He kissed her. Connected only by his hands against her face and his mouth on hers, still Jessie was instantly lost, drowning in the heat that flared to life. Beneath the carnality of the kiss moved a sweetness and longing that took her breath.
At last, he lifted his head. “I’ll call you.”
He left her, disappearing through the door into the night.
Jessie could only stare after him, tempted and terrified by the promise of pleasure.
Chapter Seven
The following morning in Wolf Creek, Zach finished loading lumber into the bed of his pickup then just before noon, he walked the short three blocks to the Saloon.
“Hi, Zach.” Raine Harper greeted him as he entered.
“Raine.” He nodded, removing his hat and joining her at the end of the bar. He gestured at the large black book and stack of receipts cradled in her arms. “You must have bookkeeping duty today.”
She chuckled. “Yes, a restaurant owner’s work is never done. What brings you to town?”
“I picked up a load of lumber for the barn.”
“Ah.” She smiled. “A rancher’s work is never done, either.”
“Not when the ranch hasn’t been taken care of for years,” he replied.
“I’m guessing you can chalk that up to your uncle?”
“That would be my guess,” he agreed.
She eyed him, her gaze curious. “Are you going to tell me what brought Chase McCloud in here after you the other day?”
When he didn’t answer, Raine shook her head ruefully. “You aren’t going to tell me, are you?” When he remained silent, she laughed. “I have to admit, he’s the first man I’ve seen in Wolf Creek that looks tough enough, maybe mean enough, to match you. I’m glad his sister broke things up before the two of you tore up my bar.”
“So it’s your business you’re worried about?” Zach asked easily. “Not my good health?”
“I’m always worried about your good health, Zach.” She patted his arm. “It’s good to have you back. You were gone too long. See you later.” She turned away, waggling her fingers as she disappeared through the door to the stairs that would take her to the office on the building’s second floor.
Zach lifted a hand in reply. Although they’d never dated, Raine had been a good friend in high school and was one of the few people, outside his mother and sister, who had welcomed him home.
Seated at a booth near the back of the restaurant, Zach finished a hamburger and fries and was about to drink the last of his coffee when someone halted next to the booth.
“Hello, Zach.” Harlan Kerrigan tossed his Stetson onto the bench seat of the booth and followed it, taking a seat across from Zach.
Zach eyed his uncle over the rim of his coffee cup and drank, swallowing before lowering the mug to the tabletop. “Harlan.” His tone was neither welcoming nor encouraging.
Harlan wore a Western-tailored brown suit over a crisp white shirt; a bolo tie chased in heavy silver conveyed just the right casual touch of affluence. Zach suspected the clothes were part of his uncle’s calculated effort to project an image of a powerful rancher concerned about and connected with the local community.
“I hear you’re living out on Section Ten.” Harlan caught the eye of the busy waitress, gesturing. “Coffee,” he told her when she neared. He waited until she’d filled a mug and set it on the table in front of him before he turned back to Zach. “I suppose you’re doing a lot of repair work on the buildings?”
“Some.” Zach knew his uncle hadn’t sought him out to talk about the condition of his ranch buildings.
“I told Rachel the place was falling down.” Harlan shook his head with concern. “I don’t know why Dad let the property go so far downhill.”
Zach lifted an eyebrow. “So Granddad was responsible for the deteriorated state of Section Ten? That’s interesting news. I thought you were the one who made decisions and allocated maintenance funds over the last few years?”
“I ran the company after Dad became ill,” Harlan agreed. “But by the time I took over, Kerrigan holdings were in such dire financial difficulties there wasn’t enough money to keep all the properties in peak condition.” He shrugged. “Section Ten has decent land but none of the family lived there. Naturally, it was a low priority on the maintenance list.”
“I see.” Zach’s response was noncommittal. He knew Harlan would eventually get around to his reason for seeking him out, but he didn’t have the patience to wait. He glanced at his watch. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re really here.”
