Born to Be a Cowboy Page 7
Minutes later he was driving back down the interstate, on his way to Haller Creek.
The closer he got, the more he began to relax. While he loved the challenge of dealing with the county courthouse officials, he loved the wide-open countryside and small-town living even more. He loved everything about his ranch—especially now that a certain pretty woman was staying there.
Maybe he’d just skip dinner altogether and go for dessert. But he knew he better keep his distance from Jessica Blair if he wanted to keep their relationship on a purely professional level.
Forbidden fruit. Always the sweetest.
Finn stepped into the kitchen to the sound of voices and laughter.
The entire family had already gathered around and was sipping lemonade or longnecks, looking relaxed and happy.
Finn’s gaze was immediately drawn to Jessie, arranging rolls in a linen-lined basket. She was wearing new skinny jeans and a crisp cotton shirt, the sleeves rolled above her elbows. Her hair tumbled about her face in messy waves.
She was gorgeous without even trying.
She was laughing with Penny, as though they’d been friends forever. She looked up and smiled.
Just seeing her had Finn’s cares of the day slipping away.
He accepted a longneck from Sam before saying, “I guess I don’t need to ask how your girls’ day went. I see you managed some shopping.”
“I did. And lunch at Dolly’s Diner. And…” She merely smiled. “Lots of girl talk.”
“I guess I shouldn’t ask.”
“I’d never tell.”
With a grin he walked over to his father. “How did your new accountant do?”
Mac looked more relaxed than he had in days. “I still can’t believe what Jessie managed to do in a matter of hours. After shopping with the girls, she’s managed to have everything cataloged, tallied, and filed. For the first time in weeks my desktop is clear. And she promised to show me a simple way to keep a handy file and do a weekly roundup of all the payments and inventory that will keep paperwork to a minimum.”
“Sounds like you have an angel on your side, Dad.”
“More like a genius.” He glanced at Jessie before lowering his voice. “That sweet face hides quite a brain.”
Finn was grinning as he stood there, letting the voices flow around him. He thought again about Cameron’s offer today. Finn would be earning five times what he made in his little law office in Haller Creek. He could afford to live in one of the new mansions being built for Montana’s movers and shakers. And he’d be spending his days in court as lead lawyer in high-profile cases that routinely made headlines.
But he’d be expected to relocate to Helena, more than a hundred miles from here. And after a day of fascinating courtroom drama, he would go home to empty rooms. No hum of voices. No easy laughter. No family to cheer on each success.
He tipped up his bottle and sipped his beer and realized he had no regrets about his decision. He enjoyed Cameron’s friendship and was appreciative of the offer. But he loved his life just the way it was right here.
Penny called everyone to dinner, and the talk soon turned to the daily ebb and flow of ranch life in springtime. Calves being born, and new wranglers being hired to help guard the helpless newborns from predators attracted to easy prey. Fields requiring plowing and planting to take advantage of longer days and warmer nights.
Sam looked over at his brother. “You up for some fieldwork tomorrow?”
Finn shook his head. “Sorry. I won’t be free until the weekend. Do you have enough hands?”
Sam nodded. “We hired six more a few days ago. Would you mind checking out their references?”
“I don’t mind. Give me their names and Social Security numbers, and I’ll handle it first thing in the morning. It’s the least I can do, now that Ben and I are both leaving you with so much work.”
Mac put a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Don’t do that to yourself, son. As I reminded Ben when he accepted the job of sheriff in Haller Creek, I didn’t take you three into my home and my life so I’d have free labor. I want all of you to be free to follow your hearts. The ranch will survive, no matter what.”
“Besides,” Sam added with a smug smile, “we all know I can work circles around both you and Ben, bro.”
That brought a round of laughter.
“And we all know your biggest asset is your humility, bro.” Finn’s remark ramped up the laughter even more.
Sam chuckled and tipped up his longneck in a salute. “Just see that you’re available for fieldwork this weekend. Wouldn’t want my brilliant little brother to get soft hands.”
“I’ve been dying to find out what you learned at the county offices today.” With the rest of the family off to bed and darkness closing over the hills, Jessie settled herself on the porch swing beside Finn. “I didn’t want to ask in front of your family. They have enough problems without hearing about mine.”
“I wouldn’t have kept you in suspense if I’d learned anything important.” Finn looked up to follow the path of a shooting star. “Nobody recognized the man in the picture. But my private investigator found a few people who claimed to not know Wayne Stone but identified the guy in the picture as Rogers Sutter. Ring a bell?”
“No.” Jessie huffed out a breath. “I wish Aunt Nola had written something on the back that could have identified him. But if it wasn’t Wayne Stone, I can’t think of anyone else who would have an arm around my aunt’s shoulders like that. You saw the look on her face. She was staring at him like a teenaged girl with a crush, but he was just looking at the camera like a reluctant model.” She sighed. “I can’t help wondering who took that picture, unless…”
Finn turned to her. “Unless they used a camera with a timer, mounted on a tripod. Do you know if your aunt had such a thing?”
