by A. J. Pine
“Everything’ll be fine.” Easing out a breath of relief, he lay back down, gathering her into his arms to coax out her concerns. He didn’t care what happened. “The only regret I have is that I didn’t discover you sooner.” The rest of his life seemed like such a waste compared to this. Compared to being connected so deeply with someone as good and bright and beautiful as Jessa.
“What about Ilsa?” she asked, suddenly looking worried again.
“The pig?” He laughed. He didn’t mean to, but Pork Chop was the last thing on his mind right now.
“Yes.” She searched his face. “I know you’re not that crazy about her, but I love her. She’s such a little sweetheart, and if we ever end up…you know…together someday…” She seemed too embarrassed to finish.
He brought her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers. “Actually, she’s growing on me.”
“Really?” She didn’t look convinced.
“If it weren’t for Pork—I mean Ilsa—you might never have talked to me again,” he said, stroking her arm. “That makes her a saint in my book.”
Smiling happily, Jessa propped herself up, gazing down at him, beauty spilling from her bottomless brown eyes. “I don’t want the money, you know.”
“You deserve the money.” And she needed it for the shelter. “I always keep my word.”
Her head shook. “I won’t take it. You might need it. For your dad. For his treatments.” A smile plumped her lips. “Besides, some of my old grad school friends are helping me create a social media campaign to build a donor base. I guilted them into doing it for free.”
He doubted she had to guilt them. Everyone who knew Jessa seemed to love her. And she would always be one of those people who gave more than she took. “We’ll see,” he said, not willing to argue about it now. If she refused to take the money he’d promised her, he’d simply find another way to give it to her.
“What did it feel like to win?” she asked, trailing her fingertips over his biceps.
And God she was so sexy, her blond hair trailing over her shoulder, her eyes glistening as if he could tell her anything and it would stay safely locked away in the vault of her heart.
“It felt like the end.” He hadn’t considered that until he said it, but the truth was, it felt like a relief.
“You’re okay with that?”
“I’m ready to start the next phase.” A whole new life waited for him. One he’d never thought he’d have. “I don’t want to be anywhere but here right now. With you,” he murmured, running his fingers over her shoulders, down her breasts. He couldn’t resist the temptation of touching her. “Doing what we did last night. As many times as you’ll let me.”
“Mmmm-hmmm,” she hummed, her eyes closing as she shimmied her hand underneath the sheets. “I can see you’re up to the task.” Her hand clasped the solid length of him.
Yeah, there was that. He’d woken up hard. With her in his bed, that’d most likely be the norm. He slipped his hand under the sheets, too, letting it wander down her hip…
Turning, she wrapped her legs around his waist and brought his body against hers. “No need to bother with all the foreplay.”
“I like the foreplay,” he said as he sank into her. The power of it stole his breath. He had plenty of ways to draw it out as long as possible, to tease her. “It’ll be worth it—”
A knock pounded on the door. “Jessa!” a woman’s voice screeched from the hallway.
She froze underneath him, her eyes wide.
“Are you in there?” came from another woman.
Lance lifted his head. “Who the hell—?”
She pushed him off her and started to scramble. “It’s Cassidy. And Darla!”
“What’re they doing here?” he demanded, trying to pull her back to him.
“They wanted to come to Vegas.” She gave him a sheepish smile. “They’re staying at the Bellagio. Sorry. I forgot to mention that.”
He captured her in a hug, settling her back to the mattress. “It’s okay. We don’t have to answer the door.”
“But I was supposed to meet them for breakfast this morning…” She snatched her phone off the bedside table. “Twenty-three missed calls.”
Shit. “Will we ever be able to make love without being interrupted?” he wondered aloud.
“Jessa!” Now that was Naomi. He’d heard her worked up enough times to recognize it.
“What’s got them all riled?” he whispered. Maybe if they were real quiet the crazies would go away and let him finish what he’d started.
“I should’ve called them,” she whispered back. “They get worried.” Squirming out of his grip, Jessa threw on a bathrobe and unclicked the deadbolt.
