Jesse (2 page)

To this day, he always steered clear of the diner. Too bad. Jimmy Sullivan made the best damned pie in Pleasure.

“Did you hear me?” The man's question brought him back to the present.

“Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir. I was driving by on my way to town and noticed them stranded by the side of the road. Their car overheated. I'll check things out later. Yes,” he answered, wishing he could ease the frown lines between her eyebrows. “Not a problem, I'll make the time.”

After reassuring her uncle that he wasn't going to go back and steal her car, or let her stand by the side of the road baking her brain in the hot Texas sun, he handed the phone back to her. “Your uncle wants to talk to you.”

She narrowed her eyes and frowned up at him. He shrugged and walked back over to her car. It should be cool enough to add more fluid to the radiator by the time he was on his way back to the Circle G. Damn but her uncle had a way of making him feel like an irresponsible kid again. Lost in thought, he didn't hear her approach.

“Mr. Garahan?”

He looked over his shoulder. “I guess you don't remember me… I'm only a couple of years older than you. Call me Jesse.”

She squinted at him. “Vaguely.”

Once he'd made the connection, he remembered meeting her at Dawson's; she'd been pestering her uncle for a chance to ride a real horse and not a stupid old pony. The memory made him smile.

“Jesse, then,” she grumbled. “If you're sure it's no trouble, would you please drop us off at my uncle's diner?”

“None at all, ma'am.” Placing his hand beneath Danielle's elbow, he led her toward his truck. “Can you slide into the middle, Miss Lacy?”

“Uh-huh!”

He waited until they were settled on the front seat before he closed the door and rounded the cab to get in the driver's side. The odd thought that he'd like to keep them and bring them back home to the Circle G had him shaking his head as he slid onto the seat. Closing the door, he waited while Danielle buckled the seat belt around her daughter and then herself, before he put the truck in drive.

Cruising along the road at a more sedate pace, Jesse had the feeling that these two ladies had just changed his life. While they chattered back and forth about the hole in the knee of his jeans and the smear of dirt on his shirtsleeve, he wondered if it was too late to head for the hills and regroup. Women were trouble, and in pairs—dangerous.

He shook that thought from his head. Garahans don't back down and they sure as hell don't retreat. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and concentrated on getting them into town so he could drop them off at Sullivan's Diner. Distance was required if he was going to clear his mind and deal with his reaction to the ladies.

***

Danielle Brockway dug deep for the smile she needed to reassure little Lacy that everything was going to be fine. The big man sitting just inches away from her was just this side of intimidating and wasn't the type of man to be ignored for long. The fierce frown furrowing between his brows wasn't making it easy for her. She wished she could remember meeting him. A quick glance down and she knew it didn't matter how angry or brooding the cowboy appeared, or if she'd known him for years; for her daughter's sake, she'd dance in the truck bed or on the roof of the cab if it would make Lacy smile.

“Mommy, how come we're in Mr. Garahan's truck?”

“Because ours overheated, sweetie.”

“He's not a stranger, right, Mommy?”

“That's right,” she said, smoothing the hair out of her daughter's eyes. “He knows Uncle Jimmy.” She straightened the bubblegum pink cowgirl hat that had been a gift from Lacy's father. Her little girl slept with it clutched in her tiny hands… every night… as if that would bring her daddy back or change his mind.

Lacy had turned inside out with pleasure when her ex had shown up with his parting gift. Lacy hadn't understood at the time that he wasn't coming back. Urging Lacy closer, Danielle relaxed when she felt the warmth of her daughter's little body go slack against her side.

“She's plumb tuckered out.” The deep rumbling voice rolled over her like a slow moving wave coming in from the Gulf. She shivered in reaction.

An odd feeling combined with the rush of love she felt for her daughter, a feeling so strong, her head felt light. Breathing deeply, hoping the feeling would subside, she realized that she'd felt something similar once before—trouble was, it had led her to heartache. Lacy mumbled in her sleep and Danielle shook her head. No, that wasn't exactly true; while they had had some difficulties that led to her ex's cleaning out their joint savings account, he'd given her a gift beyond compare. She had a beautiful little girl, who up until he decided he wanted to pursue his bull-riding career solo—without strings or family weighing him down—had been the light of her ex's life.

