by Lea Hart
“I’m not saying no to the possibility, but I’m not saying yes, either.”
He kissed her cheek and nodded. “All right, I’ll take that non-answer as another win for the day.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“I’ve never lacked confidence and see no reason to start now.”
“I’m going to leave that lil’ nugget of gold alone and go see about buting your horse so he’s not in pain standing on that leg.”
He watched her turn toward the door and tugged her hand. “I want you to know that I’m going to do my best to focus on what I feel and not what I fear.”
“What does that mean?”
He studied the small turquoise band on her pinky and remembered when he’d gotten it for her at the fair when they’d been in middle school. “It means that I’m going to give into this thing between us with an open heart, since anything less would be an insult to what we’ve been blessed with.”
Running her finger over his, she exhaled a long breath. “I don’t know if I’d use the word blessing, but I will think about what you’ve said.”
“Fair enough. I just thought it would be good if I laid out my plans plainly.”
“Something you’ve done since the first grade.”
“No reason to change a winning strategy.”
Emily let out a laugh and opened the door. “I’m going now before a snarky response passes my lips.”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
“Had no doubt.”
Loving the sass, he watched her grab the medical bag and then hop out of the helo, cutting across the pasture in long strides. Whistling silently, he scraped his hand down his face and told himself to take a minute to appreciate the fact they’d finally begun talking about what broke them.
It was going to take a hundred hard conversations to get to the right side of things, but they’d taken the first step, and that was a hell of a thing.
Chapter Six
Emily pulled into the Dairy Treet restaurant and felt like nothing less than a double-dip chocolate cone would do. The day had been long, the animals less than cooperative, and the heat had just about done her in.
Feeling a hint of a cool breeze, she let out a sigh and then pushed open her door. As she stepped out, the sound of a horn made her look up as Nash pulled in next to her. She studied his wide smile and wondered if he really was interested in more than friendship. She’d never noticed anything in his manner that suggested it was possible, but at the same time, she’d never even thought to look.
“Hey there, pretty lady,” Nash called out from the open window of his truck.
“You stop in for an ice cream, too?”
“Nah, I just saw your truck and thought I’d take a minute to say hello.”
She gave him a smile then immediately wondered if she was inadvertently encouraging his interest. Which was foolish, since there was no need to change the way she’d always treated him. “That’s nice of you. I’m about to grab myself a big ol’ cone and call it supper.”
“You go, girl.”
“Whatcha been up to?”
“This and that.”
“Way to be mysterious.”
He smiled lightly. “Wasn’t trying to be.”
“Well, I spent my day with a bunch of goats with bad attitudes. Nothing I like less than chasing those little rascals around a pen and giving them check-ups.”
“You loved them in high school when you were collecting blue ribbons at the fair.”
“That’s because the ones Rick and I raised were well-behaved.” His scowl let her know it was time to move on. “Anyway…I saw your mom at the market yesterday, and we had a chat.”
“Oh yeah, what about?”
“You’re going to get a laugh, but she thinks you and I would be a perfect match.”
Nash ran his hand over the steering wheel and hitched his shoulder. “I don’t think it’s funny.”
Her stomach dropped, and she let out an uncomfortable laugh. “C’mon, we’re just friends.”
“We could be more.”
“Nash, that’s not what we are and—” The shrill ring of his phone stopped her, and considering she didn’t know how to finish the sentence, it was a blessing.
“I gotta take this, Em.”
“Oh, of course.” She took a step back and heard him greet his brother. Not wanting to eavesdrop, she moved away farther and heard the agitation in his voice and noticed his fingers were drumming against the dashboard.
Nash ended the call and flipped his ignition on. “Sorry to cut this short, but I gotta go meet Owen.”
“No problem.” She watched him pull out of the parking lot quickly and knew in her gut there was something to the rumors. How could he be foolish enough to get himself roped into Owen’s business?
Turning toward the restaurant, she prayed he found a way to avoid the bad choices his brother always seemed to make and extricate himself before he couldn’t. She moved to the end of the line and considered if there was anything she could say to keep Nash on the right road.
“As if,” she mumbled silently. Her mama had always said that people needed to follow their own path, and her offering her two cents wouldn’t likely change a thing. Feeling defeated, she let out a long breath and gave into an old bad habit of chewing on her nail. She watched the line move forward and felt a big pair of hands land on her waist. Jerking around, she raised her fist and let out a groan when she saw Rick’s stupid smile.
“Hey, Stitches.”
She pushed his chest and frowned. “You scared me!”
“Sorry, I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you did just that.”
“Are we getting our usual?”
She spun around and wished his smile didn’t make her heart do a happy dance. Damn thing should have a bit more restraint. “Didn’t know you still liked the chocolate cones.”
