Heartbreak's Reward (Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight Book 2)

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  ***

  At daybreak, Jase poured water in the coffee pot, spilling half of it on the counter. After getting it going, he took a paper towel and cleaned the mess. He sat at the table, holding his head in his hands, sick and tired of waking up with a hangover when he drank too much. His fault. “No, Rebecca’s fault.” He stood to look out the window when a vehicle pulled in. “Why’s my brother here so early?” He went to unlock the door, but Tristan met him, holding Jase’s keys in his hand.

  “Hey, these were in the door.” Tristan stepped inside the kitchen, shoving past his brother, who stood in the way.

  Jase turned away from the door. “Why you here so early? You on strike from your own ranch?”

  Tristan took a cup from the cupboard. “What the hell’s the matter with you?” Waiting at the coffee pot while it finished, he leaned his elbow on the counter. “You look pretty bad, Jase. How much beer did you have when you left my house?”

  Jase sighed, sat in a kitchen chair, and pulled his boots on. “Time to get the horses out.” He glanced up at his brother. “When did you start being my babysitter?”

  “Why don’t you go get a shower and wake up? I’ll get them out.”

  Jase poured a twenty ounce cup of coffee and shoved past Tristan. “I can take care of my own ranch.”

  Tristan poured a cup for himself. “Damn, what the hell’s going on? Beer cans in the yard and stacked up here on the counter? You need to get a grip.”

  “Mind your own business, Trist.”

  “Ya are my business, especially when you’re in the shape you’re in right now. Go back to bed and finish sleeping it off.” Tristan went out the door, waiting on the top step. Jase came out, making his way around his brother and stepped off the porch.

  “I’ll take care of my own horses.” Jase shoved one hand into his front pocket and checked out the yard. It was a mess with a few beer cans, and tumbleweed stuck here and there. He blinked against the sun then rubbed his eyes. The pile of steel springs and supports from the burned furniture still sat in a heap. He’d get to the beer cans and tumbleweeds today.

  “I’m here because Mom wanted to make sure your drunk ass didn’t get lost in the desert going home.”

  He scrubbed his hand over the bristly scruff on his face. “I need to shave.” Jase took a drink of coffee before running his fingers through his hair. “Look at this long hair. Never thought I’d have hair this long. But I like it.”

  “This ain’t about hair.” Tristan sat the cup on the porch and headed to his truck. “You need some help, dude. Better get it before you lose what ya still have.” He turned and came back to stand in front of Jase and pushed him in the chest. “Take care of your horses.”

  Jase watched his brother spin around in the driveway and take off toward the highway. He took a seat on the step, dropped his head into his hand. “Sure, easy for him to say.” It wasn’t often that he pissed off his brother.

  Closing his eyes a moment, he pictured Brenna. It might be nice to have a woman to hold again, and she definitely made him laugh. Hmm. His body heated and responded to her—something he thought would never happen again. That couldn’t be a bad thing. “Yep, I’ll have to think about this some more.”

  He got up and went inside, grabbed his phone, and dialed his brother’s number. When Tristan answered, Jase said, “Hey, it was a bad night.”

  “Not to worry. Just hang in there. You know I love ya and we’ll talk later.” Tristan hung up.

  Jase took a deep breath. “What am I turning into?”

  Chapter 5

  Brenna ended a phone call to her sister back home and took a shower. Afterward, she slipped into a long t-shirt. Pushing the pillow aside, she lay flat on her back on the bed. She folded her hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling, watching the painted, white ceiling fan turn around and around. She rubbed her eyes and covered her mouth when she yawned. It had been a sleepless night. “Well, I’m finally here. I picked up and did it all on my own.” For her. For her baby sister Chloe.

  Brenna’s scars, both on the inside and out, were a bleak reminder of the reality of that night. A downpour, screeching tires, bright lights before the impact—sending them through the intersection and flipping before slamming into the tree. She had eventually blacked out.

