Chapter Twenty
“What do you think?” Axel asked Nick over the phone several hours later. His fingers tightened around the receiver. Axel hated how easily his mind jumped to worst-case scenarios.
He gazed out the south facing kitchen window and stared into the fading light. The dusk felt heavier than usual, shadows stretching long across the tall blades of green grass in the pasture like they were hiding something.
The horses still needed to be brought in for the night.
Jenna had opted to make supper after a quick shower and said she’d bring the horses in later.
The idea of her out there alone, had they not come here when they did, made his jaw clench.
Too many unknowns, too many risks. It was a good thing she was still here in the kitchen with him, especially with Nick’s alarming phone call.
Axel had finished the roof about an hour ago and a couple of hours earlier Nick had asked Jenna for her cell phone to bring along with him. Then he’d taken Daisy with him to Sam’s place. While Jenna had prepared supper, he’d taken a quick shower, and the food had been ready, so they’d eaten.
He’d been surprised she hadn’t asked about his relationship with Nick and what she’d seen last night. And he hadn’t mentioned going down on her today. Both of them had remained professional and discussed what needed to be done next on the ranch.
As they’d finished eating, Nick called with the news that he was still at Sam’s, and he’d found all four of the truck’s tires flat. A cold prickle ran down his spine. Four flats wasn’t bad luck, it was intention.
Jenna was moving quietly rinsing the dishes beside him and her presence was making him very aware the two of them were the only ones in the house.
Axel slowly strolled to the screen door and gazed out to check the ridge to see if anyone was up there. His gaze swept the treeline, searching for movement. Prison had taught him to trust the feeling of being watched. He wasn’t getting it now, but you never knew.
Nothing moved up there.
“Hell, Axel, you’re the mechanic. What do you think?” Nick’s voice crackled through the line, frustration apparent.
Axel took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He glanced at Jenna, who paused in her cleaning, sensing his tension.
“Four tires going flat at the same time is odd. Maybe you drove over a bunch of nails or screws coming over and just can’t see them?” Axel suggested, picturing the gravel road to Sam’s place.
He felt her eyes on him. She’d always sensed his shifts, even now.
The road to Sam’s was well-travelled. It passed Sam’s farmhouse and Jenna had said some neighbors up that way were ripping down an old barn on their property. Nails, and screws falling out of a truck on the way to the dump with a load of old wood would be common.
“Or someone let the air out of all the tires,” Nick countered, his tone wary.
His stomach dropped. Suddenly he wanted Nick here. Now. Safe.
“Or that. Use Sam’s truck and come back.”
“Can’t find the keys. Looked everywhere. He might have taken them with him on his keychain.”
“Okay, I’ll come over and pick you up,” Axel offered, already reaching for the keys to Jenna’s truck near the door.
“No, you stay there with Jenna. I’ll stay here in case someone is lurking about,” Nick replied firmly.
“It did cross my mind that this might be a play to get her alone,” Axel admitted, eyes narrowing at the thought.
He heard Jenna’s breath hitch at his comment, and his heart squeezed. He gazed her way and noticed she seemed on edge, her concern evident on her face. She was trying to be brave, but he could see the worry in her eyes.
“We can both come out,” Axel suggested, unwilling to leave Nick stranded.
“If you both come out, someone could be watching her place and do some damage while you’re gone.
I think it's best I stay here. I’ll sleep good knowing I’ve got the dog, and she’s a good watchdog.
You should see her chase down the rabbits out here,” Nick said with a laugh.
He didn’t seem scared or concerned. That was a good thing.
“You should stay inside the ranch house with Jenna tonight,” Nick suggested.
“Like I’m some kind of watchdog?” he teased.
Nick chuckled, catching Axel’s meaning.
“She’s a grieving widow and now her neighbour is dead. You might want to keep your pecker in your pants, Axe.”
“You have such a nice way with words, my man,” Axel said. The jab hit close. His self-control around Jenna was getting harder by the hour.
“Yeah, I should have been a writer. There’s a storm coming.
It’s lightning to the north. I gotta get the animals in.
I haven’t been able to locate a tire pump, but Sam has a bunch of tires in his barn, I’m sure some will fit the truck.
Like I said, I’ll stay here tonight and keep an eye on things.
Will call you in the morning. You just take care of Jenna. ”
“Am I detecting a bit of interest?” Axel asked, knowing full well Nick was quite interested in Jenna.
