by Addison Cole
Jade smiled and closed her eyes, knowing Riley was right and also realizing that Riley’s response was exactly the reason why she’d needed to call her.
“Thanks, Ri. I’m just so tied in knots right now.”
“I know you are, and that’s okay. Somehow, some way, this will all untangle and you’ll be stronger for it. I just know you will.” Riley blew out a long breath. “I love ya, Jade, but sheesh, I need to charge you a therapy fee or something.”
Jade laughed. “Do you charge by the minute? I’d better get off the phone.”
After hanging up with Riley, Jade felt better, but she still had too much energy to relax. Her mother was sewing, and her father was practically asleep in his recliner in front of the television. Jade stole into the barn to spend a little time with Flame. She gave him a nice rubdown. Every stroke of his muscles beneath her hands reminded her of Rex, the way she’d kneaded and worked his muscles by the creek.
She’d just locked Flame’s stall when she caught a flash of something by the back barn doors. She watched the doors for a minute, and when there was no more movement, she wrote it off to her nerves and went to close the doors for the night.
Out of habit, she glanced into the woods, nearly screaming when she saw Rex standing there. He broke through the trees and wrapped his arms around her, picking her right up off the ground in a deep and tender kiss.
“Damn, I’ve missed you,” he said, nuzzling into her neck.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said as he set her back down on the grass.
“I love when you smell like the barn.” He kissed her neck.
“I’ll have to roll around in the hay more often,” she teased. “Come here.” She dragged him around to the far side of the barn, where they were hidden from the house and the street.
“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow at the horse show to see you,” he said, running his hands up and down her bare arms.
“We’re on gate patrol together,” she said.
“Gate patrol, sounds hot,” he joked. “Listen, Jade. I’m sorry to risk coming by, but I had to see you. I’m not sure I can do this,” he said.
Her heart nearly stopped. “What?”
“Hide from everyone. Jade, I’m not giving you up either way. Whether they get over their feud or not, I’m with you. If you’re with me,” he said.
She watched him search her eyes. She took his cheeks between her hands and said, “It’s the dance of two lovers, not one.”
He lowered his mouth to hers, and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him deeper. His hands wrapped around her waist and she pushed him back until he was leaning against the siding of the barn.
“Hey, I’m supposed to do that,” he teased.
“I didn’t know we had rules,” she said between heated kisses, and brushed her hips over his.
“Jade,” he whispered. “Your family is right inside.”
She hadn’t planned to touch him, and now, when she thought about pulling away, she didn’t want to. He pulled her closer, and she ground her hips into him, earning a sexy, manly moan. Rex kissed her neck, sucking and licking, drawing her need closer and closer to the surface.
“I love your mouth,” she said, then she licked her lips, because she knew how much he loved seeing her do it.
“You’ve gotta stop doing that,” he said.
“Okay,” she lied, and licked her lips again.
“This is dangerous,” he said with a coy smile.
“I know. Just for a minute. We won’t do much.” She ran her hands down the front of his jeans.
“That’s much,” he said, and nuzzled against her neck. “Mm, and I like it, but I didn’t come here for this.”
His hands were on the move, but it was the hard press of his body, and that talented mouth of his, loving her neck, that had her knees growing weak.
“You tell me that so often that I’m starting to get a complex,” she said breathily.
“Maybe you just want me for sex,” he said with a grin.
They slid down against the barn. Jade lay on the grass, her arms locked around Rex’s neck.
“I feel like I’m in tenth grade,” he said.
“Good, then do what you might have done with me in tenth grade.” Her father could come outside at any minute, and it only made what they were doing more exciting.
She wiggled out of her shorts and tugged at his jeans.
“Jade, this is hardly not doing much,” he said as he pulled them off.
“I can’t help it. I’ve gone thirty-one years without you. I don’t want to waste a second of our time together. Besides, just look at you.”
When Rex came down over her, the illusion of driving away from him and living someplace else disappeared completely. This was the man she wanted to be with. This was the man she loved.
They heard the house door open, then close. Rex froze.
“Hurry,” she whispered.
“Hurry? What if that’s your father? We’re in a compromising position here.”
“Just do it,” she said with a smile, then licked his lower lip.
“I’ve said it before, Jade Johnson, and I’ll say it again. You’re killing me.”
She giggled and he shushed her with a kiss, then he loved her thoroughly. After they dressed, she said, “Whoever opened that door didn’t come down to the barn. We’re fine,” she said.
“You just might be too much woman for me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.
He put his hands on her hips and kissed her deeply. “How can I keep up with you?”
“You came to me, remember?” she teased.
He took her face between his hands. “I love you, Jade Johnson. I really, truly love you.”
He loves me. Loves me! Jade’s heart swelled as he kissed her again, leaving her breathless—from his words as much as the kiss.
