The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek)

by Cora Seton

  Maybe Holt never told Jake he and Lisa were coming to dinner, after all. Which meant Jake’s cryptic text referred to Ned… and someone else. Who could that be?

  “I told Luke I was eating here. He said he’d come, too.”

  Hannah bit her lip. She’d better set three more places then—for Ned, Luke and the mystery guest. She hoped she’d made enough food for seven. Should she throw some more potatoes in? Setting out three more plates, she jumped when the door banged open again and Jake rushed in.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” he said as he rushed past. “I got held up with chores. You got my message about Ned and Mia, didn’t you? I’ll throw a couple of pizzas in the oven in a minute.”

  “Mia?” She set the last plate down on the table with a thump. Why would Jake invite Mia?

  “Yeah. I told you there’d be two more for dinner. Hey, Ned. Got yourself something to drink?”

  “Yep.” Ned raised his beer to Jake and flopped down on the couch.

  Hannah followed Jake into the kitchen. “But your parents are coming, and so is Luke,” she said. “And I only cooked for four people.” Her voice rose as she calculated how little she had to serve. If she had a microwave she could cook some more potatoes fast, but Jake had no microwave.

  “Maybe you better cook that pizza,” Ned called out, chuckling at their discomfort.

  “No,” Hannah said. “Your dad said your mother wanted a formal dinner.”

  “Wait, what?” Jake stopped midway across the room and looked around him. He took in the tablecloth and candles on the table, seemed to realize how clean everything was. “Wow! It looks fantastic.” He sniffed the air. “Smells great, too.” A smile broke across his face as he closed the gap between them, pulled her close and gave her a kiss. “You’re amazing. When I left the message I didn’t think you’d do anything like this. I thought we’d toss something frozen in the oven and have a few beers.”

  “I… it wasn’t…”

  Jake pulled away and checked the oven. He laughed, a low, masculine sound that stirred Hannah’s senses even in the midst of chaos. “You’re right; that bird’s a little light for this clan. We Mathesons like our grub.” He straightened up. “We’ll need more chairs, too. Ned—go get the ones from your place.” He opened the freezer and pulled out a couple of pizzas. “Tell you what—Ned’s right; we’ll pop these in the oven now and when they’re ready we’ll cut them up in little squares and call them appetizers. What do you think?”

  Despite her annoyance, she was impressed with his creativity and take charge attitude. She doubted she would have thought of that. “It might work.”

  “I’m on it.” Jake whistled as he opened the boxes and placed the pizzas on cookie sheets, then disappeared upstairs to change. Hannah worked on her gravy and got her biscuits out of the oven, replacing them with the trays of pizza. She placed the salad on the table and brought out the salad dressings as well, and by the time Holt and Lisa arrived, she felt like she had the meal under control again.

  “You cleaned my bedroom,” Jake whispered in her ear when they met again in the kitchen ten minutes later. He’d poured his mother a glass of wine and handed Holt a beer. All three of their guests were seated in the living room. Jake’s breath tickled her neck.

  “It’s no big deal,” she said shortly.

  “It is to me. No one’s ever done something like that before. Except Mom.”

  That’s because you’re a grown man, she wanted to say, but she didn’t want to start a fight right now. Not with an audience. She pulled away and went to stir the gravy.

  Jake followed her. “I think it’s the sexiest thing any woman’s ever done for me.” He slid an arm around her waist and hugged her from behind.

  Hannah’s body welcomed his touch, but her mind rebelled against his words. “That’s got to be the most sexist thing any man’s ever said to me,” she retorted, and slipped away from him again.

  “Hey.” He put a hand on her arm to stop her. “Are you mad? I’m just trying to say thank you. It would be sexist if I expected it. It’s sexy because I didn’t. Not from you.”

  She squinted at him. “I don’t know whether that makes it better or worse.”

  Jake sighed. “All I’m trying to say is that I appreciate what you did. All of this.” He waved a hand to encompass the meal and the table setting. “My work is never done. It’s hard to go, go, go all day, then come home and do some more, you know?”

