Page 61 of One Lucky Cowboy

“No thanks necessary. I’m grateful to you for giving me a job when I needed something to break free of my folks after college. I’m in your debt forever.”

Maggie’s eyes misted. Another side effect of the pregnancy hormones.

Good grief, it’d been a long month. The first half had gone so fast as she got to know Jax and found her stride with the new Steel Born initiative. But now, it dragged on, her only tether to time the middle of the night when she’d wake to find his truck there. Her heart would pound, and her body recalled what it was like to feel him against her. Sleep would come again fitfully, leaving her tired each morning.

Was there some pill she could take to forget this man once and for all?

Lily got up and waddled out of the house through the ample-sized dog door. Despite the ramifications of Lily’s unexpected pregnancy, Gander had been relentlessly adorable about watching over Lily ever since they’d arrived, bringing her treats and scraps of food from Jax’s ranch house. And regardless of who the father was, Lily was such an adorable expecting mom.

“I swear she’s smiling,” Jill declared. “Honestly, you two pregnant ladies are too cute for words.”

But the fact that Gander was a Marshall pup tied Jill to Jax in yet another way. Jill had told Maggie a small lie a moment ago. Jax snuck by every evening to check on the pups and bring Gander’s food since he wasn’t leaving Lily’s side, and then hightailed it out of there fast enough to leave skid marks in his wake. Jill had started setting a midnight alarm so she could catch him in the act.

Okay, so maybe she was just a hint of desperate.

“Why does Jax actually get under your skin so much?” Maggie asked. She sat up straighter, a shine in her eyes. A few patrons came out to join Jill in the unexpected sunshine. It was warmer today than it had been all week, and Deer Creek residents seemed to sense it might be the last nice day until spring.

“Hi, Jill,” one of them whispered.

“Hi, Mr. Croke,” she whispered back, covering the receiver. He dipped his chin and tipped a Stetson that looked to be an original.

The sweet old man was a third-generation farmer who’d come to Kerry’s Thai restaurant the other night and ended up sitting with Jill at the bar. He’d shared his rich personal history with her, including being forced to sell his land when none of his children wanted to take over the family business. He’d been happy to sell to Bennett who would steward the land with respect, but the end of Mr. Croke’s lifelong pursuit reminded her of what she’d done to her parents. It was more complicated than a man losing his dream; if he hadn’t, his children would have had to give up theirs.

Mr. Croke would be the emcee at the first day of the CAF, so he kept busy. Still, by the end of her meal, Jill had been sad to say goodbye to him.

“I just told you.”

“You gave me a couple idiotic reasons, sure. But what’s the real story?”

“He and I are just different.” Maggie opened her mouth to reply, but Jill shook her head. “Not in the adorable, opposites-attract kind of way. When he’s not missing altogether, he’s actively trying to get out of the life I’m trying to build for myself. It doesn’t exactly make us good work partners.”

That was closer to a three-quarter truth, but the full gospel was more complicated. The underlying physical attraction pulsing between them only threw into stark relief another reason she needed to keep her distance.

“I see what you mean,” Maggie said, leaning back in her nook on the couch. “You’re driven, you want a life you design for yourself, and you don’t want to be beholden to your parents’ dreams. Yeah, you’re totally on opposite wavelengths.”

Jill’s phone tipped as she let that sink in. She caught it at the last second before it dropped to the terra-cotta tile lining the courtyard.

“Wait—”

“No, you wait. Jax is a tough sell, I get it. But he’s in the same place you were when I met you and gave you a chance with the company. And don’t think I wasn’t terrified to put my hopes and dreams in the hands of a woman who might change her mind and go back to work for the job her family was holding for her.”

“But I didn’t,” Jill whispered.

Maggie smiled. “I know. Because I gave you a chance to figure out what you wanted. Maybe you could cut the guy a little slack and ask more questions? You know, like I asked you. I’m not saying you should be with him—my suggestion to give him time to earn a place in your life still stands. But don’t write him off altogether, either.”

Jill’s brows twisted, as did her lips.

Maggie was right on one count. Jill understood Jax’s need to break free from the family business; after all, wasn’t that exactly what she’d done? How could she fault him for sharing the same desire to make a name for himself free of his family’s influence?

And yet—what he’d said to her about being loyal to his family when they needed him was a needle in her chest, poking and prodding the most sensitive parts of her.

That was where they differed most—she’d never considered staying to help her parents until they found someone trustworthy enough to hand their livelihood over to. So what did that say about her?

No, she couldn’t blame Jax for her shortcomings as a daughter, but she didn’t have to let him rub her nose in it, either.

“I hate you,” she said.

Maggie grinned. She didn’t believe a word of it, thank goodness. “No, you don’t. I’m your best friend and I’m pregnant. You aren’t allowed to hate me.”

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