The Cowboy Lassos a Bride(16)

       
           



       

"I don't know … "

"He's hardly ever in the house, anyway," Jake blustered when it looked  like Mia would decide against it. "He works all day and most nights he's  tinkering in the shop he's got out in one of the barns. Have you ever  seen the stuff he builds?"

She shook her head.

"He can do anything mechanical. Fix anything." It was the first time  Jake could ever remember bragging about his younger brother, but it was  true; Ned was a whiz with gadgets and gears. He kept all the equipment  on the ranch running. Jake didn't know what they'd do without him-it  would cost a fortune to hire a mechanic every time something broke down.  "What kind of rent are you paying at Ethan's place?"

"Five hundred dollars a month."

Jake made a sympathetic face. "Heck, Ned would take three hundred."

"The five hundred includes food, too."

"Ned will provide the food. And sometimes you can eat with Hannah and  me. It'll be fun. In fact, why don't you come by tonight for dinner?  I'll make sure Ned's there, too. Afterward, he can take you to his place  so you can look it over and make up your mind. Six o'clock okay?"

"Okay." Mia nodded, beginning to smile. "Yeah. That sounds great!"





‡

Chapter Eight





Hannah admitted defeat at lunchtime. She'd combed through the ranches in  southern Montana once before and this time she had no better luck  finding a place to board Gladys. Bison ranches had gained in popularity  but there were none close by, and the rest of the ranches weren't  interested in introducing a whole new kind of critter to their herds. A  few places far to the west might take her, but the cost of the  proposition was outlandish. Keeping her at the Double-Bar-K was her best  bet. Hannah closed the browser on her computer and glanced at the  calendar on the wall. She could take thirteen days of Holt's abuse, she  decided, and the thirteen nights of Jake's company would be …  bearable.  As long as he didn't discuss marriage and his outdated ideas about  wives.

She had to stay on top of her emotions, though. Jake was the best lover  she'd ever had, but she didn't know if the torn condom was a fluke or if  he'd done something on purpose. She couldn't be with a man who would  try to force her hand like that. And even if it was an accident-which  she suspected it was-it pointed out all the reasons she shouldn't get  caught up with Jake. She didn't intend to stay with him. Not when they  were at such different places in their lives.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming message. A text from Jake.

Speak of the devil, she thought, reading it. "Plan on two extras for  dinner." A jolt of anger spiked through her at the reminder that Holt  was forcing her to cook dinner for him and Lisa, and that Jake probably  thought it was a fine idea. Two extras-duh. She rolled her eyes, but  figured it was a good thing Holt had let Jake know he and Lisa were  coming to eat with them tonight. Now he'd get home on time and maybe he  could help her with the last-minute details.

And afterward they'd have a serious talk. About the condom, about the  next two weeks, and about how they'd handle a pregnancy if there was  one.

Hannah fought the urge to cry. How had she gotten into this mess?  Twenty-four hours ago the prospect of living with Jake had sounded fun.  Now she was so confused she didn't know where to turn.

It was all Holt's fault.

And now she was supposed to clean up Jake's cabin and cook for the man?

Plus the man's wife. Hannah wondered if Lisa knew about any of Holt's  schemes. She had always wondered why such a smart, lovely woman would  marry such a pain-in-the-ass. What would Lisa say tonight at dinner?  Would anyone tell her what was really going on?

Hannah decided she'd make the upcoming ordeal palatable to herself by  pretending she had voluntarily invited Lisa to dinner. Forget Jake and  forget Holt. Lisa had always been sweet when they'd met up. She had no  problem cooking a meal for a woman like that. The rest of the Mathesons  could go hang themselves, though.

