Jesse

by C. H. Admirand

He grinned and leaned across the table and confided, “She can’t keep her hands off me.”

  Emily laughed, smacked him on the shoulder, then kissed him before settling on the chair next to him.

  Danielle couldn’t help but smile. Tyler and Emily were so obviously in love. She thought she and her ex had had something special, but it turned out, she was in love alone. Trying hard not to sink back into that abyss of loneliness and recrimination, she looked toward the back door again.

  “Don’t worry about Lacy. Jesse will guard her with his life,” Emily reassured her.

  “So, Danielle,” Tyler said, folding his hands on the tabletop, “what the hell were you thinking running out like that in front of our horses?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. What could she say that wouldn’t have her sounding like a shrew?

  When he continued to wait for her to answer his question, she threw her hands up in the air, and asked, “What do you think I was doing? Did you even see Lacy running toward you?”

  He nodded. “Ranchers have to have a sixth sense when it comes to what’s going on around us. We’d never survive out there otherwise—neither would our herd.”

  She fell silent. Well, he’d answered more succinctly than Jesse had. “I’d do the same thing again in a heartbeat. It’s my mom-radar. Can’t turn it off and can’t ignore when my gut says Lacy’s in trouble or danger.”

  “So,” Tyler drawled, “you planning on getting into more trouble so my little brother will have to rescue you again?”

  “Of all the—”

  “Tyler don’t tease, Danielle,” Emily chided. “She’s had enough for one afternoon.” Turning toward Danielle, Emily added, “The Garahan men have an odd sense of humor.” As if that explained it all, she got up and started to clear the glasses away and put them in the dishwasher.

  “We should be going,” Danielle said getting to her feet. She knew she’d feel worse tomorrow, because she’d been hugging forty pounds to her chest when she landed on her back just now.

  “Stay for dinner,” Emily offered. “We’re having—”

  “Sandwiches,” Tyler interrupted with a sheepish grin.

  Emily’s lips twitched as if she were fighting to hold back a smile. Danielle really liked Emily and Ronnie. She missed not having female friends. When she and Buddy first got married and settled in their apartment, she’d been sick for her first trimester; by then, time seemed to pass by at warp speed, and before she knew it, she was raising Lacy and working part-time at a real estate office. Friends were a luxury she intended to indulge in now that she was here in Pleasure.

  “If you’re sure you have enough, we’d like that.”

  Emily seemed pleased with her answer. “Tyler, please go tell Ronnie that we need to throw something else together to go with the sandwiches.”

  Danielle stopped him. “If we’re staying for dinner, let me help.”

  Torn, Tyler hesitated in the doorway. Finally, Emily nodded. “You might want to check on your brothers.”

  Once he was gone, Emily said, “All that man has to do is stand there looking at me and I forget my own name!”

  Danielle smiled.

  “So, what else besides potato salad and macaroni salad go with sandwiches?” Emily whispered.

  “Do you have any chocolate and heavy cream?”

  “Not sure, hang on.” Emily opened the fridge and got out a small container of cream. “Will this be enough?”

  “Perfect, but what about the chocolate?”

  Emily rummaged through one of the overhead cabinets and called out, “Got it!” Putting it on the counter next to the cream, she asked, “So, what on Earth are you making that goes with sandwiches?”

  “My uncle’s famous chocolate pie.” Emily giggled and Danielle said, “Pie goes with anything. It’s really the perfect food.”

  The other woman shook her head. “Actually, brownies are the truly perfect food. I baked a batch yesterday, but the guys found them and demolished them before breakfast.”

  Working and chatting, Danielle had the crust ready and in the oven and was creating the chocolate filling when Jesse and Lacy returned.

  “Yeah!” Lacy said, running toward the table. “Unca Jimmy’s chocolate pie!” Suddenly, the little one stopped and looked over her shoulder at Jesse and then back at Danielle. “Is this an ‘I’m sorry we scared you’ pie?”

  Danielle couldn’t keep the smile from her face. With a glance at the tall man standing just behind her daughter, she nodded. “Actually, it’s a ‘thank you for inviting us to dinner’ pie.”

