What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 9)

by Kristine Cayne

  He grabbed a beer, and settled down for a day of reading.

  Jessie needed her girlfriends today. She called Summer, Kathy, and another friend, Alyssa and invited them over for drinks, snacks, and some much-needed girl time. Between Connor and Chad, she had too much to think about, and she needed her girls to get her mind off the men.

  Kathy was the first to show, claiming she had a hot date that night she needed to get ready for. Alyssa and Summer would be by later, after work.

  When she saw the bandage on Jessie’s arm, and the bruises on her face, she freaked.

  “Shit, Jessie. What happened?”

  Wanting to lead up to the weird stuff, Jessie didn’t answer directly. “Have you run across any creepy stuff at the restaurant?”

  “Are you kidding? That whole place has a creepy vibe. If I didn’t like Connor and Luke so much, I would have quit my first week.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing specific. I just get a weird feeling, especially when I’m there alone.” She looked at her friend quizzically. “You didn’t answer my question. What’s going on?”

  Jessie took a deep breath. “Before I tell you anything, you have to swear to keep an open mind. I promise I’m not turning into Summer.”

  “Okay…”

  “Last night, a ghost stabbed me in the arm with a piece of mirror.”

  Kathy’s gasped. “What? That silver mirror?”

  “Probably. You know about the mirror?” Jessie was surprised her friend wasn’t shipping her straight to the funny farm.

  “Just that it’s always showing up around the kitchen. Connor is totally weirded out by it. He has thrown it away at least twice that I know of, and put it in the carriage house a couple of times. He thought I was leaving it around. What ghost?”

  “I don’t know. It’s a woman. I saw her in the mirror one night.” She shook her head. “It’s too weird. I sound crazy.”

  “Yeah, you do. Did she beat you up, too?” Kathy asked, looking at the bruises on her face.

  “No, that was all Chad. Let’s talk about something else. Okay?”

  Her eyebrows raised, but she must have noticed the look in Jessie’s eyes, because she said, “Alright. Let’s talk about you and Connor. Is there a budding relationship in the works?” She nudged her friend with her elbow.

  “I think so, yes.”

  Kathy squealed with delight. “Ooooh! Do tell!”

  Jessie winced. “I’m not sure I should…”

  “Oh come on. That’s never stopped you before.”

  “Well, I think this one is different, Kathy. Connor is different from the other guys I’ve been with.”

  “What do you mean? Different how?” Kathy quirked a well-manicured brow at her friend.

  “Well, he’s insisting we get to know each other, and take things slowly. I’m having a hard enough time with that. It’s not my style, usually.”

  “So you guys haven’t had sex?” Both eyebrows raised in disbelief.

  Jessie shrugged. “No.”

  “Wow.”

  “I know.” And she did. Relationships, taking it slow, and no sex were not in Jessie’s normal vocabulary.

  Kathy opened her mouth, as if to say something, and thought better of it. “Well, I’ll leave that alone, for now.”

  Jessie went into the kitchen to get the plate of fruit and cheese she’d put together, as well as a bottle of wine from the fridge. “Who do you have a date with tonight?”

  “Connor’s brother, Luke.” Kathy said quietly.

  “Seriously? Is he as hot as Connor?”

  “Yeah, in a different way. He isn’t as massively huge as Connor is, and his hair is a little darker, but they definitely look like brothers.” Kathy bit into a slice of peach she had spread cheese on. “This is so yummy Jessie. I wish everybody knew how good this stuff was. You’d be rich.”

  “That reminds me. Connor wants me to do some sort of open house here, and invite the public. Cheese tasting, wine pairing, appetizers with cheese, music, stuff like that. You want to help me get ready?”

  “You know I do. What do you need?”

  They spent the next hour making plans and dividing up jobs for Jessie, Summer, Kathy, and Alyssa. Kathy agreed to get the recipes for the stuff Connor would make and make cards for the guests to take home to try. She also volunteered to help Luke with repairs around the house, which needed to be done before she opened it up to the public. Since she would be working at the restaurant the day of the event, so Connor could be there with her, she volunteered to do things behind the scenes to help Jessie prepare.

