by Tamie Dearen
“But I wanted to make sure I was the first to ask you.” He tilted his head, looking out from under the brim of his hat.
“Ask me what?”
“To go to the dance with me. Didn’t you see the email this morning? The annual dance got moved up to rodeo weekend.”
She stopped in her tracks as her mind scrambled for a new alibi. He’d already asked her to be his date for the annual dance at the end of summer. The fact that her college classes started in mid-August had provided a perfect excuse. Now what can I say?
Shadow snorted his impatience at the delay. She’d put it off as long as she could. She had to be honest with Mason, but she hated to embarrass him while a bunch of guests milled around within earshot.
“Mason… I… uhmm… I’m…”
Giggles from the two female guests distracted her, and she followed their slack-jawed stares. Cord was striding toward the trail ride gathering… all six feet of him, with lean rippling muscles and a face that could’ve been in movies. No wonder the women were salivating over the guy.
“I’m in love with that cowboy,” the brunette girl gushed, with a husky chuckle.
“He’s mine.” The blonde flipped her long braid to her back, exposing her shoulder, naked except for the tiny spaghetti strap on her barely-there top. “He sat by me at lunch, yesterday.”
Jessica fought an insane urge to chop off the thick plait of hair and toss it into the nearby horse trough.
What’s wrong with me?
“Jess?” Mason tapped her arm, his earnest expression reminding her of his pending invitation.
In the desperation of the moment, Jessica blurted out, “I’m going to the dance with Cord.”
Cord spied Jessica beside the guests lined up for the trail ride. He was hurrying to catch her before she started her instructions when he noticed who was with her.
Mason McCaffrey. I may be too late.
Funny that before Sharon mentioned asking Jessica to the dance, it hadn’t even crossed his mind. Now, the thought of her swinging to the music in anyone’s arms but his had him seeing red. But was he ready to swallow his pride and admit he liked her? Right here and now, in front of Mason and all these Sage Valley guests?
He was so intent on reaching her that he forgot to watch where he was stepping. Almost there, the sound of his footstep changed from a clunk on hard-packed dirt to a sloppy squish, and he realized his mistake. The horses had left fresh piles of dung, and like a city slicker, he’d stepped right in one.
Maybe no one saw me.
He heard a partially stifled snicker, and looked over to see two familiar coeds laughing at his expense.
No such luck.
He tipped his hat in awkward acknowledgment, knowing the guests were delighted to see the staff make such an embarrassing misstep. Rubbing his caked sole on the hard ground, he made a vain attempt to wipe the fresh manure from his boot. With any luck, Jess, who was busy tying Shadow’s reins to a post, would never even notice.
“Nice job, Dennison.” Mason’s lip curled in a rather nasty sneer, as if Cord had thrown the excrement at him instead of stepping in it. “It’s not too late to dump him, Jess. I can’t believe you’d go to the dance with a greenhorn.”
“Huh?” Cord frowned and rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze tracking from Mason’s scowl to Jessica’s wide eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying you’re as green as a drugstore cowboy,” said Mason, his voice loud enough to draw attention from the guests.
“That’s not what I meant.” Cord disregarded the well-deserved insult. “You said something about the dance. About Jess and me—”
“It’s okay, Cord.” Jess cut him off in mid-sentence to grab his arm and propel him five feet away. She mumbled, “Please help me. Just roll with whatever I say.”
“Uhmm…” Cord had no idea what was going on, but her pleading eyes had already melted his heart. He’d do anything to help her.
Jessica turned to face the glaring ranch manager. “Don’t make a scene, Mason. Cord already asked me to the dance.”
Cord hid his shock. Barely.
“This is bull, Jessica.” Mason growled. “You and I… we had an understanding.”
Cord wrapped his arm around Jessica’s shoulder and pulled her against him. “I believe you had a mis-understanding.”
“When did the two of you start dating?” McCaffrey spat on the ground, eliciting a curled lip from Jessica.
