The Cowboy's Temptation (4 page)

Jake turned away from her and carried her bags into his house. “You’re staying here,” he said, ending the conversation as he disappeared up a stair case.

Elissa watched him go inside, carrying all four bags at once up a stair case effortlessly. “Well, I guess that’s that,” she said and sighed, wishing Veronica were here to step in. But she followed the man inside.

He was already coming down the stairs, minus her bags. “Your room is the last one on the right,” he said curtly. “Make yourself at home,” and he disappeared again out the door, leaving Elissa to figure out where her bags were and what she was supposed to do next.

Elissa stared around at the foyer, wondering where Veronica lived and where everyone else in the house or ranch was. She had always thought of a ranch as having several people working around a barn or a corral or whatever it was that held the animals. She didn’t see anything like that although she was still standing in the center of the foyer.

A door opened behind her before Elissa could move. “Lissy?” Veronica called out, then peered around the heavy, carved wooden door.

 

“Ronny?” Elissa gasped, then rushed forward to hug her friend, almost crying now that she was here and in friendly company.

 

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Ronny said, crying herself. “It has been too long!”

“I know,” Elissa said, then stepped back to survey her friend. “Look at you! I can’t believe how huge your stomach is. You’re right, are definitely two in there,” she laughed.

Veronica was proud of her protruding stomach and rubbed it gently. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

 

“What were you doing at the doctor?”

 

“Oh!” Veronica waived aside Elissa’s concerns. “She’s just a worrier but it makes me feel better knowing she’s worrying for me.”

 

“Where’s Rick?”

 

“Right here,” a deeper voice said behind the two women. “Just waiting my turn,” he chuckled.

 

“Rick!” Elissa said. “It is good to see you. I haven’t seen you in so long!”

 

“I know. You work too hard,” he said and took Elissa in a gentle hug. “What have you been eating, woman?”

“Nothing,” Veronica laughed. “Obviously. So you come on with us, I’m going to fatten you up before you head back to that awful job of yours,” she said and pulled Elissa out of the house.

Chapter 4

They walked about fifty feet along a path of stepping stones through a thicket of trees. On the other side, a small house overflowing with flowers along the sidewalk and windows emerged.

“Is this your house?” Elissa asked.

 

“This is it. I wish it were bigger so you could stay with us,” she said, the worry appearing in her eyes.

 

Elissa waived Veronica’s concerns aside. “Nonsense. You two only have a few more weeks to be alone with each other. I’ll be fine.”

“I heard some ranch hand slammed a rake through the window but Jake’s house is much nicer so you’ll be comfortable there. And I won’t worry about you being alone now.”

Elissa didn’t mention her concerns over the tall, incredibly handsome man she would be sharing a house with. She’d much rather stay in the broken cabin for some reason. A broken window didn’t worry her. But Jake Callahan terrified her.

“I have to get back to work. I’ll see both of you ladies tonight?” he asked, looking at Elissa for confirmation.

“Absolutely,” Elissa said, smiling at the man who was obviously in love with his wife. She watched with a pang of jealousy as Rick leaned forward and kissed Veronica, gently laying a hand on her swollen stomach before winking at both of them and striding off back down the path again.

Veronica smiled as she watched him walk away, then sighed heavily when he was no longer in sight.

 

“He’s a great guy, Ronny,” Elissa said, noting her friend’s contented expression.

 

“I know. I really struck gold with him, didn’t I?” she smiled smugly.

 

“Absolutely,” Elissa agreed. “The last good man available.”

 

Veronica’s smile disappeared. “Oh, dear. That bad, huh?” she asked and turned to head into the house.

 

“What?”

 

“The men you’ve been seeing,” she said, no longer a question. “You can’t judge all men by New York City standards.”

 

“I don’t,” Elissa said and looked around Veronica’s small but comfortable house. “This is really nice,” she said, trying to change the subject.

“Thank you,” Veronica replied. “What do you think of Jake?” she asked, leading the way into the immaculately clean kitchen that was bright with large windows. She pulled out the fixings for salad. “Come over here and talk to me,” she said, sitting down at the kitchen table. “I can’t stand and cook anymore. Everything has to be prepared sitting down,” she explained, grimacing as she started chopping vegetables. “Rick is getting sick of sandwiches,” she laughed.

