Thankful for Love (11 page)

“I can only take so much of the city. I admire you for sticking it out for all those years. I can't make it through much more than a weekend.” He sat back in his chair and began to play with the spoon he'd taken away from her. “Can you get the degree you want from Blue Mountain?”

“Maybe. I'm working with them to see what we can do with the credits I have, the classes they teach, and their transfer program. We'll see.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“You already have. You gave me a full-time job. It's not only the best job I've ever had, but because of you, I didn't have to give up my apartment and move back into my mother's home.”

“Sounds like you do more for your family than you do for yourself.”

“I wouldn't say that. I have friends. I go to school. All I ever wanted to do was teach, and I'm getting there. Slowly, more slowly than anyone on record, I imagine, but I'm getting there.”

“What'll you do when you get your teaching certificate?”

“Teach on the rez. American Indians have the lowest high school graduation rates of any group in the country. I want to work to change that.”

“If you need more time off for classes so you can get there faster, we can work out a better schedule.”

“That's generous of you, but you already do more than I could hope for.”

Finally, dessert arrived and she could concentrate on eating chocolate and not on the concern she saw in his eyes as she talked about her family. She didn't need to feel any closer to or warmer about the man sitting across from her, the man who was growing more attractive by the minute and not because she'd had a glass of wine.

• • •

Jack couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed a meal as much as he was enjoying this one. Hell, he couldn't remember the last time he'd done something social with anyone other than his kids or his siblings. Somehow this evening, it didn't seem to matter that he was older than she was, that he was her employer. She was a beautiful woman and he was a man, and they were enjoying each other's company and a good dinner. He wanted it to go on forever. Although he thought it might be a good idea if he let her lead the conversation for a while instead of quizzing her like he'd been doing.

He couldn't get his wish that the evening not end. Eventually, the check arrived, and they had to leave. They both worked the next day. But he was determined to make sure they didn't part without making plans for seeing each other again outside her job. He decided to ask her when they said good night.

It didn't quite work out the way he'd planned.

When they got to her apartment building, she unhooked her seatbelt and started to open the door. “Thank you so much for a lovely dinner.”

“I should be thanking you. If you hadn't agreed to dinner with me, I would have been all alone, missing my boys.”

“It does seem weird in the house without them, doesn't it?”

“You miss them, too?”

“Of course I do. They're amazing kids. You've done a great job raising them.”

“And you're doing a great job with them.”

“On that note of mutual admiration, I better go upstairs.” She got the car door opened before he could stop her.

“Wait. Let me walk you upstairs.”

“I'm fine, Jack. I do this every day.”

“Maybe you do. But I'm still walking you to the door. Between your asshole neighbor and no security on the front door, I'm not leaving you until I know you're safe.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, I give up. You can walk up the steps with me.”

When they got to her front door, she unlocked it and put out her hand to him, making it clear she had a handshake in mind and started, he assumed, to say good night again. He had other ideas. Taking her proffered hand, he clasped it to his chest. With the backs of the curled fingers of his free hand he touched her cheek. “I don't think I've ever met anyone who is as strong and levelheaded as you are. I admire you for your persistence in going to school and what you're doing for your family.”

“I'm flattered by your compliment, especially since it comes from the man rumor says is the most responsible person for three counties.” He was sure she was trying to lighten what had become an atmosphere heavy with the chemistry between the two of them.

“The rumor came from ...?”

“Your aunt, of course.”

“Ah, I should have guessed.” He ran his thumb over her lower lip and took a step closer to her, still holding her hand.

• • •

He was going to kiss her. She was absolutely sure he was going to kiss her. She'd spent the whole ride home from the restaurant wondering if he would try. And how she would react. Now she knew. He was going to try, and she was going to let him.

With one hand, she could feel his heartbeat, how it had kicked up a notch when he touched her face, pounded even harder when he rubbed her mouth. Her heartbeat wasn't far behind.

When he moved closer to her, she swore she could feel waves of heat shimmering between them, warming her body, melting her insides. It didn't matter anymore whether this was a good idea or not. It was going to happen. She wanted it to happen.

He released her hand and took her face in both of his hands. His dark brown eyes were pools of desire, drawing her in. Without thinking, she moved closer to him, so their bodies were only inches apart.

“Jack ...” she began, sure she moaned his name rather than spoke it.

However it came out, it seemed to break the spell between them. He dropped his hands and took a step back. “I ... I guess I better go. We both have to work in the morning.”

“Right. Work.” She took a breath to settle her nerves. “Thanks again. It was lovely.”

He smiled, that huge grin she loved, and was gone.

She closed the door and stood motionless for a few seconds. What had happened? He'd been about to kiss her; she was sure. But he didn't. Why? Was it the whole employer/employee thing? Was he still worried about her age? Had she had too much garlic with her dinner?

She'd probably never know.

After his hasty exit from the kiss at her front door, Jack sat in his truck wanting to pound his head on the steering wheel for being so lame. When the impulse passed, he started the engine but couldn't make himself drive off. He didn't want to go home. Not yet. Why had he screwed up his attempt to kiss her good night when it was obvious she was willing? What was he afraid of?

He turned the engine off, jumped out of his truck, and headed for the building. As he took the steps two at a time, he realized that if he were smart, he should probably haul ass back to his truck. But there was little evidence that anything related to what he was doing with this woman showed how smart he was.

After he knocked, the door opened wide enough for him to see she was surprised. “Jack? Did you forget something?” She looked back over her shoulder as if to see what he'd left behind.

“Yeah, I guess you can say I forgot something.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Can I come in?”

“Oh. Right. Sure.” She opened the door all the way to let him in.

