Loving Ranger

by J. C. Wilder

  “La la la la la.” Josie clamped her hands over her ears. “I do not need to hear about what happens in my brother’s pants.”

  “Well, there was this one time…”

  “Stop it, you fiend.” Josie nudged her with an elbow.

  “Feels like a lifetime ago, don’t it?” Sissy murmured. “I’m not sure I’d recognize the girl I was back then.”

  “I would.” Josie dropped her hand over Sissy’s. “I’d recognize her anywhere.”

  Touched, she squeezed her friend’s hand.

  “So, what did my big he-man brother say when you told him?”

  Sissy looked away.

  “Oh, Sis. You haven’t told him yet, have you?” she whispered.

  “I only found out yesterday.” She told her about Bitsy and their mad dash to the clinic. “We’d just walked in the door when Kara gave me the news about Pops. I haven’t even had time to let it sink in so I couldn’t just dump it on him.”

  “You’re right. Maybe it’s best to wait a few days until, well, you know.” Her brown eyes filled with tears. “Pops would’ve been thrilled to pieces, Sissy.”

  “Ya think so?”

  She nodded. “My big, loud papa turned into goo when he held a baby in his arms,” she sniffed. “But, you want Ranger’s baby, right?”

  Tears stung her eyes and she grabbed a tissue before handing the box to Josie. “More than anythin’.”

  “Good.” Josie dabbed her eyes. “My niece or nephew will be the luckiest baby in the world, to have you two as parents. But—,” she gave her a mock-serious glare, “—I expect you to make an honest man out of my brother.”

  “Married?” Sissy’s stomach dropped. She could barely comprehend she was pregnant let alone the M-word.

  Marriage isn’t for the likes of you, Sissy Kolchek…

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Josie gathered the scattered handfuls of damp tissues then tossed them into the trashcan. “My brothers have this idea in their heads that they’re cursed.” She rolled her eyes. “Pops never had any luck with love, and all three of my brothers have screwed up any relationship they’ve had. I can’t get it through their thick skulls that it isn’t a curse. It’s because they’re selfish buttheads.”

  Sissy laughed.

  “Pops told me that he loved each and every one of our mothers and not because they bore his children. Ryan’s mother refused to marry him and neither the twin’s birth mother nor mine was ready to settle down.” Her smile was both sweet and sad. “Gem’s mama was the only one interested in a happily ever after. I don’t remember much about her—I was only five when she died.”

  Leaning against Josie, she whispered. “If I’da been livin’ here then I would’ve been happy to give ya’ll, Paula.”

  “And for that, I’m thankful you were living in St. Louis—”

  “Bay St. Louis,” Sissy rolled her eyes.

  “Louisiana.”

  “Mississippi.”

  “Same thing.” Josie was smiling now. “I need to promise me something, Sis. Promise me that you’ll be patient with my brother. You guys have been friends a long time so you know he’s stubborn almost to the point of stupidity and—”

  An explosion of loud knocking on the bathroom door made both of them scream.

  “Who’s hogging the bathroom?” It was Pip.

  “Just us chickens,” Josie called out in a squeaky falsetto.

  The door flew open, and Pip walked in wearing a Steelers football jersey and a sleepy smile. Her blonde streaky hair was rumpled, and she sported a love bite on her neck. “What did I miss?” Her brow shot upward when she took in the Sissy’s odd apparel. “Are you wearing a towel?”

  “Are ya wearin’ a hickey?” Sissy shot back.

  Pip spun toward the mirror. “Oh, Lord.” She slapped her hand over the mark. “Must be a mosquito bite.”

  “Mosquito bite?” Josie howled with laughter.

  “Must be a mutant. Don’t think I ever saw one big enough to wear cowboy boots,” Sissy drawled. “Now ya’ll get on outta here. I need to take a shower.”

  Pip looked at Josie and shrugged. “Who knew Sissy could be so modest?”

  “Don’t blame me if ya’ll go blind.”

  Rising to her feet, Sissy dropped the towel and presented them with her rear end. Even though she wore a thong it didn’t conceal anything. Both women shrieked when she pulled off her skimpy tank top and they climbed over each other in their haste to get out the door first.

