As for Mariah...they would have to talk. If nothing else, he owed her an apology.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“MARIAH, I NEED to speak with you privately,” Jacob said the next evening.
She sighed. He’d planted himself squarely in her path so she couldn’t ignore him. You could only avoid people for so long on a ranch.
“Where’s Kittie?”
“She’s in the kitchen, working cleanup with the McFees. The girls prefer doing things together, but I asked Reggie if it would be all right first. Shayla will also take a turn on our night to wash up.”
Interesting. Mariah didn’t know if he was learning to be more considerate or just learning to play the game.
She’d wanted time to sort out the changes in her world, but maybe taking time meant missing opportunities. She had spent the past four years trying to get her life sorted out, and look what had happened—she wasn’t married to Luke and she didn’t have a clue about the future except that she’d begun to care too much for a different man.
“Come on, let’s take a walk,” Jacob urged.
They walked out to her favorite hill and sat watching the sun setting low on the horizon. The silence was oddly comfortable, though she wondered what he wanted.
“I’m sorry I interfered with your repairs on the fence,” Jacob said finally.
Mariah stared. She hadn’t expected an apology. “You...are?”
“Believe it or not, I can sometimes figure out when I’m wrong. The problem is, I can’t promise I won’t do it again. I’ll try to be reasonable, but protecting you was an instinctive reaction.”
An illogical thrill went through Mariah, as well as alarm. Jacob might mean nothing by his statements, yet the intensity in his eyes told her there was more to it.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
The long, golden rays of sunlight chiseled his features with shadow and light, and if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought he was a cowboy of old. It was so much simpler a hundred years ago: you fell in love and followed your heart, the way Catherine Heider had followed hers.
“This hill,” Mariah murmured, “is where Catherine and Timothy Weston knew they had gone far enough and were home. They camped here the first night, and the next day they found a shallow valley to start building their ranch.”
“How do you know it’s the right hill?”
“It’s marked on the old family maps, but mostly because they brought their children and grandchildren here and told them the story.”
“And their grandchildren brought their children.”
“Yes. Catherine and Timothy originally wanted to be buried here, but they decided it should be a place of hopeful memories, not a cemetery.”
Jacob looked out across the landscape, yet Mariah couldn’t tell if he felt the tug of the land or was simply admiring the setting sun. “It took courage to come the way they did.”
“You have no idea. Catherine was eight months pregnant when they arrived. Timothy delivered their first son himself, though he was able to get a midwife for the other children.”
“God in heaven.” Jacob sounded appalled. “If he loved her so much, how could he risk taking her into the territories?”
“Actually, they adored each other. Timothy was the middle son of a mill owner. He wasn’t going to inherit, though he was left some money through his maternal grandfather. He and Catherine wanted to build something together, and this was their best chance.” Mariah had read both her ancestors’ diaries, and their passionate love came through on every page.
“Why didn’t he just use his grandfather’s bequest to buy property in the East where it was civilized?”
“It would have taken a lot more than he’d received. But by homesteading and purchasing and trading for cheaper land in the Montana Territory, they ended up with a large ranch.”
Jacob glanced at the ponderosa pine cresting the rise. She doubted he was listening to the ancient echoes of the people who’d found and settled the ranch—he was far too pragmatic. But she could hear them whispering each time she visited the hill that Catherine and Timothy had loved.
“You make me wish I knew more about my ancestors,” Jacob said after a minute. “You even know your great-great-grandmother was considered fey.”
Mariah smiled. “I should show you a picture of Grandmother Aileen. She left Ireland to escape a marriage her parents were pressuring her to accept. It must have taken guts to leave everything behind that way. According to family stories, she was feisty, filled with laughter and a daring horsewoman, though she’d never ridden before immigrating. And she sang beautiful, lilting Irish songs.”
“See what I mean? I don’t even know my great-grandparents’ names, much less what they were like.”
Mariah lay back on the grass. Overhead she saw three stars, glinting palely in the evening sky. Day still hadn’t surrendered fully to night and there was a kind of hushed waiting in the air.
Jacob leaned on his elbow. “You have your grandmother Aileen’s auburn hair, don’t you?”
“So I’m told.”
“I can’t imagine having your roots.” For a moment, in the light from the setting sun, he looked both sad and envious. “Do you ever want to escape the weight of expectation from all those ancestors?”
“It’s part of who I am. I don’t know anything else.”
Jacob traced the outline of her mouth with the tip of his finger. “I suppose we should be getting back.”
Mariah didn’t move. “I suppose we should.”
“Except I don’t want to...not yet.” He bent over her, his kiss tasting of mint and need.
She put an arm around his neck so it wouldn’t end too soon. The reasons for stopping and using good sense flitted through her mind, yet they seemed unimportant, swept away by her quickening pulse and the insistent pull in her abdomen. It wasn’t until she felt Jacob’s fingers on her breasts that she realized he’d managed to unfasten both her shirt and bra.
“That was slick,” she breathed. She was having trouble concentrating.
“What?”
