“I know. But thinking that this guy has been watching me is seriously giving me the creeps.”
“That’s understandable.”
“And I know you’ll protect me, Jesse.”
“Yes ma’am. Until my last breath. I love you.”
She smiled, her eyes betraying how exhausted she was. “I love you, too.”
****
After Lucky left the cabin, Jesse carried Ally back to bed, despite his bad knee. She fell asleep immediately, and he marveled at how truly safe she must feel with him. Exhaustion certainly played a role, but she’d been so keyed up while the police were there, he’d wondered if she’d ever settle down enough to deal with her emotions.
He kept watch over her in a chair in the corner, gun in one hand, book in the other. Every noise spooked him. He hated to admit, even to himself, how bothered he was by what just happened. To think that a murderer had been on their doorstep. He had come so close to Ally, Jesse just might never forgive himself.
He must have dozed. He woke up to a warm, urgent pair of lips on his. Carefully, he placed his gun aside and allowed her to straddle him. Need for her physically overrode all other circuits in his brain. Their breath mingled between them in hot sighs and steamed moans.
“Jesse,” she said against his lips. “Make love to me. I don’t want to have any doubt anymore. If he gets to me, I’ll know I’ve had everything I could ever possibly want in life. He can’t take anything from me if you make love to me.
Deep inside, Jesse heard her words for what they were, but somewhere along the way her hands were much more insistent than his brain wanted to be. One by one, she unbuttoned his shirt. When that was done, she pulled her own shirt over her head and forced his hands on her body. She felt just like he remembered. Curvy, soft, and hot. For him.
Common sense threw itself out the window in that moment. With a growl, he stood up with her. He backed her up to the bed and then pushed her down, following as closely as he could. Their mouths met, dueled, sucked and tugged. Her fingernails scratched his scalp, raising goose bumps along his back.
Ally’s legs wrapped around his waist, straining and pulling him against her.
“Please, Jesse.” Even her voice quivered with unfulfilled lust. He took a moment to look at his hands. Yes, they trembled as well. It was like he was in high school again.
Stooping, he kissed the smooth skin on her belly. He gave her open mouthed kissed on her side, nipped in a place he remembered her being ticklish. She squirmed underneath him, igniting a deeper, stronger flame. Grabbing her hips, he held her steady. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool out of himself.
His aching knee throbbed so he flipped them so she was on top. She wasted no time unbuttoning his pants.
He enclosed his fingers around hers. Her eyes shot to his face. “What’s the rush?”
“I’ve waited too long for this. We’ve got the rest of our lives to live, however long or short it might be.”
Again, guilt niggled at him. “Ally, stop, honey.”
But she didn’t. She kept going, working her own special magic over his skin, his lips, her hands everywhere.
“Ally, you’ve got to stop. I can’t take much more.”
“Good.” She rubbed against him, pushing him to his limits.
It took all of his willpower and his determination, but he flipped them back over. He straightened his knee out so it wouldn’t throb. He slowed their kisses to a less fevered pitch, but she kept pushing him.
“Ally, honey. When I make love to you again, it’s not going to be because we’re both afraid of losing each other.”
“What are you talking about when? Now. I want you now.”
“I know. I want you too. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let it go that far. You’ve told me several times you want to wait and not get into the same boat we were in before, and I’m gonna respect that. And I understand your need to simply feel right now after all that’s happened. But we’re going to do what I know deep down you really want.”
“Nooooo,” she drawled playfully, kissing his chin.
He blew out a breath, puffing his cheeks. “Yes. Since you obviously can’t control yourself around me, I’m going to have to be the voice of reason here.”
She giggled. “Your honor has lousy timing.”
“Then it wouldn’t be called honor, would it?” He grinned, kissing her one last time before pulling her up. He stood at the foot of the bed, stretching out his knee.
“I’m going to grab a shower. You’re welcomed to join me,” she called over her shoulder.
With a reluctant, knowing grin, he went into the kitchen to start lunch.
