Always On My Mind: A Bad Boy Rancher Love Story (The Dawson Brothers Book 1)

by Ali Parker

  "I don't know." She put the little ornament back in the bag and tucked it into her purse. "I bought a sketch pad and some colored pencils for the trip, but then left them at home. I just don't want to open myself up to dreaming about it. I have a good job at the post and-"

  "And it's not what you want for your future, so stop pursuing it."

  She turned her attention back toward him. "Are you happy with coaching? Is that what you want for your future?"

  "Yep. That, you and a house full of babies." He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth as she gave him a sexy grin.

  "I don't know about having a bunch of kids, but we can certainly practice making them."

  "Practice makes perfect." He pulled her over for a long kiss.

  For the first time on the three-hour flight, he was grateful that the older man on the other side of Kari was snoring. What was once an annoyance was a blessing all of a sudden.

  Chapter 8

  Kari

  "Mom, this is Kari. Dad." Jake had his hand on Kari's back as they moved up toward his parents in the baggage claim.

  "Finally." His mother moved forward and pulled Kari into a hug. "Jake's been talking about you for the last nine months."

  "And I can see why." His father smiled down at Kari. "You're just beautiful."

  "All right. Stop embarrassing her." Jake wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

  "Where are your brothers?" She glanced up at him as nerves tore through her. Meeting new people was the pits, even people that would soon be family.

  "They'll be at the house, I'm sure." Jake glanced behind him, the movement accentuating the thick muscles in his neck. Kari's tummy tightened in anticipation of pressing her lips to it. "Momma. Are the guys at the house yet?"

  "You know Kade isn't going to make it home this Christmas." Jake's father's voice was deep, commanding.

  Kari wasn't sure what to think of him yet, but Jake's mother had a sweet disposition. She was a cute woman with dark hair and a big smile. She looked southern and seemed to still be smitten with Jake's dad by the way she watched him.

  "I'm so disappointed that he couldn't get off for the week of Christmas at least, but I guess duty calls." She sighed and glanced down at her hands.

  Jake moved over to grab their bags as Kari turned to face her. "How long has he been in the military?"

  "Since he was eighteen." She looked up, pride on her pretty face. "He's going to be a lifer I'm sure."

  "He's a Navy SEAL," Jake's father spoke up. "He'll be twenty-eight this spring, so he's been in for ten years. We actually thought Jake was going to join the service too."

  "I'm glad he didn't." Jake's mother put her hands on her hips. "That's too much to ask of a southern woman."

  "It's their duty, baby." Jake's father moved around Kari, smiling like a tomcat.

  "Hush," his mother responded. "He's just looking for something to get into trouble over. You gotta watch out for these Isaac boys, Kari. They're too good to be true, so every once in a while they'll act up just to have a bit of fun."

  "Trouble isn't fun." Jake moved up behind Kari and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Isn't she beautiful, Mom?"

  "She is, but you just told us to stop embarrassing her." His mother gave him a look that had Kari laughing.

  "Anyway..." Jake kissed Kari's cheek and released her. "Where are Clint and Landon? They home yet?"

  "Yep. They both came in earlier this week. I already put them both to work." Jake's father reached out and took one of the bags.

  "Sounds fun." Jake grabbed Kari's hand and they walked toward the exit.

  Jake's mother moved up on the other side of her and slipped her arm into Kari's. "You guys go have fun with Jake's old friends tonight, but then you and I are going shopping tomorrow. I need to get some last minute things. Sound good?"

  "I'd love to." Kari smiled, grateful for the invitation. Some alone time with Jake's mom was the best way to see if she were going to have an opportunity to build a solid relationship with her.

  "You haven't finished your shopping?" Jake chuckled. "Mom. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Since when do you not have everything bought and wrapped three weeks in advance."

  "Oh, she does," Jake's father mumbled over his shoulder. "She wants to do some baking."

  Jake snorted, and Kari glanced up at him, not getting the joke.

  "What? I love baking. You know that." Kari watched him closely.

