Shower over, he peeked in on a sleeping Carter, then headed out to the crowing of the roosters.
Bob had a cup of coffee for him the moment he walked outside to the waiting pickup truck.
Supplies. Right. It was Friday and he and his foreman drove the truck to the local store for what he needed for the month. They kept farmer's hours and opened by seven.
Without a word he accepted the black brew that would help clear his mind and hopped in beside Bob, who was driving.
On the way, they listened to a country song about being nice to girls or some such words but he wasn’t paying attention. Jess’s sweet kiss lingered on his lips.
They went inside the shop that looked like one of those movie sets from country stores of the 1950s, complete with the workers in white shirts and black bow ties, and put his items in a basket. As he looked around, his eyes caught sight of sturdy blue jeans meant for work on a farm. The clerk behind the counter handed Bob a black licorice and asked him, “How are things on the farm? How’s the baby?”
“Maverick’s new woman is helping with the baby these days.”
“Bob,” Maverick called out, and hoped his friend understood that the conversation needed to end.
The clerk nodded. “It’s always good to have those you love in your life.”
Right. Maverick returned his attention to the jeans. These weren't tailored for Miss Fancy. And the orange sticker meant clearance, which was even better. He put them on the counter to buy and told his foreman, “Send Jess these jeans.”
Bob raked a hand through his short white hair, comfortable in a red-checkered shirt tucked into denims. He shook his head. “Women like to pick out their own clothing, and Jess doesn’t strike me as bargain bin, Maverick.”
Exactly. He grinned. “Hang them on her door for when she wakes up.”
Bob paid with the company card that Maverick provided him as he said, “You’re the boss.”
He helped pick up the bags as he joked, “Finally you remember.”
Together they loaded the pickup truck and when they finished, Bob pointed to the store, “Anything else we need here?”
Perhaps the jeans sent the wrong message, but he hoped to make her laugh. He took the wheel this time, more awake. “When Jess gets up, have her go online to shop for a dress. She’s my date for the cotillion tonight.”
Bob settled in his seat and showed his side tooth was missing smile. “Now that sounds more promising. Women like to be wooed with flowers, not $4.99 jeans.”
Maverick had never had a problem removing panties from any woman he actually wanted. What had happened with Alicia had made him more aware, which wasn’t a bad thing. He shrugged and drove them on the road. “I actually know how to talk to women, Bob.”
Bob gave him a fatherly pat on the shoulder. “Not the kind you want as your wife.”
His mother might have agreed with that observation, not that he was in the market for a real wife. He nodded and said, “I have to get back to the peaches, but is your wife still available to babysit tomorrow night?”
“We’ll both be there.” As they drove through the gates to his property, Bob asked, “Anything you want me to write in the note with your jeans, boss?”
“No. She’ll know they were from me.” How better to show that she didn't belong on the farm?
Jess would get the joke.
* * *
The peach trees were getting ready to be harvested. He’d inspected the rows he grew and checked that the avocados were planted as they were scheduled to bloom in a few months. Hours into working beneath the sun, he wiped his brow under his cowboy hat that had seen better days and wondered if Jess had laughed about the jeans. In his arms last night, she’d swayed with the music, comfortable wearing silk and diamonds.
She moved like an angel and as he walked to his truck to take him to the main house, he wondered how he’d ignored the desire that wasn’t dissipating despite being a responsible father these days.
He’d thought Alicia had killed his attraction for a fancy woman, but no farmer’s daughter had ever caught his eye.
It was time to face Jess again. He parked the truck, his gaze drawn to her Mercedes in the open garage and took the steps to the porch two at a time.
Inside he heard his baby cooing and he smelled the sloppy joe coming from the slow cooker in the kitchen. He followed the sound, hoping to see Jess, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Those jeans left almost nothing to the imagination. Her curves and backside were sculpted into them. The joke was on him as she stirred the crockpot.
He must have bought them too small though he'd guessed at her size, which was petite. She turned and must have known that he'd stared at her bottom. His face lifted up fast, but his cheeks were warm when he said, “You’re wearing the jeans I bought you.”
In a thin beachy t-shirt she tugged at the waistband and said, “Yeah, they are a little tight.”
And inappropriate if one of his hired hands walked in the house. He glanced one more time at her curves and couldn’t stop the smile on his face. “They do show off your backside to perfection.”
She shook her head but her blue eyes flashed with light as she held back a laugh. “Why are you here, now? I thought you’d eat with your crew?”
Because he wanted to see her, not that he’d say that. “Bob said the chef had to leave so I came to bring the pot out.”
“Yeah, he had errands to run for Friday, and he mentioned he only cooks Monday to Friday?”
Jess had a way of making him feel lighthearted. “I’m on my own for the weekend, yeah.”
“Learning my way around here, but I can help.”
He kissed his baby’s head. “Bob told me you refused to talk to him about wearing a dress.”
She stilled until he stepped back and he ignored his own spark in his veins despite the baby between them right now. “I have a dress. I swear I won’t make you look cheap.”
Ms. Fancy likely already had a ball gown and would outshine everyone at the cotillion, though he wondered what else she had in that one bag of hers he’d brought inside. “Fair enough. Though you’re cute without any makeup.”
