Bravely, she stepped into her flip-flops before kneeling down to clip Ilsa into her harness. “Time to go home, lil’ sweetie.” She patted the pig’s head affectionately. At least she wasn’t going home alone. “We’ll have so much fun. We can make popcorn and watch movies. You’ll love it.” Holding the leash in one hand, she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. Eventually she’d have to come back for Ilsa’s crate, but she wasn’t about to ask for help loading her car.
Keeping her spine straight under the guise of confidence, she walked regally down the narrow staircase with her adorable little piggy and halted in the kitchen.
The men were all there together, and they were four peas in a pod. It wasn’t their looks so much as their mannerisms, the way they ate, the way they sat hunched slightly, laid back and comfortable. She was glad to see they weren’t silent strangers anymore, but talking easily about the ranch.
“I can help get things started,” Lucas was saying. “At least from a distance. If you need me to consult on any purchases or—”
“Oh, hey, Jessa.” Levi was the first one to notice her.
Lance straightened and turned around.
She looked through him. “So, the fumigator people let me know that my house is done.” She gripped the suitcase strap tightly in a fist. “Which means Ilsa and I can move back home and you guys can have the place to yourselves again.”
Lance’s chin dipped forward slightly as he studied her from across the room. She didn’t let her gaze settle in his.
“Thanks for letting me stay, Luis.” She quickly led Ilsa over and planted a kiss on the man’s cheek.
“Not a word about it.” He reached up and pulled her into a half hug that dangerously weakened her resolve. “It’s great having you here, Jessa,” the man said, cutting a stern look at his firstborn. “Don’t be a stranger, now.”
“Why don’t you stay for breakfast?” Lucas offered, rising to pull out another chair for her.
She swallowed hard. The threatening tears heated her throat. “Actually, I should get going so I can drop off my things at home before I head to the shelter.” She turned before they could read any trace of sadness on her face. “But I’m sure I’ll see everyone soon.” Without a more formal goodbye, she stooped to pick up the pig and walked out, keeping her head low as she made her way down the porch steps. “Here we go.” She opened the driver’s-side door and settled a snorting, grunting Ilsa on the passenger seat. As she loaded her bag into the back, the screen door banged open behind her.
She didn’t turn around. Didn’t have to. She could feel Lance behind her, feel him looking at her. Unable to face him, she climbed into the truck next to Ilsa and slammed the door shut. But the damn window was open, and before she could peel out he leaned in to gaze at her with those perceptive silvery eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said, slanting his head convincingly. “For what I said last night. I didn’t mean…well…it wasn’t what it sounded like.”
Jessa kept her gaze centered on the windshield. She couldn’t look at him or he’d see everything. “It’s fine,” she insisted, shoving the key into the ignition. “You don’t owe me an apology.” Technically, he didn’t owe her anything. That one morning in the kitchen, she’d told him she wasn’t interested in a relationship, either. She’d pretended to be just as detached as he could be.
“Come on, Jessa.” His hand rested on her thigh and sent sparks shooting up her chest. “Levi was being an ass. Okay? I was just trying to shut him up.”
“Sure. I get it.” She moved her leg so his hand fell away, so he couldn’t influence her with his touch. “The kitchen thing was…” Incredible. Impressive. Ravishingly hot. Not that she’d admit it right now. “…Fun. But you don’t owe me anything. It just happened. Not like I’m expecting you to change your whole philosophy on relationships or anything.” A humorless laugh slipped out. “I mean, I knew what I was signing up for. It was only a one-time thing and you—”
He pressed a finger against her lips to quiet her. “Let me take you out.”
“What?”
“On a date.” He paused as though the words had surprised him, too, but then he nodded. “Yeah. I want to take you on a date.”
“A date?” she repeated through a laugh.
“Yes. Is that so hard to believe? Isn’t that what people do when they like someone?”
“People, yes. But you?” As far as she knew, Lance had never dated a woman. He’d met women at bars. He’d met women out on the circuit. He’d for sure had women in his hotel rooms. But he didn’t date.
