Jenna's Cowboys

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “Nothing,” Jenna replied. “From what my Dad told me she was pretty close mouthed about her past. I didn’t even know where she was from till I found her yearbook a few months ago.”

  Hank crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the back counter where the coffee mugs were stacked opposite where she sat. After a thoughtful silence, he seemed to make up his mind about something. “Silas James and Corin Pikes founded the town of Pikes about one hundred sixty years ago. They won the land, which included three cattle ranches at that time, in a poker game from a man who lost it to them piecemeal over several days. They combined their winnings, set land aside for a town and flipped a coin to see who it would be named after.” Hank paused, smiling faintly, and Jenna realized that the entire diner had gone quiet. “The reason for this small town history lesson is so you’ll understand when I say that, to my way of thinking, that makes this your hometown. Welcome home, Jenna James.”

  ***

  Jenna let herself into her hotel room with a big brass key instead of a keycard, which made her smile. She stepped inside, locked the door behind her and looked around. The room was small and old fashioned, but very clean and pretty. The aqua and white chenille bedspread on the queen sized bed was spotless, and so beautiful she knew she wouldn’t be putting her old, battered duffle on it. She used a ladder-back chair against one wall for that instead.

  She’d been mildly surprised to find that the little town had a hotel at all. Granted, it was just a handful of rooms on the second floor of a restaurant called Jester’s, but she had no complaints.

  Since she planned to stay more than one night, she opened her bag and started unpacking, taking her time as she thought about the surprising things Hank had told her. She had a dozen questions, of course, but she’d been too stunned to think of them at the time. Luckily Meg had stepped in and helped her out. After Jenna agreed to stay in Sparx for a few days at least, Meg had called the hotel, gotten her a room, showed her exactly where it was and even where to park her Bronco.

  The task of unpacking and putting things away helped to settle her down enough that her brain started working again. So far, she liked this town. She smiled ruefully. Why wouldn’t she? Everyone had been so kind to her, especially Meg, and they didn’t even know her. The way men stared at her all the time was a bit odd, but they weren’t rude about it, and they kept their distance. She was still surprised that they didn’t make her nervous. So far, anyway.

  She wondered if she could actually stay here, in Sparx. She’d never admitted it to herself in so many words before, but what she’d really been looking for when she sold off or donated all but a few personal items before setting off on her own wasn’t just a place to live, but a place to belong. Was it possible that Sparx could be that place?

  Hank’s welcome had been warm and sincere. Had even brought a lump to her throat and tears to her eyes. But that didn’t mean they’d actually want her to live here. Then again, there was no reason to think that her past would follow her here. If it didn’t, maybe the people of Sparx would accept her.

  She finished her unpacking, set the duffle on the floor and opened the blinds on the window which looked out on Main Street. After a few minutes she decided she wanted to explore the town rather than just look at it. She put her wallet and cell phone in her jeans pockets, grabbed her keys and locked the door behind her before heading down the stairs. She crossed the small space that served as a combination hotel lobby and restaurant reception area, nodded at the elderly man behind the counter, and pushed the heavy wooden door open.

  She stopped on the sidewalk, breathing deeply of the fresh, sun-warmed air, and considered which direction to go first. Turning her head to the left, she saw three men wearing cowboy hats staring open mouthed at her. Her face heated and she turned right. Taking her time, she stopped to look into all of the display windows, enjoying herself immensely. The last building on the west side of town was the grocery store she’d spotted earlier. She went inside and wandered through it, surprised at the variety of foods and the reasonable prices. She picked up a bottle of water and a few snacks for later and carried them to the checkout counter where a thirtyish woman with poufy blonde hair and blue eyes smiled brightly at her.

  “Hello honey,” she said. “I’m Flo Terrance and you must be Jenna James.”

  Jenna smiled. The information network in the small town she’d grown up in was fast, but it had nothing on Sparx. The people here were certainly a whole lot nicer, too. “Yep, that’s me,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Terrance.”