  Cowards. She couldn’t wait to scare them with a bulging baby belly.

  Chapter Five

  After her shower, Sissy realized she had no clothes to put on. Crossing her fingers that Jace was still asleep, she eased open the door. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation. Her shoulders slumped.

  Jace stood at the foot of the bed, digging through a large military-style duffle bag. His back was turned toward her allowing for a spectacular view of his muscled back and tight ass. At fifteen she thought he was the most handsome boy she’d ever seen. Back then she’d had no idea what he’d look like at twenty-nine.

  At six-feet-three inches of hard-muscled male, he was her idea of a man’s man. His hands were big and calloused from working at the ranch, and his shoulders and chest were broad. With a narrow waist and legs made muscular by years of riding, Jace had the kind of body most women could only dream about. Forcing her gaze away, she adjusted the towel wrapped around her body.

  Too bad she could no longer indulge in dreams.

  “Why didn’t ya send me home last night?” She winced at how harsh her words sounded.

  “You were exhausted, and I didn’t think putting you behind the wheel was the best option.” He threw her a glance over his shoulder. “And seeing that you wore yourself out by helping us, it didn’t seem polite to—”

  “Polite? Who knew I was in the presence of a gentleman?”

  Girl, don’t go there…

  He turned to face her. “Sis, I know you’re mad—”

  “Ya think?” Spying her flip-flops poking out from under the bed, she hurried over to retrieve them.

  Jace ignored her. “—and you have every right to be. I was a complete jerk—”

  “You’re bein’ too kind to yourself.” Clutching her shoes, she began searching for her shorts. All she wanted was her clothes so she could get the hell out of Dodge.

  His frustration showed on his face, and he dropped to the edge of the bed. “Can’t you put your anger aside so we talk about this like two mature adults?”

  “Oh, so now ya wanna be mature?” Bracing her fists on her hips, she leveled him with a glare. “Why? Didja get hit over the head or somethin’?”

  “Ouch, woman.” He rubbed his stomach as if she’d punched him.

  His flat, ripped, washboard, eight-pack abs—

  Earth to Sissy… Focus!

  “In order to feel pain ya gotta have emotions.” Spying her shorts on the dresser, she heaved a sigh of relief.

  “I have feelings, Sissy.”

  “Yeah, two of ’em,” she muttered. “And they were used up when you were five.” Turning her back, she stepped into her shorts then pulled them up under the towel. “I don’t know if I’m more pissed at you or myself,” she muttered.

  “Why would you be angry with yourself?”

  “’Cause I was dumb enough to fall into bed with ya, Jace,” she raged. “Ya see, I actually thought ya were a nice guy and that makin’ love would be as important to ya as it was to me.” Why wouldn’t her shorts fasten? Surely she didn’t gain twenty pounds overnight?

  “It was…is important, Sissy.”

  He sounded sincere but she couldn’t let herself weaken. When it came to Jace her instincts weren’t at their best.

  “Yeah, it was important all right,” she sneered. “Important ’cause ya wanted to get laid.”

  “Oh, come on, now. You know that wasn’t it.”

  Damn it, what was up with her shorts…oh. A large part of the towel w
as wadded up in the back. After yanking it off she secured her shorts then spun around to face him.

  “News flash, I don’t read minds. Maybe, if the telephone weren’t Kryptonite to your species—”

  “So you’re mad that I didn’t call?” He patted the bed as if to invite her to sit with him, and she ignored him. “Sissy, I’ve been on assignment—”

  “Don’t try to hand me any o’ your half-assed excuses.” She shook her head. “We both know where ya was last weekend. Here, in Haven. Seems to me that there was plenty of opportunities to talk then.”

  He remained silent.

  “I thought Jason Diver was a better man than those fools who grabs my ass hopin’ I’ll drop my panties.” She gave him a scathing look. “You’re not. In fact, I think you’re worse. At least when a guy grabs my ass he’s lookin’ in my face when he does it.”

  His expression turned hard and anger flared in his blue eyes. She didn’t care how mad he was because she was determined to have her say.

