The Best Little Joeville

Savannah offered a quick wink of encouragement and Jenny turned to face him. She folded her arms and looked as though she were weighing her options, but in truth he knew she wanted to go. Memories of previous rides rushed back to him, good times that he knew she hadn’t forgotten, either.

“Won’t we freeze our butts off? I don’t think I have the right clothes—”

Savannah moved alongside her friend. “I do.” She wrapped an arm around Jenny’s waist and squeezed hard. “So I guess it’s all settled. Gee, wish I could go with you but—” She withdrew her arm and ran both hands over her rounded middle. “I got some work to do in Max’s office.” She waddled out of the room and called over her shoulder. “Have a good time, you two.”

Shane shuffled his feet on the hardwood floor and hooked his thumbs into his back pockets. “If you don’t want to—”

She lifted her chin. “Who says I don’t want to?”

He waited for a smile or some sign of genuine interest, but all he saw was a mask, that old tough facade he’d seen so often. Her brown eyes met his and didn’t blink. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll meet you in the stable. How long will it take you to get ready?”

“See ya in ten,” she said curtly, then headed down the hall without a backward glance.

What was it going to take to thaw this woman, anyway? And why was he even trying? He started for the door, shaking his head and forgetting about Hannah.

“She’ll come around, son. Don’t let that look fool ya.”

With his hand on the doorknob he looked back at the woman who probably knew him better than any other. Her head was down but she was smiling in that knowing way of hers as she kneaded more dough.

“I’ll be back for some of that bread later. Smells great.”

“Uh-huh.” She kept smiling and kneading as he let himself out.

Before he could reach the stable, Ryder’s pickup truck crunched snow in the driveway and rolled to a stop. Billy darted from the passenger side.

“Isn’t it great, Uncle Shane?” he asked, his breath making small white clouds near his rosy cheeks.

“Isn’t what great, Billy?”

“You know...having Jenny here for the holidays.”

Ryder stepped out and rested his hand on the boy’s shoulder, one eyebrow cocked and a grin from ear to ear. Shane looked from one to the other. If he didn’t know better, he’d think the pair were part of some grand conspiracy. “Yeah. It’s great,” he said finally, forcing an edge of indifference into his voice. He glanced up the road and back. “Done with the plowing already?”

Ryder nudged Billy toward the back door. He didn’t need a second invitation to get out of the cold. “Josh rousted a few volunteers from the bunkhouse at the crack of dawn. They’d cut a path to the farmhouse before we got out here.”

“So how’s little brother doing up there?”

“The new interior partitions are all done and some of the drywall. He even has a bed set up and the fridge stocked. We may not see him for days.”

Shane laughed and started for the stable. “He’ll be back before Jenny’s Thanksgiving dinner. Count on it.”

Ryder followed him from the tack room to the horses as he started saddling a pair. “Speaking of Jenny—”

Shane spun on his heel, about to tell Ryder there were enough matchmakers lurking around, when Jenny opened the large double doors behind him.

Ryder stole a quick peek then smiled and muttered under his breath, “That answers one question. Have a good time.”

“Ryder!” Jenny flew into Ryder’s arms and he spun her around, lifting her booted feet from the ground. “It’s so good to see you again.”

Ryder set her down, his hands lingering on her narrow shoulders. “Ditto, sweetheart. You can’t imagine how excited my wife’s been, waiting for this time.”

“Me, too.”

“Well, sorry to run off, but I promised Billy I’d help him with some science project for school.” He looked back at Shane and winked, then shut the stable doors behind him.

Shane busied himself buckling straps, averting his eyes, trying to ignore the quickening of his pulse as she walked toward him. But soon the sweet smell of warm hay and dung were replaced with the scent of a woman who made him too nervous for his own good. The chestnut gelding he was saddling for her had a different reaction. He whinnied and put his muzzle forward for her to rub, possibly remembering her from before or simply interested in the butter-mint she held in her open palm. He took it greedily and she stroked his neck.

“How you doing, boy. You remember me? Hmm?”

Shane watched and admired her ease. For a city slicker, she did well with horses. If she was afraid of them, they would know. For a second he wondered if she sensed how uncomfortable he was with her. With more poise than he felt he said, “Ready to go?”

She tilted her hooded face to him, mischief dancing in her dark brown eyes. “Don’t I look ready?”

