Romancing the Rancher

by Stacy Connelly

  He made a small sound that might have been a laugh. “Peace and quiet, huh? This is a funny place to come for that considering you’re related to half the town.”

  “I can count on my family to respect my privacy.”

  Theresa turned and met his shadowed gaze. For a crazy moment, thoughts of what the two of them could do with that privacy filled her head. The not-fancy bedroom was just down the hall, and even though she had yet to see inside, she could count on there being a bed.

  Her whole life, she’d played things safe. She’d known early on what she wanted from life—to become a nurse and work in an ER—and had followed through with the plan she’d set to accomplish that goal. She’d studied hard and worked hard, and she never let distractions get in her way. If she were totally honest, even her relationship with Michael had been a step toward a personal goal—one to get married and start a family.

  And yet for all her careful planning, for all the steps she’d taken in the right direction, she’d still ended up here. Miles away from Michael, from her work, from her life, knowing all too well how unlikely it was she would ever get any of them back.

  Here. In this cabin with an all-too-sexy cowboy.

  She could still feel the imprint of his hands against her shoulders, the warmth and strength that had seeped through in that simple, straightforward touch. Her heart skipped a beat, and her pulse pounded in her ears, and for the first time in longer than she could remember, it wasn’t because she’d pushed too hard in therapy or because she’d taken an awkward step only to catch herself before falling. And it wasn’t from the panic attacks that had woken her more than once as she faced an empty, aimless future.

  No, this—this was something else.

  This was attraction...desire.

  And while that cowboy hat of his might have shielded his expression, it hadn’t been enough to hide what he’d been thinking in that split second when he held her in his arms. He’d wanted to kiss her. She’d seen it in his eyes as he’d lowered his gaze. Felt it in the tightening of the muscles that played beneath the palms of her hands. Wanted it more than she’d wanted anything in a long time.

  But she’d seen something else, too, hadn’t she?

  Because Jarrett Deeks hadn’t simply pulled her into his arms. No, she’d practically fallen at his feet, and the idea that she might have mistaken pity for something more doused her heated thoughts faster than an ice bath.

  Her voice was sharper than she intended when she said, “My family will give me the privacy I’m looking for. I trust that I can expect you to do the same.”

  A small smile quirked his lips, and the lines around his mouth deepened though the expression was more sardonic than sincere. He tipped the hat Theresa found herself wishing he’d taken off. She wanted to know what color his eyes were. Brown to match the richness of his hair? Blue for the open skies above or green for the surrounding pines?

  She didn’t have the chance to find out. Backing out of the door, he said, “Peace and quiet are just what these cabins offer. I’ll be sure to let you enjoy yours.”

  He was gone before she knew it, leaving her alone as she’d requested, and she was an idiot for feeling disappointed at just how quickly he’d walked away.

  * * *

  As it turned out, Jarrett Deeks knew her family a little better than she did.

  Theresa was still wiping sleep from her eyes and contemplating the apparent lack of a coffee machine—never mind actual coffee—when she heard the knock on her door. Her foolish, utterly feminine heart jumped before her far more practical brain reminded her that Jarrett Deeks had better things to do than offer her room service.

  Or breakfast in bed, she thought, surprised when her thoughts actually went there with images of Jarrett Deeks still wearing that darned hat and little else.

  She was pathetic. There was no other word for it. For her body, an instrument that had caused her nothing but pain and misery for months, to suddenly come alive thanks to a man who was so wrong for her seemed almost as big a betrayal as her current weakness did.

  Shoving the thoughts aside, Theresa opened the front door.

  “I know you said you wanted some time alone,” Sophia said by way of apology, “but I’m here with a special delivery.”

  “So I see,” Theresa said with a smile. How could she be angry when her cousin was holding her adorable baby boy in her arms?

