The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek)

by Cora Seton

  “We will,” he said. “In a minute.” It was plain she welcomed this distraction as much as he did. He had no idea what they’d do tomorrow, but it was too late to sort anything out tonight. They were in bed together. Naked.

  He traced kisses around her breasts, down to her stomach and lower still. Hannah moaned when he found her core and tasted her. She was so sexy leaning against the pillows, her back arched in pleasure, her thighs spread to grant him access. She trusted him, that was clear, so on some level she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Knew, in fact, he’d do whatever it took to bring her happiness.

  He let all thoughts of the future slide away and concentrated fully on the woman before him who had given him her body, if not her heart quite yet. He had to make her understand how fully he wanted her. They were meant to be together. He had to make her feel the same way.

  He teased her with his mouth and tongue, stroking her until she began to move beneath him, uttering small, sexy moans. He slid his hands under her to cup her ass, lift her closer, spread her legs farther apart. Hannah gripped the sheets and tilted her head back, her eyes closed. Taking his time, building her desire, he waited until he could see she couldn’t take much more, quickly pulled on protection and lifted himself into position.

  With his hardness pressed against her, he asked, “Is this all right?”

  “Yes.” She gripped him urgently.

  “I can take you all the way there the other way.”

  “No, I want this.” She pulled him close.

  He loved that she wanted him like this. Loved that she let him cover her, let him stroke into her from this position of power. He loved that she trusted him fully to bring her to the edge. Loved that she was content to ride over it with him.

  He began slowly with powerful, deep strokes that left Hannah panting and gripping his back with insistent fingers.

  “Jake.” She lifted her hips to meet him. He knew what she wanted and gave it to her. Faster strokes, harder, pulling out and pushing in until the friction built within her and she couldn’t hold back anymore. “Jake!” she cried and arched against him. His own release close, he bucked harder against her, slammed his hips down to meet hers. He felt something give, something not quite right, but went over the edge, lost in his release, lost in the waves of ecstasy that pulsed through him, pounding into Hannah again and again.

  When he collapsed against her, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his head. “You make me feel so good.”

  “I always want to make you feel good.” He pressed his mouth against her neck. “Let me always make you feel this good.”

  She wriggled under him without giving him an answer and he followed her lead, pulling the covers with him until they spooned together under the blankets. He didn’t press her. Instead he watched her eyelids drift closed and her breath even out. She trusted him enough to fall asleep beside him. That had to mean something.

  As quietly as he could, he slipped from beneath the covers and moved to the bathroom off his own bedroom to clean up.

  Only then did he find the tear in the condom, a gaping hole too wide for any doubt that it might have done its job. Jake dropped it in the trashcan as an irrational hope flared within him. If Hannah became pregnant she wouldn’t hesitate to marry him.

  Should he wake her up and tell her what happened? Urge her to think over his proposal again?

  No, she’d feel pressured, he decided. She might become so upset she refused to think about it at all. Would she know the condom broke? She hadn’t said anything, but then she hadn’t gotten up and moved around after their lovemaking. She might not discover any evidence until morning.

  And then what would she want to do. Rush off to a doctor? Take care of it?

  Jake’s hands balled into fists. Accident or not, practical or not, if she made that kind of decision it would end their relationship before it even started. And what if she thought he’d tampered with the condom to force her hand? She’d hate his guts.

  Gripped with indecision, he returned to the guest room and watched Hannah sleep peacefully in a tangle of covers. If he woke her now neither of them would get any rest tonight and that wouldn’t help anything. Best to sleep on it and decide what to do in the morning.

  ‡

  Chapter Seven

  Hannah woke to find Jake gone and one look out the window told her why. The sun was almost up, which meant he must have been busy with chores for ages. She could never keep rancher’s hours.

  Rancher’s hours.

  The events of the previous night came back with a rush, and she lay back against the pillows taking in the luxurious ache between her legs with a rush of pleasure, desire and shock. They’d made love twice, and it had been great. Jake was the perfect lover. Affectionate, generous… insatiable. Too bad he had to get up so early in the morning. They could have gone for another round.

  And he’d asked her to marry him. For a split second she felt like saying yes. What would it be like to wake up with him every morning, and come home to him every night? When she’d mentioned her career plans, he’d seemed somewhat disappointed, and she figured he’d wanted a stay-at-home wife. But surely they could work that out.

  Maybe.

  She’d better get up if she didn’t want to be late. She slipped out of bed reluctantly and stopped cold. Something wasn’t right. Something… down there. Whirling around, she threw on the first thing that came to hand—Jake’s shirt from the previous night—and ran down the stairs to the bathroom on the first floor. Was it the only one in the house? She didn’t know, since they hadn’t completed their tour last night. She didn’t care, either. What she cared about was the slipperiness between her legs. Evidence that their protected sex hadn’t been that protected after all.

  A few moments later she was sure. Hadn’t Jake put on a condom the second time around? She thought back. He had. So why…?

  Could it have torn?

