Jesse: Merry Christmas, Cowboy

“Well…” Janie gathered her thoughts together. “If he’s seen by everybody at the National Finals being nice to you—taking care of your mother, paying for me to be here, who knows what else he’s got planned—that’ll be the story people accept about you and the Codys. Then, back at home, he can cut you off and nobody will believe it wasn’t your idea. Or—”

Mark made a chopping motion with one stiff hand. “Cut me off? What does that even mean?”

“He could refuse to see you again. Refuse to give you a job, or anything else you’re entitled to as his son.”

“What makes you think I want a job from J. W. Cody? Or anything else, except acknowledgment that he’s my father?”

“Why would you have accepted this invitation, otherwise?”

Mark’s cheeks reddened, and after a quick glance at Nicki, he looked at the carpet between the toes of his boots.

“If you intended to remain independent, then I would think you would have been here on your own, not letting the Codys buy you a fancy room and meals and…whatever.”

“We thought it would be polite to accept,” Nicki said after a pause. “A gesture of good faith.”

“But then you involved Mom. And me. That leaves us indebted to a man we’re not at all related to.”

Mark lifted his head. “The Codys don’t expect to be paid back.”

“I’m not talking about money. As Nicki just pointed out, there are other mediums of exchange.”

Her brother looked confused.

“Hospitality is a gift,” Janie explained. “And it’s one I can’t possibly give back. So now I’m in the Codys’ debt. As are you and Nicki. But at least you could work for him, if you wanted to and he asked. I’ll just be at a permanent disadvantage.”

After another pause, Mark made a gesture of surrender and sat down on the sofa, bringing Nicki with him. “I still don’t completely understand your point. I think, and Nicki does, too—” his wife nodded when he looked at her “—we think the Codys just want to have the family all together, as they do for every National Finals. If there’s more to it, I’ll deal with that when it comes. But I haven’t by any means decided that I want to be part of the Cody operation. Nicki and I haven’t really had time to talk about it. We were waiting until after the championship.” He curved his arm around Nicki’s waist, and from the gentle motion of his hand along his wife’s hip, Janie could tell that his thoughts had taken a different direction.

“Fine. Once I’ve unpacked, I’ll apologize to Jesse, and I’ll try to keep my suspicions to myself. See you guys later.” No one, she noticed, was asking her to stay and keep them company. She didn’t turn around to discover why no one answered.

In the bedroom on the other side of her mother’s, she spent some time hanging up the clothes that would wrinkle, lining up the three pairs of boots she’d brought and laying out her makeup in an orderly arrangement. She didn’t usually wear makeup, and today she could see why. Nobody appeared to have noticed that she looked any different at all.

Of course, she’d destroyed any favorable impression Jesse might possibly have by attacking his motives and those of his family. “Think before you speak,” her mother used to say when Janie’s big mouth got her in trouble at school. A lesson she clearly had yet to learn.

She touched up her mascara, shadow and powder anyway, then wandered across the room to stand at the window, gazing out over a psychedelic landscape of hotels, casinos, marriage chapels and traffic. She could just see the ridge of black mountains at the edge of the desert where a pink-and-gold sky anticipated the sunset. Her first night in Las Vegas, and she had no idea where to go or what to do.

Well, except find Jesse and apologize.

She knocked loudly on the door of the Cody suite, then waited, rubbing her thumbs over her fingertips in the nervous habit she’d never managed to conquer.

Jesse didn’t answer the door. He might have gone out again. Maybe he’d planned dinner with friends, people who didn’t accuse him of being the bad guy. He might have set up a date with a woman who knew how to keep her mouth shut.

Janie debated knocking again, but instead turned to go back to her room. She would check in on her mom, maybe get something to eat downstairs, then—

“Janie?”

She swung around with a gasp. Jesse stood in the open door, shirttail half in, half out, rubbing the top of his head.

“You were asleep.” She stated the obvious. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He glanced at his watch. “Almost five o’clock. What’s going on?”

She swallowed. “I, um, wanted to talk to you.”

He tilted his head to the side and just looked at her for a few seconds. Then he took a deep breath and stepped back. “Come on in.”

