The morning passed quickly because Jennifer sought ways to keep busy and contribute. She needed distractions from last night and the mortification she’d felt at being turned down. Colton didn’t want to have sex with her because he was obviously still pining away for his ex. His loyalty was inspiring even if he’d appeared to be at least a little tempted. Or a lot. His body, let’s just say, had responded. But he definitely had a type and facts were, Jennifer couldn’t look any more different from Cherisse if she tried. Cherisse was the petal; Jennifer was the stem. But that was okay because Lord knew some men found her attractive. Including obsessive ones, apparently. Just her luck.
Trying to find things to do and ways to take her mind off Colton, she realized this place could use a deep cleaning. She went back to her roots. Her father, among other things, taught his children how to keep a clean house.
“Make that bed again. Tight corners. There’s no excuse for your barrac—your bedroom— to be in any kind of disarray.”
For him, disarray meant leaving a book on her bed that she was still reading. Said book belonged in the bookcase when not in her hands. Also, did she really need that many books? Not that her father was a fanatic about orderliness but um, hello, yes he was. And she and Joe were his very own platoon. Once a month, Jennifer and Joe took turns cleaning floors with a toothbrush. Old school. Every day she told herself it would be different were her mother still around. She’d remind her father the children and house were her command, as she had been fond of saying.
But the experience of living with her father served Jennifer well now, staying in the home of a former military man, and knowing just how they liked things. Clean and sparkly. Orderly.
She went through the kitchen first, cleaning floors till they shined, wiping down counters and scouring sinks and the stove range. At lunchtime, she ate the breakfast burrito Colton had so thoughtfully left for her. Another thing she would do while here is cook…something. Ironically, it was the one thing her father hadn’t insisted she learn to do. It was probably too feminine of a skill in his opinion. Besides, he knew how to cook three things: a grilled cheese sandwich, canned soup, and hot dogs. Not surprisingly those were the only things Jennifer could cook.
But now, thanks to Delores, she knew how to make a succulent pot roast. She thought about the cut of meat she’d need, then looked out the window to see cattle roaming in the distant fields. This made her sad and guilty, so she ate her third piece of chocolate cake.
She showered after cleaning, dressed, and took her camera outside to wander the fields and take photos. Maybe she’d come across this river Colton said was good for swimming. Outside the day was clear and beautiful with only a scattering of white cotton-candy clouds dotting the heavens. Green pastures surrounded her as far as the eye could see. Cattle bayed in the distance and birds chirped.
She viewed everything better behind the lens, so she zoomed in on blue and yellow wildflowers, a black bird perched on the corral, the beautiful classic red barn. Walking farther past the cottage and Sean and Bonnie’s house, she noticed a sprawling ranch-style home in the distance and realized at once that this was the main house. The house where Colton had grown up with his brothers.
The metal clang of a fence startled her, and she turned to see Colton and Riggs behind her. Without realizing it, she’d walked so far that their cabin was like a dot in the distance. She’d wound up at the cattle operations. Colton and Riggs were talking, side by side, their backs to her, and they made a nice picture through her lens. There were several cows who were separated from the rest in a steel-looking contraption.
Riggs pointed in one direction and made motions with his arm. He then stuck one boot in the gated fenced rail while Colton, astride a horse, continued to separate cattle by herding down one enclosed aisle into another while Jennifer snapped away. The feeling of anonymity returned to her again, the pleasant rush of privacy with freedom to create.
Way before she’d been concerned with paying her bills and having a career to support herself, she’d wanted to document a life in pictures. It hadn’t worked out that way, but photography could still be a hobby. True, she didn’t make time for hobbies anymore since the podcast had become her everything. Social media and her phone had been her constant companions, and she would have thought she’d miss them more.
But the relaxation and complete detachment she felt at being allowed to let all of it go, of in fact being ordered to let it go, was freeing. In the past, she would have taken these photos and immediately posted them because why make the effort in the first place if it couldn’t be used for content. If you take a photo and don’t post it online, does it even exist?
Now, she made the effort for herself. For beauty.
