The Cowboy's Autumn Fall (Grass Valley Cowboys Book 4)

by Shanna Hatfield

  “Okay,” Cass said, impulsively hugging Bailey before racing off to her room.

  Unfamiliar with childish hugs, Bailey took a moment to savor the feel of tiny arms around her neck and the warm, sunshiny scent of a child. She discovered she rather enjoyed the moment.

  “She’s a lively child, isn’t she?” Bailey said, turning her attention back to Lindsay and Cady.

  “That’s putting it nicely,” Cady said with a grin. “She’s a live wire who keeps us on our toes, but we love her.”

  Love seemed to be something that filled the Triple T ranch house right up to the rafters, Bailey mused as she washed her hands and helped Cady and Lindsay prepare food for lunch as well as the barbecue that evening. Love and a whole lot of laughter.

  ><><

  Coming in for lunch hot and hungry, Brice washed up and sat down at the table with his parents, Ben, Tess, the three Thompson brothers, and the hired hands.

  “I invited the girls and your hands for dinner,” Michele said, directing her comment to Trey.

  He looked up and smiled. “That’s great. We’ll make this last day of haying into a regular party.”

  “We deserve some kind of celebration after all this backbreaking work,” Ben said, taking another serving of the chicken casserole Tess made for lunch.

  “Going soft on us, city boy,” Mike teased his oldest child, who spent most of his time in Portland where he worked for a barge company. Ben had been there long enough he’d worked his way up to a management position, coming home to help on the ranch when he had a spare weekend.

  “Nope,” Ben said, flexing his bicep and earning a raised eyebrow from his mother. “Just saying we have more than earned some fun at the end of this long grueling day of working for a slave-driver, old man.”

  Mike narrowed his gaze at Ben and Brice hid a chuckle, enjoying the family banter. He watched Travis wink at Tess and saw her cheeks pink at the attention. It was a good thing the two of them settled on a wedding date sooner rather than later. Knowing his best friend like he did, Brice was feeling the need to keep an eye on Travis until a ring was placed on Tess’ finger.

  Thinking about weddings and romance made his thoughts wander to Bailey. Looking at the three Thompson brothers across the table, he realized Bailey looked a little like her cousins. She definitely shared Trey’s unusual turquoise blue eye color and thick, honey-gold hair. Although seeing those same traits on her created a whole different reaction for Brice.

  Planning ahead for the evening, he smiled to himself wondering if he could get her alone out in the barn for a few minutes of stolen kisses. Only he hoped they’d be freely given.

  “Whatever you’re thinking about, you probably shouldn’t be,” Tess whispered, leaning near Brice. He felt his ears grow hot as he looked at his sister and she gave him a knowing grin. “Caught you daydreaming, didn’t I?”

  “I’m not admitting anything,” Brice said, giving her a playful poke to her ribs, making her jump in her chair.

  “Are you two ever going to grow up and act like adults?” Michele asked, watching her youngest offspring.

  “Not if we can help it,” Brice said, nudging Tess with his shoulder, making everyone laugh.

  Heading back out to the hay fields after lunch, Trey called Cady, asking her to send over their crew so they could get the haying done before dinner time.

  Finishing up with a few minutes to spare before Michele said the barbecue would begin, Brice hurried to the house to get a shower, shave and put on clean clothes. He slapped aftershave on his cheeks, ran a little gel through his hair and finger-combed in a wave then shook his head at his efforts to impress Bailey. Popping a breath strip in his mouth, he grinned at his reflection and ran out the door.

  Going to the back yard where everyone would gather, Brice noticed Bailey with Cady, Lindsay and Cass. She wore a simple cotton dress in a deep shade of wine with ballet flats while her hair framed her face in soft curls.

  Brice thought she was beautiful and took a moment to watch her interact with his family and hers. Although she was somewhat reserved, she wasn’t shy, and laughed at something Cass said. Bending down, she let the little girl finger the stone on her necklace and answered her questions before patting Cass on the head and looking around.

