“You’re sleeping in your truck again?”
“That’s correct.”
“Because it’s less complicated that way?”
A chuckle escaped. “Correct again. Changed your mind about lunch tomorrow?”
“No,” she said, then leaned in a little closer. “But I’ve got a free shower and two extra bedrooms. Or a couch. Whichever you prefer. Just don’t expect anything fancy to eat.”
Knox couldn’t help the grin that emerged, although he really should say no. He knew he wouldn’t sleep much a wall or two away from a beautiful woman such as Jana. Even if he’d sworn off his past indulgences.
“I’d be crazy to turn down an offer like that,” he said. “But I don’t want to impose, or, uh, start any tongues wagging. Besides, what would your boyfriend think?” He was almost positive she didn’t have one, or wouldn’t he have seen signs of the guy by now?
“I don’t have a boyfriend to chase away, so don’t worry about that, Mr. Prosper.” Her smile was soft, teasing. “No one in the town has to know unless you tell them.”
“I think it would be pretty obvious if my truck is parked at your place, sweetheart.” His hand strayed to the fingers resting on his windowsill. Her fingers were warm, and her skin smooth.
She didn’t pull her hands away, even though her brows lifted. “So park your truck somewhere, and we’ll take my SUV.”
Knox could do this, stay the next night or two at the Harris house. No big deal. He and Jana were in the past. Now, they were… friends? “You got a deal.”
Jana nodded and stepped away from the truck. She was smiling, and he was, too. Easy, cowboy. There were about a hundred complications between them already, and first one up was that Knox didn’t want to jump into anything too fast. Things with Macie had… wrecked him. And he didn’t want bad decisions and stress to send him down another dark path.
But his thumping heart wasn’t listening as he pulled over to the side of the road. Parked. He snatched his duffle bag, then climbed out and made his way to Jana’s SUV.
Once inside, he found that his heart was racing much too fast for his liking. This was nothing, he told himself. Just some neighborly hospitality. By the time they pulled up to Jana’s house, every part of his body felt jittery. He’d shower, eat a sandwich or something—a jam sandwich—then call it a night. And hope to heaven, he’d fall asleep quickly.
The inside of the house smelled amazing. The signs of jam-making were cleaned up, but the sweet scent of fruit remained.
“Want some water?” Jana went to the fridge to pull out a pitcher of cold water.
After pouring him a glass, he told her, “You don’t have to wait on me. Just point me to the shower.”
She took a sip of her water, then said, “First door on the right. I’ll have dinner ready when you’re out.” Then she stifled a yawn.
“Really, Jana, I can fix a sandwich or something.”
“Off with you.” She waved him toward the hallway.
So he finished the water, then headed to the shower. By the time he returned to the kitchen, there was a new aroma. That of something delicious.
Jana was at the stove, frying up hamburger. On the counter, she had small bowls of different things like diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, and torn lettuce.
“You’re cooking?” Knox said as he crossed to the stove.
Jana glanced over at him, then returned to stirring the sizzling meat. “Making tacos. Hope you’re not allergic.”
“Now, who in their right mind would be allergic to tacos?” Knox said, bracing his hands on the counter next to the stove. “What can I help with?”
Another glance at him, and he wondered if the flush of her cheeks was from the heat of the stove. She’d taken off her boots, but she still wore the black jeans and blue shirt. “You can set the table. The plates are in that cupboard.” She nodded toward the cupboard closest to him.
He set the table quickly, then carried over the bowls with the various toppings.
When Jana brought over the meat scooped into a bowl, she sat across from him.
“This is right nice, Jana,” Knox started, “but—”
“Just say thank you,” she cut in with a smile. “You act as if no one ever did anything nice for you.”
Knox chuckled. “All right. I’ll shut up and eat.” He winked at her.
Then he dug in, and it was amazing. Maybe he was just hungry, but he’d never had better tacos. When he was on his second taco, he said, “Is there anything you can’t do, Ms. Harris?”
Jana smirked, and that playful look in her eyes reminded him of years ago, when they’d always seemed to have fun together, even when they were doing nothing.
“I can’t ride a bull,” she said.
“Have you ever tried?”
“No…”
He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Then how do you know you can’t do it unless you’ve tried?”
“Oh, you’re funny,” Jana said, picking up her water glass. “Not all of us are as crazy as you.”
Knox sat back and surveyed her. “Women bull-ride.”
“Women who are as tough as nails and built of muscle,” she said. “I’m none of that.”
“Your body would get used to it soon enough,” he said with a shrug. “Once you learn the techniques, it’s just reflex.”
“Sorry, Knox,” she said, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she pulled a lock of her hair forward and twisted it around her fingers, “you’re not even speaking my language. Tonight was the first night I’ve even stepped foot in a rodeo arena since, well, since high school. It might be another seven years before I go again.”
“That’s too bad, sweetheart, because I was hoping for a repeat tomorrow night.”
Jana’s brows lifted. “Why, you gonna win again?”
“I can almost guarantee it.” He wasn’t being cocky, just honest.
But Jana laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Knox asked.
