God, he was still kicking himself for that.
But watching her fight for the underdog at his headquarters, and now sitting here next to her when the case was essentially over, all he could think of was how foolish he’d been to push her away. Because somewhere just beneath the surface of his skin, he realized what his father had been trying to tell him. Aja Everett wasn’t like any other woman he’d encountered, and he’d screwed up royally by not making her part of his life.
He pulled through the front gates of her ranch, and heaviness filled his chest. The band grew tighter as he neared the house, the discomfort of each breath a reminder he was about to give up something precious.
He brought the truck to a stop behind one of his father’s security trucks parked in front of the house, then got out and walked around to her side of the truck to open her door. He knew she didn’t need him to do that or hold her hand as she stepped down on the running boards, then onto the ground. It was all for him. An action that allowed him to take care of her one more time because after tonight, he wouldn’t get the opportunity again.
He followed her to the bottom of the porch and stayed there as she walked up the steps. When Aja turned to see the security guard standing there, Jackson waved his hand and said, “You can return to your original post.” The man acknowledged Jackson, then Aja, before making his way down the steps of the front porch and walking to the truck parked in front of Jackson’s.
He’d hoped she’d keep walking once the security guard left, that she wouldn’t notice he was no longer following her. That way, he wouldn’t have to explain that if he stepped inside alone with her right now, he might never leave.
“You’re not coming in?”
He shook his head. “Until I get the call that Bennett is in custody, I want to keep an eye out on the perimeter of the house. I can watch the security feed from my car. As tired as I am, I don’t trust myself to do this from your comfy couch.”
“Don’t you need to be there for the arrest?”
“No, Colton sent me a text that the arrest warrant came through right after we left. Another team will handle the arrest. Bennett should be in custody soon.”
She smiled, but it was weak, not like her usual that seemed to radiate light all around her.
“I guess your job is done, then?”
He slowly bobbed his head. “This part of the job is done. If this goes to court, I’ll have to testify. But mostly, this portion of the investigation is over. The new focus will look into Bennett’s affairs to see if he’s been up to anything else, but as far as you’re concerned, it’s finished, Aja. Wrap-up will consist of my father completing the new security measures he’s already started implementing and switching the cameras from our private network in the van to your network here on the ranch. You should probably give Seneca fair warning; he’ll need to contact her about that.”
He saw the tremble in her smile and the way she wrapped her arms around herself. She had a jacket on—the days still reached the sixties and seventies, but at night, the temperature could drop as low as the thirties. Watching the sadness fill her eyes made him guess her shivering had nothing to do with the chill in the air.
“You okay?” He ran up the stairs and reached out to comfort her, but she straightened her shoulders, plastering a weary smile on her face as if to reassure him everything was fine, even when he knew it wasn’t.
“Would you wait here for a second? I have something I need to get.”
“Sure.”
She disappeared inside, and a few moments later, she reappeared with a gift-wrapped, medium-size square box in her arms.
“What’s this?”
“It’s something for you.”
Nerves—no, excitement—hell, he couldn’t tell which—were making his stomach dance in a weird way. “Aja, I can’t accept a gift from you for doing my job.”
She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Forever the Boy Scout.”
“You mean cowboy.”
She rolled her eyes again. “Whatever. Listen, this isn’t about your job. This is about all the things you did for me that weren’t part of your job.”
“Aja, giving me a gift for that is sort of like paying for services rendered. That’s kind of illegal.”
She moved over to a nearby porch table and set the box down before closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. “Saints alive, save me from this man’s stupidity.”
A hearty laugh bubbled up in his chest, making his shoulders shake. “What does a concrete princess like you know about that expression, ‘Saints alive’?”
“I keep telling you, I may have been born and raised and even lived most of my life in Brooklyn, but my heart was always here on this ranch in Fresh Springs, Texas.”
She smoothed her hand gently over the box, then looked up at him, the delight of the moment fighting to push her sadness to the fringes. “This isn’t about your work or the sex, Jackson. This is about the important things you did while you were here. Comforting me after the attack, getting your dad and brother out here to set up my security, as well as the deep, deep discount I’m sure you convinced your dad to give me. All of it was beyond the call of duty. I appreciate all of it. I wanted to give you a little something to say thanks.”
He stood there, staring at the beautiful lines and curves of her face, the dark eyes wide with sincerity, the genuine smile that spread the full lips of her mouth into a perfect bow, and he ached to touch her. But he knew if he started, he’d never stop, so he reached for the bow on top of the box instead.
She placed her hand on his, sending a jolt of electricity through his skin, the spark splitting, jumping from one nerve to the other, a charge of something bright and powerful taking over his senses. “Don’t open it. Not yet anyway.”
“You’re giving me a gift you don’t want me to open?”
She shook her head. “I’m giving you a gift I don’t want you to open yet. This is called happy mail. It’s usually a little something sent in the mail by a friend that will make you smile. You don’t smile nearly enough. So I thought I’d send you some happy.”
