The Cowboy's Promise

by Macie St James

  Repeating to herself over and over that she had this, she climbed the steps to Clay’s front porch and strode determinedly toward his front door. She pressed the doorbell button, stepped back, and waited. She could handle this. She could. She’d been preparing all her life for this moment.

  The door swung open and there stood Clay, those intense blue eyes of his taking her in. She remembered then why she’d had such a tough time speaking up for herself while she’d been here. It was like he cast a spell on her, just by looking at her.

  “May I come in?” she asked.

  Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. That set up a bad precedent. She should have just blazed past him, storming into his house, uninvited. Or maybe she should have demanded he let her in, citing the fact that his brother had requested that she drive all the way back here to help them out.

  “Be my guest.” He stepped back and gestured for her to enter.

  Harley made sure she stepped well around him as she walked in, her attention fully focused on the doorway to the kitchen. That was their official meeting room, and that was where she’d pictured setting her laptop down and talking business with the two brothers.

  But there were three brothers here, and the other two were in the kitchen, seated at the table. Reilly had his usual mug in front of him and Colton was tapping around on his phone.

  “I’m here,” she said, rushing in as she’d seen her boss do so many times. She’d decided imitating him might be a good way to go here, as long as she removed all the douchey parts.

  “Great!” Colton said, setting down his phone. “Thank you so much for coming all the way back.”

  “Sorry we couldn’t address this last night,” Reilly added. “We didn’t really want your boss looped in.”

  “He’s kind of a jerk,” Colton added.

  Clay let out an ironic laugh behind her. When she turned to look at him, he quickly straightened, seeming to realize he’d accidentally let his feelings be known.

  “Yes, well, he’s not my boss anymore.” Harley pulled back a chair and sat down across from Colton.

  “Good point,” Colton asked. “So are you okay?”

  She turned to look at him. “I’m not interested in working for him anymore. That chapter of my life is closed.”

  Clay came around to stand next to the table. He was watching her with a curious expression on his face. It seemed he suddenly saw her as an interesting creature—one to be studied.

  “I want the same passion you guys have for this ranch,” she said. “I want to care about the work I do. Most importantly, though, I want the work I do to put people before money.”

  Reilly took a sip of his coffee. “Yeah, you won’t get that with that Cutler guy.”

  “This ranch was only worth what it could put in his bank account,” Clay said. “That was all he saw. Even if our parents were okay with selling it, the last thing I’d want was to see it fall into the hands of someone who just saw it as paying for his summer vacation.”

  “He doesn’t vacation.” Harley was suddenly remembering all the things she’d hated about working for him. “He didn’t believe in taking time off as long as there was work to be done.”

  “Sounds like a dream boss.” Colton smirked. “Whatever the case, you can do better.”

  Harley nodded. “I realize that, and I figured it out while staying here with Clay. I see so much potential in this place, and I’d love to help you get started.”

  “Interesting, because that’s just what we wanted to talk to you about,” Colton said.

  Harley had been expecting that. She’d assumed the reason they called her back here was that they wanted to pick her brain, extracting all her great ideas. In return, they’d give her absolutely nothing but a thank-you and a goodbye as she walked out the door. Maybe, if she was lucky, a cup of coffee, which she couldn’t help but notice nobody had offered.

  “I majored in business,” Harley began, kicking off the sales pitch the way she’d practiced in the car. “I can help you figure out what it would take to make this place profitable, but that’s not the value I’d bring.”

  She could tell that had thrown them off. Well, she could tell it had thrown Colton off. Reilly seemed more interested in staring out the window and Clay… She couldn’t read Clay for the life of her.

  “What value is that?” Clay asked. He looked amused. Like he was mocking her. That only made her more determined to wow them.

  “The plans I mentioned to you.” She turned to Colton, feeling like he’d be more open to what she was saying than the other two. “I think we should start with a fall festival. It makes sense because, well, fall is right around the corner. We don’t have to go all out this first year. Maybe some hayrides, bring in some pumpkins for a pumpkin patch. Then there’s the maze—”

  “We don’t have corn,” Colton said. He looked a little stunned.

  “Right,” she said. “I was thinking we could stack hay bales.”

  Colton looked at Clay. “Can you believe this?”

  “Amazing,” Clay said.

  “What?” Harley asked.

  Colton smiled. “You’re echoing what I told Clay just a little while ago. Hay bales and all.”

  Now Reilly spoke up. “There isn’t enough time to grow pumpkins.”

  “As I said, we’d have to bring some in this year,” Harley said.

  She looked from brother to brother to brother. Again, this wasn’t going as planned. How could she sell them on paying her as a consultant if Colton had already figured all this out himself?

  “We’d need someone to organize it all,” Harley said, reminding herself she was here to prove she could take charge of things. “Someone with a business degree and a talent for getting things done.”

  “That someone is you,” Colton said. “I think we’ve already decided this. And you can stay in Jared’s house until he returns.”

  Clay straightened behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, Harley saw his entire expression had changed. She knew this plan had not been discussed between them.

