Synopsis | Reviews | Excerpt
Eve Gaddy delights her fans with a classic "secret baby” story . . .
A bittersweet reunion. A second chance at happiness.
The daughter who may never forgive them both.
Sixteen years ago, rodeo hungry Jake Rollins left Happy, Texas and love behind. What he didn’t know was that he’d left his unborn daughter behind as well. After a chance meeting with young Leigh, he can’t shake his suspicions and arrives in Happy, determined to find the truth and correct the worst mistake of his life.
Widow Anna Connor has no more reason to trust champion bronc rider Jake Rollins when he blows back into town than when he’d broken her heart sixteen years ago, leaving her devastated and pregnant. She’d picked up the pieces of her life and found a good man, a man she eventually loved, to help her raise her baby. She doesn’t owe Jake anything. She shouldn’t care at all . . . except the sexiest cowboy she’s ever known is unfinished business for her heart and the father of her child. Like it or not, the time has come to introduce Jake Rollins to the daughter he’s never known.
Can they navigate the rocky road of redemption and find a way into each other’s hearts? Can they forge a real family, or will they have to put their daughter’s feelings first if she rejects the father she never knew?
"…fans of cowboy romances will appreciate how Gaddy brings to life enjoyable characters with a country flair." -- Julie Johnson, Book Tribe
Chapter One
RUMOR HIT town before he did.
The theories about why Jake
Rollins had returned to Happy, Texas, ran every bit as wild as he had. Some
claimed he’d come back to finally make peace with his father, Wes Rollins. They
swore he was back to stay, and he planned to take over running the Rollins
ranch. Others discounted that idea, since Jake had never been one for cattle
ranching. No, if he was there to stay, they figured, it would be to raise
horses. He’d always had a thing for horses.
But most folks believed he’d only come
back for a visit—about time, too—and had no intention of sticking around. After
all, what could a man like Jake find to keep him in Happy?
To tell the truth, nobody really knew,
but every last one of them had a theory.
Except, that is, Anna Leigh Connor.
Anna didn’t know and didn’t care what had brought him back. She just thanked
God she’d had a warning before she walked smack into a past she’d never thought
to see again.
Jake Rollins. The man who’d given her
her greatest heartache. And her greatest joy.
Still, she admitted to curiosity. What
would Jake look like after all this time? He couldn’t possibly be as sinfully
good-looking as he’d been at age twenty. Surely that dark-blond hair had dulled
to a lackluster brown, those knock-’em-dead-blue eyes had faded to a boring
shade, without a wicked gleam in them.
And if there truly was a God, that
sinewy plane of hard-muscled belly had been replaced by a paunch. His face
would reveal every line of dissipation, his body every excess he’d committed in
the sixteen years of wild living he’d no doubt indulged in since he left home.
Anna devoutly hoped he felt—and showed—every bit of it.
Fortunately, she didn’t see any
unfamiliar vehicles parked outside the Hitching Post, Happy’s one convenience
store and home to much of the ever present gossip. Having forgotten her coat,
as usual, she dashed inside with gritted teeth. Right now the grouping of dingy
white Formica-topped tables and orange plastic chairs near the entrance stood
empty, waiting for another group of folks to gather to drink coffee, talk, and
pass the time.
A reprieve, Anna thought as she headed
for the refrigerated units at the back of the small wooden building, but she
had a feeling the calm wouldn’t last long. She would run into Jake sooner or
later. Though never would suit her just fine.
Becky Swenson’s voice, bursting with
news, drowned out the tinny sound of country music issuing from the battered
boom box behind the counter. The decor suited the place, with various cattle
brands from the area’s ranches adorning the beige walls, along with a few
Western landscape pictures.
As Becky talked, Anna grabbed a carton
of skim milk, a loaf of bread, a couple rolls of toilet paper, and stuffed a
box of chocolate sandwich cookies—Leigh’s favorite—under her arm before
carrying them to the counter.
"Wes came in here day before
yesterday,” Becky said, patting a hand over her mousy brown curls, "and I
swear, I’d as soon try to get words from a dying frog as him. But—” she paused
significantly before continuing "—he did admit that Jake is back in town.”
"He did?” Anna asked, curious in spite
of herself. Somehow the picture of crusty Wes Rollins gossiping with Becky
Swenson wouldn’t quite come clear. He usually didn’t even drink coffee with the
rest of the men, though he did show up from time to time.
"Well, he grunted when I asked him, and
he bought an extra gallon of milk. Jake used to drink a lot of milk, didn’t
he?”
Anna doubted milk was his favorite
drink now, but she let the question ride. She had no desire to get into a
speculative discussion about Jake Rollins’s interests. Especially since she’d
once been one of them. She’d bet Becky, who’d gone to school with them both,
and had known her since they were all in diapers, remembered that nearly as
well as Anna did.
"And speaking of good-looking devils,”
Becky continued, her voice turning sticky-bun sweet. "Look who just walked in.
Why if it isn’t Jake Rollins, as I live and breathe.”
Half suspecting Becky of pulling her
leg, Anna turned around. Shock hit her in the chest like the kick of a horse,
as chill and bitter as the winter wind that whistled through the open doorway.
She couldn’t breathe. Her head whirled, her stomach plunged. For an endless
moment she could do no more than stare at the man filling the doorway.
Life, she thought, sucking in air
again, was terrifically unfair. He didn’t look dissipated at all. Older,
mature, not a boy any longer, but a man. And oh, Lord, what a man. Same
dark-blond hair, same sky-blue eyes, same lady-killer dimple winking in one
lean cheek. Six feet plus of pure, hard male. A white T-shirt, visible beneath
his black leather jacket, stretched across his muscled chest and flat abdomen.
So much for the paunch he deserved, she thought. Faded denim hugged his long
legs just tightly enough to inspire wicked fantasies. Some picture. Enough to
make a strong woman’s knees buckle and give a weak one a heart attack.
