Claimed!

Then he had a brilliant idea. “I thought you wanted to have this wedding on horseback.”

“We do. Morgan’s excited about it and it should make the planning a lot easier.”

“Then Morgan might want to pick a different maid of honor. Josie doesn’t ride.”

Gabe’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. She’s never been on a horse in her life. We talked about me teaching her, but we never got around to it.” Because they were so busy getting busy.

Sarah waved a hand. “Then that’s the solution. She won’t have to be an accomplished horsewoman for this, so you have plenty of time to teach her the basics before the wedding.”

Dear God, he’d only made things worse. “I can’t.”

Sarah’s gaze sharpened. “Of course you can.”

Panic made him sound desperate. “No, really, Sarah. I have enough to do managing things around here, and now there’s the best man stuff to think about. Riding lessons are out of the question.”

Sarah and Gabe exchanged a glance. Jack knew that glance. He’d given himself away by protesting too loudly about the riding lessons.

“I’m sure we can work out a time,” Sarah said. “After all, this is important.”

Jack saw no way around it. He’d have to come clean. “The thing is, Josie won’t want to take riding lessons from me.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

“Last night I mistook her brother for a new boyfriend and I … sort of … attacked him.”

Gabe and Sarah gasped and Mary Lou dropped a spoon on the stove with a loud clatter. All three of them stared at him as if he’d grown horns and a tail.

“He’s not hurt or anything. As Gabe knows, I’d had a … a couple of drinks, so my aim was off.”

Gabe’s muffled snort meant he was trying hard not to laugh.

Sarah, however, looked scandalized. “You assaulted Josie’s brother? I can’t believe you did that.”

“I can’t, either,” Mary Lou said. “That’s not like you, Jack.”

“It was a mistake.”

Gabe’s eyes were watering from his efforts to hold back his laughter. “No kidding.” He cleared his throat. “This does put a different spin on things.”

Jack sighed. “If Morgan has her heart set on Josie, then I’m sure the two of us can muddle through the wedding, but somebody else will have to teach her how to ride. Maybe one of the hands could do it.”

“Maybe.” Lips twitching, Gabe continued to assess him. “But are you sure you could handle that?”

“What do you mean? Of course I could. That’s what I’m saying, isn’t it? Get somebody else.”

“Yeah, but last night you thought you had a rival and decided to take him down.” Gabe looked as if he might be ready to burst out laughing. “I’d hate for you to go after one of our cowhands.”

“Oh, for crying out loud! Just because I screwed up one time, that doesn’t mean—”

“That you still consider Josie your woman? I think it does.” Gabe looked over at Sarah and Mary Lou. “What do you two think?”

“I think you need to make amends to Josie,” Sarah said. “And you should do that before the wedding, so we don’t have any unpleasantness spoiling Gabe and Morgan’s big day. Teaching her to ride would be the perfect opportunity.”

Mary Lou nodded. “Good idea.”

“She won’t go for it.” Jack felt the trap closing around him. He’d known he would pay for last night’s debacle, but he’d never dreamed it would be like this.

“She will if you present it the right way,” Sarah said. “Tell her as one adult to another that the two of you need to iron out your differences in private so that you don’t accidentally ruin Gabe and Morgan’s wedding.”

“You want me to approach her about this?” Jack couldn’t even contemplate it.

Sarah continued her devastatingly logical argument. “If you can’t do that, how do you expect to be able to make it through the wedding festivities? It’s not just the ceremony, you know. We’ll need a rehearsal the Friday afternoon before the wedding, and there will be a dinner on Friday night.”

“She’s right about this, bro.” Gabe’s voice held only a trace of pity. “You and Josie have to work through whatever’s bothering you before the wedding.”

Jack gave it one last shot. “I promise you that nothing will happen. You have my word on it.”

“I’m sure Josie would promise, too,” Gabe said, “but when it comes to tension between a man and a woman, all bets are off. I really want you there, and Morgan really wants Josie there. They’ve bonded.”

“That seems kind of quick,” Jack said.

“It makes sense. They’re about the same age and they’re both small business owners. And … they’ve each been involved with a Chance brother.”

Jack made a dismissive noise low in his throat.

