by Codi Gary
Jessie heard something at the front of the bar but ignored it, too caught up in the kiss to care, but when Red pulled away, she protested.
“Why the hell are you stopping?”
He set her back on the counter with a soft kiss. “Because we’re about to have company.” She looked toward the door and heard Rand’s voice calling for her, getting closer.
“Shit, I asked her if she would help me hand out flyers tonight.”
“Sounds like fun.” Red reached up to take her hands from behind his neck.
“What sounds like fun?” Rand asked, coming through the door. She stopped and looked between them, smirking. “Did I interrupt something?”
“Shut up, Rand,” Red said.
To Jessie, he gave a look that could have burned her underwear right off. “I’ll text you later.”
The door closed behind him, and Rand laughed. “I know that look.”
“What look?”
“That what-the-hell-just-happened look. The first couple of times Jake kissed me, he took off right after, and I was surprised and confused. At the time, I had no one else to talk to about girl stuff, so I let my frustrations boil over, and I yelled at him.”
Jessie couldn’t help laughing. “So who do you talk to now?”
“Red’s sister Tabby and I are good friends, and my friend Jamie. She’s the one who works for the vet.”
“Ah. I met Red’s sisters.”
“You did? When?”
“Sunday. He invited me over for Sunday dinner.”
“Wow,” Rand said, and Jessie got an eerie feeling.
“What?”
“Well, if a Texas man brings you home to meet his family, it must mean he’s got some serious feelings going on. At least that’s what the girls tell me. I’ve known Jake’s mom my whole life.”
Jessie’s heart was beating too fast. “I’m not really looking for anything serious.”
Rand frowned. “Then you probably shouldn’t do coupley things. Like kissing.”
Jessie sighed. “Dammit.”
“What?” Rand asked as Jessie hopped down off the counter.
Jessie covered up the casserole with a dreamy smile, hoping Rand couldn’t see it. “It was just a really good kiss.”
“Ah-ha! I knew it. Whoa, what is that?”
“My new chef’s take on mac and cheese.”
“Is it good?”
“Delicious.”
“I want some.” Rand grabbed a plate from the counter without waiting for an invite and Jessie loved that about her.
Jessie scooped her up a good-size portion, envying Rand’s lithe frame as she consumed it.
“Oh, I am going to invite your chef to live with us,” Rand groaned around a mouthful of mac and cheese.
“I’m sure Jake will love that,” Jessie said, laughing.
“One bite of this, and he won’t care.”
Jessie stopped eating when she heard several female voices in the bar.
“Now, who could that be?”
“Our help,” Rand said.
“Help?”
“Yeah, I figured you could use some, and this will give you a chance to make some friends.”
Jessie looked out the kitchen door window and saw all four of Red’s sisters and several other women she didn’t know.
“You invited all of Red’s sisters,” Jessie hissed.
Rand finished up her plate and took the casserole over to the fridge.
“And if you think I’m protective of Red, you do not want to mess with that pack of redheads. They will destroy you.”
* * *
Jessie ended up on the north side of town with the new librarian, April. She liked the bubbly woman who had moved to Loco from Oklahoma, and her two-year-old daughter, Ariel. Ariel had strawberry blonde curls with a sprinkling of freckles, and her sweet cherub face was constantly smiling.
“So why did you move here?” Jessie asked as she stapled another flyer to the board in front of Crazy Al’s Pharmacy.
April’s pale cheeks turned red, and Jessie felt bad. “Sorry, if that was too personal—”
“No, it’s just…well, it’s kind of a long story,” April started, looking down at her daughter in the stroller.
“Don’t worry about it, then. Forget I asked.”
April reached out and stroked her daughter’s curls. “I just got married really young, and it turned out he didn’t really want us. So we left.”
Jessie patted April’s shoulder as they started walking again. “Did you ever see him again?”
“Only to sign the divorce papers. His parents wanted him to push for visitation and were furious when he gave up his parental rights.”
“It sounds like it all worked out, though.”
“Yeah, I think so. What about you? How come you left glamorous California?”
Jessie sighed. “I dated a guy who turned out to be a major jerk. Once I figured that out, I got the hell out of Dodge.”
“Well, I’m glad you did,” April said sincerely, and Jessie smiled gratefully.
Jessie’s phone rang, and she looked down at the caller ID. It was another California area code she didn’t recognize.
Sending it to voice mail, she turned to April and asked, “So what do you say we stop into the coffee shop and grab a mocha? My treat?”
“You had me at coffee.”
While April was in the bathroom with Ariel, Jessie checked the voice mail.
“Hey, baby. I’ll see you soon.”
The air around her disappeared. She hit the Disconnect button, unwilling to hear any more. He was just trying to rattle her, and it was working. Struggling to calm her racing heart, she caught sight of April coming out of the bathroom pushing a drowsy Ariel. As she drew closer, she must have been able to read the panic on Jessie’s face, because she looked worried.
“Are you okay, Jessie? You look pale.”