He nodded at Becky, but his eyes were
for her. "Anna Leigh,” he said, in that midnight-sinful voice she remembered
all too well.
Had nothing changed about the blasted
man? "Anna Connor,” she corrected, and met his devilish gaze with a bland look
of her own.
He grinned at her, acknowledging the
pointed remark, but he didn’t look away. No, he looked her over like he had all
day and then some, and like he for darn sure approved of the view.
A tingle of sensual awareness started
in her belly and spread. She cursed herself and swore she wouldn’t let him
affect her, wouldn’t let him get to her. But it was too late, he already had.
Along with the undeniable attraction, and just as unwelcome, a finger of fear
shivered through her.
She turned back to Becky and said
sharply, "Would you mind ringing this stuff up, Becky, or are you going to
stand there gawking for the next half hour?” She couldn’t really blame her
friend. If he hadn’t been the last man on earth she wanted to see, she’d have
been gawking, too.
Obviously shocked by her curtness,
Becky stared at her with rounded eyes. "Well, sure, Anna. I didn’t know you
were in such a hurry.” She sniffed, and Anna knew Becky would give her the cold
shoulder for at least a week. She’d endure an ice age, though, if she could
just get out of there and away from Jake.
"Where do you keep the picture?” he
asked her, lounging against the counter while Becky rang each item up as slowly
as an armadillo crossed the road.
Sixteen years since Anna had seen him,
and he still surprised her. That wasn’t the sort of question she’d have
expected him to ask her. "What picture?”
"The one that ages while you never do.”
She cast him a withering glare—one that
had made other men pale. "Still have that charm, I see. Don’t bother wasting it
on me, cowboy.”
He smiled, a slow, wicked smile
guaranteed to make a woman melt. Well, dammit, not her. She had dry ice in her
veins when it came to him.
"Charm is never wasted on a beautiful
woman. How have you been, Anna?”
Becky’s eyelids had stretched so wide
by now that it was a wonder her eyeballs didn’t fall out of her head. She
ignored both Becky and Jake, hoping if she didn’t respond he’d go away.
He didn’t.
"I’d have known you anywhere. It’s
downright spooky how much you still look like the eighteen-year-old girl—”
"Don’t bother, Jake,” she interrupted.
"As you ought to know, I’m not eighteen anymore. I grew up. Did you?”
"Tongue’s sharper,” he noted
appreciatively.
"Eyes are open.” Thank God, Becky had
finished totaling up her purchases. She slapped her money down and held out her
hand, palm up, aware of Jake’s knowing smile and Becky’s goggling eyes. Thankfully
closing her fingers around the change, she said, "This has been fascinating,
Jake, don’t think it hasn’t. But I have business to attend to.”
He stepped to the door with her. "I’ll
walk out with you.”
"No, you won’t.”
Disregarding her order, he held the
door for her and walked with her to her ancient pickup. Once a bright, cheery
red, the relentless Texas sun had baked it to a muddy rust, and Anna gave
thanks for each day that passed without her having to replace another part.
Her palm itched to smack the dimple
right off his cheek. She quelled the urge, rather than give him the
satisfaction of knowing he’d provoked her. Flipping a strand of long blond hair
back from her face, she said, "Why don’t you do what you do best and get lost?”
"Guess this means you haven’t forgiven
me.”
"Sharp as a barb on a wire. What was
your first clue?”
He laughed. "Oh, I don’t know. Might
have been some of those killer glares you’ve been aiming my way.”
She didn’t answer but stalked toward
her truck.
Laying a hand on her arm, Jake stopped
her. "Come on, Anna, sixteen years is a long time to nurse a grudge.”
She froze, willing herself to feel
nothing, willing herself to ignore the jolting current that sizzled up her arm
and through her bloodstream from that simple contact. Dammit, it wasn’t fair
that he could still affect her with a casual touch.
"I’d have to care to hold a grudge,”
she said, slicing him with a sharp glance. "And I don’t. Now get your hand off
my arm.”
Instead, he slid his fingers down to
feel the wildly galloping pulse at her wrist.
"You want to keep those fingers intact,
you’d best move them,” she said, damning him for evoking a reaction from her.
And not just any reaction. Dislike, disgust, a response like that would have
been fine. But no, even after what he’d done, he could still make her pulse
race with excitement and pleasure, like a filly’s at the starting gate.
He dropped her wrist and gave her a
rueful smile. "Damn, Anna, you’re even more beautiful now than you were as a
girl.”
Thinking she ought to yank that silvery
tongue right out of his lying, sexy mouth, she jerked open the truck door, slid
in, and slammed it closed. He stood there smiling at her through the window.
Anna wished violently that the Palo Duro Canyon would open up a new fissure right
where Jake Rollins stood and gulp him whole. With her luck, good old Mama Earth
would belch him right back out, none the worse for wear.
She rolled down the window for a final
pithy comment. "Like I said, Jake, save it for someone who cares.”
Naturally, the window jammed open. Jake
didn’t say a word as he opened the door, turned the handle, and rolled it back
up. He didn’t need to. His smart-ass grin said it all.
She knew she was overreacting, knew
that seeing him again shouldn’t have thrown her so much. But she couldn’t be
reasonable about the fear that hammered in her pulses, the pain that squeezed
her heart when she thought of what his coming back could mean. Jake didn’t know
it, but he could tear her world apart now as easily, and even more completely,
than he had sixteen years ago.
The day he’d called her from the
National Rodeo finals in Las Vegas and told her he’d married someone else.
JAKE WATCHED Anna leave, not bothering
to go back into the store. He’d only gone inside in the first place because
he’d seen Anna dash inside and decided it was too good an opportunity to miss.
For a man with a plan, he thought, climbing into his own truck, he wasn’t doing
too great. He headed to his father’s ranch, surprised to find how easily the
habit of driving home came back to him.
