Heartbreak's Reward (Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight Book 2)

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  It was dimly lit inside, but her eyes adjusted in no time. Jase led them to a table in the bar area and ordered them both a soda. He turned to her. “Hope that’s okay, I mean, unless you wanted a beer. I have a bunch of work to get back to later, so I need to stick to soda.”

  “It’s perfect. What is good here? I mean, do they have a specialty?”

  “They always have something special for a pretty woman.”

  He laid his hand over hers and nervousness encompassed her. The idea of being so close to him, and the touch of his hot, calloused hand excited her. Not knowing where it came from, but she turned her hand over and their fingers entwined.

  She gulped as inconspicuously as she could when their gaze met and held. Warmth made its way from her cheeks, trickled slowly over her shoulders and down her spine, settling right in the center of her. A tingle rattled her senses.

  A reeling low inside of her made a statement and she did a physical shutter. She squeezed his hand and the strength of his fingers held hers tight. He licked his lips, and whether on purpose or intentionally, his tongue barely moved over them. The cold drinks arrived right on time. She lifted it to her lips for a drink, but she wanted to take the ice cubes and dribble them down her blouse.

  After a held breath was released, she glanced at their hands, their skin both damp from sweat. Heaven forbid, this man awakened something inside of her. Was he the one? This stranger in the night? And why was she still holding his hand?

  “So what do you feel like eating, Bren?” Jase released her hand and opened the menu. “Lots of choices, steak, pasta, seafood. Tacos are great. Pies are made by the owner’s wife. Whatever suits your mood.”

  Thank God he broke the spell because her appetite was going in the opposite direction. Very out of the ordinary for her. “I’ll…I’ll have to look at the menu unless you can suggest something.”

  “I will.”

  Brenna saw his throat constrict, saying it wasn’t only her enjoying this moment. “So, you’ll surprise me? Let’s see how good of a job you can do getting my mood right.”

  When the waitress came Jase pointed to two different places on the menu and she wrote it down. Instead of leaving, she set her hand on his shoulder. “How you been doing, J.C.? I don’t see you much anymore.” She glanced at Brenna, real quick, as if to say, “Oh, you’re not alone.”

  “Hey, Sal, I’d like you to meet Brenna Page. She’s new in town, a teacher as a matter of fact. Y’all run into each other at school, I suppose, with all your kids there.” He said to Brenna, “Meet Sal Loren. She works here but volunteers at the school.”

  Brenna held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.” Sal nodded, but ignored her hand. Her action said a lot to Brenna. She had a thing for Jase. It appeared to be one-sided though. Sal squeezed his shoulder before leaving to put in their order.

  “What did you order for me?”

  “Wait and see. As long as you aren’t allergic to anything, we’ll be fine.” Jase took out a lighter and lit the candle at the end of the table. Shortly after, a salad was brought by a different person and set in front of both of them with a small loaf of bread.

  “I’m not allergic to anything I know of yet.” She waited for him to pick up his fork and they both took a bite at the same time. The dressing bit her tongue. “This is different, spicy-tart, yet sweet.” She fanned herself. “Hot in a way.”

  “Makes ya pucker, eh?” Jase took a drink of soda right after.

  He was right, it did cause that drawing-in on the inside of her mouth after the sting went away. She’d never had anything on a salad like this before. What would dinner be like?

  “I know I still have chores at home, but after lunch go somewhere with me,” said Jase. “A walk through town. You haven’t actually been through Canyon Junction yet. I’ll help ya check out our little place. Grab an ice cream cone for dessert.”

  She moved her plate and folded her arms on the table. “It sounds like a good idea. I’m anxious to see what this little town is all about.” Jase didn’t ask. Her earlier observation was correct. Demanding, yet in a way that seemed innocent. She saw it as confidence.

  He placed his hand over her forearm. “You’ll like your new town, Brenna. I was new here once.” He moved his hand to hers. “And for lunch, we’re having grilled lemon/pepper chicken. More of a spicy bite than the salad. I eat lighter when I can, but every now and then nothing works like a burger or steak.”

