Her Last Chance Cowboy: A Sweet Western Romance (Prairie Valley Book 5)

by Ellen Joy

  “That’s just fantastic.” Georgie’s eyes moistened. “I’m so happy for you, Hannah.”

  She nodded, getting misty-eyed herself. Never in a million years would she have ever expected one of these late-night coffee klatches to be about her own love life.

  “Did you ride out to the four corners?” Olivia asked.

  Hannah giggled. “We didn’t stop talking long enough to ride. Besides, he only has one horse.”

  Before she went to bed, each woman predicted when Jake would propose. Georgie said he wouldn’t wait. Olivia said he’d take the time to plan something big. Maggie took Hannah’s face in her hands and said she believed it didn’t matter, that they had already made a life-long connection.

  She tried to pretend not to listen, not to get her hopes up, but she felt so good, so high on pure happiness, that when she went to bed, she dreamed of living on the ranch, running after Millie, watching Emma riding Trigger, while Jake watched over them all.

  Chapter 13

  Hannah brought Emma along the next time she went to visit Jake. She was the first to ride Trigger. She didn’t even hesitate before jumping on his back, and the Morgan didn’t seem to mind having the young girl holding the reins. He ambled along the fence as Jake and Hannah followed behind.

  Dinner followed, once again served outside on the linen-covered picnic table. The biggest piece of barbecued filet mignon she had ever seen was accompanied by tossed salad, corn on the cob, fresh baked bread, and a fancy cream sauce she couldn’t pronounce. As the sun fell low behind the trees, he invited them inside for dessert.

  “Come on, Emma, let’s get some of this stuff into the kitchen,” she said, stacking plates.

  He put a hand on her arm. “You’re my guest. Please, leave all this here and come inside. I’ll clean up later.”

  As they entered the house, Jake gestured for them to make themselves comfortable in the living room.

  Hannah studied the knick-knacks, books, and games on the shelves. The room was sparsely furnished, just a couch and a table with a lamp. She supposed a single man living alone didn’t need a lot of furniture, but where would they all sit?

  “Why don’t we sit at the kitchen table?” she suggested.

  Yes, hard kitchen chairs evenly spaced around the table would be more comfortable in her current state than getting cozy –too cozy– on the couch. She needed to cool down, because she felt herself reacting more and more strongly to his presence. She wanted to kiss him again. To feel that electric current through her body. She had never felt anything like it before.

  But she didn’t want Emma to get the wrong impression. She might want her mother to be happy, but she also knew that Emma needed a father figure. She wanted to encourage Emma to think of Jake in that role, rather than as an object of her mother’s desire. She could remember her own mother’s many boyfriends all too well.

  The kitchen had an unintentional retro sixties style, with yellow and white checkered linoleum, white trim, and walls papered with tiny orange lanterns.

  The space was sparse, but cozy. The countertops were bare, but there were two cuckoo clocks on the wall, and a shelf lined with quirky vases.

  Hannah stopped to read some of the rustic wooden signs that decorated the wall under the shelf.

  “Mrs. Wilson left a lot of their stuff, in case they decided they didn’t like Florida.”

  “Do they?”

  “They seem to.”

  She felt a tug at her heart. “When will they decide?”

  “They told me they were going to return in a month or so and let me know.” He let out a long breath. “From what I can tell, they love it where they are, but they have family up here, grandkids and stuff. And the fact that they weren’t ready to pack up all their decorations makes me wonder how serious they are.”

  “What about the cattle?” She could feel her anxiety rising. Homelessness had always been a real threat in her life. She still remembered bouncing from boyfriend to boyfriend with her mother.

  “They said I could rent the farmland and barn until I find my own place.” Jake sounded confident, as though he wasn’t worried.

  “But where would you stay?”

  “Well… I sure hope they like Florida,” he said. “I really love this place.” He pulled an ice cream container out of the freezer.

  “How can we help?” Hannah asked.

  Jake pointed to the cabinet to the left of the sink. “You could grab some bowls.” He opened a drawer to fetch spoons and napkins.

  “Would you like anything to drink?” he asked Emma.

  She shook her head. “No, thank you.”

  Hannah smiled to herself, glad to see Emma on her best behavior. She caught herself staring at his flexing forearm as he dug the scoop into the ice cream. She had to keep her eyes away from his mouth as he ate. And she had to take deep breaths as he stood next to her at the sink, cleaning up.

  “I was thinking about building a fire in the back yard, toasting some marshmallows?”

  “That sounds great!” Emma said.

  It did sound great, but it was late. She loved Olivia and Jesse and Maggie, but they were as snoopy as they were loving. If she stayed much later, they were going to be all over her business.

  “How about next time?” At least, she hoped he’d ask again. “It’s just that we have church tomorrow.”

  She could hear the crickets outside as Emma talked to Millie, scratching the pig’s belly on the kitchen floor. She wished this moment could last forever.

  “You want to join me again for dinner, tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Yes.” But then she remembered it was Sunday. “Oh shoot, we have dinner at the farm on Sundays.”

  He smiled. “Monday?”

  Hannah looked at Emma, and she was pleased to see her daughter’s encouraging expression. “That sounds great.”

