by Becky McGraw
With every rotation of the pad, more emotion built up inside of her. Thoughts swirled through her mind just as fast as her hand circled, the foremost being this was never going to work out here. She would never fit in here, no matter how many pairs of jeans and cowboy boots she owned. Wes didn't want her here, that was becoming obvious to her.
Leigh Ann was a pretender, an imposter, and Wes needed someone better than her to help with his vet practice. She wasn't even fit to be around his ten-year-old son, or his dog. Her sister had been trying to do her a favor, but Leigh Ann was going to call her just as soon as she finished mopping up this mess to tell her that she'd made a mistake. Ask her to come and get her to take her to her car at Dylan's trailer.
Leigh Ann had enough money left from her check for gas to head back to Dallas where she belonged. Her mother would help her fix things, even if it wasn't how Leigh Ann wanted things fixed. If that meant marrying Lester Fallon, so be it.
What other option did a washed-up unemployable beauty queen have?
Leigh Ann shut the tap off with her forearm, then ran her arm over her cheek to swipe at the hot tears that burned tracks there. She laid the skillet face down on the counter, picked up the dishtowel and put a little soapy water on it to wipe down the counter, the stove and the cabinets. Under the cabinet, she found some air freshener and sprayed it generously around the room, then put it back.
Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she made her way to the stairs. With each tread she took up, failure weighed heavier on her shoulders. By the time she reached the landing, her legs were weak. Sitting on the top step, she dropped her head onto her knees and hugged them to her. Sucking in a shuddering breath, she fought the tears she couldn't seem to stop.
"Leigh Ann!" Wes yelled, his voice coming from somewhere near the kitchen.
Her heart stuttered in her chest when she heard his footsteps heading toward the stairs. Quickly, Leigh Ann jumped up, and turned to step onto the landing. Footsteps beat double time on the stairs behind her as she hurried toward her room, hoping she could get inside before he saw her. Her hand grasped the knob, just as his feet hit the landing.
"Leigh Ann..." he said walking toward her.
She threw up a hand, but didn't look at him, because she knew if she did she would break down. "I cleaned up, please just leave me alone for a little bit." The sound of her nasally voice mortified her. Leigh Ann twisted the knob and went inside the bedroom. Before she could shut it behind her though, Wes put his foot in the gap and his hand on the door.
Hesitantly, her eyes met his then she looked away then shoved at the door again, but he held it open. "Let me in, Leigh Ann." The low timber of his sexy voice worked along her nerve endings.
"Thanks for the opportunity, Wes, but I just want to pack...I'll be out of here in a few minutes," she told him, her voice trembling over the words.
"It's not that big of a deal, honey. Calm down and talk to me," he cajoled, his voice even and warm, not angry and cold like it had been a few minutes ago.
"It is a big deal...this isn't going to work out. You can find someone a lot better than me for this job. I almost burned down your house, corrupted your son and broke your dog's tail, I'll save you the trouble of firing me," she told him morosely.
Leigh Ann recognized when it was time to throw in the towel, and it was now. She didn't think she could stand being fired again...especially by Wes Jepson.
"Everyone is fine, Leigh Ann. I'm not going to fire you," he said with a huffed breath then pushed the door again gently.
Leigh Ann stepped back then turned away from him to hug herself. God only knew how she looked, probably exactly how she felt, sick at her stomach. Leigh Ann knew she was not a pretty crier, the end of her nose got red and swollen, her eyes swelled, and she looked like a sad bullfrog. Thank goodness she hadn't put on makeup yet, or it would've been worse with mascara streaks on her cheeks. Wes didn't need to see that.
"I'm firing myself then, you can do better than me. It was a mistake to let Rocky recommend me for this job. I'm not qualified, and I'm imposing in your home."
She heard another deep sigh, then his hands closed over her shoulders and tingles danced down her arms to her fingertips. Wes turned her toward him and lifted her chin with his finger, so she had to look at him.
"You are not imposing. I'm sorry I made you feel that way," he said gently.