The huge suite she entered reminded Janie of the Cody homestead, with a living room featuring several different seating areas, a long dining table and chairs plus a big flat screen TV and music system.

“This is nice,” she said, walking across the room to look out the windows, which provided a view to the east. “I can see why your parents feel comfortable here.”

“Yeah, we’ve been in this same room at the Finals as long as I can remember. What did you want to talk about?”

Facing him, she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. “Well, obviously, I owe you an apology.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Not ‘obviously.’”

Janie nodded. “Oh, yes. The kindest thing you could say was that I had to let off some steam, after the trip with Mom.”

A half grin curved his lips. “I can say that.”

“But whatever concerns I might have about your dad, I don’t have any reason to make accusations that include you, Jesse. I’m sorry I blew up like that. You’ve been a real help today, and I’m grateful.”

“Okay, then.” He came close enough to put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it anymore. I know J.W. isn’t an easy man to trust, especially for your family.”

“But you are.” She put her hand over his fingers as they rested against her body. “I’ve always trusted you.”

Time stopped. Jesse’s eyes widened as he looked down at her. A strange fluttering started up behind Janie’s ribs as she focused on the weight and heat of his hand, the feel of his skin against her palm. Somebody took in a quick breath.

And then he backed away, letting his hand fall to his side. “So, what are your plans for your first night in Vegas? Gambling? Shopping? A show?”

Janie shrugged both shoulders, disappointed. “I don’t have a clue. I’ll take any recommendation you’d like to offer.”

“What are Mark and Nicki doing?”

“Um, they might be staying in for the evening.” She felt her cheeks heat up as she said it.

Jesse’s flush showed that he took her meaning. “All these newlyweds are a pain in the butt for us single folks. Well, if you want to see a show, there’s—”

She shook her head. “I’m not really big on going out by myself. I’ll just get some dinner and sit with my mom.”

He gazed at her for a few seconds. “Why don’t the two of us go out together?”

AN HOUR LATER, JESSE EYED his reflection in the mirror, removed a hair from his black blazer and then met his own gaze.

“Dinner and a show,” he told himself. “It’s the least you can do for Elly’s best friend. Not a big deal.”

The trouble was, it felt like a big deal. He hadn’t really meant to ask Janie out, in the social sense of the word, any more than he would ask his sister for a date. Hell, he’d seen Janie in her pajamas since she was a twelve-year-old sleeping over at the ranch. In all this time, he’d thought of her as a part of Elly’s life. Not his.

Today seemed different…or maybe it had started last night, when she insisted on driving him home. He didn’t recall ever being alone with Janie before, or really talking about anything more serious than a ball game on TV. Some of their conversations, last night and today, had been uncomfortable and explosive. But not dull. Janie didn’t ignore issues, didn’t gloss over the problems facing both of them. Jesse liked knowing where he stood and what he might be up against. He liked knowing what she thought and that she tried to fight fair.

The real shock was realizing that he’d never really seen Janie before today. He’d always carried around this image of black pigtails, checked shirts and dirty hands. Elly, too—Jesse knew he tended to see her as the kid he remembered, with tangled hair and braces on her teeth, rather than the lovely adult woman she’d become.

Janie had changed, as well, and definitely for the better. Her sleek black hair, high cheekbones and bronzed skin revealed the Lakota blood she’d inherited from her mother. But her full, pouty mouth must have come from her dad’s side of the family, along with her figure, rounded in all the right places. Despite her size—she couldn’t be more than five-three—she struck Jesse as a curvy little package of dynamite.

In more ways than one. And that’s what worried him.

He had enough complications in his life right now with out adding any kind of relationship to the mix, let alone an attraction to his sister’s best friend.

Or, for that matter, to his half brother’s half sister.

So this would be just a friendly evening, he promised himself, walking down the hallway to Janie’s door. Casual. Relaxed. No strings.

He knocked, Janie opened the door…and his gut lurched like a fish out of water.

I’m in serious trouble, here.

He could only hope his reaction didn’t show on his face. “Ready to go?” As she stepped out and turned to make sure the door latched, he said, “You look nice tonight.”

