Suited to be a Cowboy (9 page)

Melissa groaned aloud and leaned her head against the
windowpane. She needed to speak with him, to explain, and hoped he’d understand
Aaron’s misguided attempt at horse matchmaking. Poor kid just wanted to make
sure Jimmy stayed on the ranch. And no wonder; for better or for worse, Jimmy
spent more time with him than his father ever had. The legal ramifications were
still a sore point with her, but that didn’t matter any more. Because of
Aaron’s mischief, she was the one at fault, so no stud fees and no foal. She
could live with that. It stood to reason that Jimmy would still be miffed, but
once she explained…
Hell, I hate being on
the outs with the man. He makes me laugh. Makes me want to live again.

It had been so long since she’d had a man around to talk
to, or at least under the same roof. The wranglers didn’t count as confidants.
They were employees. But then, so was Jimmy. Why did she feel so comfortable
with him?

One of the living room windows overlooked the ranch yard
and she stationed herself there. Except for the area around the dusk-to-dawn light,
it was black outside. Night had fallen with no sign of the moon overhead. She’d
expected him to be back by now. Had he taken a flashlight with him? Her worry
escalated the longer he was gone. The ranch encompassed a huge acreage. Had he
gotten lost? Hurt?

For the hundredth time she checked her watch. Did Jimmy
have his cell phone with him? Should she call? She still had the paper in the
office that he’d written his number on when she’d been waiting for the lawyer
to call back about their suspicions concerning her ex. Melissa had sat at the
desk and stared at the slip of paper for a long time after he’d given it to her
that day. He’d written the numbers with precise, bold strokes, a good
representation of the man himself.

She’d give him another half-hour. If he wasn’t back by
then, she would go get his number. Movement near the barn drew her attention
just before the half-hour was up. Two riders dismounted beneath the glow of the
light. Jimmy and Tippy. She breathed a sigh of relief. Jimmy turned toward the
house and shot her a jaunty wave. Did that mean he’d caught some horses? Or was
he just acknowledging her presence, silhouetted as she must be by the light of
the lamp behind her.

Self-conscious and embarrassed to be caught watching for
him, she moved to sit, grabbed the remote, and flicked the television to life.
She wasn’t much of a TV person, but it would suffice as an excuse for being in
that room.

Give your head a
shake, Melissa. I don’t need an excuse to stand at the window in my own house.
Still…

She thumbed through the channels, finding a romantic
comedy that she sometimes watched, and settled back to enjoy the program. Or
tried to. Her mind kept wandering, alert for his entrance. The show ended and
Jimmy still hadn’t come inside. Tired now, she locked up and turned off the
lights before heading to her room.

Melissa glanced across the courtyard when she closed her
Venetian blinds, surprised to see lights on in Jimmy’s suite. Since their
argument, he’d been spending more time in his room or out riding. Disappointed
that he hadn’t wanted to spend time with her that evening—to share his success
or failure with the Mustangs—she had to remember her resolve to keep it
strictly business between them.

He’s an employee.
What he does on his own time is up to
him.
She should be thankful that he wasn’t invading her privacy. Instead,
she felt bereft and alone, more alone than she’d been since Marcus had walked
out.

Chapter
Seven

The BLM land
was quite a distance from the ranch proper, so he and Tippy loaded their horses
in Jimmy’s trailer and set out in the truck. Besides, they wanted their mounts
fresh for the chase.

Tippy lassoed the lead stallion first thing, and Jimmy had
thrown another rope around the big black’s neck. Together, they led him,
kicking and bucking, all the way to the pasture. What a rush. That horse sure
didn’t like being roped. It took both their efforts to keep the ropes tight so
he couldn’t lunge and attack either of them or their mounts.

To Jimmy’s surprise, four mares followed. The stallion had
made such a fuss, he hadn’t even heard the other horses trotting behind them.

Jimmy removed his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow
with a forearm. “Phew! Now that was a good workout. Do you think he’ll settle
down?” he asked, nodding his head toward the stallion.

“Sooner or later. At least his brood mares followed. Their
presence might help.”

“Good. I’d hate to see him hurt himself by thrashing
against the fence trying to get out. He sure is a spirited fellow. He’ll sire
some beautiful colts and fillies, I bet.”

“He will at that. He’ll try to get out of the enclosure for
a while but chances are he’ll be more interested in his ladies.” Tippy grinned
at him. “High fives, partner. Five is a darned good catch. Want to go again?”

Jimmy circled his mount around and pulled up alongside
Tippy, close enough to slap his hand against
Tippy’s
in a high-five. “You
betcha
. I love the thrill of the
chase, even though it seems a shame to corral such free-spirited animals.”

The Mustangs ran in circles without the direction of their
leader, making it easier for the men to cull them from the herd. This time,
they roped and led the beauties one by one to the outer pasture. There was a
pure white mare that Jimmy wanted as soon as he spied her. She was gorgeous and
the thrill of the capture made him feel like an actual cowboy…at long last.

Rounding up the Mustangs was time-consuming and very
tiring, but Jimmy loved being in the thick of some action. In all the time he’d
spent on ranches, never had he tried to rope wild horses, let alone lead them
home. The dusk of early evening quickly darkened, and they called a halt for
the night.

