The concern in his eyes had feelings blooming that shouldn’t be there. Feelings for him would complicate things. “It’s not what it sounds like.”
He moved inside the room and shut the door. “Explain it to me then. Is someone threatening you?”
“I…”
“If there is something I can do, tell me. I don’t like the thought of someone hurting you for any reason.”
“Why?”
“I’ve grown kind of attached to you while you’ve been here. If someone is hurting you and I can help, then let me.”
“It’s nothing, Jeff. Really. I can handle it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” She took the underwear from his hand. “Thanks for bringing these back.” She tossed them on the bed. “Going commando isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.”
“No, it’s not. I’ve done it a time or two myself.”
“Have you now.”
“Yep.”
She glanced down at the straining material of his jeans. “Like now?”
“No, but somethin’ is wantin’ to come out and play.” He glanced at his watch. “We have about fifteen minutes.”
“I think we should wait.”
“Why?” he asked, his eyes wide with confusion.
“You might be able to get off in fifteen minutes, but we women like to take it a little slower sometimes. The quick fuck in the feed room should have satisfied you for a little bit, cowboy.”
“All right.”
The little pout on his mouth made her smile. A quick nibble on his lips brought the reaction she wanted as he moaned softly and took the kiss to explosive in record time. When they finally came up for air, he groaned as he pressed his forehead against hers.
“Tonight. My place.”
“I thought you didn’t want to do anything with Ben there?”
“He’ll be asleep by seven. We can have the whole night. Bring your car so you can leave whenever you want. You can follow me home after supper tonight.” He grasped her butt to pull her closer. “Ever had a man in your ass, honey?”
“Nope.”
“Want to?”
Her butt cheeks clenched at the thought. She’d always wanted to try, but she hadn’t had the nerve or the trust in someone to allow them to go that far. “Maybe.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll love it and if you don’t we don’t have to pursue it any further.”
The rock hard chest beneath her breasts made her nipples ache for friction. She wanted to run them all over the front of his shirt.
“Quit lookin’ at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’d strip me to bare skin and ride my hips into tomorrow if we had time.”
“I do?”
“Yep.”
“Sounds good to me.” The lunch bell clanged. “Well damn.” He laughed, rich and deep. Damn, I like his laugh. “You should laugh more often.”
“You know, darlin’, I’ve laughed and smiled more since I met you than I have in several years.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
“You’ve done wonders for me.” He hugged her, and then opened the door. “I love you.”
What the hell? She stumbled over her feet before she glanced up into his eyes.
“I didn’t mean that how it sounded. “I meant I love bein’ around you. You’ve brought a lot of joy into my life I haven’t had for a long time.”
He took her hand as he shut the door behind them.
“Good. You had me scared there for a minute.”
“I’m glad I let you in, Terri. I’ll just be sorry when it has to end.”
“Yeah, me too, Jeff. Me too.
* * * *
He mentally kicked himself in the ass as they walked to the main lodge for lunch. What the fuck was I thinking? That had to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever said in my life, well maybe except for when I talk to Misha.
Luckily, Terri seemed to go with his explanation because he sure as hell didn’t have anything else to say. I love you. Stupid, man. Really stupid.
They walked through the doors into the chaos of the noonday meal. Several new guests had come in during the morning hours it appeared. “Do you want to eat with us at the family table again?”
“Of course,” she gushed and he frowned.
God, I hope she isn’t taking this too seriously. Maybe they needed to slow this shit down. Hell, he wasn’t sure anymore himself. He seemed to by flying by the seat of his pants and the fuckers were on fire for this woman.
They greeted everyone at the table with hello. His brothers seemed to be keeping a secret with all the smiles and looks their way. Hopefully, they didn’t think there was something else going on between him and Terri. He’d have to straighten them out before too long. His mother played matchmaker all the damned time with her sons, but he wasn’t gonna to fall for the whole lot of them trying to hook him up. He didn’t need their help. He was gettin’ laid on a semi-regular basis while Terri hung around and that suited him just fine, thank you very much.
“Why is everyone grinnin’?” she asked quietly.
“This is the second meal you’ve shared at the family table. They’re probably gonna be askin’ about church bells soon.”
“Hell no,” she hissed.
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Should I tell them?”
“No, let them wonder. It’s a game. Think of it that way.”
Her green eyes twinkled with mirth. “Oh, I like pulling the wool over their eyes. I think it’ll be fun.”
“Yep.”
The guests were served so everyone at the family table got up to get their food. “Can I get you some coffee or lemonade?” he asked.
“Sure. Lemonade sounds great.”
When they returned to the table and sat down to eat, conversation sped around the table in varying degrees, everything from problems on the ranch to issues with the cattle from the morning rounds.
“Jeff, I found a couple of cattle down in the south pasture. The water trough was empty again.”
“What? I fixed it two days ago.”
“There’s a big hole. Looks like a bullet hole to me.”
“Do we have to start patrolling the fence line again? Jesus.”
“Jeffery.”
“Sorry, Ma, but this is nuts. You’d think we were livin’ in the frickin’ eighteen hundreds. Worryin’ about cattle rustlers is crazy.”
