She was never going to be able to do the same, especially now that his body warmth was gone. After a moment, when she was certain that he was breathing rhythmically again, she wiggled back into her bra and his jacket, zipping herself to safety.
But for a guy who claimed to be a hardened bachelor, he sure did snuggle nice. Just her luck to find herself attracted to a friend and new family member of the Callahans.
Nothing good could come of that—especially if he learned anything from them about settling down.
JOHNNY AWAKENED when he no longer felt Jess’s warmth beside him. “Did the rain quit?” he asked sleepily.
She was over by the horses, which was good, because he needed to adjust his jeans. He tugged at the denim and then went to help her.
“It’s still pouring, but the electrical storm is over. This may be our best chance to get the horses out of the cold.”
“Sounds like a great plan.” He grabbed a saddle and swung it up on Bleu’s back. “Sorry, buddy. I know you’d prefer a nice, dry saddle pad under there, but we’re fresh out.” He wasn’t as proficient at putting on the saddle and bridle as Jess was—she had the other two horses ready by the time he’d finished with Bleu—but he told himself he wasn’t totally all thumbs. Slow and steady improvement, that was the way to make a man look good in his instructor’s eyes.
Sure.
“So, I’ve been thinking,” Jess said, her voice completely nonchalant, “about us going to the Callahan Christmas party together.”
Johnny grunted, figuring he knew what she was about to say. “You think after we spent the night here together, we shouldn’t throw fuel on the fire.”
Jess didn’t look at him. “Well, they are going to talk. A lot.”
“A man never minds when beautiful ladies throw themselves at him,” he said, peering over Bleu’s back to wink at her. “But in this case, I do see where it would be best for you if we didn’t go together.”
“Oh,” she said.
He hesitated as he bent to douse the pitiful excuse for a fire, which had probably only provided enough smoke to keep bats away. “That’s what you were going to say, right?”
“Yes. Thank you for understanding.” Jess attached Raj’s reins to Pumpkin, the spare horse Johnny had ridden out. “In fact, to squash any gossip about what might have happened between us last night, I think we ought to go one step further.”
Johnny blinked. “Why are you attaching Pumpkin to Raj?”
“You’ll have to ride Bleu because the stallion can’t be tied behind another horse. He’s used to being a leader. But Pumpkin will be okay with that. He’s a baby, aren’t you?” she asked the horse, which seemed pleased that he was getting extra attention from Jess.
Pumpkin was pretty lucky to have her hand running down his mane and stroking his nose, Johnny decided. He thought about Jess being in his arms last night. “So what’s the step?”
“The only way to completely curtail any speculation is if both of us show up at the party with dates.” Jess swung into the saddle, and Johnny gingerly mounted Bleu.
It sounded reasonable enough to him. Diablo was her town, and it was her friends and family who would know she’d spent a night with a man she’d only just met. “I’ll ask someone.”
“Thank you,” Jess said, her tone brisk. “I will, too.”
They looked at each other. He couldn’t say Jess appeared happy, but she was probably embarrassed.
“I wonder who uses this cave?” Johnny asked, glancing around. A change of subject seemed important at the moment. “That Native American rug is pretty cool. And the symbols on the walls don’t look all that old.”
Jess shrugged. “Probably the Callahans. I bet there’s dozens of caves on this land.”
He nodded. “I’m ready to head out if you are.”
She gave him one last glance, then edged Raj carefully out of the cave. Johnny followed, doing his best to pay attention to the pebbly ground so Bleu wouldn’t slip. It was dark as dirt with the moon hiding behind the downpour and clouds, so Johnny kept his gaze firmly on Pumpkin and tried not to think about Jess’s shapely rear bouncing in the saddle ahead of him.
“HOLY SMOKES!” Jess heard Rafe exclaim as they clopped into the barn. He jumped up from a hay bale where he’d obviously camped, waiting on them. “How’d you find Bleu?”
Jess slid off Raj and began unsaddling him, while Rafe took care of Pumpkin. Johnny had come to a halt a few feet back and was dragging the saddle off Bleu. She wondered if she’d ever “sleep” with a man as big and as handsome as Johnny again in her life.
Probably not. It felt vaguely as if she’d missed an opportunity.
