Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
O n Saturday morning, Sunny woke to rhythmic knocking on her attic room door. It was a knock she’d recognize anywhere. Ever since she had met Jesse, he rapped out “You Are My Sunshine” whenever he knocked on her doors. It always made her smile.
And this morning was no different . . . even though she had lots of reasons for not smiling. Mainly, the fact that everyone in town would soon find out she was the devious prankster who had destroyed signs and caused all kinds of trouble for them.
So far, Jesse was the only family member who knew. Since he had been a little bit of a rascal himself growing up, she figured he would understand her devious side. That, and she’d needed help taking down the Nothin’ But Muffins sign the night before and bringing it here so she could start painting it.
Jesse hadn’t been surprised to hear about her misdeeds. Apparently, he was like Miss Burrows and knew there was more behind Sunny’s bright smile than met the eyes. Unlike Corbin, who thought Sunny hung the moon and never did anything wrong. He’d soon find out how wrong he’d been and she was not looking forward to his look of hurt and disappointment.
The knock came again and she lifted her head and groggily called, “Come in, Jess!” before snuggling back in her pillow. There was a click of boot heels on stairs. A lot of boot heels. She popped up like a Jack in the Box worried that Corbin had come with Jesse. But it wasn’t her brother who followed Jesse up the stairs.
It was Reid and Sophie.
Sunny was relieved and also embarrassed about being caught looking like a sleep-wrinkled hot mess when Reid looked like every woman’s fantasy in his black Stetson, muscle-popping white T-shirt, and form-fitting Wranglers. She wasn’t sure if she blushed from embarrassment or the way his champagne eyes slid over her.
But she had decided that Reid was one wicked desire she couldn’t give in to. Not only because she worried about hurting him and Sophie, but also because she worried about getting hurt herself.
The desire she had for Reid was much stronger than anything she’d felt before. In Decker’s office, she’d been seconds away from throwing herself at him just like she’d done in the middle of town. Her intense feelings scared her enough to want to stay away from him. Thankfully, he was only dropping Sophie off to help her paint the sign.
Sunny climbed out of bed. “Sorry. I overslept.” She sent an annoyed look at Jesse for bringing them up without making sure she was awake and dressed, but he was too busy laughing to notice.
“Nice jammies, Sunshine Brook.”
Too late, she realized what pajamas she’d thrown on last night. She felt her cheeks heat once again as Reid took in the Elf onsie Noelle had gotten her for Christmas. He pressed his lips together as if he was trying to keep his own laughter in as Sophie exclaimed,
“I love Buddy! Those are the cutest pajamas ever!”
Sunny ignored the men and smiled brightly at Sophie, who was cradling Patsy Cline in her arms. “Thank you, Soph. I love them too.” She reached out and slid her hand over the rabbit’s soft ears. “It will just take me a second to get dressed. You and Patsy make yourselves at home.” She glanced at Reid. “I’ll drop her off at the ranch when we’re finished here.” She expected him to nod and head for the door. Instead, he took off his hat.
“I think I’ll stay if it’s all the same to you.”
It wasn’t the same to Sunny. He was pure temptation and she had never been good at ignoring temptation. But she couldn’t be rude. Especially when she understood perfectly why he wanted to stay. He didn’t want her putting any more bad ideas into Sophie’s head.
She shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ll just be a minute.”
She wasted no time changing into her painting clothes and braiding her hair. She emerged from the bathroom only a few moments later to find Sophie sitting on the bed looking bored as Reid talked to Jesse about spring branding.
Jesse had been a professional rodeo cowboy so it made sense that Reid would talk ranching with him. What didn’t make sense was the way Sunny felt as she listened to Reid confidently lay out his plan for getting all the new calves vaccinated and tagged.
She loved helping out at the ranch, but people talking about it had never made her feel all breathless and lightheaded. The feeling only intensified when Reid glanced over and their eyes locked. He cut off in mid-sentence and there was this charged silence, similar to the one in Decker’s office, before he pulled his gaze away and returned to his conversation with Jesse.
“I guess you think cowboying is as dumb as I do.”
Sunny took a moment to regain her equilibrium before she turned to Sophie. “Actually, I kind of like it. What don’t you like about it? Don’t tell me you don’t like riding horses.”
The teenager shrugged as she stroked Patsy’s head. “I’ve never ridden. Horses . . . scare me.”
Sunny wasn’t surprised. She’d been a little scared of them too at first. “They are big and intimidating.” She nodded at the rabbit. “But they’re animals just like Patsy. Show them love and respect and they’ll show the same to you.” She sat down on the bed. “I bet you were surprised when you came home from school to find Patsy.”
A guilty look settled on Sophie’s features. “I guess I didn’t do such a good job of showing my appreciation.”
“I have to agree. Painting the sign wasn’t a good way to thank your uncle for getting you a cute pet.” She hesitated. “But maybe you can come up with another way.”
“Like what?”
“Like being helpful and nice rather than being belligerent and mean. Your uncle is doing the best he knows how.”
Sophie’s shoulders slumped. “I know. It was a stupid—” She cut off and cringed.