Elissa looked into the refrigerator and considered her options. “How about meat loaf?” she said, taking out the ground beef.

 

Veronica eyed her friend suspiciously. “Do you know how to cook meat loaf?” she asked.

 

Elissa bit her lip for a moment. “Can you tell me as I go along?” she asked.

 

“Sure, as long as you don’t try and get out of the original subject,” she joked.

Elissa followed Veronica’s instructions on cooking meat loaf, while dodging Veronica’s questions about her impressions of Jake. Elissa didn’t understand her reaction to the man so she didn’t want to give her friend the wrong idea.

Rick came back to the house a few hours later to find Elissa and Veronica laughing about old stories from their college days and their antics. Elissa really missed those carefree days and wished she could get some of those old feelings back again. She knew her life had become completely unbalanced, work taking up all her time and leaving nothing leftover.

The three of them ate dinner, then Rick walked Elissa home, explaining that Jake was still out working but he’d be back late that night.

Elissa laid in bed, amazed at the beautiful room Jake had let her use. It was very feminine and extremely comfortable. She watched the stars from her window, reveling in their brightness and the quiet of the night. There were no traffic sounds or planes flying overhead. She could even hear the crickets as they chirped their mating sounds in the tall grass.

It was almost midnight when she woke suddenly. She heard a noise coming from somewhere in the back of the house. The fact that she actually was waking up before midnight was just as odd as the sounds she was hearing.

Feeling nervous and not sure if Jake was back from wherever he’d been, she searched frantically for a weapon. The only solid object she could find was her hairbrush which she grabbed, wondering if the handle would do any harm to the intruder. But she held it aloft, her hand shaking violently as she snuck out of her room to find out who was sneaking into the house.

She couldn’t hear anything for a long time as she stood right outside her doorway. Then she heard the footsteps again, moving from the back of the house to the front, then slowly coming down the hallway.

Elissa’s heart was beating frantically but she moved as quietly as possible down the hallway. She saw a shadow in the foyer and thought to come up behind whoever it was, hoping to catch the intruder off guard.

Sneaking down the hallway, she stood just to the right of one doorway and waited, her body tense but determined to not be a victim. As soon as the shadow turned the corner, she jumped out and poked the handle of the brush into the huge, dark form in the middle of the hallway.

“Who are you and what are you doing in this house?” she demanded, hating the quiver that sounded in her voice.

 

The large form froze but didn’t answer her.

 

“Who are you?” she demanded with more force.

In one swift move, Elissa found herself with her back to the wall and an equally hard chest pressed against her front. Both hands were held in the air by strong hands and she was staring into the amused eyes of Jake Callahan.

“Good evening, Ms. Stone,” he said, his eyes roving over her stunned expression.

 

“What are you going to do now?” he asked when she didn’t make any response.

 

“Jake,” Elissa gasped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who was in the house and I just heard sounds. I’m so sorry,” she said, staring up into the man’s mysterious eyes.

 

“So you meant to protect my home from me?” He stepped back slightly, giving her a few inches of space.

Elissa noted his broad shoulders and the fact that he smelled extremely nice. It was a mix of hay and sweat and something a little tangy that she couldn’t define. “Well, like I said, I didn’t know it was you.” She looked down at the floor, then back up into his dark eyes.

“And if I was a burglar, what were you going to do? Brush my hair to death?” he teased, glancing down at the hairbrush in her hand.

Elissa couldn’t think anymore. Now that her nervousness was gone, her body was reacting to his harder one against hers. He was teasing her? This didn’t seem like the austere man who had picked her up at the airport earlier today. “Um….I….Jake, I’m sorry.”

Jake knew he should move away but his body wouldn’t take orders from his mind anymore. He’d been thinking of her soft, blue eyes all day and wondering if she really felt as good as he’d remembered. And now he knew. She felt better. And all she was wearing was a thin tee-shirt that barely covered her thighs. The gentlemanly thing to do was to move on down to his bedroom so she could get back to bed.
“Why are you so scared?” he asked instead.

“Well, I….I’m just not used to the sounds yet,” she said. It was feeble but it was also the truth.

