CHAPTER SEVEN
Jessa was still catching her breath from the sprint down the hill as she opened the door and climbed into the passenger side of the truck. Jace sat behind the steering wheel, looking at her with a narrowed gaze. Would he continue to pretend he didn’t hear her yelling for him?
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“Hello, Jessa. Need a lift somewhere?”
“No. Are you going to answer me?” She hadn’t followed him all the way from the archery arena to allow him to brush her off.
“I’m not avoiding you.” She sighed and he shook his head. “Okay. Maybe I am.”
“Why?” She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling her racing heart.
“How are your hands?”
She blinked. “My hands are fine. Do you think I’ll give up without an answer?”
He stilled and met her gaze for a heartbeat. She read the tension in him. “You’re here to relax. You don’t need me around disturbing the peace.”
“Seriously?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
“I’m not buying it. Is it because you were turned on while taking care of my wounds? Or that we almost kissed when you caught the snake?”
His chin came around. “What?”
“Come on, Jace. It was obvious.” She had wanted him to do more than fix her hands and catch a snake. “I practically threw myself at you. Well, actually, I did.”
“I just seem to keep making a fool of myself around you.” He squeezed the bridge of his nose.
“I’d like to think of it more as chemistry instead of foolish behavior. You haven’t taken any loopy pills again, have you?” He shook his head. “Well then, I’d say we’re safe that you won’t make a spectacle of yourself.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you realize I was indeed loopy at the fairgrounds.” He brushed the back of his knuckles along his cheek. “I’m trying to live down the fact that I made an idiot of myself.”
She could see that he was uncomfortable. “How about we call a truce? You forgive me for the past and I’ll forgive you for groping me. Deal?”
He smiled. And so did she.
“I’ve got to go,” he said.
“Where are you headed?” The rain started, pelting the window and they quickly fogged.
Pulling off his hat, he placed it beside them on the seat. “I have an errand to run.”
“An errand?”
“Are you always so pushy?”
“Pretty much.”
He gave a small shrug. “If you must know, I have a friend that lives close and I drive out to check on him once a week. He’s alone since he lost his wife and he doesn’t have any other family.”
“So, it’s nice to know you don’t live under a rock out here at Nirvana after all.”
Jace quirked a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“There’s not one TV here. Not one newspaper. And you actually do have friends outside of this ranch.”
“There are newspapers, if you ask for one, but most people come here to get away from civilization for a short time.”
She thrummed her fingers on the door. “I could get used to this peace and quiet.”
“Oh? You’d give up the spotlight? All your die-hard fans asking for autographs?”
“Good question, and yet I don’t have the answer. I mean, it has crossed my mind once or twice, just to work on my music off-stage.”
“The entourage in the rodeo circuit isn’t as huge as your following, but as much as we love our fans, we miss being normal. At least I did.”
“Exactly, believe it or not, but I hate seeing my personal life blasted across every rag out there. Most of the time they take a truth the size of a grain of salt and blow it up into a mountain.”
“Touche.”
“Do you see yourself living here forever?” She whirled her fingers through the air.
Amusement danced in his eyes. “Once upon a time I believed I would, but dreams change, and so do people.”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you, Blue-eyes.” She touched his arm lightly, feeling his muscles tense under her fingers. She pulled away and clasped her hands into her lap. Anything to keep from touching him more. “There must be more to life than just breathing.”
“Wow, the country music business is that bad?”
“A woman has needs, ya know.”
He chuckled. “I don’t see you having any trouble having those needs met.”
She shrugged. “You might be wrong then. I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but I haven’t been on a date.”
“You’ve had boyfriends.”
“Sure, but I’ve never been out on a date.”
His brows scrunched. “Never?”
“Never. I’ve had boyfriends and lovers, true, but never been on a ‘date date’ like what you read in romance novels. A dinner with candlelight, dancing, a peck on the cheek at the doorstep. I’ve always wanted to experience it at least once. Even when I was with my ex. I thought we would ‘date’, but we didn’t. We just didn’t have the time.”
