Brenda Jackson The Westmoreland Collection: ZaneCanyonStern

by Brenda Jackson

  In truth, most of the girls she’d known in high school, and even some of the women she knew now, preferred not to hang around with someone who wasn’t very girly. JoJo preferred jeans to dresses. She liked to hunt, practiced karate, could shoot a bow and arrow, and knew more about what was under the hood of a car than most guys. Of course, that last skill set had come from her father, who had been a professional mechanic. And not just any mechanic—he had been the best.

  A deep lump clogged her throat. It was hard to believe he had passed away two years ago. He’d suffered a massive heart attack while doing something he loved—working on a car. Her mother had died when JoJo was eleven, so her father’s death had left her parentless. She’d inherited the auto mechanic shop, which had given her the opportunity to come out of the classroom and get under the hood of a car.

  After she had gotten the teaching degree her father had wanted her to get, she’d obtained a graduate degree in technical engineering. She had enjoyed being a professor at one of the local community colleges, but owning and operating the Golden Wrench was what she truly loved.

  “So are we still on speaking terms?”

  Stern placed a tray of tortilla chips and salsa on the table beside her. He then slid into the other rocker.

  “Not sure if we are or not,” she said, reaching over and grabbing a chip to dip into the salsa and then sliding the whole thing in her mouth. “I asked you a question and you didn’t answer me because you assumed I wasn’t serious.”

  Stern took a sip of beer and glanced over the can at her. “Were you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I apologize. I honestly thought you were trying to mess with my concentration.”

  A smile touched her lips. “Would I do that?”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  “Well, yes,” she admitted, trying to hide her amusement. “But I didn’t today. I need information.”

  “On how a woman could make a man want her?”

  “Yes.”

  Stern leaned forward in his chair and pierced her with a dark, penetrating gaze. “Why?”

  She lifted a brow. “Why?”

  “Yes, why would you want to know something like that?”

  She didn’t answer right away. Instead she took a sip of her beer and looked out at the mountains. It was a beautiful September day. A red fox flashed through a cluster of pine trees before darting between a patch of woods to disappear.

  After she’d gathered her thoughts, she turned back to Stern. “There’s this guy who brings his car to the shop. He’s sexy. Oh...is he sexy.”

  Stern rolled his eyes. “I’ll take your word for it. Go on.”

  She shrugged. “That’s it.”

  Stern frowned. “That’s it?”

  “Yes. I’ve decided I want him. The question is, how can I get him to want me, too?”

  * * *

  As far as Stern was concerned, the real question was, had JoJo lost her ever-loving mind? But he didn’t say that. Instead, he took another sip of his beer.

  He knew JoJo better than he knew anyone, and if she was determined to do something then that was it. He could help her, or she’d find help somewhere else.

  “What’s his name?” he asked.

  She slid another chip into her mouth. “You don’t need to know that. Do you tell me the name of every woman you want?”

  “This is different.”

  “Really? In what way?”

  He wasn’t sure, but he just knew that it was. Using the pad of his thumb, he rubbed the tension building at his temple. “First of all, when it comes to men, you’re green. And second, for you to even ask me that question means you’re not ready for the kind of relationship you’re going after.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Pleeze, Stern. I’ll be thirty next year. Most women my age are married by now, some with children. And I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

  He wasn’t moved by that argument. “I’ll be thirty-one next year and I don’t have a girlfriend.” When she looked over at him, he amended that statement. “Not a steady one. I like being single.”

  “But you do date. A lot. I’m beginning to think that most of the men in town wonder if I’m really a girl.”

  He studied her. There had never been any doubt in his mind that she was a girl. She had long lashes and eyes so dark they were the color of midnight. Those eyes were staring straight ahead now, looking out over the thick woods. She had her bare legs lifted in the rocker with her arms wrapped around them. Her pose emphasized the muscles in her limbs. He knew she did a lot of physical work at the shop, but the two of them also had memberships at a gym in town.

  She had changed out of her hunting clothes and was wearing cut-off jeans and a short top. She had gorgeous legs, long and endless. But he knew he was one of the few men who’d ever seen them. She opened the shop at eight and closed after five. It wasn’t unusual for her to work late if she had a car an owner needed. And during that whole time, she wore an auto-mechanic’s uniform splattered with grease. A number of men would be surprised how she looked wearing something other than that uniform.

  “You hide stuff,” he finally said.

  She glanced over at him, frowning. “I hide what?”

  “What a nice body you have. Most of the time men see you in your work clothes.”

  Her frown deepened. “Well, forgive me for not wearing stilettos and a slinky dress while I change a carburetor.”

  A vision of that flashed through his mind and he smiled as he took a sip of beer. “Stilettos and a slinky dress? You don’t have to go that far, but...”

  He glanced over at her and saw she was pouting. He kind of liked it when she pouted. She looked cute.

  “But what?”

  “You would probably gain more men’s interest if you were seen around town after hours in something other than jeans and sweats. You’re a female, JoJo. Men like women who look soft and sexy once in a while.”

  She studied the contents of her beer bottle. “You think that might do it?”

