first one stepped forward and held out a hand. “I’m Ford.” He had black eyes with dark hair and was taller than the others. Maybe six-six? Scars lined the right side of his face, many of them, making him look dangerous. Although his grip was gentle when they shook.
Ford? Seriously? She held her breath until he released her.
“I’m Jesse.” The second guy had intelligent eyes and dark hair that curled around his ears. His right arm was scarred around his wrist as if it had gotten caught in barbed wire. “It’s nice to meet you.” He, too, was a big guy. Not as tall as Ford but definitely as wide.
She shook his hand and stepped back. “Ford and Jesse? Did your parents find a book on cowboy names, or what?”
Jesse flashed a grin, showing two surprising dimples. “Something like that.”
The two men headed for the door, their cowboy boots clipping on the now clean floor.
Hallie cleared her throat. “Do any women belong to your club?” There had to be cowgirls around, right?
Ford kept right on going through the door, while Jesse paused, settling a laptop bag over his shoulder. “No. Twelve of us created the co-op, and we put this clubhouse in the middle of what will eventually become our ranches. Women are welcome, though. Well, not to be members, but they’re always welcome here.”
She stiffened. “Why can’t women be members?”
He pushed his cowboy hat farther back on his head. “Because we formed the club for the twelve of us when we created the co-op.” His tone indicated he wasn’t sure why he had to repeat that fact.
“Why aren’t there women in the co-op?” she asked.
His gaze cleared. “That’s a story you should probably get from your man.”
Butterflies winged through her abdomen and she shoved the girly happiness away. “I don’t have a man.”
Jesse grinned. “You might want to tell Trent that.” Whistling softly, he strode out into the wild rainstorm.
Yeah, she definitely would. Maybe she could get one more kiss out of the cowboy first. Oh, she was leaving, but that man could kiss, and she needed something to keep her warm in the nights to come.
She finished with the bar and looked around. She’d already cleaned the small kitchen and the bathrooms. The conference room was still in use, so that only left the personal suites to work on. Trent hadn’t asked her to clean them, but she could at least tidy his, since she’d stayed there. Maybe as a thank-you to him before she left.
Making her way down the hall, she double-checked her vacuum marks on the carpet. Perfect. The vacuum and cleaning supplies she’d found in the small laundry room had been surprisingly good. She entered his room, removed the sheets from the bed and jogged down to the laundry room to start another load. Then she returned and dusted before vacuuming. There wasn’t much else to do; it didn’t look like he stayed there often.
She sat on the bed and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. She’d never smell wild grass or leather again and not think of him.
A figure passed by, and Zachary poked his head in. “Whatcha doing?”
“Laundry,” she said, pushing hair out of her face. “I didn’t know if I should clean all of the suites or just Trent’s.”
“Just Trent’s,” Zachary confirmed. “Who knows what you’d find in some of those other quarters. We have a lot of parties out here.”
That’s what she’d figured. “I’ve heard of co-ops, but I didn’t think they were a good idea tax-wise. How does yours work?”
Zachary’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. “Who told you about the co-op?”
She just shrugged. If it was a secret, why get Jesse in trouble over it? “Does that matter?”
“Not really.” Zachary leaned against the doorframe, reminding her of a lazy panther that wasn’t so lazy. While he appeared to be good-natured compared to his brother, his gaze lacked the lightness his body exhibited. “The co-op purchased all the land, and we each work equal portions of it, sharing in the profits and losses. Since ranching is such a risky business, that grants us more stability overall.”
Their approach made sense. “Oh. So that first day, when Trent said that the Newberys had a bad calving season and the donation was one calf each, that was a co-op adjustment?”
Zachary shook his head. “No. The Newberys aren’t in the co-op. But they’re neighbors, they had a rough season, and we’re going to help them out. It’s what we do.”