Jesse (20 page)

“I almost scared Trigger,” Lacy confessed.

Suddenly, Lacy's bringing her arms down to her sides made sense. “Is that what happened the other day?”

Lacy nodded again. “I din't mean it; it was an accident.”

“I think he knows that, sweet pea,” Danielle added. “Why don't you let Jesse tell you what to do now that you're up there?”

After warning Lacy about making sudden movements near Trigger's ears or eyes and to be sure to hold on to the saddle horn, they were ready for him to lead Trigger around in a circle while Lacy got used to the feel of being in the saddle.

Danielle watched the man who'd turned her inside out with his kisses and the strength of his passion leading the horse by the reins while her daughter listened intently to his instructions. The concentration and focus her little girl exhibited didn't surprise her; Lacy had been asking for riding lessons for a while now.

Jesse's gentle way with both her daughter and the horse eased some of the tension that not sleeping had left behind. It was always harder to get through the day when you were tired, cranky, and irritable. Relaxing for the first time today, she leaned against the split rails and rested her chin atop her hands.

The deep rumbling sound of Jesse's voice was a sharp contrast to the higher pitch of her daughter's. For a moment, she closed her eyes and wondered what it would be like it to have a man like Jesse Garahan in their lives.

“Dinner's ready!”

She opened her eyes in time to see Ronnie standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, waiting for someone to respond. “We're coming,” she called out. Ronnie nodded and turned around.

“OK, little Lacy,” Jesse said, bringing Trigger to a halt. “We'd best not keep Ronnie waiting. Why don't you two go on in?” he suggested, lifting Lacy out of the saddle. “I'll take care of my buddy here.” Setting Lacy on her feet, he waited for her to join her mother outside the corral.

“Aww, can't I stay with you?” Lacy would have said more, but the way Jesse shook his head and nodded toward the house stopped her from whining quicker than anything Danielle might have said. She could use help like that on a day-to-day basis.

“Come on, sweetie. Jesse will be right behind us.” Not giving Lacy a chance to complain, she held out her hand and waited for Lacy to take it. “See you inside,” Danielle called out over her shoulder.

“Can I ride again after we eat?”

“We're hungry.” Dylan swept Lacy off her feet and hauled her inside.

Surprised, Danielle hesitated on the porch. “You coming?” Tyler asked, opening the screen door.

“Oh… yes, sorry, I was just thinking about something.”

Tyler waited for her to walk inside, then looked past her toward the barn. “My brother's a good man.” He pitched his voice low so only she could hear.

Her gaze met his and she slowly smiled. “He's wonderful with Lacy.”

Tyler frowned but didn't say anything else. She wondered what he'd been thinking, but just then Emily called her name.

“I'm not sure who had a better time out there,” Emily said. “Lacy or Trigger.”

Danielle thought about it and grinned. “I think it's a tie. Trigger seemed happy to have Lacy riding on him.”

“He's used to kids learning how to ride on him,” Dylan added.

Tyler mouth twitched like he was fighting not to smile. “He only threw you off once.”

Dylan's grin was quick and lethal. “Tossed Jesse off twice.”

“Not true,” Jesse called out as he walked inside. “He only threw me off once… I fell off the other time.”

“That's his story,” Tyler said with a knowing look.

“He's sticking to it,” Dylan finished.

“Come on guys, my lasagna is getting cold.”

“That'd surely be a crime,” Dylan rasped, pressing his lips to Ronnie's temple.

The longer she was around the two couples, the more she was convinced of their commitment and love for one another. The bond between the brothers and their women was titanium strong, and she glanced at Jesse, wondering if she'd be lucky enough to forge something like that with him.

Their eyes met and the warmth in his gaze had butterflies dancing in her belly. Lord, that man made her feel so many different emotions all at once, her brain couldn't seem to process any of them, leaving her bewitched, bewildered, and befuddled.

She hadn't realized that she'd been staring until one side of his mouth quirked up, highlighting the deep dimple that tempted her to touch her tongue to the corner of his mouth.