“Where’ve you been?” The door burst open and Cassidy, Naomi, and Darla all charged in, then halted, gaping at the two of them like they’d caught them doing jumping jacks naked.
“We thought you’d been kidnapped!” Naomi squealed.
“Vegas is a huge hub for human trafficking,” Cassidy added knowingly.
“Then you wouldn’t return our calls!” Darla finished as if the whole thing had been scripted.
“Nope. Not kidnapped.” Jessa glanced at Lance, biting her lip as though trying not to laugh. “Sorry. I kind of lost track of time.”
Despite the fact that there were three high-drama women staring at him naked in bed, Lance grinned back. They’d lost track of a lot of stuff. Shoes. Clothes…
“Obviously.” Darla eyed Lance like he was a big juicy cut of meat.
He pulled the covers up to his chin.
Naomi stared at him, too, but it was more of a glare. And judging from the way her hands sat rigidly on her hips, she didn’t like this at all. “So you two figured things out?” she asked suspiciously.
You could say that. He still had some work to do, but he’d do whatever it took. “I realized nothing I did seemed to matter without Jessa,” he said, even though there would’ve been a more appropriate time for this conversation. Later. After he’d had his way with Jessa and was fully clothed.
Beaming a happy, teary smile, Jessa sat on the bed next to him and took his hand.
“Awww,” Darla and Cassidy said collectively.
But Naomi simply narrowed her eyes protectively. “What does that mean?”
He turned his face to Jessa’s and couldn’t help but pull himself up to kiss her lightly on the lips. From the sound of the sniffles in the room, that was a good move. “It means I love her. It means I’m dealing with my shit so I can be with her.”
“It means that you three need to get out of my room,” Jessa added. “If you couldn’t tell, we were kind of in the middle of something.”
“Oh! Right! Sorry!” Darla clamped her hands onto Cassidy’s and Naomi’s shoulders, dragging them backward to the door. “You can give us all the details later.”
Lance shot Jessa a look.
“Not all of them,” she promised.
“OhmyGod, I’m so happy for you two!” Cassidy sighed before she disappeared.
Naomi wriggled free from Darla’s grasp.
Lance half-expected another angry glare, seeing as how she didn’t exactly think he was worthy of Jessa. But instead, she smiled. “I’m happy for you, too. Really.”
“Thanks,” Jessa called, shooing her away impatiently with a hand. “Okay. Bye, now. We’ll talk later.”
When the door finally slammed, he gathered Jessa into his arms and rolled her onto his body.
She laughed. “Wow, someone’s got energy.”
“The pressure’s on,” he said, showering her shoulders with hot little kisses. “I’d better give you some incredible details to tell your friends.”
Epilogue
Not once in the history of Topaz Falls had the Cortez family ever hosted a party. Until Lance started dating Jessa, that was.
Jessa stood on the front porch of Lance’s home, admiring how the ranch came to life in the spring. All the aspens had their baby green leaves back. Wildflowers we
re starting to dot the meadows. Though they’d still likely get a few more snowstorms, the land looked like it was finally emerging from winter, so bright and fresh and new. Everything at the ranch felt new and exciting and hopeful. It didn’t hurt that half the town had turned out for the first shindig of the season. The laughter and murmur of gossip seemed to give the place a new life.
All winter she’d drifted in and out of this house, laughing and living and loving with this family while she and Lance got to know each other. Lucas and Levi had both stayed on for the holiday months, helping cart Luis to doctor appointments and therapy treatments. They’d all spent the evenings out by the fire pit, surrounded by drifts of crisp white snow while they roasted marshmallows and laughed as the three brothers relived their childhood antics. When the fire burned low, they’d pour the wine and listen to Lucas play his guitar. That was her favorite, snuggling with Lance and his wandering hands underneath a blanket while the soft notes of strings floated around them.
