Jake (Men of Clifton Montana Book 1) (3 page)

Instinctively, she
stepped back as she gazed up into dark brown eyes surrounded by thick, lush
lashes. He had to be six four, at the very least. Standing at five eight, Becca
was used to looking men in the eyes, but not this one. She could see fine lines
at the corners of his eyes. He was tan from working outdoors and she had a feeling
his body was well muscled from that as well. She thought him to be in his
mid-thirties maybe, but it was hard to tell. Then his words sank in.

“I didn’t know
about the funeral. Hell, I didn’t even know about her.” She shook her head. “My
father never mentioned his mother to me. I was shocked when her attorney
contacted me.”

Becca
blinked back the tears as she felt the blush rise in her cheeks.

* * * *

Jake swore and
turned away from her.
 

“How could you not
know?” he asked as he swung back around to her.

“Like I said, my
father never mentioned her. I don’t know what went on between them but I never
knew she existed, and I wasn’t notified in time to attend the funeral.”

Jake snorted. “Well,
Ms. Daniels, that’s a shame. This town loved Hattie. This a small community and
we take care of our own. You’re not going to get a warm welcome, to say the
least.”

She shrugged as if
it didn’t matter. He wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled. She had to
live here for six months from what Gray had told him, and six months in a town
where no one liked you would make for a hard time. What did he care? The sooner
the six months were over the better. She would leave and he would buy the land.
Not that he needed it, but he knew Hattie would want him to have it if her
granddaughter didn’t.

“I don’t need your
ranch, Red. Hattie only left it to you so no stranger would buy it. However,
that’s kind of a moot point isn’t it? I mean, since you are a stranger.”

Her eyes narrowed
at him. “Of course you need my land, Stone. All ranchers need more land.” She
poked him in the chest. “And you know what? You’re not going to get it. I’ll
stay for the six months and after that, I’ll do anything I can to keep it, and
keep you away from it.” She glared up at him and poked his chest harder, as if
to make her point. “And. Do. Not.
Call.
Me. Red. Now,
get out,” she nearly screamed the last words at him.

Jake stared at her
for a full minute before he moved to put his coat on. He took a pen and scrap
of paper from his pocket. After writing down his phone numbers, he laid it on
the table. He slammed his cowboy hat on his head and turned to leave.

“Just in case you
do need anything … Red,” Jake said before he went out the door, closing it
softly behind him, when everything within him wanted to slam it.

Jake got into his
truck and looked at the backdoor. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his
knuckles turned white. Becca Daniels had trouble written all over her. Trouble
he didn’t need. He closed his eyes. Her long dark auburn hair surrounding a
heart shaped face with eyes as green as summer grass, a pert nose with freckles
across it on alabaster skin made for one sexy little package. He felt his groin
tighten as he opened his eyes and started his truck.

It was going to be
a helluva long six months.

Chapter Two

The next morning
Becca woke up rubbing her eyes. They felt as gritty as sand. She’d tossed and
turned all night, trying to get a dark-eyed cowboy out of her dreams. Jacob
Stone might have gotten on her nerves, but that didn’t mean she could get him
off her mind. No man had ever affected her this way. Her whole body tingled
from head to toe just imagining how his strong arms would feel wrapped around
her.

Damn that man!

Forcing Stone from
her thoughts, she proceeded with her day. She had a lot to accomplish today. After
taking a shower, Becca put on sweatpants and a T-shirt before heading
downstairs to make coffee. When she looked outside, she noticed the snow hadn’t
accumulated much overnight. Wanting to get outside and look around, she decided
to make a trip to the barn to see the horses later. All of her life she’d
always loved and secretly wanted a horse. However, the excursion to the barn
would have to wait. Exploring the house was first on her list.

A corner hutch in
the dining room filled with glassware caught her eye. Becca opened the door
carefully and lifted out a small glass cowboy made of crystal. Lifting it to
the light, she smiled as a prism danced across the wall. It fit sweetly in the
palm of her hand. The little cowboy had on a red vest, black boots and wide
brimmed hat. The face was clear with blue eyes. Becca set it back inside the
hutch and closed the door.

