Romancing the Ranger (9 page)

Lord have mercy, her hair smelled amazing.

“Did you get one of those beers for me?” Reese stood in front of him, her question breaking through his thoughts. She smiled up at him, her face happy and lit like a ray of sunshine.

He handed her a bottle, and her fingers brushed his as she took it. “I saw Toby trying to grab your ass as you danced.”

Geez. Where did that come from?
He’d planned to say something about getting her a cold one, but it seemed her happy positive vibe somehow brought out his dark thoughts of jealousy and her leaving.

Her smile fell and her happy expression was replaced with one of surprise. “What’s wrong? Are you jealous?” The smile returned, this time taking over her whole face. “You are. You got jealous that someone else was dancing with me.”

He could feel his own scowl deepen. “Why does that make you so durned happy?” He would never understand women.

She leaned forward, putting her lips next to his ear and inadvertently giving him a great view down the front of her dress. His face might be scowling, but other parts of him were suddenly feeling very happy as her breath tickled his neck.

“That means you like me,” she whispered, her voice low and sexy.

Yes. He guessed that’s exactly what it meant.

But she didn’t need to know that. “Don’t get cocky. Maybe I just don’t want half the town looking down your dress or trying to cop a feel.”

She grinned up at him. “Because you like me.”

The smile happened before he could stop it. He felt the corner of his lip twitch upward, and he took a swig of beer to hide the expression.

Too late. She saw it and grinned back.

Her grin turned impish, and he knew a naughty thought had just crossed her mind. “How about you take me back to your place, and I let you look down my dress
and
cop a feel. Or two.”

“Or ten.” He did like the way this woman thought. Grabbing her hand, he waved good-bye to his grandmother and Harry and tugged her toward the truck. “Let’s go.”

…

The following Monday morning Wade stepped out of his truck. He carried a tray of iced coffees and a bag of maple-iced donuts.

Reese was already on the job site, her blond hair pulled up into a ponytail and a blue ball cap on her head. She wore the khaki shorts that he loved and a tank top that clung to all the right spots.

Damn. This was a view he’d miss.

The project was almost finished. It wouldn’t take them more than another day or two. That thought didn’t make him happy.

“What’s this?” Reese asked, taking the tray of coffees from him.

“Iced coffee. I had them put in cream and the flavor you like.” He drew an arm across his forehead. “It’s too hot for regular coffee.”

“I’ve never had an iced coffee. I’ve always wanted to try one.” She pursed her lips around the straw and took a sip. He couldn’t help but look at her mouth. She had a great mouth.

She closed her eyes in bliss. How come everything she did seemed sexy as hell to him?

“Yum. It’s delicious.” She opened her eyes and grinned at him. “I love it when you introduce me to new things.”

“You mean like that thing last night in the truck?”

She laughed. “Well, yes, that, but I also meant like fishing, and frog legs, and maple-iced donuts.” She eyed the bag he was holding. “Speaking of which, do you by any chance have my new favorite flavor in that bag?”

“I sure do.” He passed her the bag, not sure if he could take watching her eat a donut.

He loved the way she licked the frosting from her lips.

Dang. He had it bad.

What would he do next week when she was gone?

He had started to look forward to seeing her every day. Counted on hearing her laugh and her stupid jokes.

Maybe he should tell her how he felt. Tell her that she meant something to him and that he wasn’t ready for her to go back to the city and leave him behind.

He could suggest that maybe they both take a week of vacation. Go backpacking in the mountains. Get to know each other better. Nothing helps you to know the real personality of a woman until you take her into the mountains for a few days with only a backpack.

Somehow he thought Reese would do fine.

He imagined her laughing and taking everything in stride. Finding the positive in all of their experiences.

Or maybe he could ask her to go away with him. They could drive down to Santa Fe, or he could take her to Mesa Verde.

Yeah. Right. With what?

He couldn’t afford to take a week’s vacation and with all the debt Tawnya left him, he couldn’t afford to pay for a weekend in a hotel, let alone a whole week.