  Her eyes connected with Brice’s and he felt himself pulled into the deep ocean of blue. Covering the expanse of yard between them with a few quick steps, he took her hand in his and kissed her cheek, making her blush.

  “Hi,” she said, looking at him with warmth in her gaze and her smile. Brice inhaled her unique scent and itched to run his fingers along her the column of her slender neck. Her lips were the same deep wine shade as her dress and he wondered if they’d taste sweet, like a ripe berry. He planned to find out before the evening was through.

  “You look gorgeous,” Brice whispered, leaning down so his lips were close to her ear. Although she tried to suppress it, a shiver of pleasure slid up her spine and she straightened, stiffening her posture until Brice placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Did you enjoy your day?”

  “Yes, I did,” Bailey said, telling him about spending the day cooking with Cady and Lindsay. Lindsay mostly cut up vegetables and kept Cass out of the way, but Bailey learned a lot of tricks and tips from working with Cady. The woman was a wonder in the kitchen. “Did you know Cady thought about being a chef at one point in her career?”

  “Yeah, I heard that. She would have been a great one, but I’m glad she moved here and married Trey instead. That way we all get to enjoy her cooking,” Brice looked at the heavily laden table covered with tempting creations. “Did you make anything, sugar?”

  “I did,” Bailey said, glad that she was a good cook, when she wanted to be. It wasn’t because of any particular desire or talent on her part. She followed recipes to the letter, and they always turned out because of it. It was a matter of measures and practical applications, after all.

  “Well, what do I need to sample and then rave about?” Brice asked with a teasing smile, looking down at her with teeth flashing white against his tan. Bailey loved the way his forehead wrinkled when he smiled, like his entire face was genuinely pleased.

  “Perhaps I’ll let it be a mystery for you to unravel,” Bailey said, folding her hands at her waist and swishing her skirt back and forth. It brushed against Brice’s leg and made him think all kinds of crazy thoughts.

  “I bet you I can figure it out,” Brice said, giving Bailey a look of challenge, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from running his fingers up the sides of her dress.

  “I don’t wager money,” Bailey said, raising an eyebrow at Brice. Was he one of those people who gambled and did all sorts of addictive things? Somehow she knew he didn’t.

  “No money, sugar,” Brice said, taking a step closer to her, sporting a cocky grin. “Something far more valuable.”

  “Like what?”

  “Kisses,” Brice said in such a deep, husky voice it made heat climb up Bailey’s neck.

  “Kisses, indeed, Mr. Morgan,” Bailey said, smiling at his teasing, despite her efforts to look stern.

  “I’m not kidding around, Ms. Bishop,” Brice said, giving in to his desire to run his finger along her neck. The contact of his skin to hers made something pulse between them. “Kisses are serious business.”

  Unable to concentrate with Brice touching her neck with more gentleness than she’d have thought possible with those big, callused hands, Bailey nodded her head.

  “So you agree?” Brice asked, his eyes intently fixed on hers.

  “Yes,” she said, thinking she’d agree to just about anything Brice said at that moment as his scent swept over her and she felt caressed by the warmth of his presence.

  “Good,” Brice said, breaking her gaze to look over the food table. “If I figure out what you brought, you have to give me three kisses.”

  “Three? That seems a bit excessive,” Bailey said, keeping her voice steady, although she had to work
hard to do it. If Brice had asked for a dozen, she’d have dropped enough hints he would figure out what she made and then happily delivered all twelve kisses.

  “Come on,” Brice said, grabbing her forearms and pulling her closer to him.

  She placed her hands on his chest to both steady herself and keep a little distance between them. The feel of his muscles beneath her fingers did anything but steady her as her head swirled with ideas that had nothing to do with keeping away from Brice.

  “Live a little. You can exact your own payment if I guess incorrectly.”

  “That puts a different perspective on this,” Bailey said thoughtfully. “If I win you have to do whatever I ask of you for the rest of the evening.”

  “Deal,” Brice said, lifting an eyebrow at her, pondering what she might ask. “Maybe I’ll lose on purpose.”

