Flirting with Texas (Deep in the Heart of Texas) (14 page)

Since Jenna had gotten very little sleep in the last few days, it wasn’t a half bad idea.

“I might do that,” she said.

Minnie smiled her approval before zipping toward the elevators. It took the doors closing for Jenna to realize that she hadn’t gotten one direct answer from the wily woman about the invitation. She might’ve followed after her if she hadn’t been intrigued by the thought of being alone in the hen sanctuary. She got up from the couch and wandered around the room, plunking out “Chopsticks” on the piano before opening up two huge feather fans she found in a vase and swirling them around. After almost choking to death on a loose feather, she moved over to the bookshelf and pulled out one of the photo albums.

It was filled with pictures of women dressed in bellbottom jeans and loose tops similar to Sunshine’s. She didn’t find a picture of Sunshine, but she found one of Minnie and Baby. Minus her glasses, Baby looked exactly like Marilyn as she blew a kiss at the camera, her arm hooked over Minnie who stood next to her, kicking up a shapely leg.

The thought of the woman in the picture now confined to a wheelchair made Jenna sad, and she put the photo album away and walked over to the bar. She opened the
small refrigerator and pulled out a can of Mountain Dew. As she popped the top, she noticed the cordless phone on the end of the bar. Even though Minnie had told her that the phones were dead, she couldn’t help picking it up and pressing the talk button.

She didn’t hear a dial tone.

Instead, she heard a man’s voice that she recognized instantly.

“… so you’re gonna continue to lie to her?” Moses Tate asked.

“Not lie,” Minnie said. “Just avoid the truth. She has her mind made up about what she wants to do, and it will only make things worse.”

“I don’t know if I agree,” Moses said. “A person needs to know about their heritage.”

There was a stretch of silence before Minnie spoke. “She already feels like she doesn’t belong, Moses. What do you think will happen when she finds out she was adopted and her mama worked at Miss Hattie’s Henhouse? It will only confirm her worst fears.”

“You might be right,” Moses conceded.

“So let’s keep it to ourselves,” Minnie said. “There’s no tellin’ what would happen if word got out. I’m just hopin’ I can talk her into stayin’ long enough to get in touch with her hen-ness.”

“If anyone can do it, you can, Min.”

“Thank you, Moses. I’ll keep you posted.”

The phone clicked twice as the can slipped from Jenna’s hand. It hit the carpet with a muffled thump too soft to be heard over the cracking of Jenna’s world.

B
EAU SANK DOWN INTO THE
huge bear claw tub and released a sigh. The warmth eased the soreness in his shoulder and had him resting his head back against the rim and closing his eyes. He had wanted to get into the bath sooner, but the hens had kept him from it. Baby had brought up chocolate chip cookies and milk. Sunshine had wanted to rub some herbal ointment on his shoulder. And Starlet had continued to look at him with those big, brown eyes as if he was the most wonderful thing on the face of the earth. Their attention should’ve made him feel loved and special. Instead, it just made him feel guilty that he hadn’t been back sooner.

And if the hens were this happy to see him, there was no telling how happy his family would be if he stopped by. Which made him feel even guiltier, because he had absolutely no intention of doing so. He knew he was being immature. A bigger man would be happy that his brothers had found good women to love and now had families of their own. And Beau was happy for Billy and Brant. He had no problem talking about their wives and kids on the
phone. And he liked the pictures and videos they sent. He just didn’t think he could witness their happiness up close and personal.

Not when they were living out his dream. A dream he could never achieve.

He reached an arm out of the tub and felt around for the glass of brandy he’d brought into the bathroom. He had just downed the last of it when there was a commotion outside the bathroom door. Before he could do more than sit up, the door flew open, and Jenna stepped in. Starlet was standing behind her, her eyes pinned on Beau and her face a bright red.

“What the hell!” The glass slipped from Beau’s hand and hit the water, splashing him in the face.

“If you’ll excuse us,” Jenna said to Starlet, “I need to talk with Beau.” Before Starlet could say a word, Jenna slammed the door and locked it.

She turned, and her gaze slid over his body, hesitating on the water that lapped against his waist. Damned if Beau didn’t turn as hard as a stone. He blamed it on the western wear. Jenna in boxers and a tiny top was bad enough, but Jenna in cowboy boots and tight jeans that made her legs look longer than a stretch of highway was more than a man could take. Not to mention the hat. He had always had a thing for a girl in a cowboy hat. The entire ride from Bramble, he’d been tongue-tied and turned on. It annoyed him so much that he couldn’t help but be a smartass.

