Should've Been A Cowboy & Cowboy Up: Should've Been a Cowboy / Cowboy Up

He hesitated briefly. “I guess it’s none of their business unless it affects my work.”

He was so adorably sincere that she chose not to mention how it had already affected his work. They still didn’t have a plan for tomorrow. She’d make sure they did have one, but they’d become seriously sidetracked from working out the details of the open house.

“It may be nobody’s business,” she said, “but we each have a sister sitting at the dining table. I don’t know about your family, but mine tends to think they have a right to an opinion about my behavior.”

Alex combed his wet hair back from his forehead. “I’m sure Josie will say something to me. I made plenty of comments when she started seeing Jack, who had already broken her heart once. Okay, you’re right. Let’s get this out of the way. Josie will notice eventually, anyway.”

“I’m not sure if Morgan will or not. She’s so focused on this baby that she might be oblivious, but Sarah’s nobody’s fool. I get the impression she keeps pretty close track of what goes on around here.”

“She does.” He frowned. “In fact, I wonder if she already suspects something and that’s why she put us in the same wing...”

“You think she’s playing matchmaker?”

“No, probably not.”

“I don’t think so, either. She seemed really happy for me that I was up for this big promotion. Anyway, we won’t confirm or deny that we have a connection and let people think whatever they want. But let’s not sneak in as if we have something to hide.”

He nodded. “The back door it is. There’s a stairway from the kitchen to the second floor, so we can go up that way to change. If anybody intercepts us, so be it.” Wrapping his arm more securely around her, he started around the house.

“We have been out in the barn a fair amount of time, though.”

“So?”

“So rather than let their imaginations run completely wild, let’s tell them we’ve been cooking up alternate plans for the open house while we waited for the rain to stop. Finally we realized it wasn’t going to stop and came ahead.”

“All right.” He navigated around a puddle. “By the way, do you have any alternate plans for the open house? Because I have zip.”

She noticed that the rain had let up a little, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t start up again during the night. “The barn is definitely an option, but I still think we need to suggest using the living room and the big dining room.”

“I thought you were worried about tracking up the floors just now? If you open up the main house and it’s raining, that will—”

“Oh, geez.” Talk about being distracted and missing the big picture. “Okay, scratch that. I’ll figure out something else. Maybe it won’t rain all that much.”

“We can hope. But what about the entertainment? I’m not sure one lone guitar player is going to cut it, especially if he has to be talked into performing. I wanted something guests could have fun watching.”

Now that she had worked out. “They can watch me.”

“You? Doing what?”

Spinning away from him, she threw her hands in the air and belted out the opening lyrics to “Oklahoma.”

He grinned at her. “I didn’t know you could sing.”

“There are lots of things you don’t know about me, Mr. Keller. An activities director on a cruise ship has to wear many hats, and being able to sing and dance is a great thing to have on a résumé in my line of work.” She executed a sloppy soft-shoe routine in the wet grass and finished with a little bow.

“You are so stinkin’ cute.”

“Yes, but do I get the job? Will you hire me as your entertainment for tomorrow’s event? Me and Watkins, the reluctant guitarist?”

“Maybe. I know I can afford Watkins, but you’re a professional. I don’t know if I can afford you.”

“Sure you can. I will work for...” She stepped closer and whispered a suggestion involving whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

He pulled her in tight, their wet clothes sticking together like Velcro. “To hell with making an entrance and having dinner with the family. Let’s head back to the barn.”

“Hey, you two,” called a male voice. “Don’t you have sense enough to come in out of the rain?”

Alex released her immediately. “Hey, Jack.”

Tyler knew it had to be one of the Chance brothers who’d opened the screen door, but when she looked at the figure silhouetted against the light she wouldn’t have been able to say which one it was. They sounded similar and all had the same broad-shouldered cowboy look. Apparently it was Jack, the oldest.

“We’ll be right in,” Alex said. “We were just—”

“I was practicing a number for tomorrow,” Tyler said. “Watkins and I will be filling in for the country band that canceled on Alex. We’re going to give the entertainment a down-home feel.” She remembered Jack as being dark haired and moody, but according to Morgan, his disposition had improved since marrying Josie.

“The band canceled?”

