“All right, I got your drift,” Les said; a surly tone laced his words. After adding his chip to the small pile, he said, “Your turn, honey.” He smiled widely at Callie, and then winked.
Disgust crowded in Jake’s gut. His longtime friend spread the charm on too thick this time. Was he really interested in her? Or was he just digging at Jake since Les had heard so much from Flossie? Either way, it didn’t sit right with Jake.
“I have a question,” Callie said, almost shyly. “It’s about the joker cards. Do they have a certain amount attached to them?” She looked innocently from Gus, to Jake, and then to Les.
“Oh…brother,” Les said, obviously censoring himself.
“Is something I said wrong?”
Patiently, Jake explained, “Jokers are wild, so that means if you ever get dealt one, you determine what you want it to be based on the other cards you’re holding.”
“Oh!” Dawning entered her features. “So, if I have three aces then I can make it a fourth, right?”
Jake groaned. “Right.”
“Good. I don’t need any cards, thank you.” Carefully, she placed her chip on top of the others in the center of the table.
After that, the rest of the hand went through the motions. Jake folded first, Les next, and then Gus.
“Does that mean I win?” Callie asked, a happy, expectant look on her face.
“Yep. What do you have?” Gus leaned close as she spread her hand out gingerly.
“A pair of twos,” she announced triumphantly, raking in the small pile of chips.
“Twos?” Les straightened in his chair as if a hot poker struck him in the backside. “You said you had three aces.”
She giggled, a dimple appearing at the corner of her mouth. “Did I say that?” She shook her head in denial. “I’m so sorry. You must have misunderstood. I was just giving an example.”
Surprise raced through Jake. He’d been sucked in just like his poker buddies. Jake noticed his cousins’ wide grins.
She’d done the impossible by bringing the guys out of their shells and putting smiles back on their faces.
A little bit of the tightness in his center lessened at the sight, expanding his hope that happiness would shed its light on the boys once again. He’d keep quiet and let them have their fun.
The next two hands ended in similar fashion with Callie winning. “It must be beginner’s luck.” She flashed Jake that impish grin of hers and his breath stilled while his heartbeat galloped.
Lord, she makes me feel like a teenager. Unsure. Awkward. And hankering to get her alone.
Gus grumbled good-naturedly. Les muttered some expletives under his breath, shooting Jake a look that dared him to question Lester’s right to cuss.
Rubbing his face, Jake pulled himself under control once again. He realized his mind drifted occasionally from the game. Callie had a way of distracting him when she was with him or not. Had she worked her magic spell on Gus and Les, too?
“Your turn to deal, Callie,” Gus said, placing the deck smack dab in front of her. “Just shuffle it a couple of times to mix up the deck, nothing fancy.”
Almost reverently, she picked up the deck, her thumb running over the top card. “Like this?” she asked, splitting the deck in her right hand and reversing each pile.
“What was that?” Lance asked, sitting forward. His dark eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Thunderstruck, Jake stilled. “Do that again.”
Callie repeated the action with effortless ease, and then went on to marvel her audience. Splaying the cards in a wide arc on the tabletop, she flipped up the last card, moving the cards back and forth in a fan-like motion.
“Wow!” Marvin spoke for the rest of them.
Next, she gathered up the cards, placing the deck in her left hand. With her right hand, she pulled the cards up and down as if she held a card slinky.
“Where did you learn how to do that?” Stan asked, clearly mesmerized by the display.
“Didn’t I tell you guys? My daddy taught me how to play poker. When I was little, he’d gather up some of his Navy buddies and we’d play for hours. It’s called single dad babysitting. I’ve played with the best of them, fellas.”
Shock rippled through Jake. “Callie, you’ve been bluffing all along!”
Nodding, she giggled.
Chapter 7
Callie stepped out onto the back porch. The unusually warm day, due to a Chinook from Canada, reminded her of all the things she loved about Montana. Leaning against the thick post, she breathed in deeply, savoring the pungent scents blossoming all around her.
