Healing a Cowboy's Heart (Cowboy Dreamin' 2) (16 page)

“I’ll
talk to Jeremiah after she leaves to find out what exactly he told her,” his
father said.

“Those
money-hungry land barons could be trying to put us out of business.”

“Yeah,
and she’d be helping them.”

“I
don’t see how gathering information to figure out what kind of houses to design
would be helping to put us out of business.”

“Why
else would she need financial information or anything along those lines?”

“I
don’t know.”

“Why
don’t you ask her?”

“How
the hell do I do that, Dad? In between orgasms I say,
tell me what you’re up to, Terri. I need to know if you’re trying to
ruin my family
. Somehow it doesn’t come across to me as pillow talk.”

“You’ll
know what to do, son. You always do.”

Chapter
Nine

Terri
watched Jeff eat each morsel with finesse. She wasn’t sure how he made eating
look sexy, but he sure did. The tines of the fork slipped between his full
lips, tempting her to want to taste him or have him taste her. He’d been quiet
since they’d met up for dinner. Conversation flowed around them from all of his
brothers, but he didn’t seem interested in talk this evening. Ben kept up a
lively conversation with his grandmother about their activities for the day.
Terri smiled while she listened to him.

Jeff
finally broke the silence between them as he leaned over and whispered, “Are we
still going to meet later?”

“I
hope so.”

“Do
you want to?”

“Yes.”

When
she glanced up, she met the narrowed gaze of James. Why she earned the distrust
of the monarch of the family, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t like it though. She
hated having anyone mistrust her or question her motives.
Why shouldn’t they? I’ve been mysterious the whole time I’ve been here,
gathering information on them that really
isn’t
any of
my business. By passing this along, will it hurt this family in the long run? I
don’t know.

“You
okay?” Jeff asked.

“Yes,
why?”

“You
looked concerned.”

“Your
father seems to dislike me for some reason.”

“He
doesn’t dislike you. He doesn’t know you, how could he dislike you?”

“I
don’t know.” She glanced at Jeff. “Did you tell him why I’m here?”

Jeff
blushed and dropped his gaze to his plate.

“You
did. No wonder he doesn’t trust me,” she whispered out the side of her mouth.
“What did you tell him?”

“Your
reason for being here was to collect data for the developers.”

“True.
What else?”

“Nothin’.”
He finished his plate and pushed it away. “We’ll talk more about this later.”

“Fine.”

“Ben,
are you done, buddy?”

“Yes,
Daddy.”

“I’ll
get your dessert.”

She
looked up to see him staring at her.

“Would
you like something?”

“The
apple crisp looks good.”

“I’ll
grab one for you while I’m up.”

“Thanks.”
When she glanced across the table to Jeff’s dad, the older man smiled. She
hoped that meant he’d give her a chance to explain. Of course, explaining might
mean telling him what she really had up her sleeve.

“Here
you go,” Jeff said, sitting the small cup down in front of her.

The
apples, cinnamon and crispy granola melted on her tongue with each bite she
took. They had the best desserts at this ranch. If she lived here all the time,
she’d weight a lot more than she did now. Not that she was a skinny person by
any means. Her hips were too big, she had a bit of a stomach roll and her boobs
were too small for her. Jeff didn’t seem to mind though, which was a good
thing.

“We
can watch a movie with Ben until he falls asleep which is usually within the
first hour or so.”

“Sounds
good.”

Terri
glanced around the table, meeting several of his brother’s gazes. She didn’t
like the looks they were giving her.
Had
they somehow heard about her real job?

“You
didn’t tell your brothers, right?”

“No,
just my father, but you have to admit your behavior has been rather suspicious.”

“Suspicious
how?”

“Most
guests don’t want to talk to the financial planner of our group. I don’t know
if Jeremiah might have told them what things you were asking him. What did you
ask, by the way?”

“Nothing
much.”

“I
don’t want to discuss this in front of the family.”

Her
dessert was already gone.

“Shall
we go?”

“Uh,
sure.”
Does Jeff
suspect something? I don’t like the way he seems to hint at a conversation
concerning my information gathering and then goes off on another topic. Should
I tell him what I’m doing? Think Terri, think.
“Is everything okay, Jeff?”

“We’ll
discuss it at my place.”

Oh, I hate when people do that
!
It drove her nuts to be put off. “Are you sure you don’t want to discuss it
now?”

“Not
in front of my family.”

“Oh.”

They
put their dishes in the dirty dish pan, took Ben’s hands and walked out of the
door toward his truck. “Let me grab my keys and purse from my cabin.”

“Good
idea.”

She
turned left to take the path to her door, unlocked the cabin and walked inside.
She debated on whether to change into something sexy.
At
least sexy underwear?
No, she really didn’t have time. He wouldn’t wait
forever and she already planned on having sex with him tonight. Before or after
their talk, she wasn’t sure.
Maybe before.
If he
gets wind of what I’m really up to, there may not be any sex.

Putting
off their
talk
sounded like a good
idea.

With
her purse and keys in hand, she shut the door to her cabin before she checked
the lock to make sure it was secure. Jeff stood by his truck’s passenger door
buckling Ben into his car seat. The way Jeff treated Ben said a lot about the
man. He cared. He might not care for her, at least not in any meaningful way,
but in his own way, he cared. She’d seen it when he asked about her phone call
and someone threatening her.

