by Candis Terry
In order to keep the catcalls and jokes to a minimum as he returned to the table, he stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. An action he’d learned years ago that helped disguise any evidence of uncontrollable physical attraction.
He hadn’t had an issue with keeping himself in check since all those years ago when he’d first discovered that girls smelled pretty, wore skimpy underwear, and had body parts under that silky underwear that were infinitely more interesting than his own. He shook his head. With Allison, all those uncontrollable urges came back full force.
And on top of everything else, she hadn’t answered his question.
So what was it that Allison really wanted? And why was she so evasive?
“What’s up?” Jackson asked, as Jesse came back to the table, grabbed his ale, and sat down.
“Ever feel like you’re back in the battle?”
His brother’s gaze slid to the attractive focus of Jesse’s attention. “Know exactly what you’re talking about. She know you’ve got a thing for her?”
“Never said I had a thing.”
Jackson leaned his head back and laughed. “Hell, you were both heating up that dance floor so bad everyone else had to move away or get singed.”
He knew that. He could feel it in every pore in his body. The lasting effects had made his damned jeans uncomfortable. He glanced across the table, where Allison had tipped his Stetson back on her head and plopped her luscious behind between Brady and Charli’s brother Nick. Judging by their smiles, neither man was oblivious to her charms. Jesse tilted his bottle and took a long drink to cool his ever-increasing awareness.
“You’re imagining things, little brother,” he said.
“Ha! I love how you’re so good at handing out the advice—no matter in what wayward manner it’s delivered—and yet you suck at taking it.”
Jesse knew the reference was made to the way he’d tricked Jackson into thinking he was interested in Abby. His plan had been to get Jackson up off his ass and admit he’d been in love with her since they’d barely learned to tie their shoes. His strategy had worked.
“Maybe it’s time for you to step back and do exactly what you preached to both me and Reno,” Jackson said.
“Which is?” Not that he didn’t know exactly where this convo was headed.
“Go for it.” Jackson’s familiar frown appeared. “Don’t lose what’s right in front of you because you’re too damned stubborn to grab hold of what you want.”
“Have you ever known me to not grab hold?”
“Yeah. Now.”
Jesse slid his gaze across the table and noticed the attention Brady and Nick were pouring on Allison. They were both good-humoredly competing. And from what he could tell, she didn’t mind their efforts.
“In case you’ve forgotten,” Jesse told Jackson, “she’s the daughter of the man our mother is about to marry.”
Jackson’s broad shoulders lifted. “So?”
“So that means we’re about to be related.”
“Before you go inserting any eeew factor . . . you will be related by marriage, not blood. And if you’re thinking along the lines of putting a ring on—”
“Whoa.” Jesse leaned back and tossed Jackson a look that said he was about to step into bat-shit-crazy territory. “Don’t even go there.”
“Okay.” His little brother smiled. “But when you go there, I promise I won’t say I told you so.”
At that moment, Jake—who looked to be about two and a half sheets to the wind—stood, and announced “Pool party.”
Before Jesse could summon the strength to say “Not tonight” and handle the disappointed partygoers, the designated drivers had keys in hand and everyone headed toward the door.
Chapter 11
The ride to Jesse’s house became a lesson in Girl Talk 101 Allison was positive she’d never even had with her own sister. Apparently, men couldn’t claim ownership or sole bragging rights when it came to sexual escapades.
These women weren’t shy about speaking their minds. They made her laugh with stories of their sexual adventures and misadventures. Abby had a story about her and Jackson and a staircase, while Charli and Reno had a close encounter that got busted up by Deputy Brady Bennett. And Paige Marshall described how as an Army of One, she’d taken down her new former Army Ranger husband, Aiden, creek side.
Danielle—who’d held on to her virtue for a long time in order to snag the best-looking guy in school—had never talked about doing the deed.
To Danielle, giving a guy her virginity equaled a marriage proposal. Of course, in Danielle’s perfect world, waiting had worked out in her favor and she’d married her knight in shining armor. Allison had lost hers to Bobby Richards over Christmas break during her junior year of high school. By Valentine’s Day, he’d moved on to charm another girl or two out of their bikini briefs.
The women crammed together in Abby’s SUV with a sober and pregnant Annie at the wheel, had a completely different take on finding their princes.
It seemed Charli had dated every slug in the garden before she accidentally came upon Reno. But even then, as she told the story, things hadn’t gone smoothly until the night of the Wilder Barbecue Extravaganza. When she thought she finally had Reno on the line, she dropped the bait by telling him she’d forgotten to put on panties under her dress.
Allison admired her creative thinking.
Abby had been in love with Jackson since she’d been about five years old, but other than the few times he’d let his guard down, he’d never looked her way other than friendship. So she’d left Sweet and married a dog of a man who had money but no class. When she finally came back to Sweet, she’d had to buy Jackson at an auction to finally get what she wanted.
And Annie, well, God bless the girl. She’d moved all the way to Seattle to find what she’d thought to be her Prince Charming. Only to discover after he abandoned her and their unborn baby that he’d been a toad all along.