He could see puffs of her breath in the air between them, reminding him that everything wasn’t as warm as the layer of skin beneath his flannel shirt and down-filled jacket. He handed her the reins of her gelding, then walked two stalls over to his own quarter horse.

Once outside the stable, they mounted and he braved a look at her. “You sure you’re up to this?”

She stared at his face, no hint of a smile left on her lips or eyes. Then she said, “I don’t know. Time will tell, I guess.”

There was little doubt in his mind that she was no longer referring to their ride. With a quick look up the road, he dug in his heels and led the way.

Jenny rode past the corral and up the gentle incline, following the diagonal tracks in the otherwise pristine patch of new snow, a little surprised that their horses had left the groomed trail for a more difficult terrain. She stopped alongside Shane at the crest of the first hill and, after catching her breath, relaxed in the saddle and took in the endless horizon. The gelding lowered its head and pawed at the pillows of white beneath his feet, then sniffed so hard that it let out a loud sneeze, which made Jenny laugh.

“That’s better,” Shane said, and she glanced over at him, pretending not to understand, but the meaning wasn’t lost on her. She’d been combative with him ever since he had met her plane. And for what reason? To keep him at arm’s length? There had to be an easier way. It was a beautiful day and it would be a shame not to enjoy it. Besides, how much trouble could they get into out here, bundled up like a couple of Eskimos?

She stroked the horse’s mane and smiled, looking out at the valley and miles of butte and snowdrifted ridges, which almost blinded her with its whiteness. She squinted at the biggest blue sky she’d ever seen and remembered why she had loved this place so. The vastness of it all reduced her problems to less than a speck of dust on a freshly painted wall. At home her loneliness seemed to consume her, yet out here, where she could see the mountains meet the sky a hundred miles away, she felt at peace, one with her surroundings. Even if Shane had stayed behind this morning, she knew she would not have felt lonely here.

Shane reined in his horse and turned around, moving face-to-face beside her. “Warm enough?” His breath burst from his lips as he eyed her.

If she’d been cold before, the temperature inside her quilted parka rose by degrees with the feel of his breath on her cheeks. She watched his sure fingers untie the wool scarf at her neck. “What are you doing?”

His eyes met hers and lingered there before glancing down at her lips. She licked them involuntarily, then kicked herself mentally for doing so.

“Your skin’s not as weathered as mine. Frostbite’s nothing to fool with out here.” He started to turn the scarf around and knot it behind her head, but then he lowered it and gazed deep into her eyes, in that haunting way of his that left her feeling naked and without secrets. “Do you think we could call a truce while you’re here?” he asked finally.

“I didn’t know we were at war,” she snapped, seeing the disappointment in his eyes. He started to turn away but she grabbed his jacket and met his eyes evenly this time. “Okay. Truce?”

A slow smile reached his eyes and she felt a trickle of sweat trail down from between her breasts.

“Want to see Josh’s farmhouse? It’s about a fifteen-minute ride if we cut over the ridge.” He pointed east and she saw nothing but foothills and snow-laden pines.

“I’d love to,” she said. He moved closer and reached for her scarf, his eyes hesitating again on her lips. He shifted in his saddle and inched closer. Those slow hands she had always admired circled her and Jenny closed her eyes. Then she felt the tug of the knot at the back of her head and a moment later, his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath through the wool, he hesitated, then raised the scarf over her nose.

“There. That ought to do the trick.” There was a hint in his smile that said he knew what she was thinking, yet he didn’t give voice to his thoughts, but simply turned his horse and loped toward the ridge.

So much fur the kiss, she thought, and smiled hehind the cover of the scarf. He thought he was so clever. Huh! She’d seen it in his eyes. There was little doubt what was on his mind. And there was little doubt something would happen before long.

Jenny nudged her horse and followed Shane’s tracks, marveling at the beauty around her. Millions of tiny diamondlike flakes winked at the brilliant sun, keeping her company till she reached her destination. Once there, evergreens cast long ink-blot shadows, conjuring all sorts of images. She caught up to Shane and looked down at the stream below. A slow trickle was making its way over fallen timbers and shiny rocks of all sizes. She looked up and saw a puff of smoke coming from a fieldstone chimney a couple of miles away. It rose above an old farmhouse with a large covered front porch. A stake truck, parked alongside, was covered with a large gray tarp, a few two-by-fours jutting out the end.