by Jeannie Moon
Keely hadn’t been out on a girls’ night at Grey’s since she graduated from college. She and her friends were twenty-one or twenty-two years old, and they got so drunk Reese had to call their folks to roll the lot of them home.
All she remembered the next day was her mother throwing the blinds in her room wide open and vacuuming for what felt like hours. Mom called it a “teachable moment”. Keely called it cruel and unusual punishment.
Now that she was older, and not necessarily looking for a bender, Keely was in a booth with Lucy and their friend Kathleen Martin, who was an art teacher at the high school in Livingston. The girls had been inseparable in school from their earliest days in school. In fact, Kathleen and Lucy were the only two who had any memory of Keely’s long-ago illness. They’d all made very different lives for themselves but when they were all in town, they found time to get together.
It was usually loud, and full of laughs, and tonight was no exception. Lucy filled Kathleen in on the calendar project, and Keely thought about her conversation with Jonah.
Conversation. What a lovely way to say kissing him senseless. Thinking about him was becoming a habit, and Keely knew it would be one that was very hard to break.
“Keely, where the hell are you?” Snapping back, Lucy was waving her hand in front of her face.
“Oh, I… sorry. I’m tired. I had a long day.”
“A long day with Jonah?” Kathleen’s eyebrow was arched high, and inquisitively.
“He helped me map out where I’m going to plant some sensors. It was a nice day out. The weather was gorgeous.” Lord, she hoped she didn’t sound too happy. Even though he made her very happy.
“Well, hello handsome.” Kathleen’s eyes were trained on the swinging doors of the saloon, a holdover from the days of the copper rush in the 1800s. When Keely turned, she saw Jonah, flanked by two of his brothers—Dan to his right and Gavin to his left. The Clarks might be known for breeding the best Quarter Horses in the state, but they also grew some very fine men out on that ranch of theirs.
Lucy eyed Dan like the prize that he was. Even more of an enigma than Jonah, Keely suspected her friend the reporter was fixing to solve a mystery. Kathleen, who was recently married, checked them out just the same.
“What’s in the water out at the Clarks?” Kathleen wondered aloud.
“I have no idea,” Keely said. “But can I get a hallelujah for whatever it is?”
Jonah had started moving toward the table, and Keely had to remind herself to breathe. He wore jeans, boots, and a blue stripe button-down shirt that he left untucked. He still hadn’t shaved, making him look like the rogue he was. With all her defenses down from earlier today, still feeling his hands and his kisses, there was no denying him. He said hello to a few people at the bar, including Charlie, who was arm-in-arm with Deputy Tate. She seemed a little surprised when Jonah leaned over and whispered in her ear. Charlie nodded, a smile blooming across her face, and as soon as he walked away, the photographer took her phone out of her purse to make a call.
Keely’s heartbeat kicked up because now he was walking toward her, and the grin on Jonah’s face was positively wolfish. What was he up to?
He stopped at their booth and motioned for her to scoot over so he could slide in next to her. He smiled at Lucy and Kathleen, who were on the other side of the table, and pulled a fry out of the basket sitting in the middle of the table.
“The best fries. Anywhere.” Watching him take a bite, Keely noticed the playfulness—he was flirting—and she wondered who this person was and what he’d done with stern, serious Jonah from that afternoon. “How are you ladies tonight? Need another round?” He flagged down one of the waitresses, ordering another round for them and a beer for himself.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” she said, reverting to the shy girl who got tongue-tied around boys.
“You did tell me you’d be here. That seems like a good reason to come out. Do you want me to leave?”
“NO!” Lucy exclaimed a little too loudly. “No. You and Keely just sit. Kathleen and I are going to go pick some better music.”
Tugging Kathleen’s sleeve conspiratorially, they walked across the bar, leaving her alone with a very handsome man sitting way too close. Her friends were a contradiction; competent professional women who still acted like middle schoolers when the need arose.
“I didn’t mean to scare off your friends.” He looked down at her with a soft smile that made everything in her tingle.
“They’ll be back. I really am surprised to see you.”
“Good surprise or bad surprise?”
“Good,” she said. “Always good.” Keely felt the warmth rise in her cheeks, just as it always did when he was close.
“I want to tell you something…”
“Oh! There you are.” Charlotte slid into the opposite side of the booth and started jotting notes down on a card. “You have an appointment at the salon for a wax early next week. I’ll text you all the details. Are you very hairy? You may want to drink before. I’ll talk to you about your shoot after, and we’ll have to do it quick so your pelt doesn’t grow back.”
“Wait, his pelt?” Keely was having a hard time keeping up; the woman spoke at warp speed.
Charlotte beamed as she answered. “Jonah has fully agreed to be our April model. Any chance we can shoot near your helicopter, maybe out in the wilderness or some such thing?”
He chuckled, low and sexy. “I think I can arrange that.”
Nothing could have surprised Keely more, or made her happier than Jonah going all in. “You’re really going to do it? No more stalling? That’s wonderful!”
“I agreed to shirtless.” He glanced at Charlotte. “That’s it. I’ll wear whatever you want, but that’s as far as I go.”