  Sophia laughed. “Actually, I wasn’t talking about this guy, but he is pretty special if I do say so myself.” She lifted the blanketed baby a little higher, and Theresa got a glimpse of a sweet round face, sleepy blue eyes and a tuft of dark hair. Kyle scrunched his face up in protest as the cool air touched his chubby cheeks, and she didn’t think she’d ever seen a more adorable sight.

  “Oh, he’s awake.” He’d been sleeping the day before, and Theresa had only had a peek of him slumbering away in his crib.

  “He just about fell asleep on the way over here, and I promise we won’t stay. But I was talking with my mother, and she was worried about you being up here without any food—you know how she thinks food cures everything. Anyway, she wanted to race over and cook enough meals to last your whole trip, but I convinced her I could bring out some leftovers and groceries to tide you over until you felt like running into town.”

  “Thanks. I woke up this morning realizing I hadn’t really thought that part of this trip through.” And having to seek out Jarrett Deeks after her bitchy stand about wanting her privacy...well, she’d rather go without breakfast than have to eat crow.

  “Oh, you’re welcome. Now, if you’ll just hold Kyle for a second while I run to the car and get everything...”

  “No, Sophia. I—I can’t!” Theresa took an immediate step back as her cousin held out her son. A tiny, helpless infant.

  A part of her longed to cradle the baby to her chest, to breathe in the newborn’s scent of milk and baby powder. But the idea of holding that life in her hands, of being responsible if something should go wrong— Unconsciously, she drew her left arm closer to her body. “It’s not a good idea.”

  Sympathy and understanding filled her cousin’s gaze. “I trust you, Theresa. You know that, don’t you?”

  It had taken Michael months before he’d trusted Theresa with his daughter, and that had been a horrible mistake. The car accident hadn’t been her fault, but his blame and Theresa’s own overwhelming sense of guilt weighed her down as heavily as if she’d been the one to run the red light.

  “I’ll get the groceries,” she insisted and escaped from the small cabin before Sophia could protest. Broken eggs she could handle much more easily than broken bones and broken lives.

  * * *

  “This is nice,” Sophia said as she glanced around the cabin once they’d settled in at the small kitchen table for a cup of coffee and a shared strawberry Danish from Debbie’s bakery. She held her son so easily, so naturally in one arm, and true to his mother’s earlier words, little Kyle had fallen into an innocent, trusting sleep. “I knew with Drew being involved in the construction that the workmanship on the cabins would be to his usual high standard, but Jarrett did a lot of the finish work himself.”

  “Really?” Theresa asked, only to immediately wish she hadn’t sounded so interested. “I mean, I wouldn’t have thought a former bull rider turned ranch owner would be all that handy when it came to construction.”

  The spark in her cousin’s eyes only deepened, and Theresa snapped her mouth shut so fast, her teeth clicked together. Way to overexplain. The last thing she wanted was for Sophia to pick up on her unwanted attraction to Jarrett Deeks.

  Recalling her shock at her first glimpse of the man in question, Theresa said, “You could have warned me, you know. From what I’d heard about Jarrett, I was expecting this old guy and not someone—”

  “Someone so gorgeous?” her cousin fi
lled in.

  “Someone so young, that’s all. I was just surprised.”

  “You’ve got to watch him at work, Theresa. I had to stop by the stables to ask which cabin was yours and saw him with one of his horses. It’s...breathtaking.”

  “So says the happily married woman.”

  “Yes, to her gorgeous and single cousin.”

  Theresa rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, don’t pin your matchmaking hopes on me and Jarrett Deeks.”

  Or on me and anyone else.

  Her heart was still reeling from her breakup with Michael. The car crash had shattered nearly everything in her life—personally, professionally...and emotionally. When she first woke in the hospital, her first thoughts had been of Michael—and of his daughter, Natalie. She’d loved them both and wanted to be there for them in any way that she could. Just as she’d needed Michael to be there for her. She’d counted on him being there. Instead, he’d walked away.

