Austin (New Horizon Ranch Book 8) (10 page)

“Water is fine.”

He pulled a couple of bottles out and handed her one. Their fingers met and he took his time letting go. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Her gaze held his. “I’m glad I’m here too. Now, let’s go drop a line.”

He laughed. “Sounds like a plan to me, darlin’.” He paused, seeing the flicker of hesitation in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jolene. I called you darlin’ because right now that’s how I feel. Don’t let that worry come into your pretty eyes, okay?” He was amazed that this tough woman could look so vulnerable at times. It dug at him and he needed to know why.

“I’m fine. I like what you’ve done with the place,” she said, teasing.

He’d done absolutely nothing with the place. His counters were clear. His walls were vacant and the wood floors were bare of any rugs. “Gee, thanks. I’m glad you like it. As you can tell, there’s been no time. And then when I do have a free moment, the lake or the horses are calling.” The air in the room seemed to evaporate. He wanted to hold her. Instead, he moved to the door. “Let’s go to the lake.”

He paused at the mudroom and grabbed a couple of fishing poles and his tackle box. “Got to have these.” He led the way outside. His heart thundered in his chest like the hooves of a thousand horses stampeding.

Jolene followed Austin out onto the small pier that stretched about twenty feet across the water. There was a small metal rowboat tied to the pier. Austin set the fishing poles in it and the tackle box and the water bottle he’d tucked under his arm. Then he held out his hand to her. Jolene’s fingers still tingled from touching him when he’d handed her the water and it caused her heart rate to kick up even before she slipped her hand into his.
Oh boy
. His touch was warm and electric as he took her hand. She carefully stepped into the boat and sat down. Then he followed as soon as she was sitting.

The heat of the day had eased some but it was still in the mid-eighties as Austin untied the boat and pushed off from the pier. The water lapped at the small boat as it floated out into the open water of the lake and Jolene felt the calm of the atmosphere surround her. She swallowed a sudden and unexpected lump in her throat and found the ache of tears behind her eyes.
What was wrong with her?
It was just so perfect.

“Look, we have company,” Austin said quietly as he leaned forward to pick up the oars, pausing first to point toward a deer and her spotted fawn near the water at the far side of the lake.

Jolene had thought it was perfect seconds before; now she knew it was. “Beautiful,” she whispered.

Austin looked at her and nodded. “There’s a lot of beauty here this evening. And my fishing partner is top of the list.”

She smiled and a jolt of joy hit her. “Thanks. I can say the same thing.”

He rowed in long, powerful movements and within seconds they were in the center of the lake. He pulled the oars in and for a moment made no move. They just sat in the calm boat and the sounds of nature surrounded them.

“Are you ready to fish?”

“I’m ready. It’s been awhile. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am.”

He opened the tackle box and she saw the array of lures. “See anything you like?”

You
. She met his gaze and then immediately focused on the lures. “This one.” She snagged up one and then reached for her rod and expertly attached it to the line. She felt him watching her.

“I honestly am blown away that you actually know what you’re doing. Did your dad teach you?”

Instead of getting irritated, she just kept doing what she was doing, though she glanced up momentarily at him. “No, my dad was a drug addict and small-time dealer. He didn’t teach me anything except what not to do. He was in and out of jail—and my mom and sister and my lives until when I was around ten. Then my mom took us and we disappeared. She eventually used a lawyer to divorce him but never let him know where we were living. She’d taken a job as a cook on a huge ranch in West Texas. That’s where I fell in love with the Western way of life. I learned everything I know from the cowboys on the ranch. Even fishing.”

Finished with her lure, she quickly, smoothly cast her line out into the still waters of the lake. It hit the surface with an almost silent tap and then she met his curious gaze.

“I’m sorry about your dad.”

She shrugged. “He made choices and those choices weren’t us, his family. I have to tell you, though, that I saw my dad carted off by the police so many times before I was ten that it causes me a little trouble when I’m around lawmen.”

His brows dipped. “I guess I can understand that. You probably didn’t know what was happening at first.”

“I didn’t. My first memory of it was when I was about five. I cried and screamed and clung to the cop’s leg. That memory is branded into my mind and heart. I don’t necessarily mean to go on the defensive when I get pulled over, but I do it.”

He took a lure and changed out the one on his line. But he stopped before he finished. “So, y’all hid out from your dad. Do you know where he is?”

“He died. And sad as it sounds, I feel regret about that but I’m so removed from him that I honestly struggle to feel love. It’s sad to me.”

“Understandable though.”

“Yes, he wasn’t nice when he was home and his choices put his family at risk. And that’s what spurred my mom to take us into hiding.”

He cast his line. “So you were raised on a ranch around a bunch of cowboys. You enjoyed that?”

“I loved it. We lived there for three years and every moment that I could, I was at the arena. I learned to ride and rope and I was drawn to the horse training. To breaking them. I studied every move the trainers made and though they wouldn’t let me on the back of a wild horse, I managed to sneak in a few rides while I was there.”

He laughed and then sobered. “Did you get hurt?”

“I was nearly fourteen when I crept into the round pen after everyone was asleep. They’d left the horse there that they’d been working with so it would be there, ready the next morning. I caught it—I’m very good at roping—and I was able to put what I’d learned through watching to work and got the saddle on the mare and then I eased up into the saddle.”

“How’d that go?”

“Not like I’d envisioned it. I hit the dirt hard after about the fifth buck. And I got stomped on my back and the breath knocked out of me. Don’t get riled up. I know that brings back bad thoughts for you. It did for my mom. She’d been dating a banker and he’d asked her to marry him but she was hesitant. When she caught me in the bathroom and saw the bruising on my back in the shape of hoof prints, she went ballistic. Fear took over. She demanded that I stay away from the horses and she said yes to my step-father’s proposal and moved us off the ranch. And she did it all within a month. I turned fifteen the day we climbed into the car and drove away from the ranch and moved into town. It broke my heart.”

