Take the Reins (A Cowboy's Promise Book 2)

by Megan Squires

  The answer was D, all of the above.

  “You think he’ll make it?” Josie tucked her feet up beneath her to sit cross-legged and leaned back on the only decorative pillow Seth owned. It was made from an old feed sack and was lumpy, but it would do.

  Seth had to think a moment. “Oh, the calf? I hope so,” he answered once her meaning clicked into place. “Cows are good mamas. Even first time calvers. She’ll do everything she can to make sure he gets through the night. Tomorrow morning, I’ll head back out to check on them. Maybe even try to bring them up to the old barn if they need some extra TLC. Until then, all we can do is hope for the best.”

  “Can I come with you?”

  “You know, I would’ve thought the whole cow poop in the hair thing would be enough to turn you off of ranch work altogether.”

  “It’ll take a lot more than that, Seth. Plus, if I get a free shampoo out of it, then I just might make a habit of rolling around in muddy pastures.”

  The idea of Josie rolling around…

  Seth snapped right out of that wayward thought. “It’ll be early.”

  “I can do early.” She shoved back her sleeve and flipped her wrist over to take a look at her watch. “But I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten tonight. I should probably think about heading back.”

  “Heading back where?”

  “Back to my trailer.” She drew out the words and lowered her brows. “My house?”

  “If your trailer doesn’t have room for a couch, I highly doubt it’s equipped with a fireplace,” Seth said. “It’ll be an icebox.”

  “What are my other options?”

  “My bed.”

  Josie’s face fell entirely blank, like a plug had been pulled from the wall.

  “Not with me in it!” Seth amended so quickly he almost choked on the tangle of words. “I’ll sleep out here on the couch, but the bed is all yours.”

  “I can’t take your bed, Seth. I wouldn’t feel right in doing that.”

  He wasn’t going to push. If it made her uncomfortable to sleep in his bed, then he’d have to come up with something else. Freezing in her trailer wasn’t a viable option. “Then how about you take the couch? I can keep the fire going all night so you’ll stay nice and toasty.”

  She looked around the room, her gaze bouncing from the fire to the chair to the sofa she currently sat upon. “I guess I could do that.”

  “Good. I’ll go grab a pillow and some blankets from the linen closet. In the meantime, make yourself comfortable.”

  “Is it crazy I’m not ready to go to bed just yet? Even after the night we’ve had?” she asked. Her hand reached out and touched his arm, light like a feather but enough to shoot a shiver clear up to his shoulder.

  Seth halted. “You’re not?”

  “I mean, maybe we could talk or something. I don’t know…”

  “Oh. Yeah. Sure.” He settled back in, trying to ignore the spot on his arm that felt as hot as the fire that blazed in the hearth just a few paces away. “We can talk.” His head dipped to meet her eyes. “Is there something you want to talk about?”

  Josie’s shoulders lifted with a tight breath. “Bridgette is gorgeous.”

  Not what he expected. “To some people, sure. I guess so.”

  “I’m sure you thought she was.”

  He didn’t know how to answer. It felt too much like a trap. “If you’re asking if I think Bridgette is pretty, yeah. I mean, yes. She is. But what does that have to do with anything?”

  “I saw the way you looked at her this afternoon.” Josie’s voice was small and an unsure quality infiltrated her typical confidence. “The way you looked at each other.”

  “Where are you going with this?”

  Like she’d lost her nerve, Josie flung her head back and forth. Wet strands smacked her cheeks. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

  “Like that’s going to happen. Seriously, what’s going on in that head of yours, Josie?” He tapped her temple.

  She sighed. “I’m just wondering if we’re going to be able to pull this off. I mean, it’s really believable that you and Bridgette were together. That you could be a couple. You just go together, like a western Ken and Barbie.”

  “Not sure that’s a good thing—”

  “There’s obvious chemistry there. Palpable. You don’t have to force it; it just is.”

