A Rancher of Her Own

“Who’s gonna stop me?”

He narrowed his eyes. Then he noted the rueful twist of her lips. She was baiting him. The idea gave him a rush of pleasure he wasn’t sure how to handle.

“So, you do recall all those times you gave me grief.”

“I might have a faded memory or two,” she admitted.

When she moved toward the door, he remained where he stood, watching her silhouette against the bright sunlight.

She turned. “Way back then,” she said, “I was just a kid asserting my rights.”

You’re sure not a kid anymore. He brushed the thought away. “You were being a pain in my butt.”

She grimaced. “That too, maybe. But you can’t tell me you didn’t deserve some of it, considering your new job had swelled your head to about the size of this barn door.”

She rested her back against the frame. Her stance highlighted unsuspected curves beneath that loose, dark shirt, which instantly made his jeans tight below his belt.

Yeah, he’d called it right about her not being a kid.

He hoped she planned to go away soon—not just from the barn but, once the wedding was over, from the ranch and from Cowboy Creek. He couldn’t blame that thought on memories of the past, his desire to get back to work or even the sight of her gazing regally down her nose at him the way Daffodil had looked at her.

No, he wanted her long gone because she’d turned out to be one fine-looking woman. Because she was making him want things he had no time in his life for now. And because she was still too many years younger than he was and would always be the boss’s granddaughter.

Yeah—think of the boss. “That was my first full-time job,” he told her. “I was trying to make an impression.”

“Oh, you did that, all right. I’m glad you didn’t say ‘a good impression,’ because you didn’t come close to one. I don’t like men—people—who think they can order others around. And you definitely had a case of that back then.”

“I was in charge of the horses—”

“Under my grandpa’s direction.”

“—and watching out for them was part of my job.”

“He’s given you another job now, too, so he tells me.”

“Yeah. Playing nursemaid.”

“Thanks, old man,” she shot back, “but I don’t need that kind of help. An assistant is more like it. What’s the matter? Is the job beneath you?” She shrugged. “If you don’t like the idea, I won’t have a problem getting someone else.”

He’d bet she wouldn’t. As long as she managed to keep that smart yet sexy mouth of hers shut, any of his boys would be happy to assist her. He wouldn’t, but turning down Jed’s order wasn’t an option. “I didn’t say anything against the idea. I’ve got no problem with moving furniture around.”

“Good. Then I’ll meet you in the lobby tomorrow morning at nine.”

To his satisfaction, she didn’t seem to be any happier about the assignment than he did.

* * *

IN THE HOTEL dining room the next morning, Jane joined in on the conversation about the upcoming wedding. The bride and groom made the most happy and genuinely loving couple she’d seen in a while.

She relaxed over a plateful of Paz’s breakfast treats. Or at least, she tried to relax. That hadn’t been an item on her agenda in a while. Working seven days a week kept her mind busy and her body active. Lately, having to sit still made her uneasy and all the more eager to be on the move.

Her meeting in the barn with Pete Brannigan had left her uneasy, too.

The cowboy didn’t scare her. With those amazing hazel-green eyes and all those bulging muscles, he was too darned hot for any woman in her right mind to be frightened away. Still, there was something about him that pushed all her buttons. That had made her jump to a knee-jerk reaction every time he’d opened his mouth. That made her snap to attention...

Of course.

Years ago, she had seen how much he acted like her father, an Army general. Yesterday, Pete’s take-charge attitude at their first meeting in years had strongly reinforced those memories, proving he hadn’t changed a bit. But she would do her job—even if that meant working with the insufferable man.

“Don’t forget, Jane—”

Startled, she returned her attention to Tina.

“—we’ve got to go up to Santa Fe to pick up our gowns. We might as well wait till Andi gets here, and then we can have our final fittings together.”

Jane laughed. “In that case, I’d better stay away from Paz’s apple tarts, or I won’t get the zipper closed on my dress.” She pushed the dessert platter a few inches away from her.

“Ally and I are the ones who should worry about that,” Tina said, referring to her best friend and maid of honor. “You and Andi are so slim.”

“You don’t need to worry a bit,” Cole said to his bride.

They smiled at each other as Cole casually draped his arm across Tina’s shoulders.

A beautiful pre-wedding portrait.

But you’re not on the job right this minute.

Despite the fierce reminder, she wished she hadn’t left her camera on the far side of the dining room.

As if she’d heard the thought, Tina said, “I’m glad you’ll be taking pictures at the rehearsal dinner. But the day of the wedding, you won’t forget you’re a member of the bridal party, will you?”

“Yeah,” Cole said. “We’ve got a photographer lined up, so you’ll have the day off.”

“I don’t know,” she said, only half joking. “Sometimes it feels like those cameras are extensions of my hands. I don’t go anywhere without them.”

“Speaking of going somewhere...” He kissed Tina and rose from his seat. “I’d better hit the road, or I won’t be back before lunch with the supply order.”

“Say hi to Ally when you see her,” Tina said. Her maid of honor worked at the hardware store in town.

Once Cole had left, Tina turned back to Jane. “Maybe we need to take those cameras away from you, so you’ll behave yourself at the wedding,” she teased.

“We can put them in my toy box,” said Robbie.

Jane smiled at her cousin’s four-year-old. “Your toy box?”

He nodded. “In my bedroom. Mama takes my toys away and puts them in the toy box.”

“Oh, I see,” she said, searching for something to add. Her work might require she spend her life around people, including children, but she reserved in-depth interviews only for adults. Either way, she didn’t encourage her subjects to interact with her. She wanted to capture them in natural poses and real-life situations. Often all too real.