An understatement, if ever he’d made one. For the first time in both their lives, he was seeing Janie Hansen in a skirt—a swirly black skirt that revealed her sexy legs. She wore red boots with black stitching and black heels and a close-fitting red sweater with sequins across the shoulders. Her shiny black hair flowed like water down her back.

She looked, in a word, hot.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling at him as she turned a round. “I busted my budget on clothes for this trip. I almost never have a reason to dress up.”

“That’s too bad.” The elevator doors opened as soon as he pushed the button, for which he was grateful. He could have kept shoveling on the compliments, which would only sabotage his “just friends” campaign. “What would you like for dinner?”

“I’m hungry enough to eat just about anything. You choose.”

“How does Italian food sound?”

“Terrific.”

A cab took them from their hotel to the Wynn Resort. Janie pressed her nose to the backseat window throughout the drive, exclaiming at the lights and sights of the Las Vegas street scene.

“You never imagine it quite this bright,” she said as they walked through the Wynn Hotel entrance. “Or this tall. Or this crowded,” she added, as a group of Asian tourists nearly ran over her.

Jesse put a hand at the small of her back as she edged toward him. “Sometimes people are watching what’s around them instead of what’s in front. Are you okay?”

“Sure. I can see why they’re distracted. Just look at this place. Amazing.”

A giant poster caught her eye and she stopped in her tracks. “Oh, wow. This is where he’s performing?” One of the biggest stars in country music had come out of retirement to give concerts exclusively at the Wynn. “I’ve never seen him live. I love his music.”

Jesse couldn’t hide his grin. “Well, I guess that’s good.” Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out two tickets. “Because I just happen to have—”

“Jesse!” Janie screamed, and then threw her arms around his neck right there in the middle of the lobby. She had to jump to reach him, and he wrapped his arms around her, to keep them balanced.

The crowd flowed around them as they stood there for uncounted seconds, with Janie’s breasts pressed tight against his chest and his head filled with the scent of spices that rose from her hair.

Finally, her arms loosened, and he had the presence of mind to ease his hold so she could slide back to the floor.

“I can’t believe this.” She had tears in her eyes. “How did you get tickets? I know his shows sell out months ahead of time.”

With his hand back at her waist—and his blazer buttoned to hide the fly of his jeans—Jesse guided her on toward the restaurant. “Knowing we’d all be here, Dad bought a couple of tickets when they came up for sale. You never know who will want to do what, so he tries to provide lots of options.”

Once seated at their table, Janie got up again almost immediately. “I want to check out the ladies’ room. Be back in a few minutes.”

The waiter stopped by while she was gone. Jesse ordered water and a whiskey for himself, then debated over what Janie’s choice might be. He settled on a wine spritzer, which seemed to be what many of the women he dated would order in a place like this.

But when she returned, he saw her push the stemmed glass off to the side.

“You don’t like spritzers?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t drink alcohol. My dad was…you know, a problem drinker. I’m good with water.”

“I’ll get you something else.” He raised his hand for the waiter. “What would you like?”

Most women would have protested and settled for what he’d ordered in an attempt to please him.

Janie tilted her head. “I’d love a ginger ale,” she told him. “In a tall glass.”

Jesse chuckled. “Coming right up, Ms. Hansen.” He really appreciated a woman who knew exactly what she want ed.

Which made this particular woman all the more dangerous.

JANIE SAT MOTIONLESS long after the last note of the concert had faded, even after the rest of the audience, besides Jesse, had left the theater. She hated to move, or even breathe, if it meant breaking the spell of this most miraculous evening.

Then the lights went out.

Jesse grabbed her hand. “I think they’re asking us to vamoose,” he said, getting to his feet. “Let’s hope we don’t trip and fall on the way out.”

The theater doors were still open, however, giving them plenty of light to negotiate from the first row, where they’d been seated, up the aisle and back into the main area of the resort.

In every direction, opportunities for gambling presented themselves—slot machines, card tables, roulette wheels, dice games.

“Want to take a chance?” Jesse stood at her elbow, watching as she looked around.

But Janie wasn’t interested. “I don’t have enough faith in my own luck to risk my money like that. Besides…” she drew a deep breath, letting her eyes close for a second “…I just want to replay the music in my head.”

