Jesse
Page 19
“How do they carry a jug in their saddlebags?” Lacy wanted to know.
Ronnie laughed. “When they’re working in the far pastures, one of them drives the truck.”
While Emily drove, Lacy settled down in the backseat, content to be headed back to the Circle G.
By the time they’d arrived, Danielle was anxious and wondering if Jesse’s interest had really been more than just physical or if she had imagined the whole thing. Sometimes when you want something badly enough, your mind plays tricks on you. It had where her ex had been concerned.
“Can I open the gate?” Lacy started to unbuckle her seat belt, but one look from her mother and she stopped. “Please?”
Danielle relented. “Lacy and I will open the gate for you.” They got out and pushed the big gate open together. She held tight to Lacy’s hand as Emily drove through and they closed the gate behind her and got back in the car.
“Can we go to the pond today?”
Danielle looked over at Emily. “That’s not up to me, sweet pea. Let’s wait and see what’s going on up at the ranch house.”
Emily nodded as she turned to the right and followed the road that would lead to the Garahan’s back door.
Danielle rasped, “Does it always feel like you’re coming home?”
Emily parked the car and patted Danielle on the arm. “It does for me.” While Lacy fiddled with her seat belt, Emily asked, “Do you believe in fate and destiny?”
Without missing a beat, Danielle said, “Absolutely.”
“Sometimes, they need a little push.”
Emily’s cryptic remark had her wondering what was going on, but Lacy didn’t give her a chance to respond; she bolted out of the backseat, dropped her pink pack on the porch steps, and dove onto the swing.
Danielle shook her head. “Lacy, you can’t just leave this here, someone might trip over it.”
“But—”
“No buts, young lady. We’re guests here, and if you don’t want anyone to send us home early…” Danielle let her words sink in and from the expression on her little one’s face, her daughter would be sure to listen. Neither one of them wanted to go home before seeing Jesse.
Following Emily into the kitchen, her thoughts returned to the handsome cowboy. She hoped he was interested in more than just a quick tumble between the sheets. She didn’t want Lacy to be hurt if and when he lost interest in them. So she focused on the prospect of watching Lacy’s first riding lesson, knowing it would be like watching her little girl open presents on Christmas morning.
“The men should be back soon, and when they get here, they’ll try to eat anything that isn’t nailed down,” Emily warned.
Ronnie was pulling a huge casserole out of the oven. Savory spices filled the air as the scent wafted toward Danielle on the afternoon breeze. “Smells marvelous.”
The other woman grinned. “It’s my grandmother’s lasagna recipe.” Ronnie turned at the thunderous sound of horses riding hard toward the ranch house. “Batten down the hatches, ladies, the storm’s about to hit.”
“I don’t like thunderstorms.” Lacy moved to stand behind her mother.
Danielle patted her shoulder. “That sounds like horses to me.”
Lacy’s worry changed to wonder. “Is it cowboy Jesse?”
Ronnie and Emily laughed. “And his brothers too.”
The tantalizing thought of being this close to Jesse again had her hands shaking. Needing to do something with them, she asked, “What can we do to help?”
Emily pointed to a drawer and said, “You could set the table.”
Finally having something to do to still the trembling, Danielle set out the flatware and dishes and kept an eye on her daughter, who was standing by the screen door watching for the men. “They’re coming!”
She raced over to the table and then back to the door. “Can I go out, can I, Mommy?”
With a look to make sure there were no loose horses, she told her, “You can go stand on the porch and wait for them.”
“But—”
“If you step one foot off that porch, we are going home.”
Lacy stared at her for a moment, but the sound of horses whinnying and deep voices talking had her dancing from foot to foot in anticipation. “OK.”
Using her most stern voice, she cupped Lacy’s face and lifted it gently so their eyes met. “Promise me.”
Lacy crossed her heart and solemnly said, “I promise.”