“How long can you ladies stay today?” he asked, letting his gaze slide from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

Rattled by the attention and sensual tension surrounding them, making it hard to breathe, Danielle cleared her throat to answer, “Emily and Ronnie invited us to sleep over.”

His head whipped around to stare at the other women and then snapped back so he could lock gazes with her. “Is that a fact?” His lazy drawl couldn't hide the fact that he was taking shorter breaths. His nostrils flared more than once, as if he were a stallion sensing a mare in heat.

That analogy had her tamping down the desire curling up from her toes. She no longer wondered what it would be like to taste more of him—she knew and couldn't wait to follow where her heart and his heat were going to lead her.

Ronnie must have sensed that Danielle was having trouble putting two words together and said, “We thought it would be good for Danielle and Lacy to spend more time out here at the Circle G.”

Emily agreed, “Jesse's been working too hard too, so we thought it would be a nice change for him to give Lacy those riding lessons. You two can handle things in the morning, can't you?”

Jesse was shaking his head at her. “I'm leaving in a little while. I know I told you I wouldn't be here past five o'clock.”

Ronnie and Emily exchanged a knowing glance before Ronnie said, “That's why we're having our big meal now.”

Jesse pulled out the chair for Danielle, and when she looked up to thank him, she saw irritation in his gaze. Surprised at way he seemed to be holding back, she wasn't sure if she should ask him what was wrong.

“So you and Emily are going to be entertaining Lacy and Danielle while I'm working tonight?”

“Just where did you say you were working, Bro?” Tyler's voice was soft but firm.

He blew out a breath. “Can we talk about this later? I was hoping to drive on down to the pond with Lacy and Danielle before I leave.”

Dylan looked at Tyler before shrugging. “OK by me.”

And as quickly as that, the subject was dropped, with Danielle left to wonder where Jesse spent his nights working and why his brothers didn't really know what was going on.

“I like riding Trigger,” Lacy said. “Dinner's good.”

“He's taking a liking to you too.” Jesse told her before asking Ronnie to pass the garlic bread. “This is awesome with the sausage, Ronnie.”

Danielle watched the other woman's slow and easy smile, and she sensed that Jesse complimented her often.

“I'm glad you like it.”

Dylan grumbled, “Get your own woman.”

Jesse shook his head. “Don't need to. You and Tyler found women who can cook and do laundry, what do I need a woman for?”

The teasing way he said it took the sting out of his question, but it still smarted that he would even tease about not needing a woman when her heart was so close to being captured by his. As if he could sense her unease, Jesse patted her hand and added, “But if I could find one that had a pretty little pixie cowgirl, I might think about it.”

“I'm a cowgirl!” Lacy exclaimed. “Can we be your women?”

Laughter filled the kitchen and it felt as if someone had given Danielle a gift. Despite feeling so at home with the Garahans, Danielle shook her head at Lacy and said, “I think Jesse's too busy for one woman in his life, let alone two.”

“You'd be wrong.” The rasp of his voice sent shivers up and down her spine. “I could make time for two special ladies.”

“Can we ride Champ tomorrow?”

Danielle laughed and told her daughter to finish her supper. “But, Mommy, cowboy Jesse din't answer me yet.”

“Yeah, cowboy Jesse,” Dylan drawled. “Can Lacy ride Champ tomorrow?”

The brothers sent silent messages that Danielle suspected had more to do with actions than words… those actions having more to do with fists than a friendly smile. Jesse finally shook his head and said, “Not a problem, little darlin'. But what are you going to do tonight?”

Ronnie smiled and got up to serve more lasagna. “We've got a secret project that we're working on for the celebration.”

“And I'm helping,” Lacy announced, clearly pleased with the prospect.

“So what's the project?” Tyler asked.

Lacy rolled her eyes and sounded exasperated. “We can't tell… it's a secret.”

While the men polished off a second helping, the women ate their salad. Jesse pushed back from the table and cleared his place before helping to clear Lacy's and Danielle's. Anticipating his next move, Danielle started to fill the dishwasher. His smile added another layer of excitement to the thrill she felt every time he glanced in her direction.