  Not that it mattered. She had no intention of moving here.

  Harley rushed to speak before Clay could say anything. “My home is in Seattle. I can work from there. I worked from home for Mr. Cutler. When I need to be here in person, I’ll just drive up and stay in a hotel.”

  “I don’t know.” Colton and Reilly shared a look. “I think this is going to be a pretty full-time job for the next few weeks. And we’ll need more than a fall festival if we’re going to save this ranch. I think we need someone around here full-time.”

  She hadn’t been born yesterday. She knew a matchmaking attempt when she saw one. Colton and Reilly were both in on it, whether it was preplanned or not.

  There were two problems with that. One, her life and all her friends were in Seattle. Leaving that behind wasn’t as easy as just packing up her condo and moving. Especially when all she had was a vacation rental that was probably booked with other guests for the next however many months. Not to mention what happened when the owner of that vacation rental returned from his deployment.

  But the other problem—the biggest problem—was that the other person they were trying to match her with was very obviously not interested in a commitment. He was no doubt happy she’d driven off that morning, and any hope she’d had otherwise was squashed the second she saw his face at that door. He had a wall up between them and taking up residence on his property wouldn’t change that.

  “Colton, may I talk to you for a minute?” Clay asked, speaking through gritted teeth.

  There it was. She’d expected it. She sat back in her chair, waiting for Colton and Clay to leave the room. In the meantime, she could hook up to their Wi-Fi and start looking for some examples to show them.

  “You know what, Clay?” Colton asked. “Reilly and I have sat back while you made all the decisions regarding this place since Mom and Dad left. Remember what they said?”

  Clay’s jaw ticked. “I know what they told me.�
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  “Then maybe they didn’t tell you that all decisions were supposed to be made as a group. This is a democracy, but you haven’t been running it like one. If you have another suggestion, let’s hear it.” Colton leaned against the doorframe, waiting.

  “I’m not going against you on the fall festival thing,” Clay said. “But I don’t think moving Harley into Jared’s house is a good idea. For one thing, I’m sure there’s a renter coming in today.”

  “It’s vacant,” Colton said. “I already checked with Jared.”

  “Hold up!” Harley said, holding her hand up to stop them. “I have no intention of moving onto this property and managing your fall festival full-time. I can do everything I need to do remotely, as I said. We can even video chat as often as you need. We’ll stay in touch through text messages in between. Pretty much every business on the planet operates that way these days.”

  “Not ranches,” Clay stubbornly said. “Ranches operate on face-to-face conversations. Like this one. We don’t have time to sit around talking into a tablet or texting like we’re in high school. We have work to do.”

  “I can handle all that,” Colton said. “Harley’s right. She doesn’t need to be here. I’ll take care of chatting with her and pass everything on to the appropriate parties. I’ll do it on the side until we start making enough profit for me to resign from the law firm.”

  Harley flashed him a grateful smile. At least someone was on her side here. Being able to go back to Seattle and still help these guys out was the best scenario she could imagine. Well, aside from Clay realizing he was madly in love with her…or at least willing to figure out where this thing between them might go.

  That wasn’t going to happen.

  “I suppose you’re going to want a salary,” Clay said.

  “You can pay me a consulting fee,” Harley said. “I’ll work in Seattle and do this on the side until I can find something full-time in business. But I’ll always help you guys out. I believe in this place.”

  “You’re not going back to work for that Cutler jerk,” Clay said.

  Harley laughed. “Hardly. I worked my way through college waiting tables. I got pretty good at surviving by taking extra shifts and being personable enough to land at least decent tips every night. I don’t really want to do it, but it beats being threatened with being fired every day.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Colton said, slapping the table and standing. “If you don’t mind, Reilly and I are going to get a head start on things. See if you can line up some local venders, if you can, and send us an invoice for any work you do.”

  “But I haven’t told you my hourly rate,” Harley called out as Colton and Reilly headed toward the door.

  “I’m sure it’s reasonable,” Colton said. “Give Clay all your contact information.”

  And with that, they were gone, leaving Harley alone in the house with Clay. The air between them seemed really thick. She didn’t like this awkwardness.

  “Thank you for letting me stay with you,” she said as she scooted her chair back and stood. “Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you.”

  He stepped closer to her. With each step, her heart sped up a little more. He didn’t have that closed-off look, making her wonder what was about to happen. Was he about to kiss her? If so, should she let him?

  “You’re leaving?” His voice was gentle. She hadn’t seen this side of him yet. She had to admit, it made her feel a little melty.

  “Yes,” she said, her voice sounding far breathier than she would have wanted. She didn’t want him to know he was getting to her. “I…I need to get home.”

  “You left without saying goodbye last night,” he said. “And this morning.”

  “I figured…” Her voice trailed off. Figured what? Figured he wouldn’t want her to say goodbye? Figured she was saving him having to act like nothing had happened between them, so he’d be grateful? Figured he probably wouldn’t even notice she’d left?

  Of course, she couldn’t say any of that. She wasn’t sure what to say.

