Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Sunday…
Face up and quilts kicked to the floor, Jorja was wide awake when the sun broke the horizon.
Ready to begin her day, she padded to the bathroom to attend to business and apply antibiotic ointment on the scrapes, which were healing nicely.
She dressed, sliding cash into a pocket of her running shorts, and tip-toed down the stairs carrying her shoes, not wishing to disturb Nettie.
In the kitchen, she scribbled a quick note before going outside to stretch.
Humidity was high. The steps to the trail were slick with dew and shaded, like the trail.
She punched the code into the gate lock and stepped onto the trail.
Sweet. People were already on it at this early hour, probably intent on getting outside ahead of the predicted heat which would bring on sauna-like conditions—weather that was typical of August, not early June.
Jorja secured her sunglasses over her ball cap, checked the laces of her sneakers, and picked up a jog, heading in the direction of the Ulen Bakehouse.
Nettie had raved about their coffee and pastries when they passed it on their way to the spa yesterday.
The restaurant was situated close to the river and nestled among the trees.
There was even a sign that directed users of the trail to a dogleg, which led to the establishment.
Her mouth watered as she eyed the freshly baked sweets, deciding on two blueberry-lemon croissants—one to eat with her coffee outside and one for Nettie.
She ventured back outside to eat.
The deck was on the riverside, with tables that could seat four or more.
To one side of it, a lower narrow deck jutted out, closer to the water.
It was empty. Running its length was a metal counter with brightly painted stools, perfect for singles and smaller parties, and since it was only her, Jorja chose a stool in the dappled shade.
She slipped off her sunglasses and became transfixed by the water’s movement while breakfasting.
Time suspended while she finished the croissant—one of the best ever—and leisurely sipped the extra-large black coffee, daydreaming about a certain devastatingly handsome rancher with eyes the color of the sky after a summer rain, hard-packed muscle, and a voice that wrecked her insides, reducing her to a quivering wet mess.
A man whose kiss rendered her insatiable and aching all night.
She had been a hair’s breadth away from shattering in the private hall at Beugy’s.
What if I had?
Need had woken her after midnight.
She turned off the TV and eased off the couch still wrapped in quilts.
Nettie puffed peacefully, a hint of a smile on her face.
Jorja had retired to her room where she took care of herself.
However, she did not sleep well.
Rake starred in her dreams again.
Her hand shook as she drank from the insulated cup.
What would it be like to be with him?
Just once?
The universe answered with its twisted sense of humor and her stomach dropped like a stone.
Rake approached from the direction opposite from where she had come, in running shorts and a sleeveless tee, chatting and laughing with a bronze-skinned, dark-haired beauty dressed similarly.
A different one than yesterday afternoon, and a lot younger.
They seemed very comfortable with each other.
Frequent flashes of white broke up his tanned features and made him all the more tantalizing.
She had to hand it to him.
The confirmed bachelor got around, just like the rumor mill claimed.
Jorja slid on the sunglasses, confident she was incognito with the shade’s help, and propped herself up on her elbows, watching more closely.
She didn’t so much as move.
The man had a sixth sense.
He glanced up and zeroed in on her immediately.
At the same moment, this companion answered her phone and stepped aside to sit on a bench, signaling to him that she was going to be awhile.
Despite the dark shades covering his eyes, she felt the intensity of his stare.
His grin turned into a smirk, and he waved.
What the hell? She was doing her thing, and he was doing his.
Leave me alone. Rattled, Jorja shrank into herself.
Rake said something to his date and kissed the top of her head, then strode purposefully toward Jorja.
No. This was not going to happen.
She was wholly unprepared for the force of this man.
Jettisoning to her feet, she upset the coffee with her elbow when reaching for the pastry bag in an effort to hightail it back to the trail.
What was left splashed onto the countertop, the deck, her shins, socks, and shoes.
The stool that she had been sitting on tipped and clattered loudly to its side.
Heat blazed through her body.
“Shit.” Jorja blotted up the mess as best as she could with the meager supply of napkins.
The brown pastry bag with Nettie’s croissant, which she clutched, was the only thing unaffected.
“I am not in the mood to dick around with him.” She muttered, appalled at being caught gawking, and the resulting mess.
She set the stool on its feet and checked it for damage.
It didn’t seem any worse for the mishap.
“You’re not in the mood to dick around with who?”
Too loudly.
Her mom constantly reminded her about keeping things to herself.
