Hawkins was stunned.
“I’m not saying that I’ll stay here forever. But – well, I have nothing in New York, really. No job and no wedding to plan anymore. I have one close friend, and I’m happy to let her stay in my apartment for longer than six months. I’m…I’m happy here, Mr. Hawkins.” She found that she had tears in her eyes. “I’ll stay for a little while longer.”
“Ms. Everett. I think that is a wonderful thing.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I’m so happy to hear that things are going well.”
“Me too.”
“So then. There are a few things that will have to be signed closer to the six-month mandatory term.”
“What things?”
“Just a simple document, stating that the six-month term is over and that you will continue to retain ownership beyond its termination.”
“OK. Do I have to come to New York to sign that?
“Oh, no. I can get the Denver office to prepare it and either courier it to you, or have someone drive it to the ranch. Whatever you prefer.”
“OK. That sounds fine.”
“So, I’ll let Malcolm Ferguson in Denver know your decision, and we can get all the papers ready for the end of January. The six months will be over on – just a moment, let me check the date. Ah, yes. February the tenth.”
“That sounds right.”
“So, we’ll take things from here, ma’am. We’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hawkins.”
“Thank you, Ms. Everett.”
She was just about to hang up when something occurred to her. “Mr. Hawkins?”
“Yes?”
“I wanted to ask you something… I’ve been wanting to ask someone for a while, but I just haven’t ever seemed to find the right moment. In over two months, no good chance has ever arisen, so I just put it off. I also don’t want to upset anyone.”
“What is it?”
She hesitated. “I just – I wanted to know about how my father died. What happened?”
“He died at the ranch, Ms. Everett.”
“At home?”
“Oh, no. He was out riding when he had a heart attack. It was massive, I’m afraid. He died out there in the field. There was no time for the man he was with to get help.”
Julie blinked. “The man he was with?”
“Yes. Dave was out riding with one of his staff members, one of the men who works in the stables. The man called for an ambulance, but it was too late.”
“Do you – do you know who he was out riding with?”
“I’m afraid I don’t remember the man’s name, Ms. Everett.”
“Was it Jake?”
“Jake? Uh – yes. I think that’s right.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Have a nice evening.”
“Goodbye, Ms. Everett. And Happy Thanksgiving for next week.”
“Happy Thanksgiving.”
She hung up the phone, shaken. Jake had been with her father when he died. He’d never said a word about that, not in all the conversations about her father.
“Jake,” Julie whispered.
**
Jake sat alone in the stables, thinking. It was the end of November now, and everyone was away for Thanksgiving. Everyone except him, and Julie and Rob, that is. And Rob would be leaving any minute now.
The hotel would be closed over the holiday weekend. Julie had insisted on it, saying that the staff needed time with their families. Nobody could believe it at first. Four paid days off in a row in the hotel business was like a unicorn – it was one of those things that nobody ever saw. It was so rare as to be practically mythical.
But Julie had been adamant: no reservations; no work; no discussion. Go on and make your plans with your families and see you all after the break.
Mattie had told her that someone had to stay behind to care for the horses, and Rosie and Mike had piped up then, saying they’d be happy to drive in from their homes in Clarity a few times a day to do what had to be done. But Jake had said that he had no intention of going anywhere for Thanksgiving, so he’d be able to do it.
He sat now, drinking whiskey and staring up at the Big House. It was lit up, and he knew that Julie was at home. What was she doing right now? Making dinner, watching TV, having a shower? An image of her breasts, soapy and wet and glistening, popped in to his mind and he almost groaned aloud.
He had come to know her over the past two-and-a-half months, and he found himself more and more curious about her. Everything she did interested him. And, what had caught Jake by surprise, he wanted her to know him. When she was around, he talked. He talked about himself, and about Dave, and about life in general. He just opened up his mouth and he talked.
Mattie and Rosie and Phil had noticed, of course. So had the kids. They had teased him about it a bit, said that when Julie was around, he turned in to a stammering boy with a teenaged crush. They meant no harm by it, he knew, but still. They weren’t wrong.
He heard a door slam and he looked up the road. Rob was packing his car, and he paused, looked down at Jake. Jake stood and saluted Rob with his glass of whiskey. Rob waved back and got in to the car. It started, and he drove off.
Jake took another sip of whiskey. They were alone. Him and Julie. For the next four days.
Jesus Christ. This will be torture.
**
Julie watched from her bedroom upstairs as Rob left. She looked down the road to the stables, saw Jake’s silhouette. Even from this distance, she felt his incredible physical strength and she shivered.
Four days. Four days here with Jake. She had considered going back to New York and spending Thanksgiving with Tammy and her parents, but the thought of flying over the holiday weekend with a storm warning in the forecast was unappealing. Several of her staff had invited her to come to them for the break, but she had politely said no. She really thought they needed family time, and if she were there, it would mix up home and work.
