*“Least you could do is polish your boots and iron that shirt. Look like you just fell out of bed.” Crease frowned as he inspected Jethro’s outfit.
“Yes, Mom.” His sarcasm was lost on his youngest sibling.
“At least I don’t look like I’ve been dragged through a cactus bush backward.”
Nate snorted in laughter. “You might look pretty, but that don’t help you none with the ladies. From my understanding, you’re as pure as the day you were born.” He ducked a flying fist, and Jethro pushed between the two of them.
“Enough.”
Crease brushed him off. “At least I’m cute.”
“Gee, and that’s worked well for you. Don’t see the ladies lining up to take advantage of your cuteness.”
“Shut up. Better that than the reputation you have in town. Sleeping with anyone who’ll have you.” Crease lifted his finger and flipped him the bird before turning to Jethro. “Take off that shirt and give it to me. You go polish your damned boots while I try and make this look presentable.”
Jethro stripped off and handed over his shirt, then pulled off his boots. He grabbed the boot polish from the cupboard under the laundry sink and made himself comfortable on the front porch.
Nate followed him outside. “So you really like this lawyer?”
“Yeah, I do.” He dipped the brush in the polish and spread it over the dry leather of his boots. “Told you that yesterday, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, guess so.” He leaned on the porch railing and watched. “How do you think she’d fit in here?”
“Getting ahead of yourself, aren’t you?” But the thought had crossed his mind, and he didn’t have an answer. He’d chewed it over last night, almost ready to call and cancel the picnic. He’d never be able to give her the life she had now. That was if the relationship went any further than friends. And he hoped to God it did. He was smitten with Sadie. Problem was, he couldn’t let her know that. Not yet anyway. Jethro didn’t want to scare her away.
When he’d finished polishing his boots to the first shine they’d had in ages, he pulled them on and went back inside, looking for his shirt. Crease stood with it in his hands, checking it from all angles.
“Looks great, thanks. No need to go overboard.” He reached out and grabbed it.
“You’re welcome. Least she won’t think you don’t care about your looks when you’re with her.”
He had a point. “Right. Look, I’m never going to be like the guys she probably dates in Denver, no matter how much we try to make me look good. So I’m not even going to compete. I’m gonna be me. It’s all I know.”
“Probably the wisest choice, considering.” Crease gave him a thoughtful gaze. “But you could always bolster your chances by doing something sweet like talking about poetry or, I don’t know, maybe world events. Last thing you need is her thinking you’re some uneducated cowboy who’s never had your nose in a book.”
Jethro blew out a breath and stared at him. “Crease, listen to me, ’cause I’m only gonna say this once. Just because you have the dubious honor of being named after our Mama’s favorite Regency hero don’t mean we’ve all suddenly been endowed with the ability to talk like Shakespeare. I don’t do poetry, I don’t read the newspaper if I can help it, and I barely have time to watch television.”
“I’m not saying that. Give me a chance here. All I’m trying to get across to you is this—if you can just prove to Miss St. James that we’re not a bunch of no-good cowboys, that you have some skills or credibility, you might have a better chance of getting to second base.”
Annoyance rose in his chest. “Second base. So this is all you think’s going on here? Me getting to second base?” Not that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. He just didn’t want to put it into words and sound needy.
“No, well, I don’t know, maybe.” Crease backed away.
“Sex has nothing to do with it. I like her, a lot. She’s warm and friendly, funny and cute. She’s everything I want in a woman, but I don’t think I’m the guy for her, so I’m going to go with the flow for now. Enjoy the time we get to spend with each other and when she realizes I’m not the right guy for the future, wish her well and enjoy the memories.”
Nate scoffed. “You’re kidding, right? You’re admitting defeat before you start? Fuck that.”
Jethro closed his eyes and tried to grab at the little bit of common sense he had left when it came to his brothers. “Take a good long, hard look at yourselves, at me. What do you see?”
They both looked at each other and shared a silent communication.
“That’s right. Poor, mannerless cowboys. A fuck-all future to offer any girl, or at least a hard one with no promise of it ever getting better. How the heck am I gonna make headway with a woman like Sadie with this kind of proposition?” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I’m being realistic and taking what I can get while I can. Sooner or later, she’s gonna figure out I’m not permanent material and move on. It makes sense, so I’ll enjoy her company while I can.”
Silence met his outburst. Then Crease said, “I still don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit. You work hard. You’ve looked after us for long enough when you should’ve kicked us in the ass outta here.”
Nate snorted. “He can’t kick us out. We own the ranch too.”
“I know that, knucklehead. Don’t mean he has to let us stay here if we’re not pulling our weight. Not like he even has to give us beer money, but he does.”
Nate pushed Crease in the chest, launching him back across the porch. “Stop calling me that.”