She jerked her chin toward the curious onlookers. “Let’s continue this conversation away from the guests.”
With a glance at the line of involuntary eavesdroppers, McCaffrey huffed his begrudging agreement and clomped across the courtyard, stopping under a shady live oak tree. Cord and Jess followed after him.
When Mason swirled to face them, his tone seethed with suspicion. “You never mentioned him, Jess. I haven’t ever seen you together. Not once.”
“We were keeping it on the down-low,” she said.
Despite her confident voice, Cord sensed her cringing at the lie. But the humor of the situation was beginning to set in. He couldn’t resist taking advantage of her predicament.
“I guess there’s no use hiding it, sweetheart.” Cord slipped his arm around her waist and bent his head to kiss her cheek. His heart picked up speed as his lips slid down to her neck, lingering to breathe in her clean scent.
A stiff-as-plastic smile appeared on her face, and she murmured from the corner of her mouth. “I’m going to kill you.”
He coughed, using a hand to hide his smile.
Mason, evidently, saw no humor in the situation. Hands clenched, the wiry cowboy lifted his chin. “I wouldn’t try to steal another man’s woman, Dennison. You should’ve told me she belonged to you.”
“Hold on a minute.” Jessica shook free from Cord’s grasp and slammed her hands on her hips. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
Cord put a warning finger to his lips. “Shhh. Let me handle this.”
She snapped her mouth closed, her lips pressed together in a tight white line, silent rage bulging behind her eyes.
“You’re gonna have a tough time corralling that little filly.” With a sour chuckle, McCaffrey slapped Cord’s shoulder, then turned away. Bitterness tinged his voice. “Good luck.”
Cord hated to alienate McCaffrey just when the stubborn ranch manager was finally beginning to listen to reason. Somehow, he had to do damage control without blowing Jessica’s cover.
“Hey, Mason. Wait.” Cord paused until the man turned back. “No hard feelings, right? I should’ve said something about Jess, but I was trying to keep her happy. You know how women can be.”
Frozen in place, the muscles flexed along McCaffrey’s jaw and his hands balled into fists. But rather than shouting a string of expletives, as Cord feared, Mason snorted with laughter.
“I don’t know what you call it in the big city, but around here, we call that hen-pecked.” Mason cackled as he sauntered away. “Don’t forget to watch where you walk, greenhorn.”
The moment Mason disappeared into the bunkhouse, slamming the door behind him, Jess twisted to confront Cord, her face stormy. His father had worn the same expression when, as a sixteen-year-old, Cord had wrecked his dad’s brand new truck.
“You’ve done your good deed for the day.” She bared her teeth as she squeezed the words out. “You can go, now.”
Yikes! Digging himself out of this hole wasn’t going to be easy.
“Why’re you upset?” He tried to look innocent.
“Why am I upset?” Her hands flailed in the air. “Maybe because the two of you discussed me like a piece of property.”
“That’s just guy talk. I didn’t mean it.”
“Then you said that line, you know how women are.” When she quoted him, she lowered her voice and added a huge helping of whiny sarcasm.
She was so cute when she was mad, Cord had a crazy urge to egg her on. Instead, he found a morsel of common sense and forced himself
to explain.
“I have to work with him every day. I need his cooperation.”
“What about that kiss? You can’t tell me you were trying to gain his cooperation with that.”
“You said roll with you. I was rolling. Anyway, it was only a peck on the cheek.”
“You kissed my neck,” she squeaked, her face flaming. “In front of everybody.”
Good thing he hadn’t kissed her on the lips, like he’d wanted.
“I’m sorry.” I’m sorry it bothered you, but I’m not sorry it happened.
“That’s what I get for lying,” she mumbled, her shoulders drooping like a popped balloon. “Humiliation.”
“My kiss was humiliating?” Not exactly what he was aiming for.
“Stop teasing me.” She snatched her straw hat off and gave him a playful swat on the arm. “I not only pretended you asked me to the dance, but I got caught lying about it. Pretty much the definition of mortification.”