  "Mom can't bake." He smiled like a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  "He said it, baby, not me." Jake's dad lifted his hand in the air and shook his head, as if Jake were a complete scoundrel.

  Jake's mom tightened her grasp on Kari and lifted her eyebrows. "Ignore them. They're just being cheeky. I can bake just fine. Well, sort of."

  "Lies," Jake whispered and released Kari to hold the door for everyone.

  "What did you say, Jake Martin Isaac?" His mother's eyebrow shot up.

  "Martin?" Kari laughed and walked out in the chilly, but comfortable, Texas afternoon. "I like that."

  "He hates it," Jake's mother whispered. "Use it sparingly."

  "Or don't use it at all." Jake gave her a warning look that was meant to be comical. Too bad it was far more than that. Her hormones woke up and stretched, ready for attention.

  ***

  "Where are your brothers? They don’t come to these things?" Kari sat beside Jake in an old Ford pick-up truck as they drove toward the next town over. The hayride sounded fun, but she wanted a chance to meet the rest of Jake's family before they left for the evening.

  "They're out seeing their friends, baby. We'll see them later tonight or tomorrow morning. Mom isn't going to let us run around town after tonight. Let's go hang out with some of my old friends and then we'll be with my family the rest of the weekend." He reached over and gripped her hand, tugging. "Move closer. These old trucks are good for snuggling up. There's a lap belt here in the middle you can use."

  She unbuckled and moved over. "I like this. It could be good for a nap."

  "A nap?" He smiled.

  "Yeah. I could lay my head in your lap and curl up." She licked at the side of her mouth and moved up beside him before gripping his thigh tightly.

  "You put your head in my lap and there isn't going to be much sleeping." He cupped his hand over hers before pulling it up to rest on his erection. "I'm thinking we should test the theory later tonight."

  "Mmm... I like the sound of that." She ran her nails under the base of his cock and moved up to press her lips to the side of his neck.

  He groaned softly and squeezed her hand. "Baby. Don't tease me too much. The last thing I wanna do is walk around with a hard-on. These are people from my high school days."

  She laughed and kissed him again before moving back. "All right, but on the way home, all bets are off."

  "Yes. They are." He gave her a hot look before pulling off the road into what looked like a hay field. "Tyler's already here. I see his dad's truck up there."

  "I'm excited to get to meet him." Kari waited to move toward her door until Jake had the truck parked beside all the other big trucks. Seemed to be a theme.

  "No, just get out over here." He opened the door and hopped out before reaching for her. "Gives me another reason to get my hands on you."

  "As if you need a reason." She reached for him and slid down into his arms.

  He leaned down and kissed her with the type of passion she once thought she could only read in the pages of a book. Jake Isaac was everything she'd hoped for, and so much more.

  "Hey, buddy. Am I interrupting?" a deep voice that sounded like silk called out from behind them.

  Jake pressed his forehead to Kari's. "No falling for my best friend. He's a looker."

  "You're a looker, Jake." She kissed him once more and moved around him, deciding to go with bold for the evening. Jake deserved only the best in life, and she planned on trying to give it to him, starting then. "Hi. You must be Tyler?"

  The guy was a lit
tle beyond a looker. Lisa would have him stripped naked and shaking in a barn if she were there and not with Marc. His dark hair and dark eyes almost had him looking like he could be Jake's brother. The cocky smile on his handsome face was endearing. Kari couldn't help but like him right away.

  "I am. You're far too gorgeous to be with a simple guy like Jake." He offered his arm and winked. "Come over here and let me get you a beer."

  "Try again, buddy." Jake clamped a hand on Tyler's shoulder and smiled. "God, I've missed you."

  Tyler winked at her before turning and pulling Jake into a long hug. "Me too, buddy. Feels like a part of my soul died the day we walked away from this place."

  They moved back and Kari tried not to tear up. Texas had a lot to offer Jake. Maybe her earlier thoughts about moving back with him were more of a possibility than she wanted to admit. Could she give up everything for him?

