Chapter Two

"G od, I've missed you," Maggie said, drawing Jill into another tight embrace.

"I've been gone only three months," Jill exhaled, the words barely able to escape her compressed lungs. "And you've seen me twice on video chat."

She'd stopped by Maggie and Bennett's house to grab the keys to the house she'd be crashing in the next few days, but she hadn't even gotten as far as the foyer in the past five minutes.

"Still. I needed this." Maggie squeezed tighter. Lily strolled past both women and made for the room with the fridge in it since she was accustomed to being fed straight from the thing at Aunt Maggie's house.

Jill giggled and stepped back, assessing her best friend. She'd expected a put-together, sharply dressed woman-boss CEO prepared for a formal meeting despite the informality of their friendship. It was how they'd always done things to keep the lines between work and play as clear as possible—Steel Born demanded professionalism, and they could relax every other moment.

What she got, however, was her best friend in a tattered bathrobe and house slippers, her hair three stops past relaxed and in disheveled territory. Jill glanced at her watch. It was ten after ten in the morning.

"Are you okay, Mags?"

Maggie shooed off the question and walked away, gesturing with a wave over her shoulder that Jill follow her.

"Okaaay," Jill muttered. "Do you want me to come back later?" she hollered.

"Nope. Now's fine. Come in while I make us tea."

Tea? Now Jill was worried. Her best friend might mainline espresso most waking hours of the day, but only in desperate situations did she bother with tea.

She got to the kitchen and whistled. Half-empty bags of chips were littered on the counter between candy wrappers and a glass jar filled with nothing but lime-green liquid.

"What's going on?" she asked, taking the teapot out of Maggie's hands and nodding to the overstuffed couch. "Talk to me."

Maggie bit her bottom lip. If Jill didn't know her best friend better than anyone, she'd guess Maggie was about to cry. But Maggie never shed a tear, not without a damn good reason. Something was up.

"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

Jill's heart plummeted to her stomach. This wasn't a well visit or friendly chat between besties. Jill was supposed to be here to receive the big news her colleague—not friend—had to share. She was supposed to be getting half the company she'd built. Bad news never factored into her thoughts.

"Um, good news first."

Maggie sat up taller, sniffled, and put on a smile just as Jill put on the water for tea.

"We're going to merge with MBE."

Jill coughed on something stuck in her throat. "Sorry, we —meaning you and me? Like Steel Born? We're going to merge with Bennett's company?"

"We are. It seems prudent at this juncture since we've got some big contracts coming up. We could use the name and the weight of MBE to build our client base and their funding could launch us into the ranching stratosphere."

Jill tapped her foot on the tile; the echo traveled down the long hallway. They'd never needed anyone else to fund them or secure them clients in the past. They were good on their own. Great, even. She was only getting half the story. The Maggie she knew would never have gone for this no matter how wonderful her husband was or how good he was at running his own business.

"And this is a done deal?"

"I guess so."

She guessed so? Where was her best friend and who was this wishy-washy woman who'd replaced her?

Jill reached for Maggie's hand, but she slipped it under her thigh, her gaze unwilling or unable to meet Jill's. Fear and worry mixed in a nauseating cocktail. The whole situation reeked of something unnamed but with the potential to tear Jill's life—the life she'd willingly chosen—to pieces.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Things have been… odd around here. I didn't have time."

"Okay, well, I mean, I'd have liked to be a part of this, but if it's good for the company—" What else could she say? I wanted to be your partner, not work for your husband? It wasn't her company. And now it looked like it never would be. She shivered even though the room was plenty warm in the afternoon sun.

"We'll announce it the end of the month at the Cattleman's Association fair."

Jill stood up and paced behind the couch until a shrill whistle blew through the tap, tap, tap of her stilettos on the wood floor. She turned off the teapot, poured water over two bags in two mugs and then stood there.

The end of the month. She had time, but would that matter?

She'd turned down running a company that would have given her control and let her run things the way she wanted. No, it didn't make her heart happy, not like Steel Born did, but would that even be the case anymore now that Maggie and her husband would be running the show? Would there even be room for Jill's influence anymore?

So many questions, and only one made it past her lips.

"Was this Bennett's idea?" Jill asked. She squeezed her eyes shut so the heat behind them wouldn't spill out. Crying at what was supposed to be good news wasn't a good look.

Maggie didn't answer her question, instead going with, "We're just trying to do what's best for the company—"

"A female-owned company that was working to make real strides to bring parity to the ranching world. Now"—she swallowed back bile building in the back of her throat—"now we'll be just like everyone else in the business. Run by a man."