Who was he kidding? Even without the credit card debt, he wouldn’t be able to take her to the kind of hotel she was used to. He’d never be able to take her anywhere in the style she was accustomed to.

Maybe it was for the best that she was leaving. Then he could just put her out of his mind and get on with his life. Forget about her and just focus on his job and all the things he’d been letting slide at the B&B these last few weeks. Let her get back to her own life.

Uh-huh, he should just forget about her. Yeah, right.

“You all right?” Reese gave him a questioning look. She had a dab of maple glaze right above her lip, and he ached to lick it from her mouth.

Just tell her how you feel.
See if there’s a chance she’s feeling the same way
. “Yeah, sure. I was just thinking there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”

There, he’d said something. Laid the groundwork. Now to actually tell her what he was feeling.

“Oh good, I need to talk to you, too. I wanted to tell you that I’m leaving on Wednesday. The building is almost done, and my dad’s pressuring me to get back to work.”

Wednesday?

He’d thought he would at least have the rest of the week. And he’d hoped through the weekend.

Maybe he could stall the project. Add in an extra task they needed to complete. “Oh yeah, of course. I understand.”

She picked up a paintbrush. “I thought since we were down to the painting, we’d be able to finish up today or tomorrow. Is that right, or do you think it will take longer?”

Yes. It will take much longer. Like another week. Actually another month. You need to stay.

“Nope, if we put in a good couple of days, we should be able to finish up by tomorrow and get you on the road by Wednesday. You can be back in your skirt and high heels and sitting at your desk by Thursday morning.”

She frowned. “Somehow that thought doesn’t excite me. I’d rather be here, painting an outhouse with you. What does that say about my life?”

She just handed out the perfect opening.
Tell her to stay, you idiot.
But the words wouldn’t come. He’d somehow lost the ability to open his mouth. He shrugged.

“You said you wanted to talk to me?”

Did her face have a hint of hopefulness about it? Was she waiting for him to ask her to stay?

“Oh, uh, it was nothing, really. Just that I thought you missed a spot on the trim.” He fumbled for the words to say. “And, uh, Gram wanted me to tell you to be sure to remind her about that recipe you wanted for the chocolate chip muffins.”

Idiot.

“Oh, of course. I really did like those muffins.” She turned the paintbrush over in her hands, and he thought he saw a tinge of pink creeping up her neck.

“I was thinking…” She hesitated. “Actually, I was wondering, if you might want to come down to Denver next weekend and go out on a date. With me, I mean.”

“Um, yeah, sure, okay.” Why did all of his responses make him sound like a bumbling fool? “How about Saturday night? Would that work? Pick you up at six?”

“Make it five.” She grinned.

“It’s a date.”

“Yeah. It’s a date.”

…

Reese set the paintbrush down on top of the paint can and stood back to look at the little building.

It was done. She couldn’t believe they’d finished it.

She never would have thought she could build an outhouse, and she smiled at their completed project.

Having the building finished was bittersweet though because that meant she wouldn’t see Wade every day anymore.

Wouldn’t get to start her day eating donuts and drinking coffee with him, wouldn’t get to brush up against him as they worked side by side, wouldn’t get to sneak up to the waterfall and kiss in front of the rushing water.

It was late afternoon on Tuesday, and she wished she hadn’t decided to go home on Wednesday. She wanted one more day. Hell, she wanted one more week—one more month—to spend with him.

“Nice work,” Wade said, walking past her to load his tools into the truck. “I’m proud of you.”

Her chest filled with pride. “Thanks. I’m kind of proud of me, too. I never thought I’d be able to do this.”

He grinned down at her. “You’ve done a lot of new things these past few weeks.”

A warm flush crept up her neck. “How do you know I haven’t tried some of those things before?”

He laughed. “I meant the writing and working on the novel.”

“Oh yeah, that’s what I meant, too.” She laughed with him.

“By the way, I read the new pages you gave me yesterday, and I thought they were great. I really like the plot line and where you’re taking the story. You really drew me in to the new scene, and I cracked up at that part where she told her boss to take a hike.”

The satisfaction she felt in completing the outhouse didn’t begin to compare to the pride she felt at Wade’s words of encouragement about her writing.

