He turned back to her. “It amazes me that people pay for something you can fix in your own home.”
“There are lots of coffee shops nowadays.”
He waved his hand. “Yeah, I know about those Star… places. I just don’t get it.”
Becca walked to him, and smiled. “We’ll figure something out, Stan.”
He nodded and followed her out of the barn.
Outside, Becca looked around the property. A large oak tree lived comfortably in front of the house. The bare branches of several bushes running along the front of the porch and the rocking chairs and swing on the porch made the home inviting. She wished she knew what happened between her father and his mother. Her mother’s parents had died when Becca was a baby, so it would’ve been nice to have a grandmother. Where was Hattie’s husband?
“Stan, what happened to Hattie’s husband?”
“Hal died years ago. He was working on an old car in the barn when it fell on him. He’d been under it, and the jack fell. Will, your daddy, he was sixteen when it happened.”
Becca gasped. “How awful! I can’t imagine what Hattie went through losing her husband like that.”
Stan cleared his throat. “It was a rough day. Hattie had wanted to sell the ranch then, but Will talked her into keeping it and she realized that Hal would’ve wanted her to keep it going. It was just getting on its feet.” He shrugged. “We all did what we had to do.”
Carl Black met them at the corral. “I need to make a trip to town to get a salt block.”
“I’ll go,” Becca said, smiling. “What?” she asked when they both looked at her as if she’d sprouted a third eye.
“I don’t know about that --,” Carl started to say.
“No.” Stan cut him off.
“No?” Becca felt her redheaded temperature rising. “Am I or am I not the owner of this ranch?” Both men nodded. “Correct. So, if I say I’m going, then I’m going.” She took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t mean to sound like a bitch but I need to pick up some things and this will give me the opportunity to do that, plus I can meet some people.”
Stan started to shake his head.
Becca stepped closer to him held out her hand, and wiggled her fingers. “Keys, please. I’ll take the truck.” She nodded toward the big red Silverado with 4X4 on the side of it.
“It’s going to snow anytime now, and it will get bad before you get back,” Stan warned her.
Becca wiggled her fingers again. When Stan sighed, she bit back a smile. He dropped the keys in her hand. She ran quickly into the house to get her purse. When she came back out, all four men were standing at the corral watching her as she walked to the truck. Over her shoulder, she shouted to them. “See, its four wheel drive. I’ll be fine.”
Hopping into the truck, Becca giggled at the looks on their faces. They looked as if they’d never see her again. Did they think, because she didn’t have a penis between her legs she couldn’t drive a truck? Still laughing, she took off down the driveway and entered the address Stan had given her into the GPS.
As Becca drove the large truck down the two-lane road of the town, her gaze swept over the old buildings on each side. The brick buildings, with sidewalks in front of them, looked like something from the late 1800s. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve thought she’d gone back in time. At any moment, she expected to see gunslingers step onto the blacktop street. She spotted the feed store and pulled into the parking lot. When she hopped down from the truck, several people looked at her. No one smiled.
O-kay. This was going to be harder than she thought.
Cowboys stood on the platform talking while others loaded their trucks with feed or other needed items. Becca opened the door and stepped inside the store. Her eyes ran around the large room until she spotted the counter. The store, filled with cowboy boots, hats, shirts, along with animal feed, and batteries for machinery of every kind, also seemed like a step back in time. The scuffed hardwood floors were well worn and the walls had old advertisements hanging on them. All of these things, coupled with the smells of leather and feed, made the store most welcoming.
A beautiful blonde-haired woman stood behind the counter with a smile on her face. She looked to be in her late twenties. Her long hair was up in a ponytail and her bright blue eyes sparkled with humor.
Wait a minute! She was smiling. At her.
Becca shyly returned the smile and walked toward her.
“Hi. You must be Hattie’s granddaughter,” the woman greeted her.
“I am, but aren’t you afraid of being burned at the stake for talking to me?”