  He walked them home, being sure to include both of them in conversation. When they reached the porch, Emma didn’t get the hint.

  “Emma, go inside and get ready for bed.”

  “It’s really early, though.”

  It was too good to be true, Hannah thought ruefully. The moment Emma set foot back on the farm, her teenage attitude returned.

  “Emma. Go.” She raised an eyebrow.

  Emma knew she meant business. “Good night, Mr. Malloy.”

  “You can call me Jake, you know.” He smiled. No sooner was Emma gone than she saw Maggie peek from behind the curtain.

  “Thank you so much for such a wonderful night,” she said. She wished with all her might that she could kiss him, but instead she stepped back. “I really had a nice time.”

  She shot her eyes toward the window.

  Jake laughed. “I had a really nice time, Hannah. I always have a nice time with you.”

  He stepped closer to her.

  “They’re watching us.”

  “I know.”

  He took her hand and kissed her sweetly and lightly on the lips. She kept her eyes closed for a moment after their lips parted. She was glad he was holding onto her, because the whole world was spinning.

  “See you at church?”

  She couldn’t speak at first, but finally managed to whisper, “See you at church.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Jake rolled his eyes at his mother as she slid into the booth. “Not everything is an emergency.”

  “Well, you’ve never invited me to breakfast before, not without some reason.”

  He realized that was true and felt a twinge of guilt. “I have a favor to ask.”

  She smiled wryly but didn’t tease him any further. “What’s the favor?”

  “I want to sit with Hannah at church,” he said.

  She nodded slowly, understanding what this meant. He would be announcing his interest in her to the entire town.

  “And you want me to butt out?”

  “No. Just the opposite. I want you to sit with us, and officially meet her.” After a pause he added, “Without aski
ng her to clean your house.”

  She sighed. “I guess this time was going to have to come eventually. I just wasn’t expecting it so soon.” She emptied a sugar packet into her mug. “Would it be OK if I invited you both to dinner?”

  He held up a cautioning hand, afraid that might be moving too fast for Hannah. “Let’s just start with church.”

  As Jake approached the pew, Olivia started elbowing Georgie and pushing Jesse and Sam down the bench.

  Hannah looked up, and Emma waved. “Hey, Jake.”

  “Good morning.” He gave a little wave. “Is there enough room for my mother and I to join you?”

  “Sure!”

  “Hannah, do you remember my mother, Elaine?”

  “Yes, nice to see you again.” Hannah extended her hand.

  “Jake’s told me a lot of nice things about you.”

  Hannah smiled and said, “I’m glad you came to sit with us.”

  And he let out the breath he’d been holding, the tension melting out of his back and neck. So far, so good.

  At first, Elaine declined Maggie’s invitation to lunch at the farm, but she finally gave in.

  Jake offered to drive her. “Would you like to come by, after? See my new pet?”

  “Don’t tell me you got another pig?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, a Morgan.”

  “What?” Then she figured it out. “Did you get a horse?”

  He nodded. “He’s beautiful, too.”

  “So, you’re really sticking around?” He realized then just how much she wanted that.

  “Yeah, Mom, I think I’m going to stick around.”

  She leaned over the console, squeezing his arm. “Then, you’d better hurry up and make me a grandmother!”

  “I knew you’d like her,” he said drily.

  “Jake, all I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy,” she said. “I’ve seen a change since she’s been in your life, and I have to say I like it.”

  He turned the key to start the engine, happy that his mother approved, happy she was happy for him, and happy that all the pieces of his life seemed to be falling into place.

  Lunch was set up outside under an old oak tree. The kids ate on quilts on the lawn while the adults crowded onto two picnic tables pushed together. After lunch, the women showed Elaine around the farm.

  When his mother said goodbye to everyone, it was with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He wondered if Ted would ever be able to loosen up that way around these salt-of-the-earth people.

  “I really like her,” his mother said on the way to his place. “And her daughter is adorable.”

  He smiled. He had never been happier in his life. He’d made a momentous decision that day. He was going to ask Hannah to marry him.

  Routine settled in on the farm.

  Hannah took Mae to all the “mommy and me” classes she could find – story hour at the library, baby gymnastics, swimming lessons at the community center. And of course, she made time for Jake almost every day. Sometimes she’d walk Mae down to the ranch, or to the Gunderson barn, where he was almost finished building. Sometimes they’d have lunch, on other days there was just enough time to say hello and ask how his day was going. They almost always had dinner together, and he started talking about the future as if she and Emma were expected to be part of it.

  “I want to take you out,” he said one day at lunch.

  “Let’s just stay in, it costs so much.” They would be alone that night. Emma had a sleepover, and she was looking forward to just being alone with him.

  “Hannah, I don’t work this hard to not be able to spend some money on my girlfriend.”

  Girlfriend. She couldn’t hold back her smile. Still, the idea of going out in public as a couple made her nervous. “People will start talking.”

  “Let them talk.”

  Troy’s mother had a lot to say when she heard about them simply sitting together in church. “What if it all comes back on Emma?”

  “That her mother is happy?”

