“Not exactly, but—”
“Aha!” Dominique pointed a finger at him.
The beer must be getting to him, because he started to laugh. “I should, though, shouldn’t I?”
Mary Lou came over and picked up his empty plate from the end table. “Honey, according to your philosophy, you should be singing the Star Spangled Banner while you scour the toilet.”
“Then I promise to change my ways.” Wyatt glanced over at the fire. “Gee, will you look at that? I need to tend the fire. If you’ll all excuse me.” Setting his empty beer bottle down, he stood and walked over to the fireplace.
“Be sure and tend it enthusiastically!” Morgan called after him, which made everyone laugh.
“Oh, you know it, ladies.” As he moved the screen aside, he started whistling some snappy tune he’d heard recently on the radio. He often whistled on long drives to amuse himself, so he was pretty good at it by now. Then he added a few dance steps when he picked up a log from the rack beside the fireplace. The women began clapping rhythmically.
At that point he felt he had no choice. Instead of backing off, which any sane, or less inebriated man would have done, he turned the fire building into a hip-swinging, foot-stomping routine worthy of Chippendale’s. He’d never actually seen a Chippendale’s routine, but this was how he thought it might go, minus the logs and the fireplace tools.
Where he got the inspiration was a mystery, although it might have something to do with the beer he’d had. But it also might have something to do with Olivia being in the room. He wanted her to know he was up to the challenge thrown down by these women.
He finished up with a flourish that won him loud applause. Amazingly, baby Archie slept through the whole thing, as did SB. He met Olivia’s gaze for one quick moment and had to look away. She’d obviously liked the performance, and that sizzle passing between them was liable to attract unwanted attention.
Returning to his chair, he sank into it gratefully.
“Well done,” Morgan said.
“Relax and have another beer.” Dominique brought it to him this time. “Girls, let’s stop picking on the poor guy for awhile. He’s acquitted himself admirably, and besides, we have brownies to eat.”
“And beauty to accomplish.” Josie smiled at Wyatt. “You should at least have Olivia give you a pedicure.”
“I don’t think so.” When Olivia finally touched him, he didn’t want her to start with his feet.
“Real men get pedicures,” Tyler said. “Back when I worked on a cruise ship, guys would come in for pedicures. They loved them.”
“And you’re a hiker,” Dominique added. “I’ll bet your feet take a beating.”
“Maybe he’d agree to just a foot massage,” Olivia called over from the manicure table. “I give great foot massages.”
He’d just bet she did. The thought spiked his blood pressure, because anyone who gave good foot massages was into sensuous contact of all kinds. He shifted his weight in the chair and told himself not to think about it.
Emily twirled one end of her straight blonde hair. She had a definite matchmaking gleam in her eyes. “That would be a great way for Olivia to pay you back for rescuing her. You should let her give you a foot massage.”
He shook his head. “Olivia’s here for all of you. She doesn’t need to be spending time on me.”
“We’ll see how the night goes.” Sarah walked to the buffet table and picked up a brownie. “Plus I don’t want to overwork our Olivia.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Olivia said. “Pam’s done, so who wants to be next?”
Mary Lou waved her hand in the air. “I’d love to have a pedicure. I’m hard on my fingernails, so there’s no point in doing that, but a pedicure would last a while.”
“Then come on down, Mary Lou.” Olivia stood and squirted some liquid soap into the stainless steel bowl in front of the second chair. “I’ll go fill the foot bath.”
“No, I’ll fill the foot bath.” Wyatt left his seat and walked over to take the stainless steel bowl from her. He hadn’t given enough thought to how much work this night would be for Olivia. He couldn’t paint nails, but he could certainly fetch water.
“Thanks.” The look in her eyes told him he’d done a good thing.
“Any instructions?”
“Test the temperature on your wrist. It should feel warm but not scalding. I think the water coming from the faucet in the tub should still be warm enough, but if it’s not, leave room so I can add some from the fireplace kettle.”
