Harm's Hunger (8 page)

He shook his head in two fast jerks. “I want it all, Jena.”

Her spine stiffened. “Too bad. You aren’t getting it.”

Harm’s hand landed on hers, yanking the horse’s reins. When her horse halted, he glared at her. “It’s bad enough you fucked with my head last night. I won’t let you screw with my business too.”

Jena jerked her hands from under his and glared back at him. “First of all, there was
two
of us in that bed, Harm, not one. I tried to apologize, but you wouldn’t hear me out, so I’m done making an effort on that front. Second, I’m not trying to fuck you over. I sincerely
want
the land and the house. I’ve made you a fair counter offer. You’re just refusing to take it.”

His jaw worked as his hard gaze drilled into hers. “Don’t go riding alone again.”

She curled her fingers tight around the leather reins and counted to five to keep from yelling at him. “I’ll go riding any time I damn well please.”

“Not on
my
horses, you won’t.”

Jena glanced down at her mount. The horse
had
instantly responded to his whistles. Meeting his gaze, she shrugged. “I didn’t know he was yours. Be sure to take your horses with you when you leave.”

“My horses aren’t going anywhere. Sally gave me permission to use her stables and they’ll stay there until I decide to move them.”

“Not in
my
stables, they won’t.”

“Jena—”

“Give and take, Harm. Give and take.” She threw his words back at him, eyebrows raised in challenge.

Harm clamped his mouth shut and turned to stare straight ahead. Nudging his horse forward, he said in a gruff tone, “Let’s get back. It’ll be dark soon.”

Jena followed behind him, a bit of satisfaction warming her heart. Their relationship might’ve been entirely made up, but if Harm hadn’t figured it out already, he’d soon learn that the Jena he met last night was one-hundred-percent real.

Jena hadn’t seen Harm in a couple weeks. She didn’t count the few times she’d seen him shadowing her while she took a horse to explore more of her aunt’s property. Harm did come by everyday to take care of the horses, but he always came before she woke. If it weren’t for the mucked stalls and freshly replenished food and water in the horses’ troughs, she’d never know he was there.

During that time, she’d updated pictures, lamps, and throw pillows, purchased new sheets and a comforter for the bed, then restocked all the household items that had been donated. She’d even put a new flowerbed in the yard, installed big pavers leading down the drive to the barn, and added flower planters on the front porch as well. The house was finally starting to look lived in once more. But during all her home improvement efforts, she grew angrier and angrier that Harm continued to take care of the horses like some kind of spirit in the night—a virile, handsome spirit she never got to see—especially since two of the four horses in the stables were Sally’s.

The past four days, she’d gotten up in the wee hours to take care of all four horses herself. As each day passed, she’d had to get up earlier and earlier, because Harm started coming earlier each day too. It’d become a stupid way to avoid and one-up each other, but she didn’t care. What she did care about was the faulty light fixture in the rafters that kept flickering in and out. It made working in the early morning hours difficult. On the fifth day, the job was taking longer than normal, because the light stayed off longer and longer. She’d only made it three-fourths of the way through mucking when the bulb flashed bright then went completely out.

Burnt out. Crap. Once she retrieved a new light bulb from the storage box, Jena tucked it in her overalls front pocket and moved over to the wall to retrieve the shorter ladder from its hooks. An extra tall ladder had been hooked above it, but it was awkward to get down at this height. Setting the ladder against one of the beams, she managed to climb to the rafter and crawl across it until she reached the light in the center of the barn.

Since the light bulb was underneath the rafter, replacing it from above took some finesse. Dangling her legs on either side of the beam, Jena used the thick rounded bolt jutting out from the side of the beam to support herself as she leaned over to unscrew the dead bulb, then tossed it below. Screwing the new bulb in turned into a different challenge. She couldn’t quite get the right angle to seat it properly in the socket. Hooking her thigh around the beam for support, she edged over slightly and rested her belly against the bolt until she could finally settle the bulb in the socket. As it glowed bright with the final turn, she smiled, but her triumph quickly faded as her anchoring leg slipped and she went over the edge of the rafter.

