Page 138 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“Welcome home!” she cried and threw her arms about Jared’s neck. Cat wanted to kick her. Jared didn’t appear to have any such inclination. He hugged the woman close, and Cat could have sworn she heard him tell her he loved her. Jealousy twisted its way through her gut, and she cursed herself for being such an idiot.

She eyed the chocolate-brown horse beside her dolefully. Did she really think Jared had no women in his life? The man was perfect, for Pete’s sake. She probably had a whole swarm of women after him.

“Now, would you like to tell me why you were galloping top speed down the driveway?” Jared bellowed at the woman, and Cat was suddenly grateful not to be on the receiving end of his attention.

“It’s all right, big brother.” The woman smiled at the giant looming over her. “I have my doctor’s permission.”

Brother? Cat’s ears pricked up like Lucy’s at the word dinner.

“In writing?” Jared scowled as he reached behind him to pull Cat forward.

“Yes.” The beautiful girl laughed.

“All right, but I want to see it,” he threatened. “Cat, this is my sister, Jessica. Jess, this is Cat.”

“Nice to meet you.” Jess turned and clasped Cat’s hand warmly in hers. “I swear I don’t know how you put up with him for eight days. If I’d been you, I’d have dumped him off in Ohio.”

Cat laughed, noting that Jess’s sparkling blue eyes were an exact replica of Jared’s. His sister. She knew she’d like this woman the minute she saw her.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she answered.

“You’re just in time for dinner. I heard Rosa ringing the chow bell. That’s why I was in such a rush,” Jess said, patting her horse’s neck. “You’ll have to stay and tell us all of your adventures on the trip.”

“There weren’t really any adventures to speak of,” Cat answered politely.

When Jared began to choke behind his fist, Jess lifted an eyebrow in doubt. Cat gave him a quick jab with her elbow. “Isn’t that right, Jared?”

“Oh, definitely.” He winked at his sister. “It was an awfully dull trip.”

Jess let out a low, deep laugh. Leading her horse toward one of the buildings in back of the house, she said, “Tell Dad I’ll be in as soon as I can. I want to give Trixie a good rubdown.”

“Sure,” Jared agreed and turned to take Cat’s arm. “Are you all right with staying for dinner?”

“Oh, you mean I have a choice?” she asked.

“No.” He shook his head. “I just wanted to know how you felt about it.”

“I guess that depends on what we’re having,” she sassed him, delighting in his grin. She didn’t dwell on the fact that she was feeling unaccountably relieved to spend more time with him.

The interior of the house was sparsely decorated, but with a decided Western flare. It wasn’t like the Santa Fe style that filled her new home, it was somehow more authentic. Just inside the front door a wide staircase swept up to the left while another set of steps led down into an enormous sunken living area.

The colors were vibrant shades of red, blue, green and black. A large leather U-shaped sofa filled the room and faced an enormous stone fireplace that took up most of the left wall. The mantle was covered in trophies and ribbons, and the walls were decorated with photos of what Cat assumed were the ranch’s prize horses.

“You’ve won all of these?” she asked in awe.

“Yes. Every one,” he said with a grin.

“Don’t listen to a word he says,” a deep voice advised.

Cat turned to see an imposing man standing in the doorway. He was almost as large as Jared, his skin was tanned and his midnight-black hair was peppered with silver. His eyes were beautiful. Like Jared’s and Jess’s, they gleamed like blue topaz.

Cat warmed to him immediately. “I’ve noticed that about your son. You can’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth.”

“Ah, so you’ve learned this about him in the short time you’ve spent together.” Mr. McLean shook his head in mock regret as he came to stand beside her. His eyes twinkled as he asked, “What has he said to make you believe this of him?”

“Well, he led me to believe that he was a poor rancher, living in little more than a thatched hut,” she said.

“I did not,” Jared protested. “That was your brother’s idea.”

---