Did all this belong
to her now? Was there anyone else who would want any of these items? Would any
of the people in the town who had loved Hattie want some of her things to
remember her by?

There was no way of
knowing unless she asked Jake Stone and that would be a cold day in hell. Just
the thought of him made her blood boil. Why did he have to be so gorgeous? She
could’ve dealt much better with a short fat bald man.

Growling under her
breath, Becca walked across the large foyer to the living room. The furniture
looked welcoming. A window seat made it look very inviting. She could picture
herself sitting there, reading a good book. Two worn recliners sat facing the
fireplace. A TV sat in the corner beside it. She had no idea how to go about
making a fire. Maybe she could ask one of the ranch hands. They would help her…she
hoped.

The foyer was huge.
The beautiful glass front door with sidelights allowed a stream of sunlight to
filter in. Dust motes danced through the beams. Becca looked up the stairs as
she walked toward them. Last night she hadn’t had a chance to look through all
the rooms, she’d just taken the one closest to the bathroom, which she discovered
connected to another bedroom.

Upstairs, she
peered into a large room and instantly knew it had been Hattie’s bedroom.
Pushing the door open, she walked in and stood in the middle of the room. She
then walked to the dresser and picked up an old hairbrush. Tears gathered in
her eyes as she clutched it to her chest.

“I wish I’d known
you, Grandma. I don’t understand why I didn’t. What happened between you and
Daddy?”

Shaking her head,
she put the brush back on the dresser, walked to the closet, and opened the
door. Only two dresses hung there, one black, one blue. Neither looking as if
Hattie had worn them very often. The only shoes on the floor were a pair of
low-heeled black pumps whereas there were several pairs of cowboy boots, and a
pair of sneakers. Becca had never seen an emptier closet, and it broke her
heart. If the ranch had been so profitable, why were the closet’s inhabitants
so meager? Maybe her grandmother hadn’t cared about material things. Becca
smiled. She was sure she would’ve loved Hattie Daniels.

After exploring the
rest of the rooms, Becca changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. It was time to
visit the barn and meet the ranch hands. She chewed her bottom lip. How was
this going to go? Would they accept her or ignore her? Taking a deep breath,
she knew there was only one way to find out. She pulled her jacket on and went
outside.

The cold air was
like a slap in the face. The glare from the sun shining on the snow hurt her
eyes and made it difficult to see, so she walked carefully down the steps and
headed for the barn. The snow crunched under her boots. Several men stood at
the corral beside the barn looking her way. After a slight hesitation, she
walked toward them. She smiled, but no one smiled in return.

“Hello. I’m Becca
Daniels. I’m Hattie’s granddaughter.” She put a hand out to the man closest to
her. He put his hand out to meet hers. Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked
him his name and for introductions.

“I’m Stan Watson,
the foreman. This is Bill Black, Matt Stewart, and Ted Carter.” All the men
tipped their hats to her. “All of us have been with Hattie a lot of years. I’ve
been with her for almost forty. It’s a real shame about her.”

Becca nodded. What
could she say? She never knew the woman but the thought that she’d missed
knowing her grandmother made her eyes tear up. She smiled at the men and
glanced around the property. The rolling hills lay under snow but she could
make out a pond in the distance.

“It’s very nice to
meet all of you,” she said before looking toward the big red barn. The
beautiful snow-capped, jagged mountains in the distance caught her attention.

“Those mountains
are breathtaking.”

“Yes, ma’am, they
are.” Stan smiled at her. “They’re part of the Glacier National Park. If you
get a chance to take in the park, do it. It was the country’s tenth National
Park created by President Taft. Those mountains are a hiker’s dream.”

Becca grinned at
him. “I would love to see the park, though I’m not much of a hiker. I’d rather
ride horses.” Taking a deep breath, Becca moved toward the barn. “I’d love to
see them.”

She was happy to
see Stan fall into step beside her as she walked to the barn.

