Handsome Rancher (Handsome Devils Book 1)

by Lori Wilde

  Trent leaned against her car, his mouth thoughtful. “I don’t agree. I think Chase needs encouragement. He’s spent most of his life believing that love doesn’t exist. You should take whatever drastic measures are necessary.”

  Uh-oh. She’d heard this sort of thing before. This could be dangerous. Especially to Chase. “What exactly do you mean by drastic measures?”

  “You’ve got resources on your side, Megan. You should use them.”

  Totally baffled, she asked, “What resources?”

  “Leigh. Me. Nathan. We can work on Chase from the inside while you work on him from the outside.” Oh, no. The thought of Trent, Leigh, and Nathan ganging up on Chase was positively scary.

  “Chase needs to make this decision on his own,” Megan said firmly. “I appreciate your offer, but this is between the two of us.”

  For a few seconds, Trent simply grinned. “Megan, I have an idea. Get yourself some racy undies. Maybe in red. Then drive out to the ranch, knock on the door, and when Chase answers—”

  Megan groaned. Did all these Barretts think alike? “I know, flash him my scanty undies and a couple of cans of whipped cream and tell him I’m dessert. Leigh already suggested that one.”

  Trent seemed puzzled. “Wow, Megan, I wasn’t going to say anything like that. The racy undies were to go under your clothes, of course. They would give you self-confidence when you went to talk to Chase about making this engagement real. I saw a show on TV where the lady said she always felt like she could conquer the world when she wore her sexiest underwear under her suit.” He gave her his best chief of police look. “You and Leigh sure come up with some wild stuff. Whipped cream. Yow.”

  Closing her eyes, Megan willed herself not to blush but failed. She felt warmth climb her face. When she finally looked at Trent again, he was grinning.

  “Thank you for the suggestion,” she said stiffly. “I’ll consider it.”

  “Not that Chase wouldn’t like the whipped cream thing. I’m sure he would.” He tipped his head, lowered his sunglasses and studied her. “You wouldn’t by any chance be able to tie a cherry stem into a knot using only your tongue, would you?”

  Her voice was strangled when she said, “Um, I’m pretty sure that’s a talent I lack.”

  Trent seemed unaware of her discomfort “Oh, it’s real easy. You just need to practice. First, you get yourself some cherries. Then you—”

  Megan held up one hand to silence him. “Thanks, but I’m not really interested in learning how to tie cherry stems with my tongue.”

  “Too bad. Because if you did that whipped cream thing and could also tie a cherry stem, I’m pretty sure Chase would follow you straight to the altar without making a single protest.”

  Shaking her head at Trent’s nonsense, Megan opened her car door. “I’ll keep the suggestion in mind. But please, let me work this out with Chase myself.”

  With a shrug, Trent said, “You bet. I won’t interfere. Not a bit. Just wanted you to know you’ve got friends on your side.”

  Because she knew in his own way, Trent’s offer of help was sincere, Megan said, “Thanks.”

  “No problem...” His voice drifted away as Lucy Marshall, a recent divorcee, walked by carrying a tiny bag of groceries. She gave Trent a flirty smile.

  “Hey there, Trent,” Lucy said.

  Trent moved forward. “Hey, Lucy. Let me give you a hand carrying those groceries.” He took two more steps forward before stopping and glancing back at Megan. “We’re done, right?”

  Megan bit back a smile. Trent was in full wolf mode. “Yes, we’re done. See you around.”

  Trent nodded, but his attention was already riveted on Lucy. As Megan climbed into her car, she watched Trent flirt with the other woman. And Lucy flirted back. Outrageously. Now why couldn’t she be like those two? Why couldn’t she go after what she wanted with gusto? Sure, she’d been fairly direct with Chase the past few weeks, but still, it didn’t seem to be enough. She needed to think of another way to get him to see her as the woman she really was, not just as a friend he’d known for twenty years.

  Megan sat for a minute, watching Trent and Lucy until they walked away. Then with a sigh, she started her car and had just put it in Reverse when she stopped.