“She didn’t. But I did.” She clasped her hands together. “Aunt Nola bought it for me on my sixteenth birthday. I lugged it all over the ranch for the next couple of years, taking pictures of everything I loved. The cattle. The fields. The wranglers. Sunrises and sunsets. But when I went off to college, I left it behind. A camera, bags of lenses, and a tripod seemed like too much equipment to take, so I figured I’d just use it during summer breaks. Through the years Aunt Nola said she’d keep it for me until I got the itch to start capturing new photos.” She looked over. “I’d forgotten all about it.”
Finn smiled. “That may become the perfect excuse to visit the ranch again and do a search for your photographic equipment.”
Jessie nodded. “Then you think we should go back?”
“I do. And maybe, if we’re lucky, your aunt and her new husband might be there.”
“If they ever return.”
“Wayne Stone has already hired new wranglers. That tells you he’s taking responsibility for the ranch and property.”
“And neatly replacing my aunt as owner and operator of her own family property.”
“Exactly. He’s acting like a guy who has nothing to hide.”
“Except that he may not even be who he claims to be.” She stood and started pacing. “I feel like I should be doing more to find my aunt. It’s been too long. I know in my heart something’s terribly wrong.”
Finn stood and put a hand on her arm to halt her movement. “You’ve gone to the police. You hired a detective. And now you have me. And I give you my word I won’t quit until you have all your answers.”
“Finn, I don’t even know the questions to ask anymore.” She looked up at him with a small smile. “But you’re on my side. And that matters more than you’ll ever know.”
She touched a hand to his cheek. Just a touch, but she felt him flinch and saw his eyes narrow on her with an intensity that had her heart leaping to her throat.
She lowered her hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean…” She started to step back. “I know you want to keep things between us professional, and even though I disagree, I’ll respect…”
“You disagree?” He dragged
her close. His eyes, moments earlier narrowed in thought, were now hot and fierce, and focused on hers. “You disagree?”
“What I mean is…” She swallowed. “Yes. I…”
“Okay.” His voice was a low growl. “Let’s get this out of the way.”
He tangled his hands in her hair and lowered his face to hers in a kiss that had her heart stuttering. Instead of stepping back, he drew her even closer, until she could feel the heat of him along every line of her body.
The porch beneath her feet seemed to tilt and sway, and she reached out for his waist.
Lost in the kiss, he backed her up until she bumped into the back door, and still the kiss spun on and on until at last they were both gasping for breath as they reluctantly stepped apart.
“So much for professionalism.” Finn quirked his lips, but then he was suddenly looking at her with such fierce concentration, she could feel the heat of it all the way to her toes. “All that proved was…” He abruptly yanked open the back door. “I think you’d better go inside.”
“Inside?” She paused. “What about you?”
“I’ll stay out here.”
“I could stay out here with…Oh.” Seeing the storm brewing in his eyes she let her protest die and stepped inside.
But before she headed to bed, she watched as he strode off into the darkness.
Chapter Nine
Jessie lay in the darkened room, listening to the sounds of the night. Somewhere a bird called and in the distance another answered. From up in the hills came the mournful howl of a coyote. And as always, the lowing of cattle in the background. Such familiar sounds, and yet tonight they all seemed new and exciting.
Because of that kiss.
She would like to think it was nothing more than a simple kiss, but there’d been nothing simple about it.
She couldn’t begin to count the number of times she’d been kissed. But none had ever come close to Finn’s.
Let’s get this out of the way.
When Finn said that, she’d felt the same way. One kiss, and then they could get rid of this…curiosity, this sexual tension between them and concentrate on business. Except that, in an instant, everything changed. Instead of getting it out of the way, it had become this even greater firestorm that had her feeling so hungry, so needy, she couldn’t seem to settle. It was like the edgy feeling she always got when a huge storm was blowing across the hills, causing the hair on her arms to rise, setting off alarm bells in the back of her mind.
The moment he’d kissed her, she’d been caught up in something so new, so primal, she’d been lost.
What bothered her the most was the fact that she didn’t know how to handle this.
Finn had made it perfectly clear he wanted a strictly businesslike relationship.
That kiss had been as far from business as possible.
But what did she want?
She touched a finger to her lips, replaying that moment of pure magic.
She wasn’t some teen with her first crush. But she had never before been thrust into a raging whirlpool with a single kiss.
In that moment she’d been in over her head and drowning. What’s worse, she hadn’t wanted to surface.
And unless she was mistaken, Finn had been as deeply affected as she.
She sighed. So, what did she want going forward?
She wanted what he wanted. A purely businesslike relationship.
She smiled in the darkness.
Liar.
She wanted more of what she’d felt tonight in Finn’s arms. So much more.
Finn tossed aside his clothes and slipped into bed. He’d hoped a long walk around the barns would cool him off enough to settle, but the need was still churning inside.
He could have stepped away. That had been his plan. But no. He had to test himself. Get it out of the way, he’d said, as though somehow kissing Jessie would end the gnawing hunger.
