Jake (Men of Clifton Montana Book 1) (7 page)

Becca thought it
was nice of him to do that. Why did he make it so hard not to like him? She
nodded and started to leave the barn.

“Where are you
going? You’re a ranch owner now, you need to see this,” Jake called after her.

Becca turned back
and narrowed her eyes at him. “See what?”

“The
breeding.”
She saw he was trying not to smile.

Damn him!

Becca knew he
thought she wouldn’t watch and honestly, she didn’t want to but to prove him
wrong, she walked toward them.

Jake gave her a nod
as Stan led the black horse to the corral where the mare was. The stallion was
prancing around and raising his nose in the air. He could smell the mare in
heat.

“That’s how I feel
around you,” Jake leaned down and whispered near her ear.

Becca stopped so fast that Jake
almost ran into her. Her whole body reacted to his words. It was driving her
crazy how just a few words could send her blood racing and want to make her
grab him by the hair and kiss him until he groaned. She gritted her teeth and
forced herself to calm down. Becca hoped he never discovered how she felt about
him. She wasn’t going to give him that power. “As I said before, in your
dreams, Stone,” she said even as she felt a flush rise on her cheeks.

“Why didn’t you answer the door or
take my calls?”

Still not looking at him, she
addressed Stan as she moved to walk beside him. “So how long does the breeding
usually take?”

The sound of Jake’s laughter
behind her made her clench her jaw in frustration.

Later, while Becca sat in the window
seat in her living room, her face still felt as if it were on fire. The
breeding hadn’t made her blush, it was the fact that Jake had watched her watch
it that had brought the fire to her cheeks and elsewhere.

She leaned her head
back against the wall and banged it against the wood. How was she going to get
through six months of this? There was no way she was going to give in before
then and once the time was up, she wasn’t selling. No matter what the offer
was. She had come to love this big house.

When her cellphone
rang, she hoped it was Olivia, but made a face when she saw it was Steve.

“Hello, Steve.”

“Becky! When are
you coming back to me?” He laughed.

Never!
“I’m not leaving until June,
Steve. How many times do we have to go over this?”

“Whoa, honey. Calm
down. I was just kidding.” He laughed again, which left her feeling unsettled.

Great, put a guilt trip on me.

“I’m sorry, Steve.
It’s been a very long day and it gets boring.” She knew the minute the words
came out of her mouth, it was the wrong thing to say.

“That’s why I need
to visit you. We’d have fun…if you know what I mean?”

God, he made her
feel ill. What had she ever seen in him? She should have listened to Olivia.
Becca was so glad she’d never slept with him. She sighed. “Steve, that’s never
going to happen, I’m sorry. It’s over between us. I’ve decided to stay here.”
It was a small lie but she had to get it through his head. “Please don’t call
anymore.”

Becca heard him
objecting but she didn’t care, she simply hung up.

It was getting
harder and harder for her as the days went on. She was alone, all alone in a
strange town where the community still gave her the cold shoulder for something
that wasn’t her fault. Was it worth it to explain the facts to everyone? Emma
had been shocked to find out that Becca hadn’t actually known Hattie.

Silently, the tears
fell as she put her head against her drawn up knees. Outside, the wind howled
and snow blew by the window.

As if her seclusion
wasn’t enough, there was Jake. Why did she feel such an attraction for him? He
was just a man.
A man who just by looking at her was able to
take her breath away.
A man she wanted like no other, and he was a
cowboy.

A damn cowboy!

Becca shook her
head. It didn’t make sense. She was around attractive men every day. They came
into her coffee shop en masse. Several had asked her out, but she’d always
turned them down. Until Steve, that is.

She shook her head
again. What a horrible mistake he turned out to be. He’d seemed so nice, taking
her to dinner and the movies. Chaste kisses goodnight. He’d never pushed. Now,
he was beginning to scare her. Becca prayed he wouldn’t call again. If he did,
she just wouldn’t answer. It’s the way it had to be, she needed to prove her point.
It was over between them.