Please ground, open up and swallow me.
Her voice was flat. “What do you want?”
“A good Sunday to you, too.” He handed her a wet white towel.
She glared at him and wiped her shins, socks and shoes.
The damp rough texture soothed her temper.
“Morning.” She groused, then folded the towel with the unused side out and swabbed the table.
“You just happened to have a wet towel?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders, which underscored strength.
“The cart was close to the entrance. Saturated a dry one with water from a pitcher. You’re welcome.”
Great.
Now he made a point of noticing her bad manners.
“Thanks.”
“Well, that’s better. We’re behavin' like civilized adults now.”
His barbs … “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”
“That fire of yours intrigues me. Then there’s how your emotions play out in that exquisite face and in the movements of that divine body. Do you think we’ll ever discuss a lease when there’s all this animosity between us? And that scorchin' kiss?”
She felt like … What? The image of a small silver ball spinning and bouncing throughout a pinball machine came to her. Exactly. He was exasperating. “Do you think you’re plying me with compliments?”
“I’m callin' it as I see it. I’m a simple man.”
“Bullshit.”
His grin morphed into a smile, indicating that he was actually enjoying this exchange between them. “I noticed what happened in your excitement of seein' me. You are fascinating; I’ll give you that.”
“And you’re insufferable.”
“You’re prickly as hell and accident prone.” He handed her a dry towel without touching her. “You don’t know me.”
“I know that you left your date to run over here and bother me.”
“Seriously?” He chuckled softly. “That’s” —laughter set him off again — “rich. You sound jealous.”
“I am not jealous. As you so correctly pointed out, I don’t know you, nor do I wish to. Not in the vein you allude to.”
“What might that be?”
“Intimately.”
“Biblically. Mm.” He stepped closer and slid off his sunglasses, his smiling eyes searched hers. “Oh, honey—” His tone softened into a sensual caress that had goosebumps rising over every inch of her skin and yearning flourishing low in her belly. “You lie like a rug. You drank me in at the ranch like you were parched. Your pulse skipped in that lovely neck when I mentioned a dip in the pool. You kissed me like a starved woman. And right now? You’re vibratin' like a live wire. You’re as attracted to me as I am to you. Even with our families’ intertwined history.”
“ You told me to 'get the fuck off your property'. Your words.”
“Tsk, tsk . My Sunday mornin' ears.” He chuckled again. “You’re right, I did. You weren’t who I thought you were. I felt cornered, tricked. That pissed me off. My hunger for you made me even more so.”
Damn. He was earnest. However … “Not my problem.”
“Agreed. I apologize for my inhospitable welcome and language.”
“You—”
“I wasn’t done. I received your message and want to extend an olive branch, a second chance to present your offer.”
She planned to be on the road back to Landry before noon tomorrow. Then Jorja would do her best figure out how to salvage negotiations if the meeting did not happen and if it did, she expected there would be additional provisions to address. The Carpenter lease was a priority, and he was giving her another chance in the morning. It could—it would—be a win for her and Ogden-Keller Oil. “I?—”
“Seven o’clock, tomorrow mornin'.” He held his hand up. “Sorry about the late notice but that works for me, and I expect you to be flexible, after all you’ve an agenda and are courtin' me. Right?”
He was being generous. “Yes.” She would work on the lease after the barbecue that she was going to with Nettie this afternoon.
“I realize that I have no choice, and that burns in my craw. By law, I have to sign with” —his Adam’s apple moved, and he shook his head, appraising her with those darkly lashed blue eyes— “Ogden-Keller or someone else. We’ll negotiate an agreement, then move on to you and me, explore this wild chemistry between us. We got a taste of it last night.”
“I have no intention of exploring anything between us.”
“Yes you do. We’re going to get together because you’ll regret it if you don’t. So will I.”
“I will not regret it.”
“The way you kissed me last night says otherwise.” Rake chuckled as he adjusted the umbrella so that it blocked the sun. “You’ll be in direct sunlight in minutes.”
His tee rode up during his efforts, treating Jorja to a mouth-watering view. Good lord. She glanced away and was drawn back, riveted to the flat planes of corded muscle. Her heart pounded like a jackhammer. Damn, the man was fine.
Delicate tongue clicking in the other direction, drew her attention. She turned her head and her eyes widened in alarm. Shit. An elderly woman, another customer, grinned widely and winked. “You’re not wrong for staring. That’s some of the most captivating scenery I’ve experienced in some time.”