“Afraid so,” Alex said. “About two hours ago.”

“I see. So are you also part of this number Tyler’s practicing?”

Tyler realized Jack probably had witnessed the clinch. “We were discussing that,” she said. “But I think not. He’s not much of a dancer.”

Jack chuckled. “I know he can’t dance, but he tries.”

“I’m not that bad of a dancer,” Alex said. “It’s just that all the Chance guys are like semiprofessional or something.”

Tyler had noticed that family trait last summer and remarked on it. Sarah had told her they all took after their father, who was the best dancer she’d ever known. “Maybe I should let you help me with the entertainment for tomorrow, Jack.”

“No can do. I’ll have my hands full working with the horses. But you sounded great just now. I happened to hear you when I went to fetch myself a beer in the kitchen, and I was curious enough to stick my head out the door. Was that ‘Oklahoma’?”

“Yes.”

“Unfortunately the Last Chance is located in Wyoming. You know any songs about Wyoming?”

“No.”

“Guess I’ll have to teach you some, then. Alex, you might want to think about bringing your talent inside before she catches her death out there.”

“We were heading in when Tyler decided she needed to audition for me,” Alex said.

“Uh-huh. Well, Tyler, you’ve got a helluva voice.”

“Thank you.”

“Wrong tune, but helluva voice. Can we afford her, Alex?”

Alex’s voice sounded choked. “I... Yeah, we should be able to meet her terms.”

“Good to know. See you two inside.”

The screen door banged shut and Alex lost it, doubling over and shaking with silent laughter. “Good God,” he said, gasping. “If Jack only knew...what you named as your fee...” He gazed at her, still chuckling.

She smiled at him. “This way I won’t have to claim it on my taxes.”

“Yeah, I doubt there’s a line item for being served up like an ice-cream sundae.” He looked at her as if he’d like to start immediately. “Have you had sex with whipped cream before?”

“No, but I’ve always wanted to try it. Assuming you can smuggle stuff out of the kitchen.”

“Don’t worry about that. All you have to be concerned with is keeping the noise level down while I drive you crazy.”

“Do you have whipped cream experience, then?”

“No.” He winked at her. “But I’ve always wanted to try it. Shall we go in?”

“Okay. How do I look?”

“Beautiful.”

“Liar.”

“It’s not a lie. You look like a woman who’s been having fun, and that’s always sexy to me.”

“I have been having fun.” She gave him a quick kiss. “And I intend to have even more fun later on tonight.” Then she started for the stairs leading to the back door.

“Damn, but you’re hot, Tyler O’Connelli.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “You’re no icicle yourself, Alex Keller.”

* * *

SPEAKING OF ICICLES, Alex could have used one to shove down his pants before he followed Tyler and her tight little tush into the house. The woman turned him inside out. She was right that they could never have managed four more days without falling into bed with each other.

Now that the dam had broken and they were committed to squeezing all the pleasure they could out of this time, he would ignore the ticking clock and make the most of every second he had with her. Of course, he wanted her all to himself 24/7, but that wouldn’t be happening.

They were both committed to making the open house a success, and that would take up a chunk of time. Besides that, Tyler had come here to see Morgan, so whenever Morgan was around, Alex would back off.

And he could start now. Morgan met them at the door and ushered them into the room containing two large-capacity washers and a matching pair of dryers.

“Jack said you two got caught in the rain.” Morgan’s smile was merry, but her gaze was assessing. “I see he wasn’t kidding.”

“We’re soaked and we’re muddy,” Tyler said. “We didn’t want to track all through the house like this, so—”

“Stay right there, both of you,” Morgan said. “I’ll ask Sarah for a couple of bathrobes.”

Alex pulled off his boots and his wet socks. “She has an idea something’s going on,” he said in an undertone.

“It’s fine. I’ll talk with her. She knows this cruise job doesn’t give me much opportunity to date. She’ll understand.”

“Probably.” But he noticed Tyler didn’t sound quite as confident as she had out there in the rain. Neither was he. He wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Josie’s questions.

Last summer he’d tried to protect his sister from Jack, who had previously dumped her. Obviously Jack had learned the error of his ways and now spent all his time proving to Josie how much he loved her, but Alex hadn’t known it would turn out that way.

