“What’s goin’ on, Jed?” I asked with my heart in my throat.
He stopped and pulled me into his arms, then gave me a sweet and tender kiss. “This place is mine. I closed on it yesterday morning.”
I blinked, sure I’d heard him wrong. “What?”
“Come inside.” He opened the screen door, then unlocked the solid wood front door and pushed it open, revealing an entryway with a staircase. “It still needs some furnishings. I didn’t have much in my little place, so I’d appreciate it if you’d help steer me in the right direction.”
My shoes clicked on the hardwood floors, and I could see Jed’s leather sofa, chair, and end tables in the living room to my left. The entryway was a short hall that went past the staircase, which looked like it led to the kitchen. He took my hand again and pulled me into the living room. The windows were covered in cheap vinyl blinds, and the room was longer than I expected, but then I realized part of it was likely supposed to be the dining room.
“I don’t have any curtains,” Jed said.
“You didn’t have curtains in your other place,” I said as I took it all in.
“Yeah, but that place was where I lived. This is a home. I feel like it needs curtains, don’t you?”
I turned to face him, nodding.
“Come see the kitchen.”
We went through the empty dining room and passed through the open door into the kitchen. It was older but in good shape—much better shape than the kitchen in Rose’s farmhouse.
“We can remodel it,” he said. “I know how much you like to cook, so we can set it up however you like it.”
I stared at him wide-eyed.
“I plan on you spendin’ lots of time here, Neely Kate. I want you to be happy. So we’ll set it up how you like it. Now come see the rest.” He ignored a back door and headed through an open doorway into the entry hall. We walked past a powder room to a door that opened to a room lined with built-in bookshelves.
Jed moved to the center of the empty room. “Witt’s better with the mechanics and I’m better with numbers, so I figure I can set up an office here to do the accountin’.”
“I can help,” I said. “I was almost an accountant. It can help pay off the car.”
“You know I don’t expect or want you to pay off that car.”
“I know, but I still want to help. I do the books for Rose, you know,” I reminded him.
He grinned and moved closer to me, pulling me into his arms and smoothing the hair from my cheek as he stared lovingly into my face. “I have so many hopes and dreams for us, it scares me, Neely Kate.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that, so I kept silent.
“That’s why I bought this place. It’s secluded, and no one knows I own it. I bought it through a dummy corporation. It’s the only way I know to truly protect you when we’re together, because I’m still worried that after all this Kate and Hardshaw business goes away, my enemies will see you as a way to hurt me.”
“I’m a big girl, Jed. Remember me and Muffy got me free from that guy this afternoon. But I’ll promise you I’ll be more careful in the future, okay? I’ll be on the defensive.”
“That’s no way to live either, Neely Kate,” he said with pain in his eyes. “All because of me.”
“Hey,” I said, lifting my hand to cover his on my cheek. “You’re dealin’ with my nonsense and I’m dealin’ with yours. It’s a fair deal.”
He looked unconvinced. Then again, so was I—but I wanted to believe it anyway.
I gave him a warm smile. “Show me the rest of the house.”
Grinning, he took my hand again, leading me out into the hall and up the staircase. There were three bedrooms upstairs, although he was sure there had been four at one time, with one of the rooms stolen to make a large master bedroom, bathroom, and walk-in closet on one side of the house, and two much smaller bedrooms and a very outdated bathroom on the other side.
We saw the smaller bedrooms and bathroom first, and then Jed showed me his simple bed and dresser in the master.
“My stuff doesn’t work here,” he said. “Maybe you can help me with that too.”
I laughed. “Seems like you’ll have me redoin’ your whole house.”
“You don’t have to,” he said, “but I know how much you love decoratin’ and that you don’t get a chance to since you’re livin’ in Rose’s house.”
His comment made me feel ungrateful. I loved living with Rose, and she refused to let me pay rent saying she’d be no better than a slumlord if I worked for her and paid rent, to boot. Rose would likely let me do anything to her house, but it was her house, so I’d never try to change it. “Rose is very sweet to me.”
