The moment he finished eating, he grabbed his plate and set it in the dirty dish bin. “I’m going now.”
“Go get ‘er Jeff,” Joel said from his spot next to Mesa. “I can vouch for the bein’ in love thing.”
“Shut up, Joel,” Jonathan replied. “You’re sappy in love.”
“Just wait until he comes back with her. He’ll be the same way.”
“God, I hope not. Y’all are makin’ me ill.”
“You’ll get your turn, Jonathan. Just wait.”
“I need the address.”
“Wait a second. I’ll be right back.” His mom disappeared for a minute before returning with a sticky note. “Here. Be careful.”
“Watch Ben, please,” Jeff asked his mom.
“Of course, son. We’ll see you in a couple of days.”
Jeff hurried out the door to the cheers of the crowd in the dining room. The smile spreading across his lips almost made his face hurt, but he was happy. For the first time in a long time, he was happy.
After jumping in his truck and turning the key for the third time, he knew he had a problem. It wouldn’t start. His old reliable Chevy wouldn’t start. Fuck! He banged his hand on the steering wheel before he pushed open the door and then slammed it shut again.
He raced for the lodge to borrow his parents’ truck. Damn it. I’m not letting her get away.
When he hit the door, he almost ran into his mother coming out. “Problem?”
“I can’t get my truck to start.”
She pulled the keys to theirs from her pocket. “Go!”
“Thanks, Mom.” He kissed her on the cheek before rushing around the edge of the building to where their truck sat.
Within seconds he tore down the gravel driveway silently asking for forgiveness at tearing up the rocks on his way out. He hit the gate opener on the visor above his head, early enough to watch the wrought iron metal swing just wide enough for the truck to get through.
The ride to Houston would take three plus hours. He had a lot of time on his hands to think about what he would say to her besides I love you. What did you say to a woman who thought you didn’t trust her? I’m sorry would be a good starter, he figured. Then I love you. He shook his head. He needed to beg for her forgiveness. Tell her he trusted her and loved her with all his heart.
“Damn, this is getting sappier by the minute.”
Flowers. Good idea.
He’d stop somewhere along the way to get a dozen roses. Hell. He didn’t even know what flowers she liked, what her favorite color was or anything. What about her family? Did she have siblings? Were her parents still alive?
Doubts began to surface. How could he love someone he knew so little about? Yeah, they were good in bed together and they could learn more about each other over time, but what really did they have to build a relationship on?
“She loves Ben. There’s a start. It’s a hell of a lot more than Misha had and she gave birth to him.” He sighed. “I’ll learn about her. We can spend the next two days talkin’.”
Yeah right.
“Okay, makin’ love and then talkin’.”
Before he knew it he was on the interstate headed for Houston singing along with the radio. His fingers tapped along with the beat while he wondered if she might have the radio on in her car. What if he called the station and dedicated a song to her? Would she hear it? Would she care?
He grabbed his cell phone from the clip on his belt and dialed. Luck seemed to be on his side when the DJ picked up.
“KJ Country what can I do for you?”
“Listen, man. I need a huge favor. I’m chasin’ a girl down to tell her I love her and I want to see if you’ll play a song in case she’s listenin’.”
“Sure, man. How about I record you and we’ll get it over the airwaves in the next fifteen minutes.”
“You are fantastic.” He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Okay. I’m ready.”
“I’ll do a little intro and then I’ll have you come on. What’s your name, dude?”
“Jeff Young.”
“All righty, Jeff. Ready?”
“Yeah.”
“Well folks, we have a brokenhearted cowboy on the line wanting to dedicate a song to one special lady friend. Are ya there, Jeff?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go ahead, man.”
“I want to send Cowboys and Angels out to Terri Kennedy. We had a bit of a misunderstanding and she’s headed back home to Houston right now. Terri, baby, I love you and I don’t care if I have to chase you across the map. I’m gonna find you and tell you in person how much I love you.”
“Cool man. I hope you catch her.”
“Thanks, bro. You’re the best.”
They clicked off the recording and the DJ came back on the line. “Thanks, Jeff. I hope you catch your lady friend.”
“Oh, I will sooner or later, but thanks for running the song for me. She’s my angel and I can’t wait to hold her again.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Jeff clicked off the phone and waited during the longest fifteen minutes of his life for the song to come on. Then what?
When the DJ came on, he heard his voice as he held his breath.
Chapter Thirteen
Tears had long ago dried on her face during the drive toward home. She wouldn’t cry anymore for him. Damn him! Falling in love with him was the stupidest thing she could have done, but alas, it happened and she would have to deal with it for the rest of her life. Maybe someday she would find someone to take his place. Somehow she wasn’t so sure.
She inhaled a sharp, weary sigh and reached over to turn on the radio. Maybe a little music would help. “I hope they don’t play a bunch of sappy love songs. I sure don’t need those right now.”
A few songs later she found herself tapping her fingers on the steering wheel in rhythm to Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy. It wasn’t a sappy song, but it still reminded her of Jeff.
Will everything remind me of him?
“Probably for a hell of a long time to come.”
