who is this Bart?”
“The oldest Calhoun,” Jett explained. “The father of Orin and grandfather to Orin’s five sons.”
“Aren’t there any women in the family?” Sassy asked.
Jett answered, “Bart’s wife, Gilda, died many years ago. Orin’s wife, Claudia, died about five or six years ago. And none of the sons are married. The only women around the place now are the cook and a couple of maids.”
“Thank God for the maids. At least there will be someone around that I can relate to,” Sassy said wryly, while thinking she might as well find what humor she could in the situation. Crying certainly wasn’t going to help.
A groove of amusement creased Jett’s cheek. “I told the Calhouns we’d be over tomorrow evening. After everyone has finished with dinner.”
“That late?” Her gaze went from Jett to Bella and back again. “Tomorrow is Saturday. Surely you two have plans for the weekend and—”
Before Sassy could go on, Bella interjected, “I’m driving over to Truckee to spend the day with our mother. She’s having some friends over for dinner. Jett is staying home and feeding the cows.”
Sassy turned a questioning look on Jett. “You’re staying here because of me?”
He shook his head. “That was my plan even before I knew you’d be flying in today. I love Mom, but her parties bore me to death. I’ll catch up with her later. Besides, I gave my ranch hand the day off tomorrow, so I have to be here to take up the slack.”
That meant she’d be spending the day alone with Jett. It wasn’t anything remotely close to how she’d planned to spend her first weekend here in Nevada. She’d envisioned herself having a leisurely morning, then viewing some of the local tourist sites. Now she no longer had a hotel or a rental car. Somehow she’d allowed this man to take over and make her entirely dependent on him. This behavior wasn’t like her. Not at all. And as soon as tomorrow was over, she was going to do something about getting herself back in control.
* * *
Later that evening Jett was in the barn, spreading alfalfa hay for the horses, when his cell phone rang. Checking the display, he shook his head. It wasn’t like Finn Calhoun to call this late. Being the manager of the ranch’s broodmare and stallion operation, Finn rarely had a spare moment for anything more than work. And at this time of the evening, when the mares were brought in to the barns, inspected and fed, Finn was always there to make sure each and every horse was in its best condition.
Stepping out of the horse stall, Jett used one hand to carefully lock the gate behind him. “Hey, Finn, what’s up? Anything wrong at the Silver Horn?”
“Not that I’m aware of. But you know how it is with me, Jett, I’m the last one around here to be told anything.” After a slight pause, he went on, “I was actually calling to ask if Sassy Matthews had arrived? You did say she’d be flying in today.”
Of the Calhoun bunch, Finn was the one who’d been a close friend of Barry Landers. Several years back, the two men had traveled the rodeo circuit together, with Barry riding saddle broncs and Finn roping steers. And even after Finn had retired from competition, the pair had remained friends. But Jett could tell that Finn’s interest in Sassy really had nothing to do with his late friend. It had everything to do with her looking like a Calhoun.
“Sassy did arrive,” Jett told him. “She’s staying here at the house with me and Bella.”
“Still planning to bring her over to the Silver Horn tomorrow evening?”
“That’s the time Orin and I agreed on. Why? Are you calling to put the meeting off?”
“Shoot, no! I’m excited to meet her. Now that you’ve seen her, what do you think? Does she look as much like me as she does in the picture?”
When Jett had first walked up to Sassy in the airport terminal, he’d initially been shocked by her resemblance to Finn. But after a moment, he forgot all about that
“The oldest Calhoun,” Jett explained. “The father of Orin and grandfather to Orin’s five sons.”
“Aren’t there any women in the family?” Sassy asked.
Jett answered, “Bart’s wife, Gilda, died many years ago. Orin’s wife, Claudia, died about five or six years ago. And none of the sons are married. The only women around the place now are the cook and a couple of maids.”
“Thank God for the maids. At least there will be someone around that I can relate to,” Sassy said wryly, while thinking she might as well find what humor she could in the situation. Crying certainly wasn’t going to help.
A groove of amusement creased Jett’s cheek. “I told the Calhouns we’d be over tomorrow evening. After everyone has finished with dinner.”
“That late?” Her gaze went from Jett to Bella and back again. “Tomorrow is Saturday. Surely you two have plans for the weekend and—”
Before Sassy could go on, Bella interjected, “I’m driving over to Truckee to spend the day with our mother. She’s having some friends over for dinner. Jett is staying home and feeding the cows.”
Sassy turned a questioning look on Jett. “You’re staying here because of me?”
He shook his head. “That was my plan even before I knew you’d be flying in today. I love Mom, but her parties bore me to death. I’ll catch up with her later. Besides, I gave my ranch hand the day off tomorrow, so I have to be here to take up the slack.”
That meant she’d be spending the day alone with Jett. It wasn’t anything remotely close to how she’d planned to spend her first weekend here in Nevada. She’d envisioned herself having a leisurely morning, then viewing some of the local tourist sites. Now she no longer had a hotel or a rental car. Somehow she’d allowed this man to take over and make her entirely dependent on him. This behavior wasn’t like her. Not at all. And as soon as tomorrow was over, she was going to do something about getting herself back in control.
* * *
Later that evening Jett was in the barn, spreading alfalfa hay for the horses, when his cell phone rang. Checking the display, he shook his head. It wasn’t like Finn Calhoun to call this late. Being the manager of the ranch’s broodmare and stallion operation, Finn rarely had a spare moment for anything more than work. And at this time of the evening, when the mares were brought in to the barns, inspected and fed, Finn was always there to make sure each and every horse was in its best condition.
Stepping out of the horse stall, Jett used one hand to carefully lock the gate behind him. “Hey, Finn, what’s up? Anything wrong at the Silver Horn?”
“Not that I’m aware of. But you know how it is with me, Jett, I’m the last one around here to be told anything.” After a slight pause, he went on, “I was actually calling to ask if Sassy Matthews had arrived? You did say she’d be flying in today.”
Of the Calhoun bunch, Finn was the one who’d been a close friend of Barry Landers. Several years back, the two men had traveled the rodeo circuit together, with Barry riding saddle broncs and Finn roping steers. And even after Finn had retired from competition, the pair had remained friends. But Jett could tell that Finn’s interest in Sassy really had nothing to do with his late friend. It had everything to do with her looking like a Calhoun.
“Sassy did arrive,” Jett told him. “She’s staying here at the house with me and Bella.”
“Still planning to bring her over to the Silver Horn tomorrow evening?”
“That’s the time Orin and I agreed on. Why? Are you calling to put the meeting off?”
“Shoot, no! I’m excited to meet her. Now that you’ve seen her, what do you think? Does she look as much like me as she does in the picture?”
When Jett had first walked up to Sassy in the airport terminal, he’d initially been shocked by her resemblance to Finn. But after a moment, he forgot all about that
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