The day had been a long one, and the locals were sacked out in lawn chairs and blankets spread out under shade trees. Children were asleep in parents’ laps and there were long lulls between conversations. Even the colorful red, white and blue streamers drooped along the edges of the buffet tables. Madeline thought about how exhausted she was, how much she wanted to go back to the ranch and take a long, cool soak in the tub. But her fatigue was no match for the sweet innocent eyes staring up at her. “I’d love to go, sweetie, but it’s up to your dad.”
She looked over Annie’s head to where Jake stood conversing with a group of men under a tree. The day’s heat and humidity hadn’t affected him. He appeared fresh and vibrant and sexy, standing with both hands stuffed into his back pockets. Today he’d worn a golf shirt that displayed his biceps to perfection. She hadn’t been the only one to notice. Harriet Blecker’s niece had all but drooled every time Jake had come up to the buffet table to ask how things were going.
She might have been jealous of the young teenager if not for the fact that each time Madeline’s gaze found Jake’s, he already had his eyes on her. Even now, the memory of his heated stares sent tiny shivers racing across the surface of her skin. Jake might be the most handsome and virile man at the picnic, but what the other females didn’t realize was how wonderful he was on the inside. Even if Jake had a big wart on the tip of his nose he’d still be irresistible.
Now, if only she could find a way to convince him to open up to her. She sensed he was holding something back about his marriage to Sara. She wished she knew how to make him trust her. How to convince him that nothing he told her could change the way she felt about him.
Annie jumped up and down. “Can I go ask now?”
Madeline checked her watch. It was already 8:00 p.m. Coot had mentioned the fireworks were in Stephenville and started at dusk. “Sure. I’ll get our things together.”
She shook out the picnic blanket, lifting the edge high enough to conceal her smile as she watched Annie march into the circle of men. The child tugged on Jake’s elbow, demanding his attention. As he knelt in front of her, she used wild arm gestures to convey her request. Madeline assumed he didn’t want to go by the sudden dip in his eyebrow, but to his credit, he waited to speak until his daughter finished pleading.
Madeline folded the blanket and set it on top of the cooler. Jake raised his head and their gazes collided, her stomach jumping at the intensity of his stare. She could guess exactly what kind of fireworks he wanted to set off tonight. He continued to stare, waiting for some kind of sign from her. They’d been separated most of the day and she yearned for some quiet time with just Jake.
She shifted her gaze to Annie, and the hopeful expression on the little girl’s face cinched her decision. Her and Jake’s quiet time would have to wait. Annie deserved to see the fireworks. And truthfully, Madeline was excited at the idea of sitting on a blanket with Jake and Annie and watching the sky explode with color and light and sound. She smiled and gave a thumbs-up, then laughed at Annie’s squeal.
Taking Annie’s hand, Jake excused himself from the group and headed toward her. “Annie really wants to see the fireworks, but they’re all the way over in Stephenville. You sure you’re up for it?”
Annie’s expression changed from eagerness to worry as she watched the adults. Madeline wanted to commend Annie for the superb acting job she was witnessing. “I don’t mind.”
Annie’s eyes shone with anticipation. Madeline thought that if what they saw tonight was half as bright as the sparkle in the child’s eyes, they’d be in for a real treat.
“I don’t mind driving you girls over. C’mon, let’s pack the truck and get going. As late as it is, we’ll have to park on the other side of the hill to see anything.”
And they did. It turned out the fireworks were shot off at the edge of Stephenville’s city limits. Hundreds of cars and trucks lined the shoulders of Highway 10 going in both directions. They were among the last to arrive, and Jake managed to find a spot just over a small hill. He parked facing away from the town. “We’ll sit in the truck bed.”
After he spread the blanket across the tailgate, he lifted Annie up, then she and Jake sat on either side of her. Madeline breathed deeply, wishing, for one selfish moment, that just her and Jake were parked in the middle of this field, with nothing but darkness and the sound of chirping insects surrounding them.
