Hurt clouded his eyes, but she didn’t care. He needed to know she could take care of herself. She’d made sure of that after the shit went down with Charles. He touched his quickly swelling eye with his fingertips.
“Fine. Call me whenever you get over yourself and realize you want to see me again.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he turned to weave his way through the crowd to the door.
“Fight’s over folks. Have a drink, dance, have a good time, but no more fighting,” Dan said, pushing her back toward the bar. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“What’s up between you and Jason Young?”
“Not a thing, why?”
“He seemed awful protective of you for some reason. Not that he wouldn’t be around any woman getting manhandled, but I think there’s more than meets the eye between you two.”
“It’s nothing, Dan. He’s was being protective. Nothing more.”
“Okay, honey, but if you want to talk, let me know. I have a good ear especially where those Young boys come into play. Ask Paige.”
“Yeah, see where that got her? She’s pregnant by one of them with twins.”
He grinned and clamped a hand on her shoulder. “Yeah, but she’s happy as a little pig in shit.”
Rolling her eyes, Peyton grinned back. She’d give him that. Paige was definitely happy with her Young hunk.
After she took her spot behind the bar, she let her thoughts wander to the triplet who’d taken up residence in her mind for the last several months. Damn him. She glanced across the bar only to notice a couple of the other Young boys playing pool. Joshua stood off to one side of the table with the cue in his hands. She couldn’t help but notice him since he looked just like Jason. Although she could tell the subtle difference between the two enough to tell them apart even from a distance. Jason carried himself a little differently. More confident? She wasn’t sure, but there were definitely differences.
“Hey, can I get a beer?”
She dragged her thoughts back to the job at hand. She still had several hours to go before she could go home and lose herself in her fantasies again.
* * * *
Jason banged his hand on the steering wheel as he drove back toward the ranch. “Son of a bitch!” His hand throbbed from the beating it had taken just a short bit ago. His eye was almost swollen shut after the guy got a good punch off, hitting him in the left eye. He touched the swelling tissue and winced. “Fucker.”
A bag of peas from the kitchen freezer would do for the swelling although it wouldn’t help his damaged pride.
“What the hell is up with her anyway? I was trying to protect her and she went off on me like I was the one who tried manhandling her.”
He didn’t get women at all. Here he wanted to be her savior and she chewed him out for it. Didn’t women want to be taken care of? Wasn’t that what they were all about?
“I might need to talk to Mom on this one. I’m sure she could give me some advice on how to handle Peyton.”
He drove through the main gates of the ranch, then up to the house. The light in the office glowed in the darkness so he knew his mother still sat at her desk even though the clock on the dashboard said ten. She really needed to knock off a little earlier, but tonight he needed to ask her advice on the matter of Peyton Matthews.
As he walked up the main lodge door, it opened and closed on its own, earning a frown from him. A chill went through him for a second as he kept walking toward the house. The ghosts around the place kept things lively even though they freaked him out a little sometimes. The cowboy who tended to hang around the main lodge seemed to be the most apparent, but there were others. A faint, distant childish giggle caught his attention for a second before he shook it off and kept moving. He had more important things to do than deal with ghosts tonight.
When he reached the office door, he knocked softly until his mother spun around in her chair. “Oh my. What the heck happened to you, Jason?”
“I got in a fight at the bar trying to protect Peyton.”
His mother got up to head for the kitchen with him trailing behind like a lost little boy. “Let’s get something to put on that eye before you lose sight in it completely.” They moved through the double doors into the kitchen where the long cutting tables sat waiting for the morning meal. Two big walk-in refrigerator/freezers stood off to the left. His mother moved inside one and grabbed a plastic bag of peas. Once she had them wrapped in a cloth, she put it on his eye before she leaned back against the counter waiting for him to talk. “So what happened?”
“Well, I went to the bar after everything was done on the ranch today. I wanted to talk to her.”
“You seem pretty friendly with her the other night.”
“It’s not a big deal, Mom.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. We’re just having a good time.”
“Okay, but I’ve heard that one before from Joel, Jeff, and most recently Jacob.”
“I’m not falling into the trap of a relationship. That’s not what this is about. She doesn’t want anything and neither do I.” He moved the cold sack away from his eye.
She grinned as she crossed her arms over her chest. “If you say so, Jason.”
“It’s the truth.”
“All right, son. I believe you.” She pushed his hand back so the frozen peas were on his eye again. “You were watching her while you were at the bar?”
“Well yeah, but just in between pool games with the other guys. Not like I was doing nothing more than watching her as she slung drinks.” He shook his hand as his mother glanced at the raw knuckles. “She’s really good, you know?”
“I imagine so. She does it for a living, right?”
“Yeah. She works there full time.”
“So what happened?”