“I know she is. Rose has a heart of gold, but as you can see, my house is in desperate need of fixin’ up and I’m terrible at it. I can’t help thinkin’ you’d love to help.”
I grinned. “I would.”
His face lit up. “Then it’s settled, but tonight is about you and me. Do you still want that shower?”
“Do you mind?”
He gave me a sly look. “Actually… I prefer it. I wasn’t plannin’ on pickin’ you up until eight, so I need the extra time while you’re in the shower.”
“There are more surprises?”
“A few more. Why don’t you head into the bathroom and take your shower, and I’ll grab your bag and put it on the bed. You come down when you’re ready, but I’ll need at least twenty minutes, so you can even take a bath if you like.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you up to, Jed Carlisle?”
“You’re gonna love it.”
“How dressed up should I be?”
“Wear something that makes you feel pretty.” Then he gave me a quick kiss and headed out the door.
I turned around in the room, wondering when he’d packed up his apartment and moved it here, especially since he said he’d closed on the house yesterday and we’d made our impromptu trip to Little Rock in the afternoon. He was right that his simple contemporary bedroom furniture didn’t go with the house, but the white walls weren’t helping. All it needed was a warmer paint color, some curtains, and some homier furniture and bedding.
Grinning ear to ear, I walked into the bathroom and took in the slightly dated double vanity, shower, and deep jetted tub. I eyed the tub longingly and decided that I’d take Jed’s suggestion and enjoy a bath. He’d brought my toiletries that I’d kept at his place, and I wondered how he’d gotten everything moved and unpacked. I suspected he’d taken a lesson from Skeeter Malcolm and hired people to do it. Then again, Jed didn’t have many material possessions, so it wouldn’t have taken much time.
The problem with the bath was it left me with too much time on my hands to think about things, and I kept seeing the faces of the two dead men. I relived my near-kidnapping, and in the end, I was making myself more anxious, not less. My phone was on the ledge, so I picked it up and turned on some music, hoping it would distract me.
After fifteen minutes, I grabbed a towel to wrap around myself and opened the door to the bedroom, where I found my suitcase lying on the bed. I pulled out a lacy pink dress, clean underwear—also lacy pink—and my makeup bag, then carried them into the bathroom. After I reapplied a light layer of makeup, I dressed and examined my reflection in the full-length mirror in the nearly empty walk-in closet.
I’d never worn this dress before, but I looked like a combination of sweet and sophisticated, and I almost changed my mind about wearing it. Would Jed like it? It was a lot dressier than I usually wore with him, but he’d originally told me to dress up, so I ultimately left it on. I rolled my hair into a French twist, then added a light coat of lip gloss, slipped on a pair of nude-colored heels, then headed for the bedroom door, nearly thirty minutes after Jed had left me to go work on his next surprise.
“Jed?” I called out down the stairs.
The bathroom door across the hall opened, and Jed walked out wearing a light blue dress shirt, dark gray dress pa
nts, and a light blue silk tie. The most dressed up I’d ever seen Jed was in a short-sleeved button-up shirt and jeans, so the sight of him caught me off guard. He was freshly shaven, and he must have taken a shower because his hair was still damp. His eyes darkened even more when he took me in, and he closed the distance between us stopping about a foot from me.
“You’re beautiful, Neely Kate.”
I smiled up at him. “You clean up pretty nice, yourself.”
“You ready?” he asked as he reached out his hand.
I didn’t know what he had planned, but if it was with Jed, I would go with him just about anywhere. “Yeah.”
We walked down the stairs hand in hand while I held on to the railing. Jed kept stealing smiling glances at me. Butterflies filled my stomach, and I wondered how I could have worried if he was considering breaking up with me. It felt foolish and juvenile, and I realized that all my previous relationships had been shallow, and now I had the chance to have something real and meaningful with Jed. Something I’d never shared with anyone else.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, he led me through the living room and empty dining room to the kitchen, where something smelled delicious.
