by Cat Johnson
The spare bedroom might have looked unused, but this bathroom had more life to it. A few old tin signs hung on the walls, which were covered in old-timey-looking wallpaper featuring horses. The bigger towels were a rich brown, while the smaller ones hanging with them were a pretty robin’s-egg blue. The combination seemed both masculine and feminine at the same time.
Feeling extra curious, or maybe just nosy, Tyler opened the closet Janie had mentioned. More brown towels were stacked neatly on one shelf. Rolls of toilet paper and bars of soap rested on the other shelf. But it was the items on the third shelf that he found the most interesting. Band-Aids in sizes both large and small. Peroxide. Antibiotic ointment. Ace bandages. Gauze, in both pads and rolls. There was even a bottle of veterinary liniment and fly-repelling wound ointment.
That looked more like the supplies of the woman he suspected Janie to be—the kind who took care of everybody and their injuries, whether man or beast. He smiled as he grabbed a towel and closed the door.
After taking off his hat, he pulled his T-shirt over his head. The shirt he tossed onto the closed toilet lid, and then rested his hat on top, before flipping on the hot water.
There was a day’s worth of sweat and dirt to wash off his face, arms, and hands before he sat down to dinner with a lady. He cleaned up the best he could in the sink and dried off before putting his T-shirt and hat back on.
Once the porcelain and fixtures were wiped, clean and dry, he folded the towel and laid it on the edge of the sink for lack of a hamper. If he was a neat enough guest, maybe Janie would invite him again.
He flipped off the light and went back out into the hall, but he didn’t head directly for the kitchen. The living room was off of the other side of the hallway and Tyler couldn’t resist taking a look. Again, like the spare bedroom, the room looked lifeless. Almost unused. There were a few photos here and there, but otherwise, nothing personal distinguished it as hers. He couldn’t picture Janie in here, seated on this stiff, formal furniture.
Nope. Not one bit. He turned for the kitchen, the room that fit her perfectly. Where she looked at ease even as she worked. She was at the stove when he arrived. Pausing in the doorway, he remained quiet as she opened the oven door and with pot holders pulled the rack out. The bubbling-hot macaroni and cheese casserole looked good, but damn, Janie’s ass looked even better. And hotter.
She straightened and set the dish on the counter before she turned to smile at him. “Perfect timing.”
“Yeah, it sure was.” He pushed off the door frame he’d leaned against and meandered over to stand next to her under the pretense of checking out the food more closely. “Looks good. Can I help with anything?”
“Nope. Just have a seat.”
“All right.” He sat and let out a curse under his breath when he remembered he still hadn’t told his mother about dinner yet.
Thank God she’d finally learned how to text a couple of years ago. He pulled out his phone and punched in the text. He hit SEND and moved to pocket the phone when he thought better of it. Tyler took the extra step of powering the phone off before he shoved it into the back pocket of his jeans. He didn’t need Colton calling during dinner.
Glancing up, he saw Janie had noticed. “I’m sorry. This is rude, texting while you’re serving me dinner.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. The phone is off now. It’s just that I had forgotten to call home. I didn’t want my parents to expect me for supper.”
Janie’s brows rose. “Your parents?”
“Yeah. I, uh, still live at home.” It had never bothered him before—hell, why should he pay rent when he could live at home for free—but saying it to Janie made him feel ashamed of his living arrangements for the first time. Admitting his mommy still cooked and cleaned for him, still washed his damn laundry, made him look like a kid. That was the last thing he wanted Janie to think about him.
“That’s nice you’re at home with your parents. I lived here with my grandfather for years, up until he died. I miss him being around.” She transferred a huge amount of ribs to a plate next to a large scoop of macaroni and cheese. She pivoted and slid the dish onto the table in front of him.
