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“Meg?” Olivia’s voice floated down the hall. “I’ve been sent up to check on you.”
“I’m in here.” Meg shook her head and made the silver-and-turquoise earrings dance. They went well with the black dress she’d settled on, the simple little black dress that every woman was supposed to have hanging in her closet. Knowing her limitations in the fashion department, Meg had clung to that advice.
Olivia, looking radiant in a dark green dress, appeared in the doorway of what was still referred to as “Roni’s room.” The Chances had taken Roni in when she was a runaway teen. Now she worked as a mechanic on the NASCAR circuit and had married a guy on her racing team.
The decor hadn’t been updated since the days when Roni had been obsessed with NASCAR. But it was the only upstairs bedroom with an attached bath, so it was usually assigned to any single female guest. Meg qualified and was grateful for the privacy.
“Oh, Meg, those earrings are spectacular with that dress.” Olivia beamed at her.
“And you look terrific, as always.” Meg glanced lovingly at her friend. Olivia constantly experimented with her hair, and recently she’d colored it in various shades of red and blonde. For tonight’s event she’d created an arrangement of upswept curls and dangling ringlets that inspired Meg’s awe.
“Thank you.” Olivia smiled. “Being crazy in love helps.”
“I don’t have that going for me, unfortunately. I wish I’d asked you to come early and do my hair. It just sits there, a curly red blob.”
“Is that what’s keeping you?” Olivia crossed to the dressing table, picked up a tube of gel and squeezed some into her palm. “I can fix that in a jiffy.”
“The hair, the dress, the makeup, the jewelry. I’ve been a mass of writhing indecision.” Meg’s anxiety level dropped significantly as Olivia massaged hair gel into her misbehaving curls.
“Sounds serious.” Olivia finished with the gel and picked up a brush and a hair dryer. “You’re usually the calmest one of the bunch.”
“I think it’s having Rafe here.”
“He does change the dynamics.” She turned the dryer on low and began to work. “He’s a different kind of guy and he doesn’t quite fit in at the moment, but I’m counting on the fact he’s Wyatt’s twin. He’ll be fine. It’ll all work out.”
“I hope so. He seems sort of …” Meg hesitated to label him and risk offending his future sister-in-law.
“So you’ve met him?”
“I introduced myself this afternoon. He thinks I tried to run him down while I was on Spilled Milk.”
Olivia met Meg’s gaze in the mirror and laughed. “So did you?”
“No! Of course not!”
“Just wondering, because speaking for myself, I have the strongest urge to mess with him.”
Meg grinned, relieved she could be honest. “Livy, he’s ridiculously uptight. He told me he has ‘no interest’ in participating in the activities of the ranch. Won’t dress in jeans and boots until forced to. Plans to spend the week checking in to work on his iPad. How crazy is that?”
Olivia nodded. “That’s what he said just now, too. He seems to be holding the ranch and the Chance family at arm’s length. Poor Wyatt doesn’t know what to do.”
“Well, that sucks. For Wyatt and you, but for Rafe, too. He has no idea what he’s missing. It’s a crime to come to this beautiful ranch and stay cooped up with an iPad.”
“I agree.” Olivia used the brush and hair dryer to arrange Meg’s hair in soft, layered curls that framed her face. “There, how’s that?”
“Incredible.” Meg turned her head to view the results. The earrings swung rhythmically as she moved. “Now I feel gorgeous enough to take on Rafe Locke.”
Olivia smiled. “And do what with him?”
“You know, I think, deep down, he might want to loosen up, but he’s afraid to. He needs some help.”
“Well, if anyone can help him overcome those fears, it’s you.” Olivia stood back. “Go get him, girl.”
RAFE WAS HOLDING UP, but just barely. The shock of seeing his doppelganger—Jack Chance—walk into the room had largely worn off, but keeping the names and faces of the Chance clan sorted out had taken its toll. Fortunately no one had asked him the million-dollar question—whether Diana was coming to the wedding.
Even if they had, he wouldn’t have been able to give them an answer. He realized his mother was taking rudeness to a new level by waiting this long to reply, but surely a family rift that had lasted thirty-two years gave her some dispensation from the Emily Post crowd. He didn’t condone her behavior, either now or thirty-two years ago, but he didn’t want to see her humiliated, either.