****
The knock on the cabin came as a surprise to Ally. Jesse and Ally exchanged looks and Jesse took his gun out of his appendix hold.
“Who is it?” he called through the door.
“Gary Roche,” the male voice called back.
“Daddy!” Ally said and ran to the door to open it.
Jesse stopped her. “I don’t care who it sounds like or who they identify themselves as, you always look out this window to verify before you open the door. Do you understand me?”
Ally blushed. “Yes, I’m sorry.”
She did as Jesse explained and verified it was her father. Then she opened the door.
“Daddy!” she called as he walked in and hugged his youngest daughter. “Why are you here?”
“I brought you something.”
For the first time, Ally noticed he had a black canvas carrying case with him. “What is it?”
“Just a little something I picked up for you,” he said simply and handed her the case.
Confused, Ally sat at the table and unzipped the case. Inside was a gun. Not just any gun, either. A pretty pink gun.
“I… I don’t know what to say, Daddy. Thank you!” Ally wasn’t sure how to respond to his gift.
“I thought you might need something for protection. And I figure since both my daughters have a penchant for police officers, that one there will be as good as any to teach you how to handle it.” He nodded to Jesse.
“It’s… pink,” Ally finished, slowly picking it up.
“Figured if you’re going to shoot anyone, they may as well know it’s a woman they’re messing with.”
Ally let out a laugh. The weight of the gun felt foreign in her hand, but it also felt like comfort. Her daddy knew exactly how to make her day. He always had. She turned toward Jesse and her dad, gun in her hand. Both of them fell to the floor, belly down, covering their heads.
“What!” Ally asked, panicked and quickly placed the gun in the carrying case.
“Rule number one, Ally, baby,” Jesse mumbled, “never point it at someone unless you want to kill them.”
Ally snorted and placed the gun back in the case. “It’s safe now,” she said. “I put it down.”
Both of them appeared doubtful, and looked for themselves. What a sightseeing the two of them down on their stomachs, afraid of a pink gun.
“Are you sure someone will believe that gun is real?” She ran her finger along the barrel.
“Doesn’t matter,” her dad said. With a groan, he pushed himself up from the floor, remarkably spry for a man of his age. “As long as they believe it when the bullet goes through them, that’s all that counts.”
“Good point,” she said with a smile. “Thanks, Daddy. I like it. I think I’ll enjoy learning how to shoot it with Jesse. When I’m really good, you can bring your shot gun and we can shoot together sometime.”
“Sounds like a plan, baby girl.” Her daddy turned to Jesse. “I know you guys have been through a lot, both before and after your return. But let’s get one thing straight, Richards.” He pointed to Ally. “That’s my daughter. If you dare pull a stunt like you did when she was fresh outta high school, I’ll shoot you with that pink gun just to humiliate you, you understand me?”
Jesse’s eyes widened for a moment. “Yes sir,” he mumbled, shuf
fling to his feet.
Ally giggled behind her hand. He looked like a boy sent to the principal’s office.
“Daddy, he’s been a perfect gentleman. You’d be proud.” She picked up the gun again, fascinated with how heavy it was and how well-made. With one last stroke of the barrel, she put it back down.
“Well, still. I know how boys can be. I used to be one.”
“Aw, Daddy, you still are! Just a boy at heart! Speaking of, Jesse mentioned to me he saw you at Ellie Mayberry’s house. With a key.”
Her father shifted and gave a little shrug. “Yes. She called me to help her. She’d fallen.”
Ally narrowed her eyes at him. “Why did she call you?”
“Uh. I… uh…”
“Daddy! You have a girlfriend and you didn’t tell me! Does Lana know?”
“No. I was, uh, gonna wait and tell you guys over dinner… but you can’t seem to stay outta trouble lately. I wasn’t sure how you two would feel about having a step-mom.” He shot his gaze to Jesse. “You shouldn’t have said anything. Man code and all that.”