Josie wouldn’t approve of Alex having a temporary fling with Tyler any more than Alex had liked Josie hooking up with Jack. She’d see it as a heartache waiting to happen, and he couldn’t promise her it wasn’t. He couldn’t very well claim to know what he was doing, either, considering that his marriage had failed miserably.

Maybe he’d steer clear of Josie for the next four days. That wouldn’t be easy, but it wouldn’t be impossible, either. He’d be involved in the open house tomorrow and the cleanup on Sunday. Josie liked to spend most of her weekend at the Spirits and Spurs because that’s when the employees needed her the most.

But Friday nights were reserved for the Chance family to gather at the ranch house, and the hum of conversation and occasional bursts of laughter coming from the dining room told him the meal was in full swing. Josie would be sitting next to Jack and no doubt she’d already pumped her husband for information. She might try to corner Alex before the evening was over.

“Morgan said we need a couple of robes in here.” Sarah walked into the utility room with two white terry bathrobes over her arm. Her eyes widened. “Good Lord, what happened to you two? Did you fall in the mud or what?”

“Something like that,” Alex said.

“It was my fault.” Tyler scrubbed her hair back from her face. “I made a run for it and slipped in the mud. Then Alex tried to help me up and I caused him to lose his balance. I’m sure we looked like Laurel and Hardy out there.”

“Well, here’s a robe for each of you.” She handed one to Tyler before giving Alex his. “You should just leave your wet stuff here. Alex, turn your back while Tyler gets out of her clothes.”

He couldn’t very well say that he’d already seen Tyler naked quite recently, so he turned around and began unfastening the snaps down the front of his denim shirt. He could hear Tyler and Sarah murmuring behind him and the rustle of clothing.

“All clear,” Sarah said in a louder voice. “You can turn around now, Alex.”

He turned. Tyler’s clothes were piled on the top of one of the washers and she stood there wrapped up tight in the terry robe.

The robe was bulky and too big, so it completely disguised her figure. Alex shouldn’t have found a single thing to be turned on about, except that her feet were bare, and the polish on her sexy toes gleamed in the overhead light. His fevered brain kicked into fantasy mode again.

“There’s a door in the kitchen to the right of the stove, Tyler.” Sarah pointed in that direction. “Behind it is a stairway that will take you to the second floor. The boys used that route all the time when they’d come in from the corral. You have towels up there, right?”

Tyler nodded. “Alex brought me some.”

“You don’t have a private bath, I’m afraid. You’ll have to share the hall bath with Alex, so you might as well take off and get a head start.”

“I will, and thank you. Sorry to be so much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble, sweetie. Jack says you’re going to pair up with Watkins to provide the entertainment for the open house tomorrow, which is a huge help. I feel guilty making you work on your vacation. I hope Alex is paying you well for that.”

“Don’t worry. He is.”

Alex covered his reaction with a coughing fit as Tyler, cheeks pink, quickly left the room.

“Oh, dear.” Sarah peered at him. “I hope you’re not getting sick.”

“I’m fine. Just swallowed wrong.”

“Listen, it’s not my place to interfere, but I think that girl is extremely focused on getting her promotion. And I don’t blame her. That’s impressive, being named a cruise director at her age.”

Alex gazed into Sarah’s blue eyes, so much like Gabe’s. Although Sarah was a devoted mother to all three men, Gabe was her only biological child. Jack had been four when she’d married his father, and then baby Nick had appeared on the doorstep, the unexpected result of Jonathan’s affair in the period between his divorce from Jack’s mother and meeting Sarah. Sarah had accepted all three boys as hers to raise. In fact, she was fast becoming a second mother to him, as well.

“I know Tyler’s dedicated to her career,” Alex said. “And I think that’s great.”

“It is great. People should have jobs they love.” Sarah laid a hand on his damp sleeve. “But it means she won’t be sticking around here.”

“No, she won’t. I understand that, too.”

Sarah squeezed his arm and let go. “I hope you do, because I’ve seen the way you look at each other.”

“It’ll be okay.” He was touched by the gentle nature of her concern. No doubt Josie’s warnings would come across like air-raid sirens.