Jill walked back in and plunked the two glasses on the oak table, sloshing some hot water over the sides. She couldn't help it—her hands trembled like they were in an earthquake.

Maggie's smile fell. Her friend looked worn. Deep lines around her eyes and lips spoke of an exhaustion beyond the normal tiredness of running a company. Still, she couldn't figure out why Maggie'd kept this from her, and why she felt the need to drag Jill from the city to announce the merger when it was already in the works.

"What aren't you telling me, Maggie?" Jill asked.

"What's going on with Lily?" Maggie asked at the same time.

Jill gestured for her friend to go first. She needed time to regain her bearings. To think through how this was going to upend her life as she knew it—and not in any good ways she could discern.

"Is Lily okay? She's really lethargic and her breathing sounds labored."

"Well, she's fine if you don't count being knocked up by a random dog at the dog park. She's about halfway through her pregnancy. You're going to be an aunt."

Of all the reactions Jill expected—a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, surprise at the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, even disgust at Jill for allowing her dog to be unspayed—the reality was much odder.

Maggie broke into tears, heavy and wracking her whole torso with sobs.

Jill abandoned her tea and frustration and was at her friend's side in an instant. Rubbing her back, she felt Maggie's spine protruding through the threadbare robe. She'd lost weight. A lot of it that she didn't have to lose.

"Okay, that's enough. What's going on, Maggie? You need to tell me what's up. Please."

"That wasn't supposed to be the good news. I called you here to tell you something else, but then… then things changed yesterday at my doctor's appointment."

Oh, God. No. Please let Maggie be okay. I'll work for whomever if she can just be okay.

"I'm pregnant. We're—Bennett and me—are pregnant."

Jill shot up again. "What? That's fantastic. Congratulations, Mags!"

Maggie burst into fresh sobs. "It isn't fantastic. I have to be on bedrest unless I'm going to the bathroom or making something on my severely limited list of what I can eat. I can't do anything, Jill. How am I supposed to run a company—" Her words were cut short by a heaving spasm that rolled through her body. Jill sat and cradled her.

It all made sense. Why Maggie wanted to merge the companies, why she hadn't involved Jill, and why she was so scared and exhausted.

The most important matter of business was making sure her friend was okay—not just physically, but that she felt like she had support and someone to count on. No matter what else Jill was, she was Maggie's best friend.

The rest would come.

"It'll be okay. I promise. Whatever you need, I've got you."

"Thanks, Jill. You've no idea how much that means to me. I mean, Bennett's family has been great, but you're my family. Have I told you how glad I am that you're here?"

Jill laughed. "Only a thousand and one times. But it wouldn't hurt to hear it again. Especially since I'm the last one to know you're preggo."

"You're not the last one. Jax actually doesn't know yet." Maggie hid behind a throw pillow. "Bennett isn't sure how to tell him since it means he'll have to step in and take on more responsibility and he already wanted to be outside more, in the office less."

"Well, he can get a grip and support his brother. Period. Anyway, regardless of the challenges, I get to be an aunt, too. This is good news, Mags."

"It is. I'll get there, too. I'm just… I'm terrified right now. What if something happens?"

"Nothing's gonna happen. I'm here." For how long, she wasn't sure, but she'd figure it out. San Antonio wasn't that far away; she could make the trip on weekends, or even every other weekend and help out. But something else nagged at her. "Is this why I'm headed to dinner with Jax? Because you can't go?"

Maggie nodded. "Yeah. Sort of. Until the order is complete with the Steiner family, Bennett wants to keep the pregnancy quiet. He signed them on for three years of exclusive Marshall beef and I threw in ten percent off our Premier line of balers and tillers for their farm. We can't afford to have them doubt our ability to come through until they see how little has changed."

"I get that, but how am I supposed to go if I know and he doesn't? I mean, why does he think he's going to dinner with me?"

"Because I told him to," a voice boomed over the living room. "So you told her, hon?"

Maggie broke into another round of sobs, and Jill gave Bennett a grimace. He'd really stepped in it.

"Oh, sweetie. It's fine." Bennett was at his wife's side in half a breath. "It just means I have to tell Jax sooner than we thought, that's all. Hey there, Jill." He held his arms out.

Jill stood and hugged her brother-in-law for all intents and purposes.

"Am I in trouble?" he whispered.

"If you give her any more grief, you will be with both of us," Jill whispered back. He patted her on the back. "Bennett Marshall. How are you gonna account for knocking my best friend up and keeping me from being there to see the first ultrasound?"