Really dumb, he berated himself. It was like thinking he could eat a single potato chip, or take one lick of an ice cream cone.
Yeah right.
And look where it got him. Instead of behaving in a purely professional manner, he’d been so tangled up with need he’d wanted to tear off her clothes and take her right there on the back porch.
The image had him groaning.
If only she wasn’t a client.
If only she wasn’t staying here at his family ranch.
If only…
He needed to back off and hold firm to his original intentions. An honorable lawyer doesn’t mess with a frightened client who comes to him with serious legal, and possibly criminal, issues. An honorable lawyer does his best to untangle the knots and find resolution. And do it all as professionally as possible.
He’d crossed a line, and now he needed to get back on track.
But he’d never before had a woman rock his world like this. Jessie was smart, independent, and fiercely protective of her aunt. And yet, beneath her strong image, there was this fragile, wounded bird who made him want to wrap his arms around her and keep her safe.
She was dangerous, uncharted territory, he realized.
He knew what his dad would advise. He could hear Mac’s voice inside his head. That good, honorable man who’d taken in Finn and his brothers and turned them from dangerous delinquents to good men would counsel to always operate on the side of what they knew to be right.
With a deep sigh he knew what he had to do.
Tomorrow he would start over.
Jessie would be his client. He would be her lawyer.
Nothing more.
Finn paused in the doorway of the kitchen. Jessie was chatting happily with Penny and Mary Pat. She looked so fresh and pretty he wanted to cross the room and kiss her breathless. Instead, he stayed where he was. After the long night he’d put in, he didn’t trust himself to get anywhere near her until he was in control of his feelings.
But all that tossing and turning hadn’t been in vain. He’d had plenty of time to clear his mind, and he’d come to a decision.
As the men stomped in from the barns and began to wash in the mudroom, he accepted a cup of coffee from Penny.
She arched a brow. “You’re not dressed for the office.”
Finn saw the way Jessie paused to look over.
“I thought we’d take that drive to Arvid.”
She set aside the platter of eggs and walked closer, to hear him above the chorus of men’s voices. “Now?”
“We need to search for your old camera. Who knows? Maybe there’s an SD card with all kinds of pictures your aunt took.”
“Oh, Finn.” She put a hand to her heart. “Wouldn’t that be great?”
“Hey, now.” Seeing her excitement, he gave a shake of his head. “It’s just a thought. We may come up empty.”
“But it’s worth a try. Will we leave right after breakfast?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be ready.”
He saw her smile of relief as she crossed the room and continued lending a hand with the meal.
Another reason to stay detached, he reminded himself. Putting a smile in her eyes was starting to mean way too much to him.
Jessie was animated as they drove through the countryside. The nearer they got to her aunt’s ranch, the more excited she became.
“I didn’t notice my camera in Aunt Nola’s closet. I wonder if she stored it in my old room.”
“Then we’ll start there.”
Finn saw the way her gaze swept the driveway as they pulled close. Her smile of anticipation faded into a frown.
She sighed. “No trace of a vehicle.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. Your aunt could be home, and her new husband out in the fields.”
“Or not.” She twisted her hands in her lap.
As soon as Finn brought the truck to a halt, she was out the door and heading toward the back porch. Finn followed more slowly, looking around for any sign of life.
Everything looked the way it had the last
time they’d been here.
On a whim, he backtracked to the road and opened the mailbox, expecting to find it filled with mail.
The mailbox was empty.
By the time he returned to the ranch house, Jessie was nowhere to be found.
“Jessie.” He paused at the foot of the stairs. “You up there?”
“Yes.” She appeared at the head of the stairs. “Just as I thought. There’s nobody here. I’m heading to my room.”
He climbed the stairs and trailed behind her as she threw open a door and hurried inside.
The room was sparsely furnished. A bed, covered with a simple white down comforter. A desk and chair. A closet, with a few articles of clothing hanging inside. The big window was framed with white curtains and offered a spectacular view of the rolling fields beyond.
He grinned. “I was expecting some feminine frills.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” She turned from the closet. “I took almost everything with me when I moved out. But I left a few things here that I could wear for ranch chores whenever I got a weekend home.” She indicated worn, faded jeans and a few plaid shirts. “But my camera equipment isn’t here.”
“Can you think of anyplace else it might be?”
She shrugged. “I guess we could look in the basement.”
“Let’s go.”
He followed her down the stairs, and then down a second flight to the basement. Like the rest of the house it was tidy, with a love seat and recliner facing a television hung above a fireplace. One entire wall was covered with bookcases filled to the brim, and below them, wooden cabinets.
“This was Aunt Nola’s favorite spot. After supper she always came down here to read or watch TV.” Jessie began opening the cabinet doors.
When she opened the last one, she gave a sigh of disgust. “No sign of my camera or tripod.”
Finn pointed to a door. “What’s in there?”
She shrugged. “A storage room. Most of the stuff stored in there belonged to my grandparents. Things Aunt Nola couldn’t bring herself to dispose of. She used to say she hoped I’d go through them one day and find something of theirs that I’d want to keep in their memory.”