Stay with Me (Cowboys of Crested Butte Book 4)

by Heather Slade

  Jace leaned back and closed his eyes. Cochran stayed where he was, his head resting against Jace’s chest. It wasn’t long before both of them were sound asleep.

  That’s the way Bree found them when she walked in the back door of the house and through the kitchen. She was about to holler out to Blythe, to see where everyone was, but she was glad she hadn’t.

  Blythe came around the corner, and Bree put her hand over her mouth.

  “Shh. Look,” she pointed to Jace and Cochran, sleeping on the sofa.

  “Let’s go outside,” whispered Blythe. “Oh my God, I’ve missed you,” she practically screeched once they were on the porch, and hugged Bree.

  Bree hugged her back just as hard. “I missed you, too. And that sweet baby boy. He’s gotten so big.”

  “He’s growing up too fast. You have to promise you won’t leave again for a long time. As in, not until he’s in high school,” Blythe smiled.

  Bree didn’t.

  “What?”

  “I can’t make that promise, Blythe.”

  Blythe hugged her sister again, even harder. “I know you can’t. I wasn’t really serious. I just missed you, that’s all.”

  “Um, I missed you too, but I’ve got to run. I just stopped in to say hello and see when we could get together. Maybe later on?”

  Blythe studied her sister, all signs of her previous grin long gone. “Bullshit.”

  “What?”

  “I said ‘bullshit.’ You didn’t just stop in. You came to visit, and now that you’ve seen Jace, you’re leaving.”

  “Blythe—”

  “No,” Blythe stomped her foot on the wooden porch. “This is not how it’s going to be. Cochran is not going to grow up with one of the two of you leaving whenever the other is visiting. This is bullshit, and I’m not going to stand for it.”

  “Who are you yellin’ at?” Tucker came out on the porch. “Oh, hi, Bree.” He hugged her. “You’re gonna wake the two of ’em if you don’t keep your voice down, and I’m guessin’ that’s the last thing Bree wants.”

  “Too late.” Jace walked out the front door with the baby in his arms. As soon as Cochran saw Bree, he started kicking his legs and reaching for her. Jace walked over, handed him to her, and looked into her eyes. “Hi.”

  He knew she wanted to focus all her attention on their nephew, but she didn’t look away from him.

  “Hi,” she answered.

  Cochran put his pudgy hands up to her face and broke the spell.

  “Hello, my sweet boy.” She hugged him close and showered his face with kisses, which made him giggle.

  She turned and walked down the porch steps, talking to Cochran all the while. Jace wished he could hear what she was saying.

  He turned around and saw both Tucker and Blythe had gone back in the house. He sat down on the porch steps and watched Bree walk around the front yard with the baby. She knelt down next to a whiskey barrel full of flowers and picked one for him. He took it in his hand and put his lips against her cheek.

  Jace envied the boy. He envied Bree, too. Cochran was getting more comfortable with him, but nothing close to the way he was with her. She had such a way with him. Similar to Blythe, but different. Jace knew Aunt Bree would always have a special relationship with her nephew. They’d have conversations that no one else would be privy to, and the boy would learn a lot from her.

  She looked over then. Her cheeks turned pink when she realized he was watching them. She walked back to where he sat on the porch step.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to take him away from you. I just missed him so much.”

  “You didn’t. I like watching you with him. He loves you, that’s for sure.”

  “Oh, yeah?” She nuzzled Cochran’s hair. “I love him too, like no other love I’ve ever felt.”

  Jace felt another pang of envy somewhere deep in his belly. Cochran won her love so easily. Would he ever be able to do the same? Lord knew he desperately wanted to know what it felt like to have Bree love him.

  The baby was reaching for Jace again. He hesitated, thinking she might not be ready to give him back.

  “It’s okay. He wants who he wants.” She handed him the baby.

  He watched her, but her expression didn’t change. She was still smiling at the baby.

  “He’ll change his mind in a minute or two, won’t you, baby boy?” She lightly pinched his arm, which made him giggle and hide his face in Jace’s chest.

  “Peek-a-boo,” she said, and went behind Jace’s shoulder.

