The Cowboy Wins a Bride (The Cowboys of Chance Creek) (17 page)

"Let's just have her over and talk to her. Get to the bottom of this," Ethan said.

"No."

"It sounds wise to me," Jamie said.

Claire rounded on him. "Who the hell cares what you think? You're not even part of this family."

Ethan looked shocked. "He'll be part of this family pretty soon," he said.

"The hell he will! You can buy your way into part-ownership of this ranch, but you can't buy your way into my family, Jamie Lassiter."

"I'm not buying anything. I'm going to marry you."

"Oh, for God's sake." She strode out the back door and let it slam behind her. Jamie met Ethan's gaze.

"Sorry, buddy. You know I'm on your side," Ethan said.

"Too bad I'm not trying to marry you."

* * * * *

"Usually, I just tear lettuce up into bite-sized chunks," Rose said the following morning.

Claire looked down and realized she'd shredded the leaves beyond recognition. She was helping prepare a picnic lunch while Rose handled breakfast. Autumn had taken her up on her offer and hired Rose and Tracey Richards to take turns helping her with the cooking and cleaning, and somehow both the younger women knew more about preparing food than she seemed to.

She pushed the salad bowl away with a scowl. "Why the hell am I even here? I should be working on the design for Jamie's house – Carl will be back soon." After another sleepless night, the last thing she felt like doing was spending the day in the company of a bunch of catty women. Still, she said she'd do it, and she wasn't one to go back on her word. She got up early and showered, taking care not to look at the bruises Daniel's hand had left on her arm. Although the day was warm, she wore a long-sleeved shirt to cover them. As she walked the few hundred yards to the Big House, she found herself looking over her shoulder. She would never admit to anyone else that Daniel had her spooked, but he hadn't been playing around in the parking lot. She'd scuffled with enough boys in fun when she was a kid to know what that felt like. Daniel had been angry. Truly angry. He'd wanted to hurt her.

He must need more money – why else would he and Edie come back to boring old Montana after a year abroad? They must have really lived the high life if he'd blown his own savings, the business' earnings, plus the money he took from her.

What would he do to her when he realized she was going after Carl with everything she had?

What would he have done yesterday if Morgan hadn't come after him with her baseball bat?

He would have hurt you, that's what.
She shivered, grateful that she hadn't married him.

"How's the design coming?" Rose asked. "I heard about you doing the interior of Jamie's house. Have you been by there lately? The exterior is pretty much done! They'll be ready for you in no time."

Claire bit her lip. She had so many materials and so much furniture on order now that her head was spinning with it all. She kept changing her mind. Just when she thought she'd come up with a fresh and innovative design, Carl's words rang through her head again:
small and predictable
. And each time she went back to the drawing board.

Trouble was, sometimes she'd already placed an order, and lots of things had already arrived. Since she was staying at the bunkhouse these days, and she wanted to look over the materials before showing them to Jamie, she'd decided to have them shipped to her condo in Billings. It had only taken her a day to find a young acquaintance willing to stay for free in her condo for a few weeks and let the delivery men in. She just hoped Carrie didn't have too many parties and piss off her neighbors. The plan had the additional benefit of hiding all her purchases from Jamie. She was afraid he'd freak out when he saw everything that was coming in. As soon as their guests left and she had a chance to look at it all, she'd send back what she didn't need. Hopefully, most of the money would get refunded.

She'd stopped showing the invoices to Jamie long ago, once she began to order two or three or four different sets of materials for each element. He wouldn't understand how hard it had become for her to make up her mind. It wasn't like her – she'd always been decisive when it came to her designs. Her clients loved that about her. When they couldn't make up their own minds she steered them in the right direction – and it always was the right direction.

Until now.

Now she doubted her every move. She needed to place her last few orders, STAT, or Jamie's house wouldn't be done in time to impress Carl when he came home. She had a schedule made for the entire process and it depended on getting started the day after the guests left the ranch.

If she was late, all of it would be for nothing. She hadn't checked her bank account in over a week. It wasn't like she was going to run through six hundred thousand dollars any time soon, but the bills for the materials were adding up fast. She really needed to balance her checkbook.

Soon.

"Claire?" Rose poked her gently. "You still in there? I asked you how the design for Jamie's house is coming."

"Oh. It's fine."

"Don't you love the ring he bought you? Congratulations, by the way. I didn't get a chance to say that at Ethan and Autumn's wedding."

That's right – why hadn't she realized Jamie would have bought the ring from the store Rose worked at? It was the only jewelry store in town. She hesitated just a moment too long. "Thanks."

Rose looked at her. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Well, let me see how it looks." She crossed the kitchen and took Claire's hand. "I love it – it's perfect for you." She gave it a tug. "A little tight, maybe, but we can fix that." She studied Claire's face. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

Claire pulled her hand away. "Why? Your sixth sense telling you my marriage is doomed to fail? You're supposed to be able to tell, right? Not that I believe in that mumbo-jumbo crap."

Rose turned away and got back to work at the other counter. Claire could tell from the set of her shoulders that she'd hurt her feelings, but it was true – she didn't believe in any kind of clairvoyance. Rose had a reputation of getting hunches about whether couples would make it or not. Seeing as how her day job was selling wedding rings, Claire thought it was a good racket.

Still.

"Sorry," she said finally. "I didn't mean to be so blunt about it."

