by Kate Pearce
“And have all the trouble of having to explain why I have a dead body in my bed? It’s not happening.”
“Please?”
“Nope. I’d much rather you focused on serving that military member again.”
She groaned. “No jokes. I can’t even claim that I was drinking or anything. I just wanted to see you.”
“Which I am totally okay about.”
The sheet came down an inch. “You are? Because you have to know that this is totally out of character for me to do anything like this, I mean because I’m not normally the kind of girl who thinks she’s the kind of girl any guy would want to turn up in his bed. Does that make sense?”
“No, but what do you want to do about it?”
She slowly disentangled herself from his arms and sat up. “You want me to go, don’t you?”
“No, I want to know what you want to do next.”
“About what?” She blinked at him like an owl.
Mornings obviously weren’t her best time. Blue tried again. “Whether you want to come down and have breakfast with me, or whether you want to keep this to ourselves for a while longer.”
“I can’t go down with you. Ruth will think . . .” She made a face. “Ruth will think I sneaked into her house and had sex with you. Which is exactly what I did.”
“She’s more likely to think I smuggled you in, you can bet on that,” Blue said. “I’m okay to take the blame if it makes things easier for you.”
“You would?”
It was his turn to shrug. “I owe you.”
She pleated the sheet between her fingers. “I’ve put you in a terrible position, haven’t I?”
“No, you haven’t.” He patted her shoulder. “Look, how about I go use the bathroom. When I come back you can tell me what you’ve decided to do, okay?”
He pulled on his boxers and discarded running shorts and headed out to wash up. After the quickest shower of his life, he made his way back along the silent hallway to his room and went in.
“Coast is clear if you want to—” He stopped speaking and looked around the deserted room. “Where the hell did she go?”
Outside the cockerel crowed, which seemed fitting somehow. Blue dressed properly in jeans and a T-shirt before padding down the stairs in his socks to the kitchen, where he found a crockpot full of oatmeal and a note from Ruth telling them all to help themselves.
Moments later his grandma appeared and started cooking eggs and bacon, which always drew a crowd. Blue sat down and helped himself to oatmeal and then a plate of eggs and toast.
“BB, when you go down to the barn to start your chores, see if you can find Jenna and ask her if she wants to come up here for something to eat.”
“Jenna?” Blue tried to sound surprised.
“Her truck’s parked out front.”
“You said she’d be coming to check out the new kittens,” Maria added.
“Yeah.” Blue carried on eating. Thank God for Maria inadvertently providing Jenna with an alibi. “I’ll check her out as soon as I’m done.”
“Can I come with you?” Maria asked.
“Sure.” Blue looked up in surprise. To the best of his knowledge it was the first time Maria had ever asked to do anything with him. Billy winked at him.
Just as he reached for his napkin to wipe his mouth, the screen door banged and Jenna came in carrying her bag.
“Morning, everyone.”
Ruth smiled at her. “Morning, darlin’, now sit down and let me get you something to eat.”
She took the seat opposite Blue, her gaze lowered and the color of her cheeks suspiciously high.
Blue sipped his coffee and contemplated her over the rim of his cup. “Jenna.”
“Blue.”
“You’re out and about early.”
“Yes.”
“Did something come up?”
“Kind of.” She shrugged. “You know how this job is.”
She’d managed to comb her hair and tie it back, but if he looked closely he could still see the faint red mark where he’d bitten her throat.
“Were you up all night?”
“Part of it.”
This time she did look right at him and he got the full “why don’t you shut up” glare, but he wasn’t giving up that easily. So she didn’t want to be seen with him in public or acknowledge what had happened between them. That kind of stung.
She turned to thank Ruth for the plateful of food.
“Don’t you just hate that when you can’t sleep?” He shook his head. “I know I do.”
Maria pointed her spoon at him. “Did you have bad dreams? I didn’t. I dreamed about the kittens playing with my favorite ponies. It was awesome.”
“Cool.” Blue smiled at her. “I thought I had a really great dream, and when I woke up it had slipped away.” He flinched as Jenna kicked him under the table. “Funny how that happens sometimes, isn’t it?”
He picked up his empty plate and mug and stood up. “I’ve got chores to do. Maria, why don’t you bring Jenna down to the barn when you’ve both finished eating and show her where the kittens are?”
“Okay.”
Blue dropped his utensils in the dishwasher with a crash that made Ruth complain and headed out, his good mood completely gone. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised. Jenna probably didn’t want Ruth to know she’d sneaked into the ranch house. He still couldn’t believe she’d done it himself. It went against everything he thought he knew about her.
He picked up the bucket of kitchen scraps and put it on the counter in the feed room, trying to move quietly so as not to scare the kittens. A large scoop of chicken pellets mixed in with the scraps would make the free-range birds very happy indeed.
Outside the barn the sky was already set to clear blue, and the chickens were fretting to be released from their pen. As long as he had a stout pair of boots on, Blue didn’t mind dealing with the birds at all. Chase still hated them. Blue had made lots of money as a kid doing Chase’s chicken chores for him.
