Lady Jane and the Cowboy (6 page)

By the time he was done
reading, it was late and he was bone weary. But first thing in the morning, he
needed to have a talk with Jane.
A serious one.

Chapter Nine

The phone was ringing. Red
hurried downstairs to answer it, hoping to God nothing was wrong. Honey and
Tony had taken off to California for their honeymoon. He hated it when folks
travelled. That’s how his parents had died, both his and Honey’s, in similar
freak accidents just months apart seven years ago. It just made him all out
nervous.

He reached the phone a
moment before Jane, as she came hurrying downstairs tying her pink silk ankle
length robe around herself, delicate fluffy slippers on her small feet.

He grabbed the receiver.
“Hello?”

“Hello, may I speak
with Lady Jane Sinclair please?” The voice was cultured, male, and very
English.

He held out the
receiver. “It’s for you,
Lady
Jane,”
he said coolly, handing her the phone and stepping away.

Jane stared at him. But
the person on the other end was calling. “Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? Did we
get cut off? I…”

“No, I’m here. This is
Lady Jane Sinclair,” she answered.

Red heard her issue her
full title as he strode up the stairs to his room, and sat on the end of the
bed, staring at the wall. He was a goddamned freaking boy toy to her wasn’t he?
Damn it! He picked up his boots and threw them against the wall. After watching
Honey and Tony yesterday, at their long awaited wedding and reception filled
with family and friends, he’d begun to imagine things. Like his own wedding,
and Jane in her wedding dress. It had made him smile because he knew it would
be something flimsy and pretty just like her. Not the tailored gown that suited
Honey. Then he’d allowed his thoughts to move on to a year or two later,
imagining her pregnant with his baby, a little girl like her, or a boy just
like him. Raising their kids, and kicking the nosey ranch hands back where they
belonged, down to the bunk house with a new full time cook of their own. But it
was all gone, in less than twenty-four hours. His dreams were gone. He picked
up his cell phone and made a couple of calls.

Finally, still hearing
Jane’s excited conversation from downstairs, he tossed aside his robe and
hopped in the shower.

***

Jane threw the door to
Red’s room wide and flew in, throwing herself into his arms.
“Red!
I have the most wonderful news!” she cried, cupping his face. Hoping what she
had seen in his features when he’d handed her the phone had been just a figment
of her imagination, or a cowboy in need of his morning coffee. But when his
eyes met hers, she knew she’d not been mistaken at all. He sat her down on the
edge of the bed. This time there was nothing sensual about his behavior, it was
very methodical and matter-of-fact.

“My house, Red,” she
whispered, hoping to dispel the strange icy atmosphere that had befallen them.
“That was the tax service, the Inland Revenue, they have been reviewing my
record,
they
made a mistake.
A big
one.
I’ve been overpaying for years! I get to keep it…”

“You get to keep
Sinclair Manor, Lady Jane?” he asked coolly.

“Yes,” she nodded.
“Red…I was thinking, hoping that…you and I…” her words faltered at the cold
look in his eyes, and she realized it was twice now, that he’d used her title.

Red shook his head and
her blood froze. “I’ve been thinking too, Jane, or should I say
Lady
Jane? This has all been a big
mistake. It’s time for you to go home.”

“Home, Red? Just like
that?” she asked, tears welling quickly in her eyes.

“Yes.”

She refused to beg or
plead, but she couldn’t help the tears from spilling silently down her cheeks
at this sudden frigid and unexpected turn of events.

“I’ve already arranged
your taxi to the airport, and booked your flight. You need to leave, don’t
you?”

Jane nodded tearfully.
And Red walked purposefully out the door.

Chapter Ten

Honey walked in to the
big ranch house kitchen anticipating a nice chat over a cup of Jane’s favorite
English tea. Jane was like a breath of fresh air here. Everyone loved her.
Including Red, that had been obvious from the start. He’d fallen for her right
away. His reaction at the airport still made her chuckle when she thought about
it, and Tony had roared with laughter when she’d described the scene to him.

The kitchen was empty
and silent. No lingering aromas of cooking. No tea cups set out on the counter,
always at the ready. No sign of Red. What the hell had happened here? A funeral
would be
more lively
. She’d been looking forward to
getting back here, though she’d enjoyed her honeymoon getaway in California,
she was curious how Red and Jane were doing and hoping she’d be helping to plan
their wedding soon. The door slammed shut behind her. A shadow loomed and Red
stalked in.

“Red?” she asked, she
didn’t need to say more.

“She’s gone.”

“But
why?
What did you do?”

“Why the hell are you
assuming it was me…” he roared fiercely.

Honey stared at him, he
sounded like an angry bull. He had shadows under his eyes and he obviously
hadn’t slept much. He was hurting. Tears sprang to her eyes, this was all her
fault! She’d talked him into it and he’d gotten hurt. She’d hoped to help, she
hadn’t wanted him to be alone, but she’d only made everything worse.
“Oh, Red!
I’m so sorry! I really thought she was perfect for
you! She adored you…I just know she did...”

“Listen, Honey,
Lady
Jane, has gone back to her English
manor, so do me a favor and don’t set me up on any more blind dates again.
Ever.
Okay?”

Honey nodded and
swallowed hard. Lady Jane. So he’d figured it all out. Read the profile. But
why the hell did it matter? Jane had been so taken with Red, how could it have
all fallen apart so easily?
Something
had to have happened
.
A misunderstanding?
Some kind of argument?
Red wasn’t always the easiest man in the world, he could be bull-headed at
times but he was also generous, kind and caring. Knowing she was pushing her
luck, still, she had to ask.