“Why not me?” he demanded with that sexy half grin that had gotten her into so much trouble in his kitchen.
“Listen…” She raised a hand to stop him right there. “I know what you’re trying to do here.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
He leaned in through the window, moving his face dangerously close to hers. “What am I trying to do, Jessa?”
Seduce her again. He was so damn good at it. Those eyes. They could practically undress her. “Um.” She attempted to focus. “You’re trying to make me feel better about things. Because let’s be honest. I don’t do one-night stands. Or one-afternoon stands. I’ve never done that. So maybe you feel bad and now you think you’re obligated to take me on a date, but—”
This time he lowered his lips to hers.
A sharp breath sliced through her lungs, cutting them open. God, it was the best kind of pain…
He pulled back. “Or maybe I just want to take you on a date.” His eyes held her in a daze. “Maybe I don’t want you to go home. Because that means I won’t see you every day. And maybe I want to see you. Maybe I was just trying to get my asshole brother off my back. And maybe I really do like you, Jessa. Did you ever think of that?”
One kiss and her lungs were nearly out of air. “That possibility hadn’t occurred to me,” she whispered, which brought back his grin.
“Please go on a date with me, Jessa. I’ll beg if I have to. I’ll get down on my knees right outside your truck.”
He was teasing her again and damn it, she couldn’t not smile at the man. “Um…”
He draped his arms over the open window and leaned close again. “Pretty please?” Tenderness crinkled the corners of his eyes. “You have to know I’d never tell Levi anything about how I really feel. We don’t have that sort of relationship.”
That was true. From what she’d seen, the eldest and youngest Cortez brothers had some competition between them.
“Let me take you out. I’ll make it worth the trouble.” The promise in the words matched the one beaming suggestively in his eyes.
“Okay.” She relented through a put-out sigh, hopefully covering the sudden rush that had her body humming. “Sure. Why not? I guess I’ll go on a date with you.”
His eyes brightened. “When?”
Yeah, like she had any ability to think through her schedule with her heart racing this way. Let’s see…he was leaving on Friday for Vegas, so… “Thursday?” she tried.
His lips quirked with exaggerated disappointment. “That’s a long time to wait.”
Okay, so it didn’t matter what she had going on. Based on her kitchen experience with the man, she’d cancel everything. “Wednesday?”
“Much better,” he murmured, giving her lips a long, sexy glance. “I’ll pick you up. Six o’clock.” He glanced at Ilsa. “Leave Pork Chop at home and wear jeans.”
Before she could ask him why, he walked back into the house.
* * *
He could get used to this. Having his brother home. Lance tossed his gloves onto the stable’s shelf. He’d been out training this morning, and somehow with Lucas out there, things had gone smoother than they had in a long time. Not that Lance didn’t appreciate Tucker, but Lucas had a way with animals. Somehow he’d calmed Wild Willy at the right moments and gotten his engine going when necessary. “Thanks for helping out today,” he said, hanging the halter on a nail.
“You’ve still g
ot it, you know.” Lucas paced the length of the bull run, seeming to inspect it. “Same thing that made Dad great.” He ran his hand along the rotted fence railing. “Even with this shitty setup, you’ve got the perseverance. You can get the win this year.”
“Hope so.” Lance joined him near the fence, noticing for the first time how shitty it was. “Haven’t had much time for keeping things up around here lately.” That wasn’t his thing. The equipment. The facilities. He wanted to ride. He wanted to raise bulls. “We’re gonna need help getting our operation off the ground. Can’t do it myself.”
“I can make some notes while I’m here. Look around and give you suggestions.” Lucas stuffed his hands into the pockets of his Wranglers and strode out of the stables and into the sunlight.
Lance followed. It was a hot day for the elevation. Had to be at least eighty. He slipped off his hat and swiped at the sweat that ran down his temples. “I’d sure appreciate it.” He’d appreciate it even more if his brother would stay on at the ranch. He could use the expertise. But he knew when to push and now was not the time.
After latching the stable door, he followed his brother down to the driveway.
“Where’s Levi anyway?” Lucas asked. “He could get his lazy ass out here and work on some of the fences for Dad.”