Becca jumped when
the phone rang. Slowly, she reached for it and looked at the screen. Steve’s
name appeared. She felt sick. Pressing her lips together, she turned it off. Tomorrow
she would call Olivia and let her know about Steve. Becca was certain he’d go
to the coffee shop and try to get Olivia to tell Becca to call him. She
shivered. He’d definitely frightened her. His insistence gave her a bad
feeling.

As the storm raged
outside, Becca added more logs to the fire. She would sleep in the living room
again, just in case the power went out. Spring couldn’t get here soon enough.

The next day, Becca
decided it was time to bag up Hattie’s clothes and shoes. She planned to take
them into town and have Emma help her with giving them away. She was sure Emma
would know who would want them and if no one did, she’d donate them to a local
charity. Taking a deep breath, she started with the dresser. It was mostly
underwear, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. After emptying that, she went to the
closet and pulled the dresses from the hangers, adding them to the bag.

Becca ran her hand
along the shelf, found a box there, and dragged it down. She took it to the bed
and opened it. What she saw inside made her breath catch. It was full of
pictures. Pictures of herself as a child, from the time of her birth up until
the year her parents had died.

Where had these
come from? If Becca’s father hadn’t been in touch with Hattie, who had been?
The answer came when she turned one over and saw her mother’s handwriting.
Becca - age six.
Her mother had been the
one to keep in touch with Hattie. It was incomprehensible. Had her father
known?

Becca continued
going through the box. Her school pictures were there, all the way through to
graduation. Snapshots of her at home, playing outside, or sitting on her parents’
laps. She remembered all of them. She ran her finger over her mother’s writing.

Memories and
questions were running through her head when she heard Stan calling her name so
she walked downstairs with the box in her hands. Stan smiled at her, but when
he saw the tears on her cheeks, his smile faded.

“Is something
wrong?”

Becca shook her
head and handed him the box. Stan lifted the lid, and he blew out a long breath
when he saw the pictures. Becca looked at him.

“You knew about
this?” Her voice trembled. He didn’t answer. “Stan, please.”

“Yes. I knew your
mother kept in touch with Hattie. It wasn’t just the pictures. Sarah called
Hattie, at least once a month.” He took a deep breath. “And she sent pictures
all the time.”

Becca practically
collapsed onto a kitchen chair. Sadness for the time that was lost made her
heart
ache
. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Stan pulled out a
chair and sat down. “I wanted to. I just didn’t know how.”

“What happened
between my father and Hattie? I want to know, Stan.” Touching the pictures,
Becca wished she could turn back the clock. Thoughts of what might have been
haunted her.

“Just what happens
at a lot of family ranches, Hattie wanted her son to take over, and he didn’t
want this life. Your father made a lot of money in real estate, and he wanted
to travel. You and your parents went all over the world.” He picked up a
picture of her, at age five, standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. “The three
of you lived here on the ranch until you were three years old. That’s when the
big argument happened. I knew when your dad came back from college that he was
different. The ranch didn’t mean as much to him anymore. He’d gotten a taste of
the big city life.”

“I wish I could
remember. Truthfully, I can’t imagine either Mom or Dad here.”
 
 

Stan reached for
her hand and squeezed it. “Your mom was born and raised on a farm outside of
Clifton. She met William when she was fifteen and fell in love. He loved her,
too but being nineteen and in college, she was too young. After college, he
came home and married her. She got pregnant right away and you all lived here.”
Stan cleared his throat. “Will met a man in town one day who talked him into
going into business with him. Will told Hattie about it and although he had a
business degree, the thought of buying real estate and flipping it appealed to
him. He made a lot of money doing it.” He shook his head. “It tore Hattie apart
and she told him if he left, he was never to come back. You and your Mama both
cried the day he took you away. Hattie talked about selling the ranch. I talked
her into keeping it, and I’m glad I did. After a while, she got better about
things, but she missed you all so much. A few years later, she tried to talk to
your dad but he wouldn’t talk to her. He told her she’d made her choice and he’d
made his. Damn shame, all of it.”

Becca felt the
tears rolling down her cheeks. “So you knew me?” She squeezed his hand.

Stan nodded. “I
used to put you up on the horse with me and ride you around the corral.”

Becca smiled. “I
wish I could remember that. If it was my father’s choice that we left here, why
does everyone in town hate me?”