“Is it that serious?” Ally asked, grinning wide.
“Yeah. I want to ask her to marry me. How do you feel about that?” Her dad’s eyes met hers, worried yet hopeful.
“I think it’s great, Daddy! I love Ellie! And I know Lana is going be over-joyed.”
He shuffled his feet again. “You don’t think it’s too soon? Since your mom?”
Ally’s eyes almost fell out of her head. “She died when I was a baby. You’ve taken plenty of time to love her and put her to rest. Just because you loved Mom doesn’t mean you can’t love Ellie too. Don’t ever apologize to me for loving someone!”
Her father enveloped her in the sweetest of hugs. “Thank you, baby girl. That means the world to me. And now I have to tell your older sister.”
She pulled away and kissed him on the cheek then picked up her gun again, ready to tell her father how much she loved him and supported him. But he and Jesse were already on their bellies on the floor, heads covered.
“Sorry!” she said as a fit of giggles hit her.
Chapter 11
The days that passed were boring for Jesse and Ally. They played cards and watched a few movies together, but mostly they just sat and talked, learning about each other again, reminiscing over their youth.
Ally found her love for Jesse deepened with each passing day. While they kissed and touched and things got heated, Jesse honored his promise to her to wait to make love to her. It both infuriated her and heightened her respect for him.
For the most part, Jesse hadn’t changed much. He was still terrified of spiders, her proof coming when she was forced to save him from a wolf spider in the bathroom with his pants around his ankles. Even more proof when he’d jumped out of bed in the middle of the night beating his chest like an angry, spastic ape and a small house spider fell lifelessly to the ground. The little guy hadn’t stood a chance.
The good news was they were able to laugh about it later. Jesse hadn’t ever been a prideful man, and when they’d first reunited, she’d wondered if that had changed.
But no, what she’d seen was his self-preservation offsetting his love for her. Ally had no doubt that this time they would make it.
Four days after her dad had visited, Jesse was giving her some basic gun-handling advice. It was like the movies, with his arms around her, his body close and his mouth against her ear.
She dropped her hands and turned to him. “I know we shouldn’t jump into a serious relationship again, but does this feel like it to you?”
Jesse ejected the magazine from the gun and placed it on the table with the gun pointed away from them. His hands immediately settled on his hips. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, once all this is over and done with, if we’re still alive, are we still going to feel this way about each other? Are you going to still want to be with me when life gets boring?”
Jesse dropped his gaze to the floor and shuffled his feet. A sniff indicated to her that he was buying his time.
“Let’s take it a day at a time, Ally. We rushed once before… I rushed once before, and I did it all wrong. I’m in uncharted territory right now. I don’t want to do anything to mess it up. But if you’re asking if I’m going anywhere, the answer is no. Not even if you beg me to.”
Ally grinned and gave him a peck on the lips. “Good. Just making sure I wasn’t alone in feeling like this.”
His arms came around her waist. “Ally, girl, you’ll never be alone.”
Jesse’s lips descended, but before Ally could feel their softness, his cell phone buzzed. He pulled away and checked the caller.
“It’s Lucky,” he explained and stepped away. “Hey, man. What’s up?”
Ally turned to go in the kitchen but heard, “What! You’ve got to be kidding me!”
She couldn’t help the hope spreading through her. What if they’d caught the killer? What if everything was over? But looking at Jesse’s sour face turned her cold. “No, I get it. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I just want Ally protected while I’m gone.”
Gone? What on earth was going on?
“I’ll be here. You know where to find me.”
Slowly, Jesse lowered his phone, his stare blank and unyielding.
“What’s wrong?” Ally asked quietly.
Finally, Jesse blinked. “They think I did it.”
“What?”
“They’ve found my DNA on the dog. I don’t know how he did it, but he’s framing me.”
“To get to me. To leave me wide open.”
Jesse grabbed her shoulders in less time than it took her to blink. “No. Lucky and I both know this is a frame job. He knows it; I know it. We just have to prove it. And I will if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Jesse…” she whispered.
