“Oh, Lucy—”
“No argument. We can have a drink when you come to pick her up later.”
“That does sound good,” Jillian said, sighing.
“Excellent. Hi, sweetie!” Mac and Brody raced up together, Brody in the lead and dragging the little girl behind him. “Do you want to go to the ranch for a little while?”
“Jesse!” Mac looked up at Jillian and grinned. “Horsies!”
Jillian sighed again. It seemed that despite knowing she should keep her distance from Jesse, she was destined to be thrown into his path.
“Sounds like someone’s got a crush,” Lucy mused, her gaze fixed on Jillian, not Mac.
“He’s so good with her…”
“Handsome, too.”
“Yeah, he really is—” Jillian broke off and glared at her friend.
Lucy was unashamed. “Hey, just wanted to see if there was anyone else with a crush and now I’m thinking there might be.”
“Crush!” Mac yelled, and Jillian winced.
“I really like you, Lucy, but you’re wrong.”
“Sure I am. I can see that now.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Isn’t it great?” Lucy grinned, leaned down and scooped Mac up into her arms. “I don’t plan to change, either. When I’m old and gray I’ll be nosy, opinionated and people will run when they see me coming.”
Jillian had to laugh. “I believe you.”
“Mom, I want ice cream,” Brody said, tugging on the hem of her black shirt.
“What a great idea! Mac, you want some ice cream, too?”
“Cream!”
“I think that’s a yes,” Jillian said, giving her daughter a smile.
“This is why I hang out with kids. They know what’s good,” Lucy mused. “We’ll see you later, Jillian.”
“I’ll come to the ranch as soon as I’m off work and—”
“That is not a break,” Lucy chided, shaking her head. “Take some time. Relax. Do nothing for a while. You are not allowed to show up at the ranch before at least seven.”
Laughing, Jillian admitted, “I don’t know if I remember how to do nothing.”
“Give it a shot.” She headed for the door, both kids in tow. “Say bye.”
“Bye, Mama, bye!” Mac waved frantically, and Brody did the same. And when they were gone, Jillian felt a pang that was a mixture of relief and trepidation.
To pick up her little girl, she’d have to see Jesse again, and that was getting harder and harder. Because every time she saw him, her mind dredged up images that she had no business entertaining. She imagined his body covering hers, his big, callused hands sliding across her skin. His mouth on hers, tongues tangling in a wild, desperate dance. Her blood burned, her heartbeat quickened and her mouth went dry.
“Jillian?”
She jolted, dragging her completely aroused self out of her daydream and turned to face Ginger.
“You okay?” the older woman asked.
“Probably not,” Jillian murmured.
“What?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Taking a deep breath, she emptied her mind and hurried over to keep three-year-old Colton Jackson from eating a crayon.
* * *
Jesse and his ranch foreman, Carlos, were in a dead heat. Horses neck and neck as they raced back to the ranch after checking on the herd in the south pasture. The end-of-the-ride race was tradition, with pride and bragging rights the only rewards. Days like this reminded Jesse how lucky he was to live the life he loved. The ranch. The wide-open stretches of land. The horses. Being outside as another storm rolled in with electricity alive in the air. The thunder of the horses’ hooves against the earth sounded like drum beats. The wind in his face smelled of the coming rain. Sunset stained the sky red and purple and gold. And he loved it all.
He heard the cowboys cheer as they passed and Jesse grinned. He had this one. His horse was younger, stronger than Carlos’s mount—and Jesse liked to win. Hell, he’d lost only one of these races in the last two months.
“Go boss, you got him.”
“Come on, Carlos,” someone else called, “don’t let him win again!”
Laughing, feeling the rush of a fast horse and the wind in his face, Jesse beat Carlos into the ranch yard by a nose and pulled back on the reins to ease his horse into slowing down.
“You got me,” Carlos said, laughing. “But tomorrow I take the stallion and you ride this lazy gelding.”
“It’s not the horse, Carlos.” Jesse held out one hand. “It’s the rider.”
Still laughing, Carlos shook then warned, “Tomorrow it’ll be different.”