“If you cooked dinner, showered, and changed to look this good, then you are one amazing man,” I teased.
He laughed. “I had the food delivered.” Then he walked to the back door he’d bypassed before and opened it, revealing a covered porch. The ceiling was strung with white string lights, and a small round table was placed in the middle, set with a white tablecloth, two white plates, and empty wine glasses. “This is what I was working on.”
I froze in the doorway, not believing my eyes. “How…” I shook my head, gaping at him.
“I strung the lights last night but set the table while you were in the bathroom.”
“Jed… it’s so beautiful.”
“You deserve beautiful things, Neely Kate. I plan to give ’em to you.”
A lump filled my throat. “Jed, all I need is you.”
He smiled, then reached for my hand, tugging me to a chair. “Have a seat and I’ll bring out the first course.”
I laughed. “There’s courses?”
“Yep. Wait here.”
He went inside, and I stared at the yard behind the house and realized the property was completely enveloped by trees. Jed walked out with two small plates of salad, and set them on the larger plates. Then he headed back into the kitchen and returned with an open bottle of wine. He sat down and filled our wine glasses, then picked up his glass and extended it toward me. “To the most beautiful woman I have ever known, both inside and out.”
I lifted my glass and touched it to his. “And to the most honorable, supportive man I’ve ever known. You’ve shown me the meaning of a real man. Thank you.”
He clinked his glass with mine and we took a sip, keeping our eyes on one other. I lowered the glass to the table and took a bite of the salad—spring greens covered in strawberries and blueberries, pecans, and feta cheese. I was in heaven.
“Where on earth did you get this food?” I asked as I took another bite.
“I’ll tell you later. First tell me about your week up until today, because we haven’t seen that much of each other.”
I told him about several clients and the designs I created and how I’d come up with them. After we finished the salads, he hauled the plates into the kitchen, then returned with two plates covered in steak, asparagus, and baked potatoes.
“Jed,” I practically moaned after I took a bite of the medium-well steak. “This is delicious. Who cooked this?”
“I’m pretty good at grillin’ steaks,” he said with a grin. “But I confess I let someone else cook them this time. A new catering service that opened a few weeks ago.” He took a bite of his potato and said, “The backyard is pretty bare. Maybe you could come up with a landscape design.”
I smiled. “I’d like that.”
We spent the main course talking about the garage. Jed explained that he’d approached Witt a few weeks ago about being a co-owner. Witt had exhausted all of his available financial resources, and Jed was looking for a legit business, so they agreed to become partners. Witt had already located the garage space and worked out a rental agreement, which was why they had been able to set it up so quickly.
“What about this house?” I asked as Jed poured more wine into each of our glasses.
“What about it? I already told you one of the reasons I got it was because it was so secluded.”
“But buyin’ property takes time. When did you start lookin’?”
He picked up a roll from a wicker basket. “The day after we came back from Ardmore.”
“What?”
“I knew, Neely Kate. I knew drivin’ home that you and I were meant to be, but I also knew I had to keep you safe. I wanted it to be a place you’d consider home too, so I had the real estate agent look for a decent house that was surrounded by trees and outside of town. She found this and I thought it was perfect, so I made an offer.”
“But you didn’t know that we’d work out,” I countered.
He held my gaze with a confidence in his eyes that stole my breath. “I knew.”
We finished our second course, then Jed collected the plates, pausing to ask, “Dessert? It’s cheesecake with strawberries.”
“I should say no, especially since I’m full…”
He grinned in the doorway. “How about we share?”
“Okay.”
A couple of minutes later, he returned carrying a single plate with a thin slice of cheesecake smothered in strawberries.
He scooted his chair closer to mine, then picked up his spoon and used it to scoop off the end piece of the cheesecake. He didn’t eat it himself, but instead held the spoon up to my mouth. Beaming, I took the bite.
