Chapter 11
JW WAITED UNTIL well after two in the afternoon before heading back to the main house. He avoided going back there until after he knew Kitty had to leave to catch her flight; he had plenty to deal with, considering he almost lost a cow last night. Thankfully, he’d been able to save the cow and the calf. Both were thriving, and there was no reason for him to hover over them. Hell, technically, he was still on vacation, and everyone on the ranch had reminded him of that.
He checked with the housekeeper who had informed him that the dogs had been let out and fed. He hadn’t asked if Kitty had done it or if she’d left the ranch, and his housekeeper hadn’t offered the information. He had to assume Kitty was now tucked away on a plane somewhere in the sky. He thought about checking with his driver, but figured if there had been a problem, his driver would have called.
He pushed open the garage door, heading into his house through the family room instead of the foyer. King and Kong greeted him in their usual fashion with their tails wagging, but Kong kept rushing toward the entrance to the kitchen. “What is it, Kong?”
He jumped on his hind legs and yelped, something he did when he was happy, which sent JW into a darker mood. If his dogs were happy she was gone, that said a lot.
Digging into the jar of treats by the door, he pulled out some jerky. “Here you go.” He patted the dogs on their heads before dropping the treats to the ground. They were all he needed. They were loyal and understood that actions spoke louder than anything else, including stupid, outdated newspaper articles.
He reminded himself that Kitty leaving had been for the best. No need to drag out a long-distance relationship that was doomed regardless of whether she believed in his innocence or not.
After kicking off his boots, his nostrils picked up the scent of buttered potatoes and if he wasn’t mistaken, beef and onions, much like the Shepherd’s Pie he’d experienced at Pat’s Irish Pub.
Wishful thinking on his part.
All he needed now was a hot shower and a bed, but not his bed. Not until he got the sweet smell of strawberries out of his sheets.
Kong stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and started barking, non-stop. It was more like a frantic yelp. King started running in circles and growled.
“What the heck has gotten into the two of you? Do you need to go out?”
Neither dog stopped their insanity.
“If you’re missing Kitty, get over her. She’s not coming back.”
“I never left,” Kitty’s voice slapped his ears like a bull stepping on his chest.
His pulse jumped right out of his skin. Standing in the opening to the kitchen, he tilted his head, staring at the red-headed raven who wore an oversized apron.
He raised his wrist, glancing at his watch. “You missed your flight.”
“I know,” she said, tossing a dish rag over her shoulder like she’d done a dozen times in the pub.
The dogs continued to go nuts.
“To your beds,” she commanded as if she’d been dealing with King and Kong for their entire lives.
The dogs stopped barking and stared at her for a long second before scampering off to the doggie beds they almost never used, unless commanded to when people other than family had been in the house, so the fact they did what she asked, was beyond amazing.
“Classes start on Monday,” he said.
“There is a flight tomorrow morning at seven.”
“That is going to make for one exhausting first day of classes,” he said, setting his hat on the counter as he pulled back the kitchen stool. Last night, when he’d gotten closer, she’d moved away from him out of fear.
Today, she held her ground.
He wasn’t sure if that was good or not.
“We need to talk about what happened last night,” she said, bending in front of the oven. “Are you hungry?”
“I am,” he admitted. He wanted to let his guard down. He cared more about this woman than he dared to admit, but he didn’t want his heart stomped on again.
“Good, I made one of my favorites.” She pulled out one of his glass dishes. The fond memory of corn, onions, peppers, meat, and potatoes assaulted his good senses. “I’ve come to love that dish.”
“I’m glad,” she said, scooping out a healthy portion, and slapping it on a dish.
He desperately tried to hold onto his anger. He told himself he was just protecting himself from the kind of pain that could kill a man.
“I’m sorry about I how reacted last night. You came home at about the worst time possible.” She leaned on the counter, her elbows resting on the granite, her hands cradling her cheeks. She held his gaze, her soft, blue eyes lulling him into a world where Kitty became the center of attention.
“How so?”
“I’d read only the link my ex sent me.” She held up her hand, cutting him off from saying something really stupid, because the words forming in his brain would have come out sarcastic, not helping the situation at all. “All I knew the second you walked through the front door was that you’d been arrested, not that your ex had falsely accused you of something you didn’t do.”
“But you believed it.” He stumbled over the words, wishing he could forget the fear etched on her face. He appreciated she stayed to apologize, and he’d accept her apology, but it in no way erased that she thought the worst of him.
“That’s not true. I couldn’t fathom you doing anything like that, but the images were fresh in my mind. I hadn’t had time to process it and search for more information.”
He pushed the food around on the plate, taking a couple of bites. He could imagine the shock of finding out the man you’re sleeping with had been accused of physically hurting a woman. “You were still afraid of me,” he said.
“Not of you, but of what I read. I wish you would have told me. Finding out like that made it feel like you were hiding it from me.”
He lifted his gaze. Her blue eyes filled with anxiety, not horror. “It’s not something you toss out there on the first couple of dates, especially when it’s supposed to be a one-night stand.”
She cocked her head. “The second I got on that plane, we entered new territory.”
“Put yourself in my shoes. I was accused and arrested for beating a woman. Doesn’t matter that I didn’t do it, people still think I did. For months after I was vindicated, women still crossed the street when they saw me coming. To see that kind of distress in your face killed me.” A knot of anger fisted inside his gut. His family had thought he should have been more outspoken about his innocence from the beginning. They also thought he should have trashed his ex every chance he got, but that would have just made him look like an asshole.
In silence, Kitty untied the apron, folded it neatly, and set it on the counter. She dragged her fingers across the counter as she made her way to his side.
He swiveled the stool, and she eased herself between his legs, resting her soft hands on his shoulders.
“I’m sorry I doubted you for even a second. I can’t take it back, but I’ll try like hell to make it up to you.”
“The Shepherd’s Pie was a good start.” He smoothed his hands over her hips. “Staying tonight might help.”
“Might help?”
He nodded, biting back a smile. “Letting me pay to rebook your flight might seal the deal.”
She pressed her chest against his, her fingers clasped behind his neck. “I might let you do that since I choked on the change fee when looked into it.”
“There is something you should know before you head home.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Well, two things. First, I’m coming with you.”
“I’m going to be working, and I’ve got school,” she said with her lips less than an inch from his. “I’m not going to have a lot of free time.”
“I’ll take the bread crumbs.”
“What’s the second?”
This was certainly going to be a buzz kill. “Bella is in Baltimore.” Her named burned his tonsils as if he’d swallowed the stick he used to brand his logo onto his cattle.
“I know. She sang at the pub last night.”
He jerked his head back. “How’d you know? I just found out the day we got to the ranch.”
“Remember the guy Preston came into the pub with? Bella is his girlfriend.”
“Poor bastard,” he muttered.
“I don’t know. He’s pretty much a womanizing asshole. She’ll just be another notch in his bed post.”
He slipped his hands under her shirt, his fingers tickling her spine, forcing her to arch into him. “You’re the only notch I’ll ever want again.” When his lips touched hers, a spark ignited deep in his soul. “I want this—us—to work.”
“It’s not going to be easy,” she said. Her eyes seemed to search his face for some kind of answer, or maybe understanding. “I’m not going to give up school. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am, and I want to be a teacher.”
He cupped her face, fanning his thumbs over her cheeks. “I’d never ask you to give up your dreams for me. I only ask that maybe there is a place for me, and this ranch, in your future.”
“In less than six months, I’ll need to put applications in for Grad school. Let’s see how things go, and maybe I can get my master’s degree here.”
“Now I know I’ve died and gone to heaven.”