“Some guy hit on her when she came around the bar. I stepped in because he was all over her. The guy rushed me and we went down on the floor. He got in a couple of good punches before Dan broke it up.”
“What did Peyton say about all this?”
“She got pissed off at me! I was trying to help her.”
“I get the feeling she’s a very independent woman, Jason. She probably thought she could handle the guy.”
“That’s what she said!” He threw up his hands. “I’ll never understand women.”
His mother laughed. “Maybe you should be having this conversation with your father.”
“But how am I supposed to know how to handle her, Mom?”
“Don’t handle her, Jason. She doesn’t want you to.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She wants someone to have a good time with. Nothing serious. Am I right?”
“Yeah, that’s what she said.”
“Then be the guy she wants. Don’t force it. If you two are meant to be, then you will be.”
“I don’t want a permanent relationship, Mom. I’m not ready to settle down.”
“Then don’t worry about what you and Peyton have. If a good time is all you want, then that’s what you should have, but I think there is a little more there than either of you want to admit. It’ll happen in time.”
He sighed as he put the bag on his eye. “This stuff is so complicated.”
“Honey, if it wasn’t, everyone would be doing it all the time.”
“It was so much easier when I just took my pleasure from the whole thing and moved on. This stuff about giving a shit is for the birds.”
“So you do care?”
“Maybe a little. I mean she’s a nice girl. She’s got her insecurities like any other woman, but I like to see her smile.” He shook his head and glanced out the window. “Did you know she has a lot of piercings?”
“Like what?”
“A tongue ring, her ears, and her belly button. She also has a tattoo on her breast for her mother who died of breast cancer.”
“Oh?” Nina smiled.
Shit. “I mean I saw it when she
had her halter top on tonight at the bar.”
She laughed. “Honey, I know you two were together the other night. You couldn’t get away from the bonfire fast enough. I think I heard the bedsprings from your house clear over here.”
“Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. I’m glad you’ve found someone you connect with.”
“Don’t be planning a weddin’.” A sneaky little grin spread across her mouth. “And no matchmaker stuff. I’ve seen your work with my brothers.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“No, just told Joel to stay away from Mesa, which he turned around to do the opposite. Jeff did the same thing with Terri. I’m sure you had a hand in Paige and Jacob too.”
She shook her head innocently. “I didn’t have a thing to do with Jacob and Paige. They found their way together without my help.”
“But you don’t deny interfering in meddling in the other two’s relationships.”
“Not at all. Those kids were meant to be together. You have to admit, they are much happier now that they’ve found love.”
“True, but I’m not lookin’ for love.”
“No one is ever looking, Jason. It just finds us when the time is right.”
“Well it’s not the right time.”
She patted his cheek with her hand right before she leaned in and kissed him. “If you say so, son.”
Chapter Seven
Peyton sighed as the last of the patrons left the bar at two a.m. It had been a long night and the fight Jason had been in, didn’t help. She found herself worrying about it after he’d left. His eye had begun to swell even before he disappeared. The blood on his lips bothered her too. She wanted to hold him, care for him, and the thought drove her nuts. She should call him, but then again she shouldn’t. She didn’t need him or so she kept telling herself. He could be the hero for some other woman. Not her. She didn’t want him to be her hero, right?
“Well, tonight was an interesting night,” Dan said, stopping next to where she stood putting clean glasses away.
“It sure was. Same Saturday night we always have, except a few fights tonight.”
“One especially.”
“Leave it be, Dan.”
“He was protecting you, Peyton. Nothing a good man wouldn’t do.”
“Well I don’t need a man to protect me. I take care of myself.”
“I know, honey, but guys like Jason need to be the hero sometimes.”
“He can be someone else’s hero.”
“He wants to be yours.”
She let out a disgusted sound from deep in her throat, the sound almost like a sigh. She didn’t want him to be her hero, right? Well maybe just a little. It was kind of nice to have a guy jump to her defense for a change. Jason didn’t need to know that though. He needed to leave her the hell alone to give her some space.
“Think about it, Peyton. He’s a good guy.”
“I know he is, Dan. I’m not looking for a permanent fixture in my life though. I’ve got too many things going on to have time for a man.”
“You need to make time. Jason isn’t the type of man to wait around forever, honey. If you want him, you’d better go after him.”
Dan walked back to the other side of the bar to fiddle with the cash register while she contemplated what he said. She knew Jason was a ladies’ man. She watched him pick up women every weekend while she worked the bar, not that she was paying attention, mind you, but she’d see the women flock to him. He had a reputation for being good in bed and she could attest to that fact easy enough since he’d rocked her world the night before without much effort at all. Did she want more? She didn’t know. The life she’d set up for herself didn’t have room for a man in it on a long term basis, but she could do short term fling with him without too much effort on her part, sure enough.
