AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He pulled up in front of her wing of the house. When he shut the engine off, it seemed almost unnaturally quiet, especially after the constant buzz of a Friday night at the Last Stand Saloon. He unfastened his seat belt, then turned in the driver’s seat to look at her. And waited.
And suddenly, that quiet was alive, humming between them as if he’d said something startling. Shocking. Suggestive? Was he waiting to be invited in? If he was, would she invite him?
Nicole Baylor was not an indecisive person. She’d always known what she wanted in life and went after it. But now she couldn’t seem to speak or move. And Jackson was just... looking at her. Waiting.
She groaned inwardly. She had to get away from him. She couldn’t think straight when he wasright there. Almost on her thought, he turned away and opened his door. She was a little stunned at how empty the vehicle suddenly felt, and it took her a moment to realize he’d walked around to open the passenger door for her. She ordered herself to snap out of it. She belatedly undid her own seat belt and turned to get out. She was not used to such uncertainty and, somewhat embarrassedly had to admit she didn’t know what to do.
There was another frozen moment, with her staring up into those eyes, trying to read him. And for that moment, he was looking at her the same way, assessingly, as if he were trying to gauge if she—
He stepped back, and the cold night air rushed in between them. She’d waited too long. And as if the chill had numbed her, she silently walked to her front door, regret already bubbling beneath the surface.
Why couldn’t she find the words? True, she hadn’t been in this situation for a very long time, alone with a man she was attracted to—okay, beyond attracted, a man she flat-out wanted—with nothing to keep them from pursuing this heat that seemed to spark between them. She had kissed him once, and he had kissed her back, after all. But now he politely followed and waited, like the gentleman he obviously was at heart, until she had it open.
So here she stood, Nicole Baylor, well-known trainer who’d dealt with some contrary horses in her time, including one pretty ornery stud, and she had no idea what to do. And thinking of Jackson in conjunction with that fiery stallion, who knew exactly what his purpose in life was, completely derailed any logical thought process.
He leaned in and whispered something she was too befuddled at the moment to process. And it wasn’t until he was back in the SUV and headed up the hill that the words—and the meaning—registered.
If you change your mind, you know where I am.
She watched the taillights recede, then vanish at the turn toward the hill house.
If you change your mind, you know where I am.
That had to mean he felt the same, didn’t it?
For a moment she almost wished he was one of those guys who’d try to convince her with a swarm of kisses and touches until she was too hot to say no. But for all that he came out of Hollywood, he obviously was not one of those. He’d been a perfect gentleman, a Texas gentleman, as her mother would have said.
Her mother. Who had orchestrated this whole night. Who had sent them out together, hoping for... what? What had Mom hoped to accomplish?
The answer should have hit her back when Mom had first said it, which was a measure of how disconcerted she was. Because it was crystal clear, now.
Jeremy can stay overnight . . .
Also belatedly, it hit her that Jackson could have gone in and gotten Jeremy to take him home. But he hadn’t. He’d left him here, with her folks, and headed home. Alone. The only night alone he’d had since he’d arrived.
And who knew when there’d ever be another one? There might never be another chance like this one.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jackson regretted whathe’d said the moment the words came out, not because he hadn’t meant them—because he certainly, breathlessly had—but because he was sure what he thought he’d seen in her had been wishful thinking. She hadn’t really looked at him like she’d wanted him to kiss her again.
She probably regretted the first time. She probably wished he’d just back off. Probably thought he expected her to crumple at his feet just because of who he was. He knew she’d thought that of him in the beginning. But now?
Could we maybe put that behind us?
Consider it in the rearview mirror.
Didn’t that sort of imply they were moving... ahead?
He gave a sharp shake of his head as he parked the car and went inside. The spacious, vaulted great room which had seemed welcoming before echoed a bit hollowly now. Amazing how much space one little boy could fill, both inside this building and inside his heart.
They needed that dog. Keller had promised to call as soon as his brother got home. Chance Rafferty and his wife were off to rescue yet another military K9 deemed unsalvageable. He’d looked up the website forThey Also Serveand been impressed with both Chance and the mission.
Another Texas man stepping up.
He hung up his jacket, walked over to the kitchen, and tossed his keys on the counter. That put him standing in front of the upper cabinet, where, when they’d moved in and he’d been checking to see if the necessary utensils for what home cookinghe did—he’d learned a bit since Leah had died and he’d had to—were there, and he’d found an unopened bottle of tequila.
He pulled it out now, contemplating. Wondered, as he did now and then, if those weeks of losing himself in booze meant he could never have a drink again. He studied the label.Outlaw Tequila, read the label. And he remembered driving by a location with a sign saying just that on their way to the saloon. Directly behind the saloon, in fact. Convenient, considering the amount he’d seen Slater Highwater pouring tonight.