He was trying to figure out a way to ditch the whole dinner plan and head upstairs to bed when Meg walked down the curved staircase looking like a queen at her coronation. He stared, then caught himself and glanced away.
But the image stayed with him. She’d abandoned the cowgirl look for a slinky black dress that showed off cleavage he hadn’t imagined existed when she’d worn a T-shirt. Her curly red hair now fell in soft waves around her face, and dangling earrings caught the light as she moved.
Dressed like this, she could walk into any nightclub in San Francisco and turn heads. She was turning them here, even though every man in the place except Rafe was spoken for. After an hour in the company of these guys, Rafe knew they all adored their wives, or fiancée in Wyatt’s case. But a man would have to be dead not to notice Meg tonight.
The only male who dared say something was thirteen-year-old Lester, a foster kid who would eventually be a part of the Chance family when Nick and Dominique formally adopted him. Lester gazed up at Meg with reverence in his eyes. “Wow. You clean up real good.”
That brought a laugh from everyone, including Meg. “Thanks, Lester.” She touched the lapel of the boy’s new Western shirt. “You’re pretty stylin’ yourself.”
“This is new.” Lester stuck out his skinny chest to show off his shirt. “Boots are new, too. Ropers.”
“Very nice. I’ll bet you and Nick went shopping today.”
Rafe covertly watched the interchange and wished he’d had the presence of mind to compliment her instead of allowing Lester to take the lead. The boy was small for his age, but apparently he had a gift for working with horses. Of the eight boys who’d spent the summer months at the ranch, Lester had been the standout according to Sarah. Nick and Dominique couldn’t stop talking about how much they enjoyed having him as part of their family.
Gazing at Lester, Rafe thought about what Meg had said this afternoon about the Last Chance changing lives. Here was a perfect example and Rafe applauded the effort. The ranch was a lifeline for a boy like Lester, but Rafe didn’t happen to need saving.
Wyatt walked over to stand beside him. “I saw your reaction when Meg came down, bro.” He gestured in her direction with his beer bottle. “It’s the most animated you’ve been since you arrived.”
“She’s a good-looking woman.” Rafe took a sip of his red wine as he watched Meg fuss over Lester.
“She’s also really special to Olivia.”
Rafe glanced at Wyatt. In the two months since Rafe had last seen him, Wyatt had become a cowboy, both in dress and attitude. It suited him. “That sounded like a warning. Are you saying I should keep my hands off Meg?”
“That’s not my place. Meg is a big girl, and she makes her own decisions. I’ve come to respect that about her. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t … Hell, I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“I do.” Rafe usually could tell what his twin was thinking, even if Wyatt couldn’t put it into words. “You’re telling me not to cause a problem for your fiancée’s best friend. I promise not to do that.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Wyatt squeezed Rafe’s shoulder. “Looks like Sarah’s herding us all into the dining room. I think you’ll enjoy the food.”
“I’m sure I will. The ranch is great, Wyatt.”
“Yeah, it is.” Relief shone in Wyatt’s gray eyes. “I’m glad you see that.”
Rafe felt like a first-class jerk. He’d known Wyatt desperately wanted his approval of the place and the family. That had been plain ever since Wyatt had announced his engagement. Yet Rafe had been reserving judgment, holding himself slightly apart. As his twin, Wyatt had sensed Rafe’s attitude and had been troubled by it.
Rafe would rather cut off his arm than hurt Wyatt, and his behavior was doing exactly that. “I’ve been thinking,” he said as they walked down a hallway lined with family photos. “Maybe I should take a shot at riding a horse while I’m here.”
Wyatt laughed. “You don’t have to do that, buddy. I know it’s not your thing.”
“That’s true.” He remembered what Meg had said this afternoon. “But when am I ever going to have a better setup than this?”
“That’s true. I’d take you out tomorrow, except Olivia and I are having a final meeting with the caterers in the morning, and we’re double-checking the flower order in the afternoon, but the next day I could probably—”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure there are a million people around here who could teach me the basics.” He immediately thought of Meg, but discarded the idea. She intrigued him far too much, and things could get messy. He’d just promised his brother not to create a problem.
Wyatt nodded. “You’re right. I’ll check with Emmett. He’ll know who has some spare time tomorrow.”
“Great. You know, this house is huge.”
