Second Chance Ranch (19 page)

She rubbed her face against the hoodie jacket he wore, releasing the woodsy scent of his aftershave and taking her back years. “Getting that scholarship was sweet. Made my dad happy, too.”

“I was proud of you.” He hugged her closely as they followed the trail to her house. “Academic, full-ride. Everything you’d always wanted.”

He grew quiet. Jen basked in his praise. “I was proud of you, too. Rodeo, full-ride.I’ll never understand how you coupled team roping and math.”

“The same way I did it all through high school, a little luck and a whole lot of praying.” Their steps crunched along the dirt path in time. “It wasn’t just me, remember? If you hadn’t tutored me when I had pneumonia, I probably never would have understood the way numbers worked together.”

She leaned into him as she kept time with his stride. “What else was I supposed to do? Your family took us in when my mom died, and then you had to go and get sick. I was just trying to keep you from driving your mom nuts.”

“You and Kade could’ve ignored me and watched TV.”

“Yeah, I guess we could have, but then Kade wouldn’t have figured out you knew your way around the end of the steer he couldn’t quite figure out.”

“See? Hooking up with Kade for team roping got me the rodeo scholarship, and hooking up with you to help me with my math homework flicked the
I got it
switch in my brain.” He hugged her closer. “I came up with the hooking-up-with-you-as-my-girlfriend all by myself.”

Her throat burned at his tone of longing. High school had been a great time. Too bad all good things came to an end. She laughed with half a heart. “I made you sit down and study, and you made me close the books and have some fun.”

“Guess we were quite a pair.” They slowed as the yard light behind her house shone through the trees in the distance. There were times she thought the distance from her house to the barn was too far…tonight, it wasn’t far enough. “Probably a good thing we didn’t go to the same college after high school. We wouldn’t have gotten any studying done. Or at least, I know I wouldn’t have gotten any studying done.”

A fleeting image of his dorm came to mind, but she pushed it away. Not tonight. All she wanted was one good night with Zac. “God knew what He was doing, no matter how much I pouted.”

They got to her porch, the light of the crescent moon behind the towering pine almost picturesque. Zac loosened his hold of her, but didn’t let go. Jen turned in his arm so she could see his face, relish the moment. His brown eyes blended with the shadows making it impossible to read his thoughts, but shifted in all the right places making him look like a cowboy legend. Zac had always been larger than life to her. Even now, her heart thumped in her chest just like it used to whenever she saw him.

“I’m sorry you pouted.” He drew her closer until his breath warmed her cheek. “I would’ve fixed that.”

Her heart pounded as he swept along her cheek, his shallow breathing warming her skin from her ear to the corner of her mouth. She waited for him to pull back, but instantly realized that wasn’t how she wanted the evening to end. “Zac,” she mouthed against the rasp of evening stubble on his chin. Turning the slight degree between yes and no, she captured his lips with her sigh.

As if time had never passed, her arms slid into place around his waist, her fingers tangling in the folds of his shirt. The solid muscles of his back moved beneath her fingers as she pressed her palms and absorbed the warmth of his smooth skin. His hands slid along her curves before his arms wrapped around her, his hands kneading her shoulders, the heat from his fingers scorching through her shirt. His lips coaxed and teased, and Jen trembled at the effort to contain her need. Zac drew back as if realizing her struggle. The depths of his dark eyes told her all she wanted to know. He reclaimed her lips and she surrendered to the faint taste of peppermint and deepening passion.

Through the blur of her desire, she became aware of his phone ringing in his back pocket. Jen ran her fingers across the denim, trying to silence the disturbance. Zac’s hand stroked her fingers as he pulled the phone out of this pocket. Breaking away, he looked at the screen and frowned. In the inky darkness of a mountain night, the bright screen illuminated like a flashlight in a closet.

“Davidson.” He held the phone to his ear, his head bowed until his forehead touched her head, fighting for control of his breathing. Jen savored the effect and linked her fingers as her arms encircled his waist.

