The men seemed satisfied with her short speech. Jason smiled at her. She wanted to back away from him, but she knew how fragile their agreement was. She would need to present a front of complete agreement, even if she argued with Jason behind the scenes.
“Okay,” Jason said. “We need someone to volunteer to relieve the men tending the herd. And two men to get some sleep because they’ll be guarding Ted tonight. And someone to relieve Nick right now. Anyone else can have the rest of the day off. Tomorrow we’ll hit it hard. We’ve got to find the lost cattle again.”
Though Rosie stood beside him, smiling at the men, inside she fumed. Jason should have discussed it all with her before he announced it to the men. After all, it was still her ranch. And she intended to let him know that.
After everyone ate their lunch and went about their business, she approached him. “Can we talk?” she said sweetly.
He gave her a sharp look. “Of course. Shoot.”
Don’t tempt me, she thought but didn’t say. Instead she invited him behind the truck, the most sheltered spot in camp. When she turned around, sweetness no longer dripped from her mouth. Now acid burned through her words as she asked, “What gave you the right to make an announcement to my employees?”
“You didn’t like it? Is there something you want to change?”
“I didn’t say that. But if there was something I wanted to change, it would be too late to change it now! We have to present a solid front if this is going to work.”
“That’s true. I apologize. I thought that was the best way to set things up, but I’ll try to consult you before I make any announcements in the future. Will that make things better?”
She hadn’t expected Jason to agree with her. She thought for sure he’d balk at her admonition. Now she was almost speechless. “I—I suppose.”
To her surprise, he slipped an arm around her waist. “Honey, I promise I’ll do my best, just like I promised Wes.”
“I know you will, but I think I should be part of the decision-making. That’s all I’m saying.”
“You’re absolutely right,” he said, and bent down and kissed her.
Then he promptly walked away, leaving Rosie to stare after him.
This time when he’d kissed her, she hadn’t jerked away. She’d been too tempted to throw her arms around his neck and give herself into the kiss. His lips were solid and firm, and for the first time since leaving the Bar G she felt warm inside.
But that couldn’t happen, she reminded herself. And if Jason Barton was too much of a temptation, she’d just have to get stronger…or avoid the man altogether.
She groaned when she realized bedtime was approaching…and Wes wouldn’t be in his sleeping bag.
There would be nothing between her and Jason.
When Cookie got up to fix breakfast for the three departing men, Rosemary shoved back her sleeping bag and pulled on her coat and boots. The rest of the camp appeared to still be asleep, so she didn’t wake up Jason to ensure no one followed her. She felt awkward doing that anyway. Just as awkward as she’d felt sleeping near him last night. But at least he hadn’t encroached on her space.
When she got back to camp, Jason was at the fire, adding some wood. She leaned down and asked Cookie how many eggs she should break and he softly said, “A dozen.”
She was surprised at the amount, but she did as Cookie asked. He was ready when she passed him the bowl of beaten eggs. “Shall I go wake up Wes?” she asked.
“Jason has gone to do that.” As if seeing her objection before she said it, he added, “He can help him get dressed.”
“Of course,” Rosemary said. “What about the other two?”
“They’re both up. Jason took care of that on the way to rousing Wes.”
Just as Wes, with Jason’s help, reached the fire, Rosie grabbed a second canvas stool and slid it beneath Wes’s broken ankle. Then she filled a plate full of food for him. “I’ll get your coffee now.”
“Thanks, Rosie.” Wes gave her a smile that lifted her spirits more than anything had since he’d been hurt.
“No problem,” she whispered, returning his smile.
Jason had sat Ted down near the fire and apparently told him not to move. Then he took his food to him. One of the other cowboys offered to guard him, apparently, and sat down next to Ted. Rosemary knew the cowboys were willing because of their loyalty and love for Wes. Rafe had gotten his breakfast and come to sit down beside Wes and they were talking quietly.
Jason handed Rosemary a plate. “Cookie said we should go ahead and eat now.”
She frowned and looked at her watch. “But it’s just now five o’clock.”
“I know, but he made enough for us now, as well as himself.”
“All right.” Rosemary took the plate and filled it before sitting down on the other side of Wes.
“How are you feeling this morning, Wes?” she asked softly.
“Fine, honey, I’m fine.”
“Do you hurt anywhere other than your ankle?”
“No, Rosie, I don’t. You can quit worrying about me.”
“She’s a woman,” Jason said as he sat next to Rosie. “She can’t help but worry.”
Rosemary whirled around to glare at him. “I don’t think it’s just women who worry!”
“Nope, but they do it best,” Jason said, as if stating a fact.
“Don’t let him upset you, Rosie,” Wes said quietly.
“I won’t. Don’t worry about us, either, Wes. We’ll be fine.”
“I know you will, Rosie. You and Jason will be just fine.”
By the time they’d finished, most of the men were up. They gathered around to help Wes get into the saddle. He carefully wrapped his leg around the pommel, resting his splint on the saddle. “Hey, this isn’t so bad,” Wes said.
“I hope you feel the same at five this afternoon,” Rosie couldn’t help saying.
“I’ll do fine.”