“Bleu found us. The horse is smart,” she said, reaching for a towel to rub down Raj.
“Go on in,” Rafe told her. “There’s coffee waiting, and gingerbread and cinnamon rolls, and most likely Fiona. She’s been worried sick about you.”
Jess shot a glance at Johnny. He nodded at her, and she knew he thought she should follow Rafe’s suggestion. Putting in an appearance without him would keep the Callahans from thinking that they’d set some kind of speed record for matchmaking at Rancho Diablo.
“Thanks,” she told Rafe, and left the barn. Johnny didn’t look at her as she departed. Either he was spooked by her tales of caution—very possible, since he’d gone along with her suggestion that they show up with other dates to the party—or he regretted the bad luck that had stuck him in a cave with her.
“Hello!” Fiona said, popping her gray head up from the sofa where she’d been napping. “Jess! You look frozen!” She hurried into the kitchen, wearing a plain bathrobe that looked so cozy Jess wished she had one. “Coffee?”
“Please.” Jess’s teeth chattered. Hot coffee might be the only thing that stopped her from knocking the enamel off her teeth.
“And then a hot shower and bed,” Fiona said, her tone no-nonsense. “You’re not leaving here tonight.”
“I really should—”
“It’s five in the morning. It’s been pouring all night. Phone lines are down, and some of the power in town is off. We lost power for a few hours ourselves. I don’t know if any of the roads are out. No,” Fiona said. “You’re staying until daylight. Then you can leave to go put on your party dress.”
Jess wrapped her fingers around the mug. “All right. Thank you, Fiona.”
“Butter on your gingerbread?”
“Please.” Jess gulped the coffee gratefully.
“After your snack, run upstairs and get warm in the shower. Nothing else will do it as fast. I turned the space heater on in your room, and there’s a gown and robe on your bed. Second room on the right, next to Sabrina’s.”
Sabrina was Fiona’s personal assistant. Jess had heard rumors in town that Fiona was hopeful that Sabrina and Jonas, the eldest of the six brothers, might make a match one day, but Jess knew that nothing had happened in the year or so since Sabrina had lived here.
Callahan men were notoriously hard to tie down.
Fiona handed her a plate of buttered gingerbread and a napkin. “Eat this, and you’ll sleep like a baby.”
Jess looked forward to that.
But first, she needed to dig up a last-minute date.
It wasn’t going to be easy, because all the guys she knew she’d grown up with, and none of them—absolutely none—made her dream of sleeping in a cold cave with them.
She had eyes for Johnny Donovan, that was all there was to it. Because she would run to spend the night with him again—wherever it was.
She wasn’t just thinking about horses anymore—but of a big tall man from Wyoming who couldn’t ride that well, yet held her like a prince.
Chapter Three
“Thanks for getting Pete’s horse. He’s Rancho Diablo’s finest stallion.” Rafe put Bleu away as he sent Johnny a grin. “Lucky you, getting stuck in a cave with Jess.”
“I guess. I’m not a fan of caves, to be honest.” Johnny thought his voice sounded pretty smooth for
a fibber. He hadn’t minded the cave a bit—not with Jess there, at least.
“So, what happened?”
Johnny shrugged, aware that Rafe was digging at him, in a friendly way. “Rain and more rain. So cold I about froze my—”
“Coffee!” Fiona called, coming into the barn with a thermos she handed to Johnny. “Figured you could use this.”
“Why are you out in this rain, Aunt Fiona?” Rafe asked. “We’ve got coffee in the barn office.”
“But not fresh, and not piping hot.” She smiled at Johnny. “I hope this incident doesn’t make you wish you were back up north. We generally go a little easier on our guests.”
“No, ma’am,” Johnny said. “Rancho Diablo is a great place to be.”
“So you found a cave?” Fiona asked, her gaze probing.
“Quite by accident. It was good luck—we would have drowned otherwise. And I don’t know what would have happened to Bleu if he hadn’t made his way there. But it was almost like he knew about the cave.”
Fiona smiled. “I guess it was empty?”
He blinked. “I noticed a rug. Does someone camp there?”
“Do you know about this cave, Fiona?” Rafe glanced from Johnny to his aunt.
