by Melody Anne
“Well, I could definitely use a break,” she said. “Samantha, can you cover my tables for ten minutes?” she asked as her coworker walked past.
“No prob, Alyssa.” Samantha made a beeline to Jackson’s table to check on him first.
Alyssa watched her flirt with Jackson, and she felt a twinge of jealousy. There was no way she was going to fret over that. Turning away, she walked to the opposite end of the saloon and found a private table for her and Camden.
“We are finally making headway with Carl Avone. I told you I didn’t want to get your hopes up, that in most of these cases no money is ever found. But it appears that Mr. Avone has done this before. It also appears that he wasn’t as smart at hiding the money as he thought he was.”
“What does that mean?” Her heart was racing and she looked hopefully at Camden. If she could get even a piece of the money back, it would go a long way. If she got anything back, she swore she’d never be frivolous again. She’d earned a decent amount of money her last couple of years modeling. She’d spent a lot of it, too. But she’d had a good bit in savings when Carl stole it and ran.
“His bank accounts are frozen, and we are meeting next week with the other attorneys. There are several cases out against him. If things go well, you won’t get it all back, but we’re certainly looking at something,” he said apologetically.
“Anything would be great. You can’t imagine what a help it would be.” She was so happy, she rose from the table and moved over to him. He stood up just in time to accept her hug as she wrapped her arms tightly around him.
“Is this a private moment?”
The frozen fury in Jackson’s voice warned Alyssa that she’d better back off from his brother. The last thing she’d ever want to do was cause a fight between Jackson and Camden. At the same time, though, it was none of Jackson’s business who her friends were, and it certainly was none of his business if she wanted to hug one of them.
“Hi, Jackson. I was just sharing some good news with my client. Do you have a problem with that?” Cam asked, letting go of Alyssa and sitting back down. The man looked completely relaxed.
“I have a problem with the way you were pawing my girl,” Jackson said, his eyes slits.
“I am not your girl!” Alyssa interjected, incredulous that he’d be making a scene like this.
Jackson’s eyes left Cam and focused on her. “Yes, you are; of course you are.”
“Just because you say something is a fact doesn’t make it law, Jackson Whitman. As a matter of fact, I asked you specifically what you wanted, and you froze up and sputtered. You don’t even know what in the hell you want. I can tell you what you need, though—to learn some manners. That’s been abundantly clear as long as I’ve known you.” Alyssa then showed him her impeccable manners by kicking him hard in the shin.
Instead of feeling guilty, she took great pleasure in the way he flinched, and with a flip of her hair, she spun around and walked away from the overbearing thug. She’d never consent to be his girl if he had that kind of attitude.
Alyssa ignored Jackson for the rest of her shift. She didn’t listen in as he and Camden talked, tried not to glance over when she heard the two of them laughing, and refused to make eye contact when her shift ended and she walked past him to go to the back room.
The bully needed to think about his actions, and he really needed to think about how he was going to speak to her. Yes, he’d spoiled her for a few weeks, but she wouldn’t be bought. She also wouldn’t be with a man who was so insecure that his woman couldn’t speak to other men.
Okay, so they weren’t a couple, and maybe that made him unsure where he stood, but his alpha dog routine was a complete turnoff. He’d best learn it fast if he wanted even the smallest chance at having her go on a date with him. Money was important, of course, but it wasn’t what would ever lead her to fall in love with anyone. If Jackson thought the gifts he’d bought were a way to her heart, he’d been wasting his cash.
Alyssa also ignored Jackson’s new rule that female employees were to be escorted outside to their cars at the end of night shifts, and she stomped out the back door while Cody was in the middle of flipping burgers. She was finished with all men—at least for now.
When she made it barely ten yards into the parking lot and somebody scooped her up into his arms, she didn’t even have time to scream.
“Are you trying to sneak away?”
Alyssa’s heart thudded as she turned her head to glare at Jackson. “You scared me to death.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you, but you shouldn’t just run off. There was a message left for you, and you would have received it if you hadn’t run out the back door.” He strode toward his truck with Alyssa still in his arms.
“What message? Who would be calling me at work?”
“You would know if you hadn’t tried so desperately to get away from me,” he replied as he stopped by his passenger door.
“What are you doing now, Jackson? Do you honestly think I’m going to leave here with you?”
“Yep. That’s exactly what I think.”
How desperately she wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face. “Well, then, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”
“It might be sort of difficult for you to take off on your own, since you have nowhere to go tonight.”
“What are you talking about? I’m going home,” she said, while at the same time realizing that he still held her securely in his arms. “Put me down!”
Slowly, so that every inch of her body rubbed along every inch of his, Jackson lowered her to the ground. She was light-headed for a moment and had to clutch at his arms to stay upright. It had to be because he’d swept her off her feet—literally. It couldn’t possibly be because she had enjoyed the slow slide down his body.
“Your parents left a message.”
She waited in vain for him to continue. “Jackson, you’re being exasperating. Would you give me the message?”