“Not a problem, with your helicopter and all that majestic Montana wilderness behind you, we’ll be fine. You have a flight suit? A jacket of some sort?”
“Yeah…” He was wary already.
“Brilliant. This is going to be fabulous.” She stood and extended her hand. “Keely, lovely to see you again. Jonah, a pleasure, and thank you. We’ll chat tomorrow.”
As quickly as she appeared, she was off, and back to Logan who was waiting for her at the bar. It was adorable to see the tough, surly deputy wrap his arm around the petite brunette and press a kiss on the top of her head. Charlie looked up at him, and everyone else melted away.
Love. Charlotte had found her hero.
That left Keely alone with a man who was most definitely becoming her very own hero.
“That woman is a force of nature.” He blew out a long breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess you didn’t expect that.”
“I could kiss you right now,” she said so quietly, she could barely hear herself.
But he had heard her. And she had his complete attention. “For real?”
“Uh huh.” What had gotten into her? She’d never come on to a man before, but she was doing just that.
“Are you drunk?”
“One drink. I’m clear headed.”
“What do you want to do about this urge to kiss me?”
Reaching under the table, Keely took his hand and squeezed it. The calluses were tough, a sexy reminder of how physical he was… and if she could convince him, how they would feel on her skin. As she released his hand, Keely let her fingers slide over his thick, muscular thigh.
Based on the quickening of his breath, she figured she had nothing to lose. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Sliding from the booth, they both stood. Facing each other as they had earlier today, it felt like they were on the cusp of something incredible. Something that could change both their lives. For Keely, it was a leap of faith. She’d never gone down this road, and she was trusting Jonah to be her guide.
“What about your friends?”
Kathleen and Lucy were still at the jukebox trying to give her some space, but when Lucy caught sight of her, she waved Keely out the
door. So subtle. It would have been better if Jonah hadn’t seen it, but he had. And he laughed.
“You’ve been dismissed,” he said in her ear.
“Yeah. Let me grab my coat.”
It was typical early April when they walked out into the clear night. It had gotten chilly, dropping from around fifty degrees when they were on the mountain in the afternoon to thirty now. If she didn’t know better, she’d expect a little snow. But as they walked away from Grey’s, leaving the noise and the music behind them, all she could see were stars.
“You’ve always looked up,” he said. “I remember that about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was sleeping over at your house one night. Your brother and I were planning a way to sneak out so we could do something stupid, I don’t remember what, and when I looked out the window, you were sitting on a big, ole swing, looking at the sky. You might have been nine.”
She couldn’t believe he’d noticed.
“Your brother said, ‘she always looks up.’ He thought you were waiting for aliens.”
“He would say that. But, no. I was just looking. Trying to find new points of light. It was my dad’s fault. He taught me how to read the stars.”
“Can you navigate?”
“I don’t know. Probably. Look…” she pointed to the southwest. “There’s Cancer and Virgo. Taurus is over there. Draco the dragon is that way.”
“You love the stars as much as the Earth?”
“Oh, gosh yes. For as long as I can remember.”
When she was little, her father often took her outside before bedtime and taught her where the constellations were at different times of the year. Wherever she was in the world, Keely would predict the change of seasons by the stars.
“I was in New Zealand, and a wonderful Maori woman taught me how to read the southern sky. It’s beautiful. Different. There are nebulae visible and the Milky Way is a gentle arc. It’s breathtaking. But even with all that, one night I was laying on my back, staring at the Southern Cross, and I realized I needed to be home.”
She stopped walking and looked around at the businesses that were closed for the night. She knew every single shop owner. Every one. “It was time. Just like that. I rewrote my outline, and decided to come back here.” Glancing skyward, she thought she saw a shooting star. So Keely wished, just in case.
They resumed their walk, holding hands as they made their way slowly down Main Street. She imagined all the women in the past who had strolled this way with their fellas. Some of their progeny were probably in Grey’s, others had left long ago when the locale was too much of a challenge. Keely had no idea what lured her back; part of her wondered if her heart knew something was finally here for her.
Jonah was here.
“I guess you can navigate by stars,” Jonah said. “They brought you home.”
“I guess so.”
They passed the Cut and Curl where Charlotte had informed Jonah he had an appointment to be waxed. For a second, it looked like he cringed when they walked by.
She was so moved that he’d made the commitment, even though she knew how he felt about it. Jonah wasn’t shy, but he was reserved. It was going against everything he believed was appropriate.
It took a strong man, a good man, to fight his better nature to do what needed to be done.
“What made you change your mind?” she asked slipping her arm through his.
“I don’t know. Listening to you today, I guess is what pushed me. You were right.” He moved his body and bumped her shoulder lightly.
“I was, huh?”
“Yeah. We have to finish what we started; it’s too important. Harry would have wanted it that way. He gave his life helping people, the least I can do is go out of my comfort zone.”
“Not a lot of people would do that,” she reminded him.
He shrugged and kept walking, the silence was companionable, comfortable. Finally, they ended up where he parked his truck. Oddly, neither of them knew what to do. She was happy when Jonah cut to the chase.
