Love Me: The Complete Series (57 page)

She shrugged. “I didn’t exactly put my best foot forward. They’re gonna hate me.”

Wrong. He put a hand under her chin and lifted it so he could drop a kiss on her mouth. “They’ll love you once they understand the backstory. Who wouldn’t? Besides I really need Dad to help me understand David’s angle on this. Why’s he pushing so hard?”

Amanda pulled him back into another kiss that lasted a few minutes, then sighed. “Why does anyone push on big deals? Money. Go figure out where the money is, was, and will be, and you’ll have your answer.”

Jackson wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. “Yes, counselor. I love it when you get bossy. Can we channel that for later when we get back to your place?”

“Does that mean you’ll drop me at home before you go see your parents?”

“Uh, no, but nice try.”

They walked in silence to his Jeep. He still felt like he’d missed something about the Rickert land. What was there left to know?

It took less than fifteen minutes to drive to his parents’ ranch house. As he pulled in the drive, Amanda shot him a puzzled look. “Are we making a pit stop?”

“No, this is home.”

Her eyes swiveled toward the three-railed fence and the field of bluebonnets beyond. “I thought your parents lived in the city.”

He shook his head. “Nope, they have an apartment there but this is where they live—where I grew up. Since I was about ten. Carter lives down there.” He pointed toward a distant roof. “Lived, I mean. You know where he lives now. His mother’s still there, a great lady.”

• • •

Amanda acknowledged her misjudgment when they crunched over the gravel driveway to stop behind a sprawling ranch-style home with Austin limestone walls and a wraparound porch. She’d expected a downtown place right in the midst of the social scene, not something remote and quiet.

A burly dog with white around one ear and black on the other bound toward them. Its eyes were transparent blue. “That’s Titus. He’s a blue-heeler mix. Smart dog. Watch this.”

Jackson held up a hand. The dog sat. He motioned to the left, the dog walked—sideways. He motioned to the right, the dog backtracked his movements. Two hand movements toward the house and the dog had put his steps in reverse.

“Wow. He’s well trained.”

The front door slung opened and reverberated against the wall. They both focused on the porch as Jackson’s dad came out, leaning heavily on a walker. He dragged his right foot but stepped with the left, then pushed the walker forward and echoed the movement. As they approached, Jackson’s mother hovered behind to make sure no mishaps occurred. “Look who dropped in, Robert.”

Robert Holstenar remained focused on his feet, ignoring their approach, but grunted an acknowledgement.

Jackson’s whispered over Amanda’s shoulder, “Last chance to run, babe.”

Amanda planted a swift elbow to his gut and smiled. “Hi there, remember me?”

Lynn Holstenar raised a brow but kept her hands firmly planted on her husband’s waist until Robert lowered to a porch swing. “Sure we do. Amanda, right? Carter’s gir—”

Lynn’s words stopped when Jackson strung his fingers through Amanda’s hand and stepped onto the porch.

“How is Carter, Mom? Have you talked to him lately?” Was Jackson enjoying his mother’s confusion?

Lynn raised her eyes from their hands to Amanda then Jackson. “Last I heard, he and his
girlfriend
had made a show at the craft fair last weekend. Did she tell you about that?”

Huh, what?
“What craft fair?”

“Oh, please, everyone in town saw you two. Probably more of you than him since you apparently bared your britches.”

“What?” Jackson dropped Amanda’s hand and stepped back.

Was everyone Jackson knew crazy? “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What fair?”

Robert sat hunched in his chair. “Sssss … sssss. Sssss.” Was he laughing?

Lynn Holstenar plopped down on the swing beside Robert and thumped his leg. “Stop that. This isn’t funny. Can’t you see what’s going on here?”

Robert sucked in his cheeks and Amanda felt like laughing at his exaggerated I’m-in-trouble face.

Jackson crossed his arms and leaned against the wall by the door. “Exactly what
is
going on here, Mandy?”

Gulp. How the hell do I know?
She opened her mouth to speak but thought of—nothing. How can you explain something when you don’t even know what the something
is
? “Maybe we should let your mother speak as she seems to know the details better than anyone.”

