Page 11 of Roping Her In

“At least it’s not summer,” Hartford said. “The heat is way worse when you’re first pregnant.”

“How would you know?” Jake and Leia asked together.

She swatted his shoulder. “You’ve never been pregnant, Hartford.”

“You’re not even married,” Jake added, and he did love his vet techs. He watched as Hailey spotted them and headed that way.

“My sister’s had like, seventeen kids,” Hartford said, which only caused Leia to laugh again.

Jake, however, couldn’t so much as get a proper breath. Hailey wore her hair partially down, only the sides clipped back. She wore makeup, and a pair of jeans to go with a mighty weathered pair of steel-toed boots. Everything about her called to him, and he did his absolute best to build a very strong wall between them as she joined the group.

“Guys,” he said, grateful his voice didn’t catch or scratch. “This is Hailey Winters. Hailey, this is Leia and Hartford. I’m assigning you to Leia for the first half of your internship.”

A smile bloomed on Hailey’s face, and he should’ve expected her to be nothing but professional. “It’s great to meet you guys,” she said, first shaking Leia’s hand and then Hartford’s.

“You too,” Leia said, and she stared a hole in Jake’s face while Hailey shook hands with Hartford. He got the message—he wouldn’t say anything to her about Leia’s pregnancy.

In fact, Jake took a couple of shuffling side-steps away from Hailey, as the soft peachy scent of her hair or skin had just met his nose. He frowned at her. “Are you wearing perfume?”

She turned toward him, seemingly in slow motion. “No.”

“You smell,” he said. “We have cowboys and cowgirls with fragrance sensitivities. We don’t wear perfume or use scented lotions out here at the ranch.”

Hailey blinked at him. “I’m not wearing perfume or scented lotion.”

“And she doesn’t smell, Jake.” Leia rolled her eyes.

“I can smell something,” he said.

“It’s peaches,” Leia said. “It’s not like she just tracked in a load of manure.” She smiled at Hailey. “He assigned you to me, and we’re going to be checking horses today.” Leia nodded toward the office. “Do you want to put your things away? I’m sure Jake won’t mind if they’re in his office. We all sort of just crash his space out here.”

“I have a lunch,” Hailey said. “And yes, somewhere to put my bag and coat would be nice.”

Everything she wore or carried looked far too nice for a muddy ranch in the winter.

“I’ll take you back,” Leia said. “Then we’ll head out.”

“Let’s get your bags in my cabin,” Jake said to Hartford, who watched Hailey walk away with Leia. He didn’t move or blink, and Jake recognized that look on a man’s face.

Fury and jealousy combined into a dangerous funnel within him, and Jake found himself leaning toward Hartford. “Your intern will be here soon,” he almost shouted.

Hartford jumped and looked at Jake. “Dude, I’m right here.”

Jake folded his arms and glared. “Why are you watching the women like that?”

Hartford’s face turned instantly red. “I wasn’t.” He headed for the door. “Let’s get my bags in your cabin before my guy shows up.”

Jake threw one more frown down the hall, but Leia—a married woman—and Hailey had disappeared into his office. “That’s what I just said,” he called as he hurried to catch Hartford.

Only a couple of hours later, Jake had cold mud caked on his jeans, the temperature really starting to get to his skin. He’d been working with the cattle since he’d sent his techs and the interns out to deal with the horses, and he was in no mood for his phone to ring.

But ring it had, and he removed his cowboy hat and wiped a grimy hand through his hair before pulling his device from his back pocket. That ringtone had been assigned to Leia, and his pulse pounced when he remembered she was pregnant.

He swiped on the call. “Hey,” he said as he turned away from the three cowboys Libby had sent to help him. “Tell me you’re okay.”

“This is going to be a thing every time I call now, isn’t it?”

“Again, have you met your husband? He could bench-press me without a problem, which means he could probably throw me into the next county if he got upset with me.”