“We’ll deal with it, son,” James added before he took a bite of his food.
“We don’t have the man power to have to patrol the fence twenty-four/seven, Dad.”
“I know we don’t, but we’ll figure somethin’ out. First thing, move the water trough to behind a rock so it’s not visible from the fence line. At least it will make it more difficult for someone to take potshots at it.”
“I’ll take care of it, Dad,” Joshua said.
“Thanks, Josh. I’ve got some things to work on in the barn this afternoon,” Jeff answered.
“Yeah, we know,” Jonathan added with a smirk and a look at Terri.
Great. I hope the whole damned bunch doesn’t know about our tryst. “Jonathan,” he growled, hoping his brother would take the hint.
“There must have been possum in the feed room earlier. Did ya get it?”
Jeff wanted to punch his brother. “Yeah, I got it.”
The whole table erupted in laughter.
“What did I miss?” Terri asked, apparently not getting the joke.
“Never mind, darlin’. I’ll explain later. Just ignore shithead over there.”
“It’s kind of hard to ignore being the butt of a joke, Jeff.”
He leaned over and whispered, “Apparently, Jonathan has informed the whole family of what happened in the barn between us earlier.”
She bit her lips as her eyes closed. Red swept up her neck, splashing across her face in a bright hue as everyone laughed.
“Enough!” James shouted. “You boys shou
ld be ashamed to treat a guest this way.”
“Sorry, Terri. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Jonathan sounded trite, but Jeff wasn’t sure it was genuine. Either way, he planned to kick his brother’s ass for him after lunch.
She opened her eyes and smiled. “It’s fine.”
Wow. She’s a better person than I am.
They finished the rest of the meal without any more hassles from his family. Jeff picked up their plates when they finished, taking them to the dirty dish pan. He grabbed three desserts on his way to returning to the table. The rest of the family cleared out leaving him alone with Terri and Ben. They seemed to be doing that a lot since she’d arrived.
“Do you have somethin’ you can do this afternoon? I’ve got work to get done.” The spoon disappeared between her tempting lips, making him want to stick something else between those plump lips. Maybe tonight he could get her to suck him. Just for a minute. He’d probably explode the minute she took him in her mouth. He shook his head to clear the erotic thoughts. The last thing he needed was a raging hard-on to work with this afternoon. Of course, throwing some hay bales would quickly deflate it.
“Sure. If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to some of your brothers about some of the other stuff they do around the ranch.”
“Why’s that?” he asked, suspicion crowding his thoughts. She did work for the developers trying to take over everything around Bandera.
She shrugged as she took another bite. “I’m curious. I’ve never been on a working cattle ranch. I’d like to know more about each man’s job on the ranch.”
Her thigh plastered against his waylaid his thoughts again. Damn. He needed to get his mind out of bed with Terri and back on work. “There is a hay ride this evening if you’d like to go. Dad does a great informational thing on the longhorn cattle we have.”
“Great! I’d love it. He seems like an interesting person.”
“He’s been doin’ this a long time.”
After she finished her dessert, she pushed the small cup away as she licked her lips. He so wanted to taste the chocolate confection on her mouth. He leaned in ready to do exactly what he thought until Ben squeezed between them. “Hey, buddy.”
“Can Ms. Terri come over our house tonight?”
“What for?”
“I wanna show her my room.”
Jeff raised an eyebrow in a questioning look trying to convey to her this would give them a perfect opportunity for a night of lovemaking at his place.
“Sure, Ben,” she answered. “I’d love to see your room.”
“Okay. Off with Gram, Ben. I’ve got work to do and so does Ms. Terri.” He stood and helped Terri to her feet. “I’ll walk you back to your cabin.”
“You don’t have to do that. How about if I get with Jonathan and Jeremiah so I can get the business side of things?”
“There’s an office by the check-in office where Jeremiah works on the books. I’ll take you there before I head to the barn.”
“Thanks.”
They rounded the corner of the main lodge just in time for the front door to open and close by itself. He rolled his eyes. He hoped she didn’t have a problem with ghosts since they had a few of them running around the ranch, especially in the main lodge since it used to be a brothel. They didn’t have a lot of problems in the cabins, but the main house had its share. The local cowboy who haunted the place kept things lively, but the real draw for a lot of folks was the noisy couple upstairs. Even Mesa had a run in with them when she stayed there.
“Did that door just open and close by itself?”
“It’s ghost,” Ben whispered in a loud voice.
“Ghost?” she asked, her eyes wide with wonder.
“It’s nothin’. Probably the wind,” Jeff answered before Ben could go further. “Off to see Gram, Ben.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Ben scrambled into Nina’s office as he rounded the corner to show Terri where Jeremiah’s office was.
“Here you go.” He knocked on the door and heard a muffled greeting. He opened it to find Jeremiah bent over his desk with papers scattered everywhere. The office looked like a bomb had gone off in there. “Damn, Jeremiah. I don’t see how you can get anythin’ done with this mess.”
“I know exactly where everything is so just back off.”
He held up his hands. “I brought Terri in to talk to you. She has some questions.”
