Loving Jake

by Madeline Baker

  He caressed her cheek with his knuckles. “Have you ever made love in a swimming pool?”

  “Of course not.” It was a shocking idea. Shocking and tempting.

  He brushed a kiss across the tip of her nose. “Are you game?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I’m not…I never…Jake, it’s broad daylight.”

  He laughed softly. “Relax, pretty lady, I was just yanking your chain.”

  Pushing him away, she smacked him on the shoulder, hard. “You stinker!”

  “Really had you going, huh?”

  She nodded. The thing was, she had been sorely tempted to throw caution and her skimpy pink bikini to the winds and actually indulge in something wild and crazy for the first time in her life.

  Jake drew her back into his arms. “Hey, you mad at me?”

  “Yes.”

  Putting his finger under her chin, he tilted her head up. “Don’t be mad.”

  She pouted a little, and then sighed. She didn’t have time to waste being mad. In another two weeks, she would be back home in Georgia and she would probably never see Jake Running Horse again.

  “That’s my girl,” he said when she smiled at him. “Come on, I’ll race you to the other end.”

  They spent the day by the pool. She ordered pizza for lunch and made chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Jake sat on the kitchen counter while she spooned batter onto the cookie sheet, reaching into the bowl now and then for a finger full of dough.

  “A man after my own heart,” Ginny said, helping herself to a spoonful of batter.

  “My mother used to have a fit when I filched a little cookie dough,” Jake said, grinning. “She always said I’d get worms.”

  “Yeah, mine did, too.”

  When the cookies were done, Ginny put some on a plate, put the plate on a tray along with a couple of napkins and two glasses, and carried the tray out to the pool. Jake followed carrying a quart of milk.

  Sitting on the edge of the pool, with the tray between them, Jake smiled at Ginny. “Who could ask for more?” he mused aloud. “Cookies fresh from the oven, ice cold milk, and a beautiful woman to share it with.”

  “Flatterer.”

  “Who, me?” He shook his head. “No way.”

  Later, they swam again, then Ginny went inside and made a pitcher of lemonade. She filled two glasses and carried them outside. After handing one to Jake, she sat beside him, thinking how happy she was to share the day with him.

  Jake lifted his hand in a gesture that encompassed the pool and Ginny. “I could get used to this,” he remarked.

  “Yeah, me, too.”

  “How about dinner later?”

  “I’d love to but…”

  He lifted one brow. “But?”

  “I…uh, I have a date.”

  It was like dumping a bucket of ice water over a blazing fire. That quickly, the atmosphere turned cold between them.

  “Mr. Three Piece Suit coming over?”

  Ginny nodded.

  Jake finished his lemonade. Placing his empty glass on the table, he gained his feet. “I guess I should be going.”

  “Carter won’t be here for a couple of hours,” Ginny said, rising.

  “Yeah, well.” Jake shrugged. “Thanks for today.”

  Feeling heavy-hearted, Ginny followed him to the side gate. “Jake, I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah,” he said, “me, too. See ya.”

  She watched him walk down the brick-lined path to the driveway and climb into his truck, her sadness turning to anger. Jake had no right to be upset. He knew Carter was in town. He knew she was as good as engaged, yet he had asked her to spend time with him, and she had agreed. And now, because she had a previous commitment, he was upset. Men! She would never understand the lot of them if she lived to be a hundred and two!

  Her anger evaporated as she watched Jake’s truck pull out of the driveway, leaving her to wonder if she would ever see him again, and thinking again that it would probably be better for all concerned if she didn’t.

  * * * *

  Carter arrived with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a bouquet of perfect, long-stemmed red roses in the other. He wore a charcoal gray suit and vest over a light blue shirt, and a pair of black loafers.

  “So, Gin, are you ready to go?”

  “Where are we going?” Moving into the kitchen, she put the roses in a crystal vase she found on the top shelf of the cupboard.

  “Anywhere you want.”

  “There’s a nice ClaimJumper over the hill.”

  Carter shrugged. “Suits me.”

  Recalling that Jake always called Carter Mr. Three Piece Suit, Ginny stifled a grin, then gave herself a sharp mental shake. She had to stop thinking about Jake all the time.

  Dinner passed pleasantly enough. As usual, Carter did most of the talking. Ginny tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but her thoughts kept straying toward Jake. She wondered what he was doing and if and when she would see him again. She had told him she would give the two of them time to get to know each other, only now she didn’t know if he was still interested. And what was the point anyway? Her life, her career and her family were in Georgia, and Jake’s life was here. She could only imagine what her parents would think if she brought a mechanic home to dinner. Her mother was a law professor at a prestigious university, her father was a retired judge. Deb was married to a doctor, Cathy and Lynda were married to corporate lawyers, Bess was married to an oral surgeon, Gina’s husband was vice-president of a bank, and Vi’s husband owned a software manufacturing company.

  Ginny blew out a sigh. Her family had always been more impressed by what a man did than anything else. She had a sneaky suspicion that was the main reason they had introduced her to Carter. He was a young man on his way to the top, and he fit into her family as if he was already one of them. Was that why she had started dating him? Because she craved her parents approval?