“It is.” He gestured to the large room they’d entered. Although it held four round tables that could each seat eight, they weren’t set for dinner. “They use this area at lunch and all the hands eat here along with whatever family members are available.”
“Sounds like good PR.” On his right, through a set of double doors, was a smaller dining room furnished with one long table, the kind that could be expanded or contracted as needed. Gleaming silverware and faceted goblets sparkled in the light from a hammered metal chandelier.
“It’s more than PR,” Wyatt said. “It’s the way the Chance family does things. There’s not a bit of snobbery in them.”
Guilt pricked Rafe again. “I’m sure that appeals to you.”
“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong. I love Mom. But she’s a terrible snob. And I hate to say it, but so is Dad.”
Rafe sighed. “He is, and damn it, I was acting like a snob when I first got here. I’m sorry about that. It’s just so … different from what I’m used to.”
“I know.” Wyatt grinned at him. “That’s why I like it here.”
Rafe could tell. He was happy for his twin, and he vowed he would do his best to fit in for the short time he was part of Wyatt’s new world. As they all filed into the dining room, he hesitated, unsure of where he was supposed to sit.
Sarah glanced his way. “Rafe, why don’t you—”
“He can sit here, Sarah.” Meg patted a chair next to her. “We’re the two who don’t have kids or spouses, so we might as well hang out together.”
Sarah looked pleased. “That works.”
Rafe took the offered chair. “Thanks.” Sitting next to her at dinner wasn’t the same as making a play for her, so he felt okay with it. He also thought a polite compliment was in order. “You look really nice.”
Her cheeks turned slightly pink. “Thank you. I don’t get dressed up very often.”
That made him wonder how she earned a living. “Where do you work?”
“I’m an engineer for the city. I specialize in traffic control.” She gazed at him steadily, as if to assess his reaction.
“Huh. I’ve never met someone who did that.” So she had brains, too. She intrigued the hell out of him, and he’d just promised Wyatt not to get involved.
“My job doesn’t usually make for fascinating dinner conversation.”
He laughed as he unfolded his napkin and laid it in his lap. “Mine, either.”
“So what shall we talk about?”
“Well …” He couldn’t resist telling her of his latest plan, especially after the way she’d goaded him earlier. “You’ll be happy to know I’m going to try riding tomorrow.”
Her green eyes grew wide. “You are?”
“Yep. I decided that you’re right. I’ll never have a better chance than now, so why not?”
Her smile dazzled him. “That’s fabulous. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I’ll probably fall off, but what the hell?”
“You won’t fall off.”
“I might. I don’t know the first thing about riding a horse.” He picked up his water glass and took a drink.
“It’s easy. What time do you want to start?”
He nearly choked on his water. “Start? What do you mean?”
“I mean, after challenging you to experience life on a ranch, I think it’s only fair that I be the one to teach you to ride. The hands are all busy and I’m relatively free. So what time?”
“I—” He cast around for a way out of this. He’d be terrible in the beginning, and he didn’t relish the idea of looking bad in front of her.
“I suggest eight-thirty. I’ll meet you down at the barn.” She smiled again. “You’re going to love this, Rafe.”
“If you say so.” He had plenty of misgivings about having her teach him to ride, but the plan had one positive side. Given his lack of experience with horses, the time spent together had zero chance of being romantic.
3
MEG ARRIVED AT THE BARN ten minutes ahead of schedule the next morning. Rafe hadn’t shown up in the kitchen for breakfast or even for a cup of coffee, so maybe he’d blow off this lesson. She hoped not. Teaching him to ride would satisfy several objectives.
Olivia and Wyatt would be much happier if Rafe participated in ranch life instead of staying aloof from it as he’d originally planned. Plus Meg enjoyed pushing people out of their comfort zones, and she wouldn’t mind getting to know Rafe better. But she couldn’t force him to do this.
If he didn’t keep their appointment, she’d back off, way off. She valued those who made agreements and kept them. Anyone who couldn’t do that moved several notches down in her estimation.
After petting Butch and Sundance, the two dogs lying on either side of the barn’s double door, Meg stepped inside and breathed in the welcome scent of hay, oiled leather and horse. She truly loved it in Jackson Hole, and specifically at this ranch. After only four days, she was already questioning whether she wanted to stay in Pittsburgh or consider a move to Wyoming.