The concert had been wonderful, a heartfelt performance by a megastar who also showed himself to be a warm and funny man.

But then, she’d been prepared to enjoy almost any kind of entertainment after sharing a dinner with Jesse Cody. She still couldn’t quite believe the reality—she and Jesse, alone together, eating and talking about what ever came to mind. She’d filled him in on the restroom decor—fabulous—and he’d quizzed her about her pre-vet studies. Together they’d critiqued the movies scheduled to come out during the holiday season. Not once had they sat in silence, searching for something to say.

And she’d made him laugh—how about that for an achievement? She’d always thought Jesse never took enough time to laugh.

Now here they were, in a taxi again, and he was still holding her hand. His big fingers wrapped around hers, warm and secure like her favorite blanket back at home. If she moved her knee about two inches, she could touch his.

But Janie chose not to move. She’d already thrown her self at him once tonight, and she couldn’t remember the moment without her face turning red. But she couldn’t forget, either, the feel of his arms around her, the wall of his chest against her breasts, the aroma of his aftershave. Through all the excitement about the concert, she’d inhaled that scent as if her body needed it to survive.

When their cab pulled up at their hotel, Jesse’s hand slipped away from hers, reaching for his wallet. She waited and let him open her car door, then gave him her hand for help getting out. Hopefully, he’d keep it again on the elevator ride up.

Instead, he released her as soon as they entered the hotel lobby. Janie looked down at the floor to hide the disappointment in her face, so she didn’t immediately notice the man plowing through the crowd in their direction.

Then her brother stopped directly in front of them. “Where the hell have you been?”

Even without holding his hand, she sensed Jesse stiffen beside her. She took a step ahead of him, getting between the two men. “We went to dinner and a show. I left a message for you.”

“Fat lot of good that does, when you don’t say where you’re going. And I couldn’t reach you on your cell phone.”

“I didn’t know.” She took hold of Mark’s wrist. “What’s wrong? Is it Mom?”

He ran his free hand through his hair. “She’s been hysterical for hours. When she woke up and you weren’t available, she wouldn’t eat, and the situation went downhill from there.”

Janie headed toward the elevator at a fast walk. “Serena seemed to have everything under control…” She slammed the button with the heel of her hand. “She could have given Mom a sedative. I left the directions.” Another punch at the up button produced no immediate result.

Mark pressed the button in his turn. “It’s hard to give a sobbing, unrestrained woman a pill.”

The doors slid open, finally, to reveal a compartment packed with people, adults overlapping at the shoulders and children fitted into the spaces below waist level. The process of emptying seemed endless.

A crowd of equal size followed Janie into the elevator. Pressed against the back wall between Jesse and Mark, she couldn’t continue their discussion with so many listeners.

The last person didn’t get off until the thirty-ninth floor.

When the panels parted on forty, Janie started running. The closed door to the suite brought her up short. She waited on tiptoe for Serena to answer her knock.

Just as she heard the lock release, big hands gripped her shoulders and forced her to turn around.

Behind her in the doorway, Serena said, “Miss Janie?” Inside the room, Abby moaned and sobbed.

Standing in front of her, Jesse shook his head. “You can’t go in there, Janie. Not right now.”

Mark came up beside them, pulled back his arm and knocked Jesse sideways with a punch to the shoulder.

“Mind your own business, Cody,” he growled. “And get your hands off my sister.”

Chapter Four

Jesse bounced off the wall and came back with his own punch ready.

Janie stepped in front of him. “Don’t you dare.”

He stopped, stared at her for a moment, then shook his head like a dog shaking off water. His hand fell to his side.

“You’re right. Sorry.” He flashed a furious glance over her shoulder to Mark. “I only meant that you should take the time to calm down and pull yourself together, be fore you went in to see your mom. But…” He looked around the circle of shocked faces—Nicki and Serena were watching, in addition to Janie and Mark. “But I didn’t mean to intrude. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

His boot heels thudded through the thick carpet as Jesse strode quickly down the hallway. The door to the Cody suite shut behind him with an impact just short of a slam.

Taking a deep breath, Janie turned and stepped past Serena into her mother’s room. When Mark moved to follow, Janie stopped but didn’t face him. “You’ve thrown your weight around enough for one night. Just stay with Nicki. I’ll call you if we need you.”