  They went for a drive after dinner, then went back to the house. Carter opened the champagne and they drank it while sitting in front of the fireplace. It was a quiet, pleasant way to end the evening.

  She didn’t object when he took the glass from her hand and drew her into his arms.

  “I’ve been thinking we should announce our engagement when you get home,” Carter said. “After all, everybody expects it.”

  Ginny stared at him, thinking it was just like Carter to assume her answer would be yes even though he had never officially asked her to marry him. And until this week, she would have accepted. But now, she just wasn’t sure.

  “I put a down payment on a house before I left. You’re gonna love it.”

  “A house?” She stared at him. “For us?”

  He smiled as if he’d just won the lottery. “Surprised?”

  Surprised didn’t begin to describe it, she thought. She already had a house that she loved.

  She listened to him talk about his plans for the future, all the while wondering how he could even think about buying a house that she hadn’t seen. What if she didn’t like it?

  “Well,” he said, looking at his watch. “I’d better be going. I’ve got to be at LAX first thing in the morning.”

  Rising, he reached for her hand, pulled her to her feet, and kissed her. “I’ll call you when I get home,” he said, and kissed her again.

  Still numb from the revelations of the evening, she accepted his kiss while a little part of her mind again compared Carter’s kiss to Jake’s. Okay, so Jake’s kisses were more appealing, that didn’t mean he would make a better husband.

  She walked him to the door, stood in the doorway, staring into the darkness long after Carter had driven away. They needed to have a long talk when she got home, she thought, a very long talk, indeed.

  * * * *

  Jake stood in the backyard, one hand fisted around a can of Coke, the other scratching Ranger between the ears.

  It had been a long night. After leaving Ginny’
s place, he had taken Ranger and gone riding in the hills until well after dark, hoping a few hours in the saddle would make him forget that Ginny was out on a date with her wealthy boyfriend, but to no avail. He had taken Lori Beth out for a late dinner and then, calling himself ten kinds of a fool, he had driven past Ginny’s place on the way home. A late model Cadillac convertible had been parked in the driveway. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who the car belonged to.

  His gut clenched at the thought of Ginny and Mr. Three Piece Suit cuddled up on the sofa, or worse, cuddled up in her bed.

  He had dropped Lori Beth off at his house, then gone out for a drive, knowing that sooner or later he would find himself driving by Ginny’s place again.

  And he had, a little before eleven.

  And the Caddy had still been parked in the driveway.

  Annoyed by the rush of jealousy he experienced at seeing that car, he had driven home, stalked into the house and grabbed a beer, then come out here to share his sorrows with Ranger, who had listened patiently while Jake counted off all the reasons why he was better off without a woman, -- especially one particular woman -- in his life.

  He turned at the sound of footsteps coming up behind him.

  Lori Beth smiled tentatively. “Everything okay? You’ve been out here for a long time.”

  “You should be in bed.”

  She shrugged. “I’d like to be asleep, but I can’t get comfortable.” She pressed a hand over her swollen belly. “This little rascal keeps kicking me.”

  Jake nodded. He knew less than nothing about the mysteries of babies or pregnant women, having steered clear of both of them most of his adult life.

  “I’ll be glad when he gets here,” Lori Beth said. “You have no idea what it’s like, morning sickness, swollen ankles, feeling weepy all the time.” Moving up beside Jake, she patted Ranger’s neck. “But then, there’s nothing like feeling him move inside me, either. It’s just so awesome to think there’s a new life growing inside of me.”

  Jake glanced at her, wondering how much longer she had to go. “So,” he said, “what happened between you and Dutton?”

  Lori Beth blew out a sigh that sounded as if it came from the very depths of her soul. “I don’t know. I thought he loved me but now…” She looked away from Jake. “Now I think he just wanted to see if he could take me away from you.”

  Jake stared at her, then shook his head. Mike Dutton had been his best friend, or so he had thought.

  Lori Beth turned, resting her back against the corral. “He was always jealous of you, you know.”

  Jake snorted. “That’ll be the day. He had everything going for him in college, and he still does. Rich parents, a good job, a new car every year.”

  “Maybe,” Lori Beth said with a rueful grin. But he said you always got the hot women.”

  Jake couldn’t argue with that. Not that Dutton hadn’t picked up his share of good-looking babes, but Jake had to admit that wherever they went, women had always gravitated toward him. He had always thought it had less to do with his looks and more to do with his ancestry. Women were always fascinated when they discovered he was half Lakota. He didn’t know why. Maybe they thought it made him more mysterious, maybe they just liked the novelty of dating an Indian. But dating was as far as it went. None of them thought he was good enough to take home to meet the folks.

  “So,” he said, “what are you going to do after…” He gestured at her belly. “You know, after the kid gets here?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Have you talked to your parents?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Not yet? What are you going to do, just show up on their door step with the kid?” Seeing the quick tears that welled in her eyes, he said, “Hey, I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, Jake, I don’t know what to do. You know they never liked Mike. They told me I’d be sorry if I moved in with him and they were right. I just can’t face them.”

