Chapter 12
Jo stirredon the crisp cotton sheets, still fuzzy from her afternoon nap. The past week had been a whirlwind, her days consumed with helping Jack fix up the house. By the time she reached her room each night, she was too exhausted to think, much less plan anything.
Yesterday, they”d finally finished the deck, the last rays of sunset casting long shadows as they hammered in the final nail. Jack had insisted they take the day off, a welcome relief for her tired body. Her day was spent in her pajamas, doing as little physical work as possible, and sometime during the early afternoon, she’d snuggled up on her bed with a book and unknowingly fallen asleep.
The rhythmic rumble of a familiar-sounding truck outside snagged her attention. Jack. Rolling out of bed, she hurried to the window, smiling as she saw him get out of his pickup. He”d traded his usual T-shirt for a crisp blue button-down, the color mirroring his summer sky eyes and making him look impossibly handsome.
He looked up and smiled, motioning for her to open the window. She did as he asked, leaning over with her arms on the sill. “What are you doing here?”
“Get changed. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?”
He tipped his head toward the truck. “Come on, hurry up. As the saying goes, we’re burning daylight.”
She narrowed her eyes, and a list of theories about what he might be up to tumbled around in her mind. Whatever it was, it meant spending time with him, which meant she was game for whatever it was, especially since he seemed in a good mood.
He hadn’t exactly been in a bad one the last few days, but he’d been quieter, more reserved. She was pretty sure he’d tried to hide it, too, and failed miserably. There was the temptation to ask, but she didn’t get the feeling she should.
“I’ll be right there.” She went to shut her window.
“Bring your camera.” He quickly added.
The request made her pause. “Why?”
“Just trust me.”
“Okay.” Nodding, she shut the window and hurriedly put together an outfit. Of course, she would never have the fashion sense to impress a man like him, but shorts and a T-shirt were pretty universal, so she couldn’t mess that up too bad as long as they matched.
Once dressed, she snatched her camera bag, gave her grandma a quick kiss and a goodbye, and joined Jack outside. He opened the passenger door and helped her inside.
It was just warm enough that breeze was needed, so he’d left the windows half-cracked, fresh air filling the cab along with a hint of his spicy, delicious cologne that made her want to bury her face in his chest.
As soon as they were on the road, she turned in her seat and faced him. “Where are we going?”
“Do you not know the definition of a surprise?”
She huffed. “I know what it means, but…”
“Then wait.” He glanced at her, his eyes dancing with all sorts of mischief.
If there was one thing she liked about him, it was that. The way his face would glow when he was excited about something. The way his eyes would beckon her to dive into them. His smile. His whole countenance would give her goose bumps.
“Fine.” She pondered things to discuss for a second. “So, did you have a good night off?”
“I did. Slept like a baby and didn’t wake up until nine this morning.”
“Oh, nine, huh? The day was practically over.” She laughed.
“How about you?”
“I woke up around the same time, worked on the article a little, and then read a book until I fell asleep. I was just waking up from a nap when you arrived.”
He looked at her. “I thought the plan was to take the day off.. to take it easy.”
She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. “I did take it easy. Writing is fun, so it wasn’t work.” She’d done enough that she’d even sent Delia some of it along with some photos.
“If you say so. I couldn’t write an essay to save my life. If it weren’t for the hometown hero thing, I may have failed my senior year of English. Mrs. Sanford took it easy on me. Let me do extra credit.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Mrs. Sanford never allowed anyone to do extra credit. So unfair!”
“Completely fair. I couldn’t help that writing was my weakness. It turns out, that it was okay that I couldn’t string sentences together effectively. I know this woman with skills that could make you cry. I’m sure I could ask her to write up whatever I needed, and she’d be happy to do it for me.” He winked.
“Oh, don’t count your chickens, mister. This skilled woman isn’t a pushover.”
A look he’d perfected over the last week was the puppy dog eyes. He’d toss her these sad eyes, give a fake pout, and she was putty in his hands. He knew it, too. Dirty dog. “Not even if I said please?”
Then he would add a please, and she was a goner. “Maybe.”
“Just maybe?”
Rolling her eyes, her shoulders rounded. “Fine, yes, I’d help. Who can resist that face?” She realized what she’d said and looked away, clearing her throat. “Uh, anyway, why do I need my camera?”
“Nice save there, Stewart.”
“Whatever. Just answer the question.”
“What part of surprise are you not grasping? Just hold your horses, missy.”
The way he said it struck her as funny, and she doubled over, holding her stomach. “Missy?”