Allison’s past relationships had been all over the board. Since she’d never planned to look for the man of her dreams, let alone anyone even semipermanent, she’d taken the outlook that variety was the spice of life. She’d never had visions of sugarplums, or having babies, or a man to take care of when he grew old. Other than her career, she’d tried to never look farther than the day she happened to be living.
The image of Jesse holding her in his arms flashed through her head. For the first time in her life, she thought it might be a good idea to get a broader perspective. Maybe Forest Gump was right. Maybe her usual box of chocolates had gone way past the expiration date.
Annie parked in Jesse’s long driveway, and they all stumbled out of the SUV. Giggling, Abby led the way to the back of Jesse’s house. There they found a door that opened into a large bathroom—a very user-friendly bathroom, where beach towels were stuffed into cubbies. Spray cans of sunscreen and bug spray filled an entire shelf. And an organizer box was stuffed with women’s bathing suits in every color imaginable. Abby grabbed a second box filled with men’s swim trunks and shoved it outside the door.
“We’ve all left our suits over here. Some of us have left several,” Abby said. “Jesse washes everything and puts it back for the next time.”
“Oh. Good.” Allison almost sighed with relief. “I was hoping this wasn’t going to be a skinny-dipping extravaganza.”
“We’re close.” Charli laughed. “But not that close.”
“Here.” Fiona grabbed a yellow-and-white string bikini from the pile and handed it to Allison. “This should fit you, and it will look better on you than it ever did me.” Then she turned to Annie. “How about we give you bottoms and you just wear one of Jesse’s T-shirts for a top.”
Annie laughed. “Good idea. Because I don’t think any of those bikinis has a tie long enough to wrap around this middle.”
<
br /> Curiosity tugged at Allison. “Can you feel the baby move yet?”
“For a long time now.” Annie took Allison’s hand and placed it on her big belly. As if on cue, the baby stretched out a foot or a hand or something, and Allison felt it press against her palm. She gasped and smiled at the wonderment.
“Haven’t you ever felt that before?” Annie asked.
Allison shook her head. “My sister wouldn’t let me or anyone else touch her stomach when she was pregnant. She always said it was private property.”
“That’s a shame. A baby’s a wonderful thing. Even if the father happens to be a jerkwad.”
“I’m guessing after what you’ve been through, you don’t believe in happily-ever-afters anymore,” Allison said.
“Oh, I still believe. And I’ll find mine one day. But right now, I’ve got this little one to worry about.”
Why Allison found it hard to believe that Annie wouldn’t give up on the dream every girl had, she didn’t know. She only found it fascinating. She didn’t know what they put in the water here in Sweet, but it seemed as though everyone was steeped in tradition.
Having led a life with such a clouded view of almost folkloric traditions, she’d wondered for years what all the hoopla was about. But as she looked around at the women laughing and enjoying life to the hilt, she had no choice but to believe that her views might have been harshly skewed.
More than anything, she wanted to believe there were people on this earth who were truly meant to be together till death did them part.
Danielle might just be the perfect example. She’d grown up in Dysfunction Junction too. Yet she’d found the perfect man with whom to share her life. She had two amazing little girls who seemed untouched by all the negatives their surrounding family members and society wanted to cast on them.
Danielle truly seemed to be living the dream.
Maybe their father would too. Maybe he and Jana had been meant to be all these years, but it took them this long to find each other.
“Thank you,” she said to Annie.
“For?”
“Letting me feel your baby.”
Annie laughed out loud and grabbed her in a hug that was slightly thwarted by the burgeoning belly between them. “Anytime Auntie Allison wants to touch, hold, or babysit, you just say the word.”
Something fluttered around Allison’s heart. She liked being an auntie. But for the first time in her life, she had an inkling that someday she might want something more.
As the women began to undress like they were in a high-school locker room, chattering like cartoon mice and with no modesty whatsoever, Allison smiled. She was an outsider. Yet without any effort, they’d somehow made her feel like a part of the family. It didn’t take much imagination to sense that in this family if you argued or got mad it all worked out. No one left in a huff or took to their bed for days pouting and whining until they got what they wanted.
She sensed that this family would yell, maybe cry, then they’d hug it out and go on like nothing had ever happened. She didn’t understand that world, but she was eager to find out how and if she might fit in.
Once they were all down to bikinis, they opened the door and went outside. Allison had never felt the need to hide her body, but she’d never been much of an exhibitionist either. For some reason, knowing Jesse would be looking at her filled her with an odd sort of energy and more than a little trepidation.
Would he like what he saw?
Did it even matter?
Because at the end of the day, she was only here on a temporary basis.
The pool area was aglow with tiki torches, colorful patio lights, and white fairy lights that dotted the trees around the pool and waterfall. All that mixed with the vibrant landscaping lights amongst the bushes set a magical mood. A stereo had been turned on, and the band coming through the speakers sang a song about motorboating on the Pontoon. Water splashed high in the pool as Jake Wilder performed a perfect cannonball off the diving board.
