by Reina Torres
Smiling at her reaction, Jake took another bite of his food. “I knew you’d like it here.”
She finished her bite and swallowed, already preparing another bite. “You know your food, that’s for sure, and in my book, that’s pretty big.”
Jake smiled at the compliment. “I can’t see your friend Sloane at one of these places.”
The change in Hildie’s demeanor was marked. She went from a satisfied smile to snapping turtle in one second. “Don’t.” She set her fork down and sat back in her chair. “Don’t say things like that. Sloane is my best friend and that goes deeper than you’d think. She believed in me when everyone else thought I was just a vapid sorority girl. She’s not just one of the good ones, she’s the best. And if you think she wouldn’t be completely at home in little mom’n’pop food places, think again.” He saw her expression ease a little, soften, but not completely. A smile touched the corners of her mouth as she took in a slow breath and let it go. “And if you’re a good little Ranger, I just might show you what kind of food my sorority sister really likes.”
‘Good little Ranger.’ Yeah, he should have bristled at that, but just the way she’d said it, with that cutting edge that felt like a precision scalpel rather than the hand-held saw she might like to take to him, it was a definite turn on. Oh, he was well out of his league with Hildie Faraday, but he’d gladly give it his best try.
“Does that mean you’re not going to kick me to the curb right away?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet. You were points up with the quick draw today. You saved one of my clients, more points added.”
He wasn’t going to point out that the two were at the same time. He didn’t want to lose a single point in his favor.
“You noticed my shoe.” She sighed and lowered her head slightly. “I really loved those shoes. More points for saving me from breaking my ankle.”
“So far, so good.” He smiled.
That snapped her head up, and he felt the weight of her stare.
“You judged my bestie… tons of points down for that.”
“And I am sorry. I just-”
“Saw her like most folks who don’t know her. Poor little rich girl?”
He thought about it. “Not really. I know about all the good she’s done. About the good both of you have done in San Antonio. I guess I just saw her as more of a china plate and silver fork kind of woman.”
“And me?” Hildie picked up her fork and cut off another bite-sized bit of the pepper and lifted it toward her mouth. “What kind of woman am I?”
The kind I’d like to strip naked and lay out on my bed?
The kind I’d like to take home to mama and put a ring on her finger before she can change her mind.
The kind…
“The kind I’d like to take out for dinner. Dancing? Dessert?”
“Dancing?” She licked a dab of sauce off her bottom lip, and he had to swallow down a groan. “You’re really pulling out the big guns now, aren’t you?”
Her voice had deepened a little, and he had to take a nice long drink out of his water cup before he set it back down.
“I’m not big on the club scene in town, but I can two-step and hold my own in a few other styles.”
She moved her fork through the beans and rice, mixing them into each other as she leaned against the table. “Managing my expectations? Or setting it up to knock my socks off?”
“You’re really direct.” He wanted to kick himself under the table for the odd comment. “What I mean is-”
“Oh, I think you meant it. And I’m okay with that, Ranger McGowan, as long as you’re okay with me being direct.”
He wasn’t sure she meant to turn him on with the way she said his name, but then again, maybe he was finally walking under a lucky star and she meant it.
“You can say whatever you want to me, Hill.”
Her eyes widened at the nickname. “Good.”
She took another bite, and he mirrored her with one of his own.
“Just so you know,” she gave him a heavy-lidded look that had his heart working harder and harder to push blood and oxygen through his arteries, “I’m not a game player. Life’s too precious for that. I’ve seen Sloane go through loss after loss in her family and every time something happened that would have made me curl up in a corner and cry, just seemed to make her stronger. So that’s what I’m going to do too.”
He’d seen Hildie be plenty strong throughout the months that he’d known her. He’d seen her get down into the rubble of a house and help a family pick through the detritus for anything that could be saved. She’d comforted assault victims and the children of a man who had been shot in a drive-by shooting. Not the least of which was the day local law enforcement helped till the ground for a neighborhood garden. That was probably when he’d met her, not the first time he’d seen her. She’d set up a refreshment table at the edge of the property and a pop-up tent to provide shade. After she’d set out two huge coolers with iced tea and punch and then filled another two with bottles of water, she’d rolled back her sleeves and wrangled some of the kids into a brigade to plant some herbs around the base of the sign.
The both of them had finished that day with dirt covered clothes and sweat dripping down their faces, but Hildie had looked like mother earth herself, laughing and playing with the children as she washed their faces and hands so they could go and get snacks and join their families.
Staring at her across the table he looked beyond the beauty he’d always seen and saw the determination just under the surface.
“Okay. No games. Does that mean I should just lay all of my cards on the table?”
She laughed. “You say ‘no games’ and then you talk about cards. It sounds like you’re a gambling man, Ranger McGowan.”
“Jake,” he couldn’t help but answer with a little laughter of his own. “Nothing that would get me in trouble in Vegas. I have been known to play a few hands of poker with the guys and Go Fish when my cousin’s kids trick me into it, but that’s the extent.”
