by Cora Seton
Ethan was just dealing out the cards for the next round of play when the house phone rang and Autumn excused herself from the other table to answer it.
Jake studied the new hand he’d been dealt. He could work with this, he mused. The real question was whether he could work with the cards life had dealt him. An interested woman. An ultimatum from his father. Could he take the two and create a winning hand out of them? A lifetime with the woman who’d tormented his dreams for weeks now?
The timing was short but you only got so many chances in life to hitch your yoke to another person who not only attracted you physically but also stimulated your mind. He felt confident he wouldn’t regret marrying Hannah, if he could get her.
Could he get her? That was the real question.
“I see,” Autumn said into the phone. “Um… yes, of course. Yes, we have openings for that time period.” She had moved to the small desk and computer off her kitchen space where she took bookings for the guest ranch and kept her accounts. She pulled up the booking software.
“Looks like someone’s coming to stay,” Jake said to Ethan.
“Good thing. It’s been pretty thin this past month. Can’t blame people for not wanting to visit a ranch in November, but we need the income from the guests or we’ll have to tighten our belts.”
“Yes. Yes, I think we can accommodate you. What time will you arrive?” As Autumn went on speaking into the phone, asking questions and answering them, they continued to play, but Jake could tell Ethan’s mind was on Autumn’s conversation. He could believe that bookings were important to him. They’d been able to have Thursday night get-togethers here every week for the past month. That meant no paying guests, which meant business wasn’t as good as it needed to be. Everyone knew Ethan’s mother had spent much of the ranch’s earnings on travel and, as it turned out, funding programs to help women in Afghanistan. When Ethan inherited the ranch it was deeply in debt. Over the last six months he’d banded together with Autumn, Jamie, Claire, Rob, and Morgan to pay down the mortgage and solidify its earnings. With all the businesses they were starting together, they should soon have plenty of cash. Jake envied them their togetherness and the variety of their income sources. He and his brothers and parents worked the Double-Bar-K together, but it was strictly a cattle ranch, and if Holt had his way, that’s what it would stay.
Autumn hung up and turned to Ethan. “You’re not going to believe it!”
“Tell me.” Ethan set his cards face down on the table and rose to go to her.
“A huge family get-together. They want to rent the entire house for four weeks!” Her face alight with happiness, Autumn crossed the room and hugged her husband.
“When are they coming?” He kissed her, but Jake could see he wanted to know the details.
“Next Saturday. We’re going to have to work like crazy. They’ll stay through New Year’s. Apparently they had another lodge booked but a pipe broke there and flooded the place. They won’t be back in business for months. I feel awful being so happy when someone else is in such trouble, but I can’t help it. Twenty people here for a month! We’ll be able to pay our bills for the rest of the winter, easy!”
As people congratulated Ethan and Autumn on their good luck, Jake glanced at Hannah and took in her still, worried expression. Mia was frowning too, and Fila was just as tense.
“What’s wrong?” he asked Hannah, bending closer to her. The fresh floral scent of her shampoo teased his senses. He had to hold back from touching her arm.
“Twenty people staying here? Hannah, Fila and I will have to move. I guess we could stay in the bunkhouse, but…”
“You could come stay with me. I have a spare room.” He had surprised himself as much as he surprised her. The words just popped out, but the moment they did he wanted her to say yes. He braced himself for the stinging answer he was sure she’d fling his way. The offer was obviously self-serving.
Hannah swallowed, her gaze never leaving his face. “That would be great. Can I move in tonight?”
‡
Chapter Four
“You sure you don’t want me to stick around and carry your things to the car?” Jake asked. They were alone by the front door, the other guests having already left, but with the open-floor plan of the Big House, Hannah was all too aware of Autumn, Ethan, Mia and Fila all working to clean up the dishes from the get-together.
“No. I want to help clean up first and then I’ll need some time to pack. You go on home. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” For a moment she thought Jake would lean down and kiss her, but then he glanced over her head toward the kitchen area and pulled back. “Don’t be too long.”
“I won’t,” she promised him and hurried back to help the others, her body alight with the knowledge that she’d sleep with him tonight.
Sleep with him, not make love to him. Just like Holt said.
Of course, she could be flexible on that point.
As Mia loaded the dishwasher and Fila fetched a broom, Hannah knew each of them was worried about their living situations, but she wasn’t sure how to speak up and tell them she was moving out.
“You know we’ll make room in the bunkhouse for all of you,” Autumn said to them, returning to the kitchen with a tray of glasses. “It’ll be a little tight, but it’s just for one month.”
More than a little tight. The bunkhouse only had two bedrooms. Ethan and Autumn stayed in one. She suspected neither Fila nor Mia relished sharing the other one, certainly not with two other women.
“Maybe I should find my own place,” Fila began in her soft voice. Her shoulders looked tight and Hannah could tell the entire evening had placed a strain on the young woman. From what she gathered, it had never been a good thing for Fila to be noticed during her years in Afghanistan. She still seemed to want to escape attention as much as possible. Trouble was, everyone here wanted to make her feel at home and went out of their way to notice and talk to her. On most occasions, Fila slipped off to her room before the poker nights were half over.