“Actually, it’s not really a cave,” she said, “it’s more of a dugout in the wall, wouldn’t you say, Johnny?”
He wouldn’t have said that at all, but by the intense gleam in her eyes and the fact that Rafe wasn’t familiar with a cave on his own property, Johnny decided it was best to agree with his hostess. “I guess you could say that.”
“It would mean a great deal to me if you didn’t tell anyone in town about this. Our neighbor to the west loves to churn up tales about hidden silver and whatnot. The idea of a cave would really set off Bode Jenkins, and we’ve got trouble enough with him.”
“Bode’s trying to run us off our place,” Rafe said. “We’ve been battling with him for a few years now.”
“I won’t mention it,” Johnny promised.
“Thank you,” Fiona said. “By the way, is Jess all right?”
“She seemed fine enough to me, except for freezing all night. It was awfully cold in the ca—ledge.” He noted Fiona’s steady gaze again, her eyes twinkling just a little, and decided to heed Jess’s cautionary words. “Did she say she wasn’t fine?”
“I just wondered,” Fiona said. “I noticed she wasn’t wearing a shirt. Plus she was wearing your jacket. I’m sure you’re frozen, so there’s warm gingerbread and more coffee in the bunkhouse.”
Fiona departed, and Rafe laughed.
“You son of a gun,” he said, and Johnny shook his head.
“Nothing happened. Sorry.”
Rafe looked at him. “Freezing cold, wet to the skin, and somehow Jess loses her top?”
“She used it to dry the horses,” Johnny said, making his voice matter-of-fact, and putting on his best poker face so he wouldn’t give away the fact that he’d gotten a slight introduction to Jess’s soft, smooth breasts. “Like I said, it was cold.”
He met Rafe’s gaze with a shrug.
“She would use her blouse on the horses,” Rafe said sheepishly. “If we trust anyone with Bleu, it’s Jess. Sorry about that, man.”
“It’s okay,” Johnny said. “I’ve been warned about you Callahans and your matchmaking.”
Rafe laughed again. “No, sorry she had her top off and it wasn’t for you, dude. Come on. Let’s hit that gingerbread.”
Johnny followed Rafe, wishing gingerbread could warm him up half as effectively as Jess had.
BY NIGHT FALL, Johnny was amazed by how Rancho Diablo came alive. Christmas seemed painted on the sky. Fiona had silvery and gold decorations everywhere. There was even a Santa’s village jump house for the children.
“Santa will be by later to visit,” Fiona said. “Don’t tell anyone.”
Johnny took a grapefruit-size silver ornament from her and hung it on a yucca plant. “I won’t.”
“You don’t mind keeping my secrets?”
He hung a silver-and-red candy cane from the eave she indicated. “Your secret is none of my business.”
Fiona nodded. “Can you pass the word to Jess about keeping the cave under wraps?”
“Ah,” Johnny said, “actually, you might want to do that. I may not get much of a chance to talk to her tonight.”
“Oh?” Fiona’s bright gaze latched on to him.
“I’ll probably be busy with my date. It’s hard to talk about caves when you’re with a date.”
Fiona’s face fell. “A date!”
He shrugged. “Just a girl from town.”
She handed him another candy cane. “Any friend of yours is welcome at Rancho Diablo.”
“Thanks.” He could practically feel her good manners cracking as she tried not to demand who his date was. “I decided to bring Wendy Collins. I met her at the library.”
“Wendy Collins!” Fiona blinked. “I just bet you met her at the library!”
He tried not to smile. It was the same thing he’d thought about the gorgeous brunette when she’d thrown herself at him outside the library. So it was a bit of a stretch.
“Oh, Johnny.” Fiona looked at him sadly. “I am so sorry Wendy got her hooks into you. She’s been married four times. Maybe five. No one is really sure.” The older woman shook her head. “We tried to tally it up through the marriage license department, but she’s pretty wily. Anyway, I thought you were squiring Jess to the party?”
“I think she had other plans.” Johnny hung another candy cane and grinned. “Don’t worry about me, Fiona. I’m a dedicated bachelor.”
“So I’ve heard.” She patted him on the back and trundled off, looking a bit deflated.