He gave her the trademarked Marshall half grin and shrugged. "The first part I'll cop to. Proudly." He pulled at his lapels, his smile wide and chin jutting up. Jill laughed. "The second you'll have to talk to my wife about, though."

"Oh, I will when she's better." She tossed Maggie a wink.

"Hey there, wifey. How are you feeling?" When he put one hand on Maggie's stomach and used the other to rub her back, a shot of jealousy raced through Jill's veins. She still wanted that, but it wasn't right to be jealous of her friend for already having it.

"I'm okay. Jill made me tea."

"You need more than tea, hon."

She shooed him in the same way she had Jill earlier. "I'll eat later. Right now, we should catch Jill up on everything."

He nodded and sat, but Jill could see the way the worry toyed with the creases across his forehead, deepening them.

They sat and Jill heard about the pregnancy—an accident, though they were going to start trying the next month anyway. Neither had expected it to happen so quickly. But when they'd gone in after some unexpected bleeding, they were given the bad news. Maggie's uterus walls were thin. She needed to rest so the placenta didn't pull away from it. She was down and out for the next seven and a half months.

"I'm so sorry," Jill said. It was more serious than she thought. The likelihood of them being able to keep Steel Born in its current iteration was slim.

"It's okay. But you see now why we need to merge?"

"Forget need. Do you want to merge the two companies?" she countered.

Bennett and Maggie looked at one another.

Maggie sniffled and rubbed the moisture below her nose on her sleeve. "No. Not really. But what choice do we have?"

"I can run things, Mags. Can I be honest? I thought you were calling me here to take over half the company anyway."

Maggie began to cry again, quieter this time. "I'm so sorry. I want to give it to you, but I know you can't run it alone, and that's what you'd be doing."

"I can take over whatever you need me to," Jill broke in. Hope buoyed her.

"There's so much, though. Meetings with local clients and investors, spot-checking the equipment in the warehouse—"

"So let Jax help," Bennett chimed in.

Jill visibly cringed. Anything but that.

"Don't you need him on site here?"

Bennett shrugged. "I do, but we can get by with the staff we have for a while anyway. And I can do his office work from here so I can take care of Maggie. It's actually kinda brilliant, babe," he said, kissing Maggie, who still blushed with the attention. These two were too cute. It was hard to watch them and not want what they had.

"Will Jax go for it?" Maggie wondered.

The last thing Jill wanted was to work with Jax. And yet—the idea had merit. He could do the day-to-day local stuff Maggie usually did. Maybe this was a perfect solution.

"I dunno, to be honest, but we can ask. I mean, I want to stay with you as much as I can anyway so I can get you what you need and focus on our family. Maybe—maybe there's a way we can keep our companies separate and let Jax and Jill take over for a bit," Bennett said to Maggie, cupping her cheek in his palm.

The gesture was so tender, so inexplicably intimate, Jill forgot about how if this plan worked, she'd get the role in the company she wanted, yes, but she'd also have to work with Jax every day.

Well, she sort of forgot. "If we did this, could I keep my place in San Antonio?"

The couple shared another look that made Jill's arms break out in goosepimples.

"Maybe eventually, but Jax doesn't know what I do here," Maggie said. Her voice was quiet and even with the robe she looked too thin and fragile. "I'd need you to stay on and either train him or let him handle the paperwork so you can chat up buyers and all that. Especially with the Cattleman's Association fair coming up. I'd only trust you with it if I'm being honest. It's something that can make or break us, and maybe that's our litmus test."

"How's that?" Jill asked. Admittedly, she didn't know much about the fair since she was running the numbers behind the scenes. She'd offered to jump in and help but would need to do her homework if this half-baked plan had any hope of succeeding.

"I mean, if this works—you and Jax taking over for now until this high-risk pregnancy is over—we won't announce anything at the fair. But if you don't like how it's going or the work load is too much, we can always jump in at the CAF opening night and pretend the merger has been on the table all along."

Jill glanced down at her shoes, the caked red dirt on the edge of her six-hundred-dollar pair of heels as out of place as she was in Deer Creek. "That makes sense. But what about living here? I don't have a place—"

"You can have my house, and it comes furnished. Oh my goodness. We'd be neighbors, and you could see me get fat the next seven months. Then you can see what I love about this place—it changes everything, you know. Living on a ranch makes you appreciate what we do more, I think."

And there it was—the ultimatum in all its lavish details. Jill could have everything she'd worked for—proximity to the most important person to her, the job she wanted, and help her friend in the process. But she'd have to give up her life in the city to get it. That meant no more brunches with her parents, at least not regularly. No more espressos at her favorite little shop on the corner under her apartment. No more pointing a finger at the takeout menus in her drawer and deciding then and there what she was having for dinner.