These days if anyone dared tell her she wasn’t a part of this family, she wouldn’t believe them. The proof was all around her. The Cortez men had actually let her plan a party at their ranch, and even though they’d grumbled about it, they sure seemed to be having a great time.
She gazed out over the white party tents they’d rented, then over to the prefab stage, where a local bluegrass band played. Okay, so it was possible that she’d gone a bit overboard. She couldn’t help herself. A while back, they’d received word that Lance was being inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, just like his father, and right away she’d started planning the celebration of the century.
It had turned out perfectly, if she did say so herself. “Come on, Ilsa,” she said, tugging gently on her not-so-little piggy’s leash. They ambled down the steps and into the crowds. She almost couldn’t believe how many people had turned out to honor him. She smiled at each one as she passed, saying hello, even to Hank Green, though she didn’t dare get too close to him.
On the outskirts of the tent, she spotted Evie Starlington standing alone, sipping a glass of Darla’s special white sangria. Still being considered a newbie in town, the poor woman wouldn’t know many people, so Jessa hurried toward her.
Ilsa grunted. She didn’t like hurrying. Over the winter, the pig had fully recovered and was quite a bit wider than she’d been when Jessa had found her. Wider and happier, especially when there was a party and there were plenty of scraps on the ground. “Come on, girl,” she prompted. “A little exercise will do you some good.” Even with Ilsa’s protests, they finally made it to the tent.
“Evie! I’m so happy you could make it. Come with me.” She took her hand warmly before the woman could answer, and guided her to the tables she’d happened to see Luis sitting at earlier.
Sure enough, the man was still there, chatting with Deputy Dev Jenkins about the unusually warm weather. She hated to interrupt but this was important.
“Hey there, Luis,” she said, pulling out the chair next to him. Ilsa plopped down at her feet and started munching on a stray carrot that had rolled off someone’s plate.
Evie took a seat across the table. “You remember Evie, right?” Jessa said, presenting the woman grandly.
“Of course.” He tipped his hat to her. “Nice to see you again.”
“Evie is an artist,” Jessa informed him. “You should see her stained-glass work.”
“That so?” The man looked at her with interest. “How’d you get into that?”
It seemed her work here was done. “Oh!” Jessa jumped out of her chair. “I completely forgot. I need to check in with Darla. Make sure she has everything she needs.”
Luis squinted at her with a small smile as though he knew exactly what she was doing. But that wouldn’t stop her. She waved and tugged Ilsa away to give them some time alone. To keep up appearances, she headed straight for the catering tent, even though Darla clearly had everything under control.
“This is all amazing,” Jessa said to her friend as she approached what had become the food and drink control command center.
Her friend straightened her apron proudly. “Everyone seems happy and properly drunk, which means I’ve done my job.”
“Everyone definitely seems happy.” Even Cassidy was out on the dance floor letting Levi twirl her around. “She must be really tipsy if she’s dancing with him.”
“I think she lost a bet,” Darla answered drily. She looked toward the corral. “Naomi’s the only one who doesn’t seem exactly thrilled to be here.”
Jessa peeked over to where Darla was staring. Both Naomi and Lucas were mingling with a group of their old high school friends. Lucas knelt on the ground and said something that made Gracie laugh, but Naomi simply turned and wandered away alone.
“Is he still leaving tomorrow?” Darla asked, fiddling with the chocolate fountain, then dipping in a plastic spoon.
“Yes.” Jessa sighed. She’d done her best to convince him to stay. “He says he has to get back to the McGowen Ranch, that they’ve given him long enough.” He also said he’d be back and forth as much as possible, but who knew how often they’d see him.
Her friend licked the melted chocolate off her spoon and dipped in another one, handing it to Jessa. “Naomi sure avoided him the last couple of months, huh?”
“Avoided him? She pretended he didn’t exist.” She taste-tested the sample Darla had given her. Their friend had taken Gracie to Florida for a month to visit her parents. When she had been at the ranch, she’d kept herself busy with running her daughter to camps and volunteering at the school. The only time Naomi and Lucas seemed to politely chat was when they all had dinner together, but the woman always begged out early. Before they built a fire. Before Lucas played his guitar. As far as Jessa knew, they hadn’t spent one second alone all winter.
