Convincing the Rancher (12 page)

She was rewarded when he flashed her a quick grin. “Are you kidding? I had half a mind to let that cow give Allen a big old hug. After all, that guy’s project is messing with my best pastures. But I couldn’t let you look bad in front of him.”

Tess sobered. “Considering how I teased you about your flyer at the festival, you could have just sat back and watched me fail. But instead you took the high road and helped.”

“I guess that’s just more my style.” He was studying her face as if trying to read something there and Tess looked away, conscious that
her
style wasn’t nearly as gracious as his.

Allen had reached Slaid’s truck. He had his arms crossed over his chest, waiting. “You’d probably better go,” she reminded Slaid. “Thank you again.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“And, Slaid—” if he could be gracious, then she had to try, too “—I’m sorry about the harvest festival. I shouldn’t have sprung all that on you.”

“Hey, we’re professionals, right? No apologies needed. Isn’t that what you told me the other night?”

“Well, yes, but...”

“Plus, maybe
I
should be thanking
you.
You schooled me at the festival—showed me how this community-relations work needs to be done. Next meeting I set up, I’ll make sure to sneak in some food and music.”

Tess smiled at that. “It always helps. Especially food.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

He stood there a moment, looking at her with a crooked smile. Tess shifted uncomfortably.

“Look, if you really want to thank me for my cattle-control services, you could come riding with me tomorrow.”

“I don’t ride.” Although the thought of seeing Slaid in his element was tempting. “You saw me today. I can’t even handle a cow. What would I do on a horse?”

“I’ll teach you.”

“I’m pretty sure some things just can’t be taught, cowboy.”

He laughed. “Wait and see. Come on. Consider it my payment for my hard work today.”

She should say no. Nothing good could come of them spending time together. They’d probably just fight. Yet despite their differences, she was starting to look forward to their various run-ins. He might be intent on making her wind project fail, but she kind of liked him. After all, he’d just pretended he was her hired hand and was about to take the blame for just about everything that had gone wrong here today.

“Okay. I’ll go. On one condition. We can talk,
really
talk, about this wind project.”

He was still smiling, and she couldn’t look away. “We can talk.”

“And be prepared. I wasn’t kidding when I said I don’t ride.”

“Tess, I have no doubt you’re successful at anything you put your mind to.” Slaid’s eyes were dark and intent on hers now, but humor still quirked a dimple along his cheek. “Except maybe wrangling cows. But give you time, and you’d get that, too.”

Tess shoved her hand in her pocket to keep from running her finger down the dimple in his cheek. She remembered, suddenly, doing exactly that, at the hotel bar, in Phoenix. She turned away to where she could see the CEO pacing impatiently in front of Slaid’s truck.

“Tomorrow,” Slaid said quietly. “I’ve got a lunchtime meeting, but I can pick you up afterward. How about around two?”

Tess tried to remember her plans for tomorrow and failed. Tried to remember all the reasons she should say no and failed. All she could remember was the last time he’d looked at her this way with such a deep, seeking glance. It was when he’d lain over her in the bed two years ago. He’d turned the desk lamp on so he could see her. Her skin shivered with the visceral memory of the way he’d watched her in the lamplight, the way he’d touched her. “Okay,” she answered finally. “Tomorrow. And thank you again for today.”

They walked in silence back to the road.

She’d spend tonight and tomorrow morning studying up on her facts and figures. And tomorrow during the ride, she’d help Slaid see how easily his cows and these windmills could coexist. And she’d just have to ignore whatever feelings seemed to be between them. That was her specialty, right? Ignoring feelings and doing what needed to be done.

When they got back to Slaid’s truck, Allen was leaning on it with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, yes,” Tess answered. “I was just thanking Slaid one more time.”

“Well, be sure to pay him well. Hiring help in a strange place is always tricky,” the CEO said wearily as he got into the truck.

Tess looked at Slaid, but he just shook his head slightly and grinned. He swung into the driver’s side and Tess heard him say, “Mr. Tate, I think there’s been a little misunderstanding,” before he turned the ignition and the engine roared to life.

