Call Of The West

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“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.”