Rand ran a hand over Jake’s forehead on Sunday morning and was relieved to see he finally had a bit of color back in his cheeks. He hadn’t mentioned hearing what she’d said to him the night before, and she’d just assumed he must have already fallen asleep.
Or he didn’t want to embarrass you.
She hadn’t meant to tell him she loved him. It had just slipped out. She’d tried to tell herself it was a fluke brought on by heightened emotions and hormones. It was like how she felt when she had to care for a motherless calf. They needed her, and she grew attached. Jake was her best friend, and he’d needed her. Of course she loved him.
But not like she wanted to give her heart and soul to him. He would never hurt her; she knew that, at least not on purpose.
But it didn’t mean he’d stick around once his obligation was met.
And once he was gone, she would have to learn to live without him. It would be hard enough without bringing love into the mix.
No, she couldn’t afford to fall in love with him. She went out to feed and cleaned up the house while he slept, before she made some chicken noodle soup for his breakfast. She snuck back in to peek at him, and he was still snoozing. He looked so peaceful, she hated to wake him, but she wanted to make sure he ate something before she left for Earl’s. She had skipped church this morning because she hadn’t wanted to be away from him all day, but a couple of hours wouldn’t be a problem. At least she hoped not.
When Red came by to find out why they’d missed church, she told him Jake was sick, and Red went back to visit for a bit. After a few minutes, she walked down the hallway and stood in the doorway, listening as Red teased Jake.
“So, Rand’s trying to get rid of you already, huh? What kind of poison do you think she used?”
Jake gave a little laugh and grimaced. “Actually, it was the waitress that kept flirting with her. Guess she figured with me out of the way, Rand would be hers.”
Red laughed, and Rand blushed. When she caught Jake’s eye, he said, “Rand’s been taking really good care of me. I couldn’t ask for a better woman.”
She murmured an excuse and left the house to check on the horses. She needed some time to think about what she was doing with him. Maybe she should tell him no, they couldn’t get married. Give him any kind of excuse she could think of, that she’d found someone else to take the bullet.
But when she tried to picture herself letting him go, a lump rose up in her throat, making it hard to breathe.
She made her way back to the house and saw that Red’s truck was still there. Climbing the steps to the porch, she went inside and found them in the same position, although Jake’s eyes were barely open.
“I just wanted to tell you I’m going to go visit Earl for a few hours and that I left some soup in the microwave for you.” Both pairs of male eyes stared at her, and she shifted her feet.
His lips tilted up into a little smile. “Thanks, honey. Isn’t she sweet?”
Flutters of happiness spread from her chest out. No one called her sweet, least of all Jake.
Red raised his eyebrows and gave her a thoughtful look. “Not usually.”
Tossing him a glare, she was secretly glad Red wasn’t holding any hard feelings. Focusing on Jake’s pale face, she said, “Call me if you need me, okay?”
He nodded, and, with a good-bye to Red, she backed quietly from the room before she did something stupid like stay. He was a grown man who had been living on his own for years. He could take care of himself.
* * *
“So Jake offered to marry me. Just so I can keep the ranch, of course.” She said the last quickly, not wanting Earl to get the wrong impression.
Rand sat at Earl’s dining room table, eyeballing her old friend and waiting for him to say something. He was surprisingly quiet, which was never a good sign for him.
“Did he now? And what did you say?” He took a bite of his pie and chewed slowly.
She cleared her throat. “I said yes. Coming down to the wire and don’t really have a lot of options left.”
“No, I don’t suppose you do.” He still seemed more interested in his pie than her news, and it started to rankle her.
“I was hoping you’d come and walk me down the aisle. You know, when we set a date or whatever. I just…I don’t have anyone, and you’ve always been like a father to me… Forget it, it’s stupid, unless…you want to, I mean…” She shut her mouth to stop the incessant nervous babbling.
Her request had stopped the pie shoveling for a half a second, and he set his fork down with a nod. “Be happy to walk you down the aisle.”
Rand, in a moment of insanity, stood up and threw her arms around Earl with a happy cry. She had no idea who was more surprised, Earl or her.
Quickly, she released him, embarrassed by her exuberance. Thankfully, he just cleared his throat and grumbled, “No need to make a big deal out of it. Been looking for an excuse to pull out my dress blues.”
Rand sat down and took a bite of her pie, hiding her smile. “Well, thank you, just the same.”
“So, is this purely a business arrangement or is there something going on with you two?” Earl’s bushy brows were raised expectantly.
Rand pushed her braid back over her shoulder and shook her head. “There’s nothing going on with Jake and me.”
Earl grunted and resumed eating. Between bites, he said, “Whether you’re lying to me or yourself, I don’t know, but if that boy hurts you, he’s gonna be dealing with the bad side of my temper.”
Rand stared at the top of Earl’s head, and her mouth twitched with humor. “Is there a good side to your temper?”
“Sassy mouth,” Earl grumbled.
* * *
After Red left, Jake took a nap, and when he woke up again, a purring Scout was sleeping on his chest. He looked up into yellow eyes nearly closed but for thin slits, and muttered, “Who said you could lie on me, cat?”
The cat’s eyes opened a little wider as she rolled over and looked at him upside down, her white belly exposed.