  Now that she’d gotten back on her own two feet physically, Theresa wasn’t about to start leaning on another man. Wasn’t about to trust one again. And no matter what crazy emotions Jarrett might have inspired in her the day before, without trust, those heated thoughts would stay in fantasyland, where they belonged. At least until she could find a way to get the man off her mind altogether.

  “I was not matchmaking,” Sophia insisted. “Merely commenting that you and Jarrett have something in common. I know how much you like to ride.”

  “Liked,” Theresa stressed. “Past tense.” When her cousin would have argued, she continued, “Besides, Jarrett and I didn’t exactly get off on the right foot, so I think we’ll both just keep our distance.”

  Sophia frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Jarrett. I mean, he doesn’t talk much, but I’ve never known him to say something inappropriate—”

  “No, it wasn’t anything like that.” Theresa wished she’d kept her mouth shut, but now that she’d stuck her foot in it, she was going to have to explain. She couldn’t let Sophia think Jarrett had done something wrong when he hadn’t. “He was just being polite in offering to show me around the stables, but I’m not interested. I told him I want to be left alone, and it came out a little sharper than I intended.”

  “So you’ll go down and apologize and ask him to give you the grand tour.”

  “Sophia—”

  “Look, I meant what I said about Jarrett being a good guy, but he’s not exactly the type to make an offer like that simply to be polite.”

  “No, he did it because the stables are one of the perks of staying here.” She was a guest and nothing more. Theresa didn’t want to think that his offer may have been a personal one.

  “If you say so,” Sophia answered in a singsong voice.

  “I do.” And whatever it took, she was going to force herself to believe it.

  Chapter Three

  “Um, no.”

  Make that hell no, Jarrett thought as Nick Pirelli dogged his heels as he walked down the narrow aisle of the stables. The local veterinarian had offered his services as soon as Jarrett started the rescue operation, and a part of him had been waiting for this moment. Well, not exactly for this moment, he thought, still feeling the jolt of surprise at the request, but for the moment when the other man would call in his chips.

  Oh, sure, Nick had told him pro bono work was something he did on a regular basis. That he respected the rehabilitation Jarrett did with the rescue horses and wanted to be a part of it. But Jarrett had learned long ago that nothing in life was free, and once you owed another person, they owned you.

  So he insisted on paying for the vet’s services, though he suspected the bills were greatly deflated from what Nick would normally charge, and the year before he’d taken on an abandoned horse as a favor to the other man. Not that he would have turned the horse away under any circumstances, but it’d been a way to try to even the score.

  His muscles were tight, his movements jerky as he stripped off his scarred leather work gloves while he waited for Nick to turn his request into a demand. He was the only large-animal vet in the area, and they both damn well knew it. Jarrett couldn’t run the rescue or the ranch without Nick’s services, and that dependency—that need—to rely on another person twisted his gut. How many times had life slapped him down with the lesson that the only person he could count on was himself?

  “Look, Jarrett,” Nick began, and Jarrett braced himself for the ultimatum he knew was coming. Do this or the horses suffer. “I know it’s a big favor to ask, but I’d really appreciate it.”

  Stuffing the gloves into his back pocket, Jarrett met the other man’s gaze and waited. Then waited some more. That was it? Just the simple request? No blunt demand...no subtle insinuation of what might happen if Jarrett didn’t fall in line?

  The realization had him slowly lowering his guard. Truth was, he admired the work Nick did. Their love of animals gave them a common ground and was enough for Jarrett to think he might be able to call the other man friend. And friends did do favors for each other.

  But not this. Pretty much anything but what Nick had asked.

  “I know Theresa seems like she’s doing okay.”

  Jarrett sighed. “That’s what she wants you to think. Truth is she’s far from okay.”

  He’d seen the pain in her expression when she thought he wasn’t watching. Seen how hard she’d pushed herself just to make the easy walk to the cabin. Pride kept her from showing how weak she truly was, but he recognized the signs. Hell, he’d seen them more often than not whenever he looked in the mirror. If that was all that was going on with Theresa, then maybe he’d think about what Nick was asking of him.

