by Candis Terry
“You look like a sunshine, fresh daisies, and bubble-bath kind of girl,” he said.
“Well I do like all of the above, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love Westerns too. I used to sit on the sofa with my dad on Saturday afternoons and watch reruns of the Duke or Clint Eastwood.”
“Yep. Me.” He pointed to himself. “In love.”
Knowing his comment was a joke, she laughed. Even as some crazy part of her soul wished it wasn’t. “How about I let you finish eating while I go out and start bringing stuff in?”
“Care to join me?” He pointed his fork at the stir-fry. “There’s plenty here for both of us.”
“I must confess that I grabbed a pulled pork sandwich at Sweet Pickens earlier.”
He pulled out the stool next to him. “Then how about I pour you a glass of wine, and you sit right here beside me while I eat? I don’t get much company at mealtime. It’s kind of nice.”
The sincerity in his tone left her no choice but to grab a glass of the Riesling she’d found in the fridge and join him at the island.
“You ever tell anyone your deepest, darkest secrets?” she asked.
The fork halted halfway to his mouth. Brows pulled tight, he turned his head to look at her. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged and sipped her wine. “I get the feeling that, aside from the sad things that happen with your job, there’s something else troubling you.”
Expression shuttered, he looked away.
Allison waited. Watched while he took a long drink from his bottle of Shiner and swiped a drop from his bottom lip with his tongue. As she watched him struggle with the nerve she knew she’d hit, she wanted to reach out and wrap in him her arms. To take away whatever it was that seemed to stop him cold.
He brought his head back around to look at her. “You’re a very perceptive woman.”
“Sometimes one troubled soul just recognizes another.”
“I appreciate that. But it’s nothing I can talk about.”
“Because I’m a stranger?”
Slowly he shook his head. “Because I made a promise.”
“To who?”
His broad chest expanded on a sigh, then he dug back into his stir-fry as though they were merely discussing the weather.
“Jared.”
“If you can’t tell me,” she said, “tell someone you trust. I know how much you love your brother. And I’m sure at the time he asked you to keep whatever it was secret, it was appropriate. But it’s obvious that whatever it is, it is tying you up in knots. And if your brother is half the man I think he was, he’d never want that.”
He studied her face. Then a small smile tilted his lips.
“As I said, you’re a perceptive woman.”
“I’ll drink to that.” She lifted her wine, and he tapped his bottle of ale against the glass.
While Allison would love nothing more than to know what it was that Jared had asked Jesse to keep in his confidence, she knew it was time to let him figure out what he needed to do about it.
They sat at the kitchen bar long after his meal, discussing their favorite movies. While he typically favored The Transporter and the Mission Impossible series, she naturally preferred anything where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks shared the screen. Their favorite TV shows were equally diverse, with him loving Dexter and Boardwalk Empire and her adoring anything HGTV or Food Network. Music? Their tastes didn’t even float in the same genre. As a wild-eyed Southern boy, he fancied Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Zac Brown Band, and Luke Bryan. She leaned more toward Katy Perry, Aerosmith, and Nora Jones.
However, their tastes came together as they discussed Charli and Reno’s upcoming wedding and the reception that would take place in his backyard. Their chat flowed effortlessly, as if they were old friends instead of new acquaintances.
They finally brought in all the items she’d snagged from his mother’s loft, and together they worked to put the shine on the empty rooms. They’d added some very eclectic boxes, baskets, a rusted Texas star, and a collection of old clocks that went in the living room. They’d also found a home for her favorite piece—a folk art chest Jana had rescued from an old barn about to be torn down. They’d even hung the black velvet John Wayne.
Before she knew it, the clock had ticked past midnight, and by the time she headed toward the door, Jesse looked as exhausted as she felt. Still, the Southern gentleman in him wouldn’t let her walk out to his brother’s truck alone.
She opened the truck door.
When Jesse glanced inside the cab at all the paraphernalia Jared had left behind, he gave an audible sigh.
“Damn I miss him.”
“I can only imagine.” Emotion welled up. “Riding around in his truck has given me a little bit of a sense of who he was. I can tell he was fun-loving and sweet.”
“He was the best of us.”
“I really am sorry for your loss. But as far as the best? I think you may be selling yourself too short.” She stepped closer and laid a hand on his broad chest. Beneath her palm, his heart beat steady and strong. “You think about what I said about talking to someone. Okay? The last thing Jared would want to do would be to make you suffer.”
He nodded as he drew her into his arms. For a moment, as they stood in that wordless embrace, something powerful materialized in her heart. Something that said this was more than just sexual attraction. Something that felt very much like a warning that she was getting too close. Too involved. Something that said if she stayed another second, she’d be irrevocably lost.
“I have to go.” She broke the embrace and quickly climbed into the driver’s seat. Before she could change her mind, she closed the door and turned the key in the ignition.
He clapped his hands over the open window. “What’s your hurry?”
“It’s late.”
The furrow between his dark brows was so endearing she almost turned the truck off. Instead, she stuck her arm out the window, grabbed a handful of his shirt and tugged him close. Before she could think or stop herself, she kissed him. She’d meant it to just be a quick I’ve-come-to-my-senses, see-you-later peck on the lips. But everyone knew what they said about good intentions.
