Chapter Four #2
So, she wasn’t as flexible and supportive as she thought. “I’m sorry, Julieann, but I can’t.”
A pink flush colored the other woman’s cheeks. “Why not?”
Good question.
The silence built between them, stretching out until Sloane finally found the right words. “I just think if you want to change Jonas’s mind, you should talk to him yourself.”
Not only that, but if she helped Julieann with her Jonas problem, she would be doing what she always did. Sitting on the sidelines while everyone around her went after what she wanted.
Juliann was a perfect example. She was bold.
Knew what she wanted. Had no qualms about going after the prize—in this case, Jonas.
And she’d sized Sloane up within five minutes of their meeting, figuring out she would do whatever she could to make her best friend happy.
Even if that meant making a case for the other girl.
She sat up straight. She was not without skills.
She stood and hoped her smile rang true. “Good luck to you. Have a nice drive back to Denver.”
Leaving the coffeehouse, she mentally crossed her fingers that Julieann didn’t linger long in town. Grabbing her bag from the office, she got into her truck and sat there for a long moment before turning the key. The engine she kept perfectly tuned roared to life.
Instead of heading for the quiet comfort of her home, she followed the road that led to the Triple L. She was hungry. One good turn deserved another in return, didn’t it? The least he could do was cook her dinner. After all, she may have just pulled his ass out of the fire.
As she parked in front of the main house, the sky turned the color of blue that happened when the sun was ready to set for the day.
The outdoor lights came on. Dark mountains reached for the sky beyond the pasture.
She could see Jonas living here for a long time, whether he shared his life with someone other than his brothers and their families or not.
The guesthouse was dark. Izzy was staying at Malorie’s while Blake and his new wife were on their honeymoon. That was too bad. She could use some girl time after she talked to Jonas.
And speaking of the man. He rose from the bench on the porch as she got out of her truck. “Hi. What brings you out here?”
“We have to talk.” Sloane brushed by the man she wished she could ignore, only to stop once she was in the house. The door closed softly behind her. She spun to face Jonas. “Have you had dinner yet?”
His brows shot up, but he headed for the kitchen. “I was just about to make this thing I call a nacho stack. It shouldn’t take long. Do you want something to drink while you’re waiting?”
Holy smokes, her lifelong friend was a good-looking man.
Walking toward her. Walking away from her.
Her girlie Spidey-sense stood up and took notice.
Today, with his jeans, he wore a forest-green linen shirt with snapped cuffs rolled up to his elbows, and matching green socks.
Over the years, she’d seen him in his lawyer’s garb, too, but as usual, this view stole her breath away.
Shaking herself free, she followed him to the kitchen.
“Water will be fine. Can I help?” She had to do something to calm down enough to gather her thoughts.
“Sure.” He pulled out a deep casserole dish from a lower cupboard, then handed her a frying pan. “Grab the hamburger and grated cheese from the fridge. You can fry the hamburger.”
She put the meat into a pan, breaking it into small pieces, while Jonas returned from the pantry with taco seasoning, a can of refried beans, and a bag of tortilla chips.
He put the ingredients on the counter. “Something’s bothering you. What is it?”
Sloane covered the sizzling meat with a lid before facing Jonas. No more playing Miss Nice Lady. “Who’s Julieann Vincent?”
“My law partner’s sister,” he said, watching her closely. “Why?”
For the first time, she didn’t care how he would react. Deciding not to beat around the bush, she said, “She came to see me today.”
He scowled. “What did she want?”
“She knows I’m your best friend and asked me to talk to you and put in a good word for her. She wants to marry you.”
He stirred the seasoning into the sizzling meat. “And what did you say?”
“I told her I couldn’t. That she should talk to you herself.”
He let the meat simmer and turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders with a twist of his lips into a small smile. “Thank you. Smart lady. This is why I’ve always liked you. I don’t understand why she thought that you taking her side would change my mind.”
Liked. That said it all, didn’t it?
The man could be so clueless. “Maybe she thought I had some influence with my best friend.”
“You do, but I don’t know why Julieann would think that.”
That was surprising. “I do.” Girls helped each other that way, but it just so happened that Sloane couldn’t get in the middle of whatever was going on between Jonas and Julieann.
He shrugged and went back to his cooking.
Finished layering the nacho stack, he popped the covered dish into the oven.
He grabbed two bottles of water and opened them before leading the way to the living room, where the light coming in from the outside windows was dimming.
The comfy sectional couch facing the stone fireplace called her name.
She’d had more than enough work at the garage and with Julieann showing up with her request, well. .. It’d been a long day.
