Montana Hearts (11 page)

Delaney hadn't considered that when she led the trail ride she'd be riding in front and Jace would be able to watch her the entire time, making her self-­conscious once again. However, his constant gaze didn't deter her from her goal of slapping a camera into his hand. As long as he held the camera, he wouldn't be able to pull the trigger of the gun.

“You never know what you might see,” she said, echoing her father's words as she handed him a simpler model Canon than the camera that hung about her own neck. “I thought you might appreciate looking at nature a different way.”

She half expected him to refuse, but apparently she had enough of her father in her that he accepted without a single protest. In fact, he reminded her of the twins as he looked at the camera like a new toy and snapped several photos of her.

“Can you show me how to print them out, too?” he asked, lifting his gaze from the viewfinder.

“Of course,” she said, and relief flooded through her that at least this one day the animals would have one less hunter to contend with.

“When?” he pressed, his expression eager. “Tomorrow?”

“Soon.”

Jace grinned. “Why is it so hard to lock you into a date?”

“I never make plans without checking my schedule,” she said, finding it hard to suppress a smile.

“Where do you keep your ‘schedule'?”

“Someplace safe where you can't steal it.” This time she did smile and Jace smiled back.

“What are these other settings for?” he asked, tapping the dial on the top of the camera.

She rode closer and leaned toward him and pointed. “This one adjusts the shutter speed to catch fast-­action sequences, such as a fox chasing a rabbit. The next is a macro setting enabling you to zoom in close on an object, like the wings of a bee. The third is a manual mode that you can use for special effects, like if you wanted to turn the texture of the cascading water in the river to silk.”

“How does that work?”

Delaney shook her head. “I can't show you how to change the aperture on horseback. We'd have to get off and—­”

“There's an old fencepost where we can tie up the horses,” Jace said, nodding toward the trail ahead.

She supposed they could take a quick break. Delaney had led him down the open trail that followed the river on purpose. She figured it was one more way to keep him out of the woods and away from the animals.

“The river is one of our ranch's best features,” she said, sliding out of the saddle. “Our guests love the clear blue water, the trophy-­sized trout, canoeing, kayaking—­”

Jace helped secure the horses. “What do
you
like to do?”

Delaney smiled. “Skip stones.”

The corners of Jace's mouth curved up into a smile. “Are you any good at it?”

“Come and see.” There were many things she feared she
wasn't
good at, but she did take pride in this particular skill. Handing Jace her camera, she walked toward the water and scanned the riverbank for a flat, smooth, round stone. Then after finding one to her liking, she held it between her thumb and forefinger, and gave Jace a quick glance. “Ready?”

He nodded, his eyes lit with amusement. “Ready . . . aim . . . fire!”

While she wished he'd used another term, she reminded herself that she was doing a good job of distracting him from doing any
real
firing, and gave the rock a swift toss across the river. Flying low, it bounced along the surface, hitting the water six times before sinking.

Jace clapped, his face full of admiration as he walked up close beside her. “I guess I should have tried the camera's fast-­action mode but I wanted to see this with my own eyes.”

“What about you?” she asked. “How many times can you skip?”

“I've never spent much time by a river.” Jace frowned. “There are a lot of things I've never done.”

“Don't you love hearing the sound of the rushing water beside your cabin while lying in your bed at night?” Delaney asked, hoping to point out the advantages of staying at Collins Country Cabins
.

“I
do
.”

He appeared to be impressed, so she kept going. “And don't you love the way the sunshine makes the river sparkle?”

“I love the way it makes your eyes sparkle,” he teased.

“I'm trying to get you to appreciate what's right in front of you,” Delaney said with a sweep of her hand.

He laughed, his gaze never leaving hers. “I am.”

Frustrated by the heat rising into her cheeks, she said, “How about I show you that manual mode?”

He handed her camera back to her and raised the one she'd given him to his eyes. “What am I looking for?”

“A horizontal scale of numbers should appear along the bottom of the viewfinder.”

“I don't see anything,” he said, pulling the camera away from his face.

Stretching one arm between his, she leaned against him in order to see what she was doing, and turned a different dial on the camera. “Look again.”

