“They say you can take the girl from the ranch, but you can’t take the ranch from the girl.”
Thinking she was alone, startled, Yasmine twisted her upper torso in the saddle, glancing over her shoulder. She smiled when she saw Jake leaning against the corral.
“Oh, hey, Jake. I didn’t see you there,” she said, reining the horse around so that she could face him. “I was just about to put her up for the night.”
As she cantered the horse closer to the fence, he hopped over it and strolled over to meet her. Standing beside the horse, he ran a hand over its mane and smiled up at Yasmine. “Still hard to believe this is the same horse Nate bought a few months ago,” he said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, Holt told me she was all but wild when he bought her. He mentioned that Althea had a lot to do with her transformation,” she said, and allowed him to help her dismount.
“Yeah, she had a lot to do with it. She’s a hell of a woman.”
As she pulled her hand away from his grasp once she was on her feet, he held on a fraction longer than necessary.
She looked up at him, a slight frown on her face, and his smile widened.
“She’s not the only one,” he replied.
For a brief moment, Yasmine was caught off guard by the casual compliment.
“The women on Wilde Ranch, you and Lilly, and now Althea, are all a breed apart,” he finished, and she blushed slightly at the compliment.
“Why, thank you, kind sir. We try our best,” she replied lightly, tipping the brim of an imaginary hat in his direction.
He laughed, tapping the end of her nose. “That’s what I’ve always liked about you, Yas.”
“What’s that?” she asked, glancing up at him.
“Your sense of humor. Among other things,” he said, taking the horse’s reins, guiding her in the direction of the stable.
Again, Yasmine was caught off guard, causing her to stumble.
Jake caught her beneath the elbow, righting her.
With a mumbled thank-you she smiled slightly, when she saw him staring down at her with an odd look on his face.
“I must look a mess,” she said, self-consciously running a hand over her disheveled hair.
She’d been hard at work the entire day.
Truth be told, much of that hard work had been in avoiding Holt, yesterday as well as today. She’d told herself it wasn’t because she was afraid to be alone with him, it was just that she didn’t have anything to say to him.
Yeah, right, her inner voice mocked her.
“No. In fact, you look beautiful,” Jake said, the smile on his face broadening, the appreciation in his eyes as his glance slid over her unmistakable.
At his response, Yasmine paused and looked up at him.
“Thank you, Jake,” she said, suddenly on unsure ground.
“Mind if I walk with you to put her away?”
She forced a smile and nodded her head.
As they walked toward the stable, they chatted lightly, Jake asking how things were going and that he’d heard about her catering the wedding.
“Yeah, that came out of the blue.” She laughed, walking alongside him. “When she asked, well … I couldn’t say no. Nate is like family,” she said softly. “Everyone here is like family.”
“Including me?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“It’s been a long time since you’ve been home, Yasmine. It’s good to know you think of me the same as you do the others.”
Yasmine felt the uneasiness grow but pushed it away. This was Jake. They’d grown up together and he was as close as a brother to her as the Wildes were. Well, as much as Nate and Shilah were, she thought.
“So much has changed around the ranch,” she said, changing the subject. When they passed a large oak tree, a rope around an old tire suspended from one of the thick, overhead branches, she said, “Seems like just yesterday we were all swinging from that old tire,” and they both laughed in memory.
“Yeah, I was trying to get your attention back then, but that didn’t work any more than it has since you came back.”
Although she wasn’t entirely surprised by his admission, she hadn’t known he’d liked her when they were younger.
He smiled down at her once they reached the stall. “Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. “But even then, you only had eyes for Holt. Guess nothing’s changed, huh, Yas?”
From the moment she’d returned home, she’d caught the way Jake looked at her whenever he was near. At first when the thought had come to her mind that he was attracted to her, she’d brushed it away, thinking she was seeing things that weren’t there, that it was simply her imagination, but now she wondered if it were more.
She didn’t know what to say. And neither did she know that anyone, outside of her aunt, knew of her girlhood crush on Holt.
“I—uh …”
He shook his head, the smile dying on his lips. “You don’t have to say anything, Yasmine. I knew your heart belonged to him. And now … well, like I said, guess nothing’s changed.”
