Heart's Desire (3 page)

N
ATHAN WASN
'
T SURE
what he'd expected from Jessie's lunch invitation. Maybe pork and beans flung at his head as he walked through the kitchen door? Whatever assumptions he'd made, he hadn't expected to see Jessie rocking out in the kitchen to music pumping through her earphones, as she made enough sandwiches to feed a small army. She cut into another and laid the halves on a tray to her left as she belted out a country song he'd never heard before. Something about a woman going home to load her shotgun. A nervous tremor coursed through his belly. It sounded too much like a personal anthem, and he worried, with their past and her attitude upon his arrival, the song might prove prophetic.

She hadn't noticed him yet, so he leaned against the doorframe, enjoying the show. He didn't remember ever hearing her sing before. She had a great voice, rich and smooth, mellow yet seductive. She twisted her hips, gyrating in time with the song, and he had to admit, what she lacked in height, she made up for in sex appeal. Jessie was a tiny thing, petite but athletically built, with curves that could make a grown man cry. His eyes traveled down her back to her narrow waist and rounded hips. Nathan couldn't help but notice how well her rear filled out the denim of her jeans.

He felt the desire he'd buried years ago reawaken. He pushed himself from the doorway, trying to cast the feeling aside. If her ice-cold welcome was any indication, his chance at wooing Jessie was long gone. He tried to be grateful for her noticeable animosity. If nothing else, it made it easy to remember the only lingering feeling on her part was loathing.

Besides,
he tried to console himself,
Jessie Hart isn't your type—at least not anymore.

His last girlfriend, a sleek, waifish model, was the type of woman he'd grown accustomed to spending his nights with—a woman who could stay on his arm at any function, engaging and beautiful but demanding nothing more than a good time and a few connections to further her career. No emotional risk there.

He couldn't deny that had always been a problem with Jessie. She left him feeling too much. His father had seen it and exploited it, demanding Nathan to help him doctor his campaign finances or else see Jessie's family business ruined. While there was something irresistible about this feisty cowgirl dancing around the kitchen, he couldn't allow himself the freedom to explore it. Nor did she seem to want him to.

“There you are!” Nathan spun in surprise as Justin smacked his shoulder and walked past him to grab one of the sandwiches, tugging the cord to Jessie's headphones. “Hey, Jess. Can't stay too long. Nathan and I have an appointment right after lunch with Brendon Gray.”

She pulled the other earpiece out and smiled up at her hulking brother. “Already? Sit and—”

As soon as she saw Nathan standing in the doorway, her eyes changed. The deep blue he'd lost himself in for a whole summer instantly hardened to ice.

“Please, have a seat.” Her formal tone left Nathan certain where he stood.

Jessie carried the tray to the table, her eyes sliding over him judgmentally. It wasn't a foreign exchange. In his line of work, people often evaluated his qualifications and likelihood of success by how expensive his suit or the watch encircling his wrist was. But he'd never felt lacking while wearing a Rolex and Armani. Jessie's appraisal made him feel inadequate, as if she pitied him. It irked him that this cowgirl could get a rise from him when millionaires hadn't been able to. Even after changing into a casual outfit of Balmain jeans and a polo shirt that probably cost more than this ranch grossed each month, she still had a way of making him feel like he was lacking. He arched a brow, daring her to comment, and saw her lips pinch together into a thin line.

Jessie looked away from the doorway, ignoring Nathan. “Where's Julia?”

“Waiting for one of her dogs to get picked up by its new handler, a little boy with autism. She told us not to wait to eat because she'd be late.” Justin reached for a second sandwich, oblivious to his sister's annoyance with Nathan's presence at the table. “What are you waiting for, Nathan? Dig in.”

Nathan reached for one of the sandwiches, wondering again what sort of hell he'd just gotten himself into. He was used to catered meals, expensive wine, and high-rise buildings, not ham sandwiches in the kitchen of a log cabin.

