Later that evening, she discovered the first part of her brothers‟ plan, and even worse was the fact that her parents were a part of it. “Well, we do like Jake,” her father said. “It would be nice to keep him in the family.” “He treats you well too,” her mother added. “I like to see my children taken care of.” “But we don’t love each other,” she protested. “Give it time.” She shook her head in bewilderment that Jake could come into her home and win these people over in less than a week. That night as she pulled on her nightgown in Trevor and Luke’s bedroom, she decided that she wasn’t going to explain the sudden sleeping arrangements to Jake. The last thing he needed was to be pulled into her family’s elaborate schemes. Jeremiah claimed that there was a mouse running loose through his cabin, so he and Gloria had to sleep in Patty’s bedroom with Patty sleeping on the floor. Trevor and Luke offered to sleep in the parlor. There wasn’t enough room for Ja

When they got off the horse, she said, “You handle yourself better on a horse than you let on. If you keep it up, you could master riding her.” Jeremiah burst out laughing. She peered around the horse’s nose. “I didn’t see you there.” “Apparently not.” He walked over to them. “So, city boy, you got the caviar?” “I sure do.” Jake widely smiled. “Do you think you’re brave enough to eat some?” “If you can eat Rocky Mountain oysters, I can eat your fancy food.” “We’ll see about that.” “That sounds like a challenge.” “It is. Are you up to it?” He scoffed. “I’m always up for a good challenge.” “Then let’s go.” As soon as Jake got Jeremiah, Trevor and Luke at the dinner table, he handed them the crackers and took out the caviar. “You smear it on the cracker with a spoon or knife. Then you eat it.” He ate his and looked at them. “Now, it’s your turn.” Sue and Gloria sat at the table, interested to see

Sue had never been so humiliated in her entire life. It was one thing for Jeremiah to make all those subtle jokes while she and Jake were on the horse but it was another thing for him to keep making her feel like she wasn’t attractive as a woman. She was glad when he couldn’t eat the caviar. She enjoyed watching him squirm under Jake’s intense stare. Jake had a perfect poker face. No one could tell for sure what he was thinking if he didn’t want them to. It probably helped him succeed in business since he had to deal with some crummy people. She sighed as she got out of her costume for the play that Trevor wrote. She was glad to be out of those clothes. She bit her lower lip as she looked at the clothes she had packed. She brought a couple of dresses but had been so busy riding horses and helping with fixing parts of the barn her family hadn’t had time to get to yet, that she hadn’t bothered to wear a dress. Dresses weren’t practical on the farm, though Gloria managed to wear them. Glo

The next morning, she woke up and saw that Jake had put his blankets on her. She rolled her eyes. She was covered under a mountain of blankets. She shook her head and closed the window and placed some of the blankets on him. How could he sleep when he was so cold? Is he really having that hard of a time keeping his hands off of me? The thought pleased her. She never thought she could be appealing to a man before. Sighing, she collected her clothes for the day and went to the bathroom to change. As soon as she came out of the bathroom, her brothers stood around her. She rolled her eyes. “No.” They grumbled. “When are you going to stop this nonsense?” she asked. “Poor Jake spent the night freezing because he had to give me all the blankets, and I got hot so I had to open the window.” “Oh, really?” Jeremiah grinned. “So it’s working.” She realized her mistake. “He knows what you’re doing, so you might as well quit while you’re ahead.” “Quit? What we’re

By the time Wednesday evening arrived, he knew he would have to tell Sue about his invitation to Tim Blacksmith for dinner the next evening. Sue was reading another book in the chair by the fireplace. Fortunately, she didn’t notice the way the bachelors looked at her. She spent so much time as a spinster that it was as if she forgot she was a woman. He had to admit that the house seemed less empty with her in it. He put aside his remaining paperwork for the new bank on his desk and turned his attention to Tim Blacksmith. Now how was he going to talk her into making dinner? He stood up and walked over to the other chair in front of the fireplace and sat down. Startled, she looked up. He hadn’t joined her before. “What are you reading tonight?” he asked. “The Scarlet Letter. I couldn’t put it out of my mind after the comment I made to Miss Gordon at the wedding reception.” “Did she really think it was a stationary shop?” “Yes. Mrs. Walker and I