 Heart juddering, she fell so fast Jena didn’t have time to grab onto the beam. Just as her leg cleared the rafter, she was quickly jerked to a stop. One of the belt loops on her overalls had caught on the bolt she’d been leaning against for leverage, hanging her like a piñata twelve feet above the floor.

Jena tried to free herself, but her own weight and the odd angle she hung made unhooking herself impossible. Then again, she glanced at the ground below and grimaced. If she did manage to free herself, her hands could slip as she attempted to climb her way back around to the top of the rafter. She didn’t want to find out what a fall from this height felt like.

“How did you even
manage
that?”

Harm’s voice coming from directly underneath her made her cringe. Why’d he have to decide to show up late today? She chanced a quick glance his way, moving as little as possible. How long would the belt loop hold? Harm stood looking up at her with the dead light bulb in his hand. “Can you just help me out here, please?”

She heard the big ladder being lifted and felt the metal land against the rafter a few feet away from her head. A few seconds later, Harm sat on the rafter, his legs dangling down the other side as he peered at her belt loop, scowling. Turning hard eyes her way, he grated, “You could’ve broken your damned neck.”

“Think how much easier your life would be if I had.” She let the sarcasm flow, because she hated how attractive he looked in a chambray button down shirt, the edges of his hair, still damp from his shower, peeking from underneath his Stetson. Even upside down and staring at her with a disapproving frown, he was sexy as hell. She refused to inhale his clean, masculine scent. Why torture herself?

“Seriously, Jena.” His tone settled to an even one. “What were you thinking?”

“Just shut up and free me already.”

Harm pressed his mouth together, then leaned over her. “As you wish.” With the flick of his wrist, he popped the straining threads on her belt loop.

Jena screamed all the way down. She landed on her back in the thick pile of hay she’d mucked from the stalls but had yet to move. As the foul smell of manure and urine quickly seeped through the overalls’ denim, it took her a few seconds to process the shock slamming through her.

Ignoring Harm’s outstretched hand to help her up, she pushed herself to her feet from the pile of stench-filled hay. “That was just shitty!” she hissed through clenched teeth. “There was a million other ways you could’ve helped me down.”

While she shuddered, then swiped off the shit and piss-soaked hay caking her backside from head to toe, Harm didn’t bother to hide his amusement; his dark eyes sparked with mirth. “You told me to free you already, so I did. I knew you wouldn’t get hurt.”

Jena’s chest heaved with pent up fury, but instead of yelling at him, she decided she’d get her own revenge. Pulling the rubber band from her ponytail, she shook the sticky bits of hay from her hair, then unhooked the straps of the overalls. Stepping out of the wet, soiled material and her boots, she stood in front of Harm wearing nothing but a white tank top and underwear.

When Harm’s gaze lowered to her nipples clearly showing through the thin white shirt, she inwardly reveled at the flash of heat flaring in their chocolate brown depths. Keeping her face perfectly composed, she stripped out of her tank and the tiny scrap of underwear then dropped them on the pile of stinky clothes.

“Jena…” Harm said in a low tone, amusement completely gone as he took a step closer. Just as his gaze returned to her face, she turned and walked out of the barn with her chin held high.

As she opened the front door, Harm’s reflection in the glass made her pause for a split second; he stood in the doorway of the barn watching her, his hands fisted by his sides. But thoughts of how she’d laid in bed every single night since their passionate time together, reliving memories and desperately wanting him all over again rushed forth. She stiffened her spine and smirked as she walked inside.

An hour later, Jena was surprised to see Harm shutting a stall door when she strolled into the barn. A long shower had cooled her simmering frustration while bolstering her determination to finish the job she’d left behind. The muck pile and the clothes she’d planned to trash had disappeared. Only her boots sat by the barn door. Once again, the horses had been fed and watered. “Why’d you do that?” she said, gesturing to the empty space where the pile had been.

Harm shrugged. “It needed to be done.”

“I was coming back to finish up, Harm. Maybe if you take your horses, I won’t feel obligated to take care of them.”

“I told you I’m not moving them until the deal is done.”

Jena spread her hands wide. “And I’m not selling all the land. So who’s going to camp out and make the earliest shift tomorrow, hmm?”

Harm’s mouth tightened as the tension between them rose. “I can take care of—”

“Hello?” a man’s voice cut Harm off.