  When Summer got there, they had a pretty extensive plan of action. She informed them she was able to get Whiskey Myers to play.

  “The only thing is, they’re only available two weeks from Friday. After that, they won’t be able to play for six months. They’re fixing to start a pretty rigorous tour.”

  “Well, that doesn’t give us much time.” Jessie said, suddenly nervous, butterflies jumping to attention in her stomach. She was getting ready to put her business on display for the community, and open herself up to criticism she wasn’t sure she wanted.

  “I know, which is why I stayed up late last night, finishing the flyers, and had copies made this morning.” She passed out glossy, colorful pages to Kathy and Jessie. “I’ve already started putting some around town today. They’re hanging in windows downtown, and a lot of businesses agreed to put stacks of them by the registers.” She said proudly.

  “Wow.” Jessie was impressed, even more so after looking at the flyer. Summer was an artist.

  A beautiful wheel of cheese dominated the page, and in a corner was a picture of Jessie holding a baby spotted goat, Domino, and in another corner was a publicity shot of the band. Summer had titled the event “Eat and Greet.” Underneath, was ‘Stillwell Dairy, producer of fine local chevre, invites you to come meet the owner, listen to local music, and sample products.’ Under that, was Jessie’s phone number, and directions to her farm.

  Holding back tears of gratitude, Jessie sniffed. “This looks great, Summer.”

  “Thanks.”

  A short, staccato triple-honk precluded Alyssa’s entrance into Jessie’s house. They greeted each other with hugs and cheek kisses. Alyssa was a school teacher, and they used to have Wednesday night karaoke sessions every two weeks. But when she met her current husband, Dalton, they had stopped. Alyssa didn’t seem too eager to leave her hubby, and girls’ night just wasn’t the same with him there. Jessie admitted to herself she liked Dalton, a lot. She always had. Secretly, Jessie wished she and Connor could have a relationship like Dalton and Alyssa’s. That was why she was trying so hard with him.

  Alyssa was tall, though still a few inches shorted than Jessie, who was close to six feet tall. She had long, blond hair that fell down her back in waves. They were built similarly, but where Jessie was muscular planes, Alyssa was soft curves. Compared to the two of them, Summer was an elf, at barely five feet tall, with short pink hair, which she was currently wearing in glittery barrettes, clipped above her ears. Kathy was a vibrant red head, who stood at about five foot six, and had a body fit for a stripper pole—tiny waist, slim hips, and huge breasts, which she flaunted with low-cut, tight fitting blouses.

  Summer, Kathy, and Jessie had all gone to high school together, and Alyssa had come into the mix after college, when she moved here. They rarely had an occasion anymore where they all four got to get together, so they relished each time.

  Kathy was notorious for leaving town, either to follow a job opportunity, or a man, or both. Her latest expedition to Dallas to follow Don, a museum curator had ended in tears, and more information about the dinosaur exhibits from her docent job at the museum than anybody cared to remember. In fact, she had missed all of Alyssa and Dalton’s whirlwind courtship and marriage.

  Now, she was back, and the girls were glad.

  Three bottles of wine, a bag of chips, and three bowls of some sort of sinful jalapeño cr
eam cheese dip later, the girls were giggling uncontrollably at Jessie’s latest raunchy joke.

  A knock at the door interrupted them.

  Jessie opened the door to find a man who could only be Connor’s little brother. Kathy was right in her assessment of him. He was smaller than Connor, but still built really well, and his hair was darker and a little longer. He even wore Connor’s amused expression, identical right down to the twinkle in his cobalt blue eyes.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt so much fun, but I’m Luke Wright. Connor sent me out to do a walk-about and see what needed fixing.” He held out his hand to shake hers.

  “Yes, we were probably being a little loud.” Jessie smiled at him.

  Luke grinned back, but noticed something behind her that made him blush slightly. “Hey, Kathy.”

