His Heart to Have (Cowboys of Whispering Winds) (8 page)

“Everything okay, dad?”

“I tried calling both your phones. There’s been an accident.”

“What’s happened?” he asked, his stomach clenching. By this time, Allie had come to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Everything’s fine. Well sort of, but I’m going to need your help.”

“Jeremy’s car was hit by someone running a stoplight this morning. Cody was in the car with him and they’re at the hospital.”

Allie’s nails dug into his shoulders. Everyone at Whispering Winds loved his nephew. The little guy was bursting with energy and an incredible sense of humor. “How’s are they?” Allie asked.

“From what the doctor said, they’re pretty beat up, but should fully recover. Cody has a broken leg and some scratches. Jeremy and his latest girlfriend, Tara, both have broken legs and Tara has a concussion. The doctor said they were very fortunate to still be alive.”

“Oh my goodness,” Allie exclaimed. “What can we do to help?”

“Diana and I are leaving in a few minutes to drive Lanie to Rawlins.  She’s pretty shaken and we don’t want her making the trip alone.  Plus, we’d rather see our grandson for ourselves to know he’s okay.”

“Give me a minute, and I’ll go with you guys,” Jase said.

“No, Son.  I need you to stay here and take over Lanie’s ride today.  They are some rather difficult guests and, other than your sister, you’re the best at handling them.”

Conflict clawed at him.  Sometimes the lines of duty were blurred while working on a ranch.  How to make family the top priority wasn’t always a clear path.  Like now, when he wanted to be there for his sister and nephew despite being needed here.   This was their lifeline, their legacy, though.  He’d stay here and take their guests on the trail ride.  
At least mom and dad will be with Lanie
, he reassured himself.

“Keep in touch about Cody,” he told his dad.

“I’ll head right over to the lodge and rearrange schedules so Lanie’s will be cleared for a while,” Allie piped up.

“Your mom’s already on it. I told her I’d send you over, but she said she’s got it under control and there’s no rush.”

“I was going over soon anyway. Please let me know if there’s any update on Cody.”

“Certainly.” Everett looked at his watch, then his son. “Thanks for stepping in. I’ll talk to you soon.” He turned and left in a brisk walk.

Jase turned to Allie. “Looks like I better get myself together. I’m going to need a whole lot more coffee.” Rolling his shoulders, he tried to ease the aches.  This morning had already been worse than the time he’d been thrown off a green horse that had been spooked by a mountain lion. 

“You made the right decision. Cody’s going to be fine and will be surrounded by people that love him.”

Allie’s thoughts mirrored his, but they meant more coming from her. “I know.” He took a deep breath. “What time’s the ride?” he asked.

“Not until this afternoon. You’re in luck; it’s just the Alpine Trail, so it won’t take up much of your day. But Mr. Jensen will be riding with you and, to be frank, he’s quite difficult. He doesn’t understand that rules are for everyone’s benefit and safety.”

“Great, just what I needed today.” His head was still pounding. He hadn’t had a hangover like this in, well, ever.

“You’re hurting, aren’t you?”  

“I haven’t had that much to drink since Eric Lancaster’s going away party eight years ago.”

“With any luck, you’ve learned your lesson.”

“I should have learned it after marrying you,” he quipped.

“Funny.” Allie rolled her eyes. “Go sit down. I’ll massage your shoulders.”

Just like that they were back to their old selves. The easy friendship they’d never had to work at.

“You know this is all your fault, right?” he threw out there, his eyes full of mischief.

“How do you figure?”

“You have it in your head that I’m so perfect and never make mistakes. I had to show you just how big I can screw up.” He grinned at her like the devil.

Allie burst out laughing and elbowed him in his ribs. “Get over yourself, Jase.”

“Mom,” Allie called out. “Have you seen my dress?”

“What dress, sweetheart?” her mom replied.

