Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (3 page)

“Thank
God for that. I’m glad she broke up with him. I never could imagine her as a
sister in-law.” Gabe gave a mock shudder making Emma laugh.

“I don’t
know what he ever saw in her anyway. Stephanie’s always been a bitch
for as long as I’ve known her,” Emma huffed.

Gabe
laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you
cuss, Emma. I think you’ve been hanging around Liv too much.”

She
smiled shyly and turned to go back into the house. Gabe fell
in step beside her. Emma halted in midstride and looked at
him. “Where are you going?”

Gabe
raised an eyebrow. “It looks like I’m walking into the house with you.”

She put
her hands on her slim hips and glared up at him. “Why?”

Gabe
chuckled. “Are you
trying to get rid of me, Emma?”

“You
never wanted to go anywhere with me before. Why now?”

Gabe’s
intense gaze met hers. “I think you’re beautiful, Emma.” Her mouth dropped
open. Gabe put his finger under her chin and pushed it shut. She put her hands
on h
is chest and pushed him. Gabe sputtered. “What
the hell was that for?”

“Don’t
you dare tell me you think I’m beautiful, Gabriel Stone. You still think of me
as a little girl.” She spun away from him and headed toward the house. She’d
nearly made it in the
door when he grabbed her arm
and spun her around to face him.

“There
is no way in hell I think of you as a little girl. I’m not blind, Emma. I’m a
full-grown man and I know a beautiful woman when I see one.”

Emma
blinked back tears as she gazed up at him.
She hated
how he towered over her. The top of her head only came to his chin. “Leave me
alone, Gabe.” She slammed the door behind her as she went into the kitchen.

The oven
timer went off almost immediately after she entered the kitchen, so she removed
the
cake pan to a cooling rack. She mumbled to
herself as she took off the oven mitts and threw them on the counter. When she
heard the door open, she refused to turn around, knowing it was Gabe. After a
few minutes of silence, she couldn’t take it anymore an
d turned to look at him. She bit her lip to keep from groaning. He stood
leaning against the door, his arms folded across his broad chest, and his
booted feet crossed at the ankles. His hat sat low on his forehead. As if they
had a mind of their own, her e
yes raked over his tall
frame. His black hair, which was a little long in the back, touched the collar
of his T-shirt, making her fingers itch to touch it. His straight nose, high
cheekbones, and amazing dark brown eyes surrounded by thick, lush lashes any
woman would kill for, made him one sexy man. The thick
mustache he always wore topped a sensual bowed lip but it was his full bottom
lip that made her mouth water. She allowed her gaze to roam over the chiseled
jaw covered with stubble before it traveled
down his
broad chest but when it landed on the fly of his jeans, her cheeks flamed. His
worn jeans were tight across the fly and left little to the imagination. She
quickly turned her back to him.

“Emma…”
he started to say when Olivia tried to push the doo
r
open.

“Jesus,
Gabe. Move your ass so I can get in.” Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. “Your
brother is waiting on you.”

Gabe
sighed. “Can’t you talk to him for a while?”

Olivia
burst out laughing. “It’s like pulling teeth getting him to talk even a little
bit.” She shook her head. “I tried talking to him but all
I get from him are grunts or one syllable answers. I gave up and decided to get
out of the heat.”

Emma and
Gabe stared across the room at each other, but finally Gabe rolled his
shoulders and went
out the door. Once he closed it
behind him, Emma collapsed in a chair and put her hands over her face. She felt
Olivia sit down beside her.

“Did I
interrupt something,
Em
?” Olivia touched Emma’s hand.

Emma
shook her head. “No not really. He just…” She stop
ped,
lowered her hands, and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Just what?”
Olivia asked.

“He told
me he thinks I’m beautiful.” Emma tried to laugh but it ended up coming out as
a sob.

“That’s
bad?” Olivia looked at her with a confused expression.

“I
don’t know, Liv. He’s thought of me as a little girl for
years and now he says I’m a beautiful woman,” she said blinking back tears. “I
don’t know what to think.”

Olivia
tilted her head. “I think he’s finally noticed you, and it scares you.”

Emma
nodded.
“I think you’re right.” She looked at Olivia.
“What should I do?”

Olivia
smiled. “Go with the flow, Emma girl. Just see what happens.”

Emma
grinned, even as she wiped her eyes. “I’ll see. Now, what really went on with
you and Wyatt in the barn?”

The
smile
left Olivia’s face.
“Nothing.
I really do think he hates me
though. He barely speaks to me. I tried asking him things about the horses but
he mostly ignored me. If he wasn’t so damn hot I’d give up, but I’ve never seen
a sexier man in my life and so I can’
t give up yet.”
She shrugged. “I’ve never quit when I wanted something and I want Wyatt. I just
don’t understand why he doesn’t like me.”

“I told
you he’s not interested in a relationship. Wyatt goes from woman to woman.”

“Well,
in case he hasn’t noticed,
I’m a woman. Why can’t he
make a stop at me?” Olivia huffed. “I’m sure we’d be fantastic together. Hot.”

“I think
you two would burn the town down.” Emma giggled.

“I have
to get him first. I’m not interested in marrying the man. Can’t he see that?”