She’d been surprised when he’d offered to read some of her work and even more shocked when he’d actually read it and offered constructive criticism. She loved talking over the plot of the book with him. He was a great sounding board, as he listened and threw out new ideas. His encouragement gave her the confidence to keep going and filled her heart with deeper feelings for him.

“Thanks. I had a lot of fun writing that part.”

“I bet.” He set his tool box in the backseat of the truck and pulled out a package of toilet paper. “Here’s the last piece to finishing the outhouse. You want to do the final honors?”

“Sure.”

He tossed her the package, and she opened the door to the little building. A plexi-glass skylight offered plenty of light as the door shut behind her. She filled the holder with a fresh roll and put the rest of the package into the small cabinet Wade had built for supplies.

The little room smelled like sawdust and fresh paint. She looked around, happy and proud of what they’d created.

On a whim, she pulled a Sharpie marker from her tool pouch. Inside the cabinet, on an inconspicuous wall, she drew a heart and wrote “
WB + RH
” inside.

It was silly and juvenile, but also seemed fitting and somehow wildly romantic.

If Wade saw it, he’d probably tease her about defacing park property. But she didn’t care.

She’d left her mark on this building by drawing the heart. Hopefully she’d left her mark on the actual heart of the man whose initials she’d just written.

…

Wednesday came way too fast for Wade.

He carried Reese’s things down to her car and stood waiting while she said good-bye to his grandmother. Gram would have no trouble asking her to stay a little longer or to come back for a visit.

In fact, the reason Reese was leaving mid-afternoon was because Gram had talked her into staying for lunch. And dessert.

The screen door slammed, and Reese walked out, the chunky little pug in her arms.

He was going to miss that funny little mutt, too. With all the pampering Reese and Gram had given it, the dog’s leg had healed, and it was getting around fine now.

He reached for the dog and held him against his chest. “Take it easy, Bagel. Stay off that leg.” He smiled at Reese. “I know it sounds funny, but I’m going to miss this guy.”

A sad look crossed her face before she quickly replaced it with a smile. “He’s going to miss you, too. He’s gotten used to all the attention and affection.”

Was she still talking about the dog? “Well, keep up the writing.”

Her smile turned into a full-faced grin. “Oh, I will. I’ve already completed half the book, and I can’t wait to finish it. I think about it all the time.” She gave him a naughty smile. “Well, not
all
the time.”

He chuckled. “Keep me in mind if you need to work on any of those bedroom scenes. I can help you work out where your hero might put his hands. Or his lips.”

She grinned up at him. “Bedroom scenes? Don’t you mean scenes at the lake, and on the hiking trails, and in a truck?”

He grinned back. “Yeah, I can help you with those, too.”

He loved how they could so easily banter back and forth. She made him laugh like no one else did. And he loved how she looked so classy and then let dirty little jokes fall out of her mouth.

He wanted to take her in his arms and give her a proper good-bye.

Better yet, tell her to stay. Just a few more days.

“I bet your clients will be happy to see you.”

She set her purse in the front seat and reached for the dog. “Oh shoot, that reminds me. My dad planned a big thing with a couple of our clients for Saturday night. There’s no way I can get out of it. Would you be okay if we moved our date out one week and you came down the next weekend?”

His smile faltered.

Was this how it was going to be? Was this her subtle way of getting rid of him? Just keep putting him off until he went away?

Bagel whined and licked his face as she took the dog from his arms.

“Sure, that’s fine.”

She set the dog in the passenger seat and turned back to him. Raising her arms, she linked them around his neck. “I’m really sorry. I could try to get out of it. I could start faking a cough now.” Her eyes shone with amusement, and she feigned a quick little cough.

“Nah, it’s okay. I’ve got stuff to do this weekend anyway.” Pulling her against him, he leaned down and kissed her gently.

She pressed into him, deepening the kiss, sliding her tongue between his lips and ravaging his mouth.

His hands slid down and cupped her butt. Her luscious round ass fit perfectly into his palms. She fit perfectly against him. Like she was the missing puzzle piece that would complete his life.