  He’d still say no. But he’d at least think about it first.

  “Which is why I need your help,” Nick pressed.

  “But she’s also a grown woman,” Jarrett added, refusing to let his mind go where it wanted to go after those words. He didn’t need to be thinking how womanly Theresa was while talking to her overprotective cousin. “And she needs to prove she can take care of herself while she works things out. Which is why she’s staying out here. Which is why the answer is still no.”

  No, he was not going to look in on Nick’s cousin. No, he was not going to go out of his way to make sure she was eating right and taking care of herself. No, he was not going to make another offer to take her riding or to show her around the property.

  He planned on making that as clear to Nick as Theresa had made her disinterest in Jarrett’s offer clear to him.

  Okay, so for a second, he thought he’d felt an answering spark of attraction when he’d caught her in his arms on the porch. Maybe he had; maybe he hadn’t. Either way, it didn’t matter when the woman came straight out and said she wasn’t interested.

  Fine by him.

  The last time she’d come to town, for Nick’s wedding, she’d brought her boyfriend along. A surgeon from the hospital where she worked in St. Louis. Theresa had a type—blond-haired, blue-eyed, educated and wealthy.

  And it didn’t matter, he told himself again, that Theresa hadn’t brought him along with her on this trip. He didn’t want to know if she’d given the good doctor the same I-need-my-space speech or if the other man’s absence had something to do with the sorrow Jarrett had seen in her eyes.

  Theresa was not there for him to rescue.

  Stopping in front of one of the stalls, he reached out and ran a hand down Silverbelle’s forelock. The small mare stood passively beneath his touch, her soft brown eyes watching him with a hint of caution. Not long ago, the once abused and neglected animal wouldn’t have let him come within ten feet of her. Her first few weeks in the rescue, he’d left her loose in one of the corrals, not wanting to traumatize her further by trying to force her into a stall. It had taken time and patience, not to mention decent food and fresh water, to help bring
the horse around.

  Jarrett was always amazed by an animal’s ability to forgive, to move beyond the cruel treatment by humans in the past, and by their willingness to trust again.

  Silver tossed her head and dislodged his hand from her warm and smooth hide, letting him know she’d had enough. She’d come so far, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still have work to do. She was still a little wary, a little standoffish—

  Another pair of haunted eyes came to mind. A gorgeous blue instead of soulful brown.

  And that was the real reason he wanted to stay away from Theresa. Her injuries went deeper than the physical damage done by the car accident. He could see the lingering shadows in her wounded gaze. Sadness, guilt, loss—he wasn’t sure what swirled in the blue depths. All he knew was that he’d felt the pull sucking him in like a whirlpool when it’d be best for both of them for him to stay away.

  Healing a horse’s broken spirit—that he could do. Healing a woman—no. Not in his skill set. “Look, Nick, I’d like to help—”

  “Great,” the vet interrupted, showing off that I’m-older-and-therefore-know-better judgment he was known for. “I knew I could count on you.”

  But Jarrett had faced down one-ton bulls. He didn’t let anyone run roughshod over him. “Like to,” he stressed, “but I can’t. I’m not the guy for the job. Trust me on this, okay?”

  “I’m not asking you to date her. Just check in on her once in a while.”

  Jarrett clenched his back teeth. Not asking him to date her. Why? Did Nick think Jarrett wasn’t good enough for his cousin? Just because he wasn’t some fancy doctor or— He swore beneath his breath. What the hell did he care what Nick thought? He didn’t even want to date Theresa!

  He stopped outside Duke’s stall, and the black horse shook his huge head with a short whinny—almost as if reading his thoughts and having a good old laugh. The gelding had technically been Jarrett’s first rescue, but he knew better. The one-time cutting horse had been his salvation.