“I wondered if it would be a problem when Morgan suggested Josie,” his brother said.

“Don’t worry, Gabe.” Sarah picked up her coffee mug. “Jack’s going to take care of this when he teaches Josie to ride, aren’t you, Jack?”

He couldn’t see a way out of this corner they’d backed him into. “Yeah, I’ll take care of it.”

“Good.” Sarah raised her mug in salute.

Jack thought she seemed way too happy about the riding lesson plan. But then, she hadn’t disapproved of Josie the way his father had. In fact, Sarah had stood up for Josie a couple of times when his dad had made disparaging remarks.

“Oh, and thanks for telling me about her brother,” Sarah added. “If he’s staying awhile, we should invite him to the wedding.”

“I’ll find out his plans,” Jack said. Oh, yes, he was going to pay for his moment of madness when he’d knocked on Josie’s door and tried to deck her brother. He wondered how high the price would end up being. “In fact, I might as well drive into town now and get this program started.”

“Might as well.” Gabe sounded as cheerful as Sarah.

Strangely, Jack was feeling a little lighter, too. “See you all later.” He touched the brim of his hat as he glanced at Sarah and Mary Lou.

“Bye, Jack!” Mary Lou beamed at him.

“And thanks,” Sarah added.

“No problem.” It would be, but he’d handle it with as much grace as possible. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He left the kitchen knowing full well that Gabe, Sarah and Mary Lou would discuss his situation with Josie the minute he was out of earshot.

As he walked down the hallway and into the living room with its beamed ceilings, gigantic rock fireplace and buckets of family memories, he thought about the irony of the situation. Sarah was forcing him to interact with Josie. When Jonathan was alive, he’d actively tried to discourage the relationship.

To be fair, his dad hadn’t disliked Josie so much as he’d disliked the man Jack became after he’d started seeing her. Until then, Jack had been up with the sun every morning, helping his father and acting like a true rancher’s son.

But Josie had changed all that. Jack had fallen into the habit of helping her close the bar and then spending the night with her. As a bar owner, Josie’s hours were the opposite of a rancher’s. She stayed up late and slept in. When Jack started keeping her schedule, Jonathan had let his displeasure be known.

Not about to be ordered around, Jack had continued his new routine. He’d argued with his father about it many times. Jonathan’s insistence on getting the filly that fateful morning had been less about fetching the horse than about proving who was in charge. Jack hadn’t wanted his dad to win, but the cost of that battle of wills had been too high.

Jack refused to get into a similar battle with Sarah. He’d do what she wanted, and if he could present the situation well enough to Josie, she would agree, too. As he left the ranch house and climbed into his truck, he realized Sarah had done him a favor. His pride wouldn’t have allowed him to contact Josie, but this lesson scheme gave him an excuse. And despite his misgivings, he was glad for it.

4

JOSIE BARELY HAD TIME to wrap her head around Morgan’s request that she be a maid of honor before she had to be downstairs taking a delivery of beer. Good thing her cook, Andy, was there to double-check everything, because Josie was having trouble concentrating.

All she could think about was this wedding coming up in less than two weeks, a wedding that would involve Jack. And horses. Morgan had promised her that the riding would be no big deal. Josie could go to any of a number of stables in the area and get some basic instruction.

The horseback riding didn’t worry Josie all that much. She’d learned to ski as an adult, so she could learn to ride. In fact, a ski vacation had been her introduction to Jackson Hole.

She’d come back several times before realizing that if she truly intended to buy a bar, she wanted it to be in this area. And that decision had led to her meeting Jack Chance.

As the beer truck pulled away, she glanced at her watch. The bar opened for lunch at eleven-thirty, which gave her fifteen minutes to get her act together. At least someone else would be behind the bar. Josie turned the operation over to Tracy Gibbons on weekdays and she occupied herself with the computer in the office.

She had bills to pay and books to reconcile, but she wondered how much she’d accomplish when all she could think about was the darned wedding … and Jack. She would have loved to talk this over with Alex, but he’d left early in the morning to hike in the Tetons.

