Karen Rock - Winning The Cowboy's Heart

Best he accepted it.

Besides, he loved Kelsey...didn’t he? They’d been together for so long he wasn’t always sure. Their relationship was comfortable, like a pair of worn slippers...and just as boring. But that was typical of people who’d been together as long as he and Kelsey had, he’d heard.

The door banged open behind him, and Pa clapped him on the back. “Jewel will be a whole lot easier on the eye than Justin.”

Heath shifted from foot to foot and swatted away something feathery, a moth. Looks weren’t everything. He’d watched Jewel at local rodeos through the years; she was a talented roper and rode as well as any man. The question was: Would she listen to him and take orders? Between her and Justin, he’d wager her daredevil brother would be easier to handle, despite what Cole said. This year’s herding had to go off without a hitch. The stakes were too high for mistakes.

“You sure you’ll be okay handling the cattle drive while I’m away?” Pa asked. “Joy’s fine canceling the trip.”

Heath jerked his lips into a smile big enough to ease his father’s concerns. Pa deserved to be happy. “You bet, Pa.”

His father’s tense expression softened. “Never thought I’d have this second chance with Joy. I appreciate it, son.”

“No thanks needed. It’s what family does. We’re always here for each other.”

Pa nodded. “So, what was the important thing you wanted to tell me?”

Gnats whined in Heath’s ears and tree frogs piped. He stared at the distant moon and shook his head. “It wasn’t that important.”

Which was true.

Nothing was as important as keeping his family happy and at peace. Now he just needed to make peace with it himself...

And manage antagonistic Jewel Cade while driving cattle through one of the worst droughts in his state’s history.

His fingers clenched around the rail once his father strode back inside. What had he just signed up for?

CHAPTER THREE

JEWEL INHALED THE comforting vanilla scent of Ma’s neck as she hugged her tight in the Lovelands’ circular drive. The morning clouds were a deep, ominous gray. They churned like muddy waters stirred up from the bottom of a lake, mirroring her mood.

She dropped her head on her mother’s shoulder and closed stinging eyes. How had her plan to become Cade Ranch’s range boss crashed and burned in less than twenty-four hours? She’d be working Loveland Hills for the next month, her chance to prove herself to James gone. Despite a sleepless night, she still hadn’t completely processed it all.

“I’m going to miss you, honey.” Ma’s hazel eyes searched Jewel’s when she stepped back.

Above her earnest face, the stately poplars surrounding the Lovelands’ homey ranch house swayed. It reminded Jewel of a Hallmark Christmas ornament, with its white-spindled, wraparound porch, a honey-colored porch swing and wide front steps. Lacy, leaded-glass transoms were open above every ground-floor entrance to let the breezes flow through. Yet none of its tranquility made her feel welcome...or at home.

“Are you sure you’re all right with this?” Ma probed.

The collective gazes of the Cade and Loveland siblings, gathered to see their parents off on their honeymoon, pressed Jewel like invisible hands. Judging, weighing, testing... She shoved back her shoulders and snapped up her chin. “Of course. Heath could use a lesson on what real ranching looks like.”

Her brothers’ guffaws rang out. Beside a clump of large-leafed hostas, Heath and his siblings shifted in their boots, stone-faced and tight-lipped. Typical, obstinate Lovelands. They didn’t even flinch at her jab. How was she supposed to spend a month with them? Concrete had more personality.

At least the children got along. Javi darted around flowering bushes with Daryl’s son and daughter, screeching, “Tag, you’re it!” Everything was in bloom on the expansive property. Daisies, trumpet lilies and purple coneflowers mingled in raised beds while brightly colored petunias lined a flagstone walkway.

Her eyes clicked with Heath’s, and her heart added an extra beat. In a black cowboy hat pulled low over his lean, handsome face, his brilliant blue eyes piercing beneath the brim, he was rugged, gorgeous and—she gave herself a shake—off-limits.

When Ma begged her to help the Lovelands last night, Jewel reluctantly agreed. Her mother always sacrificed for her family. She deserved the honeymoon of her dreams. Would Jewel lose her range boss spot to Justin if he impressed James in her absence?

Boyd stood behind Ma and spanned her waist with his hands. His features settled into stern lines as he scrutinized the group. “All y’all are gonna get along while we’re gone, right? No dustups.”

Sierra stepped forward and kissed her father and Ma. “Of course.” She shot them a wide smile, turned and narrowed her eyes on her siblings until they grinned, too, the entire group joining so they resembled a bunch of crazed clowns, no doubt. “We’re family now.”

Boyd and Joy exchanged a worried glance.

“Sierra’s right.” Heath ambled over to Jewel. His unhurried, loose-limbed grace turned his Wranglers, black boots and fitted white T-shirt into something like poetry...the easy-to-memorize kind that branded itself inside you. He set his palm on her back in a gesture halfway between a clap and a hug. Her body tensed in awareness. The subtle scent of his clean skin, salty and slightly smoky, made her breathe deep. “We’re family. Right, sis?”

“Right, little brother.” Her cheeks ached with the nonstop grinning. Technically, she was only a day older than Heath, but she’d exploit the age difference for all it was worth.

“Little, huh?” He arched an eyebrow and stared down from his great height. Like all Lovelands, he was mountain-sized and tree-tall, even bigger than her brothers. She squirmed slightly in his hold. If she couldn’t impress James this month, she’d sure as heck prove herself equal to any Loveland and hopefully, in the process, find a way to still be named Cade Ranch’s range boss.

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight...” she murmured beneath her breath.

“It’s the size of the fight in the dog,” Heath finished, a twinkle in his luminous eyes. “Is this our first fight?”

“One of many to come.” Overhead, birds sang in the poplars and small white butterflies flitted in a small patch of sage. Jewel’s stiff cheeks eased, her grin becoming genuine until she caught herself. What was she doing smiling, for real, at a Loveland?

“Hey!” Justin catcalled. “Whatever you two have going on over there, can you save it for after Ma and Boyd leave?”

Jewel jerked away from Heath, and his hand dropped. Red stole up over the collar of his T-shirt, the same type of heat bleeding into her cheeks. “Knock it off, Justin.” Her fist shot out and Justin danced back, rubbing his shoulder.

“Truth hurts, don’t it?” His white teeth flashed inside his dark beard.

“I’ll show you what hurts.” Jewel advanced, scowling, fist cocked.

“Jewel!” Her mother’s horrified gasp stopped her dead. Her arm fell. Heath’s disapproving expression made something inside her wither and curl into a tight ball. Fine. She wasn’t a lady. Didn’t measure up to his standards of womanhood, just like her father believed. Well...she didn’t care. She lived by her own standards and was doing fine.

Just fine.

“Use your words, Aunt Jewel,” piped up Daryl’s little girl.

Okay...maybe she wasn’t doing fine when an eight-year-old lectured her about behavior.

“Time for us to go or we’ll miss our flight.” Boyd held open the pickup’s passenger door. “If we have to come home early on account of any mischief, you’ll wish we hadn’t.”