Lynn Holstenar’s eyes narrowed and Amanda felt their laser-like sternness. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing there, sweetie, but this is my
son
and that other boy may as well be. Sure they’re competitive, but you can’t just hop back and forth like it doesn’t matter.”

Jackson rolled his eyes. “Mom, ease up. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. Isn’t there, Amanda?”

Sure there was. Only problem—she had no idea what the explanation would be. Apparently she’d just left East Deliverance, Texas, with the injured vet and wound up in West Deliverance. There was only one way to handle her situation. Amanda kept her mouth shut.

Lynn huffed. “Just go grab the paper off the table and take a look. The fair’s all over the community section with a real nice picture starring the two of them. Apparently they decided to get dressed up and take snapshots but ended up on the ground with her butt hanging out. Becky said it was the most hysterical thing she’d seen in a decade. Apparently you have some very pretty panties.” More laser-beam eyes.

Jackson darted
his
eyes between Amanda and his mother, then shoved off the wall and disappeared into the house. His bellowing laughter preceded his return.

“Oh, my God. That is hysterical—and it’s definitely
not
Amanda. Look, Mom.”

Lynn peered at the paper where his finger pointed out—a dark ponytail at the edge. “She’s wearing a wig?”

Jackson rolled his eyes. “No. She’s not wearing a wig. That’s Carter’s girlfriend all right, but it’s
not
Amanda.”

His mother sagged her shoulders and Robert lifted a hand and patted her leg. “I’m confused,” Lynn whispered.

“So am I.” Amanda searched the picture where a giant green ape-like creature sprawled under what appeared to be a nineteeth-century saloon girl. Her hooped skirt was over her head and yep, her panties were vividly displayed in full color. “Wow, your paper’s in color? All we get is black and white. Of course I never buy it because I can just read it on my tablet.”

Jackson laughed. “Mom, don’t worry. That’s not Amanda. We came here to talk about the BookMyss deal. Amanda and I have been—”

“Amanda and you were holding hands when you walked up.”

“Yes, what I need to know is—”

“You’ve never brought a woman here before.”

“No, but that’s not important. Let’s talk about the deal.”

“Yes, it
is
important. Why would you bring one of Carter’s girls here if she’s—”

Jackson growled and raised his voice. “I brought her here because she’s helping with the BookMyss thing and, and she’s
not
one of Carter’s girls.”

Lynn still didn’t get it. “But when we met, you introduced her as Carter’s girlfriend.”

Jackson strung a hand in his hair and Amanda wondered where this was going. His patience was wearing out and obviously he wasn’t ready to explain her to his parents. How could he? It wasn’t like they’d really ever put a name to their relationship anyway. “I did, but that was before she dumped him.”

Lynn focused on Amanda again. “You dumped Carter? Why? He’s a great guy.”

Amanda sighed. “Yes, he’s a great guy. Everyone says that. I
know
he’s a great guy.”

“Then why’d you dump him?”

Jackson coughed. “Because she’s in love with me, Mom. Now leave her alone.”

Amanda’s jaw dropped. “I am?”

Lynn echoed her expression. “She is?”

Robert twisted his fingers into his pant leg. “Ssss … sssss … ssss.”

Jackson knelt down in front of Amanda and pulled her face to his. Amanda’s stomach knotted. Was she?

“Look at me, Mandy. You know it’s true. We’ve been trying for years to pretend it’s not there but you know this is right.”

Amanda wanted to believe it, but—“You set me up with Carter.”

“That was the stupidest idea I’ve ever had.”

He was right. She
was
in love with him but he’d never really admitted the same. He’d recognized her feelings, but what about his? Had he set her up with Carter to try to get rid of her?

“No, I supposed it was a nice thing to do. Set your friends up with each other. I mean how else would you handle it? What an awkward situation.”

Jackson put a hand under her chin. “The only awkward part was seeing my best friend trying to kiss and make out with my girl. I wanted to kill him. I probably would have if you hadn’t dumped him first.”

Was he saying what she thought he was? “So, what does that mean exactly?”

Lynn Holstenar interrupted. “Yeah, Jackson, what does that mean?”

Both Jackson and Amanda turned to his mom and spoke in unison. “Shut up.”