But instead of peering into the camera, he turned his head and looked at her. Delaney froze as his gaze held hers. Just inches apart, she had to admit her first assessment of the cowboy was wrong. He was handsome, whether he was far away or close, even more so close. She just hadn't seen it before.

He seemed to be looking at her as if for the first time again, too. “I could get used to this,” he said, and grinned.

Delaney pulled back, sure her face must be as red as her family's new hay barn. “We should get back to the horses.”

But as they continued to ride, Jace continued to flirt with her. When they stopped along an upper ridge to admire a few remaining wildflowers and Jace rode up beside her, she pointed. “See that yellow flower beside that big rock?”

He nodded. “Scarlet paintbrush.”

“If you zoom in close you can see every spiked petal,” she said, and gazed up at him. “Isn't it beautiful?”

“It is,” he said, without even a glance at the plant. “So are you.”

Her cheeks heated again and Sammy Jo's encouraging voice screamed in the back of her mind,
Flirt!
But she couldn't do it. All she could do was laugh and tell him, “I have no idea what to say to that.”

Jace grinned. “Again—­love your honesty. Although I suppose you could say a simple,
‘Thank you.'
”

Delaney smiled. “Okay then,
thank you
.”

Was it possible she'd misjudged him? Believed he was worse than he really was? After all, she'd seen with her own eyes how much he cared for his horse. And how much he'd wanted his cousins to like him. And how much he'd wanted to use the camera to take her picture.

“You really are, you know, beautiful.” The way he looked at her almost made her believe it. Except Bree had always been the beauty queen around the house, not her. She was the pigtailed tomboy who didn't mind when her horses slobbered apple and carrot juice all over her. The one who volunteered to muck out the stalls. A gal who climbed up to sit on the roof of the barn to watch the moon.

A few of the horses whinnied and a second later a group of horses and riders rode toward them coming from the opposite direction and intending to pass them.

“Jace!” Gavin McKinley called. “You should have come with us. One of our guys got himself an eight-­point buck with the first draw of his bow.”

“That's impressive,” Jace said, giving the man a nod as if interested.

“Let me introduce you to Alicia,” Gavin said, coming up beside them with another rider. “She'd like to be your personal trail guide.”

“I sure would,” the voluptuous blond bombshell purred. “How about tomorrow, cowboy?”

Delaney stiffened and glanced at Jace. Was he attracted to this blatantly seductive woman? It was clear from Gavin's expression that he hoped so.

She thought of the dresses, jewelry, makeup, and magazines Bree and Sammy Jo had brought over. They'd been
right
. She was going to need every advantage she could latch on to in order to keep Jace from giving his endorsement to someone else.
Oh, if only she knew how to flirt!

By some miracle, Jace shook his head. “Maybe some other time. I promised Jed and Luke Collins I'd go out hunting with them tomorrow.”

What?
She couldn't let them, but silenced her tongue. For now, all that was important was that Jace had rejected the rival's offer. She had several hours available to come up with a plan to stop Jace from hunting with her own family. “That's right, Gavin,” she said, backing up Jace's decision. “My father is a hard man to refuse.”

Gavin grimaced. “But, Jace, we're talking about big game here, with a beautiful woman by your side. What more could you want?”

Jace gave the man a level look and nodded toward Delaney. “I've already got a beautiful woman by my side. Promise me something no one else can and maybe I'll come along on a hunt with you.”

“Playing hard to get, are you?” Gavin let out a hearty laugh. “Okay, Jace, I'll wait to talk to you in private, when there aren't so many
others
around.”

The outfitter nodded in her direction, making it clear he meant when
she
wasn't around. How dare that man! And what about Jace? His words inferring she was as beautiful as Gavin's sexy blond gave her an unexpected jolt of warm pleasure, but what about what he said after that?

“Promise me something no one else can”?
Was Jace insinuating he might be interested in going after some illegal kills with this guy?

Her stomach squeezed tight, just like it did when her friend, Carol, from the animal shelter asked her to speak at the rally. Nauseating bile rose into the back of her throat and she feared she might be sick again. She squeezed her eyes shut, took a few deep breaths, and after a moment got it under control.

