by Joya Ryan
“So now it just comes down to the person. Piece of cake.” Lily winked at Jenna. Her tone was laced with such confidence that Jenna wanted to hug her. But the fact that, yes, it came down to her and Yvonne made Jenna feel queasy. If she didn’t show the town and the board that she was the absolute best person for this job, there was no way she would win the majority vote.
Of course, she already knew whom Superintendent Taylor would support, which didn’t help the rising nausea. She needed to stay focused. Both Taylor women would be watching her, waiting for her to screw up. Jenna could already see their gums flapping, happily informing the Diamond population of her shortcomings.
Well, Jenna wouldn’t give them any ammo to use against her. They could take their overworked pieholes, slandering words, and mean glares somewhere else. She’d show them, and everyone else, just how wholesome and competent Jenna Justice was.
“Those Taylor women are vicious,” Penny said.
“You’ll be fine, honey,” Lily interjected and patted Jenna’s hand. “I’ve never seen you do anything crazy or irresponsible in your life.”
But I have…and he’s your brother.
Heat rushed to Jenna’s cheeks. Where had that come from? She’d seen Colt at the pool that morning, but she was certain their chat had gone well and he understood she wasn’t interested.
Tell that to her breasts—which were still tingling from where Colt’s mouth had been.
No. She would stay strong. With her life under a microscope, the last thing Jenna needed was a scandal with the two-time national bull-riding champ and acclaimed ladies’ man. That kind of thing would dash any hopes she had of heading up the after-school program.
Colt may not have a reputation like Jenna’s mother, but he definitely had one. One that turned heads and garnered the kind of attention Jenna wasn’t looking for. He was the wrong kind of man for Jenna and the image she was trying to project. Colt McCade was not the kind of man to be seen as “responsible.” He was his own scandal waiting to happen with a panty-melting grin to match.
Nope. Colt’s smile, hard chest, and shocking blue eyes would not sway her.
Damn. Had she just swayed in her seat?
Her mind might be made up about Colt McCade, but her body certainly wasn’t.
“I’ve got to get back behind the bar.” Penny smiled. “Everything will work out, Jenna. We know the kind of person you are and we’ll back you.”
Jenna forced a smile. Lily and Penny were wonderful. They had supported her since they were kids. But Penny’s words stung Jenna’s mind. “We know the kind of person you are” still rang in her ears and left an ache in her gut.
It wasn’t the kind of person Jenna was that terrified her. It was the kind of person she could be viewed as. She was Miranda’s offspring, after all. What happened if she took one false step and everyone branded her the next Diamond Jezebel?
Always so careful to never cause an issue with anyone, hell, she hadn’t even started dating until she was several miles away and in college. Which also meant she didn’t get out much. Jenna tapped the side of her drink with a fingernail, realizing how boring her life really was. But she wanted this after-school program.
She thought of Abigail’s eyes and how most days she had tears in them. Though she wasn’t in Jenna’s class anymore, Abigail visited Jenna’s classroom during recess. They’d chat for a little bit and the girl just seemed to like having someone to talk to. To listen.
This past year, Jenna had gotten bits and pieces of information out of her and the truth broke Jenna’s heart. Abigail was fighting against the same things Jenna had been when she was young. With a parent who didn’t notice you or really care, it was hard to progress. And Abigail needed help and support if she was going to make it through school without being held back. If she could stay in the after-school program, Jenna could work with her on reading and homework, and get her a healthy snack at the very least. Maybe once she had the job, she could really make a difference. Maybe she would also finally be seen herself, as a viable member of the community.
She scoffed. There was lots to do before she could entertain the idea of dating.
“What are you thinking about over there? Hopefully something besides this grant thing,” Lily asked.
Jenna shrugged. “Actually, I was thinking about dating.”
Lily’s eyes shot wide. “Seriously! Jenna, that would be awesome. You need a man so bad.”
“Hey, I’m not that hard up.” But Jenna didn’t even sound convincing to herself. Truth was, technically she’d had sex more recently than probably any of her girlfriends. Not that she could talk about it.