  “It sounds delicious and I’ll need a walk afterward.”

  Sal brought their food and refilled beverages. Jase ordered coffee and asked Brenna if she’d like a cup. She agreed to coffee, too. “Are you interested in history at all? If you are, check out the ghost story that goes along with this place.”

  Sal brought coffee and Jase added cream. “One of these days, you might even learn enough about that old mountain to go up into it. By horse or hike, it’s awesome. There’s even a ghost town.”

  “This place has a ghost, too? Are you teasing me?”

  “I’m not teasing you.” He removed a menu from the rack at the end of the table. “Look, the story’s in there.”

  Taking in the bar area, she liked the red and black combination on the bar stools and tables. Typical neon lights reflected in the mirror behind the bar. She opened the menu and read it. “Wow, a real ghost story. Should I be afraid?” She tilted her head and grinned.

  “I’ve got your back.” He took the menu and put it away.

  “And your mountain? I’ll make it a goal to check it out. The name sounds freaky though. Reminds me of Halloween and black cats.” All through dinner she did more listening than talking. Hearing Jase tell his ranching stories, horse antics, and traveling to his auctions, she was blown away, and loved his laugher—though it rarely snuck out.

  Even the serious topics—horse injuries and his own broken collar bone from being thrown from a horse not yet ready to give in to breaking, interested her. With the mention of his children, a sadness crept into his eyes and he’d pause and look away. She’d love to hear more about his son and daughter, but it was obvious how it pained him to speak of them.

  He was nothing like the same person she met in the parking lot last night. His pleasant company was expected. No, it was more…better than she had expected or anticipated. He was an entrancing kind of man, and she’d take pleasure in spending more of the day with him. So engrossed in his tales, time got away and lunch was over.

  “Before we go, teach, I’m giving you a homework assignment.”

  “What? I’m on vacation.” It was so cute the way he called her teach. Sure, she’d been called that many times, but coming from his lips made it all different. “And what is my homework assignment, rancher?”

  “Study the mountain, the history, and maybe I’ll take you panning for gold…if you can figure it out.”

  “I accept your challenge, Mr. Bright Lights Carlson.”

  “You won’t see those lights anymore, baby. You ready?” He grabbed the bill and her hand and they were off. Jase still wouldn’t let her pay, even after she begged standing at the cash register. But…baby?

  ***

  On the way to their vehicles, he held her hand until he unlocked his truck. Brenna didn’t make an attempt to release his either. She hadn’t known how much she missed the closeness that came from another person. Almost two years, being alone was the norm now.

  “So, Brenna Page, are you riding with me into town?”

  She had to think about it a moment. What would it hurt? “What about my car?” She didn’t feel good about leaving it sitting here in a parking lot while she left. Wasn’t that why she paid the high cost of insurance though?

  “I’ll follow you home and you can park in your parking lot.”

  Now he’s a mind reader. “All right.” She unlocked it and he opened her door.

  “You remember how to get back?”

  The straightforward expression on his face said he wasn’t teasing. “Yes, I do. Thank you.” She dropped
down into the fine leather seat and stuck her key into the ignition. “Behind or ahead of me?”

  “Oh, I’ll stay behind you this time.”

  Something special about him in her rear-view mirror this time caused her to smile. He drove with his parking lights on, right close to her bumper like a shadow. She was proud of herself for knowing where to go without looking at a map or GPS. When she pulled into her parking lot, he pulled up beside her, jumped out and went around to open his passenger side door.

  Brenna got into his truck. Quite a difference from her low car. “Thank you,” she said, when he went to close the door. Jase was a gentleman among other things. He went around and got inside.

  “We’ll grab a cone and do that walk I talked about. It’s a decent night.” He shifted into first gear and drove out toward Canyon Junction. “The ice cream place closes early most nights, but they’re open later on the weekends. Well, maybe not Sunday. The whole town closes early, for that matter.”

