The Cowboy's Pride and Joy

“So why are you so anti-Boston?” she asked quietly.

His gaze narrowed on her. “I know my mom didn’t put you up to that question.”

“No, that’s just me. Being curious.”

“Polite word for nosy.”

“Guilty. You don’t have to answer.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

“But you will,” she countered with an easy smile as she sat back more comfortably in the chair.

“What makes you think so?”

“Because you’ll want to defend your position.”

“Ah,” he said, leaning back in his own chair. “But why would I care what you think of me?”

“Oh, you don’t,” she said. “But you can defend yourself to you, by explaining it to me.”

Irritation warred with intrigue inside him. He’d known her only a few hours and she was already playing him. Were women born knowing how to maneuver a man into doing exactly what they wanted him to do?

“It’s none of your business,” he finally ground out.

“Ah.” She nodded sagely. “The best defense is a good offense.”

Surprised, he laughed. “You know football?”

She shrugged. “My younger brother played in high school and college. I went to a lot of games. And you changed the subject. Well done.”

Shaking his head, Jake studied her for a long minute and found her gray gaze steady and filled with interest. “Okay. I grew up in the city. But this ranch always felt like home to me.”

“And...”

“And, after college and the Corps, I couldn’t settle in the city. Too much noise. Too many people. Too many things crowding in on me.” He stood up, unable to stay behind the desk. Walking to the fire, he picked up a poker and stabbed at the smoldering logs until flames hissed and jumped to life again.

Funny, he hadn’t thought about any of this for a long time, and remembering coming home from his last tour of duty and being surrounded by the crazed noises and crowds of the city brought it all back. That itchy, unsettled feeling that resulted in a cold, deep chill that had skimmed over his heart and soul, making him feel as if he were slowly freezing to death.

Grinding his teeth together, he swallowed hard, reminded himself that he’d left that old life behind and said, “I didn’t belong there anymore. I needed space. Room to breathe. Couldn’t find that in the city.”

She was watching him. He didn’t have to see it to feel her gaze on him. He knew she was wondering what the hell he was talking about. Considering him nuts for turning his back on Hunter Media and all that entailed. But he didn’t face her; instead he simply stared into the flames and let himself be mesmerized.

Until she spoke and shattered the quiet.

“Really, I sympathize with your mother, but I can’t see you living in Boston at all.”

He lifted his head and shifted a look at her. He didn’t see sympathy or concern or amusement on her features, and for that he was grateful. “Is that right? Why?”

She laughed a little and the sound was soft. “Well, first off, I do understand everything you just said. Sometimes the crowds downtown make me feel like I can’t draw a breath.”

He nodded.

“But secondly... Please. You wear boots and jeans and a hat that you can pull down deliberately low enough to keep people from seeing your eyes.”

A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. Observant, wasn’t she?

“I just can’t see you sitting in on board meetings wearing a three-piece suit and sipping espresso.”

He snorted at the idea. “Yeah, that was never going to happen.”

“I think your mom gets that now,” Cassidy said. “She’s still disappointed, but she’s accepted that you’re never moving back to the city.”

“Good. Took long enough,” he mused. His mother had clung to the idea of Jake returning to the city to take his rightful place as the head of Hunter Media for far too long. It had been a bone of contention between them for years, even though he’d pointed out repeatedly that his younger sister Beth was right there, more than capable and eager for the job.

“But I’m curious.”

His thoughts came to a dead stop as he looked at her. “More curiosity?”

“You never find out anything if you don’t ask.”

“Ask what?”

“Why the lonely cowboy on top of a mountain?” Her gray gaze locked on his, she watched him as if she could read his answer on his features. “You walked away from a dynasty in the city to come here. Why here? This mountain? This place?”

“Forthright again,” he muttered.

“Not really. Nosy again.”

He laughed shortly at the admission. “At least you’re honest.”

“I try to be.”

Jake had once thought his ex was an honest woman, too. Turned out she was like most people. Honest only until it served her not to be. But what the hell, he’d give her an answer.

“When we were kids, Beth and I used to come here every summer to see our grandparents.” His mind turned back, flipping through memories like a cardsharp about to deal a hand filled with images. “It was so different here. Bigger, of course. But more than that. Pop used to take me fishing and out with him when he was working the cattle. In Boston, I was a kid, told to watch out for cars, not to talk to strangers, and wasn’t allowed to ride the damn T without an escort.”

“Really? You couldn’t ride public transit alone?”

