Eve finished up with the Martinezes’ sick pig by prescribing a course of antibiotics and hopped back in her truck to head back to Stone Ridge. She glanced at her phone and smiled at Jackson’s text. Dinner and a beer sounded good. But any time she spent with Jackson was a good time. She was so deeply in love with him it had become hard to leave for work in the mornings.
Their routine happened to be the best part of her day. They’d wake up before dawn most mornings, have coffee, and then head out for a ride. And Jackson seemed so content now, so calm. Maybe he finally understood where he belonged.
Eve pulled in near the clinic to check in with Annabeth before she headed home and found it already locked. Unusual, because Annabeth always waited for Eve to check in before closing up shop. She caught sight of Jackson’s truck, a sharp pull of joy flooded through her, and she turned to cross the street to the Shady Grind. He’d be there, having a cold beer after a hard day, and catching up with Priscilla.
Eve smiled curiously when she noticed all the action centered around the Shady Grind and followed several patrons inside. She didn’t have to be curious for long. Winona and Jackson were in the very back, each sitting on a stool, giving their audience of mostly men a private concert.
Eve spied Annabeth and walked up to her. “Hey. What am I missing? A special performance?”
Annabeth scowled. “She’s gone totally soft on me. The song she played was about wanting a second chance with the one that got away.”
“Interesting.”
“Oh, crap,” Annabeth said and slid Eve a pitying look. “Sorry, Eve. I think she’s in love with him.”
“That doesn’t bother me. He doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Are you sure?” Annabeth pressed.
The photo of Winona and Jackson in the tabloid flashed through her memory like a slap. But the old sense of utter loss and desperation that had gripped Eve and threatened to pull her down was gone. That was her past. She now had a future because she’d fought off the darkness like a lioness. Driven out of the Piggly Wiggly parking lot where she’d never be back again. She’d clawed her way to the surface, and she wasn’t ever drowning again.
She’d once been a victim, but she refused to be one again.
Eve caught Jackson’s gaze and they exchanged a knowing smile. “Yes, I’m sure.”
Once Winona finished singing, the crowd began to slowly disperse. Some ambled over to the bar and still others to the pool table in the back. Winona sat talking to her mostly male fans, smiling, holding on to Jackson’s old guitar, flirting with the men surrounding her. One of the Henderson brothers. Wade, which would kill poor Daisy if she saw. Even Beau seemed to be hanging on her every word. She would have her pick of them were she to go looking for a donor.
Jackson slid Eve his easy smile, dimples flashing, and he joined her in two long strides. Hand on the nape of her neck, he plastered her against him and planted a kiss on her lips right in front of Annabeth.
“Hey,” he said when she came up for air.
Eve regained her footing and breath, cleared her throat and turned to Annabeth. “Jackson, this is Annabeth Dantzer, my partner.”
“I guess it’s about time we meet.” Jackson smiled, and let go of Eve long enough to shake Annabeth’s hand.
“Yes, it is,” Annabeth said, and seemed to size him up. “You sounded good up there.”
“Yeah? Thanks.” Jackson tugged Eve closer.
“Well, have fun, you two. Don’t worry, I locked up. Guess I’ll see ya tomorrow, Eve.” With a wave, Annabeth was gone.
“See ya.” She turned to Jackson. “Do you want to have a beer?”
“Nah, already had one. But let’s eat. I already ordered our food.” He led them to a couple of stools empty at the end of the bar.
Priscilla brought their food out minutes later. “Two Shady Burgers and fries. Enjoy, you two.”
The burger was greasy, with a fresh-baked bun and Shady’s special secret sauce. The fries were warm and crunchy like she liked them. Eve took a bite and sighed in pleasure.
“Is Winona serious about stayin’? When she came to see me at the clinic the other day, she said she was thinkin’ about it.”
“I’m guessing she sees how many men are available to her, so yeah, if she really wants a baby…”
“I think she’s going to find her donor.” Eve threw a look in the direction of Winona, sitting at a table with no less than four men. “She should have no trouble.”
They finished their burgers in silent companionship until they were interrupted by Riggs Henderson, the oldest Henderson brother, whom Jackson hadn’t had a chance to visit with since he’d returned.
“You must be busy,” said Riggs, a cattle rancher and former lawyer who ran Henderson Grange. “Haven’t seen hide nor hair of ya lately.”
“Yup,” Jackson said, shaking Riggs’s hand and throwing a sly look at Eve. “Busy.”
“Boy, that’s the kind of busy I’d like to be,” Riggs said with an equally lazy smile.
Riggs was one of the most eligible bachelors in Stone Ridge and a real catch. Unfortunately, a widower for years, he mostly kept to himself. They chatted for a few more minutes and then Riggs excused himself to join his brothers for a beer.
“Poor sucker,” Jackson said, watching him go. “Any place else and you’d have to peel the women off him. Baby, thanks for sticking with me.”
“Aw.” She patted his cheek and kissed him square on the lips, eliciting a dimpled smile. “You are so welcome.”
Jackson pulled out his wallet from his back pocket, paid at the bar, then tugged Eve off the stool. “C’mere.”
“Where are we goin’?”
He pulled her out the door, and down the steps to the alley between the Shady Grind and the General Store. “There’s somethin’ I have to see.”
He pinned her to the side of the building, holding her arms tightly to her side.
“What is it you want to see?” she said.
His callused hands slid down her bare arms and came to rest on her waist and then…lower.
“Everything.” A single dimple flashed, and she might have climaxed. “If that’s okay with you.”
“I think you know that you have an all-access pass.”