  “Really?” Lacy and Jesse said at the same time.

  ***

  Everyone started to laugh at once, and Jesse had the strangest feeling that his life had just shifted on its axis, turning in a new direction. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what had changed—whether it was having the life scared out of him watching Danielle scoop Lacy off of her feet, hit the ground hard, and not get up, or the simple fact that Lacy and her mother were here at the Circle G, where he’d wanted them from the first.

  Wanting to wipe the smudge of flour off the bridge of Danielle’s nose, he started to move forward when Emily turned and noticed the same thing. She handed a towel to Danielle and pointed to her nose, and his chance to touch the delectable Danielle was gone.

  Having held her in his arms, he knew how perfectly she fit against him. He’d held other women, but something was innately different about this woman. Maybe it was her prickly nature or her protective streak where her daughter was concerned. Maybe it was the way her eyes deepened to a warmer, darker shade of blue when he’d kissed her last night. He’d felt the shock when their lips met; it felt like that time he’d been too close to a lightning strike.

  Ushering her daughter to the sink, he lifted her up so she could reach the faucet and wash her hands. When he was finished and had set Lacy on her feet, he washed his. He could hear her talking to her mother about the pie she’d made. A definite plus in his book. A woman who was kind and caring to her child, pretty as fresh milk, and could cook. Maybe he ought to snap her up and stake his claim now. He was scowling as he dried his hands.

  “Something on your mind, Bro?” Dylan stood in the doorway with his hand wrapped around Ronnie’s waist.

  Jesse narrowed his gaze at the way his brother seemed so relaxed. Damn. Dylan and Ronnie had been outside for quite a while before Jesse and Lacy went out—but Dylan and Ronnie had been nowhere in sight. One look at the flush on his sister-in-law’s cheeks and he knew why and what they’d been up to.

  “No.” He shook his head and walked over to hang his Stetson on one of the empty pegs by the back door. As Danielle put the pie in the fridge, he knew he wanted to spend more time with her—in bed or out, didn’t matter. He wanted more time with Lacy too. Danielle was a bit skittish around him, and it was either because the hurt from her divorce was still fresh in her mind, or something a whole lot more fun, if he was reading the signals her body had been sending to him.

  Willing to test his theory, he walked around the room and opened up the cabinet above where Danielle was standing, washing the bowls in the sink. Their bodies brushed as she backed into him. Hadn’t she seen him or was she planning on playing with fire?

  She jolted and he had his answer; she’d been preoccupied. Taking things a step further, he reached out to steady her, pulling her against him—her back to his front. Lord, it was a miracle he didn’t spontaneously combust. Every curvy inch of her backside was nestled snug against him.

  Her sharp intake of breath was all he had to hear to know she’d been just as affected as him. Relieved, he pretended to lose his balance and wrapped his arm around her middle. The sensation of holding the wasp-waisted woman in his arms went to his head like a shot of the Irish. Reeling from the contact, sizzling along the length of the arm still wrapped around her, he stood stunned. Outfoxed by his own experiment.

  “Please,” she rasped, pushing against him. “Let go.”

&n
bsp; He bent low so he could whisper, “Dani darlin’, I don’t think I can do that.” He was delighted when she shivered against him.

  “Is my mommy all right?”

  The quivering sound of Lacy’s voice had him backing up as if he’d been burned. What the hell was wrong with him? They were standing in a room filled with people, and Danielle’s daughter, and he was thinking with his johnson! He was lower than dirt… he was pond scum.

  “She’s fine,” Jesse answered. “Aren’t you?”

  Danielle impressed the hell out of him. She gathered herself together for her daughter’s sake when he knew she’d been quivering from his touch. He would never forget the way she felt melting against him; it would keep him awake nights until he had her where her wanted her—in his bed.

  Damn it! There were way too many people and too many distractions for him to give in to what his body clamored for—to grab the woman and run! It was actually painful, but he moved a step back from the golden woman, still vibrating from their brief touch.

