Autumn's Hope (Cowboy Seasons) (4 page)

He
rubbed her back and murmured into her ear that everything would be all right.
She didn’t know why but she believed him whole-heartedly. A part of her wished
she could just go and be with Jonas. Another part of her never wanted to have
anything to do with a man again. That part won out and she pulled away, taking
a big step back.

She
wiped her eyes. “Thank you, Jonas. You’ve been a great friend. I should
probably be going.”

“I’ll
walk you home.”

“No,
I need to clear my head.” Staring at the ground, she didn’t know what else to
say. She glanced up and gave him what she hoped was a smile. “Bye.” She walked
away before he could say anything more.

* * * *

Finally,
it was Summer and Holden’s wedding day. The days preceding were hectic. Jonas and
Colt had taken in most of the horses Holden was boarding. Autumn had been at
Holden’s place helping Summer with wedding plans and he bumped into her more
than once. He still felt awkward but they had a budding friendship and it
lifted his spirits.

They
were still at the small talk stage, but it grew easier for him as the days went
by. He looked forward to spending time with her.

Jonas
studied himself in the mirror. He wanted to look good for Autumn. Thinking of
her filled him with anticipation. It was the last thing he needed, a woman, but
she was always on his mind. He couldn’t forget how perfect she felt in his
arms. She smelled of apple blossoms with a hint of cinnamon. Somehow, against
his best judgment, she had wiggled her way into his heart.

Frowning,
he glanced away from the mirror. He looked fine with his clothes on, but the
scars he had from his time in Afghanistan were repulsive. His slight limp
didn’t seem to bother anyone but he’d had women turn away from him as soon as
he took his shirt off. He knew the score, no woman would have him and his pride
just couldn’t take another hit, it would destroy him.

Friendship
was the best he could hope for. Peering at his watch, he cursed. If he didn’t
hurry he’d be late.

Fortunately,
he made it in time. The ceremony was being held at Holden’s ranch. He owned a
big, two story farm house. He lived there with his four younger brothers he was
raising and Summer. Jonas was happy for his friend. Holden and Summer were made
for each other. They’d both had to learn to trust one another and it had all
worked out.

There
were plenty of trucks parked in the drive. He spotted Autumn’s tan SUV. She’d
had it brought to her and the driver drove the moving truck back. His heart
skipped a beat when he spotted her. She was so lovely in her burgundy dress it
came just to the knee and he enjoyed the view her long legs. She stood next to
a tall brunette, a pretty one at that.

Jonas
walked right to Autumn and smiled. “You look nice.”

Her
smile brightened his heart. “Thank you. Jonas this is Dee Ann Johns, she’s the
new veterinarian.”

Jonas
took Dee Ann’s slim hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope you’re
comfortable at Autumn’s place.”

Her
violet eyes twinkled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too. Are you Jonas Barnes,
the man who takes the worst cases of the rescued horses?”

“Yes,
ma’am, that’s me.”

She
put her hand on his arm. “Come, we have lots to talk about.”

Her
boldness surprised him. He started to walk with Dee Ann and he turned his head
to glance back at Autumn, who gave him an encouraging smile. His heart dropped.
Autumn wasn’t the least bit disturbed that he was with another woman. He should
be used to it by now, but rejection hurt.

Dee
Ann took his hand and led him to a seat where the wedding was to be held. It
felt odd, but strangely it did something for his ego that he liked. She babbled
on and on about horses and cattle while Jonas listened but he always had his
gaze on the crowd hoping to see Autumn. When he finally did see her, it made
him sad to see her sitting alone. She looked around from her seat, and met his
gaze. She smiled and waved.

It
was what he wanted. He just wanted to be friends and now he got his wish. For
some reason, his heart didn’t agree it was such a good thing.

* * * *

What a lovely couple,
Autumn
thought as she watched the nuptials. She swallowed hard and tried to keep her
envy down.

She
couldn’t help but look at Jonas every now and then. He and Dee Ann looked so
happy together and they never seemed to run out of conversation. Maybe Jonas
had found the one for him. It made her heart ache.

She
touched her stomach again and smiled. Jonas wouldn’t have wanted her once he
found out about the baby.

The
baby was the very reason she did not want to serve alcohol in her place. One
minute she was celebrating her graduation from culinary school and the next
minute she was alone and naked in a hotel room. She still didn’t remember
drinking that much and the man she was with was just a fuzzy blur in her
memory. She’d been so embarrassed that she never told anyone. It did leak out
that she’d had a one night stand, however, and when she ended up pregnant, she
found that everyone in her life were fair weather friends. A harsh reality.

Even
her mother told her to either give the baby up or get out. Luckily, she had
money her grandmother left.

But
here she was, wallowing in self-pity. She sat up straighter in her chair and
vowed to shake it off. She was made of stronger stuff than what had been thrown
at her. A baby was a blessing and somehow everything would turn out all right.
It had to, there was no other option.

Holden
kissed his bride, the ceremony ended and it was time for the reception. A huge,
white tent graced the yard and as Autumn walked inside she gasped at the beauty
of it. It had been worth the days of planning.

The
tables were topped with rich navy blue linens. The china and crystal all gleamed
and sparkled under the crystal chandeliers. In the middle of each table were
the most beautiful arrangements of wildflowers.

Finally,
after a lot of searching, she found her place card at a table. Jonas and Dee
Ann were already seated. Stone McCoy nodded at her. A hunky man she didn’t know
jumped up and pulled her chair back for her.

“Thank
you.” She smiled in gratitude at the black haired man. He was definitely a looker
with deep chocolate eyes.

“I’m
Colt O’Malley and this is my brother Caleb.”

Autumn
settled into her seat and nodded to both men. “Nice to meet you. I’m Autumn
Lavin. I own the Bar and Grill.” Both men appeared equally attractive, but Colt
was obviously the elder of the two.

