The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek)

by Cora Seton

“What does it matter?” Hannah said. “I don’t come into the equation.”

  Holt crossed his arms. “When you marry Jake and raise his children you’ll be part of this family. Mathesons stick together. That makes you part of the equation.”

  She crossed her arms and stared back at him. “I haven’t agreed to marry Jake or raise his family, but a bison herd would be lovely. Besides offering companionship to Gladys, I believe that bison are a better alternative to cattle—both for us and for the land.”

  “Humph. Spoken like a liberal.”

  She knew that was an insult. “Spoken like someone who cares.”

  “Do you? Care?”

  “Of course I care.”

  “About Jake? About that baby?” He nodded to her belly and she placed a hand protectively over it.

  “There probably is no baby,” she reminded him. “But yes, I do care… about both of them.”

  “Enough to put your own wishes behind you and do what’s right?”

  Anger flared within her. “How come I’m the only one who has to put my wishes behind me? Why are you trying so hard to box me into this corner?”

  “Because if I don’t you might just make a run for it and my son might follow you.” He looked away, swallowed, and Hannah saw the same sadness she’d seen in him before. She reminded herself that as deranged as his methods were, he only wanted what most parents wanted—to see his grown children happily settled down, preferably close by. “You youngsters don’t think I pay much attention to what’s going on. You underestimate me. I know my son. He loves this ranch more than I do, but he’s restless and he’s hungry for something he may not be able to find here; a wife and a mission.”

  “A mission?”

  “Every man likes to innovate and Jake is no different. My father was a conservative man. He grew this ranch slowly and carefully. When it was my turn I learned everything I could about maximizing the land and the herd and I doubled the size of it. Now Jake wants a chance at the helm. He wants to look back to our past heritage to find a more natural way to run the ranch. He wants his bison herd. He thinks it will preserve the integrity of the land. Maybe it will. If I try to stop him he’ll jump the fence and find a new pasture.” He turned his iron gaze on her. “If you jump the fence he’ll follow. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually.”

  “So I just give up, stay home, forget about my career? That’s my fate?”

  “It’s the fate my wife chose. Can’t be too dire.”

  But it felt like a prison to her. She wasn’t Lisa or Autumn. She didn’t find joy in transforming a house into a home. She wasn’t Mia, playing with redecorating and cooking. She wanted something big to do, something hard, something lucrative. She wanted a career.

  “You’ve got that look on your face,” Holt said.

  “What look?”

  “That jump-the-fence look.” She saw a flash of desperation in his eyes. Then it was gone. She felt for him, knew he wanted to be surrounded by a loving family, but she couldn’t give up her own dreams to make his come true.

  “The thing is, Holt, you’ve made it crystal clear,” she said. She gathered her purse and coat and ushered him toward the door. “I can either be with Jake or I can have my career. In that scenario I choose my career.”

  When Jake opened the barn he found his brothers facing each other, nearly nose to nose.

  “Just stay away from her,” Luke said.

  “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  Jake wanted to turn on his heel and walk straight back out, but he knew his father would show up soon and that would make things worse.

  “What’s going on?” He tried to pitch his voice with the same fearsome authority Holt mustered at the drop of a hat, but judging by the way his brothers ignored him, he still didn’t quite have the knack.

  “How do you suggest I stay away from Mia? She lives with me,” Ned snarled.

  “She’s supposed to come live with me,” Luke said. “That’s why I brought Fila here in the first place.”

  Jake closed his eyes. Uh oh.

  “You what?”

  “I thought…” Now Luke looked to him for support but Jake refused to offer it. If his brother was stupid enough to explain this to Ned he deserved what he got.

  “You thought what?” Ned said.

  “I thought if Fila was staying with me, Mia would want to come stay with me too. Then they could be together.”

  “You thought you’d use a traumatized kidnap victim to lure another woman to your house?”