He laughed with her, nodding. “It’s a word.”
Why was she so comfortable with him so quickly? She’d gone from girl with a crush to teasing and joking like they’d been best friends forever. The thought popped in her head: isn’t this what you’ve been looking for? A man with a warm heart, caring, sensitive, and thoughtful. All the things she wanted Craig to be but he never was.
Everything with Craig took work, even when they were friends in high school. It was always her doing the compromising. Even when she, so-called, won, it was because it benefited him. She wasn’t even leaving Texas for college until he decided he wanted to go to New York. He’d talked her into that.
Her friendship with Jack reminded her of a song she’d heard as a kid, Meet in the Middle. Jack would walk Jo’s way. She’d walk toward him, and somewhere in the middle, they’d find a balance. Jo found that she valued that. It was so easy to picture forever as long as she was holding Jack’s hand. Storms and rough seas would be manageable if she had someone like him by her side—maybe even someone to run that bed and breakfast she and her grandma had dreamed about.
Finally, Jack slowed the truck and pulled off the main road onto an unpaved one. Civilization seemed to fade away as he drove, and the hills grew taller—fields of green grass, some dotted with bluebonnets as far as the eye could see.
It was like a different world.
When he cruised to a stop and cut the engine, they were perched atop a hill with nothing but fields surrounding them and an expansive blue sky. She got out of the truck and scanned the horizon. “This is beautiful.”
Closing her eyes, she inhaled. The scent was earthy and sweet. Somewhere, someone had mowed grass, and the fragrance drifted around her. No exhaust. No concrete. No trash smells. Just fresh, clean air filling her senses.
“I thought you’d appreciate it,” he said as he joined her. He pulled his phone from his pocket. “You’ve got an hour and a half before the sun begins to set. You have permission from the owners of these fields to take whatever photographs you want in whatever direction you want.”
Jo gasped as she opened her eyes. “You did that for me?”
His lips quirked up. “You’ve worked hard this week. I just thought?—”
She lunged forward, hugging him around the waist. “This is the sweetest, nicest, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me, Jack.” She leaned back, eyes stinging as she held tears at bay. “I don’t know what to say. This is… amazing.”
He touched his fingers to her temple, brushed them down the side of her face, and smiled. “You don’t need to say anything.” His eyes darted to her lips. “That smile. The light in your eyes is all I was hoping for.”
She could barely believe he’d put something like this together for her. This gift wasn’t a last-minute throw-together. He’d planned it. For her. Lifting on her toes, she touched her lips to his cheek. “You are…” For once in her life, she was at a loss for words to describe an emotion.
The sentence drifted off as Jack touched his lips to hers. He was kissing her. Red flags and warning alarms went off in her brain, but no sooner had the thought hit that she should stop it; his lips moved against hers, and she was lost in him. She could enjoy this. It didn’t have to mean anything. It was just…
His arms circled her, pulling her flush against his body as he continued the sweet kisses. Delight and desire mixed together, drowning any other thoughts or reservations she might have had.
The kiss lasted a few seconds longer, and he broke it far too quickly for her liking. A sweet, chaste kiss that she enjoyed, and now that she’d had a taste, boy, did she want more.
“I want to keep kissing you,” he said his voice husky. “But sunset is coming, and I want you to be able to get all the photos you want.” A playful smile curved on his lips. “Besides, I have this dream of kissing you under the stars.”
A dream of kissing her? The very notion he’d dreamed about her at all tickled her heart. A bolt of giddiness whipped around her. “Does that mean you’ll kiss me later?” She couldn’t even believe that question had sprung from her lips. She’d gone from bold to neon.
“I’m not sure I could stop myself if I tried.” He tipped his head toward the field next to them. “We’re in no hurry, so take as many photos as you want. I brought dinner. We can eat…stargaze…” He let the rest of the sentence drift off, but she had a good idea what the last word might be.
“Okay.” The urge to forget everything and just kiss him was almost more than she could resist. Later…he’d promised later.
He loosened his hold on her, and she whirled around, nearly dancing back to the passenger side of the truck. Her mind raced, and a longing she’d never felt before bloomed in her chest.
Returning home. The thought didn’t weigh her down like it once had. Maybe opening herself to that possibility wasn’t such a bad thing.
He’d kissed her. That was nowhere in the plans when Jack was putting this date together, but she was standing there, cute and sweet and alluring as any woman he’d ever met. She’d frozen a second, and then she’d melted into him, returning the kiss.
