“Yeah.” Rafe chuckled. “Like someone just snatched your all-day sucker.”
“I’ll have you know that Lucy told Isabel I was sweet.”
“You are, and you were even back then, if you got your way. Lucy doesn’t know you like we do.”
He sighed. “I get the idea you think going to Seattle would be a mistake.”
“Huge mistake.” Jake’s expression softened. “Look, your heart’s in the right place, but you don’t even enjoy going into Great Falls. You won’t be much of an asset to Isabel or your kid if your jaw is clenched twenty-four-seven. And I think it would be.”
“You could be right. Listen, we’re making the horses wait for their dinner. Charley would tell us to feed first, jawbone later.”
Rafe nodded. “He would. Let’s get ’er done.”
An hour later, CJ picked up the to-go box from Kate in the dining hall kitchen. She’d taken to wearing a chef’s hat over her short blond curls. Cute.
She gave him a quick smile. “I’m sure you’ll get it worked out.”
“Have you talked to Rafe already?”
“No. I just assumed there’s an issue to be handled. Does Rafe know what it is?”
“Yes. Tell him I said he’s free to explain. I don’t care who knows. Maybe the Buckskin hive mind will come up with a solution.” He lifted the paper bag. “Thanks for this.” He tipped his hat. “I’m off.”
Chapter Eight
“I’m not surprised CJ’s ready to move to Seattle.” Lucy settled into one of the Adirondack chairs on the guest cabin’s front porch and put a leather satchel containing her pencils and sketchpad next to her. A pound of her favorite coffee sat on the table between the chairs. “He’s very tender-hearted.”
Isabel took the other chair. “You know him better than I do. The way he talked about Apple Grove and the Buckskin back in April, I thought nothing could make him leave. I was sure he’d see the logic of my plan.”
“This isn’t about logic, Iz.”
“Not anymore.” She exhaled and leaned against the slanted back of the chair. “Thanks for coming over.”
“Of course. I didn’t earlier because I thought you two would be getting cozy in the cabin.” She ran her fingers through her frosted hair. “Matt thought so, too, judging from CJ’s excitement about seeing you again.”
“Clearly he was counting on that. And here’s the sad part. His reaction to the pregnancy and his relationship with me is what every woman longs for. He’s all in, doesn’t want to miss a thing, wants to move on to some kind of commitment.” She turned her head to meet Lucy’s gaze. “You should have seen his face when he held Amy this afternoon. I melted.”
“He’ll make a great dad.”
“I know. That’s the hell of it. He won’t be happy with the kind of part-time gig the situation calls for. But I can’t encourage this Seattle plan. It would be a disaster.”
Lucy nodded. “Yep.”
“It’s a damned mess, Luce. I’ve always prided myself on making good choices, but—”
“Are you wishing you hadn’t spent the night with him?”
“No. We had a wonderful time and I’m not sorry about the baby. I had it all worked out. For the first few years, CJ and I would visit back and forth. When the kid’s older, he or she could spend more time at the ranch, maybe whole summers.”
“Nice picture.”
“It could be, but not if the man is Cornelius Jasper Andrews.”
“Excuse me?”
“Whoops. I should have asked him if—”
Lucy grinned. “Cornelius Jasper?”
“Yes, but it might be a secret.”
“I wonder if Matt knows.”
“You’d think he would, right?”
“If he does, he never mentioned it to me.”
“I’ll ask CJ if it’s common knowledge in the Brotherhood. For now, don’t say anything to Matt.”
“I won’t. But guys are funny, aren’t they? As Millie said during one of our girls’ night gab sessions, they divulge info on a need-to-know basis.”
“Which explains why he told me. I needed to know for the birth certificate.”
“Did he say where the name comes from?”
“Yes, but I’d better not—oh, look. Speak of the devil. Why is he—oh, right. Dinner.”
“You’re having dinner with him?”
“No, but he insisted on bringing me a meal from the dining hall. I spaced it. My mom warned me I might have pregnancy brain when the hormones kick in.”
“I’ve heard of that. But if your brain isn’t working right, the rest of you looks great. You’re glowing. My guess is that CJ’s Seattle plan is partly that he wants to be with you.”
“And I’d be fine with that, but he’s a cowboy through-and-through.” As his truck pulled in, eagerness to see him made her twitchy. “Asking him to live in a Seattle apartment would be like coaxing a creature of the forest into a cage.”
“Well, you have six days to hammer out some kind of compromise.” Lucy stood, picked up her leather satchel and the bag of coffee. “Thanks for this. You know how I love it.”
“You’re welcome.” She left her chair, too. “Are you leaving?”
“You know what they say. Three’s a crowd.”
“Hey, you don’t have to go.” With Lucy here, this inconvenient reaction to CJ could be papered over. “He’s just dropping off food. We—”
“Six days isn’t all that long, considering the magnitude of the problem. You two need time to evaluate all the possibilities.”
“No, we don’t. There aren’t that many possibilities and only one that makes sense.” If the agile way he swung down from the cab of his truck made her heart stutter, she did not need to be alone with the guy.
Lucy’s knowing smile was easy to interpret. “You do realize you’re nuts about him.”
“That’s irrelevant, Luce. We aren’t right for each other.”
“Matt believed the same thing about us. Time and circumstances proved him wrong.”
“Hang around for a few minutes. At least until he’s gone.”
“Isabel Marie Ricchetti! I never took you for a coward.”
“I blame the hormones.” She glanced in CJ’s direction. “Don’t leave me alone with him.”
“Iz, if you’re determined not to have sex