“I probably shouldn’t have put her right across the hall from you, but I didn’t realize there was something going on between you two. Did it start last August?”

“Yeah.”

“I wondered after I thought about your reaction when she showed up here today. She’s a nice girl, and if I thought she’d consider staying, I’d be matchmaking like crazy. But she won’t, so I want you to be careful.”

“Thanks, Sarah.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I will.” Which was a damn lie, because it was too late to be careful. And he had a problem.

He could have dealt with the loss of great sex when Tyler left next week. He might not have been happy about it, but he could have managed.

Unfortunately for him, she’d chosen to sing “Oklahoma” in the middle of a rainstorm, and then she’d finished off her performance with a few dance steps. Watching her take that little bow, he’d felt his heart slip-sliding away. Halting that slide would be a real trick, but he’d have to try for both their sakes.

Chapter Six

Tyler thought about waiting for Alex before going down to dinner and decided against it. They were liable to catch enough flak for their flimsy caught-in-the-rain story, so she’d demonstrate to the family that she and Alex weren’t joined at the hip. She hoped they’d be joining different body parts later in the evening, but she’d like the next hour or so to be strictly PG-13.

She’d put on a clean pair of jeans and a black V-neck shirt. Then she added her turquoise necklace and earrings because...because she liked looking good. At times she wondered if she was too hung up on that.

Her job demanded that she be well groomed, and she’d always appreciated having a reason to dress well. But, to her surprise, she’d had fun getting all muddy and bedraggled. That would happen a lot on a ranch, where appearance wouldn’t count as much as performance.

She contemplated that as an appealing change of pace and discovered she didn’t recoil the way she might have a couple of years ago. She loved her job. She did. But sometimes the constant need to look great wore on her. She’d never admitted that to herself before.

As she descended the wide staircase to the first floor, she ran her hand along the banister again. Without Alex as a distraction, she could pause a moment and take in the welcoming sight of roomy leather chairs facing a gigantic rock fireplace. Framed family photographs lined the wooden mantel. A paperback lay on a small wooden table beside one of the chairs, as if someone had been quietly reading there and had left the book, planning to settle in for another relaxing moment later.

Home. The word hadn’t meant much to Tyler over the years. Home had been a battered van until she’d moved out on her own. She couldn’t call her tiny apartment home because she spent so little time there. Her collection of souvenirs was the only thing that marked it as hers. The cruise ship was luxurious, but it was where she worked. It wasn’t home, either.

The Last Chance represented home to Morgan now. Tyler had thought her sister was crazy to tie herself to a man and then compound that by getting pregnant. Both Morgan and Tyler had witnessed how marriage and kids had absorbed nearly all their mother’s time, giving her no chance to develop other interests or have a career.

But Morgan wouldn’t be living the kind of life their mother had lived. Morgan would have a house and plenty of relatives around to help babysit. It wouldn’t have to fall to the older siblings the way it had to Morgan and Tyler.

She’d taken Tyler on a quick tour before bringing her over here. Although Morgan’s home wouldn’t be quite this grand, it would be filled with light and space. It would be—no, it already was—a home.

Tyler pushed aside a prick of envy. She had the life she wanted, and it would only get better once she became a cruise director with the freedom to direct every aspect of the cruise experience. Someday in the far distant future she might want a home, but not yet, not when her dream was within reach.

Her route to the dining room took her down the same hallway she’d walked with Alex that afternoon. The left side was a wall of windows that provided a view of the Tetons during the day. Now the glass reflected the light from two wall sconces and the image of Tyler moving down the hall.

The right wall was covered with more framed family pictures, including some that looked as if they’d been taken fifty or sixty years ago. The O’Connelli family’s vagabond lifestyle hadn’t allowed for this kind of display. There had never been a wall available, and even a scrapbook would have been something to haul around and keep track of.

Tyler paused when she realized new pictures had been added, with people she knew well. She found a wedding shot of Morgan and Gabe, and another one of the entire wedding party, her included. Morgan hadn’t offered her a copy, probably because she hadn’t expected Tyler to want one. Keeping pictures around wasn’t exactly an O’Connelli tradition.

