Jesse (9 page)

By the time he'd put the last batch of pies in the oven, Danielle was washing the last of the mixing bowls when Lacy wandered back in. “Can I help?”

“You're just in time to help us decide what to fix for dinner.”

“Hamburgers!”

“Sure,” Uncle Jimmy answered.

“Lacy and I can make Gramma's short-cut baked beans.”

Her uncle smiled. “That would be great. I've got some canned pork and beans in the pantry. What else do you need?”

Danielle wished she'd thought to unpack her file box of recipes; now she'd have to recreate it from memory. “Onion, butter, and brown sugar.”

“No chili powder?”

She grinned. “Dad can't eat hot spices anymore, so Mom adapted her recipe so he could eat it.”

“Do you need any help?”

“It's our turn to wait on you.” She wondered if she and Lacy would have coped as well if they didn't have Uncle Jimmy. “How about if you take a break and go on out to the back porch?”

He hugged Lacy first and Danielle second. “You cook, I clean.”

She shook her head. “We'll talk about that later. Right now, you deserve a nice long break while my partner and I fix your supper.”

“Call me if you need me.”

“We will,” Lacy called out. Watching him leave, her daughter turned and asked, “Did Jesse call yet?”

The urge to smack her forehead with the heel of her hand was so strong, she almost gave into the need, but at the last minute, she dug deeper and found the patience to simply shake her head and not give in to the frustration. “Not yet.”

Was it wrong to pray that Lacy would wait until tomorrow to ask again?

Throwing herself into dinner preparations, she helped Lacy form the round meat patties and set them in the fridge to keep cool while they sautéed the onions in butter.

“How do you know when they're done?”

“See the part of the onion we didn't use?”

“Uh-huh,” Lacy answered.

“Now look at the onion I've been stirring.”

“It looks different.”

“Exactly,” Danielle said, pleased that her daughter was observant. “Just a little more time so the onions are translucent and we'll add the brown sugar until it gets all melted and smooth.”

“Do I like onions and sugar?”

Delighted with her little one, Danielle answered, “You love them, especially in Gramma's special beans.”

Scrunching up her nose as if she wasn't quite sure, Lacy shrugged. “When will they be ready?”

“Hmmm, how does Gramma know when they're ready?”

Lacy considered the question, and like a flower, her face bloomed with a smile that seemed to glow from within. “She tastes it!”

Smart
as
a
whip
and
cute
as
a
button.

Lifting the wooden spoon to her lips, Danielle taste tested the mixture. “Hmmm… just right.”

“That's what Gramma always says.”

“Then it must be ready,” Uncle Jimmy said, walking back inside.

“Do you want to heat up the kitchen some more?” Danielle asked. “Or do you want to cook those burgers outside?”

“Let me fire up the gas grill. It'll be hot in just a few minutes. Besides,” he said, looking at the beanless pot, “don't you need to let the beans soak up some of that saucy stuff?”

“That's next.”

Lacy nodded. “Know what, Unca Jimmy?”

He got down to her level and asked, “What?”

“Mommy taste-tested it and it's good. Know how I know?”

He shook his head. “Tell me.”

“She didn't make a funny face, so it must taste good.”

Putting his hands on his knees, he straightened up and walked over to the frying pan. “Can I try it?”

Danielle handed him a teaspoon. “Sure, but you can't fiddle with it till it's on your plate.”

He frowned at her but dipped his spoon in and scooped up the sauce. He touched the tip of his tongue to it. “It's not too hot.” While they watched, he sampled the mixture and smiled. “It's good.”

“'Course it is, silly,” Lacy said. “Mommy's a good cook.”

He nodded and grabbed the kitchen matches. “I'll light the grill. Be right back.”

Later that night, when she was tucking Lacy in, her daughter asked, “If I'm really good tomorrow, Mommy, do you think cowboy Jesse will come and see us?”

“Oh, sweet pea.” Danielle struggled to hold it together and not break down and cry. “He's just busy, honey, that's all.”

“Are you sure? 'Cause daddy said he couldn't stay 'cause of me.”