  She did know. She knew exactly what he meant, because she went to work at the clinic, skipped her lunch half the time because of the overload of patients, and then had to come home and deal with her own mess. Didn’t he know that? She opened her mouth to spell it out for him, caught sight of Mia through the glass panel of the front door and sighed instead.

  “Thank you, for everything,” Jake said and dropped a kiss on her forehead. Hannah forced a smile to her mouth and went to open the door.

  Jake couldn’t believe how much effort Hannah had put into dinner, when all he’d intended was to heat up a couple of pizzas and chat over the meal with Ned and Mia. He wasn’t exactly sure what made her extend the invitation to his parents or why Ned decided to bring Luke, but none of that mattered. In fact, it made his plan easier to execute. Ned didn’t know that Mia planned to move into his place, and as hard as he’d thought about it Jake hadn’t come up with a way to force his hand. Now it would be easy. How could Ned refuse her in front of this crowd?

  Once Luke showed up, his hair still damp from a quick shower, they settled down to the meal. Hannah played hostess, serving her guests and making sure everyone had what they needed. Conversation quickly turned to ranch work and the herd, and the menfolk synced up their schedules for the following day.

  “It’s good to see you,” Hannah said to Mia when there was a lull in the conversation. “I already miss hanging out with the gang around Autumn’s dinner table.”

  “Well, I think you’ll see a lot more of me, if Ned’s agreeable.” Mia bent forward to smile down the table at him. “Did you bring the rental paperwork?”

  Ned stared back at her, having just taken a bite of mashed potatoes. Luke was staring at her, too. In fact he’d been staring at her throughout the meal so far. Jake hurried to fill the sudden silence.

  “I told Mia how you said you were looking for someone to move in with you, just like Hannah has moved in with me,” he announced to Ned. “You know—to rent your spare room? Mia says three hundred dollars a month suits her just fine. She’d like to move in as soon as possible.”

  Ned swallowed hard and took a swig of his beer before he answered. “I… uh…” He met Mia’s wide-eyed gaze and choked back the harsh words Jake figured he meant to say. “I guess… that would work,” he ended lamely.

  “Are you sure?” Mia wrinkled her brow. “You sound a little hesitant.”

  “No. It’s just…” Ned scanned the faces of his family, obviously looking for help. Jake just smiled at him. His parents watched curiously.

  Luke leaned forward. “If he says no, I’ll…”

  “I didn’t say no,” Ned snapped. “That would work fine for me. We don’t need any paperwork, though. We’ll just shake on it. I’ll make sure the room is empty and ready for you by noon tomorrow.”

  Mia smiled and her whole face lit up. She wasn’t Jake’s type, but he could see she could easily be Ned’s. Or Luke’s. “That would be terrific! Maybe I can cook for you the way Hannah does for Jake. I don’t mind—it would be fun!”

  Ned sat back. “Well, now. If you’ll do the cooking, I’ll do the eating.” He gave her a considering look and then flicked his gaze to Luke, whose face looked like thunder. Jake realized he might have made a misstep. Did Luke have a thing for Mia? And did Ned, too? Or did he simply relish the prospect of sticking a knife into Luke’s heart and twisting the blade?

  “You shouldn’t take advantage of her good nature,” Luke said.

  “You’re just jealous no one’s trying to move into your cabin,” Ned said.


  “That’s enough,” their mother said mildly. “Hannah, you’ve done a real fine job with this meal. A fancy table cloth and everything! Is this a special occasion?”

  “Not really,” Jake hastened to say when Hannah didn’t answer. Hannah had been quiet most of the meal and he sensed she was angry. He still hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about the torn condom. He had a feeling he was going to pay for that, but he couldn’t understand why she’d worked so hard to clean and prepare this fancy meal if she was mad at him.

  “Now, that’s not what I heard.” Ned helped himself to another dollop of mashed potatoes and then placing an even bigger dollop on Luke’s plate. Jake knew for sure Luke hated mashed potatoes. Ned seemed intent on stirring up trouble tonight.

  “Ned.” He wasn’t sure what his brother meant to say, but he was positive it wouldn’t be good.

  “I heard,” Ned cut right across him, “that this is a very happy occasion indeed!”