When he was set to guide the horse inside, she placed a hand over his, stalling him.
“I never knew. Had I known, well …” She allowed the sentence to dangle, glancing over his face.
Unlike Holt, Jake wasn’t handsome in the traditional sense of the word. His strong aquiline nose, broken sometime in his youth, dominated an angular face. His dark, inky-black hair was cut close to his head. When dampened with sweat, as it was now, the ends curled up, forming curls that covered his head. His mouth was a slashing line, usually somber in looks, unless he smiled. But his eyes … Jake’s eyes were a magnet.
Light green, the lashes surrounding them were inky-black, matching the color of his hair.
Like the brothers, Jake was tall, well over six feet in height, with powerful shoulders that tapered to a lean waist.
As she said to him, had she known, and if she hadn’t fallen for Holt all those years ago …
He placed a finger beneath her chin and raised it so her glance met his. She saw him lower his face and turned her face away enough so that he only kissed her softly on the corner of her mouth.
“Well, there it is,” he said, and in his voice she heard a certain sadness. “Doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, does it? And maybe we can give that old tire another ride. Sound like fun?” he asked, and she grinned, her mood lightening along with his attempt to put her at ease.
“Tonight seems as good a time as any. Give me a minute to put the horse away,” she replied, grinning up at him.
“Why don’t I give you a hand with that? We can get to that swing that much faster.”
“You’re on!”
Just then a sound alerted them that they weren’t alone, and seconds later Holt emerged from around the stable, walking toward them, his stride unhurried.
“Kinda late to be out riding horses, don’t you think, Yas?”
Although he asked her the question, his voice mild, his gaze was directly on Jake. But as he came out of the shadows and withdrew his Stetson, there was nothing mild about the look on his face. His bright blue eyes were blazing with fury beneath the halogen light.
Yasmine took a step back, coming up short when she felt Jake’s hand on her elbow, steadying her.
Holt’s gaze followed the action. A muscle ticked in the corner of his sensual mouth.
“Let her go,” he said, his voice pitched low.
The sound of his voice and his quiet anger startled Yasmine so much she gasped.
“Holt, man, wha—”
“I said let her go, Jake.” His voice was cold, unyielding. “Yasmine and I have some unfinished business to discuss.”
The air around them grew suddenly colder, and Yasmine wrapped her arms around her body in reaction.
Jake moved her to the side and faced Holt.
“I don’t know what your problem is, but we can discuss this civilly or …”
“Or?”
Holt advanced on them and Yasmine snapped out of her momentary daze. She knew, instinctually, that she needed to put as much distance between herself and Jake as she could. Quickly. Walking forward, she placed an arm on Holt’s forearm, feeling the muscles bunch beneath her fingertips.
She turned to Jake, forcing her mouth to stretch into what she hoped was a semblance of a smile. “I’m sorry, Jake. Holt’s right. I completely forgot about our … uh, plans. Maybe we can swing from the branch another time?” she asked, infusing levity into her voice.
Jake stood still, looking from Yasmine to Holt and back again, before nodding his head, his features set. He placed his Stetson back on his head and focused his gaze on Yasmine, a curious look on his face.
“Okay, I’m going to hold you to that,” he said softly, with a corner of his mouth lifting. “I’ll take care of your horse,” he said with a curt nod in Holt’s direction. He took the reins and guided the horse away.
The minute he rounded the corner and they were alone, Yasmine spun around, placing her hands on her hips, and faced off with Holt.
“What in the hell was that all about?”
He took two steps forward until his big body brushed against hers, crowding her so that she was forced to take a step back.
“I don’t know who you think you are, ordering me around like that,” she boldly went on, pushing down the apprehension at the look on his face, his entire demeanor, and continued, one foot tapping against the ground. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you. You think you can ignore me for days at a time and then go all caveman. And if you think a simple kiss gives you the right to—”
Holt grabbed Yasmine by the waist, the air escaping from her mouth in a whoosh when he hauled her close and slanted his mouth over hers, effectively ending her angry tirade.