Living With Lies Trilogy (Books 1, 2, and 3 of The Dancing Moon Ranch Series) (46 page)

"Look," he replied, "just to set the record straight, I don't need to ask Jack anything. I'd do it as a courtesy, so you can do whatever you want."

"Thank you," Jayne said. "If we weren't on horses I'd kiss the boss, which is unacceptable behavior for an employee, so it would be a short, sweet kiss."

"I'm already familiar with that kind of kiss from the guest-ranch manager," Sam said, his mind morphing the brief kiss in Jayne's office to a passionate, open-mouth kiss while stretched out naked with Jayne on the bed in the mountain cabin.

"That wasn't a kiss," Jayne reminded him. "That was an accident."

"Yeah, well we can fix that," Sam said.

Jayne gave him an ironic smile, but instead of responding to his comment about fixing the kiss, she said, "Incidentally, the new week-long-stay plan is posted on our website. We already have four families signed up for April and six for May, and a couple of weddings are scheduled in June." Sam stared at her in surprise. "Don't look so shocked," she said. "You told me when you hired me that I could run things my way, so I am."

Sam didn't know whether he wanted to kiss her or cuff her. The woman had a way of jerking him around, even when he knew she wasn't meaning to. But he also realized, with an illogical sense of regret, that her wedding idea had nothing to do with him. "Then, why did you go through all that with me if you'd already done things your way?" he asked.

"Just a courtesy," Jayne quipped. "But you won't be disappointed. This way we can plan activities on a weekly basis. Indian mound one day, hot springs another, a trail ride and packed picnic to the cabin another, a nature hike and bird watch on another. And we'll plan a barn dance for Fridays, sort of a farewell get-together. Guests will know each other by then, another reason for week-long stays. They'll return as groups in later years."

Sam couldn't argue Jayne's point. He was beginning to think she
could
get the guest ranch up and running again. He'd lost interest when he started putting in the vineyards and building the winery, and after the pinot noirs proved to rival the burgundies of the top wineries in the valley, that had become his focus. Jayne was exactly what they needed. What he needed.

The trail made a series of sharp uphill switchbacks, then one moderate climb, and they reached a hilltop clearing.

Seeing the view, Jayne said, "This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen, and the wildflowers and butterflies... they're everywhere!" She dismounted and handed him the reins and walked halfway across the meadow before crouching on her knees.

Sam dismounted and tied the horses to a hitching rail near the cabin and walked over to where Jayne was kneeling in tall spring grass dotted with yellow dandelions, blowing on a puff, and sending cottony seeds floating in the air. She glanced up at him and her eyes sparkled with joy, and when she stood and looked at him, he started moving toward her, but when he got within range of pulling her into his arms, she braced her palm on his chest to stop him, and said, "So, show me the cabin," then stepped around him and headed toward the log cabin nestled against a backdrop of evergreens. And he knew he needed to stop building castles in the sky.

Once inside, Jayne stood for a moment to take in the surroundings, then she walked over to the kitchenette and raised the curved handle on the water pump, sending a gush of water cascading out. "It's crystal clear," she mused, "and that stone fireplace with its hand hewn mantel looks like something out of a picture book. This would make a wonderful honeymoon cabin. It even has a sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace for lovemaking."

"Yeah and there's also a queen-size bed in the bedroom," Sam said.

Jayne gave him a little smile and stepped over to a closed door and opened it and stood looking in. Sam came up behind her put his hands on her shoulders and looked over the top of her head at the bed. He had no idea where her thoughts were, but there was no question about his. He could imagine a whole lot of romping there before settling into serious lovemaking.

"It's the perfect place for a honeymoon," Jayne mused. "There's no radio or TV here so it would be all about spending quality time together and really getting to know each other and making love without distractions."

She glanced back at him, like maybe she was talking about them. He'd heard it could happen, couples finding love in an instant, marrying after a week or two and staying together for a lifetime. "I agree, and in between the lovemaking you and one of the owners of the ranch could hike some of the trails around here," he replied, testing.

