His Heart to Have (Cowboys of Whispering Winds)

by Renee Peterson

  One o’clock in the morning, he finally drove into Bumblton and twenty minutes later, his truck drove onto Whispering Winds land. He would never tire of this place. Even in the dark, the land spoke to him. What began as a barren, flat landscape with some scattered sagebrush, transformed into a beautiful forested mecca once he reached the main lands of the ranch. He parked by the Tyndale’s rear entrance and nudged Allie.

  “Wake up, sweetheart. We’re home,” he said.

  “Already?” she asked in a haze of sleep.

  “You’ve been asleep for hours,” he told her. “It’s after one.”

  Allie sat up, looking out past the headlights to confirm her surroundings. Jase chuckled watching her. She’d always been adorable coming out of sleep. As kids, their parents always let them have sleepovers until they became too old for it to be appropriate. Even then she’d linger in a half-awake state before fully coming out of sleep.

  “Why are we at my place? Please tell me you didn’t change your mind,” she begged, coming to life.

  “Tomorrow’s soon enough to take care of all that. I’ll carry your bags in.” He stepped from the truck and held a hand out to Allie. Once she had both feet on the ground, he grabbed her bags from the back and carried them inside after she unlocked the door. Walking down the hallway and up a flight of stairs, he deposited her belongings outside her door.

  “Thanks, Jase. For everything.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow at the staff meeting,” he said. “We’ll talk after.” He brushed his lips against her forehead and left. Tomorrow would be a test of everything he believed.

  ***

  The sun was barely on the horizon when Allie woke up the next morning. She’d had the most wonderful dream of walking down an aisle on the arm of her father, and she was dressed in a white silk dress with delicate lace trim. At the end of the aisle was Jase, waiting for her, gazing at her with a heart full of love. She snuggled under her blankets, relishing the memories of the dream. Fantasies of kissing him, among other things, filled her mind.

  Then, with a jolt, she remembered they were married and she had done those things with him Saturday night. Was she ever going to be used to being married to Jase? That was a dumb question- no, because this marriage was only going to last three months. It didn’t seem nearly long enough.

  She threw on some clothes and trudged downstairs to the small private kitchen just off the main, larger one. Her parents were standing at the counter looking over some papers. When they heard her walk in, they both looked up, curious about her trip.

  “How was your long weekend in Vegas?” her mother asked.

  “It was Vegas,” she answered, shrugging. Her mom handed her a ceramic mug and Allie poured some coffee in it, adding two teaspoons of sugar.

  “Did you go see any shows or did you spend all your time at the casinos?” her mom inquired. “I’ve always wanted to see Wayne Newton.”

  “Friday night we went to see some magician who is supposed to be really famous, but I’d never heard of him before. It was a good show though.”

  “You don’t sound very enthused for a girl just returning from a weekend that was supposed to be full of fun,” her dad said. “Your mom and I half expected Jase and you to come back married.”

  Allie choked on her coffee, spitting it out. “What did you say?”

  “Relax, Allie.” Her dad handed her a napkin to clean up the coffee. “I was just teasing since Jase and you’ve been friends for so long, but even you wouldn’t do something that crazy.”

  “Um, yeah, that would be crazy. What time’s the meeting this morning?” she asked, desperate to change the subject.

  “In an hour,” her dad replied.

  “I’m going to clean up and get ready. I’ll see you guys then.” After giving each parent a quick kiss on the cheek, she poured another cup of coffee and took it back upstairs with her.

  Hurriedly, she took a shower and put on work clothes, consisting of jeans and a polo shirt with the Whispering Winds logo embroidered on it. She rushed down the stairs, leaving the house through the back to avoid her parents again and went to where the golf carts were parked. The elder Callahan’s and Tyndale’s had fought the modern upgrade to the ranch at first, but once they recognized their contribution to increased efficiency, they’d ordered several more. Allie stepped in one, turned the key and drove it out to Jase’s cabin.

  “Jase, Jase, are you awake? We have to talk!” she yelled out, pounding on the door.

