Jake (Men of Clifton Montana Book 1) (12 page)

A little later,
when they arrived at the ranch, Olivia sat up and leaned forward. “Wow. This place
is gorgeous!”

“You’ll love the
inside.” Becca smiled at her. She pulled the truck around to the side, parked,
and within minutes, they were inside. Olivia walked through the house and
stopped in the foyer. She looked at Becca and Emma.

“This place would
make a great bed and breakfast.”

Becca gasped. “Oh
my God, you are so right. It would.” Becca immediately saw the home through
Olivia’s eyes. “What a great idea.”

Olivia laughed. “I
see the wheels turning,” she said looking at Emma. “It’s the same look she had
when she decided we needed to buy the coffee shop.”

Becca laughed.
Olivia was right. Once she got an idea in her head, Becca didn’t give up until
she made it come true. Now, if she could just make her other dreams come true.

* * * *

February came in
softly. The weather warmed in the first few days, enough so that when Becca
told Olivia she was going for a ride, Olivia perked up.

“I’d love to go for
a ride.” She stood up but froze when she saw Becca shaking her head. “What? I
can’t go with you. Are you going to see Jake?” Olivia gave her a sly grin.

Becca laughed. “No.
I’m going for a horseback ride. It’s almost fifty today.”

Olivia flopped back
down to the couch. “Oh, hell no,” she exclaimed waving her hand. “You have a
good time. I’ll be right here when you get back.” She picked up the book she’d
been reading.

“That’s what I
thought,” Becca sighed. “I know you’re bored, Liv. We’ll take a drive tomorrow,
I promise.”

Olivia snorted. “What’s
there to see anyway? I know the town we come from is small but this…” She waved
her hands around. “This hole in the road would fit inside of our town.”

Becca couldn’t
argue with her. Clifton was a small town. Everyone seemed to know everyone else
and his or her business, but already Becca was beginning to love it. Although she
had to be honest, her growing love for the town probably had a lot more to do
with a certain tall, dark, and gorgeous cowboy than anything else.

She missed Jake. It
had been weeks since she’d seen or talked to him for more than a polite minute
or two. The night of the fire, he’d been so nice to her, comforting and holding
her in his big strong arms. Maybe she should just call him and ask to see him.
What would he think? Would he think her too forward?
 
Maybe he didn’t want to see her or be
with her again. God, she hoped not. The memory of their time in bed together
made her whole body ache.

Becca groaned as
she wandered toward the barn. Carl was walking toward her. He smiled at her.

“Did you need
something, Miss Becca?” She’d tried to get the men to call her Becca instead of
Miz Daniels but other than Stan, they’d all refused and compromised with Miss
Becca.

“I wanted to take a
ride, but I just remembered that Daisy is pregnant.”

“You can still ride
her. The vet actually recommends riding a mare up until the last month of her
pregnancy. It helps strengthen her stomach muscles. The exercise is very
beneficial for her health and for the foal too. A strong, healthy, physically
fit mare will give birth to strong healthy babies,” Carl explained as he led
her into the barn. “I’ll saddle her for you.”

Becca followed him
to Daisy’s stall, watching as he placed a blanket on the horse followed by a
saddle. He hesitated, glancing at her. “You have ridden before, haven’t you?”

“Yes. There’s a
stable I visit in Maryland at least once a month.”

Carl nodded and
continued to saddle Daisy. “I’ll adjust the stirrups once you get on.”

Becca put her foot
in the stirrup and lifted herself up into the saddle. She waited as Carl
adjusted the stirrups. He told her to wait a minute and walked away. He
returned a moment later with a walkie-talkie and handed it to her.

“We all use them.
If you have any problems, just press the call button. We each have one, so
someone will hear you. Don’t be out longer than an hour or two since the area
is new to you. If you happen to lose your sense of direction, as you ride from
the ranch there are woods on your left. To your right is Stone land, that’s Jake’s
land. Those few reminders should keep you going in the right direction.”