“Ready?”
he called as she approached her car.

“Yeah.”

“Good.
Follow me. I’ll be slow so I don’t lose you.”

“Is
it far?”

“Nope.
Just over the ridge on the other side of the main road.”

“Great.”
She slipped inside her car, started it and then waited for Jeff to back up so she
could follow him. Her stomach twisted into one big knot. Did she really plan on
spending the entire night in his home with him? How did she really feel about
it? Nervous, that’s how.

Her
palms were slick with sweat. It had been a long time since she’d spent an
entire night with a man except for Jeff. The one night he’d slept in at her
cabin really didn’t count
or
did it? Once he found out
her real purpose for being here, he’d cut all ties.

His
trust would be gone.

She
frowned.
Trust.
A tricky emotion.
One she hoped she didn’t lose with this family, but it seemed inevitable.

They
turned down a gravel road to the left outside of the main gate of Thunder
Ridge. A couple of turns later revealed a beautiful little cabin set back
against the hillside. The roughhewn outside reminded her of the rustic cabins
of old. You could find them in the mountains of the eastern states and
sometimes on the western plains. She loved it on sight. Two windows graced the
front. A small porch lined the face of the house, holding two rocking chairs
waiting for someone to enjoy the evening while they sipped sweet tea. Maybe
someday she’d enjoy the sight with him.

Get those thoughts right out of
your head!

“I
don’t need to be thinking of anything permanent here. He’s made it clear he
doesn’t do long term and I’m not inclined to either.”

Seconds
later, Ben struggled to open the door of her car for her.
So
sweet.

Jeff
laughed and opened the door for him. “Come on, Ms. Terri. I want to show you my
room.”

“All
right, little man. One second. Let me grab my things.” She picked up her purse
from the seat and stepped out of the car. Ben grabbed her hand and pulled her
toward the door.

“Easy,
sport.
You don’t want to hurt her by
pullin
’
too hard.”

“Sorry,
Ms. Terri.”

“
It’s
fine, Ben. You didn’t hurt me.” She winked at Jeff,
earning herself a genuine smile. She liked his smile. He had the hint of a
dimple in his left cheek she hadn’t noticed before.

They
reached the front porch as Jeff opened the door.
“My lady.”

“What
a grand invitation, sir.”

“I
hope you enjoy your stay.”

“I’m
sure I will.” The inside of the cabin took her breath away. The rusticity of
the furnishings appealed to her primitive side, bringing to life the old west
along with a little bit of Indian culture as well. “Jeff, it’s gorgeous.”

“Thanks.”

“Did
your ex have anything to do with the décor?”

“Misha?
Hell no. She hated this place.”

“I’m
glad because I love it. It’s very much you.”

“Come
on, Ms. Terri.”

Ben
pulled her along down the hall. His bedroom had the rustic feel too, but still showed
the little boy with his Toy Story bed, a hand carved toy box in the corner and
a quilt, obviously made with love by his grandmother.

“Did
your mom make the quilt?”

“Yeah.”
Jeff stuffed his hands in his pockets. “She was so thrilled when we found out
Ben was a boy, although she wanted a granddaughter. She didn’t really care as
long as the child came out healthy. He did at nine pounds and ten ounces.”

“What
a big boy.”

Ben
mimicked his dad’s stance by shoving his hands in the front pockets of his
jeans too. “I have a big boy bed.”

“You
sure
do,
pumpkin.”

“And
I wear big boy panties.”

“Great
job!”
She smiled at Jeff. “I bet he’s a handful
sometimes.”

“Oh
yeah.
You can say that again.”

“See
my toys?” Ben pointed to the toy box before he rushed over to lift the lid. “I
like Toy Story.”

“I
can see that.” She got down on the floor in front of the toy box. “Who is your
favorite?”

“Woody.
He’s a cowboy like me.”

“He
sure is.” Terri felt her heart overflow with love for this little boy. He had a
great dad, awesome grandparents and the affection of his uncles, but he didn’t
have the love of his mother. It didn’t seem fair to her.

“Let’s
watch a movie,” Jeff said, taking her hand and helping her to her feet.

“Yay!
Toy Story!”

She
laughed as she shuffled out of the room behind Ben and Jeff. “Why
am I
not surprised.”

“Did
you think it would be anything else?”

“No,
not really once I saw his bedroom. It’s okay. I like Toy Story.”

“One,
two or three?”

“Wow,
I didn’t realize there was more than one.”

“You
are so behind the times, lady.”

“Apparently.
All I can say for myself is I haven’t been around kids very much.”

“Hang
around for a while. We’ll teach you, huh Ben?”

“Yes,
Daddy.”

“Do
you want me to?”

“To
what?”

“Stick
around?”

Both
of his shoulders lifted in a shrug. He wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I don’t know. I
mean, we have fun together. I wouldn’t mind getting to know you a little
better.”

“I
thought you didn’t do relationships?”

“I
don’t. It wouldn’t have to be a relationship. We could just…”

“What?
Sleep together?” She didn’t like the way this conversation seemed to be headed.
Friends with benefits?

“We
can talk about this after Ben goes to bed.”