  “Be right there,” he called back from inside. Seconds felt like minutes passed until he came to the door. “What’s wrong?” he asked when he opened the door.

  “Do you have something against shirts?” she retorted, staring at his bare chest, mesmerized by the hardness of him. No one should be allowed to look that good this early in the morning, wearing only a pair of jeans, slung low on his hips.

  “My house, I wear what I want,” he shot back. “Obviously you’re not here just to bark about my lack of a shirt; what’s up.”

  With extreme will power, she tore her eyes away from him. What was wrong with her? This was Jase; the same Jase she’d always known. She’d seen him shirtless countless times in the past, but twice in as many days she’d been struck breathless at the mere sight of him. Even when she’d secretly admired his looks all those years, she’d never been affected like this. That’s because you didn’t know then how good his body felt against yours and the things it could do to you, her conscious whispered.

  “Shut up,” she told it.

  “A little testy this morning,” Jase commented with raised eyebrows.

  Oh hell, had she said that out loud? “Sorry, I’m just nervous about telling our parents.” She relayed the brief conversation with her parents, including her father’s comment.

  “It is what it is, Allie Cat. We can’t turn back time and change things. Even if they give you a hard time at first, you know yours parents will always love and support you,” Jase reminded her.

  “Easy for you to say.” Allie could see the irritation in his crinkled eyes. “Do you ever do the wrong thing?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m not perfect. Lord knows, I’ve made my share of mistakes, but the difference is I own up to them.”

  “And I’m being the testy one?” she countered.

  “Forget it; I’m just tired and still trying to sort all this out. So when are we telling them your version of our story?” Jase asked. He pulled out a can of coffee from a cabinet and proceeded to make a pot.

  “After the staff meeting. Our parents will be there already, then we can get this done and over with.” She pulled his thermos out from a different cabinet for him.

  “Will Missy be there?” he asked, taking the thermos from her.

  “No, she’s off the next two weeks for wedding preparations. Even after the wedding, she’ll only be here until we can find a replacement for her,” Allie explained.

  “How much does she know?”

  “I filled her in on our plan. You’ll be happy to know she agrees with you about my parents. She’s already clued Charlie in, but I doubt he’d say anything to anyone regardless.”

  “For someone who was such a pain in the ass as a kid, she turned out all right.”

  “I never understood why the two of you could never get along those first years after her family moved here. It took five years for you to stop hating each other enough to be friends.”

  “If you understood that, our lives would probably be a lot different right now,” he said, then exhaled deeply.

  “Huh?” she asked, confused.

  “We have to get going or we’re going to be late.” He disappeared into his room to finish dressing, apparently having no intentions of further elaborating on his previous statement. Sometimes, he drove her so mad she could scream.

  A fully clothed Jase returned a few minutes later. It really was a shame to keep that gorgeous body covered, she thought. Maybe she should stop telling him to get a shirt on, but then her m
ind would never think straight.

  Grabbing his hat by the door, he then reached over to snatch the thermos from the counter. “Coming?” he asked.

  “You exasperate me,” she muttered before squeezing past him.

  “The feeling’s mutual, sweetheart,” he responded with a chuckle, much to her annoyance.

  ***

  Twenty-three. That was the number of yellow Post-its stuck to the memo board. He could also break down the ratio of black to white to straw cowboy hats in the room. Jase was fighting to keep his mind from drifting to thoughts of Allie. Monday morning staff meetings had been a long-time routine at the Whisperings Winds. All staff members from the entire operation joined together. Any pertinent information for the upcoming week was shared, along with any special announcements. It was also a time for the whole staff to be together and catch up with each other before and after the meeting. The Whispering Winds crew was a tight community, more of a family than co-workers.

  And soon they’d all know he was a married man. If there was one bright spot of this temporary marriage, it was that Lexie Daniels might finally leave him alone. She was the one sore spot; the only staff member he couldn’t stomach. Hired as a housekeeper last winter, she sure managed to find her way out to the stables and arena more often than he thought necessary. Not a day went by that she didn’t find a way to approach him and touch him in some way. She’d made it blatantly obvious she was interested but couldn’t take a hint that he wasn’t.

