First Kiss with a Cowboy: Includes a bonus novella Read online

  “It’s definitely been a long time.” Jane’s gaze skimmed right over him.

  She didn’t remember him fondly, that was for damn sure. He tried to warm her up with a smile. “Good to see you again.”

  Instead of acknowledging the words, she went around the back of the car and popped the trunk.

  “Toby has been very helpful with everything around here,” Mara gushed. “He’s a whiz with a hammer and nails.”

  “Hmm.” Jane struggled to lift out a large suitcase and a carry-on bag.

  Toby inched closer. “I can take those for you.” The main house was a long haul and that thing looked heavy.

  “No thanks. I can handle my own baggage.” The rosy flush on Jane’s cheeks deepened. “I mean, I don’t need help. I’m fully capable of carrying bags to my cabin.”

  Her cabin? She wasn’t staying at the main house with her mother? And why did she assume he thought she wasn’t capable? Jane had been one of the most capable girls he’d ever known.

  “Goodness, Jane. Let the man help.” Mara nudged Toby toward the suitcase. “It’ll give you two a chance to catch up.”

  Ha. She didn’t want to catch up with him.

  Jane’s shoulders seemed to stiffen. “That’s okay. Really. I’ve got it.” She shouldered the strap of her laptop bag, lifted the carry-on in her opposite hand, and started to drag the suitcase toward the path that led to the cabins, but the wheels kept getting caught on rocks. Muttering to herself, Jane staggered forward, tripping as she yanked the suitcase over the gravel.

  Toby shared a look with Mara. He couldn’t just stand there and watch.

  “Why don’t I take the bags for you?” He followed Jane at a distance, letting her make the choice. She’d made it pretty clear she didn’t want to be alone with him, but she hadn’t said anything about her mother. “Then you and your mom can catch up.”

  Jane paused and turned to him. Some elusive emotion flashed in her eyes before she steeled them again. Surprise maybe? “If you really don’t mind. Mom and I have a lot of catching up to do.” Jane set down the carry-on and laptop bag, let go of the suitcase, and stepped aside.

  “Don’t mind at all.” Toby slung the strap of the laptop bag onto his good shoulder and picked up the carry-on on that same side, leaving his left hand to drag the suitcase.

  “She’s in cabin four,” Mara called over, amusement flashing in her eyes.

  “You can just leave everything on the porch,” Jane instructed. “I won’t be long.”

  “Will do.” He started out in the direction of the cabins.

  Mara walked over and slipped her arm around her daughter. “Come on. I’ll show you the new reception hall.” Her mother started to pull her away.

  “Wait,” Jane called after him. “Be careful with that one.” She pointed to the laptop bag. “My laptop is in there.”

  “I can handle it,” Toby assured her. “Trust me.”

  A sharp raise of her eyebrows told him it would be a cold day in hell before she trusted him. And yet she had trusted him once.

  Jane glanced back, her eyes meeting his, spiking his curiosity.

  That night so long ago was the one time in all the years he’d known her that Jane had seemed to let down her guard.

  And he couldn’t help but wonder what it would take for her to do it again.

  Chapter Five

  Jane couldn’t help but look over her shoulder again. She’d like to know how Toby had gotten back from the hardware store so fast. So much for talking her mother out of hiring him. All her mom had done when Jane had gotten out of the car was gush about what a great job he was doing.

  Forcing herself to look straight ahead, she walked faster. She hadn’t been prepared to see Toby standing there when she’d driven up. During her high school years, she’d assumed, or hoped, the adrenaline rushes Toby had given her had more to do with the thrill of competition than it did with the cowboy himself, but the hard pound of her heart and the perspiration itching on her palms as she and her mother walked toward the house obliterated that theory.

  The truth was Toby Garrett had always been…what, exactly? Not classically handsome—he was too rugged for that description. Wild and a little bit dangerous maybe. Intense. Yes, that definitely fit. His dusky blue eyes seemed to flash with whatever emotion he happened to be feeling at the time.

  She’d seen those eyes fill with irritation when she would correct him in class. She’d seen them flash with humor on more than one occasion when he’d teased her about getting anything less than 100 percent on a test.

