Birthday Boyfriend (Quinn Valley Ranch Book 21)

by Liz Isaacson

  Birthday Boyfriend

  Quinn Valley Ranch Romance, Book 21

  Liz Isaacson

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Sneak Peek! Fall Fireside Chapter One

  Granny’s Sausage and Cheese Kolaches

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  Chapter 1

  “Granny?” Jessica Quinn pushed open the front door of her grandmother’s cottage at the same time she called her name.

  The house smelled delicious, like salted cured meats and yeast—which could only mean one thing. Kolaches.

  Her granny was famous for her sausage kolaches, and Jessie could only hope she could eat one now and at poker night later.

  “Betsy said you’d have something for me tonight,” she said, feeling weary from head to toe. Perhaps she shouldn’t have agreed to take her sister’s place at the monthly poker night.

  Betsy usually played the cards with a few cowboys here at Quinn Valley Ranch, but since she and Knox had become more serious, she’d been getting subs for her poker games. Jessie had said no a couple of times now, because she knew who Betsy played with.

  And she didn’t need to make a bigger fool of herself in front of Flynn Hollister. The man was her brother’s right-hand-man and most trusted cowboy. And a complete player. Well, not really, but he sure did have a lot of ladies falling all over him all the time.

  “Hello, dear,” Granny said as she turned from the stove. She’d been brushing an egg wash on a sheet pan of unbaked kolaches, and they were the most beautiful sight Jessie had ever seen. “I’m running a bit behind. Can I bring these down to you when they’re done?”

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Jessie said. “I can swing back this way and get them.”

  “Pish posh,” Granny said. “I’ll do it. Betsy said you just needed them by seven.”

  Honestly, Jessie had no idea what time it was. She needed a shower and a nap, and she could only have one at the expense of the other. “Yeah,” she said.

  “So I’ll bring them down. You go ahead and go get yourself all dolled up.”

  Jessie laughed and took a foil-wrapped chocolate from the bowl on Granny’s counter. Her grandmother always had something good to eat in that bowl, and Jessie really needed a sweet right now.

  “It’s nothing to get dolled up for,” she told Granny.

  “Betsy said there would be cowboys there.” Granny smiled at her, those bright blue eyes sparkling with mischief. Jessie had seen this look before, and she didn’t like it. Not one little bit.

  “Yeah, Granny,” she said dryly. “All the same cowboys I see around the ranch every day.” She shook her head. “Trust me, no one to impress.”

  “Oh, there’s someone,” Granny said as if she could work magic and produce a cowboy that would look at Jessie and see the woman she was. “You just listen to Granny and go get ready. I’ll bring these by later.”

  Jessie took another chocolate as she chuckled. “All right, Grams. Thanks so much.” On her way out the front door, she sent a quick message to Betsy.

  You owe Granny. Did you know she’s making kolaches?

  She said she wanted to, Betsy sent back. Said it was a special night for you, and you needed the power of the Quinn kolaches.

  Jessie had no idea what that meant, but she knew Granny had a funny way of trying to set up her grandchildren. This couldn’t be that—it was only kolaches. And Betsy brought food to all the poker games.

  Bringing something to share was part of the rules. Everyone looked forward to Betsy’s culinary creations, so they’d already be disappointed when Jessie walked in instead of her sister. Thankfully, Jessie would have the kolaches, and she suddenly wondered if they did hold some power she didn’t know about.

  Once at the homestead, Jessie showered and shaved her legs and then got busy curling her hair in the basement bathroom, hoping with everything she had that Cami wouldn’t come downstairs. Then she wouldn’t have to explain anything to her little sister.

  She could sneak out the glass doors down here, and no one would have to know she’d dolled herself up as if she were going to church to go to…poker night out in the east barn.

  Flynn hadn’t had a girlfriend for about a week now, and Jessie thought tonight was as good of a night as any to show him he didn’t have to go into the dance hall to find his next date. She was right there in front of him, working alongside him every day out on the ranch.

  Not that Flynn ever had to look very hard for a willing female to hold his hand or spend time at his side.

  “It’s no wonder,” Jessie muttered to herself as she swept mascara on her eyelashes. The man was drop-dead gorgeous, and she may or may not have had a huge crush on him for the past year.

  And he was so Flynn that he hadn’t even noticed her attempts at flirting. Or she was just really bad at it. Either way, she hadn’t been on a date in a really long time. Most men slid their attention right past her to Cami, the more feminine sister, the one with more blonde in her hair than red, the one who wore pumps while Jessie wore cowgirl boots.

  Grabbing her phone, she quickly texted Betsy. You didn’t tell them I was coming, did you?

  Of course not, Betsy sent back. If I had, they’d all cancel.

  Jessie frowned at the message, not sure if she should take it as a compliment or not. It wasn’t her fault she was extraordinarily gifted at games, especially card games that required her to read another person.

  It also wasn’t her fault she worked her father’s ranch with her brother and all the cowboys so that she had better biceps than most women. She’d learned, though, that a lot of men found her intimidating, and she attributed that to her lack of male interest.

