Betting on Texas (7 page)

Jesse watched the masterpiece he created from the top fence
rail. Like a proud father watching his son’s baseball game, horses had become
his children. Only they didn’t take the place of the void his heart was feeling
of late. His dreams died when the ranch was sold. Now there was a chance he
could have everything he worked for back again. Nothing would stop him this
time.

“Jesse, you’ve outdone yourself.” Blueford patted Hawkeye’s
neck. “I’m mighty impressed with these two. What do you think, Ty?”

Ty reined Charisma to a stop in front of Miranda.

“He’s a real beaut, Blue, like the little woman here. Pardon
me, ma’am.” He tipped his hat and leaned toward her from his saddle. “I think
you have something in your eye. Nope, it’s just a sparkle.”

Miranda blushed. She glanced up at Jesse and grinned. Heat rose
to his face as well, but not from embarrassment. That Ty was so vain Jesse was
surprised the man hadn’t broken his arm patting himself on the back.

“This here is Miranda, the new owner of Double Trouble,”
Blueford said.

Horse and rider moved closer as he bent down to shake her hand.
When he held on to her hand longer than he should have, Miranda seemed to relish
the attention.
Please tell me she didn’t bat her eyelashes
at this guy. Time to leave. A storm is coming, after all.

“Well, Blue, I’m glad you like them. Here are their records and
feeding schedule. Same as last time. We need to get going, though.”

“What’s the rush, son? Stay, have some lunch and head back a
little later. Give me a chance to get to know this new rancher a little better.”
Blueford winked at Miranda.

“Some other time. It’s clouding up and I’m sure you have work
to do.” Jesse directed the last part straight at Ty who still clung to Miranda’s
hand.

“It’s only getting dark because all the sunshine in the world
is in this pretty lady’s smile,” Ty said.

“Winnie would love to see you. She’d be downright hurt if you
didn’t say hello.” Blueford turned to Miranda. “Winnie’s my better half. Now
come on in the house. Bet Jesse had you up at the crack of dawn, didn’t he?”

Blueford led Miranda to the main house. Jesse blocked Ty’s path
so he wouldn’t follow. Miranda had her hands full as it was. She didn’t need a
cowboy with his britches on fire, hot on her heels.

I’m not jealous. I’m looking out for her.
I’m not jealous.

After lunch and a quick tour of the ranch, they said their
goodbyes. Jesse couldn’t hightail it out of there fast enough. Ty wormed his way
into a lunch invitation and managed to captivate Miranda throughout the entire
meal.

“Such nice people,” Miranda said as they drove away from Four
Oaks. “Looks like the horses have a good home.”

“Here’s your money.” Jesse removed a folded check out of his
shirt pocket and handed it to her. “I had Blueford make it out in your
name.”

“What’s this for?”

“Ed Carter always got a share of the training side of things in
exchange for the use of his stables and land. This is your portion and I told
you I would give you my share when we made our bet.”

“Keep it. I’ll have to give you money anyway for feed and
whatever else you need.” Miranda pulled a pen from the visor and signed the
check over to him. “I don’t want you coming to me every time we need something,
and then insulting me because I don’t know what you’re talking about. Use it
however you see fit.”

Her words stung. She made him sound like a bully. But Jesse
didn’t protest. He’d be a fool not to accept the money and he was tired of
feeling like a fool lately.

Jesse death gripped the steering wheel at the thought of
Miranda’s flirtations with Ty. And the way she hung on his every word about
ranch life almost sent Jesse over the edge.

“It should be me,” he muttered under his breath.

“What?” Miranda asked.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Jesse said, harder than he meant
to.

“Fine. If you want to sit there and talk to yourself, be my
guest.”

It amazed him how she could push him aside without a care in
the world but get downright neighborly with a total stranger. Yes, he was a
stranger, too. One she had to live with, for now.

“Did I do something?” Miranda asked in a quiet voice.

“No.”

“Then why the attitude?”

“I don’t have an attitude!” Again, his words were harsher than
he meant them to be.

“If that’s not an attitude, then I don’t know what is.”