  “It’s perfect.” Brenna’s entire insides acknowledged how happy she was on the outside. When she got off that plane in Phoenix, she had no idea life like this existed. And especially had no experience with a cowboy…a real one. She still didn’t, but maybe that was all changing right this minute. The way she smiled when she looked out the side window, it was about to happen. She had to rephrase that thought. It had already happened. She was happy. Mainly, because of him. Oh, boy…

  Jase slowed down when he got into town and found a parking spot in front of the ice cream shop. “Come on.”

  There were two customers inside and he nodded to them. “Hey, Holly. You home for summer break? I thought you worked at the Coffee Shoppe.”

  “Yeah, I am, Mr. Carlson. Nice to see you in town. I work here sometimes, too. Tell your little niece I might come out to ride. What can I get ya?”

  Jase turned to Brenna and she chose chocolate the same as him. Jase brought out his wallet, but this time Brenna beat him to it.

  “I insist or I won’t have anything.” She gave him her best evil eye.

  He lifted his hands in front of him. “If you insist.” He took a minute and introduced Brenna to Holly. After they ordered, he asked her, “What happened with you and Davy? You guys all done with each other?”

  Holly fixed the first ice cream cone, handed it to Brenna, and made Jase’s. “Yeah, I thought college might change things. I mean, I met someone else. He still work for your brother?”

  “He works for me sometimes too.” Jase took his cone. “You have a great night, now.” He took Brenna’s hand and shoved the door. “I brought my kids here a lot. They love ice cream. My little boy could almost eat more than me. My daughter wore more than she ate.” Jase smiled, but it ended just like that.

  “That’s so sweet. What’s their favorite?” Brenna licked her cone. “Tell me about them.” She peered at him as he looked off down the street. He didn’t say anything. Did he picture them in his mind? Was it too painful to talk about them?

  He pointed back toward the store. “Holly had it bad for my brother, she did.”

  Brenna admired the narrow sidewalk with lamp posts and the old-fashioned look of the town. “Really? How old is he?” Apparently, he wasn’t going to talk about his kids at the moment.

  “A year younger than I am, thirty-four.”

  “Whew, she likes older men.” The shops they passed had cute window displays with dim lighting instead of bright fluorescent and neon like in the city. “I can’t believe we spent so much time in the restaurant. Here it is already twilight.”

  “Are you afraid of the dark?” He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist.

  Brenna faced him. “Sometimes. The demons come out in the dark.” She made a bold move and slid her hand around his waist, too. It was tremendous to hold him. His body was warm and he smelled better than he had earlier. Did his body really shudder under her touch… or just in her imagination? She lapped at her ice cream dripping down the side of the cone, and tilted her head to get it all. When she looked back up, he was staring at her, a slight quirk to his lips. “Are you about to laugh at me?”

  “Nope, making sure none of that good ice cream goes to waste.” He held out his cone. “Wanna lick mine?”

  His remark tickled her insides. She licked the top off her ice cream, wiping her mouth when it was a bigger bite than she expected. She stopped and reached for his cone. “It’s too good to waste.”

  Right in the middle of the sidewalk, Jase wrapped his other arm around her and stepped closer. He brought her against him and she held both ice cream cones out to the side. Lifting his hands higher, he asked, “Now what will you do with both of those in your hands? You realize yours are full and mine are free.”

  At that moment he slid his right hand over her hips and around, lingering against her behind. Slowly he eased his left hand over her back and behind her nape. He narrowed his eyes. “Seems like you’re in a predicament.”

  The warmth of his skin against her backside penetrated the denim and he splayed his fingers over one cheek. Heat surged over her body. “Well, I could drop yours to the ground and I’d have one free hand to stop your hand from caressing my ass.”

  “Are you sure you want to?” His chest swelled with a deep sigh, and his warm breath caressed her cheek.

  Brenna laughed. “Both of these are dripping all over my hands. I might make you lick it off if you don’t let me get napkins out of my pocket.”

  Jase pulled her even closer and wrapped both arms around her waist, moving his face lower to hers. “Don’t say a thing like that to a cowboy who’s been alone…as long as I have been. I’ve as much as given up on women, so…I have no idea why I’m doing this.”