It had been next to impossible to explain that Lacy's daddy wasn't coming back—ever. The little girl had adopted the same stubborn mind-set Danielle had had since a child—if she wished hard enough for anything, it would happen. She stopped wishing sometime last year. Hard work and determination made things happen.

She brushed her hand on Lacy's cheek, reveling in the familiar silky soft skin and the way her daughter snuggled closer. She might regret her husband's financial decision to invest their life savings in an RV so he could travel the rodeo circuit in style, while she and Lacy lost their home, but she'd never regret giving birth to the only miracle in their lives. Heck, it was only a house, four strong walls on the outside, broken on the inside—like Danielle—since Buddy Brockway lit out toward Amarillo.

“So are you just stopping by for a visit?”

Distracted by the dark feelings swamping her, she shook her head.

“If you don't want me to run off the road, Dani darlin', you'll stop shaking your head and answer me.”

Heat of a whole other kind filled her belly to bursting. She tried to tamp down the feelings that roared to the surface with the low, rumbled nickname. He was just being polite by trying to keep his voice down so as not to wake Lacy. He didn't pitch it that way so that it would distract her with feelings she had no business feeling—so soon after her ex. Down that particular road was a wreck of
Titanic
proportions. She had no intention of ever going that way again—but Lord, she was tempted.

Digging deep for the control that had helped her show as little heartache as possible when her ex was packing his brand new RV, Danielle forced a smile. “Sorry, Mr. Garahan. Lacy and I are staying for the summer.”

She didn't want the man to know her whole sorry story; she'd nearly slipped when she'd reminded Lacy about the new phone. No reason to confide in a stranger—no matter that she'd decided to trust him because her Uncle Jimmy knew him. It was too hot outside to let Lacy bake in a car that had no air-conditioning with an engine that had decided to call it quits—just like… Stop thinking about that man and blaming him—marriage is a two-way street.

She'd known he wasn't ready to settle down and start a family, but thought he'd change his mind when she told him the good news. Well, she'd been wrong about that too; he had urged her to terminate the pregnancy, citing his budding career as a bull rider and the fact that he was too young to be tied down.

Now that she thought about it, he never asked her how she felt about having a baby once she'd told him she was keeping it. A soft, snuffling sound had her returning to the present and the reality that one simple slipup resulted in—the fairy-sized cowgirl snuggling on the front seat of another handsome-as-sin cowboy's battered pickup truck.

When would she ever learn? Maybe she was destined to make choices that seemed wrong at the time, but ended up with rewards that she'd reap for a lifetime. Her little girl was proof of that. Would there be a reward for getting to know Jesse? Stealing a glance out of the corner of her eye, she got sidetracked by the breadth of his shoulders, the strength in his arms, and the size of his hands as they gripped the wheel. Biting back a moan of sheer pleasure, she could just imagine that getting to know him better would be just this side of amazing, but could she risk letting her head follow where her heart led again?

“Vacations are nice,” he offered. “Haven't taken one myself since—well, hell,” he laughed, “ever!”

“I find that hard to believe,” she soothed, “everyone takes time off now and again, especially during breaks from school.”

He glanced in her direction and then back at the road ahead of them. “Easter break and summer vacation meant more time helping our grandfather keep the ranch running smoothly. When you own a spread and raise cattle and horses, you pretty much work twenty-four/seven.”

She looked down at the sleeping angel by her side and smiled. “A lot like being a parent.”

He chuckled. “I guess it is. Don't have much experience in that area, though.”

He frowned, and she wondered what direction his thoughts were headed. She didn't have to wait long to find out.

“I don't know much about kids and can't tell just by looking. How old is she?”

“She'll be four on her next birthday.”

He grinned but didn't look away from the curving road. “Sure is tiny… but a pistol for her age.”

