Chapter 5
5
I t might have taken a solid two by four to the head for Jake to come to his senses, but now that he had, moving forward would be that much easier. And potentially fun and life altering in all the right ways.
What a night. Score one for spontaneity. Although he was absolutely making a plan of attack going forward.
Jake hurried back to his apartment and removed his winter wear even as his brain tumbled together memories and the itch to accomplish new tasks.
First, there was an important matter he needed to deal with. Tansy had been more right than she’d ever know—God, he could not believe how hard it was to admit that even to himself.
He needed to deal with the letters that made his brain go into a spiral every time he saw them.
Which was often, because ever since the first one had arrived from his ex-wife, he hadn’t known what to do with them. Which meant he tucked them into the back of his journal and for the past three years, any time he had a moment to pause, they kicked his butt all over again.
Melissa would be thrilled to find out exactly how much she’d continued to mess with his brain.
No, that was unkind. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Truth was, she’d always been good at the card thing. Christmas cards, birthday cards. Even after they’d split up, she’d sent them at regular intervals.
But three years ago, when Declan’s wife had died, Melissa had sent an extra card, asking if he’d pass on her condolences to his brother. The entirety of the correspondence had been thoughtful. More than simply Thinking about you. Hope you’re doing okay.
Considerate good wishes. No one could complain about that, now, could they? So he’d responded.
It meant the next time a letter arrived from Melissa, he’d been a little more willing to open it, and when she started including little tidbits about where she was and what was going on in her life, it didn’t seem that strange.
He figured some people stalked their exes on social media and the rest of it. He never had, deliberately. But there was something about getting an actual letter he found impossible to simply throw away.
Every reminder of Melissa he had made him uncomfortable now that he’d begun to have feelings for Tansy.
Straight up, daydreaming about getting down and dirty with Tansy while he carried letters around from Melissa made him feel as if he were somehow cheating. Which was nonsense but still true.
Enough. He was finally ready to do the turn a new page part of the new year—almost three weeks too late, but so be it.
Jake pulled all of the cards and envelopes from the back of his journals. He still couldn’t toss them, but he could at least put them out of sight and hopefully out of mind. He assembled them in one big stack, bundled them up with an elastic band, then looked around for a good place to stash them.
Somewhere he wouldn’t spot too often. Wouldn’t accidentally fall back into thinking about the woman who didn’t really want him but didn’t seem to want to let him go either.
In the end, he shoved the pile to the back of his closet, tucked against the wall behind a pair of dress shoes that he only ever wore to funerals or job interviews. Neither of which he hoped to be doing anytime soon.
Satisfied, he headed to bed, savouring what had been an amazing evening and a spectacular kiss if he did say so himself.
The idea of being able to fluster Tansy made him more than a little pleased.
The entire evening had made him happy, and he couldn’t deny the whys of that. The Fields family had something special. Not only the connection between the siblings, but there was a real kindness to them at heart. He’d noticed the glances tossed between him and Tansy, but it hadn’t been judgmental. More in the lines of if you’re interested in our Tansy, are you going to treat her right ?
On one level it made him slightly uncomfortable to admit exactly how attractive he found Tansy. But there was no reason for the discomfort. She was a beautiful woman with a good head on her shoulders, and even if she’d didn’t do everything the way that he would, she wasn’t wrong.
He’d been fighting his attraction and his desires, and while Kevin would have a heyday if he knew everything, Jake was self-aware enough to be able to self-diagnose part of it.
Melissa had done a number on him. While they’d been young and gotten out of the marriage nearly as quickly as they got into it, Jake hadn’t really trusted another woman since then.
Trust. Such a little word for such a huge, gigantic, world-altering emotion.
Jake rolled over, the lethargy in his limbs as sleep beckoned closer tangling his thoughts, and yet nearly asleep, his understanding of the big picture seemed clearer. Melissa wasn’t the only one who’d broken his trust. His partner on the police force, Sean, had turned out equally deceptive in an entirely different way. Jake had left the RCMP when it was discovered Sean was accepting bribes on the side.
Sean had tried to put the blame on Jake but hadn’t succeeded. Still, it was the sort of thing that left a terrible taste in a man’s mouth and a chip on his shoulder.
