“Yeah, but I want you to meet my friends and my sister and my mom. What good is a beauty queen for a girlfriend if I can’t show her off?” He winked to let her know he was kidding but she sighed.
“It’s complicated.” She attempted to beg him to drop it with her gaze, hoping he wouldn’t ask her to explain. “Can we please just wait a little while longer to announce us to the world?”
Cami had yet to tell Kyle everything about herself. He knew that her mother had left her home while she gallivanted around a sandy beach in a swimsuit that was better suited for someone half her age. And she’d filled him in on her father’s extramarital affair.
The two of them had bonded over the fact that their fathers couldn’t keep it in their pants. The one detail she’d left out was that she had been lying to her friends all summer. She’d even gone as far as posting beach pics of St. Tropez she’d found online to her Instagram account.
At first she was worried that Kyle would see her online fibs, but when she checked his Facebook page and saw that his last status update was eight months ago, she knew he was not a social networker. Thank goodness.
While she really did want to go out in public with Kyle, the thought of running into someone she knew and having to come up with some excuse as to why she was home—or have them expose her for the kind of person she was in public—outweighed the excitement of announcing she’d finally found a guy who made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
She’d found a guy who wanted her just the way she was and was proud of her even when she wasn’t wearing a tiara or winning a title. One who she could actually be honest with. Well, minus the part about her pretending to be on vacation or that up until she met him she’d been a raging bitch.
All she wanted to do was make it through the next two weeks without anyone becoming wise to her white lie of being out the country.
“I promise you’d have a good time.” He twirled a piece of her hair around his finger. “I’m an excellent date planner. Remember how much fun we had on the Fourth?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.
“Oh, I remember. I don’t doubt that.” She’d loved watching the fireworks on the Fourth from the back of his truck. Even if the night had gotten off to a rocky start, it had ended sweetly when he asked her to dance and twirled her around to the lyrics of a sappy love song in that field on the edge of town he’d picked out just for them.
She remembered the way he’d held her close to his chest and made her feel like every word of that song had been written for them. And the way he’d kissed her lips and let her know he felt the exact same way.
She tilted her head back to look at him again. She was a sucker for his blue eyes. He could have asked her to go to the moon at that moment and she would have packed a bag.
“I was thinking I’d show you what us country kids do for fun.”
“Go on.” She was intrigued. She’d confessed to him in an earlier conversation that she’d never even been on a farm, and once he’d stopped laughing, he promised he’d take her to one.
“Well for starters, I’d come over and you’d actually walk out the front door.”
“Ha-ha,” she deadpanned. He tightened his arms around her, forcing a giggle from her lips.
“Then, I’ll give you a big bouquet of flowers that my mom whipped together from her garden.”
“I’m partial to daisies,” she informed him. “You should probably write that down.”
He laughed. “Noted.” He pulled his hand up and brushed her hair from her face. “After I present you with the biggest display of fresh daisies you’ve ever seen, I’ll walk you over to my truck and open the door for you, because I’m a gentleman.” His lips found her forehead and she felt herself start to melt the way she always did when his lips were on her body.
“This is true,” she breathed.
“Well,” he chuckled. “Not a complete gentleman, because I’m going to totally check out your ass as you climb up into the truck. I might even cop a feel.” He let the hand resting on her thigh creep around to her backside and give her a little squeeze.
“Believe it or not, I’m pretty okay with the feel-copping,” she smirked.
“That’s good, because after we have a little moonlit picnic down by the water, we’re gonna go test out the new tires on my truck down at the bottoms, and I fully plan on getting stuck in the mud with you and copping quite a few of them.”
The excitement she felt coursing through her veins at what he was insinuating had her ready to climb up in his truck and direct him to the nearest mud hole. It didn’t even matter to her that she had no interest in tires or trucks or, especially, mud.
He lowered his lips to hers as he rolled her on top of him. Cami wiggled herself up to increase the friction between their lips. Kyle’s mouth welcomed hers as if they’d been waiting a lifetime to see each other again. She nipped his bottom lip between her teeth, and it was taking every ounce of control Cami had not to come undone at the seams. When her lungs finally forced her to take a break and inhale, she saw the cocky look of victory in Kyle’s eyes.
“So, I’ll pick you up next Saturday night at seven,” he stated confidently.
“What’s a girl supposed to wear on a country date?” she asked, still not agreeing to his terms, despite how fun it sounded.
“I’m a sucker for a girl in a sundress.” He winked at her. “Just throw on some boots and you’ll be set.”
“We might have a problem then.” She pushed off of the sides of the chair and sat up, straddling him. “I don’t have any boots.”
“You’re kidding me.” Judging by the serious look on his face, Cami could tell he didn’t believe her. “No way does a girl from Oklahoma not own a pair of cowboy boots.”
She shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint you.” She rocked back on her heels, causing Kyle to squirm in his seat. “I’ve never had a place or reason to wear them. I do have about twenty-two pairs of heels and a nice collection of flip-flops.”
“Well that’s just a damn shame.” Wrapping his hands around her tiny waist, Kyle pulled himself up so they were nose to nose. “Any girl with legs like yours needs to have a sexy pair of boots.”
