After we finished the dishes and all the leftovers were put away, I sent Jamie off to get ready for bed. Dad had eased into his worn leather recliner and was out.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
Honey wiped her hands on a towel. “Sure.”
I walked to the back door and held it open. She breezed by and the scent of wild honeysuckle wafted from her. I closed my eyes a second before following her out onto the covered back porch.
She turned and folded her arms across her chest.
Annoyance was written all over her face. “So, sugar, should I pack my things? And by the way, did Jamie tell you that you had a woman come by looking for you?”
For some messed-up reason, her anger toward me was a total fucking turn-on. I stepped in her direction, wanting to kiss that frown right off her face. Luckily, I stopped my feet from moving as her expression changed. She looked almost confused, as though she could sense my sexual frustration from just standing in her presence.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Jamie called my name. I turned around to find her standing behind me with a book in her hand. She hadn’t had enough time to take a bath, but there was worry on her face. My gaze bounced back to Honey and then to Jamie. Was she afraid Honey would be fired within hours like the last few we’d hired?
Turning back to Honey, I said, “We’re not done with this conversation.”
Jamie’s stuttered “Daddy” had me refocusing on her, so I left to figure out why she needed me. She was my priority, not Honey.
FIVE
Honey
* * *
Pacing seemed like a good idea at the time, but I had surely worn a path in the rug that sat under the bed in my room. Jake might’ve been hotter than sin in hell, but he was acting like a total jerk. Though I had to give him bonus points for putting his daughter first. He hadn’t brushed her off to give me any more pieces of his mind.
And so far, I wasn’t fired. Despite my conversation with Jake, my bag sat by the door untouched.
My phone beckoned. I wanted to call somebody to free my bottled anger. This job was a lifeline. I needed it, and I needed the place to stay. I’d lived far too long on my best friend’s couch; I didn’t want to call her and bug her about Jake. She’d probably feel obligated to tell me to quit and come back to her place.
I’d just rounded the bed when I glanced up to see Jake watching me, his arm braced on the doorframe. I narrowed my eyes.
“Just say what you have to say, sugar.” As if he hadn’t already made it clear.
He straightened.
“I don’t want you to go. It’s just—this is my family, and I have to protect them. You showing up and making them feel like your family …”
“Like what? I shouldn’t be nice to them? I should be an asshole like you’re being to me?” I asked.
“It’s not that. It’s just—”
“Just what?” I snapped.
I barely got the words out before he’d taken two predatory steps in my direction. His long strides had him eating up the distance between us before I could process what was happening.
He plunged his fingers into my hair and dipped to possessively claim my mouth. I gasped, and he took advantage. He savaged my mouth like he had a claim on me. Unfortunately, it was just like the first time we met. His kiss made me unable to breathe. His hands slid down my back, over my ass, and I was about to hook my leg around him when the doorbell rang.
I groaned, but he didn’t let me go completely. He kissed me again until the bell chimed a second time. He finally let go, stepping back, but he said nothing. Our eyes held each other until he turned to go answer the door.
There was a promise in his eyes that what happened wasn’t over. Then he was gone.
I gave into temptation and went to peek into the living room.
The man’s ass in his jeans should’ve been illegal. Tall and handsome as he was, I didn’t quite understand why he was single. When he opened the door, I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Jacque with a q.
“You didn’t show up for our date,” she said.
Quietly, I stepped back, closing myself inside the room I’d been given, not wanting to hear about his missed date. What the hell had I been thinking? He’d ruined me once, though he hadn’t known it. Our one time together had been more than magical. I’d thought that walking away that day had made me brave. I’d been the one leaving him before he’d asked me to. Girl power and all that.
I locked the door. Jake, Jacque, and Jamie. That sounded like the cutest family ever. Who was I kidding? She was totally the type of woman he’d marry. I’d always been the fill-in girl. Pretty enough that a guy would try to hook up with me, but not quite pretty or skinny enough to be that same guy’s girlfriend.
I flopped onto the bed. It made a slight squeaking noise under me. It hadn’t done that the last time I was in this room—the time Jake had taken me like a man starved. A lot of time had passed since then. We weren’t the same people today. I’d excused my behavior that day as a silly mistake—I’d done my duty was all. He was a soldier who’d put his life on the line for me, for our country. But the truth was, I’d been selfish and needy, and he’d been hot and willing. Here I was falling back into that trap again.
A short time later, a knock sounded on the door. I held my breath. I knew if I opened it and Jake was on the other side, I’d let him have me.
“Honey, are you awake?” His baritone voice was rough. I held my breath and hoped he’d assume I was asleep, even though the sun hadn’t quite set.
When I heard his retreating steps, I blew out the air I’d been holding.
Eventually, I pulled out a worn paperback from my bag. The guy on the cover, astride a butter-colored Harley, had gorgeous ink on his back. It was a story I’d read over and over again. Even though he looked like a menace to society, the heroine who pushed his buttons was a total badass herself. I wanted to be her: strong and independent. But in my current reality, with a man like Jake whose kisses made my toes curl, I was so weak it was laughable.