Lord, she had it bad.

“Are you ladies ready to go?”

Lacy was out of her seat and reaching for his hand before Danielle could hang the dish towel on the oven handle. “We're ready.”

Closing his hand around Lacy's, he surprised Danielle by reaching for hers. “Come on.”

Desperately fighting to keep her equilibrium, Danielle let herself be led.

With Lacy between them, Jesse drove to the pond; it would have been too far to walk, since Jesse had to leave soon.

It was a good thing that her daughter was chattering nonstop; Danielle found that she didn't know what to say that wouldn't end up making her either sound like a prude or a nymphomaniac. She was so twisted and conflicted where Jesse was concerned. He was kind to her daughter and really listened to what Lacy had to say, but all she could think of was losing herself in his arms.

“Do you like bugs?”

Jesse's laugh filled the truck cab. “Depends on the bug.”

“I like 'em all,” Lacy confided.

Lacy tugged on Danielle's arm and pulled her closer, but in a stage whisper said, “I really like him.”

Jesse's chuckle had her relaxing. It was a lovely afternoon. The temperature had already peaked and was starting to cool down just a bit, and she looked forward to spending some time, just the three of them.

Jesse pulled off the road next to the pond. “Let's go check out the grass by the edge of the water; we might find some frogs.”

“Or bugs?”

He walked around the front of the truck and had Danielle's door open before she'd finished unbuckling the two of them. “Thanks.”

He held out his hand and didn't let go of hers until he'd stroked the back of it with his thumb.

Her skin tingled and her step faltered. Aware of her misstep, Jesse slid his other hand around her waist to steady her. Pinpricks of awareness shot straight through to her core, making her head spin and her heart pound.

“Mommy, I wanna come out.”

Danielle felt the heat staining her cheeks. “Sorry, sweet pea.” She held out her hands and helped Lacy down.

Jesse was quiet as he led the way over to the pond. Standing on the bank, he breathed deeply. “Smell that?”

He seemed to be waiting for them to do the same, so Danielle squeezed Lacy's hand and said, “Take a big breath, sweetie.”

Danielle breathed in the heavenly scent of sun-warmed dirt, grass, and something she couldn't identify. Jesse seemed to be waiting for her response, so she said, “It's beautiful.”

“It smells like outside.” Lacy tugged on her mother's hand so she would let go.

Jesse nodded. “That it does, but there's something special about out here.” He locked gazes with Danielle and asked, “Can't you smell it?”

Even if he hadn't wanted to know what she thought, she would have felt compelled to answer. “We noticed it the other day, when Lacy and I took the wrong road and ended up out here.”

Jesse urged her to take another breath. “What do you smell?”

Danielle closed her eyes this time. “It's hard to put into words.”

“Try.”

She sighed and let her imagination take over. “Lacy's right, it smells like outside—”

“You can do better than that,” he grumbled.

Why the answer seemed so important to him she couldn't say, but she did as he bid and cleared her mind and tried again. “I can smell the dirt, warmed by the sun, and the grass, stirred by the breeze.” She hesitated, still unable to place the other scent she'd noticed. “There's something more—”

“Yes?”

She caught his excitement and wanted so badly to describe the indescribable. “I don't have the words,” she rasped. “But there's just something different about the air here, when the breeze blows over the water, rustles the tall grass, and teases the dirt…” Shaking her head, she opened her eyes and said, “It smells like home.”

Jesse's smile was blinding. The beauty of the man before her went soul deep…
no
, she thought,
deeper
… He was grounded to the very land on which they stood. Heart in his eyes, smile lifting his lips, he surprised her by asking, “Can you dance, little Lacy?”

“Uh-huh… I can two-step.”

Bowing to the both of them, he asked, “May I have this dance?”

His words reminded Danielle of an old Anne Murray song. As the refrain filled her head, she lifted Lacy onto her hip and held out her free hand.

His hand was callused and his grip strong. Before she could process the fact that she'd always feel connected to this man whenever he touched her, Jesse had settled Lacy on his hip and pulled Danielle closer.