He stroked his thumb over hers. Whatever was in the box, he was sure it wouldn’t make him as happy as standing out on the porch at night with their hands pressed together did. But the inviting smile on her face had him curious to know what its contents held.
“I want you to keep this box, and if you ever find yourself in a moment where you need a little happy, open it and think of me.”
“I don’t need a gift to remember you, Aja. I’m certain you’re the most unforgettable woman I’ve ever met.”
She shook her head. “Nonetheless, promise me, Jackson. Promise me you won’t open this until you need some happy. You’re a man of your word. I know if you make this promise, you’ll do everything to keep it.”
A silent, slow breath crawled up from his lungs and out into the air. “Aja, I’m no poster child for virtue. If I were, I never would’ve crossed the line with you, and I would have the decency to be remorseful about it. But I don’t. I’m not the least bit sorry, and that right there is proof that my moral compass is on the fritz.”
“You’re human, Jackson. The kind of human that cares about the welfare of others. In my book, that makes you the best kind. So quit stalling and promise me, Ranger.”
He matched the inviting smile on her face. “I promise.” Her smile widened, and she handed the box over to him.
“Be happy, Ranger Dean. We all deserve a little happy.”
He watched her saunter back inside the house as he fought the urge to follow her. He didn’t know what was in the box, and he probably wouldn’t be finding out anytime soon. But one thing he knew beyond certainty was that nothing inside that box had the power to make him as happy as the woman who’d given it to him.
Chapter 32
“I knew it was that no-good Yosemite Sam wa
nnabe all along.”
Aja looked over her steaming cup of coffee long enough to give Brooklyn a pointed glare. “I think anyone with a brain could’ve figured out it was Eli Bennett vandalizing the ranch. He’s been after the land since I snatched it from the brink of auction.”
Seneca pulled up next to Aja at the breakfast table and grabbed the tablet Brooklyn was reading the morning paper on. “At least he had the decency to confess. Paper says he took a deal. He pled guilty to all the charges—the intimidation, the vandalism, even your assault—in exchange for a reduced sentence. They gave him seven years and fines. Looks like you’ll get your money back for the destroyed property.”
Aja eased back in her chair. She wasn’t worried about the money. And knowing the penal system, it would take forever for those funds to end up in her hands.
Brooklyn took the tablet out of Seneca’s hand and scrolled until she found the section she was looking for. “I’m surprised they gave him that long considering how connected Bennett is. I’m surprised they could find a judge outside of your uncle to sign off on this.”
Brooklyn was right. Bennett owned most of Fresh Springs. But Aja was certain a particular Texas Ranger who she knew had a hand in the severity of the charges.
“I guess I have you two to thank for that. Because of my work with the Pathways program, the prosecutor upped the charges from a simple assault charge to a third-degree felony because I’m considered a government contractor.”
“Well, I’m happy he’s in custody.” Seneca stirred the bowl of grits in front of her. “Whatever they had on him, it must have been serious, because no one could ever have made me believe Eli Bennett of all people would confess to his crimes.”
Aja wouldn’t have believed it either, except for the call she received from Jackson this morning. It was the first time she’d heard from him in a week since Taylor had implicated Eli.
His voice was still deep and rich, and her head spun at the mere sound of it. The call was brief, direct, detailing all the terms of Eli’s deal. All that remained was for the man to allocute, and the case would officially be closed.
She was glad it was nearly over. But the realization that aside from Jackson dropping by at some point to pick up the few items he’d left, she’d likely have no interaction with him made it difficult for her to fully celebrate the news.
“Hey, you all right over there?”
Aja blinked until Brooklyn’s face came into view. God, the mere thought of him has me zoning out. Get it together, Aja. “I’m fine. Long week, that’s all. We have a lot of work to do.”
“Yeah, especially since you sent our heavy lifters on some wild-goose chase looking for what again?”
Aja sipped her coffee instead of answering Seneca’s question, hoping to delay the inevitable a little bit longer. “An equipment auction. I sent them to look at those giant mowers. Jackson thought mowing our own land and processing our own hay might be more cost-efficient for us. The auction and purchase process will probably last up to another week.” There, she’d bought herself until the weekend before she had to come clean. Maybe that would be enough for her to put on her big-girl pants and tell Brooklyn and Seneca the truth.
“Is that what’s had you looking so sad in the face for the last few days?”
Aja put down the cup of coffee, staring at Brooklyn across the table. “I’m not sure I follow. What do you mean?”
“I mean, every day since they caught that Sullivan boy on the property, you’ve been walking around looking like you lost something important.”
She had. Even though Jackson was never hers to keep, his departure left a hole so wide, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to fill it.
“You know how much I hate to say these words, Boss. But Brooklyn is right. You’re one of those whistle-while-you-work kind of people. But lately, you ain’t doing so much whistling.”
“No baking or cooking either,” Brooklyn added. “I mean, I love grits as much as the next person. By the way, when is Aunt Jo coming back? If you won’t feed us, Lord knows she will.”