Her two older brothers had moved away, one to Connecticut and the other to Indiana. Although her parents still lived in Pittsburgh, they’d started making plans to retire in Florida. She really had nothing holding her except a job and friends.
The job was no problem. She could find something out here. And her friends would simply come visit. The more she thought about the idea, the more she liked it.
Besides, she was already making friends here, like the foreman, Emmett Sterling. She found him oiling tack, which explained why the tangy scent had been so strong when she’d first come into the barn.
At their initial meeting she’d told him that he reminded her of Tom Selleck, especially with his graying mustache. Emmett had blushed. He was an old-fashioned cowboy, a modest man with a strong work ethic, and she admired that.
He glanced up with a smile when she walked into the barn. “Hey, there. When do you want to schedule that roping lesson?”
“I’m not sure yet, Emmett. I don’t know if you’ve heard that I volunteered to teach Rafe how to ride, assuming he hasn’t changed his mind since last night.”
“I did hear that from Wyatt.” He gave a nod of approval. “Great idea.”
“If he comes. Maybe he’s decided not to.”
Emmett looked over her shoulder. “I think you’re in luck.”
She turned and tried not to let her jaw drop. For a second she thought Jack had walked into the barn, but the stride was different and the jeans were blue denim, not the black that Jack favored. No telling where Rafe had dug up the jeans, shirt, boots and hat, but they fit him well.
A little too well, in fact. Yesterday his dress shirt and slacks had partially disguised his build, but this outfit disguised nothing. The snug jeans showed off his muscled thighs and the shirt emphasized his broad chest.
The borrowed hat was black. By accident or design, Rafe had tilted it at the right angle to make his dark eyes sexy and mysterious, exactly as she’d imagined they would be when shadowed by a hat. He looked amazing.
He came to a stop in front of her and spread out his arms. “Will this do?”
She had the inappropriate urge to move right into those outstretched arms in the hope he’d wrap them around her. “You should wear clothes like that more often.” Whoops. She’d said that out loud. “I mean, yes, that’ll do fine.”
“Sarah rounded them up for me this morning.”
“Did you eat any breakfast? I didn’t see you in the kitchen.”
“I never eat breakfast. I grabbed a cup of coffee before I came down here. That’s all I need.”
She didn’t think so. He might get away without breakfast when he sat in an office clicking computer keys, but his morning routine was about to shift dramatically toward fresh air and exercise. She decided against mentioning his need for real food because he probably wouldn’t believe her.
Instead she turned to the foreman, who was watching them with thinly disguised amusement. “Emmett, which horse do you recommend for Rafe?”
Emmett didn’t hesitate. “Destiny.”
“I was thinking that, too.”
Rafe shifted his weight and looked apprehensive. “‘Destiny’ sounds like the devil horse you put greenhorns on to test them.”
“We wouldn’t do that, son.” Emmett clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ve come here with an honest desire to learn how to ride. If you’d bragged about your riding skill when we knew you didn’t have any, then we’d bring out the devil horse.”
“Trust me, I have nothing to brag about when it comes to horses. I can deconstruct a stock offering in no time flat, but when it comes to mounting up and riding off into the sunset, I got nothin’.”
Emmett reached for a halter hanging on the wall. “It’s not a bad place to start. You’re a blank slate with no bad habits. Meg, if you want to lead out Spilled Milk, I’ll fetch Destiny. Rafe, you come with me. I’ll show you how to put this on him.”
Meg watched the two men head down the row of stalls. Emmett ambled along with the slightly bow-legged stride of a guy who’d spent most of his life in the saddle. Rafe moved with the grace of an athlete, but there was no cowboy in his walk yet. Even so, the view of a jeans-wearing Rafe from behind was outstanding. Life at the Last Chance had just become more scenic.
DESPITE BEING ASSURED that Destiny wasn’t a powder keg ready to explode, Rafe studied the large brown-and-white animal from outside the stall. He wasn’t eager to get into a confined space with him.
“Come on in, son. He won’t bite.”
Rafe edged into the stall. “How much does he weigh?”
“Around a thousand pounds, give or take.”
“He must be pretty strong.”
“Yes, but he’s trained to cooperate with you. Come closer so you can see how to halter him. You put this on in order to lead him out of the barn. Later you’ll take the halter off and replace it with a bridle, which provides your steering mechanism. Don’t worry. He’s used to all this, so he won’t put up a fuss.”
