by Joya Ryan
Alex tugged on his shirt. Colt bent down and this time Alex whispered something in his ear. Colt winked at his nephew as he rose once more to his full six-foot-plus height.
He flexed his muscles like a body builder and the class gasped as Alex said, “My uncle Colt is so strong.” He tapped his little fingers on Colt’s biceps to emphasize his point. “No bull can buck him off. He’s sooo awesome that the bull is actually scared of him!”
Alex nodded at his uncle and Colt bared his teeth and growled on cue.
Again, the class gasped.
Jenna stifled a laugh. Though Colt had obviously coaxed his way into Jenna’s classroom, he did love his nephew and Alex loved him. Seeing a grown man help a five-year-old impress a classroom of his peers made Jenna’s heart flutter.
“All right class, what do we say to Mr. McCade for coming in today?”
Thank-yous rang out, followed by a plethora of questions. “Can we touch him?” “Can I wear his hat?” “How many bulls have you ridden?” “Do you like kitties?”
Thankfully, Jenna was saved by the bell.
“Recess.” She needed to get Colt out of there. He was flustering her in ways she didn’t have a defense against. Thirty kindergartners darted out the door and Jenna rose just as Colt strutted toward her.
…
“Good afternoon, Miss Justice.”
“Good afternoon, Mr. McCade.”
He leaned back against her desk, his palms gripping the ledge behind him as he crossed his ankles. “Fancy seeing you here.”
Colt could swear the woman got sexier every time he saw her. Tight black skirt that hit her knees, wispy white blouse that was tucked in, and those sex-kitten glasses framed her face so well it made her gray eyes glow. Her hair was secured tightly in a bun, and Colt nearly groaned remembering how long and thick it was when she let it down.
“Colt. I meant what I said at the pool. We need to maintain a distance.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault we keep bumping into each other. Alex invited me for show-and-tell.”
“Uh-huh. Just like Alex came up with that ‘Uncle Colt is God’s gift’ speech.”
“I may have given him a bit of direction on that.” He grinned. “So how about dinner tonight?”
“Colt…” She let out a breath.
“Look, I get it. I know what you’re going through with the grant. And I meant what I said at Penny’s. You don’t have anything to worry about with me. It’s just a meal, JJ.”
Her eyes flashed and a delectable pink stained her cheeks. Her expression indicated that things wouldn’t stop at dinner. Which was exactly what Colt was going for.
“You’re injured,” she said, obviously looking for an excuse. But Colt was onto it.
He gingerly rubbed his ribs and glanced at the floor. In his best wounded-bird voice he said, “Yeah, I am. I’m told that a little ice and heavy breathing is the best thing for me. I can think of a few things that involve both those so maybe you could nurse me back to health?” He paused only to scan her body and wink. “Preferably in an actual nurse’s outfit?”
She rolled her eyes but he caught a hint of a smile. “Do those lines honestly work for you?”
He frowned. “What lines? I’m legitimately asking if you’ll take me to bed, then bend over wearing a—”
“I got it,” she said, holding up a hand. Colt didn’t miss that her blush was darkening. He kind of liked teasing the uptight teacher.
He didn’t know why he was so infatuated with her. Maybe it was because he’d never had to work so hard for a woman and he liked the challenge. But it was something more. JJ was constantly in his thoughts. When he wasn’t thinking about her, he was thinking about how he wasn’t thinking about her. The woman had some kind of hold on him.
She was smart, driven, and if he was being honest, way out of his league. He also knew that the one man who got to tame the secretly wild Miss JJ would be forever gifted with an amazing woman to call his own. Colt, who never thought long-term, suddenly liked the idea of having this woman, and her unbridled passion, all to himself.
“So?” He leaned in a little. “Dinner?”
“I’m sorry, Colt, I have plans tonight.”
“Just like the other night? When you hung out with my sister in a bar?”
“Plans are plans.”
He nodded and looked her up and down. He reached out and tucked a curl that had fallen loose behind her ear and whispered, “I know you need to keep your secrets, JJ. Don’t assume I can’t keep them too.”
