Rafe leaned forward. “But Millie’s the other half of the equation. We’ve all worked with her for years. She doesn’t go looking for an argument.”
“Excellent point,” Matt said. “Neither do you, Jake. Will you and Millie disagree if you share a daily routine? You bet. But you’re not your father and I doubt Millie’s anything like your mother.”
“She’s not, but…” He took a deep breath. “It’s what I grew up with. It’s what I know. The odds that I’ll repeat the pattern are—”
“Hang on.” CJ put down his coffee. “I just thought of something. Your folks—do they have any friends?”
“Not long-term ones. They’re not exactly a fun couple to be with. But what does that have to do with anything?”
CJ smiled. “Millie called you the Lone Ranger, but you’re not alone, not even close. You have the Brotherhood. And a creed to live by.”
Jake swallowed. What would Charley do. Charley wouldn’t have stomped out of Millie’s house, that’s for sure. “I violated our creed. I hurt Millie.”
“Yeah, you did.” CJ nodded. “But none of us are saints. Bottom line, you’re not going to repeat your dad’s pattern. Not on our watch.”
“Hallelujah!” Matt threw his hands in the air. “CJ, you’re a genius.”
“Glad you finally realized it.”
Jake blinked. “You’ll monitor my behavior?”
“Damn straight,” CJ said. “Not that we even need to, but since you’re scared to death you’ll go off the rails, think of the Brotherhood standing on either side of the tracks to make sure you don’t.”
“And if that’s not enough,” Matt said, “you’ll have the Babes keeping an eye on you, too, plus Kate and Lucy.”
The knot in Jake’s chest slowly loosened. “That…” His throat clogged with emotion. “That’s… you’re right. The Brotherhood would never let me get away with being a bastard. Or the Babes, either.”
Rafe laughed. “Or Kate and Lucy. They’re mighty.”
“But what now? After the way I left, I can’t just hit rewind and expect her to fall into my arms. Millie and I aren’t on the best of terms.”
“I can vouch for that,” Rafe said. “Kate’s talked to her and she’s ticked.”
“Besides.” Matt pushed aside his coffee mug. “Running back over there today looks wishy-washy, like you can’t make up your mind about the relationship. This is too important to risk giving her that impression.”
“That’s for sure,” Leo said. “I’m thinking it’s grand gesture time.”
Excitement churned in his gut. “It is.” What would Charley do? And then it hit him. Talk about obvious. “But not tonight because we have the party at Ed’s. I’d like to make my move tomorrow night.”
“Don’t see why not. Nothing’s scheduled.” Matt gazed at him. “Seems like you have this grand gesture in mind already.”
“I do.” Jake glanced around the table. “And since I’m not the effing Lone Ranger, I need the Brotherhood to help me pull it off.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
At four on the dot, Millie got Jake’s text. Been doing some heavy-duty thinking. Not quite ready to talk about it yet, but would greatly appreciate it if you and Kate would ride to the party with Rafe and me. If it’s not too weird for you.
She walked to the doorway of Kate’s room, where she was putting things back in her closet. “Jake just texted to ask if we’d ride to the party with him and Rafe.”
Kate looked over her shoulder. “Rafe said that text would be coming. You don’t have to do it, though. I’ll ride over with you like we planned.”
“What do you think he’s up to?”
“God knows.” She went back to hanging up clothes. “Rafe said they had a meeting of the Brotherhood this afternoon but he couldn’t tell me what it was about. Right. Like I can’t guess they were talking about the situation between you and Jake.”
“Must have had some effect on him. He says he’s doing some heavy-duty thinking.”
Kate took a jacket off a hanger and closed her closet door. “Think he wants to come back?”
“Kinda sounds that way, doesn’t it? Mentioning that he’s been thinking and would like us to ride together like we usually do.”
Kate put on her jacket. “Like I said, you don’t have to.”
“No, but… oh, who am I kidding? I’m nuts about that cowboy. I want to wring his neck, but it’s not like I never want to see him again. Let’s go with them to the party.”