Jimmy was pumped. Adrenaline poured through his veins as wild
as the Mustangs while he’d chased after the horses. Now the rush had left, he
was dog-tired and looking forward to sharing his news with his boss. But not
smelling as he did coming off the range.

“Sherry, you are one beautiful horse. You knew what to do
better than I did. Or was it that handsome stallion that had you moving so fast?”
He frowned as he gave his horse a good rubdown, remembering the incident with
Midnight Rain. How could he and Melissa get back to a normal working relationship?
Would she even care about his success tonight? Animosity rent the air whenever
they were near each other.

He’d bite the bullet and take the first step by sharing
his news. After all, he hadn’t asked to bring Sherry with him and it had been
rude to assume it would be all right.

After returning to his room, he headed straight for the
shower. He’d clean up and change clothes before going to find Melissa. He and
Tippy had corralled eighteen Mustangs tonight. He’d hoped for one or two, as on
previous occasions, but they’d been lucky.

He showered in record time and went into the bedroom to
find clean clothes, a towel wrapped around his waist. That’s when he noticed
the lights on in Melissa’s room. She’d gone to bed. Maybe she just wasn’t
interested.

Would she mind if I cross
the courtyard and knock on her door?
He stood close to the glass pane,
trying to catch a glimpse of movement that would indicate she was still up.
Nothing moved. The lights blinked off as he stood there, undecided. Well, that
settles that. Letting the towel drop, he turned toward the bed. He’d tell her
tomorrow, if she asked.

Exhausted beyond belief, he fell asleep almost instantly.

*
* * *

Oh, wow!
Melissa
felt like a voyeur. A wanton and extremely needy voyeur. When he came out of
the bathroom wearing only a towel, she should’ve turned away, but she couldn’t.
Her feet seemed glued to the floor.

From the way he filled out his clothes, she’d known he had
a great physique. What she hadn’t known, and couldn’t possibly guess, was how splendid
a body he did have.

His broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, not a spare
ounce of flesh on him to be seen. Perfect abs, muscled biceps, and those legs,
long and lean. Her legs shook in reaction, threatening to give way. She was
about to start drooling. Never had she seen such a perfect body.

Certainly not Marcus’s. She giggled, remembering his
paunch. Too much wining and dining did that to a person. Served him right, the
adulterous jerk.

She watched as Jimmy crossed his room, walking up close to
the patio doors. Was he coming to see her? Dressed like that? Had she given him
reason to think he could? Melissa's insides tightened in response as she turned
off the lamp. She almost parted the blinds and waved when he looked her
way…until he dropped the towel.

She’d moved then, peeking through the blinds to try and
determine if Jimmy was retiring for the night, or just winding down.

Her eyes threatened to pop out of her head and she knew
her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn’t look away. She took one step
backward, then another, never taking her eyes off his muscular physique. When
he turned and headed for bed, she almost cried out for him, such was her need.
Instead, she stood there and admired his fine
tush
until he covered it with the blankets and turned out the lamp.

“Good night, Jimmy,” she whispered into the darkness. “Sweet
dreams.” She undressed and crawled in between the sheets, punched her pillow
into submission and settled in to get some shut-eye. Sleep did come,
eventually, and with it exquisite dreams of the man across the way.

Up before dawn due to a restless night, Melissa donned her
robe and headed barefoot to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Before she
got there, the heavenly smell wafted its way down the hallway to her. She rounded
the corner and stepped into the kitchen, thinking Sheila was up early, only to
find Jimmy leaning against the counter dressed in blue jeans and nothing else.
She stopped short.
Geez! Even the man’s
feet were sexy
.

Jimmy cleared his throat. “Good morning.”

Embarrassed heat warmed her cheeks, making her aware that
she’d been staring. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

“Like the dead.”

She attempted a smile. “Must have tired you out, chasing
after those Mustangs. Did you catch any?”

“A few,” was his noncommittal reply. But his eyes twinkled
merrily.

“How many is a few?” she asked as he turned to pour their
coffees.

“Eighteen.”

“What?” She couldn’t have heard right.

“We managed to round up a stallion and seventeen mares.”
He faced her, passing a hot mug of brew. “A pretty good evening’s work, I’d
say.” His grin was broad, proud of his efforts, as he should be. On previous
outings, they’d only rounded up one or two or sometimes none at all.

“Wow! I think that’s a record around here.”

Jimmy moved toward the patio door. “Yeah, that’s what
Tippy said. Thanks for hooking me up with him. He’s a good man. Said he’d help
break them, too, and since I don’t have much experience in that area, I
accepted.”

Melissa nodded and took a sip of her coffee then set the
mug on the table. “He used to bust
broncs
for a
living. He knows what he’s doing, for sure.”

“Yeah, he regales me with tales between runs every time we
go out. It’s a beautiful morning. I think I’ll take my coffee outside.”

Melissa took that as a clear invitation that he was still
avoiding her, so she drank her coffee then went to her room to shower and
dress. When she returned to the kitchen, Aaron was sitting at the table and Jimmy
was coming through the patio doors.