  Cochran leaned to where he could see her, and giggled again. Jace kept turning his body so they could continue their game. He was dizzy from spinning around, but he didn’t want to stop. There was no better sound in the world than hearing Bree and Cochran giggling together.

  “This is how I imagined it would be,” she said after they sat down on the grass to let Cochran scoot around them. “Aunt Bree and Uncle Jace.”

  He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. “God, I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

  She closed her eyes. “I’ve missed you, too.”

  He wanted to ask her why she’d pulled away from him, but he didn’t. He’d gotten more advice about Bree in the last couple of days than he’d gotten about anything in his life. The person whose opinion resonated the strongest was Liv. She’d told him to slow down and give Bree time. Billy and Ben both told him to go after her, but it was Liv he listened to.

  “Everything you told me was right,” he said instead. “He’s wonderful. And I feel the same way you do. I can’t begin to describe the love I feel for him. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”

  She smiled, picked Cochran up, and kissed his forehead. Jace leaned forward and did the same. As he was about to pull back, he stopped. She was too close, and he couldn’t stop himself. He kissed her forehead too, and then pulled back.

  She looked at him. The smile left her face, but the look that replaced it was curiosity, not anger.

  He closed his eyes, and willed himself not to speak, not to tell her that he wanted this with her more than anything else in life. The two of them, holding a baby between them, a baby they both loved. Not their nephew, but their own baby. He bit the inside of his cheek in an effort to keep his mouth shut and not let out the words that would scare the shit out of her.

  “How long are you in town?” she asked softly.

  “A couple of days. We’re meeting with a rough stock contractor in Larkspur, and then with Billy’s mom and dad. The guys want to start a satellite operation here. We haven’t talked about it, but Billy and Renie may want to settle back here full time.”

  “I doubt it. I know Renie’s happy being close to her mom. By the way, I’ve never heard you call her that.”

  Jace shrugged. “Hearing all of you call her that has sort of rubbed off on me, and I guess she’s got good reasons to be happy, since she’s pregnant and all.”

  “Who is? Renie?” Bree felt as though Jace just hit her. Renie was pregnant? Why did that make her feel…hostility? And envy. “That’s wonderful,” she said, although she couldn’t have meant anything less.

  “Billy told me last night. I get the feeling he wasn’t supposed to, so, uh, don’t let on you know.”

  “No, of course I won’t. It must be early on.”

  “He said they’d be having a baby in eight months, so I reckon that’s early on,” he grinned at her.

  “You know enough about it, Jace, to know it is. Even though you may know more about the gestation periods of horses and cattle.”

  “That’s right, little lady. I’m a humble ranch hand.” He pretended to tip his hat to her.

  Tucker walked out on the porch. “Blythe wants to know how many for dinner,” he shouted over to them.

  “Oh, good Lord,” whispered Bree, “I hope she’s not planning to cook.”

  Tucker was closer to them by the time she finished her sentence. “We�
��re goin’ over to the Pattersons’ for dinner. Dottie wants to know how many.” He winked at her.

  “Oh, uh, sorry—”

  “Go along, Bree, you haven’t seen your sister, or this sweet boy, in ages. I can get somethin’ in town.”

  “Don’t you want to go?” She looked wounded.

  Jace was glad to see Tucker walking back in the front door. He didn’t want witnesses to what was going on with Bree and him.

  “Of course I do, but…you know.”

  “Please, don’t avoid me, Jace.”

  “Oh, darlin’,” he stroked the side of her face. “That’s the last thing I want to do. Please, don’t think that.”

  “Then go to the Pattersons’ with us.” Her cheeks turned pink. “Listen to me, inviting you along. They know you so much better than they know me. Maybe I should head back to Palmer Lake instead.”

  “Now, now, that’ll make me feel as though you’re avoiding me. You don’t want that, do you?”

  He wanted so much to tug her closer to him, hold her tight, and never let her go.

  Instead, he stood. “I bet Lyric’s comin’ tonight, with her brother. Have you met him yet?”

  “Uh, yeah. He slept on our couch the other night. That was interesting.”