Seeing him again had rattled Anna,
though she’d done her best not to show it. Those jade-green eyes of hers had
sizzled with anger, but something else had blazed in them as well. He’d bet one
of his championship belt buckles that she felt the chemistry that still flared
between them. Just as he did.
He’d expected her reaction, her anger.
No surprises there. Wincing, he recalled how he’d broken the news of his
marriage to her. Not a very smooth move, he had to admit, even if he had been
hardly more than a kid.
But what really jerked his chain was
his reaction to her. He’d had one purpose in mind for Anna Leigh, and one
purpose only. A swift and instant rekindling of the old fire between them
hadn’t been in the plans.
He should have been prepared. After
all, he’d seen her daughter, her spitting image, only a few weeks ago. But who
would have imagined that Anna would still look so young, or be every bit as
blond, slim, and pretty as he remembered her? No, that wasn’t quite it, he thought.
The girl had been pretty. The woman was drop-dead gorgeous.
Even so, sixteen years was a long time.
He shouldn’t have had such a strong reaction to her, no matter how beautiful he
still found her.
But the fact remained, seeing Anna
Leigh Connor in the flesh had blown him away.
That thought still plagued him, when
fifteen minutes later he pulled up to the Rollins ranch. He’d only been in town
a couple of days, and the reunion with his father had been both easier and
harder than he’d expected. Wes had taken Jake’s call that he wanted to come see
him and stay a while, in stride, even though it would be the first time they’d
seen each other since Jake had left home so long ago.
That had been his father’s choice, as
much as Jake’s. The old man had never made the attempt to see Jake ride—no big
shock, given his father’s disapproval of his choice of profession. And he’d
never come right out and asked Wes, either. It was simpler to think he wouldn’t
come than face the rejection if Jake asked, and his father turned him down.
So neither had asked and neither had
given. Until Jake had showed up early one morning after driving all night and
caught Wes coming out of the barn. Unsure of his welcome, Jake had gotten out
of his truck and waited for his father to reach him.
Wes was older, was Jake’s first
thought. Still a big, powerful man, he’d aged well. But sixteen years had taken
their toll, on both of them.
For a long moment, they’d simply stared
at each other, then Wes had stretched out his hand, and Jake met it with his
own. Gripping it tightly, with an emotion he hadn’t expected to feel, Jake
could have sworn he saw moisture in the old man’s eyes.
But Wes Rollins didn’t cry. Not even on
the day they’d buried his wife. Jake couldn’t imagine him breaking down now, and
sure as hell not over the son he’d never gotten along with paying him a visit.
Jake still hadn’t told him of his plans
to settle near Happy, to buy a place of his own where he could breed and raise
cutting horses. They had both carefully avoided the topic of how long Jake
planned to stick around. Would his father be glad when he found out? Or would
he even care?
JAKE DREW UP a chair across from his
father at the kitchen table. The same scarred wooden table he remembered eating
at all through his childhood. For a minute it infuriated him that Wes so
clearly had no use for the money Jake had sent over the years. At least his
father could have bought himself a damned new table.
Wes, never one for unnecessary talk,
merely grunted in answer to most of Jake’s questions. Though it had been years
since he had talked to his father much, he still recognized the tone of Wes’s
answers. A deep sound meant no, yes came out slightly higher, and a snort meant
he had no use for the question.
Jake decided beating around the bush
would get him nowhere, so he opted for the direct route. "When did Carl Connor
die?”
Wes looked up from his sandwich and
pinned his son with a speculative stare. "Carl?”
"Yeah. Carl Connor. Anna Leigh Connor’s
late husband.” And once upon a time, Jake’s best friend, though he didn’t
repeat that thought aloud.
"’Bout four, five years ago.” Of
course, being Wes, he didn’t elaborate.
Jake remembered his father telling him
about it in one of their rare phone conversations, months after the fact. Wes
had been no more forthcoming then than he was now. "Did he get sick? What
happened?”
"Like that, is it?” Wes said and
nodded.
If Jake hadn’t known his father to be
incapable of it, he’d have sworn Wes smiled. His brown hair might be liberally
sprinkled with gray, but age, apparently, hadn’t dulled his wits a bit.
"Won’t do you any good.” Wes took a
bite of his sandwich and chewed it slowly before adding, "She won’t have
anything to do with you.”
Despite his best efforts, Jake flushed.
Damn, the old man always had known how to pick his most vulnerable spot. "I
didn’t ask your opinion, I asked how Carl died.”
His father nodded again. "I know what
you asked. Got a good idea why you asked it, too.” After a pause, he said,
"Drunk driver hit him. Rolled his pickup. He went into a coma.” His gaze met
Jake’s, his eyes, like his son’s, a sharp, piercing blue. "Died about three
days later.”
Three days. His appetite deserting him,
Jake pushed his plate away. Familiar feelings of guilt and regret hit him. He’d
walked away from Carl, who’d been his best friend, as completely and finally as
he had Anna and his father. Another more cynical side figured that Carl
wouldn’t have wanted him around anyway—not once he’d married Anna.
But to die like that...
so damned young. "Must have been hard for Anna.”
"Yep. He was a good man. Did his duty,
lived up to his responsibilities.”
Unlike you. The implied words hung between them. Frustrated, Jake shoved
a hand through his hair and ground his teeth together to keep from speaking.
A knock saved him from uttering the
words that had been threatening to spill. Wes pushed his chair back and rose
stiffly, as if it pained him to move. It probably did, Jake thought. The old
man was too stubborn to admit he had arthritis. Tall, powerfully built, and
tough as boot leather, he didn’t take kindly to aging.
Wes swung open the door and stood
stock-still. "Mary?” He sounded bewildered. "What are you doing here?”
"I came to welcome Jake home, of
course. Don’t just stand there, Wes. Let me in.”
Standing, Jake smiled at her tone. He’d
recognize Mary Gallick’s voice anywhere, even though he hadn’t heard it in
years. It seemed his high school English teacher still had the habit of
command. Even funnier, Wes obeyed her instantly, scrambling to get out of her way.