“Hey, folks. I have a special request from a lonely cowboy. He’s got a plea for a special lady. Take a listen and I hope she hears this. We recorded this a few minutes ago.”
Terri half listened as the DJ’s recording came on.
“Well, folks, we have a brokenhearted cowboy on the line wanting to dedicate a song to one special lady friend. Are ya there, Jeff?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go ahead, man.”
“I want to send Cowboys and Angels out to Terri Kennedy. We had a bit of a misunderstanding and she’s headed back home to Houston right now. Terri, baby, I love you and I don’t care if I have to chase you across the map. I’m gonna find you and tell you in person how much I love you.”
“Cool man. I hope you catch her.”
“Thanks, bro. You’re the best.”
Her heart pounded in her ears. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? Jeff on the radio saying he loved her?
She fumbled with her purse, trying to grab her cell phone without crashing her car. When she checked her phonebook, she cussed under her breath. She didn’t have his number!
The DJ came back on. “Terri if you’re listenin’, darlin’, give me a call here at the station. I want to find out what happens between you and Jeff. Of course, you can wait until you actually hook up with him somewhere along the highway.” The guy rattled off the number as he laughed and then moved onto something else.
Her hands shook. She wasn’t sure what to do as she continued to drive along at seventy miles an hour toward home. She couldn’t call him. She could call the ranch and ask for his number. Hmm. What should she do? Call the station and hope he was still listening on his end of the radio dial? Should she wait until she got home? No, she couldn’t do that. It would drive her nuts to wait that long.
She quickly dialed the radio station.
“KJ Country.”
&nbs
p; “I’m Terri Kennedy.”
“Well hello, Terri Kennedy.”
“Is this the DJ who talked to Jeff?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I can’t call him. I don’t have his number.”
“Where are you, darlin’?”
“On the interstate about an hour out of San Antonio. Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure, honey.”
She glanced at the roadside sign as a plan formed in her head. “Get on the radio and tell Jeff to meet me in the parking lot of the Quickie Mart off the highway.” She rattled off the exit number to the DJ, thanked him and hung up, then waited for him to come on the radio.
The exit came into view and she pulled her car off the highway to wait. God, this wait is gonna kill me for sure. If he just left San Antonio, it would be probably forty-five minutes before he would get off the exit and they would know whether what he said came from the heart or not.
The DJ came on the radio again and put her message out there for all of San Antonio to hear. She hoped Jeff heard it. What if he didn’t? What if he thought when I didn’t call that I don’t love him too or I don’t care if he loves me? What about the trust thing? He probably still thinks I’m working for the developers and out to ruin him and his family. The financial information seemed to be a stickler for him, but all I wanted was information to make sure they were secure enough financially to fight the developers in court if need be.
Terri sat in her car watching the off ramp for his beat up Chevy truck. The minutes ticked off slower than molasses in June. Every few minutes, she cursed the slow time.
Several cars, trucks, and big rigs got off the exit, but no Jeff.
“What the hell? Shouldn’t he be here by now?”
A black dully pickup was the next one off the exit, coming at her like a bat out of hell. It drove straight for her car, almost looking like the driver didn’t plan to stop until he ran over the hood of her car.
The driver stopped at her front bumper, but didn’t exit the truck.
Terri held her breath. Jeff doesn’t drive a black truck.
Her heart pounded in her ears as she waited.
The door opened and a guy in a black Stetson stepped out.
Her mouth went dry.
Jeff.
She opened her door and rushed around the doorframe straight into his arms.
The minute their lips met in a heart-melting kiss, a huge roar of applause erupted around them.
They broke apart long enough to see a hundred people surrounding them clapping and cheering.
Heat crawled up her neck and splashed across her cheeks in embarrassment. Apparently, all these people heard them on the radio as they hollered congratulations.
“Come back to the ranch with me.”
“But…”
“But what? I’m guessin’ you heard me on the radio.”
“I did, but I want to hear it from you.”
“I love you, Terri. You own my heart.” He cupped her face. “We can work out the rest later.”
“The rest?”
“Do you love me?” he asked, fear clear in his gray eyes.
She threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. “Yes. God, yes. I love you with all my heart.”
“Good. Everything will work itself out then.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
He kissed her eyes, both cheeks and then pressed a quick one to her lips. “A few facts I realized I don’t know about you is all, darlin’. I know enough to know I love you and want you in my life.”
“And Ben?”
“He loves you. He already asked me when I was gonna ask you to be his new momma.”
“I would love to be his new momma.”
“We’ll plan the rest later. Right now we need to find somewhere so I can love you like I want to.”
“Why don’t we wait until we get to my place? I have a great bed.”
“You’ll move home with me?”
Trepidation rushed through her. What if he still didn’t trust her? “What about the trust thing?”
“Mom told me what you did for me…for the family. I still don’t understand why you needed the financial information, but finding the rare bird was priceless. I would have loved to seen the developer’s face when you told him his land was worthless to build on.”