  And Granny said she brought over the kolaches. They’re sitting on the upstairs kitchen counter.

  Jessie groaned, because now she had to go upstairs. Cami would surely see her then, and she’d be late to poker night. She didn’t want to be late. She actually wanted to be early, so she could lean against the chicken coop in the distance and watch Flynn enter the barn.

  She pushed the thought away. She wasn’t a creeper. She just had a crush. An insane crush, she told herself, as Flynn had always viewed her and treated her like a little sister. And yet, the hope inside her wailed with strength, and she hadn’t been able to let go of the fantasy of the two of them together.

  After glossing her lips with a wand of peach delight, she pulled on her cowgirl boots and checked her T-shirt. It wasn’t as manly as the plaid shirts she wore to work in, and she’d decided she could try to make Flynn realize she was a woman and not just another one of the guys. The pink shirt clung to her curves and the word COWGIRL was spelled out in black letters across her chest.

  He could read, she knew that. She wondered if he’d even look at her at all tonight. Invisibility seemed to be another of Jessie’s specialties, and she actually prayed for the superpower as she crept upst
airs to get the snack Granny had left for her.

  “Still warm,” she said around the sweet dough and spicy sausage. She’d just turned to escape out the back door when Cami came through it. She paused, taking in Jessie’s curled hair and sliding her eyes down to her best cowgirl boots.

  “Where are you going?” Her eyes widened as she pulled in a breath. “Oh, my stars. Do you have a date?”

  Not yet, she thought as she scoffed for her sister’s benefit. “No, of course not. Poker night.”

  Cami’s eyes narrowed. “Poker night? You look like you’re going out with the hottest man in town.” She reached out and gripped Jessie’s forearm. “Just tell me who he is.”

  “He’s no one,” Jessie said, already frustrated with the questions. Betsy, Cami, and Georgia had been trying to get Jessie to say who she had a crush on for months now. It wasn’t happening. The Quinns weren’t exactly known for their secret-keeping abilities, and while she loved her sisters, she didn’t trust that one of them wouldn’t accidentally say something to someone.

  And before she knew it, Flynn would know about her crush and she’d never get the opportunity to go out with him.

  She looked down at the kolaches, actually praying for whatever power Granny thought they had. “I’m going to be late,” she said. “Don’t wait up for me.”

  “Hey, just a sec,” Cami said as Jessie breezed by her. “Mom wanted me to double-check and make sure you’re free tomorrow night.”

  “For what?”

  “For your birthday,” Cami said, shaking her head as she smiled. “I swear, Jess, you’re the only person who doesn’t remember their own birthday.”

  “I am not,” she said, though she couldn’t say she was overly excited about turning thirty. Maybe if she had a boyfriend to kiss her and bring her flowers, sure. But tomorrow would just be another day, with calves to feed and hay to mow and Flynn to admire. “Tomorrow’s fine,” she said.

  “No hot dates?”

  “Nope,” she said, escaping out the door and practically flying down the steps to the blue and white ranch truck she used. She didn’t actually own her own car. Or a house. Or much of anything.

  When Rhodes took over the ranch, he’d move from the cabin beside Gramps and Granny to the homestead. She and Cami still lived there, and so would Betsy and Georgia until they got married and moved out. She wasn’t entirely sure of their plans, but she knew Rhodes would let her stay in the homestead as long as she wanted.

  Honestly, she wanted to just trade places with him. He could have the homestead; she’d take his cabin.

  Her heart started beating faster and faster the closer she got to the east barn. By the time she got out of the truck and collected the tray of kolaches, her pulse sprinted through her chest. She managed to walk to the doors and open them to find the atmosphere lively and charged, with a round table set up for poker and a long one holding the food.

  “Jessie?” Newt asked, and it was as if everything came screeching to a halt. All the conversation. All the laughter. All the eating.

  “Hello, boys,” she said, adding a sway to her hips as she walked toward the food table. “Betsy needed a sub, and so here I am.”

  A collective groan went up, but Jessie just smiled around at each of them. Newt. Clay. Wyatt.

  And Flynn.

  Her heartbeat fluttered now, especially when he stepped forward and asked, “Are these the famous Quinn kolaches?”

  “Mm hmm,” she said, taking in a deep breath of that sexy cologne and trying not to swoon at his nearness. His dark eyes looked from the tray of food she carried to her eyes, and she dove right on in and started swimming around.

  It was dangerous in those depths, but she didn’t care.

  Tonight, she felt lucky.

  After all, she had the kolaches—and all of Flynn Hollister’s attention.

  Chapter 2

  Flynn Hollister’s mouth had gone dry the moment the redhead had entered the barn. Jessica Quinn.

  She already had half of his heart and she didn’t even know it. He had mad respect for the woman, as she could hold her own against any problem on the ranch. She remembered little things, like birthdays and anniversaries, someone’s favorite color or favorite treat. And she had legs that went on for miles and knew exactly how to wear a pair of jeans.