After releasing the chickens he fed the dogs and feral cats and then started on the horses in the barn. Shoveling soiled hay and horseshit sure kept his mind and body focused on anything but Jenna McDonald.
At some point he heard Maria’s high-pitched voice and guessed she was bringing Jenna to see the kittens. He kept his head down and carried on with his work. If either of them wanted to talk to him, they knew where to find him.
Eventually he heard footsteps outside Nolly’s stall.
“Jenna says the kittens look great.”
“Yeah?”
He turned to smile at Maria, who was leaning over the half door of Nolly’s stall feeding the horse a piece of apple.
“She said it would be really cool if I could keep an eye on them and make sure the mama cat stayed around and to let her know if anything went wrong.”
Blue straightened and leaned on the rake. “You can do that, right?”
Her face fell. “If I’m here.”
“You will be if Ruth has anything to say about it.”
“Ruth’s awesome.” Maria nodded. “And a bit scary at the same time.”
“Exactly.” Blue patted Nolly on the rump and eased past him. “You know how busy everyone gets around here? Having you taking on the responsibility of checking on the kittens would be super helpful.”
“That’s what Jenna said. I like her.” Maria drew herself up to her full height. “Then I’ll do my best.” She looked up at Blue. “Can I go and tell Billy?”
“Sure. Maybe he could help you as well.”
“He probably could.” She skipped off in the direction of the house and Blue went across to the last stall where Sunflower, January’s mare, resided.
“Blue? Can I talk to you for a minute?”
He turned to find Jenna behind him.
“What’s up?”
She tugged at the end of her ponytail in a way Blue had come to recognize as a sign of discomfort. “I wanted to explain.”
/> “There’s nothing to explain. Actions speak louder than words, right?”
She took a hasty step closer. “I . . . panicked, okay? I tried to imagine how I was going to come down those stairs and look Ruth in the eye when I’d abused her hospitality and . . .”
“Shagged her grandson?”
“Well, I wasn’t intending to admit that out loud, but I assumed she’d work it out as soon as she saw me. It’s just so unlike me to behave like that. It was so unprofessional.”
“So you’re going to pretend it didn’t happen.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You ran away.”
“I . . . made a tactical withdrawal in order to spare you, me, and your grandmother an embarrassing family moment.”
He studied her for a long moment. “So which is it, Jenna?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Are you the woman who came to my bed, or are you just the family vet?”
“Can’t I be both?”
“You tell me.” He picked up the wheelbarrow handles. “Excuse me. I have to get this to the manure pile.”
She didn’t follow him, which was probably wise because he wanted to kiss her and throttle her at the same time. He wasn’t going to do either of those things until she made a decision about who and what she wanted. Okay, he was pushing her, but she already knew he didn’t deal in grays. If she wanted to have a relationship with him, they had to be completely on the same page. And seeing as she’d been the one to totally rewrite the verse and chapter they were currently on, surely he had a right to ask for some guarantees?
He dumped the manure and stood staring down at the steaming pile. Unless she’d really meant the bit about him just being a booty call . . .
Maybe he didn’t know her at all.
* * *
Jenna turned back toward her truck, her footsteps slowing as she thought back through what Blue had said to her. Was she being a coward? That was what he’d implied. But it was all so easy for him. He knew who he was and never doubted his place in the world or that he could get what he wanted.
She’d never had that certainty. And every time she’d attempted to be brave and strike out by herself, she’d ended up worse off because she made stupid, reckless decisions.
Like sleeping with Blue Morgan.
She went to open the truck door and stopped. But did she regret that choice? She closed her eyes as her body remembered exactly how perfectly she and Blue had fit together and the pleasure he’d given her. Was she willing to give that up? Was she ready to stand up and declare they were a couple?
Jenna turned on her heel and headed back for the barn. There was no one around apart from Blue, who was busy in Sunflower’s empty stall replacing the flattened straw with fresh sweet-smelling grasses.
“Hey.”
He looked up at her, his blue gaze wary.
“You can’t just go around making sweeping demands like that when I don’t know where I stand with you.”
He propped the rake against the wall and faced her. “You voluntarily came into my bed.”
“That’s where I stand. Or lie. But what about you?” She hesitated. “Maybe I forced the issue. I should’ve considered your perfectly legitimate objections to having a relationship with anyone at this point.”
“I think we’re beyond that now, don’t you?”
“Not unless you want to be.” She held his gaze. “I shouldn’t have rushed you.”
“I didn’t exactly turn you away.”
“You’re a man. Of course you didn’t.”
He stiffened. “You’re suggesting I would’ve been quite happy to see any woman turn up in my bed?”
Good Lord, now she’d offended him. “No, of course not. I just meant that I made a unilateral decision without adequately consulting with you first.”
“Come again?”
She sighed. “I shouldn’t have jumped you in your own bed.”
He leaned one shoulder against the door frame and regarded her steadily. “Do you make a habit of it?”
“Jumping into men’s beds? God, no.”
“So you weren’t just using me to scratch an itch.”
The idea was so ludicrous that she actually gaped at him. “You’re kidding, right?”
