Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
T here was nothing like hard ranch work to keep your mind off something you didn’t want to think about . . . or someone. Hallie spent the entire morning fixing fences with her daddy in the south pasture, and surprisingly, they’d yet to get into an argument. Of course, it was difficult to talk when it was so sizzling hot.
“Lord have mercy, it’s a scorcher.” Daddy pocketed his fence pliers and pulled out a bandana to run over his sweat-drenched face. Hallie took the opportunity to do the same.
“And it will only get hotter as the day goes on.” She used the bandana to tie her braids back. “Why don’t you head to the house, Daddy. I can finish up here.”
His eyes narrowed, and she figured their record for keeping the peace was about to be broken. “Are you saying I can’t keep up, girl?”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all.” She hesitated. “Although you shouldn’t even be out in this heat working considering you just had a heart attack.”
He snorted. “You sound like Mimi and your mama. I didn’t just have a heart attack. That was a good seven months ago.” He picked up the wire stretcher and moved farther down the fence.
She followed him and helped him with the barbwire they’d already laid out. “So you’re saying the doctor released you to fix fences in hundred-degree weather?”
“I don’t need a doc to tell me what I can and can’t do.”
“You do when you don’t have any common sense.”
“You better remember who you’re talking to, girl. I won’t be disrespected.”
She helped him stretch the barbwire into place. “I’m not trying to be disrespectful, Daddy. I’m just trying to make a point. You shouldn’t be putting up fences. You should be back at the ranch sitting on the porch, sipping a glass of sweet tea.” Just the thought of a tall, icy glass of sweet tea made her mouth feel as dry as the Sahara.
“I’m not some doddering old coot that needs to be coddled, Hallie Holiday.”
Once her daddy had the wire stretched taut, she stapled it to the fence post. “You aren’t a spring chicken either.”
He glared at her. “I’m spry enough to keep up with my ornery daughter.”
When she was younger, she would have continued to argue. But she must be getting old too because she didn’t have the energy or the desire to keep beating her head against the brick wall that was her daddy’s stubbornness. She could stand there and argue with him until the cows came home and he wouldn’t listen. So she gave up trying and concentrated on getting the fence finished so they could both get back to the ranch and have that glass of iced tea.
They were heading home in his pickup before they spoke again. “So I hear Decker and Sweetie are coming home today,” he said.
“That’s what I hear.”
He swerved around a pothole, almost giving Hallie whiplash. Her daddy had never been a good driver. “That boy sure gave us a fright. But I guess sometimes you need a fright like that to figure out what’s important in life.”
The hitch in his voice had her glancing over at him. She was surprised to see tears glistening at the corner of his eye. She only remembered her daddy crying once in her life and that was when Granddaddy had passed away. The sight softened her heart and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching over and placing her hand on his shoulder.
“Thankfully, Decker is just fine, Daddy.”
He gave a brief nod and swallowed hard. “Family is everything, Hallie. Don’t you ever forget that.” He glanced out the windshield at the vast land surrounding the truck. “I love this ranch, but it’s just land. If I lost it tomorrow, I would survive. But losing part of your family is another story.”
Hallie had never heard her father talk like this before. She didn’t know how to reply. So she just sat there with her hand resting on his shoulder as they finished the drive back to the house.
Mama must have seen them coming because as soon as they pulled in front, she came out the screen door carrying a tray of glasses filled with plenty of ice and tea. Mimi followed behind her with a tray of sandwiches. No doubt, egg salad. Egg salad sandwiches were what Mimi loved most on a hot summer day.
Although the fall wreath hanging on the door and the fake leaf garland draping from the eaves didn’t exactly say summer .
“Isn’t it a little early for fall decorations, Mama?” Hallie pointed out as she climbed out of the truck. “We’re a good two weeks away from Labor Day.”
Mama laughed as she set down the tray on the table. “You know how much I love fall.” She gave Hallie a big hug as soon as she stepped onto the porch. “And since my autumn baby is home, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to start celebrating early. Sheryl Ann has already put her Pumpkin Harvest muffins on the menu and the Soybean festival is just around the corner.” She drew back and smiled. “You could still sign up for Miss Soybean.”
“Not happening. I’m not queen material. That’s Sweetie, Liberty, and Noelle.”
Mama pinched her cheek. “You’ll always be a queen to me. Although you’re a sweaty mess at the moment. You and your daddy need to come on in and get cleaned up.”
“She will in a minute,” Mimi said. “I want to talk to her first.” She hesitated. “Privately.”
Private talks with Mimi were never a good thing. The last private talk with her grandmother had been about sex and all “the nasty diseases that are out there.” It had been extremely uncomfortable. She hoped she wouldn’t have to live through that again.