Jena turned to the dark-haired cowboy wearing faded jeans, scuffed boots, and a lopsided smile on his face. He stood in the doorway of the barn holding a casserole dish, his eyebrows raised. She returned his smile as she approached. “Hi.”

“Are you Jena Hudson?”

She nodded. “The one and only.”

His smile shifted to a full grin. “I’m Hunter, Mary’s son.” Holding the dish toward her, he continued, “My mom asked me to bring this casserole by.”

“That was so nice of her,” she said, taking the dish. “Please tell your mom I said, ‘thank you for thinking of me.’”

 He nodded and touched the brim of his straw cowboy hat. “Will do. My mom also asked me to ask you if you’d like to volunteer for a charity event she’s running at the summer festival on Saturday. It’s a dance-a-thon type thing. You shouldn’t have to work the whole time. There’ll be games and rides and great food. She said it’d be a good way for you to meet lots of people from Boone.”

“That sounds great. Hopefully I’ll meet some people in the medical community. I’m a nurse and will be looking for a job soon.”

Hunter pushed his hands into his jean pockets. “I’m sure my mom can introduce you to the hospital administrator.”

“That would be great.” Jena pressed the warm casserole dish to her belly, wrapping her arms around it. “What’s the charity event about?”

“It’s for juvenile diabetes. We lost my youngest brother to it, so Mom’s a big supporter.”

Jena’s smile faltered slightly. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Yes, please tell your mom I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”

Hunter’s green eyes lit up. “Great! I’ll pick you up around seven-thirty and drive you over.”

“See you then.”

Glancing up at Harm, who casually leaned against the stall door he’d just closed, Hunter said, “Hey Harm.” When Harm only grunted in response, he shrugged and returned his attention to her. “Guess I’d better get going. See you on Saturday.” Grinning as he backed away, a devilish light reflected in his eyes. “Promise you’ll save me a dance?”

Jena laughed and nodded.

Once he headed back down the driveway where he’d left his truck idling, Harm’s voice came from directly behind her. “Keep your guard up. That one’s got more hands than heart.”

It took everything she had not to snap her gaze to his and snort. As she walked off to put the casserole dish away, Jena said over her shoulder, “Thanks for the advice, Tin Man. I’ll be fine.”

* * *

Later in the afternoon, the sound of something metal clanking against the hard ground woke Jena from a much needed nap. She’d spent four exhausting hours in the hot sun scraping and sanding down the peeling paint from the porch railing and spindles in preparation to repaint. At some point she’d tackle the outside shutters too; they looked just as sun-faded and worn.

Peering through her curtains, she saw a man in his late fifties standing beside the fence patting one of Harm’s horses on the neck. When he moved to lift a bridle toward the horse, she quickly jumped up and slipped her feet inside her tennis shoes. By the time she got them laced, the man had started leading the first horse up the metal ramp into the transport trailer hooked to the back of his truck.

Jena rushed outside, almost tripping over a wrapped up package leaning against her front door as she called out, “Excuse me! What are you doing?”

While she used her foot to slide the dry cleaners’ clear plastic bundle of jean overalls and white underclothes out of the way, the older man paused and pushed his cowboy hat back.

Surprise flickered across his tanned, leathery features as he watched her approach. “Evenin’ Miss…?” He trailed off and raised his eyebrows.

“Jena Hudson,” she supplied quickly. “And you are?”

“Name’s Jack.” He squinted against the late afternoon sun. “You own Sally’s place now?”

She nodded. “Sally was my Great Aunt.”

One corner of his mouth crooked. “Sally was a good woman. She sure could cook.”

“I remember her wonderful meals.” Jena nodded her agreement and tucked her fingers in her front pockets. “You’re Harm’s foreman?”

“Yep.” He patted the horse’s neck. “Finally getting around to bringing these horses over to Steele Way.”

Jena’s heart jerked. “Harm’s moving them?”

The man tugged on his ear. “Harm’s been spending so much time over here lately. Getting up earlier and earlier has made him a hundred kinds of asinine.” He flicked his tongue across his teeth, his assessing gaze holding hers. “Yep, the animals seemed to be distracting him.”