Rosemary bit her bottom lip and didn’t say anything else. Jason reminded Rafe to keep Ted in front of the two of them. Cookie packed the food in two saddlebags, one on Wes’s horse and one on Rafe’s. They didn’t put any on Ted’s horse.
“Okay, time for us to get started,” Wes said. “I’m counting on all of you, okay? I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” Then he waved and turned his horse toward home.
Rosemary had never felt so alone in her life.
CHAPTER SIX
“OKAY, let’s get organized,” Jason called out, startling Rosemary.
She whirled around. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to not waste time, honey,” Jason said, loud enough for everyone else to hear him. Then, before she could realize what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her and whispered, “Remember, we must present a united front.”
She stiffened and nodded. Then she pulled away and walked back to the fire. “Cookie, is there anything we can do to help?”
“Naw, I’ve got it all under control. Grab a cup and have some coffee.”
Jason filled two cups, gave one to Rosemary and guided her to two empty canvas stools. “Go ahead and eat,” he told the cowboys. “We ate with Wes before he left.”
“Do you think he’s going to make it all right?” Nick asked. “That looked mighty uncomfortable.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Jason said with a laugh, “but I have absolute faith that Wes will get there fine.”
Rosemary spoke up. “I intend to call Sara Beth a little later and tell her to put a mattress in the back of the truck and go meet him. He should be willing to ride in the truck by then.”
“I bet he’ll be glad to see her,” one of the other cowboys said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea, honey,” Jason said, flashing her a smile. “Now we’ve lost four riders, which brings us to ten total. Do you think two of you can still keep the herd from getting away?”
“Since we lost some of the cattle, yeah, but if we get up to seventy-five head, we can’
t.” Nick looked at the cowboys around him for agreement and they were nodding their heads.
“Okay, that leaves eight of us to search for cows. We’ll do two groups of three and one of two, I guess, unless you think two of you can do an effective job?”
The men around the fire straightened up, as if Jason had challenged them. “We can do it with just two of us!” one of them said.
“No. I don’t want to risk that until we have to,” Rosemary said. “While we’re in rough country, let’s do two groups of three and you and I will be the group of two.”
Jason nodded. “Okay, honey, we’ll do it your way.”
His constant use of endearments did strange things to her stomach but she concentrated instead on what Jason was doing to organize the cowboys. “Of course, we’ll have to cover more territory.” She gave the parameters of each area and checked with the two groups of cowboys. “Is everyone okay with that?”
They all nodded.
“Then we’ll head out when we’ve finished breakfast. In the meantime, Jason and I will go relieve the two guys on the herd.”
Jason followed her from the fire and they saddled their horses side by side.
“You did a good job this morning, Rosie,” Jason said softly.
“I thought we did a good job…together.”
He was right about presenting a united front, but Rosie had to be honest. Now that the cowboys weren’t around, she realized her skin still tingled from Jason’s touch. How was she going to keep up the pretense for the rest of the roundup?
They worked hard that day, covering a lot of territory and driving the cattle they found back to camp. Much to Rosemary’s surprise, she and Jason worked well together. She came to a halt and pulled out her cell phone after a couple of hours.
“Sara Beth, it’s Rosie.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I wish nothing was, but your feelings were right. Wes got hurt. It’s a broken ankle. Cookie says he may need surgery.”
“Oh, my, when will the helicopter get here?”
“That’s just it. He refused the helicopter.” She told Sara Beth how her husband, stubborn and determined as he was, was making his way home. “I thought you might put a mattress in the truck and drive out to meet them.”
“Good idea. I’ll do that at once and call the hospital to let them know we’re coming.”
“Good. Sara Beth, I—I’m sorry he got hurt. The man who shoved him off his horse—”
“What? Who did such a thing? I’ll kill him!”
“No, you won’t. We don’t want you to go to jail. Tell Rafe to take the man to the sheriff.”
“Who is it?”
“Jason’s manager, or he was supposed to be.”
“Why did the man—Did he do the same thing to Jesse?”
“We think so, but we don’t have evidence to prove that. How is Jesse?”
“He got out of the hospital yesterday. He wanted to ride back out to join you again, but I told him no.”
“I’m glad. He can ride out with you now and help with Wes. He might be cranky after riding that long in the saddle.”
“I’ll be glad to see him no matter what.”
“I know. Take good care of him.”
“I will, but you be careful. Is Jason behaving himself?”
Did she consider a few hugs and kisses misbehaving? But they were only pretend, she reminded herself.
“Yes. He’s fine.” She cleared her throat and focused on the roundup. “We’re already recouping the cows we lost because of the storm. I’ll call again in a couple of days. Hopefully with good news that I saved the ranch.”
When they were all once again around the campfire that night, there was no conversation. Everyone was exhausted. But they had found almost all the cattle, and the herd was now even larger.
Three men were needed to circle the herd, leaving them with two groups of two and one group of three. It was going to take them longer since they were each searching a wider area. Rosemary was feeling discouraged. She stared at her plate of food, not eating.
“Rosie, did you lose your appetite?” Jason whispered.