“Okay.” She started for the door. “I’ll text Rafe when I’m closing up the kitchen. I should be back here somewhere around seven.”
“Thank you. You’ve been great and, just so you know, Jake’s not moving back in here.”
Kate paused by the door. “Hey, if you decide to take him back, it’s fine with me if he lives here. I just hope you don’t cave without some groveling on his part. And assurances he won’t bolt again.”
“Ha. He’ll have to jump through flaming hoops of fire before I’ll agree to give him another shot. And I’m serious about him not moving back in. We tried that. It didn’t work.”
“Poor guy didn’t know a good thing when he had it. Gotta boogie. See you at seven.” She hurried out the door.
Retrieving her phone, Millie typed. OK and sent it to Jake.
His reply was instantaneous. Great. See you then.
She stared at his text. Anticipation, yearning, excitement—familiar emotions connected with Jake. Today she added a new one—caution. Jake had the power to lift her higher than she’d even been… and thrust her into the deepest well of misery.
He wouldn’t get away with that again.
Riding shotgun in Jake’s truck with Kate and Rafe in the back seat was surreal, as if she’d time-traveled to a moment before Jake had moved into the cottage, before they’d become lovers.
In place of his former morose and silent mood, Jake clearly wanted to make conversation “Any ideas on the surprise for Lucy?”
“My guess is a saddle,” Rafe said. “She’s been taking barrel racing lessons from Ed and Matt says she’s found her sport. She loves it. But she’s never had her own saddle.”
“That would explain why barrel racing is a part of this welcome home party,” Kate said. “I’m impressed that Lucy’s willing to show off what she’s learned tonight. She has to be jetlagged.”
“I spoke to her for a few minutes when I was making my rounds this morning,” Millie said. “She’s the one who suggested making her first public ride after the honeymoon. She figures jetlag will keep her from getting nervous. She’s expecting they’ll present her with a Babes on Buckskins T-shirt.”
“She might get one tonight,” Rafe said, “but that’s not the surprise. It’s something more significant, but the Babes like to play things close to the vest.”
“Like the Brotherhood?” Kate nudged Millie’s seat with her knee.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jake glanced at Kate in the rearview mirror. “We’re an open book.”
“Except when you’re not.”
“Okay, maybe we keep a few select things private.”
“Yeah,” Rafe said. “Like full-moon skinny-dipping in Crooked Creek.”
Millie made a face. “The Brotherhood is welcome to that stupid ritual.”
“Why?” Jake flashed her a grin. “What’s wrong with it?”
“That creek’s fed with snowmelt.” She shivered. “I stuck my toe in it once in July. Still freezing.”
“That’s the point.” He kept his attention on the road. “Gets your blood pumping.”
“I can think of better ways to accomplish that.”
He sucked in a breath. “Yeah, me, too.” He flipped on the turn signal and slowed as they approached the entrance to Ed’s impressive layout.
Rafe gazed out the window. “Every time I come out here, I’m amazed. I know she won a lot of competitions, but I doubt many barrel racers end up with a spread like this.”
&nb
sp; “Henri says she’s also a financial genius.” Jake guided the truck down the paved road and past the imposing stone and wood ranch house. “Guess Teague will be helping out tonight.” He sounded cheerful about the prospect.
Aha. The other shoe dropped. He’d wanted to arrive with her so Teague wouldn’t start getting ideas. “Guess so.” She peeked over at him. “It’ll be nice to see him again.”
“Sure will. Great guy.” He was smiling.
She almost laughed. His protective instincts were wasted. After she’d spent three nights with him, Teague didn’t have a chance.
He parked in front of the arena as trucks pulling horse trailers drew up on either side of them. Each of the Babes trailered her horse over to Ed’s for these events and the Brotherhood handled the bulk of the unloading.
Rafe helped Kate out before heading off to the trailer nearest them. Normally, Jake should have done the same, but instead he put his hand on Millie’s arm before she could unfasten her seatbelt. “I just need a few seconds.”