Her blush grew as she put his son down in a bassinet. “I’m going for perfect--I've done a few loads of that laundry.”
“Perfect isn’t necessary.” The hair on his body stood on end just from being so close to her.
She turned toward him with a sultry glance that sent adrenaline to possess her through him, and left his body hard. “Are you seducing me now, Maverick?”
If he stayed, he’d try and get her in his bed, even though he knew once he did what his body wanted, he’d jeopardize care for his son, and likely be vulnerable to another headache with more walls around his heart. He shifted in his jeans and hoped his physical attraction wasn’t obvious as he said, “Just stating facts, ma’am.”
Carter started to cry and she immediately went to him. “Well, your son needs me right now--let me do my job.”
Fair. This was what he needed from her most. Their affair would be temporary and with her help, he’d avoid some farmer’s daughter out to snag him. Maverick would have to find a way to repay Jess since she said that her brothers were handling her ex situation. “How’s your day going?”
She motioned for him to grab the bassinet as she held the baby and pointed for it to be brought in the living room.
He needed no words as he picked it up and followed her.
She put the bottle in his son’s mouth and settled on the couch next to where he'd deposited the bassinet. He took the seat beside her while she said, “To be honest, I've liked being free of social media for the past few days. I think I was addicted to checking my messages all the time.”
Most of his friends were glued to their phones which was why he usually left his in the house. The fields of fruits and vegetables were always on the horizon and a constant reminder that work came first. “Who usually messages you?”
She relaxed int
o her seat, holding Carter in the crook of her arm. “My friends and roommates.”
Interesting. Maybe she wasn’t as fancy as she'd seemed. She'd said that her clothes were for work in some obviously upscale office. He raised his eyebrow and asked, “You have roommates?”
“By choice,” she said with certainty. She cooed at his son and explained, “My cousin and sister-in-law both reside in the same gilded cage I do, so it’s nice to have friends who get what I’m going through, but it’s been good to be away too.”
She leaned her head back on the couch as she stared at him. Another rush of desire hit him when she flashed her blue eyes. He rubbed the scruff at his chin, noting that he would need a good shave before tonight. “That’s an interesting way of describing your life.”
She shrugged a little. “It's the truth, and why I like being on the farm, though your laundry is nowhere near done.”
She hadn't heard those roosters that crowed for him as she'd slept soundly in her room. He tilted his head. “How much is left? I was half-afraid to go into the laundry room.”
“At least three more loads. But it’s fine. I needed something to keep my mind off your kisses.”
His lips tingled at the memory. He probably shouldn’t have kissed her, but her soft, pliable mouth seemed to have been made just for him. He exuded calm and cool when he was anything but. “I didn’t know I had that effect on you, Jess.”
She gave him a sassy half-smile. “Oh, I think you know exactly what you're doing, and I'm fine with it--so long as we both agree that our lives together are temporary.”
His son was passed out in her arms. He stood and reached for the baby. He rocked Carter as he gently took him into the nursery and his crib. Since Jess had showed up, his son slept like a champ.
That alone should be a reason to keep his hands off Jess. He turned toward her and she stood, captivating him with her sexy curves and he remembered dancing with her in the moonlight.
They’d agreed to satisfy their attraction. As she came next to him, near the crib, their arms brushed and he said, “But that doesn’t mean fast, or without a little fun.”
She caressed his forearm and his cotton shirt couldn't protect him from the energy she sent through him. “What time will you be home?”
“Six at the latest.”
“I’ll be ready. And I’m hoping this seduction leads to the bedroom.”
Blunt. Wow. His mind raced. Did she think he wasn't interested? If he hadn’t had Carter here, he’d have her clothes off her body and naked on his bed already. But now he was a responsible father who needed to shield his heart. So he stepped away from the crib, turned off the light to let his son sleep, and slipped out the door. “I know you’ve been hurt. It's nice to at least talk so we know more about each other. Like, what’s your middle name, Jess?”
She picked up the baby monitor and followed him. As he closed the door behind them, she shook her head. “Don’t laugh if I tell you.”
He motioned toward the main room in the house and not her bedroom, where he’d be tempted to unsnap those jeans of hers. “Now you have to tell me.”
Her eyes widened as they walked into the living area. “Promise?”
He shook his head. “I promise nothing, woman.”
When she really relaxed she had the teensiest overbite that he found endearing. She grinned as she said, “My name is Jess Bess Taylor.”
His belly rumbled and a laugh emerged. “And your sister is Tess? Who named you that?”
“My father thought it was hilarious to pick all rhyming names for me and my sister.”
More chuckles came out.
She crossed her arms and stood in front of his empty fireplace that wasn’t lit as she said, “You promised not to laugh.”
“No, I didn’t.” He laughed again.
He got his merriment under control and she let out a sigh. “So what’s your middle name, Maverick?”
He winked and re-directed them to the kitchen so he could pack up that stew in the slow cooker to feed his crew as he said, “Pete. My mom had a thing for Tom Cruise movies.”
