The Cowboy Wins a Bride (The Cowboys of Chance Creek) Page 8

Jamie strode behind her. Long before they made it up the rise to the Big House, however, the front door opened, and Autumn stepped onto the porch with a welcoming smile. The doors to the shuttle van opened as well, and guests began to spill out, all talking excitedly.

  Jamie stopped in his tracks. Female guests. One, two, three….he counted silently. Five female guests.

  None of them over twenty-five.

  Claire stopped, too, and turned around, the biggest smile he’d seen in years stretching across her face. “Oh, cowboy – you are in trouble.”

  * * * * *

  The look on Jamie’s face was priceless when the ranch’s first ever paying guests climbed out of the airport shuttle van. Claire resisted the urge to backtrack to him and lift his jaw up off the driveway. She knew the five young women had first attended a very upscale private boarding school in Maryland together and then moved on to the same university. Riding was their passion, so even now that they had scattered to various jobs and relationships, they still took a yearly trip to a western ranch to catch up on each other’s lives and get the chance to spend some serious time in the saddle.

  When she’d learned the makeup of the group from Autumn a week ago, and found out Jamie didn’t know it yet, she persuaded Autumn not to tell him, if at all possible. Time to get a little bit of that revenge. At first, Autumn demurred, pointing out that Jamie needed to tailor his plans to the group, but when Claire promised she’d make up her own set of plans, just in case, Autumn reluctantly agreed. Last night she laughed and said it turned out to be easy. She told Jamie a group of friends was coming for the week and he just assumed they were men.

  “I have to tell you, though,” she said, "I don't like practical jokes.”

  "Even though you got married because of one of them?"

  "Nope."

  "Neither do I. I'm just getting back at Jamie."

  "What did he do?"

  "Played a joke on me, what do you think?"

  Autumn rolled her eyes. "Typical. Tell me about it."

  Claire found she still couldn't tell her that her engagement was fake, and was relieved when Ethan strode in, wanting his dinner. Soon enough this would all be over and she wouldn’t have to lie to her friends and family anymore. She just wished thinking about her future travels gave her the kind of pleasure Autumn seemed to get from transforming the Cruz spread into a guest ranch. She looked energized by all her work – and she was pregnant and dealing with morning sickness at the same time. All Claire felt when she bent to the task of winning the Whitfield contract was cold, hard dread.

  Jamie had begun to balk at the changes she was making to her design – and at the costs she was incurring when she bought the materials, so she'd stopped consulting him all together.

  She knew it was wrong – knew this went against everything interior design was supposed to be. Sure, some designers dictated to their clients instead of listening to them, but that had never been her way.

  Until now.

  She couldn’t take any chances, though. Jamie's tastes were simple – too simple. And he counted costs down to every penny for every little thing. She couldn't involve him in this. When the time came, he'd be bowled over by her improvements to her design. He'd have the most spectacular small log home in all of Montana. And if she covered all the cost overruns herself, what did it matter?

  Still, she had the sneaking suspicion it would matter to Jamie. He was so careful with money and so adamant that everyone live within their means and invest wisely. Not a bad way to run a life when all was said and done. It was too bad she couldn't seem to stop spending.

  How could she? She had to get back at Daniel somehow, and that meant proving she was better than him. She'd show him he'd screwed up royally when he'd abandoned her and even more royally when he stole her money, and then her business. She had to prove she was the kind of woman worth sticking around for – worth looking up to, admiring…loving.

  She twisted the engagement ring around her finger.

  If only Jamie's proposal was for real. If only she could stop thinking about revenge and start thinking about….love.

  Love.

  That was the sticking point, wasn't it? That's how she knew Jamie's proposal was fake in spite of all his elaborate pretenses to the contrary. Not once in all this time had Jamie mentioned love. If he truly wanted her to be his wife, he'd have said it dozens of times by now, right?

