Teresa Southwick - Her Montana Christmas Groom

“Yeah, we are.” Jackson pulled over a chair from the adjacent table. “You date too much.”

“Define too much.” Her chin lifted a notch.

“So many men, so little time.” Dillon took a pull on his beer. “Off the top of my head there’s Nick, Dean and Cade Pritchett.”

“Okay, so—”

“John Kelly,” Corey added. “The mortgage banker.”

“Yeah.” Rose struggled to put a face with the name. “He was very banker-ish.”

“You don’t remember him, do you?” Ethan looked thoughtful. “Zach Evans. He’s a rancher.”

“Rob Lewis, chamber of commerce president.” Corey turned his beer bottle.

They continued to add names to a list that became pretty impressive. She was amazed that her macho brothers had paid so much attention to her love life. Or, to put a finer point on it, her lack of love life.

“They don’t even know about Harvey French.” Jackson’s eyes narrowed.

“Then I’ll tell them,” she said. “He’s a lawyer and asked me out because he wants to get Traub Oil Montana’s legal business. And possibly the Texas stuff, too.”

“Jerk,” Ethan muttered.

“My sentiments exactly. That’s why I called Jackson,” she defended. “So if we’re done here—”

“Not so fast,” they all said.

Ethan nailed her with a look. “You’ve got to stop, Rosie. Take a break.”

“I can’t do that.” She folded her arms over her chest and looked at each of them defiantly.

“Yeah, you can. Get your head on straight,” Corey suggested. “Decide what you’re looking for. Separate the wheat from the chaff.”

“What does that even mean?”

If this was a job, they’d be telling her to work it, put in the hours, make herself indispensable. This was even more important. It was her life, her happiness. Why should finding love require any less dedication than her career?

Jackson leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees. “Some soul searching couldn’t hurt, Rose. You need to figure out why no guy is generating sparks.”

That wasn’t completely true, she thought. There were enough sparks with Austin to start a fairly frightening forest fire. She glanced over at him and saw he was looking at her. The expression in his eyes set off a fireball in her belly, proving her point. She grabbed Ethan’s beer and took a drink to put out the blaze. This thing with Austin was nothing. It couldn’t be.

“Jackson’s right,” Corey agreed. “Time-out.”

“Since when are you guys the dating police?”

“Since always.” Dillon met her gaze. “It’s what big brothers do.”

They were also men and didn’t get it.

“I’m a grown woman. You can’t ground me,” she protested. “Don’t think I don’t appreciate all you do, but—”

“No excuses. Cold turkey.” Jackson took a sip from his bottle. “I bet you can’t go a month without a date.”

That touched a nerve, but she pushed down the competitive streak. “A woman of my advancing years can’t afford to sit on the sidelines that long.”

“Don’t talk to me about piling up the years.” Dillon, the oldest sibling, shook his head. “You’re just a baby.”

“Hardly,” she said. “And you don’t understand. You all found love without even trying.”

The four of them stared at her, then started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded.

“It’s never as easy as it looks.” Amusement still lurked in Corey’s light brown eyes. “Jason is the last unattached Traub brother and he’s still in Texas. Maybe it’s something about Thunder Canyon.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” she said. “And I’ve got to keep myself out there—”

“No.” Jackson shook his head. “That’s what we’re trying to tell you. Time-out, for Pete’s sake. I double dare you to put the brakes on the dating wagon for thirty days.”

Double dare? Rose gritted her teeth. He knew her too well. She never turned down a double dare, darn him.

“You’re going straight to hell, Jackson Traub.” She glared at him and figured the expression was just as fearsome as his.

He looked completely unimpressed. “A brother’s gotta do what a brother’s gotta do.”

Frustration knotted inside her when they all nodded in agreement.

“And if any one of us catches you on a date before time is up, it’s back to day one, plus two weeks,” Jackson warned.

“A month and a half?” she cried.

“Double dare,” he reminded her. “Technically I could double the stakes, but I’m cutting you some slack.”

She blew out a breath. “Done.”

“And remember, this isn’t Midland.” Jackson pointed a finger at her. “Thunder Canyon is a small town and word spreads real fast, so don’t be trying to pull anything. We’ve got eyes and ears everywhere.”

“I’ll get even with you. Every last one of you,” she warned, treating each of them to the Rose Traub double dare stare. “You won’t know where or when, but payback is coming.”

“Yeah, we’re scared.” Dillon stood and the others followed suit.

He patted her head. Ethan tapped her nose. Corey ruffled her hair. Then the three walked away, leaving her with Jackson. As Rose watched their backs, her gaze drifted to Austin. He was frowning at his sister and it reminded her that her brother was supposed to get her information about him.

Rose watched Jackson shrug into his jacket. “So,” she said, “what did Laila say about Austin? Did you get details about why his love life has nowhere to go but up?”

“You’re not dating for a month.” Jackson stared at her as if she had two heads. “What do you care?”

“I don’t.”

That was a big, fat lie.

Even worse than lying to her brother, she couldn’t stop thinking about Austin Anderson.

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