Colt’s face flashed in her mind.
That night had been the most incredible of her life. And Colt was everything she’d dreamed he would be. Just the memory of his hands on her made her wet. She wanted him. Over and over.
No! Those thoughts needed to exit her brain immediately. Because having a repeat session with Colt was beyond a bad idea.
“Do you have someone in mind?” Lily placed her chin in her palm and smiled big. Just like she did when they were in high school talking about the football team. And yes, Jenna did have someone in mind. But that is where he would stay.
“Ah, I hear Lenny Wilson is single.”
Lily frowned and dropped her hand from her face like she’d just eaten a slab of charcoal. “The insurance agent? He’s…”
“Nice?” Jenna offered.
“I was going to say boring as hell.”
Jenna’s chest deflated a little on a slow exhale. Yeah, Lenny was kind of stale. But he was safe. Not the kind of man who gave women an instant temperature issue just by tossing a smile at them. Not the kind who knew exactly how to kiss every inch of your body and came with consuming passion that took you over and made you mindless.
“Damn it,” Jenna mumbled and shook her head. Her stupid brain just wouldn’t let go of Colt. This whole dating conversation had been a mistake.
There were more important things she needed to focus on. Like the kids of Diamond having a safe place to learn and play after school. And she wanted to be the one to teach them. Society dictated that you couldn’t be the good teacher and the sinful wanton. Jenna of all people knew that. And so the kids, the education system, and the “good teacher” facade would win out. They always would. Because being both could never be an option.
“What’s going on with you?” Lily asked.
Too much, Jenna thought, twirling her beer on the table, but opted to say, “Oh, nothing.”
The familiar “ding” sounded as the door of Penny’s BBQ opened. An instant cry of high-pitched squeals and swoons sounded, drowning out the low hum of the jukebox. Jenna looked up and—
Frick! Colt walked through the door and was instantly surrounded by drooling women.
Lily rolled her eyes. “Goddamn buckle bunnies.”
Ryder Diamond was right behind him, as well as Huck Galvin and Sebastian Strafford. The four had been best buddies, football stars, and everything good and right in Kansas since they’d strutted out of their mamas’ wombs.
It really wasn’t fair that among the four of them, they could make up any woman’s fantasy. Ryder, with his clean-cut all-American boy-next-door look paired with his massive muscles and sense of responsibility, could easily be the next mayor of Diamond, and the hottest one to date.
Huck with his shaggy hair, piercings, and tattoos was no stranger to Diamond’s female population. How he managed to never commit to a single one of them, yet remain likable, was a pure act of magic. He told Jenna once, “As long as you’re sweet, honest, and up-front, you’ll have no problem.” Of course, he also said that being naked helped too.
Sebastian was in his typical pressed button-up and black slacks that fit him perfectly, showing his strength beneath the suit. The man should be on the cover of Esquire.
“Ladies,” Colt acknowledged, touching the bill of his ball cap. His blue gaze locked on Jenna and he wound through the gigglin
g women touching his chest and asking for autographs.
As the four men walked her way, Jenna downed the rest of her beer and kindly waved her empty bottle at Penny. “I’m going to need another.”
…
“Hey, sister.” Colt scooted into the booth beside Lily, ignoring the death stare JJ was currently giving him.
Ryder sat next to JJ and wrapped her up in a big hug. A flare of jealousy shot through Colt’s spine. They’d all been friends since they were kids, but for some reason Ryder’s hands on JJ made Colt all…pissy.
“Looking good, darlin’,” Ryder praised. “How was Kansas City?”
Colt leaned back, stretching his arm out along the top of the booth and grinned. “Yeah, JJ. How was your trip?”
She glared.
But Colt noticed a slight flush of her cheeks. Oh yeah, she was thinking about it. She had been clear about the whole one-night-no-tell-thing, but Colt had never been with a woman who wanted to hide him. Hell, women usually bragged about him. Sure, if Lily found out that he’d slept with her best friend, she just might have his neck, but JJ’s unease about their wild weekend and people finding out seemed a bigger deal than even that.