Becca gave him a
nod. Nudging Daisy, she rode the mare from the barn and headed toward the north
pasture. It was a beautiful day. The sun felt good on her skin. She lifted her
face to soak up the warm rays. Occasionally, she heard the men talking through
the hand-held radio. It gave her a sense of ease knowing they were available if
something went wrong. The ride gave her time to think about her new idea of
turning the ranch into a B and B. The town was small but if she advertised on
the internet, she might be able to get people to visit. It would help the town
too. She could have horseback riding and camping trips. Obviously, closing in
the winter would be necessary since the closest ski area was over two hours
away. There wouldn’t be much for visitors to do during wintertime in Clifton
except be stuck inside. The more she thought about the idea, the more she liked
it. When she got back to the house, she’d discuss it with Liv. Of course,
talking her into staying would be hard, but Becca wanted her best friend with
her.

Nudging Daisy a
little, she moved through the pasture. As she rode along, she looked to her
right and saw a fence line. She knew it was the border between hers and Jake’s
land. She rode over to the fence. Her heart stopped when she saw a lone rider on
the other side. The rider stopped and looked her way then spurred his horse
toward her. Talk about fate. It was Jake. She admired that he sat a horse so well.
Jake had a beautiful body. The horse and man moved as one.

He stopped at the
fence and smiled at her. She was happy to be sitting for she was sure her knees
would’ve given out if she were standing. How could she feel this way, and yet have
earlier suspected him of the problems going on?

“Hi Red,” he said
in that sexy voice that sent shivers over her skin.

“Hi.” Becca smiled
at him. “What are you doing?”

He crossed his arms
on the saddle horn and leaned forward.
“Just checking the
area.
What about you?”

“Just
enjoying the day.”
She felt her cheeks warming.

He nodded then
looked away from her. When he glanced back at her, she struggled for breath.
The heat in his eyes was intense. It seemed like the temperature had risen
thirty degrees. Becca felt flushed but couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

“Too bad this fence
is between us, Stone,” she teased.

He sat up. “Why’s
that, Red?”

Her smile widened
as she laughed. She was enjoying herself.

“Are you saying
what I think you’re saying?” Jake’s voice was husky.

Becca laughed and
nodded her head. Her laughter fell away when he rode away from her. Had she angered
him? Her mouth dropped open when she watched him stop his horse and then lead
the animal to run full speed toward the fence. The horse cleared the obstacle
and landed flawlessly on Becca’s side of the fence. She turned to see him rein
in the large animal and gallop back toward her. He stopped beside her and
grinned.

“Now
what, Red?”

Becca stared at him
for a few seconds, and then burst into laughter. “You cheated, Stone. How was I
supposed to know you’d jump the fence?”

Jake chuckled. “You’re
the one who teased me with that
too bad
the fence is between us
shit,” he said with a casual shrug. “And now it’s
not.”

He leaned across
his horse and kissed her full on the lips.

Becca whimpered low
in her throat as he deepened the kiss. She clasped him around the neck and moved
her tongue against his, making him growl.

He swore as he
pulled away and sat up in his saddle.

“I’ve missed you,”
he told her softly as he cupped his gloved hand around her cheek.

“I’ve missed you
too. Now, what are we going to do about it?”

He leaned toward
her again and put his lips close to hers, she felt him smile. “Why don’t you
come over tonight and I’ll fix you dinner?”

“Dinner sounds
nice. What time?”

He leaned back to
look into her eyes.
“Six good for you?”

Becca nodded. Jake gave
her a quick kiss, turned his horse away from her, and then ran past her as he
cleared the fence again easily landing on the other side. He stopped and looked
back at her. “I’ll fix breakfast too.”

His words made her
hot.
Damn man.
He threw her a sexy
grin and spurred his horse into a run, leaving her gazing after him. Becca
laughed and spurred Daisy into a run to take her home. She couldn’t wait to get
her hands on him again.

* * * *

Jake rode Midnight
into the barn and dismounted. One of the ranch hands came toward him and Jake
asked him to wipe the horse down. Usually he did it himself but he wanted to go
inside to plan the dinner he intended to make for Becca.

