Call Of The West

“Of course it’s not the same thing,” she said with an exaggerated patience that made Jake grit his teeth. “But I’m a quick study. With George’s help and advice, I can learn how to manage one small Wyoming ranch.”

“Small? You think the Double Circle is small?” In spite of his best efforts, his voice rose again. Rebel whinnied and stamped his feet as if the shouting was disturbing him.

Hope glanced at the horse, then looked back at Jake, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. “It’s only one business. I can handle that much.”

“Don’t bet on it.” He doggedly ground the words out, desperately wishing she would listen, but not really expecting her to. “You’re playing with something you don’t understand.”

She rolled her eyes toward heaven and her grin widened into a cheesy, Hollywood smile. “Do try to be a good loser, darling. Since you won’t have to worry about the Double Circle, think of all the free time you’ll have. Maybe you should get a hobby.”

That did it. Jake’s temper snapped and he found himself shouting. “Dammit, lady, the Double Circle’s been a great ranch for over a hundred years, but you’ll run it into the ground inside of three months. Then you’re gonna come to me, begging for help. You don’t belong out here.”

“Get over yourself, McBride,” she said with an indignant huff. “It’s my ranch now. Whatever I do with it is no business of yours, and the devil will play ice hockey before I ask you for anything. You’ll have to excuse me.”

She turned away and jogged back toward the Double Circle without so much as a glance over her shoulder at him. Jake stood in the middle of the gravel road, watching until she rounded the curve by the big old cottonwood tree marking the boundary between the Flying M and the Double Circle.

His gut churned. His head ached. His chest felt…empty. As if somebody had scooped the heart right out of him and left only an empty carcass behind. He’d lost the Double Circle.

Most likely for good.

And for the first time in years he didn’t know what to do next. Hope was right. It really wasn’t any of his business what she did with her own ranch.

But he was right, too. She didn’t have a clue what a huge bite she’d just gnawed off. If there was any justice in this world, she’d choke on it. And he’d be damned if he’d do one blessed thing to make life any easier for her.

“Wretched man,” Hope muttered, dodging around an enormous pothole in the gravel road. “Who does he think he is? I belong here as much as anyone else. George said so.”

At the sound of a car coming up behind her, she moved to the side of the road. It wasn’t nearly as hot here as it was in L.A., but the elevation and lack of pavement made jogging in Sunshine Gap more of a challenge. She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead, then rubbed the muddy mixture of dust and perspiration down the side of her shorts.

“Hey, baby,” a familiar voice called from the vehicle, which had pulled up beside her. “What’s shakin’?”

Hope slowed to a walk and turned to find Marsh McBride grinning at her from the driver’s side of a black BMW convertible. The top was down, and his black hair was wild and windblown. Though there was a striking family resemblance among all of the McBride men, Marsh was the most classically handsome.

Even in Hollywood, where gorgeous men were as common as street signs, he was considered one of “the beautiful people.”

Hope had met him years ago in a screenwriting class at USC. Over endless drafts of screenplays that were never produced they’d become fast friends and writing buddies.

How odd was it that Marsh had never aroused a single spark of sexual attraction in her, but his obnoxious cousin Jake could make her heart pound with a look?

Which only went to prove there really was no accounting for taste. Or, perhaps, she simply was perverse. Or crazy.

Still, after that confrontation with Jake, the sight of a friendly face warmed her heart. “Marsh, darling, where have you been since the wedding?”

Leaning across the gearshift, he opened the passenger door for her. “Get in and I’ll tell you.”

“I should cool down first.” He stared at her deadpan, making her laugh. “Oh, all right. My run’s already been ruined anyway.” She climbed into the car and pointed straight ahead. “Take me home.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He drove off toward the Double Circle.

“So tell me. Where have you been?”

“In Reno.”

“What have you been doing there? Gambling?”

“More like drinking a lot and sulking at first,” he said. “Once I got tired of that, I started thinking.”

“About?” Hope prompted, though she didn’t need to be psychic to guess the answer. For as long as she’d known him, Marsh had been in love with his high-school and college girlfriend, Sandy Bishop.

“Sandy.” Marsh gave Hope a sad smile and shook his head. “What else? I’ve decided to come back to Sunshine Gap until we get this…whatever it is between us resolved.”

“I’m glad, Marsh,” Hope said. “It’s past time.”

“You’ve got that right. All these family weddings have been messing with my head big-time. One way or another, I’m going to marry her or get over her.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Not yet.” He shot her a grim smile. “I’m counting on you to help me come up with something.”

