difference between
us anyway.”
“I
bet she could.”
“I
bet she couldn’t.”
Joel
stuck out his hand. “How much?”
“A
hundred bucks,” Jason answered.
“You’re
on.”
“Fine.
After dinner, I’ll take her up to her room and turn on the charm. I bet she
kisses me and lets me feel her up.”
Joel
squinted and snapped, “I bet she calls a halt to everything after the first
kiss if not before.”
“You
know very few people outside of the family can tell the difference between us,
Joel. I bet she can’t.”
“I
think she’s more into me and will be able to tell right away.” Joel kicked a
rock near the toe of his boot back out into the corral. He sounded confident to
his brother, but he wasn’t so sure. What if Mesa couldn’t tell the difference?
What if she liked Jason better than him? No,
this is nuts. I know what our kiss was like. We could set the sheets on fire if
I could get her between them. “I know what I felt when we kissed.”
“She’s
just a woman, Joel. Nothin’ special.”
“You’re
wrong there, Jason. She is special.”
* * * *
The
dinner bell clanged and Mesa frowned. She hadn’t seen Joel all day. Was he
avoiding her? Probably. Men didn’t take well to being put off when they had sex
on the brain. Stopping their kiss the night before wasn’t a bad idea, but maybe
he felt like there wasn’t anything to gain now by hanging out with her.
As
Mesa made her way down the stairs to the dining room, the sound of voices got
louder. A bus full of tourist had arrived earlier in the day, making the whole
place buzz like a swarm of bees. Many of them went riding earlier, leaving her
the run of the ranch house to herself. She’d taken her laptop into the main
hall, set it up on one of the tables and managed to type out the beginning of a
new novel called Mission: Cowboy. She cringed. She wasn’t sure she liked it,
but she figured a new title would come to her when the characters started adding
their voices to the storyline. She wasn’t a plotter when it came to her stories
so everything depended on what they said.
Stopping
on the stairs, she looked over the group. All the tourists were back and the
place was packed to the gills. The family waited at their table for the group
to be served while they chatted about their day. Joel sat at the end of the
table next to an empty chair she hoped might be for her. Or was it Joshua?
Maybe Jason? Damn . From this distance
she wasn’t sure which one was which? Damn
it .
“Mesa,
come sit by me, darlin’.” One of the three waved from the end of the table.
She
chewed on her lips a moment and then started down the stairs. Okay. Joel? Shit. I’m not sure. She took
the seat he held out for her, dropping into it with little grace. Nice, Mesa.
“How
was your day?”
“Great.
I got a lot of writing done in the main lodge.”
“Awesome.”
The
rest of the group had been served, so the family got up to get their own plates,
which included her. Joel or whichever one of them this was standing next to her, grinned and motioned for her to take the spot in front
of him. His cologne drifted to her nose. It seemed different somehow. She
looked closer. No, she couldn’t really tell if it was Joel, Jason, or Joshua.
Well, yes she could because Joshua had a small cut near his chin and Joel had a
small abrasion near his bottom lip from their fight at the bar last night. This
must be Jason. But what was he up to? Was he deliberately playing like she
didn’t know the difference? Surely they didn’t think she was that stupid.
“I
enjoyed our kiss last night,” he whispered near her ear.
Okay,
she didn’t like this game. What the hell was going on? “Really? I’m glad.”
“Me
too. I want to take you out in the moonlight tonight after dinner. You game?”
“Okay.”
She frowned. Really? She grabbed a
plate in order to get her dinner as the conversation lagged. Discussing this in
front of his family wasn’t a great idea. She
us anyway.”
“I
bet she could.”
“I
bet she couldn’t.”
Joel
stuck out his hand. “How much?”
“A
hundred bucks,” Jason answered.
“You’re
on.”
“Fine.
After dinner, I’ll take her up to her room and turn on the charm. I bet she
kisses me and lets me feel her up.”
Joel
squinted and snapped, “I bet she calls a halt to everything after the first
kiss if not before.”
“You
know very few people outside of the family can tell the difference between us,
Joel. I bet she can’t.”
“I
think she’s more into me and will be able to tell right away.” Joel kicked a
rock near the toe of his boot back out into the corral. He sounded confident to
his brother, but he wasn’t so sure. What if Mesa couldn’t tell the difference?
What if she liked Jason better than him? No,
this is nuts. I know what our kiss was like. We could set the sheets on fire if
I could get her between them. “I know what I felt when we kissed.”
“She’s
just a woman, Joel. Nothin’ special.”
“You’re
wrong there, Jason. She is special.”
* * * *
The
dinner bell clanged and Mesa frowned. She hadn’t seen Joel all day. Was he
avoiding her? Probably. Men didn’t take well to being put off when they had sex
on the brain. Stopping their kiss the night before wasn’t a bad idea, but maybe
he felt like there wasn’t anything to gain now by hanging out with her.
As
Mesa made her way down the stairs to the dining room, the sound of voices got
louder. A bus full of tourist had arrived earlier in the day, making the whole
place buzz like a swarm of bees. Many of them went riding earlier, leaving her
the run of the ranch house to herself. She’d taken her laptop into the main
hall, set it up on one of the tables and managed to type out the beginning of a
new novel called Mission: Cowboy. She cringed. She wasn’t sure she liked it,
but she figured a new title would come to her when the characters started adding
their voices to the storyline. She wasn’t a plotter when it came to her stories
so everything depended on what they said.
Stopping
on the stairs, she looked over the group. All the tourists were back and the
place was packed to the gills. The family waited at their table for the group
to be served while they chatted about their day. Joel sat at the end of the
table next to an empty chair she hoped might be for her. Or was it Joshua?
Maybe Jason? Damn . From this distance
she wasn’t sure which one was which? Damn
it .
“Mesa,
come sit by me, darlin’.” One of the three waved from the end of the table.
She
chewed on her lips a moment and then started down the stairs. Okay. Joel? Shit. I’m not sure. She took
the seat he held out for her, dropping into it with little grace. Nice, Mesa.
“How
was your day?”
“Great.
I got a lot of writing done in the main lodge.”
“Awesome.”
The
rest of the group had been served, so the family got up to get their own plates,
which included her. Joel or whichever one of them this was standing next to her, grinned and motioned for her to take the spot in front
of him. His cologne drifted to her nose. It seemed different somehow. She
looked closer. No, she couldn’t really tell if it was Joel, Jason, or Joshua.
Well, yes she could because Joshua had a small cut near his chin and Joel had a
small abrasion near his bottom lip from their fight at the bar last night. This
must be Jason. But what was he up to? Was he deliberately playing like she
didn’t know the difference? Surely they didn’t think she was that stupid.
“I
enjoyed our kiss last night,” he whispered near her ear.
Okay,
she didn’t like this game. What the hell was going on? “Really? I’m glad.”
“Me
too. I want to take you out in the moonlight tonight after dinner. You game?”
“Okay.”
She frowned. Really? She grabbed a
plate in order to get her dinner as the conversation lagged. Discussing this in
front of his family wasn’t a great idea. She
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