“I wasn’t.” She argued.
Rake laughed softly. “Enjoy your day, Jorja.”
Sadness filled her as she watched him go and rejoin his date.
H eads turned when Jorja and Nettie made their entrance at the barbecue in the afternoon. Jorja wore sandals and a floppy hat in black, dark sunglasses, and carried a black mesh bag stuffed with a turquoise towel, a change of clothes, and extra sun protection. The top of her black crocheted bikini was fully uncovered. Its matching bottom was hidden by a long floral sarong in red, turquoise, and yellow tied at the waist, exposing one leg all the way to her hip with every sauntering step.
Nettie’s proactive and playful black plunging halter one-piece with mesh inserts looked amazing on her tan, toned body. The short wrap skirt in black, natural broad brimmed straw hat, and large black-and- khaki striped tote completed her blonde friend’s ensemble.
The summer season was young, but the first Texas heatwave had arrived, as promised, and was expected to hang around until late tomorrow afternoon. Give her a float or a noodle to enjoy the pool, something ice cold to drink, and music, and Jorja was a contented woman.
The pool party was in full swing. Country music poured through the speakers and delicious smells wafted from the huge outdoor kitchen and dining area where a small cluster of men barbecued. Long tables were laid out with stacks of plates, condiments, and baskets of linens and utensils placed intermittently, leaving space for the featured meats and accompaniments.
Most of the women converged in the water in the shallow end with frou-frou drinks topped with colorful straws. Jorja was sticking with water.
Beyond the pool area, on the sweeping lawn, a large group of shirtless men in swim trunks drank from large cups and loudly egged each other on in a friendly game of frisbee. A half-circle of women reclined in chairs shaded by trees, chatting, drinking, and spritzing themselves while watching the activity.
“I’ve got to go see a man about a horse.” Nettie’s grin suddenly broadened, and she made a hasty exit.
“Jorja.”
Her body became traitorous, turning her knees to jelly when hearing that smooth deep voice laced with notes of authority and sensuality. She slowly faced him. He was shirtless, wearing coral-and-light-blue geometric-patterned board shorts and a navy snapback. Breathtaking. His swoon-worthy physique on full display. He slipped off his sunglasses. The full brunt of his smoldering look engulfed her, sending her heart skipping. She fought to regulate the lightheadedness he brought out in her.
Recapturing any semblance of professionalism was impossible. First, there was the mishap and fireworks at the farm. Second was getting caught ogling him, twice—yesterday in Eagle Creek and this morning at the bakehouse. Then there was the kiss . And now, both of them were grappling with a great deal of fleshly exposure, and she with vulnerability. Did he like what he saw? Why do you care?
Flustered, she gulped. “Rake.” Her body hummed under his leisurely perusal.
“ Nice suit. I’m thinking the rest of it is just as, mm … pleasurable.” He twisted off the cap and offered her the bottle of water he held. “You look thirsty.” One corner of his lips tugged upward, smirking suggestively.
If that smirk could talk, he already had her naked and they were fucking each other senseless.
“Thanks.” She reached for the proffered water and—wrong thing to do—touched him. A spark ignited and kindled, setting her blood on fire. Her hand whipped back, splattering both of them with most of the water. Dammit to hell.
Chuckling quietly, he placed a broad hand on her shoulder. “That cools us off for now, but you and I need to address this thing between us. I feel it, too. I’m?—”
“Excuse me.”
Rake lowered his hand.
The young woman looked like the same person who was with Rake this morning. Closer, it was obvious that she was a teenager. She wore an athletic buttery-colored bikini that showcased her young lean feminine form and deep bronze skin.
“Are you Miss Ogden?”
“I am.”
Her smile turned bashful. “I’m Skye Alamilla. I got your name wrong, Ms. Ogden. I’m deeply sorry for the confusion and the unreceptive welcome you received. Uncle Rake handed my ass to me for that.”
Rake cleared his throat.
“Oops. Language. Sorry.” Skye elbowed her uncle. “I kind of exaggerated. Well, not really. He wasn’t happy, at all.” She glanced up at Rake. “Better?”
He gave Skye the side-eye.
Jorja laughed. Skye was adorable and spunky. “It’s fine. Please call me Jorja,” she said, smiling reassuringly at her and Rake, deciding she liked this version of him a lot.
His face radiated love and pride. “You might recognize her from this morning.”
