Page 2 of Roping Her In

Some scuffling came through on her end of the line, and maybe something that could’ve been typing. “That’s wonderful,” she said.

“I barely want one,” he said. “And I’m sure you got some paperwork too. Hailey’s been assigned here.”

“Even better,” Elaine said with a laugh. “I’m sure you know I had nothing to do with any of that, Jake. I don’t work for Amarillo State. In fact, their intern coordinator is⁠—”

“Adam Reynolds,” Jake growled out the man’s name at the same time Elaine said it. “Yeah, I know. His name’s on the letter.”

“When you apply for the program,” she said. “You say how many interns you’re willing to take. If you were assigned two, then you must have put two on the paperwork.”

Jake opened his mouth but couldn’t actually intelligently speak to that. Elaine waited, the silence coming through the line heavier than Jake wanted to admit. “I guess I didn’t realize they would use all the slots,” he said.

“They’re always looking to expand their partnerships,” Elaine said matter-of-factly. “If you’d have said three, I bet they would have given them to you.”

Jake suddenly just wanted to get off the phone.

“Hailey will be absolutely thrilled, Jake. She loves Three Rivers and admires everything you do out there. I do hope you’ll keep that in mind.”

“All right,” he said, because he didn’t need a lecture from Elaine Walker.

“Congratulations,” Elaine said next. “I’m sure it’ll be wonderful to have additional hands with the veterinary care at the ranch, especially this winter—if it keeps going the way it has so far.”

She wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t want to admit that. “Thanks,” he grumbled. “You have a good day now.”

“You too,” she chirped, and Jake let her end the call.

He wasn’t sure how he’d landed himself in this mess. His mood only soured when the general controller who sat at the front desk of the administration building, a man named Laurent Hauser, poked his head in the room. “Good, you’re back,” he said. “I’ve got a woman here to see you.”

Jake sat up and tucked the Amarillo State paperwork back in its envelope. “You do? Who is it?” He kept a tight leash on his calendar and generally knew where he needed to be and when. “I don’t have any interviews today, right?”

“She said she didn’t have an appointment, but she hoped she’d be able to come back for a few minutes anyway,” Laurent said.

Jake stood up and reached for his cowboy hat. “All right,” he said, and he followed Laurent out into the hall.

“Her name’s Hailey Winters,” Laurent said over his shoulder, and Jake dang near tripped over his own feet. She’d already driven out to Three Rivers?

Texas haystacks, he thought. Do they deliver the mail that much sooner in town?

Dread mingled with excitement—the strangest combination of emotions he’d ever experienced—and settled low in Jake’s stomach as he followed Laurent out into the main part of the building. A dozen desks spread before him, as an operation as large as Three Rivers required multiple cowhands and lots of paperwork. He had an office here in the building, and so did Beau, and so did Libby.

Laurent continued toward his desk just inside the door, but at the sight of the gorgeous blonde standing there with a bright red coat cinched tightly around her waist and clutching a black bag, Jake found he couldn’t move. Hailey reached up with perfectly manicured hands and pushed her hair behind her ear as Laurent approached the desk.

That gorgeous smile painted across her face, and Jake felt it sting straight into his heart. That traitorous organ started beating harder and harder and harder, and after Laurent spoke to her and she looked his way, he felt like he’d stepped onto a boat shifting back and forth on wild waters.

He couldn’t just stand there and stare, so he told himself to, Get moving again—and try not to look too happy that she drove out here to see you.

2

Hailey Winters could barely contain her excitement, even though the grumpy cowboy she’d come to see looked like she’d spit in his morning oatmeal. She wasn’t even sure if he’d been notified of her assignment at Three Rivers, but she didn’t mind being the one to break the news.

“Come on back, Hailey,” Jake said, his drawl slow and delicious. An internal frown started inside Hailey at her thoughts, because while yes, Jake was tall, dark, and handsome, he didn’t like her and never had.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything too serious,” she said as she darted around the corner of the desk and hurried to follow him. “I just got a letter, you see, from Amarillo State.”

“I know,” Jake said as he gained the corner and turned right. “I just opened my letter too.”

Relief rushed through her. “Oh, great,” she said. “I know Adam said he would set up a meeting between us, but I was just so excited, Jake, and I wanted to come tell you that I can’t wait to be working out here.”

Jake nodded, the back brim of his cowboy hat going up and down, but otherwise, he said nothing. Hailey followed him into an office furnished with a black couch just inside the door. A tall filing cabinet stood next to it in the corner, and a wide, imposing desk took up most of the wall sliding toward the back, where a window showed the bleak landscape outside.