  Without a doubt. Funny enough, knowing him, even as little as she did, there was no way in hell he would ask her to.

  She would be forced to offer instead, and she would. If it felt like the right thing to do.

  "Baby?" Jake reached out for her. "Come on. Let's grab a beer and get a seat on the trailer. The ride is about to start."

  She took his hand and moved up between him and Tyler. "So where's your girlfriend, Tyler?"

  The handsome thing chuckled. "I'm single and plan on staying that way."

  "His high school girlfriend still has his heart." Jake lifted his eyebrow and smirked. "Pathetic, really."

  "It is. I completely agree." Tyler gave her a cute smile as she laughed and cuddled up closer to Jake.

  Wonder what his story is...

  Chapter 9

  Jake

  "Wow, man. She's breathtaking." Tyler's eyes moved toward Kari as she walked over to grab another beer after the hayride. Some of the girls from high school had fallen in love with her too over the short evening. They were surrounding her as they all walked toward the beer tent.

  "Yeah. I didn't think I would ever get over Bethany, but Kari put a stop to that shit so fast it still makes my head spin." He rubbed his left shoulder as the same old ache resurrected.

  Tyler turned back to study him. "I'm glad to hear that. I keep looking for Olivia everywhere I go. I heard she was in New York and it's driving me crazy knowing she's probably on the floor below me or something fucked up like that."

  "She's not with someone?" Jake lifted his eyebrow. Olivia and Tyler's story was heartbreaking, one that kept his best friend bent over where women were concerned.

  "I don't know." He lifted his half-empty beer bottle to his lips. "I guess I could find out, but a part of me doesn't want to know. I have my company with Luke. It's all I focus on."

  "No side action?" Jake chuckled at the look he got.

  "No. I'm not that kind of guy. You know that." His gaze followed Jake as he rubbed his chest. "That old football injury still hurting you after all these years?"

  "Just when it gets really cold or hot." Jake dropped his hand from his chest. "You need to find someone to love you, Ty. Life is too short for standing around hoping an old flame will ignite again."

  "I love her, man."

  "You haven't seen her in years. Lots of years."

  "And?" Tyler glanced toward the ground. "Every girl I've tried to date reminds me of her."

  "So you have dated?" Jake reached for Kari as she moved back into his arms, her little button nose red from the cold.

  "A little." Tyler smiled down at Kari. "Why are you dating this guy? Couldn't find anyone better up in Maine to shack up with?"

  She smiled and glanced up at Jake, stealing his heart for the millionth time. "Because he understands me, he respects me, and he loves me so deeply that it hurts when he's away for even a few minutes."

  "Yes, I do." Jake leaned down and pulled her close to him before spinning them to put his back to Ty. He made love to Kari's sweet mouth as she melted against him.

  "I'm ready to go snuggle in front of the tree. Would that be okay?" She reached up and ran her fingers down the side of his head.

  "Yeah." He glanced over his shoulder to find Tyler surrounded by pretty girls, all of them laughing as he told stories like he always did. He turned and walked with Kari back to the truck, trying hard not to tell her a million times how much he was in love with her. It sat on the tip of his tongue, and he'd said it ten times that day already. Looking needy was out, but she had him trapped, bent, locked to her for as long as she would put up with him.

  He opened his door and moved back, helping her inside. "You have fun tonight?"

  "Yes." She let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes. "I love your friends. The hayride was so perfect, and being alone with you finally..."

  "What?" He laughed and got up in the truck, pulling her to his side and leaning down to enjoy the softness of her lips a little more before heading home. "We're together all the time."

  "I know, but our friends are usually there. It's rare to get time with you alone unless we go out to your place." She rubbed his chest softly and looked up into his eyes, her expression filled with so many emotions that it crippled him. "I love you so much. When are we going to talk about marriage, Jake?"

  He snorted and nipped at her lips. "You didn't want to talk about moving in together and now you're wanting to walk down the aisle."

  "I did too want to move in together. I'm just worried about Lisa and Sicily." She moved back and put her seatbelt on as he started the engine.