Autumn and Claire had helped Fila find a lawyer who could track down information about her parents’ estate. Since more than a decade had passed since they died, it was unclear whether there would be anything for Fila to inherit. Sooner or later she’d have to find a job, but everyone agreed she wasn’t ready for that yet. Her offer to move wasn’t practical.
“No.” Autumn moved to her side. “Your place is here with us. Trust me, Fila. We’ll work this out and it will be no bother to anyone.”
“That’s right,” Hannah said. Fila needed Autumn’s caring presence right now. As much as she’d adapted to life here, she had a long way to go. While Fila had told them much of her story, Hannah knew there was more she hadn’t told. She could only imagine the abuse she’d witnessed and maybe experienced herself during her years in captivity. Then, when she’d stepped forward to tell the American authorities her story, she’d been grilled by law enforcement and FBI agents to find out everything she knew and to verify that she herself wasn’t a terrorist. Sometimes Hannah thought those interrogations did more to hurt Fila than her time in Afghanistan. She’d expected to find safety in Chance Creek. Instead she’d been treated like a potential criminal. She didn’t know who to trust anymore. Didn’t know if anyone trusted her. Fila had folded in on herself. She needed gentle company, warmth and safety. The last thing she needed was to rent an apartment somewhere in town and live alone. Not to mention she couldn’t afford it. “I’m moving out anyway, so there will be plenty of room in the bunkhouse for you, Fila.”
“You’re moving? Where?” Autumn turned to her, disappointment in her eyes.
Hannah loved her for it. Autumn was the consummate hostess. She seemed to thrive on feeding and housing people. Still, she’d have plenty of people to house and feed a week or so from now. “Jake has a spare room.” She hoped her offhand tone would fool Autumn, but she felt her cheeks warm and Autumn’s mouth quirked.
“That sounds… cozy.”
Fila said nothing, but when Hannah met her gaze she saw right away the relief in the young woman’s eyes.
Mia stared at the floor. “Maybe I should look for another place, too.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Autumn said firmly. “You two can share the spare room in the bunkhouse for now. Then you’ll both move back into your separate rooms in the Big House until spring. Once Cab and Rose get their house built, their cabin will be available, too. I had already planned on the two of you taking it over this spring. You can stay there as long as you want. I know it might be a little awkward at times until then, but we’ll make it work. I promise.”
Hannah was glad Autumn insisted the other two stay. Both Fila and Mia were young and in circumstances that would make it difficult to make their own way in the world. They needed someone like Autumn to look after them. She’d be fine at Jake’s for the time being. After her fourteen days she’d find an apartment in town.
“Jake’s pretty handsome. I always thought he was the best-looking of the Mathesons,” Autumn said to her.
“Don’t let Ethan hear you talking like that,” Hannah said. Even if it was true.
“Well, anyway, I’ll miss having you here, Hannah.”
“Thanks.” As soon as she could, she retreated to her room to pack. And plan. Fourteen nights with Jake. Maybe more.
You’re jumping the gun, she told herself. There’s no guarantee Jake wants to sleep with you. But she wasn’t naïve enough to believe he’d offered her his spare room out of the goodness of his heart. She had no doubt she could climb into his bed tonight.
But would she be able to leave it when her two weeks were up?
“Still single?” Holt queried when Jake stopped at his parents’ house on the way home. He, Ned, Luke and Rob had cell phones and used them frequently to stay up-to-date with each other and ranch matters, but Holt refused to get with the twenty-first century, which meant a nightly check-in was in order, or his father would be banging on his door at four in the morning with a list of the day’s chores.
“Yep. But not for long. Hannah Ashton is moving in tonight.”
“Hannah Ashton? Weren’t there any other single women at that shindig you went to?”
“Yes, there were.” But why did Holt want to know? Didn’t he like Hannah? Did his prejudice against her bison extend to the woman herself?
“Who?”
“You want a list?”
“Yep.” Holt waited, ramrod straight in the door that separated the kitchen from the living room.
Jake sighed. He knew his father well enough to understand that the sooner he answered the question, the sooner this conversation could be over.
“Mia Start and Fila Sahar.”
“Humph. And you couldn’t land either of them.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement of Holt’s disdain.
“I didn’t want to. Good-night.” Jake left before Holt could incite him into an argument. He got back into his truck and drove the rest of the way to his cabin seething with anger. Couldn’t his father approve of anything he did? For once he’d like Holt to react with pride rather than his usual snide remarks, but that would be hoping for too much, wouldn’t it?
Jake knew his father hadn’t had it easy when he was growing up. For all their joking around about Holt’s father earlier in the night, the truth was the old man had been quicker to criticize or raise a fist than Holt had ever been. Jake knew his father loved all his children and doted on his wife, but he often had a strange way of showing it. Praise from his father was as rare as a two-headed snake, and often just as disturbing.
