The Rancher and the Event Planner

Chapter Five



In a heartbeat, Cade advanced on Rafe until they stood nearly nose to nose. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

Rafe lifted his chin and stared his friend down. “Cade, we’ve been friends a long time but there’s no way I’m going to stand here like some kid who got his hand caught in the cookie jar.”

Cade poked a finger into the middle of Rafe’s chest. “My sister’s no cookie.”

Rafe grabbed his hand and pushed it roughly aside. “Damn right, she isn’t. She’s a grown woman and maybe you should treat her like one.”

Cade grimaced and said, “Maybe you should tell me how this happened and what she’s doing here.”

Rafe heaved a breath and gestured toward the breakfast table. “Have a seat.”

Rafe explained about the car accident, the community service and the reason Jennifer was staying here. By the time he was finished Cade’s anger had cooled to a simmer.

Cade tapped his fingers on the top of the table, pursed his lips and stared at him. “What happens now with you and Jenn?”

Rafe raised his brows. “Are you asking me my intentions?”

“Yeah. So what are they?”

Rafe swept a hand around the back of his neck. What were his intentions? At first he was intent on keeping his hands and his lips to himself but he’d blown that intention to hell and gone. Now he had Jennifer living under his roof, sleeping across the hall and they would be working closely together for the next month. Barely twenty-four hours had passed and he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her.

“Well?” Cade prompted.

Rafe rubbed his chin. “I honestly don’t know.”

“You’d better make up your mind and do it fast because I won’t have you playing fast and loose with Jenn.”

Rafe’s head shot up. “I’d never do that. I respect her too much. And you too for that matter.”

Cade nodded slightly. “Good to know because she’s been hurt and I don’t want her hurt again.”

“I know what happened with your parents growing up. What else? Did she fall for some guy and he dumped her?”

Cade glanced toward the kitchen doorway then back at Rafe. “She never wanted me to say anything to you but she got married a few years ago. It didn’t last.”

A wash of jealousy swelled in Rafe’s stomach. Jennifer married. He didn’t want to think about her being married and he knew he was being irrational but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t wrap his mind around her promising to love, honor and cherish some jerk that probably never deserved her in the first place. “What happened?”

“He was on the rodeo circuit. She met him at one of the parties she planned. He swept her off her feet, made a bunch of empty promises then three months into the marriage he ran off with a buckle bunny leaving her high and dry with all his credit card debt. She was hurt, humiliated, of course. She stopped dating altogether. For the last few years she’s done nothing but focus on work.”

Bastard. “I’m sorry.”

“She’s been crushing on you since she was a kid. Did you know that?”

He regretted not knowing. Instead he’d walked blindly around without a hint of her true feelings. “Found out yesterday. Felt like a two by four to the head. She told me she’d gotten over it.” But after having her in his arms he wasn’t so sure.

“When she heard you had gotten married she changed. She stopped asking about you and if I ever brought you up she’d change the subject. When I went to see her right after you and Caroline tied the knot, I heard her crying at night. It tore my guts out but there was nothing I could do. I think she married that guy because she figured there was no hope for the two of you and she wanted to prove to herself she didn’t need you to be happy. She figured you had found the love of your life and she wasn’t it. Now here she is right back where she started.” He leaned forward and looked Rafe straight in the eye. “She’s come a long way, Rafe but she couldn’t handle being hurt again and certainly not by you. So until you make up your mind you’ll keep your hands to yourself. Promise?” He put his hand out for a shake.

Not touch Jennifer again for an entire month? No kisses, no hugs, no physical contact. Nada. Zip. Could he do it? He had to. He’d rip his own heart out before he hurt Jennifer. With his messy past with Caroline behind him and knowing what that rat bastard had done to Jennifer, he’d be one cold-hearted mongrel to get involved with her. He’d screwed up once, he could screw up again and this time two of his oldest, dearest friends could suffer the consequences. He took Cade’s hand. “Promise.”

“Promise what?”

They both turned to see Jennifer standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Promise not to be gone so long next time,” Cade said and rose from his chair. He walked to Jennifer’s side. “How about a hug for your brother?”

She lifted her arms around Cade and looked at Rafe over his shoulder with questions in her eyes.

***

Later that day, JC stood beneath a ponderosa pine and watched Rafe training a pretty bay mare in a large paddock. Her female appreciation meter shot off the scale. Dusty jeans and boots painted the perfect picture of a hard working cowboy. A blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up draped his upper body, emphasizing his wide shoulders, shoulders she’d had her arms around, and a worn cowboy hat was pushed back from his forehead.