These photos belonged to her and her alone, not for public consumption. For her eyes only as she watched the brothers work together, the definition of cowboys. Hardworking, rugged, and loyal to each other and the land. Great, she sounded like a commercial for a pickup truck. But hey, this was Americana at its finest and she snapped away.
Then, through her lens, she noted Colton turn in her direction. His hat partially shaded his face, and he still wore those aviator shades. But damn if she didn’t catch an eyebrow quirk through the zoom lens. Him and those eyebrows. She lowered the camera, then caught him tipping his hat to her. Like an invitation. She could already almost read cowboy code. The tip of a cowboy hat meant “hello” and also “please come here.” Unless she was reading into things. At first, she thought maybe she’d better let the men have their brotherly time but when Riggs also turned in her direction and gave a slight wave, she walked toward them.
She carried her camera in front of her like a shield. This whole country-vibe thing was cool, but she was so out of her element here. The smells were, well, not ideal and the closer she got the worse they became. She fought the desire to fan her hand in front of her face like she did when a friend’s dog farted. God, this was so much worse. It was like a thousand dogs had passed wind all at once.
“Hi,” she said to Riggs.
He gave her a smile that showed her in one split second exactly how he’d managed to woo a Nashville celebrity to give up everything and come live with him in the country. The man was devastatingly handsome.
“Hey, there. We’re separating cattle.”
By the looks of it, Colton was doing the work and Riggs was supervising. “How do you separate them? By color? Size? Sex?”
Riggs gave her a look. “These calves are being separated from their mothers for vaccination.”
“Oh, yeah. That makes way more sense.” After all, she watched Yellowstone, too.
Wonder if they also had a “train station” around here for the bad men.
“Sean was a bit behind on these so Colton is finishing up. I would help but he insisted he wanted to handle this. My wife and I had a rough night with sick kids.” He turned back to the gate, spreading his arms out. “How are you settling in? I hope you’re comfortable.”
“Absolutely. It’s wonderful. Except, well, the smell if I’m being honest.”
He chuckled. “Honesty is the best policy. Listen, if Winona could adjust to this lifestyle, I have no doubt you will, too. Even if you are from Los Angeles.”
He made this sound like, “Even if you are from Mars, you will grow accustomed to our ways.”
“Mm-hmm,” Jennifer said, holding up her camera to take a shot of Colton and his horse leading a calf. “You know, Los Angeles is still part of the United States.”
“So I’ve heard.” Riggs snorted.
The sound of a truck coming up the dirt road made them both turn in that direction. “There’s Eve now. She’s our veterinarian, just off maternity leave.”
It was the same brunette she’d seen with Jackson Carver at the wedding reception.
“Isn’t she the one married to Jackson Carver?”
“Yep, the one and the same.”
“Weren’t he and your wife married at one time?”
“In what had to be one of the shortest marriages in history. But I’m lucky because if she hadn’t come to Stone Ridge to visit Jackson, I may never have met the love of my life.”
That was sweet and certainly not what Jennifer expected to hear from a rugged cowboy. Refreshing. Riggs led them to the area where Eve would be vaccinating. He introduced Jennifer as Colton’s fiancée.
“Hi, there!” Eve said with a wave. “Y’all are my first visit since my long break.”
“How did Annabeth do without you all these weeks? She had to come out here for a colicky horse last month and looked pretty fed up,” Riggs said.
“She’s fine, but in answer to your question, she was a bit overwhelmed. She’s gone to Austin for a couple of weeks. Anything that happens, I’m your person, day, or night.”
“We’ll try not to bother you much what with a newborn,” Riggs said. “I know what that’s like.”
“It’s fine. Jackson is great, really stepping up to take care of our baby girl.”
“Oh, you have a daughter,” Jennifer said.
Eve smiled as she set up her station, pulling out vials, syringes, and plastic gloves. “Lillian Pearl after Jackson’s grandmother. We call her Lily.”
“Do you mind if I take some photos as you work?” Jennifer tapped her camera. “I’m just trying to keep busy.”
“Jennifer is from Los Angeles,” Riggs said, as though he still hadn’t quite forgiven her for that faux pau.