Her gaze shifted from the now weed-free flowerbeds she worked diligently on the last week to the horse corral. She winced as Marvin missed his mark with his lariat and nearly unseated himself from his saddle.
Jake’s sharp, terse command could be heard from here. He propped his forearms on the top wooden rail of the corral, his right foot on the bottom rung, issuing orders.
“Oh, Jake,” she murmured, a sweet ache sweeping through her. Concern for him grew each passing day.
He’d barely uttered more than cursory words to her since the poker game. His silence spoke volumes. His distance hurt. But the unmistakable attraction lived and breathed between them, she recalled.
“Well, Callie girl, I guess you’ve got to set things straight, extend the olive branch. And while you’re at it, you’ve got to help Jake train his cousins on the fun aspects of roping.”
With each step she took, closing the gap between her and Jake, her determination increased. For his cousins’ sake, as well as hers, she’d draw Jake out and back into his family. The guys needed more than his obligatory ranch lessons every day after school. They needed his friendship, his advice, and his acceptance. And so did she, if truth be told.
Jake’s noticeable avoidance plagued the guys, making them wonder if they were wanted. How could she tell them that Jake didn’t want them or her around?
It had been difficult enough to realize that disturbing fact herself, causing a fragile part of her center to tear. She should be used to this by now, but the facts remained intact: no matter how much time passed, Callie would never fit in, with her hodgepodge family, nor with Jake’s world.
Glancing to the three teenagers on horseback, Callie noted Les and Gus’ presence on the opposite side of the corral from Jake. Les, perched on the top rail, and Gus standing nearby, gave freely of their suggestions and laughter, spurring the boys on.
Callie recalled the men from her youth. Lester Whitefeather had shadowed Jake’s every move. The two still seemed close after all these years. And Gus remained the same. With a little less hair and the pale blond color turned to snowy white, she admitted the slight change in the man that always treated her well. Thankfully, neither man remembered her from her childhood visits to Gramps’ ranch.
She halted two feet away from Jake, her heart thumping wildly. “Hey, Cowboy, this post taken or can anybody lean on it?”
Crossing her fingers behind her back, she hoped her cheery nature set the right pressure-free tone. The heady buzz of the underlying magnetism teased her senses.
He turned to her, shoving his Stetson back off his forehead. The tension eased from his features. A smile played around his lips. “I bet you say that to all the cowboys.”
She glowed inwardly at his playful words, his charm. Grinning, Callie tilted her head to the side. “Nope, only the ones who pay me to be their fairy godmother.”
“Just my luck, huh?”
“Right.” Being near Jake made her knees weak. “Well, you haven’t said if I can join you.” She waved to the post, hoping she’d be able to grab on to it before she crumpled at his feet.
“Suit yourself. But I don’t think you’ll get a great show today.” Frustration edged his words, hinting at his growing impatience and prodding a well of empathy in her.
Gratefully, she walked the last two steps to the corral and clutched the rough wood for support. “Oh, I wouldn�
��t be so hard on the guys. After all, with your help, they’ve mastered the fine art of mounting a horse in only a week.” She longed to give him more assurances and make him understand how just spending time with his cousins helped eased their pain.
Only a few, scant inches separated his elbow from her hand. She quelled the impulse to stretch across the small space and touch him and to soothe his worries.
“That’s no great feat. I learned in less than a day when I was five.”
Looking at his profile, she found tiny lines etched alongside his mouth. She longed to erase his tension. “They’re not you, Jake. Don’t put that on them, to live up to your natural abilities. And remember, you wanted to learn. They don’t.”
He sighed, and then rubbed his hand over his face. “I guess you’re right.”
“If you want my advice, I think the easiest way to teach someone something new is to make it fun.”
He pressed his forehead against the wooden rail. “I didn’t ask.” His chuckle took the sting out of his words.
“Of course you did,” she said, reverting to a more lighthearted tack. “You hired me, didn’t you?”
He straightened, saying, “So where’s that wand of yours?”
