A Cowboy to Kiss

by Mary Leo

  “I’d like to see that.”

  “Then drive back with me after your parents’ anniversary, and I’ll show you.”

  “I may take you up on that, Jake Scott.”

  “You don’t believe it’s possible, do you?”

  “Honestly? No, I don’t. I think once again you’re not being completely honest. For one thing, the manpower, and the time it would take to train my animals, I can tell you right now, would be cost prohibitive. Three man-days for every group of twenty animals just so we can pet them seems ridiculous when I can use my methods and move them without all that overhead cost.”

  “It’s a onetime cost, then you’re done.”

  “Not exactly. It’s a cost each year with each new animal. The numbers just don’t add up. As peaceful as these heifers are, this ranch can’t afford it.”

  These were the sorts of practices that nearly lost the ranch before, and she wasn’t about to try them again. She knew she was right, despite the fact that she appreciated the ease of this move.

  “That’s your choice, but in training the livestock, it will also benefit the trainer. You’d be surprised how relaxing it is to work with natural persuasion.”

  Her stomach tightened.

  “So now this is all about me?”

  “I never said that, but if you want to take it personally, that’s up to you.”

  “You’re a real piece of work. You think I don’t know what you’re trying to do?”

  She turned on her heel, and started back up the path, avoiding fresh cow dung as she walked.

  “Why don’t you tell me, so we’re both clear on that subject,” he said, walking alongside her now.

  “You know perfectly well you’re trying to prove your theory that women can’t be cowboys, can’t run a ranch as good as a man and can’t do any of the cowboy things that men can do, like moving a herd.”

  Her hands instantly clenched tighter around her rope.

  “Now, where the heck did you get that idea?”

  “From you.”

  “That’s impossible. I never said any of those things, nor do I believe them.”

  “Yes, you do. You told me time and again when we were kids and I intend to prove you wrong at Cowboy Days over at M&M Riding School this weekend. So dust off your spurs, cowboy, and get ready to hustle, ’cause I intend to out-cowboy you on every level.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Let’s settle this thing...whatever it is. I’m game to compete in Cowboy Days if you are. And if you don’t win your events?”

  “Oh, but I will.”

  “Let’s make it interesting. If you don’t prove that you’re the better cowboy, you owe me a kiss.” He walked in real close, close enough to touch her body with his. A flash of heat ran through her when he lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “And not a simple little grandma peck, but one of them alley cat kisses you told me about when I first arrived.”

  She narrowed her eyes, and stared up into his, refusing to back down.

  “Fine, and if I win, then you can pack up your ‘gentling’ ways and your brawny stud horses and your coffee bean grinder and go on back home.”

  He spit in his right hand, and held it out to her. “Then you got yourself a bet, Ms. Kenzie Grant.”

  She spit into her hand and grabbed hold of his with a grip that could crush steel, refusing to show any form of weakness.

  When they let go, she wiped her hand on her jeans and walked back toward the house, wondering why the heck she’d made such a high-handed bet with a man she not only had growing feelings for, but enjoyed being around more than she ever thought possible.

  Chapter Six

  Jake moved into the guesthouse the very next afternoon. He’d found the source of the stench, a dead possum, and once he removed it, the place really improved. They’d forgotten to open the windows before they left, so Joel went around and did just that. He fixed the warped floorboards under the window, while a cleaning crew dusted, swept and scoured the home until it sparkled. Jake made the beds with fresh linens, stacked all the dishes and flatware in the dishwasher, and that evening he finally got a full night’s sleep in a bed he could stretch out on.

  He hadn’t said more than a few cordial words to Kenzie since they’d made their little wager, and from what her dad had told him, that was probably a good idea. According to Henry, the frozen semen shipment had finally made it out of customs, but seemed to be taking the slow route down to the ranch. Kenzie was barely holding it together. It didn’t help that Henry had once again suggested Jake’s stud horses as an alternative. That, according to Henry, only set her stress levels higher.

  Jake contemplated all of this while he tried to wake up under the shower, the water a mild temperature of cold.

  And just as he was about to rinse the soap out of his hair, he thought he heard Kenzie’s voice echo through the sound of rushing water. He ignored it, and stuck his head under the water to rub out the soap.

  And before he could get the water out of his ears, the shower curtain slid aside and Kenzie Grant stood staring at him, arms folded, foot tapping, looking like she could spit nails.

  He grabbed a washcloth and held it in front of the important parts. “Don’t you knock?”

  “About as much as you do.”

  “But I’m taking a shower.”

  “I can see that,” she said as her gaze quickly swung over his body.

  “Whatever you’re mad about this time can wait until I’m finished.”

  “No, it can’t.”

  “Fine,” he said. “Have it your way.” And he moved the washcloth to scrub his body.

  She immediately slid the shower curtain back to give him some privacy.

  “Thank you,” he told her over the rushing sound of the water. When he finished bathing and turned off the shower she handed him a white bath towel through the curtain opening. He toweled off, wrapped it around his waist, then stepped out of the tub.

