Roping the Rancher (Harlequin American Romance)

by Benson, Julie

  The place had a down home kind of charm with its Formica-topped tables, neon beer signs and wood floors. Families sat at some of the tables. Friends at others. Some people shot pool or tossed darts in one of the game rooms. The stage and dance floor took up one end of the restaurant. The tantalizing smell of fried food wafted through the air, making her stomach growl. How long had it been since she’d had anything fried?

  Definitely not since she starred in The Kids Run the Place. The producers had been sticklers about her weight. Once her mother found that out she’d instituted daily weigh-ins and kept a log of every bit of food that went into Stacy’s mouth.

  When she asked for a table for two, the perky little cowgirl hostess informed them it would be about an hour before she could get them a table. Stacy turned to her brother. “How about we go home, grab something to eat and come back to hear the band?”

  “I guess so,” Ryan answered, disappointment filling his voice.

  As they turned to leave, someone called his name. “Hey, there’s Jess and her dad.” Without even asking if she minded, he maneuvered his walker around the tables toward them, leaving Stacy no choice but to follow.

  She hadn’t seen Colt since Ryan’s therapy, and wasn’t prepared for how at ease and how handsome he looked. Tomorrow when she met him for her volunteer training she’d be ready, but not now.

  “We just ordered, but you can join us. Can’t they, Dad?” Jess said.

  Colt nodded as he shifted in his chair. “Sure.” His tight tone told Stacy he wasn’t any happier about this than she was.

  “Great,” Ryan said, and plopped his long body into the chair beside Jess.

  “We don’t want to intrude,” Stacy said in a last-ditch attempt to get out of the situation, but her brother and Jess were already in a deep discussion about the merits of tonight’s band.

  “It’s a lost cause. They aren’t listening.” Colt slid the remaining chair away from the table. “If I promise to be good and not to throw you over my shoulder again, will you have a seat?”

  I don’t want you to be good. I want to feel your arms around me again.

  Where had that thought come from?

  Stacy no sooner sat down when Jess and Ryan stood. “We’re going to play darts. Text me when my food comes. I’ll come get it. Ryan can order his food in the game room.” Then the teenagers left before she or Colt could protest.

  Once alone silence settled around her and Colt. She toyed with the plastic menu. Talk about awkward. The last time she had a first date hadn’t been this uncomfortable. That’s the problem. With the teenagers gone this felt like a date. Not good. She needed to get out of here quick.

  Since Ryan had found Jess to hang around with, Stacy could go home and curl up on the couch to watch a movie. That’s what she should do, but somehow the idea sounded much better earlier. Now her plans sounded—pathetic.

  “I’m going to leave. I can pick up Ryan later.”

  Coward.

  Yup.

  Colt’s hand covered hers when she tried to push away from the table. The simple contact sent shivers through her. They both jerked away as if they’d touched a hot stove. When was the last time she felt this kind of excitement with a man?

  Way too long.

  His blue gaze locked on her. “You can’t leave me here to eat alone. First Jess dumps me and now you want to. A man’s ego can only take so much.” He had the most soul searching eyes. They could strip a girl defenseless in seconds. “Stay.”

  Her mouth went dry. Her heart rate skyrocketed.

  “All right. I’ll make the sacrifice so you don’t have to sit here alone.” She picked up the menu, thankful that her hands didn’t shake.

  “Who’s your friend, Colt?”

  The waitress, a curvy blonde in jeans so tight it was a wonder she could walk, strutted up to their table. She eyed Colt as if she was a five-year-old birthday girl and he was one of her presents.

  “Jenna, this is Stacy Michaels. Her brother, Ryan, and Jess are friends from school.”

  “I thought you looked familiar. You were one of the finalists in that dating show Griffin McAlister was on.”

  Here we go diving headfirst into the most embarrassing experience of my life.

  “I was.”

  “Were you the one who caused the horse to bolt and left Griffin in the hospital or were you the one who threatened to sue him at the finale?”

  While what she’d done was embarrassing, at least Stacy’s actions hadn’t landed Griffin in the hospital and temporarily paralyzed. She should have expected to encounter some resentment toward her because of what she’d done to one of the town’s favorite sons, but the animosity still caught her off guard. She plastered an I-refuse-to-let-your-insult-get-under-my-skin smile on her face.

  “It really doesn’t matter,” Colt interjected. “That’s in the past. Everyone’s moved on. In fact, she’s got the lead role in the new movie Maggie’s filming.”

  Stacy stared. He defended her?

  “That’s so like you, Colt. You’re always one of the first ones to say forgive and forget.” Jenna smiled at Colt. Could this chick lay it on any thicker? And he didn’t even seem to notice the woman drooling over him.

  The waitress’s grin disappeared when her gaze focused on Stacy. “What makes a woman go on a dating show? I mean, to compete with other women for a guy that you’ve just met and let the whole world watch? That doesn’t seem the best way to find a man.”

  No kidding, and any woman who thought it was needed serious psychotherapy. There was a reason why those relationships rarely lasted. They weren’t based on things that mattered like shared values and respect. Those bedrocks kept a couple together through life’s ups and downs. But what could she say to little miss cowgirl?

