A Cowboy To Kiss

Though Kenzie had never married, she’d heard that Jake was married in a private civil ceremony, but no sooner had that news come through that it was known he’d gotten a divorce. It seemed only fitting. No woman in her right mind could live with the likes of Jake Scott, who was no doubt a scoundrel.

She took a deep breath, and headed for the rig, just as the driver’s door swung wide open, and a pair of muddy Western boots hit the gravel. The man who wore those boots also wore an open crumpled long-sleeved black-checked shirt, with the sleeves rolled up; a tight black T-shirt that caressed a chiseled chest and a flat stomach; faded jeans, and a cream-colored Western hat that he slipped on his head. A big grin spread across a scruffy chin, and eyes the color of emeralds peeked out from under the wide brim of his low-slung hat.

Dora and Dolly ran to greet him, now excited about this new visitor. The cowboy bent over and gave them both a warm welcome.

Her darn knees went weak just looking at him, and for a brief moment, she felt swept up in the vision of pure cowboy walking toward her.

“Is that little Kenzie Grant?” the man asked, his deep voice searing her senses.

All she could do was nod.

“Darn, girl!” he said, “C’mon, bring it in closer.”

Then he held open his arms and waited for her to step in next to him.

But she didn’t.

They stood there for an awkward moment, neither of them really moving.

Everything was happening so fast, it made her dizzy with confusion. She could barely speak, much less allow him to take her in his arms.

“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize this ol’ cowboy? It’s me, Jake Scott, the kid you used to follow around like a motherless calf. Look at you.” His gaze quickly swept over her body, not in a lascivious way, but in a genuinely friendly way. But she still didn’t like it. “All grown up into one fine woman. Still playing cowboy with your fancy hat and your rodeo buckle. And will you get a load of those boots.” He whistled while gazing down at her feet. “Must be handmade with all that fancy work going on. Good gracious, you look like that doll you used to carry around in your back pocket.”

She resented his disparaging attitude.

“And you look like you slept in your truck.”

He tugged at his wrinkled shirt, smiling. “As a matter of fact, I did. But hey, I hear you’re runnin’ this ranch just like you told me you would. Always did admire that about you.”

Kenzie let out the breath she’d been holding as the fuzzy lens slipped from her brain and she could think clearly again. “Admire what?”

“Your spunk. You got it goin’ on in spades.”

“Thanks, but coming from you, I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or a barb.”

His deep laugh rumbled through her, as his eyes sparkled with the same amount of tease he had when they were kids. “Then nothing’s changed between us.”

“Should it have?”

“Absolutely straight it should. Come on over here and give this ol’ cowboy a big kiss.” He stepped in closer, and whispered, “I’m hoping you’re a little better at it than you were when you were sixteen.”

Kenzie could feel the blood rushing through her veins, could feel the anger exploding in her gut. She wanted to push him away, lash out, tell him what she thought of him, maybe even say something to wipe that grin right off his downright adorable face. Instead, she narrowed her eyes, and said, “I wouldn’t kiss you, Jake Scott, if my very next breath depended on it.”

“Glad we got that settled right up front, ’cause I was worried you’ve been pining over me all these years, seeing as how you’re still single and all.”

Kenzie heard her dad step off the porch. She glanced back at him as he headed toward them. Unlike Kenzie, he looked genuinely happy to see Jake.

“Why don’t you keep on going where you’re going? We already have a pugnacious bull on this ranch. There’s no room for another one,” Kenzie told Jake, a hand resting on one of her hips.

“Can’t. First you and me have a little business we need to take care of.”

She had no idea what he was talking about, and from the look on his face, he seemed adamant about staying. She folded her arms across her chest.

“You must be mistaken. I don’t have any business with you, now or ever.”

“Sure you do, and from what I hear, it might take some considerable time to accomplish.”

She moved in closer to this misinformed cowboy, so much so that she could smell his musky skin, and feel his breath on her face. Jake Scott had always been taller than she was by at least six or seven inches, but now as she stood not two inches from him, she realized that gap had shrunk to a more perfect fit. Being this close to someone she’d sometimes fantasized about caused a momentary hesitation in her resolve.

