The Cowboy Wins a Bride (The Cowboys of Chance Creek) (18 page)

Like staying on the ranch and raising horses. Helping with the guests. She needed time to figure it out.

Jamie ought to know that. He ought to back off and be helpful, not yank this job away from her before she'd even given it a fair shake.

She paused while tightening a strap around Storm. Not that she was giving it a fair shake; not really. She'd been so wrapped up in her other problems she'd barely thought about the trail rides. If Jamie had given up on her, it served her right – she'd shown so little attention to what she was doing. Maybe Rose was right – maybe she was too busy thinking about her own problems to worry about anyone else.

Maybe Jamie would be better off without her. Ethan and Autumn, too.

She had the strangest feeling, just for a moment – as if the ground tilted and was sliding away – all her happiness sliding away with it. Her knees felt weak and she wondered if anyone would notice if she just sat down and put her head in her hands. She held onto Storm's saddle for balance until the dizziness passed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

Did she even want to be an interior designer? Did she really need to beat Daniel before she moved on?

What about that trip she was supposed to take? What about seeing the world?

Another wave of dizziness passed over her. Damn, was she getting sick?

No, this was stress, plain and simple. Everything was going wrong at once. In the past, she'd put her head down and run for the hills every time things like this happened. She wasn't going to do that now.

She needed to concentrate. She needed to take things one step at a time. First she would show Daniel he hadn't crushed her when he took her money and ran. That meant finishing Jamie's house, showing it to Carl and landing the Whitfield contract. Next, she needed to sort out Morgan and send her back to Canada. No matter what Ethan said, she wasn't becoming part of her family.

Last, she needed to make a decision about the rest of her life. When she had time to think it through – away from Jamie and everyone else.

Jamie.

She stroked Storm's neck as she considered the man at the center of all the chaos in her life. Why couldn't he be the man she needed him to be? Why couldn't he be faithful?

Rose said she thought he was ready to be part of a lasting relationship. That he was one hundred percent committed.

Could his proposal possibly be serious?

No, that didn't make sense – it was all part of that practical joke – the face goo, the stupid note, and his proposal in front of all his friends. Even if by some crazy chance he had been serious, it didn't matter.

Jamie didn't have staying power, no matter what Rose said. She had no doubt a wedding with him would be wonderful and the honeymoon spectacular. But the marriage… How long before another woman caught his eye and led him astray? She wouldn't live through that kind of betrayal.

Let everyone think she didn't care enough about Jamie to marry him. She knew the truth.

She cared far too much.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Who's that?" Autumn said. Jamie turned and held his hand up to shade his eyes from the strong morning sunshine. He was collecting the picnic Autumn and Rose had packed them to take along on today's ride. He'd distribute the food and drinks among everyone's saddlebags and warn them not to get into it until noon.

Rob had been more than willing to ride along and spend the evening with them, too, when Jamie asked. He promised he'd hang out at his cabin until midnight, then go to intercept Jamie's would-be lover.

"I'm more than happy to take one for the team," was the way he'd put it when Jamie warned him that the guest who met him there might expect him to put out. Jamie just bet he was, after his long drought.

An unfamiliar car pulled into the drive and parked near the Big House. A woman in her early thirties got out. There was something familiar about her dark hair and strong jaw, but it wasn't until she turned to face them straight on that Jamie realized who it had to be.

"Morgan," Autumn said, echoing his thoughts.

"Yep." He scanned the surroundings, hoping Claire was still in the stable.

Autumn walked down the front porch's steps. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Ethan Cruz." Morgan came to meet them. Dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and cowboy boots, she could have been a local, but Jamie detected a slight accent in her voice. Nothing he could put his finger on, exactly, but enough to set her apart as different.

"I'll go get him." Autumn shot Jamie a look, and went back inside.

"Why don't you have a seat," Jamie said.

"I'm not sure I'm staying long enough for that to be practical," she said and smiled. "Hi, I'm Morgan. I don't know if you've heard of me."

He nodded. "I sure have. Claire gave me an earful last night after she got home."

"Did she tell you what happened? With that guy, Daniel?"

Daniel
. Jamie frowned. "No. What happened?"

The anger in his tone must have made her wary. She looked him up and down. "Who are you, again?"

He stuck his hand out. "I'm Jamie Lassiter. An old friend of the Cruz's and now part-owner of the ranch."

"And you like Claire."

Taken aback, he let his hand drop. "She tell you that?"

Morgan smiled again. "It's plain all over your face, cowboy."

"So what happened with Daniel?"

She moved over to one of the rattan chairs that dotted the wide verandah and sat down. "I'd better not say if she didn't tell you herself. But he's a mean sonofabitch. I think she needs to watch out for him."

Jamie narrowed his eyes, but before he could press her further, the door opened and Autumn came back out onto the porch, followed by Ethan.

Morgan stood up. "Ethan. I'm Claire. I'm…your sister."

* * * * *

"No. Absolutely not," Claire hissed when Ethan cornered her in the stable and told her that Morgan was joining her and Jamie and their guests for the trail ride and picnic today.

"I already told her she could come. Don't make a scene in front of our guests; we've already kept them waiting too long this morning."

"Whose fault is that?"

"Mine. I take full responsibility. But now it's time to get going."

"Why does she have to come with me? Why can't she go with you?"

"Because I'm going with you, too. Now shut up and help me saddle Charlie."