“Got it.” Following her directions, he soon returned with a sudsy pan of water which he placed carefully in front of the chair where Mary Lou already sat barefoot with an eager expression on her lined face.
Wyatt straightened. “Stick your toe in there, Mary Lou, and tell me how it feels.”
She did. Then she immersed both feet with a sigh of pleasure. “I’ve died and gone to heaven. Thank you, Wyatt.”
“Yes, thank you.” Olivia bestowed another brilliant smile on him.
“No problem. I can be in charge of that from now on. No sense in you having to do it.”
From the group of women gathered in the seating area came a long, drawn-out Awwwww.
“I swear to God, Wyatt,” Tyler said. “You are redefining the word hero.”
“I have to admit he’s setting the bar pretty high,” Josie said. “I—” She paused as the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean started playing. “That would be Jack on my cell. Where did I put my purse?”
“It’s here.” Dominique picked up a denim purse from the floor next to the couch where she was sitting.
Wyatt tensed as Josie took the purse, pulled the phone out, and answered it. Holding the phone to her ear, she talked quietly as she stood and walked down the hall he’d just come from. In an instant he went from feeling welcome and appreciated to thinking of himself as an intruder.
Conversation flowed again after the interruption of the cell phone, and Wyatt joined in as if that phone call didn’t occupy ninety-nine percent of his thoughts. Josie would certainly mention his arrival. It was the right thing to do in an open and forthright relationship, and Wyatt believed Josie and Jack had that.
Fortunately for Wyatt’s sanity the call was short. Josie walked back into the room looking calm. That was promising, he told himself.
“Is everything going well in Casper?” Morgan asked.
“Very well. They’ve sold several horses and Clay’s written up quite a few orders for semen delivery.”
Emily’s face seemed lit from within. “That’s so great. He had high hopes for this trip and I’m so happy for him. Well, and for the Last Chance, of course.”
“That is good news,” Sarah said. “How’s the weather down there?”
“Not bad at all, and that’s why Jack called. He heard about the storm hitting Jackson Hole and wanted to know how we were doing. I told him the power was out, but we were coping fine.” She looked at Wyatt. “And of course I told him you were here.”
Wyatt’s gut clenched. “What did he say to that?”
“Not much.” Her voice gentled. “But that’s Jack. He’s not chatty on the phone. He said he’d be home late tomorrow afternoon.”
Wyatt nodded. “It’ll be good to see him.” At least Jack hadn’t said that Wyatt had better be gone by then.
Chapter Five
By the time Olivia had finished six manicures and three pedicures, she should have been exhausted, but having Wyatt around kept her energy level high. For one thing he insisted on emptying and refilling the foot bath and the finger bowl, which saved her some time and effort. But just looking across the room and exchanging a glance with him was enough to recharge her batteries whenever she started to drag.
Besides helping her, he carried the chafing dishes back to the kitchen once everyone had finished eating, took down the folding tables, and worked with Mary Lou on cleanup duty. After Archie woke up and was fed and changed, Wyatt took a turn at holding t
he little guy.
Although holding a baby seemed to make him nervous to begin with, soon he relaxed and began making faces at Archie. That activity entertained both the baby and the women gathered around sipping the last of their wine and exclaiming over the beauty of their nails.
Olivia finished her last manicure, a pale peach shade for Emily, and began packing up her supplies. Rain still pounded on the roof and slashed at the windows. Sarah had called down to the bunkhouse and the few hands who were there reported that the horses were fine and the barn didn’t seem to be leaking, so they were all going to bed.
Olivia had brought pajamas and a change of clothes, but she didn’t know where Sarah planned for her to sleep. One of the recently constructed bunks upstairs would be fine. Growing up in the chaotic household of an eccentric father had made her flexible when it came to accommodations.
As if reading Olivia’s mind, Sarah set down her empty wine glass and stood. “I see some droopy eyelids, and I’m about ready to turn in, myself.”
Josie yawned. “Yep. It’s been great, but I’m ready for some shuteye.”