Danielle's heart broke. “Lacy, that's not true.”

“He said he din't want to be my daddy anymore. I heard him!”

Gathering her daughter in her arms, she pressed her lips to the top of Lacy's head. “He didn't mean it that way.”

“He said it,” Lacy insisted.

“But—”

“Am I bad?”

This had gone far enough. Even though her uncle was right, she should be patient, she couldn't let her daughter worry that Lacy was the reason her daddy had left, or the reason Jesse had yet to fulfill his promise.

That her daughter would even think that cut a hole in Danielle's heart until it bled. “No. You are not bad. You are my perfectly wonderful, beautiful, talented daughter and the light of my life.”

“But Daddy said—”

“Daddy left me too, sweetie.”

“So, maybe cowboy Jesse isn't mad at me?”

Holding Lacy close, she whispered, “He isn't mad at you, and you know what? We're going out to the Circle G tomorrow.”

“We are?”

“Yes, ma'am. So close your eyes and get plenty of sleep because tomorrow will be a really big day.” She settled Lacy under the covers and kissed her forehead. “I love you, sweet pea.”

“I love you back, Mommy.”

The rumble of deep voices surprised Danielle as she was coming down the stairs. Her heart fluttered when she recognized Jesse's smooth baritone.
He
was
here!
Taking a deep cleansing breath, she prayed she would keep her cool and not demand he tell her why he hadn't kept his promise to Lacy.

“Hello, Jesse.”

His eyes met hers and something shifted deep inside of her. She felt different when he looked at her. Not quite able to put her finger on just what it was, she told herself she would worry about it later.

“Lacy will be so sorry she missed you,” she said. “She was really looking forward to it.”

“I'm sorry I got held up today. I was shooting to be on my way to town by three o'clock this afternoon,” he said with a shake of his head. “But we had a steer go loco on us.”

“Loco?”

“Crazy,” Jesse and her uncle said at the same time.

“What happened?”

“Damned steer broke through a section of fence we'd just repaired and we had to chase down the rogue and his buddies.”

It seemed like a reasonable excuse, but the fact remained that Lacy had been just as heartbroken yesterday when he didn't show up. Although she hadn't wanted to bring it up, she just couldn't get the image of her little one's sad face from her mind. “About yesterday—” she began.

He pushed his Stetson to the back of his head and smiled down at her, a look of relief on his face. “I'm glad you understood why I didn't want to interrupt.”

“Interrupt?”

“When you were all out back with the delivery.” He frowned. “Didn't you understand my note?”

Perplexed, she asked, “What note?”

“I left you a note on the table explaining that something came up and I'd be stopping by this afternoon for Lacy's lesson.” He paused then shook his head. “Only, damned if I couldn't get away like I'd hoped.”

“So you left me a note,” she repeated, unable to hold back her smile. When he echoed that smile, she asked, “Did you leave it in the mailbox?”

It was his turn to frown. Funny, but up until that point, he seemed pretty relaxed. “I took a piece of paper off the clipboard and left the damned note in the middle of the table.”

She looked at her uncle who shook his head. “Well, we didn't find anything.”

He took his hat off and worried the brim with his hands. “Then Lacy and you thought I forgot about you?”

Uncle Jimmy patted her on the back, winked, and then left them alone.

Not trusting her voice or wanting him to know how close to tears they'd both been, she shrugged and a lock of hair tickled her nose. She tossed her head to get it out of her eyes, but it slid back down in her face.

Jesse reached out and smoothed the strand behind her ear. Pins and needles of awareness prickled just beneath her skin where his fingers had brushed against her.

Her sharply indrawn breath had his gaze zeroing in on her face. “You two were on my mind all day.” Something dark and desperate bubbled in the depths of his eyes as he rasped, “I never break my word, Danielle.”

“I was hoping you wouldn't,” she admitted. She didn't know what else to say. She'd been so churned up before he arrived and now that he was here, she was all but tongue-tied.

As if he could sense the turmoil within her, he closed the gap between them and slid his arms around her. Her breath caught as the blood rushed through her veins.