Jess cocked a smile at him that was pure sass as she said, “At least she didn’t go with Brian, because then I’d be asking you to make the drinks.”
“She probably would have." He lifted the cover on the slow cooker and peered inside. The stew had chunks of meat that made his mouth water. He took out a bowl from the cupboard. “This hasn’t been touched. Are you hungry?”
She shook her head but offered him a spoon from the drawer she stood near. “I ate a sandwich I made for myself and left the food for you. I hope you enjoy this stew with your men--they're coming toward the house.”
“It's usually out at the picnic area.” His chef normally left sandwiches as he prepared dinner, but this was delicious. He scooped up his stew and met her gaze. “I’ll let you get back to work. Will you be ready at five?”
She blinked and leaned closer, tinting the air with her floral smell as she asked, “You said six?”
“I’ll hurry back.” Seduction started tonight and he wanted to be memorable to Jess when she left him. He quickly kissed her cheek to soften the tension in his lips for denying a full kiss. “I want us to get dinner first, before the cotillion.”
She let out a sweet sigh that made him think she wanted the same thing. She didn’t move away and said, “Sounds nice.”
Bowl in one hand, he ran his other down the curve of her hip. Soon he’d know her thighs underneath. It was torture but he stopped touching her. “See you then, without those cute jeans.”
His men were at the door outside, wiping their feet. They only had seconds left, but Jess flipped her hair and said, “You’re impossibly flirty, Maverick. I like that about you.”
He watched her walk away as his men came toward him in the kitchen. He ignored them as he called out, “And you’re sassy, Jess.”
She waved at him and headed back to the laundry room.
Only when she was out of sight was he able to focus on what his men had to say about fertilizer changes as they ate their lunch.
Tonight he’d have his way with Jess.
Maverick fixed his gray suit pants and white shirt. His formal matching jacket was still in the garment bag that Bob had hung in the limo he'd leased for the evening.
Now he waited for Jess, in the main room, and she was two minutes late.
He stared at the clock and the hall where she’d come from, nervous like she’d stand him up on prom night which was a silly thought.
Maybe going out with her was a recipe for disaster, but she’d been on his mind and in his thoughts all day.
The bamboo floors of his home didn’t have the clicks of any heels or any sound whatsoever and his heart slowed.
Maybe she didn’t want to go. Should he knock on her door to see if she was okay?
But then his heart stirred. The bedroom door quietly opened. He stood taller as a vision in blue-green floated toward him.
The fabric of her gown swished against the floor and as she came closer he thought she looked like Aphrodite reborn.
His pulse quickened as she patted her updo that had curls like he’d only ever seen created via professionals. Her beauty stunned. “There you are.”
She let her cute overbite show again as she caressed his smooth-shaven chin. The blue of her eyes shimmered teal, like her gown. “Do I look okay?”
In front of his unlit fireplace she made the house sparkle with her own internal light. No one was half as charming, or as dangerous to his peace of mind. He held out his arm to lead her out to the porch. “You’ll outshine everyone there.”
She stopped and pulled back as she shook her head. “Then I overdressed. I should go change. I'll be fast.”
“Absolutely not. You’re a vision and perfect as you are.” He held out his hand. When she took it, a sensation of being washed in sacred waters made him feel stronger. “I want to see the moonlight shine on that teal.”
Jess pulled him closer an
d smiled at him as she laughed. “You know your colors. I’m impressed. So, who is watching Carter tonight? I never asked.”
He directed her toward the double doors that led out to the porch and the garage. “Bob's wife Martha offered.”
He held the door for her and she placed her hand on his chest. “Why didn’t you hire Martha right off the bat then?”
Jess fogged his clear head, but he focused on her words. Right. Martha. He shrugged as she stepped onto the patio they’d danced on last night. “She refused and said she'd already raised her children, but she agreed for tonight.”
On the top step, she stared into his eyes like she too relived their dance. Or their kiss. Her mouth looked kissable as she asked, “Because Bob wants us to get married?”
A life with Jess would be interesting to imagine. He inched closer like he’d kiss her again, right here despite her perfectly pink lipstick. “Enlisting his wife in his crusade would make sense.”
Her eyes fluttered closed and her lips turned toward his as she said, “I'm ready now.”
A moment later, their lips met and the world disappeared.
Jess, in his arms, made everything in his world spark to life and yet disappear as if they were the only two people in the universe.
No other woman’s kisses were so potent.
As the kiss ended, he saw her flushed face and she seemed breathless, like him.
He held her hand and led her toward the waiting car. Her eyes widened as she said, “Are we going in a limo?”
From what he'd guess she was a limo-riding regular. A woman like her would have a car and driver at her disposal. He opened the door for her and waited for her to get in. “I’m not taking that dress of yours in my pickup.”
She slipped inside and relaxed against the leather seats, patting the spot next to her. “I didn’t know you had a limo.”
He was almost offended at her surprise that he had enough cash to hire a limo to the hotel. The driver took off and he rolled up the partition so they were alone. “The only farmer in the South that makes more money than me is Colt Collins, and he has the Morgan bank behind him.”
Secret Cowboy Page 6