  “Hi Luke.” Kathy was giggling uncontrollably. “I can take you on the walk-about.” Looking at Jessie, she said, “I can show him all the stuff we talked about earlier, if you want me to.”

  Knowing full well Kathy wanted to, Jessie nodded at her and said, “Knock yourself out.”

  Kathy and Luke walked down the steps of the porch together, stopping at the bottom for Kathy to show Luke the lack of gutters around the roof. Jessie shrugged her shoulders and shut the door. She knew the look Kathy got when another man came into her sights.

  Chapter Eleven

  Connor had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, reading Louise’s journal. When he had finished, he was nauseous. She definitely had a story to tell, and the journal had told it, but as for her spirit in the house, he still wasn’t sure what it wanted, or what he was supposed to do with her.

  His thoughts were so wrapped up in the journal, he had dreamed of her last night. Disjointed images floated through his memory this morning, images he could only attribute to the journal and her story. It was heartbreaking.

  Heaving a weary sigh, he rubbed his face before swinging his legs out of bed and tiptoeing down the stairs from the loft in the carriage house. Luke was still asleep on the foldout couch in the living area, and Connor didn’t want to wake him.

  Walking over to the big house, he went into the kitchen to make coffee and plan his day. He had already decided to let Kathy work the lunch shift for him. She needed to know she was able to do it, before Jessie’s open house, and Connor needed to see Jessie.

  He needed to get away from the restaurant, from Louise’s ghost, and memories of what she had written. He needed to be around something sweet, wonderful, and amazing.

  He needed Jessie.

  After drinking his coffee, thankfully without the eerie musical accompaniment, he dressed and waited for Kathy to get there.

  Luke came through the kitchen to grab a thermal cup of coffee before leaving to do whatever he was doing today.

  “Hey, dude. What’s up?”

  “Not much, just waiting for Kathy to get here. What’s on your plate today?”

  “Jessie gave me a credit card yesterday to buy materials, and afterwards, I’m going to get started on her place.”

  “Wow. Credit card, huh? She must trust you. I won’t even give you my credit card.” He ducked a friendly punch.

  “She’s a hell of a lot nicer than you are, man. You might could learn a little from her.” He leaned against the counter, coffee cup in hand, as he sipped the hot liquid. Connor could feel the slow burn flow up his cheeks.

  Connor looked at his brother warily. Luke was wearing a smirk. “What?”

  “You’ve got it bad, man.” He continued smirking as he sauntered out the door.

  Jessie had already milked the goats, and since Alyssa was bringing her kids over later in the day to help with the cheese, she took the opportunity to work in the herb garden.

  She had really enjoyed yesterday with the girls. She had needed a day to think about other people and their lives instead of her own. Now, she was having a reality check. She still had to deal with Chad, and getting some sort of restraining order. Maybe she could do that tomorrow.

  She had no idea how to deal with the spirit at Connor’s? Just thinking of Connor brought a hot flush of desire to her cheeks.

  As she dug her fingers in the soil, loosening the roots of the weeds, she remembered the feel of his skilled fingers on her body. She felt her muscles loosen at the memory, and she sighed. She wished they had been able to finish what they had started without a maniacal ghost woman in the room.

  She hummed softly to herself as she diligently pulled weeds and trimmed the herbs. Jessie was putting the detritus in a sack at her feet, and herb trimmings in a basket at her side for use later.

  Lost in her work, she didn’t realize Connor was watching her, until he politely cleared his throat, scaring the bejesus out of her. She started, and spun around, dropping her trowel in the process.

  Connor’s eyes were amused, and the corners of his mouth were quirked up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I startle easily, you really shouldn’t sneak up on me.”

  “I’ve noticed.” He was slowly stalking her, the amusement in his face turning predatory.

  For some reason, the look on his face flustered her. She looked down at herself, noticing the ripped jeans, no bra, stained tank top, and everything covered in dirt. “I’m a mess.” She said to herself, still looking down, brushing dirt off herself.