  The way Toby’s eyes had flashed a few minutes ago had looked an awful lot like intrigue. Or maybe she was imagining things. What she wasn’t imagining was the feeling coursing through her own body. It had been at least ten minutes since she’d driven up and seen Toby standing there with her mother, yet her heart still beat as hard as if she’d run all the way from town.

  Anger. That’s what this had to be. After all, she’d never gotten to give him a piece of her mind after he’d snubbed her in front of the whole school. It was all anyone could talk about for at least a month. How Toby had kissed her one night and then asked Aubrey to their winter formal the next day like Jane had simply been another notch in his belt.

  Sure, she’d told him it was only a stupid kiss. Of course she’d said that! She knew what Toby had been like, how he was all about having a good time but never really caring about the girls he was with. And then he’d gone and proved her right. That was what had her so flustered. The drumming of her heart had little to do with infatuation and everything to do with unexpressed anger.

  “Watch out!” Her mother yanked on her shoulder and steered her away from walking straight into a fence post. “Are you okay?” she turned Jane’s face to hers. “Have you even heard a word I’ve said about the upgrades Toby has already made to the ranch?”

  Jane stopped walking and looked around. Her gaze settled on the lodge sitting on the lake’s shore. Simply seeing it filled her with such longing for her father. He’d designed the log building and had helped with the construction. The lodge still had that grand appeal, but it was true the ranch had aged. In her brief visits home over the last few years, she’d noticed the cracks in the logs, the dents in the siding on the cabins. It had to be so much for her mother to manage. She deserved to have more support. But still…did Toby have to be the one helping? “Why didn’t you mention hiring him? I could have prepared myself for all the high school flashbacks.”

  Her mom grimaced. “I’m sorry, honey. I should’ve mentioned it when you called to say you were on your way. I’ve just been so busy preparing for the season.” Her mom’s eyes looked weary. “I needed help and he needed a job. Besides,” she put her arm around Jane and pulled her closer, “you’re not that shy high school girl anymore. Toby doesn’t know what he missed out on.”

  “I’m definitely not the same girl.” And she wouldn’t fall for the same act twice. “I was just surprised that he would want to work here.” He probably could’ve had his pick of jobs in Silverado Lake with how popular he’d always been.

  “I was too, but I think he wanted to keep busy while he’s in town. And he’s working pretty cheap.” Her mom glanced behind them as though making sure Toby had disappeared. “You want my opinion, he still feels bad about how he acted after the New Year’s Eve party. The poor man’s obviously grown up a lot since then. You both have.”

  The poor man. It was all Jane could do not to roll her eyes all the way back into her head. The poor man who’d always had girls falling at his feet. The poor man who happened to be crazy smart and smoldering hot. The poor man who was the perfect model for a hero in a romance novel. That secret was definitely going with her to her grave.

  “From what I’ve seen he’s a completely different person now,” her mom went on, gently elbowing Jane in the side. “He’s always been a good-looking guy, but that boy really turns heads these days.”

  “I guess.” Jane was too honest for her own goo
d. Besides, if she attempted to lie and claim Toby was not good-looking, her mom would see right through her.

  Never mind his magnetic eyes, that sandy brown hair of his had grown longer, fringing the tips of his ears. He didn’t have to do a thing to his hair, of course. It simply had that sexy disheveled thing going on. But it was his smile that was most dangerous. That smile came on easily and suddenly, pulling whoever witnessed it into a sort of conspiratorial fantasy. Toby’s smile held something that made people want to know his secret.

  “Hello?” Her mother waved a hand in front of her face. “Did you hear me? I asked how things were going with the professor.”

  “Oh.” Jane refocused, suddenly regretting ever mentioning her colleague from the math department. “We weren’t a match.” She’d been on a few dates with Hudson, but he’d gone on and on about the probabilities of them getting married someday and she finally had to tell him he had a zero percent chance of that happening.