She jerked her head up to notice everyone staring at her. “No, I’m just a little tired. I’m not as strong as you men!” she said, trying to laugh.
She thought she failed miserably, but it seemed to satisfy the men.
Jason whispered, “Try to eat some more. They’ll all be checking your plate.”
She knew he was right, but she hated admitting it. She struggled with her dinner. When she’d finished more than half, she stood and left the fire. Cookie had a scrap bucket that he emptied out each morning before he moved camp, and she dumped the rest of her food in there, hoping no one noticed. Then she washed her plate.
“Don’t any of you cowboys sing? I understood they always have a singing cowboy on these roundups,” Jason said.
“Hey, Nick sings,” one of the cowboys said. “He even brought his guitar. I saw it in Cookie’s SUV.”
Jason looked at Nick. “I think tonight would be a good time for some singing. Raise the spirit around here,” he said, glancing in Rosemary’s direction.
“I don’t feel—” Nick began, but one of the cowboys next to him dug an elbow in his ribs. “Oh! Oh, yeah, we can all sing. Rosie, you come join us, okay?”
She was standing beside the SUV, as if she didn’t know where to go. Jason got up and put his arm around her. “Sure, she’ll come join us. I bet she has a great singing voice.”
He bent down and whispered in her ear, “Come on, help us keep everyone cheerful.”
She returned to the fire while Nick went to get his guitar. Jason kept his arm around her even though she tried to shrug it off.
He leaned over and whispered, “We have to convince them everything’s all right.”
She drew a deep breath and smiled at Cookie. “That was a good meal tonight, Cookie. If I ever think about getting married, I’m going to have to get you to teach me to cook.”
“Anytime, Rosie.”
Nick began strumming on his guitar. “What do you want to sing first, Rosie? How about an old one? We’ll do ‘Home on the Range.’”
The notes of the guitar drifted in the night air and several of the men joined Nick in singing the old song. Soon they were all singing around the fire.
Rosemary was the last to join in. She found herself listening to the clear baritone of Jason’s voice. It, too, demonstrated his strength, his enthusiasm. He didn’t try to dominate the singing, even though his voice was good enough.
After he squeezed her shoulder, she joined in. Their communication amazed her. She wasn’t sure how she knew what he wanted, but she seemed able to anticipate whatever he wanted from her. Probably because what he wanted was what she should do in the first place.
About five songs later, Nick did a solo of a popular song she liked, “I Cross My Heart.” It was a very romantic song, and Jason pulled her just a little closer to him. She couldn’t keep from looking up at him, wondering what he was thinking.
Probably that it would be good for the men to think they had a thing for each other.
Of course, she wouldn’t agree with him, but by his actions alone, she realized he’d created the aura that doing what he said was doing what she wanted. And she couldn’t argue with him. The most important thing was the roundup. And it would be best served if they were led by one voice, whether it came from Jason or from her.
“I think I need to call it a night, guys,” Rosemary finally said, standing. “It’s been a long day. But you’ve all been great. If we just hang together for a little longer, we’ll be back home again, with Jesse and Wes. Thank you.”
Amid all the good-nights, Jason said good-night also and followed her from the firelight. She’d left her bedroll by the SUV and she recognized Jason’s right beside hers.
“Go ahead. I’ll keep guard,” Jason said, mimicking Wes’s quiet words each night.
Trying to hide sudden tears, Rosemary excused
herself. When she returned a few minutes later, Jason was sitting on his bedroll.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
She nodded and rolled back the top of her bedroll. Removing her boots, she stored them in the bottom of her bedroll. Then she removed her coat and folded it on top of her saddle to serve as her pillow. “Good night.”
Before she realized it, Jason leaned forward and kissed her lips again. “Good night.”
She lay silently while he settled in his sleeping bag about two inches from hers. Finally she said, “Jason, I think you’re overdoing it.”
“Overdoing what?” he asked softly, turning to face her.
“The k-kissing and stuff. You’ve made your point, and I’ll admit it’s a good thing, but don’t push it.”
He leaned even closer. “Honey, I’m holding back the best I can because I promised Wes I would. But once this roundup is over, I’ll be freed from that promise. Then you’d better watch out.”
Though her heart rate took off, she kept her voice steady. “Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep, Mr. Barton.”
His eyes widened and a slow grin grew on his face. “That’s more encouragement than you’ve ever given me, Ms. Wilson. I won’t forget.”
He kissed her again and then lay back and closed his eyes.
Rosie lay there, pulse pounding, lips on fire. She’d intended for her words to slow him down. Instead he’d taken it as encouragement.
Dear Lord, she prayed, what did I just do?
Jason knew at once the next morning that he’d revealed too much last night. Rosie was distant now, holding herself stiff whenever he came close. She deliberately chose a camp stool between two of the men at breakfast, not leaving him a chance to sit beside her.
One of the cowboys immediately offered to give up his seat to Jason, but Rosie quietly told him it wasn’t necessary. Jason watched concern race around the campfire. He needed to do something to keep things settled. He leaned toward the next man and said, “I think I’m rushing Rosie, but she’s so damn sweet. I’m going to have to back off a little until we get this roundup finished.”
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