He could see the sadness in her when she turned to face the counter again, but he remained quiet, hoping she’d talk more. The tidbits about herself and her past that she occasionally let slip out fascinated Tyler. He didn’t want to miss even one of the things Janie might say, but as she picked up another plate, she put a much smaller portion on it for herself and didn’t say more.
As enticing as the hot and creamy cheddar sauce looked, as amazing as the spice rub on the ribs smelled, he resisted. He waited for her to sit and start eating before he dug in. He’d been raised with manners. Some of them had actually stuck.
Finally, she sat and he lifted the fork full of food he’d been dying to try. Flavor assaulted his senses as the rich, sharp cheddar filled his mouth. His eyes drifted closed and a low rumble of appreciation came from his throat.
He opened his eyes again to see Janie watching and smiling. “I guess you like it.”
“Oh, my God. This is the best I’ve ever eaten.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but you don’t have to flatter me, Tyler. I would have invited you to eat anyway. It’s the least I can do in exchange for all you’ve done for me.”
“Janie, there’s one thing you should know about me.” He set his fork down and leaned forward, his forearms braced on the table. “I never mess around when it comes to food. I’m not flattering you. This is amazing.”
“Thanks.” Her cheeks turned pink and he couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re welcome.” Satisfied she believed he was sincere, he picked up the fork again and dug in for another bite. “What’s the spice? It’s not jalapeño.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s a pinch of cayenne. I bought a cookbook the year I got married and I’ve been using the old recipes in it ever since. I know a lot of places use other spices and other cheeses, but I just do the same thing as I always did. Plain old sharp cheddar. Oh, and a little bit of mustard, too.”
“That’s what that other flavor is. Don’t change a thing, whatever you do. I don’t care what else other places are putting in their mac and cheese, you leave yours just as it is.”
She laughed. “Okay. Since you feel that strongly about it, I promise.”
He reached for a rib and prepared himself to be overwhelmed. He moaned at the pure pleasure in the first bite.
Janie laughed. “It’s nice to cook for someone who appreciates it so much. I hate only cooking for myself.”
“Well, you feel free to cook for me anytime you feel like it.” He bit into the rib again, and the tender meat fell apart in his mouth. Another rumble of appreciation emitted from deep within him.
Glancing up, he saw Janie smile as she picked at her own plate. If watching him eat gave her this much enjoyment, he’d be happy to do it often. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and hopefully, so much more.
Chapter Twelve
The sun was riding low over the horizon when Janie followed Tyler outside to his truck. “Thank you very much for all your help, but you really didn’t have to wash my dishes.”
“Sure I did.” Tyler grinned, the charm oozing from his every pore.
Janie couldn’t help but smile in response, even as she disagreed. “No, you didn’t.”
He leaned back against the open tailgate and crossed his arms. “I did if I want you to invite me again.”
“Oh, that was your plan, was it?” She laughed as she turned and leaned next to him, hands braced on the metal of his bed.
“Yup.” He shot her a sideways glance. “Did it work?”
“Yeah. I think it did.”
“Good.” He nodded. They both sat and stared toward the brilliant colors lighting the sky while the silence stretched between them, until Tyler broke it. “Do you ever hear from your dad?”
/>
The question surprised her. “Not really. No.”
“Did he come to your husband’s funeral?”
“No. He called, but he was busy with work and couldn’t get away.”
The wound hadn’t quite healed over. She still felt the emotional scars when she talked about her mother’s death or her father’s emotional abandonment.
This conversation brought a little closer to the surface the dull ache she usually kept buried. She didn’t resent Tyler for asking, even if she was shocked he was interested. Most guys his age would be out with their friends, yet here he was, sitting on a tailgate at sunset talking to her about things much too serious for such a pretty evening. He was probably meeting his friends later and had to kill time until then. That scenario made sense.
She wondered where he went with his friends, and how the girls there reacted to the likes of Tyler and Colton walking into a bar. Given how good they both looked, they were probably swarmed the minute they got in the door.