She was surprised that Jake was staying. She had assumed that she’d be here alone most of the time, except when Rosie and Mike came a few times a day to tend to the horses. When she had heard that he was staying, she had felt a combination of relief and tension. Now she just felt the tension.
OK, well. Manny had left her a turkey and lots of vegetables and desserts and bottles of wine. She’d be fine up here in the Big House on her own. This was going to be a hard weekend for her emotionally, she knew, but she’d been through it alone many, many times before. She knew how to distract herself. She’d read and watch movies and sleep in. Look at her beloved mountains and drink coffee and go over the architect’s plans for the new cabins and run through a few interior design ideas. They were going to start work on them in March, and she knew the time would fly. She had lots of details to finalize, and not much time to get through it all.
What she would not do was think about Jake down in his private quarters behind the stables, sitting in front of his fireplace in jeans and no shirt. Sleeping down there all alone, his huge body warm and strong in the night. Showering, the hot water running over those arms and that back and that incredible chest.
Oh, God. Four days. This will feel like forever.
**
It wasn’t until the afternoon of the second day that Jake cracked and climbed the steep road up to the Big House and knocked on Julie’s door.
She had watched him coming and had used the five minutes or so to calm herself down.
OK, here he comes. Cool, girl. He probably just wants to say something about one of the horses. Maybe he needs to take a run in to town for something. He’s here. Deep breath.
She opened the door and smiled at him. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You want to come in for a minute?”
“Yes, please.”
She stepped aside. “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee?”
“Sure. That’d be great.”
Julie busied herself in the kitchen, measuring and pouring wate
r and putting out milk and sugar. Jake watched her the whole time, liking her movements.
“Sit down, Jake. I’ll be right there.”
“OK.”
He went in to the living room and sat on one of the two sofas. He looked around, noticing the changes she’d made to the house: some paintings, some flowers and plants. It was warm and welcoming and felt good to him. He liked it up here, with her.
“Here you go.” Julie was standing in front of him offering him a cup of coffee. “Just black, right?”
“Perfect.” He stood up to accept it and their fingers touched. It felt like a bolt of electricity went straight through him.
She went back to the kitchen to get her own coffee, shaken by even that small, quick touch between them. What was it about Jake that made her respond on some deep, primal level? Sure, he was gorgeous – but Steve had been too. Lots of guys had been. But she had just never, ever had this kind of physical reaction to any of them. Jake just pressed some button deep inside of her, one that she didn’t even know that she had.
She was coming back to him now, tucking her legs under her, settling herself on the sofa next to him. Not too close, he was both relieved and disappointed to see.
“So, how’s it going down there?” she asked. “Are you all warm enough?”
“Oh, yeah. The stables and my place are all well-insulated. We’ve all weathered many winters down there, me and the horses.”
“That’s good.”
“I just wanted to check on you, and make sure you’re OK up here.”
“Sure.” She gestured at the dining room table, covered in plans and papers. “As you can see, I have a bit of work to keep me busy.”
“Those the plans for the new cabins?”
“Yep. Plans and budgets and lists of materials and spreadsheets with projected income generated. My head’s about to explode, I think.”
He grinned.
She looked at him. “So. Is it OK if I ask you why you’re still here? Why you haven’t gone home for Thanksgiving? I mean, it may well be none of my business, I know, but I was just wondering.”
“Well, I don’t really have much family to speak of.”
“No?”
“Not really. My Dad’s long gone, and my Mom's remarried. They’ve gone to Florida for the next four months.”
“They’re snowbirds?”
“Yeah, kind of. The man she married owns a travel agency, and he gets amazing discounts on tickets and hotels and stuff. Plus, he can take vacations and write off all the expenses as research.”
“Huh. Nice life.”
“Yeah, not bad.”
She hesitated. “And – and your father?”
Jake sighed. “Not such a great story, to tell you the truth. He wasn’t a good husband or father – he was an alcoholic.”
“Oh, Jake. I’m sorry.”
“It was all over long ago… Mom left him when I was four. He wasn’t abusive at all, but he just didn’t do anything more than sit on the sofa and drink and watch TV. Her parents helped her get away. They supported her financially and took me in during the summer holidays so she could keep working. It was tough going, especially at first, but she’s a tough woman.”
“She sounds it.”
“She’s happy now. Ned is a good guy – a great guy, really – and they have a good marriage. She deserves it.”
Julie nodded.
“I have no idea where my Dad is. I used to get cards on my birthday and Christmas, but they stopped when I was about fifteen. Not a word since then.”
“Do you miss having a father?”
“Not really. I mean, not a father like him, who wasn’t interested and didn’t care or contribute. And – and…”
“What is it?”
“Well. Your Dad was a great man, Julie. I never thought of him as my father, but I admired him a lot. He kind of showed me what a good man looked like.” He looked at her. “I know that’s hard for you to believe.”
