by HELEN HARDT
What the hell? I closed the book and smiled at Haley. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter Nine
Talon
I mounted Phoenix and rode away from the northern quadrant. It was early in the evening yet, so I decided to take a ride. Let the wind run through my hair a little more.
I rode for about an hour and then headed back to the house. Felicia would have dinner ready soon, and I was actually hungry. Riding was so good for me. I needed to remember to do it more often.
I took Phoenix back to the stables, asked a hand to groom him, and drove back to the ranch house. I walked in and inhaled—robust pork, corn, and chile. Felicia had made tamales, one of my favorite meals.
“Felicia, smells great,” I said, entering the kitchen.
“It’s ready, Mr. Talon. Could you tell Miss Marjorie and her guest to come to the table?”
“Her guest?”
“Yes, a young lady came a few minutes ago. I assume she’s staying for dinner.”
“Where are they?”
“They’re in the living room. Didn’t you see them?”
“I came in the back way.” I walked out of the kitchen through the hallway and into the living room. My stomach was fluttering. God, fluttering. What was I? Some kind of adolescent? Of course it would be Jade. Who else would Marjorie have over?
But Felicia would have said Jade, not “her guest.”
My heart sank when I saw who sat across from my sister in the living room—the cocktail waitress I had bedded on a couple occasions. Shit, I couldn’t even remember her name. Jenny? Julie?
I backed out slowly. Maybe they hadn’t seen me.
But, of course, my sister turned toward me. “Talon, there you are.” Her lips were pursed. “You have a visitor.”
What the hell was she doing here? And how did she know where I lived?
The woman stood. “Hi, Talon.”
“Hi…”
“Julie,” she said.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I haven’t seen you in a while, and I was worried about you.”
Worried about me? She didn’t even know me. We’d had sex a couple times. In fact, the last time I had gone to see her, I hadn’t been able to perform, so I’d left. Kind of embarrassing.
“As you can see, I’m fine. So you can go now.”
“Talon,” Marj said.
Yeah, I was being rude. But I had no interest in this girl, and for her to come over here was pretty presumptuous. Marj’s clenched jawline indicated that she wasn’t thrilled Julie was here either.
“Can I talk to you alone for a minute, Talon?” Marj turned to Julie. “You don’t mind, do you? I need to talk to my brother about some…business.”
Julie smiled. “Of course not. I’ll just wait here for you.”
Before I could tell Julie not to bother to wait, Marjorie yanked me down the hallway nearly to my bedroom.
“What the hell is she doing here?”
“You think I know?”
“Well, she came here to see you, Talon.”
“Not at my invitation.”
“What do we do with her now?”
“We tell her to leave.”
“That would be rude.”
“You think I care?”
“She seems to be under the impression that you two are…more than friends.”
This was getting beyond irritating. “Her impression would be wrong.”
“Talon, who is she exactly?”
“She’s a waitress, Marjorie. I met her in Grand Junction a while ago. She and I had…a couple of…dates. And honestly, I’m not really comfortable talking to you about this.”
“Look, if you’re going to be cheating on my best friend—”
“Your best friend? You mean Jade? Jade and I don’t have anything between us.”
“Except sex?”
Jesus Christ. Did I really need to be talking to my baby sister about these things? “Look, I know you two are best friends and probably tell each other everything—”
“You got that right.”
“But whatever has gone on between Jade and me is none of your business.”
“You are my brother, and Jade is my best friend. That makes this every bit my business. Maybe not the relationship part, but the part that affects me. Now who the hell is this waitress chick, and why did she think she could show up at our home?”
I shook my head. “Beats the hell out of me. I didn’t even know she knew where to find me.”
“Well, I assume you gave her your name.”
“Of course.”
“The Steels are pretty damned easy to find,” Marj said. “I’m going to invite her to stay for dinner.”
I jerked my head forward. “What?”
“You heard me. I want to find out what’s going on between you two.”
“I just told you what’s going on between us. A whole lot of nothing. Now either you can get rid of her, or I will.”
“Nope. She’s staying for dinner.” Marj flounced off.
The next thing I knew, I was sitting at the kitchen table flanked by my sister and a woman I’d fucked a couple of times. Could this have been any more awkward? I stayed quiet while she and Marj chattered like a couple of prairie hens.
“So where do you work?”
“The Fox and the Hound Bar and Grill in Grand Junction.”
“And that’s where you met Talon?”
Julie nodded and swallowed a bite of tamale. “Yeah, couple months or so ago. Wow, this food is delicious.”
“Oh, yes, Felicia is a gem.” Marj smiled curtly. “Tell me a little more about yourself, Julie.”
I rolled my eyes. This dinner had gone on long enough. I listened with only one ear as Julie rattled on and on about how she wanted to start going to night school once she got her GED.
Blah, blah, blah. Sure, that would happen.
“If you’ll excuse me, you two, I need to make a quick phone call. I have to check on my cooking class schedule for next week.” Marj stood and walked from the room.
Shit. Now what?
“So, Talon, what’s going on with you?” Julie asked. “I thought we had something special between us.”