“I wanted to make sure your family was financially secure enough to fight them in court if need be. It could still go to court, Jeff, but the wildlife resource committee is on your side. The last thing they want is to have to try to relocate a rare bird’s nesting ground for some home developers. The judge they got to sign the order declaring it a wildlife refuge is fully onboard with the whole thing. He knows the drill.”
“All thanks to you.”
“There are a few more things we need to talk about with your family’s property, Jeff. I found a few other things that might be of interest.”
He pressed his fingers to her lips. “Later, darlin’. Right now I want nothin’ more than to sink into your sweet heat and never come out, but we certainly can’t do that here in the parking lot of the Quickie Mart.”
A giggle left her lips. “You’re right, but how am I supposed to drive home knowing you’re behind me all hard and waiting?” She shifted her hips, brushing her pelvis against his erection. “All for me?”
He hissed as a low growl left his lips. “You’ll pay for torturing me.”
“Oh, I certainly hope so.”
* * * *
Terri groaned as she rolled over and opened her eyes. Sunlight poured through the blinds on her window. Jeff lay on his stomach next to her with his head buried in the pillow, snoring softly. They didn’t go to sleep for a long time after they reached her apartment. Loving a cowboy definitely had its perks.
The tattoo on his shoulder blade caught her attention. She’d seen it before, but the night he’d slept in her cabin, he’d been in such a rush to get out before anyone saw him, she hadn’t had a chance to examine it closely.
The dragon started on his shoulder blade and ended with its tail wrapped around his upper arm like a tribal tattoo. It suited him to a T. Ben’s name graced the arch of the dragon’s back. A tribute to the love this man had for his son. She slowly traced the nose of the dragon with her finger, loving the feel of his skin under her touch.
“You’re gonna make me hard again, you know,” he said, without opening his eyes.
The little quirk of his lips made her heart race. “I hope so.” She leaned over to kiss the tattoo. “I love how you have Ben’s name on your back.”
“He’s my life.” He rolled over and pulled her into his arms so her head rested on his chest. “Now, you’re my life too.”
“I know, Jeff.”
He kissed the top of her head as he trailed a fingertip down her arm. “You know. I don’t know much about you at all. Family? Where do your parents live?”
“South of Houston. Santa Fe actually.”
“Siblings?”
“One brother.”
“Will it be strange for you to be a part of such a big family?”
She laughed, propping herself up on her elbow to look into his eyes. “Are you kidding me? I’ve always wanted to have more brothers or sisters, but my mom got cervical cancer and had to have a complete hysterectomy.”
“I hope she’s okay now.”
“She is. She’s been cancer free for ten years. I count every day with her as a blessing.”
“I bet.”
She laid her head back on his chest.
“Where were you born?”
“Houston. I’ve lived there all my life. Santa Fe is just south of Houston.”
“What’s your favorite color?”
“Blue. What about you?”
“Green.”
“You aren’t saying that because my eyes are green, are you?”
“They are? I hadn’t noticed.”
She punched him in the side before he rolled her over onto her b
ack and straddled her hips. She didn’t even have time to blink. The scruff on his cheeks deliciously abraded her skin as he kissed her neck, across her shoulder and then scooted down to nuzzle her breast.
“I want your ass, Terri.”
His lips on her nipple made her shiver. Goose bumps flittered across her body in a wave, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. “Like smacking it or what?”
“No, I wanna fuck it.” His words sounded muffled against the skin of her breast.
Her nipple hardened under the rough slide of his tongue. “Did you say you want to fuck it?”
He lifted his head as his eyes seemed to dance with the flame of need. “Yeah. Will you let me?”
“If you promise to make sure things are well lubed. I’ve never had a man there before.”
“Sure, baby. I would never do anything to hurt you. I’ll make sure you’re so excited, you’ll beg me.”
She giggled. “Beg, huh?” Nerves wracked her body, but she trusted Jeff. She loved him so if he wanted to do her ass, she’d work with it.
“Oh yeah.”
His hand slipped down her abdomen to play in the curls at the juncture of her thighs. “Open for me.”
She spread her legs as she sighed her pleasure when his fingers pushed inside her pussy. God, I love this man more than life itself. “Please.”
“Please what?”
“More.”
He quickly spun around into a sixty-nine position before he slid his lips down her body, stopping momentarily to flick his tongue around her belly button before continuing down to bury his face between her thighs. She cupped his balls, rolling the hard little nuggets between her fingers. He moaned deep in his throat. The sound reverberated against her skin.
The rough pad of his tongue felt like heaven on her swollen, heated tissues. At the rate he was eating her out, she wouldn’t last long before she came undone in a high scream loud enough to wake the neighbors. “God, Jeff.”
He shoved two fingers deep inside her and pumped the digits until she felt her pussy clamp down on them. Her wail of ecstasy sounded primal with need. Never mind she’d already had this man twice the night before.
One finger spread the juices from her pussy to her ass. She shivered as he slowly pushed one finger past the ring of muscles. The intrusion burned slightly, but wasn’t completely unpleasant. His tongue made a return trip to her clit, flicking the distended button back and forth until she felt on fire again.
Healing a Cowboy's Heart (Cowboy Dreamin' 2) Page 15