Rafe moved his hands in an up and down pumping motion and the horse backed up, her hooves lifting in a little march. He released more slack on the rope and the horse trotted several times in a circle around him. “Whoa,” Rafe said in a soft, easy voice. The horse stopped and whickered as Rafe rubbed her neck. “Good girl,” he said, his easy gentle voice drifting on the hot breeze.

JC walked to the paddock fence and rested her arms on the top rail. The horse lifted her head and pricked her ears.

Rafe turned. His gaze collided with hers and every exquisite memory of their kiss that morning played out in her head. The flavor of his lips, the hunger to get closer, to feel him next to her, skin to skin, with nothing separating them, not even air. Her pulse skittered and hunger pooled in her stomach. Seconds seemed to turn to minutes before he said, “Jennifer, how did the meeting go?”

“Great. I wanted to find out how things went with you and Cade this morning.”

He led the horse over to the fence, pulling a bandana from his pocket and wiping sweat from his forehead. “Things went fine.”

“And?”

He started toward the paddock gate. “We can talk while I give Honey a rub down.”

Once inside the barn, he tethered the horse in the middle of the alleyway and filled a bucket with water. “Cade and I came to an understanding,” he said sweeping a wet sponge over the mare’s sweaty back and flanks.

JC perched on a hay bale and inhaled the animal scents saturating the air. “What kind of understanding?”

Rafe glanced her way and his gaze filled with barely banked heat. “The kind where I keep my hands off you for the rest of the month.” He turned back to the mare and used a metal scraper to sweep away the excess water from her coat. Afterward, he applied a round rubber tool over the mare in circular motions. He looked at JC again then focused his attention back on the horse. “He’s right. I should never have allowed anything to happen between us. You could get hurt. We could both get hurt. You’ll only be here for a month then you’ll go back to your life and I’ll get back to mine. End of story.”

JC’s temper flared inside like a lightning strike on dry brush. Her cheeks flushed but her humiliation morphed into annoyance. “Cade told you, didn’t he?”

Rafe was silent for a moment with only the sounds of the rubber grooming tool moving over the horse’s coat, the distant mooing of cattle in the pastures and the soft rush of wind against the walls of the barn. “Yeah, he told me.” He stopped brushing the horse and stared at her. “I wish you’d told me instead. Why didn’t you?”

They both knew he wasn’t referring to her marriage ceremony itself but the why behind it. And the why had nothing to do with love for her ex-husband and everything to do with escape. “Because you married Caroline and your life was settled. It was time to stop dreaming about a stupid fantasy that was never going to happen. When Dave asked me to marry him, I didn’t have a reason to say no anymore.”

Rafe rested his arms on the horse’s back as a range of unreadable emotions flickered over his features. “I’m so sorry you got hurt. If I had known maybe I could have—”

She shook her head. “No, the marriage was my decision. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

He shook his head but didn’t look at her. “I didn’t mean your marriage. I meant your feelings for me.”

Her heart set up a drum beat behind her ribs. “What would you have done if you’d known?” She held her breath craving his answer and dreading it at the same time.

He untethered the horse and secured the mare in her stall then turned toward JC. “Probably run like a scared rabbit at first then I would have told you what a wonderful girl you were and that you deserved someone a whole lot better than me.”

Let her down easy, of course. Her heart settled and she exhaled. “Are you planning to run now?”

His expression grew serious. “I tried to do the right thing by Caroline and I made a mess of things. I refuse to put another woman at risk. Especially you.”

As a girl, she’d dreamed of Rafe sweeping her into his arms and declaring his love then the two of them riding off into the sunset. A stupid girl’s fantasy. But she wasn’t a starry eyed teenager anymore. She’d grown a woman’s heart.

JC walked to his side, took his hands in hers and looked up into his vivid, blue eyes. She could happily drown in them. “I don’t know if I can ever be the kind of woman you want or need. I’ve always believed that romantic love could never happen to someone like me after living through my parent’s disastrous marriage and my own stumble to the altar. I’ll be here for a month then I’ll be gone. Will you give me the chance to prove we belong together?” At least this time if she went down, she’d go down fighting.

Rafe pulled his hands from hers and stepped back. “Not a good idea. Besides I promised Cade I’d keep my hands to myself.”

“Let me handle Cade.”

He shook his head. "Cade'll hand me my ass if you get hurt."

JC knew she could get her heart ripped out but the fates had given her another chance and she’d be a fool not to take it. “If we don’t at least try we’ll always wonder. Besides, while I’m trying to prove you wrong, you’ll have every opportunity to prove that you’re right. What do you say?”

"This has disaster written all over it."

"Don't think of it as disaster. Think of it as exploration." She put her hand out for a shake. “Do we have a deal?”

"As long as you remember one thing."

"What's that?"

He took her hand. "I play dirty."

She smiled. "Me too."

