he had to figure out how to get ten kids out to the south meadow and back safely.
Later, he’d figure out Jess.
Chapter 20
Two hours later, Cole had just finished helping the kids find marshmallow sticks in a clearing when he heard Sky Dancer’s telltale whinny from somewhere over the rise to his east. He watched the skyline, and a minute later, Jess and the horse crested the ridge, pausing at the top.
She cantered toward him, and he felt himself mesmerized by the sight of her jet-black hair flowing behind her. Christ, she was like an old West movie heroine, with her just-worn-enough boots and her soft plaid shirt and those damn jeans that hugged every damn curve just right.
He swallowed hard as she pulled up, and he forced his eyes to hers, rather than let them skim all the other parts of her that he’d love to touch. Her eyes were red around the edges, like she’d kicked up some serious dust. Or had she been crying?
If she had been crying, he could guarantee she wouldn’t want him to know that, so he kept his voice light. “Hey, cowgirl. What brings you to these parts?”
She reached into the saddlebag on her right side, coming up with a baggie of chocolate bars. “Ma said you forgot the chocolate.”
“You forgot the chocolate?” Ella’s eyes went wide. “How were we going to make s’mores without chocolate?”
“I didn’t forget the chocolate.” No way had he forgotten the chocolate. He’d done that once, earlier in the summer, and the resulting outcry had trained him well enough to never let it happen again.
He pointed toward the log circle that surrounded the fire pit. “Kids, go check those bags over by the logs. I’ll bet you a dollar there’s chocolate in there.”
Like a herd of goats, the kids moved toward Cole’s bags. He looked back up at Jess. “I didn’t forget the chocolate, but I appreciate you bringing this out to me.”
Jess shrugged. “I needed a ride, anyway. It was a good excuse.”
“You want to stay? Join us for s’mores?”
She smiled, and though he could see warmth in it, he also sensed a veil coming over her face as she watched the kids. “Looks like you have things under control here.”
Just then, one of them yelled, “There’s no chocolate! You did forget the chocolate!”
Cole turned. “Not possible. I packed it myself just before we left. I swear—”
Then he turned to Jess, and his eyes narrowed. Ma had come down just before he’d left with the kids, wandering through the corral under the pretense she was checking saddles and—quote—helping.
“Ma took that chocolate right out of my saddlebag, didn’t she?”
Jess’s eyes widened. “I know nothing! Truly. She just came down to my cabin with this bag and asked if maybe I could bring it out to you. Said you’d have a riot on your hands if the kids discovered you’d done the campfire ride without chocolate.”
Cole shook his head. “You know what I think? I think everyone on this damn ranch is playing matchmaker, and now Ma’s in the mix.”
He saw a series of emotions skitter quickly over her face, but she tried to cover them.
He put a hand on Sky Dancer. “You’d better stay. If you go back too early, Ma’s going to think she’s failed. We wouldn’t want her to feel bad, right?”
“Um, no?”
“Good answer. Come on. Have a s’more.”
Jess shivered. “Okay. I’ll stay. Just for a bit.”
—
A little while later, Jess sat on a log by the little campfire, watching the kids roast their marshmallows as Cole told them stories about the Native Americans who’d inhabited this land long before his own ancestors had moved to Montana. The kids were mesmerized as he told the tale of two wolves in a long-standing battle for control of their pack.
So was Jess, she realized.
It wasn’t just the story that had her entranced, though. It was the way the kids watched him tell it—their eyes wide, their mouths open, their knees coming up to protect them at the scary parts.
He was sitting next to her on the log, and as he told the story, she could feel his deep voice resonate through her entire body. She tried not to think about the effect that same voice had just when he whispered, but sitting this close to him, feeling the heat from his body, it was impossible not to.
She closed her eyes, letting the soft vibrations calm her, listening to the ebb and flow of his words as he gave