“Want a beer?” Justin asked him, and Jessie eyed him expectantly, ready to pounce regardless of his answer.

“Water is fine.”

She stood and reached for a glass from the cabinet, filling it from the faucet. No ice, and she didn't even bother to turn the faucet to cold.

He reached for the glass as she slid it in front of him, and when his hand touched hers, he felt a tingle of electricity. She jerked her hand away from his as if he'd just shocked her, spilling water on the table.

“Sorry,” she muttered, narrowing her eyes and watching him warily as she slowly eased back into her seat.

Nathan took a long drink of the lukewarm water, if only to spite her, and used a napkin to wipe up the puddle on the table.

“I'd like a beer!” Bailey strolled in, immediately breaking the tension in the room, smiling from ear to ear as she winked at Nathan.

She plopped down beside him at the table and reached for one of the sandwiches. Her energy was contagious and Nathan bit back a grin. At one time, this was how Jessie had acted around him—vivacious and full of life.

“You're still on the clock at the clinic, and I need you after lunch, so no,” Justin scolded.

“Party pooper,” she muttered under her breath.

Nathan choked on his water as Bailey chuckled, slapping his back. “Relax, Wall Street. It might not be Voss but it's not that bad. Straight from the well.”

Jessie rolled her eyes at Bailey. Irritation seemed to seep from her, directed pointedly at Nathan. “Can we get this over with? I have stalls to get ready.”

“For what? Please, tell me you didn't take in more horses,” Justin said.

She chewed the bite of sandwich in her mouth slowly and tipped up her chin. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?”

“Okay, I won't tell you.”

A shadow of a smile played at the corners her lips. Bailey didn't even bother to hide her mirth and laughed loudly. Nathan had seen Justin lose his temper enough in the past to know Jessie was treading on very thin ice. She wasn't just tempting her brother, she was outright poking a bear of a man with a temper to match, and it made him wonder if the years had made her stupid or just incredibly brave.

“Jessie,” he growled through clenched teeth. “I thought I told you—”

“And I told
you
to let me handle it.” She leaned back in her chair, not looking the slightest bit worried about the impending eruption from Mt. Justin. The air practically sparked with the tension. “I've got this,” she assured him.

“You
don't
have this. Unless you're on a mission to put us all in the poor house, there are too many useless mouths to feed and not enough hay to do it.”

“I don't recall asking you for money.”

“And, yet, I don't recall you turning it down when I offered,” Justin countered.

“I know what I'm doing,” she insisted.

“Then why am I here?” Three sets of eyes turned toward Nathan.

Nathan was used to moving when his instinct directed him. Usually it meant hanging back and supervising operations, watching for opportunities others might miss, not jumping headfirst in to a hornet's nest of sibling drama. Jessie's blue eyes grew even colder, her sharp glance cutting.

“Good question.” She glared back at her brother. “Why is he here? What can he do that we can't manage on our own?”

Nathan wasn't about to sit back and let this slip of a woman insult him. She might have every right to be angry with him for what happened in the past, but his business acumen was above reproach, and he was proud of the success he'd achieved in the past few years.

“Well, for one thing, I can look at your books and see where there might be corners you can cut. My goal is to make sure that you're operating within the optimal tax benefits, legal structure, and primarily, making the best business decisions possible for every dollar spent.” Nathan crossed his arms and locked eyes with her. “And I'm damn good at my job.”

“Modest much?” Jessie quirked a dark brow, not bothering to hide her distaste.

“Just statin' facts, ma'am,” he teased, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

This was where he was most comfortable, on the offensive. He didn't want to make her mad, but he needed her to realize how serious her situation was. This wasn't about his past mistakes; this was about her future. However, he had to admit it was a thrill to push Jessie's buttons, making her eyes spark with blue fire. To make those perfect lips round in outrage. What he wouldn't give to kiss her again.

Nathan cleared his throat, forcing himself to concentrate on the reason he was here. “We need to sit down and talk with your accountant to get a clear perspective on your finances. Justin and I are doing that later today, right?” He looked to Justin for confirmation. “And we need to talk about what you're each planning for this ranch.”

