They cleaned up their table and started toward the exit. Kellen held the door open for her and they both stopped and stared at the pouring rain. It was beautiful because there was a patch of blue sky along the horizon and the setting sun shone brilliantly in contrast to the rain clouds.
“I’ll go get the umbrella,” Kellen said.
“A little rain won’t hurt me.”
She dashed out into the rain, and Kellen followed close behind her. She stood by the passenger door, waiting for him to unlock it.
“I can’t find my keys.”
“Tell me you’re joking,” Ivy said.
“I’m serious.” He patted all of his pockets. “They’re not here.”
Ivy started to laugh. She was completely drenched, and she could feel water running in rivulets down the part in her hair. “Do you think you locked them in the truck?” she asked between giggles.
Kellen shook his head. “It won’t lock with the keys inside the truck.”
All at once, he reached out and grabbed her hand and led her to an overhang to get them out of the rain. Still smiling, Ivy pushed her wet hair out of her face and looked up to find Kellen watching her intently. She really hoped the makeup Gwen had sold her was waterproof like the label had claimed.
He reached out and hooked a strand of hair she’d missed and slid it behind her ear. “You are not like any other girl I’ve ever met.”
His fingertips grazed her cheek, and she shivered from the incredible sensation of heat and ice his touch evoked. “Is that still a good thing?” she asked, mesmerized by the look in his eyes.
“Yeah.”
It occurred to her that one of her fantasies on her kissing list was to be caught in the rain and then seek shelter in a gazebo where the male lead would push her against the wall and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe.
They weren’t in a gazebo, but her back was pressed against the brick wall and they had definitely been caught in the rain. Quite frankly, she liked this version better than the one she’d put on that list. Now if he would kiss her, she would have at least fulfilled one thing on her bucket list to hold onto as a memory.
Kellen’s hands cupped her face, and her pulse quickened to a tempo that felt as if she’d just completed a 100-meter dash. He lowered his head, and Ivy’s eyes fluttered closed. Then a voice brought everything to a screeching halt.
“Hey, are these your keys?” the girl from Big C’s asked from under a clear umbrella.
Really? She couldn’t have waited until like sixty seconds later?
Kellen sighed deeply as he dropped his hands from her face and took the dangling keys. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Cashier Girl skipped off, completely oblivious to what she’d just done.
The moment was ruined. Ivy had a feeling if they were to try and re-create this moment, it would flop just like it had for Bill Murray’s character in the classic movie Groundhog Day.
With her heat source—AKA Kellen—gone, Ivy’s teeth started to chatter. She was drenched, and the slight breeze felt like an icy wind during January.
Kellen used the fob to unlock his truck. “Let’s get you warmed up.”
She was too cold to offer any creative ways they could warm up as she climbed up into the cab. Now that her brain wasn’t in a hormone induced fog, she was thinking much clearer. She and Kellen were friends. That’s all they could be.
He got in and started the truck and turned the heat all the way up. “Sorry, this might take a minute to warm up.” He reached behind him and handed her a denim jacket. “Put this on. At least it’s dry.”
“Thank you.” She put her arms in so the coat was backward. The first thing she noticed was how good it smelled. The second thing was that it wasn’t like wrapping up in a warm fuzzy blanket, but it was better than nothing.
“Sorry about that,” Kellen said, glancing over at her. “You gonna be okay?”
“I’m f-i-i-i-ine.” Her teeth were still chattering so her words came out sounding like a lamb.
“You’re freezing.” Kellen put the truck in gear to back out. “I better get you home so you can change into dry clothes.”
“That would be great.”
It was a little after seven. Much too early for their evening to end, but maybe it was for the best. As much as she’d wanted that kiss, she couldn’t let it happen.
Maybe she shouldn’t ever talk to him again. He could derail her plans faster than the Cashier Girl had ruined their almost kiss.
She’d stopped shaking by the time they got to Aunt Tillie’s house. Kellen kept the engine idling and turned toward her. “I checked tomorrow’s weather and it’s clear skies and sunshine. If the ground is dry enough, do you still want to go riding?”
She should say no, but it took all of two nanoseconds for her to say yes.
“How about I come get you at five?”
“Sounds perfect.”
The rain had stopped, so Kellen didn’t grab the umbrella to walk her to the door.
“I had fun,” she said and laughed when he looked at her like she was crazy. “Come on, you have to admit that was pretty funny when you couldn’t find your keys.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m glad you think so. I know a lot of girls who would’ve demanded my keys and then made me walk home.”
She took off his jacket and handed it to him. “Thank you.”
Kellen glanced at her shirt and then quickly turned around and started walking toward his truck. “Yeah, no problem,” he said over his shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”
Ivy closed the door, wondering what had just happened to make him leave so suddenly. She started toward her room and paused in front of the mirror in the hall.
Oh. So that’s why he’d left so abruptly. Her wet shirt had become fairly transparent, and the outline of her new lacy bra was right there for everyone to see.
“Ivy?” Aunt Tillie called out. “Are you home already?”
