Chapter Nine #2
The moment Jaxson walked through the door, she added salt to her simmering water, along with the pasta, which was enough for two servings.
“Honey, I’m home,” he said, and then burst out laughing. “Sorry, I have always wanted to say that.”
He came rushing toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his face against her neck. “I’m missed you,” he said.
She sunk against him and loved the attention he was giving her.
“A bad day at the office?” she asked.
“Ugh, more like bad day at the ranch. I got a call from Cruz Moore, miserable bastard, and he didn’t listen to me and now he’s going to pay the price, because his house needs a rewiring job.
I’ve got to get the equipment from town tomorrow.
He wants me to start immediately and has promised he will be standing over me, timing me. ”
“Cruz Moore?”
“Yeah, why?”
“No reason.” She thought about Kate and the fact she’d not long had a conversation where her friend had admitted to having the biggest crush on him.
“I don’t know, that means something. You and Cruz got a little history?”
“Me and Cruz? Absolutely not. I don’t think he and I have ever crossed paths, in all honesty.”
“So why the interest?” Jaxson asked.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing.”
“Come on, tell me,” Jaxson said, grabbing her hand, and pulling her away from her pot. “If you can’t trust me with all your secrets, who can you trust?”
“Do you trust me with all of yours?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do.” And he didn’t even hesitate.
“If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone. Not even your parents and certainly not Cruz.”
Jaxson pursed his lips. “You do realize you just keep piquing my interest, don’t you?”
She sighed. “Kate, kind of like, uh, she has a crush on Cruz, okay? I heard these nasty rumors in town about you and Kate, and when I went to see her, we got talking, and she admitted to seeing you as more of a brother, and, well, her feelings are elsewhere.”
Jaxson burst out laughing.
“You can’t laugh,” she said, not happy with his reaction.
“I know, and I’m sorry, and I am trying not to laugh.
Kate and Cruz are like chalk and cheese, he will make her miserable, I guarantee it, and what fucking rumors?
” Jaxson frowned and then held his hand up.
“Wait, is that what Carl was on about? He was under the impression that I’m having sex with you and Kate at the same time.
Is that what the town is gossiping about? ”
Tillie scrunched up her nose. “That’s not what I heard.”
“It’s all these whispers, gossip is. No one gets it right, and they’re always making shit up that doesn’t make any sense. It’s all bullshit, you know that.” Jaxson blew out a breath. “You didn’t believe any of that, did you?”
“I mean, no.”
“Tillie, come on.” He cupped her face. “You’re the only woman I’m seeing, okay? I swear. I would never do that to you. I don’t do that shit. I don’t cheat.”
“You’ve been with a lot of girls.”
“In the past. I can’t change what I did or who I was, okay, but none of them meant anything. Not like this.” He stroked her cheek. “I would never do that to you.”
She pressed her face against his palm. “You know how to always say the right words.
“That’s because it’s the truth.” He pulled her in close and kissed her.
Tillie held her hands up. “I need to serve dinner.”
“But I want to eat you.”
She whimpered, because that was so tempting, but instead, she held her hands up and went back to her stove, where she found the pasta was now cooked.
She served it up as quickly as she could, giving Jaxson extra pasta and extra sauce.
Once she was done, she carried it through to her dining room table.
Jaxson asked her about work, and if she was able to get lots of filming done. She was surprised by how much of an interest he had taken into her work, and her filming. She talked for a good ten minutes about her day.
“Do you think we should set up Kate and Cruz?” Jaxson asked, as she took the final piece of chicken from her bowl and ate it.
“What?” she asked, looking up.
“It’s just a thought, but I think it is a damn good one.”
“You want to try and get Kate and Cruz together?” she asked. “Why?”
“Well, first of all, I happen to like Kate. I think she’s a good person, who was handed a shit show, and has turned it around and made it work. You’ve got to admire her for that. Also, Cruz is an asshole, but I reckon with the right woman, like Kate, it would change him.”
Tillie started to laugh. “Oh, my, you want to get our friends together, so that he is not a pain in the ass while you rewire his ranch?” she asked.
“It’s just a thought.”
“It is a selfish one.” She couldn’t help but laugh. She couldn’t recall ever talking to Cruz. He was grumpy, almost on the same level or at the very least a similar level to Jaxson. Both men were known for being grumpy.
“It’s not a selfish one. Okay, fine, maybe it is a selfish one, but it is to bring two people together. One of which happens to really like our rancher, and honestly, he needs to find someone that makes him happy, and I think Kate would make him happy. He puts up with her mom.”
“I told you this in confidence,” Tillie said, reaching for their empty bowls and making her way toward the kitchen.
“And it is going to remain in my confidence. It’s not like I’m going to see him tomorrow, and you know, tell him Kate’s got a crush on him. This is not high school.”
Tillie put her hands into the bowl and Jaxson was right up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Don’t you want your friend to be happy?” he asked.
“Oh, no, you do not get to do that, Jaxson,” she said, and spun around, but it was not very wise for her to do so. His lips were on hers, and it had been all day since he had last kissed her.
The hands that were at her waist were now at her back, and he started to move them down until he gripped her ass, and she let out a moan as he suddenly pulled her in close, but then he lifted her and moved her toward the main counter.
He placed her on top and his lips kissed her neck, and then started to travel down, going toward her chest.
“You know, I’ve missed you all day today.”
“What are we going to do about those rumors?” she asked.
“Ignore them. They’ll get bored and find someone else to gossip about. It’s their way, Tillie.”
She couldn’t exactly argue with him. Nor did she want to.