The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek)
Page 20
“I doubt it.”
Why did he even try? Holt couldn’t be reasoned with. “Why don’t you go on to bed. I can handle this from here.”
“Why? So you can scurry away again as soon as my back is turned?” Holt looked him in the eye. “Are you ever coming home?”
“No.”
Holt sagged against the door frame. “Then what’s the use?” His voice thickened with emotion.
Jake felt intensely uncomfortable. “The use of what?”
“Everything. All of this. I did it for you. It was all supposed to be for you. The ranch, the herd…”
“For my brothers and me.”
“For you especially.” Holt braced his hands on his thighs as if he’d run a long race and couldn’t catch his breath. “You’re my heir. You’re supposed to take my place. Now you’ve left…” He shook his head. “I told that girl of yours you’d jump the fence.”
“You pretty much forced me to. You all right?” He had to ask the question even though he didn’t want to. Holt looked mighty gray.
“I’ll live,” Holt said, brushing his concern away. “All I wanted was my family here. My sons and their wives and their children.”
“I know,” Jake said with a sigh. The trouble was, he did know. Holt was a nightmare at inter-personal relations, but when you clawed through all his baloney there was often a good intention buried there somewhere. “But you can’t force people to do your will, Dad. You have to give them options.”
Holt looked up at him, his breathing still shallow. Jake was just about ready to call for an ambulance when he spoke. “How about this option? I give you two hundred acres, just like Rob got. You move back onto the ranch. That wife of yours can either start her own clinic when she’s done her schooling, or work with her friend up the road.”
Jake scowled. His father wanted to negotiate? Now? “Ned won’t like that.”
“Ned will still run the show. I’m just offering you a place to stay. A bit of land to do your experiments on.”
“Like Rob?”
“Exactly.”
“And you wouldn’t interfere?” Was he really having this conversation? Everything had already been settled. He’d left the Double-Bar-K, gotten out from under his father’s scheming ways.
“No, sir. I’ve learned my lesson. You can’t teach a cockroach anything.”
Jake rubbed a hand over his face and thought it over. Two hundred acres wasn’t enough to do all the things he wanted to do, but it was enough land for them to build a home of their own on. Definitely enough to build a clinic for Hannah. “I’ll have to ask Hannah. We’ve made plans with Bella and Evan.”
“They’re just down the road.”
“That’s true. We could still work together and take care of their place when they go away.” They could keep the bison herd at their place, too—it was a large spread. He felt wary, though. There’d been too many tricks—too many twists he hadn’t seen coming. He wavered, not knowing what to say. On the one hand he’d always thought the Double-Bar-K would be his home forever. On the other hand, he’d begun to get used to the idea of truly being his own man.
“Consider it a wedding gift.” Holt straightened up slowly and came to shake Jake’s hand. “I’d like to have you back. It’s not the same without you.”
A rush of feeling washed over Jake. His father cared whether he stayed or went. He realized now he’d never been truly sure about that. And the Double-Bar-K still meant as much to him as it ever had. It would be strange not to be in charge of the cattle herd here, but it would be a relief, too, in some ways. He wanted to concentrate on other things. He wanted to go to school. Maybe he’d even transfer to Colorado with Hannah when she went. Anything to make her journey to becoming a vet easier. If they were together, they could think about starting a family along the way. Having their own acreage on the ranch would give them so many options. “I’d like to come back. Thanks, Dad.” He clapped his father on the shoulder, the nearest any of the Matheson men came to a hug.
“I hope you’ll still help out with the main work we do here.” It was a testament to how far they’d come that Holt was asking rather than demanding.
“Of course.”
Holt nodded and turned to the door. “Ned, did you hear all that?”
Ned straightened from where he’d been leaning against the far wall of the barn, hidden in the shadows. “I sure did. Jake, don’t you think you and Hannah better get home? You’ve got a wedding tomorrow. I’ll sit up with Chester and wait for Bella. I can sleep in here tonight if need be.”
“I don’t want to leave him.” Jake hesitated. It was the night before his wedding, though. His bride needed some sleep.
“You’re leaving him in capable hands. Just like you’re leaving the ranch.”
Jake sized his brother up. Maybe Ned did deserve this chance to prove himself. “All right. I’m counting on you, though.”
“I won’t screw it up.” Ned’s voice was caustic.
As he left the barn to find Hannah, Ned called out, “You better stop in to see Mom; she’s got something to say to you.”
Jake just bet she did. He retrieved Hannah and led her inside the main house, pausing on the front porch to fill her in on his father’s offer. To his surprise, she launched herself into his arms with tears of joy. “That’s so much better. I knew it would kill you to move away from here for good. This is your home. Our home, now. Did your dad really say he’d build me a clinic?”
“You bet. I think he likes you.”
“I don’t know whether to be glad or scared.” She kissed him on the mouth. “I’m so happy. It’s all going to work out!”
“I know.” And he did. With things patched up between him and his father, he could really move forward into his new life. He led the way inside, where the smell of his mother’s roast beef overwhelmed him the moment he stepped through the door. “What’s cooking?” he asked as he entered the kitchen.
“Your wedding supper, I hope,” Lisa said. Jake gazed around him in surprise at the large aluminum tins filled with every country delicacy imaginable. “I’m nearly done,” she huffed, lifting an enormous roast out of the oven. “I just need to slice this up to store in the refrigerator overnight.”
“But, Mom… you realize we’ve got food coming to Carl’s place. Autumn’s handling it.”
