The Reluctant Rancher~Badlands (Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense) (5 page)

He hadn’t
meant to get Jenna drunk, but she had been so mouthy and sarcastic he’d just kept pouring. Now she was in his bathroom, horrified that she had ‘done the deed’ with a complete jackass.

“Hee-haw,” he chortled.

~*~

When Cami opened the door of exam room one, she noted that one of her patients looked very troubled.
“Hi, Sara Beth. How is the baby doing?”

Sara Beth nodded. “I think she’s okay. I just don’t know where her daddy is.”

Cami raised her brows. “Nick is gone?”

Sara Beth sighed and shrugged.
“Seems to be. I know he can be a little irresponsible, but I just don’t know why he hasn’t even called. I’m scared that something happened or that he did something and he’s afraid to tell me.” She shrugged again. “Sometimes, he’s like a little bitty boy.”

Cami silently agreed. Nick Jessup was not the man she would have picked to be good husband and father material. But he seemed to adore Sara Beth and his new baby girl was the light of his life. “Where did he go?”

“He started working for some trucking outfit as a relief driver on long distance hauls. He seemed to like it okay and the money was good, but this time he left and I haven’t heard from him in almost two weeks.” Her mouth trembled as though she was stifling tears. She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “But, enough about my troubles.” She looked down at the baby in her arms and pulled back the receiving blanket. The infant was only wearing her diaper, as Reba had already weighed and measured her.

Cami listened to the infant’s chest and bowel sounds and felt around on her stomach. “Have you tried calling him?”

Sara Beth burst into tears. “Yes, but it goes straight to message. I don’t know if he’s laying up in bed with some woman somewhere, or dead under the truck. If he’s okay, I’m going to be so mad at him…but I keep thinking, what if he’s not?”

Cami found herself patting Sara Beth’s shoulder and wondering herself where the errant husband might be. “Maybe Breck can help. He knows Nick and he might be able to straighten him out.”

Sara Beth raised a tear-stained face. “Do you think he would?”

“I’m sure he would,” Cami said, hoping Breck would follow through. “You and the
Cami Lynn are staying out at your place all alone?”

Sara Beth nodded, tightening her mouth into a straight line.

At the end of the examination, Sara Beth gathered the baby and left, casting back a last haunted expression at Cami.

Reba stared after her, shaking her head. “That Nick Jessup is a complete jerk. He never deserved such a sweet girl as Sara Beth, but there's no accounting for taste.”

“I’m a little worried about her staying all alone so far from town.”

“Maybe there’s someone she can stay with?” Reba suggested. “Maybe someone from church might take her in.”

“Maybe…” Cami said thoughtfully.

~*~

When Jenna stepped out of the bathroom, fully clothed, E.J. was not in evidence. She gazed around the large room, filled with top of the line furnishings.
Must have hired one of those fancy decorators, like in the magazines. At least he isn’t lying in bed, looking all hunky with his manhood on display…and that knowing grin.
She stifled a shudder.

Stepp
ing into the hallway, she caught a whiff of bacon. Her stomach did a slow growl and she followed the scent downstairs. She walked through several large echoey rooms with high ceilings and the decorator’s touch, finally locating the kitchen. To her surprise, E.J. was pouring orange juice into two glasses.

“Hey!” he said when he caught sight of her. “I figured you might be hungry after last night.”
Another knowing grin. “I mean, you really tore me up, honey.” He shook his head.

Jenna swallowed hard, reaching for the glass he offered. The orange juice tasted like it had been squeezed fresh, tantalizing the taste buds on her thick tongue. “Thanks.”

“Sit down and I’ll fix your eggs to order. How do you like them?” He picked up a spatula and gazed at her expectantly. “Scrambled? Over easy?”

“You can cook?” she mumbled.

“I’ll let you decide that,” he said.

“Over easy.” She slid onto a stool and leaned against the cool granite counter top, polished and shining. She watched him put a pat of butter into the skillet and break two eggs into it.
Damn! And he looks so good doing it.

He took another glance at her and slid a bottle of a popular over-the-cou
nter pain reliever towards her.

She grabbed it with slightly shaky hands and poured three tablets into her palm, washing them down with the juice. She pushed the bottle back toward him. “Did you take some?” she asked.

“Didn’t need it,” he said. “We jackasses can hold our liquor.”

She howled in disgust. “Give it a rest. You’ve made your point.”

He chuckled and turned her eggs over with a deft flip of his wrist.

“Where’s my truck?” she asked.

“Honey, you were in no condition to drive, so we left it in front of the Eagle’s Hall. I’ll take you to town to pick it up a little later.” He set the plate of food in front of her. “I thought we could just hang out here for a while and get to know each other a little better. I mean, after last night, I think we should.”

She stabbed a forkful of eggs and shoved it into her mouth.
Delicious. Damn!
She wondered what she had done to him last night. He must have liked it, because now he was cooking for her and acting all boyfriend-like.
What did I do?

She cleared her throat. “About last night…”

He grinned. “Don’t worry, Jenna. I don’t kiss and tell.”

She gasped, feeling a jab of conscience.
Whatever did I do?

“And, I will always treasure the way you screamed, “Ride me, cowboy,” when you…Well, you know.” He turned to put the skillet in the sink and then brought his plate to the counter, sliding onto the stool beside her. “Jenna, I’m so glad you were able to put away your initial reservations about me and give in to your passions.” He
leaned over to nuzzle her neck.

She paused with the fork halfway to her mouth. His lips against her skin caused a swirling sensation in her lower gut that had nothing to
do with the food on her plate.

“Eat up, honey. After last night
, you need your strength.” He dug into his eggs like a starving hound after a bone.

