Dalton's Undoing

by RaeAnne Thayne

  "There are still maybe a half dozen marked ones we haven't even looked at yet. Are you sure this is the one?"

  "Positive. This one is perfect, don't you guys think?"

  Morgan nodded with the same kind of glee as her mother but Cole only shrugged. "It looks like every other tree we've seen today," he said.

  "What are you talking about?" Jenny exclaimed. "This tree has personality! It's wonderful! The color is a far richer green than all the rest and can't you see the way all the branches look so perfect except for that little one there in the back pointing in a different direction?"

  "If you say so."

  "It's just right. I only wish the school didn't have a fire-code policy against real trees or I'd put it out by the office."

  She looked so thrilled, so bubbly and excited, Seth couldn't look away. Her eyes glowed and her nose was red and he couldn't seem to think about anything but tasting that bright smile.

  He cleared his throat and made himself focus on the tree instead. "You want it, it's yours. Cole, you want to do the honors?"

  The kid eyed the big machine in his hands with unmistakable longing, then he looked away. "You can do it."

  He probably didn't know the first thing about running a chainsaw, Seth realized. "It's easy. Come on. I'll walk you through it."

  He showed Cole how to fire up the saw, then helped guide him to the right spot on the trunk. Between the two of them, they buzzed through the small trunk in seconds and the tree fell in a flurry of snow. It was a good choice, he thought, one of those he'd marked that were being crowded out by bigger trees.

  "How are we going to carry our tree down the mountain now?" Morgan asked.

  "Jake is pulling a sled behind his snowmobile. We'll tie them all together on that and he and Maggie will drag them down."

  "Is that it?" Cole asked.

  "I've got to cut one for my place now. Since you're so good at picking them out, you can help me find mine. With my vaulted ceilings, I've got room for a ten- or twelve-foot one. Think big."

  They spent several moments walking through the heavy timber looking at possibilities until Jenny stopped in front of the one he'd actually had in mind for his place all along.

  "Kids, your mother is a natural at Christmas-tree hunting. Just think what she must have been suppressing through all those years of artificial trees!"

  Again he urged Cole to do the honors, though this time he let the boy handle the saw by himself, keeping a careful watch on him as he did.

  "Why don't you to go back to the one we cut for your house and carry it down to the snowmobiles while your mom helps me haul this one?" he suggested. "Can you find the way?"

  "We can see it from here." Cole pointed down the hill to the sleds gleaming in the pale sunshine. He took off with Morgan following close behind, and finally Seth was alone with Jenny, just as he'd orchestrated.

  He hadn't expected her to be looking at him with such a warm smile. "Thank you for this," she said. "You were right, it will be a wonderful memory for Cole and Morgan."

  "What about for you?"

  Her gaze flashed for just an instant then she looked away. He saw her swallow and would have given half his horses—and a cow or two, as well—to know what she was thinking.

  "I've enjoyed it," she murmured.

  "You don't relax enough. You should do it more often."

  Her mouth opened, her expression indignant. Instead of the sharp retort he expected, after a moment she closed her mouth and sighed. "You're right. I know you're right but it's not always the easiest thing in the world for me to do with any success."

  He dared take a step closer, keeping his hands carefully neutral at his sides. "Why is that, I wonder?"

  Her gaze flitted back to his and stayed there a little longer, like a wild bird following a trail of sunflower seeds toward an outstretched hand. "I suppose because so much depends on me. It's hard work being a principal and even harder work being a single mother."

  "You do both very well."

  "And how would you know that? You don't have children in my school to judge my performance there and you don't have children of your own at home to comment on my mothering."

  "You don't have to be a jockey to recognize a great racehorse."

  She gave a short laugh. "I don't believe I've ever been compared to a horse before."

  He debated backing off now, giving her a chance to regroup, then decided that would be foolish. Better to keep her off balance. He stepped forward again until only a foot or so separated them. From here, he could smell the fresh, flowery scent of her, an unlikely beacon of spring amid the wintry landscape.