“Sure. Come on in, Terri. There’s a chair there in the corner if you’d like to sit.”
“Thank you,” Terri answered, grabbing the wooden chair from its spot to drag it closer to the desk.
“I’ll leave you two alone then. I’ll see you at supper, Terri.”
“Of course.”
“Have fun and behave yourself, Jeremiah.”
“Always, brother.”
He closed the door, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. Why was she so interested in the financial aspect of the ranch? Things weren’t quite addin’ up with Terri Kennedy. Maybe if I get to know her better, she’ll tell me what she’s up to.
Jeff shook his head as he walked out the doors headed for the barn. What to do with her, he wasn’t sure, but keeping an eye on her seemed to be a priority now. Her inquiries into things going on at the ranch worried him. A talk between him and Jeremiah would be in order after work had been completed for the day. He hoped she wasn’t up to no good. Trust came hard for him and he’d begun to trust her. He just hoped it wasn’t misplaced.
Jacob came out of the tack room, stumbling slightly.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
The smell of alcohol coming from his brother’s breath almost knocked Jeff down.
“Jacob, are you drunk?”
“No. I wish to hell I was.”
Jeff grabbed his brother’s arm and hauled him into the tack room. “What the fuck is goin’ on with you? You’ve been drinking in here?”
“Fine. Yeah, I’ve been drinkin’. It’s none of your fuckin’ business what I do.” Jacob shoved Jeff back, yanking his arm out of his brother’s grasp. Without the added support, he stumbled again.
“We’re here for you, Jacob. But, listen, man. This has to stop.”
“Just leave me the fuck alone.” Jacob tumbled backward into a chair sitting near the desk they used to do some of the tack repairs on.
“Tell me.”
“You don’t fuckin’ care about any of us! Why the hell should I tell you anything.”
“Because you’re drinkin’ way too much. Here it is the middle of the damned day on a weekday and you’re drunk off your ass. Were you drunk at breakfast too?”
“Yeah, I was!” Jacob straightened himself in the chair and he tried to rise. Jeff slammed him back down with a hand on his shoulder.
“Jacob, what’s gotten into you? You didn’t used to drink like this.”
“It doesn’t matter. I ain’t tellin’ you anything so back the fuck off, Jeff. What I do isn’t your business.”
“Everythin’ at this ranch is my business. Get it through your head brother and we’ll be fine. The drinkin’ has to stop. I mean now, Jacob.”
“Fuck you.” Jacob stumbled to his feet as he pushed his way past Jeff.
Jeff grabbed his arm, but Jacob yanked it back. “Come on, Jacob. Talk to me.”
“Leave me alone, Jeff. The problems I have are none of your business.”
“I want to help you.”
“You’re too wrapped up in your latest woman to care about me or anyone else on this ranch.”
“Don’t bring Terri into this. She ain’t got nothin’ to do with you or me.”
“Why the hell not? She’s another slut…”
Jeff pulled back his fist and hit Jacob on the chin, laying him flat out on the floor of the tack room. “Terri is a good woman. She’s not a money-hungry female after this ranch or what money she can get from me. She has her own business and is working an important job. Keep your filthy opinions to yourself.”
&n
bsp; “What’s goin’ on here,” their father said, stopping in the doorway.
“Jacob is drunk again. He’s been drinkin’ on the job. He’s probably got some booze hidden in here somewhere so he can sneak a drink whenever he comes in.”
“Is this true, Jacob?”
Jacob tried to sit up. “I was drunk last night. Today, I’m hung over. That’s all, Dad.”
“You can smell the alcohol on his breath.”
Their father held out his hand to help Jacob to his feet. Jeff wasn’t fooled. He knew his father planned to smell Jacob’s breath for himself.
“Jacob, go to your place. You need to sleep off whatever you’ve been drinking.”
“But, Dad?”
“But nothin’. I don’t want to hear another word from you.”
“I’m thirty years old. If I want to get plastered, I can.”
“Not while you’re workin’ this ranch, son.” Their father turned him toward the door. “Go on. We’ll talk later about this.”
Jacob stumbled out the door, almost falling on his face as Jeff and their father stood by to watch.
“What are we gonna do with him, Dad?”
“I’m not sure, Jeff. I wish I knew what caused him to start drinkin’.”
“I don’t know either.”
“Have you heard of woman problems or anythin’ with him?”
“No. I know he had a girlfriend not too long ago, but I thought their split was a mutual thing.” Jeff shook his head. “Maybe he took it harder than I thought.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think Jacob was in love with her. Do you?”
“He might have been, Dad. I know he never brought her around here. I saw her with him a couple of times at the bar. They seemed chummy, but he sure didn’t act like he was in love.” He stepped back inside the tack room when Jacob went inside his trailer. His wasn’t far from the house to the back of the garden area. “I sure ain’t an expert on the subject though.”
James laughed, and then sobered. “Sorry, son. I didn’t mean to make fun of you, but you sure aren’t an expert with your track record.”
“Misha was a huge mistake even though she gave me Ben.”
“He’s the light of our lives, Jeff. You know that, right?”
Healing a Cowboy's Heart (Cowboy Dreamin' 2) Page 10