Then the first thunderous boom came, taking both her and Annie by surprise. They giggled like schoolgirls as they watched the sky light up. Jake lay back, arms crossed behind his head, and chuckled at their excitement. For over twenty-five minutes the sky flashed with glimmering blues, sparkling silvers, rich reds and greens.
Madeline liked the resonant booms as much as the bright colors. Her favorite firework was the one that sounded like a machine gun going off and ended with an explosion of twinkling white lights that looked like falling stars.
She hated to take her eyes off the heavens, but even the fireworks couldn’t block out the sensation of Jake’s gaze burning into her. She sucked in a quiet breath when the tips of his fingers caressed the skin under the hem of her T-shirt.
Annie’s shoulders drooped, and she curled herself into a ball, laying her head in Madeline’s lap. The poor little thing had finally run out of steam. Just then the sky exploded into a million sparkling stars. She pointed and gasped, “That’s it!”
Jake’s fingers tensed against her back. “That’s what?” he whispered, his voice thick with intimacy.
She stared in awe at the heavens. “That’s what it’s like when you…when you…” She sighed, realizing the conversation was a little too intimate for their surroundings.
He sat up, leaned over his daughter and murmured against Madeline’s mouth, “That’s how I feel, Maddy. You make my whole world explode.” He kissed her softly, just a touch of tongue to tease and entice. She followed his mouth when he pulled back, wanting more.
His lips claimed hers in a powerful kiss. She wasn’t sure if the next explosion was in her heart or the sky. He plunged his tongue inside her mouth, telling her without words what he wished he could do right then. She wished for it, too.
Madeline wasn’t aware of time passing, but the sound of gunning engines invaded her consciousness. Jake drew back slowly, leaving behind the taste of him in her mouth, the feel of him on her lips.
His heavy breath puffed across her face. “We need to talk when we get home.”
Her heart lurched in her chest. The darkness that had provided such intimacy was now her enemy. She hated that she couldn’t see his eyes, couldn’t read his thoughts in those deep blue orbs.
Had he changed his mind about her staying until the end of the summer? She clutched his muscled thigh. “Tell me now, Jake.”
He pried her fingers from his leg and brought them to his mouth. One by one he kissed each tip, then the center of her palm. “Soon. Let’s get Annie home to bed first.”
“Is it bad?” Oh, Lord had she no pride? Obviously not, where this man was concerned.
His quiet chuckle eased some of the tension in her, but she still had to know. “You’re not going to ask me to leave, are you?” When he didn’t answer right away, she panicked. “I won’t go. I promised Annie I’d stay the summer. I can’t—”
“Shh, babe. Take it easy.” He kissed her mouth, her cheek and her forehead. “I’m not asking you to go.”
She clamped her hands over his forearms. “But it’s about us, right?”
He rested his forehead against hers. “Yeah, it’s about us. How you make me feel.”
“How do I make you feel, cowboy?”
He chuckled. “You don’t give up, do you?”
She pressed her face to his neck and breathed in deeply. Was Jake thinking marriage? Hope surged through her. It didn’t matter that he still hadn’t said the word love. At least he acknowledged there was something between them. That was enough for now. “Okay, I’ll listen.”
Jake grinned. “Witho
ut distracting me?”
She shook her head. “No promises.”
He hugged her close. “Fair enough.”
The hour drive back to the ranch was the longest in Madeline’s life. Why did she sense that Jake thought their future, if they were to have one, depended on her reaction to what he had to say? What could he possibly have to confess that would make her change her mind about wanting to be with him forever?
She stared at Jake’s profile as he drove. One might use the word rugged when describing his looks. His tanned skin came from working in the sun, not from a tanning salon. His muscles were real, not the result of protein powders and health clubs. But underneath all that ruggedness was a warm, loyal, giving heart.
Tonight, she wanted very much to do the giving. To show him with kisses, touches, whispered words how much today had meant to her. How much he meant to her.
“What the hell?” Jake muttered as he swung the truck in a circle near the corral.
