Little Cowgirl Needs a Mom (11 page)

“Daddy, is Jenny mad at you?”

Don't lie.
“Yeah, I did something to upset her.”

She stood in front of him. “Then you need to tell her you're sorry.”

He put his arm around his daughter and pulled her close. “I plan on it, and a lot more.”

 

By eight o'clock, Evan had everyone back at the house. Jenny helped Gracie with her bath and got her into bed. And she managed to stay clear of the girl's father.

He had to put a stop to that; with a soft knock he walked into his daughter's room. He watched the interaction between Jenny and Gracie with envy. Story ended, she kissed Gracie good night and didn't even look at him.

In the past few weeks, he'd found he and his daughter were easier around each other. The affection between them was more natural. Maybe he really was capable of doing this.

After kissing Gracie, he was almost out the door when she called, “Daddy, don't forget.”

“I won't, honey. I promise, it'll be okay.”

Once the door was closed, Jenny gave him a questioning look. “What promise?”

“My daughter says I need to apologize to you for earlier.”

Jenny waited.

“Okay, I acted like a jerk. I'm sorry. But I only wanted to protect you. Perkins hurt you before.”

“I'm a big girl, Rafferty. I can take care of myself.”

“What if I want to take care of you?” He took her hand, finding he didn't want her to leave. “You could still stay here and I'll drive you back early in the morning.”

“Thank you for the invitation, but I need to face it sooner or later. I need to go back. I can't live in fear all the time.”

“Okay, but I'm checking the place out thoroughly before I leave.”

“I wouldn't mind that at all. Now take me home, cowboy.”

 

Evan parked in the alley. There were several more lights illuminating the area, along with a security camera over the door.

“Geez, a guy would be crazy to come back here.”

“I just hope I can get the alarm shut off after I get inside.”

“Let's go try it. You've got the code.”

With her nod, they got out and Jenny inserted the new key into the deadbolt lock. She opened the door and saw the panel on the wall, then quickly punched in the numbers and it shut off.

“Okay.” She sighed. “That's done.” She went to the other new lock on the door leading to her apartment. She opened it, flicked on the light and started up the stairs.

Jenny was pleasantly surprised to see that everything had been cleaned and put away. “This is even nicer than the way I kept it.”

Evan knew that Casali could get things done fast, but this surprised even him. There was no sign the place had been trashed.

The sofa had been replaced along with tables and lamps, even a new television. He followed her into the bedroom and found the furniture there was also new.

Jenny turned to see her childhood treasure box on the table. It meant a lot to her. She'd never had much, but this was something from a happier time in her life.

Evan came up behind her. “I'm sorry you lost your personal things.”

She shrugged. “They were only things.”

His hands rested on her shoulders, his head close to her ear, and he whispered, “I thank God you weren't here alone.” His warm breath caused her to shiver. “And you aren't alone now, Jenny. I want to be here for you.”

She closed her eyes, aching to lean into this man. Yet, she was afraid.

“I won't let anything happen to you,” he promised.

She wanted to believe him. In her lifetime a lot of people had let her down. They had let things happen to her, things a child shouldn't have to go through.

“Tell me what you're feeling, Jenny.” He turned her around, his blue eyes steady on hers. “Tell me what I can do to help you.”

She allowed him to take her hands and put them behind his neck, just as his head lowered to hers.

Then his hungry mouth claimed hers, taking long deep kisses. She could only cling to him. Her body burned as he stroked her from her waist to her breasts. His hands moved to cover her nipples, which quickly hardened against his palms. She made a whimpering sound at the sheer thrill.

He tore his mouth from hers, his eyes smoldering as he rained kisses over her face. “I want you, Jenny. You have no idea.”

“I think I do.” She stood up on her toes and pressed her mouth against his. This time she wasn't shy about her hunger as she slipped her tongue against his lips. He opened readily as she slipped inside, drawing a deep groan from Evan. He tightened his hold and returned the favor. She moaned this time.

She was rapidly falling under his spell and was so tired of fighting it. She pulled back slightly. “I want you, too, Evan. Don't leave me.”

He cupped her face, then brushed a kiss over her mouth. “I'm here. I'm here for you as long as you want me.”

Forever!
She longed to say it, but didn't dare. Instead, she kissed him, then kissed him again. She wanted to burrow into him, absorb his warmth and his strength. He seemed to go for the idea, too. His breathing ragged, he held her still.