 

“You don’t look like you sleep very well at home,” he said, releasing one hand to gently touch the dark circles under her eyes.

His touched caused her entire face to heat with embarrassment and something else she couldn’t define but made her stomach flip-flop. “No. Not very,” was all she could say.

“Well, I hope you sleep better now. I promise to protect you against all other invaders,” he said, smiling down at her face. “There’s a rabbit that sometimes gets into the garden. I’ll be sure to warn it away in case it makes too much noise. I imagine he’ll be just as terrified of your hairbrush as I was,” he chuckled, then sauntered down to the hallway to disappear a few doors away.

Elissa stood there for several minutes, trying to calm down her nerves and her body’s reaction to Jake. Once she felt her legs would hold her up, she walked to her room and closed the door, falling into bed. She thought she’d be awake for several more hours but the next thing she knew, the sun was coming up over the horizon and she heard the back door slam shut.

Elissa woke up and stretched, walking over to the French doors that opened onto a small balcony. She saw a tall man walking across the backyard and instinctively knew that it was Jake. He had a confident walk, she noted. She liked that about him. It wasn’t practiced or stiff, like the brokers in New York. He walked with a purpose and determination. With a touch of arrogance, she thought.

Rick pulled out a brown horse and walked her up to Elissa. “This here is Jemima. She’s the sweetest, gentlest horse Jake owns. I think you and she will be good friends,” Rick explained, patting the horse’s nose.

Elissa watched the extremely large animal with wary eyes. “Are you sure she’s nice and docile?”

 

Rick chuckled. “She sure is. Don’t worry. She won’t throw you.”

 

Elissa stared at the horse’s soft brown eyes and decided to trust Rick. “Okay. What do I do?”

 

Rick walked the horse over to the mounting block. “I guess the first thing to do would be to climb on.”

 

“What’s going on, Rick?” a deep voice behind Elissa asked.

 

Elissa tensed, knowing that voice well now. She turned to see Jake standing in the sunshine with his hat low over his eyes, hands on his hips and waiting for an answer.

Rick didn’t seem to take offense at Jake’s curt tone. He simply smiled at Jake and tipped his hat back slightly. “Elissa wants to learn how to ride. I told her I’d give her a few lessons.”

“Jimmy needs help with the steer out in the south field. Go give him a hand. And bring Tommy and Joe too. They are probably finished with the truck by now.” Jake looked right at Elissa. “I’ll take care of the lessons.”

Jake give her lessons on riding? No way, she told herself. Elissa backed away. “No, that’s okay. I can do this another time. I don’t want to be in the way.”

Rick ignored her statement and tied Jemima up to the nearby fence. “Thanks, Jake. I’ll take care of that steer if you’ll take care of Elissa. I think she might be a bit nervous so be nice,” he said and smiled as he walked off to a truck. Elissa watched him get into the cab and revved the engine, waving to her with a cheeky smile as he drove of. She didn’t want to get lessons from Jake. He terrified her more than the horse did. And it didn’t help that he was staring at her now that they were relatively alone in the corral.

“This really can wait until Rick has more time. You’re busy,” she said warily and backed away from the mounting block intending to hide in her room until this enigmatic man left the area.

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of Jemima,” Jake said, moving closer to pat the horse’s head. His eyes challenged her.

Elissa tried to keep her eyes off his hands as he caressed the horse. She refused to be jealous of the huge beast but Jake’s hands were strong and tanned with long fingers that soothed the horse who moved closer, begging for more.

Taking a deep breath to get her thoughts going in the right direction, she stepped back further. “I’m not afraid of her. I’d just prefer Rick to teach me how to ride.”

 

“Ah,” Jake said, nodding his head. “So you’re afraid of me,” and he smiled slightly.

 

Elissa’s chin went up a notch. “I’m not afraid of you.”

 

His smile grew wider. “Prove it. Get on the horse. Let’s see what you can do,” he said and raised one eyebrow.

Elissa eyed the horse and considered admitting that she was terrified of both horse and instructor. But one glance back at him and she refused to let him know the truth. He already thought she was a city girl who couldn’t handle life on a ranch. She’d just prove that she wasn’t a hot house flower.