She glanced at him. “To confess that you wanted me to ride with you as a signal to Teague? I figured that out.”
“That’s not the only reason.” His fingers tightened briefly. Then he moved his hand. “I wanted a chance to say something.”
Heat sluiced through her. A few words from Jake could turn her world upside down. Again. She had to be careful. “Look, I don’t know what your intentions are, but—”
Unfastening his seatbelt, he turned toward her. Floodlights on the eaves of the arena provided plenty of illumination inside the cab. “I don’t want to lose our friendship.” His gaze was intent, his forehead creased with worry. “Getting it back might be impossible, but I hope not. I’d hate to think we’ll be at odds for…”
“Weeks? Months? Years?”
“One day has nearly killed me. If I had to go weeks, months, or God forbid, years, without your smile, I couldn’t take it.”
Her throat tightened. “But last night you—”
“I was a jerk. Asking you for anything now is pushing it. But I’ll ask anyway. Regardless of what happens between us, can we please do whatever it takes to keep our friendship?”
Her thumping heart was loud in the silence. “Whatever it takes? What does that mean, exactly?”
“I’ll tell you what it means for me.” He started to reach for her but drew his hand back. “Sorry. I keep forgetting I can’t touch you any old time I want. I gave up that privilege last night.”
Her resolve took a hit. She quickly repaired the damage. “Yes, you did.” She would not feel sorry for him.
He nodded. “And I may not get it back, but I’ll never treat you like that again. When I stomped off, I violated our friendship, which means the world to me. I just hope I haven’t wrecked it for good.”
She gripped her seat belt strap and fought the urge to absolve him of everything, to cradle his face and smooth away the lines of distress. She didn’t want him to suffer. But she didn’t want to suffer, either.
Dragging in a shaky breath, she unfastened her seat belt. “We’ll see how it goes.”
“That leaves me some hope. Thank you. I’m needed for the unloading, but will you wait and let me help you out?”
“I’d rather not.” She opened her door, climbed down and started toward the arena.
Kate stood by the open double door, waiting. “Well? Did he grovel?”
“Yes, and I hate seeing him so miserable. I almost—”
“But you didn’t.” Kate took her by the shoulders and gave her a supportive squeeze. “You listened and got out of there.”
“How do you know?”
“I watched you guys. It was like a silent movie, but I got the gist.”
“You watched?” She turned around and looked at Jake’s truck. “Wow, it’s like looking in a department store window.”
“Yep. He had on his earnest face and you were looking adorably resolute. I crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t end in a lip-lock and it didn’t. Props to you, girlfriend. What was his pitch?”
“He admits he was a jerk and promised he wouldn’t repeat what he did last night. He wants to preserve the friendship.”
Kate smiled. “Nice opening gambit. Classy. You do realize he’s after more than friendship, right?”
“Yes. But unless he’s ready to give up his previous attitude, he won’t get it. And I’ve heard nothing that makes me think he’s changed his MO.”
“Attagirl.” She turned and glanced into the arena. “We’d better get in there. They’re almost ready.”
Millie followed Kate into the arena, an indoor facility Ed had constructed years ago for practicing her barrel racing skills. At eighty-five, her time around the barrels still beat all the other Babes, plus most riders who participated in the sport worldwide.
A set of bleachers sat at one end facing the start line for the circuit. Millie glanced at the spectators. “Peggy and Pam’s husbands are here. I can’t remember the last time they both made it to one of these.”
“Must be why everything was set up so fast. They were here to help unload Dust Devil and Latte.”
“I want to ask Ron about his last speaking tour. Peggy said he was booked into some big venues.”
“Let’s sit with them. That would be a good strategy.”
“For what?”
“Backing Jake off so he doesn’t try to monopolize you.”
Millie laughed. “What are you, my manager?”
“Yes, I am. I thought I could trust him with your heart, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Kate, I adore you.”
“Backatcha, sweetie. Let’s go chat with Ron and Lee.”
Millie climbed the bleachers and Kate engineered the seating so Millie sat between Ron and her. No room for Jake to horn in. Good. That lowered her stress level.