“If you didn’t want to go with Mason, why didn’t you just say no?”
“I don’t know. He caught me by surprise, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”
“Yeah. We men have such tender egos. You really have to be careful.”
This time, he succeeded in coaxing a grin. “It’s true. Men act tough on the outside, but inside they’re like delicate china.”
“Or eggshells,” he suggested.
“Exactly.” Her smile widened, then faltered. “And it’ll be eggshell powder when Mason finds out the truth.”
He wanted to put that smile back on her face. More than anything.
“If we go to the dance together, he’ll never find out.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Thanks for the offer, but we could never pull it off. It’s not just the dance, anymore. We’d have to pretend to be dating for the next four weeks.”
He drew his brows together, as if the idea were somewhat painful. “I’d be willing.”
“Why would you do that?” she asked, crossing her arms and drumming her fingers. “Oh! I get it. Nick really doesn’t want me dating Mason, does he?”
He couldn’t let her believe that. She needed to know he had genuine feelings for her.
“You’re right. Nick doesn’t think Mason’s good enough for you. But that’s not—”
“Hey, Jess!” Holden called. “We’re ready to go.”
Startled, Cord twisted to look behind him. Holden had the entire group mounted and lined up on their horses.
“Cripes! I’m late.” Jess started jogging toward them, and Cord hurried to stay with her. “I don’t know, Cord. I’m still not sure we can make it believable.”
“I think we can,” he said, as they approached the head of the line, where Holden had Shadow waiting for her.
“We’ll see,” she mumbled, reaching for her horse.
But Cord caught her arm before she could grasp the reins and turned her toward him, drawing her against him. Her wide gray eyes stared up into his, and his heart threatened to crack his ribs open. Her mouth moved. She might’ve said something, but he couldn’t hear it. The blood pounding in his ears drowned out everything in the universe.
“How’s this for believable?” he muttered, lifting his hands to cradle her face. He lowered his mouth to hers, intending to place a short, firm kiss. But those lips! They were even more soft and sweet than he’d imagined. Once he had a taste, he wanted more. More of the plump responsive lips that made him forget every other kiss he’d ever had.
“Woo hoo! Ride ‘em, cowboy.”
Catcalls erupted, and Jess sprang back, blushing to the roots of her hair.
Without another word, she swung onto Shadow’s back and kicked him forward.
“Only four seconds,” said Holden as he ambled past and slapped Cord’s shoulder. “Better luck next time, cowboy.”
5
Jessica managed to stay on her horse. That was about the sum total of her accomplishments on the trail ride following that bombshell kiss. The one that left her head spinning. When they reached the river, Holden rode up beside her and suggested he might enjoy taking the lead on this trip. Though he sported a wry grin, he avoided pointing out her absent state of mind. Still shell-shocked, she hadn’t uttered a single word of her usual spiel, full of fun facts about Sage Valley Ranch. Grateful for his rescue, she followed at the end of the pack and let her mind process.
That kiss was forever seared into her memories. The instant their lips touched, her heart had stopped, along with her breathing. Then every nerve in her body fired at once, jumpstarting her still heart. In the matter of a few seconds, she’d died, gone to heaven, and come back to life.
Not that she was falling for him. She was simply reliving her seventh-grade crush. No doubt, Cord was attractive, but she wouldn’t let herself get involved with another hunky guy who’d surely break her heart. That didn’t mean she couldn’t relish the feel of that kiss, and imagine it happening again.
“Don’t forget to close the gate,” Holden called back, shaking her out of her reverie.
How could she have daydreamed for the entire two-hour trail ride?
Dismounting to swing the gate closed, she side-stepped a fresh pile of manure, which reminded her of Cord’s mishap. A smile crept onto her face. One of the things she found so charming was his athletic looks, in contrast to his general nerdiness. Not that he didn’t know his way around a ranch, but he’d always been the studious type. Though he usually wore contacts, she actually preferred him with glasses, as if the dark frames were hiding his Superman persona.
