The Cowboy's Autumn Fall

by Shanna Hatfield

  Watching her two girls walk down the hallway, bantering with each other, Mary smiled. Poor Brice had a long battle ahead if he thought he could win Bailey’s heart. She hoped he was up to the challenge.

  Chapter Four

  “Who bravely dares must sometimes risk a fall.”

  Tobias G. Smollett

  “Do you think she said yes?” Brice asked Trent as they sat in the front yard of the Triple T Ranch, drinking iced tea and enjoying the warm September evening.

  Tomorrow they planned to finish up the last of the haying at the Running M Ranch, but for tonight, Brice and Ben were hanging out with the Thompsons at the Triple T waiting to find out if Tess accepted Travis’ marriage proposal.

  “Do you think he worked up the nerve to ask?” Trent asked instead of answering Brice’s question. “From recent experience, I can honestly say I’d rather go to the dentist and get six root canals without deadener than go through that again.”

  A slap on his arm from his wife made Trent cringe with feigned pain. “You don’t have to beat me to death, princess.”

  “You just hush up, cowboy, and keep your opinions to yourself,” Lindsay said, sitting back in her chair.

  Travis was a basket case of nerves most of the day. Cady made an elaborate chocolate dessert with ribbons of chocolate on top where Travis hid the engagement ring. Lindsay helped arrange flowers and ironed a tablecloth while Cass gathered up every candle she could find.

  With the help of a couple of the ranch hands, Travis hauled the cake, china and glassware as well as the candles and flowers down to the fort where the Thompson and Morgan kids used to play. It was there that Travis first kissed Tess when he was six and fell in love with the sweet girl, so he decided it was the perfect place to propose.

  Glancing at his watch in the fading light, Brice looked at Ben who shrugged his shoulders and laughed at something Trey said.

  Trent got up and walked to the edge of the yard, looking in the direction of the fort. “Maybe one of us should go see if they’re okay. Trav still isn’t back at a hundred percent with those legs of his. What if he rolled the four-wheeler or something?”

  “If he had, Tess would have called on her cell or come back to the house to get us. Sit down and stop your worrying,” Lindsay said, shaking her head at Trent. Her husband was the peacemaker of the family, which meant he was also the one who worried about the health and well-being of everyone.

  Abandoning plans to be a vet, Trent returned to the ranch along with Trey, who had aspirations of being a history professor, when their father suddenly passed away of a heart attack more than seven years ago. The ranch had thrived and prospered under their joint efforts and now that Travis was home after six years in the service, the three brothers purchased the adjoining ranch with ambitious plans for expansion.

  It seemed they were expanding their family as well as their acreage since Trey and Trent both took brides in the last eight months and Travis had plans to wed Tess as soon as she would agree to marry him.

  They sat visiting for another twenty minutes before Trent took out his phone and called Travis. “Did she say yes?”

  Apparently the answer was affirmative because Trent pumped his fist in the air. “Okay, see you in a bit.”

  All conversation ceased as they waited for the report.

  “It looks like there’s going to be another wedding,” Trent said with a broad grin.

  “Awesome. I always knew those two would wind up together,” Brice said, getting up to shake Trent’s hand, then Trey’s. “We grew up like brothers and now it’s going to be official.”

  “Did he give you any details?” Cady asked, wanting to know when the lovebirds planned to get married. She and Trey took an entire week from the time he proposed to the time they exchanged vows while Trent and Lindsay spent the summer planning their wedding.

  “Nope, but he said they’ll be back soon,” Trent said, pulling Lindsay out of her chair and swinging her around.

  “Trent, you’re going to make me dizzy,” Lindsay said, clutching his arms as she laughed. “Let me go.”

  “Never, but I will put you down,” Trent teased, returning Lindsay to her chair.

  The headlights of a four wheeler soon illuminated the yard and everyone jumped up to hug both Tess and Travis. After Tess spent the last two months at the house every day helping Travis with his physical therapy, everyone felt like she already belonged there.

