Emily toted her bag and the box up the stairs to her apartment, and tossed them on the table. She touched her lips to see if they were truly as hot as they felt, but they were actually cool. Melting onto the sofa, she closed her eyes and relived the dances, the kisses, and the way his eyes had drawn her to him all evening and then the way he held her hand on the table at the ice cream shop. She took a quick shower, made sure her new dress didn’t have any stains before she hung it up, dressed in pajama pants and a baggy nightshirt, and crawled up in the middle of her bed with her box of cards. Just like when she was a little girl, she removed the lid, closed her eyes, and picked out a card.
The first one was from Otis and had a picture of Betty Boop and a little bag of three sweetheart candies attached to it. The second one was from Nikki and had the same picture on it, but Nikki had taped a miniature chocolate bar to the back. The very next one she picked up had a heart-shaped lollipop stuck to it. She picked it up and held it to her chest before she read it. The message on the front said BE MINE. She flipped it over to find a drawing of a heart on the back and J+E written inside it.
She slipped her feet into the same high heels she’d worn to the party, grabbed her purse, and drove to the Longhorn Canyon ranch. Otis had said to listen to her heart.
It didn’t hit her that she was doing a totally stupid thing until she’d gone down the bumpy lane to the cabin and parked behind his truck. She was wearing faded pajama pants, a baggy shirt with none other than Betty Boop on the front, and absolutely no bra or panties.
But he gave me the lollipop, she reasoned.
She opened the car door and glanced up into the rearview mirror. Her damp hair hung limp and she’d washed off every bit of her makeup. She shut the door, thought about what she was doing and where she was.
This isn’t me. I take the bull by the horns and spit in his eye, she told herself.
It was something that a teenager would do, not a grown woman. Maybe it was the ranch. Which one of the Five had said that they felt like the old people in the movie Cocoon? Perhaps there was a strange energy on the place that made everyone feel younger.
She opened the car door and gingerly made her way across the yard. With a long, deep breath, she hurried to the porch and knocked before she could talk herself out of it.
No one answered, so she knocked again.
That time she could hear movement, so she waited, shivering as the cold wind let her know she should have at least worn a jacket.
“Emily?” His wet hair indicated he’d just gotten out of the shower.
“I…” Her teeth chattered.
“For goodness’ sake, come on in,” he said.
Her breast brushed against his bare chest as she slipped past him. Even through the nightshirt, it made every part of her body tingle. She went straight to the fireplace and warmed her hands. “I shouldn’t have come out here uninvited. I’ll get warm and…” She turned to find him not three feet behind, his arms open in invitation.
“You are welcome here and the door is never locked. Don’t knock, darlin’, just come right on in,” he said.
She walked into his arms, suddenly self-conscious about her breasts under that thin nightshirt. “Thank you, but…”
“I’m glad you’re here.” He took her hand and led her to the sofa, where he pulled her down onto his lap. Without saying a word, his eyes closed and he leaned in to kiss her.
“Thank you,” she muttered when they both came up for air, panting as if they’d run a marathon.
“For?”
“The lollipop.” She kicked off her high-heeled shoes.
“You’re welcome.”
She stood up and turned to face him. “I may regret this tomorrow but my heart says it’s the right thing to do. I’ve never done something this impulsive in my life, Justin. I want you to know that.”
Taking him by the hand, she led him toward the bed. “Turn out the lights.”
“No,” he said. “I want to see your beautiful body, Emily. All of it.”
“But…” She wasn’t a virgin, but she’d never had sex in a well-lit room. Darkness covered a multitude of things, including her body.
He slowly pulled her shirt up over her head and ran his hands down her sides. “So soft.”
Then he removed her pajama pants and held her out at arm’s length. “You are gorgeous, Emily Baker.”
His eyes said that he meant it, and she truly felt as if she was the prettiest woman on the earth in that moment.
Had he known that a simple card with a red lollipop on it would create this kind of thank-you, he’d have given her the biggest box of candy he could find. That thought caused him to realize what was about to happen, and he wasn’t sure the timing was right. This wasn’t a one-night stand. This was Emily, the woman he’d fantasized about living with in his new house, the lady who might be the one. What if he broke her heart or if she broke his?
She cupped his face in her hands and brought his mouth to hers again. Then as if she could read his mind, she said, “No strings attached. We’ll just see where this goes, right?”
He nodded and peeled off his shirt. “I feel like this is my first time.”
“Please tell me you haven’t used that line a hundred times,” she whispered as she wiggled free of his hands and slid his pajama pants down over his hips. “Oh, my! You are ready.”