For the first time in what seemed liked forever, Aja smiled. “She’ll be back this weekend, and I’ll happily relinquish my duties as your personal chef.”
Brooklyn’s face lit up at Aja’s news. “Good, and maybe some of her sweet bread will take your mind off missing your foreman so much.”
Aja opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“Holy shit.” Seneca’s shocked whisper brought Aja back to her senses. “She was kidding. But you really do miss the foreman, don’t you?”
Panicked, like an animal pressed into a corner, Aja looked for an exit out of this conversation. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She picked up her mostly full bowl of grits and headed to the trash. If her aunt Jo were here, she’d be chastising Aja about her eyes being bigger than her belly and not wasting the food the good Lord blessed them with.
Her desire to not be wasteful notwithstanding, Aja’s appetite was nonexistent. She scraped the bowl clean and headed for the sink, taking more time than necessary to rinse the dish out and place it in the dishwasher.
When she turned around, both Brooklyn and Seneca were standing at the opposite end of the counter, staring at her with accusing eyes.
“What’s going on, Aja?”
Four years of college, three years of law school, and over thirteen years of arguing for her clients in legal matters, and the most sophisticated answer Aja could come up with was, “Huh?”
Her response sounded unconvincing to her too.
“If you can ‘huh,’ you can hear,” Brooklyn said as she narrowed her lids into slits and folded her arms. A quick glance at Seneca standing by Brooklyn’s side with arms folded, smiling at her well-timed verbal jab, was the nail in Aja’s proverbial coffin. She was busted, and since Jackson had somehow screwed up her mental-verbal mojo, she couldn’t think up a reasonable explanation fast enough to get them off her back.
“Jackson and I—”
“Totally smashed,” Brooklyn interjected. She held out her hand, palm side up in front of Seneca. “Give me my money.”
Seneca huffed, making an exaggerated show of reaching into her pocket and slapping what looked to be a twenty-dollar bill into Brooklyn’s hand.
“Wait, you two bet on whether Jackson and I had sex?”
“Girl, please,” Brooklyn countered. “That man was walking around here looking like a whole snack; you’d be crazy not to holler. Not to mention, as fine as that man is, and as dry as your social life has been, we’ve been praying and lighting candles that you would get a taste.”
Aja pointed at both women. “And that is the end of this conversation.”
“Ah, don’t be that way, Boss.”
Aja held up a pointed finger. “First of all, my sex life is none of your business. Second, I am not some wilting flower that needs a man in her life to blossom.”
Seneca held up her hands in surrender. “No one’s saying you need a man, Aja. You work so hard trying to get this place up and running, plus all the crap you’ve had to deal with while trying to protect us, so we wanted you to have a little fun. And I don’t care what you say—climbing that brick wall of a man had to be fun as hell.”
Aja tried to keep her annoyed face in place, but as usual, Seneca’s colorful expressions had her smiling and shaking her head. “No comment.”
Seneca playfully stomped her foot. “Ah, come on. I need details. Let me live vicariously through you.”
Aja ignored her plea by taking another sip from her cup. “If you’re so in need of that kind of entertainment, either let your fingers do the walking on the internet, or spend more time trying to find someone to have that kind of fun with.”
“Ah, hello, this is Fresh Springs, Texas. There are no eligible bachelors here. Otherwise, I’d totally find someone to work the kinks out.�
��
Aja shook her head. “I don’t need that image in my head. How about we never have this conversation again, and you two can do what I pay you to do, instead of minding my business like it’s your job?”
“Or,” Seneca added, “we could continue to analyze your mood and figure out what’s really been going on around here. I mean, I’m sure we could mow our own grass, but going away for over a week to an auction seems a bit much. Are Jackson and his men really at auction, or did you send them packing because things got too heavy between you and the foreman?”
She swallowed. It was an easy out, and she wasn’t stupid enough to let it go. She’d already lost Jackson. No sense in losing her friends, nor her family, over a truth they need never know.
“It complicated things. It was one night, the night after the attack. Things got weird afterward, and we both decided him leaving was the best solution. His men were a package deal. They go where he does.”
They both gave her a sympathetic look and headed toward the back door. Brooklyn stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder to address Aja again. “No worries, Aja. If it’s any consolation, I think the foreman was just as taken with you. He’s probably kicking himself for not finding a way to make it work. Anyone that spends a little time with you knows it don’t get no better.”
Aja wasn’t certain she deserved that kind of praise, especially since she’d told them a flat-out lie regarding Jackson’s disappearance. But Seneca’s words, whether or not she was worthy of them, still sneaked beneath her skin and made it tingle with the warmth of the woman’s kindness.
“Hey, we’ve been so busy talking about my personal life, we haven’t discussed the details of your anniversary party.”
The two women stopped, then stared at each other before simultaneously looking at Aja.
“You still plan on throwing this ‘We’ve been out of jail a year’ party?’”
Jackson Page 22
