Falling for the Rancher

by Tanya Michaels

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if he wanted to come join her in the giant bed anyway, just to sleep. Lord knew there was room enough for the both of them, and she liked waking up in his arms. But would his spending the night with sex removed from the equation be too much like a relationship? Was she attaching more significance to whatever was happening between them than actually existed?

  Don’t overcomplicate matters.

  That was sound advice. Right up there with, don’t pick a night when she had only half a brain cell awake to ponder whether the connection between her and Jarrett was a bona fide relationship...and whether she’d done something as crazy as fall in love.

  * * *

  THE MORNING OF the festival came way too early, but at least it was sunny and warm. After helping Vicki get out of bed and do a quick series of exercises, Sierra fortified herself with an extra-strong cup of coffee and prepared to enjoy her first Cupid’s Bow festival.

  Also, your last, she thought as she pulled on her boots.

  Not necessarily. This town wasn’t the mystical Brigadoon; Cupid’s Bow wouldn’t disappear for a hundred years once she crossed outside its borders. Texas might be a large state, but she could still come back for occasional visits. Kate had been hinting that she expected Sierra to be present for her wedding.

  Jarrett, on the other hand, had never said a word about her returning. She supposed she should appreciate that he wasn’t putting any pressure on her when her future was still undecided, but she wouldn’t mind knowing that he wanted to see her again. She had fewer than ten days left here. When she was gone, would he simply forget about her?

  Sierra didn’t know if she’d see him again when her job on the ranch had ended. But she knew it would be a long damn time before she could ever forget him.

  For now, however, she needed to push aside these questions. She and Jarrett were supposed to work together this morning, overseeing games of traditional cowboy skill. Becca had set up “horse” races, which would take place after the participating children decorated pool-noodle ponies with eyes, ears, manes and tails. There would also be rawhide braiding, lassoing and a station where each kid could design a brand and color it in marker onto a balloon cow.

  But before she headed for her post, she needed to help set Vicki up at the tent where various events would take place throughout the day. After everyone had gone last night, Vicki had flatly reiterated that she had no intention of being “stuck on the porch all day while the rest of the town has a good time.” Sierra went back to Vicki’s room to make sure she was ready, and she gasped aloud at the sight of her patient taking a few stumbling steps away from her wheelchair.

  “What are you doing?” Sierra demanded, rushing to her side just as she toppled. They’d discussed how important it was that her progress be done with Sierra’s or Manuel’s assistance. Without proper supervision, she could reinjure herself.

  “Walking.” Face pale, Vicki accepted her help back into the chair but her glower suggested she would bat away Sierra’s hand if she could.

  “Determination is good,” Sierra said, “but only when paired with intelligent choices. You didn’t even have a walker or crutch handy! Do you know how much a fall could set you back?”

  “Maybe I only fell because you startled me,” she said mulishly.

  “You’re smart enough to know that isn’t true—momentary stupidity notwithstanding.”

  “I want to be able to go down the steps to my own house!” Vicki complained. “I want to participate in the cake walk. I want to be able to dance with a cute guy tonight.” She huffed out a breath. “Did I tell you about my new positive visualization image?”

  “No.” But Sierra had figured it was no longer dancing with Aaron.

  “It’s me marching across campus, looking killer, finding Aaron and kicking him in the shin. Hard.”

  Well. It was a goal.

  They got Vicki to the appropriate location, and Sierra mentally crossed her fingers that the surly girl would rediscover her people skills as the day wore on. She also hoped she regained her common sense. Should she ask someone like Kate to surreptitiously check in from time to time and make sure Vicki wasn’t attempting to foolishly leave her wheelchair?

  You already gave her the lecture. You can’t be there for her twenty-four hours a day. The Rosses would be home in less than two weeks. Vicki wouldn’t even be Sierra’s patient anymore. In the meantime, if the teenager did take ill-advised risks, at least there was a first-aid booth nearby.