“Heard
you made quite the stir here in town,” Caleb said. His boyish grin charmed her.

“I
suppose you could say that. Luckily I made a few friends here.” She gazed at
Jonas, who smiled at her, causing her heart to lurch in her chest. “Mr. McCoy,
I never did get a chance to thank you.”

Stone
took a sip of his wine. “Glad to do it. It’s nice to meet you. Call me Stone.”

“I’m
Autumn. Lovely wedding, wasn’t it?” The blank stares from the men almost made
her laugh.

“It
was and look at this place. It’s beautiful,” Dee Ann enthused, her violet eyes
glowing. She glanced at Jonas and blushed.

All
through the dinner, Autumn witnessed blush after blush and it rankled. She
tried her best to smile but jealousy kept biting. Somewhere along the way she’d
come to think of Jonas as
her
friend,
and another woman monopolizing his attention annoyed her. She wanted to leave,
but she couldn’t.

Colt
stood up and offered his hand. “Autumn, would you like to dance?”

Relieved,
she quickly stood, took Colt’s hand and followed him onto the wooden dance
floor. Strange, a dance floor in the middle of a cow pasture.

“Are
you all right?” Colt asked, drawing her into the circle of his arms.

“Yes
of course. I love dancing.”

“I
meant, well things between Jonas and Dee Ann are heating up and I thought— well
never mind.”

“You
thought that Jonas and I were a couple? We’re just good friends. Dee Ann is a
very sweet woman and they have horses and cattle in common.” She almost tripped
when she spotted Jonas and Dee Ann dancing. It seemed to her that they were
dancing a bit too close.

“So,
that’s why you can’t take your eyes off him. He’s a good match for your friend.
Makes sense.” The doubtful look he gave her almost made her groan.

“Let’s
not ruin our dance talking about him. I have a restaurant to open and I won’t
have time for a relationship.”

“Perfectly
understandable.” His tone of voice gave away the fact that he didn’t believe
what he said.

The
music ended and Colt led her back to the table, where Caleb promptly stood and
took her hand for the next dance. After that Stone danced with her. She figured
she was done when Stone escorted her off the dance floor, but Jonas stood there
waiting for his turn. It surprised and confused her.

“Dance
with me?” His voice sounded husky, but she knew it wasn’t because of her.

Autumn
thanked Stone and took Jonas’ hand. As soon as he drew her to him, she knew it
was a big mistake. They began to dance and her heart beat faster. It was too
hard being in his arms, knowing he didn’t really care about her as more than a
friend.

“Loosen
up. You’re as stiff as a fence post.” He continued to lead her around the dance
floor. “You look tired.”

“Tired
wasn’t the look I was going for when I got dressed.”

“I’m
sorry, of course you look beautiful, but tired all the same.”

“You’re
right. I am tired. You’ll be sure that Dee Ann gets home? I really need to
leave.”

“I
could take you.” The music stopped and Jonas squeezed her hand as he led her
off the dance floor.

“No,
Jonas. You stay and enjoy yourself.” She summoned a feeble smile. “You and Dee
Ann have fun.” Before he could answer she let go of his hand, stopped at the
table, grabbed her purse and left without saying goodbye. She could feel his
eyes upon her, but she didn’t dare look back. She needed to concentrate on
keeping a smile on her face as she moved through the crowd and then to her car.

She
was more upset with herself for feeling the way she did. Jonas never even said
he liked her and here she was feeling like a school girl whose boyfriend left
her for another. She knew it made no sense, yet she couldn’t help her feelings.
She needed to squash her feelings for her own good.

She
drove home and as she was driving, she felt the baby kick. Her sadness was
replaced with a soul deep joy. The baby mattered. Everything else was a
distraction.

Chapter
Three

No
matter how busy she kept herself, Jonas was always on her mind and it wasn’t
fair. She tried so hard to keep her mind occupied and then he’d slip right into
her thoughts. It didn’t help that she’d seen him every day since the wedding.
It’d been a long week. They traded their usual small talk and a hug here and
there, but while he always had an excuse for dropping by, none of them included
her. The reasons given were about horses but Autumn wasn’t so sure. Dee Ann
would be leaving in a few days and although Autumn genuinely liked her, she’d
be glad to say good bye.

The
restaurant would be ready soon, but she still needed to finish cleaning the
kitchen. It had to shine to pass inspection. All that was left was the cooler,
and she wasn’t looking forward to it at all. She needed to remove all the
shelving so she could get to the floor under it. The walls all needed
scrubbing. She was glad that she’d bought a folding ladder.

Dreading
it wasn’t getting it done. Rolling up her sleeves, Autumn began to drag the
shelving out. Her biggest relief was the absence of mice. She hated mice but
had dealt with them in kitchens before.

Perspiration
formed on her brow despite the chill of the cooler. The metal shelves were
heavier than she thought. She was so intent on dragging the shelf that she
didn’t realize anyone was in the kitchen until she backed into them. She
screamed and turned.

Jonas
held her arms and began to rub his massive hands up and down them, soothing her
while he gave her a lopsided grin. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

His
nearness did nothing to slow the pounding of her heart. “I guess I didn’t hear
you.”

He
chuckled. “I guess not.” His amber eyes bore into hers. What he was looking
for?

“Dee
Ann is over at Colt O’Malley’s place. Nine more horses were found. Dee Ann said
they were lucky to be alive.” She drank in the sight of him. His hands felt so
good, too good. She sidestepped him. “Would you like some tea? I only have
herbal.”

“No,
I’m fine. I just stopped by to say hello.”

“You
can say hello to Dee Ann when she gets back. I don’t know when that will be.”
She busied herself making tea in the microwave.