  “Ms. Terrance is my mother-in-law, honey,” she said with a wink. “Call me Flo.”

  “Okay, Flo.”

  “How do you like our little town?” Flo asked as she rang up Jenna’s purchases.

  “I haven’t seen half of it yet, but so far I like it very much.”

  “I’m real glad, honey,” Flo said, looking honestly pleased with her answer.

  Jenna heard the door open and automatically looked toward it, then stilled as two of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen in her life stepped inside. They were tall, broad shouldered, and looked entirely too good in the simple black t-shirts and faded jeans they wore. She dragged her gaze from their dusty cowboy boots up to their slightly mussed black hair and light blue eyes, surprised to find they were both staring right back at her. The moment stretched out so long that Jenna’s surprise became curiosity. She arched a brow at them, wondering how long they intended to just stand there staring when they both dropped their eyes and quickly headed off deeper into the store.

  Flo chuckled softly. “Now that was fun to watch. I’ve never seen the Howard boys look kerflumoxed before.”

  “Howard boys?” Jenna asked, watching Flo bag her items.

  “Dillon and Cole,” Flo said, but didn’t offer more, which Jenna liked a lot. There was a distinct difference between gossip and information that people in small towns instinctively understood.

  “Are they twins?”

  “Yep, not identical, though lots of people seem to think so.”

  “Really? They look a lot alike but definitely not identical.” She missed the surprised expression on Flo’s face because she was taking money out of her wallet.

  “Flo, can I ask you something?” she asked, leaning forward and lowering her voice.

  “Sure you can,” Flo said, her smile faltering. “No promises I’ll answer though.”

  Jenna’s approval must have shown on her face because Flo’s smile returned. “What’s your question?”

  “Why do all the men in this town keep staring at me?” Jenna asked. Flo’s brows rose, and her eyes started to narrow. “No one’s been rude or the least bit out of line,” she hastened to explain, glad when Flo immediately relaxed. “I just never got so many stares in my life and it feels kind of strange.”

  “A pretty young woman like you isn’t used to male attention?” Flo asked, then wished she’d kept her trap shut when Jenna’s face paled. She immediately tried to cover her reaction with a smile, but Flo knew what she’d seen. “Have you also noticed there aren’t too many women around?” she asked, not missing a beat.

  Jenna nodded as she handed Flo some cash. “I did notice that, of course.” Flo smiled, then turned to make change. “So that’s it, huh? Lots of men, few women?”

  “Yep,” Flo replied. “That’s a good part of it. There’re more cattle ranches around here than anything else, and that means lots of jobs for cowboys, not so many for women.”

  “So, how many women are there?”

  “Fifty two, with about 500 men, give or take,” Flo said, shocking Jenna speechless.

  “Honey?” Flo said, frowning at her in concern when she went pale again. Jenna shook herself and cleared her throat.

  “I’m sorry Flo, guess I drifted there for a moment.”

  “Listen up,” Flo said, leaning forward and lowering her voice. “Sparx ain’t your average town, not by a long shot. There’s lots of reasons for that, and one o
f them is that the men here are good men. If they’re not, they don’t stay welcome here for long.” Jenna barely managed to keep her mouth from falling open in surprise. “As pretty as you are, they’re gonna stare. They won’t be able to help themselves. But they won’t do anything rude or step out of line. If anyone does, you just go inside any business in town and tell whoever you find working there. It’ll be taken care of. You’re safe here, okay?”

  “That’s very kind of you, Flo, thank you,” Jenna said, realizing she’d let too much show and admonishing herself to be more careful.

  “You’re welcome, honey,” Flo said. “Now get on outta here and enjoy the rest of our town.”

  “See ya,” she said, waving at Flo as she picked up her bag and her water and turned to leave the store.

  ***

  “Do you remember what all Mrs. Hannigan asked us to pick up?” Cole asked as he climbed out of his pickup and slammed the door shut.

  “I think so,” Dillon replied, slamming his own door. “We should have written it down though.”