  Hannah stared at him. Jake was at a loss. His parents waited expectantly. Mia had a smile already forming on her lips.

  “What occasion?” Lisa prompted.

  “Didn’t you know?” Ned threw an arm around Hannah’s shoulders and gave her a vigorous squeeze. “Hannah’s pregnant!”

  ‡

  Chapter Nine

  As chaos erupted all around her, Hannah wished more than anything a hole would open up in the hardwood floor and she could sink out of sight into it. Now six other people knew her secret—or a twisted version of that secret—which meant the whole town would know in seconds flat. So much for any chance to decide on her own which course to take. Should she even be pregnant—the chances of which were slim to none.

  “You told him about—” Jake’s hands were flat on the table, his expression shocked.

  “Is that true?” Lisa’s voice cut across the din.

  Hannah raised her gaze to the older woman and shook her head slowly. “No. Probably not.”

  “They had a little trouble.” Ned leaned forward. “Jake might need a refresher course on prophylactics.” He sounded out each syllable of the long word.

  “Ned!” Lisa and Jake spoke at once.

  Hannah stood up on shaky legs. “Excuse me.” She pushed back from the table and hurried away, catching only a glimpse of Jake’s stunned expression and Mia’s concerned one. Ned was grinning, the bastard, and Holt seemed amused, too. Lisa’s lips had pressed into a thin line.

  “Hannah, wait,” Lisa said before she made it to the stairs. “My son owes you an apology and I’d like him to make it before I beat him into a coma.”

  “Mom—Ow!” Hannah glanced back in time to see Lisa take hold of Ned’s ear and tweak it, hard. Ned tried to jerk away from her and got a second tweak for his efforts. “Darn it!”

  “Apologize!”

  “Fine! Sorry, Hannah. I didn’t realize it was a big secret; you were talking about kids with Dad in the middle of the ranch for all to hear.”

  “That’s the sorriest excuse for an apology I’ve ever heard!” Lisa was truly angry. Ned slid a glance her way and straightened up.

  “Sorry,” he murmured again. “That was uncalled for.” He shot a dark glance at Jake and Hannah suddenly understood. Ned hadn’t said it to hurt her, he was getting back at Jake… but for what? Well, who cared? She’d never understand this family and she didn’t want to.

  “If Hannah does turn out to be pregnant, which is unlikely—and nobody’s business but ours,” Jake said in a steely voice, “we will deal with it as we see fit. I might as well say right now I’ve asked her to marry me.” At his mother’s intake of breath he held up a hand. “Hannah hasn’t said yes. She’s asked for some time to think it over, and I’ve given it to her.”

  “I hope not too much time,” Holt said caustically.

  “Two weeks,” Jake shot back. “We’ll let you know what we decide.”

  Lisa let out her breath, but her eyes sparkled. “A winter wedding. How exciting.”

  “Mom!”

  “I won’t say another word,” Lisa said and pretended to zip her mouth closed, but she couldn’t hide her smiles and Hannah warmed just a little to know that as far as her potential mother-in-law was concerned such a marriage would be a happy thing.

  She hesitated at the base of the stairs, wanting to escape, but not wanting to offend Lisa. She also didn’t want to give Holt an excuse to come up with more unreasonable demands for her to meet during the next thirteen days.

  “Come on back, sweetie. I’ll keep these boys in line,” Lisa said. “Now, Mia—tell me about yourself. Where do you work again?”

  It could be worse, Hannah thought as she sat stiffly back down in her seat, holding herself apart from Ned. The Mathesons could all hate her guts. From the reactions of the family around the table, it looked like she’d be welcome here if she did marry Jake. She couldn’t imagine belonging to this crazy family, though. Maybe if she could remember that Holt and Ned’s disagreements were with each other and Jake, not with her, she might do better at maintaining her equilibrium. Time to get a grip and stop letting them throw her off her game. Mia grinned at her—probably in solidarity—and Hannah tried to smile back. At least as of tomorrow she’d have an ally on the ranch.

  Mia thanked Jake when they said good-bye on the front porch after dinner.

  “You were right about Fila,” she confided in him.

  Jake felt a guilty pang. “Really?”