  “Probably.” He suddenly sat up straight in the rocker. “I have an idea. What you need is a makeover.”

  “A makeover?”

  “Yes, and then you need to go where your guy hangs out. In a dress that shows your legs, a new hairdo—”

  “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  Honestly, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with her hair. It was long, thick and healthy. He should know. He’d helped her wash it numerous times over the years. He loved it when she wore it down past her shoulders, but these days she rarely did.

  “You have beautiful hair. You just need to show it off more. Even now you’re hiding it under a cap.”

  He reached over and took the hat off her head. Lustrous dark brown hair tumbled to her shoulders. He smiled. “See, I like it already.”

  And he did. He was tempted to run his hands through it to feel the silky texture.

  He leaned back and took another sip of his beer, wondering where such a tempting thought came from. This was JoJo, for heaven’s sake. His best friend. He should not be thinking about how silky her hair was.

  “So, you think a makeover will work?”

  “Yes, but like I said, after the makeover you need to go where you think the guy’s going to be—with a date. Whenever you pull it all together, I’m available.”

  She met his gaze. “Not sure that will work. If I’m with someone, he might not check me out.”

  “Most people around here know we’re best friends and nothing more.”

  “He’s new to town and probably won’t know that.”

  Stern thought for a moment. “You’re probably right. I wouldn’t come on to a woman if I saw her with another man. But you want him to accept you as you are. The
woman who works as a mechanic during the day and the same woman who can get all dolled up at night, right?”

  “Right.”

  Stern smiled. “Then I suggest you let him see you with another man. Makes it obvious that you can be sexy when you want to be and that other men appreciate you. I bet once he’s seen you, even if you’re with me, he’ll contact you for a date. And then when he does see you in your work clothes, he’ll look beyond the uniform and imagine what’s underneath.”

  Stern’s smile faded. For some reason the thought of men checking out JoJo that way, of men calling her for a date, bothered him. Suddenly, he was thinking that maybe a makeover wasn’t such a great idea after all.

  “That’s a wonderful idea, Stern! As soon as I get back to Denver I’m going to get started on the makeover. First, I need to find out where this guy hangs out. Then I’ll find the name of someone who can make me look pretty.”

  “You’re already pretty, JoJo.”

  She patted his hand. “Ah, that’s sweet of you to say, but you’re my best friend so your opinion of my looks doesn’t count. I’ll get in touch with your cousin Megan for the name of her hairstylist, and it shouldn’t be hard to find a makeup artist. Then, I’ll go shopping. I’ll get some of your other cousins and sisters-in-law to go with me because they all like to shop. I’m excited.”

  He took another sip of his beer. “I can tell.”

  Why did her interest in a man bother him? The only reason he could come up with was that she was his best friend and he didn’t want to lose their special bond. He didn’t want to lose her. What if this guy found it strange that a man and woman were best friends? What if he pushed her to end the friendship they’d shared for years?

  His gut twisted. His brothers and cousins had always said they wouldn’t want any girlfriend of theirs to have the sort of close relationship with another man that he and JoJo shared. What if this guy thought the same way?

  Stern did not like problems, and he always preferred dealing with them head-on.

  Stern frowned. “What’s his name, JoJo?”

  She chuckled. “You don’t need his name, Stern. Besides, you’ll find out soon enough when I set my plans into motion.”

  Stern took a sip of his beer. He couldn’t wait.

  * * *

  Later that night, JoJo lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. Things were going better than she’d planned. When she realized back in the spring that she was developing feelings for Stern, she had been horrified. How could a woman fall in love with her best friend?

  Rather suddenly, it seemed. On their last trip here to the lodge in April, she had come downstairs one morning, ready for another great day of hunting, only to find Stern still in his pajamas. Or, partly in them. He had on the bottoms but not the top. And in that instant, on that day, she’d seen him not as her best friend but as a sexy man who had the ability to stir any woman’s blood. He had certainly stirred hers. She hadn’t been able to stop staring at his massive shoulders, his impressively broad chest and perfect abs. And once she’d started thinking of him as a sexy man, she couldn’t seem to stop. By the end of the day she’d been a basket case.

  But it was more than just sexual chemistry messing with her mind. By the end of the trip she’d realized she had fallen in love with him. Maybe she’d always loved him, but until that day she had accepted their relationship as nothing more than a very close friendship. Now, her heart wanted her to admit what she’d been denying for years.

  She’d known she had to come up with a plan or risk losing her best friend forever. She might have fallen in love with Stern, but she knew he didn’t love her. He was one of the most eligible bachelors in Denver and his weekends were filled with dates.

  So one day two months ago, when she read a romance novel a customer had left behind in the break room, an idea popped into her head. She would find another man to fall in love with, someone who could take Stern’s place in her heart.

  She’d been inspired by the heroine in the book, who was also in love with a man she couldn’t have. To shift her focus off of the forbidden man, the heroine began dating her next-door neighbor. Eventually she fell in love with her neighbor. At the end of the book the couple married and lived happily ever after.