  What a time to be off the Pill. She’d only gone off a couple of months ago because she’d had a series of bad headaches this summer. She’d meant to give her body a break then try a new brand. She even had the doctor’s appointment lined up next month. That didn’t help her now, however, and she suspected those headaches had more to do with being with Cody than the stupid Pill, anyhow. Her body knew she needed to leave him before she did. But how would her body respond to a broken condom?

  By getting pregnant?

  She yanked open the cupboard door under the sink but saw no sign of a condom in the small wicker trash can. Racing back upstairs she saw only two doors leading off from the balcony—her own bedroom and presumably Jake’s. His door was closed. She knocked hesitantly and when she received no answer, turned the handle and barged in.

  A masculine room lay before her. The bed unmade. Clothes tossed here and there. A desk piled with paperwork. Like in her room there was a generous closet, but a second door lay beyond it.

  Bingo. A small en suite bathroom with a shower. She pushed inside it, ignored the mess and looked in the cupboard under the sink.

  This bathroom, too, had a tan wicker trash can.

  It was empty.

  Jake let Chester put his muzzle down and drink from Chance Creek. The small river formed the border between the Matheson and Cruz ranches. As kids he and his brothers swam the creek often and forded it when they wanted to visit the other ranch rather than going the long way by road.

  What a night. The last twenty-four hours had blindsided him. Not only had he slept with Hannah—twice—he may have accidentally gotten her pregnant. If she was excited about marrying him and settling down with him here, he wouldn’t have minded the torn condom one bit. Given the current circumstances, though, he was beginning to feel mighty guilty.

  Did she know what had happened? He’d better assume so, which meant she’d be hopping mad the next time she saw him. What would she say? It was no accident he was as far from his cabin as his chores could take him. He’d gotten up this morning prepared to bring her breakfast
in bed with an apology and explanation, but no sooner had he walked downstairs than Ned knocked on his door with an emergency with one of the horses. He might have raced back when they were done and caught her before she left for work, but he decided not to give her the chance to throw his proposal back in his face and storm away. Maybe if she had some time to cool off they’d be able to discuss it rationally tonight.

  He sure hoped so.

  In the back of his mind was the truth of the matter—that he hoped if she took a few hours to consider the ramifications of a pregnancy, she’d want to stay with him and have the baby. If there was a baby. Not telling her straightaway was the most ass-backward thing he’d ever done, but here he was doing it, nonetheless.

  He hoped he hadn’t messed up everything.

  The sound of hoofbeats caught his attention. Ned and his father.

  “Taking the rest of the morning off?” Ned said laconically. Holt chuckled.

  Jake shrugged. “Just doing some thinking.”

  “I saw your company drive in last night,” Holt said.

  “Yeah? So?”

  “Did you propose?” Ned drawled.

  Jake didn’t like the satisfied look in Ned’s eye. His brother had been jealous of him all their lives. He couldn’t wait to steal Jake’s position out from under him. Time to let Ned know he didn’t plan to surrender any time soon. “Yes, I did.” He was rewarded when Ned’s grin disappeared.

  “But let me guess,” Holt said. “She declined.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “The hell I don’t. If you and Hannah were engaged we’d all be toasting you around my dining room table. You wouldn’t be out here in the middle of nowhere hiding from your chores.”

  Jake swallowed the angry words he wanted to say. His father was right. What was the use in arguing? “She just needs some convincing. She wants a career. She’s afraid marrying me will tie her down too much, but you wait. She’ll say yes before long.”

  He hoped.

  “What do you want with a career woman?”

  “I like a woman with a brain.”

  “Brains are fine, but there’s too much work around here for your wife to be fluttering off to town every day.”

  “That’s my problem.”

  Holt shook his head. “It’s everyone’s problem if you’re too busy keeping house and raising kids to do your chores. Ned, you better get ready to run this place. This one wants his wife to wear the pants.”

  “For God’s sake,” Jake began, but Ned spoke over him.

  “I am ready. I’ve been ready.”

  “Whether or not my wife works, the agreement still stands,” Jake said to his father. “If I’m married by the twenty-first, I stay in charge.”

  “Fine,” Holt agreed. “We’ll change her mind about that career nonsense soon enough.” He wheeled his horse around. “So quit your moping and get back to work.” He cantered away, followed quickly by Ned. Jake watched them go, a sinking feeling in his gut. Ned couldn’t wait to replace him and if he didn’t look out, he’d find some way to scare Hannah off. If his father didn’t scare her off first. He couldn’t do much about Holt, but he should be able to stop Ned from making trouble. He thought fast, scanning the horizon without seeing it. He needed to distract Ned, but how? A thought occurred to him and he smiled. How else? A woman.

  He checked his watch. Hannah wouldn’t get home from work until dinner time. He might as well distract himself until he could talk with her and sort this mess out. He turned Chester around and headed back to the barn.

  Time for a trip to town.

  Hannah showered slowly, trying to warm up but failing miserably. She couldn’t stop trembling no matter how hot she made the water. She didn’t have the torn condom as evidence, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that something had happened.

  What if she was pregnant? What about all her dreams?

  Sadness rippled through her. She wanted children and maybe she even wanted them with Jake. But not now—not right as she was headed out into the next stage of her life. How could she possibly do nearly five years of college in a field as challenging as veterinary medicine and raise a child at the same time, especially with a husband consumed with ranch work?

