by Kate Pearce
The eye-watering smell of hamburger and burned hair drifted toward him, and he moved upwind of it, one eye on the pens that contained the calves, the other on their mothers, who didn’t appreciate being separated from their babies. Most people thought cows were docile creatures, but that wasn’t always the case.
Shep Gardin came up alongside Jackson and stopped his horse.
“Good to meet you, Jackson, and thanks for helping out today. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to speak to you before we set out. I was too intent on heading Marjory off at the pass.”
Jackson grinned. “Cauy’s looking forward to speaking to her later, so we’re all good.”
Shep made a harrumphing sound, his gaze drawn toward Cauy, who was currently on the tagging part of the operation. “He’s a good boy.”
“Yeah, he is.” Jackson nodded. “You can be proud of him.”
“I’m just glad he wants to be associated with us,” Shep said. “Mark wouldn’t allow Anita to speak or contact us after Cauy was born. It was one of his conditions for agreeing to marry her.”
Jackson winced at yet another example of his father’s unpleasant nature. Sometimes he wondered if he’d end up like Mark—alone and unloved. His father had gotten what he wanted when he married Anita, but like everything else in his life, it hadn’t given him the satisfaction or happiness he expected. His grudge against the world had just gotten bigger.
“My dad sure made some bad choices in his life,” Jackson agreed. “Cauy got away from him when he was sixteen, which was the best decision he ever made.”
He’d been guiltily relieved when Cauy left, because it meant he only had to worry about protecting his mother and sister. But Cauy’s absence had turned Mark’s attention back to his wife and other children, and things hadn’t gotten much better. At some points, he’d even envied his brother’s freedom . . .
Shep nodded. “I can’t believe Mark left him the ranch, though.”
“Yeah, Cauy was pretty shocked.”
Shep eyed him closely. “Did you expect it to come to you?”
“To be honest, I was far too busy with my military career to care what was going on around here,” Jackson said. “When Mom divorced Dad, I came and helped her move to her condo in Florida, spoke briefly to my dad, who was too furious to make much sense, and that was it for quite a few years.”
“Don’t you want to be a rancher?” Shep asked.
“Yeah, I do.” Jackson smiled at the older man. “It’s kind of in my blood.”
Shep smiled back. “Good man. Since my only son died, I’ve been hanging on here, hoping someone in the family would take an interest in the place, but no luck so far. It would be a shame for all this tradition to die. Mark did one thing right by getting you two boys to come back and save his place.” Shep nodded and clicked to his horse. “We’ll be getting some grub in an hour, so stick around.”
Jackson settled back into the saddle. Rocket appeared to be taking a nap but would quickly respond if Jackson needed him.
Did he mind that Mark hadn’t left the place to him? Everyone kept telling him he should, and yet he hadn’t really thought about it until Cauy presented him with his father’s will and he’d discovered he’d been left nothing at all. That had been a shock. Cauy already had plenty of money from his days in the oil business and was embarrassed to be left the ranch, considering how Mark had felt about him. He’d even offered it to Jackson, who had immediately repudiated the suggestion.
But had it hurt? He’d always considered himself the favorite son, and to end up with nothing . . .
A piercing whistle to his right alerted him to another escapee, and he eagerly went after the calf, more than willing to escape his uncomfortable thoughts. He’d never been the kind of guy who whined about anything, and he wasn’t about to start now.
* * *
“Saw your boyfriend up at the Gardin Ranch yesterday,” Adam remarked to Daisy as he held the door of Yvonne’s open for her.
“Doing what?”
“It’s branding season.” Adam looked like he couldn’t quite believe she didn’t know that. “Remember? When we all help one another out?”
“Ugh.”
Adam’s slow smile lightened his face. “No one would ever guess you grew up on a ranch, sis, I’ll give you that.” He found them a table. “He did okay.”
“That’s high praise from you.”
“We let him do the easy parts.” Adam shrugged. “He’s a good team player.”