She wondered if Slaid’s political skills could save her job once Allen found out that his cowboy was actually the mayor of Benson.

Tess walked over to say goodbye to the camera crew and got into her rental Jeep with relief, grateful to be out of the cold. Grateful to have twenty-four hours to get ready for her ride with Slaid. The image of him shooing the cows away and calling her ma’am afterward flitted into her tired brain, making her smile. She couldn’t believe she’d played along with Slaid’s ridiculous charade. Maybe she’d let herself be unprofessional because it felt so good, and so rare, to let her guard down and be a little silly. And there was something about Slaid, something about his confident humor and the sparkle in his eye, that gave her the courage to try it.

CHAPTER TEN

I
T WAS EARLY AFTERNOON
, and Tess was getting ready to meet Slaid for the dreaded ride. All morning she’d had visions of falling off the horse in multiple ways—tipping off the side, sliding right off the back and, worst of all, the horse putting on the brakes suddenly with Tess flying over its ears, cartoon-style. Although she felt a flutter of excitement inside when she thought about spending time with Slaid, she wished she’d insisted they spend their time on solid ground.

Her cell phone rang just as she was trying to decide how much makeup was too much for a horseback ride in the middle of nowhere. On one hand, she wanted to look good. After all, she was going riding with a gorgeous guy. On the other she didn’t want it to seem as if she cared too much about what he thought of her. Luckily, the name flashing on the screen of her phone belonged to the only person she knew who loved makeup more than she did. Her and Samantha’s other best friend, Jenna Stevens.

In place of hello, Tess said, “How much makeup is too much for a horseback ride?” Jenna would know. She’d fallen in love with a man from Benson and had spent a fair amount of time riding the mountain trails with him on their visits from San Francisco.

Jenna laughed. “You’re talking to a ballroom dancer—I don’t think there
is
such a thing as too much!”

“Seriously, Jenna, I’m out of my element here. What do you do about makeup when you visit Sandro’s family on the ranch?”

“Just the basics. Mix some foundation in with your sunscreen so it’s just a light layer. A little eyeliner, mascara and blush. Clear lip gloss.”

“Thank you!” Tess wiped off her red lipstick. “So what’s up, Jenna? How are you? How’s Sandro?” While Jenna chatted away about the flat she and Sandro had just purchased in San Francisco, Tess removed most of her foundation, trying for the casual look Jenna had described.

“Who are you going riding with?” Jenna asked. “Is he cute?”

“Yes. And he’s a really long story.”

“I’ve got time,” Jenna said. “I’m packing things into boxes.”

So Tess told her about Slaid, about the one-night stand and how they were now on opposite sides of a bad situation.

Jenna was delighted. “Tess, it’s about time one of your escapades came back to bite you.”

“Jenna, that’s mean!”

“No it’s not. You know last time I read your tarot cards it said you were heading for big change and personal growth. With growth comes growing pains.” Jenna loved all things mystical and insisted on trying out all her groovy interests, like tarot cards, on her friends.

“Well, Slaid can definitely be classified as a pain.”

“He can’t be
that
painful if you’re going riding with him,” Jenna teased.

“We argue all the time, but I suppose I like him a little,” she conceded. “He’s nice. He took me shopping
and
he rescued my video shoot from disaster.”

“This is so exciting! You
like
someone. Has that ever happened before?”

“Not really,” Tess admitted. “Well, honestly, I’ve never really gotten to know any of the guys I’ve...er...spent time with.”

Jenna laughed. “Nice euphemism. Spent time
in the sack
with, more like!”

Tess giggled. “Yep, that’s about right.”

“Are you doing okay otherwise? Are you surviving life in Benson?”

“I
am
surviving, but it’s not easy. I can’t believe you willingly come out here so often!”

“I love it,” Jenna told her. “We have so much fun on Sandro’s parents’ ranch. And I like the town. But we only visit for a few days at a time—living there would be totally different.”

“Well, let me tell you, it’s quiet. At night it’s almost unnerving, it’s so silent.”

“But don’t you love the stars?”

“They make me nervous. There’s too many of them. I feel outnumbered.”