“You ready to finish that hand job, Blondie?” He pulled the glass from the water and forced himself to relax back in the tub, even though there wasn’t a relaxed bone in his body. And hadn’t been since he’d met her. Obviously, he needed to make another trip to his Chinese Taoist master.

Her gaze lifted from the water, and she cocked an eyebrow. “No, but I’m sure Starlet wouldn’t mind giving you one, seeing as how she likes to watch you take a bath.”

It didn’t surprise Beau. There were all kinds of secret passages in the old house that Starlet knew about. While living at the henhouse, he had woken up numerous times to find her in his room. Of course, this time, he had made it easy on her by not locking the bathroom door. Next time, he’d be more careful. There were way too many aggressive women in the house.

“At least she doesn’t interrupt a man’s bath,” he said as he reached for the soap. “So if you’re not going to make me happy, what do you want?”

She moved over to the toilet and sat down as if it was something she did every day. Of course, it probably was. She lived with a guy. Beau didn’t know why, but the thought of Jenna sitting on the toilet talking to Davy really pissed him off. He tried taking a deep, even breath, but it got stuck in his lungs at her next words.

“I’m a hen.”

Beau stopped lathering his arm and stared at her. “As in, Minnie made you an honorary hen?”

She shook her head. “As in, my mama was a prostitute.”

The soap slipped from his hand and plopped down in the water. “But I thought you told me that your mama worked at the Seed and Feed?”

“Feed and Seed. And Jenna Scroggs does.” Her shoulders drooped. “But my real mama—the one who put me up for adoption—worked here.” Her eyes widened. “Unless she still works here.”

“Minnie told you that?”

“Not me exactly.” Jenna leaned up and dipped her
hand into the water. Her fingers brushed over his thigh. Before he could do more than suck wind, her hand resurfaced with the soap.

Beau stared at the soap and tried to catch his breath. Did the woman have no idea what turned a man on? He thought he’d been hard before; now he was like granite.

“I overheard her talking to Moses on the phone.” She reached for the washcloth on the side of the tub.

Beau watched her lather the washcloth, and his mouth had trouble forming his next words. “Maybe she wasn’t talking about you.”

“So you think she was talking about Starlet? I thought Starlet knew she was a hen.”

He tried to think, but it was hard when soap bubbles oozed through her fingers. “Maybe she knew you were listening and was just kidding around.”

“She didn’t sound like she was kidding.” Jenna set the soap back in the dish. “And when I tried to get information out of her about the invitation, she hedged—like she was hiding something.” She tapped him on the shoulder. “Sit up.”

“What?”

“Sit up and I’ll scrub your back.”

His cock grew another inch. “You’re not scrubbing my back.”

She squeezed the washcloth, and bubbles dripped from her hand. “Suit yourself, but there’s no way you can scrub up properly with a hurt shoulder.”

There was a moment when he actually thought about grabbing the washcloth and tossing her ass out. The moment before his brain kicked in. What was the matter with him? He had a pretty woman offering to scrub his back and he was going to decline? Not likely.

He sat up. “So you think your mother has lied to you all these years? But I thought you had other siblings.” He almost moaned out loud when the washcloth came in contact with the center of his back. The moment was fleeting. Jenna scrubbed backs like she did everything else in her life. Half his skin was rubbed off before he could stop her.

“Geez, woman!” He whipped around and grabbed the washcloth.

She shrugged. “See, I’m much rougher than any of my sisters. And I’m the only one in the family with blond hair—well, Dallas has blond hair, but it’s not as blond as mine. And I’m the only girl who wasn’t a cheerleader or homecoming queen. I’m not as smart as any of my siblings. And I have this really weird little birthmark on my right breast.”

Shit. Beau tried to keep his eyes above her neck and his throbbing penis below the surface of the water.

She reached for the bottle of shampoo on the towel stand next to the tub. “Not to mention what happened to my sister, Faith. My mama got pregnant with her when she was young and decided to put Faith up for adoption. It makes perfect sense that my mama and daddy would want to alleviate their guilt by adopting me.”