  Avoid the issue. That’s what she’d do.

  “You know, Jenna, as wonderful as it is chatting with you, with the crowd in here tonight you’ve got to be incredibly busy. I don’t want to monopolize your time, so I’ll give you my order so you can be on your way. I’ll have a veggie wrap.”

  “A veggie wrap?” Colt scoffed. “You need some meat on your bones. You look like a strong wind would blow you over. Halligan’s is known for their burgers.” Colt turned to the waitress. “Get her a buffalo burger instead.”

  What was it with this guy telling her what she should or shouldn’t do? She’d been taking care of herself since she was eleven. “I ordered a veggie wrap because that’s what I want. I don’t eat red meat.”

  “Any fries or onion rings to go with that?” Jenna asked.

  Stacy bet Halligan’s had killer fries. Probably crunchy on the outside and all warm on the inside and the thought of onion rings left her weak. “No, thanks.”

  “Don’t tell me. You don’t eat fried food, either,” Colt said.

  “As a matter of fact, I don’t.” While the business had loosened up about actresses’ weight— Melissa McCarthy winning an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy was groundbreaking—the rule still was the more a woman weighed, the fewer scripts crossed her agent’s desk.

  Jenna jotted down Stacy’s order on her little pad and then glanced longingly at Colt. “Are you staying to dance tonight? I get off at nine.”

  “I haven’t planned that far in advance. I know it doesn’t look like it right now, but I’m here spending time with Jess. She and Stacy’s brother are playing darts.”

  “How’s she doing? A girl needs that strong female presence in her life, especially when she’s a teenager.” Jenna’s eyes widened as if she’d realized how what she’d said could be taken as a criticism of Colt’s parenting skills. “Not that you aren’t doing a great job as a parent. It’s just sometimes a girl needs to talk to another woman.”

  “Luckily Jess has Avery for that.”

  Stacy pe
rked up at his comment. Who was Avery? His girlfriend? An unfamiliar emotion she refused to label jealousy snaked through her.

  It’s none of your business who he’s dating.

  Someone from another table called the waitress. After Jenna promised to check back with Colt later and reminded him to “holler” if he needed anything, she sashayed off.

  Once they were alone again, Stacy said, “Thanks for saying something when she started in on the dating show stuff. It gets old having to explain that I’m over what happened. I don’t know why everyone thinks I’m carrying a torch for Griffin.”

  “Since you brought it up, why did you go on that show?”

  Stacy leaned toward him. “I’ll be honest with you, but you can’t ever tell anyone.”

  “You can trust me to keep your secrets.”

  The joking tone in his deep voice contrasted with the sincerity shining in his eyes. The breath caught in her throat. What would it be like to have someone to share her deepest dreams and fears with? Someone who after he heard all that, still cared for her.

  Big wrong turn.

  Time to fix her mistake before she went much further down this road and ended up in another ditch. Ignoring the feelings he brought to life inside her, she said, “I was between jobs, and needed to jump-start my career. I don’t care what they tell the media, no one goes on a dating show expecting to fall in love and have the relationship last. It’s all about creating a career or advancing one.”

  She traced circles in the condensation on her water glass. “My plan was to get some valuable TV exposure so I could get a network interested in giving me my own reality show. The good news was I did that. The bad news was my show was a miserable failure.”

  “I don’t get the fascination with reality shows. Why would people want to watch other people living their lives rather than going out and living their own?”

  “I guess some of the allure is because people can be part of lives they could never have. You know the rich and famous or the wild and crazy stuff. That and we’ve become a voyeuristic society.”

  “Did you always want to be an actress?”

  His question hit her right between the eyes, startling her, mainly because she’d never thought about it before. Had she ever really had the opportunity to choose her career? “Jeez, this is starting to feel like you’re interviewing me for an article.”

  “I’m just curious. I really want to know.”

  Genuine interest? In her as a real person? It had been so long since she’d experienced that.

  Stacy explained how she’d fallen into her career when her father recommended her for a role in his last movie. “Spending that time with my dad was so wonderful. Then he died.” She bit her lip to control the ache unfurling inside her heart. “After that, I got the chance to do the series The Kids Run the Place, and I had a career.”

  “I remember that show. It was great. You starred in that?”

  She nodded. After the series took off she never had the chance to step back and decide if acting was what she wanted to do with her life. “My mom was in charge of my career then. I didn’t have much choice. I was the family breadwinner.”

  “That’s a lot for a kid to handle.”

  By then she wasn’t a kid anymore. She smiled at the strong man across from her. “Your turn to be in the hot seat. What made you start the therapy program?”

  How long had it been since she’d sat with someone and talked in something more than sound bites? Really shared something personal and real about herself? When was the last time someone, especially a man, made her want to talk about herself, and she’d felt genuine interest in his life? More importantly, how long had it been since a man had showed a real interest in her as a person?

  Not good.

  Don’t look in his eyes and you’ll be okay. It’s his eyes that get a girl.

  A man was the last thing she needed in her life right now. Not with her mother on the constant verge of a nervous breakdown, her career needing another serious boost to refill the family coffers, and a brother in physical therapy. She couldn’t care about anyone else now. That would send her right over the edge.