  He’d just sworn to Rhodes that he was going to complete a thirty-day female fast, so Jessie was off-limits. Of course, she’d been forbidden for the past five years, as she was the boss’s daughter and his best friend’s little sister.

  She turned and put the tray of kolaches on the table, twisting back to him with a flirty smile. Oh, so she was going to be Fun Jess tonight. Flynn forgot his own name for a moment, especially when he looked down at her shirt.

  Cowgirl screamed back at him, and he let his eyes travel down her body to those boots. Heat boiled in his stomach, and he cleared his throat and looked away. No one seemed to notice the interaction between him and Jessie.

  No, Newt, Clay, and Wyatt had formed a huddle, no doubt trying to scheme how they could combine their knowledge to beat Jessie. They didn’t play for real money out in the east barn, but no one wanted to be humiliated.

  “Doing something fun for your birthday tomorrow?” Flynn asked, putting his eyes on the food, which was much less dangerous that Rhodes’s sister.

  His sister.

  Flynn’s stomach flipped. His best friend and boss would not approve of Flynn even looking at Jessie wrong. And the things he thought about…he was taking those to the grave. He’d learned that a lot of things could be kept secret until death, as he’d endured losing his father and his farm in the same week.

  The loss still stung five years later, and he picked up a handful of the honey mustard pretzels Wyatt had brought. Food had never been an adequate distraction for Flynn. Sometimes work was. Dating and dancing did nicely—at least until it was time to go home.

  Flynn hated going home alone, but he wasn’t stupid. He didn’t sleep around, and he didn’t kiss and tell, and he didn’t have anything to be ashamed about. He couldn’t help it if the women liked the way he looked. Liked that he was the best dancer in town. Liked his cowboy hat.

  The problem was, none of them liked what was behind those things. A twinge of longing made his heart squirm, and Jess still hadn’t answered his question.

  He looked at her to find her dark, hazel-green eyes on him too. “Turning thirty, I think,” he added, trying to get the conversation going. The other guys would just throw her daggered looks all night as she won game after game. Flynn would be frustrated too—and completely amused and even more attracted to her because of her skills at the poker table.

  In fact, there wasn’t anything Jess couldn’t do, and while that scared him a little, he kind of wanted to saddle up and see how far she could go.

  “Yes,” she finally said. “No big plans.”

  “Maybe you and I should do something to celebrate,” he said, unsure of where the words had come from.

  “Flynn,” Clay said, causing him to turn away from the surprised look on Jess’s face. “Jessie. Let’s go. Time to start.”

  Jessie turned around and took a plate from the stack, tucking that beautiful hair behind her ear as she contemplated the spread before her. It was mostly packaged food, though Newt had brought his mother’s fresh salsa. She took some of that and started loading her plate with chips as Flynn walked away, a fantasy of kissing her spicy lips later.

  Of course, he would not be doing that. Not even close.

  You’re on a female fast, he reminded himself as he analyzed the seating arrangements at the table. Sitting right next to Jess would be best, but it seemed every man wanted to do that. Sitting across from her also gave Flynn a thrill, because he’d be able to stare at her without censoring himself.

  After all, he had to be able to read the woman as they played. Boots shuffled, and Flynn finally sat down. Wyatt sat next to him, and Clay dove for the seat on the other side of Flynn, saying, “Jessie,
you can sit by me.”

  “All right,” she said, still at the table with all the food.

  Flynn rolled his eyes as Clay smiled real big. “She’s going to kill us,” he said. “No matter where we sit.”

  “It’s just Skittles,” Clay said, as if he didn’t mind being trampled during their poker night. He did, Flynn knew. He did too, but if there was anyone he wanted to completely trounce him, it was Jess. She made him feel like he was winning when he was losing.

  His thoughts wandered straight back five years, to the last serious girlfriend he’d had. Sandra had been his everything, and she’d broken his heart exactly two weeks before his father had died.

  Flynn had emerged from those tragedies a completely different person. Without a farm to work, he’d come to Quinn Valley Ranch, because he’d grown up with Rhodes and they’d stayed friends as they moved into adulthood.

  “Who’s dealing?” Newt asked, and Flynn handed him the deck of cards. Newt looked at him. “I don’t want to deal first.”

  “I’ll deal first,” Jessie said, taking her place directly across from Flynn. Their eyes met, and he swore the temperature in the barn went up twenty degrees. Maybe thirty. She could achieve some serious smolder with those eyes, especially when she wore makeup the way she did tonight.

  She lifted an oatmeal cookie to her lips, and Flynn almost moaned.

  “Great,” Newt said, reminding him he wasn’t alone with her. “You deal first.” He passed the cards to Wyatt, who set them in front of Jessie while she dusted cookie crumbs from her fingers.

  She picked up the deck, and Flynn’s heart skipped a beat. Now things were going to get interesting. He couldn’t help grinning at her, and dang if she didn’t give him a sexy little smile back.