Which took a little of the fun from the evening for him, but he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t want to be a matchmaker’s victim.
Although he was willing to admit he’d probably enjoy the Christmas party a lot more with Jess than Wendy. Still, a man did what a man had to do to please a girl—and Jess had wanted no part of them going together.
“So I’m off to pick up Wendy,” he muttered, hoping the much married, flirty librarian didn’t intend to try to make him husband number five.
AN HOUR LATER, Johnny arrived at the party with a very enthusiastic, scantily clad Wendy the librarian. She had thrown herself into his arms the second he’d walked into her entryway, declaring herself so attracted to him that maybe he’d like a pre-party appetizer. She’d kissed him like she meant business, and while the experience hadn’t been awful, it was one he didn’t want repeated.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Jess, who had likely never offered herself to a man she’d just met. I wouldn’t say no if she offered, though.
“Mulled cider? Champagne? Something I can fix you, Johnny? Wendy?” Rafe asked, walking by with a silver tray full of drinks he was passing out to guests who’d already put in an order.
“Whiskey?” Johnny asked, and Wendy giggled.
“Yes, get my date nice and loose,” she told Rafe. “Make it a double. And I’ll have a Bloody Mary, please.”
Johnny’s scalp did a little dance under his hat. He felt as if he were in the presence of a black widow spider. “Save me,” he muttered to Rafe when he returned with their drinks.
Rafe laughed. “She’s harmless,” he said comfortingly.
Johnny took a big gulp of his whiskey. “I’m pretty sure she’s not. And I think she’s got plans for me later. If you don’t find my body, please look for it in the library stacks or something.”
Rafe chuckled and moved on with his tray. Wendy pasted herself up against Johnny’s side, smiling with Christmas-red lips, and batting her big eyes at him. “We should take a walk under the stars, big guy.”
He was about to reply something to the effect that he needed to stay close by to watch his nieces before they went to bed, when Jess walked in with a big, tall man dressed in a uniform. At first Johnny thought perhaps the guy had dressed in costume for the part
y—then he realized Jess’s date was some kind of law enforcement officer.
And she looked gorgeous.
Johnny scarfed down another slug of his whiskey.
Some men might not like redheads, but he sure did. Jess’s fiery hair was up in a ponytail, twined with tinsel. She was smiling at everyone, seemingly relaxed. Her deep green skirt was short and sexy, her white blouse cut to reveal her arms and a little bit of freckle-speckled chest.
The whiskey wasn’t helping. She was with another man—and Johnny was pretty certain his Christmas Eve was going to be more like Halloween, replete with unfortunate tricks.
“DON’T TELL ANYONE you’re my cousin,” Jess said as Gage followed her to the party at Rancho Diablo. “At least not tonight.”
“Sure.” He grinned. “Is that the caveman over there?”
“Yes.” Jess turned to wave at Aberdeen so she wouldn’t stare at Johnny’s too-hot date. Wherever had he run across Wendy Collins? Oh, he was sleeping with her for certain. Wendy had never met a man she didn’t want to—
“Jess!” Fiona gave her a big hug. “You look lovely! And who is this big, strong man?”
Jess forced herself to smile. “Fiona, I’d like to introduce you to Gage Phillips. From Hell’s Colony, Texas.”
Fiona gave him a thorough once-over. Jess held her breath.
“Welcome, Gage Phillips from Hell’s Colony,” Fiona said. “I’m pretty sure we’ve bought a steer or two from there. I’ll have to ask my boys.”
Gage nodded easily. “We have a fair amount of ranchers around Hell’s Colony.”
Fiona studied him for a moment longer, then said, “Jess, I’m so happy you brought a date. Please make yourself at home, Gage. I’m certain my boys will be over to introduce themselves to you soon.”
Jess felt as if she’d passed the inquisition with flying colors. “Your house looks like a winter wonderland, Fiona. It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Their hostess gave Gage another speculative glance. “And just so you know, the mistletoe is hung over that door.”
Gage followed her pointing finger, his smile steady. Jess felt as if her own smile was frozen on her face so hard it might crack.
Holiday in a Stetson: The Sheriff Who Found ChristmasA Rancho Diablo Christmas Page 10