to the Whisper Creek website?”
“Only when Ma makes me proofread her updates. Why?”
Jess reached for her phone, tapping in her password and opening the browser. “I want to show you something.” She tapped a couple of times, then handed him her phone. “I think you need to read your own reviews, cowboy.”
—
Ten minutes later, Cole tapped to scroll Jess’s phone one more time, but he’d finally reached the last of the guest reviews. Holy hell. It was going to take him a few minutes to process what he’d just read.
She’d sat quietly beside him as he read, not saying a word, and now she looked at him, eyebrows raised. “So? What do you think?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what to think.”
She took her phone back. “Let me read you my favorite one.”
“I just read them all, Jess. You don’t need to read one to me.”
“Okay, I’ll just pick out snippets.” She tap-tap-tapped. “Ooh, here’s one: I’d never been on a horse before, but Cole had me up and riding on the second day, and by the end of our vacation, I was cantering! She was cantering, Cole.”
He rolled his eyes. “Anybody can get a newbie cantering at the end of two weeks.”
“Fine. How about this one? The ranch is gorgeous, the staff is friendly, and the owner, Cole, is an absolute dream. He made us feel welcome from the first minute we arrived until we waved a reluctant good-bye.”
The owner, Cole? That had a nice ring to it, he had to admit.
Jess wasn’t done. “Here’s another one. We were calling Sara ‘Ma’ by the end of the first day, and tried to convince Cole to come home with us at the end of our vacation because our kids had grown so attached to him.”
Cole laughed. “I remember that family, actually. They really did try to get me to come back to Chicago with them.”
She scrolled some more. “Ooh. I love this one.”
“Enough, Jess.”
“The owner, Cole, got hold of the kids on the first morning of our stay, and by the end of the day, he had them riding, doing chores, and cooking dinner over the campfire. We hardly saw our kids all week because all they wanted to do was hang out with Cole.”
Cole fiddled with his beer bottle, uncomfortable hearing the words of praise out loud. “Are you done?” He raised his eyebrows and held out his hand for her phone.
“I think there’s one more I wanted to read you.” She tapped a couple of times.
“That’s enough. Really. I get it.”
She looked up. “Do you, though? Do you see a pattern here in all the ones you read? Your name is front and center in these reviews, Cole. You’re the guy they associate with this place. You’re the guy who corrals their kids and gives them a vacation they’ll remember for a lifetime. You’re the guy who cures scaredy-pants women and has them booking next year’s vacation before they leave.”
“It’s a team effort, Jess.”
“I’m not saying it isn’t. But the teamwork happens mostly behind the scenes. Yeah, you all work hard here. Yes, you have guys who help out with stuff, because you have to. This is a growing operation, and the three of you can’t possibly handle it by yourselves anymore.”
She paused. “But Cole. Surely you can see what I see here. You’re the face of Whisper Creek. You’re the reason they come back.”
He studied her for a moment, his eyes tracing the heart shape of her face, the dark brown depths of her eyes, the lush fullness of her lips.
“Come here, cowgirl.” He took the risk, put the invitation out there, motioned for her to lie beside him against the hay. He’d give about fifty-fifty odds to her heading right back down the ladder, but he had to try.
He’d been waiting all night to have her alone, and watching her scroll through her stupid phone, watching her be all intent on making sure he saw those reviews—it all just made him want her even more than he’d thought possible.
When he’d held her tonight on the dance floor, his mind had gone well past dancing, and he’d had to force himself back before he scared her silly. He’d loved having her on his arm, loved having her hold his hand, loved having people watch them cross the floor as a twosome.
He’d even loved the look of blatant jealousy Marcy had flashed Jess as they’d passed her table. All night, he’d wanted to sneak Jess back to