  She swallowed hard at his nearness but didn't step back. Instead, her chin lifted. "I don't like to be crowded, Seth."

  For some strange reason, her defiance made him laugh. "Is that what I was doing?"

  "Oh, I have no doubt you know exactly what you're doing. You're very good at what you do. I certainly won't deny that."

  "What I do?"

  "The whole seduction bit. The oh-so-casual touches, those sexy, intimate smiles. Stepping closer and closer until I can't focus on anything but you. I imagine most women probably melt in a big puddle at your feet."

  The cynicism in her voice smarted. "But not you?"

  "I'm sorry if that stings your pride but I'm just not interested. I believe I told you that."

  "So you did," he agreed. "But are you so sure about that, Ms. Boyer?"

  Against the howl of all his instincts, he stepped closer again. He watched a tiny pulse jump in her throat and her breathing seemed to accelerate. The hunger inside him to taste her threatened to consume him, to wipe out whatever remained of his self-control and his sanity.

  "Ye-es," she said, though that single word came out breathy, hushed.

  "I think we both know that's not precisely true," he murmured. He reached out and gripped the ends of her scarf in some halfhearted effort to keep her from fleeing, then leaned down slowly, carefully, anticipation thrumming powerfully inside him.

  An instant before his mouth would have at last found hers, some subconscious warning system picked up rustling in the underbrush. He dropped her scarf and stepped back just before Wade walked into their little clearing.

  His brother surveyed the scene, his hard blue eyes missing nothing, but he only sent one swift, censorious look in Seth's direction. "Cole and Morgan said you cut a big one for your place. I came to see if you need help hauling it down so we can go back down the mountain. My boys are starting to get restless and I think Cody's ready for a nap."

  "Yeah. We're on our way."

  What the hell was he doing? Seth wondered as he and Wade hauled the big tree down the slope toward the waiting sleds. He had played that last hand like some damn greenhorn who'd never kissed a girl before. That's what was called jumping the gate before the starting pistol sounded.

  She wanted him to back off. Hell, she'd practically ordered him to, and he'd ignored her. He had no doubt he would have had her pressed up against one of those trees in another ten seconds if Wade hadn't interrupted.

  He didn't like the fact that he'd almost lost it back there, that he'd plunged ahead with something that all his instincts were telling him was a bad idea. It wasn't like him at all. He always, always, maintained some control over himself when it came to women.

  Jenny Boyer somehow managed to shred that control to bits, like a chainsaw ripping through flimsy cardboard.

  Where did he go from here? He didn't want to give up before he'd even enjoyed a tiny taste of that lush mouth, but he might just have to accept the grim reality that some things weren't meant to be.

  She wanted him to leave her alone. Maybe that was what he ought to do. Forget about Jennifer Boyer, just as she had insisted, and move on. The thought filled him with an odd kind of restlessness but he didn't see any other choice. If she wasn't interested—or didn't want to be interested—he had to respect her boundaries.

  He was subdued on the ride back down the mountain
and everyone else seemed to be, too. A light snow started falling again and while it looked feathery and lovely when you were safe and dry inside watching it through the window, on a snowmobile, it pelted exposed skin like sharp pebbles. Everyone seemed glad when they reached the Cold Creek again.

  At the house, they quickly unloaded the trees from the transport sled. Maggie was looking tired and the kids were cold, so Jake and Wade sent the women and children inside the ranch house to warm up.

  While they tied the trees onto the respective vehicles for transport to their destination, Seth drove the Cold Creek snowmobiles into the storage garage and performed postride maintenance checks on them. He was the default mechanic on the ranch, and he liked to think he was the go-to guy when machines broke down.

  He had just stowed the last one and was checking fluid levels on it when Jake showed up in the doorway of the garage.

  "I'm about done here," Seth said. "Go ahead inside and check on Maggie."