“Impressive,” Daisy teased her big brother.
“You could do a lot worse.” Adam perused the menu, glancing up as Lizzie came into view. “Hey.”
“Er, hi!” Lizzie fidgeted with her notepad and didn’t look directly at Adam. “What can I get you guys?”
“I’ll have the double fish sandwich,” Adam said. “What about you, Daisy?”
“Just a pecan and cranberry salad.” Daisy sighed. “I’m going out with Jackson this evening, so I don’t want to eat too much.”
Lizzie waggled her eyebrows at Daisy behind Adam’s back. “Good thought. Focus your calories where you need them.”
Adam turned to look at Lizzie, who immediately composed her features. “Anything else I can get you guys?”
“Just water, please,” Daisy said, and Adam agreed. “Thanks.”
She waited until Lizzie went back to the counter. “What is it with you and Lizzie? You have this really weird vibe between you.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Adam replied.
“We get along fine now.”
“Now?” Daisy pounced on the word. “What happened before?”
“How about we file that under ‘none of your business’?” Adam returned his attention to the menu.
“You went to school together, didn’t you?” Daisy ignored his unsubtle warning. Sometimes brothers needed to be put in their place. “Did you go out with her?”
“Nope. I only went out with Louisa.” His smile disappeared, and a world of hurt flashed in his eyes. “You know that.”
She reached across the table and took his hand. “I’m sorry. That was really insensitive of me.”
“It’s okay.” He squeezed her fingers. “If anyone needs lightening up around here, we all know it’s me.”
Despite their parents’ objections, he and Louisa had married right out of high school. He’d lost his wife to cancer three years later, and he hadn’t been the same since. He’d changed from the happiest, most-open guy ever into a much quieter, self-contained man who rarely smiled and kept a rigid hold on his emotions even around his family.
“Lizzie was at school with us, and she was best friends with Louisa,” Adam continued talking. “Sometimes I think that makes it a bit awkward for us.”
Daisy wondered why, when it had been fourteen years since Louisa had died. Had they resented each other, the best friend and the husband? Had Louisa’s death divided them in ways Daisy hadn’t been aware of? Sometimes, she wished she had Jackson’s gift of just asking all the questions without shame. She sensed Adam held on to things way too long, and she didn’t know how to help him when she was that way herself.
“So where are you and Jackson going tonight?” Adam asked.
“Just to the Red Dragon, and then the new pizza place. Have you been there yet?”
“Nope. I make great pizza myself.”
“Don’t you even want to try it?” Daisy coaxed. “Evan said it’s really good.”
“Traitor.” Adam smiled. “Bring me back a slice. If it’s that good, I’ll stop making my own dough and you can all suffer.”
“Oh, don’t do that,” Daisy said. “What happens if the pizza place shuts down?”
He flipped his balled-up napkin at her and she pretended to dodge. It was so nice to see him smiling. Perhaps one day she’d broach the idea that he should go out on a date again. If she could dip her toe in the dating world, Adam could, too. He was a good man, and he deserved to be loved. But she wouldn’t push h
er luck today; she’d already ruffled his feathers quite enough.
* * *
Jackson was at her back door promptly at six, which Daisy appreciated. She stood on tiptoe to kiss his newly shaven cheek and breathed in his aftershave.
“Mmm . . . you smell good.”
He kissed her cheek and then recoiled “Ew. You smell like the stinky old water left in a vase of flowers.”
Daisy burst out laughing. “You—” She held out her T-shirt. “I almost dropped one of those big metal vases on my foot and got soaked through.”
“That explains it.” Jackson’s appreciative grin was hot enough to make her want to jump his bones. “Do you still want to get pizza, or do you want to come straight home with me and take a shower?”
“Pizza, please.” Daisy liked the way she could just say it how it was. “We can get it to go so we don’t have to stink up the whole shop. I don’t think the Ranieri family would like that.”