Ron and Lee were both sixty-something, like their wives. Ron, a silver-haired smooth talker with a degree in psychology, had built a career as a motivational speaker and traveled a lot. Lee, a sturdy man with a luxurious mustache, was nearing retirement as Apple Grove’s fire chief. The phrase salt of the earth described him exactly.
Two very different personalities, but the Babes on Buckskins had brought them together and they were fast friends. Millie embraced the rare opportunity to find out what was going on with them.
When Jake and Rafe took seats behind her and Kate, a shiver down her spine told her Jake was within arms’ reach. But she kept her focus on Ron, who’d had a series of adventures on his latest speaking tour.
Then Ed announced Lucy’s barrel-racing debut. She’d be on Muffin, the horse she’d used during her lessons and the veteran Ed had ridden in competition for at least twenty years.
Millie stood and cheered with everyone else, although the Brotherhood, who’d all ended up sitting behind her, drowned out the rest of them. Matt was the loudest of all. Sweet.
Lucy thanked Ed and blew a kiss to Matt. Then she was off, flying around those barrels. Muffin likely could have done the course on his own, but Lucy stayed with him and turned in a credible time.
Amid more cheers and applause, Ed presented Lucy with a Babes on Buckskins T-shirt. Grinning like a little kid, Lucy put it on over her shirt. Then Teague came out with a hand-tooled saddle, which Ed announced was a gift from the Babes. Lucy was clearly stunned.
“Called it,” Rafe muttered from his seat behind Kate.
“Bet Jared Logan made that baby,” Jake said.
“Yep.” Matt’s voice was husky. “Ed asked me to oversee the process, although all the Babes had input. Lucy seems to like it.”
“Probably does,” Nick said. “Since she’s tearing up.”
Ed picked up her mic. “One more thing before we switch to the regular competition. Lucy, you and Muffin make a good team. He’s yours.”
Lucy started blubbering and protesting.
“This isn’t a random impulse.” Ed wrapped an arm around Lucy’s shoulders and spoke into the mic. “I’ve shocked the brid
e, but the Babes and I’ve talked about this for several weeks.”
Lucy grabbed the mic and sniffed. “Thank you, but I can’t take Muffin.”
“Yes, you can and you should. I need a new challenge, so I’m training Suede, a rambunctious four-year-old with promise. It’s with great joy that I pass Muffin on to you, Lucy. He has at least ten good years left in him and he knows the ropes.”
Chaos reigned for another few minutes, but eventually Lucy agreed, with many hugs involved, to accept the gift of Muffin.
Millie looked at Kate. “I did not see that coming.”
“I didn’t, either, but it makes sense. Ed on Muffin was an unbeatable combination. A challenge keeps life interesting. It’s good to have to work for what you want.” She turned around. “Right, Jake?”
“Right, Kate.” He sounded amused.
Millie was especially fond of that tone, when his voice held an undercurrent of laughter. That was the Jake she’d fallen in love with. But he was far more complicated than that. After all the years of contact with Jake, did she know him at all?
Chapter Thirty
Evidently Kate had appointed herself Millie’s protector, and Jake didn’t begrudge her that. Served him right. Kate had moved over to Henri’s place to give him private time with Millie. He’d blown that golden opportunity, which was his own damn fault.
But it meant he wouldn’t get much access to Millie during the barrel racing event or the party Ed threw at her spacious home afterward. His only consolation was that Teague didn’t get access, either. That was partly Kate’s doing and mostly Millie’s. She dodged Teague the whole evening. Did his heart good.
But he had Millie in the passenger seat on the way home. Well done, him. She looked both happy and sleepy. If only he hadn’t ruined everything, he’d be able to take her back to that big bed and make love to her. Instead, he had to drop her off at the cottage with Kate.
Rafe climbed into the seat Millie had recently vacated. Typical Rafe, he chose not to wear a seatbelt rather than change the specs to fit a frame twice as big as Millie’s. “All things considered, that went well.”
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