  The festival hadn’t officially started yet, so the first wave of visitors hadn’t arrived on the flatbed trailer. But a lot of the volunteers getting set up had brought their families with them, so about half a dozen kids were gathered near the barn already. A teenager was distributing pellets to feed to the goats while Anita Drake and another woman were blowing up black-and-white Holstein-patterned balloons.

  The children not playing with balloons or goats were watching Jarrett show off some roping tricks. He was spinning a lariat in a wide loop, jumping from side to side through it. The kids were laughing at his silly running commentary while the women working with balloons were sighing over his muscles and agility. Who could blame them for their sighs? It was difficult to imagine a man more appealing than a gorgeous cowboy who was good with children.

  Especially one who moves like that, she thought appreciatively, her gaze following him. She wished she could walk straight up to him and kiss him good morning.

  “Morning.” He shoved his hat back on his head, giving her a wide smile. “Everyone say hi to Miss Sierra. She’s exactly the person we need for our next demonstration.”

  A couple of the kids dutifully chorused, “Hi, Miss Sierra.”

  “Demonstration?” she asked. Their job was to guide kids through turns trying to rope posts. But Jarrett could have started that without her. Especially since she didn’t know the first thing about lassoing. Her part was more crowd control, keeping an eye on kids in line to make sure no one started any fights. Or wandered off and ended up spooking the skittish mare in the stable.

  He came over to where she stood. “You guys want to see a demonstration, right?” Taking her hand, he led Sierra to the center of the ring. Under his breath, he said, “Don’t worry—your part is easy. And maybe much, much later, I can show you some of my favorite grown-up rope maneuvers.”

  She refused to encourage him by grinning. “Pervert,” she whispered.

  He winked at her. Then he backed away, holding the rope up and telling the kids about the different parts of the lasso and showing them how the honda knot was used to control the size of the loop. “When you throw, you aim with the tip. Bring your arm over your head and turn your wrist, keeping a good momentum and the loop open. Then when you’re ready, you throw it like you would a baseball.” He crooked his arm forward and the spinning loop came sailing toward her.

  The kids cheered when it dropped over her, and Sierra laughed. A month ago, she couldn’t have imagined willingly spending a day on a ranch. Now she was voluntarily riding horses and being used for lasso practice.

  As more festival guests arrived, the number of children grew. Jarrett stopped demonstrating tricks and began handing them smaller lariats. Before long, Sierra was busy distributing small prizes for the kids who managed to rope a post and cheerfully consoling those who hadn’t accomplished it yet. Spirits were high and no one seemed too discouraged by failure.

  Behind her, Sierra heard a woman say, “Oh, no, honey, I think you’re too little.”

  Sierra turned and saw a woman with wavy brown hair surrounded by the cutest little cowgirls on the ranch. Three identical toddlers stood with their mom in denim vests and matching pink dresses. They each wore a different colored hat, and the one in green was gesturing enthusiastically toward Jarrett.

  “How about we go feed the animals instead?” her mom s
uggested.

  “Not to undermine your authority,” Sierra said, “but I think maybe our lasso expert could give her a hand if she wants a try.”

  The pretty brunette smiled. “Thanks. That would be sweet.” Her other two cowgirls were hiding behind their mom’s legs as she talked to Sierra. Obviously, the one in the green hat was the bold risk-taker of the group.

  Sierra grinned inwardly. My kind of kid. “Hold on a sec.” She informed Jarrett of the situation and he walked over to the triplets.

  “Hi, I’m Jarrett.” He shook the mom’s hand.

  “Megan Rivers. And these are my girls. Daisy was hoping to take a turn with the lasso, but—”

  He dropped down to the little girl’s level, and something inside Sierra melted. He tapped the brim of the toddler’s cowgirl hat. “I like your hat. Is green your favorite color?”

  She eyed him as if taking his measure, then shook her head. “Purple.”