Despite her burning rage, she couldn’t help the desire that raced through her. She’d always had a thing for Jake, ever since that first summer when they met on his family ranch. That “thing” was more that she’d wanted to be like him: confident, surefooted, smart and perfectly adorable. He even had a small dimple in the center of his chin, from what she could see under all that sexy scruff.

She didn’t know why she’d been so attracted to him, or why in some secret way that “thing” still burned bright. Maybe it had something to do with those emerald green eyes of his or that perfect nose, and those tempting lips. Whatever it was, she had no intention of ever giving in to her emotions again...like she had when she was sixteen and she kissed him.

Mistake.

Big mistake.

He smirked and murmured, “Can’t keep away from this cowboy, can you? Maybe we should try that kiss again. Might be better now that you’re all grown up.”

Then he leaned in and she instantly turned away, pressing her lips right up against his ear. “Listen up, you egoist in a cowboy hat. Not only can I kiss you and make your toes curl, but I make love like an alley cat, then purr like a kitten when it’s over. I’ve got a body that’s sinfully fabulous, and a mouth that will set your world on fire. Too bad you will never, ever get to even touch my soft, silky, naked skin, much less taste it, you sad excuse for a real cowboy.”

Then Kenzie turned on the heels of her very expensive handmade cowgirl boots and strutted away, with an emphasis on some tantalizing hip action. The dogs followed her excitedly.

Eat your heart out, Jake Scott.

* * *

JAKE HAD WANTED to make a good impression, especially on Kenzie, and from the look on her face, and from what she’d said, it wasn’t exactly what he’d been hoping to make.

From the moment he first saw her as he drove up the ranch road to the main house, he knew he was going to be in big trouble. Not only had she grown into a stunning beauty, but from how her dad had carried on about her, he knew she was an accomplished rancher—albeit a commercial rancher. Which took a lot of hard work, research and knowledge. Not that organic ranching was any easier. It wasn’t. But with his hands-on upbringing, and having always lived on an organic ranch, he hadn’t had to sit through countless ranching classes in college to learn about what came naturally to him. It was just part of who he’d always been, who he always wanted to be, a rancher.

And now he’d been asked to share that innate knowledge with a woman who’d just told him she made love like an “alley cat.”

Why did she have to go and say that?

He couldn’t help himself, he felt about as fired up as grease in a hot pan.

He knew he’d have to pull up that little jerk kid she’d known or there’d be no chance of her ever taking his suggestions for the Grant ranch seriously . . . and he prided himself on keeping a level playing field when he had to work closely with someone. It was a rule he’d learned from his dad, and he never let anything get in the way of that, even if he had to go out of his way to be cordial until the job or the partnership was over.

Working with Kenzie Grant couldn’t be any different.

What a woman, he thought as he watched her walk away. Too bad he’d been called in to give her suggestions for more natural ranching operations or things might be a lot different. Ever since his divorce over ten months ago, he’d been charging in at full throttle, wanting to assure himself that it wasn’t his fault his wife left him before their first anniversary. Now he wasn’t so sure. With no one to really confide in, he’d been obsessing over the breakup ever since she’d moved out. He’d never been close enough to his brothers to talk to them about relationships, at least not his own relationships. Being the youngest, advice had never been something he would seek out from his brothers, at least not verbally. He’d learned a lot from them by just observing, but talking over matters of the heart had never been in the cards. He’d always been looked at as the baby of the family. His brothers, Curt and Lucas, were quite a bit older than him, and that gap may as well have been a deep gorge.

Ranching was something else entirely. Both brothers had more or less given that responsibility over to him. He had taken it on because he loved it so much, and it had always come naturally to him, unlike his brothers, who could think of a hundred things they’d rather be doing, especially Curt, who couldn’t seem to settle into anything, much less ranching.

Now that his divorce was final, all he wanted to do for the foreseeable future was slow down to the speed of life. Take a break from his everyday routine. Get a new perspective. Take a couple weeks to reflect and come to terms with his current situation.

Single.

I make love like an alley cat.