Emma
had no answer for that. Olivia was gorgeous and Emma
couldn’t understand why Wyatt wasn’t interested. She couldn’t imagine there was
a man alive who wouldn’t want the raven-haired beauty. She resembled a young
Elizabeth Taylor, but with a Cindy Crawford mo
le at
the right side of her upper lip. Emma had seen men stop and stare at Olivia but
Wyatt didn’t seem to notice her at all. Should she tell Olivia what Gabe had
said? Emma mentally shook her head. That might do more harm than good. Men!
Can’t live with t
hem and can’t shoot them.

She
heard Olivia sigh as she walked past Emma and headed into her room. Olivia had
the housekeeper’s quarters, and Emma had the new apartment. The rooms upstairs
were for the guests, and they were full. The town of Clifton was thr
illed the B and B was doing so well. It meant more business
for the town since the guests loved shopping in the small town.

Toby
Lewis, one of the ranch hands, had a trail ride scheduled later in the
afternoon. The group would camp out for the night by a l
arge pond on the property. It was Emma’s job to cook for the guests and
pack lunches. Children were going on this ride-along with adults so Emma made
up sandwiches and added carrot sticks. She smiled as she added cupcakes to the
packs. There was a list sho
wing who could have what
in their meals. One little girl was allergic to chocolate, so Emma put a
strawberry cupcake in her pack.

Emma had
jumped at the chance to be the cook when
Becca
asked her. She’d always loved cooking and baking, so it
was like a dr
eam come true for Emma to work at the B
and B.

She
poured more batter into the cupcake pans, slid them into the oven, and set the
timer. Picking up a magazine, she took a seat at the table and skimmed through
it. Always looking for new recipes, she had her
scissors beside her. When Olivia entered the kitchen again, opened the
refrigerator door, and gazed into it as if something would magically appear,
Emma shook her head. The woman should weigh over three hundred pounds the way
she ate. She tried not to gri
n when she heard Olivia
clear her throat. When Olivia did it louder, Emma sighed and looked at her.

Olivia
grinned at her like a little kid. “Can I have a cupcake?”

“They’re
for the guests,” Emma told her.

“One is
going to make a difference?” Olivia stuck
her bottom
lip out in a pout.

Emma
huffed, stood up, took a cupcake from the container sitting on the counter, and
handed it to her. “That is all you get.”

Olivia
took a bite and closed her eyes.
“
Mmm
, heavenly.
You are amazing, Emma.”

Emma
shooed her out
of the kitchen. “Go work on the
books.” She laughed when Olivia winked at her and left the kitchen. If only
Emma could get that type of reaction from Gabe. She had to quit getting all
gooey-eyed when she saw him. She didn’t know what to think about him any
more. Muttering under her breath, she got the ingredients
out she needed to make dessert for dinner that night. The guests had the choice
of eating what she fixed, going to the diner in town, or taking a thirty-minute
drive to the next town over to a fanci
er restaurant.
Most of them ate whatever Emma prepared. An hour later, and covered in flour,
Emma saw Jake pull up. He came in the back door and chuckled when he saw her.

“Did you
actually use any flour in the baking?” He leaned against the door and folded
his arms across his broad chest.

Emma
smiled. “I do get a bit messy when I bake.”

Jake
raised an eyebrow.
“A bit?”
He shook his head. “I came over
to ask if you could work some time in to work with Misty. She doesn’t respond
to anyone like she does you. I
’ll pay you for your
time.”

Misty
was Jake’s American Quarter horse which Emma had won several ribbons with in
Barrel Racing competitions. Emma loved the horse and the feeling was mutual.
“I’d love to. Since we don’t serve dinner on the weekends, I could c
ome over then.”

Jake
grinned. “Yeah, I know.”

Emma
blushed and laughed. “I guess you would know, wouldn’t you? Considering you’re
marrying the owner of this place, you should.” She wiped her hands on a towel.
“I can come by Saturday after I have breakfast,
if
that works for you? And you’re not paying me. I’m happy to do it.”

“If you insist.
Any weekend you can work with Misty is fine
with me.” Jake winked. “You can also ride her in the competition in September
if you want.”

“I would
love to.” Emma smiled. “
I’ll get her in shape.”

“Get who
in shape?” Olivia entered the kitchen and smiled at Jake when she saw him at
the door.

“Jake’s horse.
Misty. I won quite a few blue ribbons with her
in Barrel Racing.”

Olivia
gave an exaggerated shudder. “No
friggin
’ way wo
uld
I get on one of those
things.
”

Jake and
Emma laughed. “You don’t know what you’re missing, Liv,” Jake told her.

Olivia
snorted. “There’s only one thing I’m interested in riding and it sure as hell
isn’t a horse.”

Jake
straightened up from the door. “An
d that’s my cue to
leave.” He tipped his hat and disappeared through the door, leaving it to swing
shut behind him. Emma and Olivia looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Olivia
wiggled her fingers at her as she headed out of the kitchen for the fron
t desk to check in guests leaving Emma smiling behind her.
“I’ll be out as soon as I put this cake in the oven and clean up.”

Usually
they sat at the front desk together checking in guests. Today was no different.
Emma would answer questions about Clifton
since
Olivia was still learning as she’d only been here a few months. Olivia listened
as Emma answered them. As they watched several of the children running in and
out, Emma’s heart nearly stopped when Gabe walked in. She watched as he stopped
to talk to t
he kids. The little boys were asking him
if he was a real cowboy, and he seemed to be enjoying himself with them. Emma
couldn’t help but think he would make a great father. His eyes met hers as he
walked to the counter.