  Luke sent a pleading look Jake’s way. “It wasn’t my idea, it was…”

  “Shut your trap,” Jake intervened quickly. “The way I see it, it isn’t up to either of you where those girls choose to live. It’s up to them. They’re not here for your pleasure.”

  Both his brothers turned to face him. “That’s rich, coming from you,” Ned said slowly. “You used your house to lure Hannah in, then got her pregnant so she’s stuck here.”

  Jake’s jaw tightened in anger. “That’s not how it went at all. And she’s not pregnant, so quit saying that like it’s a done deal. If you were any kind of gentleman you would have kept your mouth shut the other day. No one else would even know about what happened.”

  “If you were any kind of gentleman you wouldn’t have forced me to take in Mia.”

  Luke’s mouth dropped open. “Forced you? If he forced you to take in Mia, then give her to me, because I actually want her!”

  “I ain’t giving her to nobody. She’s not mine to give.”

  “You got that right.”

  Jake pushed between them. “Simmer down. Dad’s coming. He’ll be here any second and he’d love to see the two of you like this. Nothing makes him happier than the both of you with your fists up.”

  That silenced them because they knew it was true. For all Holt’s talk of family he seemed to get a charge out of seeing them fight.

  “Ned, do you care for Mia?” Jake asked. Ned made a face and tried to walk away, but Jake grabbed his shoulder. “Answer the question.”

  Finally Ned shook his head. “No.”

  “Luke, what about you and Fila; something going on between you two?”

  “No,” Luke said quickly. “I don’t understand her at all.”

  “Well then, seems simple enough.” When the two of them still looked at him blankly, Jake threw his hands up. “Swap them!”

  “But… what do we say to them?” Luke asked.

  “Hell, I don’t know.” A light went on. “Actually I do. Luke, you just tell Mia your favorite color is pink.”

  Hannah was eyeing the clock and tapping her fingers on the reception counter by the time Bella finally returned from her latest house-hunting trip that afternoon. Four clients and their pets waited impatiently in the small waiting area, and she knew she’d be hard pressed to finish up at work, run to the Cruz ranch to pick up her mail and still meet Jake for dinner on time. He’d invited her to eat out at DelMonacos—said it was the least he could do to repay her for all the delicious meals she’d cooked. Bella had left the office for an hour to visit more housing possibilities, but that hour had stretched to two by the time she walked in the clinic door.

  “I’m sorry,” Bella said, rushing in. “After we walked through the house, we ended up going to another one that just came on the market. Neither of them worked. Evan says that in either case we’d have to tear down the house and start from scratch.”

  Hannah could see her disappointment. “Were they too old?”

  “Too old, too small, the wiring wasn’t up to code… it’s bad enough we want a comfortable house, but the fact that Evan’s going to run his business out of it…”

  “You’re going to run your business there, too.”

  “Yes, but we already knew we’d have to build the clinic and shelter. I thought we could just buy the house.”

  “We’d better get going.” Hannah shot a glance toward the waiting room. “Don’t forget I have to leave at five.”


  Bella made a face when she looked at her watch and saw it was already past four. “Shoot. I forgot all about that. I’m sorry, Hannah. You’re not going to have a chance to run home and change.”

  “That’s okay—I brought some clothes. I can change in the bathroom.” She handed a chart to Bella. “Annette Hill and her puppy, Lucy. Lucy needs some shots.”

  “Well, that’s easy enough. Hey, if you want, you can duck into the trailer in a half-hour or so and use my shower to freshen up. Evan’s working at the coffee shop this afternoon.”

  “Thanks, but with all these people here…”

  “Let me get through a couple of appointments, and then I’ll hold down the fort. You’ve done it for me enough times!” Bella called Annette and ushered the gray-haired woman and her lively puppy into examining room one. Hannah glanced at the clock again and down at the canvas tote bag under her desk where she’d stashed a change of clothing this morning in case work ran late. She’d love to make use of that shower.

