Claimed!

“I think you need to make amends to Josie,” Sarah said. “And you should do that before the wedding, so we don’t have any unpleasantness spoiling Gabe and Morgan’s big day. Teaching her to ride would be the perfect opportunity.”

Mary Lou nodded. “Good idea.”

“She won’t go for it.” Jack felt the trap closing around him. He’d known he would pay for last night’s debacle, but he’d never dreamed it would be like this.

“She will if you present it the right way,” Sarah said. “Tell her as one adult to another that the two of you need to iron out your differences in private so that you don’t accidentally ruin Gabe and Morgan’s wedding.”

“You want me to approach her about this?” Jack couldn’t even contemplate it.

Sarah continued her devastatingly logical argument. “If you can’t do that, how do you expect to be able to make it through the wedding festivities? It’s not just the ceremony, you know. We’ll need a rehearsal the Friday afternoon before the wedding, and there will be a dinner on Friday night.”

“She’s right about this, bro.” Gabe’s voice held only a trace of pity. “You and Josie have to work through whatever’s bothering you before the wedding.”

Jack gave it one last shot. “I promise you that nothing will happen. You have my word on it.”

“I’m sure Josie would promise, too,” Gabe said, “but when it comes to tension between a man and a woman, all bets are off. I really want you there, and Morgan really wants Josie there. They’ve bonded.”

“That seems kind of quick,” Jack said.

“It makes sense. They’re about the same age and they’re both small business owners. And … they’ve each been involved with a Chance brother.”

Jack made a dismissive noise low in his throat.

“I wondered if it would be a problem when Morgan suggested Josie,” his brother said.

“Don’t worry, Gabe.” Sarah picked up her coffee mug. “Jack’s going to take care of this when he teaches Josie to ride, aren’t you, Jack?”

He couldn’t see a way out of this corner they’d backed him into. “Yeah, I’ll take care of it.”

“Good.” Sarah raised her mug in salute.

Jack thought she seemed way too happy about the riding lesson plan. But then, she hadn’t disapproved of Josie the way his father had. In fact, Sarah had stood up for Josie a couple of times when his dad had made disparaging remarks.

“Oh, and thanks for telling me about her brother,” Sarah added. “If he’s staying awhile, we should invite him to the wedding.”

“I’ll find out his plans,” Jack said. Oh, yes, he was going to pay for his moment of madness when he’d knocked on Josie’s door and tried to deck her brother. He wondered how high the price would end up being. “In fact, I might as well drive into town now and get this program started.”

“Might as well.” Gabe sounded as cheerful as Sarah.

Strangely, Jack was feeling a little lighter, too. “See you all later.” He touched the brim of his hat as he glanced at Sarah and Mary Lou.

“Bye, Jack!” Mary Lou beamed at him.

“And thanks,” Sarah added.

“No problem.” It would be, but he’d handle it with as much grace as possible. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He left the kitchen knowing full well that Gabe, Sarah and Mary Lou would discuss his situation with Josie the minute he was out of earshot.

As he walked down the hallway and into the living room with its beamed ceilings, gigantic rock fireplace and buckets of family memories, he thought about the irony of the situation. Sarah was forcing him to interact with Josie. When Jonathan was alive, he’d actively tried to discourage the relationship.

To be fair, his dad hadn’t disliked Josie so much as he’d disliked the man Jack became after he’d started seeing her. Until then, Jack had been up with the sun every morning, helping his father and acting like a true rancher’s son.

But Josie had changed all that. Jack had fallen into the habit of helping her close the bar and then spending the night with her. As a bar owner, Josie’s hours were the opposite of a rancher’s. She stayed up late and slept in. When Jack started keeping her schedule, Jonathan had let his displeasure be known.

Not about to be ordered around, Jack had continued his new routine. He’d argued with his father about it many times. Jonathan’s insistence on getting the filly that fateful morning had been less about fetching the horse than about proving who was in charge. Jack hadn’t wanted his dad to win, but the cost of that battle of wills had been too high.

Jack refused to get into a similar battle with Sarah. He’d do what she wanted, and if he could present the situation well enough to Josie, she would agree, too. As he left the ranch house and climbed into his truck, he realized Sarah had done him a favor. His pride wouldn’t have allowed him to contact Josie, but this lesson scheme gave him an excuse. And despite his misgivings, he was glad for it.