  She could read between the lines of what Jake had said last night. While she hadn’t grown up on a ranch, she knew all about what it took to run them. Rancher’s wives did ranch chores, too. Plus they kept a large house, ran interference for the hired hands, who tended to get into trouble in their spare time, raised their families, and participated fully in community activities as well. She simply didn’t have time for all that.

  She wasn’t going to give up her dream for Jake’s, either. She was one hundred percent sure of that. There was no way this could work, but… if she was pregnant, she wouldn’t give up the child.

  So what would she do?

  And why had Jake run away and stolen the evidence?

  She turned off the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. Back in her bedroom, she searched her suitcases for a suitable work outfit and hurriedly got dressed. As she clattered down the stairs to the main floor, however, another thought struck her and stopped her cold. One hand on the banister, the other gripping her purse, she teetered on a step.

  Had Jake sabotaged the condom deliberately? Was he trying to make her pregnant so she had no choice but to stay?

  She scanned the area below her, focusing on the dirty dishes still in the sink in the kitchen and the haphazard way Jake’s belongings filled the living room. She recalled the messy bathrooms and the disaster of Jake’s bedroom. Maybe Jake wasn’t the man she thought he was. Maybe Jake cut corners whatever he did.

  Fury filled her as she stormed down the rest of the stairs. She was going to find Jake right now and tell him exactly what she thought of him, and then she’d pack her bags and get the hell out.

  Her anger propelled her all the way to Gladys’s pasture where she guiltily realized she’d forgotten all about the beast. She’d forgotten to pick up more corn on the cob, the bison’s favorite food, too. As she neared the fence she spotted Gladys right next to the spot where Hannah normally stood each morning to talk to her and leave her a treat.

  Hannah’s heart squeezed as she realized Gladys must look forward to those morning treats. Usually the bison stayed away from the fence, not coming to retrieve the corn until Hannah left for work. Now she was close enough to touch. Not that Hannah would do something so foolish. When she got close, Gladys raised her head a fraction and huffed out a breath. Was that a greeting?

  “I’m sorry. I forgot your corn.” Hannah wondered if she could get some on her lunch break. Gladys huffed again and moved an inch closer. Hannah held her breath. Did the creature want to be touched? Had she made a connection with this giant animal?

  As she bent down to look Gladys in the eye, the bison suddenly snorted and wheeled away. Surprised, Hannah nearly fell back, but an iron grip on her bicep prevented her from doing so.

  “Came to talk to my lunch, did you?” Holt said.

  “She’s nobody’s lunch.” Hannah regained her footing and yanked free of him.

  “Oh, someone will be happy to eat her, I’m sure. Just as soon as I sell her to the local butcher.”

  “You promised…”

  “Did you sleep with my son last night?”

  Hannah flushed hot and only just resisted clapping her hands to her cheeks to hide their color.

  Holt looked amused. “I guess you did after all. I thought Jake was telling tales.” He bent forward to peer at her. “I’d say more than sleeping went on, too.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Hannah turned to leave.

  “Not so fast. Your bison’s won another day on the ranch, but you’ve got thirteen more nights to go. Jake’s no slouch at one night stands. What I’m trying to teach him is the benefit of a sure thing for a lifetime. The wife and I are getting older. I thought our grandkids would have learned to ride by now.”

  For one split sec
ond Hannah saw a trace of sorrow flit over the older man’s face. She blinked and it was gone, but it shifted her perception of the situation. A little.

  “Grandkids?” she repeated.

  “I thought the ranch would be crawling with them, given I have four sons myself.” Holt surveyed the pasture in front of them.

  “Do you have brothers and sisters?” She wasn’t sure why she was prolonging the conversation. This was the first time she’d seen a softer side to the old man, though. She was curious to know more.

  “No, ma’am,” Holt said. “I was the only youngster on the place when I grew up.”

  Hannah bit her lip. There was no way the rancher standing beside her would admit to any weakness, but he’d exposed one nonetheless. Holt wasn’t known for his wide circle of friends. Maybe he didn’t know how to get close to people and make those friends, so he thought he’d build a circle for himself through his family. He wouldn’t be the first person to do that. Now his boys were dragging their feet on creating the next generation. All except Rob, anyway.

  And maybe Jake.

  Her hand went unconsciously to her stomach and she wondered again if the torn condom could possibly lead to a pregnancy. She glanced up to find Holt staring down at her. His eyebrows lifted but before he could speak she shook her head.

  “Don’t look at me. I already told you I’m not having children any time soon.”

  Holt put his hands up in a placating gesture. “I know, I know. But you also told me you wouldn’t sleep with my son.”

  “That’s…”

  “The truth,” Holt said. “And I’ll tell you another truth. You’re a slob.”

  Hannah stiffened at this new attack. “I am not!”

  “I just stopped by Jake’s cabin looking for you and I beg to differ.”

  Outrage straightened her spine. “That’s your son’s mess, not mine.”

  “As of right now, my son’s mess is your mess.” Holt leaned in to make his point. “And it’s her mess, too.” He waved at Gladys. “And I don’t like messy critters on my farm.”