She stepped away and placed her hands on her growing hips. Instead of being upset about her new curves, she was thrilled—well, most of time. Sometimes she did feel she was getting fat, but during her eight years of modeling, she’d had to stay way too skinny, and she was sick of that. Now if she wanted a slice of chocolate cake, she was damn well going to eat it.
This pregnancy business was giving her feminine contours she’d always dreamed of having. In her old line of business, though, the only models allowed to have anything approaching voluptuous curves worked for Victoria’s Secret.
“If you ask nicely, I’ll tell you.”
“Are we suddenly five years old, Jackson? Give me my message.” She began tapping her foot as she stood in front of him. She should have just walked over to her car, gotten in, and gone home. She could get the message from her parents in person—if they were still awake, at least.
“There was a fire—”
She cut in. “A fire? At my parents’ house?” Her heart began pounding violently.
“Whoa, hold on. Don’t get upset. They’re both fine. Apparently there was a short in the wiring in the living room. A loose connection inside the outlet caused a spark, and it set the insulation smoldering. By the time your parents discovered it, the wall was in flames. The fire department got there fast, and the house was saved.”
“What about my parents?” She didn’t care about the damn house.
“They got out of the house in plenty of time. There’s a gaping hole, but their neighbors came up and helped them seal it, and no one can stay there for at least a couple of weeks. Not until the smoke damage is cleaned up and the wall is replaced. Plus, they need to have the rest of the wiring inspected now so nothing like this happens again. The house they bought is a hundred years old, you know.”
“Oh, my.” Alyssa didn’t know what to say.
“Everyone is fine, Alyssa,” he reminded her.
“That’s good. That’s what’s important,” she muttered. But where was she supposed to g
o now? “I don’t understand why we can’t stay there if the wall is sealed up.”
“The fire was smoldering for a while in the wall, and when it came through, the curtains ignited. It’s unsafe to stay there right now—especially with you pregnant. Those fumes could be deadly.”
It was difficult to process his words. Her head was still spinning over the fact that her parents’ home had caught fire. At least they were safe. She had to keep telling herself that.
“They wanted you to call them as soon as you could. They’re staying with the neighbors so your dad can keep an eye on the place.”
“My mom was so excited to get a historical house,” Alyssa told him. “She has visions of remodeling it, returning it to its former glory. I never even thought about something like wiring shorting out.”
“Yeah, old houses are a lot of fun, but also a lot of work,” Jackson said, “and they need regular inspections. Your mother will eventually have the place back on track to a new youth, but this will put a dent in their plans.”
“If I know my mom, though, she’ll already be using this as an excuse to redecorate. She went through a period where every spring she was painting the inside of the house a new color. She said it made the house feel new. Our home always did look superclean.”
“Then she won’t be too upset.”
“Not a lot upsets my mom. She’s one of the happiest people I know. I wish I could be more like her.”
He now spoke in a lower voice. “You’re more like her than you think.”
“Wait! You said I couldn’t go home, but if they’re at the neighbors’, I can stay there.” Alyssa was afraid to hear what was going to come from his mouth next, because the gleam in his eyes told her he felt things were going his way.
“Unfortunately, there’s not enough room there. The neighbors only have two bedrooms. Their daughter was kind enough to give your parents her room, and she’s sleeping on the couch. They said they found an apartment for you that you can move into next week. They already put a deposit down, but they asked if anyone working here at the saloon had an extra room for you for this week, and I assured them that we’d find you a place to stay until everything was all sorted out.”
Alyssa didn’t need to ask him where the room was. His practically glowing eyes had already told her.
She couldn’t stay with him. Her resolve wouldn’t last a day, let alone a week. Her morning sickness was long gone, and in its place were raging hormones.
Sex!
She wanted sex, day and night. If she slept under Jackson’s roof, she would go to bed with him, no matter how hard she fought it. Hell, the smallest touch from him, and she’d be ripping off his clothes.
“I can’t stay with you, Jackson.” There. She’d said it. She could find a cheap hotel, couldn’t she? The problem was that Sterling didn’t have any hotels. Crap! Maybe Cody had a spare bed.
No. She remembered him talking about how much he wanted to get out of his parents’ house. His dad drank too much, and the more the man drank, the rowdier he became. That wasn’t an option.
And staying with Samantha would be even worse than staying with Jackson. Alyssa didn’t think either of the women would survive it if they attempted to room together. Alyssa did have a ton of customers, and she could possibly ask one of them about a spare room, but she really didn’t want to look for someone to house her. That was asking too much of them. If she weren’t living at her parents’ now, she wouldn’t be in this mess. She should have had her own place before the fire, dang it. It was mortifying that she’d had to return home with her head down, a failure. Oh, this was so bad.
“I have a few extra bedrooms, Alyssa. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do,” he said as he held up his hand in a “Scout’s honor” salute.
“Yeah, I’m sure you won’t.”
She noticed he’d said that he wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want to do. He could probably tell there was a hell of a lot she wanted to do. The never-ending ache in her body could be soothed only one way, and Jackson would certainly be able to give her more pleasure than she could handle.
“What’s it going to be, Alyssa? My place . . . or your car?” he asked as he leaned against the side of his truck, just oozing confidence.