Mary, a small sparrow of a woman, made Wes look even larger—and extremely ill
at ease. Jake wondered why.
"The prodigal returns, I see,” she
said, nailing him with a critical eye. "It’s about time.”
He couldn’t help grinning. She’d always
been his favorite teacher. Only ten years or so older than he, her youth had
made her more accessible than most of his teachers. "Yes, ma’am. How have you
been, Mrs. Gallick?”
"I’d be better if you called me Mary. I
don’t need to feel any older than I already do, and being called Mrs. Gallick
by somebody your age makes me feel positively ancient.” She turned to Wes. "Did
you ask him?”
Shooting Jake a quick glance, his
father shook his head. He mumbled something that sounded like "Back to work,”
jammed his hat on his head, and shot out the door seconds later. Jake didn’t
recall ever seeing his father move that fast.
Mary watched his retreat, a smile
lifting one side of her mouth. "I didn’t think so,” she murmured before taking
a seat at the table. She patted her short, dark hair into place and eyed him
sharply. "Are you just here for a visit, or are you planning on sticking
around?”
At the blunt question, Jake’s eyebrow
lifted. "As a matter of fact, I’m thinking about staying.”
"Good.” She smiled. "Your father will
be happy about that.”
Would he? Jake wasn’t so sure,
especially since he had no intention of running cattle. He started clearing the
table. "What is it you wanted to ask me?”
"Well, it has to do with the library.”
The dishes clattered into the sink.
Jake turned around and looked at her. "What library? Happy doesn’t have a
library.”
"Exactly.” She beamed at him, clearly
pleased he’d caught on so quickly. "But it’s going to.”
Light dawned. "You want me to donate
money to build a library?”
She looked startled. "I didn’t realize
you—” She stopped, shaking her head. "I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.”
"Does everyone think I came home
because I’m broke?”
"Well...” Her lips
quirked. "Nobody knows. It’s all speculation. You know how Happy is. And you
know how little your father talks.”
Jake smiled cynically. "You can tell
the curious that I’m not broke. And while I can’t fund the entire building, I
might be persuaded to donate a respectable amount.”
"That would be wonderful, Jake. But
what we really need—” she hesitated then finished "—is you.”
Needed him? How long had it been since
somebody needed him? He couldn’t remember. Equal parts pleased and wary, he
waited for her to go on.
"We have a grant, but it won’t cover
all the expenses. So we want to host a charity rodeo with the proceeds going to
the library fund. We need someone who knows what he’s doing to run it.”
Enthusiasm sparkled in her brown eyes. "So naturally, when Wes said you were
coming home, I thought of you.”
He frowned, leaned back against the
counter, and folded his arms across his chest. "But Mrs. Ga—Mary, I’ve never
put on a rodeo before.” And it sounded like a lot of work he wasn’t at all sure
he wanted to do. He had his plate full enough with his own plans. "I’m a bronc
rider. I’ve never been involved in the production end of things.”
"Oh, come now, Jake. You’ve got
connections. You know people on the circuit. You could pull in some big names
if you wanted to. And with you as the organizer, we’d get instant recognition.”
"I think you’re making too much of my
fame. I’m old news.”
She stood, jamming a hand on a slim
hip, reminding him of her determination when she wanted something.
"Horsefeathers. You could do it if you wanted. Admit it.”
He supposed he could. A library was a
good thing, a good cause. And he liked thinking that he could be instrumental
in bringing Happy something lasting and worthwhile. Besides, he was used to
lending his name, not to mention his money, to various charities. This involved
more than that, though. It meant spending a lot of time and effort to make sure
it was done right.
But he’d need help. Someone else who
knew what they were doing would be nice. Someone, he realized, beginning to
smile, who already ran a riding school. Someone who already hosted play days
and who knew all about barrel racing.
"I can’t do it alone.”
"Everyone would pitch in. It would be a
community project.”
"More than that. I’d need a co-chair,”
Jake said. "And I know just the person.”
"She won’t do it,” Mary said flatly.
"Forget it, Jake.”
"How do you know who I’m thinking
about?”
"Honey—” she smiled indulgently "—I’m
not that much older than you. And I’m not senile yet.” She patted his arm. "I
remember as well as everyone else that you and Anna Leigh Connor used to be
sweethearts. And she’s even prettier now than she was all those years ago.”
She had that right. "You get Anna to
co-chair this rodeo with me, and I’ll do it.”
"And how am I supposed to do that?
You’re not exactly one of her favorite people. Good Lord, Jake, you practically
left her at the altar.”
"Yeah, and she married Carl Connor soon
enough after that, didn’t she? Doesn’t look like she wasted much time mourning
my loss.” It still stung that she’d managed to get over him so quickly. And
with Carl, his supposed best friend. Jake had always suspected Carl had a thing
for Anna. He’d proved it, too, when he moved in on her as quick as a rattler
with dinner in its sights.
"Tell her it’s her civic duty,” he
suggested.
"Anna’s had it rough, Jake. She doesn’t
need you making it rougher.”
He shrugged. "No Anna, no dice.”
"You’re up to something. I can see it
in your eyes.”
Jake gave her an innocent smile. "Let
me know what happens.” He had faith in Mary Gallick. She wanted the library,
which meant she wanted the rodeo to take place. Somehow, she’d get Anna to
agree.
He’d have a chance to get to know Anna
again.
Because one way or another, Jake
intended to find out if Anna’s pretty little girl was Carl’s daughter.
Or his.
Chapter Two
INSIDE THE BARN, Anna turned her head
at the slam of a car door. Moments later, Leigh entered at full tilt, with her
mouth running to match.
"Mom! Mom, are you in here?”