Stan seemed
surprised. “I’m sure they don’t and if they do, it’s because they don’t know
your daddy kept Hattie from you. Didn’t he ever mention her?”

Becca shook her
head. “The one time I asked about his parents, he just said they were gone and
that was the end of it.” She stood up to get a tissue and dabbed her eyes with
it. “What did you come in for, Stan? I’m sorry, did you need something?”

Stan stood. “Yes. I
wanted to ask if you would mind going over to Jake’s for me to pick up a bridle
that Wyatt fixed for me.”

She frowned. “If
Wyatt fixed it for you, why does Jake have it?”

“Wyatt gave it to him
when Jake was at his house. I just don’t have the time to run over there right
now, and Daisy won’t wear any other bridle for some damn reason.”

Becca felt a thrill
rush through her. Seeing Jake again was dangerous. She’d been avoiding him like
the plague. However, with the way Stan was looking at her, his eyes filled with
hope, she knew she had to do it.

Becca sighed and
nodded her head. Stan returned to the barn and Becca made the walk to the truck
as if she were walking to a hangman’s noose. She hoped he wouldn’t be home when
she got there. Things would be easier if one of his ranch hands could just get the
bridle for her. Because if she came face to face with Jake, she had no idea
what would happen.

Pulling out of the
driveway, Becca headed out for Jake’s place. The sun shining on the snow made
it appear as if someone had sprinkled tiny diamonds on it. Bare fields ran
along the road on the right side. Brown stalks of weeds and grass poked through
the snow.

Becca slowed when
she spotted a deer standing in the field looking her way. Pulling the truck
over, she watched the beautiful animal staring in her direction. She’d heard
they didn’t have very good eyesight, but it seemed to be looking right at her.
The deer turned its head to look behind it, and then ran into the woods. Becca
didn’t see anything that would have scared it.
 

Shrugging, she
pulled back onto the road and proceeded on to Jake’s place. It was five miles
from hers, even though their land connected. Becca knew that was the reason he
wanted Hattie’s property. She slapped her hand against the steering wheel in
annoyance and determination. Jake Stone was not getting her land if she had
anything to do with it.

A few minutes
later, she pulled up to Jake’s home. She hadn’t noticed it before but the log home
with the wraparound porch was beautiful. Rocking chairs waited patiently on the
porch for warmer weather. Smoke poured out from the stone chimney. The lodge
style house was rustic but impressive.

Taking a deep
breath, Becca got out of the truck and one of the ranch hands walked toward
her. As he drew closer, he smiled as he put his fingers to his hat.

“Can I help you, ma’am?”

Becca smiled back.
He was young and very good-looking, and he knew it. When she asked about the
bridle, he shook his head and told her she needed to ask Jake about it. Just
the very thing she didn’t want to do.

With a sigh, she
walked up to the porch, being careful to dodge the patches of ice, and stopped
at the door. Muttering under her breath, she knocked and waited.
And waited.
Shrugging, she turned to leave when the door
opened, and there Jake stood in nothing but a pair of worn jeans.
 

Lord, please help me!
She bit back a
groan.

“Becca!
Come on in. I just got out of the shower. Let me grab a shirt,” he told her as
he turned away from her.

Christ!
Even his back was sexy.

She wanted to tell
him not to bother with a shirt. Licking her bottom lip, she had to admit that
she could look at that magnificent chest forever. The smattering of hair across
those solid pecs, and the way the furry happy trail ran down his six-pack
stomach, around his bellybutton, and then disappeared into those low-slung
jeans made her mouth water. Lord, she was in so much trouble. She wanted him
more than air.

Trying desperately
to get her mind off how he made her feel, Becca looked around the room. There was
a roaring fire in the large stone fireplace. The flames were climbing high,
flickering between blue and orange. A large twelve-point buck’s head hung above
the mantle. It was definitely a man’s room. She rubbed the toe of her shoe on
the hardwood floor. It looked to be made of oak. Two comfortable leather
recliners sat facing a large screen TV, and the only decorations on the walls
besides the deer was a Native American Mandela hung between the two front
windows. Yes, the room looked just like him—rugged, masculine and in need of a
woman’s touch.