The Bridal Path: Sara (20 page)

He dialed the phone number for the motel where Trent had planned to spend his first night on the road.

The operator had barely put through the call, when Trent grabbed the phone, sounding thoroughly alert. That ability to come awake in a heartbeat was a trait Jake had long admired in him. It had been honed through years of middle-of-the-night calls to deal with ranch crises.

“Jake, is that you?” Trent demanded.

His certainty about the identity of the caller proved what Jake had suspected. He’d given his itinerary to no one else, not even Annie. No doubt he’d feared she would only pass it on to his daughters.

“Sorry to call so late,” Jake said.

“Is something wrong?”

“I suppose that depends on your point of view.” He took a deep breath, then described the bet he’d made weeks ago with Sara. “I couldn’t see any way to say no to her. I swear I never thought she’d go through with it, but we’re just a couple of days away from getting into that ring and she’s as adamant as ever. The only thing I could think of to do was to fill you in. Maybe you can stop her.”

“Oh, I’ll stop her all right,” Trent said fiercely. “And then, I’ll break your damned neck.”

“I was figuring on that, too,” Jake said.

“I was so sure you could tame her,” Trent said wearily.

“I don’t think taming Sara is in the cards,” Jake retorted. “And, frankly, I think any man who’d want to would be a fool.”

“I see.”

There was an amused note in Trent’s voice that Jake didn’t waste time questioning. “By the way,” he told his former boss, “Ashley’s here. They’re circling the wagons.”

Despite his obvious fury, Trent chuckled at that. “Maybe I won’t need to break your neck, after all. With those three teamed up against you, you’ve got all the trouble you need.”

“Don’t forget Annie. My meals have been ice-cold and tasteless ever since we signed those papers at the bank.” Pure mischief made him add, “I think maybe you ought to take her with you to Arizona when you head back that way. She seems to be missing your sorry hide.”

“Forget about meddling in my life, son,” Trent warned. “Besides, it seems to me like you’ve got enough to do to rescue your own hide from certain disaster.”

“You’re probably right about that. I can expect you back tomorrow, then?”

“Let me give this some serious thought,” he said. “Sara won’t be happy that you’ve drawn me into this. Have you considered that?”

“Oh, I’d say that’s a dead-on certainty,” Jake agreed. “But she can be mad as hell at me, as long as she’s safe. That’s all that matters.”

“Jake?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe you should stop being a bloody fool and just tell the woman you love her. Seems to me as if that would solve everybody’s problem once and for all. Marry her and Three-Stars would belong to the both of you.”

Jake swallowed hard as he absorbed the direct hit. “What makes you think I love her?”

“A blind man could read the signals you’re giving off,” Trent said dryly. “But if you’re not ready to own up to it, I suppose there’s nothing I can say to make you. Don’t wait too long to tell her, though. You could lose her.”

Jake really didn’t want to get into an analysis of his tumultuous emotions just then and especially not with Trent Wilde. “Just get back here, okay?”

“I told you I’d think about it, didn’t I?” Trent grumbled. “Give me a chance.”

“Don’t think too long or you may not find your daughter in one piece.”

“You sure you’re not just scared she’s going to beat you and humiliate you?”

“Call Zeke Laramie,” Jake suggested. “She’s so bad he wanted to call off the lessons. She wouldn’t let him.”

“My God,” Trent murmured.

“Prayers may help,” Jake retorted. “But your presence would be better. The women of Arizona can wait a few more days.” He paused, then added, “Trent, I wouldn’t be asking, if I could think of any other way.”

“I’ll be on the road first thing in the morning,” he promised finally.

Only when he had that commitment did Jake finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The moment didn’t last, though. When Sara discovered what he’d done, there was most assuredly going to be hell to pay.

Chapter Fourteen

J
ake had been so certain that his call to Trent would take care of everything. But when his former boss hadn’t shown up the next day or the next, he’d grown increasingly frustrated.

How could Trent turn his back on everything that was going on in Riverton? Was he so irresponsible, after all, so uncaring that he was willing to let his daughter risk her neck? Was it going to be up to Jake to devise some way to force an end to the contest? He couldn’t think of a single way to do it aside from just walking away and forfeiting his claim to the ranch. He doubted Sara would accept that kind of victory.