“I have been ever since you got here,” he said. “And, honey, that is not a pickup line.” His naked body pressed against hers as he walked her backward the rest of the way to the bed. Her legs buckled on the last step and she fell backward, dragging him down on top of her when she did. Without stopping the steaming hot kisses, they shifted positions until they shared a pillow. Then he was on top of her, feeling all that glorious body underneath him. With one hand she reached down and guided him into her, and they began to rock together as his hands roamed her body. Her soft breasts pressed against his chest. The rhythm quickened and she groaned when he slowed things to a crawl. She brought his lips to hers in a series of hard, passionate kisses.
“Please, Justin, now,” she begged.
He stepped the pace up again, and they both hit the top at the same time. Then he rolled them to one side, keeping her in his arms. Her head on his shoulder, his face buried in her still damp hair, he realized this wasn’t just a game of chasing a lady who was playing hard to get. It could lead into something special.
“Wow!” he said.
“Amazing.” She slung a leg over him and closed her eyes.
He pulled the edge of the quilt over them and cuddled up close to her so it would cover both of them. They slept until after midnight, when a movement awoke him and he opened his eyes to see her getting dressed. He raised up on an elbow and watched her movements. Graceful. Fluid. Brown hair streaming down her naked back. She whipped around to smile at him and he wished that she didn’t have those pajama pants on so he could see her completely naked one more time.
“You going to respect me tomorrow?” Her blue eyes bored into his.
“Of course. You going to respect me?”
“I’m the one who knocked on your door, Justin. You only did what I wanted.” She pulled her shirt on over her head.
“It’s what I’ve wanted for days, so you don’t get to carry that burden alone. Give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll walk you to your car.”
“No.” She held up a hand. “I parked close to the porch. No need for you…”
He slung his long legs off the bed and walked naked to the door to open it for her. “Now I know what making love means. It’s a helluva lot different than having sex.”
“Me too.” She nodded.
“I’ll see you Sunday.”
“I’ll call you long before then.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “This might lead to a pretty fantastic relationship if you are willing.”
She blew him a kiss and he closed the door behind her.
Emily laid her head on the steering wheel of the car when she was inside and had started the engine. What in the hell had she just done? And all over one red lollipop. If he’d given her one of those fancy, red, lace-covered hearts full of chocolates, she might have dropped down on one knee and proposed to him.
She finally got a grip and drove home. But her insane, impulsive stunt troubled her as she made her way up the steps to her apartment. Her phone pinged as she unlocked her door, and she dragged it out of her purse to find nothing but a link to a song. She hit PLAY as she headed to the shower.
Chris Stapleton sang “Tennessee Whiskey” as she adjusted the water for the second time that night and imagined Justin singing it to her as his hands roamed over her naked body.
She got out of the shower, dried off, put on a clean nightshirt, and started to throw the one she’d worn to the ranch in the hamper. Instead, she buried her nose in it to inhale his scent—something woodsy, clean, and with just a hint of Stetson cologne.
She picked up the phone and sent back a heart emoji.
She slept fitfully, waking several times to find that she was hugging nothing but a pillow instead of Justin. Every time she awoke, she gave herself a lecture about how she’d never do something that crazy again. Thank God, she was on the pill because neither of them had even thought of protection.
Her alarm went off and she slapped the snooze button. At seven she finally got out of bed and groaned when she saw her reflection. She had one hour to make that person staring back at her look presentable, and the job looked damn near impossible.
Nikki met her at the door when she got to work, exactly on time. “Did you party after the party? You look like you’ve got a hangover. You need my famous remedy?”
Emily went straight to the break room to get her first cup of the morning. “No hangover, but I could use a cup of coffee. Didn’t sleep well.”
Nikki followed right behind her. “Dreamin’ about dancin’ some more with that handsome hunk of a cowboy?”
“Oh, yeah!” Emily said. “That’s exactly what I was dreaming about.”
Nikki poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Emily when she had put her things into her locker. “Did you finally wake up and smell the roses?”
Yes, and they smell like my sleep shirt, which I’ve hung on the back of a chair because I want to smell Justin’s aftershave on it one more time? Emily chose to ignore the question.
“The dining room is buzzing and will be for days. They’re all talking about the party and how it was the best ever.” Nikki sat down at the table. “You goin’ to grab a plate this morning or did you already eat—maybe you had breakfast with Justin?”
“I didn’t.” It was the truth, but now she wished that she had spent the night and had breakfast with him. “And I am hungry so maybe I’ll make myself a scrambled egg sandwich.”
“I’m having the full breakfast,” Nikki said. “You might as well get a plate and eat with me. You don’t have bingo until nine o’clock.”