  “Ya wouldn’t even grant me the same courtesy ya’d give a stranger on the street. Tell me stud, did ya call your friends and tell ’em ya bagged Slutty Sissy Kol—”

  He lurched to his feet, his face was twisted in anger. “That is enough.”

  She moved forward until they stood toe to toe. “Is it?”

  “You’ve gone too far, Sissy.”

  “Yeah, three weeks ago I sure did.”

  For a moment they stood there staring at one another, each reluctant to give in first. Staring into his cold eyes, Sissy wondered what happened to the man she’d been so proud to call friend. She was horrified when tears stung her eyes.

  “Sis.” His voice was curiously gentle, and there was a softness in his eyes that wasn’t there earlier. “Do you remember what you said to me when I got up that morning?”

  I will not cry…

  “I was asleep, and I didn’t say anythin’.”

  “Sleeping or not, you spoke to me then like you did last night.” The tenderness and yearning in his voice was unmistakable.

  Don’t fall for it, Kolchek.

  “I didn’t speak to ya then or last night,” she ground out.

  “But you did. And that morning you told me you loved me.”

  In the back of her mind, something shifted. A vague memory of someone climbing over her in bed…the scent of his skin…he’d touched her face…kissed her lips…

  She looked away. “I lied.”

  “No, you didn’t.” He grabbed her chin and forced her head up. “You could be unconscious, and you still couldn’t lie about loving someone because you understand the power of those three words.”

  She slapped at his hand, and he released her. “I’m outta here.”

  “You scared the hell out of me that morning.”

  Sissy froze. Scared? Him? He was a cop, a member of the S.W.A.T. team and she’d scared him? How? She didn’t realize she’d spoken out loud until he answered her.

  “I know, foolish isn’t it? For the past three weeks I’ve had exactly the same thoughts over and over again.” His smile was wry. “I’d rather face a swarm of crazed men with guns than try to deal with my emotions. I’m not good at it…expressing myself.” He dropped onto the bed. “All I could think of was to run.”

  Stunned, all she could do was stare at him.

  “Come on. You’ve never hesitated to let me know what you were thinking, why so silent now?” His gaze skittered away. “I’ve never…gone to bed, er…made love with a woman that I cared about. Well, other than lust, that is. But you, you and I were friends first and I cared about you—

  Why is he speaking in past tense?

  “—when we made love it was like nothing I’d ever experienced.”

  When he raised his head, the sorrow on his face was unmistakable. Her knees began to shake.

  “I’ve never felt that close to someone.” He jumped to his feet and began to pace. “I mean, we know each other pretty well but I felt like I’d crawled inside your skin.”

  Me too.

  “Then you told me you loved me and all I could so was to run.” He shook his head. “We Divers haven’t had much luck with love, and I didn’t want to screw it up but I panicked.” He stopped and turned toward her. “You know what I mean?”

  When she opened her mouth to speak, a sob emerged instead. Sissy clamped a hand over her lips, but it was too late. Another one slipped between her fingers and the third left her throat aching. The world tilted dangerously to the right, and she saw him dart toward her. One moment she was falling and the next she was in his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, baby.” Her ribs protested his fierce grip but she didn’t try to shove him away. “I never, ever wanted to hurt you, Sissy,” he whispered.

  Still sobbing, her knees gave way and he picked her up. Settling on the edge of the bed, he held her in his lap, all the while softly telling her how sorry he was and asking if she could ever forgive him. When he repeated how he never wanted to hurt her for the fourth time, she slapped his chest, hard.

  “Don’t matter what ya wanted,” she sobbed. “I still got hurt.”

  “I know, and it kills me.” His lips brushed her cheek. Content to let her cry, he simply held her until the tears finally slowed.

  “Sissy, what can I do to make it up to you?”

  She sniffed. “Let me run over ya with my truck ten or twenty times.”

  He chuckled and he kissed her on the forehead. “That bad, huh?”

  “Worse.” She scrubbed at her damp cheeks.