  “Well, I don’t have any purple lassos—only boring plain ones—but would you like to try one anyway?”

  “Yes!”

  “Mind if I pick you up?”

  The girl immediately thrust her arms toward him, zero hint of shyness in her personality. Jarrett took her to the center of the ring. Keeping the girl balanced on his hip, he held the rope with a lot of slack, handing her only the looped end to whirl around. She hit herself in the face with it once. Sierra couldn’t hear what Jarrett said to her, but whatever it was made the little girl giggle.

  “Okay, on three we’re going to toss it over the post,” he said. “One, two...three.” As he said the last word, he charged forward, carrying the girl right up to the post, where she dropped the loop over the wood.

  She responded with a joyful belly laugh, and several of the kids waiting in line applauded.

  “Uh-oh,” Megan said. “Now that he’s set the example, he’s going to have little ones asking to be picked up for the whole rest of the day.”

  Sierra suspected she was right. “Good thing he has strong arms.”

  Jarrett returned the little girl to her mother, who thanked him profusely before herding her girls toward another section. He watched the woman go with a bemused expression.

  “What is it?” Sierra asked, battling a twinge of envy. The triplets’ mom was extremely pretty. And she wasn’t moving away in a week or so.

  “She did say her name was Megan, right? Megan Rivers? That’s Will’s neighbor.” He lowered his voice to a confiding tone. “He said she was a thoroughly disagreeable woman and that he’s never seen her smile.”

  “Really?” Sierra craned her head, staring after the woman. “She seemed perfectly nice to me.”

  “Me, too. Either Will’s crazy or she just plain doesn’t like him.”

  “Weird. Will’s a great guy. Total charmer.”

  “Careful, darlin’.” Jarrett leaned close with a mock growl. “Last time I got jealous of you and Will, I dragged you out of a dance hall to kiss you senseless.”

  She laughed at his edited version of events. “That’s the worst threat I’ve ever heard in my life. I’ve been wanting to kiss you for over an hour.”

  He groaned. “Becca scheduled breaks for us, right?”

  “Becca is superhuman. I’m not sure she believes in breaks.”

  Behind them, another child was calling for Jarrett’s help.

  “Better get back to work, cowboy.”

  “How am I supposed to focus when you’re standing here being distractingly beautiful?”

  She grinned. “I suppose I could find Will Trent and see if he needs my help.”

  Jarrett gave her such a heated look that for a breathtaking moment, she thought he might actually stake his claim by kissing her right there and then. He settled for a drawled warning. “We are going to have words later, Miss Sierra.”

  She couldn’t wait.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jarrett smiled gratefully as Anita Drake handed him a glass of ice-cold lemonade. The day had got warm. “Thank you.”

  “Least I could do after you generously let us use the ranch for the festival. Will you get a chance to eat lunch?”

  “Yeah.” He checked his watch. “Deputy Thomas is supposed to take over for me in a few minutes, long enough for me to eat.” He’d sent Sierra off to get some food for herself, though, and to check on Vicki. At the thought of his sister, guilt twisted inside him. He hated lying to her about Sierra. He’d never discussed his love life much with Vic—those weren’t appropriate conversations to have with his little sister—but now he was surprised to find himself wishing he could share how happy Sierra made him. A selfish wish. The last thing Vicki would want to hear about in the wake of her breakup was that Jarrett was happier than he deserved to be.

  Jarrett’s stomach growled, adding physical discomfort to his conflicted mental state. Thankfully, being punctual was one of the deputy’s trademark qualities. Deputy Thomas arrived and Jarrett decided to head for whatever food vendor had the shortest line. A large family over by the Smoky Pig booth got their food and stepped away, drastically reducing the crowd in front of the order window. Jarrett quickly jumped in the line.

  “Hey, J-Ross.” Larry Breelan walked up behind him. “We don’t see much of you in town lately.”

  “I’ve been busy working the ranch.”