“Mmm, mmm, Sheila! You’ve outdone yourself this morning. I
smell me some blueberry pancakes.”

Melissa’s cook beamed proudly as she served their
breakfast. All was quiet except for the tinkle of forks and knives against
plates, and the occasional thud when Aaron set his glass of milk down.

Tension filled the air, and although Melissa had wanted to
talk to Jimmy alone and explain, she thought it would be a good time for Aaron
to come clean. “So Aaron, don’t you have something to tell Jimmy?”

The kid had just taken a drink of milk and ended up
sputtering it out of his mouth.

“Do I have to? I thought you were going to tell him.”

His pleading look was difficult to ignore, but his
petulant tone told her she was doing the right thing.

“Tell me what, buddy?” Jimmy asked.

He glanced at her one more time then sat up straight and
faced Jimmy.

“I was just trying to make sure you’d stay.”

“Oh? How’s that?”

“I led Midnight Rain to Sherry. I thought if your horse
had a baby with one of ours, you’d have to stay on the ranch.”

Jimmy set down his fork and picked up his coffee, taking a
drink. Melissa waited with bated breath, as she was certain Aaron was, to find
out what Jimmy would say.

“Well now, I like it here well enough, but I’m not family,
Aaron. That’s leaves me free to move on when and if I’m ready to. Understand?”

“But I don’t want you to leave,” he wailed pitifully.

Melissa heard the wobble in her son’s voice, saw tears
welling up in his eyes. Her heart went out to him.

“I haven’t been here all that long. Hadn’t even considered
leaving to tell the truth.”

Aaron perked up at that. “You could marry my mom, then you
wouldn’t have to leave. We’d all be family.”

It was
Melissa’a
turn to
sputter. Coffee went everywhere and she hastily grabbed a napkin to sop up the
mess. “Aaron!”

Jimmy’s soft chuckle reached her ears and she felt her
cheeks warm with embarrassment.

“I’m afraid I’m not the marrying kind, buddy, but if I
was, this would be the perfect place to settle down.”

“Are you mad at me?” Aaron asked.

“Well, I’m not exactly pleased. You see, Sherry is a
purebred Arabian and I’d hoped to breed more purebreds when I have my own
ranch. Mating with your horse may have tainted her bloodline.”

“Oh.” Aaron hung his head, the picture of abject misery.

“But nature has to run its course, with or without a
little help. Just don’t pull anther stunt like that. Okay?”

“I won’t. Cross my heart.” Aaron suited action to words
and turned to his mother. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, Mom. Can we go see Jimmy’s
horses?”

“How did you find out about them so quick?” she asked,
glad for the change of subject.

“When I went to the barn to look for you and check on
Aaron’s Pride, Tippy told me they’d lassoed eighteen more last night. So, can
we go see your horses tomorrow?”

Jimmy glanced her way and she gave a brief nod. “Sure. I
plan on riding out to lasso a few more in the morning. The Mustangs are real
beauties, but they’re wild. You’ll have to stay outside the corral.”

“Okay. You coming, Mom?”

She glanced at Jimmy, his fork paused halfway to his
mouth. Was he waiting for her answer? Did he want her to tag along? To heck
with it.
She
wanted to see the Mustangs.
“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Good. Now that’s settled, I’ll get to work. Thank you for
a delicious breakfast, Sheila. See you later.” He winked at Melissa as he left
the room.

She stared after him, deep in thought. What was that wink
for? Was everything okay with them again? After the way her marriage ended, she
didn’t think she had it in her to trust another man with her emotions, her
heart, and her life. But he’d been so understanding with her son’s mischief—twice
now. And she couldn’t help the thrill that encompassed her when envisioning him
as she’d seen him last night.
Good Lord,
help me get a grip.

“Earth to Mom.” Aaron waved a hand in front of her face.

“What, dear?”

“Can we go riding this morning?”

“I have to run into Fort
Collins for groceries and supplies first. Want to come
with me?”

“Can we stop at the park?”

“For a little while. Brian’s waiting on feed for the mares
ready to foal, so we can’t stay long.”

“Okay. Let’s go.” He jumped to his feet, almost upsetting
the pitcher of juice.

Melissa chuckled as she righted it and took her plate to
the sink. “Thank you, Sheila. Excellent meal, as always.”

“No problem, Melissa. Drive careful.”

*
* * *

With the accounts almost caught up, Jimmy had too much time
to think. His lawyer had finally called back, but Jimmy didn’t know what to do
with the information he’d received. The vet had determined that Sherry was
pregnant, and it was good to know that the foal would belong to him, but the
lawyer was of two minds concerning the stud fees.

Since Jimmy willingly boarded the horse at the ranch
knowing there were stallions present, a good lawyer could argue the case and
perhaps receive compensation on those fees. Also, knowing that Melissa’s son
had set the horses up for coupling put a different spin on things as well. A
court could hold her totally at fault and make her pay any vet bills involved
with the pregnancy and birth, as well as damages to the purebred lineage. It
was a touchy subject and one he wanted to steer clear of. With Aaron’s
confession, he hoped they had a workable truce of sorts. He didn’t want to be
the one to spoil it.