Chapter Two
F rom the corner of his eye, Jason Price watched the woman who’d backed into him at the rodeo hustle out of the house toward the heavily-laden food table, with the lacy layers of her burgundy skirt swishing around her legs.
Her blonde hair waved over her shoulders and looked like liquid gold when the sunlight caught in the thick tresses.
Rosy apple cheeks, blueberry-blue eyes, and a sweet smile were enough to make a man pause to study her, but she was strikingly beautiful.
It had been a long, long while since a woman had caught Jason’s interest enough to give her not only a second but a third glance. Jason wasn’t one given to superficial thoughts or feelings, but something about the photographer had kindled a yearning in him to know her better.
Before he could stop himself, he placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Shaun, be a good kid and go find your ancient father a glass of tea or lemonade.”
“Ancient, is it?” Shaun asked with a quirked eyebrow. “Wasn’t it just this morning you won our bet of doing more sit-ups than me?”
Jason shrugged. “I think you let me win.”
“No way, Dad. You earned the win, even though you didn’t have Cooper and Billy tormenting you with each sit-up.
It’s slightly distracting to have someone poking a feather in your ear while someone else bumps a remote-controlled car into your side the whole time,” Shaun said and then grinned wickedly.
“Which reminds me, I owe those two clowns a little payback later. I’ll get you that drink, Dad, but don’t get any ideas about me waiting on you hand and foot all evening. ”
“I would never,” Jason said, feigning affront before giving Shaun a nudge toward the beverage table. As soon as his son was out of earshot, Jason stepped closer to Andrew and lowered his voice. “Who is that woman? The blonde in the burgundy dress.”
Andrew looked toward the house just as the intriguing female returned inside with a camera bouncing against her back.
“Who? The photographer?” Andrew offered Jason a speculative glance. “Is that who you’re asking about?”
Jason nodded. “Yep. Who is she? What’s she doing here?”
“She’s doing a coffee table book about women of the West, and Ma is one of her chosen subjects.
When she found out about Ma being the grand marshal, she arranged to be here for the parade to take photos.
She’s been staying at the house for a week, but she’s leaving in the morning for her next photo shoot. ”
“And her name?” Jason asked, feeling slightly irritated and frustrated for no sane reason. A few completely irrational thoughts about why he didn’t want to think about the photographer leaving popped around in his mind, though.
“Lainey Collins. She’s nice, and good at what she does. Ma gave her an official stamp of approval, which you know isn’t something to be taken lightly.”
Liz Charles was a tough and strong woman because life had left her little other choice. Jason knew her to be a good judge of character, so if she thought Lainey Collins was worth knowing, then perhaps his interest in the photographer wasn’t completely misplaced.
Then again, he’d be pulling out tomorrow for the next rodeo and would likely never see her again. It was foolhardy to give her more than a passing thought.
When Lainey bent over and said something to two of Liz’s great-granddaughters, making the little girls giggle, Jason decided perhaps one evening of throwing caution to the wind wouldn’t hurt anything.
He could at least have a conversation with the woman.
He’d honed the gift of gab in the years he’d worked as a pickup man for the Rockin’ K Rodeo Company.
It used to be headquartered in Arizona, which was how he knew Liz Charles and her family, but then Frank Kressley and his son Kash had decided to move to Twin Falls, Idaho, where they’d been able to expand their operation.
Cooper James was a rodeo barrelman extraordinaire who worked for the Rockin’ K, and Billy Clark was one of the bullfighters who also worked for the Kressley family.
The two men were full of teasing shenanigans, and Shaun had happened to be on the receiving end of their pranks this morning.
Jason hadn’t taken a head count recently of how many were on the stock company payroll, but there were generally two to three dozen at any given time, including himself and Shaun.
Back before Shaun had joined him as part of the Rockin’ K crew, Jason and his brother, Galen, had worked as partners doing pickup work.
Shaun had been riding broncs and had gotten hurt one too many times.
When he had been searching for a new career, Galen had announced his interest in retiring from the rodeo and returning to the ranch they co-owned in Baker City with their aging father, Mike, who still liked to get out and rope and ride from time to time.