His long fingers threaded through her hair, and his grip tightened as if he didn’t plan to let her go. Earlier, the kiss had started out gentle and almost sweet. Now, with his lips pressed against hers, coaxing her to open to him, he moaned a sound of want and need that made her want to crawl through the window to get closer. She succumbed to the slick glide of his tongue and the warmth that spread through her limbs like honey.
Before she threw caution and her sanity out the window, she broke the kiss.
Came up for air.
And immediately regretted her decision.
“You are a dangerous man, Jesse Wilder.”
With a sigh, she put pedal to the metal and roared down the driveway with a spew of gravel. In the rearview mirror she could see him still standing there, hands on those slim hips, looking hotter than hell and very much like a man she could love.
It took everything she had to keep her foot on the gas and keep going.
Chapter 9
On a good day, Bud’s Nothing Finer Diner was a busy spot for the breakfast bunch. On a great day, it became standing room only. When Jesse stepped inside to meet up with his brothers, the place was packed with the senior citizens who never failed to liven things up.
As he made his way toward the back booth where Reno, Jackson, and Jake all sat sipping cups of Bud’s smooth dark brew, he was stopped by Gladys Lewis and Arlene Potter. The ladies sat at one of the big round tables in the center of the restaurant with six other golden girls. To say that after their unorthodox visit the other night he was a bit apprehensive to stop and chat was an understatement.
“Sit yourself down and join us,” Arlene said, pattin
g the empty chair between her and Gladys.
“As much as that would be a pleasure . . .” Not to mention entertaining and scary as hell. “I’ve come to meet with my brothers for some last-minute wedding instructions.”
Gladys tossed a look toward Reno. Her painted red lips lifted in a snarl. “Can’t believe we’re losing another good one to a younger woman. It’s all your fault for chasing him away the other night,” she said with a smack on Arlene’s arm.
“Me?” Arlene pointed to herself.
“Yeah you with all your talk about X-rated stuff. And I told you, you spiked the tea too hard.”
“So . . . ladies.” Panic slithered up Jesse’s back. “Gotta go.” When he reached his brothers’ table, they were snickering.
“What in the hell were you talking about with those two to get them so riled up?” Jackson laughed so hard, Jesse could swear he snorted the maple syrup off his pancakes.
“Not going there.” Jesse slid into the booth next to Reno and shuddered at the thought.
Jake stuffed a forkful of waffle in his mouth and spoke around the bite. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the lovely Allison Lane, would it?”
Jesse held up a finger so the server would know to bring him a cup of coffee. “Not going there either.”
“You suck,” Jackson said.
“Yeah,” Reno added. “You made us talk to you about Charli and Abby. What makes you think you get to be tight-lipped?”
“Because I’m better at it than any of you.” They all had no idea just how good.
“Bullshit.” This was said from all three of his brothers in a united grunt.
When their waitress showed up, he ordered the Cattleman’s Special, then leaned back in the padded seat to await the huge platter of sausage, bacon, and eggs.
“That shit’s gonna give you a heart attack.” Jake grabbed the creamer from the center of the table and poured a big splash in his coffee. “Then who’s going to escort the fair maiden Allison around town and dance with her in the dark at the Blue Armadillo?”
Jesse gave his little brother the stink eye. “Who told you about that?”
“I did.” Chester Banks wandered over to their table on bowed legs. His straw cowboy hat sat at a jaunty angle on his bald head but did nothing to disguise the size of his schnozzola. Somewhere in his eighty-plus years on earth, Chester’s eyeballs had shrunk, and his nose had grown to a magnanimous proportion. This, to everyone’s amusement, did not eliminate or lessen Chester’s amorous intentions toward any female over the age of thirty.
“And I come to talk to ya about it.” Chester leaned a skinny jeans-clad hip against the side of the booth. “Don’t think it’s fair that every time we get a new girl in town, you boys snatch her up before any of the rest of us get a chance.”
“Yeah,” Jake agreed with a huge grin. “What’s up with that?”
For some reason, everyone looked at Jesse. Not that he felt the need to explain, but he explained just the same. “I was just showing her around town. Being a good tour guide.”
His evil brothers had the gall to snort.
“Boy?” Chester’s forehead wrinkled up like tissue paper. “Them wandering hands of yours have a bigger reputation than any line of BS that mouth can spout. All the rest of us are asking is for a chance at an opportunity before you swing in like Tarzan and whisk her away.”
Apparently, no one had informed Chester that the chances of a woman under the age of seventy being interested in a man with more snow on his roof than fire in his engine were hardly likely. Still, Jesse had never been one to intentionally hurt anyone’s feelings.
When the diner door swung open, and Allison walked in, sunglasses atop her head pulling that silky hair back and wearing a flirty little yellow sundress, Jesse decided to give Chester his opportunity. Even as his primal instincts told him to grab her up, take her home, and finish what they’d started the night before.
“Have at it.” He nodded toward Allison, standing at the door surveying the diner.