“I’m not a guy who goes around disrespecting other men. I’d never have done this, here where we have to hide,” he said, his eyes dancing over hers.
“You just did.”
“Yeah, because you reeled me into your devious world,” he said.
She knew he was teasing, but she had no idea how to respond. Had he not wanted to do it? Had he not enjoyed it? What was he telling her? Instead of asking, she held her breath, contemplating how to respond.
“Don’t get me wrong. I want to be in your devious world.” He ran his hands beneath her hair at her temples and pulled it from her face, then held on tight, so her neck craned back and her chin tilted up. “I’m a thirty-four-year-old man you are turning into a seventeen-year-old bundle of hormones. I barely lived through those agonizing years. How am I going to live through this, with you so…?” He raked his eyes down her body. “Supple and frisky?”
She wiggled out of his grasp and snuggled into his chest. “I think you’ll figure it out.”
They sat in the grass, side by side, beneath the moonlight.
“I had dinner with my brothers and Savannah tonight, and all I could think about was how much I wanted you there,” he said.
“I came by.”
“I know. I saw you riding away on Flame. How’s his leg?”
She loved that he remembered to ask about Flame, but she loved even more that he’d wanted her there with him when he was with his family.
“He’s good. Better, actually.”
“I told Josh and Savannah about us. Dane and Hugh weren’t there, but I would have told them, too, if they’d been there. I just haven’t figured out how to tell my father.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You told them? I thought you told me not to tell anyone. You said—”
“I know what I said, but Treat already knew, and they’re always there for me. I figured they’d ride me about not being loyal to the family a bit, but instead they supported me. They supported us.”
Jade blinked away tears. She laced her hand into his and wondered what his family had said to him, if they thought he was crazy
, falling for a Johnson.
“So, what now?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I need to figure out a way to get through to my father about the feud, but I still don’t really understand what happened. He’s pretty tight-lipped about it all, so it’s hard to decipher what really went on.”
Rex leaned his arms on his knees, and she put her head against his side.
“All I know is that there was some kind of a deal that went bad, but I got the feeling that it didn’t have to do with the land at all, that the land was just a product of whatever the other thing was. I can ask my mom, but I’m not sure my dad is being honest with her about things. He says he’s downsizing so that if anything happens to him, she won’t have as much land to look after, but she thinks they’re doing it for financial reasons. I don’t know what to believe.”
He kissed the side of her forehead. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out, and if we don’t, then we have some decisions to make.”
She pulled back from him. “What do you mean?”
“The way I see it, if we can’t get past this with them, then we have to decide if we stay here in Weston and build a life together and hope they come around, or move out of town to escape their scrutiny.” He shrugged.
Jade was at that point. Actually, if she’d been more in tune with her heart and less dedicated to her studies, she would have realized it long ago about herself—but she hadn’t been sure that Rex was thinking that far into their future.
“You’re thinking about our future.” She wasn’t asking, just stating a fact.
“Shouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t want you to do anything to drive a wedge between yourself and your family, but selfishly, I don’t want to live without you, either.” She gathered her courage and told him the truth of what she’d been debating. “Before tonight, I was playing with the idea that maybe I should move away so you can live your life with your family without the weight of me around your neck. I have to find a place to live any—”
Rex shot to his feet. “You were going to leave? Just like that? Jade…”
The hurt in his voice was palpable.
She rose to her feet. “No, I wasn’t going to leave just like that. I was just thinking through what was the smartest thing to do. I know how close you and your family are, and I don’t want to be the one to ruin that for you.”
He pulled her closer, searching her eyes with his. “The only way my life could be ruined would be if you weren’t in it. But if you would be happier without me, I’m a big boy. I can understand not wanting to battle your family for a man.”
“No,” she said quickly. “That’s not what I want at all. I want to be with you. I just hate the hiding, the lying, the inability to pick up the freaking phone and call you.”
“I’ll get a cell phone,” he said. “Easy. I’ll do it tomorrow before the horse show.”
“You hate cell phones.”
“So what? I’d hate losing you more. Now that I know what it feels like to love you, it would be like ripping my heart out and shredding it apart to lose you.”
She loved how dramatic he was. Most guys hid their emotions so well, and from what she’d witnessed of Rex, he was good at presenting himself as a tough cowboy. But when he was with her, all those facades went down, and he became transparent, revealing his soft edges and tender undersides.
“You said the other day that maybe we’re victims of circumstance. Do you really believe that?” she asked.
“Of course not. But I wasn’t going to run home and profess our undying love after one night together.”
“But you will after three?” she challenged him.
“I want a few days to figure out how to do this tactfully, and hopefully, to work toward our families selling that plot of land so your family doesn’t lose theirs.”
She shook her head. “You’ve been thinking about that?”
“Of course. It’s your family.” He looked at her like she’d lost her mind.
