by Liz Isaacson
Maybe he could date her. Just a little bit. No one had to know.
But you’ll know, he told himself. And Jess didn’t deserve to be with someone like him. She didn’t deserve to be wined and dined and dumped.
And Flynn wasn’t capable of committing to more than that. So he put on his poker face, and said, “Deal us in, Jess.”
A couple of hours later, Jessie had indeed won nearly every hand. The two Clay managed to win were caught in the rafters of the barn, as the man had whooped so loudly the sound had gotten trapped there.
Flynn had won one hand. Newt, zero. Wyatt, zero.
Everyone filed out of the barn with the remains of their food, but Flynn hung back, slowly putting up their chairs and folding the table.
His heart seemed to be thumping out the words Female fast. Fe-male fast. Fe-fe-male fast. His brain matched the rhythm, leaving room for little else in his mind.
Jessie was so beautiful, though, and he couldn’t help going over to her. “Need help?”
“I’ve got it,” she said, glancing at him. Her hair fell between them, and Flynn wanted to push it back so badly.
Stop flirting with her, Flynn, and play your cards.
Clay had been particularly aggressive tonight. And fine, he had been flirting shamelessly with Jessie, thinking it might throw her off her game a little. At least that was what he’d told the other guys.
I’m not flirting. This is called strategy.
And he’d watched Jessie’s face fall, each word exemplifying the kind of man Flynn was, and why she deserved so much better than him.
Still, he couldn’t help pushing back that hair….
“Hey,” he said. “You should be happier than you are. You won every hand.”
“You won once,” she said.
“Yeah, once.” He smiled at her, almost desperate to make her happy, see that smile.
“Why don’t you live on the ranch with the other cowboys?” she asked.
Surprise flitted through Flynn. “I have a place in town.” He drew in a breath, wanting to be real with her. Tell her things no one but Rhodes knew. “When my dad died, I got a small inheritance. I, uh.” He cleared his throat, this being-real thing so much harder than just laughing and dancing his weekends away. “I didn’t want to be a cowboy on someone else’s ranch, at least not in every way. So I bought my own place.”
She looked at him, those eyes downright dangerous to his health. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
“Yeah.” He looked away. “I miss him almost every day.” And not just because his mother had sold the farm Flynn had thought he’d work and then pass to his son in order to stay afloat financially.
“I bet.” She picked up her tray of kolaches, and Flynn started taking down the table where the food had been.
“Listen,” he said while he made quick work of putting the table away. “I meant what I said earlier.” He turned and tucked his hands in his pockets. “About us going out.”
“Oh.” Her eyes filled with fire, and she took a step closer to him. “I don’t know about that, Flynn.”
“What don’t you know about it?” He might as well hear what she had to say.
“Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not really the flavor-of-the-week type of girl.”
She wasn’t a girl at all, and that T-shirt and those jeans testified of it. He nodded, her words worming their way all the way down into his gut, where they writhed. “Fair enough.” He started toward her, expecting her to move out of the way or fall in step beside him.
She didn’t do either of those, instead actually moving to block his escape. “You’re…why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Come on,” she said, frustration filling her expression now. Her mouth tightened, and dang if Flynn didn’t want to kiss it until she relaxed into his arms. “Never mind. Not my—”
“I’m lonely,” he blurted.
Their eyes met and held, and he could see Jessie was downright lonely too. He swallowed. “And I know I look good on the outside. I have some skills on the dance floor. And so I’m less lonely when I’m there, doing those things.” He shook his head, in complete disbelief that he’d told her any of this.
“But women don’t like what they find beneath the surface.” He lifted his chin, almost daring her to contradict him. “So it’s easier to cut them loose before they break up with me.” Flynn stepped around her and headed for the door, humiliation burning through his bloodstream. The air outside held a crispness, though summer would fully arrive soon enough.
He drew in a deep breath and said over his shoulder, “It would be great if you could keep all that between us.” He stepped into the night, almost desperate for her to join him, if only because he didn’t want to leave her out here in the east barn by herself.
She’s your best friend’s little sister, he told himself. Not your next girlfriend.
“You comin’?” he called, and she flipped off the light in the barn and closed the door behind her. She’d parked next to him, and those long, delicious legs ate up the distance between them quickly.
She’s the boss’s daughter.
And yet, she stepped right over to him. “I know who you are inside,” she whispered. “And maybe if you showed him on the outside, you’d have better luck with women.”
He had no idea what to say, and it didn’t matter anyway. She moved away from him as quickly as she’d come, put the nearly empty tray in her truck, and climbed in after it. She didn’t look at him again, and she obviously wasn’t as worried about leaving him out here as he’d been about driving off and leaving her alone.
Flynn watched her go, his heart thumping in his chest. I know who you are inside.
And of course, if anyone did, it would be Jess.
Still didn’t mean he could actually go out with her.
Chapter 3
Jessie couldn’t believe what she’d said to Flynn. They’d always gotten along so well, and if they ever disagreed, he’d text her a few seconds after they parted ways.
