Falling for Jillian (2 page)

My brain has locked up. I was ready for Josh.

I wasn’t prepared for his twin brother, Zack, or the damn tingle of awareness that zings through me at just the sight of him. The man is a good twelve inches taller than my five foot two and he’s just . . .
big.

And the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

“Hey, Jilly.”

“Hello?” Cara answers her phone and giggles while my brother, Josh, nibbles at her neck. Seth and I are on the couch, controllers aimed at the TV mounted above the fireplace in Josh’s living room. Seth’s black Lab, Thor, is curled up by the fire, snoring. I hear Cara say, “It’s way too cold outside for you to be sitting in a house with a broken furnace.”

“Is that Jilly?” Josh asks softly. Cara nods, and now I’m completely focused on the conversation happening over the phone rather than on the virtual cars that Seth and I are racing. I crash and burn.

“I win!” Seth exclaims.

“I’m sure Josh can fix it,” Cara says, and Josh laughs.

Fuck that
. If Jill’s furnace is broken, I’ll go to town
to fix it. It’s too cold and stormy outside for her to be alone in that house with no heat.

Cara wraps up the conversation, assuring Jill that Josh can drive competently in the snow and that he’ll be there soon.

“I’ll go,” I announce when she hangs up. Cara and Josh both look at me in surprise.

“But Dad, we’re racing,” Seth protests.

“You can race with Uncle Josh,” I reply and stand to grab my coat and boots.

“I can go in with you,” Josh offers, but I shake my head no.

“We shouldn’t both be gone in this weather.” I shrug into my coat, step into my boots, and pull my beanie over my head. “I won’t be long. Is it okay if Seth and Thor stay here until I get back?”

“Of course,” Cara says and smiles at Seth.

“I’ll kick Uncle Josh’s butt at this game,” Seth proclaims. I wave at them and jog through the heavy snow to my truck.

It’s snowed at least another six inches since Seth and I came over for dinner a few hours ago. It’ll be a busy morning on the ranch, plowing the snow and checking the livestock.

The road to town has recently been plowed. My four-wheel drive handles the weather with ease, and I’m soon pulling up to Jill’s small house.

Now that her brother, Ty, has moved in with Lauren, the thought of Jill living here alone makes me uneasy, and for good reason.

Not that I have a damn say in the matter.

Her amazing blue eyes would flash in indignation at me and she’d have no problem reminding me that she’s a grown-ass woman who can take care of herself. She’s adorable when she’s pissed.

I park behind her small Honda, taking note of the way it’s parked diagonally in the driveway, and trek through the snow to her front door.

Her walkway needs to be cleared, so instead of knocking, I grab her shovel and quickly clear her sidewalk, along with a path to her car door.

At the rate this snow is falling, it’ll need to be done again when I leave.

I brush as much of the snow off my shoulders as I can and knock on her door.

“I’m so happy to see you!” she exclaims as she flings the door open. She’s bundled up in a worn, brightly colored quilt, her long chestnut hair pulled up into some sort of knot on her head, and those killer eyes of hers widen when she sees it’s me and not Josh.

I smile slowly as I take her in: those small, strong hands clenching the quilt, her slender form hidden beneath about six inches of fabric from neck to feet.

Yet she’s the prettiest thing God’s ever put on this earth.

I step inside and pull my beanie off, set my tools by my feet, and resist the urge to pull her against me and kiss her senseless.

“Hey, Jilly.”

“Zack. I thought Josh was coming.” She shuts the door behind me and doesn’t meet my eyes as she walks to the back of the house, which is where I assume the furnace is.

“I had him stay with Cara and Seth,” I reply, and leave it at that. “How long has it been this cold in here?” I can see my breath, for God’s sake.

“I don’t know. It was like this when I got home. It was warm when I left, though, so it must’ve happened sometime during the day.”

She gestures toward a natural-gas furnace in the utility room off the kitchen. I brush past her, gritting my teeth at the zing of awareness that comes from just the brief touch of my arm on her shoulder.

I can think of better ways to warm Jillian up than fixing her furnace.

I’d rather haul her into that bedroom, pull her under the blankets, cover her tiny body with mine, and sink inside her. Hear those whimpers and moans she makes when she’s turned on, and hear my name screamed from her mouth when I make her see stars.