Her breath hitched and Colt pulled back to see her eyes. They were storming.
“I—ah…”
Her gaze locked on his mouth. Yes! He’d gotten her thinking about it again.
She shook her head, as if to break a trance. “I’m sorry, Colt. It’s just not a good idea.”
“Tell me, right now, it wasn’t incredible between us.”
“You know it was,” she whispered.
“Now tell me you don’t want to feel that again.”
She searched his face. “Of course I do.”
That made him smile.
“But, Colt, I can’t afford a misstep right now. And…” She bit her lip and looked at the ground.
“And you’re worried I’d ruin your reputation?” Though he had an idea this was the case, it still stung.
“It’s not just you I’m worried about.”
“Well, look who’s here!” A chipper voice rang out as if on cue, causing Colt to stand up straight and JJ’s eyes to go wide—then narrow. Colt didn’t even have to turn to see who was coming their way.
“Yvonne, how are you doing?” Colt smiled and the leggy blonde hustled toward him with a little pout on her face. He was on the brink of being in deep shit here real quick, especially since he hadn’t called Yvonne after his quick visit to Diamond last year and even quicker one night with the woman.
“Not so great considering I didn’t know you were in town.” She didn’t stop, just made her way right to him and plastered a kiss on his cheek. He didn’t miss the way her hands lingered on his chest or the fact that JJ was watching every exchange between them.
“Hope I’m not interrupting anything?” Yvonne’s voice held an ounce of venom and her pink painted lips pursed as she spared JJ a glance. Barely.
“Colt was just leaving,” JJ shot out quickly.
“And what are you doing here in the first place?” Yvonne looked Colt up and down, in a way women did. A way he was used to. A way JJ had looked at him a time or two even. But nothing about the stacked, overly made-up pageant queen did it for him.
His eyes were set on a curvy brunette with sexy glasses and soft skin.
Yvonne cleared her throat and Colt realized he was staring at JJ and had ignored the question.
“Oh, ah, show-and-tell. Alex brought me.”
Yvonne let out a high-pitched giggle and cupped his shoulder. “Well, of course he did. You’re quite the prize to show off.” When she flipped her hair and added, “Maybe we can get together later tonight like we did last time you were here,” her whisper was purposefully loud enough for JJ to hear and that was all it took for her to put the pieces together.
He watched JJ’s eyes go wide with realization, and Colt felt like an idiot. Though he never made promises to Yvonne, that one hookup with her last year was coming back to bite him in the ass. And whatever ground had been made with JJ was disappearing.
“He is quite a prize, isn’t he?” JJ said with a wide smile. But Colt didn’t miss the distaste in her voice or the mask she was putting on. “Looks like you two have a lot to catch up on…like last time.”
There it was. Those few words punched through Colt’s chest and hurt worse than the damn bruised ribs. He had just lived up to his reputation in JJ’s eyes and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. At least right then.
Yvonne smiled, seeming to like JJ’s “support,” and turned to Colt.
“We should really catch up. My lunch just start
ed. Unless…” Yvonne stared down JJ and it was so cold and presumptuous he felt it from where he was standing. “Unless you already have something going on here?”
Colt knew he was in trouble. Did he want Yvonne? No. But whatever was happening to Jenna over there interested him. The normally calm and cool Miss JJ was donning a fierce scowl and pissed-off glare aimed right at…him? Yeah, he hooked up with Yvonne last year, but surely JJ couldn’t really be that upset since they weren’t together and it was a past incident. Right?
What the hell did I do?
He didn’t have to answer that since he likely knew the answer: he showed up. And now Yvonne was attempting to stake some kind of claim while also witnessing Colt and JJ’s innocent interaction, something JJ was obviously upset about. But he knew women, and the Taylor women in particular, made up the majority of the town’s gossip. Colt wanted to slap his hat and curse himself because damn it, he had come here to win JJ over by convincing her he was discreet.