“Are the Cowboys the best football team in the world?”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Good lawd, woman. Yes, I still love the chocolate double-dip cone.” Slinging his hand over her shoulder, he grinned. “Can’t believe I had the good luck to run into you today.”
“You sure it’s good luck? Because it may be your turn to treat.”
“Darlin, I’ll be treating from here on out, since I’m going to court you properly.”
She gave him a slow once-over and then sniffed. “I don’t remember agreeing to that.” His full mouth slid into an indecent smile, and she told herself that pulling his head down and kissing his lush lips wasn’t an option.
“You didn’t say hell no, so I’m hoping down the road you’ll think you and I loving on one another is the best damn idea in the world.”
“Don’t know about the best idea, but we’ll see,” she said as he stepped forward to place their order. “I like the sugar cone, don’t forget.”
“I know, Em. We’ve had a couple hundred of these together.”
“Okay, just wanted to be sure.”
Tagging her hand, he gave her a wink. “Rest easy. I’ll always remember what you like.”
“That’s a lot of swagger.”
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” He passed over some money and then took their cones, handing her one. “Let’s go grab the best seat in the place.”
“The back of your truck?”
“Of course.”
He led her over to his rig, flipped the back gate down, and she hoisted herself up, with him doing the same. Once he was settled, she watched a grin light up his rugged face. “Ice cream always did make you happy.”
“Not as much as your company,” he replied.
She gave him a faint smile and decided to concentrate on her ice cream and not a snarky retort. She was too worn out from her day to come up with an
ything decent and honestly didn’t want to waste energy trying.
Which meant she was losing her edge.
…
Rick laced their fingers together and looked across the highway at the empty schoolyard, remembering all the times he’d done something to insure her attention stayed on him. “Bet you didn’t know that I waited by the gate every day until I saw you get off the bus.”
Emily licked the side of her cone and chuckled. “You did not!”
“Did, too.” Moving closer, he made sure their legs were touching. “I’d pretend like I was looking for something in my backpack until I saw your red Keds come down the stairs of the bus. The minute I did, I’d sprint off, so I wouldn’t be caught.”
“That’s kinda sweet and just a tad stalkery.”
“Considering you always made sure to find me on the playground first thing, I’d say back at you, darlin’. You’d always stomp my way, give me a slow once-over, and then tell me to tuck in my shirt or fix my hair or some other kind of nonsense.”
Emily finished her cone then wiped her hands on a napkin. “Guess we both needed to see one another before starting our days…which was kinda of weird, considering we were just kids.”
“Maybe.”
“You ever have that kind of friendship with anyone else?”
“No. Don’t get me wrong, I have men from the Teams who are like brothers, and I’d lay down my life for them tomorrow. But what you and I have is a thing all its own. We belong together, Em, and always have.”
“Funny, that’s not what you said when you ended things between us before you graduated. You told me on no uncertain terms that what we had was finished and you never needed to be in my company again.”
He didn’t hear any reproach in her tone and turned, letting his eyes roam over her face slowly. Her expression was neutral, and if he didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn she’d just delivered a weather report. Had she really forgiven him for the absolute idiocy he displayed that spring? “We both know I’m prone to shooting my mouth off and regretting it later, and that speech was a perfect example. I was the biggest fool in the world and have kicked my own ass a hundred times for the mistake.”
“Who’s to say it was a mistake?” she asked.
“What does that mean?”
“We had a good run and spent more than a decade in one another’s pockets and have memories that will last a lifetime. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be more.”
“I’d like it to be more.”
“Why?”
“You’re my person, Em. Always have been, always will be.”
“Is that what the last decade has taught you?”
“In no uncertain terms.” He leaned in and kissed her head. “I’ve been around the world a couple of times and been the tip of the sword, facing down man’s inhumanity more times than I care to remember. I know in my gut what matters, and it’s you.” Bracing himself for a retort, he was surprised when none came.
Her fingers tightened with his. “Guess time will tell.”
“Guess so.” He wadded up his napkin, tasting the regret he’d long ago shoved into a dark corner of his heart. “And for the record, if I could do it all over again, I would. I was a fool and thought that I couldn’t be a SEAL and have you in my life. I was convinced the two were mutually exclusive, and it’s only with hindsight that I know how wrong I was.”
“I hated the way you ended things and missed you more than I thought possible but know now that it was a blessing.”
“Wait…what are you saying?”
Leaning her head against his arm, she let out a sigh. “You did us both a huge favor, because if you’d stuck around, I would’ve been way too tempted to give up on my schooling.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.” She laughed. “That tenacity you had to stay the course served us both because there’s no way I’d ever allow you to show me up. I went after the dream burning in my gut, too, and became a doctor. And that ain’t no small thing.”
Rick lifted their joined hands, pressed a long kiss to her soft skin, and felt more weight slip off his shoulders. “Thanks for saying that, Em, and know that I can’t wait to discover all the facets of the grown-up woman you’ve become.”