A wave of panic washed over her, making her feel the heat of the evening more intensely. “I wish I could make him stay.”
“Guess it’s not up to us,” Darla said, turning back to the chocolate fountain to refill the plates of strawberries.
“I know, it’s just—”
An arm slid around her waist. “I need you,” her sexy cowboy breathed into her ear. “Alone.”
Those words were all it took to restart her heart. She swore it beat only for him these days.
“You can have me whenever and wherever you want me.” She turned to him, and he pulled her into a scandalous hug.
Behind them, Darla made gagging noises. “Not near the food, you two!” she scolded. “And don’t get any ideas about the melted chocolate.”
“I already have ideas,” Lance said, eyeing the fountain.
“He does,” Jessa agreed. “He has a lot of good ideas.”
“Okay. That’s it.” Her friend shooed them away. “Get out. Out of my tent.”
“Fine.” Jessa held out Ilsa’s leash. “But would you mind holding on to her for a while? And don’t give her any chocolate. I have her on a diet.”
“Of course. I’d love to babysit your pig while you go off and get some.” Darla rolled her eyes, but she smiled as she took the leash.
Laughing, Lance swept Jessa up the hill toward the corral. “I have a surprise for you,” he murmured, drawing her close to his side.
“Ohhhh. A surprise for me? But this is supposed to be your special day.”
Just outside the old barn, he stopped and faced her. “The surprise is for you. But I’m hoping it’ll benefit me, too.”
“Huh?” That didn’t make any sense…
Wearing a mysterious grin, he urged her to the barn’s entrance, which as far as she knew, stored their old tractor parts and animal feed.
As they stepped inside, he covered her eyes with his hand. She saw nothing but darkness, but that was okay because she’d blindly follow this man anywhere.
After a couple of steps he stopped, pulling his hand away.
Bright lights lit up the space, and this was no barn. It had been transformed into something else. So
mething sophisticated and clean. The walls had been dry-walled and were painted a lovely soft green. Ceramic tiles covered the once dusty floor. A long counter and desk sat at the front of the room and kennels lined the back.
Jessa gaped at him.
“Welcome to the new Helping Paws Animal Shelter,” he said, spreading out his arms in grand presentation. “And don’t worry. We’ll get the outside fixed up as nice as the inside.”
“What?” She gasped, turning herself in a slow circle, trying to take it in, but the blinding tears made it difficult. He’d thought of everything. Everything. From the brand-new computer sitting on the desk to the framed animal posters dressing up the walls. There were kennels and examining tables and supplies…
A happy sob squeaked out.
She turned back to him, ready to throw herself at him in a hug, but he’d taken a knee. And he was holding up a small black velvet box.
“Yes!” she blurted before he’d even said anything. Her whole body trembled with a yes. He didn’t have to ask.
His exaggerated expression of shock teased her. “I haven’t said anything yet.”
“Oh. Right.” She did her best to rein in her excitement so she didn’t steal this moment from him. Knowing Lance, he’d planned out exactly what he wanted to say down to the syllable.
He took her hand in his. “You taught me how to love, Jessa,” he began. “Showed me it was possible.”
Tears snuck into her eyes. The man definitely knew how to write a speech…
“I know we haven’t been together long,” he went on. “But I’ve never been as sure of anything as I am of us. You brought me to life and now I want a life with you. Always. I hate it when you go home. I want the ranch to be our home now. Together. You and me and a whole bunch of kids.”
The words warmed her through. Kids. A family…
“Marry me, beautiful,” he uttered, tears filling his eyes, too. “Please marry me.” He opened the box, revealing the most delicate ring she’d ever seen. It was a solitaire diamond, inset into a wide band, rose gold to match the necklace her father had given her. The last gift he’d given her before he passed away.