Jethro cursed and left them to it. They’d fought all their lives, and he couldn’t see anything changing anytime soon. He grabbed his keys from the nail hammered into the doorframe by the kitchen and headed for his truck. “Try not to kill each other. Better yet, if you’re gonna do that, do it outside so I don’t have to clean blood off the kitchen floor again.”
*
Sadie looked in the mirror, turned, peeked over her shoulder, and groaned. It was too much for a picnic. Last thing she wanted to do was make Jethro feel out of place because she rocked up looking like she’d just finished a photo shoot for Christian Dior’s spring fashion parade.
She had a pair of well-worn jeans in her wardrobe. Paired with a plain white T-shirt, maybe a scarf around her hair, some cute earrings and she’d be set, instead of this label designer playsuit that screamed money and the French Riviera. She stripped off and threw the offending suit at the back of the closet and pulled out the jeans. Once Sadie laced up her white sneakers, all she had to do was quiet her racing heart before he arrived.
The picnic basket sat ready on the table. She’d debated with herself all morning about what to take for lunch. Was he a quiche kind of guy, or would that be too prissy for him? Should she make big, hunky sandwiches with slabs of meat and cheese and pickles? In the end she’d gone with a mix of easy options. He was doing burgers, so a small selection of cheese and cold cuts along with some crusty bread rolls and a bag of peaches was restrained, even for her. But she figured going overboard would only scare Jethro away. It wasn’t that he didn’t have refined tastes like she was used to, but he didn’t have the funds to waste, and she was sensible enough, sensitive enough, to respect that. Her restaurant mention made her cringe. How stupid could she be? She knew better than anyone what his finances were like. The last thing Sadie wanted was for him to think she was showing off how well-heeled she was while he was struggling to hold everything together.
Nobody was promising hearts and forever, but she wanted to get to know the man behind the casual smile that left her stomach in knots before she went back to Denver. Before she followed the rest of her well-designed plan to fruition.
The rumble of his truck sounded in her driveway and Sadie ran to the window and peeked out. She watched him slide from his seat, put his hat on, and saunter to the front door. In his worn jeans, checkered shirt, and boots, he looked every inch the confident cowboy, and her heart pounded. Heat pooled in her stomach. This was so not like her. She’d never reacted to a man like this before and in her mind that screamed danger!
Falling for someone here in Marietta wasn’t on the big whiteboard in her room. The magical wedding and ring didn’t appear on her to-do list until she’d made junior partner in one of the law firms of her choice. At least two or three years down the track, according to her calculations. And falling for a cowboy wasn’t what she’d planned. They were poles apart. Like a square peg in a round hole.
The man she imagined she was going to marry was savvy and smart, climbing the professional ladder just like she was. Keen to make the grade and senior partner before their first child was born. She’d take maternity leave and then go back to work determined to let nothing stand in her way of making full partner, preferably at the same time as her husband. Her future was board meetings and country clubs.
The knock on the door broke her out of her reminiscing. Sadie touched her fingers to her hair, smoothing down the damp curls that ran riot around her face, now flushed with imagination. She breathed in and out a couple of times before opening the door.
“Hi, Jethro.” Her voice sounded far too breathless for her own liking.
He gazed at her from under ridiculously long lashes and smiled, tentatively at first and then an all-out big, toothy grin that made her knees shake.
“Afternoon, Sadie. Don’t you look all summery and pretty?” His voice rolled over her skin like a soft summer breeze, doing nothing to fan the heat she couldn’t control.
“Thank you. Did you want to come in?” She held the door open wider and stepped back, leaving him no choice but to come inside. He took off his hat and stepped over the threshold.
“Sure is pretty in here.” He stood just inside the entry, staring into the living room, looking as though he was too scared to touch anything. The white walls and furnishings made the cottage look as though it’d come out of a home design magazine.
“It’s nice, isn’t it? Layla left quite a lot of her furniture here when she moved in with Tyson. Said she wanted more rustic country furniture for the ranch house. Since her lease hadn’t run out there was no hurry to move it. This suits me, and I appreciated the kindness.” She touched his sleeve. “Meant I didn’t have to bring all my furniture from Denver, which is great because my contract is only for three months unless something comes up. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here.”
A shadow flickered over his eyes, and he swallowed. “Well, best we make good the time we have, then. Should we head off now, do you think?” Jethro ran his fingers around the brim of his hat and looked everywhere but at her face.
He was nervous! Had she said the wrong thing? But it was important to be upfront and truthful with him. She was only here temporarily.
“I’ll get the picnic basket.” Sadie moved past him into the kitchen.
“I’ll take that.” Jethro reached past her and scooped the basket off the counter. “Feels like you’re feeding an army.”
“Not really. I was a little restrained, for me at least. I have this terrible habit of overfeeding people.” She was talking too much, but nerves had taken over and she couldn’t help it. “If it were up to me, I’d have added a cake, maybe a bottle of wine. Probably a pie as well. I can’t seem to help myself once I start.”