She licked her suddenly dry lips and his eyes dropped to her mouth. He moved his thumb to trace her lower lip, before resting it at the corner of her mouth. Leigh Ann stopped breathing and her heart bounced around in her chest. To her it looked like he was going to kiss her. Anticipation shot through her and her lips buzzed.
Instead, Wes swallowed, his voice dropped an octave and he pleaded, "Please don't leave...we'll work this out."
The emotion behind his words matched the vulnerability in his hazel eyes. The way he spoke the words made her think he had uttered them before, maybe to someone else, and this time he was hoping for a different outcome. It dug a hole in her heart and she sighed.
Leigh Ann didn't want to leave, honestly she didn't have enough money to go out on her own yet, but she didn't want to stay where she wasn't wanted either. Always doing what was best for other people was her curse. That was just her nature, and how her mother had raised her to be. Even if it wasn't what was best for her.
Leaving would be best for all of them, but "Okay," popped out of her mouth, and she was rewarded by the first wide smile she had ever seen on Wes's face. The clouds in his eyes parted warming her heart. Leigh Ann finally breathed again when he stepped back from her and his hand dropped to his side.
"Everything's gonna be fine," he said. "I want to take you to dinner tonight to apologize for being an ass, and to celebrate you making it through your first week here."
Leigh Ann wasn't so sure they should be celebrating just yet. Yeah, Rocky had proclaimed her trained now, and the week had gone pretty smoothly until now, but most of her other jobs had lasted at least a week too. She wouldn't feel comfortable it was going to last for at least another month. And Leigh Ann didn't think being around Wes out of the office any more than she had to was a good idea.
"Is Trey going with us?" His son was a good buffer between them.
"Well...um, I don't know." Wes looked genuinely perplexed. "Probably."
"Okay, then yeah, I'll go, but I'm buying to apologize to you for almost burning down your house," she insisted.
Wes would pay her for the week before they left the office today, so she would have some money. That didn't mean Leigh Ann could really afford to pay for dinner. But she wanted to do that to pay him back for her failed attempt at breakfast. She owed him that much, and a lot more for letting her stay here.
"And I'll start looking for somewhere else to live next weekend. I should have enough money then for a deposit."
If she lived on canned beans, and slept on an air mattress, until she could buy furniture. Leigh Ann would do what she had to do though, to give them both some breathing room. She knew if she continued living here, she would get too comfortable, lulled by the domesticity of it all, and that would lead her to get attached to both Wes and his son. A fatal mistake for her heart. And that she couldn't afford.
CHAPTER FIVE
Wes buttoned the last button of his black western shirt, and re-tucked it into his newest jeans, which weren't new at all. He hadn't shopped for clothes for himself in years. Picking up his black belt, he fastened the large silver buckle and stepped back to make sure he looked okay. It was stupid for him to be nervous, but his stomach felt like a quilting bee was set up in there, the needles flying fast and furious. Leaning on the dresser, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to release some of the tension.
This isn't a date, dumbass. Wes knew that, but it didn't mean a thing. He was taking Leigh Ann Baker out to dinner, and for whatever reason, his body thought it was a date.
At the last minute, his mother had showed up at the office insisting Tre
y had promised to go to dinner with her and his father at the pizza parlor in town tonight. Some special kid's cartoon character was going to be there. Between the cartoon character and the train that brought drinks to the table, it didn't take Trey long to ditch Wes for what he considered a better offer.
Now, he was going to dinner with Leigh Ann alone. That's probably what had him so tied up. He heard her blow-drying her hair in the hall bathroom and his stomach rolled. He had told her not to worry about dressing up, they were going to a casual restaurant, but when he passed the bedroom across the hall a few minutes ago, he saw a dress laid out on the bed. And lacy underwear...red and black underwear...to match the red dress she was going to wear.
With resignation to his fate, Wes slid his dress black Stetson on his head then ran his hand over his smooth face. He grabbed the bottle from the dresser and slapped cologne onto his cheeks. Wes heard Leigh Ann's bedroom door slam and figured the coast was clear to go downstairs and make himself one quick drink. A little liquid courage would go a long way to help him get through this.