"In Promise’s stall,” she called, then
bent to sift through another forkful of shavings. She stifled a sneeze at the
chaff and dust of the hay. "How did cheerleader practice go? And where’s your
jacket?” she asked in exasperation as Leigh clumped into the stall beside her,
blowing on her hands. "It’s thirty-five degrees outside.”
"Left it at school. Guess what? I got
the pictures back!”
"What pictures?” Grateful for the
respite, Anna leaned on the handle of the manure fork as the acrid odor of
soiled shavings wafted upward. Mucking out the stalls was her least favorite
chore. Leigh would help her, though, as soon as she changed into something
warm.
"The ones from that rodeo in Houston a
few weeks ago. You know, the one me and Blaire went to with Mrs. Nelson when
you couldn’t go.”
"Blaire and I,” Anna corrected
automatically. She’d hated to miss seeing Leigh race, but with a clinic
scheduled for that weekend, Anna had had no choice. Fortunately, Suzie Nelson
didn’t mind taking Leigh along with her daughter. "Are they any good?” Anna
asked skeptically. Suzie’s strong points didn’t include photography.
"Super,” Leigh said, holding them out
to her. "See for yourself.” She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
"Brr, I’m going to find a coat.”
"I could use some help here. Luis and
José are out checking fences,” she added, referring to her ranch hands.
"Sure, Mom.” Her grin flashed, quick
and blinding. "Back in a sec.”
Stepping outside the stall, Anna
thumbed through the stack of snapshots, pausing to study the good ones. Candid
shots of the two girls, Leigh as fair as Blaire was dark. A couple of Leigh on
Promise, her barrel racing horse, obviously taken before the competition.
Another one, surprisingly good, of Leigh and Promise on the straightaway home.
Gazing at it for a long moment, Anna sighed, pride for her daughter’s success
warring, as always, with uneasiness about Leigh’s future.
If only Leigh saw barrel racing as a
hobby, rather than a career. Anna wanted her daughter to finish school, go to
college, have a more stable life than a career in barrel racing could ever give
her. But Leigh was young. Stubborn. And she wanted to rodeo—professionally. Still,
Anna didn’t intend to panic yet. Teenagers were notoriously fickle. Something
else might strike Leigh’s interest.
Smiling at the sight of Leigh receiving
her prize for second place, she realized Leigh’s features were blurred in that
picture. But as Anna took a closer look, the face of the man awarding the prize
became heart-stoppingly clear.
Jake Rollins.
She closed her eyes, shook the picture
and opened them to stare at it again, praying it had been an hallucination.
It was real, all right.
He wore that same smile, that dazzling,
knee-weakening smile that she remembered seeing on his face the first time he
won the saddle bronc event in a local rodeo. And that night after the rodeo had
been the first time Jake danced with her, when he finally realized she wasn’t
just a pesky kid who lived on the neighboring ranch.
"Mom, what’s wrong? You look like
you’re about to throw up.”
Anna turned glazed eyes to her
daughter, holding the photo out to her. "This is... this man
is—”
"Yeah, isn’t it cool?” Her fingertip
touched his face. "That’s Jake Rollins. He’s a five-time saddle bronc World
Champion. Didn’t I tell you he presented all the prizes?”
"No,” she choked out. "No, you didn’t
mention it.”
"Sure I did, Mom,” she said
impatiently. "You just weren’t paying attention. Right after I came home, I
told you all about it. You were doing the books.”
That explained it. If Anna’s attention
had been on her finances, then she probably hadn’t been listening that closely.
Now that she thought about it, she did remember Leigh mentioning "a cool guy”
had given out the prizes. But she hadn’t mentioned him by name. Anna would have
reacted if she had.
"He said he used to know you,” Leigh
continued.
"He—did?” Apprehension kicked up her
pulse. Oh, God, what else had he said? Surely he hadn’t mentioned their past
relationship, or Leigh would have brought it up already.
"Mmm-hmm,” Leigh mumbled, leafing
through the remaining photos and selecting one. "Here’s another picture of him.
Blaire made her mom take it.” Leigh’s nose wrinkled as she laughed. "Blaire
thinks he’s really hot.”
Hot, Anna thought, dazed. Leigh’s best
friend thought Jake was hot. And dammit, she realized, gazing at the photo as
an almost forgotten ache invaded her heart, Blaire was absolutely right.
"He’s nice, too,” her daughter
continued. "He talked to me for a while later on, after the rodeo. Isn’t he Mr.
Rollins’s son? That’s what Blaire’s mom said. Why hasn’t he been around before
now?”
Leigh chattered as she took over
mucking out her mare’s stall. Anna answered her questions vaguely, her mind
racing with questions of her own. Jake had seen Leigh. Met her. Found out she
was Anna’s daughter. Taken the time to talk to her. And he’d obviously had a
strong impact on an impressionable young girl. Small wonder. Leigh, crazy to
rodeo, to win a circuit championship, would find a five-time national rodeo
champion fascinating. Oh, Lord, what did it all mean?
Much to Anna’s relief, Leigh finally
changed the subject. But worries continued to churn in Anna’s mind.
An hour later, with the chores
finished, she still hadn’t sorted things out. Counting back the weeks, she
realized that rumors of Jake’s return had started circulating shortly after
that ill-fated rodeo. Then he’d put fact to the rumors and come back to Happy.
Coincidence? she asked herself as she entered the small, whitewashed wood frame
house that had once been Carl’s parents’ home. Not hardly.
No one had seen as much as Jake’s
shadow in Happy in sixteen years. Not until three weeks after he’d first set
eyes on Leigh. What was he up to?
Anna had an uneasy feeling she knew.
Unlike everyone else in town, Suzie
wouldn’t have thought to go out of her way to mention Jake to Anna. Since Suzie
hadn’t grown up in Happy, she hadn’t known him, or Anna’s history with him. Not
that it would have made a difference if Anna had known about the meeting,
except she might not feel as blindsided as she did now.
Maybe she was reading too much into
this, given her guilty knowledge. Jake’s return didn’t have to hold a sinister
significance. With any luck it didn’t.