  “A hot mess.” When she looked up at the nearness of his voice, she realized he was right there, inches away from her. His breath caressed her face as he spoke, a gravelly whisper. “I can’t get the other night out of my mind, the taste of you off my tongue.” His lips were on hers before she could respond.

  His kiss was gentle at first, tasting her. He sighed, sending a trembling shudder through her body. Her arms wound around his neck, pressing her body closer to his as he lifted her by her rear, pulling her against his hard body. She intensified the kiss, opening up to him, hoping he could feel her need.

  She wanted to finish what they had started, too.

  They tumbled to the ground, reaching for each other in unison. Her hands were in his pants as his mouth nibbled lower on her neck, his hands under her tank top. He groaned, loudly as she felt the smooth heat of him spring free from his jeans.

  “Oh my…” She said at the sheer enormity of it. She looked up into his eyes, glazed with desire. She slowly stroked the length of his shaft, and his body shuddered at her touch. He was squeezing her breasts, tweaking the nipples, and she gasped at the shock of electricity shooting through her body.

  She devoured him in a hungry kiss. She wanted him, now, and she was going to have him. Her tongue melded with his in an appeal, an entreaty to take her now, here. Her hand continued stroking him, as she moaned into his mouth from the sensations of his hands on her breasts.

  When he broke off the kiss to lower his mouth to her nipples, she was panting.

  “Connor…Please…”

  “What?” His mouth paused in their ministrations.

  “I want you. Now. In me.”

  That was all the encouragement he needed. His hands were on the snap of her jeans in a heartbeat, pulling them down, as he eagerly pressed his erection against her opening. Pausing to look into her eyes, she was overwhelmed at the yearning on his face.

  “Say it again…” He begged her.

  “Jessie? Are you back here?”

  The surprise frozen on his features would have been comical, if they hadn’t been nearly naked. It was his brother, Luke.

  “Stay there, Luke!” Muttering curses under his breath, Connor rolled off her, helping Jessie to re-order herself before he pulled up his own pants. They could both hear Luke chuckling on the other side of the bush of bridal wreath. “What do you want?” Connor growled at his brother as he stood, helping Jessie to her feet.

  Luke came out from behind the large, flowering shrub, with a huge grin on his face. Jessie touched Connor’s arm.

  “I forgot to tell you. Luke’s starting on the house today.”

  “And n
ow I know why Kathy had to work the lunch shift.” Luke waggled his eyebrows at Connor good-naturedly.

  “Well, Kathy has to know she can do it. I will need her to do that from time to time.” Connor’s voice was gruff. It was apparent he was now in a foul temper.

  “And Alyssa will be here, soon. With her children.” She looked at Connor, lust and desire fading into disappointment and frustration. She could see he felt the same way.

  “Go ahead and get started, Luke. My tools are in the shed over there, if you need anything.” She grasped Connor’s hand and pulled him around to the other side of the house, for a little privacy. Not that anything would happen now, the moment had passed.

  He pulled her to him, and dropped his mouth to hers in a scorching kiss. He rested his forehead on hers. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another…”

  “Yeah. I know.” She kissed him again, not able to help herself. As if just touching lips with this man could quench her thirst for him.

  “Come to the restaurant tonight? Please?” His eyes had rekindled their lusty gleam.

  “Um…” The memories of the last time at his place were still fresh in her mind.

  “I’m not sleeping in the big house anymore. I moved a bed to the carriage house. We can be there. There’s nothing there.” A lock of his sandy blonde hair had fallen over his forehead, and he looked like a little boy, begging for a puppy.

  “Okay.” She said reluctantly. She wanted to be in this man’s bed, so bad, she would have agreed to anything.

  He gave her one last lingering kiss before leaving.

  That evening, Connor was be-bopping through the dinner rush, singing along with the Black-Eyed Peas’ newest hit, when Jessie walked into the kitchen. They were busier than she had seen them, and she didn’t want to disturb the flow, so she leaned in the corner, crossed her arms, and watched him work.