  And anyway, why did she need a real man—with all his flaws—when she got to make up the perfect man in her books? Not that she could tell her mom that. A whole new set of worries came flooding back in. The looming book deadline was creeping ever closer and despite spending hours at the computer before she’d left California, she’d come up with nothing.

  Jane tried to let the whole Toby thing go with a sigh. Really, her mom was free to hire whomever she wanted. Mara was right. It had been years. The past shouldn’t matter anymore. She had bigger things to focus on. “Sorry.” She rubbed her forehead. “I have a huge headache. I should go lay down.” Or write a chapter. Two chapters maybe? “Let’s finish the tour after dinner.” She didn’t wait for an answer before trotting away.

  “But you haven’t seen the new reception hall yet!” her mother called.

  “Tonight,” she promised. “I think the drive wore me out.” The flight, the drive, the reunions.

  Jane hurried down the path that led to the cabins dotting the shoreline of the lake. She’d almost forgotten how beautiful this place was. That crystal-blue, glacier-fed lake against the backdrop of those carved mountain peaks demanded to be admired. It was the kind of setting she wrote about—wild and unfathomable. She’d almost forgotten how vibrant the colors were—the blue in the sky, the green on the mountainsides.

  “Janie! Oh my heavens, you’re home!” Louise practically jogged down the path to meet her. “Your mama told me you’d arrived, so I had to chase you down before you got too far.” The woman had been a part of their family since Jane was eight years old. She’d be nearing sixty now, but you’d never know it with Louise’s spirited energy. She’d always been able to do pretty much anything—cook, bake, and her standards for keeping things clean were unparalleled. She still didn’t look a day over forty with her lovely blond hair and bright welcoming smile.

  Jane hugged the woman tightly. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “You too, girlie.” She held Jane at arm’s length and seemed to make an appraisal. “You look thin. Have you been eating the cookies I sent?”

  “Every single one of them.” Jane couldn’t find cookies as good as Louise’s anywhere in California. “But I really miss your homemade lasagna and your broccoli cheese soup. Oh! And that amazing steak you marinate for three days.”

  Louise laughed. “Well, there’ll be plenty of time for all that, won’t there? When your mom told me you were staying so long, I almost couldn’t believe it.”

  “It’ll give us plenty of time to catch up.” Jane looked out at the mountains again, realizing how much she’d missed this place. How much she’d missed her mom, Louise, the lake.

  “Hi there, ladies.”

  Jane spun around. Toby had somehow snuck up on them from the parking lot.

  “Don’t worry. Your bags are all safe and sound on your porch.” He held out a key. “Only dropped your carry-on once.”

  Taking the key from his hand, Jane forced a laugh. He’d better be joking. “As long as it was only once.” Why did her voice sound so high and weird? There went her heart again too. Bumbling around in her chest. Good God. You’d think she’d never talked to a hot cowboy before.

  “Well, I have a dinner to prepare so I’ll leave you two alone.” Louise winked at her, though Jane wasn’t sure why.

  “Do you need help?” Jane started after her friend. “I can come with you.”

  “No.” Louise all but pushed her back toward Toby. “I’m sure you kids have a lot to catch up on. Come by and see me tomorrow.” She hurried away, not giving Jane an opportunity to argue.

  “I’m headed over to the café,” Toby said, clearly not picking up on her discomfort. “You want to come with me?”

  “I’m sorry, what?” He wanted her to go to the café with him? Like they were best friends or something? “Why would I want to go to the café with you?” She could give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he’d grown up some. She could even be distantly grateful that he’d been such a help to her mom, who looked more tired than usual. But that didn’t mean they had to be friends.

  “We’re supposed to meet Beth and Ethan for lunch,” Toby said. “Didn’t they tell you?”

  Beth hadn’t told her much about anything having to do with the wedding. Originally, Jane had written it off as her friend’s love for spontaneity, but now it had all started to make sense. “She said something about getting together but I never got the details.” Important details like the fact that Toby was going to be the best man.

  “Sounds like they want us to help them plan a wedding shower.” Toby didn’t seem to find it difficult to stare into her eyes. As a matter of principle Jane refused to look away from him even though she wanted to.

