by A. J. Pine
“You’re staring,” she said, the corners of her mouth quirking into a grin.
“You’re damned right I am,” he said unapologetically. “Wishing I was the one snapping photos now. But I’ll wait until you give me permission to do so.” He winked at her, and her mouth fell open.
“I’ve only ever taken pictures of you fully clothed. Candid shots that need to be captured to remember what was happening in that very moment. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can stop…”
He shook his head. “I admit I was a little worried about the one after I face-planted in the mud, but I’m trusting you’re not posting said photo anywhere public without the subject’s permission.”
She laughed. “You know? I hadn’t even thought of that. Probably because I don’t do the social media thing. So no, Mr. Morgan. All photos are just for me.”
Well then, that worked for him. In fact—not that he’d admit it aloud—he kind of liked her wanting to commemorate their shared experiences so far.
He dropped his hat onto the grass and kicked off his boots. Then he pulled his shirt over his head as he walked toward her.
“And the longer you stand there, the longer I’m going to keep on staring,” he said when he was close enough to touch her but couldn’t. If he did, he’d forget the other guests, which would completely negate his whole safety talk considering he was the one in charge of everyone’s safety.
She looked him up and down as he unbuttoned the top of his jeans and slid them down his legs so he was in nothing but his swim trunks.
Jenna’s eyes widened, and then she—giggled.
He crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze at her. “If you’re going to make a joke again at Colt Jr.’s expense, I might have to renege on my promise to take you out for that homemade ice cream I told you about.”
She shook her head, still laughing. “No, no. It’s not—wait, did you say Colt Jr.? Okay, we’ll talk about that later because first we need to discuss the adorable little blue turtles on your trunks. I guess they’re not what I expected to see on a cowboy.”
He glanced down at the light blue swim shorts patterned with dark blue turtles and then shrugged.
“Did you expect horseshoes or something?” he teased. “Maybe a bronc riding pattern instead?”
She crossed her arms. “I guess I never expected to see a cowboy in any sort of swim trunks, let alone cute turtle ones.”
He raised his brows. “If you play your cards right, Ms. Owens, you may get to see this cowboy without any sort of swim trunks.” Then he remembered she already had and added, “Again.”
She clasped her hands in front of her chest, like she was about to say a prayer.
“Please, oh please,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut. “Let me play my cards right so I can catch another glimpse of the Colt Jr.”
She opened her eyes and snorted, but she wasn’t the only one who could tease.
He knew he’d pay the price of wanting her even more, but he had to win the round even if, eventually, she was likely to win the game. So he brushed his fingertips along the exposed skin on her torso, tracing a soft trail from her abdominals to her hip.
She sucked in a breath, and he grinned at the sound.
“That’s all I needed to hear,” he said softly. “I’m going to go cool off.”
Then he strolled past her, his fingertips tingling at the memory of her skin on his. He kept walking until he was chest-deep in the water, and then he lowered himself under, washing away the heat from the ride—and from being near enough to kiss Jenna Owens but not letting himself lose focus on the reason why they were here in the first place. His job. The care and safety of his guests. And with Jenna being one of those guests, it was part of his job to ensure that she did, in fact, play her cards right.
What she didn’t know, of course, was that there was nothing she could possibly do to play them wrong. They were on the same team, after all. And Colt Morgan wanted nothing more than for Jenna to succeed.
Colt Jr. was sort of rooting for her too.
He swam as deep as he could go, as far as the oxygen he had left could take him, until he was finally forced to plant his feet back on the ground.
His torso emerged from the water, and he filled his lungs with air. And there she was, in the shallower part, having already made friends with the two young girls who’d hiked the trail with their parents. One was on Jenna’s back while the other danced around her, splashing and chanting, “My turn! My turn! My turn!”
Forget what she looked like in that bathing suit…Okay, fine, he’d never forget that, but seeing her with those girls, the way they took to her after only just meeting her? Jenna was a natural with kids. He got that she’d raised her nephews and that maybe the one thing the decade between them had on her was that she was at a different place in her life. Still, he couldn’t wipe the grin from his face as he watched her.
He swam toward them. Jenna was outnumbered, and he guessed she could use some help.
She laughed when she saw him, one girl still hanging from around her neck while the other waited impatiently for her piggyback ride.
“We all ran into the water together,” she said as he approached. “And the girls and I just started splashing. I told their mom and dad to go take a quick swim while they had the chance.”
Colt surveyed the situation, then knelt down in the shallower water.
“And what’s your name?” he asked the girl standing in wait, whose smile had turned into a pout. Dark wet ringlets that matched her sister’s framed her face.
“Melody,” she said, the corners of her mouth still turned down.
“Hi, Melody. I’m Colt. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He held out his hand, and she placed her small palm against his.
“Martha gets to do all the fun things because she’s younger. I always have to wait.”
Colt’s brows drew together. “I hear you, sweetheart,” he said. “Waiting is not easy. You know what? I have a younger sister too.”
Melody’s eyes widened. “You do?”
He nodded. “And she used to get all the attention when we were younger, and it was hard for me too. But you know what else?”