Worse, she'd have to work every day with an obnoxious man who had already decided he didn't like her.

Well, which do you want more? The city or the company? The friendship or avoiding a guy who annoys you?

On paper, it was a no-brainer. Maggie was her closest friend and needed her more than ever. Besides that, the company was too important to both of them to just give up. Even more so now that Jill had put all her eggs in the Steel Born basket.

Maggie's bottom lip was drawn between her teeth in anticipation of Jill's reply. She had a choice, of course she did. But there was only one right answer.

"Okay," Jill said, grabbing her tea so she had something to do with her hands that had started to shake again. "I'll stay."

Maggie cheered and Bennett hugged Jill tightly.

"Thank you, sis. Now, who's telling Jax?"

*

Jackson paced in front of the restaurant until he wore out a path. At least that was how it felt. He hit redial and listened as the phone rang until it went to voicemail. Again.

C'mon, c'mon… He glanced at his watch. It was seven-freaking-thirty. Where the heck was she? Leave it to Ms. Perfect to be late. The thing was, he didn't care if Jill showed up at all, not really. Not when he had a thousand other things on his mind.

Chiefly, the news Bennett had shared with him just a couple hours ago.

Bennett had found him at the stables just before dinner and broke the news about his and Maggie's complicated pregnancy. Right away, Jax had been worried for his sister-in-law's health, but hearing she'd be okay if she rested for the duration of her pregnancy let in a little excitement. He was going to be an uncle. Holy crap.

It had also explained the exhaustion lining each of Bennett's features and gestures the past week. Jax agreed his brother should take some time off to care for his wife and their child. It's what he would do, no question.

Of course, he'd honor his brother's request to pitch in more. But that was where things got convoluted.

"What kind of help you gonna need?" he'd asked Bennett.

Instead of looking him in the eye, Bennett had busied himself with the tack hanging up in the stables instead. "Jill and you can chat about that at dinner tonight. We'd like you two to work that out."

He and Jill? What did she have to do with MBE?

Then, a different kind of worry had set in. Jax had taken another job, one that started the first week in January and it was already September. If Bennett needed him to stay beyond that, he couldn't.

Wouldn't.

It wasn't that he didn't care what his brother and Maggie were facing, but at some point, he needed to take care of himself, too.

I didn't peg you for a guy who'd leave his family in the lurch. Jax rubbed his temple. Jesus, his conscience sounded an awful lot like Bennett.

He held up his wrist again. Seven thirty-five. He needed Jill to get here already so he could speak his piece before he lost his nerve. He'd do whatever she needed of him until December and then she'd have to figure it out on her own.

A sleek, black Mercedes S-Class pulled up to the valet, and Jax froze in place. All he could see of the driver was a thick head of glossy, vermillion hair curled at the tips, paired with painted-red lips. But he knew. Or rather, his heart knew.

Jill.

Granted, when he'd met her, he'd thought everything sleek or shiny about her was obnoxiously overdone, but then why couldn't he forget about the way those glossed lips looked when they sipped on her chardonnay?

And why—even after he'd overheard her call him incompetent—couldn't he stop imagining what she'd look like bareback on one of the mares from the ranch, her hair left to its natural wave, wild and feral as the monsoon storms?

Because you're a Neanderthal.

Not untrue, but he'd seen what it might look like if she weren't an irritating perfectionist and didn't give him shit for being less-than every chance she got. When he'd stopped by Maggie's two nights after the wedding to drop off MBE paperwork, Jill had answered the door and left him speechless. And he was never speechless.

Her hair had been curly and fell halfway down her back, and she'd hadn't had a hint of makeup on. The small rips in her clothes spoke of a hundred possible adventures she might have taken, but it was the overall lack of polish that had stuck in his chest, making it hard to think about much else.

Neanderthal, indeed.

So, when she stepped out of the car in sky-high heels and a suit, he tried to swallow back a wave of emotion, but his throat was as dry as the ranch dirt in late summer. Jesus, she… she…

She's effing gorgeous. She'd worn a billowy yellow ankle-length dress to the wedding and yeah, she'd been beautiful then, but there was something about the way the suit hugged her silhouette and showed off her in-charge attitude and at the same time made him half hard.

But she's still the same woman who treats you like you're covered in cow manure.

Also not untrue. But to be fair, most of the time, he was.