Allie exhaled in frustration, the breath tingling her nose. The Palmer’s checked out today, but were delayed when Mrs. Palmer couldn’t find her wedding band. After two hours of the entire house staff searching, it was found under the bear skin rug in the game room. Now she was running late for the final dress fitting before tonight’s rehearsal.

“My bridesmaid’s dress. What other dress would I wear?” she retorted with more snap than she meant to.

“Allison Loretta Tyndale, don’t you take that tone with your mother!” her father bellowed.

“It’s Callahan now, thank you very much.” She winked at her father and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “And I’m sorry, mom. I’m just running late, and I can’t find the dress in my room upstairs.”

“Look in the hall closet,” her mom said. “Lock up behind you, please. Your father and I have some errands to run in town.”

Allie ran upstairs to find her dress.  She found it in the closet and added it to the garment bag holding the casual dress she’d wear for the rehearsal.  Running back downstairs, she said bye to her parents, then went to find Jase.  Last she’d seen him, he’d been saddling up Lightning to test him on a trail, but that was hours ago.  He knew they had to leave by three, but still hadn’t returned to the cabin by the time she left for the main lodge. Maybe Lanie would know where he was; he’d mentioned wanting to stop by the main house and talk to Cody today.  She left her bag on the porch and jogged over to the Callahan’s residence side. 

“What are you doing, Jase? We’re needed to leave ten minutes ago.” She found him outside the Callahan’s front door, a hammer in hand.

“What time is it?” he asked, wiping his hands on well-worn Wranglers.

“After three,” she replied, trying to curb her irritation.

“I’m sorry. I was building this ramp for Cody and lost track of time. Let me run in the house and clean up real quick. My clothes for tonight are in the cab of the truck. It’s parked out front- would you mind bringing them in for me while I wash up?”

“Sure thing.”

Immediately, she felt bad for being aggravated with him when he was doing something so thoughtful.  He’d mentioned this morning that he was planning on building a ramp for Cody, whose leg was so badly broken, his entire leg was in cast, and he was confined to a wheel chair for the next month.  There was a handicapped entrance for guests at the main lodge and two of the cabins, but Jase didn’t want his nephew having to cross through the common area to reach his room.  Typical Jase, always doing acts of kindness for others. It was one of the many things she loved about him.

After running back to the bench where’d she left her bag, she grabbed the dresses, then went to Jase’s truck. Just as he said, his change of clothes was in the truck, sitting on the passenger side with his dressier boots resting on the floorboard. She grabbed them and hurried back to the Callahan’s residence.  Once inside, she went to the first floor bathroom where she assumed he’d be and knocked on the door.

“Are you in there, Jase? I have your clothes,” she hollered out.

The door opened and a naked Jase greeted her. He held the shirt he’d removed in front of him to hide certain areas, but automatically her eyes trailed over his body, drawn to the hard lines of his defined muscles, and rested on the only part of him covered. 
Did someone turn on the heat?
  Her breathing quickened into erratic patterns. Memories of that body positioned on top of her, bringing her to heights of pleasure she’d never known flooded her memory.  Heaven help her, but she wanted more of him. That one night could never satisfy the need she felt for him.

She swallowed hard, willing herself to tear her gaze away from that. Her eyes met his. Glints of admiration mixed with mirth met her. The scoundrel knew damn well what she’d been remembering. If only he knew how much she’d like a repeat performance; minus the alcohol this time. So much, she was seriously tempted to go in there, lock the door behind them and proposition him.

Her phone rang, breaking the sensual reverie she was lost in. She backed away from the door and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Allie? Are you okay? You sound out of breath,” Missy asked from the other line.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, stepping out into fresh air. The cool air smacked her, alleviating the sexual tension that was pooling up in her.

“Okay. Where are you? You were supposed to be here a half hour ago.”

“No, you said three-thirty.”

“Allie!” she wailed. “Remember I told you yesterday we had to move everything up an hour?”