  Jamie started walking again and she followed him slowly, envying the female guests their obvious excitement about the vacation ahead of them. She wanted to feel that excited about her future, and maybe when this was all over – when she'd designed the interior of a mansion, reveled in the publicity, and proved to the world she had what it took to succeed – she'd take some time to figure out what it was she really wanted in life.

  Her gaze drifted back to Jamie and she gave herself a little shake. Besides Jamie.

  Time to pull it together and do her job.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Women. He was surrounded by women. Autumn greeted the guests one by one as if she’d known them for a lifetime and welcomed them to the Cruz ranch. Claire helped pull luggage out of the van and lug it up to the porch. Jamie joined her, glad for the momentary break now that he'd shaken hands all around.

  Women. Five young, trim, shapely, beautiful women. And he wasn’t allowed to flirt with any of them. Not even with Claire.

  He caught her eye on his second trip from van to porch and shook his head at her. “I’ll still win,” he said under his breath as he passed.

  “No, you won’t,” she returned cheerfully, but he narrowed his eyes. Underneath that false cheer was real strain. Why couldn’t she let this Daniel stuff go? Why was it so important to design the Whitfield interior? So she might get written about in some fancy magazine. Who cared? It didn’t look like she was having much fun.

  Claire seemed lost. Even more adrift than she’d been for the last thirteen years since she’d left home. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she didn’t need the connection to the land and horses that he always had, but he didn’t think so. He thought she’d cut herself loose from her moorings when she’d left home as a teenager, and never really found her footing again. This week outdoors would be good for her.

  He hoped.

  Autumn turned to them. “Thanks, I’ve got it from here. We’ll get our guests settled and feed them. I’ll have them ready to ride at 12:30, just like we planned.”

  “Okay,” Jamie said. He turned to Claire. “Well, back to the drawing board.”

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as they retreated to the stable.

  “I was expecting five young bucks ready to throw their backs into some real work, not a gaggle of girls looking for a tea party on hooves.”

  “Wow. Misogynistic much?” She stepped in front of him and blocked his entry to the stable. “Show me your itinerary.”

  He shoved her aside with his hip. “I’ve got it inside.” He led the way into the building, his nostrils filling once more with the comforting smell of horses. At least some things were predictable. “Here.” He pointed to a lined piece of paper he’d tacked to the wall.

  “Test ride,” she read and nodded. “Well, that makes sense. We want to know what these women can do.” Her eyes traced down his hand-written notes. After an hour long ride on trails close to the Big House to test out the guests’ coordination and make sure their temperaments matched those of their mounts, he’d planned to use them to help move the main herd of Cruz cattle to fresh pasture. Ethan would join them, as well as the rest of the hands, but the guests would get to feel useful and get some practice around the herd. He planned to end the afternoon with a trip to a bend in Chance Creek where it was safe to bathe.

  “I don’t see the problem. This all sounds plenty do-able,” Claire said.

  “A bunch of women herding cattle?”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know…it’s men’s work,” he said.

  “I’ve herded cattle with you before
.”

  Jamie wasn’t sure why he was arguing the point. It wasn’t like there wouldn’t be plenty of men on hand – enough men to do the job without any extra help. “One or two women are fine, but a whole passel of them….I don’t know. What if they talk too much and spook the cattle?”

  “For heaven’s sake, Jamie, it’s the twenty-first century. You sound like some ornery backwoods hick. That’s not like you.”

  “Fine. You’re right – they can help herd cattle, but the river’s out, that’s for sure.”

  She blinked. “What on earth is wrong with you? Have you got heat stroke or something?” She moved toward him as if to feel his forehead, but he stepped away.

  “I don’t have heat stroke. I’m just not dumb enough to suggest to a bunch of female paying customers that they strip down and swim in a creek while I watch.”

  Claire laughed out loud. “Actually, it sounds exactly like something you’d do if we hadn’t made that bet. Just tell the women to wear their swim suits under their clothes. Problem solved. We’ll tote some towels along and dry off in the sunshine before gearing up and riding home.”