  "She'll be okay."

  "What's her deal today, anyway? I haven't seen her use the canes for a long time. She said she was having some irritation. Is everything okay?"

  "She's changing pain meds and we're trying to find a good safe combination."

  His brother gave him a quiet smile that told wonders about how much he adored his wife. "Don't tell anybody, but we're talking about starting a family and Maggie wants to wean off some of her heavy-duty meds before we give it a serious try."

  He felt another of those curious pangs in his chest. Both of his brothers were deliriously happy with their wives and their lives. He was glad for them, he told himself. He just couldn't quite figure out why the life he had always thought was perfect suddenly felt so empty in comparison.

  "That's wonderful," he said. "I can't think of two people who would make better parents."

  When Jake continued to stand in the doorway watching him, Seth sighed, screwed the oil cap back on the snowmobile and stood up to wait for the lecture he sensed was coming.

  He knew that look in his brother's eyes all too well. Wade must have seen more of that encounter with Jenny on the mountain than he thought and sent Jake in to do his dirty work.

  "Let's have it, then," he said.

  "What?"

  "You've got on your bossy-big-brother look. Wade was the one giving me the snake eye all the way down the mountain so how did you get to be the one roped into this?"

  Jake leaned against the door frame. "We drew straws and I lost."

  "Lucky you."

  "Right. That means I get to be the one to ask you what the hell you think you're doing."

  He really wasn't in the mood for this, Seth decided. He'd been on the receiving end of these little improving talks all his life from one or both of his brothers. He had to wonder if Wade and Jake would still feel inclined to tell him how to live his life when he was seventy.

  Probably.

  "I believe I'm putting the sleds away right now. You or Wade have a problem with that?"

  "You know we don't. Do what you want with the snowmobiles. But neither of us is too crazy about you tangling up a nice lady like Principal Boyer."

  He arched an eyebrow. "Tangling up?"

  "You know what I mean. What are you doing here, Seth? She's not your usual bar babe. She's a nice woman with a couple of kids and a retired father and a responsible job. She deserves better."

  His brothers sure knew just how to twist the knife in his gut. "Thanks," he snapped. "It's always nice to get a vote of support from my family. Don't hold back, doc. Why don't you tell me what a selfish, irresponsible bastard I am, so we can all go in and have some lunch?"

  Jake had always been slow to anger but he also never backed down from a fight. "Oh, screw the poor-me routine. That wasn't what I meant and you know it. I'm not talking about you as a person, I'm referring strictly to your usual playbook with women."

  Seth yanked down the seat of the sled so hard he was pretty sure he broke something. "Memorized it, have you?"

  "Since you've been sticking to the same game plan since before you were old enough to shave, it's not tough to guess where this is headed."

  "And where is that?"

  "You wine her, dine her, romance her, take what you want, then move on to the next lovely young thing to cross your path."

  "Yeah, yeah. Selfish, irresponsible bastard. I got that part."

  "I didn't say that. Most of the time the women you hook up with know what to expect and probably are only after exactly what you're willing to give them. Fine. If you're both consenting adults, no harm no foul. But this is different. Jennifer Boyer isn't one of your Bandito bimbos. She's got kids, Seth, one of them a teenager who looks up to you. From what I hear, Cole has already been abandoned by his father. Don't you think you're only going to reinforce that lousy example of how a man should treat a woman when he watches you walk away from his mother, too?"

  "I haven't even kissed the woman!"

  "But you want to, don't you?"

  "None of your business."

  "It's not," Jake agreed. "But I have to point out those kids already care about you and if you take things where I think you want to, Cole and Morgan are likely to come out of this mighty damn hurt when you get bored and move on."

  He hadn't given much thought to their feelings in all this, he realized, with no small amount of shame.

  "There's a whole forest full of pretty young trees out there," Jake went on. "Find a different one to scratch your itch on. That's all I'm saying."

  "What if I don't want a different one?"