Deftly, he walked her around and gently pressed Keely’s back into the truck, protecting her from prying eyes and teenagers out for a joy ride. “So, about that kiss…”
“What about it?”
While his hands settled on her waist, hers traveled up his hard chest and wrapped around his neck. He leaned in and seemed to hesitate for a second, taking in her face, and examining her eyes for… something.
Sparks crackled between them, giving Keely a new understanding of chemistry. No doubt they had it in spades, but did they have the nerve to turn the attraction into something more?
“You’re so beautiful, Keely.”
“No, I…” What was he saying? She never saw herself as beautiful. Never. “Jonah, I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“Not possible.”
“But I’m not…”
He pressed a finger to her lips and silenced her. “You’re beautiful. And you’re mine.”
The prolonged anticipation was unbearable. Everything he did had stops and starts. The way he touched her set her blood on fire. Her skin prickled with every long, languid touch. It was palpable between them, and if she were being logical, she’d say it was because everything was so new.
But that wasn’t it at all. For her, when Jonah held her, touched her, it was like she’d found home.
This time, he started on her neck. His lips touched the skin with barely a breath, and he seared a path up to her jaw, where he teased with his teeth. Keely gasped as he held her tight, nipping and teasing, until finally claiming her mouth.
Light exploded behind her eyes, this wasn’t just chemistry between them, it was magic. As gentle as he had been this afternoon, tonight, Jonah showed no mercy. Taking her mouth fully with his, moving, tasting, allowing his tongue to sweep the inside, the warmth and invasion aroused her, making her want even more.
His fingers gathered the back of her shirt, and she gasped when she felt his skin on hers, his work-roughened hands touch the bare skin of her back. The sensations, the heat, were intense and intoxicating, and had her thinking about how it would feel to be under him, naked. Moving.
Grinding against him, she had no idea the kind of reaction it would trigger, but with a groan he thrust into her, allowing his erection to press into her belly.
“You smell like heaven. Like vanilla and honey.” Jonah nuzzled her temple, leaving a soft kiss and a question.
“I want you,” he whispered into her hair. “I want to make love to you. Let me.”
He wanted her. The cliché about a person’s heart aching in their chest obviously had some basis in truth, because Keely’s heart ached. It was full, and feeling like she’d just experienced a miracle. She burrowed into his chest, getting as close as possible.
“Take me home, Jonah.”
“Home?” Pulling back, he tucked a finger under her chin and tilted her head toward him “Did I scare you? I thought…”
“You didn’t scare me. Why would you think that?’
“You said you want to go home?”
She giggled. He sounded a little desperate, and Keely figured there was nothing better in the world. “Your home. I want to be with you.”
With a long exhale, Jonah laughed nervously. “Okay. Do you have to get your car? Tell anyone?”
Keely hadn’t stopped touching him, running her hands up and down his chest. She enjoyed watching him try to maintain control. Taking a page from his book, she stood on her toes and nipped his chin, his earlobe, his neck. “I didn’t drive, and I’ll text my friends.”
“What will you tell them?” His jaw hardened as she teased him.
She wanted to say that she was going to tell everyone she was going to have sex with him, but knew that probably wouldn’t end well. “I’m going to tell them I’m safe.”
Her words weren’t an accident. She did feel safe with him. Even though her life was going to change, in every way possible, Keely knew she was exact
ly where she was supposed to be.
Behind her she heard the locks on his truck click, and Jonah reached around her to open the door. Like earlier today, he lifted her up and when her butt hit the seat, she slid over so he could get in.
This was a beginning. Not just for Keely, but for both of them. And she had no idea where it was going to lead.
Chapter Nine
The ride back to the ranch took longer than Jonah expected because a family of deer decided to play chicken with the cars on the road just outside of Marietta. He got around them unscathed, but it was dicey for a while.
In the meantime, the cab was filled with Keely’s scent and his balls were as blue as they’d ever been. He was so hard he was in pain.
He had to put on the brakes. The physical response he was having to her was downright savage. He wanted to rip off her clothes and do her until she screamed with pleasure. On the other hand, she was innocent. She’d never been touched, and he didn’t take that lightly.
The sex had to be all about her. There could be no doubt that her pleasure, her comfort, came first. When they turned onto the ranch’s main road, he took her hand in his. It felt for a second like she was trembling.
Driving slowly, he went past the main house, the barns, and the summer pavilion, to the collection of small cabins nestled into a hillside. A mishmash of styles, they were built in stages as the ranch grew. Jonah’s was a small log, caretaker’s cabin. His brother Dan lived in the one about fifty yards away.
There was a foreman’s house and a bunkhouse that he’d told her could sleep eight men, with room for a kitchen, eating space and a place to relax.
The only light was from the moon and the stars, and the filtered blue haze that fell over the field gave the land a mysterious vibe. It wasn’t lost on Keely. She drifted away from him as soon as they got out of the truck.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear there were fairies here.”
“You aren’t alone feeling that way. There are legends that some of the settlers from Scotland, England, and especially Ireland brought some of the wee folk with them when they arrived to settle the territory.”