The woman laughed. “They’ll get over it.” She stuck her hand out. “I’m Emma Conner. It’s nice to meet you.”
Becca shook her hand and grinned. “Becca Daniels. It’s really nice to meet you, Emma.”
Emma waved her hand. “Trust me, eventually the town will get past it. We all loved Hattie. I’m so sorry about her passing.”
“I wish I’d known her.” Becca blinked back tears.
Emma gasped. “You didn’t know Hattie?”
“No. My father never told me about her. That’s why I never came to visit,” Becca explained with a shrug. “I just didn’t know.”
“That explains why we never saw you. Hattie rarely mentioned you.”
Becca and Emma both seemed lost in their thoughts when the door opened. A tall man stepped inside. Becca noticed Emma stiffen, blush, and look everywhere but at the man who’d entered.
Becca checked him out as he glanced toward Emma. He nodded at Becca, and then continued toward the back of the store. Becca looked to Emma. “Who’s that? He’s gorgeous.”
Emma cleared her throat. “Gabe Stone, the bane of my existence.” She took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, the man doesn’t even know I exist.”
“Seriously? His eyes went right to you as soon as he came in.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “He wasn’t expecting me to be here. Gabe tries to come in here when he thinks I’m not working. My dad owns the store and I just help out once in a while.”
“Did you say Stone?” At Emma’s nod, Becca asked the next obvious question. “Is he related to Jake Stone?”
“He’s Jake’s younger brother. The youngest is Wyatt. Jake’s thirty-five, Gabe is thirty-four, and Wyatt is thirty-two. All gorgeous and all single,” Emma answered with a dreamy sigh.
Well, that was certainly true as far as two of them went. Becca had never been into cowboys but the Stone men could assuredly change her mind. Shaking her head as if to clear thoughts of the men from her mind, she placed her order with Emma and after agreeing to get together for lunch, she walked outside to find snow coming down heavily. She walked over to her truck and waited as a young man came out carrying the salt block she’d ordered. As the snow came down harder, she knew she would have to get back to the ranch and put off her shopping for another day.
“Better get home, ma’am. This is going to get bad, pretty quick,” the young man told her.
Becca thanked him and was about to get into her truck when Gabe Stone came outside. He started past her to his truck, but then turned back toward her.
“You’re Hattie’s granddaughter?”
“Yes.” Becca straightened her shoulders and prepared for a confrontation.
“I’m Gabe Stone.” He stuck his hand out. She took it. “I’ll follow you to the ranch.” Becca started to object. “I’m going that way, I live down the road from there. This is mixing with ice. I’d feel better.”
Becca opened her mouth and then closed it. Shrugging, she smiled at him. “I’m Becca Daniels, and thank you.”
Gabe smiled back at her. He looked like his older brother, only Gabe had a mustache, one that would put Tom Selleck’s to shame. He also had brown eyes and towered over her. He really was gorgeous. Then she realized he was saying something to her.
Shit! Snap out of it, Becca!
“I’m sorry?”
“I said, just take it easy. I’l
l be right behind you,” Gabe told her.
Becca felt her cheeks turn red. She nodded and hopped up into the truck.
“Good Lord, Becca. Get a grip. You’ve seen gorgeous men before,” she mumbled as she pulled out of the parking lot.
True to his word, Gabe was right behind her all the way. As Becca drove the truck slowly, she could hear the ice pinging off the roof. Snow didn’t bother her, but ice was something altogether different. Nothing, not even four-wheel drive, was good in it. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally spotted her driveway.
Gabe blew the horn as he drove on by and waved. Becca waved back and soon pulled up to the barn. She saw Stan coming out of it. He was alone.
“I was beginning to worry,” he told her.
“It’s getting bad out there. Gabe Stone followed me home.”
Stan took the salt block out of the back of the truck. “Gabe’s a good man, just like his brothers. I’m glad he followed you.”
“Where is everyone, Stan?” There was no way she was agreeing with him about Jake Stone being a good man.