Dark clouds filled the sky, turning day into darkness. Rain
started to fall, and within minutes, Jesse wasn’t able to see past the hood of
the truck. The wind whipped the trailer from side to side, as he fought to keep
them on the narrow two-lane road. He knew they shouldn’t have stayed at
Blueford’s as long as they had. Nevertheless, his old friend wouldn’t have it
any other way.

Lightning struck the road a few yards ahead of them. Miranda
jumped toward the middle of the seat. Her body lightly brushed his, sending a
chill up the back of his neck.

What on God’s green earth is wrong with
me? This is the enemy.

Jesse didn’t understand how he could be so attracted to the
woman who stole his future. Maybe it had been a long time since he’d been with a
woman. He didn’t have time or the patience to get involved with one now. It was
time to move on, not start a relationship of any kind.

The rain came down heavier, forcing Jesse to pull off the road.
Miranda questioned him without saying a word.

“I can’t drive this rig any further.” He leaned over the
steering wheel to get a better view of the sky. “We’ll stay here until it lets
up.”

Jesse turned the engine off and rested his head against the
window. The temperature had dropped a good fifteen degrees outside. Miranda
shivered. He was tempted to pull her close and keep her warm, but his senses got
the better of him. He reached behind the seat, grabbed a denim shirt and handed
it to her.

“Put this on.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t look at him.

Jesse closed his eyes. She was quiet. Too quiet. He opened one
eye to see her staring at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m trying to figure you out.”

“Nothing to figure out.” Jesse closed his eyes again. “What you
see is what you get.”

“I don’t think so.” Miranda yawned. “But if you’re so
determined to hate me, then so be it. I can’t force you to like me.”

“I don’t hate you, Miranda.” Jesse lifted his head. “It’s the
circumstances I hate. In any other situation, I’d probably be asking you for a
date.”

Miranda didn’t respond. He knew she would never be interested
in a cowboy. Except maybe to play out a little nighttime fantasy. And he wasn’t
one for a brief fling, although they seemed to be all he ever had. A
relationship with him would be beneath her. Something her folks would probably
see red over.

He listened as the rain hit the roof of the truck. It didn’t
look like it would let up anytime soon. With good weather, they would be lucky
if they made it home by midnight. The only thing they could do at this point was
to find a motel and spend the night. Jesse searched for the weather on the
radio. The reporter forecasted torrential rain and high wind gusts for the
remainder of the night.

“What are we going to do now?” Miranda asked.

“Best we can do is find a place to hunker down for the night,”
Jesse said as he drove down the road at a snail’s pace.

When a motel came into view, they decided to try for a couple
of rooms. The parking lot was full, but the vacancy light still glowed red.

* * *

W
HILE
M
IRANDA
WAITED
in the truck, Jesse checked
them in at the front desk. Sheets of rain made it impossible to see more than a
few feet beyond the window.

She had to laugh to herself when she thought about Jesse’s
reaction to Ty’s friendliness toward her. If she didn’t know better, she would
have sworn he was jealous. She was sure that wasn’t the case. He couldn’t manage
to be civil to her for more than ten minutes at a time.

The truck door flew open, catching Miranda off guard. Jesse
hopped in, soaked to the bone. He handed her a room key.

“Thanks.” She fingered the room key. “Which room are you
in?”

“The same one as you, sugar.” He winked. “We got the last
one.”

No Vacancy lit up under the motel sign.

“You’re what?” Miranda hadn’t considered they might share a
room. “I guess it’ll be okay. As long as you stay in your own bed.”

“Have no fear, ma’am.” Jesse touched the brim of his hat.
“You’ll leave with your virtue still intact.”

They made a mad dash for the shelter of the overhang above the
motel room doors. When they located their room, Jesse opened the door and
flicked the light switch on.

“Uh-oh.”

“What’s wrong?” Miranda pushed her way past him. “You planned
this, didn’t you?”