Jessie closed her eyes for a second. He is bluffing. He has no idea where you are. It is just another way for him to control you.
Although she was far from calm, Jessie opened her eyes and tried to sound cheery. “You know, I just felt a little sick for a second, but it’s passed.”
“Oh, I’ve had that happen. Certain smells can set me off.” April clucked sympathetically. “Want to go somewhere else?”
Jessie shook her head. “No way. We need caffeine if we’re going to get all these flyers put up.”
As they ordered the drinks, Jessie tried to put the message from her mind, but his words kept echoing through her head.
* * *
Red was hardly listening to Jake yammer on and on. He was too distracted. Thinking about Jessie’s reaction to their kiss was making him crazy.
Suddenly, a pickle hit him in the middle of his forehead.
“What the hell?”
“I have been talking to you for ten minutes, and I’ve gotten dazed nods and halfhearted ‘mmms.’ What is up with you?” Jake asked.
“Sorry, just got a lot on my mind,” Red said sheepishly.
“The deadline or the hot blonde who wants to play with your stick?” Jake asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
“You are a pig. How does Rand stand you?”
“Well—”
“If you’re about to talk about your sex life, spare me.” There was no malice behind the words; he just really wasn’t interested in his friend’s sex life. “Fine, so let’s talk about yours. Is this a casual thing?”
“This is a flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of thing.” Red laughed at Jake’s puzzled look. “I didn’t even plan on kissing her until she started going off on a feminist rant, and before I knew what I was doing, I had my tongue in her mouth.”
“Ugh, dude, I’m eating.”
“Sorry, it’s just, she’s kind of spun my head around. She makes me so crazy, it’s like she doesn’t even think before she makes a decision, she just jumps in.”
“Says the guy who just jumped into her mouth.”
“She hired
an ex-con as her chef today.”
“What did he do?”
“He told her he beat the hell out of her sister’s husband for beating her. ” Sounds like a hero to me.”
“But what if he’s lying? Now she’s hired him, alone in the bar with him…”
“Yeah, this definitely isn’t casual.”
“Shut up.”
“What? I’m just saying, you don’t get this bent out of shape about a woman unless you love her.” Jake looked uncomfortable for a half a second. “Or beat the hell out of your best friend because you’re afraid he’ll hurt her.”
Red froze, remembering the morning he’d come by and found Jake and Rand had slept together. He’d lost it, attacking Jake and threatening him.
Red cleared his throat. “Look, Jake—”
“No, just listen, okay? I know the last two years haven’t been a picnic for you, and we’ve all been pretending there isn’t a big elephant in the room, but it needs to be said. I had a feeling you might have had real feelings for Rand, and I’m sorry that my actions hurt you. I know this is coming a little late, but there it is.”
Red shook his head. “I appreciate the sentiment, man, but honestly, you didn’t do anything I wouldn’t have done. You loved her, and you went for it. The great thing about it was she loved you too. Nothing to apologize for.”
“I just feel like there has been this air of tension, and now that Jessie’s in the picture, I feel okay talking about it.”
Red gave Jake a hard look. “I’m not in love with Jessie. It’s been a week, and last time I checked, I wasn’t crazy.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.” Jake popped a fry in his mouth before continuing, “I’ve always thought you were one flapjack shy of a short stack.”
Laughing, he sat back against the couch and shook his head. “Probably why we’re friends. No one else could handle our quirks.”
“I guess it’s a good thing we’re pretty, then.” Jake tipped the neck of his beer toward Red, waiting for him to agree.
Red clanked his. “I’ll drink to that.”
Chapter Eleven
Jessie was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, when the familiar chirp of her phone brought a smile to her lips. Rolling across the bed, she picked up the phone and tapped on the text envelope.
It’s a beautiful night. Wanna come out and play?
She crawled off the bed and padded over to the window, looking down at the dark Charger parked in front of her hotel.
With a wide grin, she typed: Give me a minute to get dressed.
Grabbing a pair of jeans from her suitcase, and her sweatshirt, she dressed quickly and walked softly down the stairs, as if she was sneaking out of her parents’ house. She passed the front desk, which was empty, and out the front door to where Red waited.
Knocking on the Charger’s window, she waited for him to unlock the door, but instead, he got out and came around.
“Okay, getting out of the car just to unlock my door is silly, and—”
“Just say thank you, and get in.” Red reached between her and the door to unlock it. “I want to show you something.”
His nearness sent her pulse into overdrive, and she let him take her hand, his warm palm enveloping hers as he helped her into the car. After he shut the door and ran around to her side, he shot her a mischievous grin. “Are you ready?”
“Suddenly, I’m frightened,” she said, grabbing the “oh, shit” handle.
He took off down the street and out of town. “I promise to keep you safe.”
Jessie watched. “So, where are you taking me?”
“I thought we’d do a little night fishing,” he said.
She whipped her head around and waited for him to say he was joking. She was disappointed.
Jessie made a disgusted face. “I hate fish.”
“How can you say that when you’ve never had my fish?”