Her lips were every bit as soft as he’d imagined, maybe even more so. It’d pained him to keep the kiss as brief as he did, but he’d spent days planning this little getaway. He’d had to track down the owners of the property they were using, figure out what to pack for dinner, and then decide the best time to show up at her house. Enough time to photograph some in the daylight, but close enough that she’d get some great sunset shots, too.
The look of desire that turned to disappointment that he’d seen in her eyes surprised him, too. Her little pouty lips and the downturn of the corners like she was devastated that he’d stopped kissing her.
Then he’d told her about the dream of kissing her under the stars, and the desire flared in her eyes once again. The pout was replaced with a wide smile, so wide and brilliant it took work to loosen his hold on her and let her prance off into the field to take photographs instead of sweeping her into his arms, taking her back to the truck, and spending the entire evening kissing her.
She’d spent every minute until sunset walking around, pointing her camera here and there. Then she’d paced the crest of the hill, taking photos as the sun began its descent.
Jack loved watching her work. It was the first time he’d seen her truly happy. When she’d said it was her dream, she wasn’t kidding. To him, it was a dream driven by passion. If her photos were a reflection of the joy that emanated from her while she was taking them, there was no doubt in his mind that they were spectacular.
When he’d scouted the area earlier in the week, he’d noted the best position for the truck, so they’d have the choice of using the truck bed or spreading a blanket out on the ground. Either way, the spot was perfect for watching the sunset or gazing at the stars.
Finished with her camera, she returned it to the bag and skipped over to him, where he sat on the tailgate. She was just so cute. She’d walked out of her house in her T-shirt and shorts, and his tongue had nearly lolled out of his mouth.
“Get all the pictures you wanted?” Jack asked.
“I don’t think I could ever do that, but I got plenty.”
“Good.” He smiled. “Are you hungry?”
Her stomach growled in response, and she slapped a hand to her belly. “The answer is yes, apparently.”
Laughing, Jack nodded and hopped off the tailgate onto the ground. He walked to the bed and fished the picnic basket out of the toolbox welded to his truck. He’d been extra careful to protect it from whatever dirt and grime were in the toolbox—a suggestion his mom gave him, which he was thankful for because he hadn’t even considered that.
“Do you want a blanket on the ground or?—”
“A blanket on the ground.”
With that question answered, he set the basket down, grabbed the blanket he’d stashed behind his seat, and shook it out. The breeze gave him a little trouble getting it all smoothed out, but he eventually got them settled on it with the basket between them.
“I’ve got sandwiches, fruit, and a jug of sweet tea. I know it’s not?—”
Her hand came to rest on his forearm. “It’s perfect. The whole evening has been perfect.”
“The evening isn’t over.”
She flashed him a coy smile. “I’m optimistic.”
Yeah, he was, too, for the first time in a long, long time.
Jack pulled the food and drinks from the basket and set them on the blanket. “We’ve got ham, turkey, or something super fancy, peanut butter and jelly.”
She giggled. “How did you know that was my favorite sandwich?”
His eyebrows lifted. “Really?”
“Absolute favorite. Give me some bread, some peanut buttah, and grape jelly and I am one happy camper.”
It’s seemed like a superficial reason to pledge undying love, but Jack was pretty sure he was going to marry this woman.
The conversation was every bit as engaging as any of their previous conversations, and they finished their meal just as the sky turned dark purple. Jack repacked the basket and set it to the side.
They laid back, shoulder to shoulder, watching the stars and pointing to different constellations.
“Thank you again,” she said, rolling to her side and propping herself on her elbow. “This was hands down the best day ever.”
He mirrored her and smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“I did,” she whispered.
An immediate need to kiss her hit him with such force he didn’t even think. He cupped her cheek, brushed his thumb across her lips, and brought her lips to his.
A fireworks display fit for a king exploded behind his eyes. A kiss that was every bit as incredible as he thought it’d be. Her soft lips moved in a rhythm with his, almost like they’d practiced it a hundred times. More exciting than anything he’d ever experienced.
He pulled her closer and pushed her back against the blanket without ever breaking the kiss. Her fingers tangled in his hair, one of her legs wrapped around his, and it felt like her need equaled his.
A withering thought flashed in his mind. Jo was leaving as soon as her grandma’s house was fixed. She’d leave town, return to New York, and if he wasn’t careful, she would drag his heart with her.
Jack broke the kiss, breathing ragged. When his lungs were no longer demanding oxygen, he kissed her nose. “I think I need to get you home.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
The hook in his mouth pulled a little harder. He didn’t want to stop kissing her, but his head was winning this argument. Until he was sure where she stood, he needed to keep himself in check.