“Oh, I sent the men home. They need to be with their families in this kind of weather, not stuck here on the ranch.”
“Don’t you need to be with your family, too?” Becca followed him into the barn.
Stan grinned. “I don’t have any family anymore. My wife, Cheryl, died two years ago from cancer. We never had children. I live in a little house behind the barn. Hattie had it built for us about ten years ago. Glad she did, since I take care of everything around here.”
Becca smiled at him. “She must have been a nice woman, my grandmother.”
Stan laughed. “That she was. That she was.” Then he sobered. “You would’ve loved her, Ms. Daniels.”
“Becca, please, and I’m sure I would have. Have a good evening, Stan.”
“I will. You, too, and if you need me, my number is by the kitchen phone.” He tipped his hat at her. “Goodnight.”
The dark sky made it seem later in the evening than it actually was. Becca warmed herself some soup and decided to watch television while the snow continued to blanket the ground. The house seemed so quiet. Becca turned up the sound, trying to make some noise echo through the solitude.
After eating, she decided to go upstairs and take a bath in that huge claw foot tub she’d been dying to try out. She poured bubble bath under the faucet and watched as the bubbles filled the tub. After undressing, she tied her long hair up on her head, stepped into the tub, and slowly slid down into the hot water. Becca let out a groan of appreciation, laid her head back, and closed her eyes. The bubbles were up to her chin and it felt like heaven.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been in the tub when she heard a man clear his throat. She turned her head toward the sound and found Jake Stone leaning against the doorjamb with his arms folded across his broad chest and his booted feet crossed at the ankles. His hat sat low on his forehead.
Becca gasped and stopped herself just in time from sitting straight up.
“What are you doing here?” she challenged. Every inch of her body was instantly on alert, aroused and clamoring for things she wouldn’t even admit to.
He raised an eyebrow. “Watching you take a bath?”
“Get out of here, Stone,” Becca shouted at him. Her heart was pounding, and her knees wouldn’t have held her up if she stood. Even worse, her nipples were hardening into tight peaks beneath the now fading froth.
“Come on now, Red. Is that any way to be?” He smiled and for the first time, she noticed dimples appear deep in his cheeks. He ran his eyes over her from the top of her hair and down to the bubbles. She sank lower.
“How did you get in? I locked the door.” Becca held on to the side of the tub with an iron grip. She was afraid if she didn’t, she’d either beckon him to join her or rise from the water like Venus rising from the sea.
He shrugged. “I have a key. Hattie gave it to me years ago.”
“Well, you can leave it on the kitchen counter on your way out.” The very audacity of the man was sexy. Hell, everything about him was sexy.
“I don’t think so, Red. In fact, as bad as the snow is, I’ll probably be spending the night.” He still hadn’t moved.
His words caused her to jerk in the tub, sending a splash of water over the side. What did he mean? “Over my dead body, Stone,” Becca exclaimed wishing she were wearing more than bubbles.
He chuckled and as much as she hated admitting it, his husky low voice turned her on. “I did knock but when you didn’t answer, I opened the door and called your name. When you still didn’t answer, I came looking for you and look what I found. You. In the tub.” He straightened up. “Can I get you a towel?” Jake reached for the fluffy white towel hanging by the tub.
“Don’t you dare, get out,” she squealed as she threw a wet washcloth at him. It landed two feet in front of his boots.
He laughed as he walked away. “You throw like a girl…I’ll be downstairs.” He turned back toward her. “Hurry up or I’ll think you do want me to get that towel for you.”
When Becca was sure he was gone, she jumped out of the tub and dried off as quickly as she could then ran to her bedroom. “I can’t believe he did that,” she grumbled. “Who in the hell does he think he is?” She pulled on sweatpants, a T-shirt, and big wool socks. A few minutes later, she entered the kitchen to find him sitting at the table with a cup of coffee.
“Gee Stone, make yourself at home, why don’t you?” Her sarcasm could use a bit of polish. Becca stood there watching him. She didn’t know if she was angry or excited, it was hard to tell. Gripping her hands into tight fists, the nails bit into her own palms.