She just shook her head and returned to her food.
“So… I’ve been curious about something,” he said when he’d finished a third taco and was finally feeling satisfied.
Jana looked at him, giving him her full attention.
“Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” he asked.
She hesitated at this, her hazel eyes flickering away for a second. “There’s always some big thing, I guess. I mean, I get asked out on dates, but they don’t progress too much. Also, I’m happy in Prosper, and there’s not much selection here. I really couldn’t imagine dating someone I knew in high school. It would be like dating my brother, if I had a brother.”
“You dated me.”
Jana’s cheeks pinked. “Well, you were different. But you moved on. Everyone moved on. Maybe my cowboy is just biding his time before he snatches me up.”
“Maybe.” Knox couldn’t look away from her. He was pretty sure she had the exact number of freckles she had in high school.
Jana stood from the table and began to clear things off. So Knox rose, too, and helped her. As she started to wash the dishes, he joined her at the sink and said, “Let me do that.”
She peered up at him, and he wanted to lean down and breathe in her raspberry scent. Not a raspberry in sight, yet she still smelled sweet.
“How about you dry?” she said. “I’m sure you’re beat and want to get to bed.” Her gaze flitted away, and she filled one side of the sink with soapy water.
“It always takes me a while to fall asleep after a rodeo,” he said. “But a full stomach will certainly help.”
She nodded as she handed him the newly scrubbed frying pan. “So I’ve been wondering something about you, too.”
“Oh, what’s that, sweetheart?”
“What are you going to do after bull-riding?”
He looked over at her. “You thinking my days are numbered?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I mean, bull-riding is what, five, ten years? Then what?”
“I
don’t rightly know, because Holt’s running the ranch for my dad, so that kind of cancels me out,” he said. “Maybe, I’ll go to college.”
Jana scoffed. “You’re kidding.”
“What?” He laughed. “You don’t think I can pass the classes?”
She finished up the last dish and handed it over, then drained the water from the sink. “I think you could pass any class you set your mind to, but I just can’t picture you mixing with college people.” She grabbed another dish towel and dried her hands.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he said, drying the final dish. “I’ve been thinking about making jam.”
Jana snapped a dish towel at him, and he dodged out of the way with a laugh.
“Careful with that,” he said. “You’re gonna make me drop this plate.”
She backed away, a smile on her face. “I need some sort of defense being around you.”
He set the plate in the cupboard, then walked toward her. She continued to move around the table, keeping the distance even between them.
“What about you, ma’am?” he asked. “Are you going to work for your parents the rest of your life?”
“No… I have plans.”
“Your column? Taking it big? You never did tell me what your column is about.”
“It’s a dating advice column,” she said, looking a bit wary of how he’d react.
“I should probably read that,” he said with a wink, moving closer. “You know, get some tips.”
Jana shrugged. “You never know. But I’m also writing a novel—hoping to get it published someday. In fact, it’s my third book. I just need to find the right publisher.”
Knox stopped in his tracks. “Wow, that’s amazing. Why am I not surprised? You always were the smartest girl I knew.”
She folded her arms and bit the edge of her lip. “You mean my sister was. She’s the one with the law degree.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know her.”
Jana’s smile was slow and beautiful. Like the rest of her. She moved toward the hallway. “Well, good night, Knox. Help yourself to whatever you need, but turn the lights out when you go to bed.”
With that, she disappeared down the hallway.
Knox could have talked to her all night, but it seemed that Jana was the wiser out of the two.
He had been right about one thing. It took him a long time to fall asleep.
Jana was surprised she’d slept at all the night before. She was pretty sure Knox went to bed soon after her—at least, she didn’t hear any sounds about the house. But when she awakened, the house was completely silent. Which was a good thing. She could shower and be ready before he woke up.
She crept out of bed, listening for any signs of Knox being awake. After her shower, the house was still silent, and she chanced a walk by the bedroom he’d chosen—Natalie’s, as opposed to her parents’.
The door wasn’t shut all the way, allowing for a sliver to see into the room. Although Jana slowed her step, she wasn’t about to peek in on him. So she continued toward the kitchen. She’d make two batches of jam today before pickup, then she planned on devoting the afternoon and evening to her book. She was caught up on a week’s worth of columns, anyway.
She debated whether to make breakfast for Knox. Would he be sleeping in? Or would he be heading to the rodeo grounds as soon as he woke up?
She cracked a few eggs into the frying pan and set the burner on medium. Then she made a fresh batch of orange juice. She didn’t have bacon or hash browns, so Knox would have to be grateful for what he got. Which he had been so far…
Which brought her thoughts circling to the fact that her ex-boyfriend had spent the night in her house. And… they’d been cordial. All right, more than cordial. Friendly, and maybe a tad flirty. She exhaled and flipped the eggs. The other sides of the eggs sizzled while she poured herself a glass of orange juice.
Knox would be leaving tomorrow, and who knew when she’d see him again. Sure, he’d come into town to see his daughter, but not Jana. Unless he needed a place to stay again? She grimaced. He’d stay at the bed and breakfast, since the rodeo crowd would be gone.