“Sorry,” Jennifer said under her breath.
Eve answered, holding up a syringe. “Flash away.”
Jennifer snapped photo after photo for the next hour as Eve, Colton and Riggs worked with her to get the calves all vaccinated and then led to another area. It was an impressive operation from the perspective of someone who’d never seen this before. Eve was a true professional, great with the animals, at ease with what she did.
As she was wrapping up, Eve asked to see some of the photos and Jennifer showed her the shots she’d taken through her digital camera window.
“These are great,” Eve said. “You’re really good.”
“Oh, I’m just an amateur.” Jennifer shrugged. “But it’s fun.”
“No, you captured the angles and lighting so perfectly. We actually need some updated photos for our website. Annabeth was complaining about that a few days ago. I’m going to make an executive decision. Would you come down to the clinic and maybe take a few more of our office so we can put them on the website? I’ll pay you.”
When Jennifer stared blankly, Eve said, “Oh, we have Wi-Fi at the office. It’s downtown.”
Jennifer suspected Eve was just trying to be nice. And Colton might not be okay with this because he’d want to come with her. With Sean gone, he’d be busy every day.
“Well…I’ll have to ask Colton. He’s going to be so busy I doubt he can take me for a while. Maybe when Sean comes back.”
“I can take you,” Riggs said. “Or you can take one of our trucks.”
Great. Should she pretend she couldn’t drive one of those “big, manly trucks”? Nope, Jennifer couldn’t bring herself to give him one more lie.
“No rush,” Eve said. “We probably don’t get much business from the website, mostly from word of mouth. But I’ve been told to keep up appearances. We want to join the new millennium.”
“Yes, that’s smart.”
Jennifer wished she could rush downtown with Eve right now and do a special podcast for their clinic. In case people were still listening to her or waiting for her return. But no, that part of her life might be over. Forever. The emptiness that realization had conjured up a month ago, the utter sense of hopelessness and loss, didn’t seem as wide and deep anymore.
Colton hadn’t planned for the chores to take him this long, but once he knocked off around five o’clock, he headed to the cottage sweaty and filthy. He should probably take a shower even before he took Jennifer to the river’s creek to swim.
He found her sitting at the table with her camera and laptop opened.
“Hey, sorry it took me so long.”
“Not at all, you have a job to do. And you do it well.” She pressed something on her keyboard. “I also used to have a job and I was pretty good at it, too.”
“I have no doubt.”
“Eve liked my photos. She wants me to take some more photos of her clinic for their website.”
“Great idea.”
“I’ll have to go downtown and I’m going to assume I can’t go without you.” She seemed a bit disgusted by this fact, shaking her head.
“You’re assuming correctly.”
“We can wait until Sean comes back from his honeymoon.”
“Not necessary. I’ll find the time.”
“Really?” Her eyes lit up, a swift softness and warmth filling them.
She was truly beautiful, and he’d known that from the moment he first laid eyes on her. But now he also understood that she was fierce, funny, strong, and loyal. And for purely personal reasons he didn’t want to believe she was this unhappy hanging out on the ranch. Sure, it wasn’t his job to entertain her or help her feel good about herself. Only to keep her safe. But still.
He sat beside her. “You’re bored.”
“Well, even when I couldn’t work or leave my house, I had Netflix and Wi-Fi and I could sit in my condo and randomly watch videos of people falling down. Or dogs trying to talk to their owners. Those were my favorites.” She sighed.
He chuckled because those were his favorites, too. “Look, I promised to take you swimming. So, let’s go before dinner.”
“And I brought a swimsuit!”
No questions or hesitation. She was up and changing faster than he’d thought possible.
Within a few minutes he was leading her down to the riverbed hoping this, too, hadn’t changed while he was gone. The number of changes were unnerving, and he clung to those landmarks and people he recognized to still be the same. The familiar and comforting. So far, it mostly seemed to be the land. Because even the home he’d grown up in had changed, if for the better, and looked barely recognizable.