“It was fine.” She turned fully to Ryder, as if physically making it clear she was blocking out Colt.
Huck and Sebastian pulled up a chair at the end of the table just as Penny showed up with another round. Her stare lingered on Sebastian, like it always did. After high school, Bass had gone off to college and then law school, returning as a rather ruthless attorney. He was the only man in town who seemed to make Penny a little fidgety.
“Thanks, Penny,” Jenna said when she set the pitcher on the table.
Ryder rose and kissed his sister’s cheek.
“You all hungry?” Penny addressed the table as a whole, but Colt glanced at JJ. Fuck yeah, he was hungry.
“Some burgers would be great.” Huck smiled.
“Coming right up.”
“So you got the grant?” Huck asked JJ, picking up where Ryder’s line of questioning left off.
She took a deep breath and glanced at Lily. Colt recognized this look. The two women had basically grown up under the same roof and could communicate without speaking a word.
“I’ll know for sure at the school board meeting next month.”
“What? Why didn’t they just give it to you now?” Huck asked, tucking his longish hair behind his ears.
“Because the board members are being uptight ballbusters,” Lily replied. “Jenna just has to show them what we all already know—that she’s an upstanding, responsible citizen.”
Ryder frowned. “They can’t discriminate against you.” He looked at Sebastian for support.
While Ryder and Huck were ready for the weekend in jeans and T-shirts, Sebastian looked very much the attorney he was. Colt had found Bass at his office and had to drag him out of there for burgers and beer before the walls of a white-collar job closed in around him.
“It’s not discrimination technically,” Bass said. “The state will do a barrage of checks on Jenna, and when dealing with children and educational programs, people take extra steps to ensure a ‘favorable’ candidate. But the Diamond board will have to vote on who they want to head the program.” Bass glanced at the bar—rather, at Penny—then took a long swallow of his beer. “I hope you don’t have any skeletons in your closet, Jenna.”
Her eyes darted to Colt. Realization hit.
She was trying to hide him in the very literal sense. But could he really blame her? Colt didn’t have the best rep, but he was a bull rider, not congressman. But JJ? That woman had a whole other side to her no one at that table, or in that town, had a clue about. Oh yeah, he knew exactly what little Miss JJ could really do. And that obviously freaked the shit out of her.
Though Colt never wanted to cause her undue stress, he couldn’t help but feel oddly proud. He’d gotten to see something in JJ that he’d wager she had never shown anyone else. And God help him, he wanted to see it again.
Lily had kept him in the loop about all that happened in Diamond over the years, and JJ’s ambitions were not lost on him. In fact, he admired her. Once, after he’d given her and Lily a ride home from their seventh-grade spring dance, JJ had spent the whole ride going off about how Randy Robinson had gotten too handsy and how she kicked him in the shin for trying to cop a feel.
Colt grinned at the memory. Even as a kid, JJ was always trying to show that she wasn’t her mama. Wasn’t the kind to run around and—
Ah, shit…
A fucking Mack truck would be more subtle than what had just hit him. JJ wasn’t worried about the time they spent together. She was worried about how a wild one-nighter would make her look if anyone found out.
“Skeletons?” Huck laughed. “I suspect all the board will find in Jenna’s closet is fuzzy bunnies and rainbows.”
He winked at her, and again, Colt didn’t like the gesture. Though he was only a friend and all of them supported one another, something had changed since last weekend when he’d had JJ all to himself.
Her gray eyes skated over Colt and she took a nervous sip of her longneck. Her hands shook as if she was terrified that Colt was about to call her out—tell everyone about the two of them.
His chest recoiled at the idea, ached that she’d think that about him. He may enjoy women, but he didn’t kiss and tell. And he’d never hurt JJ, especially like that. It was time she understood.
“I agree.” Colt tipped his beer at JJ, hoping he could help calm her. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, sugar.”
Her breasts rose on a deep breath and her gaze zeroed in on him. The look she sent him spoke volumes: I’m not so sure that’s true.
