The Cowboy's Pride and Joy

“Oh sweetie, I know.” Claudia sighed again. “Cass, you’ve been great. You’ve always been there for me but I’m grown now—”

“Yes,” Cassidy interrupted wryly, “nineteen is practically aged.”

“—and I’m in college,” Claudia went on as if her sister hadn’t said a word, “and you should really start concentrating on your own life.”

“I have a life, thanks.”

“You have work,” Claudia corrected. “And you have me. And Dave. But our brother’s married with kids of his own now.”

True. It had been the three of them for so long, it was hard to realize that her younger brother and sister were grown and didn’t need her hovering all the time as they used to. Especially Claudia. She had been only ten years old when their mother decided to follow her current “soul mate” into the sunset. So at nineteen, Cassidy had taken over. She’d been both mother and father—since their illustrious sperm donor parent had disappeared shortly after Claudia’s birth—and if she had to say so herself, Cassidy had done a great job of parenting. Maybe that was why it was so hard to stop.

“Fine,” she said. “I promise I’ll find a life. Once I get home.”

“Why wait? No time like the present to get started,” Claudia argued. “You’re on a ranch with a cowboy, for heaven’s sake. That’s a classic fantasy. Is he cute?”

Cute? No. Jake Hunter was way too manly to be classified as merely “cute.” He was gorgeous. Or rugged. Or strong, masculine, gruff and all sorts of other really good words, but cute wasn’t one of them.

“I didn’t notice,” she lied.

“Sure.” Her sister laughed. “Anyway, my point is, relax a little. Enjoy yourself. Flirt. Consider it practice for when you get back home and I badger you into doing this for real.”

Flirt? With Jake Hunter? Oh, Cassidy didn’t think so. First of all, he was her boss’s son. No way would she risk a great-paying job for a short-term fling—even if he were interested, which he probably wasn’t, considering the way he’d talked to her so far. But more than that, Cass wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of girl. She’d be uncomfortable and feeling all slutty so she wouldn’t even enjoy herself anyway, so what would be the point?

God. Had Jake actually called her forthright? Her mind was spinning like an out-of-control carnival ride. And suddenly, she was done thinking about this.

“Don’t you have another test this afternoon?”

“See?” Claudia laughed. “You’re way too focused on my life. Time to find your own, Cass! Love you!”

When her little sister hung up, Cassidy just stared down at her phone and thought about that brief yet involved conversation. Yes, maybe Claudia had a point, but in her own defense, Cass hadn’t exactly been shown the most shining examples of relationships in her life.

Cass’s father had abandoned the family when Claudia was born, saying only that three kids were just too many. Her mother had moved from man to man always looking for her “prince.” But there were no princes, only frogs she continued to kiss in the hopes there would be a miraculous change.

So instead of following in her mother’s footsteps, Cassidy worked, put herself through city college and made sure her siblings stayed in school. Eventually it had all paid off, of course. Dave was now a successful contractor with a wife and six-month-old twin boys. And Claudia was going to be the doctor she should be.

But, Cass thought as she shifted her gaze back to the view outside her window, maybe she had allowed work and worry to completely envelop her. And maybe Claudia was right that it was time Cass found out if there really was more to life than work.

Not that she would find that out now, she assured herself. “Good times do not start with a crabby cowboy no matter how gorgeous he is,” she said out loud for emphasis. “Besides, as you told yourself earlier, he’s your boss’s son.”

Well, that should be enough to tamp down whatever lingering flickers of attraction were still burning inside her. She couldn’t afford to risk her job by giving in to a momentary flash of heat that might or might not mean she was really attracted to the grumpy man downstairs. Not that her boss, Elise, had ever been that much of a tyrant or anything, but why take chances?

“Now that that’s settled,” she murmured, tossing her phone onto the deep green velvet window seat, “time to take a quick shower and maybe a little nap before I go downstairs and tend to business.”

She walked to the bed, unzipped her suitcase and got out the things she’d need before stepping through a connecting door and coming to a dead stop. This house kept staggering her.

The bathroom was huge and opulent. Again, green was the main color here, but every possible shade of that color was represented in the tiles on the floor, the backsplash, the acre or so of granite countertops, the walk-in shower with six showerheads, and most spectacularly of all, in the gigantic Jacuzzi tub that was tucked beneath a bay window continuing the view of the lake and the wide sweep of sky outside.

There were lovely bottles and jars of soaps, lotions, shampoos and even, she thought with an inward sigh, bubble bath. Cassie had always loved lounging in a hot bath, but normally, who had the time? She glanced at that shower, then looked again at the tub that seemed to be calling to her. No reason her new acceptance of “fun” in her life couldn’t start here.