At some point, I fell asleep on top of the covers. I awoke the next morning to the sounds of pots clanging and muttered curses. I blinked a few times to recall where I was before remembering I was at Jake’s house. I got to my feet and quickly brushed my teeth. I washed my face before I dared walk out to what sounded like a wide-awake household.
Burning eggs hit my nose first. Jake cursed and Jamie laughed. Ford winked at me.
“Give it to me,” I said, reaching for the spatula Jake wielded.
He sighed and handed it over. I scooped out the burnt egg and tossed it in the garbage.
“How do you like your eggs, Jamie?”
“S–cc–rrrambled.”
I nodded and gave her a broad smile. “Sure thing, sweetie.” Over my shoulder, I asked, “How about you, Ford?”
“Fried,” he answered.
So his had been the eggs burnt to a crisp. I plucked another pan from the copper ones hanging over the island and got to work. Before I cracked my first egg, I smelled toast on its way to being charred. I hit the button to make it pop up. They were a deep golden brown—I’d caught it just in time.
I slid the fried egg onto a plate and plucked two pieces of toast to add to it. I placed it in front of Ford and went back to scrambling eggs in the other pan for Jamie.
“What about you, Jake? Eggs?”
He didn’t answer right away. So when I turned to hand Jamie her plate, I raised an eyebrow in his direction.
“Sunnyside up.” When I didn’t move, he added, “Please.”
“Coming right up,” I said, giving him my back to conceal my smile.
Shriveled, blackened bacon sat on a plate. I ignored it for now and put more toast on. It was ready just as his eggs were.
After the family was taken care of, I buttered some toast for me and ate an apple. His eyes locked onto me.
“You’re not going to eat more?” Jake asked.
“I’m not really
a breakfast person.” I shrugged.
He polished off his food before he spoke again.
“Thank you,” he said, sliding off his seat. “Come on, squirt. We’ve got dish duty.”
I scooted out of the way. Every time he was near, my body reacted as if he’d touched me. My skin became hypersensitive as memories of how he kissed and how he fucked made it hard to think straight.
I went to my room to take a very cold shower and dress for the day.
SIX
Jake
* * *
A few days later, I found Jamie in the barn helping one of our hands, Mitch, work with the new foal. One of the youngest guys on our crew ran over to take Whiskey from me.
“I’ve already cooled her down, gave her water, and made sure there were no hot spots,” I told him.
“I’ll brush her down,” he said, eager to be of assistance.
I feared my crew had heard whispers that I might have to lay some people off. I nodded and handed him the reins. Immediately, I went over to hug my girl.
“Hey, sunshine, did you name her yet?”
I’d promised our newest foal to Jamie, no matter that she’d fetch a decent price. Hell, hiring Honey had stretched the budget, but what choice did I have? I couldn’t run the ranch and babysit my father. Something had to give. Jacque’s deal was starting to become my only option.
Jamie shook her head and I shook off my worries. “There’s still time.”
I patted her back and went to check on Dad. I missed working with him. Not having him there only reinforced the reality that he wouldn’t live forever.
When I opened the door, my stomach did a happy dance. The aroma of dinner cooking made it feel like Mom was still around. The woman responsible had her back to me, dancing to unheard music. I turned to Dad, who was transfixed. He felt my stare and gave me a shrug. Her movements were hypnotic. She was some kind of snake charmer because my dick uncoiled in my pants.
Her eyes were closed as she turned. Even with only one earbud in her ear, she hadn’t heard us come in. Her body jerked to a halt when she spotted us. Her cheeks reddened.
“Dinner’s ready,” she announced, her voice squeaking.
She fled the room so fast, I chuckled.
“I really like her,” Dad said.
“Of course you do.”
There was something about her that reminded us of Mom. It wasn’t in her looks—it was her take-charge attitude and ability to cook circles around everyone else. I hadn’t had to spell out the job to her. Either my description of what was required had been enough or she had a natural talent for this type of work. Since she’d come to us, I’d been able to take Jamie to a speech therapist and not worry about Dad. Honey was doing more than what I was paying for. I would have to figure out a way to compensate her for that.
“No, seriously, the woman can cook and she’s easy on the eyes. And I know you, boy—you like a woman with curves. Pretty women that don’t look like stick figures are hard to come by.”
He was right about that. Tara had been full of curves until she got it in her head that skinny was better. She wasn’t alone in that thinking based on commercials and the many way too thin actresses out there. It was probably why I hadn’t settled down. It wasn’t that I’d been hoping to run into Honey again—or so I told myself.
“Your mother was a sturdy woman. She had hips—”
I covered my ears. “Seriously, Dad, I really don’t want to think about you and Mom that way.”
“Son, I’ve talked to you about the birds and the bees.” His grin said he was teasing me.
“I’d like to think I was the product of Immaculate Conception.”
Dad gave me a full belly laugh. “Yeah, well, your mother and I wanted to believe that our granddaughter was brought to us via stork.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Tara’s mother sure did look like one when she brought Jamie to us.”