She ate in silence, reasoning that the food was delicious and as long as she was chewing, she didn’t have to talk.

E.J. prattled on, telling her about his plans for the day. “We could take a ride over to the ridge while it’s still cool. Later on, it might be too warm for you…but, I forgot that you’re used to this heat.” He leaned close and lowered his voice. “Not like us dandified city boys, huh?” Then he had the nerve to laugh.

She stared at her plate and poked the eggs again. The bacon was the mesquite smoked thick slab kind she loved. She picked up a slice with her fingers and munched it with relish. Why was this pretty boy staring at her? Hadn’t h
e ever seen a woman eat before?

“So, how about it, Jenna?
Want to saddle up and ride out to the ridge?”

“I want to go to my truck and get on home.”

He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a hug. “Aw, you’re no fun.”

“I—um…I’m not feeling at my best right now.” She drew a deep breath. “I don’t usually drink like I did last night.”

He gave her a look of incredulity. “No-o-o. I would never have guessed. You were really knocking ‘em back last night.”

She
shuddered, loathe to think about her behavior the previous evening. “Was I loud?”

“Oh, yeah.”
A wide grin spread across his face. “Oh, you mean at the Eagle’s Hall? I thought you meant when we…”

“No! Never mind. I don’t want to know.” If she had made a spectacle of herself in front of the local inhabitants, she was sure she would hear about it. And she was sure that when she went to church tomorrow morning everyone would stare at her like the total harlot she was.

I slept with E.J. Kincaid. I had sex with him. I had wild, drunken, completely abandoned sex with this man and now he seems to think we’re in a relationship, or something
.

“Jenna, honey, if you’re feeling bad, I can take you to see the doc.
She has office hours on Saturday morning.”

“No, I’m fine.” She drew in a deep breath and expelled it. “If you want to go for a ride, I think that woul
d be…nice.” She forced a smile.

“Really?
Great, I’ll go saddle up the horses.” He appeared to be delighted as he swiveled around on the stool. He planted a kiss on her cheek and strode out the door.

She felt a sense of loss when she found herself alone in the large
, gleaming kitchen. Why would she feel so isolated just because E.J. Kincaid left her alone in his fancy place?

He returned a short time later and by then Jenna had finished her excellent breakfast and was rinsing her plate. “Thanks for making my breakfast, E.J. I didn’t know I was hungry until I smelled the bacon.” She flashed a smile of genuine appreciation.

He looked pleased. “It’s the least I could do.” He chortled again. “I mean, after I got you drunk and let you have your way with me.”

Another stab of guilt shot through her
mid-section. She wished she could remember what happened the previous evening, but then again, maybe she should be glad she couldn’t.

“I think a little fresh air might do me some good.”

He looked surprised. “Great! Let me check something. I’ll be right back.” He turned and left by the rear door.

~*~

CHAPTER FOUR

E.J. expelled a deep breath. That was the last thing he had expected. He
’d anticipated temper tantrums and more snarky verbal put-downs. He never thought Jenna would do an about face and turn sweet and pretty this morning. Now, he was feeling bad about his ruse.
Damn!
You never can tell with women.

He went to the stables and saddled his own horse for Jenna and his father’s favorite mount, Stryker, for himself. He led the horses back to the house and on the way, tried to figure out how he was going to make things right with Jenna.

He couldn’t let her continue to think they had been intimate. But, he was intrigued by this change in her. Was this the way she interacted with people she liked? With people who weren’t jackasses?

Maybe he would wait a while longer to enlighten her. Maybe he would get to know the soft side of Jenna Lewis...the only woman he had been attracted to in this god-forsaken place other than the lovely Cami Carmichael…Ryan.

He looped the reins to a post and re-entered the house. She smiled and something in his chest broke loose. A little squeezing sensation he hadn’t expected. “Ready?” At her nod, he removed his leather jacket and held it open for her. “Slip this on. It’s a little cool out there.”

She hesitated and then stuck he
r arms in the proffered jacket.

He snugged it around her and she shivered. He pulled her back against his chest and held her for a moment, savoring the experience of holding a beautiful woman in his arms. “Jenna, there’s something I need to tell you…”

She turned in his arms, gazing up with large, green eyes. “No, please don’t. Whatever I did, I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you last night and I’m sorry I’ve been sniping at you…I’m just…” She stopped speaking and a tear glistened at the corner of her eye.

He kissed her. Held her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly. Kissed her and wanted to kiss her again. Her arms came around him and he realized how long it had been since he had enjoyed the embrace of a woman. She must have been enjoying it too, because she leaned against him and buried her face against his chest. Now was not the time to confess his practical joke. Not if he wanted to enjoy a few more kisses with the lovely Jenna.

“Shall we take that ride now?” he asked and she nodded, her hair making a scrunching sound against his shirt. He gestured to the door and grabbed an old jacket of his dad’s on the way out. He started to help her up onto the horse, but she grabbed the reins and saddle horn and stepped into the stirrup without assistance. She hoisted herself up and turned to give him a grin. Something about that grin made the squeezing sensation in his chest increase.

They rode out toward the ridge, which was really just a gentle rise in this flat land, but it overlooked a deep ravine with cross sections of colorful earth strata. Something beautiful that had taken centuries to push and pull into the exact creation it pres
ented for their pleasure today.

Jenna's hair was loose and the fresh air seemed to restore her color. There were wild flowers and they sighted a coyote and several jackrabbits on their ride. When they drew up at the edge of the gorge, she was smiling and her eyes were bright. “Beautiful!” she exclaimed. “I always love this view.”

“You’ve been here before?” he asked.