Thankfully, a river tributary didn’t suddenly decide to pick up stakes and move. But Texas had gone through periods of drought and the part of the river that ended and streamed through their property had been unbearably low in the past. He’d been out here once with Sean and Bonnie, years ago, and turned back when there wasn’t enough water for them to reasonably swim.
Gratefully, he heard the trickling sounds of the water as they neared on foot. He’d made Jennifer wear a pair of his old boots, warning her of snakes, scorpions and fire ants until she nearly changed her mind about coming with him. He grabbed her hand now, tugging her along. A sense of gratification pulsed through him upon hearing her swift intake of breath. The river that he’d always considered his own slice of heaven was still shaded by a leafy black willow tree, some of its green and lush branches nearly hitting the water.
“Oh, this is beautiful,” Jennifer said and let go of his hand, walking forward. “I bet you spent a lot of time here as a kid.”
“Fair amount. You can’t dive here, it might be too shallow.”
She was already moving toward the rushing bank of cool clear water, throwing off the boots, and slipping off her jeans.
And holy God, here came the longing and desire again, bursting out of him like an unspooled coil. He had to get a handle on this. Push these feelings underneath and keep them down.
She wore a red bikini that wiped out several hundred brain cells in one fell swoop. Then she whipped her shirt off and he lost the rest of them.
Brainless, he followed her, watching as she plunged into the water without a second thought. She swam several feet down and back again, her strokes sure and practiced. Clearly, she loved the water. It was a damn shame some idiot had frightened her enough to keep her restricted indoors, the only place she felt safe.
But I’m doing the same thing.
Trapping her here on the ranch.
Even if for her safety it was unfair that she should have to be the one punished. She wasn’t in Los Angeles anymore, was it necessary to keep her in hiding? He determined at that moment he’d let her see more of Stone Ridge in whatever time they had left here together. He’d show her more of downtown besides the veterinary clinic, even if there wasn’t much to see.
The Shady Grind was always a good place to get a burger and Jackson performed from time to time, according to Eve. She’d called it a great place for “date night” in case he was looking for a nice place to take his “fiancée.”
Earlier today, after Riggs had settled up with Eve, he’d met Colton in the tack room.
“Is Eve the new veterinarian? I remember her back from where she ran out on Jackson on their wedding day. All seems to be forgiven.”
“Yep, though I’m sure it wasn’t easy. Those two have been through a lot. I guess I can say it now, because pretty much everyone in town knows, and Eve is no longer hiding it. In fact, last I heard she’s done a few talks to local domestic violence groups. Felt it was the least she could do after what she’d survived.”
Worry pressed down on Colton, hard and tight. “What the hell happened to her?”
“While she was away at college, she was attacked. Her roommate interrupted or she might have lost more than her hearing in one ear.”
“What the…I…I had no idea.”
“She wears a hearing aid in that ear but it’s not always noticeable. Still the best vet in the area.”
“Damn. Some random attack?”
“Not exactly. The guy was obsessed with her.”
Colton felt himself go stock still. He thought he heard the sound of blood rushing through his veins. For certain, he heard the thud of his own heartbeat. In his ears. His throat was suddenly dry and parched.
“How did this happen?”
“I don’t know all the details, but she dated the guy once or twice, I guess, and didn’t want any more to do with him. But he wouldn’t take no for an answer. After the attack, coming home was exactly what she needed. We all looked out for her. And she’s been safe here, even before Jackson came home. It took some work to get past the trauma but she’s well on the other side of it now.”
“And…the guy?”
“Prison, where he belongs.”
Which was exactly where Dan would wind up if he ever hurt Jennifer. Colton would make sure of it.
Maybe Jennifer could talk with Eve about her experience. Only another woman would truly understand. Or maybe it would be too frightening to hear how badly it could have ended for her if her father hadn’t pulled her out of the situation. He didn’t know.
“Colton.” Jennifer’s voice snapped him back to the moment. “Aren’t you coming in?”
Her dark hair was wet and gleaming, her skin soft and pink in the glow of the sunshine.
It would take a tank and a few good men to keep him away from her.
“Try and stop me.”