Austin saw the emotion in Jolene’s tense expression and had conflicted emotion for what her mother felt and what Jolene felt. “I’m sorry.”

“It was hard. I was very resentful and it started my rebellious years.”

“Oh no. What do you mean?”

“I was not giving up what I had found there on that ranch. I hitchhiked to the ranch the next day. Yeah, it was a horrible, dangerous thing to do but I caught a ride with the driver of a fertilizer truck that I had heard was expected at the ranch the next day. Problem was, my mom didn’t know where I was. I was at the ranch having a good time, doing what I loved. The cowboys thought I had permission to be there. When my mom showed up that evening and was livid, it wasn’t pretty.”

“You strike me as a rebel. Is that where it comes from?” He was having a hard time thinking about fishing when she sat two feet away from him, looking so pretty and talking about her life.

She brightened, looking flirty and lighthearted. “You’re right about that.” She laughed. “I didn’t stay home after Mom threw a fit. The next day, when school started, I rode the bus out there and got off with the kids of the ranch foreman like I’d done for three years. Mom came and found me. And so began my rough relationship with my mom. Finally, my mom had a serious talk with the ranch foreman and he had to tell me that I wasn’t welcome at the ranch.”

He grimaced. “That’s not good.”

“No. I was bad then. I made it so hard on my mother and I forged a rift between us so wide that we have yet to fully recover. It was so bad that she finally agreed to let me go out a couple of days a week and on Saturdays. The foreman hired me on as a hand and I got my way.”

“I guess I understand it. I probably would have done the same thing. Though I’m not advocating for kids to get their way.”

“No. But, I tell you that, Austin, to let you know that I fought for the right to have the life that I’ve chosen. And I’m not giving it up. Not for anyone or any reason.”

He’d already figured that out.

“I have a bite!” Jolene laughed and yanked her rod to set the hook.

Austin knew he’d been hooked a long time ago.

Chapter Twelve

As the sun set and they had a stringer of three big bass and a perch, Austin headed the boat toward the dock. Jolene had told him about her past to let him know why she wasn’t going to budge on her career choice or her life. And she had to ask herself why she’d shared something so personal with him. This was a date. A first date, a single date.

But if she was truthful with herself—and she always tried to be—then she would have to admit that she did not want this to be the end but rather the beginning. And he’d seemed to take her words to heart.

“You have to let me feed you now.” He looked relaxed and happy as he held up the string of fish.

“You are a man after my own heart.” It was out before she could stop it.
He is and you know it.

They’d both untucked their shirts and gotten comfortable for fishing in the heat. He’d unbuttoned a couple of buttons at the neck of his shirt and she’d gotten so hot she’d unbuttoned her blouse to expose the white tank top she’d worn beneath it.

He placed the fish in the sink. “Just make yourself at home. The restroom is down the hall. I’m going to go change shirts.”

“I’ll go freshen up.” Jolene hurried down the hall and found the bathroom. Like the rest of the house, it was lacking any adornment. She smiled. When she was finished, she found Austin in the kitchen, working on the fish.

He’d changed into a soft gray t-shirt that strained across his chest just enough to emphasize how toned he was. He nodded toward the fridge. “Would you mind putting a salad together? I may not decorate but I do have decent food.”

She felt a bit awkward standing there, so she jumped at the opportunity. “I’d love to.” She moved to the refrigerator and pulled it open. He had fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and bell peppers. She grabbed all the ingredients and placed them on the counter.

To her surprise, Austin had the fish cleaned and in a baking dish within moments. “Is baked fish okay? You had fried fish just the other night.”

She sliced tomatoes; he reached for the salt and pepper. Their arms touched as they worked beside each other. It had been a long evening but she’d loved every moment of it. And now they were in the kitchen preparing dinner together.

She spread the tomatoes in the salad. He placed the fish in the oven and then turned to her and took her hand. “Let’s go outside for a few minutes. I need to feed my horses. Will you walk with me?”

“Yes.” Her knees were weak as they walked out the door and across the moonlit grass to the stable. A soft light illuminated the interior; he flicked a switch and a brighter light turned on. Soft country music played from a radio somewhere in the stable where two horses stood waiting in stalls.

“This is Slade and Reba. They love a little music in the background—it calms them,” he said as she moved to pet each one while he went and got their feed.

She knew the practice of playing music was used by many to calm animals in stalls so she wasn’t startled by the music. “They’re beauties. You were on Slade at the roundup the other day.”

“Yes, he loves a roundup.”

Josh Turner started singing “Why Don’t We Just Dance” on the radio as Austin came out of Reba’s stall. He set the feed bucket to the side and came to stand beside her. “Jolene,” he said, softly, and took her hand. “Why don’t we just dance?” He smiled and melted her heart in that moment.

“Yes.” She laughed nervously. The moment was so serendipitous. A surge of nerves attacked her as Austin pulled her into his arms and easily slid into a smooth two-step while the romantic song played behind them.

“I haven’t enjoyed an evening this much in a very long time,” he said huskily into her ear.

Jolene moved with him, feeling every emotion she’d never felt before, every emotion she’d thought was only for others…but now she knew she, too, could fall in love.

The thought stole her breath as Austin tucked their held hands between their beating hearts, bent his head and kissed her.

This kiss was not hard and swift and full of pent-up frustrations and want. It was slow and tender as his lips moved over hers, exploring as if in as much wonder of the moment as she felt. Jolene nestled against him and clung to him. And when he finally broke away, both of them were breathless.