  Making a promise to her dad to take care of her kid sister, she’d do everything in her power to make it happen for as long as necessary. She closed her eyes, and against her will, visualized their mangled SUV, her mom already gone. Jordann… Ah, her other beautiful sister, didn’t make it to the hospital. Brenna gulped, searching for composure.

  The loss tore Chloe apart…to lose her parents, and a part of herself—her identical twin. Now, Brenna and Chloe were the only ones left in her family. Brenna remembered the grip of her dad’s hand in hers as he died after she made the promise.

  Now sixteen, Chloe rebelled against everything Brenna wanted to make right—having to move her out of the big city. She hoped this would be the right answer—a suggestion from the social worker at school, and her psychologist backed it up. Move, get away from the memories, and start anew. It’d been two years, and it took the last year for Brenna to find a new job.

  She had prayed this would be the answer. Even now, leaving her sister behind to come here and get set-up, Brenna worried. Chloe listened to her best friend’s parents more than to her. It was a wise move to let her remain behind until she set up a life for them here.

  Thinking of what Jase said at the restaurant, about the horses and riding, maybe it’d be something Chloe would like. Starting over would not be easy for either of them. Both leaving behind everything they knew. Brenna swore to make it work.

  Reflecting on her evening with Jase, a cowboy of all things, made for a pleasant distraction for a few hours. Ignoring his attitude when she thought of him—yet, remembering his mom said he had some things going on.

  “Don’t we all?” she said, sighing. The thought of seeing him again, made her joyful, although there was no guarantee of that happening. “What about the townhouse?” She sat up on the bed and glanced to her phone. Last night she entered his number into her contacts.

  In the bathroom she brushed out her hair, letting it dry on its own a little before using the hair blower. She dressed in dark blue shorts and a yellow, sleeveless shirt. Slipping into a pair of sandals, she glanced around at the room in the hotel, her home for a while. Brenna poured a cup of coffee from the in-room coffee pot and made a second. Again, her phone seemed to call to her. She had to start somewhere.

  She picked up her phone, hitting DIAL in almost a fog. Her way of justifying the call. “Hey, Jase,” she said when he answered.

  “Who is this?” was his first gruff words.

  Maybe she should say the dumb blonde from the parking lot. Where’d that come from? She never referred to herself as dumb anything. “Brenna from last night. The parking lot?”

  “I remember you, Brenna Page.” He stifled a yawn.

  “Did I wake you?”

  “Ranchers get up early. So, no you didn’t wake me.” Something didn’t click about the call now. His attitude? He turned it on and off like a faucet.

  “Well, I’m sitting here picking apart my hotel room and I was…thinking about the townhouse you mentioned. The sooner I get a place, the sooner I can get my sister here. Could I take a look at it?”

  A sound like metal buckets knocking together tried to drown out his words as he said, “I’ll have to call Nora. She’ll be at work now.”

  “Could you call her after work then?” She hoped her request didn’t sound demanding. Jase Carlson didn’t seem like he’d put up with a demanding woman. Maybe he needed one.

  “No, not a problem, she’s at the ranch office.” He laughed. “Hell, that’s how she and my brother met. They’re um…he’s her boss…”

  An office romance? Mm, interesting. “I’m free anytime except for my meeting at the school in two weeks. I get to see my classroom, and they’ll be an orient
ation some time later in August.” Like he cared.

  “Sure.”

  She pictured his handsome face on the other end, but it all felt wrong now. “I’m sorry if I interrupted you.” Cowboys!

  “Nope, you didn’t. It’s okay. I’ll give you a call back when I talk to Nora.”

  “Did my number show on your phone?” She hit herself in the head with the heel of her hand. Shape up, Brenna. Her insides betrayed her. Kind of like being filled with melted marshmallows.

  “Already saved it. I’ll talk to you later.”

  He hung up just like that, not even sounding like the man she stood with after dinner in the parking lot. If this living arrangement turned out, she’d get a flight home, make arrangements with the movers, and get her and her sister on a plane back to Phoenix and…home to Canyon Junction.

