Chapter 6
DANI
My parents turned in for the night, but I was too keyed up to sleep. Glass of wine in hand, I headed to the front porch to watch the stars.
I reviewed and dissected my situation from every angle, but I was no closer to a solution by the time I finished my glass. A pair of headlights cut through my thoughts. I tensed when the brake lights lit up. Did Beau realize I uncovered his lies?
Primed for flight, my heart lodged in my throat. When the truck pulled into the driveway next door, I grew lightheaded with relief.
It wasn’t Beau’s truck, and the driver had a different profile than my soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. Neither was it the grumpy old man who’d been living there. Vanessa’s words about a new renter filled my head.
The automatic floodlight kicked on when the man pulled up to the garage. The garish light highlighted his profile for a moment, and I sucked in a breath at the stark beauty it revealed.
That definitely wasn’t Beau. He was tall and muscular, with thick dark hair on his head and face. I ached to run my fingers through that luxurious hair and ride his hard body. Lady parts long dormant clamored to life, and I wanted to tackle him right there in the yard and grind on him.
Shame washed over me. Instead of dealing with the fallout from my long-term boyfriend’s multiple betrayals, I was fantasizing about a stranger. Even if I wanted a rebound once I broke up with Beau, a neighbor was a terrible idea.
Appalled and horrified by my inappropriate reaction and dirty thoughts, I whimpered in dismay.
His head snapped up as if he heard. It was obvious when he spotted me. His loose posture snapped into rigid bearing, and he strode towards me. The light flirted with the sharp slash of his cheekbones and the severe blade of his nose.
His muscular legs ate up the distance between us, and I froze. My heart rate kicked up as he approached.
“Dani? Is that you?”
My head cocked. I didn’t recognize this guy, so he wasn’t a local. As a bartender, I met a lot of people. Maybe he was one of the people who returned each year for the annual festivals or someone from the wider community I didn’t recognize.
“What are you doing sitting in the dark, Dani Girl?”
I bolted upright. He looked nothing like I remembered, but I knew him. Only one person ever called me that, just as I was the only one allowed to call him Jake.
With a shriek, I launched myself at him. Laughing, he caught me, swung me around, and we hugged. Tears streamed down my cheeks again, but these were so much happier than before.
As we hugged, I tried hard ignore how different this embrace felt than the ones we’d shared in the past. Before I left to finish my degree, and he joined the army, we touched casually all the time.
Now, my skin tingled everywhere we brushed against each other. His body made mine react in ways I shouldn’t feel for someone I’d always thought of as a brother. Ashamed, I tore myself away.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
My cheeks burned with mortification, but the darkness hid my shame. Vanessa could never find out I fantasized about Jake before I recognized him.
A gleaming smile split his too-serious face.
“I live here now. Didn’t your parents tell you?”
Surprise stole my voice, and I shook my head.
“Sit down before you fall down,” he teased. “Scoot over. We can catch up.”
He picked up my wine glass and sniffed it suspiciously.
“It’s white wine,” I offered lamely.
“Don’t tell me you like that swill now,” he scoffed. “If you’re gonna drink, it should be worth the hangover.”
In a daze that he’d fallen back into our old patter, I held still while he got comfortable on the porch steps next to me. My skin burned where his denim-clad thigh pressed against mine. I exhaled in relief when he stretched his long legs in front of him and leaned back on his elbows.
“I always wanted to return to Sierra Rose Ridge,” he shocked me by saying.
“What? I thought you wanted out of here as badly as I did.”
“Nah. I just wanted away from my dad.”
My heart panged at his words. I didn’t offer my condolences because I’d never hated anyone more than I hated Philip Brown, and I was glad when he died.
“Sierra Rose Ridge is great,” he continued. “I’ve seen a lot of the world since then, and it’s still the best place for a kid to grow up. Despite my parents, this is home. I always planned to come back here when I finished my service.”
Guilt choked me.
“Do you have kids?”
“No.” His voice held a world of sorrow. “I was engaged, but it… didn’t work out. Since I already gave the renter here notice to vacate six months ago, I figured I’d come here and lick my wounds away from prying eyes.”
I snorted, grateful for the lifeline.
“You must have forgotten everything about small towns if you think the whole town wasn’t eager to dissect your life the second you rolled up.”
I patted myself on the back when he chuckled ruefully, and his body relaxed.
“You’re right about that. Earlier, I went to the market to stock up on food. Half the town was there to grill me on my plans. Then I had dinner with Dusty, and his wife had a whole welcoming committee of single ladies for me to choose from.”
His voice was dry as dust, but jealousy speared me.
“I didn’t know you knew Dusty well enough to have dinner with him your first night back.”
“I worked for him as a mechanic before I enlisted. My MOS—military occupational code—in the army was wheeled vehicle mechanic. I’ve got my savings, but I was hoping he’d had some work for me.”
“Well?” I nudged him with my shoulder. “Don’t leave me hanging.”
That sexy smile broke out again, and my breath caught. Damn, that thing should come with a warning label. He was stupidly attractive without it, but when he smiled, I lost my head momentarily.