“I’ll do whatever I can,” Hope promised. “How did you know where to find me?”

“I stopped in at the main house and the Mamas said you were staying with George. They weren’t very happy about it.”

“Jake hasn’t told them yet?”

“Told them what?”

“I’ve bought the Double Circle.”

His mouth dropping open, Marsh stared at her while the car swerved toward the other lane. “You’re kidding.”

“Watch where you’re going.” Hope grabbed the steering wheel and got them back onto their own side of the road. “And I’m quite serious, Marsh. We closed on it yesterday.”

“But Jake’s wanted to buy it for years.”

“George chose to sell it to me,” she said, feeling oddly defensive. “I paid him a fair price. What’s the problem?”

“I just said it.” Marsh turned into the Double Circle’s drive and parked beside Hope’s car. “Jake’s wanted the Double Circle for years.”

Raising her eyebrows, Hope allowed an acid note to slip into her voice. “And does Jake always get everything he wants?”

Marsh considered that for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Yeah. Usually. Except for when Ellen died.”

“You mean his wife.”

“That’s right,” Marsh said, nodding again. “You knew she passed away about eight years ago, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but nobody ever mentioned what happened to her. Was it an accident?”

“An accident would’ve been kinder. It was cancer, but we don’t talk about it anymore.” A thoughtful frown creasing his forehead, Marsh shifted sideways in his seat, turning to face her more fully. “Are you prepared to face all the ramifications of buying this ranch?”

Ramifications? She didn’t like the way that sounded. “What do you mean?”

“Everybody knows how much work Jake’s put into the Double Circle over the years. Most folks assume there’s been some kind of an understanding between Jake and George.”

“I asked Jake if he had an option to buy the Double Circle and he changed the subject to how little I know about ranching.”

Marsh’s grin returned. “He’s got a point about that.”

Hope rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Believe me, he already lectured me on that subject. At length. But back up for a second. If Jake and George didn’t have any legal agreement, I have as much right to buy it as anyone else—including Jake. Right?”

Smiling wryly, Marsh shook his head. “Sometimes business is done a little differently around here. Jake’s made no secret he wanted to buy George’s place. If George didn’t plan to sell it to him, he shouldn’t have accepted so much help from Jake.”

“Are you saying people will think I’ve cheated Jake out of something that was promised to him?”

“They might. It’s more likely they’ll blame George, but you could catch some of the fallout.”

Apprehension washing over her, Hope bit her lower lip. The McBrides didn’t always get along with each other, but they were known to close ranks and present a united front in the face of outside opposition. When the rest of the family heard about her purchase, would they all be as angry with her as Jake was? And if the rest of the community sided against her as well, living in Sunshine Gap could become distinctly unpleasant.

Not that she couldn’t handle unpleasantness. But she was just starting a new life. All this hostility wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she agreed to George’s plan.

Marsh gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Hey, don’t look so worried. It’s not that big a deal.”

“I really don’t think I did anything wrong, but…” Hope rubbed her temples where a headache was threatening. “Oh, maybe I should’ve thought about this more carefully. But I was so blasted angry at Jake.”

“What did he do?” Marsh asked.

Hope told him what Jake had said to her at the wedding reception and how he’d assumed she would marry George for his money. “Honestly, he was so judgmental and self-righteous, I wanted to teach him a lesson.”

Marsh tipped back his head and let out a big, booming laugh. “Well, you did, and he deserved it.”

“He certainly did.”

“The thing is,” Marsh said, his tone turning sober, “you’ve pushed ol’ Jake real hard with this. I doubt he’ll take it lying down.”

Hope looked up at the sky and asked the Universe, “What did I ever see in him?”

“Jake’s not so bad,” Marsh said. “With a guy like him, at least you always know where you stand. And when your butt’s in a sling, there’s nobody better to have in your corner.”

“I know he’s a good man,” she murmured. “That’s why I kept trying to get his attention.”

“Well, you’ve got it now,” Marsh said.

“I think I’d rather go back to having him ignore me. This isn’t the kind of attention I had in mind.”

“You could always change it.”

“How?”

“Stop dressing like a floozy.” Marsh snatched her cap and ruffled her hair. “And forget about the hair dye.”

“That shouldn’t matter so much,” Hope protested.

“Maybe not, but Jake’s a little conservative. You know, there’s such a thing as giving your audience too much to handle at one time.” Marsh’s face suddenly went blank and his mouth fell open.