Amanda would have to apologize for that later but this was
her
moment and she’d have it even if there was an audience. She pulled Jackson’s hair until he was staring into her eyes. “Focus here, Jax. What are you telling me? I need to know because I can’t keep doing this weekend investigator routine with you if you’re not—”

“I’m telling you I love you, Amanda. I’ve loved you since our senior year in college—it just took you running away for me to realize it. Thank God I found you.”

Her insides did a somersault. Then his words registered. “You found me.”

He nodded, not realizing what he’d said.

“Jackson, that’s it! Didn’t David say something about family meaning everything? Maybe he
knew
about Rickert.”

Amanda had to write it all down. She always thought better with a piece of paper and a pen. “Mrs. Holstenar, do you have a pad of paper I can borrow?”

Jackson’s mother glanced at her son, then to Amanda. “What on earth do you need a pad of paper for?”

Amanda smiled. “I’m sorry I snapped earlier, but, well, Jackson was—”

Lynn raised a brow. “Baring his heart to you and now you want a pad of paper. Why?”

Jackson’s mother was a tad bit on the caustic side. Amanda would need to get used to her comments. “I need to make a list, write everything down.” Obviously she didn’t get it. Amanda needed to piece it all together. “Jackson said it took me running away for him to realize, then he said he was glad he found me, right?”

Jackson stepped into his mother’s kitchen and returned with a yellow pad of paper. He handed it to Amanda. She met his eyes, full of love, and nodded. Did he know where she was going?

Lynn coughed. “So far, you haven’t exactly answered him either. For all he knows, you’re going to write down the pros and cons of Jackson over Carter.”

Amanda looked at the woman as if she’d lost her mind. Why would she say that? That was the dumbest thing ever.

Jackson laughed. “Mom, this is how Amanda works. Just stay with her and let her finish and you’ll see what she means.”

Lynn growled but Robert pinched his wife’s leg so she kept silent.

Amanda turned to the paper and started writing. “Remember when we first talked about the contract? None of the stuff about the archeological find was in there. I wish I had a copy of that one because this would be over and done with.”

Jackson smiled. “You and me both.”

Amanda nodded. He
got it.
She leaned over and kissed him. “Yes, you and me. So. What else do we know? We know that BookMyss has a ton of pre-paid invoices from your company for deliveries of … what, exactly? I didn’t really get that part.”

Jackson shrugged. “You’d have to ask David.”

Her eyes were wide and excited. “Right. And they’re in a rush to get this property so they can build out a manufacturing plant. But that’s the strange thing about this. BookMyss is a warehouse company. They don’t actually
make
anything. They simply order, store, and ship products. They don’t need that land and, to be honest, why would they want it? It’s out in the middle of nowhere and not even close to a major freeway or airport. It would cost a fortune to build there, not to mention utilities and expenses would be cost-prohibitive.”

Jackson moved closer and watched as she wrote down her thoughts. The scent of his cologne infused her with energy. She could feel his warmth and the words he’d just spoken fired her to keep going.

He tapped the paper. “You said, where’s the money in the deal, right?”

“Yep. But I was wrong. This isn’t just about the money. It never was.”

Confusion crossed his face and she wanted to kiss it away because he just didn’t get his part in this. “Come on, honey, string it all together. I left in the early part of spring. David took over the contract. Before that, who was working on it?”

She met his eyes and he held steady. He smiled. “You called me honey.”

Oh, she did. “Um, yeah.”

“You hate nicknames.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s all you got out of everything I just said?”

He took the pen out of her hand and dropped it on the pad. “Nope, I’m with you … maybe even a little ahead now. Babe. You and I were working on the contract together before you left. David took it over. Then it got shelved for some reason.”

Jackson nodded. “The girl at the flower shop. What was her last name?”

Yes! “Sanders.”

“Liquor!” Robert Holstenar shouted, startling all of them.

Jackson frowned. “Not now, Dad.”

“Yessss. Is bow liquor.” He slammed a hand on the walker and it crashed over on its side.

Lynn Holstenar opened her mouth and gasped. “Oh my God, he’s right. Jackson, he’s not saying liquor … he’s saying Rickert. It’s about Rickert. And David. And that girl. Where’s that damn picture?”

Jackson and Amanda both stared at Robert. Amanda had no idea what Lynn meant. Apparently neither did Jackson. “What picture, Mom?”