  A half-hour later, she stood up and addressed the remaining clients. “Folks, I have to head out for a bit. I’m going to give each of you your chart. Please wait for Bella to call your name. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Feeling like she was skipping class, she handed out the folders, grabbed her bag, darted out of the clinic and across the large yard to Bella’s airstream trailer. She knocked on the door even though she knew Evan wasn’t there. Prone to claustrophobia, the man spent most his days hunting for their new home and working at a coffee shop or Linda’s diner. That was why Bella was so determined to get a new place; she knew sooner or later Evan was going to revolt over their current living conditions.

  As she let herself in and approached the tiny shower, she thought over what Bella had said. They wanted a large property fairly close to town. It needed the right zoning for Bella’s veterinary clinic and shelter, and the main house needed to be executive quality so Evan could host meetings with his clients and potential investors. Hannah was a little hazy on just what Evan did. She knew he’d inherited his billions, but he bought and sold patents and funded all sorts of research, too.

  Her mind kept traveling to Carl Whitfield’s mansion. Just up the road from the Cruz ranch, it sported a huge log mansion that was definitely executive quality, and acres and acres of prime Montana ranch land. Cab and Rose were keeping an eye on it over the winter, since Carl had returned to California. Too bad it wasn’t for sale.

  Forty-five minutes later, she was ready for her date with Jake. She’d chosen her clothes carefully so no one could accuse her of making too much of the occasion. Tailored pants, a soft, silky blouse, and plain black flats made her feel businesslike, but pretty, too. With her hair freshly washed, it fell in gentle waves over her shoulders. She often saw Jake look at her hair and knew it was one of her better features.

  She wished she didn’t care what Jake thought of her, but of course she did. They had five more days before she would fulfill her bargain with Holt and earn Gladys a permanent home. Five more days before Jake asked her to marry him again. He seemed more than happy with their current state of affairs. He complimented her on her meals nightly and smiled every time he walked into his fresh, clean house, which always rubbed Hannah the wrong way. He didn’t know Holt was forcing her to step up her cleaning routine, nor did he realize that by getting him to help out a bit she was subverting Holt’s rule. The first time she folded the laundry and put away a stack of clean clothes in his dresser, Jake had been just about over the moon. He didn’t realize all his gratitude felt like a slap in her face.

  What would he do if she married him and went straight back to her normal state of affairs—frozen dinners, laundry done on the run at the last possible moment, a monthly cleaning frenzy just before friends came over? He’d probably have a heart attack and then ask for a divorce.

  The thought made her frown. It was going to be hard to leave in a few days. Apart from the caveman era chore assignments, she liked being with Jake. She’d never dated such an intelligent, ambitious, not to mention sexy man. When they got to chatting about something he read in the newspaper or something she heard on the radio they were equally curious—and equally apt to run for a computer to research a follow-up question on the Internet.

  She loved the way he worshipped her body, too. She’d never experienced anything like it—this easy sexuality, the multiple times they could coax each other to the edge of ecstasy. She trusted him in bed in a way she’d never trusted another man. She wished she could trust him the same way out of it.

  An hour later she pulled up at the Cruz ranch and entered the Big House to fetch her mail. Ethan and Autumn’s guests would arrive in a day or two and the place was spotless and decorated beautifully for the holidays. Time for her and Jake to think about putting up some decorations, she thought, then stopped. She wouldn’t be at Jake’s house at Christmas time.

  Her sadness at the thought nearly bowled her over.

  Where would she be for Christmas? In a hotel? Or some new, tiny rental apartment on the other side of town?

  Pressing her lips together she made herself keep walking.

  “Hey, stranger, how is it going?” Autumn asked when she spotted Hannah. “Your mail is on the counter, by the way.”

  Hannah hesitated when she saw she’d stumbled in on a Cruz ranch meeting. Ethan, Autumn, Jamie, Claire, Rose, Cab, Morgan, and even Rob with his still-bandaged shoulder sat around the dining room table with a laptop and papers in between them. She knew the four couples met at least once a week to go over things. Since all of them owned part of the ranch, they all had a say in how it was run. Hannah had been here long enough to know their disagreements could get heated, but they generally worked them out.

