Page 3 of A Cowboy Takes A Chance

Jaxon grinned. “Dev call you about housekeeping?”

“Yep. I talked to Rosita. She said she’d check into it, and I’m sure she will.”

He laughed. “Yes, she will. She doesn’t like anything going wrong.”

“You got that right. I’m off to find Dev. Talk to you later, Jax.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Damn it. Nowshewas going on a camping trip with him. It wouldn’t matter that ten other people were going. All he’d see was her, and that was the last thing he wanted. Why had she decided to go? Most of the itinerary was set up days earlier. She’d just arrived, so why wouldn’t she take a day or two to relax and how long was she here for? Jaxon leaned forward and opened the guest list on the computer.

“Presley Reynolds. A month stay. Wonderful,” Jaxon murmured. He’d just avoid her. Leaning back in the chair, he ran his hand down his face. She’d seen him at his worst. In so much pain, he thought he was going to die, and he’d wanted to because Bethany had been taken from him. Then the doctor tells him after surgery that he shouldn’t ride bulls again. Jaxon hadn’t cared. It didn’t mean anything to him anymore anyway. Without Bethany there with him, he’d never step foot inside an areaagain. Not to compete anyway. He did take part in the local rodeo, in barrel racing, but it wasn’t a competition, it was just for fun, and he never rode the bulls. Not because the doctor told him not to but because it brought back too many memories. Each time he’d straddled a beast, he’d look up to see Bethany smiling at him, and that would never happen again.

Devin entered the room and took a seat in the chair across from the desk.

“What’s up, Jax?”

“Nothing—”

“Bullshit. Something is bothering you. Is it your hip?”

“No. I’m good today. Not sure how I’ll be after the ride tomorrow. I usually hurt after the ride.”

“I can take the camping trip, and you can take the trail ride if you want. The ride is only an hour.”

“I’m fine, Dev. I’ll relax once I get them up to the mountains and camp.”

Devin stood. “All right. If you’re sure. It won’t be a problem to switch. I can take Willa camping with me.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Jaxon laughed. “Oh, hell no. We can’t have the guests hearing you two go at it in the tent.”

Devin laughed. “That’s true. All right, man. See you later.”

Jaxon gave him a nod as Devin walked out then turned toward the window. It was a beautiful day. Tomorrow was Tuesday, and most of the people had arrived on Sunday. He was sure most of them would meet at the lodge for dinner and get to know each other. There were twenty-five married couples and fifteen singles. All twenty cabins and the twenty rooms at the lodge were full. Sixty-five people in all. Twelve were on the camping trip with him and ten on the trail ride with Devin. The rest were either working around the ranch or just taking it easy around the pool or playing tennis. No one had to do anything on the ranch. He and Devin decided that from the beginning. Some people just came to be close to the Glaciers and relax, and others wanted to play cowboy for a week or two. What had brought Presley Reynolds here? Damn. Talk about fate.

Jaxon stood and stretched then felt a twinge in his hip. Was it calling for rain? God, he hoped not. The days it rained about did him in. The cold too but he loved living in Spring City, Montana. He’d never leave it. His family was here. His parents, brother, and cousins. They were a close-knit family. A little hip pain wasn’t going to make him leave the town and the people he loved. Afterclosing the computer, he walked from the office. As he passed the horses, he rubbed their noses, stopping at his horse, Zander’s stall. The horse stuck his head over the gate and tried to take Jaxon’s hat from his head.

“Cut it out. You get my hat, and I’ll never get it back. We’re going for a ride tomorrow. You all be good,” Jaxon said as he strode from the barn to his truck and climbed into the cab, then drove to his home on the east side of the property. Devin and Willa lived on the other side of the property. They all needed privacy. Their homes each sat on fifty acres of the one thousand acres surrounding the ranch.

He drove up to his one-story log home, parked his truck, and climbed out. As he climbed the steps, his black and white Border collie, Jinks, came toward him then sat when he saw Jaxon.

“Hey, buddy. What are you doing out in this heat?” Jaxon rubbed the dog’s ears. There was a pet door for the dog to use, but he preferred being on the front porch waiting for his master.

Jaxon opened the back door, and Jinks followed him inside. Jaxon sighed when the air conditioning hit his hot skin. Sweat ran down the back of his neck as he removed his hat and hung it on a peg by the door. Pulling his T-shirt off over his head, he tossed it intothe mudroom then after pulling a chair out with his booted foot he took a seat at the table, toed off his boots, and removed his socks then stood to head for the shower.

Once in the bathroom, he turned the shower on then pushed his jeans and boxer briefs off as steam filled the room. His muscles hurt, and his hip was throbbing. He just wanted to relax for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

****

Presley sat in the swing on the porch of the cabin watching the sun disappear behind the Glaciers and took a deep breath. The air was so clean. She found it hard to believe that the man who had haunted her dreams for two years worked here at Bur Oak. She had never forgotten him and being an ER nurse, she’d seen a lot of handsome men come through and not one of them stuck out as he had.

The minute she looked down at him on the gurney, her heart skipped a beat. His face was pale due to his pain, but it didn’t take away from just how good-looking he was. She fell, and she fell hard. When she found out he’d been released two days after his surgery, she was mad at herself for not going back again to see him before his family had come to take him home and she never saw himagain. She’d gone up to his room the day after he’d been brought in and he’d ran her off, but no man had ever affected her like that. She’d been in several relationships, and at the age of twenty-eight, she was no virgin, but once she saw Jaxon Callahan, other men ceased to exist.

For two years, she’d thought about him. She’d even looked at his medical records to see where he lived, and when she found out it was Montana she knew she didn’t have any chance of ever seeing him again. Now, here she was in Montana, right where he worked. It was fate. Being a believer that everything happened for a reason, she knew she was meant to be here and to see Jaxon again. She was going to try to spend as much time with him as she could. She wanted to sit and talk with him.

Mentally shaking her head, she realized that it might be hard to do since he didn’t seem to want anything to do with her. He’d have to talk to the guests though, wouldn’t he?

Maybe she’d see him at breakfast in the morning. Sighing, she stood and entered the cabin, deciding to fix a light dinner here. That was one thing she liked about being here, having the choice of eating at the lodge with other guests, if she chose to, or fixing herself something in the cabin. Food wassupplied at the guests’ request. She’d filled out a menu on the webpage and paid extra for it because she knew there would be times, she’d want to be alone and just relax. At least, that had been her first thought. Before she knew Jaxon Callahan was here. He had to work here if he brought her the towels. It didn’t matter. She was going to find out all she could about it. If he had remarried, she’d stay away, if not… Yes. Fate.

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