“You can take a
trail ride in the park when the weather permits it.” He inclined his chin. “Follow
me. We have twelve Paints right now, and four Quarter horses. Hattie just sold
three of them before ...” his voice faded away. Becca lightly touched his arm.
Stan smiled down at her. “Anyway…we have them up here, if you’d like to see.”

There were several
other buildings besides the huge red barn. One was filled with bales of hay.
Another was a smaller barn. Large corrals sat on each side of the bigger barn.

“Are the horses
inside or is there another corral?” Becca asked as she nodded her head toward
the barn.

Stan nodded. “They’re
in right now. We’re expecting snow and we don’t want them out in it. Most days,
if it’s warmer, we either have them in the corrals or out in the pastures.”

Becca looked to the
mountains again and realized what she thought was fog on the tops was actually
snow moving in. She pulled the collar up on her coat and followed Stan to a
smaller door and into the barn. To keep the warmth in, the large double doors
remained closed. As she entered the barn, the smell of horses, hay and leather
assaulted her. Smiling, she took a deep breath. For someone who loved horses,
the smell was pleasant.

As they walked down
the aisle of the barn, the horses poked their heads over the stall gates. Becca
stopped at each one to pet their velvety noses. She laughed when they blew into
her hand.

“Can I ride one of
them?” She looked at Stan. He nodded his head.

“They’re yours. You
can do what you want with them.” Was that sarcasm in his voice?

“I’ll wait until
it’s
a little warmer,” she answered with a sigh. “I’ll be
here for six months, so I have plenty of time.”

“Six months? What
happens after that?” Stan seemed surprised by her statement.

Becca glanced
around the barn, not sure how to explain it to him. “The will states that I
have to stay here for six months before I can sell it.” At his look of
astonishment, she continued quickly, “but I’m not going to sell it. I just won’t
be staying here. I’ll have you run the place, just like you’ve been doing.”

“I’m not sure that
will work. I mean, Hattie ran the place, I just took orders.” Stan shook his
head.

“What else can I
do? I have a coffee shop in Maryland.” Once said aloud it sounded lame, even to
her ears.

“A
coffee shop?”
Stan walked away from her, his hands on his hips, still
shaking his head.

Becca tried not to
smile.

He turned back to
her. “It amazes me that people pay for something you can fix in your own home.”

“There are lots of
coffee shops nowadays.”

He waved his hand. “Yeah,
I know about
those Star
… places. I just don’t get it.”

Becca walked to
him, and smiled. “We’ll figure something out, Stan.”

He nodded and
followed her out of the barn.

Outside, Becca
looked around the property. A large oak tree lived comfortably in front of the
house. The bare branches of several bushes running along the front of the porch
and the rocking chairs and swing on the porch made the home inviting. She
wished she knew what happened between her father and his mother. Her mother’s
parents had died when Becca was a baby, so it would’ve been nice to have a grandmother.
Where was Hattie’s husband?

“Stan, what
happened to Hattie’s husband?”

“Hal died years
ago. He was working on an old car in the barn when it fell on him. He’d been
under it, and the jack fell. Will, your daddy, he was sixteen when it happened.”

Becca gasped.
“How awful!
I can’t imagine what Hattie went through losing
her husband like that.”

Stan cleared his
throat. “It was a rough day. Hattie had wanted to sell the ranch then, but Will
talked her into keeping it and she realized that Hal would’ve wanted her to
keep it going. It was just getting on its feet.” He shrugged. “We all did what
we had to do.”

Carl Black met them
at the corral. “I need to make a trip to town to get a salt block.”

“I’ll go,” Becca
said, smiling. “What?” she asked when they both looked at her as if she’d
sprouted a third
eye.

“I don’t know about
that --,” Carl started to say.

“No.” Stan cut him
off.

“No?” Becca felt
her redheaded temperature rising. “Am I or am I not the owner of this ranch?”
Both men nodded. “Correct. So, if I say I’m going, then I’m going.” She took a
deep breath. “Look, I don’t mean to sound like a bitch but I need to pick up
some things and this will give me the opportunity to do that, plus I can meet
some people.”