“But our fathers hate each other. It’s one thing to want to be with me, but another to want to help save my father’s land—after he’s been so atrocious to your father all these years.” Rex was really too good to be true. His loyalty ran deeper than she’d imagined. She felt the same way about his family, and she knew she’d do the same for him.
“You and I both were brought up to believe that family knows no boundaries. He’s your father. That’s all that matters.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
FRIDAY MORNING BEFORE the show, Rex headed into town to buy a cell phone. He’d made it thirty-four years without one, and he couldn’t imagine what he’d do with it besides talk with Jade, but if that’s what she needed, then he’d go along with it. Heck, he’d wear it around his neck if she needed him to.
The Sprint store was empty, as he’d expected. The horse show brought the entire community into town. The young guy behind the counter asked what he was looking for, and Rex was so technologically unaware that he told him that he had no clue.
“So, you’ve never had a cell phone before, I take it?” the short, lanky boy asked. He looked like he was in eighth grade, all pimples and uncomfortable in his own skin.
“Nope, sure haven’t.”
“Do you want an Android or an iPhone?”
“You’re speaking Greek to me, kid. I really have no clue. I want a phone so my girlfriend can call me.” He shrugged. How difficult could this be?
“Okay, do you have a budget?”
Rex laughed. “How much can a phone cost?”
The boy walked him over to a display of phones. “Let’s see. I take it you don’t have a phone plan yet, so you can get a good deal on a phone with a plan.”
Phone plan? Rex was beginning to feel like he’d been living in a cave. The boy explained how phone plans worked, and he attempted to show him the difference between an Android phone and an iPhone. Rex tried to be patient, but when he began talking about windows and social media, things that Rex didn’t give one hoot about, he gave up.
“Listen, all I want is a phone to make calls or send a message from. I’m a rancher. I can get onto a computer and order what I need to, but other than that, I have no interest. Can you find me the best phone for that?”
“O-kay.” The boy looked at him like he was a caveman.
An hour and a half later, he walked out with a cell phone, a case to hook to his belt, Jade’s and his family members’ numbers programmed in, and a modicum of understanding about texting. He was a happy man. He strode to his truck and had just opened his door when he felt a tap on his shoulder and heard a woman’s voice behind him.
“Rex Braden?”
Jade’s mother, Jane Johnson, stood behind Rex with a serious, nervous look on her face.
Uh oh. He smiled and extended his hand. “Mrs. Johnson, it’s nice to see you.”
“I’m sure it’s nerve-racking to see me, Rex.”
“Yes, okay. That’s fair.” Rex’s pulse sped up.
For a minute she just looked at him. She was an attractive woman with the same dark hair as Jade. The fire in her brown eyes had his nerves twitching.
“I’d like to talk to you.”
He nodded, ready to take whatever she might want to give him. He wasn’t going to hide how he felt about Jade. “That’d be nice,” he said.
“Given our families’ history, I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk here in the parking lot. Perhaps we can cross the street to the park?”
The park. Of course. It was open, safe. No one would think they were having an unpleasant discussion. This was Weston after all. The last thing that either of them needed was to start the grapevine ringing.
“Yes, ma’am.” He closed his truck door. “Is Jade all right?”
“I think you’d know better than I,” she said.
He swallowed the shock of surprise that ran through him. If she knew, what did her husband know? And if her husband knew, what was Jade being put through right then?
They went into the park and sat on a bench that looked over a small pond. He noticed that she sat a good distance from him. To a bystander, they might look like they’d just happened to share the bench.
“What are your intentions with Jade?” she asked.
He needed to know what she knew before he gave away their entire relationship. Maybe she was just fishing for information. “Ma’am? I’m sorry, my intentions?”
She pursed her lips. “Rex, come now. Jade doesn’t stay out all night with girlfriends. She doesn’t come home at two a.m. after swimming in the creek alone, and she sure as heck doesn’t make those kind of noises behind the barn without a man involved.”
He kept his voice calm despite his thundering heart. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Johnson. Our intent was never to hurt anyone, and we surely didn’t know…Well…to answer your question, I love her. I love your daughter.” He felt as though an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He turned to face her then, and the pain he saw in her eyes tore at his heart.
She nodded, rolling her lips into her mouth. He could see she was holding back tears.
“I’m really not a bad guy. I would never treat Jade badly or hurt her in any way.” His explanation did nothing to ease her pain. A tear dripped from the corner of her eye.
“I’m not sure what else you want to know. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you right away, but given the situation between our families, we just didn’t see how we could. We’re trying to figure out the best approach, but I guess that doesn’t matter now.”
She put her delicate hand on top of his, and with a trembling voice, she said, “My husband doesn’t know, and I don’t advise you to tell him right now.”
“Ma’am?”
“Jade doesn’t know that I know either.”
“I don’t understand. Why did you come to me instead of Jade?”
A half smile graced her lips. “I’m her mother. I had to know if you loved her, or if you were just, you know, having fun.”