  Her phone rang again. “Jase?” It impressed her, the fact he carried through so quickly.

  “Hey, Nora said you can look at the place on Friday evening. They’re busy with the magazine, and she wants to clean the place up a little first. She isn’t there that often anymore…or sometimes she and my brother go there to use the pool.” He paused. “Friday okay with you? Do you want me to give directions or take you there?”

  “What works best for you?” Something happened to her brain around him.

  “I’ll be there about six-ten.” He hesitated. “Is it okay if I come by to pick you up? You know, you get in my truck this time?”

  She heard him take a deep breath. “I’m looking forward to it. Thanks so much. Please, if you get a chance, tell your mom thanks for thinking of the townhouse.” She tapped her nails against the phone. “I’ll be in my lobby, so if you pull up out front I’ll come right out.”

  “Yep, will do, ma’am. Now, I gotta get back to my chores.”

  “Hey, Jase?” Now she couldn’t focus in her own mind.

  “Yeah, Brenna?”

  Looking around the suite, she only had a microwave for cooking and a small fridge. Enough to suffice. “Do you have a suggestion as to where I can pick up some food? Eating out for every meal will be expensive.”

  “There’s a few places near where you are, but your best bet is out on U.S. 60. Get your map out and I’ll show you how.”

  “I’ll have to get it out of my car.” She grabbed a pair of jeans from the closet.

  “Never mind. Look out the window…and I’ll tell you where to go from the parking lot. Got a pencil to write this down?”

  After the call, Brenna glanced over her notes on how to get back to the highway, and she stood at the window again. Something in her notes didn’t reflect what he said. “Turn which way when I go out of the driveway?” She should have paid better attention instead of listening to the smoothness of his voice. For now, she’d go down to the lobby and see if they had any breakfast left. Changing into jeans, she grabbed her key card and left.

  She did manage to find orange juice, a whole bagel, and a packet of jam. Carrying it to her room, she sat at the table, turned her laptop on, and investigated the Double Dutch Ranch. Not much information about Jase other than he was a part of it all—and there was his brother’s information about lessons and boarding. “Nice.”

  She followed a link for his brother’s ranching magazine. More clicking led her to a blog about the ranch. Pictures of a concert appeared. Looking closer at the screen, it looked like Jase on the keyboard and his mother was singing. “Looks like fun.” Maybe small town life would be acceptable to her sister.

  After applying make-up, she grabbed the key card and headed to her car for the manual. “No reason a new GPS system should stop working.” She took a seat on the passenger side and removed the manual from the glove box, scanning the table of contents, and she flipped to the page.

  Whew, it’s so hot. She fanned herself with her hand, and looked up at dark clouds forming in the sky. Reading through, she said, “Oops. My mistake.” She covered her surprised open-mouthed gasp as she read the instructions. “Dammit, how did I miss one simple step…the most important one?”

  A big grin couldn’t be held back at her next thought of checking out the Double Dutch—humming, she programmed the directions from the hotel to the ranch, but then came a downpour. Brenna had to close her door, and wait inside. She started her car and turned on the air. A rainstorm was unexpected. Brenna took her attention back to the GPS. “Ooh, it isn’t far.” She reset it as fast as she set it, knowing if she wanted to program something it better be how to get to work. When the rain eased up, she ran inside. Back in her room, she scribbled a few things on her list.

  A few hours later she headed to her car. First switching the air conditioner to high, she pulled to the exit and turned right. Maybe it should have been left. She didn’t remember Jase saying it would come to a curve before turning onto a second side street.

  She turned around. “I definitely have a problem finding that stupid highway!” In the distance sat the same range of mountains she saw last night, but the biggest one sat apart—the one called Superstition. Her shoulders shimmied at the spooky name.

  Back where she started from, she continued past the hotel parking lot, and sure enough, she found the street she needed a mile down the road. Finally. He had said it was about twelve miles to the store. As she continued, she spotted a good-sized supermarket ahead on the left. She parked at the far end of the lot to get a few extra steps in since she’d be cooped up in a hotel suite for days.