Her emerald-green eyes seemed to pierce through to his center, even from underneath her manicured, furrowed brow. Instead of bright curiosity, they were replaced with a cutting edge that sliced through his resolve to tell her how it was going to be the minute she arrived. Also gone was the rough-around-the-edges attitude from that day at Maggie's. Instead, she was all curves—nothing resembling the hardened woman he'd dreamed of the past couple of months.

But she was definitely stunning. Enough to take his breath away.

"Well, well, if it isn't Jackson Marshall," she said, striding up to him with the same confidence Maggie had the first time she'd come back to Deer Creek after her father died. The difference was, Maggie always had a smile tucked away, whereas Jill looked like she didn't believe in the gesture.

"I think you mean ‘the idiot brother who can't hold up his end of things with a tent pole'?"

Jill frowned, an unfortunate move for him since the crescent-shaped dimple between her brows was freaking adorable.

"Since it looks like we'll be working together, I suppose we should at least act like we get along. I'm sorry about whatever I said at the wedding, but can we start over? For Maggie and Bennett's sakes at least?"

He twisted his lips, biting the corner of them. Consider him properly chastised. "Yeah, okay. Sorry."

"It's fine. I just think we should make this dinner about figuring out how to help them and leave whatever grievances we have with each other behind. I mean, we're adults; surely we can work together and get along, right?"

He nodded, not sure if being an adult was enough to thwart the multitude of feelings he had about this woman. Sure, he could put aside the negative ones, but the tightening behind his zipper he'd felt when she stepped out of the car? That would take a herculean effort to forget.

She leaned in to shake his hand at the same time he reached out to hug her, resulting in an awkward embrace that left her trapped against him while she tried to regain her balance.

Her breath was warm on his chest, and when he inhaled quickly, he caught a whiff of oranges and vanilla. Sweet cherry tomatoes. This woman is deadly.

And he was alone with her. Hadn't he wanted that every night since she'd slammed the door in his face? Right now, he couldn't recall, not under the confused stare she shot him.

He stepped back and gestured to her suit. "You, uh, look nice. I mean good. Nice and good."

Nice? Good? What was he, four years old on the playground? Jill looked sexy as hell, but his brain was still running through the last idiot thing out of his mouth.

"Coming from you, that might pass as a compliment." She laughed and winked in the same frustratingly seductive way that had made him fumble over himself at Bennett's wedding, and his stomach did a nauseating flip.

Oof. He could do without that. If he was going to survive this business dinner, anyway.

"So, how was your trip out from San Antonio? It's a pretty drive, huh?"

"Yeah, if you like cattle ranches and the smell of hay mixed with cow crap." She wrinkled her nose as if there was a pile of manure at her feet.

"Wow. That's a harsh assessment, don't you think? I mean, the Guadalupes are pretty spectacular."

"Sure." She shook her head. "And Deer Creek is nice. The town, I mean. The ranches on every corner aren't my thing, though."

Ranches weren't her thing? Something about the way she said that, with a hardness around her eyes, said they'd personally offended her somehow.

And he took offense to that.

Forget their agreement to start over; he was gonna need to do that every time she opened her mouth. Something about this woman had the power to turn him on and make him want to scream simultaneously.

"I happen to like ranches. You kinda should, too, if you're working for Steel Born."

Jill rolled her eyes. Like, actually rolled her eyes.

"Why does everyone think that because I work for a ranching equipment company I should want to live on a ranch? I'm an engineer and finance officer by trade, not a cowgirl."

"Trust me, no one's mistaking you for a cowgirl." He gestured to her suit again, this time with a frown and more than a little animosity.

She whistled and put her hands on her hips. "Wow. That wasn't necessary. My appearance at a professional dinner doesn't say a damn thing about what I value. And just because hanging out on ranches isn't my idea of fun, it doesn't mean I don't know my way around them. But you wouldn't know that since you seem intent on taking every word out of context."

Jax pinched the bridge of his nose and felt like his older brother as soon as he did it. How did he keep messing up with this woman?

"Okay. I'll do better."

"I hope so. I don't know what I keep saying that's rubbing you the wrong way, but if we're going to be partners, we've got to knock it off."

"Partners?" Steel Born was a business deal of his brother's and the two of them were going to work together to help his brother and Maggie. End of story. But to that end, Bennett would have his ass if Jax effed up this opportunity with the Steiners for the company.

A company I'm getting out of.

Except he wasn't out of it yet, so he'd better shut up and play ball. No matter what beef he had with her, he'd play nice.