And to think she'd actually considered that maybe Jace wasn't so bad.
Men.
She couldn't trust any of them. She wouldn't have anything to do with them if she could get away with it, but she remembered the promise she'd made to her family. No matter what she thought of Jace, she had to be nice to him and somehow make him believe her ranch was better than anyone else's.

Gavin signaled for his group to move on, and as he rode his horse past her, he smirked, and taunted softly so only she could hear, “You don't have what it takes to keep him.”

Alicia blew Jace a farewell kiss off her hand and with a sinking feeling Delaney feared the rival outfitter might be right.

 

Chapter Six

“O
N
K
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J
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S
A
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D
Rio is a rodeo horse!” Meghan squealed, twirling around the bathroom in her palomino-­print dress. She'd wanted to wear a dress because she'd seen Delaney wear a dress at dinner the night before, and had also seen how much Jace had liked it.

“Jace is
not
your uncle,” Delaney corrected.

Meghan stopped twirling, came over to look in the mirror Delaney was using to put on her makeup, and frowned. “He gives high fives and piggyback rides like Onkle Uke.”

Yes, she'd seen him do that the evening before when everyone was walking out to toast marshmallows around the bonfire. He'd pretended he was a horse and Meghan had giggled more that night than she had in a long time.

“Uncle Luke,”
Delaney corrected, trying to help her with her speech. “And just because Jace plays with you
doesn't
mean he's your uncle. Jace is not related to us. He's not family.”

Meghan gave her a dubious look. “He's my friend?”

“Not even that.”

“Who is he?” Meghan asked, looking confused.

Delaney set her tube of lipstick down on the sink. “Just a cowboy.”

Meghan smiled. “Cowboy Jace?”

“Yes.”
Cowboy Jace.
That's all he would ever be to both of them.

Delaney glanced in the mirror and smacked her lips together. She had been unable stop her father and brother from taking Jace out on a hunt, even though she'd tried telling them they should all be in church this fine Sunday morning instead of out in the woods killing things.

She only hoped plan B had more success.

J
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F
O
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L
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W
E
D
J
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and Luke Collins on horseback along the trail between their ranch and the property next door to their right. Sure enough, the new outfitter had brought in a mobile trailer unit to act as a temporary office, and already had hunters lining up for business. The owner, Isaac Woolly, who sported a white woolly beard to match his name, introduced himself as they rode by.

“Odd time of year to be settin' up, don't you think?” Jed asked, coming to a stop beside Isaac. “In a few more weeks the snows will arrive and you'll need a plow to get anyone in or out.”

Isaac shook his head. “We've got a plow ready to go and next week we're bringing in snowmobiles. Woolly Outfitters is going to be a year-­round outfitting facility.”

“Maybe we should look into getting some snowmobiles,” Luke said under his breath as they continued riding. “Collins Country Cabins could be a year-­round facility, too.”

“Do you know how much those things cost?” Jed argued. Then he glanced back at Jace and his scowl changed into a friendly grin.
Too friendly
as he asked, “What do you think, Jace? Would you recommend we stay open, too? Do you think that would attract more customers?”

“Not with subzero temperatures and two other outfitters nearby,” Jace said truthfully. “You'd spend more money in fuel for heat and gas for the vehicles than you'd make on cabin rentals. A few adventurous souls might come out, but most ­people fly south for warmer vacations during the winter months.”

“Exactly what I thought,” Jed agreed.

“Unless we got ourselves some good advertising with a good endorsement,” Luke suggested, and he rode on ahead of his father, giving the older man a quick grin along the way.

Jace chuckled, knowing it was
his
endorsement they were after, just like so many others over the years who wanted him to endorse this product or that. He found the whole fame thing a nuisance. Only his mother, sister, and his friend Buck seemed to like him for who he really was these days.

Next they passed the property belonging to Gavin McKinley, and he, too, had hunters lined up in front of his large western-­style lodge wearing their orange caps and vests, and looking at each other's newfangled bows.

Back at the ranch that morning, Jed had offered him a compound bow, but Jace pulled his own sixty-­pound recurve bow and quiver full of thirty-­inch broad-­tip arrows out of the back of his truck. Both Jed and Luke had given him a look of disbelief as if he were crazy. Most every hunter used a compound bow for its arrow speed and accuracy, but those weren't qualities Jace was looking for today.