“Neither do I.” Jackson waited as she shut down her laptop, got her bag, and locked up the shop. “Starting a new business is hard enough without having someone stinking of . . . weeds sitting in the shop.”
“Very funny.” Daisy poked him in the ribs and he dodged out of the way. “I have to get a slice for Adam to try. He’s in a huff because he usually makes our pizza.”
“Adam’s in a huff?” Jackson asked. “I can’t quite picture that somehow.”
“You’d be surprised at what a sensitive guy he is about his cooking.”
Daisy let Jackson take her hand as they walked up the street. It was nice being by his side, and her day felt so much brighter. They had to walk down to the far end of Main Street to reach the new pizza parlor, which had opened up in one of the shops on the side of the medical center. The smell of garlic, grilled cheese, and tomatoes was phenomenal.
When they reached the front of the line, Jackson looked at the choices. “Pesto and Parmesan okay?”
“Ew, no way. It’s disgusting.” Daisy mock-shuddered. “Let’s go with anchovies and black olives.”
Jackson made a retching sound. “God, no.”
Gina Ranieri who was serving at the counter, gently cleared her throat. “We could do half and half.”
Daisy and Jackson stared at her and then at each other.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Daisy agreed. “You okay with that, Jackson?”
“Sure, as long as there’s a clear demarcation zone down the middle.”
Daisy rolled her eyes at Gina, who fought a smile.
“Thin or thick crust?”
Daisy said thin just as Jackson said thick. Gina sighed.
“I can go with a thick crust this time, but next time we have it my way,” Daisy conceded. “And can you give me a slice of your cheese pizza to go, and some cheesy garlic bread?”
Gina tapped everything into the order and looked up. “I’m guessing this will be a large-size pizza?”
“Yes.” They both nodded and grinned at each other.
“Finally, we agree on something,” Jackson said as he handed over his credit card. “Do you want a drink here while we wait, or shall we go to the Red Dragon and come back for the pizza?”
“It’ll be about half an hour, I’m afraid,” Gina said apologetically. “It’s Friday night, and we get quite busy.”
“Not a problem.” Daisy smiled at her. “Can you text me when it’s ready?” She handed over her business card. “Thanks so much.”
They left the pizza place, made their way to the Red Dragon, found a small table, and sat down.
“I’m buying,” Daisy said, pulling out her wallet. “You bought the pizza.”
“I’m okay with that,” Jackson said. “I’ll have a beer, please.”
Daisy got their drinks and brought them to the table, where Jackson was checking his phone. She hoped he could deal with the smell of old flower water for a little while longer. He looked up as she offered him the bottle and declined the glass.
“Thanks.” He put away his phone and gave her his complete attention, which was something she appreciated. “Cauy and Rachel are babysitting Maria Morgan tonight.”
“She’s a teenager so hardly a baby,” Daisy said. “I bet she doesn’t appreciate it.”
“But that means they won’t be back until midnight.” He winked at her.
“So if you wanted to chase me through the house naked, we could do that?” Daisy tried to look innocent.
He choked on his beer. “I’d just like to see you naked first.”
“And lying back against your sheets?” Daisy asked. “Writhing around in ecstasy?”
“Yeah, that.” He slowly licked his lips, which did all kinds of things to her stomach and made her wish they hadn’t ordered pizza.
“Maybe we could eat afterward.” Daisy only realized she’d spoken out loud when Jackson blinked at her.
“You’re reading my mind here.” He took another swig of beer. “Pizza heats up great in the microwave, right?”
She nodded and almost jumped when he put his hand on her thigh under the table. Was it possible to spontaneously combust from lust? She desperately tried to think of something else to talk about.
“You know when you met Dell?”
Jackson took a moment to follow her new, completely random train of thought. “Dell Turner?”
“Yes. He asked you about being in the air force and whether you were a pilot.”
His hand disappeared from her thigh. “What about it?”