“Okay, then, Jake. Lay your cards out if you’d like.”
Jake set his fork down and met her eyes with a forthright gaze. “You’re a singular woman in my eyes, Hildie. I look at you, and I want to get closer. Know more.” He wet his lips with his tongue and continued. “I want to take you out. Dinner. Dancing. Music. Fishing. Whatever piques your interest, I want to know it. Beyond that, I’m game… I mean I’m up for whatever happens.”
When he finished, he reached for his cup and found it empty. Sighing, he set it back down.
He looked at Hildie and found her smiling, her eyes catching the light from all the windows and metal fixtures in the room.
“And they said you were one of those strong, quiet types. I think I like this version better.” She lifted her cup and took a long sip of water before setting it down. “Did you offer to watch me to see if I was suffering from shock because it was your duty as a Ranger, or something else?”
“I volunteered because I wanted to make sure you were okay, but I also did it for another reason.” The look on her face said she wanted to know. “I did it because I like you, Hildie Faraday. I like you a lot. Seeing you in danger made me angry. I wanted to pull his hands off you and show him what it’s like to hurt, but I had to make sure you were safe from him first.”
“Jake-”
“But seeing that happen to you also made me realize that there was more to how I felt. More than just the need to protect you that comes from deep down inside me.”
She didn’t say a word, but her eyes were focused on him, her lips parted slightly on a silent exhale.
“Hill?”
Her cheeks flushed with color, and she looked down at the table for a long moment before she looked back up.
“Did you mean what you said?”
He didn’t have to think about it. “I mean it. If today had gone differently. If I hadn’t gone to the courthouse to get my warrant signed. If I had decided to
keep walking. So many things could have changed the outcome, and who knows where we’d be?”
“Okay,” her smile lit him up from the inside. “Then we’ll see where this goes, Jake.”
He couldn’t help noticing that Miguel had come back into the room and was leaning against the big silver refrigerator on the side of the kitchen.
“Enjoying the show?”
Miguel straightened up and wiped his eyes against his muscular forearm before he answered. “You make sure to send me an invite to the wedding. You two are going to have a ton of cute babies.” He turned away to head over to the flat top and called back over his shoulder. “They all eat free at Uncle Miguel’s!”
Chapter 4
Hildie watched as Jake walked around the front of his SUV and tried to keep breathing like it was any other day. Any other moment. Any other man.
And couldn’t.
He had, in one afternoon, taken her normal everyday life and turned it inside out, and now she felt a little shell shocked.
When Jake opened the door, he must have seen something in her expression. He touched his hand to the side of her face and turned her head so they were looking at each other. “Something wrong?”
“Would you believe me if I said I feel like I’m starting to feel a little bit of the shock setting in?”
He held out his hand, and she took it without hesitation. When she had both feet on the ground, Jake pulled her gently against him.
His arms wrapped around her, and she leaned into the embrace with her head on his shoulder and her arms circling around his middle.
“Heaven,” she sighed.
She felt him shake slightly as he held her in his arms, laughter perhaps.
“Feels like it to me too, Hill.”
She smiled and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. “You feel like one of those buckwheat pillows.”
“What?”
He laughed and she did too. “I sleep on one of those and it feels amazing. All of this support and very little give… it helps me go right to sleep.”
“My pride is taking a bit of a hit.”
She tried to shake her head, but she ended up rocking her head back and forth against his chest. “I didn’t mean to do that. I’m just a little tired.”
His laughter was warm, and he cuddled her closer, making her feel cared for and protected. “Then let’s get you up to your apartment and settled in before I have to throw you over my shoulder and do the fireman carry.”
She looked up at him with an impish grin and widened eyes. “Promise?”
He stepped to the side, keeping one arm around her, resting his hand high on her hip. “You might just be the death of me, Hildie.”
Just the thought of it sent a shock through her system. “Don’t say that. Please, don’t.”
“It’s just a phrase. I’m sure you’ve said it too.”
The thought had already crossed her mind. “But today,” she reminded him, “today things could have gone that way. Just one second later, or if you hadn’t come to the courtroom.”
“Breathe, Hill.” Jake took the keys from her hand and opened the front door of the apartment building. “What floor are you on?”
“Top floor. Three oh two.” She leaned into his side as they took the short ride up in the elevator, and when they got to her floor, he kept her walking to the door and used the key to open the lock.
“Do you have an alarm inside?”
She shook her head and then answered him. “No.”
She could feel him shake his head as he ushered her inside.
“That’s going to change.”
She groaned. “You sound like Vicente.”
He walked her to the couch and sat her down, smiling as he took a seat beside her. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.”
Pouting a bit, she folded her arms across her chest. “Not from where I’m sitting. He keeps telling me that I should get one of those alarms, but that’s the worst idea.”
He unhooked his badge from his belt and set it down on the coffee table. “I think it’s more than an idea. You need one.”