  Drop by precious drop, her common sense left her. When it was completely gone, she carefully put the car back in Park, turned it off, climbed out, and locked the door. Then she headed across the parking lot toward the entrance to the grocery store.

  She suddenly had the urge to buy some whipped cream and cherries.

  9

  “I’m having a wonderful time. How about you?” Megan asked.

  Chase gripped the steering wheel tighter. They were two hours into the drive to San Antonio with another hour plus left to go.

  Was he having a wonderful time? Was it possible to have a wonderful time while simultaneously feeling like a captain who knew in his bones that his ship was going to sink?

  Wonderful wasn’t exactly the word he’d choose to describe this afternoon. Uncomfortable as hell seemed to sum it up nicely. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d felt this uncomfortable.

  There was the night of his eighteenth birthday when his high school math teacher had made a pass at him. And the time he’d broken up with a woman only to serve as best man at her wedding three weeks later when she’d married a friend of his.

  Neither of those times came close to being stuck in the tiny cab of his truck with Megan. Of course, she’d been nothing but nice and thoughtful. Megan specialized in nice and thoughtful.

  But she’d talked pretty much nonstop since he’d picked her up at two o’clock this afternoon. She’d talked about the weather, and the new playground equipment she’d ordered, and some recent acquisitions the library had made.

  But she’d never mentioned their last kiss or the sham engagement, which was driving him nuts.

  “Chase, you didn’t answer me. Are you having a good time?”

  “Yeah. Just swell.” Noticing a billboard for a gas station at the next exit, he decided now would be a really good time for a break. “I need to get gas.”

  Not surprisingly, Megan agreed. She’s been agreeing with everything this afternoon. “Sounds good.”

  After a few minutes, Chase pulled up next to a pump and turned off the engine. He looked over at Megan, who smiled at him.

  Damn. He felt like a jackass.

  Megan was being sweet, and he was as snarly as a bear woken up from his winter nap. But how else was he supposed to behave when he had to spend the weekend trying to resist Megan? After the two fiery kisses they’d shared, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

  “I’m going to go inside and buy a soda,” Megan said. “Want anything?”

  His sanity? His peace of mind? His old life back? He shook his head. “No. I’m fine.”

  But as he filled the tank on his truck, he realized he hadn’t been fine since that night at the city council meeting. Ever since then, he’d been fighting Megan and himself. And now, after the auction, he was fighting most of the town. Everywhere he went these days, people told him how perfect he and Megan were for each other.

  Except for one tiny fact—she believed in love and marriage, and he knew those two concepts were a sham. He cared enough about Megan to refuse to be the man who broke her heart.

  Megan still hadn’t returned when he finished pumping the gas, so he headed inside the convenience store to make sure she was okay. He found her standing near the register and started toward her when he noticed she was talking to the man in line behind her.

  No, she was flirting with the man in line behind her. Or at least, she wasn’t doing a damn thing to stop the guy from flirting with her. And the man was flirting with Megan, at least he was when he wasn’t too busy checking her out. The sight of the two of them smiling and laughing stopped Chase dead in his tracks.

  As he watched, the yahoo leaned closer to Megan and asked, “You live around here?”

 
Megan gave the man a vague smile and Chase’s self-control snapped like a twig. What the blazes was she doing? She was an engaged woman, for crying out loud. She couldn’t flirt with other men.

  Struggling to keep a tight rein on his temper, Chase crossed the store at a clip and slipped one arm around Megan’s waist.

  “There you are, darlin’,” he said, and with a pointed look at the yahoo, dipped his head, and kissed Megan soundly.

  He’d only meant for the kiss to make his position clear, but once his lips touched Megan’s, he got distracted. He deepened the kiss, and by the time he lifted his head, both of them were breathing hard.

  Megan stared up at him and blinked. “Why did you do that?”

  He didn’t answer her because he wasn’t sure what the answer was. Instead, he turned his attention back to the man standing behind Megan. “My fiancée doesn’t live around here. She lives in Honey, with me.”

