Glitter and Grit

by Jessie Evans

  Grayson’s eyes narrowed as he squeezed her ass beneath the water. “Oh yeah? And what were the past twenty minutes?”

  “That was a big slice of heaven,” she said, smile faltering as she met his eyes and something passed between them, that something more than satisfaction that made her feel off-balance.

  Grayson leaned in, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips very different than any of the kisses they’d shared up until now. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I meant what I said. You don’t have to hide from me. You can trust me.”

  Reece swallowed but couldn’t force a devil-may-care grin no matter how hard she tried. “How can you be so sure about that?”

  “Because I’m falling for you, too,” he said, making her heart flip like a landed fish. “Hard and fast and I don’t think I could stop even if I tried.”

  Reece tucked her chin to her chest, not knowing how to respond. What he’d said was insane, but her first instinct wasn’t to tell him he was crazy or jump out of the hot tub and into her clothes as fast as she could. She was so shocked she wasn’t sure what her first instinct was—it came and went so fast it wasn’t much more than a blur streaking through her subconscious. But her second instinct was to kiss him and her third was to call her sister in Montana and apologize for every unkind thought she’d had about Tulsi’s whirlwind marriage.

  Maybe love was real, and maybe sometimes it blew in like a hurricane, flattening all your preconceived notions in its path.

  Settle down, psycho. Whatever you and Grayson are feeling, it’s going to blow out as fast as it blew in. Grayson is putting down roots in Lonesome Point, the one place in the world you don’t want to be. It’s never going to work, even if you can shut off your brain long enough to start believing in hearts and flowers.

  But instead of telling Grayson that talking feelings was pointless, she kissed his scruffy cheek. “I’m going to call my sister. You want first shower?”

  Grayson smiled. “That went better than I thought it would. At least you didn’t bolt at the first sign of a messy emotion.”

  “Whatever, asshole.” Reece pushed out into the center of the hot tub, splashing water into Grayson’s face as she went. “You don’t know me that well. I’m not that predictable. I’ve still got a few surprises up my sleeve.”

  He winked. “Don’t I know it. I’m going to go grab that shower. Tell your sister hi for me.”

  Reece lounged in the hot tub for another moment, admiring the view as Grayson climbed out of the tub and dried himself with the towel before leaving it on the edge of the hot tub for her and walking inside naked.

  Damn. The man was hot as hell in a pair of blue jeans, but nude he was pure perfection. From his wide shoulders to his muscled ass to those long, powerful legs that looked like they could wrap around a bull and hold on for a lot longer than eight seconds, he was too good to be true. His scars only made him hotter, each patch of thin, wrinkled flesh proving that his was a man who faced down danger and went back for more. He was brave, he was kind, he was sexy as sin, and he was obviously into her. It would be a recipe for a hell of a good time if not for all the obstacles standing in their way.

  Still pondering obstacles and miracles and other unexpected things that pop up in the road of life, Reece dried off and ran back to bed to stay warm, grabbing her cell along the way.

  She dialed her sister, who answered before the first ring was finished.

  “Where are you?” Tulsi asked, her usually sweet voice high and pinched. “We’ve all been scared to death. I’ve called every hospital within a hundred miles of the accident.”

  Oh. Shit.

  Reece’s eyes squeezed shut as she pulled the covers up over her face. “So that’s why you’ve been calling so much.”

  “Yes, that’s why we’ve been calling so much!” Tulsi broke off, muttering to someone in the background that it was Reece and she was okay before coming back on the line. “I read about the accident the day after it happened. There were pictures of you lying like a rag doll in the dust and the bull going crazy. We thought you were in a coma somewhere! We thought all your bones were broken.” She gasped softly. “Are all your bones broken?”

  “No, it’s just a skull fracture and some ugly bruises. I really am going to be fine, and I’m so sorry,” Reece repeated. “I was in the hospital for a few days. Then I was traveling and couldn’t find a private place to talk. Then I started having dizzy spells and had to go back to the hospital, but there was time to call. If I’d known you were worried I would have.”

