33
I t took everything in Jake to break the kiss, but he couldn’t put her down, not yet.
“Lynnie, you make me lose my head.” He placed a soft kiss on the side of her neck then lowered her back to her feet. “Put some clothes on or we’ll miss dinner.”
“I could go for that.”
“I wouldn’t complain, but if we did it, then your cousin would come looking for us. Is that what you want?” If it was, he’d deal with it. Anything to put a smile back on her face. He hadn’t intended to, but when he’d found her leaning against the wall, trying to catch her breath, he realized he’d scared her.
Jake wanted to kick himself. He should have known better than to just come in like that, without at least calling out as he stepped inside to let her know it was him. He didn’t know if Iceman would do the same, but he’d stop and talk to him later just to be sure neither of them scared her like that again.
She stared up at him for a moment then shook her head. “We better not. He’ll be gone soon enough, then we’ll have more time.”
Jake wasn’t sure about that. Yeah, they might have a little more once her cousin went home, but then they still had both chapters here, at least for a few more days. And once Tuck and the rest of the Tucson chapter left, it was back to the everyday work of the ranch. She might find she had a lot more time on her own than she really wanted.
Hopefully, they’d be able to put an end to this bullshit with the Wandering Sons and that fucking reward, then as much as he hated to think about it, she could go back to her life. He just wanted enough time to convince her that she could have that life here, with him. She didn’t need to go back to Alabama to go on with her life. But hadn’t she said something about finding work here? Did that mean maybe he could convince her to stick around?
He let her slide down his body, making sure she stayed steady while she got her feet under her, then he leaned down and kissed her lips before standing again.
“Let me grab a shirt.” He glanced down her body, hating to have to let her go. “And you might want to find something to put on too. Then we’ll go eat. Before you know it, it will be bedtime and we’ll be right back here again.” He kissed the tip of her nose before releasing her and going to find himself a shirt.
Would he rather have taken her to bed, to hell with dinner? Of course, but if his coming in scared her like that, he wanted to talk to her cousin before he did the same and scared her again.
“I need to go check on a couple of things with the prospects and Lurch. I’ll meet you outside in a few.” Jake tugged his shirt over his head and on, then turned for the door. He wasn’t lying, he would check in, but his main goal was her cousin and preventing a repeat of the panic she’d gone through when he’d come in.
“Sure. I’ll be out in just a few.”
“Take all the time you need. It’s not like we’ll run out of food or there’s a schedule we need to stick to.”
Jake made his way out, through the bunkhouse, looking around for Iceman on his way, then stopped by the outdoor kitchen where the prospects from both chapters worked under London’s supervision. After making sure nothing there needed his attention, he scanned the clearing they were using as a gathering spot. There Iceman was, just coming around the building. Jake didn’t know where he’d been, but if he had to guess, he’d say the other man’s truck, which he’d parked next to Lynnie’s next to the trailer.
“Hey, just the man I was looking for,” he said as stepped up to Iceman.
“I’d think you had your fill of me today,” Iceman said with a grin that faded when he saw Jake wasn’t laughing.
“Let’s sit down for a sec.” Jake motioned to an empty picnic table.
“Is something wrong?”
“Not really but I wanted to give you a head’s up. I just went out to the trailer to change shirts, didn’t want to knock dirt off the one I was wearing into my dinner. I didn’t think much of it, I opened the door and went inside, like she told me to when she first got here.”
“Okay?” Iceman made the one word a question, because he didn’t see a problem with what he was being told apparently. That made Jake feel a bit better. He wasn’t the only one who hadn’t thought about it.
“I hadn’t made it back to the bedroom yet when she called out asking who was there. I could tell from her voice that she was scared. I realized how scared when I saw her. She was all but trembling, even knowing it was me by then.”
“And you wanted to tell me because?”
“Because I wanted to warn you not to just go inside. I don’t know if you would, but it’s your place, I wouldn’t blame you if you did, but call out, let her know it’s you, something.”
Iceman was quiet for a moment, watching Jake with narrowed eyes that made Jake wish he knew the man better, that he had some inkling what he was thinking.
“You think it was the news about the Sons and the reward?” Iceman asked after a moment.
“I do.” Jake shrugged. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t have told her. I was coming to do the same thing. She needs to know what she’s up against. I just want you prepared, so you don’t scare her like I did.”
“I’m sure the talk we had while you were gassing up didn’t help.”
“What was that?” Jake had noticed they’d moved out of the way while he’d been busy, but he hadn’t paid any attention to what they’d been talking about.
“She told me that if I didn’t take your bunk, she would give me the big bed in the trailer while she took the couch. I told her why that wouldn’t be happening. The last thing I would do is put her between me and the door. I told her that. I told her I will probably sleep in the bed of my truck, partly because I like the open sky, partly because that will put me as a first line of defense if anyone approaches her trailer.”
“Well, second or third. We’ve got alarms on the front gate that let us know when someone comes through, but I get what you’re saying. And I appreciate it, but you’re right that conversation then my not letting her know who it was when I went inside, didn’t help.”
“No, it probably didn’t. I’ll be careful. I don’t want to scare her more than necessary, but I won’t hold things back from her either.” Iceman pinned him with a warning look. “I wouldn’t suggest you do either. If she finds out you’ve held something back from her, even if it’s to protect her, she’ll tear you a new one, and it may not be possible to regain her trust. She doesn’t trust most people easily. That she trusts you is the only reason I didn’t stop her from coming down here. Well, that and Cowboy said the Souls can be trusted. If I had any thought that you wouldn’t protect her as hard as I would, she wouldn’t be here, even if I had to install a room in my basement to lock her in.”
“That went dark quickly,” Jake said, trying to keep things from getting too dark. Heather came out of the bunkhouse, having obviously cut through like he had. Jake nodded in her direction. “I know better than to keep things from her. But I’ll do what I have to in order to keep her safe. She’s important to me.” The last thing he was prepared to do was to tell her cousin how he felt about her before he said it to Lynnie. But first he had to figure it out himself.
“I’m going to go wash up, I’ll be back in a minute.” Iceman pushed himself to his feet and headed for the bunkhouse. Jake watched as he stopped to talk to her for a few seconds, then continued past her and inside.