“Well,” Luke had said, still looking skeptical, “there
are
a few guys out there who claim using a recurve allows them to draw back their arrow faster.”

Not that Jace intended to do that either.

Farther down the trail, right before it branched off into state forest, Jed pointed to a cattle ranch with several sheds, a stable, and a small, single-­story house. “That's the Triple T ranch owned by the Tanners.”

Jace studied the property. “I didn't realize they were so close.”

“About twenty minutes if you use the road and drive around,” Luke informed him. “But Ryan usually takes the trail and can ride his horse over in about ten.”

“This trail connects all four properties to state forest land?” Jace asked as they turned into the woods.

“Don't forget Sammy Jo's property on the other side of us,” Luke added. “We all grew up riding these trails together and know every inch. But there is one place in particular we'd like to show you, a place where Dad and I always find the best deer.”

“I'm sorry Delaney didn't bring you out here yesterday,” Jed said as the wooded trail circled an open meadow. “She's a little confused right now. Her divorce messed her up some and she doesn't know what a man wants. She doesn't realize sometimes a guy needs to get into the backcountry and hunt.”

“What's that over there?” Jace said, pointing.

It looked like a bright blue shirt peeking out from beneath a bush. He wouldn't have known what it was except for the sleeve. Only a keen eye could have spotted it, but he'd always had the vision of a hawk. A pink pair of pants lay in the brush a few yards ahead. Child-­sized. He scanned the trail circling the meadow and spotted several other articles of clothing of various colors and sizes wadded up and tucked beside logs, piled on rocks, and hanging from tree limbs. It looked as if someone had cleaned out their closet. Who would do that? Litter the land with clothes?

Now that he'd pointed them out, Jed and Luke saw them as well, and from the look they gave each other it was clear they also knew who the items belonged to.

“We won't find any deer around here,” Jed barked, his voice gruff. “Not with the human scent on all these clothes stinking up the place. We'll take you to a different spot.”

Jace nodded and followed them along the outside rim of the forest. Once they reached their location of choice, Luke tied the horses to a high hitch line between two trees and Jed took Jace up toward an outcropping of rock with a view of the wispy golden fields below.

“The deer come out here to feed on some of the leftover wheat,” Jed told him, and sure enough, about an hour later, a big ole six-­point buck came into view. Jed moved aside, giving him room, and said, “He's all yours.”

Jace had agreed to come, hoping he could talk to them about the poachers in the area, but hadn't discovered anything. He wasn't in the mood to hunt. Hadn't intended to hunt. That's the real reason he'd brought along the recurve instead of the compound bow. But Jed put the pressure on by issuing instructions like a drill sergeant and looked at him expectedly as if he couldn't wait to see him take the shot, making him once again a hard man to refuse.

Raising his bow, Jace drew out an arrow, placed it along the notched rest, drew back the string, and was ready to let the arrow fly when all of the sudden the buck reminded him of another deer. The young doe he'd seen Delaney release from her secret animal shelter hidden in the grove of trees along the edge of the Collins property.

He also remembered Meghan saying the dog liked hamburgers, too—­right after Delaney tried to convince him she'd eaten hers in about two seconds flat. It occurred to him he'd
never
seen her eat meat. The night before, she'd only dished salad onto her plate. Geez, Delaney was probably a vegetarian!

Then there was the horrified look on her face when he'd shown up for the trail ride—­with her father's gun and the way she'd shoved the camera in his hands and gushed about the precious wildlife. And the image of all the clothes, filled with human scent, leaped forward with vivid clarity. The pink child-­sized pants. Obviously, they'd been laid there on purpose by Delaney.

She didn't want him to hunt for sport.

Jace slid his aim to the left and released the arrow just short of the buck's hind end, effectively scaring the animal off into the trees so Jed wouldn't try a shot with his own bow.

“Looks like I missed,” Jace said, inserting a note of disbelief into his tone. Then he turned and leveled his gaze on Jed, who no doubt guessed the truth, and a silent understanding passed between them. Dropping his bow down to his side, Jace added, “I think it's best we don't tell Delaney about this.”