The single women of Sierra Rose Ridge were going to have a field day with him. If Dusty wanted to increase the number of customers, all he had to do was spread the word that he’d hired Jacob Brown, and they’d beat down his doors.
“Yeah, I start in a couple days. It’s part-time for now, but he says things pick up before summer when everybody goes on vacation.”
“Holy shit, I can’t believe we’re both back home again.” I laughed. “Welcome home, Jake. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“It hasn’t been the homecoming I expected. I thought everybody would bring up my dad, but it’s mostly been stories from high school.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder like I had a thousand times before, but it was different. I was different. Why did I have to notice him like that? More importantly, how do I turn it off? I could not find Jake attractive, especially when I was already such a mess about Beau.
Then his comment sunk in.
“Oh my God! You’re the guy.” At his raised eyebrows, I laughingly explained. “I worked at the Tavern tonight. A couple of the ranch hands rhapsodized about some football hero they met tonight. It never occurred to me they were talking about high school football from a dozen years ago.”
He groaned, and I laughed harder.
“More like fifteen years ago.” His voice was wryly amused. “As Coach reminded me tonight—yes, he was at the diner, too—it was the closest Sierra Rose Ridge made it to winning the state championship.”
My sides ached from laughing, and I was more relaxed than I’d been in months. Years, maybe. I didn’t realize how much I missed Jake. Nobody got me like he did.
When I first got my scholarship to the university, we planned to go together. His dad put the kibosh on that. Jake swore we’d stay best friends forever.
We talked all the time in the beginning. Then he dated Katelyn, we fought, and we never found our equilibrium again. When he joined the army, and I got a full-time job in the city, our infrequent calls and texts stopped entirely.
“Enough about me,” he said. “What’s new with you?”
I groaned.
“You caught me at a bad time. Things are in upheaval.”
“Yeah, I figured that if you’re sitting on your parents’ doorstep at midnight. I’m a good listener.”
My lips curved up.
“You always were. Do you remember when I had that stupid crush on Brady Bonds in tenth grade? I thought he was my soul mate, and it turned out he was screwing half the cheerleaders and some of the girls on the basketball team.”
His disgusted groan delighted me.
“You always had the worst taste. I swear, I could line up dozens of guys, and you’d pick the ones most likely to lie, cheat, or steal from you every single time.”
Well. My attempt at distracting him from the details of my messy life failed. My shoulders slumped, and I groaned.
“It turns out some things don’t get better with age.”
My light-hearted voice failed to hide my sadness, and I was again grateful for the darkness. He put his arm around me and hugged me briefly.
“Dani Girl, I’m sorry I said anything. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. We can be sad and lonely together.”
A watery laugh escaped me, and I agreed. He told light-hearted memories of the sandbox, though I had no doubt there were more stressful events he didn’t share. I entertained him with adventures in bartending. Both of us carefully avoided any mention of relationships.
By the time a yawn split my jaw, we’d been talking for hours in the dark. My ass hurt from sitting on the wooden porch for so long. My mother would chide me tomorrow for not inviting him inside, but there was something magical about Jake, me, and the stars.
“You should sleep,” he said.
Before I could protest, another yawn overcame me.
“Yeah, it’s been a long day,” I said with a sheepish smile.
His teeth gleamed again in the darkness, and pride filled my heart. His step was lighter than the man I saw earlier tonight. It was true for me, too. Having Jake back made everything brighter.
“It sucks you’re having a shit time, but I’m glad it led you out here tonight.”
“Thanks, Jake. I’m glad, too.”
I worked all morning on the web design changes from Mr. Ramirez. By the time I got to the Tavern, I already had an excited response. He loved my ideas. I itched to get to work on it right away, but instead I clocked in at my reliable job with a steady paycheck.
The shift went quickly. My favorite co-worker, Neil, cracked me up all night. He moved here a few years earlier with a long-forgotten boyfriend who was from Sierra Rose Ridge. After the split, the boyfriend left, and we kept Neil.
Neil’s favorite past-time was inventing wild histories for people based on no information. After seeing Jake at the diner, Neil spun the wildest stories about how my old friend spent the last decade.
“You should be an author since you have such a wild imagination,” I teased.
“No, thanks. I like getting paid for my work. Now tell me the real reason you never dated that delicious man?”
“He’s like a brother to me,” I repeated.
“Girl, nobody’s brother looks like that. And that voice gives me the shivers.”
I couldn’t disagree, but I tried to laugh it off. The last thing I needed during my current crisis was to think about my newfound attraction to Jake.
A few customers come in, and we went back to work. When things settled down, Neil moved on to another topic. Unfortunately, his words remained with me.
By the time I pulled into the driveway, I was worn to the bone. Yet I was disappointed Jake’s house was dark already. I’d gone years without seeing him, and now, a day was too long.
I did some yoga to work out the stress of the day and took a shower. Once I settled into bed and put my phone on the charging pad, I noticed an unread text message.
I’d been dreading Beau’s message. He didn’t know I uncovered his deceit, and I expected him to pretend he gave a shit about me.
I steeled myself to read it, but my bones turned to liquid when I clicked on the message.
Unknown Sender: Glad you’re home safe tonight, Dani Girl. Sleep well.
I fell asleep with a cat on my chest, and a smile on my face.