Page 30 of A Cowboy's Trust
“Oh, hi. Sorry, I thought I heard something. Dixie was excited—happy excited, not upset excited, if you know what I mean. I figured it was you.” Jinx yawned. “Have a good time with your girls?”
“The best. Sorry we woke you,” Tansy said.
“Just wanted to make sure Tansy got home safe. I’ll see you ladies in the morning.” Jake squeezed Tansy’s fingers then snatched his coat from the wall and was out the door before she could protest.
Jinx made a face as Tansy strolled toward her. “I really am sorry.”
Tansy frowned at her. “For what?”
“Interrupting.”
This time it was easy to laugh. Tansy slipped her arm around Jinx’s shoulders and guided her back toward the bedroom area. “Here’s a fun thing to know about grownups. If they want to kiss, they’re allowed to find a place to kiss. If they decide to kiss in public, interruptions are fair game. But now you need to get back to bed.”
“Okay.” Jinx paused at the door, Dixie weaving in and out of her legs as the young woman examined Tansy thoughtfully. “I like Jake. He’s a little too serious sometimes, but you can tell he’s got a good heart.”
“Go to bed,” Tansy said firmly.
A soft snicker escaped the younger woman. “Good night.”
Now she had the teenager of the house selling her on how good Jake was. Problem was, she already believed the bill of sale.
It was just that Kelli’s suggestion of telling Jake more of her past was both a great idea and a huge sticking point. It would take a little longer for Tansy to wrap her brain around that particular suggestion.
She took herself off to bed and hoped for a dreamless sleep where she didn’t need to make any decisions.
8
The end of January and beginning of February blurred together, filled with the usual bustle of ranch life and putting the finishing touches on the apartments for Declan and himself.
Bookings for the art studio began in earnest. Tansy cooked for another weekend event at the start of February and then made plans for the biggest booking yet—a seven-day event over the reading week break running from Sunday to the following Saturday.
Which meant Jake’s hopes of enticing her away for another official date were nil. Especially when Tansy announced she was taking her two days off early since she’d have to work the Monday and Tuesday of the booking.
“Rose, Fern, and I are headed to Calgary tomorrow for a getaway,” she informed them at breakfast on Wednesday. “I’ll be back on Saturday in plenty of time to get things ready for Sunday and the rest of the week. And Marina is booked to help with the baking.”
“You need to take your time off,” Declan agreed. “I’ll cook Thursday. Jake can do Friday.”
“Looking forward to it,” Jake said as cheerfully as possible. “Hope you guys have a great time.”
Petra outright laughed at him. “You have a shitty poker face. And that’s saying something considering how bad mine is, or so I’ve been told.”
Tansy eyed him curiously but said nothing.
At least not until she caught him alone later in the day. He was barely in the door, hanging up his coat, when she slipped her arms around his waist from behind and hugged him tightly. “We’re not having a good time figuring out this dating thing, are we?”
“It’s fine. He twisted on the spot and caught hold of her, loving how soft and warm she felt in his arms and how delicious she smelled. “I think it feels different since we eat together most days. Seems as if we should move faster, but really, we’re doing okay. We talk, we share moments here and there.”
“We get totally frustrated because we’d like to get naked?”
He laughed. “Yeah, there’s a hell of a lot of that as well.” Her eyes sparkled as she grinned at him. Suddenly, it didn’t feel as if he was pushing the truth at all. “But it’s okay. We’ll do the next thing soon enough.”
Still, the hum of activity over the weekend held a different energy. Maybe it was the cold snap that arrived. Or the unspoken tension from preparing to bring strangers into their space, even ones paying for the privilege of using the art studio, but for some reason, the weight of responsibility pressed down on Jake more than usual.
Not even the kisses he stole on the sly from Tansy once she got back could chase away the sensation inside that something was about to go wrong.
Chris was still in residence, but he had a bus ticket booked to move to his brother’s on the East Coast the following week. In the meantime, the man had dove in full force. The extra help was invaluable, especially when two pregnant terriers were found abandoned on the edge of the property. Jake and Chris spent Saturday afternoon building makeshift shelters and setting up warm spots for the dogs in the barn, preparing for the pups that would likely arrive any day.
Jake tried to balance his time between the ranch, helping with the art studio, and the animal rescue, yet everything he did felt incomplete or somehow lacking, and his nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
