Stony Creek Cowboy [Stony Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) (22 page)

Billie glanced up from the garlic parmigiano bread rolls she was making and had to be careful not to drool. Jackson came downstairs an hour later, having showered as well for the holiday. Jackson was rubbing his hair with a hand towel while the rest of his sculpted male parts were on display as his towel dipped dangerously low. So low, her mouth became dry as her eyes ate him up, starting at the chiseled six-pack abs to the line of dark hair that led to what she knew should be a registered lethal weapon. With a silent chuckle, she admitted that it was her desire for that weapon and the man attached that was turning her from a proper professional woman to a pile of sexual mush. Oh, but what a way to go.

“Um, did you shop for your Thanksgiving outfit at Bed Bath & Beyond or Linens n Things?”

His chagrined expression was met with her laughter. “Do you like it, baby?”

“Yes, yes I do. I think you should wear it every day. Well, at least every day you do something naughty that might make me mad. Your outfit would definitely distract me!”

With a devilish grin, he threw the hand towel aside and looked down. In one swift move, he met her fascinated gaze and pulled the main towel from his hips, never faltering in his path straight for her. He was a god. There was no other possibility. Every muscle on him had definition from a life of physical labor on the ranch. Add to it his great height and gorgeous green eyes. You could easily be distracted from any conscious thought by simply watching the sway of his erection and scrotum as he strode purposefully toward his target.

“Is this any better, baby?” he asked with an innocent look on his face.

“Um, nope. Definitely not better, Jackson.” Billie resorted to just covering her eyes with both of her hands. The effect, however, was ruined as she split her fingers to get one last glimpse of his naked perfection.

Jackson took pity on her and rewrapped himself as he sat in a chair at the island. “What are these that you are making, baby? They smell heavenly.”

“Just rolls for your mom. It’s the pies that you smell. You do know that you are a pie whore. You will eat anyone’s pie. Oh, excuse me!” Billie began to blush profusely at her unintended innuendo. That was
not
what she had meant but exactly how Jackson had taken it!

“No, baby, I have had pie from here to Alaska and trust me, there is no pie in the world as delicious as yours!” He winked, licked his lips, and flashed a naughty smile.

“You are a Neanderthal, buddy! You know what I meant.” She really couldn’t respond with much gusto, though, because he was too darned adorable. “I must have been so knocked out. I didn’t feel you leave me this morning and definitely didn’t hear your truck return.”

“That’s because I rode Lachlan back. I didn’t even want to go back for my truck because I wanted to get back to your…pie.” A lump of dough slapped him right in the side of his head.

“What did I say?” Jackson asked.

* * * *

Thanksgiving at the Powell’s was much like their Sunday dinners except there was even more food, football on the TV in every room, and most everyone was inebriated. Florence was in the kitchen with a distant cousin singing very off-tune to what Billie thought resembled a Frank Sinatra song. Privately, Jackson quickly updated the men on his run-in with Len and the most recent text threats against Billie while asking them not to bring it up again today, so Billie wouldn’t be nervous. There was a rapid-fire discussion on the subject before the room again became the typical male haven of beer, food, and sports. The den had several men throwing napkins and plastic forks when they didn’t care for a play, while in the dining room, where Billie sat with Lillian, there was serious discussion going on. That is if hearing about Ben’s butt dimples when he was a baby could be considered serious. The expression on his face was. Ben sat there, red and about to explode as his mother drunkenly told the crowd that his tush was the most adorable of the bunch and everyone should give it a pinch before leaving.

“Mom! Enough! Time to put down the wine and pick up the coffee,” Ben grouched.

“Lillian, leave the boy alone. You are embarrassing him. Just because he is a little klutzier than the rest doesn’t mean we should put him on display,” Bill drunkenly sang out.

