Healing a Cowboy's Heart (Cowboy Dreamin' 2) (15 page)

They
finished the rest of the meal without any more hassles from his family. Jeff
picked up their plates when they finished, taking them to the dirty dish pan.
He grabbed three desserts on his way to returning to the table. The rest of the
family cleared out leaving him alone with Terri and Ben. They seemed to be
doing that a lot since she’d arrived.

“Do
you have somethin’ you can do this afternoon? I’ve got work to get done.” The
spoon disappeared between her tempting lips, making him want to stick something
else between those plump lips. Maybe tonight he could get her to suck him. Just
for a minute. He’d probably explode the minute she took him in her mouth. He
shook his head to clear the erotic thoughts. The last thing he needed was a
raging hard-on to work with this afternoon. Of course, throwing some hay bales
would quickly deflate it.

“Sure.
If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to some of your brothers about some of the
other stuff they do around the ranch.”

“Why’s
that?” he asked, suspicion crowding his thoughts. She did work for the
developers trying to take over everything around Bandera.

She
shrugged as she took another bite. “I’m curious. I’ve never been on a working
cattle ranch. I’d like to know more about each man’s job on the ranch.”

Her
thigh plastered against his waylaid his thoughts again.
Damn
. He needed to get his mind out of bed with Terri and back on
work. “There is a hay ride this evening if you’d like to go. Dad does a great
informational thing on the longhorn cattle we have.”

“Great!
I’d love it. He seems like an interesting person.”

“He’s
been doin’ this a long time.”

After
she finished her dessert, she pushed the small cup away as she licked her lips.
He so wanted to taste the chocolate confection on her mouth. He leaned in ready
to do exactly what he thought until Ben squeezed between them. “Hey, buddy.”

“Can
Ms. Terri come over our house tonight?”

“What
for?”

“I
wanna show her my room.”

Jeff
raised an eyebrow in a questioning look trying to convey to her this would give
them a perfect opportunity for a night of lovemaking at his place.

“Sure,
Ben,” she answered. “I’d love to see your room.”

“Okay.
Off with Gram, Ben. I’ve got work to do and so does Ms. Terri.” He stood and
helped Terri to her feet. “I’ll walk you back to your cabin.”

“You
don’t have to do that. How about if I get with Jonathan and Jeremiah so I can
get the business side of things?”

“There’s
an office by the check-in office where Jeremiah works on the books. I’ll take
you there before I head to the barn.”

“Thanks.”

They
rounded the corner of the main lodge just in time for the front door to open and
close by itself. He rolled his eyes. He hoped she didn’t have a problem with
ghosts since they had a few of them running around the ranch, especially in the
main lodge since it used to be a brothel. They didn’t have a lot of problems in
the cabins, but the main house had its share. The local cowboy who haunted the
place kept things lively, but the real draw for a lot of folks was the noisy
couple upstairs. Even Mesa had a run in with them when she stayed there.

“Did
that door just open and close by itself?”

“
It’s
ghost,” Ben whispered in a loud voice.

“Ghost?”
she
asked,
her eyes wide with wonder.

“It’s
nothin’. Probably the wind,” Jeff answered before Ben could go further. “Off to
see Gram, Ben.”

“Okay,
Daddy.” Ben scrambled into Nina’s office as he rounded the corner to show Terri
where Jeremiah’s office was.

“Here
you go.” He knocked on the door and heard a muffled greeting. He opened it to
find Jeremiah bent over his desk with papers scattered everywhere. The office
looked like a bomb had gone off in there. “Damn, Jeremiah. I don’t see how you
can get anythin’ done with this mess.”

“I
know exactly where everything is so just back off.”

He
held up his hands. “I brought Terri in to talk to you. She has some questions.”

“Sure.
Come on in, Terri. There’s a chair there in the corner if you’d like to sit.”

“Thank
you,” Terri answered, grabbing the wooden chair from its spot to drag it closer
to the desk.

“I’ll
leave you two alone then. I’ll see you at supper, Terri.”

“Of
course.”

“Have
fun and behave yourself, Jeremiah.”

“Always,
brother.”

He
closed the door, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob.
Why was she so interested in the financial
aspect of the ranch? Things weren’t quite
addin
’ up
with Terri Kennedy. Maybe if I get to know her better, she’ll tell me what
she’s up to.

Jeff
shook his head as he walked out the doors headed for the barn. What to do with
her, he wasn’t sure, but keeping an eye on her seemed to be a priority now. Her
inquiries into things going on at the ranch worried him. A talk between him and
Jeremiah would be in order after work had been completed for the day. He hoped
she wasn’t up to
no
good. Trust came hard for him and
he’d begun to trust her. He just hoped it wasn’t misplaced.

Jacob
came out of the tack room, stumbling slightly.

“Are
you okay?”

“I’m
fine.”

The
smell of alcohol coming from his brother’s breath almost knocked Jeff down.

“Jacob,
are you drunk?”

“No.
I wish to hell I was.”

Jeff
grabbed his brother’s arm and hauled him into the tack room. “What the fuck is goin’
on with you? You’ve been drinking in here?”

“Fine.
Yeah, I’ve been drinkin’. It’s none of your fuckin’ business what I do.” Jacob
shoved Jeff back, yanking his arm out of his brother’s grasp. Without the added
support, he stumbled again.

“We’re
here for you, Jacob. But, listen, man. This has to stop.”

“Just
leave me the fuck alone.” Jacob tumbled backward into a chair sitting near the
desk they used to do some of the tack repairs on.

“Tell
me.”

“You
don’t fuckin’ care about any of us! Why the hell should I tell you anything.”