“There’s nothing going on at all. I’ve got to get to recess duty,” Jenna said sharply and Yvonne seemed way too satisfied with that answer.
Jenna moved past him and toward the door while Yvonne shimmied a little closer into his personal space. Damn it all to hell.
“Thank you for coming, Colt. It meant a lot to Alex,” JJ said as she walked out the door, her words hanging in the air long after she left.
…
“How was school today?” Lily asked both McCade men as she pulled milk from the fridge.
“So good!” Alex said. “Uncle Colt was a way better sharing than Michael’s snake. Miss Jenna didn’t like the snake at all.”
Colt wanted to scoff because Miss JJ didn’t seem to like him much either. But he had to be better than a snake right?
“And what has you pouting over there?” Lily asked Colt as she set down a couple cookies and two big glasses of two percent. Before Colt could answer, his nephew ratted him out.
“Uncle Colt was trying to impress Miss Jenna and it didn’t work.”
“Oh, really?” Lily put her hand on her hip and Colt suddenly found his cookie very fascinating and was not at all avoiding the death stare he knew his baby sister was aiming at him.
“Yep,” Alex said, crumbs of chocolate chip flying from his full mouth as he continued to throw his uncle under the bus. “Then Miss Taylor showed up and—”
“And you were supposed to be out on recess,” Colt interjected. To which Alex just shrugged, not looking the least bit guilty that Colt had caught him eavesdropping by the door earlier and was now replaying everything for Lily.
“Yvonne Taylor?” Lily said with a half grin, obviously amused. “How did that go?”
Colt blew out a breath. He had barely gotten out of a lunch date with the woman, making up an excuse to leave before those press-on nails sank any deeper into his biceps and she could drag him to the teacher’s lounge.
“Fine. Just a friendly hello and I was on my way.” Colt took a bite of his cookie and tried really hard not to slam his fist down and throw a fit because there had been only one thing on his mind all day and damn it… “What’s Jenna’s deal?” Colt blurted out, frustration finally getting the better of him. “She’s all uptight.”
When he looked up to see Lily’s eyes wide and staring at him like he’d just delivered a curse of the century, he felt like an ass. He hadn’t meant to lash out, but he needed some answers without giving too much away.
“Alex, honey, why don’t you go play for a few minutes while I talk to your Uncle Colt.”
Alex nodded, jammed the rest of his cookie in his mouth, and ran out of the kitchen with full cheeks.
Lily came to stand by Colt and glared down at him. “Please tell me you aren’t going after Jenna. She’s my best friend, Colt. She’s not like those floozies you meet up with on the circuit.”
“Floozies? I don’t date floozies, Lil.”
“You don’t date, period,” she said.
That was a good point. But JJ was different. This whole situation was different. “I just want to…” Colt stopped himself. He couldn’t tell his sister about what he wanted, partly because he was still figuring it out. He knew he wanted JJ, though. Knew there had to be a way to show her he was a good choice. Could keep her secrets and spend time with her. It would be a win-win for both of them.
“You want to what, Colt? ‘Hang out’ with Jenna?” She air quoted the last two words and Colt immediately hated himself for telling Lily when she was thirteen that when a boy says he wants to “hang out” it usually implies a lot more than that. He also told her that if any boy tried anything to kick them in the nuts and run. At the time, he was educating and protecting his baby sister. Now, years later, with her throwing his words back in his face, it sort of sucked.
“I’m not looking for anything,” he lied. Because this conversation was going nowhere quick. He knew Lily wouldn’t be thrilled about this idea of him and JJ hooking up. “I just want to know why she’s acting the way she is.”
“She’s under a lot of pressure right now, Colt. You know that.”
“The grant. I get it.”
“Do you? She’s been working on this for the past year. A lot of kids in Diamond go home to parents who aren’t attentive or even around. She’s trying to create a safe place for them. She wants to be the one they pick to see this through. And Yvonne Taylor is her competition. The same woman who walked in on you ‘impressing’”—again with the air quotes—“Jenna. You know that woman has a big mouth. Remember the rumor she started about me and Johnny Blanco sophomore year?”