Not wanting her aunt to see her lacy bra too, Ivy told her she was soaking wet but would come tell her the story as soon as she got into dry clothing.
Running up to her room, she noticed her phone on the dresser and realized she’d inadvertently left it at home. She picked it up and saw she had a missed call from Corbin. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to him right now and powered down her phone in case he tried calling again.
She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, really. She didn’t even want to read. All she wanted to do was snuggle under her covers and relive that moment when Kellen had almost kissed her.
Real life was much better than fiction.
Chapter Ten
Kellen glanced at his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time today and was relieved to see it had actually progressed enough that he had a little over an hour before he needed to pick up Ivy.
He wiped the back of his hand across his sweat dampened forehead, thinking how different it was to be soaking wet from the sun and hard work versus getting caught in a rainstorm.
Thinking about the rainstorm from the night before for probably the hundred thousandth time, he closed his eyes briefly and knew any time it rained it would never be the same. He’d have the memory of last night etched in his mind until the day he died. He could still feel Ivy’s soft skin against his palms—see the look of desire in her eyes.
She’d wanted him to kiss her.
It still blew his mind how open and honest she was with him. When she’d come right out and said he was an attractive guy, she’d rendered him speechless. She was funny too, and he liked how she made him laugh.
He liked a lot of things about her.
Walking toward the barn, he thought about the list. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought losing his keys while standing in a torrential downpour could lead to such an intense moment. It hadn’t been planned out, yet it ended up being far better than the lame plan he’d made to take her out to the rose garden under the pretense of checking out the gazebo
for his grandma.
Something told him that no matter what, it wouldn’t have ended in a near kiss like the spontaneity from last night had. That would make this whole list thing a lot easier for him. He could plan dates that were close to what she’d listed, but then he’d let events take a natural course.
“Was I this bad when Caytie and I were figuring things out?” Jace asked.
Kellen glanced over, surprised to see Jace standing so close to him. How had he missed him?
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” He totally knew what he was talking about. Kellen was so distracted, someone could probably saddle up Betty the goat and he would hop on thinking it was his horse Lucky.
“Just admit you’ve got it bad.”
There was no use denying it. Besides, he’d always been a lousy liar. “Okay, I’ve got it bad.” He took off his hat and tossed it on the workbench. “Now what?”
“What’s next on the list?”
“Horseback riding on the shoreline of the ocean.”
“Hmm, how you gonna pull that off?” Jace grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge he kept in the barn and tossed one of them to Kellen.
“The river’s edge will have to be close enough.” Kellen uncapped the bottle and took a long drink.
“Watch out for snakes. That would totally kill the romance,” Jace said, drinking half of the water bottle in one gulp. “By the way, how was last night’s date?”
Kellen hadn’t told Jace about last night. He wasn’t sure if he ever would. “No kiss, but I discovered a new flavor of frozen custard.”
“Please do not mention frozen custard around Caytie. She’s always craving ice cream, but it seems to make her the sickest.”
“Man, I feel sorry for her.”
“Me too. I wish I could be sick for her.”
Kellen rolled his eyes. “You are such a sap now.”
“I am not, I just feel guilty. I mean men have one thing to do to contribute to the pregnancy, and it doesn’t involve throwing up multiple times every day.”
“No it does not,” Kellen said with a faint smile. His phone dinged, reminding him it was time to go home to shower. He finished his water and tossed the bottle in the recycle bin. “I gotta get going. Are you still okay if I saddle Magnolia for Ivy?”
“You know you don’t even need to ask, Kellen. You’re family.”
“Thanks.” He grabbed his hat off the bench and put it on his head. “Tell Caytie I hope she feels better.”
“She’s determined to meet your girlfriend, so plan on introductions.”
“Ivy isn’t my girlfriend… yet.”
“Whatever, dude.”
Turning, he hurried toward his truck. In his haste to get there, Kellen’s left foot hit a rock and he almost lost his balance. He stumbled to a stop and cursed under his breath. He was glad he hadn’t done something like that when he’d been with Ivy last night. That would’ve been so embarrassing.
He knew he needed to tell her about his leg. He just didn’t know how or when.
Coming inside, he smelled the promise of a fantastic dinner. He’d texted Ivy this morning to invite her to have dinner with him at his house so his grandma could meet her, but Ivy felt guilty for leaving Aunt Tillie alone for a second night in a row and decided she better eat with her.
Wiping his boots on the mudroom carpet, Kellen called out for his grandma. When she didn’t answer, he guessed she was over at the big house with George.
Kellen showered and dressed in record time. Of course, he’d skipped shaving again, so that had saved him some time. Coming down the stairs, he felt a twinge in his lower left leg. Since that part of his leg was no longer there, he’d just have to wait until the phantom muscle pain disappeared. He was lucky he didn’t suffer from that too often. He’d learned there were some amputees who dealt with it on a regular basis.
By the time he got to the bottom of the stairs, the pain had stopped. His grandma still wasn’t back home. He dug his phone out of his pocket and saw a text message from her.
