First Comes Marriage. Sophia Sasson

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СКАЧАТЬ placed a hand on her chest. “Could you not sneak up on me like that?”

      “What was that about?” He nodded toward Lily.

      Meera shrugged. “Nothing. She just had to use the bathroom and wanted to tell me how much she hates tofu burgers.”

      Jake smirked. “You’re such a bad liar, it’s written all over your face.” Meera started to protest, but he waved her off. “It doesn’t matter. It’s time to do the two-step.”

      “I beg your pardon?”

      His eyes gleamed. Grinning ear to ear, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her onto the dance floor. She squealed. He twirled her and began showing her the steps to the dance. She felt breathless as she followed his steps, feeling a little anxious at her clumsiness.

      “I can’t do this, Jake.”

      He shook his head. “Let go, Meera. It’s about the music and having fun. You don’t have to do it right—just try it, be free.”

      She grinned. You don’t have to do it right? Then how was she supposed to have fun? She took a breath and started moving again, watching everyone else’s feet so she could copy their steps perfectly. Several people on the dance floor were making eye contact with her, nodding encouragingly. Jake introduced her to old Mr. Leeland, who grabbed her hand and twirled her. She couldn’t help dissolving into giggles as the elderly man tried to dip her. She caught Jake’s eye, and he winked at her as she stepped on Mr. Leeland’s foot. He laughed good-naturedly and led her across the floor. She couldn’t keep up with the steps; everyone’s feet were a jumble.

      Someone twirled her and suddenly she was being passed from partner to partner, each one kind about her mistakes. She caught Rose staring at her, a smile on her face. Maybe Jake was right. She stopped worrying about the steps and started enjoying the music.

      She felt completely carefree as Jake caught her hand and lifted her up when she began stepping on his toes.

      She didn’t know how long she spent dancing, enjoying herself with each breathless round on the floor. There were cheers and hoots from the crowd as she finally made a circuit without stepping on any toes. I can’t remember the last time I felt this free. Jake had long since passed her off to another dance partner, but she searched for him in the throng.

      Billy John had just grabbed her hand when a loud scream jolted her. Several others joined in, and chaos broke out as people began running in all directions. The band stopped playing. “Everyone clear out.” It was Jake’s voice, but she couldn’t find him in the sea of arms and legs. What’s happening? She looked around frantically and gasped. Flames! The grill was on fire along with the edge of a tablecloth.

      “Move aside.”

      Meera saw Jake running toward the fire with an extinguisher. The tablecloth was now fully ablaze and lighting the roof of the tent. She took out her cell phone, but put it away when she heard the faraway sound of sirens. She ran out of the tent and stopped a safe distance away, noticing Jake had done the same. A few of the ranch workers were approaching with extinguishers, but Jake waved them back. The fire had spread too much. The slight breeze had carried the flames across the field, right up to the barn. The fire department would have to handle it.

      The fire engines arrived in a blaze of lights, their sirens screaming. Several firefighters ran toward the fire, aiming their hoses.

      Jake stood several yards away from her. As if he knew she was looking at him, he turned and caught her eye. Oh, boy! Even from a distance, she could feel his fury. He stalked over.

      “Tell me you opened the vent on the back of the grill when you set it up.”

      Her mouth went dry. She put a hand to her forehead, trying desperately to remember. She could see his instructions in her mind’s eye; she had written them down precisely on the clipboard. The paper said to open the vent after the coal heated up, but all she could remember was that she had been reading that very instruction when he walked up to her. And she had lost her train of thought. She didn’t remember actually opening the vent.

      “I...I’m not sure I did. Oh, God, Jake, I’m so sorry.”

      His eyes reflected the flames that were demolishing the barn behind her. “Do you have any idea how dangerous a fire is on a ranch? What it can do to the animals? Not to mention the fact that I may have lost a barn full of hay. Do you know how much bales cost these days?” He began pacing as the firefighters doused the fire. It seemed to be coming under control, but Meera could see a mess of soggy black ash on the ground and a black shell where the pretty red barn had stood. She thought that she’d ruined the barbecue earlier with the veggie dogs, but this? This was a complete disaster.

      When Jake came close to her again, she touched his arm. “I’ll pay for the damage.”

      He whirled to face her. “Are you kidding me? You can’t wave your magic credit card and make this all okay, princess.”

      She inhaled sharply, trying to breathe against the tightness in her chest.

      “Tomorrow morning, I’d like you to leave. I’ll talk to Marty about giving you a room—although after tonight, I’m not sure you’ll ever recover with this town.”

CHAPTER FIVE

      JAKE’S EYES KEPT wandering to the door. It’s still early—she may not be up yet. He knew she hadn’t left. Her rental was still in the carport.

      “Earth to Jake! What do you want us working on today?”

      Jake snapped to attention. “Go about your regular chores,” he said dismissively. “I’ll deal with the cleanup.” He watched his staff file out silently; they had worked with him long enough to know he was in a mood.

      “Kell, have you gotten your physical yet?”

      Kelly shook her head and mumbled, “I’ll get to it.” She left quickly, and he fought the urge to throw something at her. He worried about her. She tried to hide it, but he knew there was something wrong. He couldn’t let Meera go yet, not until she finished the physicals. And there is absolutely no other reason I want her to stay.

      He hung around the kitchen, rearranging dishes in the dishwasher. After he was done, he went into the pantry. I know Jolene had a teapot. A teapot she used to drink fertility tea while she was planning on leaving me. He shook his head. Every woman in my life is determined to torture me. He couldn’t figure Meera out. Why was she so desperate to have the town like her? It was as if some internal motor was driving her to make sure she was acceptable. She’d worked herself to the bone getting that barbecue organized. She hadn’t snapped her fingers and hired an army to put it together. Though if she had, he wouldn’t be calculating damages right now.

      He gave up looking for the teapot and glanced at his watch. He couldn’t waste away the day. He walked toward his ruined field and barn; he would hear her car leaving. His stomach turned as he saw the damage from afar. He’d had more than a hundred hay bales in the barn, and most of them were burned, charred or waterlogged and full of ash. With the drought this year, he didn’t have enough grazing fields to get through the winter. He’d managed to get a good deal on hay to keep the animals fed.

      He stopped and stared, painful knots twisting his stomach. He couldn’t afford to replace that much hay, especially СКАЧАТЬ