While Jason was grateful to work with Shaun and have a lot of time to spend with his only son, there were times, like this evening, when it would have been nice not to feel like he had to be covert when it came to his attraction to a woman.
Not that Shaun would care.
In fact, if he knew Jason held even a smidgen of interest in Miss Lainey Collins, Shaun would talk the woman into spending the evening with them and do everything he could to push Jason toward her.
After Judy, Jason’s wife, had died, something in him had been buried right alongside her. He had no interest in ever marrying again. Even if he wanted to date, he kept so busy that he rarely had time.
But once in a blue moon, he recalled how nice it was to be around a sweet-smelling, tenderhearted woman, and he missed the closeness he had shared with Judy.
When that happened, he would end up asking someone out, go on a date that he didn’t particularly enjoy, and recall all the reasons he preferred to remain single.
However, it appeared the moon was fixing to turn blue, at least in Jason’s immediate forecast.
“Know anything about her? Mrs. Collins?” Jason asked, trying to keep his tone conversational instead of prying.
“It’s Miss Collins. She’s not married.” Andrew gave Jason an observant study. “In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve not once seen you show even a speck of interest in a woman, other than a normal reaction to those who are especially pretty. What’s going on?”
Jason shrugged, attempting to feign indifference. “Nothing. She backed into me at the rodeo when she was taking photos of your mom in the carriage, that’s all. I just wondered who she was and what she was doing here.”
“Sure. If you say so.” Andrew smirked and then thumped him on the shoulder in a knowing manner that irked Jason.
“From what I’ve learned the past week, she doesn’t have a husband or kids, travels a lot, and has no interest in finding a man and setting down roots.
She says dating is a waste of her time and pities the poor fool who wants to go out with her because it will wind up going nowhere.
Come to think of it, her sentiments toward dating sound like the theories of someone else I know. ”
Jason scowled at his friend, and Andrew laughed.
Shaun returned with a glass of iced tea and a bottle of soda. He gave the glass to Jason, then opened the cap of the sugary drink and took a long swig. “So, Dad, see something you like?”
When Jason glowered at him, Shaun tipped his bottle toward Lainey as she posed Liz and her daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters, right down to a baby who was just three weeks old, for a five-generation photograph.
“She’s pretty, Dad. Quite a looker. I don’t think you stand a chance, old man,” Shaun observed, then ducked when Jason took a playful swat at him. “And that’s my cue to go find someone else to torment.”
Jason watched Shaun saunter over to where some of the other Rockin’ K crew were gathered before he shifted so he could watch Lainey work. She smiled and seemed to put everyone at ease as she positioned each person before she stepped back to take the photo.
“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to just talk to her, would it?” Andrew asked, then hurried off when one of his sons asked him to help get all the meat they’d grilled ready to serve.
By the time Liz’s pastor asked a blessing on the meal and a line formed at the food table, Jason had talked himself into and out of speaking to Lainey a dozen times.
He sat between Shaun and Kash Kressley as they ate, but was acutely aware of Lainey as she sat next to Andrew’s wife and across the table from the man’s sister.
Jason enjoyed watching Lainey far more than he should have.
She moved with grace, her motions unhurried, and she seemed to be a person who was easy to laugh and quick to smile.
Admittedly, the woman was gorgeous and not hard on the eyes at all.
Jason felt a bump against his arm and looked over as Shaun set a plate of dessert in front of him.
“You’ve been ogling the photographer so much, you’re gonna miss out on dessert, unless …” Shaun let his words trail off.
His implication that Jason was considering Lainey as dessert only served to annoy him.
He might have gotten up and gone for a walk to cool off if the plate of sweets Shaun had brought to him hadn’t looked so tempting.
A sliver of chocolate cake, a small piece of blueberry pie with homemade vanilla ice cream, and a scoop of something that looked like pudding topped with strawberries and whipped cream all beckoned to him.
Jason ate the chocolate cake, savored the pie with ice cream, then tentatively dug his spoon into the strawberry-topped dessert. It might not look like much on his plate, but it tasted amazing. He quickly spooned another bite.
Shaun bumped against him again. “I knew you’d like that one. Cooper said it’s a lemon strawberry something or other, but it tastes really good. I heard a rumor that the photographer made it.”