  “Yeah—must be pulling double duty since your dad’s attack. With you secluded out here, we were afraid the legendary Jarrett Ross love life had finally slowed down. End of an era. Should have known you’re too smart for that, eh? Figured out how to swing it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  The man elbowed him. “Settle a bet between me and Grady. You’re sleeping with that pretty redhead, aren’t you? As soon as we saw her yesterday, I realized we’d been all wrong about your dry spell, that you—”

  “Ms. Bailey is one hell of a physical therapist, and my family owes her a great debt for how much she’s helped my sister. I would take any disrespectful comments about her very badly.”

  Larry shrank back, wide-eyed. “Well, hell, man, I didn’t mean any disrespect. But we all know your track record with the ladies, and she’s one mighty fine filly.”

  An involuntary snarl came from behind Jarrett’s teeth.

  “Sorry. I realize now I had the situation all wrong.”

  “You make sure to tell your brother that, too.” Who else was speculating about Sierra? Probably anyone who knew his reputation. He was Jarrett Ross, and she was a beautiful woman sleeping down the hall from him every night. People would assume they were having sex.

  Which you are. That was the worst part. Anyone gossiping about it would be right.

  “Is anyone else speaking ill of Ms. Bailey?” he demanded.

  Larry looked confused by the question. “Thinking that she knocked boots with you isn’t an insult. More like, it makes her part of a club. You’ve been with half the ladies in town.”

  “I have not!” It was a blatant exaggeration, but he only had himself to blame for how people saw him. “You know, I just realized I’m not in the mood for barbecue.” With a terse nod to Larry, he gave up his place in line.

  Jarrett hated that anyone might think he’d hired Sierra based on her looks or with plans to seduce her. Just like Vicki first thought. He’d assured his sister that he would keep his distance from the therapist, and now he’d broken his promise.

  His feelings for Sierra were different than anything he’d experienced before—he’d believed they were making him different. Better. But Breelan’s words had been a reality check. Even knowing how important Sierra’s professionalism was to her, Jarrett had slow-danced with her in public, kissed her outside the dance hall where they could have been seen. And now he was sneaking around behind his sister’s back!

  Vicki deserved mo
re from him. And even though he knew he was making Sierra happy in the short run, maybe she deserved a better man.

  * * *

  “HEY.” SIERRA STROLLED into the stable, amused that there had been a time in the recent past when she’d had an aversion to being here. Now it was the source of some fond memories. She smiled at Jarrett, who was resting on a bale of hay with his long legs kicked out in front of him. “I was hoping to find you in here.”

  The sun had set an hour ago. The festival was still going strong, but most everyone was in the tent where the Harvest Queen had been crowned. There was live music and dancing. Although people seemed to be having fun, after the hectic frivolity of the day, Sierra was craving a little peace and quiet.

  Be honest. Mostly, you’re just craving him. They’d worked together all morning, but after lunch, it seemed as though every time she looked for Jarrett, he was suddenly needed elsewhere. Was it weird that, after only a few hours apart, she’d missed him? Not in some needy, codependent way. But every time something funny had happened, she’d automatically turned to joke with him about it—only to find that he wasn’t there. And there’d been a few heart-melting moments with cute kids that she wished she could have seen his reaction to. The sight of him with Megan’s little girl that morning remained a high point of her day.

  “How was your afternoon?” she asked him now.

  “Fine,” he said, sparing her the briefest of glances. “Tiring.”

  She nodded in commiseration, walking over and cupping his shoulders with her hands. Stroking her fingers toward his neck, she applied light pressure to his scalene muscles. “Did you know I am trained in therapeutic massage? If you’re sore, I can—”

  He stood, the motion effectively knocking her hands away. “Too bad I didn’t know you when I was riding rodeo—talk about sore muscles. Today was a breeze compared to that.”

  She bit the inside of her lip, surprised at the rebuff. “All right.” She wound her arms around his neck. “It was really just an excuse to touch you, anyway.”