“You might not like her very much, since she’ll not be talked into crazy pranks anymore.”
“That’s okay, since I’m guessing we’ve got better things to do with our time.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.” He raised an eyebrow and then let his gaze rest on the tantalizing strip of skin between her T-shirt and jeans. Swallowing a growl, he tried to convince himself to keep his thoughts PG. Though how that was going to be possible, he couldn’t say, since his girl not only had legs for days, but hips that begged to be held.
Not to mention an ass that needed to be bit.
Feeling his jeans get a little tight, he decided that saving the picture forming in his mind for later might not be a bad idea. “So…how’s work going?”
“Considering I’ve been spending most of my days at the ranch, you can answer that question yourself.” Leaning forward, she studied his face. “Why are your cheeks red?”
“It’s hot, woman, and I’m not a damn camel.”
“Touchy.”
“I know something I’d like to touch,” he grumbled.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” He gave her what he hoped was a confident smile and then did some mental calculations for a HAHO jump. Nothing like figuring out the altitude for a free fall jump to get yourself under control. “You want to catch a movie this weekend?”
“Like a date?”
“If I say yes, will you still go?”
“Probably not.”
“Why?”
“Because it would be weird. We’re…”
“Two people who like to”—bending down, he watched her lip catch in her bottom teeth—“kiss.” Inhaling her captivating scent, he noticed her nipples pressed against her shirt and did his best to ignore the ball-busting need to have her close.
An impossible task?
Absolutely.
Gently cupping her chin, he told the beast within to behave and counted back from ten. Eyes locked, he groaned when Emily licked her lips and leaned in.
No way he couldn’t make a feast of her mouth.
Her body arched closer, and he moved in slowly, measuring her interest as a dull roar filled his ears.
Their lips brushed.
His pulse raced.
And when her hand moved to his chest and fisted his shirt, he crushed their lips together. Encircling her in his arms, he held her firmly and lost himself in her mouth. Their tongues clashed, and the sound of her moans ignited the want already burning in his gut.
The woman he’d long craved set him on fire, and he pulled her closer, kissing her hard enough to bruise. His cock pulsed against the front of his jeans, and he was a second away from tumbling her back into his truck and losing his damn mind.
Hearing a car horn flipped the sanity switch in his brain, and they both moved away at the same moment. Breathing heavily, he watched her blink several times.
“That was…”
“Amazing,” he finished firmly.
“I was going to say mind-blowing, but amazing will do.”
“Both are good.” He sucked in a long breath and then nodded. “So about that movie this weekend?”
Emily let out a laugh and then looked around. “We’re going to be spectacle number one in this town until something more interesting comes along, so maybe we shouldn’t feed the fire and spend time in the dark.”
“Whatever you want, Em.” He grasped her hand and marked the day as one of the finest of his life, since he’d finally got to kiss his girl at the Dairy Treet.
Chapter Seven
; Rick leaned against the short wall that separated the bowling lanes from the tables bustling with people and congratulated himself on talking Em into spending the evening together. The wrangling it had taken was minimal, and if the whoop she’d just let out was any indication, her enjoyment level was maximum.
She ran past their group of friends and gave high-fives, and he knew that Operation Make Emily Fall In Love was off to a good start. He caught her gaze before she grabbed a bowling ball and winked. “You got this, darlin’. Grab that spare and make the other teams weep with frustration.”
Emily bumped her hip out and blew him a kiss. “We’re good sports, Rick, and won’t be gloating when the final scores are totaled.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yes,” she said with a laugh. “We’ve matured and no longer need to win at every damn thing we attempt. We’re secure and gracious no matter the outcome.”
“If you say so.”
He pushed himself off the wall and walked closer, admiring the wiggle of his girl’s fanny as she got ready to throw her pink bowling ball. “God bless, America, the woman is more dangerous that a Tsar Bomba.”
“Why are you mumbling about the world’s most powerful thermo-nuclear bomb?” Vanessa asked as she walked up. “Are you having flashbacks?”
He glanced down and crossed his arms. “Can’t a man talk to himself in peace?”
“Not at the bowling alley.”
Smirking, he wondered if half the town thought he was still off his rocker. “Are you going to break my best friend’s heart?”
Vanessa sniffed. “Wasn’t planning on it.”
“You know he’s got some serious intentions where you’re concerned—”
Vanessa put up her hand and then shook her head. “Don’t.”
“I’m not gonna get up in your business. It’s just that I’d hate to see you miss out on a good man.”
“Don’t be worrying about me and focus on your own romance.” Vanessa waved to Emily then turned back to Rick. “Have you talked to her about what I shared with you the other day?”
“No, but I am hoping she’ll take a long ride this weekend so we can start discussing all the things we got wrong.” He ran his hand over his neck and let out a long breath. “Em is my gravity, and I’m hoping that someday she feels the same way about me.”