right. Thanks.” Jack’s tone was businesslike.
“I’ll just get off him and he’s all yours.”
“That’s fine.” Jack’s dark gaze gave nothing away as he turned to help his mother off her horse.
Looping her purse strap over her shoulder, Morgan prepared to dismount. Whew, the ground was really far away.
Gabe had shortened the stirrups for her, which had helped while she was riding, but now that she had to get off, she had a longer drop to the ground. She managed as best she could, but sure enough, her shirt popped open again.
Once she got back to town, she’d detour past her house—a block off Main Street—and change out of this blasted shirt. She wasn’t about to struggle with it for the rest of the day.
As she tried to refasten it quickly, Jack appeared at her elbow. “Just so you know, no part of the Last Chance is for sale. And I mean no part, not even the acreage closest to the road.”
Her fingers still gripping the two parts of the snap, Morgan looked up. “I have no designs on your ranch,” she said. “I realize you’ve been plagued by real estate agents eager to make a buck, but that’s not me.”
His expression didn’t soften. “I’m hoping that’s true. But it is your job to sell property, so logically the ranch would look like an opportunity.”
“Perhaps, but I have no plans in that direction.”
Jack’s gaze flicked to the other side of the field where Gabe was talking to the owners of the riding stable. “Just so you know, getting chummy with one of the Chance boys won’t make any difference.”
“I beg your pardon?” The combination of Irish temper and Italian fire was starting to create a burning sensation in her gut.
“Shoshone’s a small town, and ‘most everyone knows that Gabe prefers a certain … physical attribute in a woman.”
“Oh?” As Morgan held her shirt together, flames of fury danced through her system.
“I’d hate to think that you were using that weakness of Gabe’s to your advantage.”
The fury erupted. “Are we talking about my breasts, Mr. Chance?”
He had the decency to flush. “I’m just worried about—”
“Well, don’t trouble yourself for another second! I realize this is a difficult time for your family, and because I respect all that the Chance legacy stands for in this town, I won’t tell you exactly what I think of your crude insinuations.”
“Listen, I—”
“No, you listen.” Her voice quivered with rage. “Gabe did me a favor so that I could ride in the parade, and I’m extremely grateful. Please let him know how much that means to me.”
Jack looked a little disoriented, as if the conversation had taken a turn he hadn’t been prepared for. “Uh, you can tell him yourself when he comes back.”
“I’m afraid I can’t. My breasts and I don’t want to cause either you or your family greater distress, so we’re leaving.” Ah, the pleasure of turning on her heel and striding away. She had to hold her shirt together because she still hadn’t managed to fasten the snap, but even so, it was a most excellent exit.
TALKING WITH the cowboy from the riding stable took longer than Gabe had anticipated, but finally he headed back over toward the Last Chance trailer to find Morgan. The watermelon-eating contest was scheduled to start in thirty minutes, and he had a feeling she’d want to take part. After that would come the sack race, if the activities followed the traditional schedule, and then the hot-dog roast.
Gabe had been a teenager when he’d last taken part in Shoshone’s Fourth of July celebration, and he discovered to his surprise that he was looking forward to the day’s events once again. Morgan had a lot to do with that. Her excitement was catching. He wanted to spend the day with her and experience Shoshone through her eyes.
Jack was loading his black-and-white paint Bandit into the trailer, and everyone else seemed to have left. Gabe didn’t see Morgan anywhere. He hadn’t specifically asked her to wait for him, but he’d thought she would. Taking off without saying a word didn’t seem like something she’d do. True, he didn’t know her all that well, but he had a tough time imagining her being so rude.
Walking to the back of the trailer, Gabe asked Jack if he’d seen Morgan.
“Yeah.” Jack closed up the trailer and turned to Gabe. “She said to tell you she appreciated what you’d done for her.”
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much.”
Something was going on. Gabe could feel it, even though Jack was very good at hiding his emotions. “So, she didn’t mention where she’d be after this, didn’t ask me to meet her somewhere in town?”
“Nope.”
“Maybe she left her cell number.”
“Nope.”
“Damn it, Jack, this smells fishy. She’s not the kind of person to leave a message and walk off. I loaned her my horse.”
“Not the wisest move you’ve ever made.”
Gabe went on alert. “You said something to her, didn’t you?”
“I told her we’re not selling any part of the Last Chance, if that’s what you mean.”
“Yeah, well, she knows that, and she’s not interested, anyway.” Gabe didn’t believe for a minute that was the sum total of their conversation. “What else did you say to her?”
Jack blew out a breath. “Look, I realize she’s exactly the kind of woman you go for, but—”
“Because she’s stacked.”
“Well, yeah. And don’t tell me she isn’t out to capitalize on that. All you have to do is look at her shirt.”
“The company that stitched it sent her the wrong size.”
“So she says.”
“You’re calling her a liar?” Gabe stared at his brother in disbelief. “What in hell gives you the right to pass that kind of judgment on a person you don’t even know?”
“Common sense! The Last Chance is a real estate goldmine. She’s in real estate. Do you really believe she wouldn’t like to have a piece of the action?”
“There’s no action to have a piece of!”
“She might figure getting horizontal with you could change that.”
Gabe pointed a finger at him. “You accused her of having ulterior motives, didn’t you?”
Jack shrugged. “I only suggested that—”
“You