He was smiling as
he walked from the barn, his long stride eating up the distance to the house. Jake
halted when he saw Wyatt’s truck coming up his driveway. He waited until Wyatt
stepped from his truck.

“Wyatt?” Jake hoped
nothing was wrong.

“I was just driving
by and wanted to see if you’d had time to get that bridle back to Stan?”

Jake grinned as he
remembered the day Becca had come to get it. “Yes. Becca came over and got it.
Stan needed it.”

Wyatt raised an
eyebrow at him and his mouth twitched.
“Becca, huh?”

He saluted Jake and
got back into his truck, then leaned out the window. “She’s a beautiful woman.”
Wyatt chuckled.

“Back the fuck off,
little brother,” Jake growled.

Wyatt burst out laughing and drove
off. Jake shook his head. He’d fallen right into that one. He was sure his
brothers knew he had it bad for Becca, and they were going to rib him about it
as much as they could, or until Jake punched one or both of them. Shaking his
head, he hurried into the house and headed for the shower, wishing Becca were
there with him. Jake stripped, turned on the shower, and stepped in. The hot water
flowed over his shoulders, chest, and down along his abs. His thoughts went to
Becca’s hands following that same path. He ducked his head under the water but
still couldn’t push thoughts of Becca from his mind. He felt his cock begin to
rise and thought about taking his pleasure but couldn’t help thinking of Becca.
He wanted to share his pleasure with her, not alone in the shower. He closed
off the hot water and let the icy chill remaining flow over him putting out the
heat until Becca was in his arms. Lord, how he needed and wanted that woman.

* * * *

Becca was nervous. She’d
been with Jake before and couldn’t wait to be with him again, but the
butterflies in her stomach were going crazy. They never seemed to know where
they were going anyway, the way they flittered around all wild. They
desperately needed a global positional system. Placing her hand over her tummy,
she turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of her driveway. Olivia had
been happy for her and told her she’d see her tomorrow as Becca was heading out
the door.

When she pulled up
to Jake’s house, she sat in the car for a few minutes and took several deep
breaths. Wearing new underwear was supposed to make a woman feel confident so
why had she begun to second-guess herself?
What
if the matching black bra and boy-cut panties don’t turn him on?
Maybe he doesn’t
even want to have sex with her. She snorted. Yeah, right, she thought as she
remembered his last words about fixing breakfast too.
 

Get a grip, girl!

Just as she opened
the door to step out, the front door of the house opened and Jake appeared. “Do
you plan on sitting in the car all evening, Red?”

She heard the
laughter in his voice and gritted her teeth.

“You’re a real
smart-ass, Stone.”

He leaned against
the doorjamb and folded his arms. “So, back to Stone are we?”

Becca muttered
under her breath as she walked toward him, carrying a bottle of wine. She
shoved it against his chest as she went past him into the living room. His sexy
chuckle made her shiver. Spinning around, she glared at him as she took her
coat off and laid it on the recliner. A fire roared in the fireplace. Walking close,
she put her hands out toward it. The blaze was warm, but not as warm as the hot
man standing behind her. She felt him come close. He put his hands on her
shoulders.

“Why are you so
nervous?”

Before he even
touched her skin, she vibrated with need. Why was she so sensitive to the least
little move he made? When he put his lips to her neck, she sighed. For a few
moments, she relished the nibbling and licking of his tongue on her skin, and
then she remembered what he’d said and spun around to face him.

“I’m not nervous.”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Liar.”
Jake lowered his head and just before his lips touched hers, he stopped. “God,
you’re sexy,” he whispered before taking her lips in a deep kiss.

Becca moaned and
threw her arms around his neck. He lifted her up, clasping her with strong
hands under her bottom. His tongue moved into her mouth and touched hers. Both
of them groaned. A timer rang in the kitchen, making them break apart.

Jake smiled at her.
She smiled back feeling less nervous.

“Good start. You
have a seat and I’ll get dinner,” Jake told her as he set her down, kissing her
forehead.

Jake had her sit at
the table while he brought the dinner to her. He sat down across from her. The
meal of steak and baked potatoes was excellent.