Oh, yeah, that would slow him down all right...real slow.

“Somehow, I thought my Kenzie would be happy to see you,” Henry Grant said, as he shook Jake’s hand then gave him a quick hug.

“We never were kissing cousins,” Jake replied.

“More like kissing rivals,” Henry said. “Hope that doesn’t cause you any problems.”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” he told Henry as he watched Kenzie disappear into one of the longest horse barns he’d seen in a while.

Chapter Two

“What do you mean he’ll be staying for a while? Staying where? And for how long?” Kenzie and her father stood in the center of the long horse barn. She had just walked most of the mares out to the corrals and was getting ready to release the last two.

“Here,” her dad said, looking a bit sheepish.

“Here, as in on this ranch?”

“Where else? You know the Scotts are always welcome.”

“Well, I hope that horse trailer is equipped with a sleeper compartment, because there’s no room inside the house, what with my siblings still claiming their bedrooms as their own. You can’t just drop somebody in one of their rooms without them knowing about it.”

Not exactly the truth. Her sisters Coco and Callie had long since moved their important things out of their shared room to their own homes, and only used that room on the rare occasion when all the sisters wanted to be together. Kayla would typically just share Kenzie’s bed. And she couldn’t even remember the last time Carson spent the night.

She was betting her dad hadn’t really noticed.

“What about the guesthouse?” he asked after a short pause.

She’d known her dad would think of that dang guesthouse. He’d built it special for relatives and the Scotts to use whenever they came to visit.

She shook her head. “It’s still loaded down with boxes of Carson’s rodeo memorabilia.”

That was the truth. She’d been after him for the last two months to get it cleaned out in anticipation of their parents’ anniversary party, but he’d always been too busy, or so he said. Her brother had mixed feelings about his Cowboy Days, especially after a near-fatal accident on a dismount following a solid bronc ride. Got his foot caught-up in a stirrup. Had to be saved by a rodeo clown who nearly died when the bronc Carson had been riding kicked him straight in the chest.

Carson didn’t like to be reminded of that time, despite his having moved on. Kenzie feared he’d never get around to moving those boxes to his own shed in town where he lived with his wife, Zoe. But at the moment, Carson’s procrastination was proving to be a good thing.

“Jake can sleep out on the bed on the enclosed porch. Your mom can fix it up nice for him.”

No way did she want Jake Scott bedding down anywhere on their property, and she especially didn’t want him only steps away from her own bedroom.

She didn’t understand any of this, and had a hard time believing Jake would want to hang around the Grant ranch for “a while.” And what the heck defined “a while,” anyway?

“Why would he want to spend more than one night? Isn’t he just passing through? Doesn’t he have his own ranch to tend to? And why would he bring his horses with him? What’s going on, Dad?”

“I can’t answer all them questions at once. Maybe you should come on inside where we can talk, where we can sit a spell. Your mom can brew up a fresh pot of coffee or maybe a nice hot cup of tea might be better.”

This mystery was now getting out of hand. She wondered if her dad and Jake’s dad hadn’t struck some kind of agreement, some kind of bargain that might turn everything she was doing for the ranch into something she wasn’t prepared to handle, like maybe a sale. Maybe her dad was thinking of selling the ranch to the Scott family? Was that it?

“I don’t want to sit ‘a spell.’ Tell me here. Now. What’s this all about? You wouldn’t make some sort of financial deal with the Scotts and not tell me, would you?”

“Never. You’re runnin’ the show now, not me. But there’s one thing I’d like to, well, make a couple changes to. That’s why we should go inside where we’ll be more comfortable. Your mom can put the tea kettle on.”

“I don’t want any tea. I have a lot of work to do today, beginning with cleaning out these stalls.”

She tossed the clean straw against the walls with her pitchfork, and moved everything soiled to the center. Then she used a shovel to pick up what had been piled in the center and dumped it into the small manure spreader she’d moved to the front of the stall.

“I called him in to help you,” her dad said, picking up a broom and sweeping up anything that had fallen from her shovel.