Emily’s phone pinged and she slid it out of her hip pocket. She tried not to smile when she saw the text from Justin, but it was impossible. A picture of at least a dozen heart-shaped red lollipops arranged in a vase like a bouquet appeared on the screen.
She hurriedly typed: In your dreams!
A smiley face emoji wearing sunglasses appeared immediately.
“Justin?” Nikki asked from across the table.
“Maybe.” Emily shoved the phone back into her pocket.
“We’ve been friends five years. You’ve dated and been in a relationship, but I’ve never seen your eyes get all twinkly like they do when you think of him.”
“It’s all so new and wonderful. I don’t want to talk about it for fear I might jinx it,” Emily said. “Let’s go get some breakfast.”
“Well, at least you aren’t saying never anymore.” Nikki rinsed her cup and put it in the drain board.
“No, I’m not.” Emily did the same with her cup.
“Good. I’d just love to have a sexy cowboy look at me like he does you,” Nikki said.
Oh, honey, if you only knew how much further this has gone than just looks. And how he made me feel when he saw me naked with the lights on, Emily thought.
Justin kept busy the rest of the day, so he didn’t have time to send more texts, but he hummed the tune to “Tennessee Whiskey” while he worked. He’d finished replacing a couple of rotten beams in an old barn that afternoon and had gone to the tack room to clean up when he found an old jacket that had belonged to his grandfather. He took it off the hook and slipped it on. Grandpa Maguire had been a big man, as tall as Cade and even broader in the shoulders, so it fell off his shoulders a bit and was too long in the sleeves. Justin sat down on a wooden bench and wrapped it tightly around his chest.
“Okay, Grandpa, talk to me. Remember when you got sick, and we all knew it was your last days. You told me to wear your hat when I had a problem and you’d still talk to me. But when you died, Granny buried that old hat with you so all I’ve got is this coat. This mornin’ I need to hear your advice.”
He sat there for another five minutes and then said, “Okay, I’ll lay it out for you. There’s this woman, Emily Baker, and I like her a lot. She’s funny, and independent as hell and the kindest woman I’ve ever known. And she’s beautiful.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Skip startled him when he sat down beside him.
“Where did you come from?” Justin asked.
“The house. Thought I’d see how you was comin’ along with that beam, and if you needed help with it this afternoon, but you got the job done. You’re wearin’ your grandpa’s coat and talkin’ to him, right?”
“Yep, but he’s not talking to me.”
“Reckon I could do that if you want me to,” Skip said.
Justin explained as much as he knew about Emily leaving the ranch where she grew up and why, and told Skip everything else that he could think of—except the lollipop story. “Do you think I’m crazy? I’ve only known her a few weeks, and I’ve been outrunning women who want to settle down for years, so why this one.”
“Nope, I don’t think you’re crazy. I’m going to give you the same advice your grandpa would if he was alive. It’s something simple but sometimes it’s hard to do, and that’s just to follow your heart,” Skip said. “Now I reckon you’d better hang up that coat so we can go have some chili. Retta made a big pot full and it smelled pretty good when I came through the house.”
They walked back to the house together without either of them saying another word. The smell of chili hit Justin’s nose the minute he and Skip came through the back door. Cade had already dipped up a bowlful and was at the table. Levi and Claire were next in line at the stove, and Retta was sitting beside Cade.
“Hey, did you get the barn repaired?” Levi asked.
“Did you see that the contractor already has the blocks up for our foundation?” Claire asked. “It’s going to be beautiful.”
“What did you think of the Valentine party last night? We haven’t talked all day,” Retta said.
Justin filled a bowl and took it to the table. “Barn is finished. The contractor told me that the walls will be up by next weekend if it doesn’t rain and you’ll be able to move in by early summer. Party went fine. Next year y’all have to go with me. Some of those residents had six or seven guests. Our old folks were so excited that I was there and pretended I was their relative.”
“Details,” Claire demanded as she tucked a strand of blond hair into her ponytail.
“Okay.” Justin grinned. “I spliced in a piece of wood about three feet long out in the barn, then I used two pieces of metal to hold it—”
“Not that!” Claire butted in before he could go on. “Details about what is happening today with our house. I know it’ll be finished in the summer, weather permitting, but how long until it’s in the dry.”
“I’m more interested in the party. And Emily. Did she get all dressed up?” Retta asked. “It’s been less than a week, but I miss her being in and out of the house.”
Justin laid his spoon down. “I already told you it was really nice. Emily wore a pretty red dress. I danced with all the ladies that came to the ranch, and with Emily. I helped her do a little cleanup and then walked her to the car. I came home. I expect she did the same,” he said.