  That shut the yahoo up. Up close, Chase realized the other man was younger, maybe in his early twenties. But being young was no excuse for poaching on another man’s woman. The kid took a couple of steps back, apparently catching on.

  Satisfied that the situation was now clear, Chase looked at Megan. She continued staring at him as if he’d lost his mind, and it hit him like a kick in the head from an angry horse—he’d just acted like a real fiancé.

  Ah, hell. Now he was getting as crazy as the rest of Honey.

  Megan was still staring at him as she paid for her soda, then led the way back to the truck. They both climbed in without comment, and Chase headed back toward the interstate. He knew Megan was waiting for him to say something, to offer some explanation for his behavior. But truthfully, he had none.

  Finally, he said, “Sorry about what happened back there.”

  “What exactly did happen back there? I’m a little confused.”

  Chase glanced at her, then returned his attention to the road. “I didn’t like the way that man was treating you, so it seemed the easiest way to solve the problem.”

  Even to him, the explanation seemed lame. But hey, that was his story, and he was sticking to it.

  Megan had turned toward him as much as her seat belt would let her. “He wasn’t doing anything, Chase. Just being nice.”

  “Nice my as—” He cleared his throat, still struggling to understand why he was so upset. “That man was coming on to you because he wanted you. Who knows what would’ve happened if I hadn’t come inside the store?”

  His outburst startled both of them. Whoa. He was acting like a jealous lover. What in the name of sweet sanity was wrong with him? Megan was his friend. If she wanted to flirt with yahoos, then that was her business.

  The only problem was his mind might be convinced it wasn’t his business, but he couldn’t seem to get his emotions wrapped around the concept.

  “Chase, were you jealous?” Megan asked softly.

  When he cut his glance her way, she had a warm, sweet smile on her face.

  Oh, for the love of Pete. He kept making this situation worse and worse. “No, I wasn’t jealous. Just concerned for your safety.”

  For a heartbeat, Megan simply studied him. Then an almost blissful expression crossed her face.

  “Thank you for your concern,” she said.

  Chase felt like a man knitting his own noose. “Megan, I only said you were my fiancée because it was the easiest way to get the guy to back off.” Some ornery part of his makeup compelled him to add, “Course it didn’t help that you were flirting with him.”

  “Flirting? I wasn’t flirting with him. He asked me how to get to San Antonio, and I gave him directions.”

  Chase snorted. “There are about thirty signs pointing the way to San Antonio. He needed directions about as much as I need to shave my legs.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Be that as it may, that’s what he asked me. I was merely being helpful. And he wasn’t flirting with me.”

  Yeah, right, and cowboys don’t love horses. “Don’t be naive, Megan. That man was hot for you.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because of the way he looked at you,” Chase managed to say, still steaming at the thought of that guy checking out Megan when she wasn’t looking. Not that Megan wasn’t worth checking out. She looked especially pretty today in her jeans and pink T-shirt. The clothes showed off her trim figure but were completely respectable.

  Megan frowned at him. “How exactly did he look at me?”

  Chase rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the knot forming in his muscles. “Like he was picturing you naked.”

  With a laugh, Megan placed one hand on his arm. “Oh, right. You’re teasing me. For a second there I was worried you were really upset. I should have known better. You’d never get jealous of a man talking to me. Like you keep saying, we’re friends, nothing more. What’s to get jealous of?”

  Nothing irked him more than having his own words tossed back at him, but Megan had a point. They were friends, and he had no cause to be jealous.

  Reaching over, he turned on the radio, making the music a tad louder than was really necessary. But the volume forced them to stop talking, which made him want to shout hallelujah. As far as he was concerned, he was through talking for today. Maybe for the rest of the trip.

  Because it seemed whenever he opened his mouth these days, he got himself in trouble.

  “You have to be wrong,” Megan said, leaning farther over the counter. “Please check your computer again.”