“Go on up whenever you want.” Sarah waved a hand at the upper floor. “The only ones who don’t know where they’re bunking down are Wyatt and Olivia, so now would be an excellent time for me to show them where they’ll be sleeping.” She picked up a candle sheltered inside a small glass chimney. “Come on upstairs with me, you two.”
Olivia knew Sarah hadn’t meant to link them together as if they’d be sleeping in the same room, but the image stuck in her mind, anyway. She didn’t know Wyatt well enough to sleep with him… yet. But she intended to further the acquaintance. All the signs pointed to the possibility that something wonderful could develop between them.
Putting aside her tidying chores, she stood and followed Sarah toward the wide, winding staircase. Archie Chance, little Archie’s great-grandfather, had been a master carpenter who’d constructed the graceful wooden stairway leading to the second floor. Olivia had wanted to climb that staircase from the first time she’d seen it, which had been at Emily and Clay’s wedding.
That day she’d had no reason to go upstairs. But now she had a chance to sleep in one of the rooms, and she was thrilled about it, even if she wouldn’t be sharing it with Wyatt. The Last Chance Ranch house seemed like the height of casual elegance to her.
Wyatt was right behind her on the stairs, and she was super-aware of that fact as she went up. The attraction between them seemed to be growing rapidly, at least from her perspective, and sleeping under the same roof tonight would be tantalizing. She wouldn’t allow anything to happen and she doubted he would, either, but the forced proximity heated her blood.
Sarah reached the landing and waiting for them both to join her. “As Olivia knows, we’ve converted some of these rooms to dormitory-style spaces to accommodate the teenagers who are coming — God help us all — in two weeks.”
“Olivia told me about that.” Wyatt stood close, but not so close as to imply they were a couple. “I love that idea.”
Olivia imagined she could feel his body heat, but that was probably her hyper-awareness kicking in. “I’d be perfectly happy in a bunk,” she said. “Put me wherever.”
“Actually, the others are in the dorm spaces. They all know each other so well, so I assigned Morgan and Josie to one room, along with a couple of portable cribs for SB and Archie. Dominique, Tyler, and Emily are in another dorm room. Pam’s downstairs with me and Mary Lou has her own apartment off the kitchen.”
Olivia would have been happy to squeeze in with the other women, but this was Sarah’s call, so she kept quiet.
“So I’m putting you in Roni’s old room, Olivia. That’s one we decided not to convert, so you have your own bath attached.”
“Roni’s the mechanic for a NASCAR team, right?” Olivia was grateful for all the gossip in the salon, which had filled her in on the players at the Last Chance.
“That’s her, the runaway teen we took in years ago. Come to think of it, she kind of foreshadowed this program Pete and I have created.” Surrounded by the glow of her candle, Sarah started down the hall to her right. “Occasionally Roni comes home for a visit and brings her husband Judd with her, so we like to keep her room available. But it’s yours for the night.” She reached a room on the right side of the hall. She stepped inside and lifted the candle up. “I think it’ll work for you.”
Olivia glanced into the room and could make out a race car motif on the bedspread covering the double bed and repeated in the curtains and the pictures hanging on the walls. It wasn’t Olivia’s style, but she didn’t care. Any room at the Last Chance was special.
“It’s perfect,” she said. “Thank you for putting me up.”
Sarah stepped back into the hall and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Thank you for agreeing to participate in our little party. Everyone had fun, and our nails look fabulous.”
“I was happy to do it, Sarah.” But now Olivia couldn’t help but wonder where Wyatt would be sleeping. Considering that she’d be in this wing with the other women, she had a suspicion…
“I’m putting you in the other wing, Wyatt,” Sarah said.
Bingo. That would have been Olivia’s guess. Underneath it all, Sarah had a touch of old-fashioned propriety, and Olivia respected that. She wasn’t about to violate the unspoken rules.
“Anywhere is fine,” Wyatt said.
“You’re going to be in Jack’s old room.” Sarah walked to the other side of the house, with Olivia and Wyatt trailing behind. “Eventually we may turn this side of the house into dorm rooms, too, but for now, they’re just guest rooms. Jack’s enormous bed is gone, but I bought something to replace it.” She held the candle aloft once again so they could see the room.