  “If I wasn’t adverse to physical torture I would let you do it.” His voice was a reassuring rumble against her cheek. “Is there anything else I can do to atone for my sins?”

  Promise me that you’ll be patient with my brother. You guys have been friends a long time so you know he’s stubborn almost to the point of stupidity…

  Josie’s words made her smile. Yes, he was stubborn and yes, she loved him…but that didn’t mean she’d let him off easy.

  Raising her head, her gaze locked on his mouth. It should be a sin for a man to have such delicious lips. Bitsy told the truth when she’d said Jace was the only man Sissy ever looked at twice. She’d dated men, a lot of them, and none of them brought anything special to her life.

  Not this one. Jace was the only one who made her feel safe. And, when he wasn’t breaking her heart, he treated her like she was special. Tears pricked her eyes, and she looked away. Because of him she wanted to become a better woman.

  “Hey, don’t do that.” His fingers grazed her chin urging her to look at him. “Don’t ever hide from me.” His breath was warm on her skin as he kissed away her tears. “Can you give me another chance, Sissy?”

  She laid her hand against his cheek. “I can’t lie—”

  “I wouldn’t want you to.”

  “My heart’s been bruised, and ya broke my trust,” she whispered.

  He swallowed, hard.

  “Right now I don’t know what it’ll take to repair, but I’d be a fool if I didn’t give ya another chance.”

  He started to speak, and she hushed him by laying a finger over his lips. “Actions speak louder than words, Ranger.”

  “That they do.”

  His kiss, when it came, was so soft and heartbreakingly sweet. It felt like butterfly wings touching her lips, her chin, her forehead. When his fingers touched her lower belly a sense of contentment settled in her bones. After weeks of torment she was where she wanted to be. It was because she loved him that she’d give him a second chance.

  But if he blew it this time, there’d be hell to pay.

  Chapter Six

  The rest of the day was a frantic blur of activity. The boys were holed up in the shed building Frank’s coffin while Sissy played ringmaster to the circus going on around her. Friends, Roanna and Miranda White showed up around nine and Sissy was happy to put them to work. The wake would begin Monday at noon with the service scheduled for Tuesday. That only left less than twenty-four hou
rs to complete a never-ending list of things before the first guests arrived.

  All day long police officers and volunteers stopped by to help the ranch employees care for the animals. A handful of firefighters arrived in time to haul the living room furniture into another room to make space for the viewing.

  Late that afternoon Bitsy showed up with a crew of busboys to set up the massive barbeque wagon. The Grille would be providing burgers, ribs and pulled pork during the wake and the luncheon after the services.

  Between the constant stream of visitors and the never-ending prep work, Sissy only saw Jace for a few minutes at a stretch. By dinner time she was ready to collapse while he was still sequestered in the tool shed with his siblings.

  After packing a basket with food, utensils and a gallon of lemonade, she poured a fresh pot of coffee into a waiting thermos then let herself out of the house. The air was sticky with humidity with barely a breeze to be had. The air conditioning had been turned on in the house, and Sissy felt sorry for the guys working in the heat.

  She caught the faint scent of roses and it made her smile. It was so peaceful here, much more so than her place with the noisy Grille traffic and the constant scent of onion rings in the air. Her stomach tightened. Grease was not her friend these days, and she hoped she’d survive the barbeque fumes without disgracing herself.

  The breezeway was a hive of activity when she walked into the shed. Supported by two sawhorses, the bottom half of the coffin gleamed beneath four bright portable lights. The heat rolling off the lamps was nothing short of astounding, and Sissy gave them a wide berth.

  Cowboy leaned against one of the roof supports as he guzzled a bottle of water. Beside him was Pip who was looking at him as if she were about to tackle him and have her way with him.

  Ryan and Ranger were closer to the inferno created by the lights and they were working on the coffin lid. It lay on a table, and both men were bent over it with a variety of carving tools close at hand. Her heart gave a queer little jerk. She knew the reason she was here was Frank’s death yet it hadn’t felt real until she saw the coffin.

  “Hey, Sis.” Pip grinned. “I thought you were gone.”

  “Not yet. I wanted to drop off some refreshments for ya’ll.”