  Judy Sullivan, Amanda Newman’s sister and the owner of the B&B, shook her head. “I’m sorry about this mix-up, but I got a call yesterday from a woman saying she was Megan Kendall—saying she was you. She explained that she and Mr. Barrett were engaged and would only require one room. Since this is a busy time of year, I naturally was happy to have an additional room to rent out.” She studied Megan. “My sister told me a couple of days ago about your engagement. Congratulations, by the way.”

  Megan forced herself to smile. “Thanks.” Next to her, she could feel tension radiating from Chase. After Judy checked them in and gave them a key to their mutual room, Megan picked up her small suitcase and cosmetic case and finally gathered the courage to look at him.

  “I don’t know what happened,” she told Chase. “I didn’t call here.”

  “I know. Considering the way things have been going, we should have expected this. If I had to bet, I’d say this was another case of Leigh playing the two of us like a fiddle.” He reached out and took Megan’s suitcase, then nodded his head toward the stairs. “There doesn’t seem to be anything we can do about it right now. Let’s just hope this is a big room with two double beds.”

  Megan appreciated Chase being a good sport, but she knew deep down he was upset. She was upset, too. She didn’t want Chase to think she’d planned this as a way to seduce him. He’d been nice enough to help with the fundraiser, and even though their personal relationship wasn’t developing as she’d hoped, she also respected him enough not to trick him.

  Of course, ever since the kiss at the gas station, she couldn’t help wondering if Chase’s feelings toward her were starting to change.

  He’d kissed her like a jealous man, and then he’d acted even more like a jealous man when they’d discussed it in the car. A friend wouldn’t have cared that someone else was flirting with her.

  But a man falling in love would care a lot. Feeling infinitely better, Megan unlocked the door to the room and walked inside. A huge, king-size bed took up almost all the room. The bed was gorgeous, covered with a delicate flowered spread that coordinated with the drapes. Besides the bed, there was a small chair in the corner and a dresser.

  But mostly, the room was just bed.

  “I don’t believe this,” Chase muttered over Megan’s shoulder. “This is insane.”

  He set the suitcases down, then walked out of the room. Megan heard him heading back downstairs, and she didn’t need to be clairvoyant to know he was trying to get them a different room. She cou
ldn’t blame him. Despite the sedate, refined decorations of the room, it did fairly scream sex. Okay, sedate, refined sex, but sex nonetheless. The bed was the focal point, and there was no way not to stare at it.

  After a few minutes, a dejected Chase walked into the room. “I know this isn’t going to be a surprise to you, but this room—which is the bridal suite, by the way—is the only room available tonight. Now who would have seen that coming?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

  “I’m sorry,” Megan said, meaning it.

  Chase gave her a rueful smile. “Don’t be. This isn’t your fault. My sister did this, probably with the help of my brothers. When I get back to Honey, I’m finding a new family.”

  “We can go to another hotel,” she offered.

  He sat in the small chair in the corner, then frowned at the bed. “No. That would hurt Amanda’s feelings. We can stay here tonight. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  Megan glanced around. Since the bed was so big, there wasn’t a lot of floor space to be had. But she didn’t point this out to Chase. She also knew better than to argue with him as to which one of them slept on the bed.

  She set her suitcase on the bed and opened it. Her pink nightie was folded neatly on top.

  Chase groaned. “Megan, we have to have some rules if we’re going to share this room tonight. For starters, I’m not going to have sex with you. Nothing personal, of course, but that’s the way it’s going to be.”

  Biting back her smile took a little effort. “I understand.”

  He waved at her suitcase. “Second, we’re both sleeping in our clothes. You can’t run around this room in your nightgown or your underwear or your robe. You must have clothes on at all times.” Containing her amusement was getting more and more difficult, but she knew Chase was serious, so she did her best to keep her expression neutral.

  “Okay,” she said. “I promise to keep my clothes on at all times.” He looked so unhappy that she walked over and patted his shoulder. “I’ll do whatever it takes so you can enjoy this trip. I’m not trying to trick or seduce you, Chase. I’ll admit, I’d like our relationship to be different, but I know you don’t feel the same way.”