  “Um… fine.” She headed for the counter.

  “Fine?” Rob echoed. “Uh oh, what’s my brother done wrong now?” A tall man, with the same blond hair and blue eyes as Jake, he watched her with a smile.

  “Not so much your brother,” she said, “Your father, on the other hand…”

  “My father can drive anyone crazy,” Rob said.

  “What did he do?” Morgan asked.

  Hannah sighed and slowed her pace. “It’s just that he… has some strong ideas.”

  Rob roared with laughter and the others exchanged amused grins. “You don’t say,” he choked out when he got control of himself.

  “Ideas about what?” Autumn’s eyes were bright with curiosity.

  “Let me guess,” Rob said. “Marriage. He’s got some scheme to marry you off to Jake and get an heir, right?”

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open. “How did you…?”

  “He’s my father,” Rob said. “And Jake is my older brother. I’m sure he’s in on it, too. You think Jake is going to wait around to marry now that I have? He’s never let me win any race. I bet it’s killing him I beat him to the altar and I’m the first to have a kid.” He put a hand on Morgan’s belly and smiled. “Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Jake knocked you up on your first date just to get back at me.”

  Hannah nearly tripped, but she caught herself with a hand on the edge of the kitchen counter. She picked up the pile of envelopes there and pretended to study them.

  “Hannah?” Morgan asked tentatively when the silence Rob’s statement brought stretched out too long. “You’re being awfully quiet.”

  “I’m not interested in marriage right now.” Hannah hoped her tone was even. “I want a career. I’ve decided to go back to school.”

  Another silence greeted this statement, until Autumn got up from her seat and came around the table to join her. “I wondered what was in that fat envelope from Montana State.” She pulled it from the bottom of the pile in Hannah’s hands and waved it.

  “You’re going to college? Good for you. Women need to nurture their passions.” Claire stood up, too, her sleek black bob swinging. She came to join Hannah and Autumn.

  “Well? Open it! See what it says.” Autumn pushed the envelope into Hannah’s hands.

&nbs
p; “It’s just some information.” But she couldn’t help herself. When she opened the envelope she found a course catalog and all sorts of information for incoming students. She had seven weeks to register and prepare. She held the paperwork up. “Time to pick out my classes!”

  Autumn ran to fetch glasses and a bottle of juice so they could toast her success; there were too many pregnant women present to use anything stronger. Hannah was ushered to the table where everyone took turns looking through the contents of the packet.

  “It says you’ll get a separate envelope with financial aid information,” Claire said. “You know there are lots of scholarships for adult learners. Do your research. You shouldn’t pay a dime more than you have to.”

  “I will,” Hannah assured her. She didn’t say that Bella had already offered to help. She still felt shy about that fact. She was accustomed to paying her own way in life.

  “What are you studying, anyway?” Jamie said. “You never told us.”

  All eyes turned her way and Hannah’s confidence drained away. “I want to be a veterinarian. Like Bella,” she said.

  The room fell quiet and she saw Autumn exchange a glance with Claire.

  “How many years of school is that?” Morgan said.

  “Four and a half for me,” Hannah said. She thought she heard the words they didn’t say: How would she manage that? Was she smart enough to be a vet? Was she overreaching herself?

  “What does Jake think about that?” Rob asked.

  “He thinks I should forget it and just marry him. He wants me to keep to the ranch.”

  “So he does want to marry you,” Autumn said slowly. “Being a rancher’s wife is great, but you can be more than one thing. I run a guest house. Claire’s an interior decorator. Morgan’s going to head up a winery. Why can’t you do both?”

  Rob spoke up. “Look, one thing about the Mathesons is once we get an idea into our heads it’s hard to shift us. Hard, but not impossible. Stick to your guns. In the end Jake will come around.”

  “You really think so?”

  Rob hesitated just long enough to undo all the confidence his words had instilled in her. “I hope so.”