Hot Holiday Rancher

Esme blinked a sting of jealousy. She’d only just met Jesse. And while he was sure one sexy cowboy with his slightly tousled blond hair, she knew better than to assume they were anything more than two very opposite people stuck together riding out a rainstorm.

With precise, athletic footfalls, he made his way over to the window and looked outside into the tempest.

“In this storm, I seriously doubt any of them will be showing up.” He turned to her and his gaze held on her upper lip, and she realized she had a hint of whipped cream clinging there.

Jesse returned to her, offering her a napkin. She took it, dabbing her mouth slowly. His eyes flamed hotter and she wondered what it would have been like to let him kiss her upper lip, to taste him in return.

She swallowed hard to will away the sensation. “How do they feel about being a part of this edition of Catch a Bachelor: Rancher Style?”

He shot her an amused glance, easing back a step. “This isn’t a reality show.”

“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes, struggling for levity. “No cameras.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “And they’re coming at different times so they don’t cross paths.”

“How very…civil.” And cold. “How do your brides-to-be feel about this emotionless transaction?”

“To be fair, they know about the process. No one’s being deceived.”

He leaned against the island, an arm’s length away. Esme’s eyes drifted to his shiny engraved belt buckle. Snapping her attention back to their conversation, she considered the less robotic aspects of such an arrangement. All likes and dislikes already sorted. Everyone knowing the rules of the game. Everyone understanding expectations, too. No mystery. Nothing as quirky as fate intervening.

That was something, at least. “Glad to hear it.”

A slow, disarming grin spread across his face. “Are you interested in joining the process?”

“Whoa, nuh-uh.” She held up her hands in protest. “I’m in no hurry to fill a nursery, and I’ve had enough of ranch living.”

He tipped his head to the side, studying her, amusement in his eyes replaced by curiosity. “Yet you grew up on a ranch.”

Her childhood home on the outskirts of Houston was a sprawling mansion, almost castle-like, surrounded by pastures, elegant barns. The spread was a huge, billion-dollar cattle-and-horse operation started by her maternal grandfather, then passed on to her parents. And even with all of that, Esme had still moved into the city the first chance she had.

“Exactly. No more ranching for me.” And that was all the reminder she needed for why she should keep her distance from this man and stay focused on her reason for being here. “Thank you for the hot cocoa and the clothes and the rescue. I should turn in for the night.”

She rinsed her mug and made fast tracks for the guest suite before she was tempted to stay in the kitchen. To listen to the warm timbre of his voice.

To imagine the taste of whiskey from his coffee on his tongue if he kissed her.

Sleep had been a difficult commodity for Jesse, with images of his surprise houseguest filling his dreams. Visions of her soaking wet, yet equally enticing in sweats. What would it be like to peel those clothes from her body?

Restless, he’d finally given up sleep just before dawn and gone to the barn to burn off energy.

His cowboy boots reverberated on the cement floor as he approached Juniper’s stall. Grabbing the supple brown leather halter and lead, he made his way into the stall of his newest horse.

Juniper, a young dapple gray mare, stretched her neck, giving her tangled mane a shake. She sniffed his hand, her whiskers softly touching his palm. The horse exhaled warm breath against his fingertips, a welcome sensation in the cool, damp morning air. Stepping closer, Jesse slipped the cognac halter on her head and led the mare to the crossties, where his brushes were waiting for him.

He never grew tired of this, the connection with his horses and the land. Ranching was more than a job to him. It was a way of life.

Picking up a currycomb, he moved his hand in circular patterns. Excess hair and dirt gathered in the brush.

Other horses poked their heads from stalls. The barn held two rows of twelve stalls. Buddy, his first gelding, lazily chewed on hay, dropping bits of straw onto the ground. Flash, a muscular chestnut quarter horse, loosed a whinny. Beneath his hands, Juniper sucked in a breath before belting out an answering noise.