  “Yes, thanks,” she said at last. With a faint smile, she stepped around him and walked to the other side of the room. Hiking Lacy up on her hip, she watched him from a distance like he was a poisonous snake and she a frightened filly.

  If it took the rest of the night, he would figure out a way to get her back in his arms.

  How? He had no idea.

  When? He had no clue. All he knew was that it had better be soon.

  Chapter 10

  While his brothers washed up, the ladies bustled around the kitchen setting out the smorgasbord of leftovers: salads, sandwiches, meatballs, with the pièce de résistance—Danielle’s chocolate pie.

  Jesse did something out of character; he watched everyone around him while he ate, not adding to the conversation. Truth be told, the joy filling the Circle G’s kitchen tonight touched him deeply. Emily had added so much to their lives when she took Tyler up on his offer to come and live out at the Circle G. They were getting married in the fall, but Jesse wondered if they’d really be waiting that long.

  Next came Ronnie, who’d married Dylan weeks after meeting him. The circumstances were special—you could say that Dylan was Ronnie’s saving grace, but in turn, she added happiness to his brother’s life that had been sadly missing.

  “We’re staying with my uncle for the summer.” Danielle was looking at Tyler, who must have asked the question, and Jesse noticed that her eyes twinkled a lovely shade of crystal clear blue, just like a picture Jesse’d seen once of a lagoon in a nature magazine. Mesmerized, he couldn’t look away. The sharp jab to his ribs had him rubbing the spot, but still he watched the woman as if she were a dream… just out of focus and not to be touched or else she’d disappear.

  “I think Jesse’s done in.”

  Tyler’s voice broke through to Jesse’s thoughts. He turned toward his brother. “Just tired ’s all.”

  “So you’re staying home tonight?”

  Jesse’s heart sank; he’d have to leave the cozy scene in their kitchen soon, or he’d be late and Slim would start looking for another driver. Jesse was only as good as his last race, and if he didn’t get in enough practice time, he’d lose the edge he had.

  It took more than skill to drive a race car; it took guts, desire, and an extra helping of ego. He knew he could do it, but he’d have to work for it. He shook his head. “I’ve gotta go out.”

  He pushed his chair back from the table and stood. “Dinner was a pleasure, thank you, ladies.” Turning toward Danielle, he asked, “Would you and Lacy like to take a walk with me out to the stables? I’d like to check on Dodge before I leave.”

  “But you didn’t get to try Mommy’s pie.” Lacy sounded so disappointed, he almost changed his mind and reached for his cell to call Slim. But he’d been dreaming of this chance for so long, it would be like cutting off one of his legs and trying to walk without it.

  “If you slice off a piece, I can take it with me. I promised a friend I’d help him out.”

  “Friends are important,” Lacy said looking up at him and then at her mother. “Mommy and I can come back… anytime.”

  Her smile was so hopeful, he had to laugh. “That would be fine.”

  He was confident enough in his legendary charm to think that he could woo Danielle and convince her to bring Lacy back soon. By the time he’d gotten a few Saturday night races under his belt, he’d have Danielle right where he wanted her—in his bed.

  Lacy had his thoughts moving back to safer territory when she asked, “Don’t you have an apple for Dodge?”

  He bent down to scoop her up into his arms. “Hey, Dylan, pass me an apple.”

  Without pausing to see if his brother would do as he asked, he reached up a hand and caught the fruit his brother threw to him and handed it to Lacy.

  “Wildfire’s gonna get jealous,” Dylan warned.

  That had Jesse pausing by the back door. “Better toss me a few more. Put your hands around my neck and hang on,” he warned Lacy.

  Tyler and Dylan picked up apples and tossed them at him. He hadn’t expected any less. His older brothers were always trying to outdo him. He caught the first two easily and dropped them down his shirt, and was ready when Dylan tossed one at his face and Tyler tossed one zipper-level. “Thanks.”

  “Show off,” Tyler said, but he was grinning.

  When Danielle’s mouth dropped open, he grinned. “Played shortstop in high school.”