Jesus, King, get a grip.

Maybe I should have let Josh come in to town.

I wipe my hand over my mouth and squat next to the furnace.

“What’s wrong with it?” Jill asks from behind me, hovering over my shoulder.

“I just opened the thing up, Jill.”

“Oh.”

She bounces from one foot to the other and braces her hand on my shoulder to lean over and watch what I’m doing.

“Must you hover over me like that?”

“I want to see,” she replies stubbornly.

“You’re blocking my light,” I grumble. If she keeps touching me, I won’t be responsible for my actions.

She suddenly shoves a flashlight in my face.

“Here.”

“Point it down here,” I direct her and resign myself to sporting a hard-on while Jill “helps” me fix the furnace.

“Is the pilot light out?” she asks.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure why.” I’m not a mechanic—hell, neither is Josh—but I’m pretty handy. I tinker around but can’t find anything obviously wrong; nor can I get the pilot light lit, no matter what I try. “Damn,” I mutter.

“What?”

“I think your thermocouple needs to be replaced.”

“Oh.” She pats her hips where pockets would be and looks around. “I don’t have a thermonuclear thingamabob on me right now.”

“You have no idea what I’m talking about,” I say with a laugh.

“You would be right.”

“It means that it can’t be fixed tonight.”

Her shoulders sag in defeat, and I have to fight the desire to pull her into my arms and reassure her that it’s all going to be okay.

“Go ahead and pack a bag,” I murmur.

“Where am I going?” she asks with a frown.

“Jill, it’s about fifty degrees in here. You can’t stay here all night.”

“I’m sure I can borrow an electric heater from someone,” she replies.

“You’ll be safer in a hotel. Just pack a bag and I’ll follow you over there.”

She shakes her head and looks like she’s on the verge of tears, sending panic through me.

“I don’t think my car will make it to the hotel,” she replies softly.

“Why not?”

“I never had studded tires put on it.” She shrugs with frustration. “I didn’t have time, and then this storm hit. It took me almost an hour to make my way off the mountain this afternoon, then Max hit me at the bottom, and I slid most of my way home from there.”

My heart stills at the mention of someone running into her. “Who hit you?”

“Max Hull is in town, and he took the corner too fast and clipped my back fender. It’s a tiny dent. Ty can pull it out.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your car, Jilly. Are you okay?” Without thinking, I wrap my arms around her and hug her tight, her arms trapped between us. I can feel her trembling, and whether it’s from the cold or being in my arms, I’m not sure. I press my lips to her head and breathe in her fresh lilac scent.
I rub my hands up and down the quilt covering her back, trying to soothe her.

“I’m fine. He barely hit me.” She pulls away all too soon, and I’m left feeling . . . empty.

“We’ve been telling you for the last two months to replace those tires,” I remind her.

“Yeah, well, now you can say ‘I told you so.’ ” She rolls her eyes and marches away from me, grabbing her phone from off the couch.

“Who are you calling?”

“I’m going to see if I can borrow an electric heater.”

“Just pack the bag, Jill. I’ll take you to the ranch.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Leaving you here in this house with no heat in this storm is not an option, Jillian. I’m taking you to the ranch. Grab your shit and let’s go.” I shove my hands into my pockets and glower at her, daring her to argue.

“Why are you so bossy? Just because you bossed people around in the army doesn’t mean you can boss everyone else.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh deeply. “Jesus, you are the most infuriating, obstinate woman I’ve ever met.”

“I doubt that’s true.” She sniffs and tugs the quilt more tightly around her.

“Please,” I begin again, as patiently as I can, “pack some clothes and let me take you to the ranch. Everyone would feel better if we know you’re safe.”

She bites her lip and finally nods. “Okay.”

“Thank you,” I say in exasperation and take my tools out to the truck. Sure enough, I can’t even see the paths I shoveled earlier.

When I stomp back into the house, Jill has a duffel bag set by the door and is shoving her computer into a briefcase. She’s wearing sweats and a big, warm hoodie. She’s got her black-rimmed glasses on now. “I’m almost ready.”

“That was quick.”

“I won’t need much.” When she’s gathered all her papers and pulled on her coat, she turns and looks expectantly at me, and all the breath leaves my body.