“Tell me, Red, please?
I have to know, after all I’m the one responsible for this situation, and I
liked her too. When did she leave?”

“The
day after your wedding.”

“She’s been gone for
two weeks!” Honey exclaimed. “Why didn’t you let me know?”

“On
your honeymoon?”
Red asked, raising one eyebrow in
disbelief, his lips compressed into a firm line.

“Oh, right! But Red, if
there was anything I could have done to smooth things out, I would have, even
on my honeymoon. You know that, don’t you? I love you Red, you’ve always been
so good to me. I just wanted you to be happy.” Honey’s voice broke on a sob.

Red stared at her hard
and sighed. Then took her in his arms and held her close. “It’s okay, kiddo.
You tried to do a good thing. And if it’s any consolation, I actually did fall
for her.”

“Oh,
Red!”
Honey blubbered and soaked his shirt with noisy
tears. The poor guy’s heart had been breaking while she’d been living it up on
her honeymoon. Now she felt even worse. She scrubbed away the tears. She would
fix this, she just had to. “Tell me what happened?”

Red sat down at the
kitchen table while Honey put the kettle on and made them a cup of tea.
Unconsciously fishing out the tea pot Jane had brought and filling it, as Red
picked up his big
Red
mug that Jane
had given him. They stared forlornly at each other.

“The Inland Revenue
called her, they made a mistake on her taxes and she gets to keep her house
after all. She flew home the same day.”

Honey, feeling calmer
now, sipped her tea. “She just walked out on you? Just like that!” She snapped
her fingers, in a dismissive manner.

Red had the grace to
look a little sheepish, “Well, no, not exactly.”

“Precisely how ‘not
exactly’ are we talking here?” she demanded, her suspicions beginning to grow
rapidly.

Red dragged a rough
hand through his hair. “I read the folder, the night of your wedding.”

“It took you that long
to get around to it?” she exclaimed in disbelief.

“I had other things on
my mind,” he answered defensively.

Honey grinned finally,
“Mm-hmm.” Contrary to what Red believed, she was well aware of her cousin’s
raunchy reputation and was relieved to see that he and Jane had hit it off in
that department. “Go on,” she urged.

“I was going to talk to
her about it the next morning…but then, first thing, she got the call, and she
was so excited…” he shrugged.

“Of course she was
excited, Red, she’d just found out the home that had been in her family for
more than five centuries was going to remain hers!”

Red swallowed hard and
rubbed the back of his neck.

“And?”
Honey pressed for more details.

“I bought her a ticket,
called her a cab and sent her home.”

Honey stared at him as
though he’d just grown horns then kicked him soundly in the shin.

“Ouch!” he yelled.
Honey was wearing high heeled boots, with pointed toes. Jane had definitely
left her mark.

“Redstone MacAlistair!
Jane,
Lady
Jane Sinclair, was in love
with you! She wanted to marry you, she wanted to have your babies…though God
only knows why, since you are obviously a complete and utter jackass!” she
bellowed. “The information was all there for you to read in her folder from the
start! You got infuriated and sent her home just because no one mentioned her
title?”

Stunned, Red sat at the
kitchen table clutching his mug and his shin staring blankly at her. Patently
devoid of speech, thought and feeling.

Chapter Eleven

Lily and Camilla
watched as Jane took off for yet another long walk across the moors alone,
they’d offered to go with her but she’d declined. None of them had expected
things to end this way. Redstone was gorgeous, Jane had fallen for him hard and
they’d fully expected to hear that she was planning a wedding very soon.

Jane had returned home
absolutely heartbroken, but she’d gamely tried to celebrate the fact that
Sinclair Manor was still hers, and they’d gone along with her efforts, helping
her to move all of her personal effects back out of storage and air the stuffy
old place out. At least she’d had a home to come back to while she considered
her next option. She’d even received a refund of several thousand pounds on her
excess taxes. It had given her a little time to nurse her wounded heart before
she had to plan her future.

***

Honey had left Red
nursing his aching shin and returned home to think on the situation and ask
Tony’s advice. But Tony had simply rolled his eyes and offered to drop kick Red
across the Atlantic to England. Not a bad idea if all else failed, but to begin
with she needed a more subtle approach. She returned to the ranch the next
morning, packed up a picnic, Jane style, and drove out to find the ranch hands.

They were a far more
subdued bunch than usual, they looked up in anticipation when she drove up, but
appeared slightly disappointed to see that she was alone. Everyone, not just
Red, had apparently fallen for Jane and her sweet nature.

After they’d finished
lunch the ranch hands returned to their chores and Honey laid a hand on Red’s
shoulder. “We need to talk.”

“There’s nothing more
to be said,” Red replied adamantly.

Honey held out a book,
cloaked in a soft pink cover. “Take it,
it’s
Jane’s
journal.”

Red shook his head.
“No.”

“Red, trust me. If you
ever want to know how Jane felt about you. It’s in here.”

“I can’t read her
journal without permission, it wouldn’t be right.”

“You know the old
saying ‘It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission’. And I know you’re not
going to ask permission,” she noted. “These are extreme circumstances. She’ll
forgive you, I am sure of it.”

Still stubborn as a
mule, Red shook his head, and finally in exasperation Honey flipped the book
open. She already knew how Jane felt. Jane had shared her confidences with her
over tea in the afternoons. When she’d discovered the journal this morning
right where Jane had left it, she knew it was the only way to get Red to see
and believe that he needed to go get Jane. His future happiness was at stake
here. Mentally she apologized to Jane for invading her privacy.

“I gave Jane this book
as a welcome gift when she first arrived here, Red. It’s likely that the only
things in here will be about you. So here goes.”