Yet none of those details mattered because both of them were out of his life. Now that the letters were tucked away, hopefully neither Melissa nor Sean could influence Jake’s thoughts and he could focus on the here and now.
Focus on what it was he wanted in his world, which meant he needed to make a new list in the morning.
He wouldn’t apologize for using his planning skills to try and make good things happen. Like convincing Tansy that while they were oil and water in some ways…
No, oil and vinegar . The vinegar was him—a little too sharp, a little too astringent and determined. But combined together the two of them could be delicious on many levels.
He fell asleep amused at trying to woo the woman with food metaphors.
A brisk pounding on his door woke him half an hour before his alarm was supposed to go off at five A.M.. He leapt out of bed, grabbing jeans off the hook on the wall even as he stomped to the door.
When he unlocked it, Declan poked his head in. “We’ve got a ranch hand arriving sometime in the next half hour. You good to help me get him settled?”
“Hell, yeah. Where are we meeting?”
“Main house. I figured chances are he’ll be hungry, and Tansy’s already awake, getting set up for this evening.”
A momentary flash of concern struck. Jake was glad their first official ranch hand had arrived, but this weekend wasn’t the easiest time to slip in someone without being noticed. “You ready to make a judgment call on whether he’s out and about this weekend or staying low?”
“I’ve got it,” Declan confirmed with a nod. “I’m headed to the house.”
It took under ten minutes before Jake was scrubbed up, teeth brushed, and dressed in his ranching best. Worn blue jeans, an old soft flannel pulled over a plain blue T-shirt, finished with his favourite pair of boots, ones that he’d had for so long his feet slipped into them like a handshake with old friends.
Which meant when he made it to the house he was physically as comfortable as possible. It was all on the mental side that he felt shaky.
But inside the ranch house was warm and homey. Tansy spoke quietly with Declan, never stopping her work as she held an enormous bowl braced on her hip with her left hand and beat batter with the spoon in her right.
Declan offered a chin lift as Jake strode forward. “He’s the one who can answer that question,” he informed Tansy.
She glanced at him, the faintest hint of pink on her cheeks as she offered a smile. “Morning, Sunshine. I wanted to know which room you’re putting the new ranch hand in. I put together a box of snacks for him so he doesn’t feel as if he has to come into the house or the common room right away.”
“That’s a nice idea,” Jake said, nodding his head. “I put him in room two. With Kevin in number four, it spaces them out a bit until we have other arrivals.”
“Sounds good. I have a couple more things I want to tuck in the box, and I can do that as soon as I’ve got these cupcakes in the oven.”
“We can take the box with us when we show him the room,” Declan offered.
“Perfect. Now excuse me, I need to finish my arm exercises for the morning.” Tansy turned her back to focus on expertly pouring from the enormous bowl into prepared tins lined with rows and rows of paper muffin cups.
Declan filled a cup of coffee and offered it to Jake. “Our guest hopes to stay less than a month. He gave some information to the authorities that put him in trouble with past employers. He’s got somewhere to go out on the East Coast as soon as he can get in touch with them.”
Past employers was code word for gangs or other criminal operation.
Jake focused on the short-term part. Well, it was where they thought they’d start. “He have a name?”
“He’s going by Chris. For our purposes, Chris Smith.”
Behind them at the counter, Tansy snorted. “Sorry. Just realized there’s going to be a whole lot of that around here. Smith and Choi and Turner and Singh. Such imaginative names.”
“This from the woman whose last name is Fields ?” Jake teased.
This time she outright snickered, still working away.
Declan frowned momentarily at Jake, confusion in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything as they headed to the table to finalize plans.
Yeah. His poke at Tansy had come out a whole lot more friendly than most of his interactions with her over the past days. Weeks.
Hell, he’d been an ass for nearly as long as they’d been in Heart Falls. After the bullshit he’d handed her, it was a wonder that she talked to him at all, let alone invited him to her family’s for dinner.
Or let him kiss her.
Jake sat with Declan and hashed out details until a knock on the door sent them both rushing to their feet.
But while he concentrated hard on the man entering the house, his eyes dark with worry and evidence of sleepless nights on his face, Jake didn’t forget about the beautiful blonde woman moving silently in the background.