Busted.
“Do you think that Uncle Rake is hot?”
“Skye.” Rake warned sharply.
If anything, his niece’s smile brightened. “It’s really nice to meet the woman that has my uncle tied up in knots. Guess I should go. Nice to meet you. See you in the morning.” Skye turned her attention to Rake. “You did ask her to come for breakfast, right?”
“We leave soon. Don’t make me come look for you.”
“Jorja, if you haven’t figured it out already, my uncle’s bark is worse than his bite.” She giggled, jogging away.
“Sorry. Skye can be a handful.”
“Oh, I think all of that was aimed at you. She’s delightful.”
“Hey.” Levi appeared with Nettie. “Jorja, good to see you. Rake, we’re expected for the next game. Babe, I’ll rescue you from the fancy-drink crowd at the pool before dinner. You ladies enjoy.”
Rake winked at Jorja and slipped his sunglasses back on. “Later.”
Flutters moved through her as Jorja watched him stride away. Even that swagger of his was sexy. She rolled her shoulders to dispense with the energy coursing through her. That man. He will be the death of me.
“You’re shivering. How can you be cold when it’s hotter than blue hazes? Jorja? Are you sick?” Nettie rested her hand on Jorja’s forehead. “You don’t feel feverish—” She looked off in the direction of Levi and Rake, who were closing in on where the frisbee tournament was being played. A slow smile spread across her face. “Oh, girlfriend. This is serious. You’ve got a major hankering for him.”
“I do no?—”
“You do . Come on. Scratch that itch. You already kissed him. How was it?”
Jorja looked away, refusing to give away anything.
“It was that good ...” Nettie took Jorja’s hand and led her to two unoccupied chaise lounges with a small table between near the deep end of the pool. She dumped Jorja’s bag on one chair and her tote on the other.
“Yes.” Jorja admitted. “I’m not saying more, so don’t ask or surmise. I’m done with the topic of Rake Carpenter today. Got it?”
“Yes ma’am. Let’s get in,” Nettie said, shedding her skirt. “This weather is as unwelcome as a wet shoe, and you my friend, sister of my heart, need to cool the hell off.”
Jorja sensed the weight of someone watching intently as she untied the sarong and slid off her sunglasses. She glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough. Rake was as still as a statue, staring right at her. Riveted. The imp in her surfaced. Delighted, she flashed him a bright smile and sauntered toward the pool. She might as well begin preparing for the early morning now.
She jumped, submerging under the water in the deep end and stayed there a good while, treading water, welcoming how it squelched the day’s oppressive heat and cooled the craving consuming her. She dipped her head backward, enjoying the feel of the cool water on her scalp and searched the cloudless sky—so close to the color of Rake’s eyes—and wondered … Was it even possible for the two of them to straddle the line between business and pleasure? Would it be worth it? Let it go. Business is the priority. A deliberate splash in the face drew her from her thoughts.
“Hello? Are you there? I’ve said your name twice.” Nettie laughed, then splashed her again. “You look all day dreamy.”
Where are my manners? “I am. The sky is beautiful and the water is perfect. I'm just enjoying the reprieve from the heat.” She had to stop obsessing about Rake and the lease and have fun. Let it go. She filled her mouth with water, then aimed it in a stream at her best friend. She was here as Nettie’s guest, who was not hanging with her boyfriend but spending time with her. She glanced toward the partially submerged women clustered on the steps and gathered along the sides of the shallow end with their colorful drinks nearby. “Do you know any of them?”
“Some.”
“Introduce me.”
Jorja and Nettie closed in on the shallow end when a large group of men jogged by, whooping and hollering. Jorja noticed that Rake was not among them.
“Watch out!” Nettie yelled as she dodged to the side, pulling Jorja with her.
The men cannonballed into the deep end. Big waves crashed against Jorja and Nettie, scraping them against the pool's side and changing what had peaceful, with plenty of room to move about, into a rollicking and congested mega-tub.
“My knee.” Jorja winced. “I think my knee is bleeding again. Shit.”
A number of them pulled themselves from the pool to cannonball again or use the diving board. The water became rougher.
Someone yelled. “Dinner.” The pool emptied as quickly as it had filled.
“Boys will be boys." Nettie muttered, rolling her eyes. “Let’s take care of your knee and then get something to eat. The enjoyable pool time is gone for now.”
Jorja searched the pool and surrounding areas. Apparently Rake was gone, too.