  Okay, so it was pure fiction—but it was still an idea that had merit. On that day, JoJo had decided to become the owner of her destiny, the creator of her own happiness.

  She’d just been waiting to run into someone interesting. For the next two months, she’d waited. And just when she thought she would never meet a man who could pique her interest...in drove Walter Carmichael needing a new set of spark plugs for his Porsche.

  Something about him drew her attention, and he didn’t have a ring on his finger. She quickly dismissed the notion that his good looks, impeccable style and suave manner reminded her of Stern.

  When she did a routine customer-service follow-up call, she found that Walter had a nice phone voice, too. He had everything going for him. Now she had to make sure she had everything going for her. And the best person to help her was her best friend, the man she was trying not to love.

  Two

  Stern looked up when he heard a knock on his office door. “Come in.”

  It was Dillon, his oldest brother and CEO of Blue Ridge Land Management, a firm that had been in their family for more than forty years. Dillon was the one in charge, their brother Riley was next in command and Stern and his older brother Canyon were corporate attorneys. His cousin Adrian would be starting in a couple of months as one of the company’s engineers.

  Dillon entered Stern’s office then closed the door behind him and leaned against it. Stern had seen that look on Dillon’s face before. It usually meant he was in a world of trouble.

  “Any reason for your bad mood today?” Dillon asked, staring him down. “Your first day back from vacation and I’d have thought you’d be in a good mood, not the opposite. I heard hunting went better for JoJo than for you, but please tell me that’s not what has you upset. You’re not a sore loser. Besides, thanks to her father, she not only knows everything there is to know about cars, she’s also an expert marksman, a karate champ and a skilled archer. She’s been showing you up for years.”

  Stern tossed a paper clip onto his desk and stared at it for a long moment before glancing up and meeting his brother’s gaze. “I’m well aware of all JoJo’s skills, and that’s not what’s bothering me. She informed me while we were on our trip that she’s set her sights on another target—and it’s not an elk. It’s a man.”

  Dillon raised a brow. “Excuse me?” He moved from the door to take the chair in front of Stern’s desk.

  “Just what I said. So maybe I am a sore loser, Dillon. JoJo has been my best friend forever and I don’t want to lose her.”

  Dillon stretched his long legs out in front of him. “I think you better start from the beginning.”

  So Stern did. Dillon said nothing while he listened attentively. When Stern was finished he said, “I think you’re getting carried away and not giving JoJo credit for being the true friend that she is. I don’t think there’s a man alive who can come between you two or mess up your friendship. I think it says a lot that of all the people she could have gone to for advice, she came to you. She trusts your judgment.”

  Dillon stood. “If I were you, I wouldn’t let her down. And as far as your bad mood, you know the rules, Stern. No one can bring personal garbage into the office. Canyon just got back from his honeymoon and is in a great mood, understandably so. Yet you were going at him about every idea he tossed out, just for the hell of it. You owe everyone at the meeting, especially Canyon, an apology and I expect you to give it.”

  Dillon then walked to the door and opened it.

  “Dil?”

  Dillon stopped and turned around. “Yes?”

  “Thanks fo
r keeping me in check. I’m sorry I behaved inappropriately.”

  Dillon nodded. “I accept your apology, Stern. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He then walked out and closed the door behind him.

  Stern rubbed his hand down his face. He could handle anybody’s disappointment but Dillon’s. When their parents, and uncle and aunt, died in a plane crash nearly twenty years ago, they’d left Dillon and his cousin Ramsey in charge. It hadn’t been easy, especially since several Westmorelands had been younger than the age of sixteen. Together, Dillon and Ramsey worked hard and made sacrifices to keep the family together. Dillon had even gone against the State of Colorado when they tried forcing him to put the youngest four kids in foster homes. Those were just a few of the reasons why Dillon deserved his utmost admiration and respect. Even now, he helped keep the family together.

  Presently, there were fifteen Denver Westmorelands. Stern’s parents had had seven sons—Dillon, Micah, Jason, Riley, Canyon, Stern and Brisbane. Uncle Adam and Aunt Clarisse had had eight children: five boys—Ramsey, Zane, Derringer and the twins Aiden and Adrian—and three girls—Megan, Gemma and Bailey.

  Over the past few years, everyone had gotten married except for him, the twins, Bailey and Bane. In June Megan had married Rico, a private investigator; Canyon had up and married Keisha Ashford, the mother of his two-year-old son, last month; and Riley and his fiancée, Alpha, would be getting married at the end of this month. It was still a shock to everyone that his cousin Zane, who had once sworn he would stay a bachelor for life, would marry his fiancée, Channing, over the Christmas holidays.

  Stern tossed another paper clip onto the desk before picking up the phone and punching in Canyon’s extension.

  “This is Canyon.”

  “Can, I apologize for acting like a jerk in the meeting today.”

  There was a slight pause. Then Canyon said, “It wasn’t your usual style, Stern. We haven’t argued in years. What’s going on with you? I leave to go on my honeymoon and come back and you’re not yourself. What happened on that hunting trip with JoJo?”