His thumb rubbed her nipple and it tightened into a taut crown while he sucked on the other, teasing her with his tongue. Heat surged through Mariah and she returned the favor, exploring his chest and then lower, finding the hot, demanding arousal straining the fly of his jeans.
“What was slick, Mariah?” Jacob groaned harshly as she eased his zipper open and slipped her hand inside.
“Uh...what do you think? Unhooking my bra one-handed.”
“I’ll bet cowboys are just as slick.” His palms ran down her legs.
“Well, they’re definitely better with boots,” she said as he worked to remove her footwear. He’d gotten the first one off quickly; the second was more stubborn
“I’m used to pumps and hosiery, not Levi’s and Stetsons.” He sounded breathless.
“Stetson makes both hats and boots.”
“See what I mean?” Jacob managed to pull off the second boot and tossed it to one side. Mariah knew she might have been more help, but his technique was interesting. The cut on her jeans was snug to protect her legs when she was riding, but they didn’t slow him as much as the boots.
The Levi’s landed on top of her boots.
He kissed her thighs and teased her aching center with his fingers, pressing in and withdrawing with expert skill that nearly sent her over the top. One long, drugging kiss later, Jacob rocked back on his heels, his intense gaze fixed on her face. With deliberate movements, he took a condom from his wallet and put it in her hand.
Deep down Mariah was annoyed. He was making sure she knew what she was doing, that the choice was hers. But it wasn’t enough to stop her. She rolled it over him and he thrust inside her, hard and fast, sensation exploding b
eyond anything she’d ever experienced, spinning her out of control.
* * *
IT WASN’T UNTIL they’d dressed and were walking back to the ranch that Mariah mentally slapped herself on the forehead.
What happened to her restraint?
Hell, what had happened to her sanity?
She didn’t engage in casual sex. It didn’t fix anything and sometimes made things worse. From now on the best thing she could do was stay away from Jacob. She didn’t want to think about the mistakes she’d made since his arrival.
How did things get messed up so fast?
* * *
AS THE DAYS PASSED, Jacob grew increasingly frustrated with the way Mariah kept ducking him. Like it or not, he was no longer just a guest at the U-2, and she wasn’t just the owner and manager of a vacation business.
He couldn’t even force the issue on the biological question—he’d been quite responsible with protection and checking to be sure the condom hadn’t broken. He didn’t know how he would have reacted if it had torn, though the thought of having a child with Mariah didn’t alarm him as much as it should have. And the fact he was thinking that way ought to send him running for the hills.
The weekly barn dance came and went, with Kittie once more the belle of the ball, though she shared the spotlight with Shayla. She’d glowed when the teenage boys asked her to dance, and while Jacob loved seeing her so happy, it was no easier for him than the week before. How could she be interested in boys? She was only fourteen.
After Jacob’s fifth attempt to engage Mariah in a conversation about what was going on between them—which required a degree of privacy—he decided he needed to change his approach.
Maybe she’d talk about the ranch. Plainly, the U-2 wasn’t as profitable as he’d assumed, but they could be more viable if they expanded and made it a real resort, maintaining a limited herd of cows for tourist appeal. He’d considered investing in small businesses; perhaps he could start in Montana.
On Tuesday morning Jacob approached Benjamin Weston in the mess tent. “I wondered if I might get together with you and Mariah today. I have a business proposition to put to you both.”
“Business? That’s mostly Mariah’s bailiwick,” Benjamin said. He munched a slice of bacon from the food table. “As my wife is quick to remind me, I didn’t want to start this ranch vacation business in the first place, figuring we’d lose our shirts.”
“It seems to have turned out well.”
“Indeed.” Benjamin’s blue eyes twinkled. He was a good match for his wife; both of them seemed to possess an inner calm that was immensely appealing.
“I would still like to speak with you both,” Jacob said. “It shouldn’t take long.”
“After breakfast, then? The mess tent will clear out and be fairly quiet. I’ll tell Mariah.”
“Great.” Jacob hid a triumphant smile—Mariah wouldn’t refuse her grandfather.
* * *
MARIAH WASN’T HAPPY when Granddad told her they had an “appointment” with Jacob to talk business.
“What could he have to discuss with us?”
Granddad shrugged. “Mayhap he wants to buy a ranch and needs our advice. His daughter has certainly caught the horse bug. She’s a delightful child,” he said reflectively. “I rather miss her black clothes and lipstick. They weren’t so startling once you got used to them, and they were unique.”
Mariah couldn’t help laughing. “Yes, they were. Nevertheless, while Caitlin might be horse crazy, I can’t see Jacob living on a ranch, even part-time.”
“It’s possible. He’s stayed here over three weeks without going off his rocker, and he doesn’t seem to be working as much at night. Whatever it is, we’ll have to meet with him to find out.”
“Okay, fine. We’ll talk.” She pressed her lips together irritably. She felt cornered, which undoubtedly was Jacob’s intent. He’d tried to get her alone without success and was adopting another strategy.
“It’ll get better,” Granddad said, squeezing her hand. But unless he’d read her mind, Mariah knew he wasn’t talking about Jacob—he was talking about Luke. She’d told her grandparents a few days ago that she’d ended her engagement, and while they were disappointed, they supported her decision. They were so much in love themselves, they didn’t want her to get married unless she wasn’t utterly committed in her heart.