“Are you all right?” Hope asked.

After a moment, his eyes came alive and he smacked his forehead with the palm of one hand. “Fine. And that’s it!”

“What’s it?”

“That’s how I’m going to get Sandy’s attention.” He clasped the sides of her face between his hands and planted a smacking kiss on her forehead. “DuMaine, you’re a genius!”

“What are you talking about?”

“The last three times I’ve been home, Sandy wouldn’t even talk to me. But thanks to you, she will this time.” He opened Hope’s door and made shooing motions with both hands. “Get out. I’ve got to go into town.”

He fired up the car’s engine. Hope scrambled out of the passenger seat and closed the door. “What are you going to do?”

“Buy a house,” he called, pulling away. “See you later.”

“Yeah, later,” Hope said, knowing he’d never hear her.

She watched him drive away until the dust cloud following his car dissipated. The McBrides were crazy. All of them.

Turning toward her own house, she couldn’t hold in a sigh of appreciation. It needed paint, landscaping and attention. It needed…her. She already loved the Double Circle, and had no intention of giving it up.

But she didn’t want to be at war with Jake McBride. So, she’d give him a few days to calm down. Then she’d go talk to him and maybe they could reach some kind of an understanding.

Jake moved through the next four days on automatic pilot. He ate, slept and did his job. He answered when someone spoke to him. He fended off at least a million well-meaning expressions of sympathy when news of the Double Circle’s sale got out, claiming that he was fine.

But he wasn’t fine. He was anything but fine.

Every time he thought about someone as clueless and flaky as Hope DuMaine owning his ranch, he wanted to hit something. He tried not to think about it, but that was like trying not to breathe—it only worked for a little while. The instant he let down his guard it all came rushing back, bringing a fresh wave of anger with it.

The one time he’d ever felt anything close to this before was the day Ellen’s doctor had told him she wasn’t going to make it. He’d skipped denial, gone straight to anger and stayed there. It had been the only thing that allowed him to be strong for her sake, when what he’d really wanted was to break down and bawl like a little kid.

Of course this wasn’t the same situation. Not even close. Nobody was going to die because he couldn’t buy the Double Circle.

But the sense of loss and lost dreams was eerily similar.

Knowing he couldn’t go on carrying around so much pent-up rage, he decided to take Rebel out for a ride and check the cows on their summer range. Fresh air, a change of scene and some time alone couldn’t hurt. Halfway between the house and the barn, he heard an approaching vehicle.

He paused to see who it was and felt his blood pressure surge when Hope’s little red car emerged from the cloud of dust it had kicked up. Aw, man, he wasn’t ready to see her again. Back teeth clamped together, he marched into the barn, grabbed a bridle from the tack room and went out to the horse pasture.

Just about the time he’d caught Rebel and finished putting on his bridle, Jake heard Hope’s voice calling his name. His muscles tensed. Before he could even think about a possible means of escape, she walked around the side of the barn, waving when she spotted him.

Her hair was back to an auburn shade, but today’s eye-popping outfit consisted of a low-cut halter top and a pair of indecently short cut-off jeans so tight it was a wonder she could walk in them. The top was made out of a soft suede material nearly the same buckskin color as Rebel. Long strands of fringe decorated with Native American beads and feathers hung across the front and played peek-a-boo with the curves of her breasts every time she moved.

Her high-pitched, slide-on sandals matched the color of her shirt and forced her to take short, bouncy steps that made her hips and breasts sway. Add in those long, gorgeous legs and she was an erotic visual feast in motion. His pulse hiccupped with every stride.

Aw, damn. How did she get to him like this every stinkin’ time?

“Hello, Jake.” She gave him a tentative smile. “Have you got a minute?”

“I’m getting ready to head out,” he said, hoping she’d think the raw note in his voice came from gruffness rather than arousal. “This isn’t a good time.”

“Is there ever going to be a good time for us to talk?”

“Doubt it.” He clicked his tongue at Rebel and set off for the barn.

Some people weren’t bright enough to get a hint. Jake suspected Hope simply ignored them whenever it suited her purposes, even when they were less than subtle. She followed him right into the barn, waited until he’d started brushing the dirt off Rebel’s hide, then leaned back against a stall door and crossed one foot over the other.

She waited a full minute, but when he remained silent, she said, “I don’t plan to run the Double Circle into the ground.”

“Nobody ever plans to do that, but it happens.”

“Well, it’s not going to happen to my ranch.”

“Uh-huh.”