Blake leaned against the front of the Land Rover with his arms crossed, staring disbelievingly at Jill. It had been a pleasure to be with her all day as she toured the dairy, asking a million questions and bottle feeding the calves like it was the most exciting thing she’d ever done. But in this moment, with a gas station hot dog tray holding three pickled eggs, she was no longer adorable.
“Come on, belly up, boys,” she said, her voice brimming with amusement. “A deal’s a deal.”
Camden and Rick didn’t look any more excited than he did. In fact, they looked appalled. Camden’s voice croaked as he asked, “Were those from that jar at the register?”
“Yep!” she said with grating cheerfulness. “Go on. It won’t kill you.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Rick said. But like the tough guy he was, he reached out and picked one up, holding it in two fingers like just touching it might poison him.
Camden groaned but took one too. Then Jill grinned and stepped closer to Blake, holding out the tray with the one remaining egg glistening in the harsh light of the late afternoon sun. Well, he wasn’t one to back away from a challenge, and she was definitely challenging him. He could see dancing devils in her deep brown eyes, so, determined not to let her beat him, he reached out and took one.
Blake met eyes with Rick and Camden. As one, they put the pickled eggs to their lips and bit into them. The flavor was an explosion of salty vinegar combined with a hard, rubbery texture. The first challenge was to control his automatic gag reflex, the second was to actually chew it long enough to be able to swallow it. From the looks of things, Rick and Camden weren’t faring any better. Camden’s face had gone completely red, and Rick looked miserable.
There was only one way this was going to go down. Blake reached behind him and grabbed his bottle of water. A big gulp allowed him to finally swallow the pickled egg, and Rick followed suit with his big gulp of soda, but Camden took off running to a nearby trash can. As he heaved into the can, Blake took another mouthful of water and swished it around his mouth to clean out all the remaining egg particles, then spat it out onto the concrete. Finally, mostly over the horrific experience, he looked over at Jill. She had her hands clapped over her mouth and her eyes were huge.
“I hope you enjoyed that,” Blake said, taking another drink.
She dropped her hands and burst out laughing. “Oh, I did. I mean, I feel kind of evil, but your faces were so hilarious. Now, where do you guys want to go for dinner?”
Rick groaned. “I’m going to go buy some gum or something. I may never eat again.”
Jill giggled. “Tell you what, I’m going to go ask Mr. Dunn where he wants to eat, and you guys can come along if you want.”
Blake watched as she strolled over to Mr. Dunn’s car where he was waiting for them off to the side. He rolled his window down and she bent down to talk to him. Soon, she was laughing so hard she had to lean against the car for support. Blake shook his head, and took another drink, finishing his bottle. Well, he’d disliked her immensely for about five minutes, and already he was spellbound again. What in the world was he going to do about this? He had no idea, but he did need something else to drink, so he went and joined Rick and Camden in the gas station in search of something to forever erase the flavor of pickled egg from his memory.
When they came out a few minutes later, only slightly recovered, Jill waved at them. “Hey guys, Mr. Dunn and I decided to drive over to Green Valley and eat there since that’s where we’re staying for the night. He says there’s a really good Mexican restaurant there called El Jardín.”
Blake nodded, waved and got in the car. Fortunately, and surprisingly, it turned out that Mexican food was the perfect way to erase the flavor of pickled egg. It was likely the spicy peppers and copious amounts of carbs, but whatever it was, he was glad for it.
When they arrived at a small but clean roadside motel between rural Tennessee towns, he found that he was in no mood to crash in his room and go to bed early.
Feeling on edge and wired at the same time, Blake paced around his room for a while. When he discovered that he was trying to think of an excuse to go over to Jill’s room, he clenched his fists and glared at his reflection in the cheap mirror over the sink. So what if she guessed that he just wanted to see her?
With quick decision, he left his room and stepped outside, turning to the right to go down two doors to Jill’s room, and collided with someone. Looking down, he saw Jill’s dark hair, and realized his hand had grasped her bare arms to steady her. She was wearing a swimsuit, and it was only with iron-clad discipline that he kept himself from pulling her into his arms.
“Um… hey, Blake.” Her tone was light, but questioning.
Letting go of her arms, he stepped back. “Sorry. I didn’t see you.” Then his brain registered more than just smooth, luminous skin gleaming under security lights. “What are you doing?”
She laughed. “I think that’s obvious.” She moved to step around him, so he put out a hand and caught hold of hers.
“You can’t go swimming by yourself here. You have no idea who else is staying here or might be passing by. Where is the pool even? Is it well lit? Are there security cameras on it?”
“I’ll be fine. But if you’re so worried about it, why don’t you come too?”
“I didn’t bring anything to swim in.”
Jill shrugged. “You could ask Camden or Rick. Or just come hang out on a lounger and talk to me.”