Billie was enjoying this. Apparently, drunken Powells equaled interesting information about each of them. She liked this game and only hoped that she wouldn’t have to participate in it. So far, no one had asked her why she didn’t have family or friends from back East visiting for the holiday, and she was too embarrassed to tell them that there weren’t very many people she would want to see. After digesting that thought, she looked around the table and realized that these people had come to mean so much to her in a very short time. Definitely more than her own family had ever meant to her. Was it sad or was it a sign that she was growing and evolving enough to recognize warmth and love when presented with it? She decided to choose the later. Hopefully the conversation would roll around to Jackson soon. She couldn’t wait to hear the juicy details about him! However, it appeared that they weren’t done roasting Ben yet. At six foot six, there was a lot to roast, she supposed.

Brody yelled in from the den, “Don’t forget that Ben likes cows more than he likes girls! He has never brought any women home yet!”

“Who cares if I have brought home a girl yet? I always have a date on the weekends, unlike you. Since your girlfriend, you haven’t dated anyone, dummy! For someone who loves to talk to everyone, it seems you have nothing important to say.” Ben returned the volley.

“I am too busy with both my hands full, cuz!” Brody boasted proudly.

Florence gave a timely interruption to where the conversation was going. “That will be enough out of you, young man! If we are going to talk about Brody, then let’s be proud of him. Your father was immensely proud of you for how you handled your bronco-riding rodeo career. You kept winning and winning, yet you didn’t let it overtake your love of the ranch. Martin was very proud indeed not only of all your buckles but that you knew who you were and what mattered to you. If you had to choose to continue, we would have supported you no matter what, but that you came back to something you loved even more, well, your father and I …well, you know.”

“He did come home to the ranch ’cause he loves it, but let’s be frank. He went through so many women that he…” A wadded up napkin was hurled at Cole’s head, ending his opinion that Brody had slept with every woman in Wyoming. Billie, along with the rest of the table, was in stiches from all the laughter. Cole was normally quiet and more a listener than an instigator but Billie thought he did pretty well with that one!

“Cole cannot get his head away from learning. Never could. His father and I were always amazed how he could run bales out to the herd and come back able to tell us some new information he had learned on ancient Greece or something! Now, if only he would put that focus on a lady friend!” Florence laughed in the direction of her youngest. Cole just smiled indulgently at his mother, not quite comfortable with being the center of everyone’s attention.

Suddenly Lillian’s gaze shifted to her youngest. Troy looked up with his mouth full of Billie’s cranberry stuffing. “What?” he said.

“My baby boy.” She sniffled back her tears.

“Tiny and a baby. Now the truth comes out. Mom, are you sure he is actually yours?” Troy laughed out.

“Jackson, please behave yourself. You are next in line, buster. I would be careful what you say because there is much I want to share about you, darling boy.” Lillian laughed. “Now where was I? Oh, my baby. If you hadn’t gone to college and learned to be the computer wizard that you are, where would this ranch be? I cannot tell you how amazed we are that you can take care of all the ranch bills and sales on the computer. Do you have any idea how long that used to take your father to do? Or how much he hated it?”

“I did hate it, but I never took that long. I beg to differ. I could handle it all pretty well.” Bill defended himself while giving Lillian a slap on her rump affectionately.

“Dad, we all know you hated it and it took you forever. Period. I don’t mind doing it. I kind of like it,” Troy said proudly.

Florence leaned over and whispered in Lillian’s ear. They both dissolved into giggles and swung their gazes in Jackson’s direction.

“Oh shoot. What? Just get it out of your systems! Ugh, someone get me another beer, please. I need liquid fortification for this! Stop laughing, Billie, or your turn may be next!” Jackson grumbled.

“Ah, but there is no one here to divulge my secrets. No one has known me since birth and can tell you my little ‘isms’ that I have,” Billie countered with.

“I can.” All eyes turned toward a quiet, masculine voice from the doorway. Cole, at six foot four inches, was hardly a slouch in the height or looks department. He loved to tease his brother and cousins but tended to be shy around others. Jackson had figured that he would be the only one to razz Billie, but then he remembered that Cole was the observant one. He wondered what he noticed about Billie.