  Cady and Lindsay were admiring Tess’ ring and the guys were slapping each other on the back good naturedly when they noticed headlights coming down their long drive.

  Trey and Cady gave each other a knowing look before glancing at Brice.

  A Jeep none of them recognized pulled up by the mud room door and in the dim light it was hard to make out any details. As the person stepped around the corner of the house into the front yard, Brice, who had been hugging Tess, slowly dropped his hands from his sister and felt his legs tremble.

  Bailey.

  She’d come back.

  “Hey, everyone,” Bailey said, taking in the group collectively, but quickly noticing Brice. He stood gaping at her with wide eyes, like he was seeing a ghost. Choosing to ignore the voice in her head that demanded she rush over and fall into his arms, she instead tried to sound casual. “I’m sensing an overwhelming amount of excitement in the air. What’s going on?”

  “Tess and Travis just got engaged,” Cady said, stepping forward and giving Bailey a hug. While they were close she whispered in her ear. “No one told Brice, just like you asked, but this is quite a shock to him.”

  “I see that,” Bailey whispered, not realizing how hurtful her actions would be to Brice. First she completely ignored his attempts to reach out to her. Then she failed to acknowledge the wonderful gift he sent. To add insult to injury, she refused to let anyone tell him she was coming back to Grass Valley for an extended stay. It was obvious to anyone looking that Brice felt betrayed and angry.

  Knowing now was not the time or place to apologize to Brice, she turned to give Travis and Tess affectionate hugs and offer her congratulations.

  “When will you two be exchanging nuptials?” Bailey asked as she made the appropriate comments over Tess’ lovely ring.

  “The second Saturday in October,” Tess said with a warm smile brightening eyes that were a darker shade of brown than Brice’s.

  “What?” Cady and Lindsay asked in unison. That was just a month away.

  “We don’t want to wait long,” Travis said, kissing Tess on the cheek as he squeezed her hand. They shared a private look that said a month was going to seem like forever. “We’d like to get married at the fort with just family and then have a reception at the Running M. Tess thought the barn would be an ideal place for a big party. Does that sound okay?”

  “That sounds great, Trav,” Trey said, thumping his youngest brother on the back. Tess had been an unofficial sister since they all played together as rowdy youngsters. Trey was thrilled she would finally be part of their family, especially when she was so good for Travis. If not for her gentle love and encouragement, he didn’t know what would have happened to Travis when he refused assistance in dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder. Because of her, Travis finally decided he needed help and had been making remarkable strides in his recovery. “Do you plan to live here at the ranch or do we need to see about fixing up the Drexel house?”

  “If none of you object, we’d like to live at the Drexel house. I think one set of honeymooners per house is plenty and Trey and Cady had first dibs on the ranch house. It makes sense for the two of you to stay here, especially since Cady feeds us all,” Travis said, making Cady blush and Trey grin. “I thought we could go over tomorrow and see what we can do between now and the wedding.”

  The three Thompson brothers purchased the neighboring Drexel ranch right before Trent’s wedding. It increased their property to the south and also gave them the opportunity to present Lindsay with the house she’d rented from Mr. Drexel for th
e past three years as a wedding gift. She and Trent loved the little cottage home located just a few miles down the road. Mr. Drexel had used it as housing for his ranch foreman before turning it into a rental.

  Another half-mile past their house was a long driveway that wound up to the Drexel farmhouse. Talking excitedly, the Thompsons all agreed to meet there early the next morning.

  In a matter of minutes, Brice found himself standing alone in the yard with Bailey. Dressed in cargo pants and a T-shirt with well-worn hiking boots, she looked gorgeous to him. A profusion of her hair fell in finger-tempting waves and curls around her face, making Brice shove his hands in pockets to keep from reaching out to feel the silky strands between his rough fingers.

  In the past month, he replayed every moment they spent together, recalled every taste of her lips, and hungered to hold her in his arms again. At night, she haunted his dreams wearing the turquoise sun dress she had on the last time he saw her. The dress made her eyes an even more brilliant shade of ocean blue while accenting her lovely assets.