  “I need to settle in.” More accurately, she needed to escape. She’d built a quiet life for herself. This visit home was already more drama than she typically endured in an entire month. “Can you tell her I’ll catch up with her later?”

  “But you’re the maid of honor.” Toby’s smirk lit her fuse. “Isn’t planning stuff part of your job?”

  “I’m sure you can manage without me.” What experience did she have planning wedding events anyway? Though she couldn’t deny she did have a way with details. She suspected that’s why Beth had requested she come home three weeks before the actual wedding.

  “You know…” Toby looked thoughtful. “You’re probably right. I do have some good ideas for a party.”

  “Great.” Jane slipped past him. “Let me know what you guys come up with and I’ll help out however I can.”

  “I’m thinking we all go to that new brewery on Main Street. Get a keg. Have a cornhole tournament. We can order some chicken wings too.”

  Chicken wings and cornhole for a wedding shower? Jane stopped and turned back to him. She couldn’t walk away from that. “It’s a shower for the bride and the groom. Not a bachelor party.”

  With a coy grin still lighting his eyes, Toby shrugged as if to say, What’s the difference?

  Oh, this man. He knew she could never walk away from a fight. “Beth hates beer. And cornhole, for that matter.”

  “You have a better idea?” Toby asked too innocently.

  “As a matter of fact, yes. I have a better idea.” She walked back to face off with him like they’d done so often in high school. “Something elegant and classy for starters.”

  Amusement sparked in Toby’s eyes. “I’ll drive.” He pulled keys out of his pocket.

  “For the love of God, there should be wine. And flowers. Definitely music.” She marched past him, leading the way back to the parking lot.

  “Wine and flowers sound fine to me, as long as I get to wear my jeans.” Toby’s long stride carried him a few steps in front of her. Those sinful jeans, fitted and tattered, displaying one of the cowboy’s best attributes.

  Eyes straight ahead, she reminded herself.

  As long as she didn’t look at Toby’s butt in those jeans, she’d get through this just fine.

  Chapter Six

  Here, let
me get that for you.” Toby sprinted over before Jane could reach the passenger’s side door handle on the same Dodge Ram truck he’d driven in high school. At one time it had been a sleek navy blue, but the paint had faded and the dings and dents in the body made it look like the truck had been well used.

  A flashback hit the second she climbed into the passenger seat. She’d almost forgotten that she’d ridden in Toby’s truck once back in high school. It hadn’t been long after her father had passed away…a month maybe. Toby had seen her try and fail to start her dad’s old Jeep in the school parking lot about ten times. When she couldn’t get it to turn over, she’d rested her head on the steering wheel and started to sob for what felt like the millionth time since his funeral.

  She hadn’t known anyone had been watching her, but Toby had simply opened the door and reached in to take her hand, helping her out and then leading her to his truck. It still smelled the same as it had then—like grass and campfire and summer. They hadn’t talked the whole ride to her house. She had tried so hard to pull herself together, silently gagging back tears, inhaling deep, painful breaths and holding them so no more sobs would slip out.

  When Toby had pulled up in front of her house at the ranch, he’d looked over at her with sad eyes. “I’m really sorry,” he’d said quietly. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but things will get better. It takes a while. More than a while. But things get better.” She’d wanted to ask how he knew, but then he’d shocked her by laying his hand on her arm. Even though she’d known him since he’d moved to town in the third grade, Toby had never touched her before. It hadn’t been a romantic gesture—more of a show of solidarity, but the touch had made her body tingle with anticipation. It had been the first emotion other than grief she’d felt since the worst day of her life. That was when her silent, secret crush had officially started.

  And it had ended the day he’d stood in that hall gloating when he’d asked Aubrey to the winter formal, she reminded herself. After he’d kissed her that night, she’d had to protect herself from him. He’d been a player back then, and from the way he was acting now not much had changed. So there’d be no tingling. Not when it came to Toby. Maybe he’d done one nice thing for her back in high school, but there were plenty of other things he’d done that weren’t so nice. She’d focus on those instead. “You have the same truck,” she said when he scooted in next to her.