“What she wants to know is if you kissed her good night, and if you thought she was gorgeous.” Cade chuckled.
“Yes, she was stunning, but a cowboy don’t kiss and tell.” To him she was just as sexy in her pajama pants and the faded nightshirt as she’d been in her red party dress. And they’d done a helluva lot more than share a good night kiss.
Justin focused on his supper and was glad that the conversation went back to Claire and Levi’s house, rather than about Emily. When he finished eating, he carried his bowl to the dishwasher. “My house plans are callin’ my name. I thought maybe in the morning before I come to work I’d go over to the place I’m plannin’ to build and see how many trees will have to come out. I hate to get rid of any of those big pecan trees.”
“No problem,” Levi said. “Maybe you could check out the biggest barn in that area and see if it’s going to need any work. I thought we’d put this year’s small hay bales in it, but it needs to be in good shape.”
“Will do.” He put on his jacket and slipped out the back door. When he reached the cabin he checked his phone, but there were no texts or messages from Emily. He put in a comedy movie, but that didn’t hold his attention. He was on his way to take the DVD out of the player and put in another one when his phone pinged. He fished it out of the carrier on his belt and read a text from Emily: Have chocolate syrup. Bring ice cream. Will leave the porch light on.
And then it gave her address.
He shoved the phone back in the carrier and sent a text back: What flavor?
Immediately an answer popped up: Any kind
He stopped at the grocery store and bought a half gallon each of vanilla, mint chocolate chip, and pecans and praline. Chocolate syrup would be good on any of those. When he passed the fruit aisle, he picked up four bananas, just in case they decided on banana splits. Then he added whipped cream and a bottle of maraschino cherries.
He plugged her address into the GPS and the mechanical lady guided him right to the porch light at the bottom of an outside staircase that led up the side of a double-car garage. Carrying his bag of groceries, he took the steps two at a time and knocked on the door with the toe of his boot.
The clock had moved at a snail’s pace the past half hour while Emily waited. The chocolate ice cream topping was sitting on the table in her tiny kitchen. The bedroom door was closed so she wouldn’t be tempted. Her sofa was only made for two people, and there was barely room for one end table. No coffee table or recliner. A picture of the beach hung above the sofa.
When she heard him coming up the steps, she started toward the door, but she made herself wait until he knocked. Her heart raced. Her pulse thumped in her ears. She took a deep breath and counted to ten before she opened the door. He planted a kiss on her forehead as he walked past and then unloaded the bags onto the kitchen table.
“I thought we’d have banana splits.”
“That’s a lot of ice cream for two people,” she said.
She got out an ice cream scoop and two bowls. “That sounds delicious.”
“It does to me, too. I love ice cream even more than cold beer.”
Justin’s shoulders were wide and his biceps huge, but they seemed even bigger in her small apartment. His presence filled the whole living room/kitchen area and spread warmth throughout her whole body. When she closed her eyes she could almost feel him cuddled up next to her in the bed at the cabin. When she opened them, she could imagine him sitting next to her on the sofa, bodies pressed together. The room got so warm that she flipped a switch to turn on the ceiling fan.
“Wow! I love pecans and pralines with chocolate topping. I bet bananas will make it even better.” She opened the boxes and looked across the table at him. “One, two, or three?”
He removed his denim jacket and tossed it on the sofa. “I want a dip of each kind. I’ll get the bananas ready.”
She picked up the two bowls, put them back in the cabinet, and got down two larger ones. “And you brought whipped cream and cherries.”
“Got to do it up right the first time I’m invited to your house.” He winked.
“It’s hardly a house.”
Justin arranged the long slices of bananas and slid the bowls to her. “Is it a home?”
Emily dipped out a rounded mound of each flavor of ice cream. “It’s had to do for one for the past five years.”
“Is it where your heart is?” He drizzled the chocolate syrup she handed to him over his ice cream, then added whipped cream and a cherry on top of each.
“Never thought about it, but if I moved I wouldn’t miss it so much, so I guess not.” She worked on her creation. One scoop of vanilla and one of pecans and pralines. Then she followed his example, only she put two cherries on each.
“Are we eating here at the table?” he asked.
“Yes. We need to talk.” She put the rest of the ice cream in the freezer of her apartment-size refrigerator. “I miss a huge walk-in freezer and refrigerator.”
Justin chuckled as he dipped into his ice cream. “So you do get homesick for something about the ranch?”