Once Mama and Daddy had gone inside, Hallie grabbed a glass of ice tea and a half of egg salad sandwich before she flopped down in the swing. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense, Mimi. What’s so private?”
“Why would you want Corbin to hire Jace Carson as a foreman?”
She wasn’t surprised Corbin had told her grandmother. He and Mimi had gotten close since he’d taken over the ranch. “Why wouldn’t I? Jace knows the ranch. He gets along with Daddy when few people do. It makes perfect sense. Jace needs something to keep him busy after losing football.”
Not to mention, if Jace stayed to help on the ranch, it would make it much easier for Hallie to leave. Something she wasn’t looking forward to telling her grandmother. But it turned out her grandmother had already figured things out.
“And if Jace takes over the ranch, you can hightail it back to Austin and not feel guilty about shirking your responsibilities to your family. But this isn’t Jace’s ranch, Hallie. It’s yours. And not just your ranch, but your heritage.”
“Now stop trying to guilt-trip me, Mimi. You don’t need me here when you have four of your granddaughters and four new grandsons to do your bidding. That’s all the family you need keeping our heritage. And Jace will make a damn good foreman.”
Mimi studied her. “Not as good as you. But that’s not here nor there because Jace didn’t take the foreman job.”
Hallie choked on the bite of sandwich she’d just taken. Once she cleared her throat, she stared at her grandmother. “He didn’t take the job? Why not?”
“Because he’s leaving.”
“Leaving? But I thought he was staying to help out Decker.”
Mimi shrugged. “I guess he’s willing to shirk his responsibilities too. When I talked to Sweetie at the hospital this morning, she said he’s leaving first thing tomorrow. Sweetie said Decker is pretty upset about it.”
Decker wasn’t the only one. Hallie’s chest felt like it was caving in. No doubt because she was more than a little angry. Decker needed Jace. He couldn’t just run off and leave him.
She jumped up and set her sandwich and glass of tea on the table. “I think I’ll drive over to Decker and Sweetie’s and welcome them home.”
“You’re going to Sweetie and Decker’s?” Mama came out the screen door. “If you wait, Mimi and I will go with you. The last casserole dish we made for them needs to finish baking. It shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes. Then we can all go together.”
The last thing Hallie needed was her entire family witnessing her yelling at Jace. Mimi seemed to know that too.
“Let her go, Darla. We’ll catch up with her later.”
Hallie wasted no time getting over to Sweetie and Decker’s house. When she got out of her truck, she heard the dogs barking a greeting from inside and the loud whirl of a lawn mower coming from behind the house. She followed the sound to the backyard. The sight that greeted her took her breath away.
Jace was mowing the lawn . . . shirtless.
The morning they’d spent together, she’d come to realize he’d acquired a lot more muscles than he had in high school. Manly muscles all through his shoulders and back that took turns flexing and showing off as he pushed the lawn mower in a straight line. When he reached the end of the lawn, he turned and headed back toward her. His front muscles were more impressive than his back. Bulging biceps, hard pecs topped with brown nipples, and two rows of abdominal muscles she couldn’t help counting.
Eight.
Eight neatly stacked muscles.
Every inch of those muscles was covered in a shimmer of sweat. As she watched a trickle of that sweat drip down from his collarbone over one hard pectoral muscle, then along his rib cage and all of his abdominal muscles to be absorbed by the waistband of his athletic shorts, Hallie suddenly felt like she was suffering from heatstroke.
The sound of the lawn mower cutting off jerked her gaze from the front of his shorts. When he pushed back his straw cowboy hat, his piercing eyes caught the sun and looked like two pools of crystal-blue water she wanted to jump into. While he looked like a glistening Greek god, she looked like a hot mess in her dirty clothes and pulled-back braids. She wanted to crawl under the nearest rock when his gaze swept over her. Although when that gaze lifted, he didn’t look disgusted. His eyes looked as hot as she felt.
“Hey.” His breathy one-word greeting made her feel even hotter. It took a real effort to stay focused on the reason she was there.
“You’re leaving? You’re just up and running off when Decker and Sweetie need you? And why didn’t you take the foreman job?”
“I don’t want to be a foreman.”
She huffed. “You’re like my daddy. You just don’t know what’s good for you.”
His mouth tipped up in the lopsided smile. “And I guess you do?”
“I know sitting around feeling sorry for yourself isn’t.”
He took out a bandana and wiped his forehead. The sight of his bulging bicep and dark underarm hair left her feeling like she’d run all the way from the Holiday Ranch. “I’m done with feeling sorry for myself, Hallie.” He lowered his arm and tucked the bandana back in his pocket. “But ranching is your thing not mine.” A twinkle entered his eyes. “Although I feel honored you think I’d make one hell of a foreman.”