  “Now, what’s so darn important that you had to break in here and tell me while I’m taking a shower? Did somebody die? ’Cause if that’s not the emergency, I can’t imagine why you would be so rude.”

  He walked past her and into his bedroom to get dressed. He had no intention of standing around listening to her wrath half-naked.

  She followed him inside.

  “Do you mind?” he asked as he grabbed a clean pair of jeans out of his suitcase.

  She hesitated, but then turned around. “Don’t go acting so innocent. I know you unlatched both Morning Star and Sweet Girl’s gate this morning. I knew you were a low-down scoundrel, but I never thought you were this low.”

  Jake slipped on briefs, then his jeans and zipped them up. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He grabbed a shirt, walked past her, and headed for the kitchen. Once again she followed close behind.

  “Don’t even try to act innocent with me, Jake Scott. This has all the markings of something you would do with your ‘gentling’ ideas. Were you trying to gentle my mare and your stud into mating this morning? Without my blessing? Trying to prove some misguided natural order of things?”

  He had no idea what she was talking about and decided to ignore her...for now. Instead of paying attention, he sliced five oranges, then squeezed out the fresh juice with the electric juicer he’d brought from home. He pulled down two glasses from a cupboard, poured in the juice and handed her a glass.

  She took it.

  “I think you should start at the beginning, because you lost me.”

  She took a sip of the juice. “This is really good.”

  “I know. Orange juice is best when it’s fresh.”

  She downed the juice then slapped the empty glass down on the counter.

  “Don’t try to change the subject.�
�

  “So far, I don’t know what the subject is.”

  He had a hunch about what had happened, but he wasn’t ready to admit to anything just yet. He needed a full stomach to adequately argue with Kenzie. As it was, his head still swam from a much-needed deep sleep.

  “Your horse.”

  “What about him?” A pang of fright ripped through him when he considered that perhaps there had been an accident, that maybe he should actually listen to what she had to say. “He’s okay, right? Or did something happen to him?”

  “Morning Star is fine, probably more than fine... I’m not completely sure. You released him from his stall this morning, along with my mare. If I hadn’t walked in when I did, well, I’m assuming I was on time before...before they coupled.”

  He shrugged. “But isn’t that the idea?”

  “That may be your idea, but it’s not mine, and the mares belong to me. How dare you open those stalls when you know perfectly well that my shipment of semen is on its way? And besides, Sweet Girl isn’t ready to go out yet.”

  He pulled a pitcher of cream out of the fridge, along with bacon, eggs, tomatoes, cheese and a ripe avocado.

  “Can you back this up and start at ‘Good Morning, Jake? How are you on this fine morning? Did you sleep well?’” He pulled out a frying pan from a cupboard under the counter. “How do you like your eggs?”

  “What?”

  “Eggs and bacon? They’re both organic. I like scrambled. Would that be all right with you?”

  She looked a bit confused, but in a good way. He was hoping the breakfast question would throw her off her game and calm her down a bit. She looked and sounded a little too harried this early in the morning. It wasn’t good for either her health or his. Normally, he liked to take his time in the morning, listen to a little local news, maybe some good country music before he ran out to catch the day. Kenzie’s intrusion had disrupted his morning pattern.

  “Yes, that would be fine, but what about the open gates? Are you going to explain why you would do that?”

  “I didn’t, but you’re not going to believe me when I tell you how it must have happened. So, instead, why don’t you take a seat at the table? I’ll make us breakfast, and unless my stallion and your mare are romping around on the open roads somewhere, maybe we can simply sit back and enjoy a nice meal together. I even picked up a loaf of fresh bread from Holy Rollers yesterday, and I have a couple raspberry scones in the freezer, just for you.”

  Her shoulders relaxed, and she leaned on one hip. Her face even brightened under that fancy cowgirl hat of hers.

  “With coffee?”

  He could tell his offer was taking hold.

  “Absolutely,” he told her as he pulled out a chair from the small table that stood in the middle of the tiny well-lit kitchen. If she sat down then he knew they could work this out; if she didn’t, it was going to be a really rough day.

  She sat down, took off her hat and gently placed it brim up on the table; chestnut hair framing the delicate features of her face cascaded down around her shoulders. She looked radiant this morning, despite her temper,

  He took in the deep breath he’d been afraid to take since she first showed up in his bathroom.

  “Now,” he said as he slipped on the shirt he’d tossed over the back of the chair when he first walked into the kitchen. “What kind of latches do you have on the stall gates?”

  “You know perfectly well they’re spring-loaded slide latches.”

  “Those are a walk in the park for Morning Star. I’m surprised he didn’t let all your mares out this morning.”

  He grabbed the baggie of ground coffee he’d previously prepared at the main house, measured out the appropriate amount, dumped it in the top of the coffeemaker, flipped the button and within seconds the room filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. He knew it would work like a balm on Kenzie who sat back in her chair.

  She shook her head. “No way. That spring is tight. You’re just trying to put the blame on your innocent horse.” Kenzie countered.

  “If you say so, but if you have a main latch, that’s his favorite—it means he has that many more buddies to run with.”