“Dani darlin',” he whispered, pulling her flush against him until she could feel the pounding of his heart. Her gaze flicked to his and he lowered his head. “I've been dying to taste you.”

“Oh, I—” Jesse's lips claimed hers and every thought drained from her head as his mouth took command of hers in a devastating kiss.

He slid his hand down to the small of her back and pinned her to him, the hot, hard length of him straining against the denim that held him in check. Her startled cry was echoed by the triumph in his as his tongue swept into her mouth to tangle with hers.

***

He would never be satisfied with one mind-blowing kiss. Delving deep, he stroked his hands up and down the curve of her supple spine, stopping to mold her curvy backside with his hands. When she gasped a second time, he swept his hands up her sides, cupped her face, and tipped her head back. “I want more.”

Desperate to take, a heartbeat away from sweeping her into his arms and kidnapping her, he drew up short when a jubilant voice cried out, “Cowboy Jesse!”

He dropped his hands and turned just in time to catch the tiny missile aimed at his knees. He bent down and snagged Lacy before she banged her head on his knee bone. “Hey there, little darlin'.”

“I knew you'd come,” she crowed as he lifted her up into his arms. “I told Mommy you would.”

Dazed from the absolute trust shining in her blue eyes, he looked from daughter to mother and shook his head. “I always keep my promises.”

“But you din't yesterday,” Lacy reminded him.

“I left your mommy a note at the diner.”

“I knew it!” The little girl shocked the shit out of him when she threw back her head and gave a rebel yell. He couldn't help it; he laughed and suddenly Danielle and Lacy were both in his arms, laughing with him.

The bottom just dropped out of his stomach as his world spun in circles and his heart skidded closer to the edge, like he had out at Devil's Bowl.

“Can we go riding now?”

Touching the tip of his finger to the end of her turned up nose, he shook his head. “The horses have all gone to bed for the night, but I wanted to ask if your mommy could bring you to the ranch tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yes!” Lacy answered for her mother.

“Well, I—”

“Yes,” her uncle added from the living room.

“I guess it's settled then,” Jesse said, running the tip of his finger along the curve of Danielle's cheek. “Say yes, Dani. I've got something I need to do tomorrow night, so if you drive out in the afternoon it'll save me time so I can squeeze in a lesson before dinner.”

When she hesitated, he tucked her hair behind her ear and tipped her face up. The look in her eyes warned him not to kiss her. Hell, he never liked being told what to do. He claimed her mouth with a swift kiss that was over far too soon.

“You don't kiss Mommy like Unca Jimmy does.” Lacy punctuated that statement with a giggle.

“I sure hope not, little lady,” her uncle called out from where he stood in the doorway.

Unable to help himself, Jesse pressed his lips to Lacy's forehead. “Is he the only man who kisses your mommy?”

He thought he heard Danielle grumbling under her breath, but was distracted when Lacy answered, “Uh-huh… 'specially since Daddy left us.”

“That's enough for one night, Lacy.” Her mother shifted until Lacy was back in her arms, and she stepped out of Jesse's. “Time for bed.”

“Can cowboy Jesse tuck me in?”

Every drop of spit dried up in his mouth. He couldn't have answered even if he wanted to, so he did the next best thing and nodded. Following behind them, he grabbed the handrail to steady himself as they ascended the stairs.

A night-light shone from the open door at the end of the hallway. Walking toward it, he wondered if this was a passing fancy or if Lacy would want him to stick around and tuck her in every night. Damned if that thought didn't appeal almost as much as getting his hands on Danielle—only the next time he got his hands on her, there wouldn't be anything to stop him from satisfying his bone-deep need to make love to her.

Danielle settled Lacy under the covers, kissed her cheek, and turned to reach for his hand. She squeezed it—maybe it was her way of letting him know it was OK with her that he be in her daughter's bedroom like this, about to take part in their nightly ritual.

His throat tightened, but he ignored it and bent down to kiss the tip of Lacy's nose. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “I love you, cowboy Jesse.”