She racked her brain, but for the life of her couldn’t remember that part of the conversation.  While they’d been talking, she’d been revamping a part of the Whispering Winds website, not giving Missy her full concentration.

“I’m sorry, Miss. We’re leaving now.”

“I guess that’ll have to do. Ms. Meager can go through everyone else first. Just hurry up,” Missy ordered.

“Here comes Jase.  Got to go.  See you in a few.”

She turned to Jase and wondered how she could be just as turned on with him fully clothed.   A western shirt with pearl snaps clung to those muscles she longed to reach out and caress, and dark denim followed his long legs down to a pair of handcrafted, calfskin boots.  A felt hat with a concho-studded, braided leather hatband completed the outfit.  He was the cowboy of every girls dream, but for now he was hers. 

“We’re late,” she informed him, filling him in on the mix-up.

“Maybe because I’m a man, but I don’t see the point of this final fitting. The wedding’s tomorrow. What adjustments can be made?” he asked.

“You and me both,” she muttered. “I’m a girl and I don’t get it either. Maybe it’s just for peace of mind?”

“”Maybe.” He opened the passenger door for her and she stepped in.

“That’s really nice what you’re doing for Cody. He’s lucky to have you for an uncle,” she told him as they drove along.

“He’s a good kid and deserves good male role models in his life. It’s just too bad the rodeo is more important to his dad than his own son.”  Jase shrugged off the praise in his usual fashion. 

That was Jase. He’d give the shirt off his back then claim it wasn’t his shirt if anyone asked. “Lanie said Jeremy’s been coming around.  If any good comes from this accident, maybe it will knock some sense into him,” she contemplated aloud.

“The only good thing Jeremy ever did well in this life was his half of the contribution to creating Cody,” he gritted out. 

Jaws clenched, tension radiated from him at the mention of his former brother-in-law.  Obviously he still harbored bad feelings toward him she hadn’t been aware of.  Not that she blamed him. Lanie had married a rodeo star, and it wasn’t until Cody came along that she realize he had no affinity for children.  To make matters worse, he’d been cheating on Lanie during the entire pregnancy and after. 

“Have you ever thought about having kids?” she asked. “You’d be a good dad.”

He didn’t answer right away. They came to a four way stop that rarely saw more than one car at a time. “I’d like to have them one day, presuming I find a wife first.”

Allie raised her eyebrows. “What am I, chopped liver?”

“You know what I mean,” he protested with a smile.

“I still can’t believe Missy is getting married and leaving Whispering Winds. Mom told me the other day that her dad is thinking of moving on as well.”

“He’s been thinking about it for a few years. He’s getting up there in age and wants to retire, and the only reason he stayed was for Missy’s sake.”

“How’d you know that?”

“Alan Raver isn’t just Missy’s dad; he has been a great mentor to us, and we’ve become close over the years. If not for him, who knows if the breeding program would have taken off like it did.”

“Missy’s dad always seems so young at heart that I don’t always remember his true age. I also forget that Missy has two older brothers who have kids her age. When they showed up yesterday with their families, I greeted them as regular guests not realizing who they were.”

“They came to the bunkhouse for a game of poker last night.  They both seem like good men, but Chad seems so different from the rest of the family- big-time broker on Wall Street, wound a little too tight.  Shorty offered him a beer and he asked for glass of chardonnay.”  Jase laughed hard.  “You should have seen the looks going around.”

Allie joined him in laughter. She could only imagine how that went over.  They served wine with meals at the main lodge, but she knew the men had an unspoken rule that if it wasn’t beer or whiskey, it didn’t enter the bunkhouse. 

“I’ll be back in an hour to pick you up,” Jase said when they pulled into
Seamstress Sara’s
parking lot.

“I don’t think so. You’re coming in with me.”

“No offense, but watching a bunch of woman all dressed up, getting measured isn’t my thing. Unless it’s me measuring you.” He wagged his eyebrows, pretending to flirt.