Page 8 of The Rancher's Fake Fiancée

“And we need to get her settled in and I’m sure you’ll see more of her in the days to come around here. Thanks again, Doc, for your quick response. Pete, I’ll leave you to whatever else Doc needs to have us do for the horses.”

Both men nodded and tipped the brims of their hats in Jessie’s direction, adding another round of their thanks. She responded with another flash of genuine smiles and the pressure on his arm guided their way towards the ranch house.

Cole kept a smile on his face in case anyone else might be watching the pair as they walked. “Suppose you tell me how you came to know so much about horses and what you were doing running toward two horses that were upset?”

“Didn’t you read the script? I am the daughter of a wealthy thoroughbred family from Kentucky. We did meet at the derby where you fell head over heels for my charms in a whirlwind romance that put this lovely ring on my finger.” She lifted her free hand and wiggled the proper finger which looked like a glare of light from a mini lighthouse on her hand.

“You’ve thought of everything down to the ring. I know that won’t be on any bill I am given for this little charade.”

“Don’t worry. You aren’t being billed for this little bauble. It’s part of the cover. And on loan and insured.”

“This may be an everyday occurrence to you, but it isn’t to me. I don’t like lying to people who I have earned respect with.”

They had turned into the arched opening in the tall outer wall of the garden and were out of sight of anyone watching from the barns area. She stopped and turned to face him, her hand dropping from his arm. She had lost her smile.

“This everyday occurrence is my job. And I learned early on that the way to get into a mess and put others at jeopardy, is to forget for one second that it is a job that can easily get people hurt…or worse. So, I play the role until the job is done. And each time you feel a guilty conscience coming on, simply think of keeping Emmie safe.”

“And what do you think of, or do you get a guilty conscience like the rest of us?”

Her gaze darkened and shuttered. “I have a conscience. What I remind myself of is my business. But I keep my eyes on the goal, and in this case, it is a link through your ex to a very wanted man. It might be a dead end, or it might put an end to a case I have been part of for the last three years. But either way, your cooperation is important. And that means we are in play now…and you must be on your part 100 percent or it won’t work. Do you understand that?”

Whatever he said earlier had brought forth yet another side of the woman he had not known existed. While part of him wanted to end all and say he wanted out of the agreement, he couldn’t. His daughter was involved, and Emmie was the key to all their ultimate freedom. He would walk through fire if need be.

“I gave my word, and I’ll keep it.”

“Good. Now we must convince your daughter and your housekeeper. We need to use every minute we have before your ex arrives to get them used tous…being a couple. That will make things flow easier when the real crunch time comes. Let’s go.”

She didn’t wait for his response. She was already headed toward the front door, a determination in every ridge and line of her body. Cole felt a grudging feeling of respect. There were many layers to the woman. He had a feeling he had only scratched the surface. Cole squared his shoulders and followed her lead.

*

Marcella had beenthe housekeeper for over a decade. Her surprise was to be expected at the news, but she was also very happy by the turn of events. It was apparent to Jessie that the woman loved her family and was glad Cole had taken her copious hints that he needed to add a wife to the household for all of their wellbeing. Even though she had expressed her congratulations and the fact she was glad he had finally listened to her admonitions, Jessie sensed that she would still be reserving final judgment until a future time that only she would deem appropriate once Jessie had passed some final hurdle known only to the woman. That only meant she would be keeping her eye on the pair of them. Just added pressure on an already tricky situation. Jessie accepted the hugs and then took a deep breath when she sat beside Cole on the couch in the den a few minutes later and faced the toughest jury to date. Emmie sat in the high-backed chair in front of them, eyeing them both.

“I know this will be quite a surprise to you, Em,” her dad began, “and it was to me also. That’s to say, that I hadn’t expected something so amazing to happen when I went to Kentucky several weeks ago. That’s where I met an amazing lady and we spent some time together and well, Jessie luckily felt the same way about meeting me. So, she came here to visit us so that you and she and I can spend time together and…” He was interrupted.

“You like each other a lot. And if I like her, too, then she might stay here with us. And then we could have a big wedding, and I will be in it, and we will all be happy ever after.”

That had been summed up with a pink bow on top by the seven-year-old. Jessie had to stifle the huge laughter that bubbled up inside her. Instead, she managed a big smile and laid her hand on top of Cole’s that had been gripping his knee as he rambled through his speech.

“I believe Emmie has summed it all up, Cole. I hope this doesn’t come as a really huge surprise, but your dad and I wanted to be together when we told you. I hope you and I can get to know each other in the couple of weeks I will be here.”

“And if I don’t like you then? Will you go back to Kentucky?”

“Emmie, you…” Cole began, but Jessie put pressure to stop him saying more.

“That about sums it up,” Jessie took over. “Your happiness is very important. Your father loves you more than anything in this world. I would never want to see that harmed in any way. If you don’t think the three of us can make a good team by the time for me to leave, if any of us don’t feel that way after doing our best to be fair, then we promise to call it off. Agreed?”

Emmie was silent, her gaze solemn and assessing both. She was the judge having heard an earnest case and about to render a verdict. Only she had no idea just how important it was. Only the two grown-ups in the room understood that part. Jessie had just taken a two-fold gamble. She had hoped to buy them more time for what was to come and created a viable exit strategy when the time came for her to leave them. No harm, no foul. That’s what it had been labeled in her brain, at least. If the little girl was as smart as she believed since their first meeting over the yellow folder a few weeks before, then she would see it made sense.

The gamble paid off. Emmie nodded her head. “Agreed. So, what do I call you while you’re here?”

She felt Cole’s body relax beside her. Jessie smiled at the child. “I think Jessie is appropriate in the situation. Are you good with that?”

“I like that name. You remind me of someone I met once. She was a nice lady, too.”

Jessie grinned. “Well, I will take that as a compliment and I’m glad you found her to be a nice lady. Maybe we’ll run into her one day in town and you can introduce us.”

“I don’t think Dad liked her, but I did. Anyway, since you live on a ranch in Kentucky, you need a horse to ride here, too. Dad, we need to get her a really good one.”

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