“What?” she asked.
“Now that we’re grown up, I don’t get to see her very much because she lives far away. I miss her a whole bunch. So how about this?” he asked. “I’ll give you a piggyback ride if you promise that during some of those times when you feel a little left out waiting for your turn, you remember how much you like your baby sister and how much fun you two have together.”
Melody’s frown began to fade. “But I don’t like Martha, Mr. Colt. I love her.”
Martha bounced on Jenna’s back and held her hands out toward her big sister. “Huggies, Mel Mel!” she yelled.
So Colt hoisted Melody onto his back so she could give her little sister a huggie, and Colt was pretty damned sure this, right here, would be the highlight of his day.
“Wow,” Jenna said as she and Colt were forced cheek-to-cheek as the girls embraced. “That might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. You’re just one big softy, aren’t you?”
That was the thing. If you’d have asked Sam, Ben, or Willow—the only three people who really knew him—if he was a softy, their first reaction would probably be doubling over in a fit of laughter. Maybe not Willow. She was the only one with whom he let his guard down, but that had been a recent development in his adult years. It took him a while to realize that once he’d found his sister, he wasn’t going to lose her again. Only then did he dare to let the slightest bit of vulnerability seep through.
“I wasn’t always,” he finally said. “Guess you bring it out of me,” he admitted. “But you want to know what I’m not soft about?” There was a bit of mischief in his tone.
She must have sensed it, because she raised a brow. “What’s that?” she asked warily.
“Winning!” He pointed to where Melody and Martha’s parents were approaching from the de
eper end. “Race you to Mom and Dad!”
He’d already started running before he finished the sentence, but Jenna was on the move only a second later. Melody and Martha squealed with laughter as he and Jenna pushed through the water trying to win the impromptu race.
Colt’s legs were longer. And he had cheated. A little. But there was no rule book, so there wasn’t much Jenna could do when he did, in fact, win.
“Thank you for giving us a few minutes to ourselves!” the girls’ mom exclaimed as Martha jumped into her arms and Melody into her dad’s.
“It was our pleasure,” Colt said. “I hope you’ll let me know if there’s anything else we can do to make the rest of your stay any better.”
The other man gave Colt a firm handshake.
“Thanks again. The girls can’t wait to head back and play with all the animals at the shelter after this.”
And then Melody and Martha raced back to shore on their parents’ backs, their peals of laughter trailing in their wake.
“Softy.” Jenna poked him in the belly under the water. “Okay, so those abs are hard as a rock, but behind them is an ooey-gooey center.” She shrugged. “Sorry. But you can’t hide it.”
And she couldn’t hide how beautiful she looked, even with a clump of wet hair stuck to her cheek. It wasn’t just her, though. It was seeing her take to those two little girls. It was him and Jenna playing like they were the girls’ guardians, if only for a few minutes. They were so in sync. It felt so natural and right.
He freed the lock of hair from her face and hooked it behind her ear. “I really want to kiss you right now,” he admitted.
Her cheeks turned pink. “I really want you to kiss me right now. But I understand you’re on duty and all. Wouldn’t want to look unprofessional in front of your guests.”
“Or put anyone in danger by not paying attention to who is in the water,” he added.
She nodded. “So, I guess we’re going to have to wait, then.”
He gritted his teeth. “I hate waiting.”
Jenna laughed. “What about that sweet little chat you had with Melody about being patient?”
He skimmed his fingers up the exposed skin on her side, stopping when his thumb rested just below her breast.
She sucked in a breath.
“I guess I’m good at bullshitting a seven-year-old,” he said. “Because right now I sure as hell don’t want to practice what I preach.” He rubbed his thumb back and forth across her skin.
He watched her throat bob as she swallowed.
“Colt?” she said with a nervous laugh.
“Jenna?”
“Everyone’s in the shallow end or sitting on the banks.”
He glanced the short distance toward the shore and saw that she was right. Guests were either sitting in practically zero depth of water or were making themselves comfortable on their towels.
“Guess all anyone needed was a quick dip,” Jenna added. “And there’s this little spot over here in the water behind a tree. Also, I think I should mention that another item on my list is to go skinny-dipping…” She trailed off, and her teeth skimmed over her bottom lip. Colt felt her hook a finger inside his swim trunks. And then he felt himself react to her finger inside his trunks—inside his trunks.
Well, what was a little spot behind the cover of trees for if not for kissing the woman he’d been thinking about nonstop for the past two days? But stripping down to nothing when all of those folks on the bank were under his care?
He shouldn’t.
He couldn’t.
But holy hell he wanted to.
“Let me…” He hesitated. The air was charged between them, and he felt like he was losing control. All he knew was that even if he kissed her now, it wouldn’t be enough. He wanted more—needed more. “Go out with me tonight,” he said. “Just you and me. Not just for ice cream but on a real date. Will you?” he asked before relenting to his own selfish needs.
She nodded slowly, then grazed her teeth over her bottom lip. “Are you gonna let me have my way with you behind this tree?” she asked. “Because I sure do hate waiting too.”