“I know you’re scared. I’m scared, too. But we’ll get through it. You’ve got your gun, your daddy and Lucky. You’ll be fine while I’m in jail.”
“Jail! Jesse!”
“Lucky’s coming to arrest me. It’s just a misunderstanding, but when DNA is found, it’s always hard to prove framework and we have to do play it by the books so everything is admissible in court. But I will, Ally. I promise you that. We’ve got a life to live together. No idiot is going to get between you and me again.”
Ally jerked away, feeling panicked. Her hands trembled. “We’ve got to run, Jesse. I know there’s no way you would do anything to hurt me. Lucky knows that, too. Why does he have to arrest you?”
“He’s just following protocol, honey.”
Ally stamped her foot. “Screw protocol!” She turned and viciously started shoving things in plastic bags. “If we leave now, we’ll have enough lead time to get ahead.” She looked at him. “What are you doing? Pack! We can survive on the run. You were a boy scout! C’mon!”
His soft chuckle scared her. “Ally, honey.”
When she felt his touch, she wrenched away. “I can’t believe you’re just going to stand here and let this happen.”
“I don’t have a choice. If I run, I could lose my job, be stuck in prison for a long and never be free to have you.”
“But you’re innocent.” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded pathetically small. She couldn’t stop the swell of sobs that came out, even before the tears began flowing.
Jesse’s strong arms enveloped her, holding her tight. “Shhh,” he ordered. “We’ll get it straightened out. You’ll see.”
“I can’t lose you again, Jesse! I can’t! I was nothing when you weren’t here. I lost who I was without you. That’s why everyone thought Michael was changing me.”
He shushed her again, sprinkling light kisses along her cheeks and nose. “I’m not going anywhere this time. I’m innocent. We both know today’s technology will help me. I need you to believe that it’s gonna happen.”
“Don’t go, Jesse.” She hated herself for how weak she sounded. How frightened.
&
nbsp; Finally, he pulled back and looked in her eyes. “I love you.” He said it with so much conviction she had to smile. “No matter what.”
“I love you, too.”
He shrugged and gave her a grin that trembled at the corners of his mouth, letting her know it was all a façade. “Look on the bright side. I’ll finally get to rest my knee.”
****
Ally felt the world grasping at her insides, threatening to expose her, lay her open and take what was left of her. How could she survive without Jesse? She’d done it once, but after speaking with Lucky, it was going to take an act of God to get him released. The evidence was solid against him. DNA didn’t lie. But it could be transported.
Staying with her dad had given her a measure of ease. Her daddy was just as fierce about protecting her as Jesse. But, oh, how she wished Jesse could be right there, holding her hand and making her smile when the only thing she wanted to do was cry.
Instead, he was in a cold jail cell, speaking with a lawyer. They both hoped he could get out on bail, but given what all he up against, the chances were slim.
Ally texted Lana. I need distraction. Bring the kid over.
Within a half hour, her niece was playing at her feet, and Lana was squeezing her hand in reassurance. “Lucky is doing everything he can to free Jesse. He’s on his side.”
“I know. I just wish I could be with Jesse. I don’t care if I’m sitting in jail with him, I just don’t know what to do without him.”
A knock at the door drew their attention away from Lily and Lana. Her dad, who was sitting at the table cleaning his shotgun, stood and answered the door. Muffled voices were all they could hear.
Before long, Jesse hobbled into the living room, a sheepish grin on his face.
“Jesse!” Ally could barely believe her eyes. She didn’t care if they were tricking her either. She ran into Jesse’s arms and hugged him tight. This was it. She’d never let him go again. They should have run when they had the chance.
“Ally, honey, it’s only been a few hours.”
“It felt like months.” She kissed his neck, his cheek, then placed her lips on his. She was desperate to feel him, but her father’s not-so-subtle throat clearing reminded her she had an audience.
Jesse's Girl Page 11