***

“Welcome everyone,” Rafe said the next morning at the Salvation court house. The meeting room was filled with members of the town council and local business owners. “Jennifer—I mean JC Barrett—is spearheading the town’s renovation to help Salvation win the Best Texas Vacation Contest. Now I’ll turn the meeting over to JC.”

There was a brief round of applause while Jennifer walked to the front of the room. “Before I get started I’d like to hear from all of you as to what your needs are and how you’d like to see this project proceed.”

Admiration for her rose inside Rafe. She wasn’t talking at them, she was talking with them. She valued their opinion, she wasn’t running roughshod over them with her event planner skills. But he wasn’t supposed to be admiring her, he was supposed to begin proving to her how wrong they were for each other. Score one for Jennifer.

Several business owners spoke up explaining their budgets and what they hoped to have happen in the town. Jennifer listened attentively, then from their comments outlined a few ideas like freshly painted store fronts, new lamp posts and hanging baskets. “We could also host some events like balloon rides, a wine tasting by inviting vintners around the state and a pizza palooza.” She suggested updating the park with new flower beds and trees to help draw families and visitors to the town. “I understand that the old Caldwell place is still on the market. I spoke to the real estate agent this morning and she indicated that the owners are receptive to any and all offers. This is where we could really put Salvation on the map by turning the mansion and the grounds into a resort.” As she spoke her amber eyes gleamed with excitement, her blonde hair was clean and shining and woven into a braid. Rafe had a nice view of the delicate curve of her neck, the way her silver necklace laid against her skin and how her white blouse enhanced her delicate features. She wore a light blue skirt and wedge sandals that showed off her shapely legs.

Collective murmurs of excitement spread through the room. “Of course, we want the town to win the contest but all of these projects will bring a much needed boost to the town’s economy and would help the town long after the contest is over. I’ve compiled some pictures of high end spas around the country and what they offer. I’m not saying we should turn the Caldwell property into one of these exactly, and I don’t think we could with our budget, but I do think we should be aware of what our competition is, and plan accordingly.”

Jennifer began a video slide show via her lap-top computer. Rafe looked at the pictures of exquisitely manicured grounds, the photo of a woman with an expression of bliss, while getting a massage, surrounded by candles and a couple lounging in a hot tub sipping drinks with umbrellas in them. Here was something that showed how wrong they were for each other because he definitely didn’t want to turn Salvation into this. After the slide show was finished, Rafe cleared his throat and stood. “I don’t think this is the answer.”

Her glossy lips parted. “How do you know until we try? I truly believe this could energize the economy. A spa of this kind would attract a lot of young well-to-do single people and couples with children. Just think a swimming pool, golf course, tennis courts—”

Rafe raised a hand. “Golf course? Tennis courts? This isn’t what the people of Salvation want.”

“Like I said we don’t need to build something on this grand a scale,” she said, but something along these lines with a country flavor.”

Rafe chuckled. “Just where did you plan to integrate the country flavor in the middle of this swanky resort?”

“Rafe,” one of the business owners said, “I would like to hear what JC has to say.” Everyone else murmured in agreement. But one thing was in his favor. This helped prove that he and Jennifer were wrong for each other. Score one for his side. “Okay, go ahead.”

She squared her shoulders which made her breasts push against the front of her blouse. Were her nipples light brown or a dusky pink? The scent of her teased him, and he couldn’t help but torture himself a little by inhaling a deep breath. If he pressed his lips to the hollow of her throat, would her skin taste as good as it smelled? What was the matter with him?

“Imagine the staff dressed in boots and cowboy hats,” she continued, “with the table settings reflecting the west and Texas. Everything first class all the way, from the china and crystal to the light fixtures.”

Suddenly he had a vision of a flashy dining room with waiters wearing white coats floating around the room while holding silver trays laden with glasses of champagne. Rafe pressed his lips together. “Not a great idea.”

“What’s wrong with that? You’ll be charging top rates for the spa and the upper middle class clientele will expect to get what they’ve paid for.”

He shook his head. “You’re mounting the horse on the wrong side. We want a down-home-welcome-to-our-house feel.”

“Rafe,” a business woman said, “Listen to her. Yes, we do want a welcome to our town feeling but above all this town needs money. The economy has flat-lined.”

He thought surely the business owners would be on his side. This wasn’t going at all as he planned. Then a thought occurred to him. Maybe it was. “You’re right. Go ahead.”

After the meeting, Jennifer asked if he would take her out to the Caldwell place to get a good look at the property. Rafe had doubled the size of The Rocking M after his father passed away, and he took over the running of the twenty thousand acre spread. He’d done it with backbreaking work, a gut instinct for business, and convincing people to see things his way. He had other ideas for the property and they were the exact opposite of Jennifer’s. When he pointed that out, she would see how wrong they were for each other.