  “I thought Texans only played football.”

  She seemed interested in his answer, so he explained, “Pleasure’s not like most towns out here. Yeah, football is big, really big, but we’ve always had a baseball team too. Garahans like to play both.”

  With his shirt bulging with apples and Lacy wrapped around him like a vine, he put one arm beneath her to steady her and the other around Danielle, ushering her out the back door.

  Outside, Danielle slowly came out of the daze she was in. He couldn’t say that he minded all that much, because it had been his quick hands that had captivated her. Was she thinking of what he could do with those hands when they were alone?

  Hell, he was!

  “Here,” she said, holding out her arms. “Let me take Lacy. You’ll need to get the apples for the horses.”

  He grinned down at her and passed Lacy into her mother’s waiting arms. He watched the way Lacy leaned into her mother and memories of his mother doing the same thing haunted him. He still missed her and hadn’t been ready to lose her. But the Lord had had other plans. That was his grandfather’s explanation for the wreck that took his mother’s life. Hell, that was what he had said when a dark sedan pulled up in front of their house and two Marines got out.

  Jesse didn’t actually remember seeing the car or the Marines, but Tyler remembered and had reminded both him and Dylan every year, so that they wouldn’t forget that their father had died serving their country. All these years later, they had four days that they observed quietly and in their own way: their parents’ birthdays and the day each one was taken from them.

  “The horsies really want those apples.” Lacy’s words jarred him back to the present. It wasn’t like him to let his mind wander when he was around their horses. They were big animals and required his full attention.

  He shook his head; he had no excuse but didn’t have time to sort out why he had now. He could do that later.

  “Then let’s give them their treat. You want to help?”

  “We both do.”

  Danielle still had a hold of Lacy, and it was a good thing, because the little girl never would have been able to feed the horses their treat otherwise. “I like to cut the apple into quarters before giving it to them.”

  He pulled out his pocketknife and sliced into the first apple. The tangy scent had all of the horses whickering and stomping in their stalls. They knew Jesse had a special treat for them.

  “Are they mad?” Lacy looked worried and had a tight grip on her mother’s neck.

  So he shook his head.
“Just excited. That’s how horses let us know what they want or what they’re thinking.”

  “Oh. Can I feed them too?”

  “That was the plan, little darlin’.” He handed a slice to Lacy and reminded her, “Just like before, hold your palm out and curl your fingers back as far as they can go so none of my friends nibble on your fingers.”

  “Would it tickle?”

  He frowned and held up his left hand. “See this scar?” The fleshy part of his palm right below his fingers had a line that stretched from pinky to pointer finger. “Got this when I was right around your age.”

  Lacy looked at his hand and then up at him, and asked, “What happened?”

  “I didn’t listen to my grandfather and curled my hand the wrong way.”

  “Did a horse bite you?”

  He nodded. “But it wasn’t the poor horse’s fault, and my grandfather reminded me of that as he was putting a butterfly bandage on my hand.”

  “So their teeth are sharp?” Danielle sounded horrified.

  Danielle sounded worried, and he didn’t want her to be. He wanted these two to be comfortable around their horses and at the Circle G. “No, but they are strong.”

  “Did your grandfather get mad at the horse?”

  Jesse laughed, delighted that Lacy seemed to understand and wasn’t frightened by the prospect of being bitten. “No, but I sure caught hell—er, heck for not listening. He reminded me that it was my fault for not listening or feeding the horse properly.”

  “Like this, right?” Lacy held the slice of apple in her hand just like he’d shown her earlier.

  “Perfect,” he said, as Dodge carefully lipped the treat out of Lacy’s hand. She giggled and Jesse smiled. “Tickles, doesn’t it?”

  “Uh-huh. Can I do it again?”

  He nodded. “We’ve got a few more mouths to feed. I’d appreciate the help.”

  As they took turns feeding the horses, Danielle asked, “Do you still have that horse?”

  He stared at her for a moment to be sure she wasn’t just being a wiseass. She seemed to want to know. “Uh, no, that was nearly twenty-five years ago.”