  “Of course we were worried,” Tulsi said. “Where are you? Why didn’t you come here and let us take care of you? That’s what family is for.”

  “I didn’t want to put a damper on the holiday. Besides, I don’t need anyone to take care of me,” Reece said, though she wasn’t so sure anymore. She’d appreciated it when Grayson tucked her in last night and kept her injury in mind when discussing their plans for the day.

  And even stranger than enjoying being fussed over for the first time in her life, Reece liked the idea of taking care of Grayson, too. Of reminding him that even tough guys with broad shoulders needed someone they could lean on and helping him figure out ways to make his ranch profitable again.

  “You wouldn’t have put a damper on the holiday,” Tulsi said. “The damper was already on when Clementine came down with the flu the day after Dad and Mom flew in. By now, everyone except Pike’s mom and me are sick as dogs.”

  “Well, damn,” Reece said. “I’m so sad I missed that. It would have been nice to add a cold into the mix along with the skull fracture, see how much fluid I could fill my head up with before it burst.”

  Tulsi made an exasperated sound. “Fine. You’re right. Good thing you didn’t come to the people who love you for help. Good thing you’re out there alone somewhere with a head injury and—”

  “I’m not alone,” Reece cut in, determined to explain the reason for her call before Tulsi made her feel any guiltier than she had already. “I’m with someone. A very nice someone who made me want to call you and apologize for being an asshole to you and Pike.”

  “Oh yeah?” Tulsi asked in a mystified voice. “How were you an asshole to me and Pike?”

  “Well, I wasn’t an asshole to your face.” Reece winced beneath the covers, wondering how she managed to stick her foot in her mouth, even when she was trying to be nice. “But in my head I was thinking you were crazy for giving up your business and marrying him so fast, but…that wasn’t fair to you. You’re no dummy. If it feels right and real and you two are in love, then I want to wish you all the best.”

  After a silent moment, Tulsi asked in a stunned monotone, “Who are you and what have you done with Reece? I’ll pay the ransom, even if she is a pain in the butt.”

  Reece laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m making a New Year’s resolution to be less of a pain in the butt. To be nicer to strangers and defend the innocent and return calls to my sister in a punctual fashion and blah blah blah.”

  Tulsi clucked her tongue. “Well, well. Whoever this guy is, if he’s the reason for the new and improved softer side of you, I like him. I don’t suppose you’re planning to call Daddy next, are you? Because he really wants to talk to you. It’s breaking his heart that he can’t even get you on the phone.”

  Reece’s jaw clenched and her smile fell away. She and Dad had both been careful to shelter Tulsi from the real reason Reece had run off when she was eighteen and Reece wasn’t going to change course now. The truth would always be between her and Dale, but it didn’t have to come between her dad and her sister. It was her gift to Tulsi, the one thing she could do to make up for running off when they were kids and leaving her to bear the brunt of Dad’s bullshit alone.

  “Reece?” Tulsi asked. “Did you hear me?”

  “I’m not there yet, T.,” she said. “Dad did his share of breaking things, too, you know. I’m not sure our relationship can ever be fixed.”

  “Maybe not easily,” Tulsi said, “but w
ith love all things are possible. I truly believe that and I love you both so much. If there is anything I can do to help us all be a family again, I’ll do it. Just tell me what you need. I want you to be here to catch the flu with the rest of us next Christmas.”

  Reece felt her eyes begin to sting, but sniffed the tears away. She was touched, but she wasn’t about to become a weeper like her sister. “I love you, too. I hope you get those sick people feeling better and can enjoy the rest of your holiday.”

  Reece ended the call but lay under the covers for another moment, hiding in the darkness as she sorted through her feelings. But before she could come to a conclusion about what she thought about love and whether or not it made all things possible, Grayson, still damp from the shower, slid beneath the covers beside her.