A car pulled up, and an elderly woman struggled to exit the passenger seat. Jax jogged over to her door, held it open while he assisted her out. Could he dip into her car and make a clean getaway from Jill, whose brows were furrowed and mouth turned down? Although, the way she nibbled on the corner of her lips almost made her look curious.

"Should we go in? We can talk about this inside instead." Jill nodded to the entrance.

"Sure."

Jax scratched his arm through his suit jacket. He was wearing Egyptian cotton, so there was no reason his skin should be this itchy. Then again, with the scrutiny of Jill's unrelenting, and frankly judgy, gaze, it was a shock his whole body wasn't covered in hives.

He shot Bennett a text. " I hope you know how much I love you, bro. This woman makes Ms. Reeves from second grade look like a saint. "

The Marshall brothers' teacher had been a stickler for order, productivity, and abhorred mistakes. Safe to say, the rough-riding brothers had all despised her.

"Can I take your keys, sir?" the valet asked.

Jax shot a look to Jill. The idea of being out in the open on the sidewalk seemed decidedly safer, but what choice did he have?

"So, what's the plan? Just iron out some details about how to help them through this pregnancy and take a load off?"

"That's the cover, but ultimately, we're here to convince Steiner nothing's wrong."

She laced her fingers together in front of her, and he didn't let his gaze wander appreciatively to the perky breasts peeking up from the lacey top she wore. His pride in himself went through the roof.

Look at that growth, Bennett.

And then she crossed her arms over her chest. He lost the battle immediately, but thankfully she headed toward the door, saving him from himself.

Where the hell's your self-control, man?

"Should've let that wild mare stomp on my chest," he grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" she asked, turning back around.

"Nothing. Just saying I could use a drink."

He tossed his keys to the valet who was trying—and failing—to pretend he wasn't watching Jax and a pretty redhead getting into it on the curb.

"You and me both," she whispered under her breath.

Whose idea was it to let these two—two people with as differing views on the world and each other as was possible—save their families' business? They could barely contain their animosity.

"Let's head inside." Jax headed for the restaurant entrance.

"Wait."

A gentle piano melody carried by the scent of grilled meat seasoned to perfection floated by him. Neither relaxed his shoulders, though. This was already the most excruciating dinner date—or non-date—he'd ever had, and he hadn't even walked through the doors.

"What, Jill?" he asked.

He was tired, the bone kind of tired that not even a fifty-dollar filet and triple shot of double-barrel bourbon could fix. And if the past two days were any indication, that wasn't gonna get better any time soon.

"I'm sorry."

He couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped. "Are you, now?"

Her sigh punched him in the gut.

"Now it's my turn to be sorry," he said. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

"I don't like you, that's true."

Another gut punch, this one somehow worse. It wasn't like she was telling him something he didn't already know, but damn.

"But I love Maggie. And she's worked too hard— we've worked too hard—to let a petty annoyance get in the way of working together for her and Bennett's sakes. I won't lie and pretend I want to be here, but I will do it for her, and I know you're here for him. And whatever happens tonight, let's not forget we can make this work for us, too. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be second-in-command my whole life."

"Something we can agree on." He held out a hand, and she took it, her grip firm and warm.

A slow burn spread up his arm from where their palms touched. It felt like an electric shock, if those were in the habit of creeping silently up veins until they jolted your heart on impact.

"Okay, then lead the way," she said.

They were led to a table immediately. Jax had been to some classy joints in his time, but this place put them all to shame. The tables were all stained oak and adorned with a single candle in the center. Instead of being cheesy, the wrought-iron stands beneath the candles—each one different than the table next to it—made it unique and charming. Then there were the vaulted ceilings. It was like being in an old hunting lodge with new money infused. With the live guitarist playing in the background, the ambiance was a bull's-eye.

Bennett was right to want to be in business with the Steiners. And from what he understood, Maggie and Jill's company was going to help his son with farming equipment, so keeping this partnership was imperative. The purpose of the evening wasn't lost on Jax, but it was a little hard to focus with his and Jill's constant bickering juxtaposed against the visual of her swaying hips in front of him.

He loosened a button on his dress shirt. Christ. She was gonna be hard to concentrate around for about a hundred different reasons.

When they got to the table, he was secretly pleased to find their chairs were close enough together that some parts of their bodies were bound to touch. Okay, so he'd work on focusing tomorrow. Tonight, he'd play the part of the concerned brother and let himself enjoy the company of a beautiful—albeit maddening—woman.

Sure enough, she slid in beside him, and their knees grazed. More than that, her thigh settled against his in the corner booth. His gaze slipped first, followed by his willpower. There, in the crest of skin bared on her chest, something glittered, something he recognized. Unfortunately, she couldn't see his internal struggle to figure out why the initials etched in the jewelry laying against her soft skin tweaked his memory.