The home phone rang, interrupting her
worries, as she and Leigh cleared the supper dishes from the table. Leigh
answered it, chatting for a few minutes while Anna finished up.
"It’s Grandma, Mom,” Leigh said,
handing her the phone.
"Homework,” Anna reminded her as she
took it, and Leigh left. "Hi, Mom. How are things? Is Edward any better?” Her
mother had remarried and moved to California several years ago, after Anna’s
father’s death. Though she and Anna kept in touch regularly, they only saw each
other a couple of times a year.
"The new medicine is helping,” her
mother said. "He’s doing a lot better. When are you and Leigh going to get out
to see us?”
"Oh, Mom, this isn’t a good time. I’m
not sure.”
"Well, whenever you can manage it, let
us know. Anything new going on there?”
"As a matter of fact, yes.” Though
they’d never questioned her decision, Anna had always wondered just what her
parents had suspected about her hasty marriage and pregnancy. "Jake Rollins is
back in town.”
There was a long silence before her
mother spoke. "Jake Rollins? Good Lord.”
"It surprised a lot of people.”
Another pause. "Any particular reason
he came home? It’s been years, hasn’t it?”
"Sixteen. And I have a feeling I know
what’s brought him back.”
"Leigh,” her mother said. "Does Jake
know he’s her father?”
Anna let out her breath in relief. "No,
I never told him. How long have you known?”
"Honey, your father and I weren’t
stupid. We figured it out pretty quickly.”
"You’ve never said a word.”
"What was the point? You’d made your
decision, and we had to trust that it was the right one.”
"It was. It’s not marrying Carl that
I’m questioning. But not telling Jake...” At the time, she’d
been so certain she was right to keep it from him. "He met her at a rodeo three
weeks ago, and suddenly he comes home. I can’t help but think he suspects. Mom,
I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
"Do you want me to fly out there? I can
get a flight tomorrow if you need me.”
"No, it’s sweet of you to offer, but
Edward needs you there. We’ll be all right. It’s probably nothing.” Her
doorbell rang just then. "Let me call you back, okay? Someone’s at the door.”
"You know that you can call me whenever
you want to talk.”
"Thanks, Mom. I will.” She hung up the
phone feeling oddly cheered. At least there was one person she could speak to
frankly. Even if her mother couldn’t do anything to help her, she could listen.
Mary Gallick, Leigh’s English teacher,
stood on her doorstep. "Is this a bad time?” she asked. "Do you have a minute?”
"Sure.” Anna suppressed a groan. She
liked Mary, and had since she’d been her student years before. But nearly every
time Mary came over, Anna ended up involved in yet another school project. And
at the moment, she didn’t have the time, much less the inclination. "What can I
do for you, Mary?” she asked, leading her into the living room.
"I have a proposition for you,” she
said, taking a seat on the well-used blue twill sofa.
"About school?”
Mary shook her head, smiling
mischievously. "Not exactly. Come sit down, Anna, and let me explain.”
Anna sighed, eyeing Mary warily, but
she took a seat and politely waited for her to begin.
"You know we’ve been trying to raise
funds for the new library.”
Anna nodded. Having been to quite a few
town meetings, naturally she knew about the plans. "I’m sorry I missed the last
few meetings. I never heard if the grant came through.” And she’d been too busy
to ask anyone, she thought guiltily.
"Yes, it did. Except that the funds
we’ve been promised won’t cover everything, and we need to match them. So we
decided to... that is... we think...”
Uncharacteristically, she fumbled for words. "The, uh, the city council decided
to host a charity rodeo to raise the rest of the money.”
Puzzled, Anna looked at her. What was
she so nervous about? "That sounds like a fine idea, Mary. What is it you want
me to do?” she asked, thinking that she could surely swing taking charge of an
event or two.
"Would you consider...
could you...”
Anna continued to look at her,
wondering when she’d get to the point. And what was taking her so long to get
there.
"We need someone to chair it,” Mary
said in a rush.
This time Anna did groan. Her riding
school demanded her full attention, even now in the winter, the off season. If
Anna was going to succeed, and as the sole support of herself and her daughter,
she fully intended to, then she had to work, and work hard, year-round. Just
keeping her head above water wasn’t enough. She wanted more, a lot more.
"I know it’s a lot to ask,” Mary
continued, a pleading note in her voice, "but we really need your help.”
Just say no, Anna told herself. Yeah,
right. When Mary Gallick asked, no one said no. Her heart sank at the
thought of the extra work. Besides, she’d never put on a rodeo. Just play days
and clinics, not the same thing at all. A rodeo was a much bigger proposition.
"Mary, I want to help, but I just don’t see how—”
Mary interrupted. "You wouldn’t have to
do it all. We’ve found someone to co-chair it with you. An expert, as a matter
of fact.”
An expert. Foreboding pricked Anna’s
nerves like tiny needles. The apprehensive expression on Mary’s face all but
confirmed Anna’s hunch. Nevertheless, she asked, "And who is this expert?”
"Jake Rollins.”
Anna sprang to her feet. "Are you out
of your mind? I wouldn’t co-chair a dog fight with that man.”
Mary straightened and glared up at her.
"Now, Anna, I know you have a history with him, but think of the town. We could
generate a lot of publicity if a five-time World Champion helped chair the
event. You have to admit, he’s perfect for the job.”
"Oh, I’m sure he would be. If you can
convince him to stick around long enough to do it.”
"He says he’s back to stay. I believe
him, Anna.”
Great. Just great. She paced a few
steps, whirled to face Mary again. "Let him do it all, then. Or if he needs
help, someone else can provide it. It’s not going to be me.”
"That’s just it. He won’t do it without
you. His exact words were, ‘No Anna, no dice.”’
That sounded just like the jerk. Anna
crossed her arms over her chest. "Tough.”
"Think of the school.”
"No.”