Yeah, he did. Lily called him up in tears because Yvonne spread it around school that Lily and Johnny went all the way, when apparently they had only kissed. Which was good for Johnny because Colt would have been on the next flight home to kick his ass.
Lily didn’t like Yvonne much, and Colt couldn’t blame her. It was one of the many reasons he kept his “run-in” with her last time he was in town to himself. Yvonne, however, hadn’t seemed to let it go and was looking for round two.
“Yvonne and her mother still gossip about Miranda and say nasty things about Jenna any time they get a chance,” Lily said.
“I know. I’m sorry,” Colt said. And he was. He didn’t want to cause problems. If anything, after this chat with Lily, he wanted to rush to Jenna, sweep her up, and tell her why she was better than Yvonne. Why she was special and sexy, and make her feel only good things. First he had to get her to see him, though. Lily would be a good source on how to soften JJ up, but he’d have to tread carefully.
“JJ just doesn’t seem to want to do much socially. Maybe a night out would be a good thing for her,” Colt offered. “A stress release.”
There. Platonic. Merely a friendly suggestion. Colt wanted to pat his own back because there was no way Lily could see through—
“You mean she won’t hang out with the amazing Colt McCade and you don’t know how to get her to go out with you?” Lily asked with a raised brow.
That’s it. He was spending way too much time around his sister.
“It was just an observation by a friend, about a friend.” He bit down on his cookie feeling defeated by a five-foot-two blonde with the world’s best bullshit detector.
“You don’t socialize much yourself. I’m glad you got out today, but in the past, you don’t really do much when you visit.”
“Well, this time is different,” he mumbled.
“And why is that?” She looked at him like she already knew the answer, but Colt wasn’t about to say it out loud.
“Because I’m here for the summer, as you pointed out. That’s three months, and I’m just looking for things to do and people to hang out with.”
“Like Jenna.”
“This town likes me well enough. Hanging out with me wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Uh-huh. You know who else likes you? The town’s women, Mr. Rodeo Romeo.” She patted his back and her voice softened. “You’re my brother and I love you. I k
now you’re a good guy. I just think that Jenna fights a certain kind of social battle every day that you and I have never had to fight.”
“I’ve had my problems, and I guarantee you the town still remembers.”
Lily nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. But it’s different for you. You can be who you are. How people view you or what they remember doesn’t outweigh what you want.”
Lily’s words slapped him in the face and a fucking lightbulb went off.
You’re not the only one I’m worried about.
Colt ran a hand through his hair. Was he willing to be her dirty little secret just for another taste of her?
Abso-fucking-lutely.
“Mama,” Alex said, running back into the room. “The new racing movie is out! Will you take me to see it?”
“Oh, sweetie, I wish I could, but I have plans with Jenna tonight.”
Colt’s ears perked up. So those were the plans she’d talked about. “What are you two going to do?”
“Girls’ night at her place. Alex, don’t you want to go to Michael’s house?”
Alex glanced down and Lily’s face fell. “I’ve been working a lot lately at the hospital, buddy, and you know what, I think a movie sounds just right.” Alex beamed. “Go get ready.”
She smiled and patted his bottom as he sprinted from the room.
“Thanks, Mom!”
“You’re a good mom, Lily.”
She smiled and dialed her cell. “And you’re a good man, Colt. Jenna is just dealing with a lot right now and it’s probably best that we just support her. From a distance.”
He knew right away what his sister was trying to say: stay away from Jenna because it won’t look good for her. And honestly, Colt could understand that. Hell, he just might agree. But sometimes when things you wanted don’t come to you, you had to get creative about getting to them.
Lily pressed the phone to her ear. “I hate canceling on Jenna, but she’ll understand…damn voicemail.”
Chapter Six
Jenna pulled up to her house and saw that Lily’s car was in the driveway. She parked and hustled out.
“I know, I know, I’m late, I’m so sorry.” Jenna set her grocery bag down by her front door and shuffled her purse off. “I had to run by the store to get—”