"What the hell, Jax?" She whacked him playfully on the shoulder with a hand, the other protectively covering her exposed flesh. "That's not what I was thinking when I said we should get along."

He smiled and lifted his gaze. "Sorry. I just—" He held up a hand in supplication. The other pointed to the gold heart on a thin, gold chain beneath her fingers. "I saw that and was curious. Who is L.W.?"

"None of your business," she said, pressing the locket between her thumb and forefinger. The flush of red that spread up her neck made his fingers itch like his arms did.

So, it was her, after all. Interesting.

"An ex? Maggie said you're single."

A chilly breeze slid over them, but then, that could've been her frigid stare.

"Maggie had no business telling you that. But yes, someone I cared about. His name was Liam."

Jax's brows furrowed. "It wasn't Liam Walker by chance, was it?"

Jill's mouth formed into a cute little O , and his brows pulled together in surprise. Well, damn. That was how he recognized the initials—they were on all Liam's gear at the rodeo and Henley Apparel had even created a brand of post-rodeo wear with the etching of those two letters.

"No way. That's cool. He was a hero of mine. Nobody rode like him before or since."

"Of course, he was." She frowned at him. "But tell me how the heck you knew it was him. Because Maggie would never share that."

"She didn't. I put two and two together. You're a Henley and he was a rodeo god. Only made sense you two would've met. Shame what happened to him."

"It is." Her pause gave way for a little of the hostility between them to dissipate. "You're smarter than you look, aren't you?"

"Coming from you, that might pass as a compliment."

And then she smiled. It warmed him from the inside out, like the sun in a dimly lit place.

"Touché. Anyway, let's order and then we should talk."

"Food for sure. I'm starving and after we figure out what to do about Maggie and Bennett, you owe me a story."

She glanced up at him. "How's that?"

"About Liam Walker."

"Then you're buying me a drink."

That seemed a fair trade. Hell, he'd have bought the woman a drink just to keep her looking at him the way she was, with big eyes and a tentative smile. They each ordered a glass of wine, along with what sounded like a killer burnt tips appetizer.

Jax sat back in the plush booth, his hand on his thigh within a finger's breadth of hers. All he needed to do was move his pinky a little to the left and their fingers would be interlaced. Her thigh was still resting against his, which he didn't mind in the least. At least the tablecloth hid just how appreciative he was. In fact, he thought he might shoot Steiner an email after dinner and compliment the innovative table seating.

"So, tell me what's up. I feel like you're ahead of me with this Bennett and Maggie thing."

The server brought their wine.

She lifted the glass to his. "Cheers."

"Cheers."

"Well, like Maggie asked me, do you want the good news or the bad?"

He regarded her warily. "Hmmm. Bad news first."

Jill gritted her teeth. "Suit yourself. Promise you won't shoot the messenger?"

"Shit. It's that bad?"

She broke into a pained grin and shrugged, and he marveled at how her smile really lit up the place. He didn't even need the candle anymore.

"You won't be working for MBE anymore."

For a second, he rejoiced. Hell yeah. That was what he'd been hoping for. "I'm struggling to see how that's bad news."

Jill sipped at her glass of white wine. "You don't like working for your brother?"

It was Jax's turn to shrug. "Not so much that I don't like working for him as it isn't my calling. I came back a few years ago—damn, nearly ten, actually—to help out when he needed me, and I didn't ever think I could leave. But can I tell you something I haven't even told him yet? You have to promise not to say anything to Maggie."

"Okay," she hedged, leaning closer to him. It had the effect of her calf touching his, too. God, he felt lighter than he had in years.

"I got another job. So your news is pretty good timing. I'll actually be—"

"Wait," she said, putting up a hand. Her frown went all the way to her furrowed brows. He took a long gulp of his malbec and let it slide down his throat.

"You misunderstood me. You and I are going to run Steel Born together, and Bennett is going to handle the paperwork for MBE from home so he can be with Maggie."

He choked on the remaining wine in his throat, the burn waking him up to what she'd said. "Are you kidding me?" The weight that had lifted slammed back onto his shoulders as she shook her head.

"I'm afraid not." She put a hand on his knee, light but there . It did the trick to calm his racing heart enough that he didn't launch straight to panic. "If we don't do this, they'll merge the companies."

"And? Why would that be such a bad thing?"

"Um, because part of our success is that we're a female-owned and operated business, and part of yours is that you're three generations of family-run. Did you seriously give up a decade of your life to see things go under in the end?"