He didn’t do that tonight, and Jessie tossed and turned for what felt like hours before she finally fell asleep. She woke early in the summer, because her internal clock seemed to be timed to the sun.
Her day started with the calves, who would be going to auction in the fall. She kept immaculate records and made sure the cattle were properly immunized and healthy so they’d fetch the best price.
Flynn knew where to find her, but he didn’t come. He’d surely arrived on the ranch already, and Jessie was so tired of thinking about him. But they’d flirted shamelessly during the poker game last night, and he’d blatantly asked her out.
“You blew it,” she muttered to herself as the door to the barn opened. Her heart stuttered, thinking it would be Flynn. But it was Betsy, Georgia, Cami, and Rhodes, and they each carried a flaming cupcake.
She grinned at them as they began singing happy birthday to her. She used both hands to conduct them in the final strains of the song, and they all started laughing when it ended.
“Thank you, guys,” Jessie said, watching as they put the cupcakes on the railing. She blew them out, refusing to make a wish about Flynn.
The man needed to open his eyes. Maybe she could wish for that.
She accepted a hug from all of her siblings, grinning as they all laughed together. “Happy birthday, Jess,” Cami said, and everyone else said it too.
“We love you,” Rhodes said.
“Dinner tonight,” Betsy reminded her. “There will be a whole cake.”
“Oh, I don’t need a whole cake,” Jessie said.
“Don’t work too hard today,” Georgia said. “Let’s go get pedicures before your party.” She raised her eyebrows. “What do you think?”
Jessie thought about what waited for her on her to-do list. She didn’t want to do any of it. “Yeah,” she said. “Let’s do that.”
“I’m in,” Cami said.
“Me too,” Betsy said.
&n
bsp; “I’m out,” Rhodes said with a laugh. “You girls have fun.” He headed for the door. “I have to get back to work.”
If there was someone who worked more than Jessie, it was Rhodes. And probably Flynn, as much as Jessie didn’t want to admit it.
Everything came back to Flynn, and she really needed to figure out how to move past him. As her siblings left the barn, she tipped her head back and stretched her back at the same time she prayed.
“Please,” she whispered. “Help me find a way to stop thinking about him.”
She sighed, and she turned back to the cupcakes, one of which still smoked. Maybe she should leave the ranch. Find another job. She had an animal science degree, and she could be useful on another farm, another ranch, in another state.
Somewhere Flynn Hollister didn’t live, so she wouldn’t have to see him every day and wish she were different. Wish she were pretty enough to attract his attention. Wish she were someone he might be interested in.
The barn door opened again, and Jessie kept her back to it so she could have an extra moment to collect her emotions. She hadn’t started crying yet, but the tears were so close, so close.
“Happy birthday, Jess,” Flynn said, and she pulled in a breath that sounded like a gasp.
She glanced over her shoulder, barely looking at him. “Thanks.”
He joined her in front of the four cupcakes her brother and sisters had brought. “Look, I—”
Jessie really wanted to hear what he was going to say. How he could explain away his invitation to go out, how she couldn’t possibly know the real him because he didn’t show it to anyone.
In the silence, she nudged a cupcake toward him and said, “Betsy made them. It’ll be delicious.”
A soft chuckle met her ears, and he picked up the treat and peeled off the paper. They ate together, and she found she just wanted him to leave. Being with him like this was too hard. He was too vulnerable, and she felt like he was torturing her on purpose.
He had to know how she felt about him. He simply had to, and he was so cruel not to do anything about it.
“Jess,” he said, and she hated that he got to use such a personal nickname. Hated it and loved it.
“I’ve been an idiot,” he said quietly. “Real stupid, especially when it comes to you.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said, refusing to look at him. One glance at that rugged face, those beautiful eyes, and she’d forget she was mad at him.
He slipped his fingers between hers. “I’m sure you do.”
Tears pricked the backs of her eyes, and she breathed in slowly, trying to stop herself from crying. She started mentally spelling out the names of the medications she used with the cattle, because that helped her focus on something besides the sparks moving through her bloodstream, and the warmth of Flynn’s hand in hers.
“I like you, Jess,” he said. “But you have to know why I haven’t ever done anything about it.”
“I know why,” she said. “You always have a girlfriend.”
A defeated sound came out of his mouth. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish,” she said, thinking of all those girls and wondering how many he’d kissed. She shook her head and pulled her hand away. “It’s fine, Flynn. It’s—”
“Not fine,” he said. “You’re my best friend’s little sister. Rhodes won’t be happy about us going out.” He moved around the post to the other side of the railing, leaving her no choice but to look at him.
Sure enough, he wore that adorable vulnerability in his eyes, and she had no defense against him.
“I like you, Jess,” he said again. “You really are the only person who knows who I am, and somehow, I think you still like me too.”
She couldn’t deny it, but she didn’t have to confirm it either. She simply stared at him, unblinking.
“You’re my boss’s daughter,” he said next. “You have two strikes against you, and I…I need this job. This ranch saved me, and I couldn’t act on how I felt.”
Felt.
Past tense.