  Too bad she felt so wonderful talking with Colt, being honest. Sharing. Because she couldn’t afford the luxury of feeling anything for him.

  Chapter Five

  Colt hadn’t been thrilled when Jess invited Stacy and Ryan to join them for dinner, not after how the first therapy session went. The woman had him alternating between wanting to throttle her and scoop her up in his arms. And not just to haul her off. When he’d told her how her behavior could get Ryan hurt, she’d looked so vulnerable and frightened. Anyone who loved another person as much as she loved her brother had to possess a good heart. He’d wanted to hold her and ease her fear. He longed to tell her everything would be okay because he’d make sure of it.

  That thought scared the hell out of him.

  But now that they’d started talking, he found himself having a good time and she appeared genuinely interested in what made him start Healing Horses. “A buddy of mine got hurt pretty bad in Afghanistan. His doctor recommended a horse-therapy program, but there wasn’t one close to where he lived. I figured I had the barn, the land and horses. Why not do some good with them?”

  “Was it bad in Afghanistan?”

  His tour was the last thing he wanted to talk about. He tried hard to put that part of his life behind him. “You know how you get tired of everyone asking about when you were on Finding Mrs. Right?” She nodded. “That’s how Afghanistan is for me.”

  Jenna arrived with their food before Stacy could respond. The waitress again asked if he’d thought any more about his plans. He mumbled something about he still wasn’t sure and she said she’d check with him after her shift ended.

  “Are you going to take our waitress up on her offer?” Stacy asked.

  “What offer?”

  “Come on. You can’t be that clueless. She so wants to jump your bones.”

  “Jenna? No. You’re wrong. I’ve known her forever. There’s nothing between us. I’ve never thought of her in that way.” The thought of dating a woman who’d trailed after him and her brother didn’t feel right. Kind of like kissing your sister. If he’d had one.

  “You may not have, but I can guarantee she has.”

  “The one woman, or rather young lady in my life is sometimes more than I can handle right now. Add to that getting Healing Horses off the ground, and I’ve got enough responsibilities to keep me on the edge of insanity. Which reminds me, I need to text Jess that her food’s here.”

  Grateful for the task, he pulled out his phone and sent the message. A minute later, his daughter arrived, scooped up her plate and left again.

  “I understand. It’s hard being responsible for a child of the opposite sex. I try my best to understand things from Ryan’s perspective, but no matter how hard I try I can’t stand in his shoes.”

  “That’s for sure.” Clothes, menstrual cycles, dating. Enough to drive a father screaming into the night. “I think you’ve got the easier deal. Guys are simple. Women are complicated.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding? Guys are easy? You don’t want to talk about anything, especially your feelings. You just get mad. With Ryan sometimes I think the only way I could figure him out was if I was a mind reader.”

  “That sure would come in handy.”

  They continued talking about the kids while they finished eating, and when the band started warming up, Jess and Ryan made their way back to the table. “We’re going to sit with some friends and listen to the band. Are you two sticking around or will you be coming back to pick us up?”

  “I thought we’d come and sit by you two,” Colt said with a straight face. When horror crossed his daughter’s face, he chuckled. Sometimes it was just too easy to pull her chain.


  “Dad, you wouldn’t?”

  “’Course not. Though the thought of torturing you like that does sound fun.” He turned to Stacy. “Want to stick around and listen to the band for a while?”

  “Might as well. All I’d do otherwise is go back to the cabin and watch TV until I had to pick Ryan up.”

  Once seated at a table around the dance floor, Colt noticed Travis Carpenter kept eyeing Stacy like a stallion watched the mares in the next pasture. Carpenter’s behavior shouldn’t have bothered him, but it did. Probably if it were anyone else he wouldn’t care.

  You are so full of it, and you know it.

  Carpenter had been a blowhard from the day he strutted into Colt’s kindergarten class. Though he’d been shorter than most of their classmates, even then he’d possessed enough ego for the entire class. Seemed from then on they competed over everything. Who could run faster, who could get the better score on a test, who could get the prettiest girl in the class to go out with him. Colt won that contest in high school when Lynn dumped Travis to go out with him, putting them on the outs for good.

  Now Colt sat here at a table with Stacy, not knowing what to say or do with Travis watching the whole embarrassing display. What did he expect when hadn’t been on a date in over sixteen years?

  When the hell had he started thinking of this as a date? Damn. He should’ve left when they finished eating and come back to pick up Jess. He still could. A smart man worked to fix his mistakes before they bit him on the ass.

  “Eight o’clock is gonna come awfully early—”

  “Hey, little lady,” Carpenter said as he materialized beside their table and introduced himself. “Since Montgomery here isn’t asking you to dance, how about you and I take a turn around the floor?”

  Stacy lifted her feet and pointed to her strappy little high heels and pouted. “Unfortunately, I didn’t wear my dancing shoes tonight. Maybe next time.”

  “It’s a slow one. All you need to do is hang on to me.”

  Travis swayed slightly. Colt glanced at the man’s eyes to confirm his suspicions. Yup, he’d had too much to drink. “The lady said not tonight.”