Danielle pressed her lips to Lacy’s forehead, her daughter’s signal to go ahead. She chuckled watching her daughter blast through the back door and rush to the edge of the back porch, gripping the railing. “Cowboy Jesse! We’re here!”
Unable to stop herself, Danielle followed her and waited.
“Looks like you got yourself an itty-bitty cowgirl waiting on you, Bro.” Tyler grinned.
Dylan poked Jesse in the ribs and nodded toward her. “Looks like she brought her fine-looking momma with her.”
Jesse stopped in his tracks and shifted his gaze until it collided with hers. She could feel the instant the banked heat in his eyes flared to life. Need slashed through her outward calm as her skin warmed by degrees… more than a match for the fire that was slowly beginning to burn inside of her.
He was close enough for her to get lost in his velvet dark eyes. She licked her suddenly dry lips and couldn’t help but become captivated by the way his pupils dilated, his nostrils flared, and his jaw clenched.
He wanted her.
Tingles of awareness electrified her skin as the need to touch, to taste, arced through her system. She had to swallow the saliva pooling in her mouth—no way was he going to see her drool.
Instead of the greeting she’d begun to imagine, he winked, shifted his gaze to her daughter, and said, “I can see that, little darlin’. You ready for a riding lesson?”
“Yes!” Lacy screamed, prepared to leap into his arms. But a quick look over her shoulder and she must have remembered her promise. “But I gots to stay on the porch.”
Jesse’s eyes brightened, and she would swear he wanted to laugh out loud but didn’t. A feeling of contentment filled her along with the realization that he was trying to spare Lacy’s feelings by not laughing at her.
“Well then, hang on,” he rumbled. “I’m coming.”
When had her ex ever treated either of them with that kind of consideration? Lost in thought, she didn’t notice that Jesse had reached the edge of the porch. “Let’s go, little darlin’.”
Lacy grinned and leaped off the top step and into Jesse’s waiting arms.
Danielle smiled at the sight of Lacy’s bright pink cowgirl hat flying out behind her as she jumped, but it was the joy in her daughter’s eyes reflected back at her that caused Danielle’s heart to lurch. While she wrestled with yet one more aspect of the cowboy she was falling for, his brothers walked over.
“Nice catch, Bro,” Tyler said, patting him on the shoulder.
The three of them were a solid unit. Although she’d seen them scuffle and ride each other’s case, at the end of the day, it all came down to family and sticking together.
“Be sure to pay attention to Jesse,” Dylan reminded her daughter. “He’s a good teacher.”
Dylan’s words redirected Danielle’s thoughts. She asked, “He is?”
Jesse’s shrug wasn’t the answer she was looking for. But her chance to ask disappeared as he lifted her little girl up onto his shoulders. Lacy tilted her head back and gave a rebel yell that would have made her grandmother proud.
“Where’d you learn to do that?” Jesse was smiling as he set Lacy back on her feet by the split-rail fence.
“My gramma.”
“My daddy would have loved to hear you do that.”
“I can do it again.” Lacy beamed. “Where is he?”
Jesse’s wistful expression had Danielle’s hands itching to grab a hold of him and hug him until every trace of sadness disappeared, but she hesitated when he said, “He died when I wa
s younger than you.”
Lacy wrapped herself around Jesse’s leg and held on tight. “I don’t gots a daddy anymore either.”
***
The walls around Jesse’s heart shattered, as Lacy’s confession touched him deeply. No one had been able to breach the gap that had widened when his mother died and grew even more when his grandfather passed away.
Unable to trust his voice to speak, he reached down and rubbed Lacy’s back. When she looked up at him, her baby-fine hair blew into her eyes. He loosened her hold on him so he could squat down and smooth the hair back off her forehead. Setting her hat on her head, he knew his life would never be the same.
Women had come and gone in his life, and he’d been so focused on one in particular that he had ignored others. He was Irish enough to believe in fate and destiny. But a tiny part of him still questioned—would he have found something as precious as this woman and her child if he hadn’t had his heart broken?