  He hadn't meant to say that, but somehow the words slipped out anyway. Jake gave him a long, hard look that made him feel like he was fifteen years old again.

  "Maybe for once you ought to try thinking not so much about what you want but about what she wants, and see how that works out for you."

  Before he could come up with some undoubtedly pithy reply, Jake left in that frustrating way of his.

  Seth should have been relieved the lecture was over but he couldn't stop thinking about what his brother said. The hell of it was, he was absolutely right.

  Jenny wanted nothing to do with him. Though he knew she was attracted to him despite her protests, he wasn't going to crowd her anymore, he decided.

  He would still have to see her because of his arrangement with Cole. But after today, he would just be polite and friendly and forget about anything else.

  No matter how impossible it suddenly seemed.

  Chapter Seven

  She was going to have a tough time dragging everyone away.

  Jenny surveyed her family crowded around the Daltons' big kitchen and tried to remember the last time she'd seen them all enjoying a meal so much. Yes, the food was fabulous—a half-dozen different kinds of soup, hot rolls and a salad bar that rivaled anything in a restaurant—but the company was the most appealing part of this meal.

  Morgan and Natalie were giggling at the smaller table brought in for the children. At the breakfast bar, Cole and Miranda were deep in a debate over the best ska band of all time. Even Jason was in his element laughing at something Quinn Montgomery said, down at the other end of the big dining table.

  It was noisy and crowded and warm but her family seemed to be thriving. In fact, everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time except for her.

  She couldn't seem to relax and allow herself to have fun. The Daltons had been everything kind. She found them all warm and friendly—even Seth's oldest brother, Wade. At first he had seemed gruff and intimidating, but throughout the day he had treated her and the children with nothing but kindness.

  Despite the jovial company, she couldn't seem to move past her own awkward discomfort.

  She was also painfully aware that everyone at the big table had been divided by couple—so by default she sat next to Seth. She had a hard time focusing on anything else but his nearness throughout the meal, his strong hands and his seductive masculine scent and the heat that seemed to shimmer off him in waves.

/>   She didn't want to be here. She would have preferred sitting at the children's table to enduring this close proximity, especially as Seth had been distant and distracted throughout the meal and seemed to become more so as the meal wore on.

  He obviously had second thoughts about inviting her and her family and regretted their de facto pairing.

  Despite the fabulous food, her stomach felt hollow and achy and she wanted to disappear. That, in turn, made her angry with herself and more determined to see this dinner through as quickly as possible. At least they were already having dessert so the torture would be over soon.

  "This pie is delicious," Caroline Dalton exclaimed from across the table with her warm smile. "I love the crunchy caramel topping."

  Jenny smiled politely as others at the table joined in the praise for the caramel apple pie she'd brought along, one of her very few specialties. But even as she smiled and thanked them all for the compliments, she was aware of Seth next to her setting down his fork as if he were suddenly eating fried motor oil, leaving the rest of his pie uneaten on his plate.

  A few moments later, he pushed back his chair and aimed his charming smile around the table at every single person but her.

  "Thanks for a delicious meal, everybody, but I've got to run up to the barn."

  "Can we go, Uncle Seth?" Natalie asked. "You said maybe we could ride later."

  "You could go for a horseback ride, I guess." He paused then looked as if he regretted his words even as he spoke them. "Or Cole could grab one of the snowmobiles and pull you up the hill behind the barn so you can tube down. If it's all right with your mother, of course."

  Natalie, Morgan and Tanner looked ecstatic at the possibility and even Cole and Miranda appeared thrilled.

  "Oh, please, Mom!" Morgan begged.

  How was she supposed to refuse with all those young eyes looking at her with identical entreaties?

  "Thanks," she murmured under her breath to Seth.

  He gave a smile that seemed only slightly repentant—but at least he wasn't completely ignoring her the way he'd done since that breathless moment on the mountain when he'd nearly kissed her.