It was obviously a Chance tradition, though. Next to that were the photographs of Jack and Nick’s double wedding to Josie and Dominique. Tyler’s heart warmed when she found Alex smiling happily in the group shot. He’d donned Western wear for the ceremony. Maybe that was when he’d started to transform into a cowboy.

Studying the picture, she identified two people who had to be Mr. and Mrs. Keller. They were both tall and had facial features that reminded Tyler of both Alex and his sister, Josie. Common wisdom said a father’s appearance could indicate how his son would age. If so, Alex would still be a hunk in his fifties.

“I thought you’d already be tucking into your rib eye.”

She glanced down the hall to find the man himself walking toward her. She must have been deep in thought to have missed hearing his booted feet on the hardwood floor. He’d put on a clean pair of jeans and a white Western shirt with pearl-covered snaps. The yoke of the shirt emphasized his shoulders, which she’d swear were wider than they had been last summer.

He’d obviously taken time for a shower, because his dark blond hair was still damp and he smelled like soap, the manly kind featured in commercials showing a guy lathering up his brawny chest. She wouldn’t mind observing Alex doing that. In fact, she wouldn’t mind being the person wielding the washcloth.

She looked into his gray eyes and wished they weren’t expected at the dinner table. “I got caught up in the rogues’ gallery. Are these two your folks?”

“Yeah.” His expression softened. “They had such a good time. They might end up retiring in Jackson Hole, or at least spending their summers here and maybe winters somewhere a little warmer.”

It all sounded so normal. Tyler decided not to mention that her parents didn’t have a retirement plan. They just lived in the moment, taking life as it came. It drove her nuts. She’d already started an IRA.

Alex brushed his knuckle over her cheek. “You look nice.”

“You, too.”

He sighed. “We need to go. Mary Lou’s probably keeping our food warm.”

“So we’ll go.” She caught his hand and pressed it to her cheek before stepping away from him.

“Right. We’ll go.” But he didn’t move, just continued to look at her.

With a shake of her head, she turned and started down the hallway. “Come on, Alex. They’re expecting us.”

“Yeah, they are.” He fell into step beside her. “This is strange. I want to hold your hand, and yet I’d better not. I don’t want to be all that obvious, like it’s a done deal.”

“I know.” When they reached the large empty dining room where the midday meal was served, she could hear the buzz of conversation from the family dining area at the far end and through a set of open double doors. “I intended to get there ahead of you so we wouldn’t look quite so much like a couple.”

“So we won’t sit together unless that’s how it’s set up and we have no choice. You should probably try to sit next to Morgan. That’s who you’re here to see, after all.”

“And I plan to spend plenty of time with her. But she’s the one who wants me to sleep at the ranch house.”

He caught her arm, halting her progress. “And don’t think I don’t appreciate my good luck.”

His touch was warm, seductive. She wanted to nestle into his arms and savor the feeling of belonging that she always felt there. “See?” She gazed up at him. “Gabe was right. You’re an honorary Chance and that means you get some of the Chance luck.”

He smiled and stroked her arm. “It seems to be working for me so far. I checked my condom supply and found an unopened box.”

The question was out before she gave herself time to think. “And when was the last time you checked your condom supply?” Then she realized how jealous and possessive that sounded. “Don’t answer that. It’s none of my business.”

His gaze was steady. “It’s been a few months.”

And she shouldn’t be so damn happy about that, but she was. Whoever he’d been involved with hadn’t turned into a serious girlfriend. She didn’t want him to have a serious girlfriend, either, which was completely unfair, but the thought of him falling for someone made her miserable. How twisted was that?

He gave her arm a squeeze. “I’ll be counting the minutes until we can open that box. Now, let’s go face the family.”

Tyler wasn’t worried about that part. If she could handle a cruise ship full of passengers, she could deal with the Chances. In fact, she was looking forward to seeing them all together again and taking note of the changes that two more weddings had brought to the family dynamics.

As they walked into the dining room, all conversation stopped. Tyler glanced around quickly to make sure she recognized everybody. Sarah was at the far end of the linen-draped table, and on her right sat green-eyed Nick Chance and his bride, Dominique, a brunette with a pixie cut. The chair between Dominique and Alex’s sister, Josie, was empty, probably waiting for Alex. Jack was next to Josie.