  Jamie nodded brusquely. “All right. Sounds like a plan. So we’ll stick to the itinerary for today, at least. Now, how about you? You remember how to ride one of these things? You haven’t been to see Storm in weeks.”

  “Yes, I remember how to ride a horse.”

  “Prove it. We got the rest of the morning to kill and Autumn doesn’t want us in for brunch her first time feeding guests, so I packed a couple of sandwiches. Let’s go for a little ride.”

  “All right.” To his surprise Claire didn’t fight his suggestion. He thought she might kick up a lively fuss and come up with some chore he hadn’t thought of to fill the time, so his heart rose when she strode down the center aisle of the stable until she reached Storm. He watched her approach the gray quarter horse slowly and give her time to check her out before reaching out to touch her. Soon the horse was whickering pleasantly and nuzzling Claire as if she’d known her for years. That was something he shared with Claire – the ability to communicate with horses without saying a word. Claire crooned to Storm for a moment before opening the gate and moving into the stall.

  Jamie met her outside a few minutes later astride his own horse, a bay gelding named Walter after his great-granddaddy – the last Lassiter to actually own a ranch. Claire let him take the lead without a struggle, which was odd for her, but he attributed it to her absorption in reacquainting herself with the mare. He could tell she was already half in love with Storm. A few more rides and he'd bet they'd become inseparable. He thought back to her mad dash on Ethan's wedding night. Still half-wild after all this time. Who would credit it, when she acted like such a stick-in-the-mud these days?

  Thinking about what else happened that night made him smile.

  “Bet I can guess where we’re going,” she said some minutes later.

  “Bet you can.”

  “I’m not sleeping with you again.”

  “No, ma’am, of course not. I’ll have to be satisfied with the view.” He turned his head so she couldn’t see his grin and accuse him of flirting with her. When they drew rein on the rise of ground where a scant few weeks ago they’d made love under the moonlight, he didn’t even look at Claire. Instead he kept his attention on the meandering river, and the hills far in the distance.

  “It is lovely here,” she said.

  “I won’t argue with that. All those years at school in Billings I just couldn’t wait to get back.”

  “Must be nice knowing exactly what you want.”

  "Hmph. You seem to know what you want.” That came out more bitter than he'd intended it.

  She took a deep breath, then held it so long he began to worry. Finally she expelled it in a rush. “For now. I want revenge against Daniel. And against you. Then…I don’t know.”

  “You don't need to get revenge against me. You just need to marry me."

  "Don't start that again."

  "Why?" He couldn't keep the anger from his voice. "Because you're still in love with Daniel?" There. He’d said it aloud.

  “I hate Daniel's guts.” Her eyes blazed.

  “Then turn your back on him and walk away.”

  She pursed her lips. “I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “You don’t know the whole story."

  "Tell me."

  For a long moment she stayed quiet and he was sure she wasn't going to tell him anything, but then she scanned the horizon and said, "He stole money from me, okay? A lot of money.”

  Walter sidestepped and Ethan got him back under control. “You call the police?” Once more the urge to beat Ledstrom to a bloody pulp pulsed through his veins.

  “No.” Claire touched her heels to Storm’s flanks and moved away.

  “Why not? What the hell happened?” He urged Walter forward, galloped around her and blocked her way. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  “I lent him the money, okay? Without signing anything. I thought he loved me. I thought he was going to ask me to marry him, so I just handed it over. He said he only needed it to secure a deal for a week or two until another property he owned finished up the escrow process. It was no big deal.”

  Finally he understood and he reeled from the realization of how Claire must have felt. Robbed by the man you wanted to marry. He forced himself to swallow. She'd wanted to marry Daniel – not him. “Then he ran off with that other lady instead and took your money. How much?”