His plan wasn’t quite complete, but he had a few good ideas of where to start.
With a million tasks to juggle mentally, Tansy had to pay attention to the job at hand. The group of six and their instructor taking over the art studio would arrive after six, so she’d planned a snack-type dinner for Friday night. But all day Saturday, and Sunday until noon, she was responsible for feeding them plus the regular High Water crew.
Thank goodness everyone involved at High Water had understood the need for serving food family style. Buffet at the counter, continental-type grab-it-yourself breakfasts. Trying to do plated dinners would take more time and hands than Tansy possessed.
Working quickly and steadily, her current curiosity had to be satisfied with listening hard and some quick glances back at the table where the new ranch hand sat nodding seriously as Declan explained the rules.
Chris looked pretty ordinary, which was a good thing, she supposed. It wasn’t as if everybody who was hiding from the authorities or the bad guys out there should have signs on their foreheads announcing what they’d been up to.
She knew that getting to put the past behind them was vitally important.
She brought toasted bagels already smeared with cream cheese to the table, with muffins and egg bites stacked high on the plate. “I’ll make you a real breakfast in a minute, but this should take the edge off.”
Declan nodded seriously as Chris scrambled to his feet, dipping his head in Tansy’s direction. “This is Tansy. She’s part of the family, and if there’s anything you need food-wise, you need to let her know.”
Chris took a quick glance over her before fixing his gaze firmly on his hands. “Nothing special. But I am hungry, so thank you.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Tansy said it simply but honestly before meeting Declan’s gaze. “I’m frying up some eggs for Chris. Do you two want breakfast now or later?”
“I’ll grab something later,” Jake said. “Can I help with anything?”
She held back the snappy remark about how helpful he was suddenly being after kissing her stupid. “I’ll have food to carry to the studio later in the day. If someone shows up to help, that will save me from having to make multiple trips.”
“I’ll make sure it happens,” Jake promised.
Declan offered his brother an odd stare for a moment before continuing to talk to Chris. “We have paying guests in the art studio this weekend. There are some animal chores you could help with while you’re here at the ranch, but we’ll also need a hand washing dishes and doing other household chores.”
“Dishes, push broom. I’ll do whatever. I’m thankful for the place to stay. I should hear from my brother soon, though, so I won’t be a burden for long,” Chris promised.
“You’re not a burden,” Jake assured him. “Let that go and get your feet under you.”
Tansy was back at the stove, making breakfast for Chris and beginning to work on the fruit platters she’d need for the late-night snack.
“Just so we’re clear, Tansy, my brother’s fiancée, Petra, and my ward, Jinx, all live on the ranch. The ladies are all family and are to be treated with respect.” Declan’s tone of voice remained matter of fact but brutally firm.
“Got a sister myself who I’d want to be treated properly,” Chris returned. “They’ll get no trouble from me.”
The smallest bit of tension that had hovered at the back of Tansy’s mind eased. Of course, the man could be lying, but the fact he responded quickly meant she’d only sleep with one eye open.
She fell into the rhythm of preparing food for the family as well as what was necessary for the weekend. She dropped a plate of food in front of Chris, was thanked profusely, then went back to her tasks, satisfied at having done something simple but meaningful.
Maybe twenty minutes later, she whirled, blinking in surprise when she found Jake waiting patiently in front of her. “Whoa. Didn’t see you there.”
He grinned. “Next time, should I warn you? Then you can get the eggshells ready.”
Tansy stuck out her tongue.
His smile shifted to something far more needy as he stared at her mouth. The kind of look a man gives a woman when they’re interested in getting down and dirty. Which…
The temptation to lick her lips was so great.
His gaze snapped back to hers, and the moment passed. “We’ll get Chris settled, then work some chores. I expect the man will take a few days to get caught up on his sleep. I think he’s been awake twenty-four seven for nearly a week to keep ahead of trouble.”
“Poor guy. I’ll make sure there’s always a plate of leftovers in the fridge he can warm if he misses a meal.”
“Nice. I’ll let him know.” Jake hesitated for a moment then nodded firmly. “After this weekend, you’ll need a break.”
“After this weekend, I’m going to celebrate,” Tansy informed him.