  He was in big trouble either way and lucky she didn’t wipe her hands all over him. “You’re asking for it. My hands are covered with chocolate ice cream now.”

  Jase chuckled, his hands tightening against her back. “What are you gonna do? Better start lickin’.”

  She didn’t want to do it. He gave her no choice. She took both hands and slapped his back.

  His body jerked and he arched right against her belly. “You. Did. Not. Do that!”

  Brenna laughed hysterically and dropped her forehead against his chest, her wet, sticky hands, cone and all, smashed against his back. “No, I didn’t do anything.” She couldn’t stop laughing.

  He gripped her arms. Brenna dropped the cones and wiped her hands over his back, broke out of his hold and took off running backwards. “I didn’t do anything. That’s not melted ice cream all over your back.” She peeked behind her. “Now what are you going to do?” If he rips his shirt off I’ll never be able to control myself. But he began slowly unbuttoning. “I bet that’s cold.”

  Jase took two steps toward her and she did a couple hops back. “You know I can catch you. My legs are twice as long as yours.”

  “Not even close. I took track in school.”

  “Yeah?” He ripped his shirt off and dangled it in front of him, shaking the soggy cone off, and tucked the top of the shirt inside his waistband. He wore a t-shirt underneath. “I jog.”

  “I can imagine what it feels like, Jase. Wet? Sticky? Eww.” She no sooner got the eww out and he took off. She ran down the street, laughing so hard she could barely keep running, but he caught up, grabbed her waist, and spun her around.

  “So, maybe you’ll get dizzy, eh, girl? You’re so funny smearing two—yeah—two ice cream cones all over my back. Not funny, Brenna.”

  “You left me no choice,” she squealed. Brenna kicked her legs out as Jase slowly spun around. Two people came around the corner and had to separate and walk one on each side of them. He stopped and leaned against a store wall, still holding her by the waist, her feet off the ground. “Put me down you animal.”

  He lowered her and she turned to face him, but he grabbed her up into his arms again. She wrapped her legs around him and they both stopped, and stared at each other.

  He lowered her to the g
round. “Animal? You called me an animal? Think again.” He pulled his shirt out of the waistband and wiped the wet part into her face. “Now call me an animal.”

  Brenna laughed again, and she didn’t care that her face was all sticky now. “Lick it off my face, bad boy.”

  His gaze did a slow survey over the front of her. “I told you not to say that. Do you really want me licking you?”

  Brenna did a silent gasp. How delightful did that sound? She wanted to slap herself. The whole of her insides quivered. Searching for any kind of composure, she took a step back. The exciting look on his face was fun. “Jase, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mess up your shirts. Want help taking the other one off?” She ran her hands over his muscular arms, but had to calm down. She didn’t do stuff like this.

  “You realize what this means, don’t you?”

  “You won’t take me for ice cream anymore?” She wanted to snicker, but maybe it wasn’t appropriate right now. She’d get more sticky ice cream in her face. “What?” She caught their reflection in the window. The tall one, and her, standing close. A look she admired, and a smile snuck out.

  “Tomorrow you’re cleaning the inside of my truck because whatever is on my back will be on my upholstery. You still wanna smile about it?”

  Brenna didn’t recognize herself, her actions. This was too much fun. She forgot how to do this and liked the way her sensuality and laughter came back. “I’m not smiling about that. Come get me tomorrow and I’ll help you clean it up. Want me to do your laundry too?”

  “Hell yeah. If I can get someone to do my laundry, sure.” He laughed.

  “I’m teasing. I’m sure a big, strong guy like you, who prides himself on setting a GPS, can push a button on a washer and dryer.” Boldness like she used to have kept pushing its way past that sad demeanor she’d harbored for two years.

  “Woman, I’m never feeding you ice cream again if it makes you this crazy.”

  Brenna placed one palm against his chest. “I think you make me that way.” She diverted her eyes. “You make me happy. If you only knew the importance. Be proud, okay?” This whole episode with him did make her forget for a while. Ever since she met him, he got her excited, either with the frustration that turned out to be fun, and now, the laugher and joy.