by A. J. Pine
All she remembered after that was Colt scooping her into his arms and eventually depositing her into his SUV and after that her bed.
And the kiss—the kiss he gave her at just the right time so she wouldn’t forget.
Nope. She would never forget that kiss. She was, however, in danger of forgetting one of the most important rules of their arrangement, one that she’d actually written down.
Do not fall for your fling.
Chapter Fourteen
Jenna sipped her iced coffee and sighed as she stared out at the hill that led up to the Meadow Valley Ranch, the place where she was supposed to be enjoying a lesson in barrel jumping, one of the few activities the ranch offered for more advanced riders. But she’d canceled. As she’d canceled her other activities the past couple of days.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to participate in everything her nephews signed her up to do. It was just that, after the other night, she didn’t know how to face Colt Morgan. So she’d taken to the empty pages in her journal, trying to figure out her own thoughts. She wouldn’t count it as number seven on her list—writing something other than the list. But it was a way to put out into the world what she was feeling without having to admit it.
She stared down at the one sentence she’d written so far. It was the same sentence she’d started with yesterday and the day before when she’d woken after her perfect date with what she was slowly admitting might be the perfect man.
I have feelings for Colt Morgan.
She added another few words.
Big feelings. What the hell do I do about that?
“Are you sure it’s not too hot for you out here?” she heard Delaney ask from behind.
Jenna startled and slammed the journal shut, but Delaney didn’t seem to notice.
She stepped through the back door that led to the deck Sam had recently added to their new home. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, any loose strands held in place by a floral scarf. Her sleeveless black maxi dress swished back and forth above her bare swollen feet.
Jenna pressed her perspiring glass to the side of her also perspiring neck but shook her head. “I love the view. Helps me think.” It didn’t, however, give her any answers.
“You ready to tell me why you’ve been hiding out the past few days?” Delaney asked. “Don’t get me wrong. I love the company. But if you want to talk about it…”
She trailed off.
Jenna tapped her pen against her bottom lip.
She’d spent the last two days either holed up in her room, helping out with Lucy and the other animals at the rescue shelter when she was sure Colt was out on a trail ride, or here at Sam and Delaney’s house, hanging out with her new friend and trying to figure out why her date with Colt had gotten to her so much.
Sorry I missed you again today, Colt had texted last night. Think our paths might cross again? We still have an item or two to check off that list.
Jenna: Of course. As soon as our schedules match up again.
Colt: Are we still good? If anything’s changed, say the word, and I’ll leave you be. I won’t enjoy it, but I’ll do it if that’s what you want.
Jenna: We’re good. I promise.
But Jenna Owens—who had never been so before—was a lying liar.
“Aren’t you supposed to keep your feet up whenever possible?” Jenna asked, changing the subject.
Delaney narrowed her eyes at her and sighed. “You’re not getting me off your case that easily. But yes. My feet should be up. Blah blah blah. But I’m so bored. And I swear if you tell me I better enjoy my free time now before this baby comes and steals it all away from me like everyone else does, I’m gonna scream.”
Jenna set her drink down on the umbrella-covered table where she’d been working and held her hands up. “I will say no such thing. And I’m sorry. I’m supposed to keeping you company. Not doing the best job, am I?”
Delaney waved her off. “It’s fine. Barbara Ann and I are stealing you away for the whole day tomorrow. I suppose I can survive inside on my own. Binging on Netflix and clementines with Butch Catsidy curled up on my lap.”
Delaney did love her three-legged cat, but Jenna could tell her new friend was going a little stir-crazy.
Delaney held up a small orange that was hidden in her hand. “I maybe ate an orange once or twice a month before I was pregnant. Now that’s all I want. I have a glass of juice in the morning. I eat at least four of these before lunch. Luis puts mandarin oranges in all my salads, even if they don’t go with the other ingredients, but I can’t get enough.”
Jenna laughed. “I bet that drives Luis crazy.”
Delaney nodded, then pulled out one of the empty chairs at the table, propping her feet up on another.
“It’s not too bad in the shade,” she said. “Mind if I hang out while you do whatever it is you’re doing in that notebook of yours?”
“I have a better idea,” Jenna said. “When’s the last time you had those pretty toes of yours painted?” Expert deflection again, if she did say so herself.
Delaney snorted. “I can’t even see my toes over this.” She patted her belly. “Which means it’s been a long time, but it’s very sweet of you to call them pretty. I’m sure they are quite the opposite.”
“Where’s your polish?” Jenna asked.
Delaney’s smile suddenly vanished, and she was wiping a tear off her cheek.
“Oh no, sweetie,” Jenna said. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought it would be nice to give you a little pampering when you’ve been so nice to me letting me use your sun deck and your home and—”
“It’s not that,” Delaney interrupted, sniffling as she peeled her clementine. “It’s just—we’ve been so busy at the ranch, which is great. But this really is the last of my free time before the baby comes and steals it all away, and it’s already stolen my ankles and my cute clothes and my ability to see past my boobs. And I really wish my morning orange juice could sometimes be a morning mimosa, you know? My boobs are ginormous, though. So I guess that’s a bonus.”