“I didn't leave anything. That's not why I came back.” He took two steps toward her, got close enough to smell her spicy, vanilla scent, see her brown eyes widen, and hear the sharp intake of breath as she registered how near he'd come to her. “I'm here because there're a couple things I meant to do before I left.”

Before she could ask any more questions, he put his hands on her shoulders and drew her to him. “The first thing I meant to do was this.” He lowered his head and touched his mouth to hers. It took all the discipline he could muster to keep from crushing her against him and kissing her with everything he'd been trying to hide, to control, for the past months. He was sure his hands were shaking with the effort.

But he needed her to want the kiss as much as he did. He wanted to persuade her, not pounce on her. When she relaxed against him, he knew he'd done the right thing.

The soft, almost weightless kisses he trailed from her mouth to her jaw and down to the pulse in her throat, elicited a soft moan from her, and her arms went around his neck. Taking it as a sign she wanted the kiss, too, he returned to her mouth, nipped at her bottom lip, then, with the tip of his tongue, explored the seam of her lips.

She responded by opening to him, letting him deepen the kiss. His tongue explored her mouth, joined with her tongue in a slick, sliding, sensuous dance. She pressed herself against him; he couldn't hide the evidence of his arousal. Didn't want to hide it any longer. He wanted her to know exactly what she did to him.

For what seemed to be long minutes, they stood locked in an embrace while they learned the taste and texture of each other's mouth and while their bodies began to find the ways they fit together.

She broke from the kiss first. Although she kept her arms around his neck and her body pressed against his, she drew back far enough to take a deep breath.

He needed to have more contact with her so he touched his forehead to hers. “Should I apologize for that?”

She smiled. “Not unless you think you didn't do it right.”

“I'll let you decide if I did or didn't.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But keep in mind, I've been out of practice for a while. Although from the way it took me two tries to actually kiss you, you probably figured that out.”

“I find it hard to believe you're out of practice when you're so good at it.”

“I've wanted to kiss you for weeks. But I wasn't sure if I should. I mean, I don't want you to feel awkward about it.”

“Awkward isn't the word I'd use to describe how I feel right now.”

Since he could feel the hard tips of her breasts against his chest and the rest of her body continued to be pressed against his, he thought he might know how she felt. Still, he wanted to hear her say the words to let him know she liked it. “How do you feel?” he asked.

“Happy. I've wanted this for weeks, too.”

With every word she spoke, his anxiety faded even more.

“You said there were two things you forgot,” she continued. “After the first one, I'm curious about the second.”

“Right. The other thing. I was wondering if you're working Friday.”

“Oh. You want to know my work schedule.” She dropped her gaze to focus on his shirt buttons. A slight crease appeared between her eyebrows.

She was disappointed at what he'd said. Which made him unaccountably glad.

“Did you expect something else?”

“I wondered ... I thought ... never mind. It's not important.” She looked up and shrugged one shoulder, as if to be nonchalant. Her expression, which looked disappointed, belied the gesture.

He was tempted to keep her in suspense, rather enjoying having her off balance instead of feeling off balance himself. But it would be too cruel. “I thought, if you weren't busy, I could give you the tour of the ranch you got cheated out of when Daniel threw his hissy fit. Then maybe we could, I don't know, grab a bite to eat?”

Her smile returned like the sun after a summer thundershower. “Are you trying to fatten me up for some reason? All you seem to want to do is feed me.”

“That's not it. I don't know what you like to do, and since we both have to eat ...”

“You know I'm teasing you, don't you? And to answer your question, I'm working the breakfast and lunch shifts on Friday. I'm finished about three.”

“Why don't you come out to the ranch about five, then? We can ride for a couple hours and figure out dinner.”

“Don't you have to help harvest somewhere?”

“I should be finished by four, four-thirty. Then I'm free.” He ducked his head and lightly kissed her mouth. “So I'll see you at five on Friday.”

Before he could get to the door, she said, “You mean you'll see me tomorrow, don't you?”

“Tomorrow? Oh, right. Of course. I'll see you tomorrow.” He closed the door before she could react so he didn't have to see if she was laughing at him for not remembering she was working at the ranch the next day. Because he knew as well as she did, what had made him forgetful was their kiss.

He jumped into the cab of his truck but didn't start the engine right away. He hadn't been adept at asking Quanna out, but what did you expect from a man who had only asked one woman for a date since middle school? In the end, he had not only asked her out twice but he had even managed to kiss her. That, at least, he was confident he'd done right, assuming he was judging her reaction correctly.

He turned the key in the ignition, put the truck into gear, and headed for the road home. Both he and his truck were on a roll.

• • •

Not for the first time, Quanna was nervous driving to the Richardson Ranch. Before it had been about the impression she would make on a potential employer. Now it was about how it would go with Jack after the night before. It was obvious things had changed between them. The dinner date alone and how cute he'd been when he asked her out would have made that evident. But adding the kiss? Big-time change. The kiss was ... well, it was “too” everything. Too amazing. Too serious. Too much what she wanted. Too likely to make it difficult to be around him without wanting a repeat.

The question wasn't whether things had changed. It was how much they had changed and, more importantly, for how long and with what consequences. She had fought the attraction for weeks, sure she'd endanger the job that meant so much to her security if she acted. But when he'd kissed her, all thoughts of the job disappeared. She wanted this man in a way she'd never wanted any man before. And if his kiss and his reaction to her were any indication, he wanted her the same way.

He was an honorable man, an honest man, who had been as worried about what it could mean as she was. He'd never do anything to make her feel insecure. The fact he had been so open about what it might mean said volumes about who he was. She trusted him.