He shrugged. “Nope. Believe it or not, there are quite a few women who specialize in collecting men in uniform.”
“Like a military buckle bunny?”
“Exactly.”
“I’m not one of those.” She held his gaze. “Is that how I made you feel?”
He half smiled. “Put it this way, leaving my bed without telling me was something of a clue. I suppose I should be glad I didn’t find a twenty-buck note under the pillow.”
“You’re worth far more than twenty bucks.”
“Yeah?” His smile this time was slower to come and more genuine.
“Not that I would’ve paid you because I don’t think of you as a booty call—unless that’s what you want me to think of you—because you aren’t in the right place for a real relationship.”
He stepped forward, stripped off his glove, and cupped her chin, his thumb tracing her lower lip.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you I changed my mind about that. Your preemptive strike last night kind of put me off my stride.”
She grimaced. “I thought I’d pushed too hard and that you’d be glad to see me leave. I never meant to hurt you.”
“Let’s set a few things straight between us, shall we?” Blue said. “I know this isn’t a good time for us to get together because I’m not at my best, but I don’t want to be just a booty call.”
“Okay.”
“I want to be the only man in your bed, and I want us to be a couple. Is that clear enough for you?”
“Despite everything?”
“Yeah.” He kissed her nose. “It’s not going to be easy, and I think we need to keep it on the down-low until we sort out what’s going on with Maria and get through Chase and January’s wedding.”
“Agreed.”
“But I do want us to be together. Is that okay with you? Is that what you want?”
She nodded.
He searched her face. “I hate it when you go all quiet and acquiescent on me.”
“It’s only because you have overwhelmed me with your masterful logic.”
“Masterful, eh?”
“Yes, please.”
He kissed her properly this time, and within seconds she was pressed against the wall and his big body was covering her. His Stetson went flying when she wrapped her hand around his neck to hold him as close as she could.
“Ahem.”
Jenna opened one eye and looked past Blue’s shoulder to the door of the stall where Roy was watching them, a big grin on his face.
“So much for being discreet, Blue.”
“You two should get a room.” Roy chuckled. “Darn, I’ve always wanted to say that.”
Blue bent to pick up his hat and then turned to Roy. “Keep this to yourself, okay?”
“You disrespecting Miss Jenna, BB Morgan?”
Jenna hastened to Roy’s side. “No, there’s just a lot going on at the moment and we don’t want to make a big deal out of this until we see how we’re getting along. I have just come out of a long relationship with Nate, so Blue might just be my rebound boyfriend.”
Blue snorted.
Roy nodded as if she made perfect sense, which considering how much reality TV he and Ruth watched might actually be true.
“If he messes you around, young lady, you come and see me and I’ll set him to rights.”
“You going to put me over your knee and spank me, Roy?”
Roy looked Blue up and down. “If I have to.”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Jenna said hastily. “Now I have to get going. I promised January I’d meet with Yvonne in town to go over the menu for the wedding luncheon.”
Blue caught her hand and reeled her back in for a kiss. “Com
e back here for dinner, okay?”
“I’ll text you. I’ve got to help Uncle Ron with a surgical case this afternoon, and that could go on for a while.” She paused. “You could come over to my place. I can cook you dinner.”
“You cook?”
“Sometimes.”
He gave one of his decisive nods. “Then let’s do that. Text me when you’re ready and I’ll come on over.”
Chapter Thirteen
“So what was he like?”
Jenna frowned at Yvonne. “I’m not telling you that.”
“Was he bad? Did he suck and not in a good way?”
“He was . . . everything I’ve ever wanted in a man.”
Yvonne sat back, her muffin forgotten in her hand. “Wow.”
Jenna shrugged as her cheeks heated. “We’re keeping it quiet at the moment, so don’t go telling everyone, okay?”
“Keeping what quiet?” January joined them at the table, holding a large white binder with the word “Wedding” on the front.
“Blue and Jenna.”
“Oh that.” January waved dismissively. “I called that weeks ago. In fact, you owe me ten bucks, Vonnie.”
“You two were betting on me?” Jenna asked. “Your best friend?”
“Why not? There’s not much else to do in a small town. And don’t forget you called the January and Chase one and won ten bucks off me.” Yvonne pushed the plate of cakes toward January. “How about I pay you off in éclairs?”
“Works for me.” January happily helped herself. “Now before we talk about the catering, can I ask you both something?”
Jenna nodded and so did Yvonne.
“Would you be my bridesmaids?”
“Really?” Jenna squeaked. “Oh my God, I’d love that. Thank you.”
“So would I.” Yvonne leaned in and the three of them had a big squishy girly hug.
“I thought you were never going to ask,” Yvonne said and Jenna rolled her eyes at January, who was laughing. “Seeing as Chase is a billionaire, can we go for some McQueen like at the royal wedding?”
“We can talk about that after we decide on the catering,” January said firmly.
Jenna sipped her cappuccino. “I’m not sure how much help I’m going to be. I’ve never organized a wedding, and I’m a vegetarian.”