“Fish is fish, no matter who makes it. The bones, the eyes…” She shuddered for emphasis.
“Okay, so you hate fish. But, do you hate fishing?”
That gave her pause. Her dad had taken her quite a bit when she was little, but she couldn’t remember not liking it. Then again, she enjoyed almost anything she did with her dad.
“I don’t think so,” she said honestly. “It’s been a long time.”
“Who did you go with as a kid?” He slowed the car and turned down a bumpy dirt road. The trees surrounding it made it seem dark and scary.
“Are you sure you aren’t taking me out here to murder me?”
They came upon a gate with a No Trespassing sign. Shutting the car off, he turned in his seat to face her. “I have better things planned for you than foul play.”
“Foul play? You talk sometimes like my Freshman English teacher, and she was almost eighty.”
He leaned toward her. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Before she could answer, he was pushing his car door open and climbing out.
“I hated that teacher,” she grumbled as she followed suit.
He was at the back of the Charger, popping the trunk and pulling out an old green tackle box, two poles, and a plastic bag.
Handing her the bag, he closed the trunk with a wicked grin. “You can carry the bait.”
She took the bag and rolled her eyes. “What, am I supposed to be scared of a can of worms?”
“You don’t fish for catfish with worms.”
Staring down at the bag in her hand, horror spiked through her. “It’s not snakes, right?”
“Chicken livers,” he said, too cheerfully for her taste.
Scrunching her nose, she caught up to him. “That is worse than snakes.”
They passed under a canopy of trees and came upon a wide river mouth. The trees were open above, letting the moonlight shine across the water, and Jessie caught her breath.
He set the gear down and took the bag from her. “Don’t worry, California. I’ll bait your hook for you.”
* * *
Red baited his hook and cast his pole, hooking it to a shore anchor before he helped Jessie. She was looking inside the butcher container with a disgusted, tongue-out-of-the-mouth look, and he took her pole and a piece of liver with a snort.
“I have never seen a woman so squeamish. Haven’t you ever made a turkey dinner before, or even gravy?”
“No, I’m not much of a cook. I boil water, and sometimes I even burn that.”
After hooking the liver on her line, he handed her the pole. “I’m going to rinse my hands, and I’ll show you how to cast.” As he turned away, he did an about-face and warned, “Do not try casting while I’m right in front of you.”
Her eyes were too wide, too innocent. “Oh? Why, ’cause I might hook you instead of a fish?”
“Yes, and you don’t want to hurt me, do you? Not after I’ve been so nice so far.”
“Yeah, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop…”
He ignored her and rinsed his hands. He had wanted to get her alone after that kiss, and once he’d seen the moon, he’d known. What better way to test how a woman feels than to show her how to do something that requires you getting up close and personal with her body?
“So you saw me do it, but I figured I’d show you again.”
She held her pole out to him eagerly. “By all means.”
“I thought I’d show you how to do it,” he said, coming up behind her.
“Oh, now I see what’s going on.”
The amusement in her voice gave him pause. “What?”
“Oh, nothing.”
He wrapped his arms around her and started loosening her line. “Doesn’t sound like nothing. Sounds like you think I’m up to something.”
“Because you are. You are pulling some old-school ‘oh, you’re doing it wrong, let me show you’ move so you can touch me.” She glanced up at him over her shoulder. “You can’t fool me. I watch New Girl.”
Red had never seen the show, but since she’d already call
ed him out, he shrugged. “Maybe I was putting out feelers.”
“Feelers for what?”
He held her gaze, refusing to break the connection. “On whether or not that kiss was one-sided.”
She swallowed hard before looking away. “I thought you didn’t feel anything when you kissed me.”
“I’d say I spoke prematurely.” He took her hands and placed them where he wanted on the pole.
“Prematurely? Is that your backward way of saying, yes?”
He covered her hands with his and leaned down until his breath rustled the wisps of hair around her ears. “Yes, I felt something.”
She relaxed against him, and he had his answer.
* * *
Red taught her how to cast her line and anchor it to the bank. Standing back up, she tried not to show how nervous she was. Somehow, now that he’d admitted to wanting her, things between them were quiet and tense.
“So, what now?” she asked, shoving her hands into her sweatshirt pocket.
He sat down with his back against a tree and waved her over. “Now, we wait.”
She walked over and sat down, wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“No, I’m okay,” she said, even though the air was a little chilly. Her sweatshirt was heavy, but the cool air still stung her nose and ears.
Suddenly, she was being pulled across the dirt and into Red’s lap. Settling in, she looked into his handsome face, made pale by the moonlight, and her heart skipped a beat at the hunger in his eyes.
“Do you mind?”
“No, I don’t mind.”
He pushed her head down on his chest, and for a while they just sat there, the sounds around them lulling her into a relaxed state as she cuddled against him.
“If you don’t want to take this thing any further than friendship, I understand.”
So close and with the conversation taking such a heavy turn, panic started bubbling up her throat.
“Do we have to talk about it? Can’t we see how things go and not put a label on it?”