  “You might not like what I ask of you. What if I ask you to keep Cass entertained or serenade everyone with old campfire songs? You could get garbage duty or be forced to clean up all the dishes by yourself.”

  “Not happening,” Brice said, determined to win their bet. “Are you in?”

  “I suppose so,” Bailey said with resignation. “Otherwise you’ll badger me until I agree.”

  “I don’t badger anyone,” Brice said, insulted and indignant.

  “Since when?” Tess asked as she stepped beside them, giving Bailey a hug. “I love your dress, Bailey. Is it one from that website you told me about it?”

  “Thank you, Tess. Yes it is,” Bailey said, casting Brice a glance over her shoulder as Tess led her off talking about retro fashions.

  His dad banged a knife on the galvanized tub filled with ice and bottled beverages, getting the attention of everyone there. He asked a blessing on the meal and thanked everyone for their help that day. While Brice had taken time to clean up, the rest of the men were still hot, sweaty and dirty, a fact that was noted by Bailey as she filled her plate, studying Brice from the corner of her eye.

  He stood talking to Travis and Trent, laughing at something Travis said. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt, but he somehow made even the simplest attire look quite appealing. His hair had that little wave in the front that made her long to run her fingers through it and he smelled like every wonderful thing she loved about fall.

  As though he could read her thoughts, he looked over and caught her eye, raising his eyebrow at her suggestively. She narrowed her gaze with a disapproving glare then walked over to sit by Cady and Cass.

  Brice studied the selections on the table as he filled his plate and knew he was in trouble. Pausing with a spoon midair, he had no idea how he’d figure out what dish Bailey made.

  “What’s wrong, dude? You’re holding up the line,” Travis said, nudging him with his elbow.

  “I bet Bailey I could figure out what she brought and I’ve got no clue,” Brice admitted quietly to his friend.

  Travis snorted and slapped him on the back. “And the payout on that bet is something, no doubt, you don’t want to lose. I can’t help you with this, because it wouldn’t be fair. Having spent the better part of the last two months stuck in the house around the girls, though, I can tell you to pay attention to the details.”

  “What’s that mean?” Brice asked, continuing to dish food on his plate as he moved down the table.

  “It means what I said. Pay attention to the details, like dishes and things,” Travis said cryptically before wandering off to sit with Tess.

  Trying to decipher what Travis was telling him, Brice turned to sit by Bailey, irritated to find she planted herself in the middle of a full table with no room left for him.

  As he walked by to find an empty seat at another table, she offered him a saucy grin. Annoyed, he decided if Bailey wanted to play games with him, he would play to win.

  Shoveling food into his mouth, Brice was about half-way through his plate full of food when he figured out what Travis was saying. Dishes and things. He knew what serving pieces his mom owned, thanks to years of being forced to help with the dishes, so he could automatically eliminate those. Lindsay generally didn’t cook, so that left the dishes from the Triple T. How to figure out what was made by Bailey and Cady? They were both people who strived for perfection, but Cady had mellowed quite a bit in the last year going with speed and necessity over frills and fancy due to the nature of being a busy ranch wife.

  Brice hurriedly finished what was on his plate and returned to the food table, critically surveying each dish, each serving piece. There, among the desserts, was a perfect cake. It was perfectly smooth, perfectly flat on top, perfectly positioned on the cake stand. It looked like something Bailey would create.

  “Do you need something, honey?”

  Brice glanced across the table to see his mom looking at him with a knife in her hand.

  “Yeah, Mom. Can you cut me a slice of that cake?” Brice said pointing to the cake he was sure Bailey baked.

  “Sure,” Michele said, cutting Brice a big slice and setting it on his plate. “That looks yummy. I haven’t had carrot cake for a long while. Take a bite and let me know if it’s good.”

  Brice forked a bite and instead of tasting it, held it for his mom.

  She closed her eyes as she chewed. “Yep, that’s good. I bet Cady made it.”

  “Maybe,” Brice said, watching Bailey watch him. He pointed to the cake and gave her a victorious smile. She nodded her head with a look of defeat.