He had just put the tumbler of Crown and Coke to his lips, when Leigh Ann appeared at the bottom of the stairwell. His heart stopped, then ran laps around his chest. The drink dribbled down his chin instead of going into his mouth. He sat it down and swiped at his face, then his shirtfront, before his eyes locked on hers.
"I told you not to dress up," he said as his eyes took their leisurely time to catalogue every curve of her delicious body. God, he wished she hadn't dressed up, or put on makeup, or curled her hair. And he damn sure wished he didn't know what she had on under that dress either. That underwear mixed with those come-fuck-me heels she wore with the dress put all kinds of images into his mind that shouldn't be there.
"I know, but I haven't worn anything but jeans in a week, so I felt like it," she replied, looking down at herself, then back up to him. "Um, is that okay?" She gnawed on her lower lip, and Wes almost groaned. The devil wore a red dress, and Wes knew he would be in hell tonight.
"Wes?" she asked shyly walking toward him. The soft skirt swirled around the middle of her thighs hypnotizing him.
Sucking in a breath, he dragged his eyes to hers. "Yeah, you look nice," he said and her smile faltered a little, like his lack of enthusiasm had hurt her feelings.
Nice? What he meant to say was she looked like a walking wet dream, something he was sure he was going to be very familiar with tonight. How he was going to keep his hands to himself, Wes didn't know. "Do you know how to drive a truck?" he asked suddenly, because he was going to need a lot more liquor in his system to get through this.
"I haven't ever driven one, is it automatic?" she asked looking puzzled.
"It's automatic." Just like his response to her.
"Oh, that's perfect then. Shouldn't be a problem," she replied with one of those blinding smiles of hers, as she passed him to walk to the front door.
Perfect. Just like her in that red dress. Wes followed her like his shiny black boots were lined with lead, as they walked outside and got into the truck.
Wes turned the radio to a country station during the drive, so he didn't have to talk. When they got there, he parked the truck then went around to open the door for her. Even though this wasn't a date, it was the polite thing to do.
Leigh Ann scooted toward him to put her foot on the running board, and the skirt of her dress hiked up to the top of her thighs. Wes swallowed down the lust that slammed into him, and held his hand up to her, trying to avoid looking at her smooth thighs.
But she couldn't find her balance, and he got tired of waiting in the cloud of honeysuckle perfume, so he put his hands at her waist and lifted her down, As soon as her heels touched the ground, he dropped his hands to his sides and stepped back.
"Wes, are you okay?" she asked looking a little hurt.
"Yeah, fine." Wes knew he was being an ass again, so he tried to soften his words by forcing a smile and sticking his arm out to her after he shut the door and locked it. She slid her arm through his, and her breast brushed his bicep, her heat burning through the sleeve of his shirt.
This isn't a date, Wes reminded himself yet again as they walked through the front door of the restaurant, and several cowboys eyes swung her way. And stayed there.
Automatically, he shot them a back-off glare, but then he looked down at Leigh Ann. She didn't even seem to notice. She wasn't pandering to them or flirting to let them know she knew they were looking. She was looking up at him. Their eyes connected, and she gave him a warm smile that melted his insides.
Amazing, and unexpected. He smiled back then put his arm at her lower back to lead her to the hostess stand. They followed the hostess across the dining area, and again, Leigh Ann never noticed the attention she received. People literally stopped talking to stare at her, but Leigh Ann didn't make eye contact with anyone, she stared straight ahead at the back of the waitress guiding them to their table.
When they reached the table, he quickly pulled out her chair for her and she gracefully floated into it, then smiled up at him. Wes took a chair across the table from her, because this was not a date. She frowned, but covered it by flicking her napkin open in front of her face, before settling it in her lap. Wes did the same, then leaned his forearms on the table to pick up the menu.
"What looks good?" he asked flipping it open. Wes wanted to get this show on the road, and get this dinner over with. It had been a bad, bad idea and he had no idea why he even suggested it.
"How about a drink?" the waiter asked with a chuckle. "Unless you're in a hurry?"
Leigh Ann's eyes met the waiter's and she winked. "I'll have a Shirley Temple. I'm driving."