Chester turned, and his expression lit up like an aluminum Christmas tree. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
Jesse and his brothers watched with shock and awe as Chester found a new giddyup to his getalong and shuffled off to put his best wooing skills to work.
“Think we should go rescue her?” Jackson asked.
“Naw.” Jesse grinned as the plate of his Cattleman’s Special was set down in front of him. He picked up his fork and dug in. “Believe me, that girl can handle herself just fine.” She certainly managed to keep him at bay.
As Chester gave his magic a go with a visibly reluctant Allison, Jesse tried to remain focused on his perfectly cooked eggs and not the woman who just last night had opened his eyes to something he’d tried to ignore for a long time. Something his baby brother had quickly pointed out. He’d built an enormous house that was far too quiet, and he’d been too busy to notice that when he came home at night, there was no one to talk to except Dinks and Rango. And unless you had a treat in your hand, their conversation skills were sorely lacking.
He hadn’t noticed he was lonely until Allison had popped in, made him dinner, then sat by his side chatting about what had happened during their day. He’d been pleasantly surprised how in just a few minutes, she’d brought an appealing level of hominess to his four walls with her infusion of décor, not to mention her warmth and laughter. The extraordinary sensation of holding her in his arms had made him want to keep her there forever. It wasn’t a feeling he was accustomed to. And he honestly didn’t know what the hell to do about it.
A quick glance across the restaurant made his heart wobble funny in a way that had nothing to do with the gut-bomb breakfast he’d been shoveling in. As she and her short little sundress made their way to the counter, Chester was hot on the heels of her wedge sandals.
With the flash of a smile and some pretty good evasion tactics, Allison seemed to be holding her own. When she sat down at the only available seat at the old-fashioned counter, Chester gave up and rejoined his cronies at the table in the corner.
“We should ask her to join us,” Jackson said.
Entertained, Jesse murmured over a bit of bacon, “She looks like she’s doing fine on her own.”
“Mom will kick our asses if we don’t display our Southern hospitality.” Jake slid out of the booth and headed toward the counter. Moments later, he returned sans Allison but wearing a big grin.
Jackson glanced over his shoulder. “She didn’t want to join us?”
“Nope.”
“What the hell’s so funny?” Jesse asked.
Jake gave him a look. “She thanked me for the offer then said she decided to play it safe today. Said you’d understand.”
Great.
While she was trying to play it safe, he was trying to break down barriers.
Guess the crux of the matter was, who would succeed?
For two days, Allison managed to keep her distance from Jesse. Though she’d driven past the pet clinic several times on her way here or there, she’d ignored the temptation to stop in unannounced, tear his clothes off, and have her way with him.
It had been a huge undertaking.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her that she couldn’t control the massive quantities of estrogen that pumped through her blood at just the sight of him; she only knew that where he was concerned, she had a major issue. Somewhere along the way, she’d discovered that there was a lot more to Jesse Wilder than met the ever-appreciative eye. He had a gigantic heart that made that six-foot-plus package of muscle even more appealing.
And that was just a huge turn-on.
In the meantime, she’d dodged offers of romance from a bowlegged cowboy named Chester and several of his good-time buddies who, despite their advanced ages, clearly intended to give the handsome
Wilder brothers a run for their money.
With two wedding catastrophes resolved, Allison now had a solution to finding someone to replace the incarcerated reception deejay. Her quick trip to Austin had spotlighted two possibilities—a nice country cover band that specialized in tunes ranging from Luke Bryan to Carrie Underwood, and a deejay with his own dance floor and lighting system. The only issue was the deejay mainly spun Elvis tunes and insisted on dressing in full Elvis garb.
Once Charli and Reno made their choice, Allison would book their selection, then head back to Seattle. Obligation complete. She was sure Danielle would be relieved to have her back.
When late afternoon rolled around, she headed toward Charli and Reno’s quaint ranch-style home. After she parked near the barn behind an SUV and an economy car, she made her way up the front walkway. She couldn’t help admiring the inviting veranda, with its rocking chairs and flowerpots with brightly colored geraniums spilling over the sides. It seemed all the Wilders shared the love of a homey porch.
In the back of Charli and Reno’s home there was a nice yard and a lush vegetable garden. While Allison had never been raised in such an environment, she could definitely understand its appeal. And at this home, much like the main house at Wilder Ranch, she could see the traditions that seemed to breathe in every nook and cranny.
The only ritual her mother had ever taught her and Danielle had been to make sure they served ham on Thanksgiving because turkey was so troublesome, and black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year’s Day. Allison knew if she ever had the opportunity to cook a real Thanksgiving dinner, she’d go old school. Because even though her mother had no regard for traditional values, Allison was quickly learning to have a great appreciation.
As soon as she knocked on the door, it whipped open, and Charli stood there in a calico-print apron with what appeared to be smears of cherries down the front. Her little orange poodle Pumpkin and Reno’s dog Bear danced at her bare feet.
“Hey!” Charli’s face lit up. “You’re just in time.”
“For?”
“Canning.” Charli grabbed her by the arm and hauled her into the house.