  He fantasized about running his fingers through all her thick honey-gold curls and kissing every inch of her heart-shaped face. On more than one occasion, he found himself sniffing his mother’s tea, just to bring to mind Bailey’s unique fragrance.

  Finding a website where she regularly contributed blog posts, he stared at the photo of her dressed in khaki shorts, a white tank top and hiking boots with a ridiculously ugly hat hiding her beautiful curls. He read every single thing she’d written even though most of it was a bunch of technical lingo that meant nothing to him. It somehow made him feel closer to her.

  When she didn’t return his calls, texts and emails, he wasn’t overly concerned. He spent his free time hand-carving the needle case and shipped it to Denver where Mary assured him Bailey would eventually stop by.

  Hoping the gift would be an incentive for her to at least send him a word of thanks, he wasn’t surprised when he heard nothing from her. After all, he wasn’t sure when she’d be in Denver again.

  To see her standing in the yard at the Triple T, acting like she’d never left, never ignored him, never pretended what happened between them was nothing, he was angry. And hurt. Not only had she kept her return from him, she’d obviously asked the Thompson clan to keep him in the dark as well.

  Part of him wanted to walk off and never see the infuriating woman again. The other part - the spontaneous, caring, loving part of Brice - wanted to hold her close and never let her go.

  “Brice, I...” Bailey said, taking a step toward him, wary of the cold look in his usually warm brown eyes. Unable to convince herself Brice meant nothing to her when she hadn’t seen or talked to him for weeks, it was impossible to do so when he stood an arms-length away, strong and handsome, smelling so good. As hard as she’d tried, she couldn’t forget the way he filled out his jeans and shirts to perfection, the way his hair begged for her fingers to run through it, the way the sound of his voice made warmth pool in her middle.

  Knowing what she needed to do, Bailey squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “I owe you an apology.”

  “You do?” Brice asked sarcastically, his jaw rigid as he tried to fight down his anger. “What would that be for, Miss Bishop? Maybe for ignoring my text messages, phone calls or emails. Or did you not receive any of those?”

  Bailey had the grace to blush with embarrassment.

  “Maybe it was for the gift I sent. I understand if you didn’t care for it, but most people would at least say thank you or return it,” Brice said, glaring at her through narrowed eyes. He hadn’t moved since she approached him, but every muscle was tight and tense as he stared her down. “Or maybe you feel the need to apologize for asking my closest friends to keep your impending arrival a secret. It certainly couldn’t be the way you took the friendship I offered, ground it under your heel and threw it in my face.”

  Brice sighed and swiped his hand over his face. “I guess I’m the one who should apologize. I’m sorry for bothering you, for thinking you might like me enough to treat me with even the most basic amount of decency. You’ve made your feelings toward me clear, so I’m done, Bailey. Goodbye.”

  Brice turned and stalked off toward his pickup. Bailey watched him go, knowing she should let him walk away, let him walk out of her life, but something in her wouldn’t let her do it. Before he reached the corner of the house, she was beside him, her hand on his arm, looking into his face with regret and a little fear.

  “Brice, I’m sorry. It was unforgivably rude of me to ignore your efforts at friendship and I realized as soon as I got here how wrong it was not to tell you I was coming,” Bailey said, trying to keep her thoughts in order while fire zipped through her fingers where her hand made contact with Brice’s skin. She’d tried to forget the electrical charge that snapped between them any time they got near each other. It was back in full force. “It was selfish and cruel and I’m sincerely sorry.”

  Brice continued to glare at her but he didn’t make any effort to leave. She took that as a positive sign.

  Opening a pocket on the side of her pants, she drew something out and placed it in Brice’s hand. He glanced down to see the needle case he’d sent her. Raising his head, he gave her a quizzical look.