“Right.” Taking a deep breath, Rafe approached Destiny. As Emmett put on the halter, Rafe ignored the enormous teeth and concentrated on Destiny’s deep brown eyes. He could see himself in the reflection there, and he looked like a cowboy, even if he didn’t feel like one.
“See how that’s done?” Emmett finished with the halter, snapped a lead rope to a metal ring and handed over the rope. “Go ahead and lead him outside.”
Before Rafe could object that he didn’t know enough yet, he found himself tramping back down the aisle between the stalls, towing a horse behind him. Emmett walked along, too, probably to make sure Rafe didn’t do anything stupid.
“How long has Destiny been at the ranch?”
“Let’s see. I guess it’s about twenty-four years, now.”
“Yikes! I didn’t mean you had to give me a geriatric horse. Can he handle my weight?”
Emmett chuckled. “Twenty-four’s not so old. Horses can live to be forty or more. Destiny was born when Jack was around ten, and he came up with that name for him. Thought it was real dramatic.”
“So this is Jack’s horse?”
“Not really. He’s a little too tame for Jack these days. Jack rides a black-and-white stallion named Bandit.”
“Destiny isn’t a stallion?”
“Not anymore.”
“Oh.” Rafe was torn between relief that Destiny was a pushover and humiliation at being consigned to a horse with no balls, one that wasn’t spirited enough for Jack Chance.
“Destiny’s a good starter horse,” Emmett said. “He has one bad habit, though. If you’re out on the trail and decide to climb off him, you’d better tie him up real good. He likes to work himself loose and head on home.”
“I’ll remember that. But I think maybe I should just stay in the corral today, don’t you?”
“Maybe for the first ten minutes, until you get the hang of it.”
“I don’t think ten minutes will do the trick.”
“You’ll be surprised at how fast you pick it up, son. Once you’re comfortable in the saddle, you and Meg should take ’em out and admire the scenery. We have a lot to look at around here.”
“Yes, you do.” Rafe couldn’t argue with that. Coming out of the house this morning he’d been greeted with a spectacular view of the snowcapped Grand Tetons. Funny that his mother hadn’t mentioned the amazing scenery when she’d described the ranch. Lining rockers up on the front porch made a lot more sense when a person could sit and look at those mountains.
When they emerged from the barn, Meg was already at the hitching post with her horse, the one he remembered from yesterday.
“Just tie Destiny up next to Spilled Milk,” Emmett said. “I’ll get you a blanket, saddle and bridle.”
“Thanks, Emmett.” Rafe walked the horse in a semicircle so he could approach the hitching post from the right angle and do a decent job of parallel parking next to the other horse.
After tying the lead rope to the post, he stepped back. “So far, so good.”
Meg settled a patterned blanket over her horse’s back and glanced at Rafe. “Looks like you and Destiny are making friends.”
“I figure he’s just putting up with me.”
“Just think of him like one of those dogs over there.” Moving with calm efficiency, she put a saddle on top of the blanket. “Emmett said he was treated like a pet when he was young, so in some ways he’s more dog than horse.”
“If I’d ever had a dog, I could relate to that analogy.”
“You’ve never had a dog?”
“Nope.”
“You don’t like them?” She leaned to tighten the leather strap running under the horse’s belly.
“I don’t know if I do or not. We didn’t have dogs when I was a kid, so I never got used to having them around. With my work schedule, it makes no sense to have a pet, anyway.”
“I know what you mean about that. I decided not to adopt a dog right now, either, considering the hours I work. I have a fish tank, but it’s not the same. I get my horse and dog fix when I go out to the stables back in Pittsburgh.”
She straightened and pointed to the strap under the horse. “It’s a good idea to tighten it, then wait for the horse to let out some air, then tighten it again.”
“Good to know.”
“Okay, now I’ll tighten it again.” She went back to her task, which gave him a chance to watch her without her being aware.
This morning she’d returned to her cute and wholesome look. Knowing that she could be all sunshine and daisies during the day and transform into a seductress at night fired his blood. He wondered which persona she’d have naked. Probably both.
“Rafe?” Emmett tapped him on the shoulder. “You okay?”
Rafe turned toward him. “I’m fine. Why?”
“I told you a couple of times that I’d brought out your tack, but you were staring into space like you didn’t hear me.”