He began to hum a tune that her grandmother used to listen to. She tilted her head back and smiled. “I love the ‘Tennessee Waltz.'”

His eyes darkened with emotion. “Sing it with me?”

“Me too!” Lacy crowed, bringing them back to reality.

“You too,” he agreed.

As the sun glinted off the water and the breeze rustled through the grass, they danced and sang the words to a song that would forever bind them together in Danielle's heart.

Years from now when her daughter was grown, Danielle would remember dancing in the meadow by the pond at the Circle G and wishing with all her heart that Jesse Garahan would ask them to stay.

“Can we look for bugs now?”

Lacy's question and Jesse's answering chuckle broke the spell and brought Danielle sharply back to the present.

“Well now, I was hoping we'd be looking for frogs.”

Lacy patted him on the shoulder. “We can look for them too.”

He set her down and said, “We have to be real quiet.”

“So we don't scare them off.”

“Exactly.” He smiled down at her. “You're pretty smart for a cowgirl.”

“Mommy says it's 'cause we like to read.”

“Frog hunting always reminds me of a book my grandpa liked.”

Entranced, Danielle watched the way Jesse talked about his grandfather's favorite Mark Twain story, complete with hand gestures.

“Mommy, we gots to get that book.”

“We'll see if they have it at the library the next time—”

A loud beeping interrupted what she had been about to say.

“What's that?” Lacy asked staring at Jesse's shirt pocket.

“My phone alarm.” He reached into his pocket and shut off the alarm. “I've got to go.”

The fact that he seemed to want to stay wasn't lost on her. “Come on, Lacy.”

“But we din't catch any bugs… or frogs…”

“We can try again tomorrow morning,” Jesse told her.

“Aren't we gonna ride Champ tomorrow?”

Jesse grinned down at her and held out his hand. “We can do both if you want. I'll drive you ladies back to the house before I go.”

The ride back ended all too soon. Danielle's feelings were all jumbled together; it was probably a good thing that he was going to work… even if no one seemed to know where he was headed.

“See you in the morning.” He waited until they'd stepped back before putting the truck in reverse and driving away.

“I miss him, Mommy.”

“I do too.”

“There you are,” Ronnie said, coming out onto the porch. “Are you ladies ready to work?”

The distraction was just what the both of them needed. “Absolutely.”

Reluctantly, Lacy let her mother tug her inside.

Emily was waiting for them at the kitchen table. “Oh, good! We were wondering when you'd be back.”

“Jesse had to go to work.”

“Um… at the—” Ronnie began.

“He didn't say.” Danielle hadn't wanted to pry, but she did wonder why the secrecy. Did he have something to hide? She really had no reason to ask, and asking might send out the wrong signal and scare him away, so for now she'd keep quiet.

“What're you doing?” Lacy asked, walking over to the table where tiny boxes were scattered among muffin tins.

“This is the secret project.”

Lacy's eyes widened. “I can keep secrets.”

Ronnie and Emily looked at one another and then Danielle. Sensing they were waiting for her agreement, she said, “I can too.”

“All righty then,” Ronnie said. “We want to have a cupcake decorating contest for the kids.”

“The boxes are pretty.” Lacy pointed to a bright pink one. “Can I have that one?”

Emily smiled. “Absolutely, but don't you want to wait until you've decorated a cupcake?”

Danielle shook her head at Lacy. “Let's wait and see what they need us to do.”

Ronnie nodded. “We were hoping to test out our idea on Lacy. There will be prizes for the different age groups, but we wanted to see if someone her age would be interested. We've got a few different mediums to work with and wanted to see which one would be right for the little ones.”

“Can I eat it?”

“After you decorate it,” Emily said. “Want to give it a try?”

“Like making pie with Unca Jimmy!”

Danielle smiled. “Only you don't have to bake the cupcakes, sweet pea, just frost them.”

Lacy squirmed until her mother told her to be still or she couldn't help. Her daughter frowned but finally listened, and carefully used a butter knife and smeared frosting on her hand and the top of the cupcake.

“Hmmm,” Ronnie said. “Let's try the icing in a tube.”