“What’s wrong? Did Patsy kick you?”
“No. I . . .” Sophie glanced over at Reid and Jess before she looked back at Sunny and lowered her voice. “I have really bad cramps.”
“Ahh,” Sunny said. “Those are no fun, are they? Did you take some ibuprofen?”
Sophie shook her head. “We were out.”
“Well, you need to take some.” She got up. “Slip off your shoes and climb on up in bed and rest while I get you a couple.”
“I can’t rest. I don’t want Uncle Reid thinking I’m trying to get out of painting the sign.”
“You’ll still get to help with the sign. I promise you’ll feel much better when the painkillers kick in.” Sunny plumped up the pillows against the headboard. “Now climb on in here. I’ll deal with your Uncle Reid.”
Sophie hesitated for only a second before she slipped off her sneakers. Once she was propped up on the pillows, Sunny went to straighten the covers around her when she noticed Mrs. Fields’s letter on the nightstand. In all the excitement yesterday, she’d forgotten all about it. She picked it up and slipped it into her back pocket to give to Liberty later.
“What’s going on?”
She turned to see Reid staring at Sophie propped up in the bed. “Sophie isn’t feeling well and she’s going to rest a little before she starts painting.”
“But—”
She cut him off. “No buts, no cuts, no coconuts. And since you decided you want to be here, you can help me while she’s resting. See those cans sitting on the counter? They need to be opened and stirred.” She glanced at his white T-shirt. “And unless you want a paint-splattered shirt, you’ll need to get on one of the paint shirts hanging on those hooks.”
Reid’s dark eyebrows lowered, but he didn’t say a word before he turned to the hooks where the shirts hung.
Jesse cleared his throat. “Well, it looks like y’all got things under control here so I think I’ll go. I never have been good at painting. I just throw it on and hope for the best.” If Sunny’s angry paintings were any indication, they had that in common. He turned to Reid who was picking out a shirt. “Make sure you call me when spring branding starts.” His eyes twinkled when he glanced at Sunny. “And maybe we can get Sunny and Sophie to help as part of their community service. I’m already putting together a list of things they can do around here to present at the next town council meeting.”
Sunny rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks.”
He reached out and tugged on her braid. “What are big brothers for if not to make their sister’s life miserable?” He waved at Reid. “See ya, Reid.” He winked at Sophie. “Feel better, squirt.”
Once he was gone, Sunny got Sophie some painkillers and water. When she came out of the bathroom, Reid was standing on the other side of the room . . . shirtless.
She froze in her tracks.
She had expected him to put a paint shirt on over his T-shirt, but it looked like she hadn’t made that clear. The naked muscles of his back flexed and released in a display of stunning masculinity as he slipped his arms in the sleeves of the shirt and pulled it over his broad shoulders.
It wasn’t until she felt something cold splashing her bare toes that she realized she was spilling the glass of water she held. She closed her eyes and took a deep, even breath before she turned to the bed. Sophie was fast asleep with Patsy Cline cuddled against her neck. After leaving the painkillers and water on the nightstand, Sunny turned to see Reid standing there with a concerned look on his face.
“She never said a word about feeling sick. Do I need to take her to the doctor?”
“She doesn’t need to go to the doctor. It’s just menstrual cramps.”
Reid’s face flamed. “Oh.”
His embarrassment made Sunny realize how difficult it must be for a single man to suddenly be thrown into a teenage girl’s world. Or vice versa. It had to be hard on Sophie too, living with a man who didn’t understand her needs. But there wasn’t anything Sunny could do about it. She had tried helping and look where that had gotten her. The best thing she could do was keep her mouth shut . . . and her lust contained.
“Well, let’s get started.” She headed to the tables where she and Jesse had placed the sign. Last night, she had primed and painted over the original sign so it was now a blank slate.
When Reid saw it, he wasn’t too happy. “I thought we were just going to paint over the extra t .”
That would have been much simpler, but she felt like she owed Noelle and Sheryl Ann more than just a simple paint job. “The sign was old and needed repainting anyway. So I decided to completely redo it.”
She had let Noelle believe she was just helping Sophie out, but she would find out eventually—along with all the other sisters—that Sunny was actually the one responsible for both times the sign had been defaced. Sunny was sure the gossip was already spreading like wildfire. That’s why she wanted to make the sign spectacular. She hoped it would be a small way to show everyone how sorry she was.
Collecting her supplies, she got to work applying the stencils she’d made for the lettering and sketching out the graphics. Since Noelle now made all kinds of desserts, not just muffins, Sunny had decided to fill the sign with pies, cupcakes, cookies, and other delicious treats.
She was so focused on sketching the perfect graphics she didn’t notice Reid standing behind her watching until he spoke.
“You’re really good at that.”
She jumped and dropped the pencil. When she turned to him, he was looking at the pie she’d just drawn.
“So where did you learn to do that? Or does it just come naturally?”
She went back to sketching. “A little of both. I’ve always had a knack for drawing, but I’ve also taken a lot of art classes.”