Jayne turned and looked at him, her face sober, and said, "Sam, you need to slow down. Things with us are moving way too fast, and I wasn't talking about us. I was talking about advertising it as a honeymoon getaway. It would be another source of revenue."

Sam looked at her steadily, his mind seeming unable to switch to what she was telling him from the notion that she was destined to be his wife. "Yeah, you're right," he said, forcing himself back to reality. "It could bring in money."

"Then I'll go ahead and make a flyer for the website. We'll advertise champagne packed in ice and fresh flowers waiting in the cabin, as well as other amenities like a pair of Dancing Moon Ranch wedding goblets, and caviar and brie cheese and fancy crackers, and maybe a box of chocolates with a gold-foil Dancing Moon label on it that would include the bride and groom's names and wedding date. It could all be done on the computer."

"You're in charge," Sam said, and tried to shove aside his disappointment that, while he was imagining Jayne as his wife in that queen-sized bed, she was imagining a great new money-making opportunity for the guest ranch.

They mounted their horses, and as they made their way down the hill, Jayne was quiet, and Sam knew why. Things
were
moving too fast, and he vowed to back off. He also reconsidered stopping by the hot spring. Sitting with her in a pool would push his willpower to the limit.

He was about to suggest they get back to the ranch when Jayne said, "How far to the spring?"

"About another fifteen minutes," Sam replied, "but we don't need to stop there. It's just a pool of warm water in a cavern. You can hike there anytime from the ranch."

Jayne didn't respond right away, but when she did, she looked at him, and said, "Please don't misconstrue what I said at the cabin. I like what's happening between us. I just want to slow things down. You're rushing headlong into something you know nothing about. You also have a son who's not very happy with life right now, and he needs to be your focus."

Sam gave her a half smile, and said, "It's a good thing one of us has their head screwed on right. We'll come back to the spring another day."

"I'd really like to see it today," Jayne said. "I might not get another chance once the guests start arriving. I'd also like to have a little more time alone with you before going back."

This time Sam couldn't contain the wide grin, or the thought that maybe his fantasy actually could become a reality.

Not far from the ranch, they tethered their horses, and after a short hike up a foot path, they stepped through a wide mouth in the mountain and into the twilight of a cavern. Jayne gazed at the natural pool, and said, "There's steam coming off the water. How hot is it?"

"About like a bath," Sam replied. "You want me to turn around while you get ready."

"You don't need to," Jayne said. "I assume you have a swimsuit under your jeans."

Sam nodded. "We can skinny dip if you want. I'd promise not to look."

"Said the big bad wolf."

Sam laughed and stripped off his shirt and jeans, wishing he'd worn loose-fitting trunks instead of a form-fit suit that was packed to capacity. Which Jayne didn't miss, he realized, when he saw her eyes drop, pause a moment then snap back up. "I promise to stay on my side of the pool," he said, then moved to the opposite side and lowered himself into the water.

Jayne eyed him with uncertainty then stripped down to a white tee shirt and black shorts that stopped mid-thigh. Nicely formed legs with slender ankles. Legs as perfect as the rest of her. The thought of that tee shirt wet and clinging heightened the reaction below his waist, but the idea of having sex was bittersweet. Because it had been so long, he might go at it the way Susan once demanded. He also knew he'd better reel those thoughts in. Another reality check.

Jayne lowered herself into the pool, and as the water closed in around her, she gave a long contented sigh and said, "So tell me about the voices in the mountain."

Sam had trouble focusing on what she was asking. It had been years since his thoughts had been so single-minded, but having sex with Jayne was only part of it. He'd never felt so sure about wanting a woman in his life on a permanent basis as he did with her, yet, the idea of marrying her was irrational and illogical, a typical fool's paradise.

"The voices, Sam," Jayne reminded him.