Was this love or his desperate need to find the kind of love his brothers had? He heard the soft sound of someone clearing their throat and knew that Danielle was waiting for him to say something to her daughter.
They’d both gone up in flames when they’d finally let their hearts lead them into bed. But he needed to find his footing again, or else he might misstep by saying the wrong thing and making light of something so wonderful as this little bit of a thing offering her compassion.
Lacy probably didn’t understand what she had confessed to him, but Jesse did. Whoever her father was, the dickhead had thrown away this little girl… and for what? Garahans weren’t stupid, and he intended to embrace the chance to fill the gap Lacy’s father had vacated.
“My daddy built that swing over there for my momma.”
Lacy nodded.
“When I’m missing him, sometimes it feels good to just sit and rock and remember him.” He didn’t add that he usually drank whiskey while sitting there, but hey, a man could change, and besides, he didn’t have to confess all of his secrets. “If we swing there later, maybe I won’t miss mine so much.”
He hugged her tight and felt like he’d been surrounded by sunshine.
She giggled. “You’re squishing me and I wanna ride Trigger.”
He laughed and set her back down. “Well then, let’s see if your mommy’s ready to watch you learn how to ride.”
“I’m ready!”
Jesse’s gaze shifted from daughter to mother and the breath whooshed out of his lungs. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, but she was smiling. A blue so pure, and a smile so sweet, he’d later swear he heard the angels singing. Shaking his head to clear it, he asked, “Will you ladies wait here? I’ll go and get Trigger.”
Danielle blinked back her tears and nodded.
Leading the horse out of the barn, he had a moment to watch mother and daughter. So many things about Danielle reminded him of what he missed… that loving touch only a mother could give. He’d had his grandfather and his brothers, but it wasn’t the same. Need to have Danielle brushing a lock of hair from his eyes or cupping his face in her hands and pressing her lips to his cheek filled him to bursting, as the maelstrom of emotions churning inside of him threatened to drag him under.
This wasn’t what he usually felt for the women he dated, and it scared the hell out of him. He needed to get control of the situation, forcing those weird thoughts aside; he led Trigger into the corral. “He’s happy to see you.”
The horse walked over to where Lacy and her mother stood and lipped the brim of Lacy’s hat.
“Sometimes he forgets his manners,” Jesse said, telling the horse to quit it. Trigger eyed Jesse, but finally lifted his head up and down as if he was agreeing to behave. “Now. Let’s see if you remember what Ronnie told me she taught you the other day.”
As they talked about the different ways to approach a horse, good and bad, and how and where to pet a horse, Jesse knew he had an apt pupil. “You’re pretty smart for a little bitty thing.”
“I’m not that little,” Lacy replied, looking up at the saddle and then back down to her toes. “Can you lift me up?”
Danielle’s laughter was infectious, and he was amazed that he wanted to hear it again, but under different circumstances—when it was just the two of them. Knowing better than to lose concentration around one of their horses, he focused on his star student and asked, “Ready?”
She grinned up at him and nodded. As he lifted her and set her down on the horse, she started to throw her arms open, but stopped and frowned. “Sorry.”
He was not sure what had happened to her happy mood, so he asked, “For what?”
“I almost scared Trigger,” Lacy confessed.
Suddenly, Lacy’s bringing her arms down to her sides made sense. “Is that what happened the other day?”
Lacy nodded again. “I din’t mean it; it was an accident.”
“I think he knows that, sweet pea,” Danielle added. “Why don’t you let Jesse tell you what to do now that you’re up there?”
After warning Lacy about making sudden movements near Trigger’s ears or eyes and to be sure to hold on to the saddle horn, they were ready for him to lead Trigger around in a circle while Lacy got used to the feel of being in the saddle.
Danielle watched the man who’d turned her inside out with his kisses and the strength of his passion leading the horse by the reins while her daughter listened intently to his instructions. The concentration and focus her little girl exhibited didn’t surprise her; Lacy had been asking for riding lessons for a while now.