He shrugged at that memory. “My parents were cautious. Always said that rich kids might get kidnapped. So Beth and I were watched constantly.” Shaking his head, he continued. “Here, we were free. We ran wild all over the ranch with no one to hold us back. Went swimming in the lake, hiked all over the forest. It was a different world for both of us. But for me, it was the world I wanted.” Grudgingly, he added, “When I got out of the Marines, I came straight here. I needed this place after that and—”

He stopped talking suddenly, surprised as hell that he’d told her all of that. Hell, he hadn’t talked about his past in—well, ever. He didn’t like looking back. He didn’t believe in looking into the future, either. For Jake, the present was all that mattered. The here and now was all he could control, so that’s where he put his focus.

“I can understand that,” she said softly.

Jake straightened, set the poker in its stand and walked back to sit behind the desk. Gathering up the papers, he began to read, skimming his gaze through the lawyer-speak with ease. He was a Hunter, after all, and he’d grown up knowing the ins and outs of deal making. “I didn’t ask for your understanding,” he muttered.

“Too bad,” she told him. “You have it anyway.”

He shot her a frown that she completely ignored.

“Just because you’re a recluse doesn’t mean you have to be crabby, too.”

She made it sound like he was a damn hermit. He wasn’t. He went into town. Just not lately. “Who says I’m a recluse?”

“Your sister.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Beth thinks five minutes of silence is some sort of torture.”

Cassidy laughed and he found he liked the sound of it. “With her kids, I’m guessing she doesn’t have to worry about silence most of the time.”

He looked at her. “You sure seem to know a lot about my family.”

“That’s part of my job,” she said with a shrug. “As your mother’s assistant, I try to make her life easier—work and family. Luckily, I really enjoy your sister. And your mother is a brilliant woman. I’m learning a lot from her.”

She jumped to her feet, came around the desk and leaned over his shoulder to point at something on the front page of the papers. “I almost forgot. Talking about your mother reminded me. She said you should be sure to read this clause especially well. Once you sign, it’s irrevocable.”

Jake tried to focus on what she was pointing to. Instead, though, the scent of her wrapped itself around him. Something cool and clean, like the forest after a rain. She smelled like springtime, and drawing it into his lungs made his brain fuzz out even as his body tightened. Damn, this wasn’t going to work.

“Yeah. I see it. Thanks.” He turned his head to look at her and found her mouth only a breath away from his. She met his gaze and looked away briefly before meeting his eyes again. Then she licked her lips nervously and the tightening inside Jake went into overdrive.

Blinking frantically, Cassidy moved back slightly and kept her voice brisk as she said, “Once you sign this, you’re giving up any chance to come back and run Hunter Media. Basically, your signature is agreeing to accept Beth as the heir to the throne, so to speak.”

“It’s what I’ve wanted for years,” he told her, grateful that she’d stepped far enough back that he could draw a breath without drowning in her scent.

“But it’s permanent, so your mother wanted to make sure that you understood this can’t be undone. She doesn’t want Hunter Media’s board to be unsettled.”

“Permanent. Good.” Jake nodded, and let his gaze drop to the sheaf of papers again. Much safer than staring into foggy eyes that held shadows and light and...damn it. He needed to keep his mind on business, but he wouldn’t be able to do that right now. Not with her so close. “I’ll sign these after dinner. Why don’t we go see what my housekeeper left for us?”

Getting out of the study was a good idea. The kitchen was good. A huge room. Brightly lit. No cozy corners or any reason at all for Cassidy Moore to lean into him.

“Okay, I’m starved.”

So was he.

But whatever they might find to eat, Jake didn’t think it would ease the kind of hunger he was feeling.

Three

Dinner was good, if tense.

Just like the rest of the house, the kitchen was a room pulled right off the pages of some glossy magazine. Acres of pale wood cabinets, a heavy round pedestal table at one end of the long room, plum-colored walls and miles of black granite so shiny it glinted in the overhead lights. The appliances were stainless steel and the effect of it all was cozy and intimate in spite of its size.

The two of them sat at the table silently eating a hearty stew and crusty homemade bread left for them by Jake’s housekeeper, Anna. Cass would have enjoyed the meal except for the fact that her host had pulled into himself and completely shut her out.

Amazing that only a few minutes ago they’d been chatting easily, and now, he’d become the recluse his sister called him. She had to wonder what had changed. What had suddenly made him close off to the point of ignoring that she was even in the room? Naturally, Cass couldn’t take the silence for long.