“I want to make love to you, Jenny. So if it's not what you want, too, I'll sleep on the sofa. But just so you know, I've never felt this way about a woman before. Ever.”

Evan Rafferty filled more than the loneliness and made her feel so much more. He made a girl dream of forever.

“I want that, too, Evan. So much.”

“I like it when you say my name.” His mouth covered hers, refusing to let her say any more.

The next time they broke apart, he took her by the hand and together they walked into the bedroom. She wasn't thinking about anything other than how much she wanted this man.

He turned on the dim bedside lamp, then he came back for her. He slowly began removing her blouse, all the while touching her, caressing her, until she was moaning with need.

She did the same for him. Soon his shirt was gone, and she moved her hands on his heated skin. He was hard and muscular, but his skin was smooth and sensitive to her touch. “You're beautiful.”

“I'm glad you think so.” He was having difficulty breathing. “You're killing me here.”

He finally took back the reins and unhooked her bra clasp. “I believe you're the gorgeous one here.” His mouth moved over hers and down her jaw. “I think we should test the new mattress.”

He tugged on her hand, and she went willingly as he
pulled her across the small room to the bed. In between kisses, he helped her remove her boots and jeans, then he swiftly stripped off the rest of his clothes.

He climbed in beside her, the warmth of his body against hers causing her to sigh. She could stay like this forever.

That was the problem. She didn't have forever.

J
ENNY
awoke with the rising sun and was surprised to find Evan still here, only not in her bed. She felt her heart tighten as she thought back to last night and how tenderly he'd made love to her. The man spoke few words; instead he'd shown her by his actions how much he wanted her.

Over and over again.

She smiled to herself as she looked toward the doorway. Her lover stood in a pair of jeans and his boots, his shirt opened, exposing his chest. Very sexy.

“Didn't mean to wake you,” he told her.

Had he been going to sneak out without saying goodbye? “You didn't, I'm usually up with the sun.” Suddenly she was very conscious of her nakedness. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long.” He raised a mug. “I made coffee.” He brought it to her.

She held the sheet against her breasts as she sat up. Suddenly they were like strangers. “Evan, is something wrong?”

He looked away. “I'm not good at this.”

She took it he meant the morning after. “Neither am I.”

He raised his head, looking concerned. “Do you want me to leave? If you need some privacy…”

She touched his arm. “No, I want you to stay, Evan, but only if you want to.”

Evan wasn't sure what he wanted. Last night had changed everything. He couldn't seem to stop his feelings for her. “Hell, Jenny, I'd like nothing more than to continue this, but I need to get home. Gracie won't understand why I'm not there.”

She looked disappointed. “You're right. This might be a little hard to explain to an eight-year-old.”

Feeling more insecure than ever, Jenny grabbed her robe off the chair at the end of the bed and slipped it on, covering her nakedness. So, she was a woman he couldn't explain?

She stood and walked out of the bedroom. It was glaringly clear that last night meant something different to Evan. She'd hoped for something permanent, but he apparently wanted something casual.

She went to the refrigerator and had taken out a bottle of water when Evan appeared behind her. “Jenny?”

She couldn't look at him. “What?”

He turned her around to face him. His incredible blue eyes searched her face. “Last night was…special.”

“It was for me, too,” she said softly.

He pulled her against him and captured her mouth. His heated kiss quickly had her thinking how easy it would be to fall in love with this man. Too late—she was already there.

He broke off the kiss, but held her tight for a moment, then released her. “I've got to go.” He stepped back. “I'll call you later.”

She nodded, feeling too vulnerable to speak. They went down the stairs, and she let him out the back door, and then reset the alarm system.

She leaned against the door and touched her lips. Did she dare hope that this was the beginning of something? Something permanent?

She'd always been the eternal optimist in the happily-ever-after department. She'd had her heart broken a few times, but, as Allison had told her repeatedly, there was someone out there for her.

Jenny had always thought that women who'd found Mr. Perfect would say something like that. She wanted to believe it. She desperately wanted to believe that Evan Rafferty was her Mr. Perfect.

 

Evan walked through the back door at the house to find his family seated at the table eating breakfast.

His dad was the first to speak. “Did you get the waterline in the barn fixed?”

So his dad was giving him an out for his early-morning absence. “Yeah, it's working fine now.” Why did he suddenly feel like a teenager again? He went to his daughter and kissed her on the cheek. “Morning, sweetie.”

