“I imagine you’re memorable wherever you go, Jade.” Bob glanced from Jade to Chase, and as Jade brushed at the dirt on her sexy derrière, Bob had the same ‘wow’ expression of Coop, Cash, and the two workers at seeing Jade for the first time. “Don’t you, Chase?”
“Wherever she goes,” Chase agreed.
“Teresa left quesadillas in the oven for you,” Bob said. “Speaking of my beautiful wife, she has the same dinner ready for me too. How about I take the horses to the stables for you? I just saw Red and his boys out there.” Bob said of a longtime ranch hand and his two sons. “They can take care of Valor and—what’s the mare’s name?”
“Jubilee,” Chase replied and winked at Jade.
“I like it,” Bob said. Then, bidding them good evening, he took the horses off their hands.
“Jade, would you like to stay for quesadillas before I drive you back to Chloe’s?”
“Sure.” Jade’s pretty cheeks had blushed, maybe due to the mare’s name or his wink. Maybe due to the dinner invitation. He didn’t know. “That sounds wonderful, Chase.”
What he did know; Jade was a sweetheart. He was enjoying her company way too much. Was she for real? Pushing that question out of his mind, they moseyed under the portico to the double front doors. He unlocked a door and wondered again who she didn’t want knowing she was here. What kind of trouble would it cause? He opened the door, let her enter ahead of him, and punched in the security code. Delicious smells wafted their way. No sooner had they taken off their hats and sunglasses than the landline in his office rang. He placed his hat and sunglasses on a table near the grandfather clock, and Jade followed suit.
“There’s a bathroom just down the hall if you’d like to wash up,” he said and pointed. “Then I’ll give you a tour of the main floor on the way to the kitchen.”
Jade headed toward the bathroom. He walked into his office as the phone continued to ring. Who would be calling him on a holiday weekend? He stopped beside the solid walnut executive desk as the phone ceased ringing. His ranch was different from Chloe’s and Cash’s because he didn’t entertain guests. He hadn’t entertained one for a good long while anyway. Waiting for Jade, he sat down in the black leather, tufted swivel chair behind the desk and listened to the voice mail.
“No,” he muttered to the question Allison Hilliard had asked and deleted her message. His so-called last guest was the last thing he needed. “Hell no.”
“Is everything okay?” Jade asked, coming to the doorway of his office.
“Yeah,” he replied and looked up. She had taken off the Desmond Horse Ranch tee shirt. Good. She was the ingredient making the silver buckle on her tummy, red belt around her small waist, and red boots on her feetperfectly gorgeous. “Come in. This is my office.” She sat down on the opposite side of the desk from him in one of the black leather wingback chairs. Behind him, a window looked out to the horseshoe drive toward the Triple C Ranch gate at the main road. To the right was a stone hearth. Above the rustic mantle was an oil painting of him and Wild Bill.
“Are you the handsome young man on the rearing horse?” Jade asked.
Chase noted she had called him handsome. “Wild Bill was my mustang.”
“You look as wild as the horse. How old were you there?”
“Sixteen,” he said, glancing at the painting. “Along with Coop, my father was my hero. Dad took that photo.” He pointed to the four-by-six-inch framed photograph on the mantel. “He and my mother chose their favorite photo of each of us kids and had oil paintings done. The paintings used to hang in our bedrooms. Chloe and Cash have theirs now.” As he’d spoken, Jade had smiled while continuing to gaze at the painting, and somehow that touched him. “I changed a few things, making this office mine, and moved my painting in here when I took over the ranch.”
Jade admired the rest of the office, from the leather and wood furniture to a five-foot tall, fireproof safe, to the gun case holding new and antique rifles and pistols, to Coop’s antique globe in a walnut stand.
“I can’t imagine what it takes to run this ranch,” Jade said.
“Breeding, branding, raising, and selling cattle. And then doing it all again the next year,” Chase replied. Gesturing to the laptop centered on his desk, he said, “Payroll, taxes, bills, investing profits, and managing loss.”
“I know you’re oversimplifying what is an extremely difficult and time-consuming business. It’s impressive.” Jade paused and added, “You’re impressive, Chase.”
She’d said that seriously while looking at him as though she meant it, not while she sized up the expensive furnishings, other artwork on the walls, or thick carpets on the hardwood floor.
“Thanks. Being the oldest kid, I grew up helping my dad and Coop,” Chase said as Jade tilted her head, her expression clearly letting him know he had what it took to be successful on his own, no matter what. He shrugged. “Running the ranch comes naturally these days.”
She smiled at his modesty. “Who built this house?”
“Coop and Zoe.” Chase stood, came around the desk, and held out his hand. When she took it, he tugged her out of the chair and let go at the doorway. “I’ll show you some more of it.”
* * *
Growing up in this place,he was used to it. But the grandiose mountain-style house often intimidated rather than welcomed the first-time visitor. On the main floor, next to his office, he pointed out the den with its leather sofa, flat screen, chess/checkers table and chairs, and fully stocked wet bar. On the opposite side of the double front doors was a room also used as an office with a feminine cherrywood desk and cane-backed chair.
He explained this room had been used by his mother, who had served as president of—and hosted meetings for—a local charity that raised money for rescued or sick horses needing medical attention and forever homes. A sentimental and favorite piece was the quilt hanging from a decorative rod on the largest wall. With a Triple C Ranch brand in the center, the wordsA Good Rideappeared underneath. Surrounding the logo were quilted patches depicting scenes of horses, houses, cattle, and pastures found on the ranch. An adjoining door led to the room his mother had used to sew her quilts for family and friends as well as for the charity.
“Your mother was a wonderful lady.”
“She was my hero too,” Chase said and turned toward the great room. “The land has been in the Cooper family since the 1800s.”