Harlan’s eyes narrowed, the affable facade fading to expose hard impatience. “I understand you had a confrontation with Chase McCloud in the Saloon and his sister had to stop a fight.”
“I wouldn’t call it a confrontation. Exactly.”
“Call it whatever you like.” Harlan gestured impatiently. “I don’t care if you beat the hell out of any of the McClouds. But the gossips say Jessie told her brother something was her fault, and not yours.”
Zach didn’t answer him, merely waited.
“What connection is there between you and the McCloud girl?”
“That’s my business.”
The last vestige of pleasantness fell away. Harlan’s eyes were cold, his voice icy. “There is no business for a Kerrigan with a McCloud.”
“Is that right?” Zach felt his muscles tightening.
“I’m the head of this family, now that Dad is gone. Your sister didn’t listen to me when she married Luke McCloud but you’re a man, not a brainless female. You’re smart enough to recognize any connection to a McCloud can only lead to trouble.”
“And why is that?”
“Because they’ve interfered and stood in the way of our family too many times over the years to ever be viewed as anything but the enemy.”
“Don’t you think it might be time to consider laying down our weapons and calling an end to the feud? Rachel’s married to Luke—the families are related, whether you like it or not.”
Harlan snorted in contempt. “Rachel will soon find out she can’t trust a McCloud. I hope she learns her lesson before she’s saddled with a kid. God knows we don’t want any McCloud blood mixed with ours.”
Zach’s temper began to win out over his control. Much as he wanted to keep Harlan talking in hopes he’d reveal his agenda, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could listen to his uncle’s paranoid ranting. “And why would that be so bad?”
“Use your head, Zach. How many times did you hear your grandfather say there was room for only one powerful family in this county? He meant for Kerrigans to be that family. It was his dream, and now it’s mine. I already influence local politicians and I’ve laid groundwork at the state level. If we play our cards right, a Kerrigan can be governor of this state.” Harlan’s eyes gleamed. “Think of it—the Governor’s mansion. We could own this state, boy, we could own it!”
“A Kerrigan as governor?” Zach eyed him. “Which Kerrigan—you or Lonnie?”
“Lonnie hasn’t the temperament for politics.”
“So you’re the one who wants to be governor.” Zach wondered how much of Harlan’s heightened hatred of the McClouds was due to his political aspirations. And why his uncle had decided the McClouds were a threat to his plan to occupy the governor’s mansion in Helena.
“It’s time this family expanded our influence beyond the surrounding counties. State government is the next natural step.”
“If you say so.” Zach slid out of the booth, shoving a hand into his jeans pocket to draw out a money clip.
“You didn’t tell me what the McCloud girl meant when she told her brother it wasn’t your fault,” Harlan reminded him, leaving the booth to stand.
“No, I didn’t.” Zach’s voice lowered, going cold. “And I won’t. It’s none of your business. You should know if you or Lonnie approaches Jessie about this, I’ll take it personally. I want her left alone.”
“So there is something going on between you and
Jessie McCloud.” Harlan’s ruddy face darkened further as he swore. “Not a smart move, Zach.”
“Don’t threaten me, Harlan. And stay away from Jessie. You won’t like the repercussions if you don’t.”
Zach threw some bills on the table and left the restaurant before he gave in to temptation and asked Harlan to step into the alley. The urge to underline with his fists his demand that his uncle and cousin leave Jessie alone was compelling but he knew any altercation would only add fuel to the local speculation. Jessie wouldn’t like it if he added to the gossip already circulating about them.
At 7:00 a.m., Jessie could hear the phone ringing inside her office while she fumbled with the lock, juggling files, briefcase and purse. She let the door slam shut behind her and dropped her armload atop Tina’s desk to grab the receiver.
“McCloud Law Office.”
“Hey, Jessie.”
“Luke, you’re back!”
“We got home last night,” Luke confirmed. “I had breakfast with Mom and Dad this morning. You have anything you want to tell me?”