He turned and grinned at her. “Hey, I’m not complaining in the least. This cowboy hasn’t had a meal cooked by a pretty woman in years. I’m used to whatever me or the boys can rustle up, you know? We’re pretty basic when it comes to food. I have the feeling I’m going to enjoy whatever you have in here.”
Now she felt bad for restraining herself. “Oh dear, I didn’t think about that. Hang on.” Sadie turned back to the refrigerator and opened the door. She pulled out half a cherry pie and a bottle of wine, which she passed to Jethro. “Take these.” She then opened the cupboard and took out a container of peanut butter cookies she’d made the previous evening. Cooking helped her unwind and freed her mind from the legal jargon she soaked up during the day. It also helped keep the lust-filled dreams down a notch if she went to bed exhausted.
“Hey, didn’t mean for you to go all crazy on me.”
She raised her head and smiled at him, holding the container out as bait. “Are you telling me to put these back in the cupboard? Peanut butter cookies? Fresh baked by me last night.”
His mouth dropped open. “Heck, no. Don’t you dare leave them behind. Nobody makes me cookies. I’d have to be insane to even suggest it.”
Sadie laughed and slid her arm around his. “Let’s go before I add too much. I don’t want to overwhelm you with my secret talents.”
Jethro drove with one hand on the wheel and one out the window. “Thought we’d go and take a look at Miracle Lake. How’s that sound to you?”
“Wonderful. I haven’t had a chance to see much of the local sights at all.”
“Well, we can drive around and find our spot. There’s plenty of places to picnic, but I’ll let you choose, since it was your idea.”
Sadie opted for a quiet spot with trees for shade and grass to spread out the rug. She undid the laces and kicked off her shoes and stepped down to the lake’s edge, her feet sinking into the soft sand. When the water washed over her feet, she sighed, and all the tension of the previous weeks melted away.
“Looks like you chose the right place, then.” His voice floated over her neck, and she turned, grinning like a fool.
“I did. I don’t know what it is about this place, but it’s like all the world’s problems couldn’t follow us here. It’s almost as though we passed over a timeline and we’re in a different world.”
“It does have that effect on you.” He rested his chin on her shoulder, and she leaned back into him, comfortable in his presence. “I don’t come here much, ’cause I don’t have any reason to, but my mom used to bring us here before she died. Said she liked the peaceful feeling she got here.”
“When did you lose her?”
Jethro slid his arms around her waist, and Sadie relaxed even more. “I was nine, just after my birthday. She died of cancer. Didn’t take long for it to ruin our lives, but now I think it was a good thing she didn’t linger. That would’ve been harder for everyone.”
“Still, must’ve been terrible for you boys to lose her when you were so young.”
“It was. We were lucky we had Grandpa. What we put him through. Feel so bad about it now, but we were terrible youngsters. Ran wild for the longest time. Caused him nothing but trouble.”
“But you turned it around, didn’t you? Made your peace with him before he died?”
He sighed, a sound of regret that made her turn around in his arms.
“Yeah, but I don’t think it was enough. He worked himself into an early grave, and all we did was give him a hard time. If we weren’t getting into fights, we were being lazy around the ranch. Hardly did a decent day’s work between us. Simple things like feeding the animals got forgotten because we were busy climbing trees, and during summer break, we’d disappear for weeks at a time, camping down by the river, leaving Grandpa to cope on his own.”
The sadness in his eyes pulled at her. “We all make mistakes, Jethro. At least you know what you have to do now and recognized that before he passed away.”
“Too little too late, if you ask me. But, it is what it is, and I’ll do everything I can to make a success of the ranch. I owe Grandpa that much, and damned if I’m gonna let him down any more than I already have.”
“I’m sure you won’t. According to Layla, you’ve worked hard since he passed away, so I have great hopes that you’ll make a success of the ranch.” She stroked a finger down his jaw and lifted her face to kiss him. His eyes widened as Sadie placed her lips on his, and then he pulled her into his body and deepened the kiss.
“Get a room!” The thump of music almost drowned out the voices coming from the bright red truck that pulled in and parked next to them. Jethro broke the kiss and glared at them, giving them his middle finger to show them exactly what he thought about being interrupted.
“How about something to eat, Jethro?” Sadie broke out of his arms and walked back to their picnic spot.
That had escalated quickly, and boy, did it get the heart racing! She didn’t know if she was embarrassed or relieved that they were interrupted. “Could you start the grill, and I’ll get us something to drink?”
He gave her a smile that made her curse her heated cheeks. She was so readable it was ridiculous. Unless it came to the courtroom. There she was in charge of her emotions. Here, she was floundering with the feelings this man brought out in her.
“Sounds like a good idea. I’m starving.” Jethro started to build a fire while Sadie kept her motions slow and steady as she uncorked the wine, trying to dampen the fire heating up her body.