Chapter 3 #2
“Thanks, but it’s my trail to traipse. Nobody else has ever wandered it with me.
I’m the only one, and I think I’ve done okay.
There’s not much money in my bank account, but what’s there I put there.
Nobody’s ever given me jack shit. My grandpa loaned me that money, and I ate ramen noodles and grilled cheese sandwiches made with fake cheese for two years while I paid him off, but by god, I don’t owe anybody anything.
What I have is mine, and what I do is my business.
” There was an unmistakable element of pride in her voice, and that left him with a lot of respect for her.
The woman had survived against odds that would’ve had him whining and begging his parents for help, and yet she’d just soldiered on through.
All of that combined made him even more furious when he thought about how the guys razzed her and gave her trouble.
They should be learning from her, not leering at her and making her life even harder.
“I’m impressed,” he told her, and he meant it. “Times are tough, and you’re still going.”
“Let me tell you something,” she said, leaning toward him.
“I’ve gone through a lot worse than the things these guys do to me, and I’ve survived.
They can do their worst and it still won’t be as bad as the bulk of my life.
So they can just bring it. They’re lightweights compared to some of the people I’ve had to deal with. ”
“I’m sure. But that doesn’t make it right, the way they’ve treated you. Not at all. They should be ashamed of themselves. I bet if they knew―”
“No,” she said, interrupting him immediately. “I don’t want anybody knowing any of that. I don’t even know why I told you. I just feel like I can, I dunno … trust you,” she said, her face reddening again. “Hope that’s not stupid of me.”
“Absolutely not. You told me all that in confidence, and it’ll stay between the two of us. I’ll never say a word to another soul. I feel honored that you trust me that much, since we barely know each other,” he said, and he meant it all.
“Thanks.” There was a tiny smile on her face. “You just seem like a good guy.”
“I try to be.” Then he grinned. “So after you said all that, I’m trying to add it all up. If I got it right, you’re what, thirty-eight?”
“Yeah. I’ll be thirty-nine in a few months. And you’re …”
“I’ll be forty on my birthday. So we’re not that far apart in age.” I don’t know why that would matter, he told himself.
“No. Not at all.” Her head snapped around suddenly.
“Oh. I think the washer’s finished on that load.
” She hopped up and grabbed a basket. “Yours just stopped too,” she said, pointing to Jensen’s washer, so he snatched up his basket and started pulling stuff out.
They moved across the room, threw everything into a dryer, and came back for the next load.
In ten minutes, everything was in the dryers and they were waiting it out.
Thankfully, the conversation turned lighter after that.
They talked about cartoons and shows they watched when they were kids, food they hated, and things they remembered.
Jensen noted that she didn’t seem to have many good memories, but that was probably because her parents were drunks.
Instead, she talked about the way she used to camp in the woods by herself, and a lot of her time had been spent with her grandparents.
They laughed about the crazy-looking things that had been in style back then, and it didn’t take long for the dryers to finish and they kept laughing and talking as they folded.
Everything was folded or hung on hangers and taken to their trucks. “Still want that Italian food, or are you tired of me?” he asked, laughing.
“Oh, I’m tired of you, but I’m starving too!” Shyanna said, laughing back. “Let’s go.”
“Just leave your truck here and you can ride with me,” he told her. There was a moment’s hesitation on her part before she let him hold the truck door for her and she climbed in.
The ride was a little awkward, and he wasn’t sure why.
Maybe it made her nervous to be in the truck with a man.
That wouldn’t surprise him at all. But if the ride was awkward, the dinner was beyond fun.
Laughing, talking, and drinking, they went into great detail about their rodeo victories and disasters, and there had been plenty of the latter.
He laughed especially hard when Shyanna told him she’d actually left one time and forgotten to take any underwear with her, and since she’d had a flat tire along the way, she didn’t have time to stop and buy any.
“You wouldn’t think that little thin piece of fabric would make such a difference, but honestly, I could’ve told tales of chafing that nobody would’ve believed,” she said, laughing at herself.