Damn. Her parents must have told him about Zach. “As a matter of fact, I need to talk to both you and Rachel.” A thought occurred to her. “Or was Rachel at breakfast, too?”
“No. She slept in this morning. I thought I’d call you before I wake her and tell her she has a nephew. I’m guessing the first thing she’ll do is phone her mother and tell her about Rowdy, so you and Zach might want to get your stories straight. I’d expect Rachel and Judith will show up on your doorstep tonight.”
“Thanks for the warning. I owe you, Luke.”
“Yeah, you do. If I hadn’t already crossed the line and married a Kerrigan, I’d be asking you whether you’d lost your mind.”
“You can still ask, but I’m not sure I have an answer,” she said wryly.
“Dad said Chase went looking for Zach.”
“Yes, and he found him in The Saloon. I don’t know who was more surprised to see him there, Raine Harper or Zach.”
“Raine was there, too?”
“Chase walked out as she walked in. I don’t think she was expecting to see a McCloud in her bar, and definitely not two of us at once. She looked a little shell-shocked.”
“Yeah, Dad mentioned you were there. I haven’t talked to Chase yet. How did he take the news about you and Zach?”
“Not well,” Jessie admitted with a sigh. “Not well at all.”
“Maybe he’ll come around when he’s had time to get used to the idea. He’s okay with Rachel. In fact, I think he likes her.”
“But Rachel’s a woman. You know what Granddad said about Kerrigan women.”
“He liked them.”
“Yes, but he didn’t like Kerrigan men,” Jessie said gloomily. “In fact, he said they couldn’t be trusted.”
“He may have been right. Only time will tell.”
“Luke,” Jessie said anxiously. “I’m counting on you to help me with Chase. You’re closer to him than anyone else, plus you know what it’s like to break the rules of the feud.”
“You’re asking a lot, Jessie. In the first place, if Zach wasn’t my wife’s brother, I’d be looking for him right now, too. I’m not convinced he couldn’t have found out about Rowdy earlier. He should have made sure you weren’t pregnant. Hell, he should have made sure you didn’t get pregnant. At the very least, he had an obligation to make sure you were okay.”
Jessie blew out a deep breath and rolled her eyes. “You, Chase and Dad must be members of a very, very small club left over from the last century. You do realize that lots of men and women have one-night stands and then part, never seeing each other again?”
“I know some men do. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stand by and let some SOB treat my sister that way.” His tone was grim.
Jessie sighed loudly. “I love you guys, I really do. But you’ve got to get over your compulsion to wrap me in cotton and shield me from the world.”
Her heavy sigh and long-suffering tone made Luke laugh.
“All right, all right,” he conceded. “I won’t punch Zach the next time I see him—that should make both you and Rachel happy. But the jury’s still out on whether he’ll ever be welcome at Mom’s house for Sunday dinner.”
“He doesn’t need to be. He’s not my husband. All I ask of you is to be polite to each other for Rowdy’s sake.”
“We’ll see. I have to go wake up Rachel and break the news. Expect to see her on your front porch sometime today or tonight.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
Jessie hung up, staring at the phone with unseeing eyes while she tried to envision the unavoidable scene. She hadn’t officially met Zach’s mother although Rachel spoke of her often. Jessie had assumed from Rachel’s comments that theirs was a strong mother-daughter relationship and that Judith was a kind woman with a sense of humor. Nevertheless, she thought, how likely is it that Judith Kerrigan won’t be shocked and angry to learn her grandson has been living in the same town without her knowledge? For that matter, how likely was it that Rachel wouldn’t be angry over the situation?
She gathered up her briefcase, purse and the files that had slipped and lay scattered over the surface of Tina’s desk, and walked into her office. She dropped the collection on her own desktop and picked up the phone.
Listening to the rings, she sat down behind the desk and toed off her comfortable running shoes. Pulling a pair of black heels from her bag, she bent to slip her toes into one.
On the fifth ring, Zach answered with a brusque hello.