As the last minutes before the contest ticked by, Jake was torn between fury and panic. Ashley and Dani had gathered at Zeke’s. The two of them were shooting daggers at him, even as they tried to bolster Sara’s spirits.

To his amazement, Sara looked utterly calm and serene. Only once had she met his gaze directly. Her eyes were clouded with hurt, but her determined expression never wavered.

Jake couldn’t believe that the whole thing had gotten to this point. A brilliant May sun was taking the lingering chill out of the spring afternoon, but his heart was icy with dread.

Without Trent’s intervention, it was increasingly evident that he was going to have to either allow the contest to go forward or put a stop to it himself. Neither choice appealed to him. One way or the other Sara would be hurt, either physically or emotionally and he would be the cause of it. That would be the end of the bond between them and he’d grown increasingly reluctant to have that happen.

Watching Sara grimly preparing for this outlandish contest over the past weeks had increased his admiration for her tenfold. Even though he’d sneaked over to Zeke’s more than once to watch her practice, he was facing the prospect of standing back and watching her climb onto that ill-tempered bronc today with a mix of respect and terror. How the hell was he supposed to live with himself if something went wrong?

He could tell himself from now until doomsday that this whole thing had been her idea, but he was the one who’d gone along with it. Anyone who was tempted to declare men the superior, smarter sex only had to look at him for proof otherwise. His brain had apparently turned to mush the second Sara had offered her ill-conceived challenge.

The smart, courageous thing to do would be to call the whole blasted thing off before she got her pretty little neck broken, but sometime in the past few weeks she’d gotten under his skin. He respected her for fighting so fiercely for what she wanted. No, if he were to be entirely truthful, it ran deeper than that. He was in love with her, whatever the dickens that meant.

At some point, he’d concluded that he wanted to win this contest in the worst way, not just to hang on to the ranch, but because he figured there was no way in hell he could convince a woman like Sara to marry him otherwise.

The crazy, impetuous idea of marrying her had begun to intrigue him the instant the spontaneous words were uttered. He’d been embellishing on it ever since, dreaming of just how hot and steamy and inventive sex would be with a woman of such deep and abiding passion. If she loved her ranch enough to risk her life to claim it, what would she give to the man who captured her heart? In her arms, he’d discovered that she was every bit as generous with her body as she was with her opinions.

During their long, lazy talks and frequent arguments, Jake had discovered that Sara touched his soul in some deep and elemental way that he’d never expected. Good sense told him it would never turn out the way it did in fairy tales. There could be no happily ever after for the two of them, but for the first time in his life he wanted to try.

That meant letting the contest go forward, giving her the chance she wanted so desperately to succeed, and then ultimately claiming her and the ranch as his prize. If he stopped it now, she would never accept his proposal. Even if she trusted his motives in asking, which he doubted, her pride would prevent her from saying yes.

“Who’s up first?” Zeke Laramie inquired, forcing the issue.

“I am,” Jake said at once, his decision made.

Perhaps if his own ride lasted long enough and was commanding enough, Sara could be persuaded to concede defeat without ever exiting the chute.

Zeke had talked an independent judge into driving over from Cheyenne for the contest, assuming there was any question at all about the winner. Perhaps his rating of Jake’s ride would intimidate her. Judging from her contrary expression, however, it didn’t seem likely.

“Whatever happened to ladies first?” she demanded.

Her belligerent tone amused him despite his gut-deep fear for her safety. “Afraid your nerves will take a beating watching me?” he countered.

“Not likely.”

“Then indulge me,” he said.

She looked him straight in the eye with that unblinking gaze he found both disconcerting and stirring. “I won’t change my mind,” she said softly.

Jake sighed. “Never thought you would,” he lied.

His ride was picture-perfect, a replica of the demanding contest which had earned him his last championship title. The horse he’d drawn had been powerful, kicking with a ferocity that rattled his bones. Staying with him had been a challenge even to someone with his expert skills.

