Page 29 of One Lucky Cowboy

“Maybe not in the same way. But you don’t think your family hurts, knowing their legacy wasn’t good enough for you?”

“They want me to be happy, that’s all.” Which wasn’t entirely true, but she couldn’t go there, not when the wound of their disappointment was so fresh.

Jax took a step closer to her. Only then did Jill realize the pine slats of the corral fencing trapped her from escaping. This close, she could smell the hint of sweat mixed with hay and something floral on Jax. It wasn’t altogether unpleasant, but it still snaked its way into her senses. She swallowed back an unwelcome wave of desire.

“Are you?” he asked. Her brows furrowed in confusion, and he continued. “Happy? And not just with your job, but the rest of your life, too?”

She nodded, but the rest of her limbs froze as she recalled the texts from her mom that morning.

“Hey, hon. Sorry about your dad. All he wants is for you to be happy and working yourself to the grave to separate yourself from your birthright and name—his name—isn’t what he envisioned. But he’ll come around. And promise me you’ll take time for yourself, too. Life isn’t always work, you know.”

Even now, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Life was her work right now—it had to be if she wanted to succeed. There’d be time for the rest of it later.

“I am. I love my work, and I’m damn good at what I do.” But what did she have without it? Photography? Maybe. But she hadn’t so much as dusted off her camera bag in ten years until that morning.

Jax took another half-step closer to her.

“But what about when you aren’t working? What do you do to have a little fun?”

Fun? Fun was spreadsheets and balancing inputs and outputs and profit and earnings statements… But she couldn’t tell him that. Namely because it wasn’t fun so much as fulfilling.

Fun was a four-letter word that stood between her and the life she wanted.

“Pop quiz,” he said. “True or false. You like me and think we could have a good time together if you let loose a little.”

Truth! Weren’t we just saying that? her subconscious spat. Jill silenced it before it could finish. That line of thinking—that they could have fun together—was before she was reminded who he was. A rodeo man.

She frowned and pulled a sharp intake of breath. She made the mistake of inhaling his scent, and it sent a shiver rolling across her skin.

Come on, her lonely libido tried. We could definitely have a good time with him.

Um, no. He’s too dangerous, her heart countered.

Shut up, she told them both. Jax might be a perfectly fine specimen of a human male, one that could be a good time in bed, but everything else about him was a constant reminder of Liam and his brand of reckless hedonism. She’d made that mistake once, trying to convince someone she was worth building a life with—a safe life where no one was in danger.

That rejection still stung.

“That’s none of your business. Especially when you don’t know the difference between a good time and what needs to be done to take care of your own family.”

Jill regretted the words as soon as they left her lips. Hurt flashed in Jax’s wide eyes, and he put distance between them.

“Sorry, I—”

“No. You’re right. I might not have a significant other or kids to worry about, but my family’s counting on me.” Resignation dripped from the words he uttered in a low, deep tone. “Let me take a quick shower, and I’ll meet you at your place. Fifteen minutes okay?”

“Wait,” she called out. She winced when his smile kicked up in one corner. “Um, have you seen Lily? My dog?”

His smile fell. “Nope. Not since yesterday.”

Jill nodded and Jax easily climbed the corral fence and jogged off toward the main ranch house. Would her heart ever be able to let her past go? If not, she ran the risk of alienating everyone in her life, even cowboys with tough skins who rubbed her the wrong way.

That last part wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, except this particular cowboy had gotten under her skin and made her question if she had been going about this whole life-and-dream-chasing thing all wrong?

*

Jax growled at the text from Bennett. First, the meeting with Jill—a woman bent on putting him in his place—and now this? His week was turning to a shit sandwich in less time than a cowboy took to be bucked off a bull.

“I put out the ad for help at the ranch today in all the regular places. Added your number. Can you spread the word to Manny and the guys we need some help with the day-to-day chores? I can do the paperwork from home, but the rest is falling behind. Bunkhouse space is available too. Thx.”

---