  “That about wraps it up for this week’s meeting,” Frank Tyndale, Allie’s dad, announced.

  The staff members hung around a few minutes, gathering around tables of various pastries Cook had set out. From across the room he caught Allie’s attention and nodded his head toward an exit door away from the majority of people. Catching his meaning, he saw her excuse herself from her present conversation and slipped out the door.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Not really, but here goes nothing,” She took a deep breath, looking terrified.

  “You’re being dramatic,” he chided, but softened his words by taking her hand, lacing their fingers together. The familiar need to protect her rose within him. “We’re in this together,” he promised her, squeezing her hand.

  “Sometimes I think I don’t deserve you as a friend,” she confided.

  “You don’t,” he quipped.

  “Oh, you!” she huffed, pretending be offended.

  Jase knew better. It was an age old banter every time he came to her rescue, but it made her smile and loosened her tightly-wound nerves. Releasing her hand, he pushed the wooden door open and went back into the conference room. Only a few stragglers remained, including his parents.

  “Do you and mom have a few minutes to talk?” he asked his dad.

  “Sure. Meet us in the office in ten minutes. I have to talk to Shorty first.”

  “Have you seen my mom and dad?” Jase watched Allie shift from foot to foot; she was still nervous.

  “Check the lobby office. Today’s the day the vendor is coming to follow up the new guest reservations and marketing system you set up,” Mrs. Callahan told her.

  “Oh no!” Allie exclaimed. “How could I forget about that? He’ll be here in a half hour.” She looked toward Jase with her eyes asking “what do we do now” look?

  “He rescheduled for this afternoon, but your mom wanted to go over the features again in case she had any further questions or confusion,” his mom answered before he could think of something. Thank goodness, because Jase didn’t want to postpone this announcement.

  “I’ll be right back,” Allie said and ran out the door, presumably to find her parents. Jase debated following her but elected to stay back. They’d be together soon enough.

  Ten minutes later he sat in his father’s office with beads of sweat on his neck, despite the brisk, late spring temperatures and cool breeze blowing through the opened window. Doubts assailed him, causing him to call himself every kind of a fool for going along with this. When Allie first claimed she didn’t see this as a real marriage, he should have ended it there. Instead, he was about to jump headfirst into a pot of boiling water.

  The door opened, and Frank Tyndale walked through, escorting his wife, with Allie right behind them. Speculative looks passed between the parents. Inevitably, Jase wondered if they already guessed why they’d been summoned.

  “Have a seat,” Everett Callahan told his long-time friends.

  Jase stood and offered his seat to Vera Tyndale, Allie’s mom. He stepped over to Allie, pulling her tight to him; she looked like a dear caught in headlights. For all her bravado and sass, his best friend was full of insecurities he’d never understood the origins of.

  “You kids wanted to talk to us,” Frank said.

  Taking the lead, Jase gently led Allie to the center of the office. “We wanted our parents to be the first to hear our news. As you obviously know, Allie and I have known each other since we were babies. We’ve grown up together here at Whispering Winds and have always been good friends.” He paused to cast an adoring gaze to his wife. “Over this past year, we’ve begun to realize that our friendship has transitioned to something deeper, ultimately resulting to the revelation that we’re in love. We’ve talked about marriage before and, well, while in Vegas we decided we didn’t want to wait any longer; right sweetheart?”

  He felt Allie relax a smidgen. “That’s right,” she said, smiling at him, playing the role of a newlywed. “Jase and I were married at a quaint, little chapel with Missy and Charlie as our witnesses.”

  Their eyes locked; he couldn’t take his eyes from hers if he tried. There was undeniable love reflected in them. Allie wasn’t a very good actress. She never had been, not to him at least. And if there was love in her eyes staring back at him that could only mean she also loved him, even if she hadn’t discovered it for herself yet. Suddenly, this provisional marriage didn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore. He had three months to make her see what he already knew; they belonged together permanently. Involuntarily, his head drifted closer to hers.

