Pamela Ingrahm - Wedding Planner Tames Rancher!

“Drive like a man my age, my foot!” Wade snorted. “That pup thinks anyone over thirty is old, but I’ve got news for him.”

He might have edged past forty, but he was hardly over the hill. He had a long life ahead of him.

His smile faded. Long and alone, if the truth were told. Myra Jo was starting her new life, and he felt as if his had gone into limbo.

He used to know exactly who he was and what he had to do. He was a single father, a son and a rancher. He used to get up every day before the sun, knowing he had a family to support and more bills to pay than money to pay them with. Now his baby was leaving, he was starting to parent his parents and he had people running the ranch for him. He was supposed to be free to do the things he wanted, but running the ranch was what he wanted.

Did this mean he was in a midlife crisis? He’d always thought the midlife crisis thing was a bunch of hogwash people used to excuse their misbehavior.

Hell, he decided he wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

Except his inability to get his mind off one beautiful, elegant brunette.

Three

Leah checked her hair self-consciously before she left the sanctuary of her car. She’d spent the entire drive to Wade’s vacillating between congratulating herself on her casual attire and berating herself for obeying him. She’d picked her oldest and most faded pair of pleated jeans and had added a simple cotton top knotted over a peach-colored tank. Her only wish was that jeans did a better job of masking the few extra pounds giving her hips a roundness not exactly in style these days. She hadn’t cared what a man thought about her body in a long time, and it made her uncomfortable to acknowledge that she wanted Wade to think she was attractive.

During the time her mind wasn’t occupied with those thoughts, she had lectured herself not to make a fool of herself when she saw him again. She absolutely forbade her heart to flutter, her stomach to constrict and her pulse to race. He was just a man, for heaven’s sake, and the father of her client. The man who, incidentally, would be writing her a check.

The man who’d kissed her as though her lips tasted of honey.

The man whose touch had reminded her how very long it had been since she’d felt desired.

With a fortifying breath she gathered her purse and planner and headed toward the house. As she expected, Wade answered the doorbell. Unexpectedly, though, she went a little light-headed—in spite of her self-directed lectures.

But it was his fault, she decided. No available fortysomething man should be this good-looking. If he were married or attached it would make sense for him to be this handsome. The ones that were taken always were. The available ones—at least the ones she’d met—usually seemed a little desperate.

She found she wasn’t attracted to desperate men. Go figure....

“Good morning,” he said, taking in her boots, jeans and French-braided hair. His short nod of approval irked her, and she was glad for the uncomfortable feeling. It kept her from reading too much into the little smile that curved his lips and lifted the corners of his eyes.

“You look beautiful.”

It wasn’t fair. Even his voice was gorgeous. How was she supposed to stay irritated if he wouldn’t cooperate?

“Thank you.” She determinedly made her voice light, and ignored the pleasant tingle his compliment gave her. “I hope I’m not too early.”

“Not at all. It’s refreshing to have a woman show up when she says she will.” Wade squinted one eye shut. “Oops, I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

Leah gave him a lopsided smile as she shook her head. “Wade, you may not be politically correct, but you’re probably the most straightforward man I’ve ever met.”

He tipped his head to the left. “And that’s a good thing?”

“Yes, it is.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Well, thank the Lord for small blessings.”

“Are your folks ready to meet me?” she asked as she followed him to the kitchen, trying to gain some equilibrium. He was so stern one minute and smiling the next. She wondered if he was doing it on purpose—just to keep her flustered.

“Myra Jo and my brother, Jonathan, went to church with them, and we’re supposed to meet at Mama’s for lunch. I hope you haven’t eaten.”

“Not since breakfast, but I really don’t want to intrude on your parents—”

“Trust me. Mama is in her glory when she’s feeding people. You’ll win her over forever if you praise her cooking.”

“If you say so.”

“And I have to warn you. If you think I’m a straight shooter, there’s no telling what my daddy might pop off with. Your best defense is to not act shocked.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Leah wondered, not for the first time, just what she’d gotten herself into.

“Great. Since we’ve got some time, why don’t I show you around the place a bit? Then we’ll head down the road.”

Curiosity more than politeness made her agree. The blandness of his expression should have told her he had something up his sleeve, but it wasn’t until they went out the back door that the sight of two saddled horses made her realize what it was.

She stopped in her tracks and gave him a sardonic glance.

“I don’t suppose you have a Jeep we could use instead?” She tried to disguise the near terror building in her stomach.

Wade turned from checking the cinch on a saddle. She assumed the reddish brown horse was for her since it was smaller than the black behemoth that looked as if he wanted to take a bite out of her.

“Are you going to tell me you’ve lived in Texas all your life and you’ve never been on a horse?”

She gave an exasperated snort. “Wade, lots of people in Texas have never been on a horse.”

“Not true natives.”

She knew he was teasing her, but she still felt a little defensive. “Yes, even true natives.”

“You’re not scared, are you?”

Leah rarely felt inclined to answer taunts, as she rarely cared what people thought about her personally. Professionally yes. Otherwise they could take her or leave her.

But for some strange reason, she found she cared very much what Wade thought of her. And even more surprising, she had to admit the wedding had nothing to do with it. She wanted Wade to like her, not just respect her as a businesswoman.

That interesting thought deserved more attention, so she filed it away for later inspection.

“No, I’m not scared.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m terrified.”

He raised the other, but his expression contained a generous dose of sympathy.

“But,” she said, taking a solid breath and continuing, “I’m willing to try this if you’ll be patient with me.”

Besides, she rationalized, her efforts might pay off when it came time for the next round on the tuxedo issue.

“Deal.” He studied her for a moment and then said, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

As he went into the house, Leah watched the horses warily and muttered, “And where would I go?”

The black brute snuffled and shifted his hooves, making Leah jump back, her heart racing. She knew nothing about horses and here she was baby-sit—er...horse-sitting as if she would know what to do if one of the two beasts decided to run away.

Wade returned before she could talk herself out of the whole deal. When he handed her a beautifully shaped cowboy hat, she let out a sigh.

“Great, Wade. First you want to scare me to death, then you want to give me hat hair. Thanks a lot.”

He simply smiled and put the tan felt on her head. “It’s one of Myra Jo’s. I figured you two’d be close in size.”

The hat was a bit small, but not uncomfortably so. Leah decided it was prudent to keep playing Wade’s game at this point. She sent a mental fax to the fairness gods to make sure she was earning points for this.