  His hand came to rest on her bare stomach, setting her blood to rushing all over again.

  “Think you can wait a few more minutes for coffee?” He turned on his side as Reece curled into him. “I was thinking about you in the shower and a situation arose.”

  “A situation, huh?” Reece purred as she found his erection with her hand and stroked him up and down. “I think this will keep me awake for another half hour or so.”

  “I’m going to do more than keep you awake,” Grayson promised as he rolled her beneath him and spread her legs with his knee. “I’m going to make you come. At least twice.”

  As Grayson set about keeping his promise, Reece did her best not to think too much about love. But when Grayson slid inside her with a soft groan, it was more than lust that made her wrap her legs around him and hold on tight. It was something else, something that felt like home and hope and dreams she hadn’t even realized she had coming true.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Grayson

  “I’m going to have a peppermint latte.” Reece swung their joined hands as they walked through the mall attached to their hotel to the outdoor coffee shop on the ground floor near the canal. “I usually hate the sugary stuff, but I’m feeling festive this morning.”

  “You look festive,” Grayson said, admiring the way Reece’s blue scarf and matching hat made her eyes sparkle. She was even more beautiful this morning than she’d been last night, and when she looked up at him and smiled, his heart did funny things in his chest.

  He knew she wasn’t comfortable with talking feelings yet, but that smile gave him hope that he wasn’t a fool to think there was a future in this. That smile was different that the smiles that had come before. It was open, honest, and so heartfelt it kept him warm even when they stepped out into the unusually chilly December morning.

  “I have another confession to make,” Reece said, her grip tightening on his hand. “I think this is the first time I’ve held hands since high school.”

  “You’re kidding me.” Grayson’s brows drew together.

  “Nope. I’m not usually a hand holder, either.” She wiggled her eyebrows in his direction. “You do weird things to me, Mr. Parker.”

  “I haven’t even started on the weird stuff yet,” he said with a wink, her answering laughter making his bones hum with happiness.

  “So you say,” she said, her grin morphing from sweet to naughty in that way he was quickly coming to love. “But I’m not sure I believe you.”

  “Why’s that?”

  She lifted one shoulder. “Well, it’s like, you keep telling me you’re not a nice guy. But all the evidence points to the contrary.”

  He squeezed her hand. “So you think I’m nice?”

  “I think you’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” she said with a sincerity that made him vow to never do anything to change her mind. “So I can’t help but think you’re lying about your kinky bedroom preferences, too.”

  “Ah, I see.” He pulled his hand from hers as they stepped up to the coffee shop counter, pondering what she’d said as they placed their orders and he handed over a ten.

  “I guess what I mean is that I don’t hold the women in my life to a separate standard, simply because they’re women,” he said as they stepped off to the side to wait for their drinks. “I open doors and pull out chairs, but it’s not the same thing. That night at the bar I just wanted you to know I wasn’t going to be looking out for your best interests. I figure you’re equipped to do that, and to make your own decisions.”

  “Ah, I see.” Reece crossed her arms against the cool breeze rushing down the canal. “So you treat women like grown-ups and expect them to act that way.”

  “Exactly,” he said, loving that she understood so immediately.

  She nodded. “I like that. Because I want to be treated like a grown-up. I hate it when men assume I’m a childish idiot because I only come up to their shoulder. Nothing makes me stabbier than that.” She lifted a palm in the air. “Except guys who assume that having boobs means I’ve got no honor code. I mean, my code may not be the same as theirs, but I’ve got one. It’s not like my girl parts automatically make me some kind of shifty liar who can’t be trusted.”

  Grayson grinned down at her. “You just keep getting sexier, you know that?”

  “Oh yeah?” She lifted a sultry eyebrow. “You think my honor code is sexy?”

  “Crazy sexy,” he said, leaning down to steal a kiss just as the barista called their names.

  He paused. “Hold that thought.”