Confusion swirled through her. “Okay,” she said, nodding. Anything to end this conversation. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Jess.”
“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked, her voice pitching up with every word. “It’s fine, Flynn. I’m fine. You like me, I like you, we can’t be together for some stupid reasons I don’t understand. Whatever.” The redhead in her emerged, and her fingers fisted. “Just go. This is torture.”
He shook his head, his jaw clenching. “I’m not going. I came to tell you I don’t care if Rhodes is upset, and I don’t care if I get fired. I want to go out with you.”
She gave a somewhat maniacal laugh. “We can’t go out.”
“Then we stay in,” he said, taking her fisted fingers and uncurling them. He lifted her hand to his lips and gave her the sweetest kiss.
Everything inside Jessie felt like it was coming apart. She had very little composure left, and she just wanted him to go. Or maybe stay. She wasn’t sure.
“Maybe we just see each other in secret for a while,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers.
Jessie was finally able to get a full breath, and it shuddered on the way out. “Okay,” she said, needing this situation to be lightened. “But I still want a birthday present from you. You’ll come to my party tonight?”
“It’s a family thing, right?” he asked, tracing the tip of his nose down the side of her face.
She leaned into his touch, revealing way too much about how she felt about him. “Yes,” she said.
“I’ve come to stuff like that before, so I think I can swing it.”
“Great,” she said. “You can bring your present then.”
“Sweetheart, I’m the present.”
She giggled, enjoying standing in his arms. “Yeah? Are you my birthday boyfriend? Is that it?”
“If you want me to be,” he said seriously, and Jessie pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Is that what you want for your birthday?”
He was what she’d wanted forever. Had wanted for so long. She felt like she was hallucinating, and all she could do was nod.
“Done.” He pressed his lips to her cheek, backed up, and walked out of the barn.
“I want pink,” Jessie said. “The pearlescent one, since one of the June birthstones is pearl.”
Georgia handed her the bottle of nail polish she’d pointed to. “What color should I get?”
“Red,” Betsy said. “Like that barn where you and Logan fell in love.”
“Oh, jeez,” Georgia said, though she laughed a little. “So that means you’ll be getting what? Pink too, because you and Knox fell in love on Valentine’s Day?” She turned to Cami, who studied the array of polishes like they held the secret to world peace.
“No, wait,” Georgia said. “Red, like the fiery depths of the bellows.”
Betsy rolled her eyes. “Neither of those.”
“Black,” Georgia said. “The color of deception.”
“That would be you,” Betsy said.
“Please. You snuck around with Knox forever behind all of our backs.”
Jessie stayed silent, letting her two older sisters have it out. She wasn’t about to say anything about her and Flynn’s conversation that morning. Not now, anyway.
“Can you two stop?” Cami asked, glancing around the nail salon. “You both have boyfriends, and we don’t. So just pick a color and let’s do this.” She glared at Georgia and Betsy, but Jessie was secretly glad.
Because now her sisters would pester Cami with questions. Sure enough, Betsy plucked a blue bottle of nail polish off the shelf, and said, “Cami, I thought you were dating Roger.”
“Roger is a loser,” she said through tight teeth.
Jessie exchanged a look with Georgia and Betsy. “Tell us what happened,” Jessie said, following the nail technician to a massage chair. Cami had no problem talking about her feelings, and Jessie had no problem asking
more leading questions so that Cami wouldn’t stop.
After all, she could listen to her sister and daydream about Flynn at the same time.
Chapter 4
Flynn spent the afternoon agonizing over Jess’s birthday party. He’d attended family things in the past, so his presence wouldn’t be that big of a deal. He’d shake her father’s hand and hug her mother, sit down to eat beside her grandparents. He’d done it all many times in the past, usually as Rhodes’s guest.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t show up tonight. Jess had invited him.
“You should tell him,” he told himself as he worked on getting fresh water to every animal. The summer heat was brutal, and water was essential to life. But he couldn’t tell Rhodes about Jessie—and not only because it was his little sister.
He’d pledged to a thirty-day female fast, and it had barely been a week.
Still stewing about Rhodes and the party and Jessie and how he really felt about her, he finished his work for the day and hurried home. He had to shower and put on fresh jeans to show up at the Quinns—at least if he wanted to be Jessie’s birthday boyfriend.
And surprisingly, he did.
Flynn hadn’t wanted to be anyone’s boyfriend for a long time. Sure, women called him that. He went out with a few for longer than a few weeks. None longer than a few months.
His heartbeat bounced over itself as he drove to the florist and picked up a bouquet of flowers with carnations, roses, and a few more varieties he couldn’t name.
They were neutral, exactly the type of thing he’d show up and give to a friend. His boss’s daughter. A family thing.
But Flynn’s thoughts about Jess didn’t linger on her being like his sister. Oh, no. He’d always found her beautiful—striking really—but completely off-limits.
And out of his league.
She’d never acted like she was better than him, though she clearly was. He’d been so broken when he started at Quinn Valley Ranch, and she’d never treated him like that. He’d appreciated that, and as time went on and he moved through women, she’d never said one thing to him about it.