Jed almost looked relieved. “No,” he agreed. “We won't tell Delaney.”

Upon their return, Jace scanned the ­people milling about the ranch but there was no sign of Delaney. She was probably hiding, unable to bear the sight of him bringing in a fresh kill. He wanted to tell her she needn't worry, but he caught sight of Meghan playing with Boots, the black-­and-­white puppy, and walked over to her first.

“Hi, Cowboy Jace,” Meghan greeted, pushing the puppy off her lap so she could stand up to give him a high five with a slap of her hand. “I have to call you Cowboy Jace because Mommy said you aren't my onkle or my friend.”

“She did, did she?” Jace asked, and scooped the toddler up into his arms. “Who do you think is a friend?”

Meghan reached up and pulled the tip of his hat down over his face. “Someone who plays with me.”

Pushing his hat back up on his head, Jace grinned. “Don't I do that?”

Meghan giggled. “Yeah. You're my friend.”

“We'll be secret friends,” he said, setting her back down. “But you can still call me Cowboy Jace.”

“Okay,” Meghan agreed, and smiled up at him with those incredible blue eyes she'd inherited from her mother. “Maybe if you play with Mommy, you can be her secret friend, too.”

Jace laughed. “Yeah, maybe. Do you know where I can find her?”

“She's right here,” a voice said from behind.

Jace spun around and watched her gaze search the area around him. “No luck today?” she asked, obviously referring to his hunt.

“Not until now,” Jace said, taking her hand. “I guess I'm only lucky when I get to spend time with you.”

D
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D
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T
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what to make of Jace's bold flirtatious statements. No one had ever been so persistent in pursuing her before. She didn't know if he really meant it, or if he was teasing, or if it was a game he played to see how uncomfortable he could make her. Because whenever he said she was beautiful, or that he wanted to get to know her better, or that he was lucky to spend time with her, she didn't know what to say, how to act, or how to even breathe.

She blushed on a regular basis now. All Jace had to do was look at her and heat would shoot up into her cheeks, then cascade over the rest of her, making her feel all warm and bubbly inside.

But as long as his fascination with her kept him from hunting, that was all that mattered. She'd been incredibly relieved when he'd come back empty-­handed after his trip out to the woods with her father and brother. Emptying her laundry basket to scare off the wildlife with both her and Meghan's scent had been a desperate, spur of the moment decision. Apparently it worked. For a while anyway. Coming up with new strategies to keep Jace away from the animals was a constant struggle.

He'd only been back a short time when Alicia, the sexy blond from Fox Creek Outfitters, rode her horse down the property line trail. Cupping her hand around her mouth, the woman called out, “Care to come on a trail ride with
me
this afternoon?”

Delaney didn't think she'd ever been bold enough to cut anyone off in midsentence before, but when Jace started to reply, she said, “He can't.”

Just two words, yet those two words had been firm and powerful, and got the job done.

Jace glanced over at her with surprise, and if he
had
wanted to go with the blond, he could have. But he didn't. He shook his head and gave Alicia an apologetic look. “Sorry, not today. I promised to give Delaney a lesson in archery. Isn't that right, Del?”

He'd called her by the shortened nickname only her family used. But she wasn't going to correct him in front of Alicia. She had bigger concerns than what name he called her at the moment. “I—­I, uh, yes. I can't wait,” she said, nodding her head vigorously. “And I'd be . . . very
upset
if you . . . canceled on me.”

Alicia hesitated for a split second, then licked her lips and gave Jace a slow, ever-­widening smile. “Seems like I'll have to take a number and get in line. Let me know when it's my turn, cowboy.”

If Delaney had her way, that woman would
never
get her turn. Not because of Alicia's extreme sex appeal, or because she couldn't stand the thought of Jace turning his attention on someone
else
, but because . . . well, because the woman worked for Fox Creek Outfitters. She was one of Gavin McKinley's minions, sent to steal their endorsement. Yes. No doubt about it.
That
was the reason she didn't want Jace to go off with Alicia, the only reason. After all, what other reason could there possibly be?