“I guess we can’t go then,” Cami shrugged, hoping that would be the end of their discussion. Even though she knew that the chances of her running into someone she knew were slim, especially out in the middle of nowhere, she didn’t want to risk it. She couldn’t stand the thought of being embarrassed in front of Kyle.
Her friends were ruthless. She knew this because up until this summer she’d been the first one to call someone out on their bullshit. In fact, she used to get off on declaring her superiority. She expected the same bitchiness from the circle she ran with that she had delved out on a regular basis pre-Kyle. Now all of that seemed trivial. Now all she wanted was to be happy and worry about herself… and Kyle.
She’d hoped that they could keep their relationship on the down low until summer was over—or at least until she could surprise him with the early admissions letter she was expecting from Oklahoma State.
After that, she was going to tell the world that she was dating him. Including her parents. How could they not be impressed with a superstar rookie wide receiver? She knew she was.
ELLA Jane rolled over in bed and checked her phone once more. It was almost midnight and she hadn’t heard a word from Hayden since she’d dropped him off at the hospital hours ago. His grandma had been in the intensive care unit and it was family only so there’d been no point in her staying. Though she’d offered. Several times.
After typing out a text that said: Please let me know something. Praying everything is okay, she pressed send and stared at the screen until the glow made her eyes hurt.
At some point she must’ve dosed off because the chiming sound that alerted her to a new text message startled her.
Blinking until her eyes adjusted, Ella Jane dug her phone out from under the covers and read Hayden’s message.
She’s
ok. Pops and I are going home now. She’ll get to come home tomorrow.
She breathed a sigh of relief and texted back.
Thank goodness. I’m so glad. Will I see you at work this week?
She felt awful for even asking. But the thought of not seeing him made her feel sick. His response came a little slower this time.
Not sure. I’ll call you tomorrow. Get some sleep, angel face.
She smiled in the darkness. Even in a crisis, he still called her by the nickname she’d grown to love.
Panic threatened to sweep over her as she texted him goodnight.
She’d never lost sleep over a guy. Not even Coop.
Hugging her phone to her chest, she lay there wondering what was happening to her.
Maybe she was growing to love more than just the nickname Hayden Prescott had given her.
THE first week of August sucked. Bad.
The only time Ella Jane saw Hayden was when her mom sent her over to his grandparents’ house to deliver soup and casseroles. And most of the time her mom came right along with her. But she and Hayden still managed to steal a few minutes alone together when they could.
“Gran seems to be doing better,” Ella Jane said as she and Hayden stepped outside while her mom finished her visit.
“She is. Pops said she just overdid it a bit and needed to rest. She forgets that she’s in her seventies sometimes.”
“It’s no wonder. They’re the most active senior citizens I know. Mama says Pops stays so busy he could run through Hell barefoot and not even get a sunburn.”
Hayden chuckled. “They’re something else all right. It’s been interesting being home with them all week. Though mostly I’ve been running Pops’s errands while he stays with her. You guys doing okay without me? Business hasn’t shut down, has it?” Hayden teased as they sat on her tailgate in his grandparents’ driveway.
“It’s rough. We’re managing though.” She nudged him with her shoulder, letting her arm rest against his. “Coop’s been coming by in the evenings to help out.”
Hayden stiffened beside her. “Oh yeah? I bet he’s loving that.”
Ella Jane snorted. “Oh yeah. Nothing like mowing a huge lawn and pulling weeds after a long day of working on the farm.”
“No, I’m sure that part sucks. But the getting to see you every night is probably making his life complete.”
Grinning and shaking her head, Ella Jane raised her eyebrows at him. “You are seriously jealous of Coop? He sees me as a little sister, Hayden. Always has. Always will.”
Hayden’s normally bright green eyes were dark when they met hers. “No. He doesn’t. But more importantly, I’d like to know what you see him as.”
Whoa. Where is this coming from? Ella Jane tried to keep calm as Hayden basically accused her of still wanting her brother’s best friend. She chewed her lip as she watched her feet dangle off the truck bed. How to phrase this? “Honestly, once upon a time I had a crush on Coop.” She shrugged. “But then you came along and…I don’t know. It seems kind of silly now, I guess. We’re just friends. That’s all we’ll ever be.”
“Mmhm. Friends,” Hayden mumbled under his breath.
Leaning back and eyeing him speculatively, she grinned. “Jealousy is kind of hot on you. Even though you have no reason to be, I kind of like seeing you worried about someone stealing me away.” She winked and nudged him again.
“Hell yeah I’m worried about that. I’m going home in like two weeks. Then what’s going to happen?”
The stark realization hit her hard enough to rob the air from her lungs. Two weeks. Fourteen days. Hayden would go back to his world of fancy cars and malls and girls who wore designer clothes… She squeezed her eyes shut. The lump forming in her throat made it necessary unless she wanted to let him see the tears welling in them.
“What do you want to happen?” she whispered without looking at him.
