looked up to see Jake, whose frown made deep lines between his gray eyes. In an instant, he revealed the matched set of deep dimples she remembered so well that bracketed his smile. It was that smile and the look in his eyes that could turn her inside out.
She dipped her head to avoid him. She’d known him since she was almost six years old. They’d grown up together. He’d spent summers at his uncle’s ranch, and she and her brothers had become friends with him. He’d been tall and thin, a bit gangly and a little on the quiet side. She’d found a hundred ways to make his life hell because of it, and he’d done the same to her.
But the Jake Canfield standing by her now was far from a thin, quiet boy. The image of him in the pond had been burned into her memory as permanently as another memory of him. If she’d known it was him she was watching from the tall grass... She shook her head. She should have known, instead of convincing herself she’d dreamed that he’d spoken to her.
“Right, Erin?”
Lost in thought, she glanced up at him. “Hmm?”
“We were just talking about what a scrawny, ornery tomboy you were when we were growing up.”
“No more scrawny than you,” she said, but her reply lacked the bite it needed. She had to be careful. If she let him, he would tear her heart out. Again.
But when she saw his steel-colored gaze moving over her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking about, she resolved not to let him break her a second time. Still, it didn’t stop the flip-flopping of her heart.
Dusty and Morgan joined them, taking the seats on either side of their wives, and Erin decided it was time to escape. “I think I’ll get a snack. Anybody else want something?”
As she started to push her chair back, she felt Jake’s hands on the back of it. “A snack sounds good. I’ll go with you.”
“Oh, that’s all right,” she said, standing. “Just tell me what you want, and I’ll get it.”
His eyebrows shot up, accompanied by a killer smile. “No, that’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Not seeing a graceful way out of it, she nodded. But as soon as they were out of earshot of their friends, she stopped and turned to him. “Are you following me?”
“Could be,” he answered, that devilish smile of his reappearing.
“Well, don’t.”
When she started to walk away, he took her arm and stopped her. “If you’d give me a minute—”
The quick skip of her heart set off warning bells, and her old habits came back. “I think you’ve had more than a minute with me before.” She felt her face grow hot with embarrassment and ducked her head, hoping he didn’t notice.
“Can we put the past behind us?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Hesitating for a moment, unsure of how to answer, she nodded, took a deep breath and looked up. Keep it friendly, she told herself. Pretend none of it happened. “How is the ranching business, Jake?”
“Good. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
“Yeah?” She gathered her strength and asked, “Why are you here? You said you weren’t coming back. That’s what you told me—”
His expression revealed nothing. “I didn’t plan to, but Uncle Carl died and left me his ranch.”
“Lucky you. Not so lucky for me.”
He frowned. “I should’ve known that’s how you’d feel.”
The last words he’d said to her, almost eighteen years before, echoed in her mind. “You made your choice.”
“I didn’t—” He blew out a breath and glanced away. “I had other plans. You knew that.”
It hurt, and she didn’t want it to. “Not until you told me you were leaving. Not until after we—”
“Erin, it was a long time ago. We were young.”
He might as well have stuck a knife in her. “Right. I’d forgotten.” She hadn’t but wished she could. “Is this what you wanted to talk to me about? Because if it is—”
“No, it isn’t. I wanted to talk to you about ranch business.” He hesitated and then asked, “How much do you know about cutting horses?”
Taken off guard, she stared at him. “As much if not more than you do. I can rope with the best cowboys around, too. Why?”
Clearing his throat, he glanced around the tavern, then back at her. “I’m looking for somebody to fill an opening at the ranch.”
She peered at him through narrowed eyes. “Like who?”
He didn’t bother to beat around the bush. “Like you.”
Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him. “Me?”
He shrugged. “If you’re as good as I suspect you are, yes. I’d like to hire you.”
She didn’t want to believe him. Work for Jake? Impossible. “Have you suffered some kind of head injury?”
He smiled. “Not recently.”
She laughed. “You must be hard up to be offering me a job. If that’s what you’re doing.”
“It’s exactly what I’m doing.”
She shook her head. “I’m not interested.”
She moved away but not far enough to keep from hearing his reply. “Maybe you should think about it.”
“Nothing to think about,” she answered over her shoulder.
“If you change your mind—”
That stopped her. She took a deep breath and blew it out. Emotions tumbled through her. She needed a job. Money would allow her to get back to barrel racing, where she belonged. But working for Jake? She couldn’t.
The last person she wanted to be beholden to—no matter how broke she was, and she was pretty darned broke—was Jake Canfield. Turning to face him, she answered. “Thanks, but—” she broadened her smile and tried for indifference “—I have other plans.”
Jake watched Erin cross the room, a swing in her hips that now had womanly curves. But she was the same Erin. Sassy and headstrong. And she knew horses and cattle. He could use her talents at the ranch, but he’d offered and she’d refused. Why had he even thought she might be interested?
He returned to the table with the others but kept Erin in sight in spite of knowing he shouldn’t. Taking his seat, he folded his arms on the table, wondering what he should do next. She obviously considered him the enemy. Too bad he couldn’t say the same about her.