  "If I had to lay my bets on things, Lisa and Marc will be moving in together in May next year, or she'll pack up her business and go back to New York. They're not going to be able to keep up the madness they've been doing the last semester. It's too taxing on both of them."

  "True." She wrapped her hands around his bicep and pressed her head against his shoulder as he pulled out. "I would think Sicily would move in with Drake eventually. They just got together."

  "Yeah, but I've known Drake since I got into town. He's going to pop the question next spring. He doesn't like untied knots or loose ends. He's a commitment type of guy. He'll ask her to marry him soon."

  "He told you that?" She glanced up thinking about her conversations with Drake. Jake was right. He was lost to Sicily.

  "No, but I just know." Jake shrugged and smiled down at her. "Why were you looking at Drake so weird in the living room the other day? When they were talking about his family."

  "I don't know. I think there's far more going on with him than any of us know." She turned and pressed her lips against his arm, rubbing softly against his jacket. "He got Sis cleared so fast of those charges on the fire."

  "Yeah, thank God."

  "Right, but how? Those tapes were supposedly gone."

  "He comes from a pretty powerful family, baby. He doesn't talk much about them, but I assume that's because they're not on the up and up."

  "See! That's what I'm talking about." She moved back and huffed, looking far too cute for her own good.

  "What does that have to do with Sicily? His family is in Chicago. He's here. Obviously he's running from something like the rest of us. I have to assume that it's his family he's running from." He glanced over at her. "Did you know that his mother died at the end of October?"

  "What?" She pressed her hand to her chest. "No. That's horrible. Is that why he's been so down?"

  "I would assume so. He's a good man, baby. I promise. Whatever is in his past is going to stay there. He just wants a good woman, a family and a place to call his own. He'll provide an incredible life for Sicily."

  "You think a lot of him." She moved back toward him, pulling his arm around her.

  "Yeah. I care about him. He's my only friend up there. He's the one that extended his hand and welcomed me in first. I was a dickhead when I first got to Maine, looking for a fight or a fuck." He shook his head. "I wasn't the man I am now. I was so broken. I just wanted to break something back."

  "And Drake helped you through that?"

  Jake c
huckled. "Yeah. That sorry bastard let me mull through all of it for a year, then he offered me a training program at the gym, and he worked me out so hard every day I went up there that I had nothing left by the time I walked out. He helped me stop living a lie and look toward the future. I was still pretty fucked up when you got to town, but without Drake beating sense back into me day in and day out, I never would have looked your way. I don't care how many times you showed up, stalking me all over town."

  She laughed and reached up to wipe at her eyes. "I didn't know that."

  "I know. I should have told you. He's like a brother to me. There isn't much I wouldn't do for him." He glanced over and pulled her in closer, pressing her to the side of his chest as he leaned down a little to kiss the top of her head. "No judging people for what you can't see. Him and Sicily are going to be great together."

  "Just like us," she whispered roughly before undoing her seatbelt and stretching out on the bench seat.

  "Baby. What are you-" Jake's breath caught in his chest as Kari moved her upper body into his lap and worked on his jeans. "Fuck."

  "Shhh... just watch the road. I'll take care of the rest."

  "Hell, yeah." He reached down and ran his fingers through her long silky hair as she rolled her tongue over the top of his dick. A groan left him and his thighs tightened. It wasn't going to take much, and he was going to lose his load.

  Concentrate on the road. Concentrate on the-

  "Fuck," he moaned loudly and lifted his hips as she moaned against his swollen shaft and took him deep into her mouth. "Hard. Suck it hard, Kari."

  She tugged on his flesh, her tongue wicked talented.

  He panted loudly and tried to keep his eyes open as she took her time stroking and licking every inch of him. Fire burned in the center of his stomach and his balls contracted tightly as his orgasm started.

  "I'm gonna come, baby," he whispered roughly, wanting to warn her. He'd gone down on her a few times over the last few months, but he'd never had her on her knees. They never made it that far before he turned her over and pinned her to the bed, greedy to sink down into her silky heat.