And that was it. He was a goner. A goner who let her lead him into a tiny nook of privacy so she could clasp her hands around his neck and hook her legs around his waist. He didn’t need the wall of a building for purchase this time, not when the water buoyed her in his arms.
Her lips crashed against his, and their tongues tangled in a frenzy, knowing they were on borrowed time.
“We can’t let two days go by again without doing more of this,” he said as they both gasped for air.
She shook her head and cradled his cheeks in her palms.
“I’m going to write a terrible review of the Meadow Valley Ranch on all the travel sites if you do,” she said with a wicked grin.
He laughed. “I love my job more than almost anything in the world. But I wish to hell I didn’t have to go back out there right now.”
She squeezed her legs around him, propping herself higher to kiss him again.
“I’ll make it easier for you,” she said against him, then tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth.
Good God, he was not going to survive the next five minutes let alone the rest of the day before he was alone with her again.
“I’m going to hike back,” she added. “Take a shower. A really cold one.” She laughed. “And you can pick me up in front of the guest quarters whenever you’re ready.”
“Six o’clock,” he said. “And then you’re mine until tomorrow morning. Bring the list.”
She nodded. “You got yourself a deal, cowboy.”
She slid down to her feet, and he groaned as she traveled over the part of him that would keep him in the water for several minutes after she made it to shore.
“Five fifty!” he called after her. “I’ll pick you up at five fifty!” Because he wasn’t wasting an extra minute after he was officially off the clock at five thirty. He could shower and be ready in less time than that if he really tried, but he already sounded way more eager for their date than he should let on.
Jenna raised her hand in the air as she sauntered out of the water, giving him a thumbs-up.
This was it. Tonight he’d show her all that Meadow Valley had to offer her beyond a two-week stay—all he had to offer the right woman who wouldn’t obliterate his heart.
Chapter Eleven
Show me what you got, girl!” Delaney called from outside the bathroom.
This was ridiculous. Jenna was putting way too much thought into a date with a guy who’d already seen her in her pajamas post-egg-white-face-mask. Still, it was the first time in so long that she’d wanted to look special for someone special.
Was that what Colt was? Someone special?
She shook her head and laughed to herself. She’d just met the guy. He was ten years younger. This was a fling. This. Was. Crazy.
“You promise you’ll tell me if it’s too much?” Jenna called back from behind the door.
“Cross my heart,” Delaney said.
So Jenna threw open the door and took a wobbly step forward on Delaney’s espadrille wedges.
Delaney chuckled from where she sat on the edge of Jenna’s bed, then thought better of it and covered her mouth.
Jenna groaned.
“See?” she said, throwing her arms in the air. “I cannot pull off your sexy Vegas wear. I just don’t have that kind of…I don’t know…What do you call it? Game?”
Delaney pushed herself off the edge of the bed, one hand under her belly as if she needed to keep the baby from simply falling out if she wasn’t careful.
She took a step toward Jenna, tightened the bow where the red romper tied over her right shoulder. The other was bare. For all intents and purposes, it was a one-piece top and shorts, but for Jenna, it was the sexiest thing she’d ever worn. Only she felt like she was playing dress-up in someone else’s clothes. Which was exactly what she was doing.
“You look unbelievable in red,”
Delaney said. “And this isn’t Vegas wear,” she added with a chuckle. “I got it at Ivy’s shop right here in Meadow Valley. See that little floral embroidery on the back pocket? That’s Ivy’s signature for her originals.”
Jenna pouted. “I should put my cutoffs back on, stop trying so hard. It’s just a date.”
“You’re right,” Delaney said. “Colt’s not going to be able to take his eyes off you no matter what. But I think I know what will fix everything.”
Delaney raised her brows and then nodded toward Jenna’s well-worn boots on the floor in the corner of the room.
“Really?” Jenna asked.
Delaney nodded. “If you still think the look isn’t you, feel free to change. A girl needs to feel like herself on a first date.” She cradled her baby belly. “I was just hoping to live vicariously through someone who actually can fit into my old clothes.” She sighed. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for what my body is doing, and I will love whatever shape I am when this baby finally arrives…If I can make it another five weeks on this swollen ankles and shortness of breath and feeling like I need to pee all the time because this mammoth child is parked right on my bladder.” She blew out a calming breath. “It’s just fun,” she added. “Watching two people get all sweet on each other. I got to see it with Sam’s brother Ben and Charlotte. And now you and Colt.”
Jenna kicked off the espadrilles and grabbed her boots. As soon as they were on her feet, she sighed.
“This,” she said with a satisfied smile, “is me.” Then Delaney’s last words sank in. “But we’re not sweet on each other. Me and Colt, I mean. We’re just…” She sighed. “Can I show you something?”
Delaney’s eyes brightened. “Yes! I don’t even care what it is. It’s something new—something other than me worrying about my swollen ankles. What is it? Let me have it!”
Jenna laughed. “I don’t think it’s gonna knock your socks off like you think, but…” She grabbed the leather-bound notebook from her bag—the one she hadn’t written in since the night of her birthday party—and handed it to Delaney.