  “She didn’t come right out and say so but I could tell she was really grateful when I told her I was moving out.” Mia leaned in to whisper, “She actually cried a little. I gave her a hug and she held onto me so tight.”

  Jake’s heart sank. Was that gratitude or sorrow? Maybe Fila felt like her friends were abandoning her one by one. He hadn’t meant for that to happen.

  “I’m glad it’s all worked out,” he said slowly, feeling that nothing had worked out even remotely the way he’d planned. Everyone knew about Hannah’s potential pregnancy; he’d somehow insulted her when he tried to thank her for cleaning the house; instead of Mia’s presence acting like a brake on Ned’s behavior it had spurred him to new heights of tormenting Luke; and now Fila was brokenhearted over being left behind at the Cruz ranch.

  Mia slipped off to her car and Luke caught up to him. He looked as anxious as she had been glad. “You don’t think Ned and Mia will become a couple, do you?” he said without preamble.

  “I don’t know and I don’t care.” Jake had enough problems of his own.

  “But he’s not right for her. He’s not right for anyone!”

  Jake had to agree with that. Ned had dated some, but not much. Not many women could deal with his moods or his penchant for trouble. Although…

  Jake scratched his chin. When was the last time Ned had gotten into trouble? When they were younger it was just about every week. He couldn’t count the times Cab Johnson had driven him home and dumped him on their parents’ doorstep. Drunk and disorderly, or sometimes just disorderly, Ned had made a name for himself in town. And it wasn’t a good one.

  The man could work, though, he had to admit, which was why they put up with as much of his crap as they all did.

  “Work it out with Ned. This isn’t any business of mine.”

  “But you’re the one who got her living with him,” Luke complained.

  Jake turned on him. “How was I to know you had a thing for her? You never said.”

  Luke retreated. “Well I do. So, now what do I do about it?”

  The muscles in Jake’s neck tightened. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about. “I don’t know. Get her to move to your cabin, I guess.”

  “How?”

  “Living with Ned will be torture to a girl like that. You heard him earlier. He’ll get her to do all the work and he won’t give her any thanks, will he? He’s bad-tempered and rough. She’ll hate it there. Make sure your place is more inviting. Time will do the rest.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. I can’t just wait around and hope for the be
st. I have to do something.”

  “Then… get Fila to move in with you,” Jake said, surprised at his own brilliance. He could kill two birds with one stone.

  “Fila? How will that help?” Luke leaned against the porch railing.

  “She’s sad that both her friends have moved away. She wants to move here, too—I’m sure of it,” Jake told him. “Get her to your place and she’ll do the rest.”

  “But if she’s staying with me, there won’t be room for Mia.”

  Jake thought fast. “There’s plenty of ways around that. Put another bed in Fila’s room, or move yourself onto the couch, or…” He flashed a wicked grin at Luke. “Seduce Mia and she can stay with you in your room.”

  Luke smiled. “I like the sound of that last one. I’ll do it.”

  When all the guests left and Jake came back inside, he joined Hannah in the kitchen, picked up a tea towel and dried the dishes as she washed them. As angry as she was at him—at all of the Mathesons—she couldn’t help notice the sweetness of the situation. If they were married they might do this every night. She couldn’t help but appreciate the tall, handsome cowboy beside her, his strong fingers taking care not to damage the delicate stemware and dishes, the concern on his face when she glanced up at him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “None of this has gone the way I hoped it would.”

  “I know.” She did know. It was as much her fault as his when you got down to it. She should never have tumbled into bed with him. He couldn’t help that Holt and Ned seemed determined to drive her crazy, either. When she moved onto the Double-Bar-K, she set herself up for problems.

  “Will it help to have Mia nearby?”

  “I guess. I didn’t expect Ned to ask her to move in with him.”

  “No, me neither.”

  She looked up at his wry tone of voice. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  She let it go, but determined to keep an eye on things when Mia arrived. Something was going on here she didn’t understand. There seemed to be bad blood between Jake and Ned. Hannah had already paid a price for it; she didn’t want Mia to pay that price, too. They did the rest of the dishes in silence, and Jake took her by the hand to lead her upstairs. She followed him, bracing herself for what would come next.