“Think he finally went to bed.” After Jessa had left the Tumble Inn last night, Lance hadn’t seen much of a point in hanging out, so he’d brought Luis and Lucas home. Levi, of course, had wanted to stay. Hadn’t come home until dawn, when they were getting breakfast on. Always the life of the party. Some things never changed. Lucas knew that as well as he did. When it came to the ranch, they wouldn’t be able to count on Levi for much other than scoring them free booze.
“Things okay with Jessa?” Lucas asked as they neared Lance’s place.
Other than the fact that he had no fucking clue what he was doing? “Think so. I’m taking her out on Wednesday.” That was a real shocker, even to him. When he’d seen her loading up her bag in her truck, desperation had washed over him. He’d felt like he was losing her. Which was insane considering he’d never had her in the first place. At least not officially.
“You’re taking her on a date?” his brother repeated with a low whistle. “Wow. So it’s serious then.”
The mocking tone hoisted Lance’s defenses. “It’s a date. Not a marriage proposal.”
Lucas stopped walking and faced him. “Have you ever met a woman you wanted to take on a date?”
Sure. Of course he had. He scrolled through recent history. Okay. So it’d been a while. “Haven’t had much time to date,” he pointed out. He’d been too busy building a career.
“You don’t have much time now,” his brother countered. “But you’re making time for this date.”
Damn Lucas’s insightful, philosophical nature. He never could be just another ordinary guy who stuck to safe topics like sports and rodeo gossip. He had a point, though. Lance had never bothered much with real dates. “Jessa’s different.” Than any other women he’d ever met. Or slept with. She didn’t try too hard. Didn’t fake it. She was genuine and empathetic. Honest. Real… Damn, he was whipped.
“Seems to me like she’s worth a date,” Lucas said, grinning as though he’d read all of Lance’s thoughts. “Dad already loves her, you can tell that much. She’s like the daughter he never had.”
“She loves him, too.” Took care of him exactly the way a daughter would…
“She worries about him,” his brother said pointedly.
That knot of tension pulled in his neck. “And I keep telling her he’s fine.” If there was something to worry about, Luis would tell him.
Lucas rubbed at his forehead. Something he used to do when he was nervous.
“What?” Lance asked.
His brother gazed past him, out to the mountains. “He has tremors. I noticed during breakfast. His hands shake. Sometimes his head, too.”
“He’s gotten old.” Not to be a dick, but his brother hadn’t been around. He didn’t know. “His arthritis flares up sometimes. That’s all it is.” He’d seen the tremors, too. Asked his dad about them, even. “He’s almost seventy.”
“You sure it’s not more than that?”
Before he could answer, Naomi’s car bounced up the driveway and parked in front of her house across the way.
The door opened and Gracie jumped out. “Uncle Lance! Uncle Lance!” She sprinted over and launched herself into his arms.
He swung her up into the air and twirled her around before setting her feet back on the ground. “Hey there, Gracie. Where’ve you been?”
“I was at my art class!” She held out a paper in her hands. “Look! I drew a picture of you riding Wild Willy.”
Lance bent to study the paper, gawking at the fatheaded stick figure as though it were a work of art. “Wow.” As he stood, he happened to catch a glimpse of Lucas.
His brother stared at Naomi as she walked toward them.
“Who are you?” Gracie asked, pointing a finger at Lucas.
Naomi approached looking downright spooked, so Lance answered for her. “This is my brother. Lucas.”
The girl sized him up with a long glare, her lips puckered as though deep in thought. “So you’re sort of like my uncle, too?”
That brought a smile to Lucas’s face. He knelt in front of her. “Sure. I’d be happy to be your uncle.” He stuck out his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Gracie. Your mom is an old friend of mine.”
The girl’s eyes went wide. “Did you know my dad, too?”
“Oh no, honey. He didn’t.” Naomi lied. Mark had been Lucas’s best friend in high school. Naomi’s face flushed and Lance had never seen her look so flustered. “Why don’t you go and get your backpack out of the car. Okay?” She sent the girl off with a light pat. “I’ll be over in a minute and we can have a snack.”