Eating over at the big house tonight. George and I expect you to bring your young lady over to meet us before or after riding. You decide. Hugs.
His grandma loved texting him, especially since she’d gotten her new phone that had the feature of speech to text. Sometimes she didn’t check her messages before she sent them and he and Jace always got a good laugh when those came through.
He sent his grandma a quick reply to thank her for dinner and to tell her he’d bring Ivy over to meet them after they were done riding. Finding his plate warming in the oven, Kellen peeled back the tinfoil and inhaled the aroma of roast beef, gravy and potatoes. It was his favorite meal and usually was reserved for Sundays.
He pulled out his phone and checked the weather forecast while he ate. He had some outings he needed to plan and most of them required nice weather. Since Saturday’s date for the party had been postponed, Kellen decided tomorrow would be the perfect day for a picnic and a canoe ride. Ivy’s list said something about those two activities, and he figured he’d just combine them together.
The Christensen’s property had a manmade lake Lance had improved when he got married last year. His wife had two children from a previous marriage, and he wanted the kids to learn how to fish and swim like he had as a kid.
It was really a beautiful setting with large oaks and pines surrounding it. Lance had told Kellen to feel free to come use it whenever he wanted. Kellen quickly sent him a text to see if tomorrow would be okay, and if he could borrow the canoe he usually kept tied up.
Lance’s reply came while Kellen was rinsing off his plate. Lance and his wife had taken their kids to Disneyland for spring break, but he gave Kellen permission to use whatever was over there. Apparently, he’d also bought a paddleboat.
After brushing his teeth, Kellen grabbed the new cowboy hat George had given him last month for his birthday and stepped outside. He glanced at the position of the sun and figured they had a couple hours of daylight left. Thin wisps of clouds hovering over the western mountains promised to give them a beautiful sunset.
Jace sent a text just as Kellen put the truck in gear.
I’ll have Lucky and Magnolia all saddled to give you more time to work your magic.
Kellen grunted a laugh and reluctantly thanked him. If he’d been there in person he would’ve told Jace to shut up after slugging him in the arm.
On the way into town, Kellen thought about possible openers to talking about his leg injury. Should he say something before they went horseback riding or after? In hindsight, he should’ve just told her when she’d asked him if he was still on active duty. But his reaction to the question had taken him by surprise and he’d felt too vulnerable to talk about it then.
By the time he pulled up in front of Mrs. Cooper’s house, he’d decided to wait and see how the evening played out. His limp seemed more pronounced as he walked toward the front door, probably because he was focused on it.
Before he could knock on the door, he heard Ivy talking to someone. He tipped his head back and realized the window was open and she had to be standing close to it. He was in the process of deciding if he should ring the doorbell or go back to his truck and give her a minute to finish her conversation when he heard her mention her supposed boyfriend’s name.
“Corbin, I’m not coming home early. My aunt needs me.” There was a brief pause before she said, “You don’t need to come here. I know you have a business to run.”
Kellen knew he shouldn’t be listening and started to slowly retreat. But when he caught more of Ivy’s end of the conversation, an intense feeling of jealousy coursed through him.
“I told you it’s not a big deal. I’m going riding with a friend I met at the library.”
The strength of the possessive emotion consuming him kind of surprised him. Sure he was her friend, but after last night, he knew that wasn’t enough. The thought of Ivy belonging to someone else forced him to face the truth. He wanted more tha
n just a couple of weeks with Ivy Baker. He wanted forever.
Operation Kiss the Girl was on, and hopefully by the end of the mission, Ivy would feel the same way about him.
Chapter Eleven
Ivy ended the call with Corbin before she did something crazy like chuck her phone across the room. He was being so possessive and controlling, more so than ever. Of course it probably had everything to do with the text she’d accidentally sent to him instead of Ethan.
While Ivy was putting on her makeup, her brother had texted her to see how she was doing. It was kind of freaky because Corbin had texted her a few minutes earlier and asked her basically the same thing. Since Kellen was coming to get her soon, she’d delayed replying to either of them until she finished getting ready.
Somehow, she’d responded to Corbin’s text first, thinking it was to Ethan. It could have been worse. Ivy had come so close to confiding in her brother about the cute cowboy she’d met, but luckily decided against it. She told him that Tillie was healing really well, but that she had a nasty cold. Then she told him she was going riding with a friend she’d met.
Corbin had called back immediately and was irritated she had time to make new friends and hang out with them when she was supposed to be caring for her aunt. He was stressed about the upcoming week and wanted to have his girlfriend’s support. He came right out and told her she should come home since Aunt Tillie was doing so well.
Ivy refused, and then Corbin threatened to blow off the New York clients to come out to see her. He claimed he missed her too much, but she wasn’t stupid. He was bugged she was making friends and demanded to know if her new social life was the reason she hadn’t answered her phone last night.
It made her realize how isolated she’d lived and how infrequently she’d laughed and felt happy. When she was younger, she’d been so busy trying to prove herself valuable to the ranch she never had time to hang out with girlfriends. Corbin had never had any competition before because everyone knew she was marrying him one day so no one ever asked her out.
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