The dimly lit room was cheap and nothing short of sleazy. Like
something straight out of
Psycho.
There was a double
bed in the center and two chairs on either side of a small table by the window.
A television sat atop a small dresser at the foot of the bed. A four-star motel
it wasn’t.

A one-star motel would be an improvement
over this.

“No, Miranda. I didn’t plan this. I never thought to ask if the
room had two beds. I’ll sleep in the chairs. Somehow.”

Miranda paced the entire length of the room in a few short
strides. There was barely room for the furniture, let alone the two of them. She
turned to look at Jesse. There was no possible way for him to sleep in those
chairs. The thought of sharing a bed with him both excited and frightened
her.

She didn’t fear he would take advantage of the situation. In
fact, she’d bet her life he would go out of his way to ignore her. That fact may
have bothered her more. She alone knew they shared a common bond. They both
wanted a family to call their own. The only problem was Jesse knew nothing about
her. And she wasn’t ready to reveal her past yet.

He would never understand how she felt when her mother died or
the future she turned down with Ethan. He certainly wouldn’t have any respect
for her winning the lottery, not with all the nasty comments he’d made.

“Maybe we should find another place to stay.”

Jesse motioned outside. “Have you seen what it’s doing out
there?” He closed the door behind him. “We’re both tired and it’s only until the
storm passes. Get some sleep and we’ll be on the road before you know it.”

“But what about the horses back home? Who will take care of
them tonight?”

“I already called Aaron when I checked in.”

“Aaron? The man you love to hate? Doesn’t he have his own ranch
to run?”

“Not everyone owns a ranch. I may not think much of him when it
comes to women, but he’s the best horseman I know. Outside of myself.”

That’s right. No one’s better than you
are. Can you be any more pompous?

“You stay on your side of the room.” With the door closed, the
space seemed even smaller. “I smell horsey. I need a shower.”

And some space.

Miranda closed the bathroom door behind her. As she braced
herself against it, she surveyed the dingy tiled room. It was better than
nothing.
Depends on your definition of nothing.

Stranded in a motel room with Jesse, in the middle of nowhere,
was the last place and first place she wanted to be right now. While her
attraction toward him was almost unbearable, she couldn’t get past his attitude.
He called it “Texas charm.” Miranda called it pure crap.

If he tore down the walls long enough to let her in, they might
be able to become friends and work something out as far as the ranch was
concerned. Then again, she was just as much at fault as he was.

While she undressed, she had to admit one thing to herself. As
trashy as the motel was, sleeping in a bed would be a huge improvement over her
sleeping bag on the floor. As long as the sheets were clean.

Miranda finished with her shower, stepped from the tub and
wrapped an almost nonexistent towel around her. The door opened and in walked
Jesse. Toothbrush in hand, he headed for the sink.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Brushing my teeth,” he said matter-of-factly. “What does it
look like?”

“Looks like you barged in while I was taking my shower.”

“No, I waited until I heard you turn the water off. Got you a
toothbrush. They sell them at the front desk.”

“How sweet of you,” Miranda said sarcastically. She felt the
towel start to slip and struggled to keep covered.

“I thought so.” He nodded.

“Do you mind?” Miranda said as she gestured toward the
door.

“Not at all. Pay no mind to me.” He turned the water on and
started to brush his teeth. “You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.”

Miranda silently fumed. How dare he lump her together with his
other women. She threw caution to the wind and dropped her towel to the
floor.

Jesse caught her reflection in the mirror. His mouth dropped
open.

“Lord have mercy!” Jesse said with a mouthful of toothpaste. He
turned to face her. “God bless Mom and Dad.”

“Why, Jesse, I didn’t know you cared.” Miranda smiled as she
gazed at the bulge forming in his jeans.

Jesse spit the toothpaste into the sink and leveled his gaze on
the faucet. Miranda moved to his side so he couldn’t help but get a full view of
her in the mirror. Frozen, he remained bent over the sink.

“Problem, dear?”

“Not at all,” he said as he rushed into the other room.
“Bathroom’s all yours.”

Satisfied with his reaction, Miranda picked up her towel. She
wrapped it around her once again as Jesse reappeared in the doorway.