“You came out here to belong. I suspect you have always been a brilliant woman, kind and considerate. It is why you are such a good doctor, but I wonder what your family was like back there. I think there must have been a void, one that you have just started to fill. You emanate joy and probably surprise yourself daily at how happy you are. Your beautiful home, full of detail and thought, is a reflection of you and your personality. I personally share your love of reading and plan on raiding your library of books on ancient cultures. Jackson is barely literate, so he won’t mind if we have a special relationship based on old architecture.”

Lillian, Florence, and the rest of the table looked back to Billie for some sort of affirmation or denial. Quickly recovering from her shock at how astute he was, she just starting to softly clap and smile. Cole returned that smile and sauntered over to the table to give her a light kiss on the top of her head.

“I am very literate, you overgrown ape. If I didn’t know how shy you were, I would swear you were scheming to steal my girl. However, since you cannot take the time away from your precious reading, I know you won’t be able to overcome my charming, sparkling personality!”

Billie gave Jackson a light squeeze on his thigh and leaned into him slightly to give him an unspoken moment of reassurance. Everyone laughed at the exchange, but Billie could feel Jackson’s slight jealousy that his cousin had her pegged in two seconds. She leaned up and turned his face with her hand. His soft-green eyes met hers as he lowered his head to meet her lips. Billie kept her hand cupping his cheek as she gently kissed him with all the love she felt for him. She heard him groan and slant his head to deepen the kiss with gentle swipes of the tip of his tongue. Suddenly the room seemed very quiet. The two of them separated slightly to the sounds of raucous laughter as their private moment was interrupted. Sheepishly they looked at each other as he cuddled Billie into his embrace.

“See, this is why I am proud of Jackson! He can fix anything, talk anyone out of anything, and was also an amazing bull rider. However, it is this miracle, this change where his heart is full of love again that makes us so happy,” Lillian said while hugging her husband a bit too tightly.

“The boy always had love, Lill, he just chose wrong,” Bill said with some humorous authority. “Now he has the way of it!” he said with a wink and smile at Billie, who was blushing at the compliment.

“Now that we have run through all the Powell boys, let’s get to the good stuff,” yelled Brody from the other room.

“Yeah, let’s talk about Hunter!” Troy volunteered with far too much enthusiasm.

“What? Why?” was all of Hunter’s reply.

“It’s your turn, bud! You hardly speak unless it’s to all those dogs you save. You grunt, growl, and basically act like a crabby woman all the time!” Troy was treading on thin ice.

“Hey!” the women of the room yelled at Troy. Florence took it a step further and slapped her nephew in the back of his head.

“Ouch! Aunt Florence, it’s true!”

“It is not.” Again, Billie definitely could not see Hunter ever discussing his feelings or thoughts extensively with anyone, ever! Yet, he was one of the kindest, gentlest men she had ever met. He did love to take strays dogs in on his ranch. He obviously loved his best friends, Troy and Cole, as well as the rest of the Powell clan, but it was his surly demeanor that Billie appreciated most. It was a total smoke screen for his affections to be kept private. Billie just wanted to hug Hunter as he, too, didn’t have blood family in the room.

She did the next best thing. “Hunter is a warm, wonderful, man who has no need to use flowery language or make long speeches. Women all know immediately what an amazing man he is just by his presence and smile. Besides, I have yet to see him crabby. He is wonderful!”

If it were possible for Hunter’s huge, muscular chest to get any larger, it would have with how he puffed it out at Billie’s compliments.

“Someone take a picture! Quick!” Cole yelled out. “I think he is going to smile!”

As if on cue, he did. Billie thought he was just charming. She could tell from the tightening of Jackson’s embrace that he was again slightly jealous at her attentions to his friend. The effect was ruined, however, with Hunter stealing the show.

“Um, Lillian. Would you care to regale us with how much you love Jackson’s behind? I mean, it does have that birthmark on the upper left cheek and…”