Olivia released a little sigh of pleasure. In the pool of candlelight she could see that the room was furnished in soft greens and browns — a man’s room, and yet the kind of room a woman would love to slip into and be seduced by that man. Olivia repressed a tug of longing and promised herself that she would not, would not, lie in bed tonight and picture Wyatt stretched out under that fluffy hunter-green quilt while wearing… probably nothing. He had no clothes of his own here and anyway, he didn’t seem like the pajamas type.
“It’s a very nice room,” Wyatt said. “I’ll only be here one night, of course, but thanks for letting me—”
“Don’t be silly.” Sarah turned to him. “You’re family, and I won’t have you paying for a room somewhere else, even if it’s in Pam’s B&B. I’ve already discussed it with her and she’s fine with having you move over here for your stay.”
“But I just appeared, without notice,” Wyatt protested. “You shouldn’t feel the least bit obligated to put me up under the circumstances.”
“It’s not a matter of obligation,” Sarah said gently. “It’s a matter of welcoming those who are related to us.” She paused. “And much as I hesitate to say this, that would go for your mother if she were inclined to visit.”
Olivia’s breath caught. Really? Sarah would house Diana under her roof?
“I would never expect that of you,” Wyatt said. “That you would even say such a thing speaks to your generosity of spirit, but my mother has forfeited any right to stay in this house.”
“You’re wrong.” Sarah’s voice was low but firm and her gaze steady. “No matter what she’s done, she’s still Jack’s mother, and little Archie’s grandmother. If it would help Jack to heal the wounds that I’m afraid still fester in him, I would welcome the devil herself into my home.”
Wyatt stared at her in silence for several seconds. “That might be an accurate description of her.”
“Careful. She’s your mother.”
“I know. Believe me, I know.”
The silence stretched between them.
“And Archie’s grandmother.” Sarah took a deep breath and shook her head. “I don’t know what to do about that. After all, little Archie is her grandchild, more hers than mine
if we’re talking about a biological link.”
“Blood isn’t everything.”
“No, but it counts.”
“In this case, I don’t think it counts for much,” Wyatt said. “I’d recommend keeping the baby info quiet for now. It’s probably enough that Jack has to deal with me.”
Sarah gave him a knowing smile. “Wise words.” She glanced over at Olivia. “Bet you didn’t expect to get mixed up in a family drama, did you?”
Olivia spoke from her heart. “I feel privileged that you’ve included me in the discussions.”
“I’d hate to think we’ve made you the least bit uncomfortable by airing our dirty laundry.”
“Not at all. Ever since I moved here, I’ve wanted to learn more about the Chance family. You’re legendary in Shoshone.”
Sarah’s cheeks turned pink. “Well, I don’t know about that.”
“It’s true, Sarah. Being asked to come out for Emily and Clay’s wedding preparations was an honor considering I’d only been here for six months. When you suggested tonight’s manicure party, I was thrilled. I can’t imagine ever regretting the opportunity to be part of whatever’s going on here.”
Sarah’s eyes had regained their sparkle. “That’s quite a compliment.”
“I know what she means,” Wyatt said. “I felt something special the minute I stepped inside the ranch house last summer. You’ve built something here that you should be proud of. Archie and SB represent the fourth generation of Chances on this land, right?”
“Yes, they do.” Sarah couldn’t hold back a smile of satisfaction. “And I am proud of that. Archie and Nelsie would have loved knowing that we’re still here.” Her expression softened. “So would Jonathan. He’d be so proud of what his boys have accomplished since he’s been gone.”
“I wish I could have met him,” Wyatt said.
“I wish you could have, too.” Sarah appeared to consider that possibility for a moment, and then she shook her head and laughed. “No telling how he would have reacted to meeting you, though, so maybe we shouldn’t think about that too wistfully. Anyway, we’ve delved into this mess enough for one night. Let’s go back. I just wanted each of you to know where you were laying your weary heads tonight.”
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