He saluted her with his cup. “Don’t mind if I do.” He set the cup down and looked at her. “I came over to build a fire for you. Bad person that I am, I thought if the power goes out, you could stay in the living room with the pocket doors closed and stay warm.”
Trying to remain calm, Becca spun around and stared at him. “What the hell are pocket doors?”
“Jesus, Red. You’ve led a sheltered life. They’re doors inside a doorjamb that pull closed.”
“Did you say the power could go out?” Her words were a little too loud and a little panicky sounding. Becca was sure he was laughing at her because he held his coffee cup in front of his mouth.
“Power goes out when we have bad storms and this one is going to be bad.”
Realizing he came over to build a fire for her made her feel like a fool. He was here to make sure she stayed warm and all she’d done was jump all over him. “Oh, well, um…thank you.” It was hard not to stare at him, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was attracted to him.
“I bet that hurt, didn’t it?” He grinned, showing even white teeth. Becca stuck her tongue out at him. “Careful, Red. I may take you up on that.”
“In your dreams, Stone.” It was hard not to smile. She knew he was teasing her, but she liked it. Damn, she liked him.
“Every night, darlin’… every night.”
He stood and put his cup in the sink then headed out the door. Was he leaving?
She was about to walk over to the door to check when it flew back open and he walked in carrying an armful of logs. Without a word or a glance her way, he headed for the living room with Becca following right in behind him. She watched as he dropped the logs on the hearth, and then proceeded to make a fire for her. He crouched down, added some kindling, lit the pile, and almost like magic flames came to life. The blue and orange licks of fire crackled as they grew in strength.
Jake used the poker to move the logs. The smell of burning wood filled the room.
“Once this is going pretty well, I’ll take off before it gets worse out there,” he said.
“I thought you were spending the night.” Becca slapped her hand over her mouth. Why had she said that?
“Is that an invitation, Red?” he asked without turning around, his voice a slow, toe-curling drawl.<
br />
“No, it is not an invitation. And stop calling me Red,” she exclaimed. Her heart had sunk. Surely, it wasn’t from disappointment.
Becca watched as he stood and turned around. He slowly moved toward her, stopping right in front of her. He reached his hand out to pick up a few strands of her hair. He rubbed it between his fingers as he looked into her eyes.
“You really are beautiful,” he said in a low, husky murmur.
Becca couldn’t look away as his eyes roved over her face landing on her lips. Was he going to kiss her? She ran her tongue over her bottom lip and saw him close his eyes as he stepped back from her. His expression had almost looked like he had been in pain.
“Make sure you keep the fire going. If the power goes out, stay in here with the doors closed, and if you need anything…anything at all, call me. I’ll even come over and tuck you in. I have four-wheel drive so I can get here if I need to.” Then as if he did this kind of thing every day, he turned and left the room.
Less than a minute later, she heard the back door close, his truck roar to life and drive away. She let the breath out she hadn’t realized she was holding. The man was too sexy for her peace of mind. He seemed to ooze sex. She’d never met a man like him. Under different circumstances, she would have gone for it. He was interested in her. Even she couldn’t miss the way he reacted to her. Becca could even admit they were attracted to one another, but once he found out about her lack of sexual experience, she knew he wouldn’t want her. She was positive Jake Stone had a lot of experience with the opposite sex. A man who looked like he did probably had women running after him all the time.
God! He was hot but she was going back to Maryland in six months, so there was no sense in starting anything with him. Becca wasn’t sure why that thought made her think about her best friend, but she decided to call Olivia.
“Hey girl, how’re things in the wild west?” Olivia asked when she answered.
Becca smiled at the sound of her best friend’s sarcastic voice. “You and that damn caller ID, Liv. Things are wild, to say the least. How are things at the shop?”
“Other than Steve driving me up a damn wall, it’s all okay. We’ve done better.”
Jake (Men of Clifton Montana Book 1) Page 3