Both of them laughed at that.
“Am I the worst soon-to-be mama or what?” Delaney asked.
Jenna blew out a long breath, reminding herself that she was lucky to have been—and still be—the closest thing to a mother her nephews had when they needed one the most. She reminded herself that even though she’d never had a baby of her own, she was healthy and happy and had a whole new stage of her life ahead of her.
Still, an unexpected pang of envy made her throat tighten and her eyes burn.
She cleared her throat and dropped down into a squat next to her friend.
“Not even close,” she said to Delaney. “Your whole life is about to change. For the better, mind you. But it’s still a monumental change, and it’s okay to mourn the loss of the parts of your life that will never be the same. Although I’m pretty sure you’ll get your ankles back.”
Delaney blew out a long breath.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’ve been so scared to say any of that to Sam. He’s so excited about the baby. I don’t want him to think for a second that I’m not. Because I can’t wait to meet our tiny new human.”
“Yeah, well,” Jenna started. “Sam’s hormones and ankles aren’t rebellin’ against him, so he’s got nothing to complain about. Not that you’re complaining.”
Delaney reached a hand toward Jenna and swiped a thumb across her cheek. Jenna sucked in a breath as she felt the wetness against her skin.
“Are you having sympathy tears for me? Or does this have something to do with what’s been going on with you for the past couple of days? We don’t have to talk about it, Jenna. But we can—if you want to.”
Delaney dropped her hand, and Jenna straightened back to her full height. She wasn’t ready to talk, not while she was still trying to reconcile what it was that had her hiding out in the first place.
“Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate that. But I think r
ight now, if it’s okay with you, I just need the distraction of spending time with a new friend.” Colt was right. Despite her feelings, she had a list to check off and a cowboy with whom she needed to be honest, and she had an idea that might just get her out of hiding after all.
Delaney beamed. “Manis and pedis it is, then!”
“Perfect,” Jenna said. “Now tell me where that polish is, because it’s time you get some pampering.”
Chapter Fifteen
Colt was a sweaty mess by the time he’d made it to the door of his suite in the guesthouse. Sure, the dip in the swimming hole was refreshing, but the hike back—no riders today, which meant they’d all traveled on foot—had been brutal. Then he’d had to hightail it on over to Trudy Davis’s house to let the dogs out, feed the dogs and cats, wait for the dogs to finish eating, and then let them out again, since they apparently needed to do their business as soon as they swallowed their last morsel of food—especially Frederick. Now his day was finally done. He was hungry. Thirsty. And exhausted. And needed to recharge so he could be on his game when he saw Jenna later this evening.
Jenna Owens. Just the thought of her put a bit more pep in his step and a grin on his face—until he threw open his door, kicked off his boots, and felt that something was very, very wrong.
For one thing, the place was spotless, and he knew the sink in the kitchenette had been piled with half-filled coffee mugs, and the counter had been lined with empty bottles of beer that needed to be taken down the hall to the recycling bin.
Then his bed was made.
Colt wasn’t exactly a slob. He would certainly straighten up if he was expecting a guest, but he never brought guests home. This was his sanctuary. The one place that was only for him. He didn’t even let Jessie, a probie firefighter who moonlighted at the ranch on her off days, inside to straighten like she did with all the other rooms.
His. Space.
And someone had been here.
Crash!
Something hit the tile in the bathroom.
“What the…?” he said under his breath. Great. Not only had Jessie been in here straightening up, but she’d left the door open, and now he was being robbed? None of it made any sense, but the fact remained that someone other than him was in the room.
He grabbed the first thing he could find, which was a table lamp, to use as a weapon in case he needed to, what—crack it over someone’s head like some slapstick movie? He yanked the lamp’s cord from the wall as he crept stealthily toward the closed bathroom door. It looked like the light was off, which meant whoever was hiding in there was, in fact, hiding.
He made sure not to make a sound as he placed one hand on the door handle while he held the lamp over his head with the other.
He shook his head and sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with some yahoo who thought it might be fun to break into the ranch owner’s room, but here he was.
He counted to three in his head, then threw open the door with a roar he knew would scare the pants off the yahoo.
And it certainly did.
Because the yahoo was Jenna Owens—a very naked Jenna Owens, who yelped and sprang up from the bubble-filled tub with a start. And then she faltered, her hand slamming against the tiled wall.
Without a second thought, Colt tossed the lamp and bolted toward her, catching her under her arms as her feet went out from beneath her.
She clasped her hands around his neck.
“What the hell, Jenna?” he asked, half laughing, half angry—not at her but at the countless ways this could have gone so much worse. “You could have killed yourself! Or I could have—”
“Thrown a lamp at me?” she interrupted. “And here you said you’d never hurt me.”
He straightened when he could tell she was steady on her feet, but she gripped him tighter.
“Wait!” she said. “A towel first? Unlike you and”—she cleared her throat—“Colt Jr., I’d rather not have this conversation in the buff.”