“That sounds boring.”
“I ponder why I didn’t listen to what my mother told me regarding relationships. She said to me, “Men are a lot like bras. Bad bras make us feel suffocated. Good bras get us by. But great bras fit perfectly, making a woman feel lifted and sexy, and we don’t find ourselves wanting to take it off the second we walk in the door.’”
“So, the two things a woman should never settle on are bras and men?”
“You got it. In relationship, I didn’t have any expectations. I didn’t put limits on what I wanted. Bad mistake.”
“I think I’ve been wrong about you, Miss Garvey.”
“Is that right?”
“Sometimes we have to learn to forgive.”
She tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear. “You must have believed that I’m horrible.”
His mouth broke out into a full smile that made her have the sudden urge to taste his very kissable lips.
“No, not horrible.”
“No?”
His gaze dropped over her body in a long, chaotic instant, leaving her lungs scorched. He needed to stop doing that or she’d never breathe right again. She wasn’t sure why he had so much control over her, but she was too far in to run like hell. She had a hankering to see what would come of this.
“I won’t lie. At fifteen I was crushed, but now I’m over it. Rejection is a rite of passage. I wasn’t the first shot down, and I won’t be the last. Rejection makes us stronger. Although I doubt you would know anything about that.”
“Oh, I certainly do. In high school, Steven Banks broke up with me to go out with Tiffany Stewart.”
“The football sensation dumped you? And for Tiffany?” He scrubbed his jaw.
“It took me six months to get over that loser. He ended up marrying her, and six years and three children later, she dumped him because he cheated. That girl did me a favor. I should send her a thank you card.”
“You should have gone to prom with me. We could have made the ‘loser’ jealous.” “As you remember, I had gone alone.”
“How’d that turn out for you?”
“Best time ever. My friends and I had a blast.”
The heat in his gaze told her he was relaxing around her, maybe even forgiving her a little. Good, because the more she talked to him, the more she wanted to. He was a good-looking cowboy, no doubt. Deliciously brawny and hard. But it wasn’t just his sexy physique that had her interest. The man was smart too. He wasn’t intimidated by her like many men were these days. She’d always wanted someone to get to know her. Not the celebrity side of her, but the woman who liked long walks on the beach, ice cream in a waffle cone, and skinny dips in a pond. The things she hadn’t done since she was much younger.
“About Steven, you didn’t see a future with him, did you? You had to hear the rumors before Tiffany.”
“That he slept with every cheerleader? Not true. He didn’t get to second base with me.”
“That’s not the one I was referring to. The one that he wore a little boy’s jock strap.”
She burst out laughing. “Are you serious? I didn’t hear that doozy.”
“Well, I can’t validate it first hand, but you know how locker room talk works.”
She rolled her tongue over her lips. “Is the rumor true that you and Mary Beth Winegardner slept together at a party our sophomore year?”
He blinked. “There was a rumor about her and me? Hell, I was her tutor all through middle school and high school, but that’s as far as things had gone. I liked her as a friend and probably understood her better than many. She was bullied because she was different, but I realized all the makeup and dark clothes were a detour so she didn’t have to get close to people. She and I had something in common. Our mothers both died when we were in diapers. Did you know that Mary Beth is now a big-time lawyer in New York? I saw her right before I retired from the rodeo. Plus, she looked completely different. She’d traded in the Goth look for designer dresses and heels.”
“I didn’t know you lost your mom, Jace. I just assumed…”
“That my grandparents were my biological mom and dad? Most people believed that and I didn’t bother correcting them. They were the only parents I ever knew.”
“Isn’t it crazy how people can grow up around each other and still not really know details? I’m sorry I didn’t say yes to your invite to the prom. I hope you believe that.”
“Hell, no apology necessary. You spurred me to get over that shy stage.”