“Hey,” Hayden said softly, nudging her back. “I want to see you every weekend. I want to meet at The Ridge and watch trains every night we can. I want to pick you up in my car when it’s fixed and take you on a real date. And you have to meet the most important person in my life. My English bulldog, Atticus.”
Her face broke into a huge grin as she looked up at him. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I tried to talk my parents into letting me stay and letting me bring Atticus out here with me, but for some reason they’re dead set on me coming home. I think they suspect I’m just in the way and that I’m somehow responsible for Gran’s recent episode.”
Ella Jane gasped. “What? Why would they think that? If anything, you’ve been a huge help. Not just to your grandparents but with my family’s business too.”
“Thanks, babe. Glad someone thinks I’m worth something.” He smiled, but Ella Jane didn’t miss the fact that it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I think you’re worth a whole lot of something, Hayden. You’re worth a lot to me anywa—” She had more to say, but he dropped his mouth to hers before she could finish. As his soft, warm lips pressed against hers, she realized she didn’t mind him cutting her off one bit.
KISSING Hayden in the back of her truck was amazing. So was kissing him at the train tracks, in the barn, the tool shed, and out by the pond. They took turns pulling away and swearing they needed to get back to work, but five minutes later they’d both be hungry for more. And neither of them had enough willpower to ignore that hunger.
“I almost quit, you know,” Hayden mumbled against her lips, situating himself between her thighs. Ella Jane ignored the cold metal of the tool bench she was sitting on and focused on the warmth Hayden was causing.
“Your job? Here?” She placed a chaste kiss on his lips before pulling back to pout up at him.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I was over it on day one. I literally had my phone in my hand and was about to call my parents and beg them to let me come home and work off my debt another way.”
She laughed. God, he had been such a mess that first week. But now he was the first one to show up every morning and the last one to leave. Even her mom was impressed with what a hard worker he’d become. Granted, she didn’t know about all the secret kissing breaks they took. “So what happened?”
“You happened,” he said, gripping her legs tighter and pulling her closer. His mouth pressed to hers and she opened for him. Shivers broke down her spine as his tongue swept inside. He tugged her bottom lip with his teeth before explaining any further. “You walked out of that house and I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven. Then you yelled at me and I knew I had.”
“Then I sprayed you with the hose because you were a jackass.”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “Pretty sure that’s when I fell in love with you.”
Both of them froze at his unexpected admission. “Y-you’re in love with me?” Ella Jane’s heart stuttered right along with her speech.
She watched as Hayden took a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. The thick knot in his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Totally did not mean to put that out there like that.”
Ouch. She winced as he took his words back. But she put on a brave face and pretended like it wasn’t a big deal. Waving her hand in between them, she hopped down off the bench. “No big. I know what you meant.”
Before she could make it two steps, Hayden grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. “No, I don’t think you do. I meant, that wasn’t how I planned to tell you. I planned to surprise you at The Ridge with a picnic or something thoughtful. I didn’t mean to blurt it out in a toolshed.”
She studied his face for any signs that he might be messing with her. “How do you know you’re in love with me?” she challenged.
Much to her relief, he didn’t back down. “Well,” he began, pulling her in close to nuzzle her neck, “I think about you constantly.” He placed a whisper of a kiss behind her ear. “I can’t keep my hands off of you.” Brushing his mouth along her jawline, he caused her to shiver noticeably. “And I prett
y much jump out of bed every morning nearly bursting with excitement to see you. To hear what you’re going to say or what name you’ll call me. And I was definitely never a morning person before. Look at me. I’m spending my day off at work just to be with you. I would’ve kicked my own ass if someone had told me I would be like this.”
She’d heard enough. Leaping into his arms, she crashed her lips to his.
When they finally came up for air, she grinned. “In that case, you might not be the only one who fell, Hayden Prescott. And you’re my favorite pain in the ass city boy in the whole wide world.”
“Easy,” he teased, kissing her once more.
The door to the shed swung open suddenly and sunlight burst into their private make-out spot. Ella Jane’s heart clenched in her chest. She jumped back from Hayden’s embrace and straightened her shirt.
“Perdón,” Marcos, the horticulturist, said. He mumbled some words in Spanish and grabbed the sprayer hanging on the side wall.
Once he was gone, she let a nervous giggle escape. But when she looked up, Hayden’s face was serious.
“What’s wrong? Marcos won’t tell on us. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have a green card. And he likes me. I taught his daughter to read.”
“Who did you think that was, Ella Jane?” Hayden asked quietly.
“Um, I had no idea. He surprised the crap out of me. Why?”
“If it had been Cooper, or your brother, what would you have done?” His jaw clenched. She reached up to soothe it.
“I would’ve told them to go the hell away. And then I would’ve thrown myself in front of you before one of them punched you in the face.”
“So you don’t care if they know we’re together?”
“Hayden, I just told you I loved you. I’ll admit this is all new to me. But I don’t say things I don’t mean. And as much as I’m dreading what overprotective jerks they’re going to be about it, they can deal. I’ve watched them with girls for the last couple of years and I haven’t been rude to anyone they brought around.” Though it had stung to see Cooper with girls sometimes. But that was no longer an issue.
Storm Warning (Broken Heartland) Page 13