There was a long pause before he spoke again. “I’m no artist, but I could probably stay between the lines of those lettering stencils.
It turned out he was much better at detail work than Sunny. As he painted each stenciled letter, he kept a steady hand and an intense focus that never strayed from his brush.
Sunny wasn’t staying as focused. Every few seconds, she couldn’t keep her gaze from wandering over to Reid. The sexy curve of his jeaned butt as he bent over the sign. The flexing of his forearm muscles with each stroke of his brush. The cute way the tip of his tongue peeked out between his lips as he concentrated on his task. She wondered if he gave the same intense focus to everything he did: herding cows, riding horses . . . making love.
The last thought conjured up other thoughts. Thoughts of Sunny being stretched out on the table while Reid completely focused on painting her—not with a paintbrush, but with his calloused fingertips, firm lips, and hot tongue.
“Am I doing it wrong?”
The words had her blinking out of her fantasy to see Reid glancing over at her with a questioning look.
“Umm . . . no, you’re doing great.” She turned back to the cupcake with sprinkles she’d been painting.
Once Reid finished painting all the letters he could paint without getting in Sunny’s way, he took the brush to the sink to rinse it. With him gone, it was much easier to stay focused. In fact, she got so focused on her vision for the sign that she didn’t pay much attention to what Reid was doing until he spoke.
“Did you paint this?”
She glanced up to see him standing at the easel in the corner, holding up the drop cloth.
“Don’t look at that!” She quickly set down her paintbrush and hurried over to snatch the drop cloth out of his hand and re-cover the painting. His stunned look at her outburst had her face burning with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want anyone to see something that was just for practice.”
He glanced at the drop cloth. “It looks like you spent an awful lot of time on something that was just for practice.” He looked back at her and his eyes narrowed. “So what’s really going on?”
“I told you. I’m just protective about my art.”
“So protective that you keep it covered with drop cloths and hide most of it in a storage unit in Houston, instead of using it to fill your brand-new gallery?”
Sunny stared at him. “How do you know that?”
“Sophie told me. I wanted to know exactly what you had talked about at Cooper Springs so there wouldn’t be any more surprises.” He studied her with those intense amber eyes. “So what’s the deal? Why are you hiding all your paintings?”
She could have lied, but it seemed useless now. Soon the entire town would know that she was not only a devious prankster, but also a fraud. Reid might as well be one of the firsts.
“Because all I can paint is angry art.”
His brow knitted. “Angry art? Why do you call it that?”
“Because I only seem to be able to paint when I’m angry or upset.”
“And how often is that?”
She swallowed hard. “A lot more than anyone would think.”
He studied her for a long time before he spoke. “Does it work? I’ve been pretty angry myself lately. Maybe I should take it up.” He glanced at Sophie sleeping on the bed. “Instead of taking my anger out on an innocent kid because my life didn’t go the way I thought it would.”
“Join the club. I didn’t exactly plan to be an artist with a gallery she can’t fill.”
He glanced back at her. “So fill it.”
“With what?”
He waved a hand at the easel. “Angry art.”
“Are you crazy? I can’t show that?”
“Why not? I realize that I show too much anger, but maybe you don’t show enough. It’s okay for people to get angry, Sunny. Just because your name is Sunshine, you don’t always have to be smiling.”
“I know that.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Do you?” He lifted a hand and brushed a finger over her cheek. It was like he’d painted her with fire. She’d done a lot of thrill-seeking things in her life, but not one had made her tummy drop like Reid’s touch.
“Paint,” he said. But his hand didn’t drop after he brushed off her cheek. Instead, his fingers curled behind her chin as his gaze lowered to her lips. “Sometimes,” he said in a low whisper. “You just have to give in to your emotions.” His thumb slowly stroked her bottom lip. “Or it makes you crazy.”
He dipped his head and his lips replaced his thumb. It wasn’t a devouring kiss like he’d given her in front of the sheriff’s office. This kiss was soft and gentle. And yet, it wrecked her just as much.
Maybe more.
She could tell by the tremble in his fingers cradling her jaw that he was holding his passion on a short leash—no doubt because Sophie slept only feet away. The fact that he wanted her so badly was a major aphrodisiac. When he swiped his tongue over her bottom lip before he gave it a gentle nip, she couldn’t help but release a soft moan.
“Shh . . .” His breath fell against her lips before he deepened the kiss, his lips molding to hers as his tongue swept into her mouth.
She tried to move closer, needing to feel the hard press of his muscles, but his hand closed around her hip and firmly held her away. Even that turned her on. Which made no sense. She had never liked being controlled. But with Reid, she liked it. She liked it a lot. Mixed in with the lust was the same feeling she’d felt the night he’d pushed her behind the rock and covered her with his body. A feeling of contentment and security.
She would have continued to kiss him all day if they hadn’t been interrupted by a loud tapping.
They jumped apart and turned to the bed, but Sophie was still sleeping soundly. The tapping came again and Sunny realized it was coming from the window. She was more than a little surprised to see a gray parrot sitting on the ledge. A gray parrot that stared straight at Sunny with its beady eyes before squawking.
“Bullshit!”