She quickly swept out the center of the stall once all the soiled straw was gone, sprayed an absorbent deodorizer on any wet spots on the rubber mats, and went on to the next stall, allowing the previous one to dry while her mares were outside.

“You asked Jake to leave his own family ranch to come and help me? I thought you liked how I’m handling things. For the first time in years we’re making a profit again. I don’t understand. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Kenzie had worked out a plan for the ranch down to the smallest detail, which included how to care for each stall. She’d learned from experience that right before she’d bring her mares in for the night, she’d move the good straw back into the center, and add whatever straw was needed to make a soft bed. It took a little longer to care for each stall this way, but she was proud of the fact that her animals had never had any hoof problems since she’d been in charge.

“Of course it is. I just thought—”

She stopped cleaning and stared at her dad, a tall, slim man with kind eyes and graying hair: the textbook cowboy who couldn’t be away from his ranch for more than a few days at a time. When Kenzie thought back, she couldn’t remember her parents ever taking a vacation. The only place they would visit was the Scott Ranch a few miles outside of Starlight Bend, Montana, and even that had stopped in the last few years.

“I don’t need his help, Dad. I already hired two ranch hands to come in three days a week. They’ve taken over some of the major work, repairing our vehicles, feeding and checking on the livestock, especially our new calves, and mending the holes in our fences. So far they’ve done a great job. The high school kids who normally help out took the day off to practice for the Cowboy Days next week. Besides, doesn’t Jake have his own work to do back in Montana? How can he possibly take off any time to come and help me...do what? Mend a fence? Clean out stalls? Unload hay?”

“It’s not that kind of help he’s offering.”

She punched the pitchfork into the ground and held it taut in her right hand. She didn’t know what the heck her dad was getting at, but the knot in her stomach seemed to be getting worse.

“Then what can he possibly be offering?”

Her mind spun to the bedroom, but she instantly tamped that thought down.

“I asked him to give you a few pointers.”

“Dad...please spit it out. What kind of pointers?”

He sucked in a deep breath, then let it out. She could tell he was nervous about what he was about to say, but she didn’t understand why. She and her dad had an open, honest relationship. At least that was what she thought they had. At the moment she wasn’t so sure.

“Pointers on a more organic, more natural method of ranching.”

Goose bumps appeared up and down her arms as her stomach tightened. “What? Dad? You can’t be serious. I’ve...”

He held up his hands. “Now, wait. Before you go gettin’ all riled up, just listen to me for a minute.”

“I’ve brought this ranch back from the brink. We’re doing really well. You know how hard I work.”

“And I appreciate that. I’m mighty proud of you and all that you’ve done. I’m just sayin’ that maybe we can go back to a few of the more natural ranchin’ ways, some of the old Western ways of doin’ things. I’m not too happy about spreading all them chemicals on our crops or using artificial means to impregnate some of our livestock. I’d like the simpler way, the cowboy way.”

She took this as a real insult to all that she’d learned, and all that she’d done so far to keep the ranch out of bankruptcy. Didn’t her dad understand that?

“Those natural ways weren’t working for us, Dad. You know that. We were in debt, a lot of debt, and we came close to losing this ranch. I’m trying to get us some purebred quarter horses. And I don’t want any inbreeding with our studs. I want to do this right this time.”

“I’m convinced now that a lot of this ranch’s decline was because your mom and me just got too old and couldn’t take care of everything like we once did. And some of it might have been because we weren’t doing things right. Maybe Jake can show us a better process, tell us what we can change or add to what you’re already doing. I’d like to start with the stud quarter horses he’s brought.”

“And who told him to bring those darn studs?”

“Nobody. I offered, and your dad agreed.” Jake’s booming voice echoed behind her.

“Dad—” She stared at her father for a moment, shaking her head. He simply didn’t understand what she was trying to do, and now he was telling her she should listen to a man who probably knew more about wooing a woman than he knew about actual organic ranching...which had to be more expensive and time-consuming than her dad could ever imagine.

“And I’m not charging stud fees,” Jake added. She could hear the condescending innuendo in his voice. As if this was all some sort of joke...at least that was how it sounded to her.