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Sure it does. Tell me.” He waited, calming his own racing mind and breathing easily, like he did when he wanted to soothe a horse. He knew his own mood could transfer to the animals. Maybe it would work on Claire, too. He had to know it all. Had to know what he was up against.

  “Ninety thousand dollars.”

  He whistled low and long. “Damn. No wonder you’re so angry.”

  She stroked Storm’s neck, still not looking his way. “There wasn’t anything I could do. We didn’t sign a contract – I just gave it to him. There’s no way to get it back."

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Why should you be sorry? You’re the one who made it possible for Ethan to buy me out of the ranch. Now I have six times the money I lost. You’re right – I should just walk away.”

  “But you want to get back at him.”

  “It’s stupid, isn’t it?”

  “Nah. That ninety thousand dollars is the money you made yourself, with your own hard work. Of course you want it back.”

  “That’s why I can’t let this go – I have to get Carl Whitfield’s contract.”

  Jamie looked her over. “If you win the contract, you think you can make peace with the rest of it?”

  She finally turned his way. “You mean, forget about Daniel and what he did?”

  “Yeah.”

  She nodded slowly. “Yes. I think so. I think that would be revenge enough.”

  “All right then.” He clicked his tongue at Walter and swung around to head on their way. “Do whatever it takes.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  What was Daniel doing right now? Claire wondered as she rode at the tail end of the line of women on their first short ride on the trails around the spread. Her thighs were sore from the unaccustomed exercise and she was sure she’d pay for jumping back into riding so suddenly after so many years away from horses. She couldn’t say she regretted it, though. Storm was a sweetheart and it was all she could do not to throw her arms around the mare’s neck and hug her again and again like a child who’d just received her first pony. Poor Storm; that wouldn’t become her at all and nor would it become an old hand like herself. So she held back, even though it was difficult.

  Was Daniel going through her contact list, sucking up to the people she'd cultivated with hard work and great design skills? Was he completing the contracts in progress and stealing more of her money? Her hands tightened on the reins.


  Focus, Claire.

  She turned her attention to the women and horses strung out along the trail ahead of her. Maddy, the ring leader who’d made all the reservations and whipped everyone into shape when it was time to head out on the trail, had dark brown curls so thick that when she wrapped them into a ponytail holder they almost stood out straight. She was athletic and strong with a pep that made Claire tired just watching her, and she wasn’t surprised to find out she taught physical education at a private school.

  Adrienne was tall and thin, almost bony, and moved like a dancer, her blonde hair so white it was practically silver. Apparently she taught cello lessons and managed a city theater in Philadelphia.

  Christine was married with a single child and Claire could tell she had some reservations about leaving her toddler behind. Evidently the year before she’d begged off the annual trip because she’d still been nursing and this year the rest of them ganged up on her and forced her to come. Of average height with short brown hair, she wasn’t exactly plain, but she wasn’t exactly pretty, either.

  Liz worked for a publishing company and Claire just bet she looked snazzy in her business suits. Shapely, yet model thin, she wore her sleek, auburn hair up in a severe knot, but Claire had a feeling when it came down, the woman would be spectacular. She’d be the one who gave Jamie a run for his money on this trip.

  Angel rounded out the group. A plush, sweet girl – Claire somehow couldn’t make herself call her a woman – with wide blue eyes and honey blonde hair, she was obviously the mascot of the group, and the rest of the women seemed to automatically assume she would need extra help navigating her way through the world.

  As Jamie assigned each of them a horse, they’d exchanged glances behind his back, biting their lips, widening their eyes and raising their brows to express their appreciation of his fine physique. Claire wanted to slap each of them upside the head, and was grateful she’d had the presence of mind to initiate the no flirting or touching rule. Sure, Jamie had to help the women on their horses, and more than one of them tried to take the opportunity to cop a feel of his muscled arms and broad shoulders, but he was doing his level best not to encourage them and she could feel the effort that took from here.