  Clay’s blue eyes pierced into her with laser-like focus. “You figured this was just about business. The deal fell through, so your work here was done?”

  “No. I mean yes. I mean…”

  She sure was stammering around here enough. If nothing else, this was exactly why she’d attempted to get out unnoticed. The truth was, that kiss between them had meant something to her, as had the rest of the time she’d spent with him. It was impossible to pretend this was nothing more than a failed business transaction.

  “You’re going back to Seattle,” he said.

  Yeah, hadn’t they already discussed that? She cocked her head slightly, trying to figure out what he was getting at here. She was going back to Seattle, which was where her condo, all her clothes, and pretty much everything else she owned in the world was. What else was she supposed to do?

  Was he hurt that she was leaving? But if he wanted to be with her, shouldn’t he do something to show it?

  “I’ll be back,” she said. “Probably pretty soon. I can do quite a bit from home, but I’ll need to be here in person occasionally. I just may not have a day off for a while.”

  “Sorry you lost your job.” He was still talking to her in that voice. Still looking at her with a softness in his expression. This was more confusing than when he’d had that wall up. She felt suddenly guilty for leaving.

  Maybe she should stay.

  No, scratch that. She’d been through this before, too. It was no coincidence that his fear of getting closer disappeared once she was ready to walk. Nothing to fear now. She wasn’t fighting for anything more than a kiss, so why should he run?

  “It’s for the best.” She took a step away from him. “I really should go.”

  Harley grabbed her bag, shoving her laptop inside the outer pocket, and turned back to face him. He’d taken a step back, too, and was no longer looking at her. Pride had finally kicked in, she guessed. Or maybe he’d realized there was no point in trying to get her to stay when she was already on her way out the door.

  “You should go, then,” he said.

  What did that mean? He wanted her to go, or he didn’t? He wanted her to go, but it needed to be clear it was her decision? She was tired of trying to figure it out.

  There was only one thing to do. She reached into the outer pocket of her bag, pulled out one of her business cards, and handed it over to him.

  “My cell number is on there. Just text me and I’ll have your number. Or give it to your brother if you want him to handle everything. Thanks again.”

  With a nod, she turned and started toward the door. As she walked, she had a bizarre fantasy of him rushing to catch up with her, spinning her around and planting a long, passionate kiss on her. The fantasy was so vivid, she even thought she heard his footsteps behind her. But it didn’t happen. He was still way back there in the kitchen and she was on her way out the door.

  And out of his life.

  18

  Clay stood in his kitchen, alone, thinking about how he’d let Harley walk out of his life again. It hadn’t been easy. He’d thought about kissing her—he’d even taken some steps toward her in the hopes that he’d work up the courage. But she’d stepped back, making it clear that was off the table.

  At this point, he wasn’t even sure if he was the one who had blown things. He’d been a mess since that kiss. There had been the chaos of her boss showing up, but it was far more than that. It was the fact that kissing her had put things in a weird place between them, and if she was leaving, there was no point in even exploring it.

  And, let’s face it, she had to leave. She had no choice. She couldn’t just move into Jared’s house, not with renters coming and going. Even if she could, there was no way they could ask her to put her life on hold to help them. They couldn’t even pay her a salary to entice her to stay.

  Clay headed out onto his front porch and looked at the driveway where her car had been parked just minutes
earlier. She’d be back, he told himself. She’d return and maybe they could figure things out then. He might even discover why she had an effect on him that no woman ever had before.

  “Hey!”

  Reilly’s voice came from seemingly out of nowhere. Clay looked around for the source of the noise and saw nothing at first. But then movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention to Jared’s front porch, where Reilly was standing.

  “She’s gone?” Reilly descended Jared’s steps and started toward Clay.

  “Yep,” he said, struggling to make his voice as casual as possible. “On her way back to Seattle.”

  He started down his own steps. He’d talk to his brother for a minute or so, but he had to get to his chores. No matter what they were doing with this ranch, his duties would remain the same.

  “Dumb move,” Reilly said.

  Reilly was the most laid back of all the brothers. He usually had a smile on his face and just went with the flow. Unless he was passionate about something. And, from the not-smiling expression on his face, he definitely seemed to strongly believe in whatever he was saying.

  “You think?” Clay asked. He mostly just wanted to hear what his brother had to say. This ought to be interesting.

  “Letting a woman like Harley walk out of your life?” Reilly asked, shaking his head. “Flat-out mistake.

  “You know what?” Clay asked, his patience wearing thin. “This whole matchmaking thing is getting old. Let’s talk about the fact that you all knew the code to this house and you didn’t tell us.”

  Reilly grinned impishly. “You didn’t exactly push for it. Harley didn’t either. Do you want to talk about that?”

  No. As a matter of fact, he didn’t. He wanted to get to his work and forget Harley had ever been here.

  But Reilly had a point. Clay couldn’t speak for what Harley had done, but after he’d invited her to spend the night in one of his guest rooms, he’d conveniently forgotten all about her reservation at his brother’s place. Oh, sure, it had hit his mind a few times over the day she’d been here, but he’d chosen not to mention it.