Why had that kiss affected her so strongly when she knew it was only for show? She had to avoid him as much as possible. For the moment, he believed she’d only used him as an excuse to avoid going to the dance with Mason. But if she spent much time alone with Cord, she was liable to let something slip out. Imagine how humiliating it would be if he realized she actually liked him when his part was all an act.
Ughh! Awkward with a capital A.
Jess and Holden got all the guests safely dismounted and stabled the horses, a process that took another forty-five minutes, even with extra help from Gabe and a couple of the volunteer staff. Then Jess found a text message waiting on her cell phone from an unknown number.
Hi. This is Cord. Sorry about the kiss. Out of town for the weekend. We’ll talk Monday.
Her mind churned, considering every possible meaning of his brief message. Was he sorry about the kiss because he regretted it? Where was he going for the weekend, leaving before noon on a Thursday? Frustrated and confused, she headed for a shower, with a detour by the ranch general store.
“Hi, Jess!” Lexi Turner greeted her when she walked in. “What do you need, today? More dark chocolate-covered almonds?”
“Actually, I need a new toothbrush. Do you have any?”
“Sure.” She moved to the shelf with the hygiene supplies. “Did you wear your old one out?”
“No, I accidentally knocked it into the toilet.”
Lexi let out a musical laugh. “Oh no! I hope there wasn’t anything else in there.”
“Thank goodness, I’d already flushed. But no amount of Clorox will make me use that toothbrush again.”
“I agree. Glad we have a new one for you.” Lexi grabbed three boxes off the shelf. “Red, blue, or green?”
“Surprise me.” Jess held out her hand.
“You seem like a red person to me. Red personalities are active and cheerful and confident.”
Jess stared at the brush in her hand. “That’s the wrong color for me. I think I need the green, because I always get myself in a pickle.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re not the first person to drop something in a toilet.” Lexi lowered her voice as if someone could hear them, though no one else was in the shop. “Last month, I dropped my cell phone in.”
“That’s terrible, but this is worse. Way worse.”
“Come on.” Lexi moved to the deli counter, sliding onto a stool with cheery red and wh
ite polka dots. “Sit down and tell Dr. Lexi all about it.”
“Can you keep a secret? I mean, you can’t tell a soul. Especially not my Nanna.”
“In my forty years on this earth, I’ve yet to reveal a secret. Even when staked to the ground and tortured for hours by someone singing Baby Shark.”
Jess couldn’t help chuckling. “Now I know you’re lying, because you can’t possibly be forty years old.”
With her flawless skin and a sassy short haircut, Lexi could’ve passed for someone in her twenties.
“We should trade bodies, then, because I swear you’re the only twenty-two-year-old I know who’s as mature as a forty-year-old.”
Lexi patted the stool beside her, and Jessica sat down, only then realizing how tired she was.
Emotions are draining. I wish I could turn them off.
“I act older because I’ve worked my way through college. Makes you grow up fast when you’re responsible for all those bills and loans.” Jess propped her elbows on the counter, resting her chin on her hands.
“Your folks didn’t help?” Lexi asked.
“The summer I finished high school, my dad’s father had a stroke. Dad had to retire early and move up to Oklahoma to help him and work on the family farm. My folks helped as much as they could, but my three older brothers had already depleted the college fund.”
“Pretty impressive for you to do it on your own.”
Jess shrugged. “I did what I had to do. That’s why I can’t let myself date anyone until after I graduate. When I was with Parker, my grades dropped so low I almost lost my scholarship. I’m not going to make that mistake twice.”
“Parker. He’s that loser guy you were engaged to?”
“That’s the one. But he wasn’t really a loser as much as we weren’t suited for each other.”
“The guy didn’t know a good thing when he had it. That makes him a loser in my book.” Lexi cocked her head. “Is that what this is about? Are you feeling bummed because you miss your ex?”
“No way. But there’s someone else…”
“You like someone?” Lexi’s hands clapped together, delight on her face. “That’s a good thing, right? Why are you so blue?”