"Crown and Coke," Wes said gruffly. The damned man was standing there flirting with Leigh Ann with him sitting here. He didn't know this wasn't a date. "I'm not driving, but I am taking her home, so you better hurry."
The waiter eyed him, then looked back at Leigh Ann. "I wouldn't be drinking too much with this pretty lady on your arm, mister. Some cowboy might steal her away."
That's what Wes was afraid of...why he felt the way he did about beautiful women. And why he planned on staying away from this one. But this man needed to back off.
"Some cowboy might find himself in a heap of trouble too," Wes warned and felt Leigh Ann's gaze on him. The waiter nodded and walked off, and only then did Wes look back at Leigh Ann. He knew his reaction was unreasonable, but he couldn't help it. Three years of dealing with the same thing with Laura had trained him to be that way. Laura had liked it, expected it, but Leigh Ann didn't seem to feel the same way.
Meeting his eyes, Leigh Ann folded her hands in front of her. "What the heck was that about?" Wes was acting really strange. Possessive. She didn't know why it thrilled her a little, but it worried her at the same time.
Wes was mostly a laid back kind of guy. In the week she had known him, he had never been like this. He had no reason to be, they were not a couple. Tonight, he was in a surly alpha male mood for some reason though. The look he sent those cowboys in the lobby could've melted steel. And he had just been darned rude to their waiter, who had just been being friendly.
With the cowboys, Leigh Ann had just ignored them. That was her typical defense mechanism to combat that kind of attention. It always made her uncomfortable, but if she took issue with every man that looked her way she would spend half her life defending herself. She wouldn't have thought it would bother Wes, but evidently it bothered him a lot, if his red face and balled fists were any indication.
This wasn't a date, it was just a friendly dinner. His son was even supposed to go with them, but Wes's mother had kidnapped him earlier to go to the pizza place. Leigh Ann had considered not going to dinner, but decided they both needed a break after the day they had today. Maybe it was the drink he'd had at home, before they left that was making him this way. Whatever the cause, Wes was definitely agitated.
"It's that damned red dress," he growled looking around their table to make sure nobody el
se heard him. He leaned across the table toward her. "Didn't you have anything a little more modest?"
Tears shot to her eyes, Leigh Ann gasped then shoved her chair back from the table. Throwing her napkin on the table, she stood. "I'm getting a cab back home," she said, her hands shaking as she fished in her purse for his keys. "This was a bad idea."
The waiter picked that moment to deliver their drinks. "Is everything okay, ma'am?" he asked setting them down.
"She's fine," Wes ground out, turning his angry gaze her way, "Leigh Ann, please sit back down."
"This is your idea of an apology? Thanks, but no thanks," she hissed, but pasted on a smile for the gawkers staring at them, as she tossed his keys onto the table. "Don't drink too much and try to drive." Spinning on her heel, Leigh Ann headed for the bathroom, because she knew she wasn't going to make it to the front door without losing her composure.
The cooler air inside the bathroom felt good on her heated cheeks. Looking around she sent up thanks that nobody else was in there with her. Leigh Ann was very near the edge, the dam holding back the emotion inside of her could burst at any moment. Putting her hands on the sink, she leaned over it and tried to steady her breathing. How dare Wes Jepson treat her that way? Say those hurtful things? She hadn't done a damned thing to deserve it.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Leigh Ann decided there wasn't anything wrong with the way she looked. The front of her was totally covered by the high-necked halter of her dress. Only her shoulders were exposed, and her back. The dress wasn't too short either, it was longer than most of the dresses women wore these days.
When she put it on she felt classy and sophisticated, but Wes just made her feel cheap. If there was one thing Leigh Ann wasn't, it was cheap.
Leigh Ann hadn't made many decisions for herself in her life, but this one was going to be easy. She didn't need anyone else to help her make it either. She needed to get away from Wes Jepson as fast as her feet would carry her. The man might be good looking, but he was just mean. Something his ex-wife had done to him, had probably ruined him for life, and Leigh Ann was just the unlucky person he took it out on.