“Okay!” Gracie shot away from them, bounding over the ground like a happy golden retriever.
Naomi faced them, but she wouldn’t look at either one of them. “Sorry about that. She’s never met a stranger.”
Lance stayed quiet. She definitely wasn’t apologizing to him.
His brother stepped closer to her, still looking at her like she was some sort of goddess. Lance almost shook his head. And Lucas thought he was pathetic with Jessa.
“It’s okay,” Lucas said. “I’m glad I got to meet her. She’s beautiful. She looks so much like you.”
The compliment was met with a cold shoulder. Naomi turned. “I should get going. Gracie is always starving in the afternoon.” She started to walk away, but Lance couldn’t let her.
“Wait.” He hooked a hand onto her shoulder and steered her back to them. “I was thinking maybe you could sit down with Lucas and show him the books.”
Her normally rosy face looked colorless. “Oh.”
“He’ll be consulting on our stock contracting operation,” he went on before she could say no. “Might be good for him to get an idea of how our budget is allocated.”
“Sure.” It came out in a nervous whoosh of air. “Uh.” She stared at the ground. “Yeah. Maybe this afternoon. Just…just stop by whenever.” She turned and hurried away.
She hadn’t even made it to her door when Lucas punched him in the arm. “Why the hell did you do that?”
Seemed Lucas didn’t like people interfering in his love life, either. “It won’t kill you two to spend a little time together.”
Lucas glanced over at Naomi’s house. “Spending time with me might kill her, from the looks of things.”
Naomi had definitely been rattled. But not because she hated Lucas. “And why do you think that is?” Lance asked in the same mocking tone Lucas had used on him earlier.
“Same reason no one else wants me around here,” his brother muttered. The moron.
Lucas turned and started for Lance’s house.
Lance followed him up the porch steps. His brother had lost everything because of a decision they’
d made when they were kids. He’d lived through the hell of prison time. Of being blackballed by his hometown. If anyone deserved something good, it was Lucas. “She might be worth coming back for.”
His brother’s back went stiff the way it used to before they’d start throwing punches. “I can’t live here under a label. I’m not like you. I don’t want to put myself out there for the judgment. Down at the McGowens’ place, I have my freedom. I am who I am. Not the kid who screwed up.” A small smile reminded Lance of Luis. “And I’m not one of the Cortez brothers. Not the son of Luis Cortez. No offense.”
“None taken.” Lance got that. Not wanting the labels. Hell, he’d been labeled his whole career. First as a superstar who was following in his great father’s footsteps, now as a has-been.
It sounded good, having that freedom. Setting your own expectations instead of trying to live up to everyone else’s. For years, the risk of failure had stalked him, driving him to become what the world needed him to be.
And now, it almost felt like it was too late to become anything else.
Chapter Nineteen
So…she was going on a date. Lance was taking her on a date. With Ilsa trailing behind her, Jessa pushed through the door of the shelter in a starry-eyed sort of wonder that made everything seem lovely and clean. She hardly noticed the dingy floors or the peeling drywall. The smell of dog food and animals.
She was going on a date!
“Wow, someone’s chipper for a Monday morning.” Xavier, her night shift guy, was hunched at the computer with his hand plastered to the mouse like he’d been in that exact position all night. Probably playing Dungeons & Dragons or something. Not that she cared. As long as someone was here to answer phones and take care of any animals that came in, he could do whatever he wanted.
Jessa floated over to the desk gracefully—probably looking like Grace Kelly in High Society. Well…minus the glamorous dresses, makeup, and heels. But those things weren’t practical for taking care of animals and cleaning out kennels. Giving up the fantasy, she plopped down in the chair next to Xavier and pulled Ilsa into her lap. “Can I help it if it’s a beautiful morning?” She swept an arm toward the streaked, grimy window. “I mean look at it. The sun is shining. The sky is so blue and perfect.” That was how the world had looked ever since Lance had officially asked her out earlier this morning.
Hometown Cowboy Page 19