It didn’t make sense to Beau, but at this moment, nothing did. Especially his sexual reaction to the skinny tomboy in front of him.

“So why don’t you confront Minnie about it?” he said.

“Because for some reason she wants to keep it a secret.” She poured the shampoo in her hand and started lathering his hair.

Since Beau was partial to his hair, he tried to push her hands away and do it himself. But it turned out that rough
shampooing felt better than rough back scrubbing. Her strong fingers worked through his scalp, causing him to moan out loud.

“Lean back,” she ordered. He listened, and she moved behind the tub. “And I don’t want you telling Minnie that I overheard her conversation. Once she knows that I know, she might work harder to keep the truth from me. And I want to do a little investigating to make sure before I confront Minnie and my mother.”

He cracked open an eye. She was kneeling over him. “Investigating? I thought you were headed back to New York City to make up with Davy.”

“I am, but I can’t just leave without getting answers. I called Sophia and she’s taking care of things at my apartment, and then I called my boss and explained that I had a family crisis. He has no trouble with me taking a couple days off, which should be plenty of time for you and me to get things figured out.”

Both of Beau’s eyes came open, but when soap got in them and stung like hell, he slammed them closed again. “Oh no. I’m not getting involved in this. I’m heading out tomorrow.”

“For where? You can’t ride bulls with a screwed-up shoulder.”

“No, but there’s a beach in Mexico with my name on it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Mexico can wait.” She pushed his head under water before he’d even taken a breath. Water burned up his nose. It was the final straw. He had been putting up with the woman’s aggressive behavior for days, and he’d had it. All he wanted was a peaceful bath, and all he’d gotten was a raw back, soap in his eyes, and a
hard-on that could jack up a semi. Well, it was too late to fix two of those things. But he’d be damned if he wouldn’t fix the other.

Coming up out of the tub like Shamu at Sea World, he made a grab for Jenna and pulled her in with him—boots and all.

“You idiot! What—”

Beau covered her mouth with his. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth, and he glared back at her, daring her to bite him. She did. But the slight amount of pain he experienced was followed by a jolt of pleasure when she then released his lip and licked it better. Since she sat on his lap, he had little doubt that she felt his desire. He didn’t care.

“I want you,” he whispered against her lips. “I want to peel those wet clothes off your body and lick every square inch of your skin.” Her breath escaped in a puff of warm heat, and his hand tightened on her wet, blue-jeaned hip. “And then I want to slip inside of you—deep inside of you.” He nipped at her. “Do you want that, Jen? Do you want to feel me deep inside you?”

All the defiance melted from her eyes, and they turned a smoky blue. The hand she’d been pushing him away with slid up his chest and curled around his neck. Her lips opened, and she pulled him into the hot, wet recesses of her mouth. The kiss was as rough and demanding as Jenna. Her fingers bit into his scalp, and she tugged him closer, shaping and reshaping his lips as her tongue teased his.

She reminded him of a wild mustang he’d once seen in the hills of Wyoming. The cowboys he’d been with had fantasized about catching the horse, saddle-breaking it, and making it their own. Beau’s fantasy had been much
different. He hadn’t wanted to break the horse’s spirit—to turn it into just another saddle horse that was content to munch hay and bed down in a stall. All he wanted was to experience that wildness one time. Just one bareback ride across Wyoming before the horse rejoined his herd and Beau went back to his life.

And that’s all he wanted from Jenna.

Just one wild ride.

Just one ride that would appease the desire that ached deep down inside him and get his libido back on the right track.

And it looked like Jenna was going to give it to him.

She shifted on his lap, and her hand slipped down in the water to encase him in a tight fist. He groaned as his head dropped back. Since Beau had suffered through foreplay for the last three days, he was locked and loaded. It only took a couple of strokes to have him ready to fire. He pulled back from her hot kisses and stopped her hand mid-stroke. If this was a one-time ride, he wanted to spend the entire time in the saddle.

“Easy there,” he said. “Let’s slow things down a bit.” He lifted her hand and kissed the palm. “Why don’t we get you a little more comfortable.” He settled her hand on his chest, then shifted her around until he could get to the front of her shirt. It was a snap-down, and Beau couldn’t help but smile at his good fortune. All it took was a slight tug for the snaps to pop. He separated the wet material and sucked in his breath at the two small, bare breasts that peeked back at him.