  “Yeah? Hear tell there’s somethin’ about the cowboy women can’t resist. Don’t tell me he’s got you under his spell too.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped at him. “That’s just silly.”

  “You know what they say when someone protests too much. I’m thinkin’ you got a crush goin’ on that young man.”

  “Jace, you can’t be serious.”

  She looked perplexed, and he loved it. Here goes, he thought. He was going to walk away, and then keep his distance. She knew how he felt. He hadn’t hidden it, but he was going to show her they could be together, with their families, and he wouldn’t stalk her. He’d give her space if that’s what she wanted. He prayed hard that Liv Rice was right, otherwise, he might be making the biggest mistake of his life.

  “I gotta go talk to Billy. I’ll see you later, Bree.”

  He didn’t wait for her to answer, he just walked away. Talk about interesting. He seemed fine.

  He was so…easy-going. And relaxed. Why was he so relaxed? And that damn confident swagger of his. He knew how hot he looked, and he used it to his advantage. He was just the sexiest thing…oh, God, what was she doing? She was fantasizing about Jace Rice while she played in the yard with Cochran. Thank goodness he didn’t try to eat grass, or dirt, or worse—a bug. She hadn’t been paying any attention to her nephew. Every thought had been on his uncle.

  “Come on, baby boy, let’s go find your mama before your Aunt Bree lets you wander off on your own.”

  Bree walked around to the back of the house, hoping Jace was still in the front. Instead, she came around the corner, only to see Jace climbing into his truck. He waved at her before he started it and drove off in the direction of Patterson Ranch.

  It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to jump back out, walk over, and kiss the daylights out of Bree. Instead, Jace closed his eyes, said a little prayer, and started the truck. Maybe he should skip dinner tonight. Staying away from her, keeping his hands off her, was going to be near impossible.

  For the next couple of hours, he had business to take care of, and he hoped to hell he could keep his mind where it belonged.

  He was meeting with Billy in the Pattersons’ dining hall by the bunk house. Dottie and Bill were serving dinner to the cowboys who worked the ranch, and invited them to join in. He missed Dottie Patterson, not that he’d spent much time with her, but when he had, she always made him feel welcome, and boy, did she give good hugs. Jace was in need of a really good hug.

  “Damn time you showed up,” Billy smirked at him. “Thought maybe you’d be babysittin’ all night.”

  Jace slugged him. “As if you aren’t daddy of the year. Don’t give me any shit about wantin’ to hang out with Cochran.”

  “Cochran, my ass. Tucker told me the two of you were with Bree. And you looked mighty smitten.”

  “Change the subject, Billy. No kidding. The last person I want to be thinkin’ about right now is Bree.” He adjusted his jeans before he sat down on the bench, which only made Billy throw his head back and laugh.

  Billy told him Ty Rinaldo, the guy who raised bucking bulls in a town just outside Monument, was joining them for dinner. Since Billy was pressing hard for his dad to bring more broncs to the ranch, and didn’t want to take on bulls too, with TZ Bucking Bulls so close, he thought they could partner instead.

  “What about contracting to ranch rodeos?” Bullet asked when he joined their conversation.

  “Good question,” answered Billy. “What do you know about it?”

  “I like the idea of it. More old-school. Buddy of mine did pretty well on bucking horses down in Amarillo earlier this year.”

  “Told you we should’ve stopped in Amarillo,” smirked Tucker.

  Billy rolled his eyes and looked back at Bullet. “Might be interestin’ to consider. Both horses and bucking bulls. Probably ain’t a lot of contractors who do it all.”

  With the amount of rough stock and rodeo expertise they had combined, Flying R Rough Stock, the name they’d decided on, would be a new force in the industry. The operation was already so much bigger than Jace ever imagined it would be, and they’d barely started to scratch the surface of what they planned to do.

  “Who’s in Montana now?” Billy asked Hank.

  “Jace and I hired Yance Hatterburn. Best hand Montana ever saw,” answered Jace’s father.

  “Better manager than me and my dad combined,” added Jace. “No offense, Daddy,” he rubbed his father’s shoulder.