  Seth cocked his head. “And you think we don’t have that?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Her eyes snapped up to his with such force it almost pushed him back up against the couch all on its own. “But I think there’s a way we can find out.”

  16

  Josie

  “Ready…set…go!”

  Josie’s eyes burst open and zeroed in on Seth’s. She’d won enough staring contests in the past to know her exact strategy. Just as soon as her eyes would start to become the slightest bit dry, she’d squint, but only enough to lessen the burn and make things more tolerable. That was the key. Keeping them wide open never worked in her favor and always resulted in a forced blink that lost her the title.

  “Why are you glaring at me?” Seth said, the corner of his mouth edging up in a semblance of a smirk.

  “It’s not intentional. It’s just strategy.”

  “Interesting strategy.” Seth moved his head side to side in what Josie assumed was an attempt at distraction. His eyes weren’t as easy to lock in on when he didn’t stay still. “I’ve got a strategy of my own.”

  “And that is?” She sat as motionless as a marble statue, not moving, hardly breathing. Victory would be hers for the taking in a matter of minutes.

  “I’m just going to talk to you and distract you enough so you don’t even remember we’re playing this game. Then you’ll blink.”

  “You’re more than welcome to try, but it’s not going to work. I’ve got some laser focus going on here, Seth. Laser focus.”

  “We’ll see.” Seth waggled his shoulders. “So, Josie. What’s your favorite color?”

  “Yellow.”

  “Okay. And what about animals? What’s your favorite animal?”

  “Sloth.”

  Seth laughed but his eyes stayed trained on hers. “Interesting. Movie?”

  “Don’t have one.”

  “No? Not a big movie watcher? Okay. Moving on then…” He squinted and for a split second she thought he was about to full-on blink, but then his eyes rounded back open. “What makes you think a staring contest has anything to do with chemistry?”

  “I read a list once about the seven markers of romantic chemistry. Intense eye contact is one of them.”

  “You read a list about romantic chemistry?”

  “Back in high school. One of those dumb online relationship quizzes or something.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just stuck with me.”

  “Fair enough.” Seth tipped his chin. “But I think there’s a difference between intense eye contact and what we’re doing here.” He motioned his hand in the gap between them. “This is nearly an act of intimidation.”

  Josie fought to keep from laughing. She would not let him win that easily.

  “What else was on the list?” Seth puffed up his cheeks and blew out a breath as his eyes got huge like he was doing everything possible to keep them open.

  “The chemistry list? Oh, you know. Things like reading body language. Being comfortable with one another. Laughing together. Losing track of time.” She tried to recall each marker. “Something about how your body responds when you’re around each other.”

  Seth didn’t have to purposefully widen his eyes at that response. They did that all on their own accord. “Gotcha. Interesting…” His shoulders lifted an inch. “I think we’ve got all of that.”

  “You think we’ve got all of that?” she repeated.

  “Sure. Don’t you?”

  Josie’s eyes had gotten past the point where they were scratchy and dry. Now they just watered, begging to be closed. “I’m not sure…”

 
; “I understand your body language. Like right now you’re telling me you will do anything to win this game. It’s evident in the set of your shoulders and your determined posture,” he explained, eyes still unblinking. “And I’m comfortable with you and I think you’re pretty comfortable with me. You are wearing my sweatshirt, after all.”

  Josie chuckled at that.

  “See? I make you laugh, too. That’s another,” he continued. “Any chance you have any idea what time it is?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t.”

  “Would you look at that? Looks like we’ve lost track of time, too.” He smiled. “Yep. All the markers.”

  Well, all but one…

  “Dang it!” Seth threw his hands in the air. “I blinked.”

  He would have gotten away with it, honestly. Josie was still stuck wondering what his answer regarding his body’s response would be, but she didn’t have the nerve to ask.

  “Looks like you’re the clear winner here, Josie. Congratulations.”