  “You know what I mean. The things Marie is saying.” Horrible things she couldn’t repeat.

  “No one cares what Marie Higgins is saying.”

  She sighed. “Okay.”

  He kissed her, then went back to work. “I’ll pick you up tonight at six.”

  By six, her stomach was fluttering with as much excitement as trepidation. She’d never been on this kind of dinner date.

  Jake looked handsome in a pair of dress slacks and shiny cowboy boots, his hair perfectly gelled and combed, his beard trimmed, and his eyes smoldering the second he laid eyes on her.

  This was it. That feeling she’d only read about before. A feeling of absolute bliss. She was in love.

  “Shall we?”

  He drove the back roads along the river, playing classic country on the radio.

  “My mother would like you to come over for dinner,” he said.

  Hannah had really come to like Jake’s mother. She now understood that Elaine had meant no harm in offering her a job. She marveled at how much had changed in such a short time.

  “That sounds great,” she said.

  “I’ll be honest, I don’t know how my stepfather will behave. He can be… difficult.”

  She knew Jake had a strained relationship with the man. “Is it hard to have to work for him?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t even hesitate. “But maybe by next year I can start working for myself. And the Wilsons should be calling, soon.”

  She knew the date was approaching but avoided the subject, because she could see he was anxious about it. She was too. She had fallen in love with the place. Reaching for his hand, she squeezed it. “Everything will work out.”

  She believed it this time. Jake was her good luck charm. Things seemed always to be better with him around.

  When they arrived at the restaurant, she shook her head. “Jake, The Dock Café is too expensive. Really, let’s just go.”

  “I’ve already made the reservation, no backing out now.” He came around to open her door, offering his hand. She’d learned early on to just let him do these little things for her. Her independent stubbornness still sometimes reared its head, but it gave him such pleasure that she couldn’t deny him. He opened doors and pickle jars, pulled out chairs, offered his jacket, and always his hand.

  The Dock Café was one of those restaurants she had always heard about, but never could afford. When she sat down at the table and saw the menu prices, she grabbed her purse.

  “Seriously, Jake, there are a lot of nice places for half the price.”

  He laughed, placing his hand on her anxiously clenched ones. “Hannah, I want to eat here, with you.”

  She relaxed, sliding her purse onto the empty chair next to her and opening her menu again.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” the waitress asked.

  Hannah looked up from her menu and almost dropped it on the table. Marie Higgins stood there in a white button-down and black apron. Her eyes filled with rage the moment she realized who she was looking at.

  “How dare you show your face in here!” she hissed through clenched jaws.

  Hannah was frozen in her seat. She’d had no idea that Marie worked there. Jake sat up straighter in his seat.

  “You need to take yourself off this table,” he said in a low, firm voice.

  She huffed and jerked her head at Hannah. “That piece of trash needs to leave this establishment.”

  Jake had half risen from his chair and opened his mouth when a manager appeared at his elbow. “What’s going on here?”

  Tears sparkled in Marie’s eyes. She ignored the manager, all her attention on Hannah. “I lost my son, and you come here with your lover to smear it in my face!”

  Hannah grabbed her purse and bolted. She heard Jake yelling after her, but she just kept going. She headed off through Lowell Park, down the walkway along the river, past the strolling tourists. She didn’t know where she was going, her legs just churned away on a
utopilot.

  “Hannah!” She could hear him running to catch up, but she couldn’t stop, she wouldn’t stop, not until Marie was far away.

  He finally reached her side. “Hannah, please, stop.”

  “I can’t.” She couldn’t explain it, but she felt that she needed to keep moving to hold herself together. She was so embarrassed. Everyone in the whole restaurant had been looking at her. They’d all heard what Marie had said.

  He seemed to understand she needed time, and just fell in beside her.

  “Hannah, no one believes what she said.”

  She nodded, then shook her head. Her big date, her happy moment, ruined. She should have divorced Troy years ago, instead of waiting around like a fool. Now Jake’s reputation was being tarnished.

  “I’m so sorry,” she blurted.

  “For what?” He pulled gently on her elbow to slow her down. “Look at me. Please.”

  She finally stopped, and the tears came flooding into her eyes. “This is all my fault.”

  “Absolutely not. She’s just a nasty, bitter woman.”

  He put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She’d never thought that such a simple gesture could be such a comfort, could feel so right. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he was right for her, but she wasn’t right for him.

  “Jake, this is how my life works,” she said into his chest. “Just when things are starting to look okay, the rug is pulled out from under my feet.”

  He looked down at her. “And I’ll be right there, ready to catch you.”

  Chapter 14

  Ted stood in the middle of the barn and did a three-sixty. The build was finished. The first project Jake had supervised from start to finish.

  “I couldn’t be happier with the results,” Sam said.

  The huge calving barn had rows of birthing pens, bonding pens for cows and their newborns, and spacious accommodations for animals during the harsh winter weather.

  Jake couldn’t be prouder as he stood there, surveying the final result.

  “We’re glad you’re happy with it.” Ted looked out of place in his uptight business attire among the flannel shirts and cowboy boots. His stature and loud voice seemed to fill the huge, echoing space.