  “I know,” Cole replied as they stepped onto the curb in front of the market. “I remember there were nine items. If we need to, we can just call her.”

  “Yep,” Dillon said, pulling the door open. “I do love cell phones now that we finally got some towers and service around here.”

  Cole nodded his agreement as they stepped inside the market and let the door swing shut behind them. They both looked up at the same time and froze at the sight of a woman they’d never seen before standing at the register talking to Flo. She was petite and slender, with high full breasts, a ridiculously tiny waist flaring out to gently curved hips encased in soft, faded jeans. Their eyes caught on a thin band of creamy skin between the waistband of her jeans and the bottom of her top for a long moment before moving slowly up to her face. They both groaned softly when they saw the long, wine red ponytail that hung in a mass of curls to the small of her back. Her face was heart shaped with a generous mouth and soft pink lips that were parted slightly in surprise. Her big cinnamon-colored eyes returned their gazes for one long, breathless moment before she arched a delicate, auburn brow at them. Suddenly realizing they were staring, they unstuck their boots from the floor and ducked down the first aisle and out of sight before they embarrassed themselves completely by blushing.

  “Damn, have you ever seen a more beautiful woman in all your life?” Dillon asked in a low voice.

  “You know I haven’t,” Cole replied. “I wish I could hear what she and Flo are saying. Can you make anything out?”

  “No,” Dillon replied. “I hope she’s not a tourist, or just visiting someone.”

  “Flo doesn’t usually yuck it up with tourists, and I haven’t heard of anyone expecting company,” Cole said. “Let’s grab what we came in for, then we can ask Flo.”

  “Good idea,” Dillon replied as he picked up his step. They hurried through the familiar store, grabbing items here and there until their arms were full.

  “We should have gotten a basket,” Cole muttered.

  “Hell, how were we supposed to think when all the blood in our heads went south before we got all the way through the door?” Dillon asked wryly.

  “Good point,” Cole replied. “We got everything?”

  “And then some,” Dillon replied. “Let’s go.” They hurried to the front of the store, and dumped everything on the conveyor belt.

  “Hello Dillon, Cole,” Flo said as she began ringing up their purchases.

  “Hey, Flo,” Dillon said. “Please tell us that angel you were talking to a bit ago is staying in Sparx for a while.”

  Flo laughed, her eyes twinkling at them. “You boys don’t waste time beating around the bush, do you?”

  “With all the competition around here, not a chance,” Cole replied. “Please tell us something good, Flo.”

  “Her name is Jenna James,” Flo said, then waited.

  “James?” Dillon asked. “As in descendant of?”

  “Yup,” Flo replied. “She got here today, looking for her momma’s hometown. She’s got a room at the hotel. For a week, I think.” Cole said a silent prayer of thanks for their close knit community. It was impossible to keep news secret, and when the subject was a new woman, no one tried.

  “I heard just a bit ago that Hank was fixin’ to turn the James Building over to her,” Flo said, hiding her smile at the expressions on the Howard brothers’ faces.

  “Hot damn,” Cole said. “Then she’ll be living here.”

  “I think there might be a few obstacles to get through first,” Flo warned, then waited until both men nodded knowingly. “If all goes well then yeah, I’m sure Hank’ll do what he can to convince her to stay. She’s the last member of the James family as far as anyone knows, and Hank was practically cousins with her momma. On top of that she’s young, pretty, and single. That’s a lot of incentive around here.”

  “Hell, Flo, that woman ain’t pretty,” Cole scoffed. “She’s downright fricken’ beautiful.”

  “What’s your take on her, Flo?” Dillon asked. “You talked to her a bit. Is she nice?”

  “Yeah, she’s real nice,” Flo replied. “Polite and friendly. I got the feeling she’s a small town girl herself.”

  “Did she say anything about the town?”

  “She’s just getting her first look around, but she said she liked what she’d seen so far.”

  “That’s promising,” Cole said. “I almost wish we lived in town now. There’s gonna be men lined up around the block and both sides of Main Street by the end of the day.”