“Morning, Daddy.” She rubbed her face. “Your beard is scratchy.”

He went to grab a cup of coffee from the counter. “That's because I didn't have time to shower and shave. I promise I will before you come home from school.”

His brother finally raised his head from his eating. “Are you up to helping me load the cattle in the trailer?”

Evan nodded. “I told you yesterday I would.”

Matt shrugged. “That was before the…waterline broke.”

“That shouldn't make any difference, nothing has changed.” He turned to his daughter. “Gracie, you'd better hurry up, the bus will be here soon.”

She stood. “Okay, I need to get my books. I've got a spelling bee today.”

“I'm sorry, I didn't know.”

She smiled. “It's okay, Jenny's been helping me.”

Why hadn't he known about this? “Well, get out the list anyway and we'll practice on the walk to the bus.”

Gracie smiled and took off. He turned to his dad and brother. They both tried to act as if this were a normal morning.

“Okay, say it. Get it off your chests.”

His dad shrugged. “What's to say? You're a grown man. Jenny is a wonderful woman.” Sean's gaze met his. “Sneaking around isn't a good idea, son. She deserves better.”

Matt didn't look too happy, either.

“You might as well give me your opinion, too.”

His brother set down his fork. “I see how she looks at you. Man, she's crazy about you. If you're just toying with her, do her a favor and let her go before she gets hurt.” He stood and carried his plate to the sink. “I'll be out by the pens.” He walked out the door.

“What's his problem? He's with a different woman every weekend, and he's lecturing me.”

His father stood. “None of those women are Jenny Collins.”

 

Since the Blind Stitch had been closed yesterday, Jenny had had a busy morning—most of the regular patrons had stopped by to see how everything was going.

Finally grabbing a break, she sat down at the table in the Quilters' Corner. Beth Staley, Liz Parker and Louisa Merrick were now the mainstays at the table. Two young mothers, Lisa and Caitlin, tried to spend as much time there as they could manage. These women had been meeting a few times a week and worked on projects most of the
morning. One joint project had been making baby quilts for the hospital fund-raiser.

“Aren't you frightened to stay here alone now?” Beth asked Jenny.

She hadn't been alone yet. “Not really. Allison's husband put in a new security system. And the sheriff is patrolling the area.”

Beth shook her head. “I'm a woman without a man, too. I'd hate to think there's someone out there preying on women.”

Jenny didn't want to believe the guy was still hanging around. “The sheriff thinks it might be someone who wanted fast money. He didn't get away with much because Millie had already taken the day's receipts to the bank.”

“But he was in your apartment,” Lisa added. “I hear he made a mess of everything.”

“And I have new locks there, too, and I feel safer,” she lied. She wanted this guy caught, too. She wanted it to be over, because she knew that Evan couldn't spend the night again.

Millie walked in, carrying the phone. “Call for you, Jenny.”

She took the receiver, hoping it might be Evan. “Excuse me.” She stood and walked to a quiet corner in the classroom area. “Hello, Jenny Collins.”

“Hello to you, too, little sister,” her stepbrother said.

She tensed as fear raced through her. “Todd, I told you not to call me again.”

His voice had a frightening tone. “Since when do you tell me what to do?”

“Look, I don't want any trouble from you. I just want to be left alone.”

“Come on, Jen. We're family. I'm only asking for a little
help. If you recommend me for a job with your friend's rich husband, I won't bother you at all.”

“I can't, Todd,” she insisted. “Now leave me alone.”

“That's a shame, sis.” There was a long pause. “I hear there was a break-in the other night. They made a mess out of the place.”

She froze. How would he know unless he was in town and he… “It
was
you,” she hissed.

“Jen, Jen, Jen. There you go accusing me of the worst. Just like when you were a kid.”

With good reason,
she thought.

“Besides, there's no proof it was me,” he told her. “Of course, if I had a job, I'd have an income. Otherwise I could be tempted to revert back to my old ways. And it would be all your fault. Think about it.”

“Leave me alone.” She hung up, but she couldn't stop shaking. Oh, God. It was Todd. He'd broken into her apartment. He'd touched her things, taken her money.

What could she do? Nothing. Todd was right—she had no proof that he was the one who'd broken in. She did know that her stepbrother was capable of a lot worse than trashing an apartment and a shop. She couldn't let him hurt her friends, people she loved, because she wouldn't give him what he wanted. Now she had no doubt about her decision to leave.