  “I love the case, Brice. Not only is it a thing of beauty, but one of purpose,” Bailey said, growing breathless. Since she opened the box and discovered the case from Brice, she’d kept it with her, either in a pocket or her purse, and took it out often to feel the smooth wood in her hand, envisioning Brice’s calloused fingers carving it. “You are a very talented artist.”

  “It was nothing,” Brice said, extremely pleased she liked the gift, but still curious why she hadn’t said anything. She certainly knew how to get in touch with him if she’d wanted to.

  “It is something, Brice. Something lovely and thoughtful and very much appreciated,” Bailey said, taking the case from his hand and returning it to her pocket. “It was wrong of me not to thank you sooner, but I’m saying it now. Thank you for a wonderful gift.”

  With Bailey’s fingers searing through his skin, her fragrance enveloping him, and the glow of her eyes drawing him in, Brice was finding it difficult to hang on to his anger.

  “I don’t think that quite cuts it,” Brice said, trying to appear disappointed and mad. It was hard to do when he was lost in her eyes, drunk on her perfume, entranced by the sound of her voice. Reaching up he brushed a lock of her side swept bangs from her eyes before lightly tracing the contour of her cheek.

  Bailey looked at him confused, so he took a step closer, leaving just a breath of space between them. “I’m going to need a more elaborate gesture of gratitude before I accept either your apology or your thanks.”

  “What do you have in mind? I can cook a little. Do you want some cookies? I could crochet you a potholder or embroidery something for you,” Bailey said running down her mental list of things she could do for Brice to show her gratitude. “I’ve got a fossil or two I might be willing to part with.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” he said, putting first one work-worn hand then the other around her waist, pulling her to his chest. “A kiss would be sufficient.”

  “Oh,” Bailey said, realization dawning that Brice was teasing her. The conclusion that one kiss couldn’t hurt, combined with her desperation to feel his lips on hers, forced her to quickly agree. “Just one, though.”

  Brice lowered his head to hers. His lips moved against hers softly at first, then rapidly changed to demanding and soon Bailey was lost in his arms, in the kiss, in the heat sucking her into a place where only she and Brice existed.

  When he finally lifted his head, Bailey put her hands around his neck, drawing him back toward her wanting mouth, but he resisted.

  Brice cocked one eyebrow and gave her a look she couldn’t interpret, but his eyes no longer looked quite so angry. “You said just one.”

  Trying to find her mental footing as her breathing returned to normal, Bai
ley admitted to herself she needed many more kisses from Brice. One would never do. She’d been kidding herself for the past month if she thought the wedding and her inadvertent inebriation had been the cause of her attraction to Brice.

  The man himself was the attraction, there was no denying it.

  Brice released her and turned back toward his truck, walking away from her. Bailey felt bereft and abandoned as she stared at his retreating form, registering exactly how good he looked wearing his boots, Wranglers, and a cotton shirt.

  Hating the tears that stung the backs of her eyes, she realized Brice was going to get in his truck, drive away, and there was nothing she could do about it.

  “Brice, please don’t leave,” she said, frozen in place by her fear of rejection. It was a new and disturbing feeling for her. Not getting what she wanted was something completely foreign to Bailey. She had always been able to decide what she wanted, determine the best way to get it, and make it happen. With Brice, though, her careful reasoning and cool approach were not going to work. In fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect. “Please, don’t go.”

  As he continued walking toward his truck, Bailey resigned herself to living the rest of her life with the memory of that last sizzling kiss. Turning toward the house, she was nearly to the door of the mud room when Brice swept her into his arms, raining kisses on her cheeks and down her neck.

  “I missed you so much, sugar,” Brice said in a raspy voice near her ear, making shivers work their way from her toes to her head. “Don’t run away from me again. I don’t think I can take it. At least give me a proper goodbye.”

  Bailey nodded her head in agreement and pulled Brice’s lips to hers for another kiss.

  “Forgive me?” she asked, kissing his chin, then the mole beneath his bottom lip. She’d dreamed of kissing it dozens of times in the last month.