Home > Claimed by the Cowboy (Sons of Chance #3)(8)

Claimed by the Cowboy (Sons of Chance #3)(8)
Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson

Not about to be ordered around, Jack had continued keeping Josie’s hours. He’d argued with his father about it many times. Jonathan’s insistence on getting the mare that fateful morning had been less about fetching the horse than about proving who was in charge. Jack hadn’t wanted his dad to win, but the cost of that battle of wills had been too high.

Jack refused to get into a battle of wills with Sarah. He’d do what she wanted, and if he presented the situation well enough, Josie would agree, too. As he left the ranch house and climbed into his truck, he realized Sarah had done him a favor. His pride wouldn’t have allowed him to contact Josie, but this project gave him an excuse. And despite his misgivings, he was glad for that excuse.

 

 

Chapter Four

 

 

Josie barely had time to wrap her head around Morgan’s request that she be a maid of honor before she had to be downstairs taking a delivery of beer. Good thing her cook, Andy, was there to double-check everything, because she was having trouble concentrating.

All she could think about was this wedding coming up in less than two weeks, a wedding that would involve Jack. And horses. Morgan had promised her that would be no big deal. Josie could go to any of a number of stables in the area and get some basic instruction.

The horseback riding part didn’t worry Josie all that much. She’d learned to ski as an adult, so she could learn to ride. In fact, a ski vacation had been her introduction to Jackson Hole.

She’d come back several times before realizing that if she truly intended to buy a bar, she wanted it to be in this area. That decision had led inevitably to her meeting Jack Chance.

As the beer truck pulled away, she glanced at her watch. The bar opened for lunch at eleven-thirty, which gave her fifteen minutes to get her act together. At least someone else would be behind the bar. Josie turned the operation over to Tracy Gibbons on weekdays and Josie occupied herself with the computer in the office.

She had bills to pay and books to reconcile, but she wondered how much she’d accomplish when all she could think about was the darned wedding… and Jack. She would have loved to talk this over with Alex, but he’d left early in the morning to hike in the Tetons.

On second thought, she should decide how she planned to handle this turn of events before telling Alex. He might want to confront Jack, after all, now that his sister would be required to be in Jack’s company for the better part of a weekend. Josie didn’t want Alex and Jack to square off again. Once was enough.

So Alex would have to cool it, and somehow Josie would manage to get through the wedding without letting Jack know he’d ripped open the wound she’d been trying so desperately to heal. With a sigh of resignation, she walked through the back door of the bar into her tiny office and turned on the computer.

The scent of onions simmering in olive oil told her Andy had started cooking the lunch entrees. Usually by now she was hungry, but not today. Her tummy twisted in knots at the thought of eating. She’d have to get over her nerves in the next ten days, though, or she wouldn’t be much good to Morgan as a maid of honor. The bride was the only one allowed to be nervous.

As she waited for the computer to load its various programs, a gut-wrenchingly familiar knock sounded at the back door. She and Jack had devised a code so she’d know in advance it was him — three soft raps and two harder ones.

Ten months ago that rap would have been a signal to fling open the back door of the office and pull him in for a scorching kiss. Sometimes they’d gone beyond a mere kiss. On at least three occasions she’d locked both doors — the one to the outside and the one leading into the bar — and they’d had sex in her office.

This morning the door to the bar stood open and she could hear Andy banging around in the kitchen. Tracy would arrive any minute, along with any customers who liked to get an early start on their lunch or a mid-day beer.

She could imagine why Jack was here. Undoubtedly it had something to do with the wedding. And so it started, their required interaction. Taking a deep breath, she left her chair and opened the back door.

Ten months rolled away as her gaze swept over the cowboy standing there. His black hat shaded his eyes, making their black depths look sexy and mysterious. His hat was slightly dusty. So was the rest of him, including a blue plaid western shirt, faded jeans, and well-worn boots.

He hadn’t spruced up for the occasion. He’d come straight from whatever work he’d been involved in this morning. The combined scent of leather and sweat had become an aphrodisiac to her during the months they were together, and that scent had lost none of its punch. Damn it all, she still wanted him with a ferocity that left her shaking.

She took a long, restorative breath. “Is this about the wedding?” There, that sounded sufficiently curt and businesslike.

“Yes.” His dark gaze flicked over her in much the same way she’d surveyed him.

She wished now that she’d taken more time with her hair, her clothes, her makeup. She’d thrown on an old pair of jeans, her most comfortable boots, and a T-shirt that said — unfortunately — Save a horse; Ride a cowboy.

“I remember that shirt,” Jack said.

She remembered doing exactly what the shirt recommended. But she wouldn’t be doing that again with Jack, no matter how much she might want to.

They needed to stay on track, here. “You wanted to talk to me about something concerning the wedding?”

“Uh, yeah. Right. We… that is… listen, can I come in and discuss it?”

“Sure.” She stepped back from the door to allow him to enter. She might as well test herself and see if she could handle being alone with him. It wasn’t as if they’d be really alone, anyway. Andy was nearby and Tracy would come through the back door any time, now.

All that rationalization disappeared the minute she closed the door and turned to face him. Every kiss, every touch, every minute of lovemaking came back to her. If she’d hoped the attraction was manageable, she’d been dead wrong.

Maybe if she took refuge behind her desk, that would help. She retreated to her desk chair and motioned to an armless wooden chair on the opposite side of the desk. She used it when interviewing potential employees. “Have a seat.”

Typical Jack, he spun the chair around and straddled it, leaning his forearms on the back. He would have to sit like that. Dear God, why did his jeans have to fit so lovingly over his package?

He nudged his hat back with his thumb and gazed at her. “Looks like we’ll have to deal with each other during the festivities.”

“Guess so.” His voice stroked her nerve endings. She picked up a pen and started clicking the mechanism before realizing how idiotic that looked. She threw the pen down. “I’m sure we can do that.”

“I’m sure we can, too, but Gabe knew I went to your place last night, and I ended up having to tell him and Sarah what happened with your brother.”

“Oh.” Josie would have loved a video of that scene.

“So they’re convinced that you and I are a potential powder keg that could blow in the middle of the celebration.” Jack tapped his thumb idly against the back of the chair.

She knew how talented he was with that thumb. Yes, they might be a powder keg, but she feared the explosion would have to do with lust, not anger. Just sitting in this small office with Jack, her breathing had changed and her panties were damp. “They don’t give us much credit for self-control, do they?”

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