On second thought, she should decide how she planned to handle this turn of events before telling Alex. He might want to confront Jack, after all, now that his sister would be required to be in Jack’s company for the better part of a weekend. Josie didn’t want Alex and Jack to square off again. Once was enough.

So Alex would have to cool it, and somehow Josie would manage to get through the wedding without letting Jack know he’d ripped open the wound she’d been trying so desperately to heal. With a sigh of resignation, she walked through the back door of the bar into her tiny office and turned on the computer.

The scent of onions simmering in olive oil told her Andy had started cooking the lunch entrées. Usually by now she was hungry, but not today. Her tummy twisted in knots at the thought of eating. She’d have to get over her nerves in the next ten days, though, or she wouldn’t be much good to Morgan as a maid of honor. The bride was the only one allowed to be nervous.

As she waited for the computer to load its various programs, a gut-wrenchingly familiar knock sounded at the back door. She and Jack had devised a code so she’d know in advance it was him—three soft raps and two harder ones.

Ten months ago that rap would have been a signal to fling open the back door of the office and pull him in for a scorching kiss. Sometimes they’d gone beyond a mere kiss. On at least three occasions she’d locked both doors—the one to the outside and the one leading into the bar—and they’d had sex in her office.

This morning the door to the bar stood open and she could hear Andy banging around in the kitchen. Tracy would arrive any minute, along with any customers who liked to get an early start on their lunch or a midday beer.

She could imagine why Jack was here. Undoubtedly it had something to do with the wedding. And so it started, their required interaction. Taking a deep breath, she left her chair and opened the back door.

Ten months rolled away as her gaze swept over the cowboy standing there. His black hat shaded his eyes, making their dark depths look sexy and mysterious. His hat was slightly dusty. So was the rest of him, including a blue plaid western shirt, faded jeans and well-worn boots.

Jack hadn’t spruced up for the occasion. He’d come straight from whatever work he’d been involved in this morning. The combined scent of leather and sweat had become an aphrodisiac to her during the months they were together, and it had lost none of its punch. Damn it all, she still wanted him with a ferocity that left her shaking.

But wanting him wasn’t the only issue. Being alone with him filled her with nostalgia for the days when Jack had been her entire world. She’d been giddy with happiness, floating through her daily routine in anticipation of spending her nights with Jack. She had to believe that he’d enjoyed their time together just as much, because he’d used every possible excuse to be with her.

She took a long, restorative breath. “Is this about the wedding?” There, that sounded sufficiently curt and businesslike.

“Yes.” His dark gaze flicked over her in much the same way she’d surveyed him.

She wished now that she’d taken more time with her hair, her clothes, her makeup. She’d thrown on an old pair of jeans, her most comfortable boots and a T-shirt that said—unfortunately—Save A horse; Ride A cowboy.

“I remember that shirt,” Jack said.

She remembered doing exactly what the shirt recommended. But she wouldn’t be repeating that with Jack, no matter how much she might want to.

They needed to stay on track here. “You wanted to talk to me about something concerning the wedding?”

“Uh, yeah. Right. We … that is … listen, can I come in and discuss it?”

“Sure.” She stepped back to allow him to enter. She might as well test herself and see if she could handle being behind closed doors with him. It wasn’t as if they’d be really alone, anyway. Andy was nearby and Tracy would be here any time now.

All that rationalization disappeared the minute she closed the door and turned to face him. Every kiss, every touch, every minute of lovemaking came back to her. If she’d hoped the attraction was manageable, she’d been dead wrong. She ached for what used to be.

Maybe if she took refuge behind her desk, that would help. She retreated to her own chair and motioned to an armless wooden one on the opposite side of the desk. She used it when interviewing employees. “Have a seat.”

Typical Jack, he spun the chair around and straddled it, leaning his forearms on the back. He would have to sit like that. Dear God, why did his jeans have to fit so lovingly over his package?

He nudged his hat back with his thumb and gazed at her. “Looks like we’ll have to deal with each other during the festivities.”

“Guess so.” His voice stroked her nerve endings. She picked up a pen and started clicking the mechanism before realizing how idiotic that looked. She threw it down. “I’m sure we can do that.”

“I’m sure we can, too, but Gabe knew I went to your place last night, and I ended up having to tell him and Sarah what happened with your brother.”