  Removing her short shopping list, she went inside, gathered all the items she needed as quickly as she could, and headed for the checkout line. Paying for her order, she pushed the cart out, loaded up her trunk, and walked the cart back to the door.

  She no sooner got near the entrance and the tall cowboy came out through the door. His face lit with a big smile. “Wow, good timing,” she said.

  Jase gave her a nod. “Hi there, Brenna Page. I see you made it all on your own.”

  “I didn’t know you came here, too.”

  “It’s closest to the ranch.”

  “Thank you for the directions. I loaded up my car so I need to get the food home to the fridge.” He looked so good, rugged, dirty, and all rolled into a handsome guy. She hadn’t noticed how white his teeth were last night. Maybe it was his tanned skin making them look that way. Either way, he was smoldering hot. The intense blue of his eyes just sparkled in the Arizona sunlight.

  “Yeah, me too, girl. I have a couple big steaks in here. Sure don’t want them to spoil.” He tilted his head toward his truck a couple rows over. “I have to get these home.”

  They walked beside each other until he turned off toward his vehicle. “I’ll see you later, Jase.”

  “Hey.”

  Brenna looked over her shoulder. “What is it?”

  He stood there, two paper bags in his arms, head cocked a bit, and he licked his lips. Hard to miss that. “Have lunch with me. I’ll run this home, you do the same.” He nodded across the street. “There’s a place right over there. Good food. How about it?”

  Brenna glanced in the direction to the restaurant. His idea sounded good. She was hungry, and since he refused to let her pay for their beers and burger last night, she’d insist this time. “Okay. How long?”

  “Thirty minutes? No, make it forty. Give me a chance to change. Does that work for you?”

  “That gives me plenty of time to get home and put this stuff away. Sure, I’ll meet you right across the street.” She checked her watch. At least it was a place she knew how to get to. And the company—better than pleasant. Not here two full days, yet, and the hotel was already boring. She’d have to call her friend back in Iowa City later to ward off the boredom of the night.

  “Hey, there’s two restaurants over there. Let’s make it the Golden Nugget. See you soon, Brenna.”

  She watched him walk away. All six or more feet of him. His cute swagger showed his confidence. Jase turned around and winked. He knew she watched him walk away. “Damn bold man.” She liked that cowboy bei
ng damn bold.

  Chapter 6

  Rushing home, she made one trip in with three bags. At this rate, she’d be shopping a couple times a week. She took a bottle of water from the fridge and carried it to the vanity while she freshened up her make-up, even sprayed an extra spray of perfume. She only brought one kind. The rain made her hair wavy. Running a brush over the length, she sprayed it with a shiner. Satisfied with how it looked, she put in her diamond stud earrings.

  It was lunch, but she had no idea how long it might last. If he enjoyed her company as much as she did his, it could… Who was this woman? Looking in the mirror one last time, it was her.

  Checking her watch, it was time to go. She left a light on in the front part of the suite, headed out the door, and took the stairs down.

  Almost there, and she didn’t like the song playing so flipped through radio stations and stopped on a country song that made her laugh. Before long she was singing along with the song, “Cowboy Take Me Away.” She pulled up, her driver side to his, and lowered the window. He did the same. The song was about a cowboy. Well, that’s what this man was. Brenna was curious to see his reaction, so she turned the volume up a tad. Sinking into the seat, she turned toward him and smiled.

  Jase opened his door, stepped down, and leaned into her window. “Hungry?”

  Taking a big breath didn’t help when his sexy scent of cologne had hit her in the face. Hallelujah. “Yeah, I’m getting there.”

  “Let’s go. The cowboy just came to take you away.” He reached in and turned off the ignition, clasped her keys and opened the door. When she stepped out, he didn’t bother to move back any and they were close. This man was hot and not only his temperature. Whatever kind of chemistry radiated off him, soaked right into her.

  She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “I’m ready to go inside.”

  He took a step back, allowing her room to move, and closed her door, clicked the fob, and handed the keys over.