“I overheard some of the cowboys talking at the rodeo. One of them said you were hurt pretty bad during a ride and you disappeared.” “I broke some bones that required surgery. It took a while before I healed. By then, the rodeo had gone on without me.” He turned on the engine. “Time is ticking. If you don’t want to go along, then you should step out.”
“Is that a roundabout way of inviting me?”
“I guess it is.”
“I’m game.” Wasting no time, she pulled the seatbelt across her midriff and locked it into place. “Ready for a road trip.”
They pulled away from Nirvana and headed into the countryside. She watched his large hands grip the steering wheel as a strange urge to hold his hand washed over her. That would be damn foolish. Just as turning him down back in high school had been one of her most foolish actions ever. Need traveled through her body like an exotic drug and took residence between her trembling thighs. The crazy urges were taking control, leaving her stunned. She was completely and totally at the mercy of the cowboy sitting next to her who seemed as cool as a winter morning in Alaska. Did he realize that if he touched her, one little itty-bitty touch, she’d be ready and willing? For what exactly? No reason for playing imprudent. She wanted him in a very bad—but very good—way. She wasn’t in Nashville anymore. She had stepped right into cupid’s cove and her fingernails ached to sink into some real cowboy.
The heat in her body was a welcome change. It had been a long time since she’d wanted a man, truly wanted him.
“Why aren’t you married? Or at least seeing someone?” she asked.
He chuckled. “That came out of nowhere.”
“Not really. You know you have women falling at your boots.”
He held his gaze on her for three beats of her heart. “Do I?”
Clearing her throat, she shifted, stretching her legs. “I’m guessing.” She didn’t want to open her book too soon for him to read. A woman had to maintain some secrets.
Shrugging a broad shoulder, he laid one palm on his thigh. “Out here in the middle of nowhere it’s not easy meeting Miss Right, that is if I was looking.”
“Seriously? I think you being at Nirvana is the very reason why you should have a significant other. Aren’t the cowboys the reason why women flock to Nirvana? To meet their dream man?”
“Is that what brought you to the ranch?”
“You’re what brought me to Nirvana, Jace. Let’s not beat around the bush. I think you realize that by now.”
“I figured as much,” he growled.
“And why does that bother you so much? You said you were starting to forgive me. I’m no longer a teenager, and no longer are you.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but—”
She moaned. “Come on, any time someone starts a sentence like that, it only sets the tone for offensive words.”
“Okay, then take it how you like, but you were a snob back in high school. Not only to me, but to others that weren’t in your social group. Do you ever think how many long-term friendships you and your friends missed out on by closing off people who were different?”
“You didn’t know me.”
“Did I need to know you?”
“Alright, I didn’t handle every situation the friendliest possible way, but you can’t dislike me because I was rude to you once.”
“Oh, I can’t be? If the tables were turned I’d bet you’d still be pissed.”
Sighing, she curled her fingers around the hem of her shirt and tugged. “Do you wonder what would have happened if I had said yes? Would we have disliked each other or would we have hit it off? Sometimes things happen in their own time.”
Did his knuckles grow white? Did his jaw tighten? Or was she imagining things?
“What is it you really want, Miss Garvey? I have a hard time believing that my clemency means a whole helluva lot to a woman like you.”
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Jackson. Your forgiveness means a lot to me.”
“Okay, you win. I forgive you. Feel better?”
“If only you sounded more enthusiastic. Give it some time. You’ll see that I’ve changed. Especially when I finish writing a song about you.”
His chin jerked around “What?”
“A song. About you.”
“You’re thinking about writing a song about me? You must lack creativity.” He laughed.
“Wrong. I’ve already started writing a song about you. You’re quite the inspiration.” She drew a line down his body with her gaze.
A quiet fell over them. A natural, easy silence that made her feel like they’d known each other for a very long time. She stared through the window, not really seeing anything through the haze of her thoughts. Unfortunately, she’d be leaving Nirvana at the end of the week and a sliver of disappointment washed through her.
A familiar song came on the radio and she found herself humming to the tune, then singing. For the first time in a long time, she was happy.