"Think of the town.”
"No.”
"Think of your daughter’s education.”
Anna winced. That last one hurt. "Mary,
I can’t. Honestly, I can’t. I don’t have the time. I can’t afford to.”
"If you’ll pardon me for saying so,
Anna,” she said acerbically, "you can’t afford not to. Think of what this event
could mean, economically, to you—to the whole town. And if you co-chair it,
why, with that sort of publicity, you’ll gain no telling how many new students,
new boarders. This could put your school on the map, draw in new people from
miles around.”
The worst of it, Anna thought, was that
Mary was right. The rodeo would be a godsend of an economic boost to the whole
area. Including, and especially, Anna’s riding school.
But she couldn’t. Plan a rodeo with
Jake? Spend time with him? See him, talk to him, work with him?
No way in hell.
THE NEXT MORNING Anna dropped Leigh off
at school and then drove immediately to the Rollins’s place. She must have lost
her mind. How she had ever let Mary talk her into coordinating a rodeo with
Jake Rollins, she didn’t know.
Yes, she did. Leigh’s intervention had
swung her. She’d heard them talking and decided that having Happy host a rodeo
would be awesome. The most awesome thing that had ever happened, according
to Leigh. How could Anna resist those glowing eyes, the sparkling enthusiasm
that filled her with motherly pride? She couldn’t, of course.
But the bottom line was that she’d be a
fool not to take every chance possible to increase her school’s success.
So, rather than continue to be hammered
at by both her daughter and her friend, she’d said yes. But by damn, if she had
to work with Jake Rollins, she meant to lay down some rules. Rules to keep
her—and her daughter—safe.
As she drove along the gravel drive to
the Rollins’ one-story beige-brick ranch house, she saw Jake walking a
good-looking blood bay toward the stables, cooling him down after a ride, she
assumed. No horse of Wes’s, she thought, familiar with the older man’s stock.
Switching off the car, she sat watching Jake a moment. He moved the way she
remembered, with a long-limbed, carelessly graceful stride.
He wore faded jeans, scuffed boots, a
battered black Stetson, and a faded, red flannel shirt. Nothing special,
nothing different from what most men she knew wore every day. So why did it
look so good on Jake?
Disgusted, she wondered again why Jake
couldn’t have lost those damnable good looks. But she should be well past the
age that she reacted so strongly to someone’s physical appearance. Why wasn’t
she? Why did this one man still have the ability to send her into sensory
overload simply by touching her?
Shock. That must have been it, she
decided. The surprise of seeing him had made her lose control. It wouldn’t
happen again.
That settled, she slid out of the
truck, shutting the door with a determined bang. A stray piece of metal fell
off with a clatter, strengthening her resolve. She thought she saw Jake grin as
she walked toward him, but at the distance couldn’t be sure. It didn’t improve
her mood.
"Hello, Anna.” Smiling at her as she
approached, he tipped his hat back, revealing a shock of mussed dark-blond
hair. His warm breath came out in puffs of cloud in the frosty morning air. The
dirt beneath their feet sparkled with the glimmers of moisture crusting the
ground. Behind him, the green of winter wheat waving in the field presented a
striking backdrop for man and horse.
Infuriated by the ever present shiver
of fear at the thought of what his return to Happy might mean, she parked her
hands on her hips and glared at him. "I’m sure you know why I’m here.”
"You mean this isn’t a friendly social
call?” He managed to look hurt and cocky at the same time.
"Not by a long shot, buster. What do
you think you’re going to accomplish by forcing me to work with you on the
rodeo?”
"C’mon, Slick,” he said to the horse.
He shot her a speculative glance and started leading the horse toward the barn.
"World peace?” When she snorted, he smiled again and asked, "Forcing’s a bit
strong, don’t you think? But I expect to accomplish a hell of a rodeo.”
"You don’t need me to do that.”
Once inside the spacious barn, Jake
tied the bay’s reins to the freshly painted white wooden door of a stall. She
caught the whiff of leather and healthy sweat as he lifted the saddle and pad
from the horse’s back. Then he tossed her a brush, taking it for granted that
she’d groom one side of the horse while he did the other. A chore they’d done a
thousand times when they were kids, she remembered. It didn’t amuse her how
easily they fell into the rhythm again.
"If you weren’t so busy being prickly
and defensive,” he said after a few moments, "you’d see that your involvement
would be a good thing.”
"All I see is you manipulating things—”
she ran the brush down a long flank "—especially me, to suit your purposes. And
what I want to know is what those purposes are.”
"Anna, having a rodeo, one with all the
usual events, will help everyone.” He spoke patiently, as if explaining
something to a child, which yanked her chain even more. "The library fund, the
town, even your riding school stand to gain. And your daughter has a good
chance of placing in the barrel racing event.”
It took all Anna’s willpower not to
blurt out, "Stay away from my daughter!” The last thing she wanted to do was
draw his attention to Leigh. "You don’t need my help.”
"Sure I do. I need someone who knows
which end is up when it comes to organizing things.” He stopped grooming the
horse to look at her over its back. "You already host clinics and play days.
Setting up a rodeo won’t be much of a stretch for you. Besides, I’ll be
helping, too. You won’t have the whole thing on your shoulders, and neither
will I.”
"You’re missing the point.”
He came around his horse’s head,
standing so close she smelled the clean, fresh scent of the outdoors on him.
"Which is?”
"I don’t want to work with you,” she
said, gritting the words out through her teeth. "I don’t want to be around you.
I don’t even particularly want to see you.”
He leaned over, his arm reaching around
behind her. For a minute she didn’t know what he intended and felt a brief
flare of fear. No, not fear, she realized, but... excitement.
What the heck was wrong with her? She was long over this man.
Jake straightened up, and she saw the
horse blanket in his hands. He bunched up the material, holding it so the bay
could stick his head through the opening, then smoothed it over the animal’s
back and hindquarters.
