Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“How’s the patient doing?”
Hallie spun toward the voice and found Tate Dennison standing behind her in line at the coffee shop. He was clad in his usual Stetson, black button-down, and jeans. Beside him was his twin, Jason, though the latter seemed to be interested in something out the window.
“The patient?” Hallie questioned.
“Is Hines still giving you trouble?” The way Tate asked the question made her almost wonder if he knew more than he was letting on. Was he closer to Jacob than she’d originally thought?
Her blush was surely going to give her away, but unfortunately, she couldn’t fight it. Thoughts of their kiss after the karaoke night a week ago flooded her mind. Well, this was just great. She was losing control.
If Tate noticed her discomfort, he didn’t show it. He simply continued standing there, expectantly.
Oh, right. He’d asked her a question.
“He’s—Jacob—he’s fine,” she stammered. “He’s not as bad when he starts to relax around you.”
“Relax,” Tate scoffed. “I might not know the guy very well, but I’ve been around him enough to know that guy never relaxes.
He’s always on the go. Always working toward some new record.
I bet he’s already planning on how to recover from his injuries before anyone else with the same problem in history. ”
She frowned. Actually, if anything Jacob had been taking it easy.
That bothered her more than she wanted to admit because Tate was right. Jacob was usually charging toward something, pushing to accomplish something new. His usual setting was restlessness. Something had to be wrong.
“You okay?”
Hallie startled and glanced up at Tate. “Fine. Sorry. I’m just a little distracted.”
He nodded, though it didn’t look like he believed her at all.
That was fine. She didn’t know Tate as well as she did some of the others in Jacob’s field.
The Dennison twins liked to compete, but they seemed to prefer the teaching side of things more.
Brent was working with them now and he had a similar mindset.
“Next!”
Tate nodded toward the barista at Hallie’s back. “You’re up.”
She spun, thanking Tate over her shoulder. After placing an order for Jacob and herself, she moved to the side to wait. A bulletin board showcased several flyers for the community. Brightly colored sheets with bold font offered job opportunities or information regarding events taking place.
One pale blue sheet in particular caught her attention.
There were at least four of the same thing pinned to the cork and at the top in block lettering it read, Photography Contest. The event was being hosted by the arts department of the local college and partnering with not only the local rodeo but City Hall as well.
Hallie shuffled toward the sheet of paper, her heart ticking up faster than it should as she drank in the details.
First place would get a cash prize, a spotlight in a gallery event at the college, and a full page spread in the rodeo edition of a local magazine.
Second place had a smaller cash prize and half a page spread in the magazine.
And third place would get a spotlight in the magazine.
She tore the sheet of paper from the bulletin board and continued reading.
The purpose of the competition was to find beauty in the rugged outdoors—one of her favorite things to capture.
Submissions needed to be sent in by the end of the month so she had plenty of time to pick through the pictures she’d already taken, or she could try to shoot something new.
Excitement thrummed through her veins.
But it was immediately doused with cold reality.
She wasn’t a professional. She didn’t know what she was doing. All she knew was that she liked what she took pictures of and that had been enough. Her photography was something for her to enjoy and her alone. There were reasons she didn’t want to share her art with those around her.
Yeah, fear.
Anxiety.
A sinking feeling that she wasn’t good enough.
“What you got there?”
She gasped, shoving the sheet into her purse, wrinkling it in the process as she faced Tate.
He was holding a cardboard cup carrier with her drinks.
Apparently, she’d been so lost in her thoughts she hadn’t heard the barista call her name.
“Thanks,” she murmured, pointedly avoiding Tate’s question. “See you around, Tate.”
With those parting words, she took off. Her hands didn’t stop trembling until she arrived back at the cabin.
It had been a few days since she’d been able to run to town for groceries.
She’d picked up a new puzzle and the pumpkin lattes after she got everything else Jacob needed.
It was getting late and she almost regretted picking up the drinks.
But they could have them with dinner. It was the thought that counted, right?
She gathered the bags then reached for the drinks and shut the car door with her hip.
Then she headed for the house. Upon getting closer, she realized she could hear the faint sound of music.
A window was open somewhere in the house which wasn’t the strange part.
Being fall, it was nice to let some fresh air into the cabin to help circulate things.
Nope, the window being open wasn’t strange at all.
The music was a little odd. Jacob didn’t usually listen to music. Or he hadn’t since she’d moved in to help him.
But then the weirdest thing happened. The distinct blaring of a smoke alarm interrupted the music playing.
She fumbled with the bags and reached for the doorknob. It took a moment to push her way into the cabin and when she did, she stopped dead in her tracks.
Jacob, still wearing his neck brace and cast was also clad in a white dress shirt, slacks and an apron.
His hair was getting a little long and it was clear he’d attempted to style it but had gotten frustrated because there were still parts of it that hadn’t been tamed.
He’d shaved, too, and there were little white tissue bits clinging to where he’d nicked himself.
She drank in the whole sight of him at the stove attempting to fan out the smoke from whatever it was he’d been trying to cook. The alarm still blared, and Jacob was muttering curses.
Hallie shifted her attention to the small table that had been set up with a tablecloth she didn’t even know Jacob owned.
It had a candle that had already been lit, but it was melting too fast and it looked to be nearly halfway gone.
Wax dripped out of the candle holder onto the table cloth and if she wasn’t mistaken, there was a small scorch mark on the linen as well.
Despite the smoke, something smelled good.