She spent the next hour preparing the jars and canning more raspberry jam. While the jars were in the water canner, she brought her laptop to the kitchen table to finish the scene she’d started the day before. She read through what she’d written, and that’s when she realized she was nearly to the first kiss between the hero and heroine. Right now in the story, Ryan and Sandy were in New York and were working late hours on a business deal together at a marketing company. They’d been friends for a couple of years, but Sandy’s boyfriend had stopped Ryan from asking Sandy out.
But now that Sandy was a free woman, Ryan was testing the waters a little. The sun had set, and the shadows had turned purple in the conference room. Ryan ordered in dinner, and Sandy was glued to the computer making adjustments on their digital design. When dinner arrived, they began to eat, and the conversation turned flirty—very flirty.
Jana was smiling as she typed, totally absorbed in the scene, when a voice spoke close to her ear. “Ryan, huh? He’s got some moves.”
Jana yelped, closed the laptop cover, and placed a hand over her chest. “You scared me. Don’t do that again!”
Knox chuckled.
He still stood behind her, and he leaned forward, then opened the laptop screen. “Why’d you shut it?”
She shoved his hand away. “No, you don’t.”
He was still behind her, and so close she felt his warm breath against her neck. Ignoring the goose bumps racing across her skin from his scent of soap and pine, she rose, careful to move away from him as she did so. Then she tucked the laptop under her arm and turned to face him.
Oh boy.
Knox was wearing a fitted T-shirt and jeans. His dark blonde hair was damp from a shower, and his whiskers only made him look more handsome.
“You’re seriously not going to let me read your book?”
Jana knew she was blushing, but she didn’t care. She took another step back. “It’s a romance novel, if you have to know, and you’re not exactly my target audience.”
He merely smiled and folded those tanned arms of his, which only made her heart skip another beat. The full force of allowing Knox Prosper to sleep in her house last night was starting to hit her. He was dang sexy in the morning. She needed to keep her distance, and she needed to change the topic. She moved around the table, still clutching her laptop. “Made you some breakfast.”
His gaze cut to the counter, where she’d piled the eggs on a plate and covered it. “Jana, you’re an angel.”
While he brought the plate to the table, she slipped into the living room to set the laptop in there. When she returned, Knox was halfway through his eggs.
“Want some orange juice?” she asked. Staying busy would be good.
“Love some.”
She brought over a tall glass of juice, then set about checking the jam in the water canners, even though she knew they weren’t finished.
When Knox finished his breakfast, he washed his dishes, then moved to where she was checking her phone for any delivery notifications. Nothing had come in, so she figured the pickup would be the same time this afternoon. It was nearly ten in the morning now. But she couldn’t ignore him when he was standing so close, watching her.
“What?” she asked, looking up at him.
Knox smiled as he shook his head. “How many people have you let read your book?”
This was not what she expected. “Um, a few people have.”
“Who?”
She pocketed her phone. “Um…”
He nodded. “That’s what I thought. Tell me about it.” The green of his eyes seemed to bore into her.
“Well, it’s boy meets girl, they realize they’re perfect for each other, and they live happily ever after. You know, all the standard stuff.”
“Doesn’t sound standard to me,” he said, “at least in my experience.”
He was still too close, even though there were about three feet between them.
“Maybe it’s not standard in real life,” Jana said, “but books are supposed to be a break from real life. A getaway.”
“If anyone needs a getaway in life, it’s me.” His mouth twitched.
“What’s so bad about your life?” she teased.
“Well…” He pretended to think. “I wasted a lot of years being mad at someone I shouldn’t have ever been mad at.”
Jana’s pulse rose… He was going there?
He leaned against the counter, not too far away from her. “Then I thought getting married was the right thing to do—and maybe it was—but I had a lot of growing up to do still. So I really worked that angle and dumped my family and stepped out on my wife.”
Jana went very, very still.
But Knox’s voice was even, calm, like he was telling someone else’s story. “Then I try to work out visitation with Ruby, and it’s always on her mom’s schedule, never mine. Not to mention every time I want to see my kid, I have to face the fact that my ex-wife is now my sister-in-law. It’s like my family is too crowded for me to fit in it anymore. Not that I can blame anyone. I was pretty rotten.”
Jana could only stare at him. She didn’t know what to say—she hadn’t expected him to be so open about all of this.
“So, don’t you think I deserve to read a happily-ever-after story?” His green eyes held hers. “A getaway book?”
“That’s quite the sob story, Mr. Bull-Rider.”
“It’s not over yet,” he said.
“Oh? Do continue.”
He took a step closer, raised his hand, and touched her hair. Then his hand skimmed her shoulder before it dropped.
Jana wasn’t sure if she was able to take a full breath.
“I’ve had to get over some pretty bad habits—on some days, I didn’t know if I was coming or going. But most of all, I’ve got a lot of regrets… especially with you.”
Jana had no answer, and she didn’t know if she’d be able to speak even if she did.
“So… does that buy me access to your book?”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re one persistent man.”
Not Over You (Prosperity Ranch Book 3) Page 6