"Get that strap for me, will you?” he
asked, motioning at the leg strap on her side.
Anna complied automatically. A moment
later he stood beside her again, looking down at her with amusement dancing in
his eyes. "What are you afraid of, Anna?”
"I’m not afraid of anything.” She
lifted her chin, daring him to prove her wrong, but the skeptical look he gave
her said he wasn’t buying it for a minute.
Irritating, aggravating—
"If you’re so dead set on not having
anything to do with me, why did you agree to work on the rodeo? Because you
obviously did agree to it.”
No way would she tell him she needed
the business it could generate. She had her pride, after all. Besides, she
wasn’t destitute, just anxious to improve her school’s success. "Mary said you
wouldn’t do it if I didn’t agree to co-chair it. And she was practically
drooling at the idea of having you involved. What was I supposed to do? If I’d
refused, I’d have come off looking like the Grinch.” Not to mention, she wasn’t
about to let him know how much he affected her.
Jake grinned and lifted an eyebrow. "No
way you could ever look like the Grinch. He’s nowhere near as beautiful as you
are.”
To her shame, and fury, she felt a
flash of pleasure at his words. "Stop it! Stop flirting with me, or whatever it
is you think you’re doing. If you think you can waltz back here and...
and... . Well, it won’t work. Don’t forget, I know the real
Jake Rollins. And he lost his charms for me a long time ago.”
The next moment he had her backed up
against the wall of the stall, his face inches from hers, strong hands on
either side of her face. He smelled like the elements, earth, sky, and wind,
and her imagination added the smoky odor of fire. Like freedom. Like danger.
Her heart pounded at racehorse speed as she gazed up at him. Up close and way
too personal.
My God, she’d forgotten just how blue
his eyes were. Deep, vibrant blue, like a clear Texas sky after a passing
thunderstorm. Deep enough to drown in. She felt dizzy, disoriented.
He intended to kiss her.
Her chin came up as the realization
hit, and she glared at him, daring him to do it. If Jake thought a stroll down
memory lane would have her mooning over him again, he had another thing coming.
She was a grown woman, not a teenager in love for the first time.
But he made no move to touch her.
Instead, he spoke very softly, asking, "What do you think of him?”
Anna stared at him blankly. "Think of
who?”
He jerked his head toward the bay.
"Slick. My stallion.”
"I don’t know. I can’t see him,” she
said breathlessly. And at the moment her memory wasn’t kicking in.
He moved aside, and she began to
breathe again. A pang shot through her, which she assured herself was relief,
certainly not disappointment.
"So, what do you think?” he repeated,
his voice soft, deep, dangerous.
Dangerous? Don’t be ridiculous, she told herself. Cursing her overactive imagination, she
looked at the horse. "He’s nice,” she admitted. "Well-behaved for a stallion.”
He backed off, glaring at her like she
was nuts. "Nice? A cool drink on a hot day is nice. A warm fire on a cold day
is nice. A stud like this is—”
Irritated, she interrupted. "Fine. He’s
gorgeous, and you know it. What’s your point?”
"He’s the point. Slick is what
I’m doing back here. I’m going to breed and raise cutting horses.”
Mary was right. Anna’s stomach felt
like lead. "You’re staying? Here, in Happy?”
His smile said it all. "Back for good.”
"On your father’s ranch? And he agreed
to that?”
"I didn’t ask him. I’m looking for a
place of my own.”
He’d obviously forgotten what life in
the small Panhandle town was like. Ordinary, dull. And Jake had never been
either of those. Nor, if his past actions were any indication, could he
tolerate those things on a daily basis. He’d always lived for excitement. He
couldn’t have changed that much.
"You’ll be bored silly within a week,”
Anna said, putting her thoughts to words. "You’re not serious.”
"As a heart attack, darlin’,” he told
her with a devilish grin.
"Maybe that’s what you think right now,
but let me give you the most likely scenario. You’ll get everyone in Happy
excited about this rodeo, have them counting on you to do your part, and then
you’ll leave town before it’s even planned. And guess who that leaves holding
the bag?”
Anger flashed in his eyes, intensifying
the blue. "And you base this conclusion on something that happened sixteen
years ago. I was twenty years old when I left home, Anna. Not much more than a
kid. I don’t suppose it’s occurred to you I might have changed.”
"Not in this lifetime,” she said.
He took a step closer, not quite
touching her, but close enough she felt his body heat. She didn’t like that
smile; it was entirely too knowing.
"I see what it is. You’re scared.
That’s why you don’t want to work with me on this rodeo.”
"Scared? Of you?” Tossing her hair back
over her shoulder, she gave him a wintry smile. "Fat chance. The only fear I
have is that you’ll duck out.”
He touched her then, just his fingers
lingering on her cheek. "You can’t deny there’s chemistry between us still, any
more than I can.”
She laughed. "Your ego is so inflated,
if I stuck a pin in you, you’d pop.”
"Yeah?” His gaze focused on her mouth.
"Then I guess you won’t mind giving me a demonstration of how indifferent you
are.”
As soon as he spoke, she knew what he
meant to do. Stepping quickly out of his reach, she said, "I don’t think that
will be necessary.”
"Afraid to put it to the test?” he
asked. And smiled again.
The wicked, wicked smile, that had
always made her melt, hadn’t dimmed with age. Nothing about the man had dimmed
with age. Show some backbone, Anna, she told herself.
"Give it up, Jake. I’m not taking the
bait,” she said and strolled out of the barn. Her life would be a lot easier if
she didn’t wonder exactly what it would be like to kiss Jake again.
His laughter followed her, and she gave
a fleeting, if satisfying, thought to turning around and smacking that laughter
right out of him. Lucky for Jake she wasn’t a violent woman.
Lucky for Jake she decided indifference
would spike his guns better than anger.
But Anna knew she hadn’t fooled him.
And she damn sure hadn’t fooled herself. Jake Rollins still got to her. He
always would.