“Okay,” she whispered, picking up one of the thick white towels to lay on the wide ledge of the tub, “no shower for you, girl. Bath it is.”

* * *

Jake tugged the collar of his jacket higher on his neck and tossed a wary glance at the darkening sky above him. A cold wind pushed at him, but he ignored that and strode toward the barn. Best thing to do was go about his business. Put Cassidy Moore out of his mind and focus on what was real. What was important.

And a woman who would be here on the ranch for less than twenty-four hours was not important.

The combined scents of hay and horses greeted him as he walked into the cavernous building. It was lined with stalls on either side, and some of the horses had their heads stuck out the doors, watching the cowboys at work, hoping for treats. Instantly, his mind shifted from thoughts of a very temporary woman to focus on the life he’d built for himself.

An hour of hard work, setting out feed and water and clearing stalls, made him feel better. Sure, he didn’t have to do the dirty work himself, but concentrating on a task had always been the best way to soothe his mind. Of course, once the work was done his brain had too much free time.

“That’s a pretty girl.”

Rolling his eyes, Jake snorted. He didn’t bother to turn and look at his grandfather. “She’s not a girl, Pop. She’s a woman.”

“So you did notice.”

You could say that. Slanting the older man a hard look, he said, “Yeah. Hard not to, what with her stumbling around on those high heels of hers.”

“If that’s all you noticed,” Ben said, “then I worry about you, boy.”

Jamming his hat down onto his head, Jake headed outside. “No need to worry then. I’m not blind.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “I’m also not interested.”

All right, that wasn’t entirely true. His body was more than interested. It was just his mind that was keeping things rational here. He’d been down this road before. Letting his desire for a pretty woman blind him to reality. And even as he thought that, he realized there was no point. The woman in question would be leaving in the morning and with any luck, he wouldn’t see her again.

“Let it go, Pop.” Jake kept walking, sure without looking that his grandfather was right behind him. “She works for Mom and she’s not staying. Two very good reasons for you to keep your imagination in check.”

“Pretty woman shows up on your mountain and you want to ignore her.” A snort of derision followed that statement. “Youth really is wasted on the young.”

At that, Jake stopped and looked back at the older man. “I’m not that young.”

He didn’t feel young, anyway. At thirty-four, he’d done too much, seen too much. After two tours of service in the Marines and surviving a marriage that never should have happened, hell, sometimes he felt as old as time.

Ben walked up to him and slapped one work-worn hand onto Jake’s shoulder. “I know you’ve been through some rough times. But that’s past, boy, and you’ve got to move on. The problem is, you’re just too much inside your own head, Jake. Always have been. Spend a little less time thinking and a little more looking at pretty girls, might improve your attitude.”

Jake laughed shortly. “My attitude’s fine, Pop.”

“Whatever you say, boy.” Ben gave his shoulder another friendly slap then headed off toward his place. “All I’m telling you is that if I was you, I wouldn’t be spending my time in the stable taking care of horses when I could be talking to that pretty girl.”

Shifting his gaze to the main house, Jake thought briefly about the woman waiting inside for him. He was probably making more of this than there was. A buzz of sensation when he shook her hand didn’t mean a damn thing. A flash of heat could dissipate as easily as it fired. This was simply a momentary blip. He’d reacted to her so strongly because he hadn’t been down off the mountain in months. Enforced celibacy could make a man edgy. Hell, all he really needed was a woman. Any woman. That’s why his mother’s assistant had hit him as hard as she had.

Once she was gone, he’d head into town, find a woman and take care of his “distraction” problem.

Two hours later he was in his study when he heard Cassidy Moore heading downstairs. About time, he told himself and half wondered if she was always late for an appointment or if she wasn’t looking forward to this meeting any more than he was. He could leave her to wander the house looking for him, he supposed. But then that felt a little too cowardly. So he stood up, walked to the doorway and looked down the hall.

One glance at her was all it took to reignite the buzz of interest his body seemed to be focusing on. She had changed clothes after her shower. Gone were the slick black slacks and killer red jacket. Instead, she wore jeans that looked faded and comfortable along with a dark blue button-down shirt and a pair of tennis shoes. Her dark blond hair was soft and loose, hanging over her shoulders in thick waves. He watched her as she let her gaze slide across her surroundings and he smiled to himself at the appreciative gleam in those fog-gray eyes of hers.

“No more high heels?” he asked and his deep voice seemed to reverberate in the empty stillness.