Autumn's Hope (Cowboy Seasons) (3 page)

Touching
her stomach, she realized that her thinking was flawed. Sure she was the one who
got pregnant by a man she hardly knew, but she had a miracle growing inside
her. Maybe for once the odds were with her instead of against her. This was her
new start and she needed to put the past behind her. She was a kind person.
Surely she’d have friends here and have a normal life. Well, as normal as a
single mother opening a restaurant can be.

Grabbing
up a cleaning cloth, she went back to work. The sooner she got everything
perfect, the sooner she could open. She’d need to hire a staff and hopefully
find someone who could take over for a week or two while she had the baby.

Chapter
Two

Jonas
slumped in his leather chair. He didn’t feel like doing anything. He always got
this way after putting a horse down and usually he’d head to town and have a
drink, but that option wasn’t there anymore. There had to be some way to stop
her. Maybe he could go to the town council and complain. Really, the Bar and Grill
was the only place to have a decent drink in the area.

The
more he thought about it the more convinced he became that something needed to
be done. He grabbed his keys, put his Stetson on his head and headed on out.
The town council consisted of three people. Beverly Rain, Sheriff Brown and
Stone McCoy. He liked Stone; he was a good rancher and friend. The other two he
had no use for. Maybe he’d finally found one.

He’d
have to request a meeting, which would be open to the public but damn it, he
didn’t care. The more the merrier. He was certain that his opinion was the
Carlston prevailing one. No wonder the pretty gal was single, she was pure
crazy.

He’d
go to the library first and get Beverly Rain on his side. She was good at
spreading the word. He’d have Autumn driven out of town. Jonas frowned. Maybe
that was a bit harsh. All he really wanted was the Bar and Grill to serve
whiskey and steaks.

He
mulled it over as he parked his truck and walked into the library. Beverly
smiled, looking happy to see him, which he had to admit was a bit unusual.

“I
was hoping to get a chance to chat with you, Jonas.” Her perfume almost made
him cough.

“I
was wondering about the Bar and Grill. I heard it’s going to be turned into a
veggie place with juice.”

She
batted her eyelashes flirtatiously. “I think we might be on the same page,
Jonas, for a change. I don’t approve of what that woman is doing. In fact, I
just heard that the temporary veterinarian is going to stay with her. Why, look
at what she’s doing to you. She could have at least honored the beef contract
you had with Paul. Besides, she embarrassed me at Carlston Diner and that’s
just not right.”

He
never meant this to be an attack on Autumn’s character. Hell, he just wanted
things to stay the same. Damn, he stepped into a hornet’s nest by involving
Beverly. He could just have a whiskey at home and he’d take the loss on the
beef. “What Autumn does in her personal life shouldn’t matter any.”

Beverly’s
smile was condescending. “It all matters, Jonas. I’ve spent my life being a virtuous
woman. I don’t like bad seeds.”

Jonas
blinked and nodded. “It was nice chatting with you, Beverly. I have some beef
to sell.”

“I
wouldn’t be in such a hurry to sell that beef, Jonas, there’s going to be a
town meeting tomorrow evening and I hope to see you there.”

“Thanks
for letting me know. Have a good day.” Jonas high-tailed it out of the library
before Beverly could talk about her virtuous life. He shuddered, he’d made a
big mistake. He was almost to his truck when he heard his name. Turning, he saw
Autumn marching up toward him and by her expression he didn’t think she was at
all happy to see him.

“What
have I ever done to you? Why would you try to ruin my life?” Tears sparkled in
her blue eyes.

“What
do you mean ruin?”

“I
know you’re behind this big town meeting. I want to know why you think it’s all
right to take away my dream. This is my life you’re playing with. It’s not just
a place to eat and drink, it’s my way of making a living.” She drew in a shaky
breath. “I have everything tied up in this restaurant that you want shut down
before it’s even opened. I know I’m an outsider but I never expected this
reaction.” Autumn stared at him a moment, and then turned to march away.

Jonas
put his hand on her slim arm. “Please, I never meant—what I mean is, I never
gave your situation a thought. I’m sorry.”

Autumn
turned and stared at him with her luminous, sad eyes. “I’ll see you at the
meeting.” She lifted her chin a bit and walked away.

“Damn.”
He was a first class jack ass, plain and simple. A jerk, a heel, a—oh hell he
ran out of things to call himself. His heart dropped as he got in his truck and
drove home. He never meant to cause that little spitfire any harm. Her tear-filled
eyes haunted him. Maybe he should call Stone McCoy and ask his advice.

* * * *

Autumn’s
stomach had been queasy all day. All of her energy had drained away while she
waited for the meeting to begin. She sat in the front row of folding chairs in
the community center. She wasn’t sure how many people lived in Carlston but it
looked to her as though most of them had shown up.

Both
chairs on either side of her were empty and it disturbed her. It illustrated
how alone she really was. She clasped her hands in front of her and laid them
in her lap. She hoped she looked all business in her floral print dress. It was
a bit chilly out and she topped the dress with a short emerald green jacket.
She even put her hair up, hoping to gain some support. But perhaps it was done
in vain.

Jonas
entered the room. He was such a tall man and his shoulders were so broad. Too
bad he was the enemy; she could have used those shoulders to cry on. He scanned
the crowd and narrowed in on her. Suddenly, her energy came back and she was
ready to fight.

He
walked toward her and had the audacity to sit next to her. She turned her head
so she wouldn’t have to see him.

“Not
talking to me?” The humor in his voice rubbed her the wrong way. He didn’t
deserve an answer.

“I
did some soul searching and I’m sorry. You were right, I didn’t take you into
consideration. I only thought of what I wanted.”