God, she’s gorgeous.

She bites that pouty, pink lower lip, her blue eyes wide as she peers at me through her glasses. She looks vulnerable and small, and I want to scoop her up and protect her from everything.

“Are we just going to stand here and stare at each other all night? We’ll die from hypothermia.”

“Funny.” I take her bags and follow her out to my crew-cab Ford, stow her things in the backseat, and start the engine.

“Could you have bought a taller truck?” she asks as she pulls herself up into the cab. “I need a stepladder to get into this thing.”

“I don’t drive many short people around,” I reply with a smile.

“Seth is short.”

“Seth hops in without a problem.”

“I’m not a twelve-year-old boy,” she reminds me and rubs her hands together briskly to warm them up.

“No, you’re definitely not that, Jilly.”

“Damn, it’s really coming down,” she murmurs in awe. She’s right—the snow is falling faster than crews can clear it from the streets. As we drive on the highway heading out of town toward the ranch, the snow is coming down so hard and thick, my headlights bounce off the white flakes, almost blinding us.

“Oh no! Someone’s in the ditch!” Jill points to a small SUV with its hazard lights blinking, the front end in the ditch and the back tires spinning worthlessly in the snow. I slowly pull over to the shoulder, put the truck in park, and take Jill’s hand in mine, demanding her attention.

“Stay in this truck, Jill. I’m gonna pull them out.”

“I can help.”

“If I need you, I’ll let you know, but for now just stay here.”

I don’t need to worry about her out in this mess. She nods and I hop out of the truck and make my way down the brush- and snow-covered ditch to the driver’s side of the SUV. A woman is inside, frantically talking on her phone. A baby is crying in the backseat.

I knock on the window, startling her.

“I’m Zack King,” I yell through the glass. “I have a truck and chains. Just stay here, put it in neutral, and I’m going to pull you out!”

She sighs in relief and smiles as she cracks her window.

“Thank you so much!”

Pulling my gloves out of my coat pocket, I nod and climb up to the truck, then yank my tow chains out of the bed. Once I have the chains attached to both my truck and her SUV, I climb into the cab.

“What’s happening?” Jill asks.

“I’m pulling her out,” I reply, looking both ways on the highway for oncoming headlights. There are none.

As quickly as I can, I pull out onto the road, put the truck into the lowest gear possible, and pull the small SUV out of the ditch and onto the road. As soon as I see she’s out, I throw the truck in park and get out to unhook the chains and wave at the woman as she drives slowly and carefully away.

After throwing the chains back in the bed of the truck, we’re on our way to the ranch.

“You’re soaked,” Jill murmurs.

“I’ll dry.”

She turns up the heat and takes my right hand in hers, pulling my glove off and warming my fingers. “You’re freezing.”

I glance over in surprise as she continues to warm my hand, confused as all hell at the riot of emotions racing through me. One minute she’s stubborn and impossible and the next she’s soft and sweet.

“I’d do the other one, but it’s kind of busy right now,” she says with a grin.

“Yeah, not a good idea to drive with no hands,” I agree and chuckle. She keeps my hand in hers, resting in her lap, until finally, I gently pull it away. “Thanks. That’s better. That could have been you, you know.”

“I know.” She sighs deeply. “I need to replace my car. I drive a lot for my job, so I probably need an SUV with all-wheel drive.”

“Sooner, rather than later.”

She just nods and continues to watch the snow in the headlights. “So, are you still living with your mom and dad?”

I glance over at her, expecting to see a teasing smile on her lips, but she’s just watching me with wide, quiet eyes.

“Well, you know how it is. I could do my own laundry, but Mom makes it so extra soft and it smells good.”

“Don’t be an ass.” She laughs and smacks my biceps.

“Actually, Mom and Dad moved into the new cabin last week.”

“Oh! It’s done already?” she asks.

I nod. Mom and Dad decided this past summer that with me home and running the ranch with Josh, it was time for them to retire. But they would never leave the ranch, so Josh and I had a small single-story home built for them on the property.

“Does your mom like her new place?” Jill asks.

“Yeah. No more stairs to climb every day, less
house to clean, and Dad made sure her kitchen is badass, so she’s been baking and cooking like crazy.”