  “I will,” she promised with another one of those heartbreaker smiles that made it hard to exercise “new relationship” caution. It had been so fucking long since he’d felt a connection like this. He didn’t want to exercise caution. He wanted to keep falling in love with this woman who was everything he’d ever wanted in one beautiful, feisty package.

  She’s not a package; she’s a rolling stone. It’s part of who she is. She’s been on the road for over a decade. You really think she’s going to change for a man she met a few days ago?

  Grayson knew he was acting more like a lovesick eighteen-year-old kid than a thirty-eight-year-old man, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He hadn’t been looking for a relationship when Reece swept into his life, but the pioneers hadn’t been looking for gold when they’d started mining clay in the foothills, either. Sometimes fate stepped in and gave you an opportunity to dream bigger, and Grayson didn’t want to let this one pass him by.

  He and Reece were going to have to have a serious conversation about where they went from here before January second, but in the meantime he was going to enjoy her company without worrying too much about the future. He didn’t believe that everything happened for a reason, but he did believe that when things are meant to be, sometimes all you have to do is get out of your own way and let nature take its course.

  The rest of the morning, the universe did its best to prove him right. Even with melting icicles dripping on their heads every time the boat passed under a bridge, the gondola ride through downtown was magical. He and Reece cuddled together on their seat as the boat passed by historic buildings decorated with tinsel and lights sparkling in the morning sun. Their captain chattered on, providing historical context for the sites, but Grayson and Reece were too busy talking to pay attention.

  Talking to Reece was nearly as much fun as making love to her. The conversation never lagged and he finally felt comfortable enough to drop the last of his own walls. It seemed silly to keep guarding his privacy when she was halfway through tattooing her name on his heart. He was becoming so relaxed with her that he didn’t even mind when she hit him with another question about his failed marriage during breakfast.

  “So how long were you married before you realized it was the wrong call?” she asked, peering up at him through her lashes as she stirred sugar into her coffee. “My sister got married a couple of months ago to this guy she hadn’t seen in years. So far, she seems really happy, but I’m wondering when the marriage remorse usually starts to set in.”

  “I wouldn’t use my experience as any frame of reference. Deep down, I knew I was making a mistake from day one,” Grayson confessed a
s he dribbled hot sauce on his eggs.

  “Then why say I do?”

  He shrugged. “I was deployed so often at the start of my career, I had a hard time maintaining a relationship. Kimberly was the first girl who didn’t cheat on me while I was overseas. I was tired of having no one to come home to, so…I proposed and we got married a few days before I deployed again.”

  Reece’s lips pursed. “Not to be an asshole, but that sounds like a sad reason to get married.”

  “It was,” Grayson agreed, loving that she called a spade a spade. “Especially considering I found out later that she’d lied about being faithful before we were married. She told me the truth on Christmas Eve six years ago, when I came home early from my last deployment and found her in bed with another man.”

  A knowing light crept into Reece’s blue eyes. “So that’s why you were brooding in your beer the night we met.”

  Grayson sniffed. “Nope. I was worrying about the ranch and the situation with Layla’s ex. I don’t think about Kimberly much anymore. At first, I was pretty fucking bitter, especially considering she waited to confess until I was wounded in action, but—”

  “Hold on.” Reece held up her fork. “This all happened right after you were hurt in the explosion?”

  He nodded. “I ended up staying at the infirmary my first three days back in the States, so she could move her things out of the house.”

  “Asshole.” Reece stabbed her next bite of sausage with a vehemence that made him smile. “Talk about no honor code. I get why you want a grown-up after that shit. Someone should have spanked that woman.”

  “I only spank women I care about,” Grayson said, leaning across the table until their faces were inches apart before he whispered, “And I’m not lying about the things I want to do with you. As soon as you’re better, I want to tie you up and tease you until you’re begging me to fuck you.”

  Reece’s eyes glittered. “Okay. And after that, I’ll get out my vibrator and take your ass virginity while I’m giving you a blow job.”