“Don’t be getting a big head, Jace the Ace. I’ve seen you get tossed off a horse. Now stop being ridiculous and take the job. It doesn’t have to be forever. Just take it until Decker gets back on his feet.”
“He has lots of family to help. You included.”
“But I have to get back to Austin and look for a place to start my brewery.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s what you want to—” The sound of a car pulling into the driveway had him cutting her off. “Deck’s home.” He took her hand. “Come on.”
She was so surprised by Jace taking her hand that she didn’t continue to argue. Of course, he released her as soon as they came in view of the driveway where Jesse was helping Decker out of his truck. Liberty and Sweetie were taking get-well flowers and plants out of the bed of the truck. Jace hurried over to help Decker while Hallie went to help her sisters.
It took a while to get all the flowers and plants and Decker inside, especially when George and Dixie busted out the screen in the screen door—or George did for Dixie—when they realized their owner was back and went wild with excitement. Hallie had to hold George back so he wouldn’t jump on Decker. Once he’d given both dogs plenty of attention, they left the dogs outside while they all went inside.
Decker was moving around pretty well for a man who had just been shot less than a week before, but Hallie could tell that the trip home had taken its toll. Sweetie realized it too.
“We need to get you to bed, Deck.”
Decker shook his head. “I’m not going to bed, Sweets. I’ve spent way too much time there, as is.”
Sweetie started to argue, but Jace cut in. “You must still be loopy on pain meds, Deck. If a good looking woman wanted to take me to bed, I wouldn’t be arguing.”
Decker grinned. “Good point.” He hooked an arm around Sweetie. “I’m all yours, Sweets.”
“Men.” Sweetie shook her head and laughed as they headed to their bedroom. But when they passed the spare room, both of them stopped in their tracks and Sweetie placed a hand to her chest.
“Oh my gosh. Look, Deck.”
Decker looked dumbstruck. “Who did this?”
Curious, Hallie, Jesse, and Liberty all crowded in behind Decker and Sweetie to see what had surprised them. The room that had held nothing but a pile of boxes and paint cans when Hallie had been staying there was now painted a pale rose color and held a crib, a changing table, and a rocker.
Sweetie turned to Hallie and Liberty. “Did y’all do this?”
“I didn’t.” Liberty glanced at Hal. “Did you, Hal?”
Hallie looked back at the only person who wasn’t crowded around the doorway. The embarrassed blush on Jace’s face caused a huge lump to form in her throat.
It took a long time for the lump to leave. It remained there as Sweetie and Decker hugged Jace to thank him. Was still there as she tried to find places for all the flowers and plants and watered them. Still there when Mama and Mimi showed up and started dishing out food. And still there when she finally made her excuses and headed out the door.
She was hoping it would dissolve once she got into her truck. But before she could, the reason for the lump stopped her.
“Hallie.”
She released the door handle of her truck and turned. Jace had washed up and put on a western shirt while everyone was eating lunch. There were no glistening muscles to make her feel dizzy and lightheaded. Which didn’t explain why she still did.
Although she knew why.
“You put together the baby’s room.”
His cheeks flushed pink. “It wasn’t that big a deal.”
“Yes, it was. It was a very big deal. It meant the world to Sweetie and Decker. Decker was in tears.” She hesitated. “He needs you, Jace. Stay.”
He studied her for a long moment before he looked away. “I can’t.”
“Does it have to do with what happened the other night? Because if it does, that’s just plain foolishness. I’m not gonna jump your bones, Jace. Believe it or not, I can resist you.”
He looked back at her. “And what if I can’t resist you?”
The ground shifted beneath her boots once again. She tried to laugh like it was a joke, but the sound that came out of her mouth was more like a frustrated moan.
He closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath before he opened them and spoke. “Like I said the other night, we need time to forget, Hallie. In a few months, I’m sure we’ll be able to put that morning behind us and go back to being friends.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his tanned throat. “Just not yet . . . at least not for me.”
She knew he was right. Even now, she couldn’t stop thinking about what it would feel like to step into his arms and be held against all those solid muscles. What it would feel like to be in a relationship with the kind of man who would take the time to put together a crib for his cousin and the woman he once dated. She had sworn she would never be like her sisters and let a man control her emotions. But damned if Jace didn’t seem to control hers. Maybe if he was gone, she could go back to being levelheaded Hallie. Maybe if he was gone, she wouldn’t feel these things she didn’t want to feel.
“So where will you go?” she asked.
“Galveston, for now. Then I’m not sure where.” He paused. “I hope you’ll stay, Hallie. This is your home.”
“I’ll stay for a while.” She couldn’t leave her family in the lurch. “Once Corbin hires a foreman, I’m heading to Austin.”
He nodded, his eyes sad. “Then I’ll be sure to stay away from Austin.”