"Voices. Right. So, as the Indian legend goes," Sam started in, determined to stay on track, "if you close your eyes the voices will come to you and you'll be freed of evil spirits. The odd thing is, it seems to clear away the mind clutter."

Jayne rested her head against the high sloped sidewall of the pool, and while she sat with her eyes closed, Sam studied her face, the first time he'd had a chance to do it without her catching him watching. What caught his attention was her full, beautifully sculpted mouth. Maybe it was the culmination of a mongrel gene pool, but he sure wanted to kiss that mouth.

"I hear them now," Jayne said, her voice soft, thoughtful. "Like wailing."

He too heard the sounds. They seemed to come at regular intervals if you stayed there long enough, but for now his mind wasn't on the eerie sounds, but on the woman across the pool from him. She was quiet, but he saw a frown pinch her brow, and her lashes flicker, like she was watching something behind her eyelids. Then her face relaxed and the frown vanished, and even her hands, which had been gently treading water, stopped.

After a while, she let out a little sigh, and said, "I feel so relaxed, and peaceful... umm..." She sat as if contemplating something, then she slowly opened her eyes and said, in a reflective voice, "I was just thinking about weddings again. I actually got the idea when your mother told me that Jack and Grace were married at the ranch. It must have been a beautiful wedding."

"Apparently my mother didn't tell you everything," Sam said.

"If you mean about them getting married six weeks after they met, she mentioned it, but Jack and Grace seem far too practical for a whirlwind romance."

"They are," Sam said. "Grace got pregnant through artificial insemination, but there was a mix-up at the fertility clinic. Grace was supposed to be inseminated with her dead husband's sperm, which had been in storage there, and Jack donated sperm to Susan so Ricky could have a sibling for a cord blood transplant, since I'm sterile and Jack's DNA matches mine, but the vials of sperm were accidentally switched, so Grace ended up pregnant by Jack. They were married here at the ranch, just before we all flew to New Jersey for the births and Ricky's cord-blood transplant. Grace almost had Adam on the plane. Marc was born the next day."

"That can happen with twins?" Jayne asked, "be born a whole day apart?"

Sam was caught up short. They never talked about the issue with the boys. In fact, no one but those at the ranch knew the truth. "It wasn't really a whole day," he said. "The boys were born around midnight." 

Jayne looked at him, dubiously, like she was trying to sort it out and not quite believing him, which she all but affirmed when she said, "They don't look anything alike. Now that I think about it, the little one doesn't look like either of his parents." She looked at him thoughtfully. "You look worried. Are the twins okay? They don't have what Ricky had, do they?"

Sam looked into eyes so sincere, he found himself saying, "Marc and Adam are cousins. Jack and Grace are raising them as fraternal twins because they don't want Marc to know he was conceived only to save Ricky, and after he was born, Susan didn't want him. We were all afraid Susan might hurt him or worse, like Jack's first wife did, smothering Jack's son, but Grace wanted Marc from the start since he was her dead husband's son, so I signed off my rights."

"And now you regret it," Jayne said.

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I regret it, but Susan never wanted kids. For her, Ricky was a mistake, and Susan was furious with me when she found out she was pregnant."

"As in, she wasn't aware she was having sex with you and bingo, a baby was conceived?"

"As in, I didn't wear a condom that time. But I also knew what I was doing. I wanted a child and figured Susan would get used to the idea once she was pregnant. She adjusted to Ricky, but things started falling apart after Marc was born. Like I said, it's been a long dry spell."

"I guess it's hard for men," Jayne said.

Sam gave her a wry smile. "Yeah, it is a good part of the time."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant," Sam said, "and yes, it's damn hard. I liked being married. At least I did when things were good. It was hell later, knowing that every time I initiated sex, Susan hated it." He looked at Jayne then, and said, "And you? How long has it been for you?"

"Is that part of the job requirement, to let the boss know if I sleep around?"