His expression smoothed, the strain gone. A lightness entered her chest, relieving her concern for him. She leaned close, whispering conspiratorially, “That’s a secret, but if you play along with me, I might just reveal it to you.”
She pulled back as a waft of his musky male scent assailed her senses. She gulped hard as his hooded amber-colored gaze locked on hers. Awareness crackled in the cramped slot between their bodies. Exhilaration tingled through her veins like bubbles in a champagne glass.
“Hi, Callie,” Lance called out in his high, squeaky voice.
Jolted back to the moment, Callie jerked to see Lance guiding his horse to her. She reached out a hand, caressing the chestnut quarter horse. Sweet, aching longing swept through her. Gramps often told her horses were in her blood. She tended to put a great deal of merit into his assessment.
Oh, how she’d give anything to ride a horse again. With the uncomfortable distance between Jake and her these last few days, she’d squashed the request, sensing he’d turn her down.
“Hey, she likes you,” Lance said, bringing Callie out of her reverie. “Don’t you, Chessie?”
Callie chuckled as the horse nuzzled her hand, tickling her palm. Tossing a guarded glimpse to Jake, she asked urgently, “If I can teach the guys how to rope, can I ride one of your horses?”
She did a double take when Jake smiled. The soft, dreamy expression on his face made her heart tug. The transformation was incredible.
“If you can do that, hell, I’ll give you a damn horse.”
She gasped, hope surging in her chest. “Can I pick the one I want?”
“Sure, why not?” he answered magnanimously, waving an arm at the barn, clearly disbelieving her teaching powers.
“Great. I want this one.” Callie patted Lance’s horse affectionately.
Jake cleared his throat. “Haven’t you forgotten something? First you have to teach my cousins.”
She shrugged. “No problem.” Holding out her hand for the lariat Jake took down from the post, she asked, “May I?”
“Be my guest, Callie.”
The gleam in his eyes teased her senses, whipping them into a frenzy. Swallowing hard, she thrust the attraction aside. After all, she needed a cool head to win this horse.
“Showtime,” Callie said under her breath. Turning to Jake’s cousins, she said, “Come on over here, guys. I’ve got something to show you.”
Unnerved by Jake’s penetrating stare, Callie smiled weakly at him. His response, an arched eyebrow, made her shackles rise. The challenge, though silent, flashed from Jake to her, charging the air to a crackling fever pitch.
As the guys dismounted carefully, Callie took a big, cleansing breath, releasing the fluttery panic in her.
Jake folded his arms across his chest, leaned back against the corral rail, and then propped a booted right foot on the bottom rung.
Let her get out of this one, he thought, enjoying her precarious position, yet admiring her grit, her spunk. Another spark of interest ignited, joining the dozens of others he tried to deny in the last week. She intrigued him, held his curiosity captive.
He heard, as well as felt, his cousins join him at the rail. Gus muttered something unintelligible under his breath as he and Les hovered somewhere near Jake’s left shoulder.
“Well, fellas,” Callie said. “What will it be today? You’ve got your rope tricks and you’ve got your rope tricks.”
Holding the loops loosely, she began to twirl it lazily in her right hand. With a flick of her wrist, she changed the circle’s direction; now it swirled horizontally to the ground.
Jake froze as if a cold bucket of water doused him. Speechless, he watched her in fascinated wonder.
“Wow! Where did you learn to do that?” Marvin asked what Jake couldn’t.
She shrugged, saying, “Oh, I picked it up here and there. You know how a nanny needs a whole bag of tricks to entertain her charges. You’ve seen Mary Poppins, haven’t you?”
Lester whistled softly between his teeth as she enlarged the spiraling rope and jumped in the middle, and then back out the other side, changing hands in the process.
“That’s cool,” Lance said. “Do that again.”
Callie repeated the maneuver, gaining applause from Jake’s cousins. “Well, thank you,” she gushed, sending Jake a flirtatious glance under her lashes.
His blood hummed at the coy, provocative gesture. He tried to clamp down on the pool of heat gathering in his middle.