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but ended up doing the former as she let the bags slide out of her arms and rest on the floor.
This had Jacob freezing in place. He must not have noticed her coming in. He spun around but it wasn’t nearly graceful enough and he had to catch himself with a hand to the counter. Unfortunately, right where he’d put his hand was a bowl of salad and the dish went tumbling to the ground.
Lettuce, shredded carrots, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers went flying.
Hallie brought her free hand to her mouth to stifle another laugh while Jacob scowled. Then he looked around the room at the disaster he’d created and sighed.
She shook her head, her giggles continuing. “Don’t get frustrated. This has to be the best surprise I’ve ever been given.” She put the drinks on the counter and moved closer to Jacob. “You did all this for me?”
His jaw was tense but the moment she slipped her arms around his waist, she felt him relax. “It wasn’t supposed to go this way. I was supposed to…” He sighed his head tipping back as much as it could. “I was supposed to show you that I’m a catch.”
“Jacob,” she breathed out his name like a prayer, “you don’t have to prove anything. I already know you’re a catch.”
He snorted derisively then gestured around them. “This is a disaster.”
“This? Is perfect.” She rose up on her toes and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Now, tell me what’s burning so I can figure out if we can salvage any of it.”
Jacob sighed again. “Dinner is fine. You’re smelling the soufflé.”
Her eyes widened. “You made us a soufflé?”
“Clearly not, as it’s burnt.”
She laughed again, earning a flat look from Jacob.
“This isn’t funny,” he muttered with exasperation, but there was a hint of amusement in his own eyes that he couldn’t hide from her. Not anymore. She was getting to know him so much better than she’d ever thought possible.
“Well, I think that just means that we should eat our dinner then we’ll have a different kind of dessert.”
He peered at her, unsure. “You don’t seem upset.”
She laughed again. “How could I possibly be mad. This?” She pulled back and gestured to everything. “I couldn’t have asked for a better first date with the guy of my dreams.”
That got a smile from him, and it felt like the biggest win of her life. She’d gotten Jacob to give her a genuine smile. One that showcased his dimples and the twinkle in his eye.
Hallie feathered her fingers through his hair, taming the parts of it that had refused when Jacob had made his attempts. She tilted her head and met his eyes. “Would you like me to trim this for you?”
“I didn’t know you cut hair.” He reached up and grasped her wrist, pressing a kiss to the sensitive flesh on the underside of it.
“I’m not as good as my aunt, but I bet I could tame this for you if you don’t want to go to town to get it done.”
“I think I’d like that.” His voice was low, husky.
And the way he stared into her eyes sent fresh waves of electricity through her body.
The music was still playing, but it managed to fade to the background.
No longer did the alarm sound. It was just the two of them in this moment and the expectation of what could come.
Jacob reached for one hand and placed it on his shoulder. Then he adjusted the one he already held and laced his fingers within hers. His free hand went around her waist and he pulled her into him.
She gasped. “Jacob—”
“Shh. Let’s dance.”
Biting back a smile, she gave him a pointed look. “You’re hardly in the condition to—”
“Just let me dance with you, Hallie.”
It wasn’t dancing so much as it was swaying. Jacob could put weight on his bad leg for short amounts of time. He’d still grimace when he wasn’t careful, but right now he appeared determined to get this part of their date right.
And when he looked at her like that, she felt like she was the only one in the world he could see. The only woman he had any interest in spending time with. This was what she’d wanted. From the first moment she realized she had feelings for Jacob, she’d known this was where she wanted to end up.
“What changed?” she whispered.
“Hmm?” he asked, his chest vibrating with the sound.
“What changed your mind? Why now?”
“I already told you, Hallie. I was being an idiot. I didn’t see the potential of what was right in front of me. There were obstacles I wasn’t capable of ignoring or solving.”
Obstacles? What kind of obstacles? Was this his way of admitting that he hadn’t been interested because he was too focused on his career or that he wasn’t interested because he’d never seen himself as the type to settle down?
Did that mean their little experiment to see where things could go would inevitably end when he found his path to the rodeo again?
“Don’t,” Jacob whispered, his voice almost soothing.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I can feel how hard you’re thinking,” he mused, his voice lighter than before. “Your brain must be exhausted after a workout like that.”
She snorted. “Okay, fine. I’ll stop thinking so hard.”
His boyish grin returned, and with it a fresh wave of butterflies.
She loved being with him like this. There was more to Jacob Hines than met the eye and he was sharing that side of himself with her.
She wasn’t going to take any of it for granted.
Even if this fling ended when he was finally all healed up, she’d gracefully accept that this was all she was ever going to get.
They ate their meal, joking around as they did. It felt like they were finally getting back to that place they’d been before she’d messed everything up. Only now it was ten times better because Jacob was giving her every piece of him.
He held her hand across the table as he told her the five different meals he’d learned how to make just to prove to his brother he could when he was in high school. The soufflé had been one of the handful of specialty desserts he’d perfected, but apparently, he was out of practice.
They watched a romcom on their favorite streaming service and she curled up against him.
Even though it was dangerous, Hallie could envision a life with Jacob just like this.
Where they came home to be together after a long day and just spent time in each other’s company. Nothing sounded more perfect than that.
She wouldn’t have even minded if she was on the road more often than not or if they had to postpone having children.
Heat flushed her cheeks and she shoved that thought deep down where it belonged before Jacob could sense her thoughts had taken on a mind of their own.
The here and now.
That was where she was choosing to stay.