Jonas handed her one of the waters, then made himself comfortable in one of the overstuffed chairs, his expression taking on his courtroom mask. “What do you want to know about Julieann?”
Good grief. “I’m not judging you.” Nor was she letting this slide. “I’m just curious why she thinks I could be her champion?”
“We dated a few times after I finished her court case for Charles.” Jonas shrugged. His eyes started to sparkle. “I probably mentioned you a time or two, hoping she would catch on that I wasn’t available on the marriage market.”
“Jonas!” What in the world? “Why would you do that? You probably confused the poor woman.”
“There’s nothing ‘poor’ about Julieann. She can take care of herself.”
The sparkle in his eyes spread into a smile that tempted Sloane to smile back. “We’ve known each other so long, there were lots of stories to tell.”
“I can’t believe you.” This was not funny. She put the water aside.
He nodded, his expression sobering. “Yeah, not my finest moment. My only excuse is I was missing you.”
Sloane went to stand next to the fireplace. He missed her while he was in Denver? That was hard to believe. Something was off-kilter.
Jonas came to stand next to her and claimed her hand. “I don’t have the kind of feelings for her that I should have for a woman I want to spend the rest of my life with,” he said softly. “I’ll talk to her and make sure she doesn’t bother you again.”
Not for the first time, frustrated with the dude, she pulled her hand free. “Just to be clear, I don’t want to get tangled up in your problems with other women.” She stopped her headlong explanation and then admitted, “I just felt sorry for her.”
He didn’t want to marry Julieann, who was very attractive and would be appealing to most guys, Sloane thought. And he didn’t want to be more than her pal. So, what was left?
“But you don’t feel sorry for me?” A smile worked its way into his gray eyes.
She shook her head in disbelief at Jonas. “Nope.”
Grinning, he reached for her hand again, this time lacing her fingers with his. “Forgive me for causing so much trouble?”
The sizzle that ran up her arm should have been annoying.
She couldn’t think straight when he held her hand as if she were precious china.
She wasn’t happy with Jonas, but more than that, she was upset with herself.
When was she going to stop wanting him to be her last date instead of someone else’s first?
“I guess,” she agreed.
Straightening to her full height, she finally managed to tug her hand free.
“Jonas, we’ve been best friends practically all our lives.
I honestly believe you’re living the exact, single life you want.
So, convince Julieann you’re not available, and I’ll go back to looking for someone I can live happily with for the rest of my life. ”
His brows crammed together as he released Sloane. He started to say something, but before he could, her cell rang. She glanced at the caller.
“Who is it?”
“Ken Williams.” Sloane saw no point in hiding who she was dating. Especially after their current discussion. “I’m supposed to call him back tonight. He wants to go on a picnic.”
Jonas leaned against the fireplace. “That’s not an impressive first date.”
“It’s not our first date. Even if it was, it works for me. I’ll call him back later.” She slipped the phone back into her pocket and let the call go to voicemail. “I suppose on a first or second date, you would take a girl to a concert or museum or something.”
“A concert is too loud to talk and get to know the woman. I would take her on a wine-tasting tour, if she was into wine and cheese at all.” A grin spread across his handsome face.
“You could tell this Ken whatever his name is that you can’t go out with him because you forgot you promised to help me clean out the horse stalls. ”
Only Jonas, or maybe Nathan, would come up with such a... laughable excuse. “Smart aleck,” she labeled him succinctly.
The oven buzzer went off. Sloane followed Jonas into the kitchen, searching for a good comeback. Didn’t happen.
After slipping on oven mitts, he pulled the dish out of the oven and placed it on the hotplate.
He grinned at her. Sloane shook her head and gave up.
He’d been getting his way from the time he’d first stepped in to protect her from boys who were bigger and very intimidated by her grades. She wasn’t going to change him now.
His nacho stack was delicious. Of course.
She spent the whole meal letting the tension in her shoulders go while he told stories of clients, each one funnier than the one before.
She told him about some of the cars folks brought in for her to fix and her idea of offering her part-timer, Dean Quillan, more hours to take care of things like oil changes and the like while she focused on restoring classic cars, which she loved.
One point in Jonas’s favor—he certainly made eating at home fun. If he asked her out on a real date, would she go? It would definitely be interesting, but it wouldn’t keep her teetering heart safe.
By the time they’d cleaned up the kitchen and she was heading back to town, Jonas watching her leave from the porch, she’d forgotten all about calling Ken. She’d have to call him in the morning.
That was the problem. How, or maybe the better word was when , was she ever going to find a guy she could talk to like she could with Jonas, and who made her heart sing with the profound feeling that she’d found someone who made her heart feel like she’d finally come home?