He grumbled something about not wanting to give up the next ten years of his life, either. But she had a point. Jax had come back to help Bennett see his dream through; and they'd done that and more. The combined success of Bennett's insight and Jax's contacts from the rodeo circuit had led to unparalleled success. To lose it now would be to lose a family legacy.

Shit. "You'd be a good boxer."

She stared at him like he'd lost his mind. Maybe he had. "No one else I know can throw a one-two punch like you and make it sound like you're doing me a favor."

Jill's mouth twisted into an apologetic smile. "But like I said, I think we can find a way to work for us, especially if you have another job lined up."

"How the hell are we gonna do that? I start in January, and I'm sure you don't want to live in Deer Creek."

"Exactly. The way I see it, if we can get through the Cattleman's Festival—"

"Cattleman's Association fair," he corrected.

"Yeah, that. If we can keep operations improving till then, we can go our separate ways. We just have to show them nothing's going to change before that. Or better yet, that we're improving things. By then, they'll trust us not to run both companies into the ground. Then I can run Steel Born, and you can go wherever it is you're going."

"So that's your goal? To run Steel Born?"

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "Half of it anyway. I want to be equal partners with Maggie since I helped her get this off the ground. You're leaving your brother's company, so I don't expect you to understand—"

"No," he said. "I get it. You just want what you're due and what you love."

She nodded. If he could work as a ranch manager instead of in admin, he'd never leave. But Bennett considered it a waste of Jax's other talents to work manual labor like that. Maybe it was, but he loved working with animals and ranch hands—not on some spreadsheet that chronicled others' work. Leaving MBE was leaving his own legacy and even though it was his choice, it came with a stinging loss of its own.

"So, you need me to do this as much as Bennett and Maggie do."

"Maybe more. But if you think that means I owe you in some way—"

"Jesus. You really don't trust easily, do you?"

Jill opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. She shook her head.

"Well, all I'm saying is, I'm in." His life flashed before his eyes for the second time in his life. Why was it, the second he put the wheels in motion to reclaim his life, something new and impossible to turn down—like helping his brother and his sick wife through a difficult pregnancy—came along and stole it from his grasp?

Would he ever get to make his life his own, or was it too late to even try?

Either way, he would give this a go. Who knew? Maybe it would work, and everyone would get what they wanted.

"You are?" The candlelight flickered as she clapped her hands, smiling wide enough he caught a small gap between her two front teeth. God, she was adorable when she was earnest.

He tipped back his wine, sad that it was empty. He had to hand it to Jill. She was taking this whole disaster in stride and on top of that, she seemed to have a plan in place, one that wasn't all that different than his own. It couldn't hurt to go along with it. Worst case scenario? He talked to Bennett at the end of the year and bailed anyway.

He'd done his time and sacrificed for his family. It didn't have to be a lifelong gig. Did it?

"I am. And on that note, wine isn't going to cut it anymore."

He flagged the server and ordered double-barrel whiskeys for them both.

"Besides, you said you had some good news in there?" he asked.

She grinned from behind her wineglass. The candlelight sparkled off her eyes and glass, giving her an ethereal look. "That was it. We can make it work in our favor, so we get what we want well before the baby comes. Wish I had more, but this blindsided me, too. If you think for one second I'm thrilled to be living on a ranch for the next month—"

"No. We established how you feel about that earlier."

She laughed and damn if it didn't look good on her. "The sooner we fix this, the sooner you can leave, and I can get back to thousand-count sheets and shoe stores that sell more than boots."

"Why didn't you say anything when you first mentioned ranches earlier tonight?"

"I was still trying to process my life changing in a way I'm not excited about and gauging how you'll fit into that puzzle."

"Got it. And? What'd you come up with?"

"You're my last resort. Bleak, huh?"

He laughed then, good and long. Her hand hadn't left his thigh but that and the whiskey set down in front of Jax were small consolations.

"Alright, Henley. Bottoms up. I'm hoping whatever hairbrained scheme you've got cooking finds me—"

" Us ," she interjected.

"Finds us a way out of this." He lifted his glass and downed the entire contents in one gulp. "'Cause if not, I—"

"We," she amended.

He laughed even though this was hardly funny. He just tied himself to a woman who drove him at best to distraction, at work to madness and her career hung in the balance as much as his freedom did.

"Fine. If we don't get this right, we can kiss our dream jobs goodbye."

They clinked glasses.

"To our future," she said.

"May we have one," he added, then let the whiskey warm the part of his heart that worried this was never gonna work.