“I can see why. Let’s plan on celebrating.” He spoke fast enough he had to have preplanned his next suggestion. “You’re off on Monday. How about we head into Diamond Valley and hit that Korean restaurant you were telling Petra about?”
“That’s playing dirty,” Tansy said even as she smiled. “Enticing the cook with the restaurant she wants to go check out? How could I possibly say no?”
“You obviously can’t,” he agreed.
The rice cooker beeped at that moment, and Tansy turned to deal with it. When she looked up again, Jake was gone. Which was fine since she had a ton to do.
Still, having something to look forward to on Monday was a great idea. She’d find out what time Petra wanted to go—Aiden would be ready whenever they told him to be. Jinx usually went home with Sasha on Monday nights to study and to hang out. They could pick her up on the way home from dinner. Declan was the only unknown—he seemed to disappear at times, and Tansy had no idea where he went. Plus, he might want to stick around with Chris for the time being.
Unsolved mysteries would have to wait—she had work to do.
The day passed in a blur. Tansy laid out sandwich fixings on the counter at lunch—chicken salad and thick beef slices from the enormous roast earlier in the week—plus a huge pot of lentil soup. She’d baked buns first thing, so that part was simple.
She loaded trays with the food for the studio on the dining room table. As promised, around four o’clock, Jake showed up with Kevin and Aiden in tow to help her carry them.
Kevin sniffed appreciatively as he accepted the oversized box she pressed into his arms. “It smells amazing in here.”
“Nothing fancy,” Tansy insisted. “I went super easy for family supper tonight and made pans of lasagna with garlic bread and a Caesar salad. If you guys can all be in here by five, though, that would help. I want to be out in the studio when everyone arrives to go over the details with them.”
“We’ll be here,” Jake promised. “I’ll let the others know.”
Out in the studio, she tucked the cold food into the fridge and the hot into the ovens, satisfaction welling up at the sight of so much tastiness created by her own hands. All ready to be laid out in their chafing dishes or set out on the tiered serving stands.
She hurried back to the house and found the table already set for eight. Jinx and Jake were at the counter, prepping iced tea and water in the pitchers they used for the family setting. Dixie was curled up in her dog bed at the side of the couch, chin resting on her paws, but her gaze open enough to keep an eye on Jinx.
“This is a nice surprise,” Tansy said.
Jinx made a face. “The fact you sound so shocked means Jake was right—I’m sorry. I should have been helping you more over the past couple of weeks with the simple things I can do.”
Tansy paused. “You’re okay. You’re not here every night. And you have homework and stuff.”
“I do. But I also need to help. The days I’m home, you need to let me know if it’s plates or bowls, but I’ll make sure the table is set.” Jinx nodded firmly then all but pushed Tansy toward the oven. “You have the important job of getting that lasagna out because it smells so good I’m drooling.”
“Yes, ma’am. But thank you. One thing off my to-do list.” Tansy slipped on oven mitts, pausing to hip check Jake who had studiously stayed out of the conversation by staring at the pitcher as it filled. “Thank you, as well,” she offered quietly. “I appreciate that you noticed something that will make my job simpler.”
He shrugged. “You’re working hard, and with the retreat house starting up and ranch hands arriving, your job just got bigger. We need to make it easier where we can.”
She wasn’t about to argue. She put the piping hot lasagna on the table, then while Jinx transferred the two loaves of savoury garlic bread from their foil wrappers to serving bowls, Tansy tossed the salad one last time.
Minutes later when she sat at the head of the table, staring down the row at seven very appreciative dinner companions, Tansy worked hard to keep from bouncing in her chair.
So far, working for High Water had been everything she’d hoped for.
Let’s hope nothing goes wrong.
God, she hated that little voice of doom. It always showed up at the most inconvenient and unwelcome moments. As her sister Rose had told her time and time again—she needed to shove that voice off a bridge.
Go away, melancholy. I have a home here and I’m valuable.
Then she mentally stuck her tongue out at the thoughts from the past that said when things were going well, that’s when everything would go wrong. Those terrible days were in the past. The far, far distant past, and gloomy thoughts had no place messing with her here and now.
She scooped up a hearty serving of her own cooking and dove in.