Well, it didn’t matter what Holt thought. He hadn’t specified which woman he needed to marry as long as he married someone, and Hannah Ashton was the only woman who interested him. As soon as they were hitched she’d take that curiosity of hers and apply it to the ranch in general. No telling what she’d come up with. He hoped she’d be a little like Autumn or his mother—a whiz in the kitchen. He, unfortunately, was not. He could picture them sitting across the breakfast table from each other, eating a real ranch meal instead of the cold cereal he shoveled into his mouth these days, and talking about the day ahead. Some chores they’d do together, like riding fences or helping with the hay harvest. Other chores they’d do on their own, him in the barn and her in the house. Their children, when they had them, would have both parents close by on the ranch—not like those city kids who didn’t see their folks from early morning to late at night. When Holt finally relinquished control over everything, Hannah would support his experiments with new ranching techniques. She’d help him research and plan and carry out trials. Maybe they could even publish their findings. He hoped Bella would be able to find a replacement receptionist without too much trouble.
Within the month.
He wondered if he should give Bella some kind of heads’ up, but decided against it after a little thought.
Time enough for that after his ring was on Hannah’s finger.
‡
Chapter Five
It was well past midnight when Hannah turned in the lane to the Double-Bar-K. She passed the main house first, where Holt and Lisa lived and the boys had grown up, then drove another quarter mile to the cabins the Mathesons had built when their sons reached maturity. Jake’s came first, tucked off beside the lane flanked by two tall pine trees. With its wide front porch and generous proportions it didn’t seem diminutive to her, but she knew the Mathesons regarded the cabins as such and had heard from Morgan that they were built with an eye to adding on in the future.
She pulled up and parked in front of Jake’s place, but once she switched off the engine she found she couldn’t open the door.
What was she doing here? Did she really think she could sleep with Jake for two weeks and then just leave? She’d never entered a relationship before without the hope that it could turn into a permanent one. Now she was starting something with a definite expiration date. She wasn’t even sure that was possible.
It would be over a month until she could move back to the Cruz ranch, so she needed a plan for what to do when her fourteen days with Jake were up. She’d better start hunting for a cheap apartment tomorrow. Maybe she could handle a fourteen day romp under the covers with Jake. Maybe they’d spin it out over the holidays and into January, but then it would have to stop. Not only was she taking on a full-time course load next semester, she also planned to work. The commute to and from Billings would eat up more time, and to top it off she’d have to move to Colorado this fall. There were no closer vet programs.
Besides, she knew herself too well. She was already half stuck on Jake. If she got all tangled up with him, how could she concentrate on the years of school that loomed in front of her? All in all, this was a very bad idea.
Maybe the nights with Jake should remain chaste, after all. But how? Could she claim she had nightmares so bad she needed company to stave them off? Would Jake buy that?
“Hannah? You coming in?”
Hannah jumped at Jake’s sudden appearance at her window. His voice was muffled by the glass between them, but his words were clear enough.
And so was the stab of pure lust she felt at the sight of him so close by.
Was she coming in? She thought of Gladys safe and sound for the rest of her shaggy life. She thought of sharing a cramped bedroom in the bunkhouse with Mia and Fila for a month.
She thought of fourteen nights with Jake.
Hell, yes. She was coming in.
When Jake held the front door open and let Hannah pass through it he felt a shiver of anticipation run the length of his spine. When she stopped inside the doorway to take in the small living room, dining room and kitchen that formed the main floor, her proximity made his groin tighten.
She wanted him. So badly she’d jumped at the chance to move right in. They were hours—or maybe minutes—from their first sexual encounter and his blood was running hot. He’d waited a hell of a long time for this moment. Ha
nnah was lithe and pretty and smart to boot. She shared his love for animals and she worked hard. She’d be a hell of a lover and would make one heck of a wife. The thought of carrying her in her wedding dress over this threshold one day soon filled him with anticipation and a sense of rightness. This was the woman he was meant to share his life with.
“The kitchen is straight ahead,” he said, coming into the living room behind her. “The bedrooms are upstairs.” He pointed to the flight of stairs that led to a balcony. “There’s a bathroom down that hall. Let me show you around.”
The tour of the main floor took a matter of moments. He saw her take in the rough kitchen, the sparsely stocked shelves and lack of a dishwasher. He closed the bathroom door almost as soon as he opened it. He’d forgotten he’d left it a mess this morning.
“Your room is up here,” he said, leading her up the stairs a few moments later, hoping the condition of the place so far hadn’t put her off. At least the spare room was in decent shape. He’d had the presence of mind to check that. It contained a queen-sized bed, a plain wooden dresser and a desk under the single window.
Hannah stood in the doorway, as if reluctant to come any farther inside. “It’s nice, I guess.”
Uh oh. Was she having second thoughts? Time to turn on the Matheson charm. “Come on in, take a better look.” He entered the room fully and held out his hand.
To his surprise, she took it. Hers was warm and small in his, and he squashed an urge to caress it.