“No, it’s not. I’ve spent lots of time thinking about him and getting to know him through all of you – through your eyes. I think you were right, what you said about him being different when he was younger. God knows I’ve made mistakes… lots of them can’t be undone, either. I’ve come to think that maybe my father did regret what he’d done to me and my mother. And maybe he just didn’t know how to make it up.” She looked around the Big House. “Maybe that’s what all of this is about – the will and leaving all this to me. Maybe it’s what Mattie said it was…an offering and an apology. Maybe a chance to get to know him, too.”
Jake took a deep breath. “I’ve been wanting to tell you something. Something about your father.”
She looked up at him, those eyes startled and luminous.
“I should have told you a long time ago, I know. But it’s a hard thing for me to talk about.”
“OK.”
“I – I was with him when he died.”
She looked at him calmly, with no surprise.
“We were out riding and he was ahead of me…he just kind of went all straight and shaking, and then he fell off the horse. Just fell right down. I jumped down and went to him and he was so – so…”
Julie moved a bit closer to him, put her hand on his forearm. “It’s OK. Tell me.”
“He was lying there and just looking up at the sky. I called for an ambulance, but I knew it was too late. I just knew, from his eyes. So I held him in my arms and he stared at me.” He looked at Julie. “His eyes, Julie. I dream about them, all the time. And I see them sometimes, when you look at me. That day – that day that you fainted in the office, and you opened your eyes? You looked the same. Lost and confused… scared.”
“I was.”
“I know. And so was he, at first. So I told him he’d be OK and I was there. And he said, ‘I should have known her. I should have known my daughter.’ Then he just – closed his eyes and that was it. They never opened again.” He took a shuddering breath. “That’s how I know, you see. That’s how I know that he regretted not contacting you. It was the last thing he said before he died. The last person he thought of was you.” Jake took her hand. “I just – I thought you should know that.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“I didn’t know how to tell you this before. I didn’t want to upset you…”
“You didn’t.” Julie smiled at him. “You just helped me. That was the last thing I needed to feel at home here. You don’t know what you just gave me, Jake. It’s a – a gift.”
“I’m glad.”
“Are you OK?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You. I’m so sorry that it happened. It must have been hard for you to be there when he died, knowing that there was nothing you could do. I know what he meant to you.”
“It was hard. It was – impossible.”
They sat and looked at each other now, two people who had both lost fathers in their own ways. And that tension between them began again – that combination of desire and admiration and interest – and they both felt it. They were both thinking about that night in her office, when their bodies and lips had been pressed together, hot and wet and ready.
Jake wanted nothing more than to ravish her, just carry her upstairs and caress her hips and breasts and pussy until she was thrashing and moaning and begging for him to plunge inside of her. God, she’d be hot and passionate and sweet, he just knew it. He moved towards her, reached for her. She opened her lips, ready to accept his mouth on hers.
Julie’s phone rang.
They both jumped back. Julie’s coffee splashed all over her hand and she cried out when it burned her.
Jake got to his feet. “You OK?”
“Yeah. Dammit.” She picked up the phone and answered it on her way to the kitchen.
“Hi, Tammy.”
Jake followed behind her, his eyes anxious.
“Hi, Jules. I just thought I’d call and see how you’re doing. Today’s the day, after all.”
Juli
e ran cold water in to the sink. “I’m doing OK.”
“What’s up? You sound weird.”
“I just burned myself.”
“What? You OK?”
“Yeah.” She gritted her teeth at the first shock of freezing water. “I’m just running my hand under cold water now.”
Jake stood next to her. “You want some ice?”
She shook her head at him, mouthed her thanks.
“Who was that?”
“Tammy, can you hang on a sec?”
“What? Why? Who’s there with you?”
Julie covered the mouthpiece of the phone. “Listen, I need to take this.”
“Sure, I get it. But are you OK?” He gestured at her hand.
“Yeah. I had milk in it so it wasn’t that hot. It’ll be fine.”
He looked at it doubtfully, but accepted what she said. “OK, if you’re sure.”
“I am.”
“So, I’ll go back down to the stables then. I’ll take the horses out for a run. If the weather turns, they may be stuck indoors for a few days.”
“OK, sounds good.”
“If you need me, you call.”
“I will. Same for you.”
Jake nodded and left, closing the door behind him.
“OK. I’m back.”
“Who was that?”
Julie sighed. “It was a delivery guy. I had to sign a few receipts.”
“Oh, really?” Tammy sounded disappointed. “Was he at least cute?”
“Nope. Not in the slightest. Very, very average.” She forced herself to think about something, anything, other than Jake moving towards her, moving in to kiss her. “So, how’s Marco? You two still together?”
“Of course! We even have Thanksgiving plans.”
Julie really didn’t care what Marco had planned, but she feigned interest. “Tell me…”
**
List of things I know about my father:
He regretted not knowing me
**
Jake was under an almost-impossibly-blue sky, no clouds in sight. It was the first week of September and the air was still warm and scented with honeysuckle and wildflowers.
Open Skies Page 13