“Jenny, is everything all right?”

She turned around to see Millie's concerned look. She couldn't drag her friends into this mess. “It soon will be.”

 

By midmorning, they'd loaded the rest of the yearlings and latched the gate on the truck. Matt hadn't talked to Evan since breakfast except to shout orders.

Evan had had enough. “Why don't you just say it and get it off your chest?”

His brother gave him a questioning look.

“Don't play dumb, Matt.”

“Okay, if you want to hear it. I don't like the way you're treating Jenny. Do you even care about her?”

Why was everyone in his business? “Of course I care.”

“If that's true, why haven't you called her? After all, you spent the night with her.”

He was planning on calling her later. Maybe taking her to dinner, but his brother didn't need to know that. “This isn't high school.”

“Women still want the same things. You need to let her know that she means something to you. Or do I need to pound some sense into you?”

“Whoa, what is this? You go out with different women all the time. Why do I get grief because I spend time with one?”

Matt glared at him. “If I was lucky enough to find someone like Jenny, I wouldn't be out there looking.”

Evan knew Jenny was special. She also made him feel things. Things he wasn't sure he wanted to chance feeling again.

His brother wasn't finished. “Okay, I know Megan played a number on you, but Jenny is nothing like her. She's honest and loving. Man, you are one lucky son of a gun.”

He thought about last night, about how giving Jenny had been. She wasn't afraid to show him her wants and desires, or to please him. My God. What had he done? “I know that.”

“Then do something. Send her flowers, tell her how you feel.”

“I'm not sure I'm ready for that.”

Matt shook his head. “Okay, you don't need to say the
L-word. But let her know you're thinking of her. You
are
thinking about her, right?”

Evan nodded. “Hell, yes. I can't think about anything else.”

There was a hint of a smile. “Then call her,” Matt insisted. “No, send her flowers
and
say it, too.”

Evan pulled out his cell phone. He must really have it bad if he was listening to his brother's advice.

 

Since Todd's phone call, Jenny had barely made it through the afternoon, then the small bouquet of spring flowers arrived at the shop.

“Oh, my, who are they for?” Millie asked the delivery man.

“Jenny Collins.”

Jenny's head jerked up. Who would send her flowers? “Me?” She grabbed some bills out of her wallet to tip the man as he set the vase on the counter.

“Well, open the card,” Liz said, as the rest of the ladies hurried toward the counter.

With shaky hands, she opened the card and read it to herself. “Thinking about you. Will you go to dinner with me tonight? Evan.”

“Who are they from?” Millie asked.

She felt her chest tighten. “Evan Rafferty.” Tucking the small card into her pocket, she rushed on to say, “I've been helping his daughter with her quilting project.”

The group smiled, then Louisa said, “He's a nice young man,” and everyone wandered back to the corner table. Jenny was near tears. Why did he have to be so nice? Why did she have to fall more and more in love with him? Why now, when she had to give him up? When she had to give up everything that she'd come to care about? Yet it was the
only way to guarantee that Todd would stay out of their lives.

She picked up her phone and made a call to the San Antonio high-school district. She'd always planned to leave Kerry Springs, but the reality of it so soon really sucked.

As she hung up, the back door opened and Deputy Reynolds walked into the shop along with Alex. She put on a smile and went to them.

“How did it go last night?” the deputy asked. “Any trouble?”

Jenny glanced away. “It was fine. Everything was fine. I doubt anyone could break in here again.” She forced a smile, hoping he couldn't see through her lie.

“I'm glad to hear that,” Alex said. “If someone does break in, you know you have a panic button that connects to the sheriff's department?”

She nodded. “The guy's probably long gone.”

“But if you don't feel safe here, you can always stay out at the ranch.”

She couldn't ask for any better friends than the Casalis. So she couldn't let Todd get too close. “I'll be fine.”

“Well, I should go,” the deputy said, checking his watch. “I need to alert the next shift to what is going on.”

The deputy left but Alex hung back. “Oh, by the way, your stepbrother came by the ranch.”

She froze. “What?”

“Todd Newsome came by wanting to sign on for the roundup. He used you for a reference.”

She couldn't breathe. Oh, no, it was already happening. She swallowed the dryness in her throat. “He did?” She straightened. “I don't know why he'd use me, we never got along.”