With a smug smile, he dipped his spoon into the cheesecake again and took a quick bite for himself, then offered me another, moving slowly and deliberately as his gaze held mine.
I could feel the atmosphere changing. Electricity charged the air as I took the bite, his eyes watching my mouth. My breath turned shallow, and I picked up my own spoon and slid it through the cheesecake, then held it up to his lips. His mouth closed around it, his lips skimming the spoon while he watched me with an intense gaze.
I lowered the spoon to the table. “I’m not hungry for cheesecake anymore.”
His lust-filled eyes were locked on mine. “Neither am I.”
Standing, he gently gathered my hand in his, tugging me to my feet.
My heels made me taller, so I didn’t have to reach as high to kiss him.
His arms wrapped around my back, pulling me flush to his body as he took the lead with the kiss. He tasted like cheesecake and strawberries, and something offering so much more. So much more permanent.
Then he abruptly pulled back, out of my reach, and I gaped at him in confusion. “I know you want me, Jed,” I said, not bothering to keep the hurt out of my voice. “Why do you keep rejectin’ me?”
“Rejectin’ you?” he asked in disbelief. “Is that how you see it?” Then his gaze dropped to the floor and he released a soft curse. “Of course you would.” His eyes lifted to mine, full of understanding. “No, Neely Kate. Just trust me on this, okay?”
“Why can’t we just talk about it?” I asked. “So there’s no more misunderstandin’.”
He pushed out a breath. “Just wait here for a few minutes, and then I’ll explain it all to you, okay?”
My eyes narrowed in confusion. What was there to explain? “Are you deformed, Jed? Is it crooked? Because I don’t care if it is.”
His eyes grew wide. Then he burst out laughing. “No, it’s not crooked.” Then he pulled me hard against his chest, kissing me so thoroughly I forgot where I was standing. When he lifted his face, I could see how much effort it took to pull away. “You can see for yourself very soon, but just give me a few more minutes.”
“So you intend to sleep with me to
night?” I asked.
His grin turned sly. “We’ve slept together plenty of times.”
“Okay, then are we havin’ sex tonight?” I asked.
His smile fell, and his face turned serious. “No, we will not be having sex tonight. Now let me go upstairs for a few minutes, and I’ll explain it all, okay?”
“We’re not havin’ sex?” I asked, unable to hide my disappointment.
“Do you trust me, Neely Kate?” he asked in a serious tone.
“Well, yeah, but—”
“No. No but. Do you trust me or not?”
“Of course I trust you.”
His hand lifted to cup my face. “And have I ever done anything to purposely hurt you?”
“No, of course not.”
“I’ve done everything in my power to show you how much you mean to me. Has it been obvious to you or have I been too subtle?”
The man rebuilt a car for me to keep me safe and bought a house to hide me from his enemies and wanted to give me free rein to fix it up however I liked. If that didn’t scream a man who cared about me, I didn’t know what did. “No, Jed. Not subtle.”
“I want tonight to be perfect for you. Perfect for us. Just give me a few minutes. Then I promise you that I’ll take care of everything.”
His words were dripping with innuendo and I shivered. “Okay.”
A huge grin lit up his face. “Thank you. Now wait here and I’ll come get you when I’m ready.” Then he took off through the kitchen as though he was worried he’d change his mind. He called over his shoulder, “And don’t you dare touch those dishes. Why don’t you finish off the wine?”
I sat back down and poured the last bit into my glass, looking out into the now-dark yard. Fireflies floated through the yard, their lights blinking sporadically, making Jed’s yard look magical. I closed my eyes and imagined a life with him here—sitting together on the porch swing, picnicking in the yard out back, cuddled up on a sofa watching TV, cooking in the kitchen—it filled me with such contentment. I imagined him coming home from the garage, sweeping me into his arms and kissing me the way he’d just done, and I wanted that life more than I’d ever wanted anything in all my born days.
In High Cotton: Neely Kate Mystery #2 Page 22