  Flo’s smile faded as she thought about Jenna’s quickly hidden reactions to a few comments she’d made. “The last time a single woman came to Sparx and stayed a day she damn near got mobbed. She lit out of here like a pup with her tail on fire, and I can’t say as I blame her. It might be smarter if everyone kept that in mind. Give Jenna a bit of breathing room. Let her decide whether she wants to stay before drowning her in a flood of testosterone.”

  “You’re right, Flo,” Dillon said as he finished bagging their groceries while Cole paid for them. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

  They carried their bags out to the truck, then looked up and down the street for some sign of Jenna James. It only took a moment to realize that the two dozen or so men scattered up and down the sidewalks were all staring in the same direction. They followed their gazes and spotted her strolling down the sidewalk, pausing to look in every window before moving on.

  “I want her,” Dillon said softly.

  “Yeah, so do I,” Cole said. “I don’t mean I wanna bed her, either, though I do. Hell, I’ve never been so hard in my life and we ain’t even talked to her yet.”

  “I know what you mean,” Dillon said. “I feel like I got hit right between the eyes with a sledgehammer.”

  “I think she’s our one, Dillon,” Cole said.

  “So do I,” Dillon agreed. “I was beginning to think we’d never find her.”

  “Me too. Only problem now is, how do we get her to see us when there’s a whole crowd of men surrounding her?”

  “I don’t know, but we’re gonna have to find a way.”

  “Let’s just hope she doesn’t freak out and run for the hills when she discovers what this town is really about.”

  “If she does, then she isn’t our one,” Dillon said pragmatically.

  Cole nodded as they watched Jenna cross the street at the far end of town and start back up toward the hotel. “We best get these groceries back to the house or Mrs. Hannigan won’t have time to fix dinner before she leaves and I really don’t wanna cook tonight.”

  They stowed the groceries and climbed into the truck. Dillon put his seatbelt on, irritated that his view was blocked by the other vehicles parked along the street. Cole backed out and drove slowly along Main Street, both of them looking for Jenna. They saw her at the same time, walking toward Hank who was standing in front of Jester’s, then they were past.

  “I think
we should start having breakfast at the diner,” Dillon said.

  “I agree,” Cole replied. “Even if we don’t see her, we’ll sure as heck hear what’s going on.”

  “Yup,” Dillon said. “You know, it’s possible she won’t be able to stay here even if she wants to. She could have a job somewhere, or other responsibilities she has to get back to. If that’s the case, I think we should find out where she goes.”

  Cole thought about that for a moment. “If she turns out to be our one, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

  ***

  After leaving the grocery store Jenna crossed the street and continued her perusal of the businesses, but this time she barely registered what she was looking at. She was too busy trying to understand the intense feelings that had flooded her the moment those two men had entered the store. Cole and Dillon Howard. She even liked their names.

  She’d managed to focus on her conversation with Flo after seeing them, but on her way out she’d glanced up one aisle and seen them again. She’d gotten an intense…and frightening...urge to approach them. It actually took effort for her to keep walking to the door and step outside.

  Not once in the entire twenty four years of her life had she been so attracted to a man, but that wasn’t what shocked her. She was shocked because she was attracted to both of them. When she tried to imagine herself with one or the other, it felt oddly wrong. She wanted them both. Together. At the same time.

  Do people even do that? she wondered, a hot shiver of intense arousal racing through her at the thought. She gasped softly at the completely unfamiliar sensation.

  Suddenly realizing she’d been staring blankly at a window display of livestock feed for at least a full minute, she turned around, crossed the street and headed toward the hotel. She was half way there when she spotted Hank standing in front of Jester’s. He waved at her, so she picked up her step as much as she dared, not wanting to make him wait but knowing better than to try running.

  “Hello Ms. James,” he said, smiling when she stopped in front of him. “I was looking for you.”

  “Please, call me Jenna,” she said. “Why were you looking for me?”