Chapter Ten
Jake
Brady and Rue were deep in conversation by the time I got to the house. They appeared to be the only two inside, which meant I was probably early for dinner. Screw it because I was hungry. And I was in a mood too which had everything to do with a pair of long legs, big breasts, strawberry blonde hair and the sexiest green eyes I’d ever seen.
Brady looked up as I walked in. “Did Summer go meet Sharon?” he asked.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yes.”
“How’d it go?”
“Good,” I answered, not sure why I was in such a surly mood but there it was. Well, actually I did know. I was in a funk because Summer had put me in one. Not on purpose, of course, but she was the agent all the same. Why? Because I wanted her but I couldn’t have her. Not because Brady told me I couldn’t, but because I was telling me I couldn’t. With the abrupt way she ended things in the shower just as they were heating up, it was pretty obvious she wasn’t ready for me. And I had a feeling her not being ready had everything to do with her past. The more I wondered about it, the more I figured she’d left a man in Connecticut and even though she was here now, he was still in her heart. It had to be.
At the thought that Summer’s heart belonged to someone else, I felt nothing but jealous anger which made me even angrier. Since when did Jake Lawson get jealous? Since never.
“I got it!” I heard Summer’s voice and then the door closing behind her. I turned around as she walked into the room, all smiles. God, but she was all kinds of stunning. And all kinds of sexy. Seeing that body of hers in the shower… I couldn’t get the visuals out of my mind. And touching that silky soft skin… I had to stop myself or I’d start to display what I was thinking in front of everyone and that was a situation I wanted no part of.
“Congratulations!” Rue said as she smiled broadly and threw her arms around Summer.
“Glad to hear it,” Brady responded as I heard the sounds of the other ranch hands entering the house. I didn’t bother to look at them because I didn’t want to take my eyes off Summer. With the way she was smiling and how happy she looked, she was radiant. She still had makeup on from her interview with Sharon earlier, which didn’t make her any less beautiful, but announced loudly that she wasn’t from around here. She belonged to another world.
Not my world.
Which made dinner insanely awkward because I was all too aware of the distance between our worlds and the fact that whatever feelings were going through me, I had no business feeling them. We might as well have been in different universes because there was no way to breach the gap between us. Brady was right—I needed to keep my distance from her.
Conversation was stilted and Brady seemed as lost in his own thoughts as I was. Neither of us said much. I did happen to notice, however, that every time I looked over at Summer, who was sitting opposite me, she was looking at me. We would meet each other’s eyes and then immediately look away almost like we were playing some kind of game. It started to piss me off even more than I had been before because I realized how completely futile it was. The sooner I got over whatever the hell this was—a crush, maybe, the better. Maybe I’d head over to the tavern tonight to find whatever woman would have me for the evening.
I finished dinner quickly and excused myself to the kitchen before everyone was done. I started to clean up because I wanted something to do that didn’t involve making small talk. As I soaped up the pots and pans, I watched Brady excuse himself and retreat to his office—and that’s when I knew something was up because he hated being in the office.
“Need some help?” Summer asked as she walked into the kitchen.
“No, I’m just about done.”
“You two go on an’ get,” Rue said as she approached us both. “Jake, you have no business bein’ in the kitchen, you know that.”
“Just tryin’ to help,” I said with a sigh.
“Well, I got it handled,” she answered as she thrust herself in between Summer and me and grabbed the dishcloth out of Summer’s hands while ripping the sponge from mine. “Shoo! Skedaddle!” she yelled at us both with a smile.
“Okay, okay,” I said as I walked past her, Summer right beside me. “Thanks, Rue,” I added.
“You got it!” she answered.
I held the front door open for Summer and she walked through it, thanking me in a small voice. Then neither one of us said anything as we headed in the same direction.
“When are you supposed to start at Sharon’s?” I asked, feeling the need to make conversation.
“I think I’m going to head over there tomorrow night,” she answered and then smiled like she was uncomfortable. Make that two of us.
I nodded and then the uncomfortable silence stretched between us again as we approached the cabin where Summer was staying. I wasn’t sure why but I didn’t want her to go in yet, I didn’t want to stop talking to her even though neither one of us was saying much. We both must have felt awkward because we each blurted out a question at the same time.
“What’s it like where you’re from?”
“Have you been at Springhill long?”
She twittered nervously and I cleared my throat. “You first,” I said, pressing my lips tight and nodding, all the while hoping she would pick a different question. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about cutting this short and heading into town so I could down a few beers but somehow, I didn’t want to.
“How long have you been here at Springhill?” she asked.
This was not the conversation I wanted to have, but I was hopeful that I could get us off topic fast. “I came here five years ago.”
“Have you always been a rancher? What did you do before?”
“This and that.” I didn’t want her to think that I couldn’t carry on a decent conversation, but she might as well have been throwing loaded grenades at me. It was all I could do to dodge them all and stay in one piece. My past was something I didn’t like to discuss.
“Okay then.” Her voice was clipped and she took a step toward her door, as if letting me know she was ready to go inside.
Good going, dumbass.
I cleared my throat. If I wanted her secrets, I was going to have to give up some of mine. “I never had a good family life growing up and didn’t ever really have a home to speak of. I met Brady at a cattle auction and he offered me the job. It’s been a good fit and came along at a perfect time. I like it here.”
There was a long pause and I wasn’t sure if she heard me, but then, very quietly, she said, “I like it here too.”
“Even though it’s not fancy like what you’re used to?” I asked, not meaning to chide her but I couldn’t help it.
“Yeah, even though it’s not,” she answered as she frowned up at me. “Anyway, I should probably get to bed since I’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
“Yeah, me too,” I responded as I took a deep breath, the tension between us ridiculously thick. “Well, have a good night.”
“Yeah, you too.”
I turned around and tried to drum up the interest to head to the tavern so I could see what kind of trouble I could get myself into. But all I could manage was a heavy sigh as I escorted myself to my apartment over the barn, figuring Bob was going to be the only lady company I enjoyed this evening.