“I’m sorry that all happened to you.” He covered her hand with his and squeezed before letting go.
The touch hadn’t lasted long, but long enough for her to know he meant what he said. That he was sincere in his empathy.
Janie should probably be getting used to Tyler doing the unexpected. She wasn’t. Surprised yet again by this guy, she said, “Thanks.”
The silence descended once more until he turned where he leaned and angled his body toward her. “So why are you only cooking for one?”
At the question, she turned her head to look at him. “Excuse me?”
“You said you don’t like cooking for only yourself. Aren’t you dating?”
That elicited a laugh she couldn’t control. “No.”
Dating. Who would she date? And where the hell would she meet him? Though thanks to Rene, she’d have to sit through church with a stranger her friend seemed intent on setting her up with. Maybe that was why she wasn’t dating. Interfering friends.
“Why not?” he asked.
Her mouth dropped open at his bold question. She expected this kind of prying from Rene, but not Tyler. Still, she felt compelled to answer. “It really hasn’t been that long since Tom . . .”
After a beat, Tyler asked, “How long has it been? I thought it was about a year.”
“Yeah, about.”
“So you’re not ready?” His eyes pinned her. He obviously wasn’t letting this go.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. There’s been so much else to think about.”
“Like the hay harvest.”
“Yeah, that, and the broken fence.” And the lessons. And the bills. And the animals. She sighed. “Just everything.”
“So if someone were to, say, take care of that harvest for you, and that fence was fixed so you had time to think about yourself, do you think you would be ready?”
“To date?”
“Yup.” His intense blue eyes never leaving her face, Tyler dipped his head in a nod.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I guess. Why are you so interested?”
“Because I’d like to ask you out, but only if you’re ready for that.”
Ask her out? She knew he could flirt with the best of them, and suspected he was a ladies’ man, but that Tyler might want to go out with her was so far off her radar, she nearly fell off the truck’s tailgate.
“So, what do you say?”
She didn’t know what to say. Even if she were ready to start dating, which she wasn’t, Janie had a feeling she’d never be prepared to be with a guy like Tyler. Too young. Too wild. Too tempting. “How old are you, Tyler?”
“I’ll be twenty-five next month.”
“So you’re twenty-four.” At least he was a couple of years older than she’d first assumed when she thought he was twenty. Still, he was too young. Or maybe she was just too old.
“Yeah. Technically, I’m twenty-four, for now. Why?” He shrugged. “Does it matter?”
She laughed. “Yes.”
“Why?” His brow creased beneath the brim of his hat. He really didn’t understand.
“Because I’m twelve years older than you.”
“I know, and next month you’ll only be eleven years older than me. You said you were thirty-six the night we met. So?”
She’d forgotten she’d mentioned her age that night. Maybe Rene was right. Maybe Tyler did have a Mrs. Robinson, older-woman sex fantasy. If so, she didn’t think she was the one to fulfill it. “What do you mean, so? That’s more than a decade.”
“And?”
“And that’s a big difference.”
He blew out an exaggerated breath from between his lips. “No, it isn’t. Janie, it doesn’t matter to me. Why does it matter to you?”
“I don’t know. It just does.” She didn’t want to tell him that being with him made her feel old. That her worst fear would be sitting in a restaurant with him and having the waitress assume she was his mother.
Tyler pushed off the tailgate and took a step so he was standing directly in front of her, so close that she was in the shadow of his hat.
“No. You’re not getting away with that answer. Tell me. What’s really wrong?” His voice had dropped low as he questioned her. It sounded husky, and even more sensual than usual.
With him standing so near, she could see the day’s worth of stubble darkening his cheeks and chin. She might want to think of him as a kid—it would make it a hell of a lot easier to not succumb to him—but Tyler was a grown man. And a hell of a man he was. She couldn’t deny that as she was eye level with the bulging muscles of his chest that stretched the cotton of his T-shirt.