Claire counted to ten before leading Storm out of the stable and leaving her brother behind. Let him saddle his own damn horse, and as far as she was concerned he could entertain their unwelcome half-sister, too. She sure as hell wasn't going to talk to her.

But when she joined the rest of the group milling around on horseback at the front of the Big House, she realized she didn't need to. Jamie was already deep in conversation with the interloper. As she watched, he threw back his head and roared with laughter at something Morgan said.

Rob pulled up Monty beside her and leaned over. "Damn, Claire, seeing your sister is uncanny. She's like you, only pretty." He chuckled and moved away into the center of their female guests. Claire fought the urge to hurl something at his retreating back and wheeled around, waiting for Ethan to appear. She couldn't wait until this farce was over.

Things only got worse from there, however. She found herself stuck at the end of the line while Ethan and Jamie vied for Morgan's attention. Ethan was acting like Morgan was their long lost…well…sister or something, while from the way Jamie couldn't stop talking to her, she figured she didn't have to worry about his unwelcome advances anymore.

Somehow that left her feeling lonelier than ever.

Rob flirted with each and every one of the guests, making his way up and down the line with the ease of many years spent in the saddle. He should take on her job when the week was done. He'd be far more successful at it than she was. No one wanted to talk to her.

Why would they when all she'd done all week was mope? As she rode along, the distance from her troubles was giving her clarity. She had a condo filled with tiles, floor coverings, cabinets and more – far more than she could use for ten log houses. She needed to make some decisions and send the rest back. She needed to get her finances in order.

She needed to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

Her gaze strayed ahead of her to Jamie where he rode easily, chatting and laughing with Morgan, Ethan and Christine, who'd come up behind them. His laughter and good spirits had been a part of her life as she'd grown up on the ranch. His constant presence and his unerring desire to get her attention – and keep it – made it all too easy to discount him as anything special.

But he was special, much as she hated to admit it. Who else could pick out the perfect horse for her when she hadn't ridden in over a decade? Who else worked beside her so easily – never trying to boss her around or second-guess her decisions? Who else put up with her temper and moods?

Jamie had seen the worst of her. She closed her eyes as her cheeks heated. The best of her, too. He knew her in a way no other man did. Should she give him a chance?

No – she'd been ready to give him a chance the night she came to tell him she'd been a fool for years. She'd been on fire that night to get everything out in the open, to tell Jamie she'd finally seen him for the man he was. And he'd been getting it on with Hannah O'Dell.

He was a flirt and cheat. Always would be.

Right?

Rose's words crossed Claire's mind, and this time she considered them more seriously. How had Rose put it? Being a flirt was different than being a cheat.

Was Jamie a cheat?

He hadn't cheated on her when he was with Hannah. She'd given him the cold shoulder for years at that point. Did she really think he'd stay celibate all that time when she certainly hadn't? She'd never given him the barest encouragement – not the slightest hint that she was interested. What right did she have to be angry when he wasn't sitting home alone, waiting for her?

That night, staring in his window while he undressed Hannah, she'd felt just as hurt as when she'd caught her mother and Mack together. But Jamie wasn't married. He was a single man who'd found someone else to be with when she refused him over and over again.

Had Jamie ever cheated? She thought back to the various women he'd dated over the years. All strong, independent types who were just as capable of playing Jamie as of being played by him. Women who wanted a boyfriend to squire them around, but weren't interested in settling down. She couldn’t remember anyone shedding any tears over him.

Jamie liked women, no doubt about that. Was he a flirt?

Yes, definitely.

Was he a two-timer?

Maybe not.

Did Jamie truly want to be with her? Was he husband material?

She narrowed her eyes as Morgan reached over and put her hand on Jamie's arm. Talking as if no one else was around. What the hell did those two find to connect over? Why couldn't he take his gaze off of her?

She decided she needed to find out.

* * * * *

As the trail narrowed, Jamie let Ethan move ahead of him.

"Claire's coming," Ethan said in a low voice as he passed.

Jamie turned to look over his shoulder. Yep, here she came. Probably ready to blast him for fraternizing with the enemy.

"Hi, Claire," Morgan called out.

He hoped Claire would at least nod at her half-sister, but she didn't. She didn't say a word.

"What's up?" Jamie asked her as Morgan fell behind them.

"Just decided to check in. Getting a little sick of eating dust."

"Want me to take the rear for a while?"

"You in a big hurry to get away from me?"

He looked up at her sharp tone. Heck, was Claire a little jealous of the attention he'd been giving to her sister? Morgan was nice, and pretty, but she wasn't Claire – not by a long shot. "Nah, I can stand you for a little while."

He just caught her distress as she turned away. Shit. Usually she could take anything he had to dish out and give it back twice as bad. "Hey, I'm joking. You know I'd spend every minute with you if I could. You're the one keeping us apart, honey."

"I just got dirt in my eye." She straightened her shoulders as if bracing herself to perform an unpleasant duty. "Sorry for yelling last night. I was upset."

"I can see why."

"You don't seem to have any problem talking to her."

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Morgan couldn't hear them. "Why should I? She's not my kin."

"What did she have to say?"

"That she took a week off of her job to come see what happened to her mother. That she still can't believe she's gone, but she'd known something awful must have happened since she never came back. That really she's been mourning her for months."

"She seems pretty cheerful for someone who's in mourning."