  “So you’re saying Morning Star is a serial escape artist?”

  “Yep.”

  “And I’m supposed to believe that?”

  “Despite what you may believe, I don’t have any reason to lie to you.” He grabbed two gray mugs from the stand, filled them with coffee and handed her one. She eagerly took it, poured in some cream from the pitcher on the table, took a sip and let out the smallest of moans. Her voice sent a shiver over his body.

  “How gullible do you think I am?”

  “You’re not gullible at all. I’m just explaining that Morning Star is the Houdini of horses. Unless your latch has an actual lock on it, he’ll eventually find a means to break out. It’s in his DNA. His father was the same. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of this before?”

  She stared into his eyes as she drank more of her coffee. He was telling her the truth, but he could tell she was skeptical. Morning Star could unlock almost any latch and had caused him a lot of grief for a long time until he found a latch that also screwed into the ground, and even with that one, Jake had found it close to being opened several times.

  “If your coffee wasn’t so darn good I’d have doubt. But yes, I’ve heard of it, and okay, I believe you. Anyone who can make coffee like this can’t be all bad.”

  “Then we’ve come to a good point in our relationship. You believe me. So how about a second cup?”

  She chuckled and his world brightened as she handed him her now empty mug. “Oh, we’re just getting started.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  “Absolutely.”

  * * *

  KENZIE SPENT THE rest of the day cleaning out stalls, fixing any holes in the fence that surrounded her pastures, and making sure any calves that were born were clean, dry and vaccinated. Along with that, she had to make sure her ranch hands knew the day’s chores, and the volunteers from the local high school groomed all the horses once they were brought in for the night. Then she checked all the slide latches on the stalls to make sure they were secure, and gave Morning Star a good talking-to, not that she believed Jake for one minute.

  But still, she made sure his latch was secure before she went up to the house for Sunday dinner.

  She hadn’t been able to shake Jake Scott from her mind for the entire day, even though she’d made several attempts. She’d worked extra hard, and really focused on every detail of her day, but her mind always swung back to Jake standing naked under that shower. She even scolded herself for having some racy thoughts about the two of them sharing that shower, which only caused her to work harder.

  By the time dinner rolled around, Kenzie was dead tired. She washed up and changed out of her work clothes and into an actual dress. Then she applied extra makeup and even wore a darker shade of lip gloss. By the time she walked out of her bedroom, the house was filled with the usual assortment of guests and family. Sunday dinners at the Grant house were more like events rather than just a meal. All three of her sisters were there, along with her two brothers-in-law: Kayla’s husband, Jimmy, and Callie’s husband, Joel. Joel’s adorable young daughter, Emma, loved to play with Kayla’s toddler, Jess. Even Father Beau had showed up, along with Carson and Zoe. Zoe was all about Mom and Dad’s anniversary wedding next Saturday, and had brought over some swatches of fabric she wanted Mom to pick from for the top of the arbor Mom and Dad would stand under to say a few words to the guests. Zoe even brought her business partner, Piper, along so they could go over last-minute plans.

  The house was jumping with people, but when Jake didn’t show up, she grabbed a bottle of wine, put together a dinner care package that included a monster slice of her mom’s apple
pie, and walked on over to the guesthouse to make sure everything was all right. Dora and Dolly padded right along with her. She hadn’t actually seen Jake since breakfast, and that experience still burned in her memory as she approached the brightly lit-up guesthouse.

  Now she merely wanted to apologize for her rude behavior that morning. She figured that must have been the reason why he’d been invisible since then.

  Her temper had once again gotten the best of her, and she regretted it. She’d been spittin’ mad when she first went into the house. So mad that she didn’t care if he was taking a shower. She was going to give him a piece of her mind, but seeing him naked only reminded her of the other night when she awoke cuddled in his arms. She could only imagine what it would be like to have sex with him, to make love to him, to be loved by him.

  Not that she could ever admit it out loud, even to herself, but there was no doubt in her mind that kissing Jake Scott would clearly be a different experience than it had been the first time.

  As she got closer to the guesthouse she spotted Jake out in front, roping the longhorns that normally hung over the fireplace in the living room. He had them secured to a garbage can while he whirled his lasso in a big circle overhead, then tossed it directly over the horns. Each time he succeeded he’d let out a whoop.

  She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. “Is this why I haven’t seen you all day? Practicing your cowboy skills?”

  He pulled in his rope, coiled it, then tossed it up on the porch. The two dogs ran over to him wanting some loving, which he gave freely.

  “Just passing time. Nothing more.”

  But she knew better. Working a ranch was one thing, competing in an event was something all together different.

  Her skills were still pretty sharp from the previous Cowboy Days she’d competed in last month in Jackson, Wyoming, a town that was only a twenty-five-minute drive from Briggs. She’d entered for the experience and ended up winning All-Around Cowgirl. She liked to hone her abilities every chance she had.

  “You missed dinner, so I brought you some, along with a bottle of wine. I figured you for a red wine drinker, considering all the health benefits in the stuff.”