Colt wasn’t sure either.
“Thanks for all your support, guys.” She quickly changed the subject, and Huck and Ryder started talking construction and the new real estate they were developing up on the hill.
Colt was lost in thought, eyes riveted on the ripe mouth and handful of curves sitting across the booth from him. He understood that this grant was important to JJ and he wouldn’t do anything to assist in a “poor perception” of her or threaten her chances. But he had to have her again.
JJ had somehow gripped hard to a spot in his chest and was refusing to let go. Colt needed to see that fire, wanted to be the one to stoke it. Even if no one else knew about the passionate woman that lay beneath that prim composure and glasses, Colt did. And he wanted another taste of it.
It would seem Miss JJ put her kindergartners and the kids of Diamond above all else. Colt wouldn’t try to challenge that. He would just have to change his tactics.
Chapter Five
“SSSsssss…”
“Lord have mercy!” Jenna yelped as Michael held up his pet snake for the whole class to see.
“It’s okay, Miss Justice. This is Drake. He’s a royal python.”
Jenna inched closer, one palm out, the other on the wastebasket, slowly creeping toward her five-year-old student and the three-foot snake wrapped around his arm.
“Michael, honey. Does your mama know you have that?” She tried to keep the fear out of her voice. She never thought show-and-tell would end up giving her a heart attack.
Michael frowned. “My mama is the one who bought him for me.”
Jenna was going to have a long talk with Barbie Biggs. Why on earth would she willingly get a predator for her kindergarten son? As if sensing her thoughts, the snake hissed.
A chill of terror raced up her spine.
“O-okay, honey. Well, let’s get Drake back in his cage.”
Cage. The thing was four pieces of plastic and nowhere near the thickness Jenna deemed necessary to house a fanged reptile.
“He’s real nice, Miss Justice.”
“I’m sure he is, Michael, but let’s just get him back in his little house there, okay? Drake looks a bit tired.”
Michael swung his arm around and peered at the snake’s face. Jenna’s heart beat out of her
chest.
“You’re right. He does look tired.” With a shrug, Michael put the snake back in his container and sealed it.
Oh, thank heavens.
Setting the trash can down, Jenna ran shaky hands over her skirt, hoping to smooth away some of her terror.
“Oh-kay, who’s up next? Alex?”
“Yes!” Alex McCade jumped up and ran toward the classroom door. “I gotta get it from the hallway.”
“It’s not a snake, is it?” Jenna rushed out.
“No. It’s waaaaay cooler!”
God help me.
Jenna took a seat behind her desk at the back of the room. She fumbled through the first drawer, searching for her cell. That thing would stay in her grip until show-and-tell was over. Nine-one-one was on speed dial, and kindergartners were surprising creatures.
“This is my show-and-tell!” Alex announced to the room just as Jenna dug her phone from the back of the drawer. “My Uncle Colt!”
Jenna’s head snapped up. Her stare landed on the smiling five-year-old and his grinning uncle standing at the front of the room.
And she thought a snake was bad.
Jenna opened her mouth to say something, but Alex began his proud explanation.
“Colt McCade, a legend. A hero. A…what was it?” He looked up at his uncle and Colt leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Oh yeah! A god among men.”
Jenna rolled her eyes and tried to hide her grin. Had the man no shame? Judging by the smug smile plastered to his face, she guessed not.
Colt threaded his thumbs through his belt loops. That black leather belt lined his hips so perfectly, Jenna had to concentrate on not staring. His blue tee matched his eyes, which were burning a hole right through her from beneath the Stetson he wore. The only time she’d seen him trade his typical baseball cap for a cowboy hat was when she saw him on TV riding. Whatever he put on his head was irrelevant because, good Lord, the man was edible.
Even worse, he knew it.
“My uncle can ride a bucking bull for eight hundred seconds!” Alex gushed, and the whole class oooohhhhed and awwwhed.
Jenna shoved her glasses up on her nose and pursed her lips. Colt just smiled at her and tipped his hat.