She watched as he reached into his coat and withdrew his sidearm from the holster and set it down beside his badge. Narrowing her eyes at him she sat up and opened his suit coat to see the holster he was wearing. She hadn’t felt it earlier when he’d had her in his arms and it was surprising at how it was completely hidden from view.
“Maybe I need a concealed carry permit.” She saw the way her announcement hit him. He didn’t recoil or stare, he just gave her a thoughtful nod.
“You want me to take you to the range?”
“Me?” She laughed and waved him off. “I already know how to shoot. I just don’t carry.”
Even better, he just sat back against the sofa cushions as if he’d heard that she had a subscription to Cosmopolitan.
“You’re not going to joke about moving to a different state, or ask me if I have a pink pistol?”
The look he gave her made her want to kiss him.
His shoulders shook with silent laughter. “If I said something like that, I’d expect you to take my head off at the shoulders. You’re a Texas girl born and bred. If you wanted a pink pistol, then I’m sure you’d have one. Personally, I’d love to see what you have. You can tell a lot about a person by their choice in firearms.”
Her laugh was genuine, and it helped take the edge off her nerves. “Where have you been all my life?”
His smile was tempered with the soft tone of his voice. “Waiting to find you.”
“How do you know what to say to melt my heart?” She turned and pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and started to wrap it around her shoulders.
She was all thumbs, struggling to find the end to open it up. It was almost over Jake’s head at one point, and instead of getting frustrated with her fumbling, he plucked the blanket from her hands and gestured for her to scoot closer on the sofa.
Jake draped it over her shoulders and wrapped her snuggly in the warm flannel blanket that she’d had since her college days.
Once it was wrapped around her, carefully arranged about her shoulders, Jake rubbed his hands up and down her arms, sending her into an almost blissful state of comfort. Slowly lifting her gaze to his she smiled and tucked her feet up under her body. “You know, if I’d known that you offered this kind of service, I wouldn’t have fought you so much.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Maybe I should have you record that so I can replay it later.”
She grimaced a little. “You think I’m going to deny saying it?”
He shook his head and leaned closer, setting a hand behind her head to hold her still. She found herself wanting a kiss. She’d certainly stolen enough glances on the ride over to know that his lips looked firm… strong, just like the rest of him.
But she wasn’t disappointed when the kiss she’d hoped for touched her forehead instead of her lips.
Leaning into the gentle kiss, she sighed and let him guide her closer until her head lay on his shoulder.
She wiggled closer, and he met her more than halfway, keeping his arm around her, dropping his hand to her shoulder.
“How are you feeling now?”
The smile on her lips was just a hint at the depth of emotion rising inside of her. “Warm, content. Calm.”
He rewarded her with another kiss. This one lingered longer against her skin and then moved an inch toward her temple and then another inch closer. “If you want me to go-”
“I want you to stay right there.” She sighed. “You’re better than my blanket.”
His warm laughter filled the air around her. “You’ve compared me to your pillow and now your blanket. What’s next, Hill?”
“The tabby cat inside of me wants to say all kinds of things, but then I have to remind it that while I’m a notorious flirt, I’m still a good girl at heart. So, I’ll spare you the sly double entendre.”
He shifted again and she
lifted her head enough to see that he was shrugging out of his coat.
Hildie sat up a little and gave him the room to remove it completely and set it over the armrest of the sofa. His shoulder holster went next and she let herself enjoy the view.
“The first time I remember you,” her words seemed to tumble effortlessly from her lips, “you were working the aftermath of a fire in a residence.”
He undid the buttons at his wrists and she had to bite her lip to keep from making a somewhat innocent sound when he started to roll back one sleeve. The man had beautiful forearms. Sleek muscles for days.
“The mother at the scene was at her wits end. While she tried to keep her children together and calm as they sat on the curb, she just couldn’t wrangle the littlest girl.” She could almost see the child’s inky curls bouncing haphazardly around her face. “While I was trying to pull my car into an inch of space along the curb, I saw you pick up the little thing a moment before she fell into the water coursing along the sidewalk. You didn’t skip a beat.
“Somehow you got a handful of flannel at the back of her nightshirt, and up she went until you settled her on your hip.” He sat back against the sofa again and held his arm open for her. There was no way to refuse the cozy warmth of his body. Hildie tucked herself in again and let her body relax. “She had your badge in her hands a moment later and you wrapped around her little finger a few heartbeats after that. Sloane was with me, sitting in the passenger seat. She saw me watching you and had a good laugh at my expense.”
“Why?” His hands settled the blanket around her body. “What was so funny about me? Did I have soot on my nose?”
For a moment she considered ending the story there, but she knew she couldn’t. What was the harm in coming clean in front of this man?
Everything.
“Sloane leaned closer with her hand on my shoulder and whispered. ‘Did you hear that?’ ‘Did I hear what?’ ‘Your ovaries exploding.’”
It hit him like a ton of bricks.
Sure, most guys would run from the idea of a woman getting a bit of baby fever around him, but he wasn’t that guy.