“Yes, that’s sounds good.” Zac nodded his head though the caller couldn’t see. “Got it. I’ll be there.” He clicked off the phone.

Zac gathered her up and held her close, resting his chin atop her head. Feelings of happily ever after ran like warm syrup through her veins. She’d missed Zac. She’d missed him so much.
I lost him once, Lord. I don’t want to lose him again.

“Zac—” He kissed her again before she could finish her sentence. A kiss that spoke of need and desperation. A kiss that she matched breath for breath. When he broke away again, Jen growled in frustration. “What?”

“They can use me. They want my bone marrow.”

Shaking away the silken threads of their kiss, she frowned. “They called? Now? Tonight?”

He drew her to him until not an inch of space separated them. “It was your friend from the lab. He said he tried to call you. When you didn’t answer, he called me.”

“Zac, it’s Sunday night.” Her heart beat at a tempo to match his. She rubbed her nose in the cotton trim of his jacket and drew a deep breath of warm, male scent. When Zac didn’t speak, her mind began to create scenarios. “What’s up?”

His lips trailed light kisses through her hair. Her lids fluttered closed as she pressed her ear to his chest, calmed by the strong thud of his heart beat.

“They have an opening Thursday at the hospital in Denver. He wanted to book it with consent.” He squeezed her tighter. “I’m thinking of our daughter.”

Our daughter.
Jen buried her face in his jacket so he wouldn’t see the tears she couldn’t hold back.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Steaks searing on the grill.

Zac inhaled the mouth-watering scent even as he imagined the flames licking around the tender cut of rib-eye steak with his name on it. Charred on the outside; rare in the middle. No one served steak better than Fred’s Grill and Watering Hole. He’d been to the finest restaurants in the country and nothing compared to the food and atmosphere at Fred’s.

A lady bumped into him as he directed Jennifer past a cluster of teenagers and a couple each dressed in leather from head to toe. A tiny spot opened up in the corner of the waiting area beneath the mount of a trophy bass. They slid into the space just at the massive oak doors opened up again and another group of four entered the foyer.

“How long a wait?” Jen squeezed into the crook of his arm as the couple in leather followed in their wake and leaned against the wall next to them.

“About fifteen minutes. They’re due for a change of diners anytime now.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled back giving him access to her dainty ear. “Maybe I should have slipped him a twenty to get us moved to the front of the line.”

She snuggled closer. “We’d have a mutiny on our hands.”

“No thanks, I just got out of one.”

She lifted her head from his chest, her hair tickling his nose. “Don’t kid yourself. This is more like a temporary truce. If you’re shelling out for a dinner at Fred’s, I thought I’d better be nice to you.”

“You’re doing just fine.” Her face flushed at his conspiratorial wink. He kissed the tip of her nose. “Not even prime rib from Fred’s compares to kissing you.”

“Mmm, let’s not be too hasty.” Her grin let him know she felt the same. “Let me think about this.”

Running his hand down her back, he splayed his fingers across her ribs, testing her toned muscles. “Don’t forget I’m putting my life on the line day after tomorrow.”

“You’ll be asleep. You won’t feel a thing.”

The thick murmur of her voice set his blood racing as he nuzzled her ear. “How do you know?”

“Because I’m going to be there and make sure nothing happens.”

Zac stopped his quest and straightened. “You’re coming with me? I thought this was supposed to be a secret. How are you going to explain going to Denver with me and leaving your camp on the last weekend?”

Another set of diners walked through the doors. Couples shifted and Zac pulled her deeper into the corner. Jen looked across the entry and then back at him. “Don’t worry about how I handle the camp. I have it all in hand. Besides, the extraction of your marrow is a day surgery. They check you in first thing in the morning, prep, knock you out, wake you up, and send you on your way. You’ll be a little sore, but nothing like what Carli will have to go through. Besides,” she paused and ran her finger along his jaw. “How do you plan to get back home? You won’t be able to drive.”