Janie swallowed and tried to regain her focus. “You should be dating girls your own age.”
That was one truth about her avoidance she would tell him. Twentysomething guys should date twentysomething girls.
“I have. I’ve gone out with plenty of them, but not a one of them was anything like you.” His blue gaze pinned her even as she averted her eyes to avoid the intensity she saw in them.
Janie wasn’t used to being the object of a man’s attention anymore. At least, not like this. “So I’d be a novelty?”
“A novelty, no. But you are one of a kind, Janie Smithwick. Don’t you ever forget it.” He raised his hand to capture her chin between his thumb and forefinger before he lowered his head, close enough she could hear him breathing.
The brush of his lips against hers was so brief, so gentle, it was almost as if she’d imagined it. He pulled back, but his gaze grabbed and held hers.
“When you’re ready to take a chance on me, you let me know.” He released his hold on her and turned to walk toward the driver’s door.
She was still speechless, but managed to have the good sense to get off his tailgate before he drove away.
With one hand braced on the top of the door, he glanced back at her. “I’ll be back to hay that field as soon as I can.”
Janie nodded and he climbed inside, slamming the door after him. She realized she’d yet to speak.
What could she have said? Her lips were as numb as the rest of her from the shock of Tyler’s kiss. She watched him pull to the end of the driveway and stop before turning. He waved one arm out the window as he drove away, and only when he was out of sight did she remember to breathe again.
Tyler opened the kitchen door of his parents’ house and stopped at the sight of his older brother. Tuck’s six-foot frame was bent at the waist, his head hidden behind the door of the fridge.
“Hey.” Tyler closed the outside door and moved farther into the room. “What are you doing here?”
Tuck straightened and closed the fridge with a sigh. “Starving, apparently. There’s nothing in there but rabbit food. When the hell did Mom and Dad turn vegetarian?”
“It’s not that bad . . . yet. They’re not vegetarians, but she does have him on a strict diet as of last week.” One reason, but not the main one, that eating at Janie’s was extra appealin
g.
“Great. Perfect timing for a visit.” He swung the door open again and emerged from the refrigerator with a bottle. “At least there’s a beer.”
“My beer.”
“Thanks.” Cracking open the lid, Tuck raised the bottle in a mock toast before pressing it to his lips.
Tyler scowled. “Yeah.”
“So what’s with the diet all of a sudden?” Tuck dragged a chair from under the kitchen table and dropped into it, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Is this Tara’s doing?” he asked, mentioning their sister.
“No. Why would it be Tara’s doing? You know as well as I do she’s just about taken your hand off when you tried to steal the bone from her rib eye steak.”
“Things change. Now she’s got her sports medicine degree, she might think she’s some kind of doctor and want to get us all healthy and shit.”
“Nah. Tara had nothing to do with it. She’s hardly here anymore between work and Jace. She spends half her time on the road following the bull-riding circuit and the other half in Stillwater with her new beau.”
Tuck blew out a derogatory-sounding breath. “Yeah, that’s another thing. Tara and Jace not only dating, but actually lasting for what? Going on a year this fall? I never saw that one coming.”
Tyler snorted. “I did.”
“You did not.” Tuck screwed his face up with doubt.
“No?” Tyler raised a brow in challenge. “I sure as hell did. Tuck, two people can’t fight as hard and as long as Jace and Tara did and not be interested in each other on some level.”
“Yeah, well, it shocked the shit out of me when they came back from her internship and announced they were going to go out.”
Go out was clearly a euphemism Tuck needed to hang on to rather than think any more about their little sister’s sex life. When Tara had come back from that internship, she and Tuck’s best buddy Jace had the definite look of two people who were getting sweaty in the sheets together. Pure and simple.
Lucky for them, Tyler had been the one here that day she got back and Jace drove two hours like a madman to get to her, while Tuck had been blissfully ignorant back in Stillwater. Which raised Tyler’s original question one more time.