Page 31 of Roping Her In

Carson raised both hands in acquiescence as he smiled. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He seemed to be enjoying himself, and he looked over to Jake, who had nothing but storms rolling across his face. “So yeah, that’s how I know her.”

The silence that pressed down on them now was absolutely insufferable. Jake didn’t take another bite of his enchilada, and Hailey’s emotions coiled through her until she felt like crying. She opened her mouth to excuse herself; she didn’t have to sit here and eat enchiladas while Jake judged her and Carson egged him on.

But Jake looked back to his food and cut off another bite of enchilada. “No wonder you don’t manage restaurants anymore,” he said, his voice quiet, and dare Hailey hope that it didn’t contain any judgment at all? “I wouldn’t either if I’d been falsely accused of theft.”

He looked across the table to his brother. “Did you get my text?”

“About Libby needing some sort of feed transported?” Carson asked.

Jake nodded and popped another bite of enchilada in his mouth. Hailey couldn’t believe the conversation had moved on already, and hot sparks accompanied the appreciation that filled her over the fact that Jake hadn’t made this a big deal.

She once again couldn’t wait to be alone with him, so she could thank him for quietly standing up for her, and reassure him about anything he might be suddenly worried about by having someone like her working on his team.

After all, she still needed a recommendation from him, as she’d like to have a job as a vet tech in the Three Rivers area once she earned her certificate.

Fine, there was that, but she really just wanted to be alone with him so she could talk to him, get to know him better, and find out if they could be more than friends.

You’d have to be friends first, she thought. To be more than friends later.

He glanced over to her, his gaze sticking for an extra-long moment. He gave her a gorgeous smile and dropped his hand to her knee. He squeezed for half a second and then pulled everything back into the tight box where he kept his thoughts and emotions.

Carson asked him something else, and the moment fled. Hailey took another bite of enchilada, barely tasting it, for she suddenly needed a plan to get Jake away from his brother so she could explore this thing happening between them.

13

Jake paced in front of his desk, his nerves making him flip his phone over and over and over in his palm. If he didn’t text Hailey in the next couple of minutes, she wouldn’t have time to stay and eat with him.

He hadn’t been alone with her since walking her out to her car on Wednesday night after she’d brought the enchiladas. They texted, of course, and she’d shown up for her intern shift this morning, the same as usual. Jake certainly wasn’t an expert at reading women, but he’d detected more coolness in her than she’d been giving off previous to Wednesday night’s dinner with Carson.

He finally stopped with his back to the door and lifted his phone to text her. Do you have time to grab your lunch and eat with me before you head to Feline Friends?

Before he could second-guess himself, he sent the text, his fingers already flying across his screen as he typed out another one. I just want to talk to you for a couple of minutes.

Am I in trouble? Hailey asked, and Jake hated that that was her first question.

Of course not, he said, and then he turned to leave his office to get his own lunch. It would take a few minutes to heat it up, as the break room here in the administration building had three microwaves, but over thirty cowboys who came in at varying times to eat.

Patrick didn’t come to the ranch on Fridays, and Jake could admit it had been nice to have an extra pair of hands five days a week, and Hailey on-call for the past couple of weekends.

Lila Mae Walker needed her at Feline Friends today, so she wouldn’t technically be back to the ranch for any on-call birthing needs until tomorrow morning.

He’d just pulled the last of her momma’s enchiladas out of the fridge to heat up when his phone chimed with her notification sound. I’ll be over in a couple of minutes, and I can probably stay for about fifteen.

Sounds great. Then Jake practically threw his plastic container of food in the microwave and jabbed at the two to get it heating.

A group of cowboys sat at a nearby table, and they erupted into laughter, which made Jake smile. Everyone here had accepted him immediately, and Libby, Paul, and Brynn did an exceptional job hiring those who understood the culture at Three Rivers Ranch, and were willing to pitch in at any time, for any task.

On a ranch this size, the veterinarian duties were astronomical, and Jake always seemed to be carrying out a massive endeavor, like handling the birth of hundreds of calves, while also planning for the next thing—which here at Three Rivers would be spring vaccinations, calf ear tagging, bull examinations, and then finally breeding.

All of that had to be done in the next two and a half months, in disgusting weather….

Instead of letting it overwhelm him, Jake took a moment while his food rotated in the microwave to close his eyes and thank the Lord for this safe haven. He now knew life could be stormy, and he needed somewhere to return to when the lightning and thunder got too loud.

“Hey,” Hailey said, and Jake opened his eyes and simply stood there and drank in her beauty for several long seconds.

“Hey,” he finally said. The microwave beeped, and he reached to tap open the door. “Did you need to heat anything up?”

She watched him pull out the enchiladas, and when he faced her again, he found her shaking her head. She lifted a bag of nacho cheese Doritos, a coy grin playing with the corners of her mouth. “This is my lunch today.”