Page 6 of A Cowboy's Trust
That’s when he noticed. The room, which should have been full of Petra and Aiden’s stuff, was completely empty. Except for Tansy, who continued her task without once acknowledging him.
He wasn’t sure how long he stood there simply watching her before realizing he must look the fool.
“One question.” There. A reasonable tone of voice, he thought.
“Hmmm?” Her suitcase and unpacking seemed to be her only focus in life.
He hesitated. He had way more than one question and wasn’t sure where to begin. Out of the all the things he needed to know, what was the most important?
The empty room seemed the best place to start. Petra and Aiden had moved out on the sly. Ergo, they were in on the plan all along.
“When did they hire you?”
Tansy paused, clothes in hand as she twisted to face him. She considered thoughtfully for a moment before answering. “We started talking about it sometime in December, but I signed the contract on Boxing Day.”
“You’ve known for a week that you were coming to work here?”
“Yup.” She blinked innocently. “That’s how time works. December twenty-sixth to January first is one week.”
“Who knew?”
“Me, Petra, Declan.” Tansy grinned. “Jinx knows as well. We had to make sure she was comfortable with me being in the house. But that kid can keep her mouth shut.”
Incredible. Jake opened his mouth to ask another question when he realized the brightly coloured objects in Tansy’s hand were a pile of bras. The lacey kind, not the utilitarian stuff.
Once again, an image popped to mind that was absolutely out of place and out of line. Tansy naked, except for those bits of pale lavender?—
He twisted on his heels and escaped as fast as he could.
Gentle laughter rang on the air behind him all too clearly. The woman was way too observant for his liking.
The open journal on the table mocked him, and he slammed the cover shut on the one damn goal he’d written?—
Not a goal, notreallya goal. Jake tipped back his coffee mug then went to refill it for the fourth time, staring out the window at the slow approach of his younger brother, Aiden, and Petra.
They laughed as they walked hand in hand. Petra stooped and popped up with a handful of snow, and Aiden chased her for a moment before catching her in his arms and kissing her thoroughly.
Jake turned away a moment too late to pretend he hadn’t seen them.
Maybe that was a good thing… The sheer joy on their faces and the strong connection between them shoved his own brain into a better direction than thirty seconds earlier.
So what if he hadn’t been told about Tansy being hired on? Everyone involved with the High Water ranch, aka, his two brothers, Petra, and Jinx, would expect him to rant and rail about the decision.
Spontaneity and deliberately new behavior were almost the same thing, yes? Jake decided right there and then he wouldn’t say a word about Tansy’s new position. He would be supportive and positive and focus on other things that needed to be done as soon as possible to make their dream a reality.
Which meant his smile was firmly in place as Petra and Aiden poured in the door with a gust of icy January air.
“Morning, bro.” Aiden took the coat from Petra’s shoulders and hung it at the door before placing his own over it. “Ready for a fantastic new year?”
“Of course. Happy New Year, Petra.” Jake opened his arms and accepted the massive hug she offered. “Sounds as if we’re diving right in. Tansy is in the back room unpacking.”
“Perfect.” Petra patted Jake’s cheek firmly before stepping away. “Excuse me, then. I’ll go see if she needs any help.”
“Not to be obnoxious, or anything, but find out if she plans to cook starting today,” Aiden called after her before turning to Jake with a grin. “Great, huh? Our own on-site resident chef.”
“Brilliant.” Jake kept the smile in place. No guarantees that it looked natural, but he was proud of the attempt. “Maybe we can take a look at the timelines for the first quarter and make sure we have everything in place for the first bookings.”
His brother waved a hand, taking command of the coffee maker and rapidly preparing two cups. “I don’t think it’s changed in the past three days since we last looked it over. Relax, Jake. Today’s a holiday, and we have everything well in hand. Better in hand than before now that Tansy’s here.”