“That’s not the point,” Kenzie argued, unable to fully understand why her dad had gone behind her back. She felt completely betrayed. What could he possibly have been thinking by not discussing trucking in Jake Scott and his stud horses?

“The point is,” Jake countered, “my boys are ready, willing and better still, they’re already here. And from the looks of some of your twitchy mares out there, they’re interested in these guys...so to speak.”

A shiver went up Kenzie’s spine as she watched Jake walking up to her, guiding what had to be the most beautiful palomino she’d ever seen. Her mind raced back to the palomino she’d seen on Jake’s ranch when they were kids. Could this be the same horse?

“Is this Running Star?” Kenzie asked, momentarily forgetting about the span of time that had gone by since she’d last seen the horse.

Just the sight of such a beautiful cream-colored creature caused her to also forget about the ongoing argument. All she wanted to do was run a hand over what had to be the smoothest coat she’d seen in a long time. The horse was positively magnificent, and if she hadn’t already paid for frozen sperm, she’d match up this stallion with her mare Sweet Girl in a heartbeat.

The horse nodded its majestic head a few times, as if it knew what she’d been thinking.

“No. Running Star is too old to stud out, but he sired this fella. Morning Star is just about three years old and in top form.”

Jake stroked the animal’s shoulder, and the horse nuzzled him and nickered.

Kenzie leaned the pitchfork against a stall gate and ambled over to Morning Star, running her hand over his smooth muscular body when she stepped close enough. Then she pulled a small apple out of a sack that hung on a hook between two stalls and held it out to him. Morning Star gently plucked it from her hand, a true gentleman of a horse.

“He’s a sweetheart,” she told Jake. “What a beautiful animal.”

“He’d be a sweetheart to your mares as well,” he answered. “He was pasture bred, and is trained to do the same. I can introduce him and Bingo to your mares, and, well, within no time, even your lead mare will foal.”

She stepped away from the stallion. “As tempting as that sounds, that’s not the haphazard strategy I intend to use. In order to keep this ranch moving in the right direction, I’ve made other plans for my mares. And besides, there’s always a risk with pasture breeding that one of my mares might get injured, or worse. I can’t afford to take that chance. This ranch can’t afford to take that chance.

“As pretty as he is, I’m going to have to pass on your generous offer. Besides, I’ve already invested several thousand dollars in pedigreed frozen sperm that will be arriving any day now. It’s the safest way to go.”

“According to whom?”

“According to other breeders.”

“Commercial breeders. I’m talking about natural breeders, and they all agree with pasture breeding. Plus, it’s much more fun for the animals than a metal vagina and a long syringe.”

“You make it sound so crude and heartless.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Well, it sure ain’t the way nature had intended it.”

Henry cleared his throat. “I’ll be gettin’ on back to the house now.”

Kenzie turned to him. “Is there anything else you want to say before you go, Dad? Maybe ask Jake here to pack up and leave in the morning? That we won’t be needing him or his fancy studs?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Wouldn’t be hospitable of me to ask him to leave so soon. He’ll have to decide that on his own. Both of you will. I’m confident you two can work out the comings and goings of this here idea of mine. Till then, I’m hoping for the best.”

Then her dad hightailed it out of there, leaving Kenzie to deal with Jake all on her own.

“So,” Jake said as a self-satisfied smirk stretched across his fine lips, “when do we start mating?”

* * *

BY THE TIME Jake settled in his bed on the back porch that night, just on the other side of Kenzie’s open window, he was more tired than a mule after a day of pulling a plow. It had been not only a long day of driving, but a long day of trying his best to not cause a dustup between himself and the woman he was tasked with helping. Although as it stood at the moment, her accepting his help seemed about as likely as pigs flying.

The porch bedroom had all the accoutrements necessary for his comfort. The only problem was the area was designed for someone five inches shorter, and about fifty pounds lighter. He felt like the proverbial bull in a china shop. Every time he moved, he either knocked something over or bumped into a delicate piece of furniture. Everything seemed to be woven out of wicker and the chair would certainly split apart if he decided to sit on it and put his feet up on the rickety-looking stool.