“Sure, I do. The kitchen for one. I like to cook, so someday I’ll have a place with the walk-ins. And I miss my grandmother’s sassiness but not her bossiness when it comes to my biological clock. This is better than Dairy Queen.”
“So, you should be havin’ babies?”
“According to my grandma, I’m about to cross over the bridge to infertility. It’ll be burned behind me. In her era, thirty was the end of the time for having children. She had six by then, all girls except the baby of the family, who was a boy,” Emily said between bites.
“Retta’s in big trouble then. She wants at least three or four kids, and her era is about gone, since she’s already thirty,” Justin said. “You said we need to talk. Is it about last night?”
“That’s part of it,” she said.
“And the other part?”
“Justin, there’s undeniable chemistry between us, but why start something we can’t finish,” she answered.
“Why won’t we finish?”
“You are sitting in my world. I’ve visited yours. They are as far apart as…”
Justin stuck his spoon in his ice cream and leaned forward toward her. “Are you saying that neither of us knows how to compromise? I’m not asking you to marry me, Emily. I’m asking you if we could date, although I’m not real good at that.”
She swallowed hard. “Don’t give me that line, cowboy.”
He crossed his heart with a forefinger. “It’s the truth, darlin’. I’ve had lots of one-night stands, but the last official date I was on was for the senior prom in high school. I’m no good at this relationship stuff, and besides, Cade’s situation kinda broke me from suckin’ eggs, as Skip says.”
“I thought he and Retta were the perfect couple.”
“They are.” Justin ate a few more bites. “But before Retta, there was Julie. They grew up together, went to college together, got engaged, lived together, and then she planned this huge wedding. And I mean gigantic.” He stopped to eat some more. “Don’t want this to melt.”
Questions went through Emily’s mind, like did Retta know about Julie? Was she a first wife or did she die? Emily ate a few more bites but she could hardly wait for Justin to finish, so he’d tell her the rest of the story. He finally pushed back his empty bowl.
“Julie wasn’t brave enough to tell Cade that she hated ranchin’, and that she didn’t love him enough to live on the Longhorn Canyon. So she kept hoping, right up to the last minute, that she could change his mind. She wanted him to move to the city and work in a bank, using his business degree,” Justin explained.
“And?” Emily asked.
“She gave me a note the morning of their supposed wedding day. I thought it was a love note, since they weren’t supposed to see each other. I took it to him and he went to pieces. The wedding was off. It was embarrassing as hell for the family, and I thought Cade would never get over it. He might not have, if Retta hadn’t come into his life. We all owe her big-time for putting the light back in his eyes,” Justin said.
“And that broke you from sucking eggs, how?” she asked.
“I saw how much pain he was in. I vowed to never let myself get in that position.”
She toyed with the last bite of ice cream. “You’ve changed your mind?”
He took his bowl to the kitchen and rinsed it, looked around for a dishwasher but didn’t find one. So he left it in the sink. “No, you and my grandpa did.”
“You talked to your grandpa about me?” She almost dropped her spoon.
“Kinda.” He sat down on the small sofa. “He died when I was a little boy.” He went on to tell her about the hat and the coat.
“What if I’m your Julie?” Emily whispered. “What if we follow this yellow brick road and it ends up making both of us miserable?”
“If this relationship goes past a few dates are you going to insist I leave the ranch?”
“I would never do that. It’s what you love,” she said without hesitation.
“I would never ask you to leave your job at the center or if you decide to work with children again, either. It’s what you love,” he said, seriously. “That’s called compromise. Julie wasn’t willing for it, so you can’t be her.”
“Seems crazy to be talkin’ like this when…” She paused.
He patted the area of the sofa beside him. “When we haven’t even had a real date?”
She sat down and he took her hand in his.
“But then I don’t usually go to bed with someone until I’ve been out with him three or four months.”
“And I’m the opposite,” he admitted.
“Well.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “They say opposites attract.”
He brought her hand to his lips. “Ever wonder why that happens?”
A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ice cream in her stomach danced down her backbone. Every single time he touched her, she reacted that way. Did he feel the same thing? Was this what happened when two people were true soul mates?
“Because God has a sense of humor,” she finally answered.
Justin was silent for several minutes and then nodded. “I should be going. First thing tomorrow morning I want to go inspect the place where I’m hoping to put my new house. Want to go with me?”
“Love to,” she said. “What time should I be at the cabin?”
“Seven thirty,” he said.
“That’s pretty early.”
“You could go home with me tonight. I’d bring you right home after we look at the land and a barn to see if it needs any repairs,” he said.
“I’ll get my toothbrush and a nightshirt.”
He tipped up her chin and kissed her. “Just a toothbrush will do fine.”