  Balling up two fists, she shoved them into her eyes and twisted, the sweet relief almost as good as scratching a hard to reach itch. She yawned.

  “I know.” Seth picked up on her obvious exhaustion. “I’m tired, too. Let me get those linens I promised so you can get some sleep. We’ve had a pretty eventful evening.”

  Josie smiled. Seth really was a care taker, and a good one, too. It was easy to understand now why he got so frustrated with the people running his grandmother’s senior living facility. If it were up to Seth, Josie figured he’d just as well have Gramm share his home so he could keep an eye on her and make sure she was properly cared for. That was just his nature.

  And that was the real issue at hand—it didn’t seem like much was left up to Seth at all. His parents made absolutely sure of that.

  He returned moments later with a quilted, patchwork blanket, a set of twin sheets, and a down pillow so fluffy Josie felt like her head rested on a cloud. He stoked the fire once more and threw another log on before giving her a sweet smile and retreating to his bedroom down the hall. Josie slipped out of her jeans, then folded them neatly before placing them onto the coffee table until she would need them again in the morning. Her boots were tucked under it, no longer wet, but crusted with mud that would require a good and thorough polishing.

  The sweatshirt Seth had loaned her was oversized, long enough to hit just above her knees. She hadn’t noticed until she was finally alone with her thoughts and all of her senses that it smelled just like him. Pine, spice, and musk. She burrowed under the quilt and pulled the soft fabric up under her chin. Resting on her back, she could see the fire dancing in her periphery. The pops and snaps, along with the plinking of raindrops on the rooftop, created the sweetest autumn lullaby.

  Sleep came fast and easy, so much that she thought it was already morning when she awoke to a distant rustling sound. When her eyes first opened, the room was dim and much colder than before. But the walls suddenly flared orange and heat returned with a burst, like a flambé skillet doused in a splash of alcohol.

  Seth’s shadowy figure stooped low by the hearth. He pitched another log into the growing flames.

  Josie rolled over and squinted as his form came into focus. He was shirtless, wearing only flannel pajama pants that hung low on his hips. Cords of muscle pulsed in his back when he used the iron fire poker to rearrange the logs. Josie knew he was fit—it just went with the territory when it came to cowboys who did ranch work for a living. But Seth’s body was more than that. He was built, like he was carved from stone, molded from clay. Amber firelight kissed every patch of bare skin as it traced over his impeccable form. For a split second, Josie thought she might still be dreaming, the disorienting reality before her almost too much to process.

  He suddenly pushed up with his hands pressed to his knees. Josie was still admiring him when he turned around and brought his gaze toward her, meeting her gawking stare. If his back had been a sculpture, everything else was a masterpiece. He had just the right dusting of hair across his chest and it trailed down rippling abs that would make a washboard look smooth in comparison.

  Josie’s mouth went dry.

  Seth seemed almost startled to find her awake. “I’m sorry. I thought I was being quiet.”

  “You were.” She slid up on the couch.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you. I just wanted to check on the fire. And I’m glad I did. It was almost out.”

  Josie scratched the back of her head and smacked her mouth. “Power still out?”

  “Seems to be.” He took one step toward her, then, like he suddenly realized he was standing there shirtless, he folded his arms quickly over his upper half. Not that it did much. If anything, it now pulled her attention to his strong, broad shoulders and the arms she now imagined bound solidly around her…

  “I hope you’ll be able to get back to sleep okay. I really didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “I shouldn’t have a problem,” she said. “But I’m going to get myself a glass of water first. You think there’s still some in the reserve tank?”

  “There should be plenty for a glass or two.”

  Josie padded to the kitchen in bare feet. The storm had eased up but the large window above the sink remained streaked with wet, slithering trails and the sprinkling on the roof continued, just less furiously than before. She collected a glass from the cupboard and filled it halfway with tap water. Sleeping by the fire had parched her, but waking up to that vision did her in.