“You really don’t like having company, do you?” she asked.

His head came up and his eyes locked on hers. Cass felt the slam of that gaze punch into her with a kind of electric awareness that set off tiny ripples of anticipation over every square inch of her skin. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Maybe it would have been better to leave things as they were, with the silence humming between them. But it was too late now.

“What makes you say that?”

Cass shook her head and waved her spoon at him. “Please. You’re sitting there like a statue—except for the glare you’re shooting at me right now. You haven’t said a word since we sat down to eat, and if body language is a real thing, at the moment, yours is saying don’t talk to me.”

He frowned at her.

“See? My point exactly.”

“Fine,” he muttered, reaching for the glass of red wine in front of him. “I don’t get a lot of company here.”

“Not surprising since you’re at the top of a mountain and the road to get here is a death-defying thrill ride,” she noted with a little shudder as she remembered her drive.

That frown flickered across his face again. “There’s nothing wrong with the road—”

“—that a few more feet on either side couldn’t cure,” she interrupted. “Anyway, now that you do have company, however short-lived, you could try to be...nice.”

“Nice.” He said the word as if he was speaking a foreign language.

Cass gave him a slow smile. “Would you like me to define that for you?”

“Thanks, I think I’ve got it.” Though his tone was sarcastic, a twitch of his lips told her he might even be amused.

“Excellent.” She took a sip of her wine. “So, let’s try conversation. I’ll start. This dinner is wonderful. Your housekeeper’s a great cook.”

“She is,” he agreed.

“Two words. Not much, but it’s a start,” she said, enjoying the flash of irritation that shot across his eyes. “I know I keep saying this, but your house is just amazing. Every room I see makes it more so. But this kitchen, it’s so big and there’s only you to cook for. Seems a shame, somehow.”

“Not to me.” He pulled off a piece of bread from the slice in front of him and popped it into his mouth. “Besides, whatever Anna cooks here, she takes most of it back to her house for her and her husband. And then when there’s something big going on, she cooks for the whole ranch.”

Cass took a bite of her bread. “Something big?”

He shrugged. “Anything that keeps the ranch hands from getting back to their cabins to do for themselves. Could be a storm, or a fire on the mountain that we’re helping to put out. Or even just a horse auction when we’ve got potential customers gathered. Cowboys have to eat and if you feed them well, they work harder.”

Cass watched him as he spoke. For a recluse, he could really get going when he wanted to. Of course, all it took was to ask him questions about the ranch he so obviously loved. Then his features were animated, there was a gleam in his eyes, and every word he spoke was flavored with enthusiasm.

She felt an inner sigh that she was grateful he couldn’t hear or sense. Jake Hunter really was gorgeous. It wasn’t fair that she could be so attracted to a man who should remain untouchable. Boss’s son. Recluse. Geographically undesirable.

And yet...as she watched him, she felt a swirl of something hot begin to unfold deep inside her. His smile kicked her heart into an odd little lurch and the pit of her stomach felt as if there were a million or so butterflies lodged there. Not to mention the tingles of expectation that were settling in a little lower.

It had been a long time since she’d felt an instant attraction for a man, and she’d never felt one this strong.

And why did she keep hearing Claudia’s voice whispering, Go for it! Flirt! Live! She couldn’t do that, could she?

No. Absolutely not. Just thinking about doing what she was thinking about after knowing the man for only a few pitiful hours probably qualified her for Skank of the Century.

“Oh, God...”

“Are you okay?” He was looking at her.

“Yes, why? Did I say that out loud?” she asked.

“Yeah. So what’s wrong? You feeling all right?”

“Fine, fine.” Astonishing how much easier she was finding it to lie. Maybe she should be worried about that. “I was, um, thinking about the paperwork and making a mental note not to forget to get you to sign it.”

Oh, that didn’t sound pathetic at all.

“Okay, let’s go get that done right now then,” he said and carried his dirty dishes to the sink. He rinsed them out, then took hers and rinsed those as well.

“I like a man who cleans up after himself.”

“Yeah, well, we didn’t have a lot of maids in the Marines,” he said wryly.

He turned off the kitchen light and darkness swallowed the room as they left it behind. Cass hadn’t even been aware of how much time had passed, but apparently, it got dark early up in the mountains. She shivered a little as they walked down the hall and the world beyond the window glass looked black as pitch. There were no outside lights on, so it was impossible to see anything but their reflections in the glass as they walked.

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