When he took her back to her truck after dinner, Shyanna got quiet as she sat there in the parking lot. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I think I may like you a little too much,” she said, her voice low and raspy.
He let out a chuckle, hoping to put her at ease. “I didn’t know that was possible.”
“Yeah. It is. I can’t let anything get in my way. I have to make it in this circuit.”
He just shook his head. “I’d never get in your way. Don’t you think it might be possible to have a relationship, or relationships and friends, without your work suffering? People do it all the time.”
“I dunno. I’ve never managed to make it work.” She opened the door and, with her hand on the handle, said, “I do like you, Jensen. I don’t want that to be a mistake on my part.”
“It doesn’t have to be. I like you too. I think we could have some kind of relationship. Not sure what, but some kind. And I’d like it if you were open to it.”
She sat there for a few seconds, obviously studying the idea. It wasn’t long until she sighed. “I dunno. Maybe. I mean, I’m open to it, but it’s never worked out before.”
“There’s a first time for everything!” he said, laughing and wiggling his eyebrows.
She didn’t laugh, but she did give him a big smile. “Guess that’s true. Night, Jensen. And thanks for the company.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for coming with me,” he replied. He’d tried to pay for her meal, but she wouldn’t hear of it. He was hoping the next time she’d let him. Hell, he was hoping there was a next time. “And if you need me for anything,” he threw out, “all you have to do is say so.”
She turned before she closed the truck door. “I will. Thanks again.”
“Any time. Night.” He watched as she strode to her truck, climbed in, and took off.
Right behind her on the highway, he followed her to the arena grounds, then turned left to go to his trailer while she went straight.
It took less than ten minutes to put away his laundry, so he decided he’d better check on Cobra and Snowman.
Both horses were sleeping, but Snowman roused and nickered softly when Jensen opened the upper half of his stall door.
“Hey, big guy,” Jensen whispered to him, and he turned and stuck his head out the door.
As Jensen scratched his nose, he nodded his head.
“You’re a good boy. Get some sleep. I’ll be back early to take you out for exercise.
Tell the old man over here,” he said, pointing to Cobra’s stall, “that I was here and said goodnight.” He handed the horse an apple treat and pushed his nose back until the upper half of the door could be closed.
Wandering back to his trailer, he thought about the evening.
It had been a lot of fun, and Shyanna was a lot different than he’d originally believed.
Once they’d gotten their food and started eating, he felt like a teenager on a first date.
She’d laughed and teased him, and the flickering candle on the table had made her eyes sparkle.
He hoped he got a chance to go somewhere with her again soon.
Rounding the end of his trailer, he jumped a little when he realized someone was sitting on the steps. He was even more surprised when he realized who it was. “Shyanna?”
“Can I come in for a second?” she whispered.
“Uh, sure. Come on in,” he whispered back, not wanting the occupants of every other trailer around his to know he was up and moving around. As soon as he stepped in behind her and pulled the door closed, she rounded on him.
The frame of the tiny window in the door dug into his back as she pressed him against it. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this,” she whispered.
He’d never had a woman kiss him like that before and from his standpoint, it was pretty damn fantastic.
Her lips were soft and warm, and she still tasted like tomato sauce and chianti.
As soon as she tried to back down, he spun her, pressed her against the door just as she had him, and kissed her―hard.
His kiss was met with another from her and pretty soon, it was hard to tell where one stopped and another started.
Ten minutes later, they were down to their underwear and still making out like nobody’s business. “What the hell made you come over here?” he asked her in gasps between kisses.
She pulled back and her eyes shone brightly when she answered, “Because when I drove away, I was so fucking turned on I couldn’t breathe. I take it you weren’t?”
“I didn’t say that,” Jensen said, afraid to answer.
Truth was, he hadn’t been. He’d been concentrating too hard on keeping everything non-threatening and platonic, so it had never occurred to him to let that imagination of his run wild enough to harden him up.
“I just didn’t want to push you, that’s all. ”