Cathy Thacker - The Bride Said, 'Finally!'

The happiness in Jake’s eyes faded. It was replaced by irritation. “Everything and anything is there for our taking,” he shot right back. “And don’t give me that woe-is-me look, either, honey. ’Cause you have done your fair share of setting your sights on something—like being the premiere new clothing designer—and making it happen.” Jake regarded her steadily, then finished with velvet determination, “So there is no reason on earth you can’t do the same thing in regards to your personal life. You just have to want it.”

Guilt assailed her anew. “Well, I don’t want it!” Jenna jerked away from him, angry that he was making her want more than what she had, what she couldn’t—and never would—have: a satisfying love life with him.

He sized her up, skeptical of her self-serving fib. “Could have fooled me.”

JAKE DROVE her back to Laramie in silence. Jenna slammed out of his truck and stormed up to her apartment above the shop. To her dismay, he didn’t even attempt to follow, just made sure she was inside safely and then drove off. Not loudly, with a screech of tires, as he might have after one of their quarrels in his impetuous youth, but calmly and quietly.

Tears streaming down her face, Jenna locked the door behind her, muttering invective about his character all the while. Then, really letting her temper fly, she slammed her purse against the wall, and for good measure, kicked off her shoes, too.

Without warning, Kelsey’s head rose over the back of the sofa, nearly scaring her to death. Jenna gasped and slammed a hand against her chest. She had forgotten Kelsey was bunking here with her until she and her partner, Brady Anderson, could move out to the old Lockhart ranch. That wouldn’t be possible until the contractor they’d hired had finished sanding and varnishing all the floors and cabinets and installing new electrical wiring and plumbing. Meanwhile, the two had plenty to do, staking out pastures and putting up fences that would divide their property into separate cattle and horse operations, one half of the ranch being his, the other half hers. It was quite an undertaking for two people, who—up until a month or so ago—had been strangers, and all the Lockharts, save Kelsey of course, were feeling a little nervous about it. They just hoped their baby sister knew what she was doing. Which was more than Jenna could say for herself, given the thoroughly unrestrained way she had just kissed Jake Remington, behaving as if the two of them had never been apart!

Kelsey studied Jenna’s face. “The date was that good, huh?”

Jenna scowled at Kelsey. “The man is absolutely impossible! Not to mention arrogant, assuming and antagonizing.”

Kelsey nodded with exaggerated indignation. “And those are just the As.”

Jenna gave Kelsey a warning look. She was in no mood for jokes. “I mean it.” Feeling like she was burning up all over, Jenna lifted her skirt, peeled off her pantyhose, then padded barefoot to the refrigerator. “I’d hoped otherwise, but that Jake Remington hasn’t changed one bit.”

Kelsey followed Jenna to the kitchen and accepted a cold beer. “Neither have you, apparently.”

Jenna paused, her hand curled around the bottle cap in mid-twist. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She set the long-necked brown bottle on the counter and finished opening it with a sharp twist.

“Come on, Jenna.” Kelsey grinned as she opened her beer and took a long thirsty drink more suitable for a rough-and-tumble cowboy than the fine Texas lady she’d been reared to be. “This is your baby sister you’re talking to here.” She waggled her eyebrows at Jenna. “The one who used to sneak into your room at night and hear all about your clandestine dates with Jake. All those summers you two sneaked around to see each other, so his parents wouldn’t find out he was smitten with a poor local girl instead of one of the rich debs from Dallas they wanted him to marry.”

Jenna went to the pantry and brought out a bag of blue corn tortilla chips and an unopened jar of salsa. “He did marry one of them. He married Melinda Carrington.”

Kelsey shrugged and leaned against the counter, her Texas Rangers baseball-style pajamas molding her slender frame. She watched as Jenna poured chips and salsa into serving dishes and carried them back into the living room. “Yeah, and from what I heard Jake divorced her, too.”

“Your point, being…?” Jenna asked, as the two settled back onto the sofa.

“That,” Kelsey spelled out gently, “it’s pretty clear you never stopped loving him. And he probably hasn’t stopped loving you, either. Or else he wouldn’t be here.”

“The only reason he is here is because he thinks he can make money off my clothing designs. Lots of it. And, as a matter of fact, I do, too,” Jenna confided as she rubbed her tense shoulders with her hands. “I’ve known that for a long time. All I’ve needed was the money—and the backing—to expand.”

Kelsey loaded a chip with salsa. “I hate to burst your bubble, sis, but Jake could make money off dozens of other businesses in Texas, if that’s all he’s after.”

Unfortunately, Jenna knew that was true, too. She sighed and took another sip of beer. “He also wants me to help turn his little girl, Alexandra, into a lady and get her outfitted in some pretty dresses.”

“There are hundreds upon hundreds of children’s clothing shops in this state. Why come to you for that, when you don’t even design children’s clothing?”

“Because Alex is hard to please,” Jenna answered, remembering without wanting to how cute and lively Jake’s little girl had been, even if she had been out of control.

Kelsey shrugged and reached for another chip. “People who specialize in selling to the super-rich are well versed in ‘difficult,’ Jenna. Probably even more so when it comes to their spoiled-rotten kids.”

Irritated at having her theories shot down one by one, Jenna frowned at her baby sister, and continued trying to convince them both that Jake’s actions were not due to any long lost love for her, as he claimed. “There is no where else in Laramie to go for lah-de-dah clothing. He just built a ranch here. He and his daughter are living here now.”

Kelsey made a dissenting face. “He could still drive to Dallas.”

“His ex-wife will be here in two days.”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “It’s a two-hour drive there, even less to San Antonio from here. So don’t give me that. He could easily go there to buy dresses for Alexandra if he wanted to.”

Jenna sighed.

“Face it, sis.” Kelsey leaned forward earnestly. “Jake Remington is here for one reason and one reason only. He wants you back in his life. Probably as his wife. Which is why he’s trying so hard to get you and his daughter together. Before he can make a real move on you, he’s got to make sure the two of you can get along.”

Kelsey had never stayed any guy’s girlfriend for long—she was way too fickle for that—but she was very good at analyzing what was going on between a man and a woman. Too good sometimes, Jenna thought, as her baby sister’s words hit close to home. “That door is closed,” she retorted stubbornly, refusing to let herself hope, even for one second, that her sister might be right about Jake’s intentions.

“I see.” Kelsey grinned and peered at her in a parody of Dr. Ruth. “And iss that vhat you told him vhen he kissed you?”

Jenna’s jaw dropped open. Her hand flew to her mouth. “How did you—?”

“Please.” Kelsey rolled her eyes, her exasperation with her older sister mounting. “With the two of you alone on some romantic excursion! With Jake in hot pursuit? Don’t forget, I used to hear about those kisses.” Kelsey clasped her hands to her chest and pretended to be overcome with an intense longing of her very own. “Just hearing about them was enough to make me swoon.”