  Tossing his empty can into a barrel, Jake drew her into his arms. “Putting it off won’t make it any easier.”

  “I know.” Sniffling, she pulled a tissue from her pocket, blew her nose, and changed the subject. “Who’s the new girl?”

  “What new girl?”

  “Come on, Jake, I saw the way you looked at her at the restaurant. And I saw the way you looked at the guy she was with. And tonight you’re out here brooding in the dark.”

  “I’m not brooding,” he said defensively.

  “No?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe a little.”

  “So, who is she? I don’t remember seeing her around here before.”

  “She doesn’t live here. She’s house-sitting for her sister.”

  “And?”

  “And I fixed her car and took her out to dinner.”

  “And?”

  “And that’s all.”

  “But you want more.”

  He shrugged.

  “Well,” she said with a half-smile, “what are you going to do about it?”

  “What’s there to do? You saw Mr. Three Piece Suit.”

  “He’s cute.”

  Jake glared at her. “Well, don’t get your hopes up,” he said sourly. “From what I hear, they’re engaged to be engaged.”

  “Then you’d better work fast.”

  “Whoa, girl! I’m not getting on that horse again.”

  “So she doesn’t mean anything to you?”

  “I hardly know her.”

  “Then why are you standing out here in the dark, brooding?”

  Jake shook his head. Lori Beth was as tenacious as a pit bull when she got her mind wrapped around something. “All right, I like her a lot,” he admitted. “When we’re together…” Shrugging, he crossed his forearms on the top rail of the corral.

  “Go on. When you’re together…?”

  “It’s like touching a match to a pile of dry brush. Sparks fly.” He shook his head. “I think about her all the time, but what’s the use? I was over there all day today…”

  “Really? What did you do?”

  “Nothing much. We swam and talked and had lunch. She made cookies. And then she had to get ready for her date with him.”

  “Ah,” Lori Beth said with a knowing grin. “So, that’s what’s got your shorts in a knot.”

  “Right, Sherlock.”

  “So, how much longer is she going to be here?”

  “A week or so.”

  “Well, you’d better get busy then. You don’t have much time. How long is her boyfriend going to be here?”

  “I don’t know,” Jake replied sourly. “An hour is too long.”

  Lori Beth laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I feel better. Thanks for being my friend, Jake.”

  “Yeah, well, if you’d showed up on my door step a couple of months ago, I would have taken your head off.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.” Rising on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. “I’m going to bed.”

  “Sweet dreams.”

  “Thanks.”

  He watched her walk away. If she didn’t want to go home, she could always stay here. He had a big house and he wasn’t home much. She wouldn’t be any trouble at all.

  He glanced up at the sky, judging the time, wondering if Ginny was still entertaining her future fiancé.

  Thinking he was making a fool of himself, he climbed into his truck and slid the key into the ignition. He would just drive by her house one more time before calling it a night.

  * * * *

  Ginny was about to go inside when a truck drove very slowly past the house. A truck that looked very much like the one that belonged to Jake. Stepping out on the porch, she peered down the street. Was he spying on her?

  The thought was as appealing as it was annoying.

  She was about to go inside when she saw the truck again. This time it pulled into the driveway. The lights went out and Jake stepped out of the cab. “Evening.”

  “Evening.” She crossed her arms under her breasts. “What
brings you out this way at this time of night?”

  He shrugged. “I was just passing by and…” He shrugged again. “I saw your lights on and thought I’d, oh, hell, I wanted to apologize for behaving like a jerk earlier today. I had to no right to be upset.”

  “Apology accepted. Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?”

  “Sure.”

  He followed her into the house and into the kitchen, sat on one of the bar stools while she warmed a pot of coffee.

  “So how was your date?” He glanced at the roses on the countertop, each one red and perfect. Must have cost a pretty penny, he thought irritably.

  “We had a nice time,” Ginny replied.

  He nodded, careful to keep his clenched fists out of sight as he imagined her spending the evening with her rich boyfriend. He wondered where they had gone and what they had done when they got home. The thought of Ginny curled up in the arms of another man gnawed at his insides. He wondered how intimate their relationship was, if she had slept with the guy, and if he wore his suit to bed.

  “Are you going out with him tomorrow night, too?”

  “No, he’s leaving for home in the morning.”

  Jake grunted softly. It was all he could do to keep from pumping his fist into the air. “Think you might want to go out with me again?”

  “I might.” She filled two mugs with coffee and handed one to Jake, then sat on the stool beside his, the mug cupped in her hands.

  They sipped their coffee in silence for a moment, the tension between them growing.

  “You ever been to a rodeo?” Jake asked, setting his empty cup on the counter.

  “No.”

  “One of the local riding clubs is hosting a rodeo on Monday night. It’s a fund-raiser for their club. They’ll have some bronc riding events, stuff like that. And food, of course. Hot dogs, cotton candy, stuff like that. What do you say?”

  “Gee, I don’t know,” she said, frowning thoughtfully. “Will you buy me a hot dog?”

  “Sure.”

  “And some cotton candy?”

  “As much as you want.”

  She pretended to consider it a moment, then said, “All right, it’s a date.”

  “Pick you up at five sharp.”