She left, completely unconcerned about the possible risks of swimming by herself, looking like every man’s fantasy, at a roadside motel. Blake stopped and thought about which room number Camden had been assigned, then strode down the walkway, watching the numbers carefully. When he got to the right one, he hammered on the door, bruising his knuckles on the thick metal. When Camden opened the door, looking confused and a little worried, he visibly relaxed when he saw Blake.
“Oh, hey. Need something?”
“Yes. Do you have some swimming trunks I can borrow?”
“Yeah. I do.”
Blake stepped in, relieved only until he saw the bright blue trunks covered in pink flamingos and electric green palm trees. “Are you serious?”
Camden shrugged. “I’m sorry, Mr. McDaniel. It’s all I brought.”
Blake stood, torn and repulsed, but he was determined to join Jill in the pool. Kicking his pride to the curb, he thanked Camden and left to change.
But when he walked out to the pool five minutes later, she looked up from her phone and started laughing.
“Okay, so, those have to be Camden’s.”
“Right on the first try.” Blake stopped by a table with an umbrella and set his phone and room key down. He was surprised Jill was in the hot tub, but since the sky had been cloudy all day, the night air was definitely cooler than usual for July. “You have a thing for hot tubs, don’t you?”
“It relaxes me. It helps me deal with the stress and pressure of my job.”
Blake examined her face as he got into the hot tub. “You never look stressed. In fact, I was starting to wonder if you were even human in that way.”
A half-smile pulled at her lips. “That’s what I want people to think. It inspires confidence and people are more likely to believe I’m capable. I learned that years ago when I first got out of college and went to work for my dad. Can you imagine for a minute what everybody thought about me? I still looked about sixteen, and not only was I a female, but the daughter of the boss. Proving myself has been an uphill struggle since day one.”
Blake considered her words, sensing the depth of her frustration over the situation. “How long have you been working for your father’s firm?”
“Three years.” Jill rolled her head from side to side as if stretching sore muscles in her neck.
Blake’s fingers twitched as he thought about offering to rub her neck. But that would be a dangerous road to go down. “Well, your dad must be proud of you now.”
Jill laughed, but it was a harsh, resentful sound. “If he is, he doesn’t show it. And as long as I work for him, I’ll never escape the stigma of nepotism, though that couldn’t be further from the truth. I had to work harder for my place in his company than anyone else did. He’s been training me for this since I was in middle school and he discovered I had a gift for numbers. My high school years were filled with advanced classes, outside programs, and his own personal brand of memory training.”
“Why don’t you work for someone else or open your own consulting firm?”
Jill flicked away some of the bubbles floating toward her in the frothing water. She was quiet for a moment before she said. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, but there’s a lot of family pressure since I’m the heir to half the company.”
In this moment, the business world seemed far away and she looked more vulnerable than he had ever seen her. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head and tiny strands fell from it, clinging damply to her neck. Her face, lit from below by lights in the hot tub, was smooth and young, but he could see the strain in her unguarded eyes. A strong surge of protectiveness flooded him, something he’d never considered possible with Jill. She’d always been too capable, too in control. “Are you happy doing this work?”
The corners of her mouth tugged down. It happened in a flash before she controlled the expression, but he’d seen it. She forced a smile. It was a beautiful specimen, but he recognized it for what it was. A wall. He’d pushed too hard.
“Of course I’m happy. Except for the issues with my dad and the pressure of influencing what happens with people’s lives, it’s amazing. I get to travel, see new places. You know me. Meeting new people makes me happy. The money’s not bad either.”
Blake chuckled at her joke, though his gut still swirled with concern for her. He moved closer, sitting next to her. She turned her head, a surprised but expectant look on her face. He leaned closer and cupped her jaw in his hand. His heart hammered in his chest. “But do you ever stay in one place long enough to make any of it matter? To have real connections, real relationships?”
Her expression tightened again and she leaned closer till there were only inches between their lips, but the screech of the gate opening shattered the silence between them. She looked around as he did, and he dropped his hand. Rick strolled over in gym shorts and a t-shirt.
“What are you doing?” Blake asked, annoyed at the interruption.
“My job. Boss, you didn’t tell me where you were going.”
Jill stood up and left the hot tub. “Remember. You had to bring him.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m heading back to my room.”
Blake clenched his teeth in frustration. He’d been so close to her opening up. There was nothing to do now, though, but make sure she got back safe and say good night. He followed her out of the hot tub and dried off with one of the towels provided by the motel. Jill had already wrapped one around herself and opened the gate.
“Uh, boss. I like your trunks.”
Blake looked away from Jill and saw that Rick’s whole body was shaking with silent laughter. “I’m already thinking about firing you, so you might want to watch yourself.” Blake picked up his phone and room key, then strode after Jill.