Madeline slapped her palms against the dashboard and gaped out the windshield. Jake put the truck into Park and turned off the engine but kept the headlights shining on the surprise by the house.
She couldn’t believe her eyes. There in the glow of the headlights, wearing a tailored suit and tie, leaning against the trunk of a silver Lexus, was her worst nightmare.
“Who is he?”
“My ex-fiancé.”
Chapter Eleven
Jake stared out the truck windshield at the man by the brand-spanking-new Lexus. A spasm gripped his body, twisting his gut into a pretzel. He sucked in a breath, the oxygen burning in his lungs like hell. He clutched the wheel until white-hot pains shot through his knuckles, as he searched for something to say, anything that would release him from the sudden panic that had overtaken his body.
Madeline frowned. “What in the world is Jonathon doing here this late at night?”
This late at night? What in the hell is he doing here, period? Right about now Jake didn’t think anything could make the tight band of fear cinching his chest ease, but hearing the note of displeasure in Maddy’s voice helped some.
He swallowed hard, wondering if she wanted a response. Wondering if he was even capable of giving one. The infamous ex-fiancé shifted against the rear bumper and waited, arms crossed over his chest, as if he had all the time in the world to waste until Madeline got out of the truck. Cocky son of a gun.
Jake glanced across the seat, wishing Maddy’s face weren’t hidden in the shadows. Someone had to say something. It might as well be him. “You going out there to talk to him, or do you want me to turn the truck around and get the hell out of Dodge?” He knew what answer he wanted to hear.
“Yes.”
His heart did a little flip. “Yes, stay, or yes, get the hell out of Dodge?”
“Yes, stay. I guess I’ll have talk to him.”
He reached for her hand, and was startled to find her fingers icy cold. “You don’t have to talk to him. I’ll make him leave.”
She squeezed his hand, then pulled away and grappled for the door handle. His lungs seized up again. Before he could stop himself, his hand shot across Annie, who slept peacefully between them, and clutched Maddy’s thigh. He wanted to warn her to be careful, tell her not to listen to a word the creep had to say, but his throat closed shut.
She pried his hand loose from her leg and patted it as if she were consoling a child. Is that how he was behaving? Shame filled him and he cursed himself for acting like an idiot.
“Put Annie to bed, Jake. I promise this won’t take long.”
He waited for some sign of reassurance that when this “won’t take long” was over, everything between them would still be the same. But without a word she opened the door and slid from the front seat.
Jake watched her as she walked toward the guy. He thought of staying in the truck until she finished talking to the jerk. After all, this was his ranch; he could sit in his truck all night if he wanted. Leaving Maddy alone with her ex-fiancé was one of the hardest things he’d ever do, but she was a grown woman. She could handle the guy. More important, if they were going to have a future together, he had to show Maddy he trusted her. Might as well start now. He reached for Annie, intent on taking her into the house, but froze when the lawyer pulled Maddy, his Maddy, into his arms and tried to kiss her.
His stomach churned with jealousy and rage. Maddy belonged to him. He had the door open and was halfway around the hood, when she turned her face away. The jerk’s lips smacked nothing but air.
Good for you, darlin’.
He didn’t want to leave her alone with the guy, but he wasn’t sure he could control his temper if he stuck around. Hauling off and sucker punching the idiot was too damn tempting. Not trusting his emotions, he took extra care lifting his daughter from the seat and settling her in his arms. Annie went right on sleeping, snuggling her head under his chin. Absently, he rubbed her back, finding comfort in her warm little body curled against him.
Grinding his teeth, he left on the headlights, shut the cab door, then headed toward the Lexus. The city slicker threw his shoulders back and lifted his chin as if trying to appear taller. Jake still towered over the other guy by a good four inches. He couldn’t tell for sure, but the lawyer didn’t appear to have a whole lot of muscle under his thousand-dollar suit.