Besides, Jenna didn’t belong to him anymore. He’d lost that claim when he’d gone off to prison. The thought stung, and regret gnawed at him as it always did when he thought about screwing up his past.
“Gentlemen don't tell,” Nick replied, humour lacing his voice.
“Okay Mr. Gentleman, we'll leave it at that. Just be careful, Nick.”
“Always. Say goodnight to Jenna from me.”
“Nick says goodnight,” Axel said as Jenna watched him, a frown on her face. Then she smiled. Her smile was soft, warm and it wasn’t for him. The realization hit harder than he expected.
“Good night, Nick! Sleep well! Don’t forget to feed Daisy!” she called.
“Man, she has such a nice voice,” Nick said.
“There’s much more that’s nice.” Axel teased.
He grinned when Nick swore.
“And what about me? Don’t I get a good night?”
“Goodnight to you too, you lucky watchdog,” Nick answered. There was a chuckle that followed and then the line went dead.
Lucky watchdog. Like hell he was lucky. He felt anything but. Desire without permission was its own kind of torment.
Nick wasn't going to be around tonight to help with his sexual frustrations, and Jenna was hands off.
His heart tightened. Knowing he would spend the night under the same roof with her was going to be torture. Being near her, wanting her, and not touching her felt like a punishment he wasn’t sure he could endure.
Yep. Pure torture.
Damn.
* * * * *
“Mission accomplished,” Nick declared with a grin as he ended the call.
He looked at Sam’s truck’s keys hanging on a nail just inside the back door, where it had always been since Nick had been coming here, and then glanced down at Daisy.
The white dog’s dark eyes sparkled with anticipation and her pompom tail wagged so insanely that it was a miracle she stayed upright.
Nick couldn’t help but laugh. Just looking at her made everything seem a little brighter and he couldn’t believe how fast he’d accepted this dog after never wanting anything to do with dogs before.
“You know, Daisy. I’m surprised Axel bought our lies so easily.
Axel never even caught on when I said you were a good watchdog.
He never mentioned that you should have noticed the phantom person who supposedly flattened my tires.
” The joke felt hollow. Daisy would’ve barked her head off if anyone had come near those tires.
She danced impatiently, shifting from paw to paw, her whole body humming with the universal language of a hungry dog. Watching her so excited cracked open something really nice in his chest.
Nick grinned.
“All right, all right. Is it supper time? Want foooood?” he asked, drawing out the word food as if it were a magic spell.
A single, sharp bark was Daisy’s eager response. Her pink tongue lolled out of her mouth.
“Coming right up, Miss ma’am.”
Nick hummed a cheery tune as he opened a can of dog food and prepared Daisy’s supper. The simple act soothed him. Feeding someone, caring for someone, it felt like something he could get right.
He just hoped he got tonight right for Jenna and Axel.
The truth was, he had been mulling over an idea to get the two of them alone. He had manufactured this crisis. Four flat tires, so Jenna and Axel would have to spend an evening and a night together.
He wasn’t just meddling for the fun of it.
Catching Axel with Jenna after she’d asked him to remain professional had really thrown him. He’d thought for sure she would send them back to prison. But she’d acted normal afterwards, even holding his gaze with interest in her eyes.
Now, he realized he’d over reacted. Maybe too he was being selfish with this plan. But Jenna belonged to Axel and it was time to really push these two back together, despite the irritation between them due to their past. They just clicked. They were meant to be.
Still, the lies began to seep into his conscience, heavy and insistent.
“They don’t have to know I made up the lies, Daisy.
And they certainly don’t need to know that I love Jenna.
Have been in love with her even before I met her.
I want the two people that I love the most in the world to be together and happy.
” The confession slipped out quietly, raw, and unguarded.
It was the kind of truth he’d never dare say aloud to anyone else.
Nick sighed as he spooned Daisy’s dinner into a dog bowl and slid it into the microwave to warm up. The microwave’s quiet hum gave him a few seconds pause, and he rubbed the back of his neck, wrestling with the guilt gnawing at him.
He didn’t like to lie, especially to people he cared about. He’d always tried to do the right thing in his life, but his desperation to stay here with Jenna and Axel had nudged him toward desperate measures, and lying stung more than he cared to admit.
He bent down and set Daisy’s warm meal on the floor, watching as she dove in.
“Why do I feel so damned guilty, Daisy?” he murmured.
There was no answering bark, only the contented gobbling sounds of Daisy’s happy eating.