“I can't put everything here on hold to chat. I barely have time to train the horses after I've finished with barn chores.”

“Then maybe you shouldn't be bringing in more,” Justin muttered under his breath.

Jessie rose, glaring at him before marching toward the kitchen sink, the island between them. Nathan could see by her defensive stance that she was fighting the desire to escape the conversation altogether.

He saw Jessie pull out her cell phone and frown at the screen. “Crap,” she muttered.

“What?” Bailey looked at the phone screen as well. “Go. Justin and I will clean up lunch.”

Whatever she saw on her phone must have been important, because Jessie snatched her keys from the hook by the back door and hurried out the front door to her truck. He heard the roar of the diesel engine and the crunch of gravel as the massive tires rolled down the tree-lined driveway.

Nathan raised a hand to his temple, rubbing at the headache beginning to form. “We are never going to get anything accomplished this way.”

He had a life to get back to in LA and, if Jessie didn't become more cooperative, this job was going to last forever.

“Don't worry.” Justin laughed, pulling out his cell phone. “We'll take a trip into town to meet with Brendon today, get that out of the way. Then we can have a drink and catch up.” He cocked his head and frowned. “Loosen up. I don't remember you being such a tight-ass in college. Maybe you need this visit more than you think.”

Yeah, the way I need a hole in my head.

J
ESSIE HATED SITTING
outside the principal's office. She hadn't liked it that time she'd been caught cutting class in high school, and she hated it even more now. She shook her head and frowned at the sixteen-year-old boy seated beside her, his long hair draped over his eyes. “What in the world were you thinking, Michael? Vandalizing the locker room?”

“I told you, it's Ice.”

“Really?
Ice?
” She sighed. “Because you don't have enough trouble in your life right now without getting involved with that gang again? They're bad news and going nowhere.” Jessie glanced through the window where two other students sat, their wrists handcuffed behind their backs. “You're not like them.”

He eyed her through his shaggy bangs. “Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do.”

“Quit doing what your brother tells you to and start living the way you want. Do you want to end up in jail like him? You told me you wanted out, remember? I know you don't want to be part of a gang, so why would you even take part in their initiation? You're better than this.”

Luckily, the office door opened, ending their conversation. Two deputy sheriffs escorted the other street-tough teens toward patrol cars she'd seen parked in front of the school. Ellie, Jessie's friend and Michael's foster mother, was next, followed by the principal. Ellie looked tired, much older than her twenty-eight years, as she turned her eyes toward the pair.

“Come on, Michael, let's go.” Jessie could hear the exhaustion in Ellie's voice as she shook the principal's hand and thanked him for his help with the police.

Michael stared after the other boys before turning back to her. She could read at least a thousand questions in his eyes, but he left them unspoken. “You mean, I'm not—”

“No, you're coming with us. So let's go,” Ellie ordered, raising her voice slightly.

Jessie stood, following her exasperated friend to her truck, watching as the police cruiser pulled away from the curb. She still wasn't sure whether Ellie had asked her to come because she simply needed moral support or if there was something else on her mind. She waited, knowing Ellie would make her intentions clear soon enough.

Michael's shoulders slumped forward as he opened the passenger door and tossed his backpack to the floorboard.

“Take your things with you. You're going home with Jessie tonight,” Ellie instructed.

“What?”

“What?” Jessie repeated, as confused as the teen.

“I'll be out later, but I think some ranch work might help
Ice
put things into perspective while he's suspended from school. Don't you agree, Jessie?”

Jessie bit her lip as understanding dawned. If Ellie wanted to teach the boy a lesson, she could come up with plenty of chores to accommodate her. “I have fences to be mended, and there are always stalls that need cleaning.”

Ellie gave her a grin and a quick wink. “I figured as much.” She turned back to Michael. “You head out and get started. I'll be out later, after I get off work.”