The Cowboy Lassos a Bride(10)

"You're moving? Where?" Autumn turned to her, disappointment in her eyes.

Hannah loved her for it. Autumn was the consummate hostess. She seemed  to thrive on feeding and housing people. Still, she'd have plenty of  people to house and feed a week or so from now. "Jake has a spare room."  She hoped her offhand tone would fool Autumn, but she felt her cheeks  warm and Autumn's mouth quirked.

"That sounds …  cozy."

Fila said nothing, but when Hannah met her gaze she saw right away the relief in the young woman's eyes.

Mia stared at the floor. "Maybe I should look for another place, too."

"No, you shouldn't," Autumn said firmly. "You two can share the spare  room in the bunkhouse for now. Then you'll both move back into your  separate rooms in the Big House until spring. Once Cab and Rose get  their house built, their cabin will be available, too. I had already  planned on the two of you taking it over this spring. You can stay there  as long as you want. I know it might be a little awkward at times until  then, but we'll make it work. I promise."

Hannah was glad Autumn insisted the other two stay. Both Fila and Mia  were young and in circumstances that would make it difficult to make  their own way in the world. They needed someone like Autumn to look  after them. She'd be fine at Jake's for the time being. After her  fourteen days she'd find an apartment in town.                       
       
           



       

"Jake's pretty handsome. I always thought he was the best-looking of the Mathesons," Autumn said to her.

"Don't let Ethan hear you talking like that," Hannah said. Even if it was true.

"Well, anyway, I'll miss having you here, Hannah."

"Thanks." As soon as she could, she retreated to her room to pack. And plan. Fourteen nights with Jake. Maybe more.

You're jumping the gun, she told herself. There's no guarantee Jake  wants to sleep with you. But she wasn't naïve enough to believe he'd  offered her his spare room out of the goodness of his heart. She had no  doubt she could climb into his bed tonight.

But would she be able to leave it when her two weeks were up?

"Still single?" Holt queried when Jake stopped at his parents' house on  the way home. He, Ned, Luke and Rob had cell phones and used them  frequently to stay up-to-date with each other and ranch matters, but  Holt refused to get with the twenty-first century, which meant a nightly  check-in was in order, or his father would be banging on his door at  four in the morning with a list of the day's chores.

"Yep. But not for long. Hannah Ashton is moving in tonight."

"Hannah Ashton? Weren't there any other single women at that shindig you went to?"

"Yes, there were." But why did Holt want to know? Didn't he like Hannah?  Did his prejudice against her bison extend to the woman herself?

"Who?"

"You want a list?"

"Yep." Holt waited, ramrod straight in the door that separated the kitchen from the living room.

Jake sighed. He knew his father well enough to understand that the  sooner he answered the question, the sooner this conversation could be  over.

"Mia Start and Fila Sahar."

"Humph. And you couldn't land either of them." It wasn't a question; it was a statement of Holt's disdain.

"I didn't want to. Good-night." Jake left before Holt could incite him  into an argument. He got back into his truck and drove the rest of the  way to his cabin seething with anger. Couldn't his father approve of  anything he did? For once he'd like Holt to react with pride rather than  his usual snide remarks, but that would be hoping for too much,  wouldn't it?

Jake knew his father hadn't had it easy when he was growing up. For all  their joking around about Holt's father earlier in the night, the truth  was the old man had been quicker to criticize or raise a fist than Holt  had ever been. Jake knew his father loved all his children and doted on  his wife, but he often had a strange way of showing it. Praise from his  father was as rare as a two-headed snake, and often just as disturbing.

Well, it didn't matter what Holt thought. He hadn't specified which  woman he needed to marry as long as he married someone, and Hannah  Ashton was the only woman who interested him. As soon as they were  hitched she'd take that curiosity of hers and apply it to the ranch in  general. No telling what she'd come up with. He hoped she'd be a little  like Autumn or his mother-a whiz in the kitchen. He, unfortunately, was  not. He could picture them sitting across the breakfast table from each  other, eating a real ranch meal instead of the cold cereal he shoveled  into his mouth these days, and talking about the day ahead. Some chores  they'd do together, like riding fences or helping with the hay harvest.  Other chores they'd do on their own, him in the barn and her in the  house. Their children, when they had them, would have both parents close  by on the ranch-not like those city kids who didn't see their folks  from early morning to late at night. When Holt finally relinquished  control over everything, Hannah would support his experiments with new  ranching techniques. She'd help him research and plan and carry out  trials. Maybe they could even publish their findings. He hoped Bella  would be able to find a replacement receptionist without too much  trouble.

Within the month.

He wondered if he should give Bella some kind of heads' up, but decided against it after a little thought.

Time enough for that after his ring was on Hannah's finger.





‡

Chapter Five





It was well past midnight when Hannah turned in the lane to the  Double-Bar-K. She passed the main house first, where Holt and Lisa lived  and the boys had grown up, then drove another quarter mile to the  cabins the Mathesons had built when their sons reached maturity. Jake's  came first, tucked off beside the lane flanked by two tall pine trees.  With its wide front porch and generous proportions it didn't seem  diminutive to her, but she knew the Mathesons regarded the cabins as  such and had heard from Morgan that they were built with an eye to  adding on in the future.                       
       
           



       

She pulled up and parked in front of Jake's place, but once she switched off the engine she found she couldn't open the door.

What was she doing here? Did she really think she could sleep with Jake  for two weeks and then just leave? She'd never entered a relationship  before without the hope that it could turn into a permanent one. Now she  was starting something with a definite expiration date. She wasn't even  sure that was possible.

It would be over a month until she could move back to the Cruz ranch, so  she needed a plan for what to do when her fourteen days with Jake were  up. She'd better start hunting for a cheap apartment tomorrow. Maybe she  could handle a fourteen day romp under the covers with Jake. Maybe  they'd spin it out over the holidays and into January, but then it would  have to stop. Not only was she taking on a full-time course load next  semester, she also planned to work. The commute to and from Billings  would eat up more time, and to top it off she'd have to move to Colorado  this fall. There were no closer vet programs.

Besides, she knew herself too well. She was already half stuck on Jake.  If she got all tangled up with him, how could she concentrate on the  years of school that loomed in front of her? All in all, this was a very  bad idea.

Maybe the nights with Jake should remain chaste, after all. But how?  Could she claim she had nightmares so bad she needed company to stave  them off? Would Jake buy that?

"Hannah? You coming in?"

Hannah jumped at Jake's sudden appearance at her window. His voice was  muffled by the glass between them, but his words were clear enough.

And so was the stab of pure lust she felt at the sight of him so close by.

Was she coming in? She thought of Gladys safe and sound for the rest of  her shaggy life. She thought of sharing a cramped bedroom in the  bunkhouse with Mia and Fila for a month.

She thought of fourteen nights with Jake.

Hell, yes. She was coming in.

When Jake held the front door open and let Hannah pass through it he  felt a shiver of anticipation run the length of his spine. When she  stopped inside the doorway to take in the small living room, dining room  and kitchen that formed the main floor, her proximity made his groin  tighten.

She wanted him. So badly she'd jumped at the chance to move right in.  They were hours-or maybe minutes-from their first sexual encounter and  his blood was running hot. He'd waited a hell of a long time for this  moment. Hannah was lithe and pretty and smart to boot. She shared his  love for animals and she worked hard. She'd be a hell of a lover and  would make one heck of a wife. The thought of carrying her in her  wedding dress over this threshold one day soon filled him with  anticipation and a sense of rightness. This was the woman he was meant  to share his life with.