“Well, you didn’t say whether that’s actually what you did, only that you learned to fly before you even went to the USAF.”
Jackson sat back, one arm on the back of his chair. “What made you think of that right now?”
“I’ve got a really good memory.” She shrugged. “And I just wondered.”
“I tried out to be a fighter pilot. I didn’t make it.”
His flat tone made Daisy pay attention. “I suppose most people don’t make it.”
“I was convinced I would.” His smile was wry. “It was the first time in my life when something in my control that I’d really wanted didn’t work out for me. I couldn’t believe it. I was so cocky, I thought I couldn’t fail.”
“It’s rare to go through life without failing at something,” Daisy said softly.
“I suppose you’re right. I didn’t take it well. For a while, I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself and almost ended up getting thrown out. Then I was posted to logistics in Qatar and got immersed in that.” He put down his beer. “Do you want another one?”
Daisy checked her phone. “Gina says the pizza will be ready in five minutes.”
“So I guess that’s a no.” Jackson picked up the bottles. “I’ll take these back to the bar and meet you out front.”
Daisy grabbed her purse and took herself off to the bathroom. She’d certainly succeeded in ruining the mood. She almost hadn’t recognized the always-smiling, always-relaxed Jackson Lymond when he’d started talking about not becoming a fighter pilot. She guessed that for someone who was supergoal-oriented that any perceived failure would bug the hell out of him. The fact that she wasn’t dissimilar, and had gone back to redo and reclaim her place in Silicon Valley, resonated with her.
If he knew what she was up to, she could’ve sympathized with him, and shared why she’d gone back. He, of all people, would probably understand her drive to succeed. But she couldn’t tell him because he was also the world’s worst blabbermouth.
She met Jackson at the door, high-fived Nancy as she passed by with a tray of empty glasses, and then headed back to the pizza place. Jackson was unusually silent as they picked up their pizza and took it back to Daisy’s truck. He’d been dropped in town by one of the ranch hands, so Daisy would drive back to his place and eventually on home.
He frowned as he settled in the passenger seat beside her. “Your steering wheel is set really high.”
“I inherited this truck from Adam.” Daisy wrinkled her nose at the wheel.
“Are you saying it moves?”
“Yeah, you can usually adjust the height.” He reached over, and Daisy smacked his hand.
“Don’t touch anything, okay? I like it where it is.”
“When you can barely see out the windshield?” Jackson asked.
“It’s fine.” She turned on the engine. “Stop fussing me.” She backed out of the spot and turned toward the exit of the parking lot.
“Your side mirror is way off as well, and there’s a warning light on your dashboard about your oil level.”
Daisy stopped the car and looked at him. “Would you like to walk home?”
“No, of course I wouldn’t.” He blinked at her. “What’s up?”
“Then stop criticizing me!”
“I’m not. I’m just pointing out stuff going on in your truck.”
She fixed him with her most intimidating stare. “I already have five brothers telling me what to do, Jackson. I don’t need another one.”
“I don’t feel very brotherly toward you.” He met her gaze, and she almost fainted with lust.
“Then if you ever want a chance to see me naked, stop talking right now!”
“Yes, ma’am.” He sat back and looked out the window, allowing Daisy to successfully navigate them back to Lymond Ranch. He got out first.
“Let me get the alarm and let Grace and the puppies out.”
“Okay, I’ll just get my bag.”
By the time she reached the kitchen door, Grace came flying out to greet her, followed by all five of her puppies. The smallest one peed on Daisy’s boot, but she didn’t take it personally.
Scooping up the offender, she went in and shut the door while the puppy wiggled and tried to lick her face.
“Are you going to keep them all?” Daisy asked as Jackson zoomed around, putting on various lights and setting the table for their pizza.
“The dogs?” Jackson found the napkins. “I don’t know what Cauy’s planning.”
Daisy kissed the puppy on the head. “Let me know if you plan on sharing the love. This one seems to have taken a shine to me.”