  Walking past her on the way back to his seat, he bent down long enough to drop something in her hand and whisper “you’ll need this for later.”

  Bailey felt heat fill her cheeks when she opened her hand to find Brice’s tube of lip balm.

  “Is my brother harassing you?” Ben asked from across the table, entertained by what was going on between Brice and Bailey.

  “Not exactly,” Bailey said, putting the lip balm in the pocket of her dress and trying to return her attention to the conversation going on around her. She had no idea how Brice figured out what she baked, but she’d have to pay up on that bet. Instead of dreading the moment Brice would demand payment, Bailey was greatly looking forward to it.

  After everyone ate their fill, the Triple T hands headed back to the ranch to finish up the evening chores. The Thompsons and Morgans, along with Bailey, walked out to the barn where Tess and Travis wanted to have their wedding reception. Unlike the barn at the Triple T that was full of stalls, storage and tack rooms, the barn at the Running M had a huge open floor with stalls against a back wall. A loft overhead had stairs that ran up to it, rather than a ladder. A large sink with a work counter sat in one corner next to a small bathroom.

  Tess shared her vision for the reception with the group and the women enthusiastically embraced her ideas while the men braced themselves for some hurried work in the next few weeks.

  When anyone asked for his opinion, Travis would smile and say “whatever honeybee wants.” In truth, he didn’t care what was planned, how elaborate or simple. Travis was much more interested in the honeymoon. Tess left the planning of that detail up to him and he was determined to make it memorable.

  The group wandered outside to discuss parking, set up, and a myriad of wedding details. As Bailey followed along, Brice caught her wrist and tugged her back in the barn, hurrying her up to the loft. It was the one place he knew they could get a few moments of privacy before they were missed.

  “What are you doing?” Bailey asked as he tugged her down to sit on an old loveseat he and Ben lugged up to the loft years ago.

  The ragged piece of furniture had definitely seen better days, but it gave the Morgan boys somewhere to hang out and hide out when they were teens. Brice still liked to come out to the barn to think when he had a problem that needed solved or he just wanted to gather his thoughts without interruption. Usually he needed to be around people, but once in a great while he liked a little quiet.

  “Collecting on our bet,” Brice said, staring at Bailey. His heated gaze made her self-conscience and fid
gety. She folded her hands in her lap, smoothed down her skirt, toyed with the collar of her dress then returned her hands to her lap. Finally, she grasped the stone of the necklace around her neck and rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger.

  “What’s that?” Brice asked, gently moving her fingers aside so he could see what she wore. Not surprisingly, it was a fossil that had been sealed and polished before being set in a silver bracket and placed on a sturdy silver chain. In the fading light, Brice could barely make out what looked like the impression of a tiny wing. “Is that a butterfly?”

  “Yes, as best as can be detected,” Bailey said, sitting perfectly still while Brice held the fossil carefully in his fingers. She found the fossil when she was only eleven and her parents took her to a fossil bed in Colorado.

  It was a life-changing trip for Bailey because from the moment she held that fossil in her hand, she knew what she wanted to do with her life. Her dad had the fossil preserved and turned into a necklace for her which she always wore. It served as a constant reminder of what set her feet down the path of paleontology. Although the imprint of the butterfly wing was light and small, it had been enough to spark her interest.

  “I’ve seen you rubbing this when you’re nervous,” Brice said, laying the piece back against her chest. Bailey felt singed when his fingers brushed her skin. “It must be important to you.”

  “It is,” Bailey said, then told Brice about how she came to have it. Her mom thought it was silly and Sierra was too young to care, but Bailey’s father had understood. He’d always understood her better than her fun-loving mother. “So instead of ballet and piano lessons or slumber parties with girls, I spent my time researching, learning, studying and planning. My summer camps were to fossil digs instead of sports or artistic excursions.”

  “That explains a lot,” Brice said, smiling at Bailey.

  “Explains what?”

  “Why you’re so interesting, smart and intense,” Brice said, scooting closer to Bailey on the loveseat. For every inch he advanced, she slid back until she felt the arm of the chair pressing into her back.