  “None taken, son.”

  “It doesn’t make sense for you to be up there all the time, Jace,” Billy said to him. “You and me got too much work to do on the circuit, gettin’ our name out. Gonna be on the road pretty much non-stop.” Billy looked over at Renie who was talking to Blythe and Bree, and rubbing her stomach.

  “I can’t be gone all the time, you know that,” Billy shook his head. “I just can’t be.”

  “Nothin’ you have to tell me, Billy. I get it.” He looked in the same direction and caught Bree looking at him. He loved it when he caught her and she got so embarrassed her cheeks turned pink. Little by little, he’d chip away at that guard she kept snug whenever she was around him. He winked at her, which made her smile, then look away.

  “Maybe we can figure out a schedule,” Billy was saying. “But at first it’ll have to be both of us.”

  “What can I do to help?” asked Bullet.

  Billy looked at him, then at his dad. “We’re gonna need you around here for the time being,” he answered. “Right, Dad?”

  His dad was lost in thought, and Billy seemed annoyed by it.

  “You sure about this, Billy?” Bill Senior asked.

  “Which part?”

  “It’s a big start up, and your mama and I aren’t gettin’ any younger.”

  “Come on,” Billy said to his dad. “Take a walk with me. Let’s talk.”

  Jace was left sitting at the table with Bullet, Tucker, and Ben, when he joined them.

  “We need some kind of organizational chart is what I’m thinkin’,” Bullet said to them. He pulled what looked like a paper placemat from a diner, out of his pocket. On it were three circles representing Crested Butte, Black Forest, and Helena, Montana.

  Under each he had three columns. One was a list of people, the other two were broncs and bulls. Under broncs were two more columns, but off to the side, Bullet had a third column with ranch rodeos written at the top.

  Jace took the paper out of Bullet’s hand. “We didn’t talk about ranch rodeos until a few minutes ago.”

  “Yeah, I know. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to consider it, but I thought it was worth bringin’ up anyway.”

  “Interesting.” Jace looked at Tuck
er and Ben, who were nodding their heads in agreement.

  Lyric had definitely underestimated her brother. On the other hand, no one worked harder than her. Stood to reason Bullet would be the same way.

  “When’s the last time you saw your dad?” Ben asked Bullet.

  “Couple weeks ago. Why?”

  “He still writin’?”

  “Hell, yeah,” Bullet smiled. “Every day.”

  “What would it take to get him here?”

  “Say the word.”

  “Word.”

  When the conversation between Ben and Bullet turned to music, Tucker got up and walked over to Blythe. Jace wanted to follow, but didn’t. He didn’t know jack shit about Bullet’s dad, or the band he was in, but for the time being, he was going to make it look like it was the most fascinating conversation in the world. Bree was watching him; he could feel her eyes on him.

  “I’d love to get together with him and Mark. Shit, how awesome would that be?” Jace heard Ben say to Bullet.

  “Cochran. That’s right, Mark Cochran was the lead singer of the band. I never put two and two together. Damn, my dad would be all over that. He loves that band.”

  “From what I’ve heard from Mark, he’s always wanted to collaborate with your dad. He was Satin’s primary songwriter, right?”

  “I’ve tried to pretend like I know what the hell you’re talking about, but I’m lost. Either one of you, willing to explain?”

  Ben had the same look on his face Jace saw him get when he talked to his kids.

  “Cochran and Satin were two of the biggest heavy metal bands of the seventies. Before your time, but what you don’t realize is Bullet’s dad and Bree’s dad are two of the greatest rock musicians and songwriters of their generation. I’d love to get in a room with the two of them and just watch. Bet it would be magic.”

  “Well, hell, let’s do it,” said Bullet enthusiastically.

  “Do what?” asked Lyric, sitting down next to Jace.

  “Get your dad together with Mark Cochran,” Ben answered.

  “Hell, yeah!” Lyric stood up and high-fived Ben.

  Jace had never felt so out of a conversation he was physically in the middle of, so when Bree tapped him on the shoulder and asked if they could talk, he had two reasons for being the most relieved man in the room.