“What is your—”

He didn’t get to finish because Serena closed the door in his face.

Janie looked at the older woman over her shoulder. “I knew I liked you.” Then she peeled off her jacket, dropped it with her purse on the floor and went to sit beside her mother on the bed.

“I’m here, Mom,” she crooned. “Shh, it’s okay. Everything’s fine.”

Sure, Janie thought, remembering Jesse’s face. Everything’s just great.

JESSE HAD SET UP SOME practice time for Wednesday morning, on a ranch owned by a friend of his about a hundred miles out of Vegas into Utah. After spending half the night lying awake, thinking about Janie before and after her brother’s intrusion, he sure as hell didn’t want to think anymore.

So he set his music for a rowdy playlist—no love songs like the ones last night—and turned the volume high. All he wanted to do this morning was ride bulls and get as dirty as he possibly could.

The bulls were happy to oblige. He stuck five rides until the buzzer, but hit the sand early on three more.

“Those last three are my best.” Chick Grady, the ranch owner, leaned on the arena fence as Jesse dusted himself off after that last fall. “Ain’t nobody ever rode ol’ Hoggy to the buzzer.”

“Good to hear.” Jesse climbed the fence and dropped down on the outside. “But I should have made it, if I plan to win.”

“Stiff competition,” Chick agreed. He stood five feet tall in his boots and displayed about a century’s worth of wrinkles under the shade of his hat brim. “I have to say, yer not lookin’ yer best this mornin’.”

Removing the baseball cap he’d worn, Jesse bent over and dunked his head in a nearby horse trough to rinse the dirt off his face and cool down. Even in December, the sun shone strong in the Utah hill country. “Didn’t get much sleep.”

Chick snorted a laugh. “Gotta leave those ladies in Vegas to somebody else.”

“I hear that.” He caught the rag Chick threw him and wiped off his face and neck. “Easier said than done, sometimes.”

“Decide what you really want.” Chick spat a stream of tobacco into the dirt. “Then go get it.”

“Right. Thanks, Chick. See you tomorrow.”

Stripping off his filthy shirt, Jesse climbed into the truck in his T-shirt and aimed the windshield toward Las Vegas. He felt better for getting some fresh air and sunshine, for pitting his strength against an animal’s and winning, more often than not. That was the fun part of bull riding, the part he enjoyed.

He whistled as he walked through the hotel’s mid-afternoon horde and only grinned when the two women who joined him in the elevator stepped as far away from his dirt as they could manage. The hallway on the fortieth floor was empty, and he sauntered to the suite in a better mood than he could remember for quite some time. Certainly since Mark Hansen had decided to complicate his life.

Then he unlocked the door and stepped inside to find a crowd of faces—worried, upset and downright angry—staring straight at him.

For some reason, the first person he focused on was Janie. She stood near the window, looking defiant and furious and apologetic, all at once.

“Well, it’s about time.” His dad’s voice made itself heard over several others. “Where the hell have you been?”

Like a balloon floating up against a prickly pear cactus, Jesse’s mood deflated in that instant. He pulled off his baseball cap and rubbed a hand over his hair. “You know, I am really tired of hearing that question. Remember the good, old-fashioned word we use to greet somebody…what was it? Oh, yeah—hello.”

“Hello, Jesse,” his mother said. “We were surprised you weren’t here when we arrived.”

“I went over to Chick Grady’s ranch. He let me ride a few of his bulls.”

“How’d it go?” his dad barked.

Aware of Mark and Nicki sitting on the couch, Jesse shrugged. “Okay. I’ll be going back tomorrow, get a little more loosened up.” He surveyed the room, nodding to his brother Dex and his new wife, Josie, who were also part of the group. “Where’s the rest of the family? I haven’t seen Elly or Dusty or Walker since I got here. Not to mention the nephews.” Dusty’s son Matthew and Clay, Walker’s wife’s little boy, were two of his favorite people in the world.

“Dusty and Walker took the youngsters to the indoor pool,” Josie told him. “Elly’s working her horse and Maryanne went shopping at Cowboy Christmas.”