  “Ahhem,” came a subtle cough from a parent, breaking the trance he’d found himself in with Allie.

  Uncomfortable silence pervaded the room. Jase didn’t trust himself to speak at the moment. He stood ramrod straight, while Allie reverted to shifting her weight.

  “Looks like you owe me a hundred bucks,” Everett told Frank, breaking the silence. Their wives sent them both warning glares.

  “What are you talking about,” Jase asked.

  “Your fathers had a silly bet,” Diana Callahan, his mother, stated.

  “Care to elaborate?” he ground out through clenched teeth, not liking the direction this was taking. You can’t place bets on love. Isn’t that what you just did, the imaginary little devil on his shoulder taunted.

  “Calm down, son. It was just a friendly wager on how long it would take for you and Allie to finally admit your feelings after all these years,” his father tried explaining.

  “I just never thought they’d be foolish enough to marry in Vegas,” Frank grumbled under his breath.

  Jase clenched his jaw. He felt a slight tremble from Allie and pulled her closer. With a steel resolve, he addressed her father’s complaint. “I love your daughter, Mr. Tyndale. Foolish would be waiting to start a life with her when I know she’s the only woman I will ever love. Why waste any more time?”

  Vera and Diana, always the peacemakers, stepped forward before the men could say anymore.

  Allie’s mom embraced him. “You’ve always been like a son to me and now it’s official. Welcome to the family,” she said.

  Diana hugged Allie, echoing similar sentiments. At least the moms were taking the news well.

  “What comes next?” Everett asked, the father who seemed more accepting of this sudden marriage between his son and Allie.

  Jase looked at Allie for an answer. For all the talking they’d done, they hadn’t done much planning. There weren’t any pre
cedents for this to guide them in their next steps.

  “I’m going to move into Jase’s cabin and we’ll go from there,” Allie answered.

  “Are you planning to have any type of ceremony or reception here for your family and friends to celebrate?” Mrs. Tyndale asked.

  “We thought later this summer or fall, after the peak tourist season ends,” Allie smoothly replied.

  The two mothers pulled Allie aside, bombarding her with questions and suggestions. She looked back at Jase, and he gave her his best grin. This time she was on her own; her penance for coming up with this scheme. If there was one thing their mothers thrived on planning, it was weddings. Poor Missy hadn’t stood a chance when his mom and Mrs. Tyndale stepped in to help her, since her own mom had ran off before Missy and her dad came to Whispering Winds. Too engrossed of his amusement at Allie’s expense, he failed to notice Mr. Tyndale approach him.

  The older man stared him down, making Jase feel like the smaller man, when he stood several inches above Allie’s dad. “I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t wish something different than a Vegas wedding for my daughter. Every dad dreads the day he walks his daughter down the aisle but it’s an honor to have that privilege, do you understand?”

  Jase gulped. There wasn’t much that intimidated him, but, right now, Allie’s father succeeded in doing just that. “I’m sorry for taking that privilege away from you, sir,” Jase apologized. In their hasty walk to the altar, he’d never considered that. Hell, they hadn’t considered much that night beyond the immediate here and now.

  “Any other man, I’d think less of,” Frank said. “But I know you’re a good man. I know you love Allie and would give your life before letting any harm come to her. As much as I love my daughter, it’s no secret she can be hard to handle, but you’ve always been by her side. I couldn’t handpick a better man for her. Welcome to the family, Son. You have your work cut out for you.”

  Jase exhaled, voiding his lungs of the breath he’d been holding. Round one down, he thought. “It’s not work when you love someone, but thank you, sir.”

  The taut features on Mr. Tyndales face softened. “No more of this sir business. I’ve always been Mr. Tyndale, but I think just Frank would be fine now.” Frank extended his hand, and Jase firmly shook it. One obstacle down, but how many more to go?