“Hey, you got any more?” Stan asked, leaning so far over the top rail that Jake thought he’d topple over onto his head. “And can you teach us how to do that fun stuff?”
“Sure,” Callie said, shifting the lariat once again so now she twirled it vertically. She hopped over the rope, and then back again.
“Damn,” Gus muttered. “I ain’t seen something like that since my rodeo days.”
Silently, Jake echoed his assessment. Callie Andrews was no amateur. The woman vexed him and thrilled him all at the same time. Annoyed at being made a fool, Jake said, “That fancy stuff is all well and good but you haven’t roped a damn thing yet.”
She switched the rope so now it twirled over her head. With one quick movement, the lariat sailed through the air, headed right toward Jake. He braced himself for the inevitable. He didn’t have long to wait. The lasso settled over his head, tightening around his upper arms.
Smiling, she tilted her head. “Well, lookee here, I’ve roped a real live cowboy.”
Laughter rang all around Jake, jarring the dull ache nipping at the edges of his mind into a full-fledged raving headache.
“That you did, Callie,” Gus said with a smile in his voice. “Now that you got him, what you gonna do with him?”
She tugged on the rope. Jake resisted, not budging from his rigid stance. He wouldn’t go to her, wouldn’t give in to her.
Somehow she must have sensed the standoff; she walked toward him, keeping the line taut by gathering the excess twine.
When she stopped a mere foot from him, Jake looked down at her, locking gazes. He melted at the radiant glow on her upturned face and the shimmering happiness in her sea-green eyes. His heartbeat galloped in his chest, thundering wildly in his ears. What would it feel like to kiss her?
“So what’s a girl to do with her own cowboy?” she asked.
Lord, was that a loaded question? Jake thought, suppressing the groan bubbling in him. His mind danced with possibilities. His nerves jumped in heady anticipation.
“That,” he cleared his throat, “is obvious.” He leaned close, close enough so what he said next would be privileged information. He whispered huskily, “You ride him.”
Chapter 8
Jake settled in a straight back chair in the tack room. He propped his feet on
a nearby empty barrel and shifted his Stetson so it covered his face. Tilting the chair back so it rested on its hind legs, he longed for some much-needed peace and quiet.
In order to divert his attention from the throbbing pain hammering away in his head, he carefully reviewed the last hour spent watching Callie skillfully teach the boys how to rope. She’d done a damn good job, too, he admitted ruefully. Now, he was out one fine horse.
No matter how unorthodox her games and lessons, Jake knew he’d found the magical key to helping his cousins.
But the little minx tied him in knots, confusing him and tantalizing him all in the same breath.
He recalled that little shocked gasp of hers after he told her what to do with her cowboy. And the telltale flame of desire bursting in her stare sent shivers from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
But the total acceptance of him in her gaze made him ache for more than a long night of slow lovemaking.
Sweet, fun-loving Callie touched a tender spot buried deep inside him, one that hinted at forever, one he’d only ever dreamed of one time before when he was just a boy. Never again.
Her smile snared him, her laughter warmed him, her perfume sent him to heaven, her antics impressed him, and, most of all, her devotion to his cousins tugged at his heart.
She’s too good for you, Lassiter. A hollow feeling began in his center, and then spread out. Unlovable, undesirable. The truth screamed in his head, reminding him of who he was, the circumstances that shaped him.
Unwanted by his gypsy mother, Jake grew up with that cold, harsh fact, molding him into a loner, a confirmed bachelor, a reject. Bull riding and the championship proved he was a winner at something in his sorry life.
That brought his thoughts plunging back to his cousins. He actually liked them the way they were: creative, inventive, brilliant, resourceful, and clever. A part of Jake hated to change them to fit in with his ideals. But the sensible part didn’t want the orphans ending up like him, alone and empty. A misfit.
Shoving aside his growing misgivings on changing the trio, Jake knew he couldn’t jeopardize his cousins’ lessons, their chance at happiness. Callie worked her magic on the boys, bringing them out of their shells and back to life. Now, if only the enchantress would curtail her sorcery against him, he mused.
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