Jesse’s gentle way with both her daughter and the horse eased some of the tension that not sleeping had left behind. It was always harder to get through the day when you were tired, cranky, and irritable. Relaxing for the first time today, she leaned against the split rails and rested her chin atop her hands.
The deep rumbling sound of Jesse’s voice was a sharp contrast to the higher pitch of her daughter’s. For a moment, she closed her eyes and wondered what it would be like it to have a man like Jesse Garahan in their lives.
“Dinner’s ready!”
She opened her eyes in time to see Ronnie standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, waiting for someone to respond. “We’re coming,” she called out. Ronnie nodded and turned around.
“OK, little Lacy,” Jesse said, bringing Trigger to a halt. “We’d best not keep Ronnie waiting. Why don’t you two go on in?” he suggested, lifting Lacy out of the saddle. “I’ll take care of my buddy here.” Setting Lacy on her feet, he waited for her to join her mother outside the corral.
“Aww, can’t I stay with you?” Lacy would have said more, but the way Jesse shook his head and nodded toward the house stopped her from whining quicker than anything Danielle might have said. She could use help like that on a day-to-day basis.
“Come on, sweetie. Jesse will be right behind us.” Not giving Lacy a chance to complain, she held out her hand and waited for Lacy to take it. “See you inside,” Danielle called out over her shoulder.
“Can I ride again after we eat?”
“We’re hungry.” Dylan swept Lacy off her feet and hauled her inside.
Surprised, Danielle hesitated on the porch. “You coming?” Tyler asked, opening the screen door.
“Oh… yes, sorry, I was just thinking about something.”
Tyler waited for her to walk inside, then looked past her toward the barn. “My brother’s a good man.” He pitched his voice low so only she could hear.
Her gaze met his and she slowly smiled. “He’s wonderful with Lacy.”
Tyler frowned but didn’t say anything else. She wondered what he’d been thinking, but just then Emily called her name.
“I’m not sure who had a better time out there,” Emily said. “Lacy or Trigger.”
Danielle thought about it and grinned. “I think it’s a tie. Trigger seemed happy to have Lacy riding on him.”
“He’s used to kids learning how to ride on him,” Dylan added.
Dylan’s grin was quick and lethal. “Tossed Jesse off twice.”
“Not true,” Jesse called out as he walked inside. “He only threw me off once… I fell off the other time.”
“That’s his story,” Tyler said with a knowing look.
“He’s sticking to it,” Dylan finished.
“Come on guys, my lasagna is getting cold.”
“That’d surely be a crime,” Dylan rasped, pressing his lips to Ronnie’s temple.
The longer she was around the two couples, the more she was convinced of their commitment and love for one another. The bond between the brothers and their women was titanium strong, and she glanced at Jesse, wondering if she’d be lucky enough to forge something like that with him.
Their eyes met and the warmth in his gaze had butterflies dancing in her belly. Lord, that man made her feel so many different emotions all at once, her brain couldn’t seem to process any of them, leaving her bewitched, bewildered, and befuddled.
She hadn’t realized that she’d been staring until one side of his mouth quirked up, highlighting the deep dimple that tempted her to touch her tongue to the corner of his mouth.
“How long can you ladies stay today?” he asked, letting his gaze slide from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
Rattled by the attention and sensual tension surrounding them, making it hard to breathe, Danielle cleared her throat to answer, “Emily and Ronnie invited us to sleep over.”
His head whipped around to stare at the other women and then snapped back so he could lock gazes with her. “Is that a fact?” His lazy drawl couldn’t hide the fact that he was taking shorter breaths. His nostrils flared more than once, as if he were a stallion sensing a mare in heat.
That analogy had her tamping down the desire curling up from her toes. She no longer wondered what it would be like to taste more of him—she knew and couldn’t wait to follow where her heart and his heat were going to lead her.
Ronnie must have sensed that Danielle was having trouble putting two words together and said, “We thought it would be good for Danielle and Lacy to spend more time out here at the Circle G.”