back of his hand. And Loki, the stallion he’d ridden countless times before, was—as always—steady and able beneath his saddle. What he’d forgotten, though, was that one of the ranch’s horses was out of commission with a mild case of colic. He was being treated by Eli Murphy, their local veterinarian, which meant Colt had to share his horse with Jenna.
Which meant the whole ride to the swimming hole was spent with her chest pressed against his back and her arms wrapped around his torso.
This shouldn’t have been a big deal. This was part of their agreement—him and Jenna being in close proximity. But Delaney at lunch, with all that talk of keeping Jenna, had made it hard to breathe.
If Delaney was already mourning the loss of Jenna going back home after a few days of knowing her, what did that mean for the guy who got to spend the next several days kissing her—or riding horses with her wrapped around him?
He could do this. He could detach and enjoy himself with the same woman for several days. He just had to keep reminding himself that was all this was. His physical attraction to her, though…That was another story. When she was this close, it made it awfully hard for him to concentrate on the fact that he was the professional, in charge of the safety and amusement of the whole lot of folks joining him on this excursion when all he wanted was Jenna Owens to take charge of his amusement in whatever way she deemed appropriate. Or inappropriate. Colt wasn’t a picky guy.
When they finally made it to the clearing, where the hikers had set out their towels and packs and were waiting patiently for the riders, Colt’s shirt was plastered to his torso with sweat, and the heat from Jenna’s palms seared his skin even more.
He slowed Loki to a stop and then cleared his throat before twisting his head over his shoulder.
“You okay to dismount?” he asked. And although he couldn’t see her, he felt Jenna’s breath warm on his cheek. As if they needed any
more heat between them.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice hoarse. “I’m good.”
She let go of him and deftly swung her right leg over Loki’s back, bracing herself with one hand on the saddle just behind Colt’s ass and the other likely on the edge of the saddle before she hopped down. Her phone was out and pointing at him in a matter of seconds.
She smiled at him and shrugged. “That’s a keeper,” she said.
He wasn’t even thinking about the picture. He was thinking about Jenna’s arms having been wrapped around him and that they were no longer there. It didn’t matter how hot it was outside or how much hotter it had been riding double in the California heat. Colt felt the absence of her behind him in his gut.
He laughed softly to himself.
His physical desire for her was getting the best of him.
He hopped off Loki after Jenna was safely on the ground, then tied the horse off to a nearby tree and helped the other riders do the same.
“Thanks for waiting, everyone,” he said to the hikers, who’d been instructed not to swim until Colt—a trained lifeguard—arrived. “The water doesn’t go deeper than five feet, so there is no diving. And while most of us are taller than the water is deep, let’s all enjoy ourselves while still exercising safety, especially for our younger swimmers.” There were only two kids among the whole group, but everyone could always use some good old friendly reminders of how not to be an idiot in the water. So he went through the rest of his spiel, slowly and methodically, and finally ended with, “All right, folks. Pool’s open!”
His announcement was met with whoops and hollers followed by all of the hikers and riders stripping down to their swimsuits before splashing into what he hoped was cool water. Well, all but one headed straight for the water. Jenna Owens was waiting about five feet away from where he stood, dressed in what would have been a simple white one-piece bathing suit had it not been for side cutouts that revealed most of her torso—a torso he had touched but not truly seen. What happened in the bed they shared the other night happened under cover of darkness save for the flashes of lightning that illuminated the room in short bursts of white light.
