The Bachelor Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #6) - Jessica Clare

CHAPTER ONE

Bachelor auction?” Jack stared at his sister-in-law as if she’d grown another head.

They stood in the middle of the kitchen at the Swinging C Ranch. Jack had come inside to grab some water . . . and immediately, he’d been accosted by his sister-in-law.

Now he was trapped.

“Please, Jack? Please? It’s for charity and Sage says she’s down a bachelor. Come on. You love women. This is perfect for you!” Becca Watson was the tiniest slip of a woman and nice as could be . . . most days. She was also darn stubborn and knew how to get what she wanted from any of the Watson brothers, Jack suspected. She had his older brother Hank wrapped around one of those pretty little manicured fingers.

And Hank probably wasn’t the only one. Because when Becca shoved the bright pink paper at him again, Jack sighed heavily and took a look at it. Sage was almost as bad as Becca when it came to wheedling for things. The sweet-natured mayor never took no for an answer when she wanted something. She’d just smile and talk until you somehow found yourself saying yes.

So he glanced down at the paper handed to him. The headline read:

BACHELOR AUCTION. COME AND BID ON YOUR FAVORITE BACHELOR!

ALL OF THE PROCEDES GO TO BUILDING PAINTED BARREL’S ANIMAL SHELTER.

“What do you think?” Becca asked, clasping her hands under her chin.

He pointed at the paper. “Someone spelled ‘proceeds’ wrong.”

His sister-in-law smacked his arm. “You know what I mean, Jack. Will you do it?” She grabbed the plate of fresh-baked cookies off of the counter and held them up to him, her expression pleading.

Damn, but she was good. Cookies and the sad eyes? No wonder Hank never stood a chance. He looked around the kitchen, desperate for someone to save him, but both of his brothers and his elderly uncle were making themselves scarce like the cowards they were. There would be no escape from a well-meaning sister-in-law. Jack bit back a sigh and took three of the cookies offered. He crossed his arms over his chest so he wouldn’t look like he was giving in too easily. “What’s it entail?”

Becca gave a happy little squeal, hopping with joy. “You’re the best, Jack!”

“I know, but I didn’t agree to nothin’ yet,” he teased. “You gotta tell me what it’s about first.” Still, he liked seeing her happy. Jack had a soft spot for women, even if she was married to his big, rock-headed brother.

“Okay, well, it’s going to be super cute,” Becca gushed, and inwardly, Jack cringed. There were hearts all over the pink flyer, so he could only imagine what this was going to entail. “Cute” had better not mean him dressing up like a fool. “We’ve asked for volunteers around town to show up as our bachelors, and we’re going to auction you off to the highest bidder. All the ladies of the Painted Barrel Animal Helpers Committee are going to be there, bidding on the men, but of course it’s open to the public.”

“The what what what?”

“Painted Barrel Animal Helpers Committee. PBAHC. It’s the committee Amy and I and some of the other girls in yoga made to help out with the animal population. You know the city doesn’t have an official shelter, but if we can raise ten thousand dollars, Sage is going to put in a request to have the back of the city hall converted to make a shelter big enough to hold ten animals. It’s a great cause, and it’ll make you look like a great guy.” Becca pushed another cookie his way as he polished his off. “And you’re the only one that’s still single.”

“Doc’s single,” he pointed out over a mouthful of chocolate chips.

“He’s busy that day, unfortunately,” Becca told him. “We actually had a bunch of guys lined up, but with scheduling conflicts, we moved down to twelve. Then Mr. Hammond had heart surgery and so he can’t volunteer.”

Jack tilted his head. “Did you say Hammond? Tom Hammond?” The man was eighty if he was a day, and skinny as a nail. “He’s doing this?”

“Like I said,” Becca repeated slowly. “It’s for a lot of the club ladies and some of the women in yoga. You should expect the average age to be geriatric. Like, bingo-and-retirement-home age.” She hesitated and then added, “Though it is open to the public.”

Jack bit back another groan. He knew all about the public in Painted Barrel. For all that the town was bigger than most of