He kissed the tip of her finger. “Friends.”

Her body tensed and she dropped her hand. “Friends. Of course.”

What had he said?
“You make that sound like a crime.”

“No. No, it’s not. It’s just a statement of fact.” She tried to squirm out of his arms. “You’re a pied piper of people. You’ll never be alone.”

He held tightly. “Is there anything wrong with that?”

Her shoulders drooped and she stopped pushing him away. “I’m just going to the hospital to make sure everything goes alright with the marrow extraction. If you want me to drop you off at a friend’s house, just give me the address.”

“Look, Jen, I’m not trying to start a fight here.” He gathered her close until she relaxed and molded to his side again. “You’re the one who said you were coming with me. I thought end of camp weekend was a big thing. I didn’t want to take you away from anything important.”

“I guess I’m a bit more nervous over this procedure than I thought.” She searched his gaze, the crystal blue of her eyes but a thin ribbon around her pupil. “I shouldn’t have assumed you even wanted me there.”

Returning her intense gaze, he realized the depth of her concern. “Nothing would make me happier than knowing I had company to keep me awake on my way to the hospital. Someone to hold my hand when they wheel me off. Someone to be holding my hand when I wake up.”

“Someone?”

“You.”

Her brilliant smile lit her face and he remembered why he’d fallen in love with her all over again.

The hostess called his name to be seated before he could devour her without a thought to being in public. At a back table, the noise level from the crowd dropped letting the soft flow of easy rock music lull the patrons. Candles housed in low lanterns in the center of each table created an atmosphere of endless possibilities. All Zac wanted was a relaxed evening where he might explain the situation of the ranch to Jen and if he were lucky, maybe even get a good night kiss out of her.

“Hey guys, been a long time since I’ve seen you two out together.” A waitress stopped beside them and nudged Zac.

“Hey, Picone,” Zac greeted the former high school rodeo queen and four time chess champion. “Great to see you again. Didn’t think you were still around.”

“It’s not Picone anymore, it’s Monacelli.” She flashed her wedding ring. “Shelly Monacelli. Don’t laugh at the name. A gal can’t help who she falls in love with.”

“No way am I ever going to laugh at the gal who fed me my lunch every time we played chess.” He nodded toward Shelly. “You ever play her? Talk about a mind that mapped out the entire chess board before I ever made a move. I still bow to the master.”

“Nope, not a chess kinda gal. I spent my time helping her fluff her hair and polishing the hooves of her horse.” Jen pointed her thumb to her chest. “That finished product you saw galloping across the arena? Thank me.”

Shelly laughed. “Oh, back in the day, right, Jen? Zac, I haven’t seen you in ages. Home for a visit?”

He felt Jen’s eyes on him. “Cutting hay at the Eklund place.”

“Jen’s ranch?” Shelly beamed. “I knew you two would always get together again. I just never dreamed you’d be the hired hand on Jen’s place. What a wacky world.”

“Shel.” Jen fingered the menu on the table before her. “Zac is working for Jess, not me.”

The reminder of things left unsaid turned his tongue to sandpaper. He coughed and reached for his glass of water. He didn’t relish telling Jess about the Trails’ End deed, but the thought of telling Jennifer punched his heart. “Last time I looked, the Circle D signed my paychecks, but hey, I’m open to all offers.”

“Doesn’t matter, does it?” Shelly looked back and forth between them. “He’s back, you’re back. I’d say that’s a pretty good start to happily ever after.”

Jen cleared her throat and made a show of opening her menu. “What’s the special tonight?”

Shelly rattled off the specials and made her recommendations. Jen placed her order, as did Zac.

“Zac, the rib-eye; Jen, the filet. Both burned, but pink. Got it.” She smiled as she folded her hands without writing anything on her pad. “I could’ve almost called it. I’ll get this right out.”

Watching Shelly walk away, Jen frowned. “Are we really that predictable? Funny, I guess my tastes haven’t changed.”