While Lacy worked, the women chatted about the celebration and the arrival of the Garahan cousins.

“It's going to be pretty crowded here at the ranch once they get here, but the guys are used to bunking together.”

“How many bedrooms are upstairs?” Danielle had only seen the ground floor.

“Four bedrooms,” Emily answered, “but there's a bunkhouse on the other side of the barn.”

“Can we sleep out there?” Lacy wanted to know.

Ronnie smiled but shook her head. “I thought you two would like to sleep in the front bedroom; it's so pretty when the sun comes up.”

“Are you sure we aren't putting anyone out of their room?”

Emily smiled and said, “Why don't we clean up and we can show you the upstairs?”

“And the bunkhouse?” Lacy asked.

Ronnie and Emily laughed. “And the bunkhouse.”

***

Adrenaline still pumping through his system, Jesse drove home with his pockets full. Life just couldn't get any better than this. He and his brothers were still chipping away at their debt and hanging on to the ranch, he'd been given the chance to fulfill a childhood dream, and there was a curvy little blonde waiting for him at the ranch.

He drove up to the house and wondered if she would be awake. He hadn't had a chance to ask her, but surely she knew he wanted her. He could still taste that explosive kiss they shared the other night and feel her trembling at his touch.

He was going to be careful not to make any noise, but then on the outside chance that Danielle was asleep, she wouldn't know he'd arrived home if he was too quiet. With a grin and a plan, he opened the screen door and let it hit the frame behind him as it closed.

Not sure if she would hear the back door from the front bedroom, he hung his hat on the peg and walked around the kitchen table three times. The sound of his boots should be echoing upstairs right about now.

Satisfied that he'd made enough noise to give her a chance to wake up, he headed for the stairs. Taking them two at a time, he made it to the top as the door to the front bedroom opened. There, in the doorway, stood his sleep-tousled angel. The neckline of her T-shirt slipping off one shoulder, exposing creamy, smooth skin he just had to taste.

Drawn to her like a magnet to true north, he locked gazes with her and slowly walked toward her. “Were you waiting for me?”

She combed a hand through her hair and tucked it behind her ear. “Uh… no. Did you just get home?”

Deflated but not defeated, he smiled. “Why are you up if you're not waiting for me?”

She shook her head as if she was trying to clear it. “I don't know… one minute I was sleeping and then something must have woken me up.” Her befuddlement was endearing. He closed the gap between them until the toes of his boots were snugged up against the prettiest little feet. Damn, he had it bad if he was rhapsodizing over her feet.

It was his turn to shake his head, but the sight of her coral-painted toenails started his guts to churning with want, and there was no way he could just walk away from her tonight.

“Dani darlin', I—” What could he say?
I
want
you
so
bad
it
hurts.
Like that would entice her into his arms. He never had a problem talking a woman into bed before… why now?
Because
she
matters.

He was silent long enough that she started to shift from one foot to another. Finally she asked, “Can I make a cup of tea?” When he just stared at her, she offered, “I could make one for you too.”

His johnson was so hard he didn't think he could walk, and she wanted to make him a damned cup of tea? The door frame was enticingly close; he could start banging his head on it to ease the ache inside of him.

She faltered. “You're probably tired and not interested in talking…”

Her voice trailed off and he kicked himself for making her uneasy. If he could get her into the kitchen, maybe he could talk her into sitting outside on the swing… that could lead to some serious necking and maybe something more.

“Sure.” He held out his arm and she grabbed a hold of it.

When they got to the stairs, he straightened his arm, and when she would have let go, he held her hand and led her downstairs.

“It's so quiet,” she mused, reaching up to get two mugs out of the overhead cabinet. “Do you really want hot tea?”

He shook his head. “I'd rather have something cold.” While she heated water in the microwave, he rummaged around in the fridge and finally settled for iced tea, sensing that cracking open a cold one might not fit the mood he was going for.

When she had her cup in her hand and moved toward the table, he asked, “Want to go sit on the swing?”

Her eyes widened, but she didn't hesitate. “I'd love to.”