“The hell you do.” Lisa stood up and put her hand on her hips. “I nearly died when I read the location of your wedding on your invitation. Which I should have been the one to send, thank you very much!”
“We did the best we could, considering the circumstances. Dad didn’t leave us much choice.”
“Circumstances have changed, haven’t they? And as for your father,” Lisa shook her head. “Let’s just say I gave him a piece of my mind after you left the other day. I can’t believe the shenanigans he gets up to. Not that he wasn’t provoked.” She gave him a hard look.
“I take responsibility for my part in it.” Jake knew he should never have made fun of his father or his brother. “Still, he went a little overboard, don’t you think?”
Lisa chuckled. “I think your father likes matchmaking.”
“Is that what he calls it?” Hannah’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
“You’re getting married tomorrow, aren’t you? I called every last person I could think of to tell them about the change of venue. You’re getting married in my house. Not Carl’s house. Mine.”
Jake rolled his eyes at her tone. “What about Hannah?” He nudged her. “She’s worked all week to get ready. What about Autumn? She’s making all the food.”
“You know what? I’m happy about the change of venue,” Hannah said. “Your mother can kidnap my wedding any time. I’d much rather have it here.”
“That’s good to hear, because I’m not giving it back,” Lisa said. She hurried across the room to give Hannah a hug. “But Autumn’s still helping me. You should see all that she’s got cooking at her place. Please don’t be mad.”
> “Are you kidding? I’m overjoyed! We tried decorating Carl’s living room—I mean, Evan and Bella’s living room—with all those Ming vases and the place ended up looking like a museum. This is so much better.” Hannah gestured to Lisa’s Christmas decorations which filled the house with red and green. “Did you tell Bella and Evan that the wedding has changed venues? They were so nice about letting us use their new place to host it.”
“They were the first people I called. Don’t you worry about a thing—it’s all under control. Go get some sleep,” Lisa told them. “Be back at noon tomorrow. Bring your things. You’ll get dressed upstairs.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Hannah said with a grin.
“Now you’re beginning to understand what it is to be a Matheson,” Jake said.
“I’m also beginning to understand who’s really in charge around here.” Hannah nodded at Lisa. “It sets the perfect precedent for my own family.” She gave Lisa a peck on the cheek, then sidled over to Jake and gave him a squeeze.
“We’ll see about that.” He bent down to kiss her, knowing that right now he’d do whatever it took to make his wife happy.
On the day of her wedding, Hannah loved the feeling of being almost outdoors in the snowy landscape while she said her vows. The ceremony was held in Lisa’s glassed-in solarium, with temporary heaters working overtime to warm the usually chilly room. Mia and Fila acted as her bridesmaids, with Bella as her Matron of Honor. Jake stood straight and strong beside her and her heart tripped in excitement when he said, “I do.”
They’d kissed so many times in the last few weeks, but when the Joe Halpern, the minister, gave Jake permission to kiss his bride, Hannah could barely stand for the rush of desire that shot through her again. When he drew her to him, his hand warm on the small of her back she was grateful the congregation couldn’t know what was running through her mind.
Tonight they’d sleep together as husband and wife. All worry forgotten. All questions answered. They’d given their word; whatever they had to face from now on they’d face together. They’d reach their dreams together, side by side, backed by a family that supported them too.
Jake slipped his free hand under the nape of her neck and lifted her to meet his mouth, starting the kiss gently, but soon deepening it, letting her know he, too, was overcome with desire for their new life together.
The assembled crowd began to clap, then whoop as the kiss went on and on. When they finally broke apart, Hannah was blushing and she hid her face in the crook of Jake’s arm. He led her gently back up the aisle and tugged her into his father’s office for a moment alone before facing the crowd again.
“You okay?” he asked, sitting on the edge of his father’s desk and pulling her between his legs.
“More than okay.”
“Think we did the right thing?”
“I know we did.”
He smiled and kissed her again. “Think we can tell all these people to go home so we can get to bed?”
She laughed. “I think we’d start a riot. Everyone knows your mother and Autumn have been cooking all night. We’ll have to feed them if we want to get rid of them.”
“All right. But don’t plan on leaving our bedroom for days.”
“That’s all right by me,” she said. She kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
The door swung open, and Jake and Hannah jerked apart when Holt walked in.
“I thought I’d find you two in here. No time for your dillydallying; get out there and attend to your guests.”
“Yes, sir,” Jake said, giving him a mock salute.
Holt waited for them to cross the room. “It sure took a passel of hard work to get you two together. How are we going to get your brothers hitched?”
The Cowboys of Chance Creek series continues with The Cowboy Rescues a Bride.
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Other books in the Cowboys of Chance Creek series:
The Cowboy’s E-mail Order Bride (Volume 1)
The Cowboy Wins a Bride (Volume 2)
The Cowboy Imports a Bride (Volume 3)
The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire (Volume 4)
The Sheriff Catches a Bride (Volume 5)
The Cowboy Rescues a Bride (Volume 7)
The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Volume 8)
About the Author
Cora Seton loves cowboys, country life, gardening, bike-riding, and lazing around with a good book. Mother of four, wife to a computer programmer/eco-farmer, she ditched her California lifestyle eight years ago and moved to a remote logging town in northwestern British Columbia.
Like the characters in her novels, Cora enjoys old-fashioned pursuits and modern technology, spending mornings transforming a neglected one-acre lot into a paradise of orchards, berry bushes and market gardens, and afternoons writing the latest Chance Creek romance novel on her iPad mini. Visit www.coraseton.com to read about new releases, contests and other cool events!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Author’s Note
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
About the Author