“Zach. I’m so glad I caught you before you left the house.”
“You almost didn’t. I only came in to grab a bandage.”
Jessie snapped erect, the remaining sling-back pump forgotten in her hand. “A bandage? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing much. I had an argument with Ransom. He won.”
“He bit you?” she demanded.
“No, he didn’t bite me.” Amusement colored his words. “What made you think he might have bitten me?”
“Luke told me Ransom bites people he doesn’t like.”
“Well, he likes me just fine. He crowded me in his stall and I scraped my shoulder against a post.”
“Oh.” Jessie frowned at the relief that washed over her. Why should she care if he was hurt or not? She didn’t. Did she?
“So what’s up?” Zach prompted.
His question snapped her out of her distraction. “Luke just called. My parents told him about you and Rowdy over breakfast this morning.”
“So Rachel knows?”
“I’m sure she does by now. He was going to tell her as soon as he hung up. He warned me to expect both Rachel and your mother’s arrival on my doorstep tonight.”
“Sounds like he knows my mom and sister well,” Zach commented, his voice dry.
“I wanted to warn you, too, in case you feel you need to talk to your mother and Rachel before they arrive. Or if you’d like to be there when they meet Rowdy?”
“Are you sure you want them to come to your house? Would you rather have my mother meet Rowdy for the first time on neutral territory?”
“Like where?”
“Like here. There’s no reason why we can’t arrange for them to come to my place, if you’d be more comfortable.”
Jessie thought quickly. “That’s a good idea. Then I could take Rowdy and leave if I felt he needed a break. And would you warn them not to say anything to Rowdy about his being family since we haven’t told him yet?”
“Jessie.” His voice roughened, warmed with reassurance. “Don’t spend your day worrying about this. They might be upset but they’re not going to say anything in front of Rowdy. In fact, if you’d rather they not ask you any questions, I’ll call them both today. Anything they want to know about our situation, they can ask me.”
Relief flooded over her. “That would be wonderful, Zach. It’s not that I want to dodge their questions forever, but during this initial visit with Rowdy it mig
ht be best if we could focus on him.”
“I’ll tell them. No questions. What time do you want to meet them here?”
Jessie flipped open her calendar. “My last appointment is at two o’clock. I can pick up Rowdy from the Harrises’ and be at your place around three or three-thirty. Will that work?”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll call Rachel and Mom.” He laughed a deep, rueful chuckle. “Who am I kidding? I won’t have to phone them. I’m sure they’ll call me.”
The bell on the outer office door jingled and Jessie heard Tina enter the reception area, followed by the familiar sounds of her secretary’s morning routine.
“I have to go. Will you let me know if we need to change the time?”
Zach assured her he would and she hung up. A headache was beginning to pound at her temples and she slipped her left shoe on and pulled open a desk drawer to take out aspirin.
The day flew by much too quickly. Jessie’s last appointment took longer than she’d anticipated and by the time she raced home, collected Rowdy from next door, changed her clothes and coaxed him into a clean shirt and shorts, it was almost three-thirty. She buckled Rowdy into his car seat, then dialed Zach on her cell phone as she drove out of town. The answering machine picked up.
“Hi, Zach, this is Jessie. I’m running late but we’re on our way.”
Zach was sitting on the shaded porch of his house with Rachel, Judith and Luke when Jessie drove down the lane and parked just outside the fence.
“Look, Mommy, Aunt Rachel’s here—and so is Uncle Luke!” Rowdy said with delight.
“I know, hon. How nice that we’ll get to see them.” Jessie waved at the quartet as she left the SUV and opened Rowdy’s door. He wriggled impatiently while she unbuckled the straps to release him from the car seat.
Zach walked down the steps, reaching the vehicle just as Rowdy jumped out, his scuffed tennis shoes sending gravel scattering.
“Hey, bud.” Zach tousled Rowdy’s mop of dark hair. “Glad you could come out this afternoon. The puppies have grown a lot since the last time you were here.”
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