As her cell phone started jingling in her pocket, she wondered who would be calling her this time of night. After she set down the glass rack in her hand, she grabbed it from her pocket and glanced at the screen.
Jason.
“Hey,” she said, answering on the third ring. “How is your eye?”
“Fine. Listen I wanted to apologize.”
“For what?”
“Trying to take care of your problem for you. I get you’re the independent type and I overstepped my boundaries. I’m sorry.”
“Did you have a talk with your mother?”
He laughed. “What makes you think so?”
“Because that sounds like something Nina would say. The few times I’ve had a chance to talk to her, she sounded like a very insightful woman.”
“Okay, yeah, but it’s true.”
“All is forgiven.”
“Are you sure? That was too easy.”
“What can I say? I don’t hold a grudge.”
“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “How did work go after I left?”
She continued wiping glasses to put them away as she cradled the phone between her cheek and shoulder. “Smooth as every other Saturday night with a bunch of rowdy cowboys.”
“That good, eh?” he asked, laughter in his voice.
“Yep, but at least I didn’t get hit on again.” She ran the dry towel over the surface of the bar.
“Too bad.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I imagine you get hit on a lot.”
“Actually, no, I don’t. I think a lot of men are put off by my piercings and tats.”
“I think they are sexy, especially your tongue ring when you sucked my cock.”
“Bad boy.”
“You like bad boys, don’t you, Peyton?” he asked, his tone now gone serious.
“Yeah, kind of.” Shivers rolled down her back as he dropped his voice into a low growl.
“Do you want me to come by your place tonight?”
“I think it’s a bit late for any extracurricular activities tonight, don’t you think, Jason? It is two in the morning.”
“I’m up for it.”
“I bet you are, cowboy, but I think I’ll pass. I’m really tired since I didn’t get to sleep in this morning and I cleaned house all day before I came to work.”
“Sorry about the text earlier.”
“No problem. It’s fine. Oh, thank you for the flowers by the way. They’re beautiful.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
He almost sounded shy and unsure of himself on the phone. “It was to me. You’ll never guess what?”
“What?”
“Those are the first flowers I’ve ever gotten.”
“Really? A beautiful woman like you?”
“I guess I never found the right guy.”
“I’m the right guy then.”
“I suppose so.” Silence stretched for several minutes while she continued to clean and stock before it was time to leave. “You still there?”
“Yeah.”
“I better go. I’m almost done here and I need to head home.”
“Let me walk you to your car.”
She laughed as she blushed. “How? You’re at home.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
“I’m outside the bar.”
“You’ve been out there this whole time we’ve been talking on the phone?” she asked, peeking out the blinds to see his truck sitting near the curb with him leaning on the hood talking on his cell phone.
“Yeah.”
“You’re a nut.”
“Are you going to let me walk you to your car?”
“If you insist.”
“I do.”
“Let me grab my purse and I’ll be right out.”
“Okay. See you in a minute.”
She clicked the phone shut as she shook her head. “The silly guy is standing outside by the curb talking to me on his cell.”
“Sounds like he’s smitten,” Dan replied, heading toward the back office. “Bitten by the bug.”
“I’m headed out.”
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“Okay. Be careful going home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep. You be careful too. Talk to you then,” she said, pushing open the door and locking it behind her with the key Dan had given her. She turned around to face the gorgeous man standing not ten feet from her. He made her breathless just looking at him. The floodlight on the street shadowed his face beneath his cowboy hat so she couldn’t see his eyes, but she knew they stared right through her. She could feel the heat of his gaze without seeing his face. “Hi.”
“Hi yourself.”
“How’s your eye?”
“Swollen shut almost.”
“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have been hurt defending me.”
“I wanted to or I wouldn’t have.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can, babe, but I wanted to help and you shut me down.”
“I don’t need a hero.”
“Yes you do and I want to be your hero.”
“You don’t understand. I haven’t needed anyone for a long time.”
“We all need someone sometimes.”
“Not me.”
“Yeah, even you.” He ran his finger down her cheek. “Even a tough girl like you needs a man once in a while.” His hand snaked around the back of her neck, pulling her in close. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
“What about your lip?”
“My lip can handle a little lovin’ from you.”
“I’m glad because I want to kiss you too.”
He tilted his head to the side as his lips brushed hers. She wanted more, so much more. The feel of his mouth brought with it the memories from his loving the night before. She found herself pushing her tongue into his mouth, capturing his tortured groan with her own. As they kissed, her world spun out of control. She’d come to need this man more than she ever thought possible in such a short time.
“Come home with me.” She gasped as his hand found her breast.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I need you.” He pushed his palm against the crotch of her jeans, grinding the stiff fabric into the engorged button between her legs. She moaned softly. “Please.”
“Anything you want, darlin’.”
“I want you.”
“Let me walk you to your car and I’ll follow you home.”
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