“Nothing wrong with being a bit on the feisty side.”

Jesse stole a look at her this time. “I like women with a little P and V in them.”

She shook her head. “What does that stand for?”

“Piss and vinegar.”

“Lovely.”

“Hey, it was one of my grandfather's favorite sayings—he had quite a few.”

“I'm sorry.”

“For?”

Reaching across the sleeping child between them, she touched his elbow. “Your loss.” The warmth radiating through the worn fabric of his shirt surprised her, but not as much as the tingling sensation zinging through the tips of her fingers where she touched him.
Careful,
she thought,
this
man
could
be
trouble.

“Thanks.”

The simple word pleased her. It had been some time since a handsome man had thanked her for anything. Wrapping the feeling close to her heart, she let the motion of the truck and the rumble of the engine lull her to a semi-aware state. Just ahead was the turn-off Uncle Jimmy had reminded her about. It had been years since she'd seen him and still more since she'd had a vacation—time off, since it wasn't technically fun time. Her plan was to find a job in Pleasure. Knowing she'd have a safe place for her and Lacy to stay for the next little while eased the guilt she still felt for having to uproot her daughter.

“Are there a lot of employment opportunities in Pleasure?”

His quiet laughter caught her off guard. “Well now, there's always work in Pleasure, Texas, especially if you're a rancher, but do you mean paying jobs?”

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and was about to give the man a snappy comeback but didn't want to wake Lacy. Letting concern for her sleeping child flow through her, she redirected her ire. “Yes, that's what I mean.”

He shrugged. “Don't rightly know, but if anyone has their finger on the heartbeat of this town, it's Mavis Beeton. It's hard to say where she'll be this time of day; the woman's a mover and a shaker. I can ask over at the feed store after I drop you off at Sullivan's.”

Gratitude soothed the rest of the feathers he'd unknowingly ruffled, but added yet another aspect of the man that appealed to her—his compassion for others. Lord, she'd better be careful to watch her step and guard her heart. She had a feeling that this was one cowboy she'd like to get to know better. For her sake and Lacy's, she'd best remember that history had a way of repeating itself.

Danielle let her mind drift as the scenery slipped past them on the ride into town. Fence posts, grassy land, and barbed wire blurred, merging until she was only aware of colors and shapes. Sounds became muffled and indistinct. Relaxing for the first time in days, she closed her eyes and let her worries go.

“Danielle.”

The most marvelous scent clouded her mind. It was a combination of fresh-mown hay and sun-warmed male, with a hint of horse. Sighing in contentment, she lingered in a state of semi-awareness, soaking up the odd feeling of being protected.

“Dani darlin', wake up.”

The rumbled request jarred her awake.
Oh
God!
She'd fallen asleep, with her precious child between herself and a virtual stranger. Even though her uncle knew him, and Jesse swore they'd met, she should have been on her guard, vigilant and protective. There were no excuses that she could think to offer.

“I'm so sorry!” She sat up and groaned, “I didn't mean to—”

“You were exhausted,” Jesse interrupted. “Not a crime in this town.” His smile was slow and easy. “I'd wanted a quiet ride into town, and after the both of you stopped snoring, it was.”

Mortification crept up from her toes; she could feel her skin flushing as her emotions ran the gamut between embarrassment and self-directed anger. “I normally don't close my eyes during the day,” she began, and then what he said sunk in. “Did you say snore?”

His chuckle was beginning to lose its appeal. “Yes, ma'am. You two could be in the Olympics, tag-teaming, if snoring was a sport.”

“Mommy?”

Lacy waking up saved the man from a verbal tongue-lashing, and prevented Danielle from having to apologize for something else. “It's all right, honey, we're here.”

Jesse had already closed the door on his side and rounded the truck cab to open the passenger door. She wasn't sure if he was being gentlemanly or getting out of striking range. She wouldn't have hit him—although the urge to smack that grin off his face had crossed her mind before she tamped it down—but she wasn't prone to violence, so she let that unfamiliar thought go as soon as it occurred to her.