  When she came back into the living room, Seth was next to the couch, the quilt held in his hands off to the side like a red cape in a matador’s grip.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to tuck you in,” he said matter-of-factly.

  She lowered onto the couch, but gave him a cautious look. “You don’t have to—”

  “I woke you up.” He placed the blanket over her gently, then leaned in. “It’s only right that I help you get back to sleep.”

  Yeah, that wasn’t going to help Josie sleep at all. His chest muscles flexed as he jammed the fabric under the cushions and then he came over Josie to tuck them into the back portion of the couch, too. Josie felt like a mummy, her arms pinned at her sides like a constrictive straightjacket.

  “How’s that?”

  “A little tight,” she admitted with a grunt.

  He let out a low laugh and if his stomach wasn’t impressive enough already, that reaction only defined every single muscle. Josie was not one to objectify another person, but having Seth this close looking this way did weird things to her resolve.

  She flopped a little to untuck the blanket and breathed out once her arms were free. Then she sat upright.

  “Sorry,” Seth apologized. “I’m new to this.”

  “New to tucking someone in for bed?”

  “New to all of it.”

  Josie didn’t know why or how, but something between them shifted, like the change in the atmosphere’s energy before tonight’s thunderstorm. They stared at one another for a few wordless, breathless moments. Her head felt woefully low on oxygen, like she just might pass out so she sucked in a lungful of air but it still wasn’t enough.

  “Josie, my heart is totally racing.” He finally split the silence in a voice that almost trembled. “I told you we had chemistry.” He sunk to his knees in front of the couch. “That’s how I respond to you. That’s what you do to me. You make my heart feel like it’s going to jump right out of my chest.”

  “Seth.”

  His hands came down onto the sofa, one on either side of her legs. He pressed his palms deeply into the cushions and raised his eyes to hers. “Is it crazy if I ask to kiss you?”

  Her head shook like a twitch; nervous, unsure, and tense. “I really don’t expect you to take this whole fake dating thing that far, Seth. There’s no one here to fool.”

  “Me wanting to kiss you isn’t fake.” He moved an inch closer. She could see his throat pull tight with a swallow an
d the groove between his eyebrows deepened. “And I’m glad there’s no one here other than us right now.”

  What was happening? This had to be a dream. Josie almost pinched the skin on her arm, just to see if she was, in fact, still asleep. But there was another way to figure that out…

  She withdrew her hand from beneath the quilt and placed it onto Seth’s chest, right over the heart he’d confessed was already pounding. He wasn’t lying. She could feel it thumping erratically under her palm, this unsteady beat that still somehow matched her own. He hissed out a harsh breath and shut his eyes at the contact.

  She wanted to touch him with her other hand, grip his shoulders and yank him toward her. Kiss him fiercely and thoroughly. But her cast was clunky and her movements unavoidably awkward. Instead, she just sat further back on the couch, her confidence faltering by the second.

  “Do you feel it?” he asked.

  She felt all sorts of things, none of which made any remote sort of sense. The haze of night didn’t help with that, either. Judgment wasn’t always at its best during late, mind-blurry hours like these. “It’s late and we’re tired. We probably shouldn’t do anything we’ll regret come sunrise.”

  “It’s not like I’m drunk, Josie.” He sat back on his haunches and leveled his gaze right at her. “I’m completely aware of what I’m saying.”

  “I know that. I just don’t want you to wake up in the morning and wish you hadn’t kissed me. If we were to kiss, that is. Which I think we can both agree we probably shouldn’t.”

  All hope disintegrated from Seth’s expression. He sagged against the coffee table and gave a slow nod of understanding. “If I wake up with regret, it wouldn’t be from kissing you. It would be because I had to go and be an idiot and mess everything up.”

  “You haven’t messed anything up, Seth. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page about this fake relationship. I don’t want to complicate things and I think kissing would do exactly that.”

  He smiled, but there wasn’t any sincerity in it. “Fake. Hmm. You know? I’m starting to really dislike that word.”