I went to the front door and called for my daughter.
Honey had disappeared in her room and we ate without her. I’d knocked on her door, but she hadn’t answered. With Dad and Jamie watching, I hadn’t pressed the matter. Was she avoiding me?
Later, after story time with Jamie, I joined Dad on the back porch. He was smoking a cigar and looking more content than he had in a long time. When I sat, he pushed his cigar box toward me.
I shook my head and instead poured two fingers from the whiskey bottle that sat there. Dad knew I’d join him because there were two glasses.
“So, what have you decided?”
His voice was rich and full. With his Stetson on, I could forget that a disease was eating away at the pathways in his brain.
“I’ve decided nothing.”
There was a big decision to be made about the ranch that affected more than just me and mine. I had the hands to consider. Something had to be done, or it would mean more than a few jobs lost.
“No,” he said. “I mean about her.”
He nodded to the sight not too far from the porch. Honey. We hadn’t really spoken much. I’d been meaning to, but she made herself scarce every time I was around. I hadn’t really known what to say, afraid I’d scare her off.
She came into view, dressed in pants that clung like a second skin, ending just below her knee. But that wasn’t it. She wore a bright tiny top, not much more than a bra. Her rack was on display, and I wasn’t the only man in the area drooling. She jogged, rounding an outbuilding behind the house where we kept heavy equipment.
To the right side of where we sat, a group of hands hung around the fence that circled the area in front of the barn. They watched her circle the outbuilding and looked like they should be eating popcorn for the undivided attention they were giving her. She was oblivious. With earbuds in both ears, she jogged around, disappearing around the corner and then reappearing after finishing her loop. She had no idea every male had eyes on her.
My palm bit into the etched crystal as I squeezed harder. I slammed it down.
“Son,” Dad tried to stop me.
He’d guessed what I was about to do. Technically she was off duty and her time was her own. In that moment, I couldn’t see anything past the haze of red that clouded my vision.
The screen creaked as I slammed it open, only for it to pop back closed with a thunderous crack. I ignored Dad calling for me to be calm and marched to stand right in her path. She stared right through me, so lost in her music.
Her body slammed into mine and I had to circle my arms around her to stop her from falling down.
“Sorry,” she muttered.
Anger fueled my words.
“What. Do. You. Think. You’re. Doing?”
She frowned up at me and tugged the buds from her ears. “What?” she asked innocently.
I repeated my words, letting menace seep into them.
“I realize we haven’t talked about my schedule, but I assumed since you were eating with your family, I could have some time to myself.”
Damn woman didn’t get it.
“Time isn’t the issue.”
Her confused expression hardened. “What did I do?”
Nothing but make me feel way too possessive. I couldn’t say that. I glanced over her shoulders at the ranch hands. She turned and saw who I was staring at. Her cheeks flushed.
“You do realize you’re the only female on this ranch other than Jamie, who’s just a little girl? I don’t like the idea of them thinking about you when they’re alone.”
* * *
*** Honey ***
* * *
Realization dawned on me, but he wasn’t finished.
“These are good men, but they work hard all week without a woman in sight. And you’re a temptation they don’t need.”
He pointed at me like I was a pile of horse shit he’d stepped in.
I aimed a finger right back at him. “You’re an ass.”
As I turned to march away, he caught me by the arm. The withering glare I gave him should’ve been like a k
ick to the gut. As I slapped his hand away, the peanut gallery made sounds of painful groans that turned into raucous laughter.
Jake didn’t take the hint. He dragged me toward the house—I assumed so we wouldn’t be seen by our audience.
Safely hidden, I pulled free from his grasp and he sighed. I said nothing and continued my stare down.
“Honey.” He sounded weary as he closed his eyes.
“Sugar,” I snapped.
When his gaze landed on me, I shouldn’t have been affected by him after he was a jerk. But I couldn’t stop myself from licking my lips, afraid I might have drooled some. He was gorgeous, this big man with a big heart based on how he treated his family, not to mention his … My eyes drifted downward, trailblazing a path to the part of him that had blown my mind on our first meeting.
I shifted my gaze, embarrassed by my thoughts.
He moved, caging me in against the house. He leaned forward and captured my mouth like he was a man starved.
The girly whimper that escaped my lips couldn’t be helped. The man may not be good at words, but his actions spoke volumes.
SEVEN
Jake
* * *
Her body was soft against mine, her lips sweeter than honey. I hadn’t meant to kiss her. But that sassy way she had about her broke my control. I’d wanted her mouth since she’d walked through my door.
I’d expected her to slap me or push me away. But her hands dug into the back of my scalp and pulled me closer. My body hardened like hot steel dipped into a bucket of water. I let my hands drop from her hair to explore her curves, landing to cup her ass.
She was easy to lift and she did me a favor by winding her legs around me. Not here, I thought, and carried her around to the front of the house. I stopped and listened. The house was quiet. I climbed the few stairs and opened the door, barely pausing as Honey consumed me.
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