"I don't like it, you know," Rose said. "Everybody assumes it's a game and I get to feel special or something. No one ever thinks what it feels like to me when I sell a ring to a couple and don't get a good feeling about them. I should never have told Rob about it in the first place – I talked about it in confidence once and he's blabbed it all over town. People come right up and ask me now, Claire. It sucks!"

"So you actually get a hunch?" Claire found herself asking.

"Only about couples who really belong together. I'm sure there are plenty of people whose marriages will last that I don't get the hunch about because they're still learning to love each other. Maybe there's something in their past that's holding them back, or maybe there's still some obstacle to overcome. I don't know. It's just some people have this feeling when you see them together. They've found their life partner, you know? Their energy is connected."

Rose was almost pleading with her to understand, and Claire nodded her head. That didn't seem so outlandish. Maybe Rose was good at reading people's intentions. Some couples took their marriage vows so seriously they would simply make their marriage work – come what may. All Rose had to be was a good judge of character.

"So what about me and Jamie?" The words slipped out before she thought them through. "I mean, he's a total player, so we're bound to fail, right?" She forced a laugh. Hell, they weren't even getting married, so who cared what Rose said?

"Jamie's a player? Who has he cheated on?" Rose turned all the way around to face her, the orange she was peeling still in her hand.

"I just mean…all those women he's been with. He's a total flirt."

"Being a flirt is different than cheating," Rose pointed out.

"Whatever. Well – what about us?"

Rose sized her up, then turned away and busied herself cutting up fruit. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? Are we one of those couples? Are we going to be together forever?" She couldn’t believe she was even asking the question.

For a long moment, Rose didn't say anything. Finally she shook her head. Glancing back over her shoulder, she said, "I'm sorry, Claire. I want to say yes, but I can't. When I look at the two of you I see all the energy on Jamie's side. He's there, one hundred percent – just waiting for you. But you're not even close to that. All your energy is…" she trailed off.

"What?" Claire forced herself to ask.

"It's…" Rose's cheeks pinked. "Well…it's all swirling back on itself."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Oh, I shouldn't have said anything. I don't know you very well, and I'm no counselor…"

"Spit it out. You might as well at this point," Claire blazed.

"Well…I think it means that you're so busy thinking about yourself you have no love to give."

Claire gripped the edge of the counter with shaking hands. "You know what, Rose? You're right. You shouldn't have said a god-damned thing."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

What the hell was he going to do about Claire?

Jamie lathered up for his morning shave. Was he chasing a lost cause, or would she come around in time? He had hoped once she got involved with decorating his house and riding with their guests, she'd realize how much fun they could have together, but so far it had been a bust. He couldn't shirk his duties with his guests, but he needed to step up his game, think of something that would remind Claire that he was a man and she was a woman and they belonged together.

He thought back to the night they'd made love under the moon. Only a month ago, but it felt like ancient history. God, she'd been a sight, silver and sleek in the unearthly light. Writhing in his arms, calling out his name…

Best not to dwell on it.

He made short work of the rest of his morning routine and opened the door to head on over to the Big House for breakfast. No one had exactly planned that everyone would eat together – the guests, Ethan and Autumn, Claire and him – it just worked out that way, and it worked well. They were able to talk about the day's plans in an informal setting and the guests got to hear more about the running of the ranch. Today was the last day they'd stay close to home. Tomorrow he and Claire would take the ladies on an overnight ride and camp out on the range.

Ought to be cozy.

Smiling, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the vase on his front porch holding a single red rose. Claire's apology, no doubt. Maybe she felt the time was right for romance, too. His grin widened and he picked it up, finding a note tucked underneath.

Jamie –

Been thinking about you. I want to see you tonight. Meet me at the stable at midnight.

He frowned. Was that Claire's handwriting? It wasn't like he'd ever studied it. He thought back to the notes she'd written on her first set of interior design plans. It was blocky and bold, like hers, but it wasn't a match.

So who had left him a rose? Who wanted to meet him in the stable?

Liz?

Adrienne?

When he was a younger man, he'd have been there with bells on, no matter who it was. Not anymore. Now Claire was within his sights, he wouldn't come within a mile of the barn tonight.

But if he left a client waiting for him at midnight all alone in the stables, would they make some kind of a fuss? Maybe bad mouth the ranch on the internet? He needed this business to succeed.

He tapped his foot until inspiration struck.

He needed a stand in.

Rob. About time the man started making up for the trouble he'd caused.

* * * * *

"If you keep showing up here, we're going to have to put you on the payroll," Claire said to Rob as they saddled up. This morning's ride was a long climb into the hills north of their property to a site with a vista their guests hadn't seen before. The sloping ground and curving track would provide more of a challenge than their previous rides and the longer time spent in the saddle would be a good preparation for their two day trip starting tomorrow.

"Well, Jamie says you're not as keen as he thought you'd be for the job, so maybe I'll be your replacement."

She was still raw from Rose's earlier words and now she felt a stab of wounded pride mixed with regret. Jamie was giving up on her already? She still thought his proposal was a joke – she couldn't believe she'd asked Rose about their chances as a couple – but it hurt her to think that he was already looking for her replacement as a business partner. Couldn't he give her a little time? Once she'd finished his house and secured Carl Whitfield's contract she'd be able to clear her head and make decisions more rationally. With Morgan's arrival, Daniel's attack and packages arriving at her Billings condo on a daily basis, she didn't have time to choose her path for the rest of her life right now. Maybe once she'd showed Daniel she'd always beat him at interior design she'd be ready to try something else.