Allison immediately got caught up in the party atmosphere. The camaraderie. The close-knit relationships within the group. Her gaze scanned those in and around the pool and came to a screeching halt when she found Jesse standing at the edge.
In a pair of baby blue board shorts with droplets of water running off his unbound hair onto his shoulders and sliding slowly off those broad shoulders and down that amazing chest, he looked . . . wow. The wings-of-freedom eagle tattoo on his left biceps and the words NO REGRETS on his inner forearm flashed as he lifted a longneck bottle to his mouth and took a drink. He laughed at something Nick Brooks said, then he lowered that amber glass and licked a droplet off his bottom lip.
Whew.
Her girl parts shimmied while her heart simply tried to stay in control.
Her imagination?
That took off into forbidden Fantasyland.
As if he sensed her standing there, he turned and gave her a slow smile. On a sigh, she realized she would have stood there forever and waited for those chiseled masculine lips to curl, if only for the responding shiver it sent through her core.
“You swim?” he asked.
She stepped closer while the other girls did various leaps off the side of the pool and into the water. “I’m no Michael Phelps, but I frog paddle pretty good.”
“And you look much better in a bikini than Phelps ever could.” His smile lingered as his eyes took an appreciative ride down her body. “You want something to drink?”
She shook her head, knowing that all her mouth was thirsty for was the water dripping off his body.
“Well then, jump on in and enjoy yourself.” He gave a nod toward the pool. “You might want to try going off the deep end. See how that feels.”
“I’m not much of a deep-end jumper.”
“Sometimes you just have to let it all go.” His broad shoulders came up in a shrug. “Take a chance. See where it will take you.”
“Are we talking about swimming?”
He moved toward her until they were practically toe-to-toe. All the other sights and sounds around them blurred as if they didn’t exist. His eyes darkened, and her entire body reacted to his unmistakable desire.
She tried to remember the last time she’d had sex, and the answer took a while to come to her. She could use deprivation as an excuse for her peaked nipples and the warm ache between her thighs. Looking at him could be equaled to oohing and aahing over Brad Pitt in Troy or Chris Hemsworth in Thor or even Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. He was a good-looking guy with a mouthwatering physique and a killer smile. But she knew it was more than his looks that struck her in the solar plexus. She didn’t know exactly what it meant or where it would take her, but for the moment, she planned to enjoy the ride. Because as with everything else, whatever it became wouldn’t last.
“Swimming? Sure.” A quick grin lit up his face. “Enjoy.” Before she could blink, he gave her a little push, and in she went. The cool water sluiced over her head, and the shock of what he’d done floated up as she broke through the surface.
“What did you do that for?” she sputtered.
Grin still in place, he hunkered down at the edge of the pool and pointed at her with his bottle of ale. “Sometimes it’s good to remember that the unexpected things in life can be fun and exciting.”
She swept her wet hair from her face and frog paddled to the edge.
He gave her a wink. “Have a nice swim, darlin’.”
As he rose to leave, something devious that felt really good sparked inside her. Before he got too far she reached up, grabbed his arm, and gave a good yank. He and his bottle of ale tumbled into the water beside her. When his head broke the surface his cocky grin had vanished. Hers emerged.
“Wasn’t that fun and exciting?” She laughed at the shocked expression on his face, then quickly swam away to join t
he others in the shallow end, where a game of pool volleyball was in full swing.
After a time of laughter and good-hearted competition—at least on the girls’ side—the boys won. Apparently, when it came to water games, chivalry was dead.
Eventually, everyone got out of the pool, refreshed their drinks, and assembled around the fire pit, where flames snapped and danced and warmed their chilled bodies. The gathering reminded Allison of the first night she’d arrived at Wilder Ranch. Yet unlike that night, when she’d been unprepared for the barrage of questions the family had tossed her way, tonight’s conversation was about the Texas Rangers and where everyone thought they stood to win the pennant.
All through the lively discussion, Allison could feel the heat of Jesse’s gaze. The several times she’d looked up and caught him, he hadn’t bothered to look away. He’d offered no smile—especially when she’d been engaged in conversation with the handsome and witty Nick Brooks. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t remember a time she’d felt more alive or alert.
Each time she caught his gaze, she wondered what was going on inside his head.
On her end, there was no thinking going on at all.
With those intense blue eyes of his sending all kinds of crazy tingles down into her bikini bottoms, her body was doing the talking.
How did she feel about that?
The flickering light from the tiki torches reflected in his hair as her gaze licked over him.
She felt stimulated.
Curious.
Impatient.
And exactly like her veins had been pumped with kerosene.
Jesse stood beside Jake and gave his best shot at listening to the conversation around his fire pit. On any given day, he’d be fully engaged because the current topic—the Rangers—were his team. He’d been a die-hard fan for as long as he could remember. But tonight, everything had changed, and the Rangers came in second place to Allison, who looked unbelievably hot in her yellow bikini. All that thick, luscious hair falling over her shoulders and down her back made his chest tingle as if the feathery tips danced across his skin.