Slowly,
she turned and gazed into his eyes. His sincerity surprised her.

Before
she had a chance to comment, the meeting was called to order. Her stomach
dropped as Beverly walked to the podium and began to speak.

“As
you all know the reason for this meeting is for preservation. Yes,
preservation
. We cannot allow outsiders
to come in and dictate to us what our town should be about. Now we all remember
Paul Gallagher, God rest his soul. What would he think? He built that Bar and
Grill with his own two hands. He spent his life making it a success.” She
stopped and panned the crowd for effect.

Autumn
couldn’t seem to get over the fact that her lipstick matched her hair. She
glanced at the other two council members. Sheriff Brown she’d met. The handsome
man at the end must be Stone McCoy. He had thick brown hair and intense gray
eyes. He glanced her way and winked, lightening her spirits a bit.

“Paul
was a good and honest man. I just know he wouldn’t have wanted his place turned
into a veggie bar.” She said the phrase with disgust as she grimaced. “Why I
don’t even think that Paul liked any vegetables besides potatoes. Autumn Lavin
will need to adjust her menu to include meat and alcohol.”

The
applause was what Autumn expected. Everyone was on Beverly’s side. She could
see pieces of her broken dreams start to fall before her.

Damn hormones
.
She felt herself choke up, so she closed her eyes and took a couple of deep
breaths.

“Don’t
worry.” Jonas took her hand in his big, work worn hand and held it.

Beverly
smiled at the crowd, then narrowed her eyes on Autumn and shook her head.

Sheriff
Brown stood at the podium next. His blond hair was cut short, resembling a
military haircut. He was tall and thin with piercing brown eyes. “I agree with
Miss Rain, if Miss Lavin won’t abide our rules, she can move on.”

Fortunately
there wasn’t as much applause, but he did give her a cold glare.

Autumn
shivered. This was not going well.

Jonas
gently squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry I got your back.”

Finally,
it was Stone’s turn. “I really think this is getting out of hand. What right do
we have to tell a business owner what type of food they can serve? I like a
great steak too but I’d never take away a person’s livelihood because they didn’t
serve it.”

The
back door opened with a bang and Summer Fitzgerald stalked inside. She headed
for Stone. “If I may?”

Stone
nodded and took his seat.

Summer
scanned the crowd. It looked as though she was trying to make eye contact with
as many people as possible. “I have to say that I’m ashamed of you. Paul
Gallagher was like a father to me. He wouldn’t have cared what was served at
his old restaurant, as long as the place was being taken care of. He loved his
work and he loved all of you. He gave the restaurant to me without restriction
and that’s the way I sold it to Autumn Lavin, without restriction.”

A
murmur came over the crowd.

“I
have met Autumn and she is a kind, caring person. She’s put everything she’s
got into her vegetarian restaurant and I, for one, hope that she succeeds. She
has also offered to put up the temporary veterinarian in the other apartment so
Holden and I can finally get married. She doesn’t know me or Holden but she is
willing to help. I think this town is lucky to have Autumn here.”

Autumn
stole a glance at Jonas. He smiled. “I called for backup.”

A
warm feeling settled over her and it was a something she hadn’t experienced in
a very long time. “For me?”

“Of
course for you. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but we could be friends.”
His amber eyes filled with compassion.

She
swallowed back a sob and nodded. It had been forever since anyone wanted to
help her and her darn hormones wanted a good cry. Autumn bit the inside of her
cheek to keep her tears at bay. Her heart filled with gratitude and she had a
suspicion that there was something else besides gratitude too. This big, burly
man held her hand and caressed the top with his thumb.

More
than likely she was reading too much into his simple gesture. She gently eased
her hand from his.

Summer
continued her speech. “This is not a matter for the town council. It’s not as
if a strip club is being opened here. It’s a restaurant, and I bet it will be a
successful one.”

Beverly
instantly stood, outrage on her face. Sheriff Brown grabbed her arm and pulled
her back into her seat. They could probably sense the turning attitude of the
crowd. Beverly appeared angry and she said something to Sheriff Brown. He
shrugged in response. This time Beverly looked right at Autumn and gave her a
long, cold stare.

Shivers
went down her spine. It was quite the stare and it promised that nothing was
settled. It appeared Beverly now had a score to settle and Autumn didn’t need any
more aggravation. She began to feel queasy again.

“Don’t
worry,” Jonas whispered in her ear.

She
could feel his warm breath against her skin. So, many conflicting emotions were
firing through her body. “I don’t feel well.”

The
words were barely out of her mouth before Jonas stood and took her hand,
pulling her up next to him. He turned and mouthed thanks to Summer, then whisked
her outside into the cool, crisp air.

“Better?”

Leaning
against the outside of the building, Autumn closed her eyes and breathed in
deep and slowly let the air out. “Yes, thank you. The cool air is helping. This
is my favorite time of year. The cool wind, the rain and the changing leaves
are such a wonderful contrast to a hot summer.”

Jonas
smiled. “Autumn is becoming a favorite of mine too.”

“We
need to get back in there. I need to find out the verdict.”

“
Shh
, no one will be bothering you about your veggies
again.”

Her
eyes widened as she studied his strong face. He seemed confident. “I don’t know
how to thank you—”

“It
was partly my fault this all happened. I was being a sore loser about the beef
sale.”

“Are
you losing a lot of money?”

Jonas
shrugged his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. Hey, don’t cry.”

She
couldn’t stem her tears; it had all been too much. Autumn stepped into his open
arms and snuggled her head against his powerful chest. Lord, he was all muscle.
Wrapping her arms around his waist she leaned against him. Despite what
happened, it was the best she’d felt in a long time. Tears streamed down her
face, but her need to sob had left, thanks to Jonas.