He reached for the towel hanging on the rack to his left while still holding her against him with his right arm. He handed it to Jenna, and she cleverly slipped it between them and then around her torso, tucking it tight over her breasts.
Colt crossed his arms and raised his brows. “So breaking and entering is a thing with you now?”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “I didn’t exactly break in. I might have borrowed Sam’s master key.” She gave him a nervous smile.
“Sam gave you his master key? That doesn’t sound like him. He’s all about privacy and safety of the guests and his business partner and…” He shook his head and laughed. “Delaney.”
Jenna winced. “Please don’t bust her. She meant well. I’m just going to get dressed and get out of your way because this was obviously a terrible idea. Seems like when I surprise you—whether by accident or intentionally—you either lose your cookies or I almost lose my life to an unfortunate bathing blunder. I think I’ll leave the surprising to you from here on out.”
Colt held up both his hands. “Wait just a second there, my naked little felon…”
Jenna groaned, and Colt finally took a moment to glance around the rest of the room.
The light was off, and the counter was lined with flickering candles. The whole space smelled fresh and soothing, like eucalyptus.
On the floor next to the tub was a box of condoms.
His pulse quickened.
“You did all this for me?” he asked, looking back at her.
She nodded, a soft smile on her face.
“And straightened the place up?” he added, brows furrowed.
She let out a nervous laugh. “I clean when I’m nervous. Helps clear my head. That was the sound you heard.” She glanced toward the toilet. “I heard you come in and realized the bottle of tile cleaner was still sitting on the back of the toilet, so I reached for it, knocked it down, and it banged the toilet seat shut, which I’d also forgotten to close…” She winced.
Colt hadn’t seen her for two days and was starting to think she was avoiding him. So this was highly unexpected.
“Do you want me to go?” Jenna asked when he still hadn’t spoken. “Because it still feels like I should probably go.”
He wanted to spend every free minute with her, but he knew if he said that, he’d scare her away. Jenna wanted no strings attached, and Colt had agreed to the arrangement. No strings had been his own MO for years now, so this should have been easy.
Except when Jenna wasn’t around, she was on Colt’s mind. And every time he saw her for the first time in the day, it felt like seeing her for the first time at Jack and Ava’s place. Something vacant in his chest felt like it could fill itself up, simply by being near her.
“I want to know what you want, Jenna,” he finally said. “Because if you want to stay, I want you to stay. If you want to drop that towel and sink back into the tub—after I get to take a good look at you—then that’s what I want too. And if you want me to join you in what I’m hoping is a bubble bath meant for two, then hell yes. I want you to stay.”
She stared at him for several long moments.
“I’m afraid,” she finally said. “That after one week of knowing you, I think about you as much as I do. I’m afraid knowing that after one night of sleeping in your arms, I dream about doing it again. I’m afraid that after all you did for me the other night—the ice cream, the tavern, getting me home and in bed safe…and kissing me at just the right time so it would be the last thing I remembered when I fell asleep and the first thing I thought of when I woke up—it all scares the pants off me—literally…How’s a girl supposed to say good-bye in a week after all that?”
He laughed, and she continued.
“I know what I said I wanted, Colt, and I haven’t changed my mind. But it’s important for you to know that this isn’t just physical for me. I—I care about you. It’s part of my makeup, and I can’t seem to turn it off.”
He nodded once. “You have more heart than anyone I k
now, Jenna Owens. Didn’t take long to figure that out.”
She blew out a shaky breath. “I just thought it was important for you to know that I don’t take it lightly what we’re doing here, what you’re doing for me and my silly list, and that even after I’m gone, I’ll still care because it’s what I do.”
“It’s not a silly list,” he said. Then he pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. Next he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, losing his boxer briefs along with the denim until everything he’d been wearing seconds ago sat in a pile on the bathroom floor.
“You need to stop calling it Colt Jr.,” she said, eyes wide.
He laughed. “Your turn,” he said.
She nodded and swallowed. “I need to point out, though, that this does not count as skinny-dipping. That, my friend, is still on the list. I just figured—well, I didn’t want that to be the first time you saw me—really saw me—like this.” Then she unwrapped herself and handed the towel back to him.
God, she was beautiful. He’d concocted a vision of her in his head based on what he’d seen in flashes of light during the thunderstorm and later in the bathing suit she’d worn for the trail ride to the swimming hole.
None of it held a eucalyptus-scented candle to the woman who bared herself completely to him now.
“Trust me,” he said. “I’m not letting you off the hook for skinny-dipping.” His pulse quickened. “And I see you, Jenna,” he added, this throat tight. He saw it all, everything from her enormous heart to the stunning vision before him.
He knew now that he’d be in too deep once this night was through, but he also knew he couldn’t walk away. Maybe he’d kept himself safe these past five years—content, even—by keeping any woman who came into his life at arm’s length. But it took meeting Jenna to realize he’d only been living half a life. It took meeting her to finally admit to himself that he was ready for more.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, chest-to-chest and skin-on-skin.