“My mom probably wouldn’t approve of my staying with you . . .”
“For one thing, Alyssa, you’re a grown woman who can stay with anyone you want to stay with.” He had to laugh before continuing. “For another, your mother was the one I spoke to. She asked me if I had a spare room.” He was triumphant while delivering that message.
All Alyssa could think—not for the first time!—was that her mother was a traitor. Teresa knew Jackson was the baby’s father, even though Alyssa hadn’t come right out and told her. Her mom was trying to be a matchmaker.
Still, she hated having to do this. Hated that Jackson was so damn pleased about the entire situation. This was working out real well for the guy.
“Fine, Jackson,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’ll come for tonight. But tomorrow I’ll figure something else out.” She brushed past him and began walking toward her car.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll follow you. I’m not leaving my car here.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll bring you in to work tomorrow night. I was planning on coming in anyway,” he said, and he took her arm and steered her back toward his truck.
“I don’t need to be coddled, Jackson,” she told him, and she yanked her arm away from his.
“I’m not coddling you. But I live up in the hills, high enough that there are still some slick areas in the parts of the road that are always in the shade. You’ll be much safer if we’re in my truck.”
He sounded so logical. So why did she feel that he was once again saying whatever he needed to in order to get his way?
“I’m tired, my feet hurt, and I’m starving,” she said, feeling on the verge of tears. Shouldn’t she try to fight this harder? Wouldn’t it be better to sleep in her car? No. And she knew that. With a sigh, she began moving toward his truck. “You win for now. But I’m staying only one night!”
Jackson just grinned as he opened the passenger door of his truck and helped her up into the ridiculously tall vehicle. When he joined her inside the large cab, it didn’t seem so big anymore. As he started the engine and country music blared from the speakers, Alyssa sagged back against the headrest.
What had she gotten herself into now?
Just one night? As she sat up in bed, Alyssa mulled over that particular failure of hers. Not only had she been in Jackson’s home for three nights now, but she was also in terrible shape.
True to his word, he hadn’t made a move on her, hadn’t touched her—not once! And she was ticked off. She wanted him to drag her into his arms, kiss her, strip off her clothes, and relieve the burning ache taking over her body.
But no. All of a sudden he’d turned into Mr. Nice Guy. He was making her meals, smiling and whistling, and he’d even patted her on the head once. She wasn’t his freaking dog!
Well, his other dog, anyway. He had the most beautiful yellow Lab she’d ever been around, and the two of them were becoming very close. Poppy was currently keeping Alyssa’s feet warm. Her devastating brown eyes were barely open now, their lids drooping so sweetly, and then the pup would almost wake up again. Alyssa was head over heels in love with Poppy.
As she’d never been much of a dog person, she was thoroughly surprised by this form of love at first sight, but she knew that when she had to settle in elsewhere, she would miss this golden beauty of a dog terribly.
“Maybe Jackson thinks I’m too fat now,” she said to Poppy, who opened her eyes and looked at her as if she could understand every word.
“I mean, I like my curves. I personally think they’re sexy, but when I saw myself in the mirror last night, my stomach was sticking out. I’m going to have to break down and buy maternity jeans. I really don’t want to, but I can’t keep leavin
g the ones I have unbuttoned. What if they start to slip while I’m carrying a tray?”
Poppy let out a low, sweet little whine, and Alyssa took that as agreement.
“I don’t know why I haven’t gotten a dog before. I don’t know why I thought I wasn’t a dog person. You keep my feet warm, you’re the perfect companion at bedtime—especially since I can’t seem to sleep—and you listen so much better than a man ever does.”
Poppy’s head tilted, and then her tongue came out and swiped the bottom of Alyssa’s foot.
She giggled. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have gone crazy by now. Should I just give in and climb into Jackson’s bed?”
Poppy’s head tilted again, and she let out a quiet bark.
“Yeah, you’re right. That’s too desperate. Have you had babies, Poppy? Seriously, the body goes crazy.”
Poppy licked her foot one more time, then rested her head on her paws and stared at Alyssa.
“Okay, it’s official. I’ve lost my sanity. I am actually holding a conversation with a dog.” She ran a hand through her mussed-up hair.
“I think it’s quite charming.”
Alyssa froze as she looked up and found Jackson standing in the doorway. Oh, no! How long had he been there? Please, only fifteen seconds. Please! She rewound her conversation with Poppy in her head and felt her cheeks heat.
“I thought you were out with your brothers,” she muttered, embarrassed beyond belief.
“Just got home and heard you talking.”
From the gleam in his eyes, she wasn’t sure what he’d overheard, but it had to be something good. Of course, she had Poppy with her right now. It wasn’t like he was going to crawl into her bed.
“By the way, yes, Poppy did have a litter of puppies,” Jackson said with a big grin. “They are spread out with various family members, and we make sure to give them reunions several times a year. I didn’t actually want a dog in the first place, but Poppy was found near my dad’s ranch, very pregnant, and my brother Spence brought her over. I fought him, but he left her sitting in my living room. I caved when she looked at me with those pathetic eyes.”