Chapter Ten
Jade
Haley had drawn up a beautiful image of the phoenix and had transferred the ink outline to my back, when my phone rang.
“You need to get that?” she asked.
“No. Let’s go ahead and get this done tonight. I’m really excited.”
“Awesome. Let me get the colors I need, and then I’ll start the outline. You’ve never had a tattoo before, right?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, it’s going to hurt, but it’s not quite as bad as most people think it is.”
“I’ve heard it feels like a bunch of pinpricks. I want to do it anyway. I feel really strongly about this image. It resonates with me right now.”
“Good enough.”
Then my phone started again.
I let out a huff. “Let me just get that and then turn the damned thing off.”
I grabbed my phone. Marj. “Hey, Marj, what you need?”
“Jade, you have to come out to the house.”
“I’m kind of in the middle of something right now.”
“Get out of it. This is an emergency.”
My pulse sped up. “An emergency? Are you okay? Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah, but Talon’s got a girl here, and I need you here.”
“A girl?” Jealousy knifed through my body.
“He didn’t invite her here. She just showed up. Some cocktail waitress skank from the city. You need to get out here now before he falls in bed with her or something.”
“Why didn’t he just kick her out?”
“Well…I invited her to dinner.”
“You invited her to dinner? Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because I wanted to find out what was going on between her and Talon.”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “Marj, I don’t have time for this. I’m in the middle of getting a tattoo.”
“A tattoo? I thought we were going to do that together sometime.”
“We’ve been saying that for seven years. We haven’t done it yet. I was just passing by Toby’s, and I got an itch. I saw a tattoo a couple nights ago on my mom’s boyfriend that I really liked, and I wanted to duplicate it. It’s perfect for me right now and matches how I’m feeling about myself.”
“Have you started yet?”
“No, she just put the image on my back with the transfer. Nothing permanent.”
“Okay, then please, please reschedule. I need you to come to the house now.”
“I haven’t even eaten yet tonight, Marj.”
“You can eat here. Felicia always makes enough to feed an army. You know that.”
I let out a heavy sigh. There was no arguing with Marj when she got like this. I would either have to go to the house or pay for it later.
“How the hell do you expect me to get there? Hitchhike?”
“Take a cab. You know George is always out in his cab. I’ll pay for it.”
I was getting pretty tired of Marj offering me money. I could pay my own cab fare, for God’s sake. But she clearly needed me there. Fine. I hung up and turned to Haley. “I’m so sorry, but could we reschedule? That was my best friend, and she has an emergency.”
“Sure, no problem. I’ve already got everything ready to go, so all we need to do is book you for a couple hours some other time.”
“Do you need me to make a payment now?”
“No. I’ll just collect it when we’re done.”
“Great. I totally appreciate this. I’m really excited about getting this tattoo.”
“Well, you have it in black and white right now, although it’ll wash away when you take a shower in the morning.” Haley laughed.
“I’m looking forward to having it for real with all the vivid colors. Thanks so much, Haley. I’ll give you a call and be back in sometime next week.”
“Awesome sauce.”
Awesome sauce? The manicurist had said that. What the fuck? I found George over at Murphy’s Bar, and he was only too glad to drive me out to the Steels’ ranch. Ironically, he was also the one who’d driven me to Grand Junction the previous Friday.
“I thought you were moving to the city, sweetheart,” he said.
I cleared my throat. “Change of plans.”
A little over half an hour later, I was back at the house where everything had started.
“Thank God!” Marj ran up to me as soon as I came in the door. “Wait here while I go take care of George.”
I shook my head at her. “Oh, no. I already paid him. Now tell me. Why exactly am I here, Marj?”
“You’ll see. I’ve had to keep the ditz talking for the last half hour while you got here. She has the IQ of a spaghetti squash.”
“Why didn’t you just get rid of her?”
“Because I have a plan. For you. And Talon.”
Oh, Lord…
Marj led me to the family room where Talon—my Talon—sat with a blond and blue-eyed curvy vixen.
His face was tense, his lips thin. He looked uncomfortable as hell. Of course, uncomfortable on him was still sexy. His burgundy button-down was open at the neck, a few black chest hairs peeking out. His hair was a mess—a dark, sexy, tousled mess.
“Talon, look who dropped by for a visit.” Marj yanked me by the arm into the family room. “Julie, please meet my best friend in the whole world, Jade Roberts.”
The blondie flounced up and took my hand. “Wicked awesome to meet you.”
Wicked awesome, indeed. This chick couldn’t be more than nineteen or twenty, though she talked like she was thirteen.
“Same here,” I said. Why was I here again?
Talon stood. “Hi.” The word came out gruff, forced.
“Hi, yourself,” I said, turning to his companion. “What do you do, Julie?”
“I’m a cocktail waitress.”
Okay, twenty-one, then.
Julie grabbed Talon by the hand and pulled him off the couch. “Let’s go for a drive. I’d love to see your ranch.”
Oh, hell no…
“I don’t think Talon has the time tonight,” Marj said. “I believe he and Jade have plans.”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. “I don’t have any—”
Talon grabbed my arm. “That’s right. How could I forget?”
