A Rancher of Her Own

His daughter had taken the chair on one side of Jane. On Jane’s other side, Sharon sat holding his son. Eric wrapped his chubby hand around Jane’s long silver chains and gave them a tug, the way he reined in his toy pony-on-wheels. The way Pete himself had touched that chain just the day before, though with more restraint.

“Stop, Eric,” Rachel demanded. “You’ll break Jane’s necklace.”

Instead, his son reached out with his free hand, as if wanting Jane to take him into her arms.

“I said stop, Eric.”

Pete looked at his daughter.

“He’s not—” Jane began.

“Rachel,” he said quietly.

After a quick glance at him, she mumbled “Okay, Daddy” and slumped back in her seat. The set of her mouth told him she was gearing up for a pout.

Evidently, Sharon noticed the warning sign, too. “Much as I hate to break up the party, some of us need to leave.” Gently, she uncurled his son’s fingers from the necklace. “Eric hasn’t had his nap, have you, sweetie? And, Rachel, come along. You’ve got to help me get some vegetables ready, or your daddy won’t have any supper.”

“I’m good with vegetables.” All smiles now, Rachel looked at Jane. “You can come, too. I’ll let you snap the beans. That’s the most fun part.”

Jane smiled. “I—”

“You run along,” he told Rachel. “Go with Sharon, the way she asked you to.”

“Maybe another time, Rachel,” Jane said. “I need to visit with Andi.”

As Sharon left the room with the kids, he swallowed a relieved sigh, happy to have her create some space between his family and Jane. He turned to Jed. “I plan to be up in the northeast pastures with the boys most of tomorrow.”

“Fine,” his boss said.

“Fine with me, too,” his other boss said. Jane’s mouth curved into a half smile as if she somehow knew the effort it took to keep his expression blank. “I’ll be in Santa Fe anyway.”

“For our final fittings,” Tina reminded him.

“Right.” His daughter needed to go along. “I’ll make sure Sharon has Rachel over here on time tomorrow morning.”

Not quite as happy now, he left the dining room.

He and the bride-to-be had agreed it was a good thing Andi’s later arrival meant postponing the trip to Santa Fe until the weekend. This eliminated the need to excuse their kids from school. With Rachel’s graduation so close, he and Tina both knew how she would react to the idea of missing out on anything.

The trouble now was, he didn’t like his daughter spending the day with Jane or the way even Eric seemed to have taken such a shine to her.

Maybe they’d somehow picked up on his feelings about the woman. Almost against his better judgment, he found himself drawn to her. And with every minute they spent together, his willpower took more of a beating.

* * *

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Jane eyed herself critically in the triple mirror at the bridal shop in Santa Fe.

“You look great,” Tina told her.

Tina and Rachel had already completed their fittings, and now the three bridesmaids would be taking their turn. Bright colors weren’t her thing, but even she had to admit the royal blue halter-top gown didn’t look bad with her dark hair.

She laughed. “I guess I’d never have stood a chance of getting you to agree to a black-and-white wedding.”

“Not with Ally around,” Tina assured her.

“You’ve got that right, chica.” The maid of honor looked stunning in a hot-pink, off-the-shoulder gown, but she tossed her long black curls and gave a theatrical moan. “I wanted to wear purple and orange.”

“And I put my foot down about that.”

“Stomped it down, you mean,” Ally grumbled.

They all laughed. As they waited for the seamstress to return to the fitting room, they continued talking about the upcoming wedding.

Jane’s attention drifted to one corner of the room, where Rachel and Robbie were sitting far enough away to prevent their overhearing the conversation. A game board lay open on the floor between them, and Rachel seemed to be explaining the rules to Robbie.

She smiled. Sharon had brought Rachel to the Hitching Post early this morning, and the little girl had sat beside her at breakfast. In the ranch’s big SUV, Rachel had worked her way to a seat next to Jane, too.

Watching Rachel made her think of Rachel’s daddy and the way he acted every time she was around the child. What could he possibly have against her talking to his daughter? He seemed as strict with the girl as her own father had been with her. Maybe for that reason alone, her sympathy went to Rachel.

Still, she couldn’t deny she had other feelings for Pete. The memory of his touching her hand and her hair sent a pleasurable tremor down her spine. To her dismay, when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror, her cheeks had turned pink.

Beside her, Ally leaned closer to the mirror and adjusted the bodice of her gown. “I think I’m going to give up eating this week.”

“Then you’d have to come back for another fitting,” Tina reminded her.

“Oh...that’s true. Maybe I’ll just skip desserts.” Ally glanced at Jane.

Glad for the chance to redirect her thoughts, Jane laughed.

They had planned to have dinner here in Santa Fe. Before the ride, they had all met for a quick lunch in town. At SugarPie’s, Cowboy Creek’s bakery and sandwich shop, the two of them had learned they shared a love of sweets.

“You’re on your own with that idea,” Jane said. “The other day, I thought about sacrificing dessert and realized I’d rather give up my main course—although I’m not sure about that now, either. Paz’s cooking is too delicious. And I can’t wait to get to SugarPie’s again. Sugar’s corned beef sandwich is as good as any New York deli’s.”

“Is it enough to make you stay in Cowboy Creek?” Tina asked.

Jane laughed. “Sorry, nothing’s that good.”

“Speaking of giving up,” Andi said, “have you fired your assistant yet?”

She froze for a moment, then pretended to be inspecting her dress more closely in the mirror. “No, I haven’t. Why?”

“I’m not so sure Pete likes taking orders from you.”

“First of all, Andi, I don’t give orders. And he’s fine about doing things for me.”

“Maybe he’d like to do even more for you,” Ally murmured.

“Watch it, girl, or I’ll steal your dessert tonight.” Jane looked at all three women and settled her gaze on her cousin Tina. Unlike Andi with her teasing and Ally with her over-the-top ideas, quiet, reserved Tina could always be counted on to tell the truth without embellishment. “What’s going on?”