Jake thrust out his hand. The guy hesitated, then offered his own, and Jake bit back a grin when he felt the baby-smooth skin and thin fingers slide across his palm. He squeezed extra hard, and eased up only after the lawyer winced. “Jake Montgomery.”
“Jonathon Carter.”
Well, that was about all he had to say to the guy. He shifted toward Maddy. He wanted to insist she come inside with him but didn’t. “You going to be all right out here?”
“I’ll be fine. I won’t be long.”
He nodded, afraid that if he touched her he wouldn’t let her go. He shot Carter a warning look. “I’ll be right inside the door. Yell if you need me.” All his strength was required for him to climb the porch steps, fit the key into the lock and enter the house. He flipped on the porch light. No telling what that idiot outside would do if he was left alone in the dark with Maddy.
He carried Annie upstairs, frustrated this Carter jerk put a damper on what was one of the best days Jake could remember in a long, long time. He laid his daughter on the bed, removed her clothes and smiled in spite of his bad mood at the chocolate-ice-cream stains on her shirt. Then he took her nightie from under the pillow and tugged it over two snarly pigtails. Next he hauled her to the bathroom and set her on the toilet. She swayed, before falling forward and resting her head against his shoulder. He’d just about given up that she’d pee, when he heard a faint tinkling. Relieved that she wouldn’t be making any late-night visits to the bathroom, he carried her back to bed, tucked the sheet around her shoulders and kissed her grimy little forehead. After closing the door partway, he stood in the hall. Just stood, not knowing which way to go or what to do.
Feeling edgy, he went downstairs and looked out the foyer window. Madeline was waving her hands wildly around her head. Jake grinned. She was letting the lawyer have it with both barrels. When Carter stepped back, Jake knew Maddy wasn’t in any physical danger from the guy.
He didn’t want to get caught peeking out the window like some Peeping Tom so he went into the kitchen and walked out the back door. He sat on the stoop and waited, wondering what kind of crap Carter was filling Maddy’s head with. He didn’t have to wonder long. The wind shifted, carrying their raised voices around the side of the house and right to the back door. Good. He leaned against the porch step, crossed his arms behind his head, stretched his legs out and settled in real good.
“How in the world did you find me?” Madeline asked.
“Caller ID. Your father had Ms. Redding track down the number.”
Her father? When had Maddy called her father, and why hadn’t she told him?
“Forget how I found you, Madeline. The important thing
is that I still love you. It didn’t take long after leaving you in Vegas to realize that I made a terrible mistake.”
He called ditching her at the altar leaving?
“You didn’t leave me, Jonathon. You abandoned me. At our wedding.”
Go get him, honey.
“Do you know how humiliated I was when the minister escorted me out a side door and asked for the balance of the chapel fee?”
“Baby, I—”
“And if that wasn’t bad enough, you checked out of the hotel and took my luggage with you. I drove clear across the state of Nevada in my wedding dress!”
“I wasn’t thinking. I panicked. Hell, I didn’t know which piece of luggage was mine and which was yours. Remember, you came over to my place and packed for me?”
The sound of crunching gravel reached Jake’s ears and he pictured Carter pacing in front of Maddy, trying to come up with his next line of bull crap.
“If you had doubts, Jonathon, you should have told me.”
“I didn’t have doubts. Something unexpected occurred.”
“Are you talking about the phone call you got right before we were supposed to leave for the chapel?”
“Yes.”
“But you told me to go on ahead so they wouldn’t give away our reservation.”
“I know what I said, Madeline.”
Jake tensed at the sharp note in Carter’s voice. The guy was walking a thin line. One wrong move and he’d send the lawyer packing with or without Madeline’s approval.
“Jonathon. You drove a long way to see me. At least tell me the truth.”
“Look, baby. It’s complicated.”
Baby?
“Give me the condensed version.”
“Why can’t you just accept that I behaved like an idiot?”
Idiot. Moron. Imbecile. Jerk-off. Butt-head.
“Because I can’t.”
The Cowboy and the Bride Page 17