Bella ushered a client out of the examining room-Patty Akins and her  schnauzer, Prince. Once Patty had paid her bill and said her good-byes,  Hannah asked Bella to stay and talk a moment. "I hate to even ask, but  is there any way I can take the afternoon off?" She gave her boss and  friend a sanitized version of the events of the past day. "I told Holt  I'd have him and Lisa to dinner since they've been so great about  letting Gladys stay." She nearly choked on the lie, but it was better  than admitting the truth. Bella would think she was an idiot to allow  Holt to blackmail her.                       
       
           



       

"You really like Jake, don't you?" Bella asked.

Hannah figured she was referring to the blush she could feel heating her  cheeks. She hesitated. "Yes," she conceded, "but it's not as easy as  that."

"Somehow love never is, but you'll figure it out."

"I hope so." She hoped she'd figure out how to last through dinner.

"Why don't you head out right now? Just leave me the rest of the files for this afternoon."

"Thanks! I'll come in early tomorrow to get back on top of it all. I promise."

"Oh, please. You've been working like mad, we both have!" Bella said.  "I, for one, am looking forward to Christmas vacation." She disappeared  into the back and Hannah began to gather her things.

By Christmas vacation she'd know whether or not she was having a baby.  If Jake had his way, she'd be married, too. Reeling under those  thoughts, she headed out the door.

An hour later she set three bags of groceries on the kitchen table in  Jake's cabin and went out for her next load. She'd picked up everything  she needed for a roast chicken dinner. With chicken, mashed potatoes,  gravy, biscuits and a salad, she figured she'd please the pickiest  rancher, and all of those dishes were easy as pie to make, as long as  she got to it right away.

Thank goodness she'd thought to stop at Autumn's house and borrow some  pots and pans, she thought half an hour later. Jake's house was stocked  with the barest of cooking essentials and she'd have been up a creek  without a paddle otherwise. With the chicken in the oven, she turned her  attention to cleaning house. She'd start with the most visible  areas-the kitchen, living room and downstairs bathroom-and work her way  up, leaving Jake's room for last. The thought of cleaning up his  personal things made her cringe. She wasn't some sort of maid, after  all. She didn't want him to get used to this treatment.

As anger grew within her once more, however, Hannah took a couple of  deep breaths. Why was she letting Holt and Jake stir her up like this?  Right now she was reacting to Holt's machinations. She was being his  victim. That wasn't the kind of woman she wanted to be. She had taken  the afternoon off to throw a dinner party, and she was going to revel in  it. No more moping or simmering with anger. She wasn't doing this for  Jake or Holt. She was doing this for Lisa-and herself. She deserved a  beautiful, clean home to live in for the next thirteen days and she  deserved a wonderful home-cooked meal to eat tonight. Her mood somewhat  restored, she got to work.

Along with the groceries, she'd bought a number of different cleaning  supplies, a bucket, mop and scrubbing sponges. She set her iPod to her  most upbeat playlist, snapped on a pair of gloves and got to work. Just  as she'd suspected, Jake already owned a broom and vacuum cleaner. She  piled everything that didn't belong on the first floor on the stairs and  cleaned like a madwoman, telling herself the faster she went, the  better workout she'd get. The mindless tasks weren't as bad as she  expected. Some places needed a better scrubbing than she had time  for-such as the refrigerator, the bathroom tiles and inside the oven-but  when the rooms sparkled, she picked up the load of Jake's belongings  and hauled them up to his room.

Back downstairs, she whipped up a pan of brownies, prepped the biscuit  dough, made the salad, and peeled the potatoes. With her busy schedule  she never took time to make a fancy supper-certainly not since she'd  been staying at the Cruz ranch where Autumn seemed to cook from morning  to night. It was kind of fun as a change of pace. As the afternoon  progressed, she realized that Holt could try to boss her around and Jake  could try to force her hand, but in the end she was the one who decided  whether or not to let them. She'd made a choice to secure a place for  Gladys and she could stand two weeks of Holt's craziness. She'd made a  choice to sleep with Jake and she'd accept the consequences of that  action. If she was pregnant, she'd add a baby to the mix and go to  school anyway. Why not? Other women did and survived.