What the—
“Remember,” Marj said. “You and he were going to take care of that thing for me?”
“Sure…the thing.”
No way in the world could anybody buy this…unless she had the IQ of a spaghetti squash.
Blondie stood on her tiptoes and kissed Talon on the cheek.
And my blood boiled.
“Oh, well. Please call me the next time you’re in the city.” Julie smiled, showcasing ultra white teeth. “And I’m gonna come back and visit you real soon. I want to see your ranch up close.”
Marj grabbed Julie’s arm. “We’re terribly glad you stopped by, Julie, but I’m afraid we’re going to be totally overworked on the ranch for the next few months. Harvest time is coming and all. So please don’t drop by unless you’re invited.” She led Julie out of the family room toward the foyer.
I couldn’t help a laugh. I couldn’t believe had Marj actually said that, especially after keeping her there until I arrived. I still wasn’t sure what that had been about.
Talon looked at me. “So what are you doing here, anyway?”
“Marjorie called me. Said it was an emergency.”
Talon cocked his head. “I can’t say I’m not glad she’s gone, but I don’t think this is an emergency.”
“Clearly it wasn’t. So I guess I’ll be going.”
Marj ran back in. “Oh, no, you’re not leaving. You said you hadn’t eaten, so you’re going to have a big plateful of Felicia’s tamales.”
“Haven’t you guys already eaten?” I eyed the plates in the sink in the kitchen.
“We have, but we would love to sit down and have a glass of wine with you, wouldn’t we, Tal?”
The left side of Talon’s mouth quirked up. A pseudo-smile. “Sure,” he said. “We can sit down and have a drink.”
“Why did you insist on keeping her here, Marj, and then unceremoniously kick her out?” Talon asked.
Marj dodged the question and feigned a yawn. Right. “I just realized I’m exhausted. So why don’t the two of you go out on the deck, and maybe you can get in the hot tub later? Jade, you eat your meal, and Tal, pour her a glass of Ryan’s Rhône blend. It’s her favorite.” She made a quick exit.
Subtle, Marj.
I looked at Talon. His lips were still quirked up.
“Some kind of setup, huh?” I said.
“You don’t have to stay.”
“Are you kidding? She dragged me away from an appointment, and I’m starving. I can’t resist a plateful of Felicia’s tamales. But honestly, you don’t have to sit with me and eat. I’m perfectly happy eating alone. I was going to be alone tonight anyway.”
“This is stupid. I’ll go get Marj to hang with you.”
My heart sank a little, but I hid it from Talon. “That’s fine. Tell her I’ll be out on the deck.”
I went to the kitchen, where Felicia presented me with a plateful of yummy tamales drenched in green chile “Here you go, Miss Jade. I’ve missed you around here.”
“I haven’t been gone very long yet.”
“I know. But I miss you anyway. It was nice to have another body around.”
I smiled. “Thanks. And thanks for dinner.” I took my plate out to the deck and sat down at one of the patio tables.
I dug into the tamales. Felicia made them in a Venezuelan style, with black and green olives, pork, and some carrots and peppers. They were then smothered with her green chile sauce. When I first came to the ranch, I had assumed Felicia was M
exican, because her Mexican food was so delicious and she had the darker Hispanic coloring. Turned out she was Puerto Rican, but she knew how to cook so many wonderful things. Her Italian cuisine was as good as anyone’s.
I didn’t look up when the French doors opened, assuming it was Marj.
Turned out it was Talon. He set a glass of wine in front of me and then took the seat across from me at the table.
I swallowed my mouthful of tamale, my pulse quickening. “Where’s Marj?”
“She wouldn’t come. Insisted I come out here and keep you company.”
I nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. I…told Marj about us.”
He bit his lip. God, sexy.
“I know.”
“She hasn’t…talked to you about it, has she?”
“No. She’s my baby sister. It’s not really something brothers and sisters talk about. But she made it pretty clear when Julie showed up today that I wasn’t available.”
“Really? And how did you feel about that?”
“I have no interest in Julie, blue eyes. I never did.”
My skin tingled all over and I suppressed a smile. “But you fucked her.”
Talon let out a chuckle. “I’ve fucked a lot of women, Jade. You know that.”
“Have you fucked any since you and I…” I wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. Since he and I what? I could’ve said fucked, but what we did was so much more than fucking. Was it making love? It was on my end, but I had no idea how he felt.
He cleared his throat. “No, I haven’t.”
I widened my eyes. Warm happiness blanketed me, along with some surprise. “All those nights you went off to Grand Junction? None of them ever ended in…”
He shook his head. “Honestly? I went to see Julie one of those nights. To try to take the edge off of my desire for you. It didn’t work out that way.”
“You didn’t go through with it?”
“No, I…couldn’t.” His cheeks pinked a bit. “And I’m glad I couldn’t.”
My palms got clammy and joy surged through me. He did desire me—I knew that—but now I knew it was different for him than it had been with anyone else. I’d known that for a while in my heart, and even by what he told me, but to hear him say the words—the actual words. They were more captivating than the western slope orange-and-pink sunset before us.