“Because
you’re drinkin’ way too much.
Here it is the middle
of the damned day on a weekday and you’re drunk off your ass. Were you drunk at
breakfast too?”

“Yeah,
I was!” Jacob straightened himself in the chair and he tried to rise. Jeff
slammed him back down with a hand on his shoulder.

“Jacob,
what’s gotten into you? You didn’t used to drink like this.”

“It
doesn’t matter. I ain’t tellin’ you anything so back the fuck off, Jeff. What I
do isn’t your business.”

“Everythin’
at this ranch is my business. Get it through your head brother and we’ll be
fine. The drinkin’ has to stop. I mean now, Jacob.”

“Fuck
you.” Jacob stumbled to his feet as he pushed his way past Jeff.

Jeff
grabbed his arm, but Jacob yanked it back. “Come on, Jacob. Talk to me.”

“Leave
me alone, Jeff. The problems I have are none of your business.”

“I
want to help you.”

“You’re
too wrapped up in your latest woman to care about me or anyone else on this
ranch.”

“Don’t
bring Terri into this.
She ain’t got nothin’ to do with you
or me.”

“Why
the hell not?
She’s another slut…”

Jeff
pulled back his fist and hit Jacob on the chin, laying him flat out on the
floor of the tack room. “Terri is a good woman. She’s not a money-hungry female
after this ranch or what money she can get from me. She has her own business
and is working an important job. Keep your filthy opinions to yourself.”

“What’s
goin’ on here,” their father said, stopping in the doorway.

“Jacob
is drunk again. He’s been drinkin’ on the job. He’s probably got some booze
hidden in here somewhere so he can sneak a drink whenever he comes in.”

“Is
this true, Jacob?”

Jacob
tried to sit up. “I was drunk last night. Today, I’m hung over. That’s all,
Dad.”

“You
can smell the alcohol on his breath.”

Their
father held out his hand to help Jacob to his feet. Jeff wasn’t fooled. He knew
his father planned to smell Jacob’s
breath
for
himself.

“Jacob,
go to your place. You need to sleep off whatever you’ve been drinking.”

“But,
Dad?”

“But
nothin’.
I don’t want to hear another word from
you.”

“I’m
thirty years old. If I want to get plastered, I can.”

“Not
while you’re workin’ this ranch, son.”
Their father
turned him toward the door. “Go on. We’ll talk later about this.”

Jacob
stumbled out the door, almost falling on his face as Jeff and their father
stood by to watch.

“What
are we gonna do with him, Dad?”

“I’m
not sure, Jeff. I wish I knew what caused him to start drinkin’.”

“I
don’t know either.”

“Have
you heard of woman problems or anythin’ with him?”

“No.
I know he had a girlfriend not too long ago, but I thought their split was a
mutual thing.” Jeff shook his head. “Maybe he took it harder than I thought.”

“Maybe,
but I don’t think Jacob was in love with her. Do you?”

“He
might have been, Dad. I know he never brought her around here. I saw her with
him a couple of times at the bar. They seemed chummy, but he sure didn’t act
like he was in love.” He stepped back inside the tack room when Jacob went
inside his trailer. His wasn’t far from the house to the back of the garden area.
“I sure ain’t an expert on the subject though.”

James
laughed, and then sobered.
“Sorry, son.
I didn’t mean
to make fun of you, but you sure aren’t an expert with your track record.”

“Misha
was a huge mistake even though she gave me Ben.”

“He’s
the light of our lives, Jeff. You know that, right?”

“Yeah,
Dad, I do. He’s my pride and joy. I love him with all my heart.”

James
took a seat on the edge of the desk. “What’s going on between you and Terri
Kennedy?”

“Nothin’,
why?”

“You
seem pretty familiar with each other for nothin’ goin’ on,” his father said,
folding his arms over his chest.

“She’s
a great gal. We’re havin’ a little fun together until she leaves.”

“Yeah,
Joel said the same thing until Mesa left to go back to Los Angeles.”

“Joel
fell in love with her in like a week, Dad. That’s not normal.”

“When
love finds you, son, you don’t have a choice in the matter. Not if it’s real
love.”

“Well,
I don’t plan to fall in love with anyone. Women are more of a pain in the ass
than their worth.”

One
eyebrow rose over James’ left eye. “True, but the love you get in return more
than makes up for the hassle you go through.”

“I
don’t think so.”

“With
the right woman, it is.”

“Hmm.”
Jeff took a bridle down from the wall and fiddled with the bit. “Did I tell you
I had to save Terri from a bug in her tub this
mornin
’?”

“No.”
James laughed. “I thought she was from Houston. Surely she knows about the bugs
in Texas.”

“I
woulda
thought so but she apparently doesn’t do
bugs.” Jeff laughed too. It had been rather funny to see her standing on the
toilet wrapped in a sheet.

“I
haven’t seen you laugh in a long time, son. I think she’s good for you.”

“Don’t
get your hopes up. It’s nothin’ permanent.”

“What’s
she doin’ here anyway? I think there is more to her visit than meets the eye.
She’s interested in things most normal guests aren’t.”

“I’m
keepin
’ an eye on her.”

“Why?”

“Don’t
judge her, okay? I don’t think she means harm, but I can’t be sure.” Jeff laid
the bridle on the desk. “She’s an architect for the development firm who bought
the land next to ours. They plan on putting a housing project in there. She’s
doing some research on the area to get an idea of what types of houses she’ll
be designing for them to build.”

“That’s
serious stuff.”

“I
know.”

“She’s
in talkin’ to Jeremiah.” James rapped his knuckles on the desktop. “I don’t
like her knowing our financial situation, Jeff.”

“I
don’t think Jeremiah is stupid enough to tell her anything pertinent. I hope
she’s gettin’ general information is all.”