Kiss Me (Fool's Gold #17)(24)

Phoebe thought Zane might call off the whole thing, after all, but all he did was mutter, “Fine. Head inside, I’ll bring your things.”

She supposed that novices were a bit of a challenge and senior novices would be even more of one, but to her mind, the older women were quirky and delightful.

“We’re mighty excited about this trip,” Gladys said. “Eddie here has wanted to go on a cattle drive since she first saw City Slickers.” She winked. “Not that either of us have a hankering to help with a birthing, mind you. It looked a tad messy.”

Phoebe was charmed.

Eddie reached into her purse and pulled out her video camera. “You never did introduce yourself, little lady. A real cowgirl type?”

Gladys smiled at her friend. “A pretty cowgirl.”

Phoebe ducked her head at the compliment. “Thanks, but I’m as much a newbie at this as everyone else.”

“We’ll watch out for you,” Eddie said.

The two women headed into the house.

“Where’s Chase?” Maya said. “I want to guilt him into getting my bags for me.”

Zane gave a sigh of the long-suffering. “How many?”

“Four, but two of them are small.”

“You’re going on a cattle drive, not touring the capitals of Europe.”

Maya leaned toward Phoebe. “He’s always crabby when people invade his precious ranch. Hmm. Actually he’s crabby most of the time.”

Zane’s scowl didn’t seem to affect Maya, who linked arms with Phoebe, then used her free hand to blow Zane a kiss. Just then, Chase stepped outside. With a whoop, he ran to Maya. She opened her arms wide and pulled him close.

“Hey, sis,” Chase said, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around. “You look good.”

“You’ve grown some,” Maya said in obvious delight. “You’re taller.”

Chase set her down and kissed her cheek. “You forgot better-looking.”

Maya grinned at Zane. “You must take after your mom.”

Their teasing seemed to bother him. Phoebe saw his jaw clench as they continued to banter back and forth. Maya had always said that Zane didn’t appreciate her special relationship with Chase, but Phoebe wasn’t sure that was true. Watching Zane stand by himself made her wonder if instead of being annoyed by their closeness, he felt left out and lonely. She knew she would if she were him.

She shoved her hands into her back pockets and considered the possibility. Honestly, it was tough to imagine someone like Zane feeling lonely or inadequate or any of those emotions experienced by lesser mortals. Maybe she was assuming a tender heart where one didn’t exist.

They said goodbye to Elaine, grabbed the last of the luggage she’d left on the ground, and took it into the house. The guests had congregated in the large living room. Phoebe noticed that Eddie and Gladys made it a point to speak with each of the children. She wondered whether they had grandkids that they saw on a regular basis.

“Do we have enough beds to sleep everyone tonight?” Maya asked Zane quietly. “Phoebe and I can get a hotel if you want and then join you tomorrow morning.”

“We should be fine,” he said. “Besides, if anyone’s going to be kicked out of his bed tonight, it would be Chase.”

“Poor boy.” Maya moved next to Chase and hugged him protectively.

Phoebe knew she was kidding. Even so, she didn’t agree with Maya’s teasing. Zane might be stern and difficult, but this time he was right. Chase had really messed up by offering a fake cattle drive to vacationers. Because of him, Zane was now responsible for all these people. She wanted to say something supportive to him but couldn’t think of anything that didn’t sound stupid. Or obvious. The last thing she needed right now was Maya figuring out that she was more than a little attracted to Zane.

She satisfied herself with trying to convey empathy with a glance. His dark blue eyes seemed more intense than usual, but maybe that was proximity. She found her gaze drifting down to his lips and her mind zipping back to the kisses that they’d shared. She tried to tell herself that him being a good kisser was meaningless. That sort of a skill didn’t say much about a man, except that he’d either kissed a lot of women or had innate talent. Even as she mentally tried to change the subject, she found herself remembering that Jeff had been a lousy kisser—and more than a bit of a toad—and wondering if Zane came by his talent naturally, or if he’d earned it through lots of practice.

* * *

CHARLES ELVIS MONROE, otherwise known as Cookie, glared at Zane. “You’re bringing kids along?” he asked in disbelief.

Zane didn’t bother answering. He wasn’t bringing anyone along voluntarily. Instead, he was a reluctant host and caretaker, all in the name of teaching Chase a lesson.

“I figured you’d want to know,” he said, then stepped out of the way as Cookie opened the refrigerator and pulled out an armful of lettuce.

“Kids,” the old man muttered. “I’d ask what you were thinkin’ when you agreed to all this, but I’m guessin’ you weren’t thinkin’ at all.” He sighed heavily. “I’ll make sure I got some stuff along that they’ll like.” He drew his thick, gray eyebrows together. “Anything else?”

Zane thought about Andrea and Martin Lagarde. He cleared his throat and took a step back so he was close to the kitchen’s exit.