There was no doubt in his mind that the ride had been impressive enough to wither the hopes of many a true rodeo competitor. He could only pray it had been enough to dissuade a determined amateur like Sara, who had so much more than mere money at stake.

He glanced her way, but before he could assess his ride’s effect on her nerves, a shotgun blast cut through the cheers of the handful of people who’d watched him perform. Heads swiveled in the direction of the sound.

Jake’s gaze was fixed on Sara. He saw the color wash out of her complexion, watched as her shoulders unexpectedly sagged with defeat. Even before she uttered a word, he knew who had caused that reaction and it wasn’t him.

“Daddy,” she whispered in a choked voice.

Jake turned slowly to face Trent Wilde. Talk about cutting it close. The man’s timing was off by days. Another few seconds and he’d have been too late.

“What the bloody hell is going on?” Trent demanded as if Jake hadn’t already filled him in on every detail. He scowled first at Ashley, then at Dani, who was pale as a ghost, but who returned his glare unflinchingly. She slipped her arm reassuringly around Sara’s waist.

“Ashley, darlin’, I’m not surprised that you don’t have the sense God gave a chicken,” Trent said. “New York’ll do that to a person. But Danielle, I thought you had more sense than to let your sister do something this crazy.”

Shoulders squared, Dani drew herself up to her full five foot eight. “Sara’s a grown woman,” she retorted, returning her father’s gaze evenly. “Since you didn’t give a thought to her when you made your deal, I think she has a right to fight for what she wants.”

“Way to go, sis,” Ashley chimed in. She scowled at her father. “I thought you’d be sunning yourself down in Arizona by now, spending all that money you got by selling off our heritage.”

Trent winced at that. “I’d be there if I hadn’t gotten wind of this craziness.”

“Who told you?” Sara demanded.

Jake held his breath as he awaited Trent’s answer.

“What does that matter?” Trent asked evasively. “I found out and I’m here to stop it before it goes any further.”

He leveled a look straight at Sara that would have had a lesser person quaking in their boots. Sara didn’t even bat an eye, which earned another measure of Jake’s admiration, even as he rued her contrariness.

“Go on home, girl,” Trent ordered, undaunted by Sara’s expression. “A piece of land isn’t worth your life. If you want a ranch so bad, I’ll buy you one, something a little smaller and more manageable, something suitable for a lady.”

Jake practically groaned aloud at Trent’s ill-chosen words. He could tell from the fire in Sara’s eyes that the sexist remark had merely fueled her already raging anger. She looked as if she wanted to explode, but she merely met her father’s gaze with the same kind of serenity and conviction that had been shaking Jake to his core for weeks now.

“I don’t want just any ranch,” she declared flatly. “I want the one I grew up on, the one that belonged to my father and his father before him. Maybe you don’t care about all that history, but I do.”

In a last burst of defiance, her gaze clashed with Trent’s. “I won’t go, Daddy. There’s too much at stake. I’m going to ride.”

“Not damned likely!” her father bellowed. “Now get on home, girl.” He turned his fury on Jake. “What the hell were you thinking of, Dawson? When I sold Three-Stars to you, I thought I could trust you to keep an eye on things.”

“Things?” Sara repeated in an icy tone. “Am I one of those
things
he was supposed to be keeping an eye on?”

Trent ignored her outburst. His gaze never left Jake’s face. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Better men than I have had their brains addled by a pretty woman,” Jake declared, his gaze catching Sara’s and lingering until she blushed.

Trent was an observant man. He clearly caught the looks passing between Jake and his daughter and put his own spin on them.

“Well, hell, son, if you wanted to marry her, why didn’t you just ask?” he inquired, causing a charged hush to fall over the small gathering. “I’d have given my consent.”

Jake winced at the public pronouncement of the same notion Trent had expressed to him days earlier in private.

The blithe comment infuriated Sara as nothing else in Jake’s memory ever had. Hands on hips, she stepped squarely in front of her father. The chill in her expression could have frozen beef. For once, Trent did look a little shaken by the tempest he’d stirred up, but he was not the kind of man to ever back down from a fight.

“Would you have thrown me in with the deal for the ranch?” Sara inquired bitterly. “Maybe given him a cut rate for taking me off your hands?”