4

JOSIE BARELY HAD TIME to wrap her head around Morgan’s request that she be a maid of honor before she had to be downstairs taking a delivery of beer. Good thing her cook, Andy, was there to double-check everything, because Josie was having trouble concentrating.

All she could think about was this wedding coming up in less than two weeks, a wedding that would involve Jack. And horses. Morgan had promised her that the riding would be no big deal. Josie could go to any of a number of stables in the area and get some basic instruction.

The horseback riding didn’t worry Josie all that much. She’d learned to ski as an adult, so she could learn to ride. In fact, a ski vacation had been her introduction to Jackson Hole.

She’d come back several times before realizing that if she truly intended to buy a bar, she wanted it to be in this area. And that decision had led to her meeting Jack Chance.

As the beer truck pulled away, she glanced at her watch. The bar opened for lunch at eleven-thirty, which gave her fifteen minutes to get her act together. At least someone else would be behind the bar. Josie turned the operation over to Tracy Gibbons on weekdays and she occupied herself with the computer in the office.

She had bills to pay and books to reconcile, but she wondered how much she’d accomplish when all she could think about was the darned wedding … and Jack. She would have loved to talk this over with Alex, but he’d left early in the morning to hike in the Tetons.

On second thought, she should decide how she planned to handle this turn of events before telling Alex. He might want to confront Jack, after all, now that his sister would be required to be in Jack’s company for the better part of a weekend. Josie didn’t want Alex and Jack to square off again. Once was enough.

So Alex would have to cool it, and somehow Josie would manage to get through the wedding without letting Jack know he’d ripped open the wound she’d been trying so desperately to heal. With a sigh of resignation, she walked through the back door of the bar into her tiny office and turned on the computer.

The scent of onions simmering in olive oil told her Andy had started cooking the lunch entrées. Usually by now she was hungry, but not today. Her tummy twisted in knots at the thought of eating. She’d have to get over her nerves in the next ten days, though, or she wouldn’t be much good to Morgan as a maid of honor. The bride was the only one allowed to be nervous.

As she waited for the computer to load its various programs, a gut-wrenchingly familiar knock sounded at the back door. She and Jack had devised a code so she’d know in advance it was him—three soft raps and two harder ones.

Ten months ago that rap would have been a signal to fling open the back door of the office and pull him in for a scorching kiss. Sometimes they’d gone beyond a mere kiss. On at least three occasions she’d locked both doors—the one to the outside and the one leading into the bar—and they’d had sex in her office.

This morning the door to the bar stood open and she could hear Andy banging around in the kitchen. Tracy would arrive any minute, along with any customers who liked to get an early start on their lunch or a midday beer.

She could imagine why Jack was here. Undoubtedly it had something to do with the wedding. And so it started, their required interaction. Taking a deep breath, she left her chair and opened the back door.

Ten months rolled away as her gaze swept over the cowboy standing there. His black hat shaded his eyes, making their dark depths look sexy and mysterious. His hat was slightly dusty. So was the rest of him, including a blue plaid western shirt, faded jeans and well-worn boots.

Jack hadn’t spruced up for the occasion. He’d come straight from whatever work he’d been involved in this morning. The combined scent of leather and sweat had become an aphrodisiac to her during the months they were together, and it had lost none of its punch. Damn it all, she still wanted him with a ferocity that left her shaking.

But wanting him wasn’t the only issue. Being alone with him filled her with nostalgia for the days when Jack had been her entire world. She’d been giddy with happiness, floating through her daily routine in anticipation of spending her nights with Jack. She had to believe that he’d enjoyed their time together just as much, because he’d used every possible excuse to be with her.

She took a long, restorative breath. “Is this about the wedding?” There, that sounded sufficiently curt and businesslike.

“Yes.” His dark gaze flicked over her in much the same way she’d surveyed him.

She wished now that she’d taken more time with her hair, her clothes, her makeup. She’d thrown on an old pair of jeans, her most comfortable boots and a T-shirt that said—unfortunately—Save A horse; Ride A cowboy.

“I remember that shirt,” Jack said.