Jacob was waiting in the mess tent when they got there. He actually had his computer out and a notepad in front of him as if it was a genuine business meeting.
“Hello, Mariah,” he said, standing courteously. “You’re difficult to...uh, connect with lately.”
She glared. They’d connected, all right. She’d gone off like a firecracker out on the hill. Thank goodness it was almost dark by the time they’d made love or they could have been visible to anyone taking a walk in their direction. Ranching might intimately bond someone to life and death and birth, but that didn’t mean she was an exhibitionist.
“If you’re thinking of buying a ranch for yourself, I know of a nice spread near Bozeman that’s up for sale,” Granddad volunteered. “It’s a beauty, small and well kept. A friend has owned it for three decades, but he’s getting on in years and wants to take it easy.”
“That’s not exactly what I had in mind.” Jacob twisted his computer so they could see the screen; an impressive graph was displayed. “I’ve been thinking about your vacation business.”
“What of it?” Mariah asked suspiciously.
“It could be more profitable if you made a few changes. For example, building permanent accommodations with private baths. Visitors could come earlier in the spring and later in the fall, and would be willing to pay a higher daily rate for the visit if it was more of a real resort. And you wouldn’t have to keep your large herds, just enough for tourist appeal.”
Granddad inclined his head noncommittally as Mariah glowered.
“This way there would be even greater employment opportunities for the people around here,” Jacob continued. “I realize how important the U-2 is to the local economy—this would be a way for me to invest in a worthwhile business outside my own company. Which brings me to the other side of my proposal—I provide the investment funds. You can see from the graph that the projected income from—”
Mariah stood up, interrupting him. “Please excuse us, Granddad. I’d like to speak with Mr. O’Donnell. Privately.”
“Fine. I’ll leave it in your hands.” Granddad looked concerned rather than offended, and she winced. He might have realized there was more going on with Jacob than she’d told the family.
Trying not to go ballistic, Mariah dragged Jacob to the farthest barn, where nobody was around. His “proposal” was just one more piece of proof that he didn’t understand her. Big whoop. She shouldn’t get upset. Yet it had dawned on her as he was showing them his graph that she was disappointed. Really disappointed, the same as when he’d let Caitlin go off with the McFees so he could work on a business deal. She hadn’t wanted to think of it that way, yet it was true. Disappointment implied higher expectations, and she knew better than to expect anything from Jacob.
“You don’t like my idea?” Jacob asked.
“Were you serious?”
“Absolutely. You could make a lot more money.”
“You really don’t get it, do you?” Mariah demanded incredulously. “Ranching is our business. It’s a way of life we love. The vacation business just keeps us going when raising cattle doesn’t pay the bills. What’s more, the U-2 is popular because people want to experience the romance of the West. A fancy resort wouldn’t cut it. Or haven’t you paid any attention to what people like the Sallengers or Susan and Chad have said?”
Jacob frowned. “I know the Sallengers are moving to Buckeye.”
She waved her hand. “I doubt they’ll do it. They
’ll get home and decide they can’t leave the city. It happens all the time with our guests, thinking they’re going to move here. But that’s beside the point. They loved their visit to the U-2 because they got a taste of real ranching and a chance to connect with nature. Anyway, money can’t buy everything. It couldn’t save your wife and it hasn’t solved Caitlin’s problems, so why do you think it’s so important?”
He stiffened. “Money is important. Kittie wasn’t insurable for health care after her heart defect was repaired. I had to have money, and lots of it, to take care of her properly.”
“But how much is enough?”
Jacob gave her a hard look and strode out as Mariah sank onto a bale of hay.
She was furious, yet his motivations weren’t as simple as she’d thought. Nothing was as simple as she’d thought. Jacob worked long hours, but during the summer season she worked just as many...as he’d been happy to point out during one of their arguments. It was an inescapable fact of ranching and the U-2’s vacation business. Her advantage was that since the ranch was a family business, she spent a lot of those hours with her brother and grandparents.
Still, she hadn’t let Luke share the responsibilities she’d taken on with her parents’ deaths, or told him of her pain and uncertainties, no matter how much he’d tried to be a partner. Would things have turned out better for them if she’d confided in him more? Maybe. Things might also be better with Reid if the family wasn’t so closemouthed about everything.
Mariah stood up resolutely.
At least that was one thing she could try to fix. She’d have to find the right time, a time Reid couldn’t easily duck out of, and talk about what was really bothering him.
* * *
JACOB RETURNED HIS LAPTOP to his tent and joined Kittie and Burt in the front barn where they were cleaning and oiling saddles and other leather goods.
He was torn between anger and chagrin. His great idea to force Mariah to talk to him had gone down like the Titanic. He ought to have known the Weston family wouldn’t be interested in transforming their ranch into a resort, and it was entirely possible their regular clientele wouldn’t be interested in coming to one, either. That was something else he hadn’t taken into account. What was wrong with him? Once, he wouldn’t have made such mistakes—he didn’t build a large conglomerate by missing key details.
The Ranch Solution Page 21