Jenna laughed. “Oh, Tess! We need to get you back to San Francisco as soon as possible. Maybe I’ll hang a big banner on the building across from Ed’s office window that says Free Tess from Benson! Or maybe I’ll start a petition and send it to him.”

“I’m not sure how many people you’d get to sign it,” Tess said, fishing lip gloss from her makeup bag. “I think my assistant is having a pretty good time with me gone, and I don’t exactly have the busiest social life.”

“You do, too. And speaking of that, we need to talk about Samantha’s baby shower. I sent a couple emails about it. Have you been avoiding me?” Jenna said it in a teasing way but Tess could hear real concern behind her words—Tess was usually prompt with her email. But she hadn’t been looking forward to planning the shower, so she’d put off replying.

“I’m sorry, I guess I’ve been pretty overwhelmed...and working remotely makes my inbox a little crowded.”

“Well, I’d like to have some kind of plan in place before Jack’s birthday party tomorrow night.”

“You’re coming to Benson for Jack’s party? I didn’t know! I mean, I should’ve realized, with Sam throwing such a big bash, but I didn’t think. I’m so excited!” It had been months since she and Jenna and Samantha had all been in the same place at the same time. “I can’t wait to see you!”

“It will be fun, but we need to be able to tell Samantha
something
about her baby shower. I know you’re really busy with work. If you need me to plan most of it, I don’t mind, as long as we can have it at your apartment.”

Tess was definitely overwhelmed with work right now, but that was nothing new. The real problem was that the baby shower made her think about babies, and that made her sad and uneasy. But she couldn’t share that with her friend.

“I’d be so grateful if you could plan it, with work being so crazy. And of course we can use my apartment. Hopefully I’ll be back in the city for good before then.”

“Great! Can we talk about the menu?”

They chatted for several minutes about the food and decorations, and Tess did her best to sound enthusiastic. But the knot of anxiety inside of her, combined with guilt over not being excited about Samantha’s baby, finally won out. “Jenna, I have to leave any minute. It might be easier if you make these decisions on your own. Would it be okay if I do the invitations and you handle the rest?”

“Sure.” Jenna kept her voice bright but Tess knew her well enough to recognize the underlying disappointment.

They said goodbye and Tess put her phone down with a profound feeling of relief. At least they had a plan in place. A plan where Jenna did most of the planning. Invitations, Tess could handle. Donating her apartment to the cause was easy. But deciding which games to play, which food to eat, what baby-themed decorations to buy all made her stomach churn.

Tess walked to the front hallway to start bundling up. She was actually looking forward to the ride now, if only to clear away her unsettling feelings. Later tonight, with a big glass of wine in hand, she’d write up the guest list and order invitations.

It was a beautiful, clear day, but when she opened the front door to check the temperature, she found that the sunshine didn’t provide the slightest bit of warmth. Tess picked up her scarf—cow slobber long gone, thanks to a thorough washing in her bathroom. She studied her reflection in the hallway mirror. Slaid had been right about the color bringing out the purple in her eyes.

She reminded herself for the hundredth time that it didn’t matter
what
he thought about her or her eyes. She was here on business, and what mattered were the wits in her brain and the arguments she presented that would convince him to support the windmills.

She heard his truck pull up outside the house and the metallic clank of a tailgate opening. Then she heard the clop of hooves on pavement. He’d brought horses here? Into town? Tess flew to the front window. Sure enough, Benson’s mayor was unloading two large horses from a sleek trailer painted with the words
Jacobs Ranch
. She turned away from the window with her heart pounding. She was intimidated by how gigantic horses were, and by how handsome Slaid was—especially right now, with the concentration on his face as he worked. The gentle strength he used to handle his horses was evident in his every move.

One final check in the mirror and Tess pulled on her parka. When she stepped outside, Slaid was brushing down a huge brown horse with a black mane. He smiled at her over the horse’s back. Tess racked her brain for the name of the horse’s type of coloring. She’d been studying up, figuring she’d better memorize some terminology if she hoped to fit into a community of ranchers.
Bay.
The word came to her from the one tiny portion of her brain that wasn’t too busy enjoying Slaid’s smile to help her out.
It was a bay horse
.