“Oh.” Josie would have loved a video of that scene.

“So they’re convinced that you and I are a potential powder keg that could blow in the middle of the celebration.” Jack tapped his thumb idly against the back of the chair.

She knew how talented he was with that thumb. Yes, they might be a powder keg, but she feared the explosion would have to do with lust, not anger. Just sitting in this small office with Jack, her breathing had changed and her panties were damp. “They don’t give us much credit for self-control, do they?”

“They might have if I hadn’t thrown a punch at your brother. But after hearing about that, they’ve made a request, and I think we should honor it.”

“I promised Morgan I’d be in the wedding, Jack. I can’t go back on that promise.”

“Nobody’s asking you to. But Gabe and Sarah want some proof that we can get along like two civilized adults. So they figured if I was the one to teach you how to ride, then we’d work through our differences and be okay for the wedding.”

“Are you insane? I don’t want you to teach me how to ride. That’s a disaster in the making.” She’d never in a million years be able to keep her hands off him if they embarked on a project like that.

“No, it won’t be a disaster. We’ll make it work, and by the time the wedding rolls around, we won’t be as likely to get teed off at each other.”

He was a hottie, but he was an irritating hottie. “What’s all this we stuff? I didn’t throw a punch. Why don’t you just say that they’re worried about you and stop implying that it’s my problem, too?”

He sighed. “All right. They’re worried about me, but in order not to be worried, they’ve asked me to give you riding lessons.”

“I’ve heard that cold showers can lower your testosterone level.”

“Don’t be a smart-ass. This is serious.”

“No, it’s not. It’s silly. I’ll behave myself during the wedding, and if you can’t, then pop a Valium.”

His gaze grew hot. “Look, I told them I’d do this, damn it. Just go along with it, okay?”

“Why should I?”

“You need to learn how to ride, for one thing.”

“I’ll do what Morgan suggested and use one of the stables. I don’t want you teaching me to ride, Jack, and that’s final.” She could imagine it now. Him demonstrating a proper seat, her fixated on his buns, him astride the saddle, her wanting him astride her body.

“Why not?”

She’d take splinters under her fingernails before she’d tell him that. “Because you’re bossy.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. How about this? You’ll be free to tell me to go to hell whenever I get too bossy.”

“I’ve always felt free to tell you to go to hell.”

A ghost of a smile flickered. “True.”

That smile tugged at her heart. He used to smile all the time. They used to laugh and joke, even in bed.

Jack cleared his throat. “Tell you what. How about we try it for one lesson? If you really hate it, then we’ll quit.”

She could see he wanted her to agree, but she wasn’t sure exactly why. Apparently he’d told Gabe and Sarah that he’d do this, so it might be a matter of pride, but she sensed something else, an eagerness that had nothing to do with his family’s request.

“Why is this so important to you?”

“Well, I said I would, for one thing. But …” He paused and glanced down at his hands. “I’ve given you the impression I’m only interested in sex.”

“It’s more than an impression. You flat out said so in October.”

He raised his head and gave her a soul-melting gaze. “I’d like a chance to correct that.”

Oh, God. It was the one thing he could say that would make a difference. And when he looked at her like that, she couldn’t refuse him anything. He probably knew it, probably had used his powerful charisma on purpose to get what he wanted.

Her pulse raced, but she did her best to appear bored with the subject. “All right, Jack.”

Did he really intend to prove that he could be with her and not act on the sexual tension that had always existed between them, that existed even now, in this very room? And if he could be strong enough to resist temptation, could she?

Dismounting smoothly from the chair, he stood. “We should start with just an hour lesson.”

She stood, too, but she didn’t move from behind the desk. Too dangerous. “Just remember, it could be over in five minutes.”

“It won’t be.”

She’d always found his confidence sexy and now was no exception. “If you say so.”

“It’ll be fine. Can you be out at the ranch at nine in the morning? I know that’s early for you, but—”

“I’ll be there. We might as well find out right away if this is a good idea or a colossal mistake.”

He smiled, a full-out, genuine smile this time. “Thanks, Josie. I owe you one.”

“You owe me several, cowboy.”

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