He reached up and stroked the soft fur and grumbled, “You’re a manipulative little thing, aren’t you?”
Her purr got louder as he spoke to her, and he noticed he felt a little better. He was still tired and weak, but at least the god-awful pain had left his stomach.
He heard the front door slam and footsteps coming down the hallway. He looked over to see Rand peek around the corner and smile. “Well, look at you two making friends.”
He snorted. “I’m just too weak to shove her off.”
Rand climbed onto the bed and ran her hand over her cat, her hand brushing his. “She has a way of getting round all your protests and making you just want to snuggle her.”
“The only thing I want to snuggle is you.”
He caught her eyes shifting toward him before she kicked off her boots and crawled under the covers to cuddle against his side. She laid her head on his shoulder and rested her hand around his waist. “Is this better?”
If he had been at full strength, he would have turned over and shown her how much he liked the feel of her snuggling next to him. Instead, he just stopped petting the cat and slipped his hand under the blanket to tangle his fingers with hers. He curled his arm around her back and kissed her hair. “Much better.”
They lay there for a few minutes in silence, the only sound in the room their breathing and the soft purrs emanating from Scout’s chest. Finally, his stomach rumbled under their hands, and she sat up with a smile. “That’s my cue to go make you something. Want more soup, or do you feel up to trying some white rice?”
His hunger protested his choices, but his brain understood the reasoning behind it. His mother had always starved him for twenty-four hours after throwing up, and then it was always broth, rice, and bananas. The last thing he needed was to eat something too rich and start retching again. “Rice, please.”
She let go of his hand and crawled off the bed. “I’ll be back, then.”
He watched her leave the room and cursed his weakened state. Since this whole thing started, he’d been in a fight twice, and sicker than a dog. What else could go wrong?
Scout suddenly shifted on his chest, and a deep, terrible sound started to make the small body convulse. Before he could throw the cat off, the evil little vermin retched a hairball inches from his nose.
He cursed and threw the blanket to the floor, the cat hitching a ride. When the little shit landed on her feet and gave him a smug twitch of her tail, he started to sit up to go after her. He felt the room spin with the fast movement and growled, “You’re going to be coyote bait, cat.”
The fluffy short tail jerked back and forth at him before she trotted out the door, whining down the hall. He heard Rand’s voice as she scolded, “Your dish is full, you crazy cat!”
He smiled at her tone and heard her pad into the room behind him. “All right, got your rice with a little butter.” She sat next to him and handed him the lap tray with a Gatorade and a bowl of rice. “Eat up.”
“Your cat hacked a hairball on me.” He stirred the rice and took a small bite, sighing at the warm, buttery taste.
She looked down at the blanket and grimaced. “I’ll go wash it. She’s done that to me before. It’s a paralyzing sound.”
He laughed and took another bite. “Pretty much.”
She patted his knee before getting up and bending over to pick up the discarded blanket.
And the sight of Rand’s beautiful rear end pointed at him let his body know two things.
One, he was on the mend.
Two, he couldn’t wait to get her naked again.
* * *
Rand tiptoed into her room, trying not to make a sound as she changed into her pajamas. Jake had been sleeping soundly for several hours while she had cleaned up and done her chores. It was so strange how comfortable she felt having him there, in her bed. Maybe it was just because he had been her best friend for so long, but she didn’t think so.
She brushed her teeth and made her way to the other side of the bed. In the dim light, she could see Jake was sprawled out on his back, taking up a lot of room, and she almost laughed. When they’d been kids and she would crawl in through his window, she would often find him sleeping like that. Funny how some things never changed.
Lifting the quilt, she crawled beneath, pushing his limbs over gently. He grumbled and rolled, giving her plenty of room to curl up on her side with her back to him.
She closed her eyes, trying to count sheep, but it was nearly impossible to think of anything but Jake. As if he sensed her restlessness, his warmth was suddenly surrounding her, his hard arm wrapped around her waist.
“Hey, you okay?” he murmured sleepily against her hair.
At once, her body relaxed into him. “Yeah, I was just thinking.”
“’Bout what?” he asked.
“Stuff.”
His hand drifted over her stomach, caressing it lightly. “Like wedding stuff?”
“No, just things. Why, do you want to back out? Because if you do—”
“I don’t want to back out.” He sounded gruff and irritated.
“Okay.”
“In fact, when do you want to do it? I guarantee you we’re not getting into this thing with just a trip to the courthouse, not if my mother has anything to say about it,” he teased.
“I don’t want a lot of pomp and fuss.” The last thing she needed was to have the whole town showing up to goggle at her.
“Fine. What if we did a small ceremony at the church and held the reception here?” he asked.
Covering his hand with hers, she smiled. “That’s great.”
“Do you want to do it this weekend?”
She caught her breath as her heart skipped and stumbled. “So fast?”
A deep chuckle ruffled her hair. “Were you wanting to hold out for a better offer?”
“No,” she whispered softly. “There’s nobody better than you.”
Silence stretched between them, and she felt his lips brush against the back of her neck. “Miranda Coleman, that was downright romantic.”
Normally, she would have told him to shut up, but for the first time in her life, her trademark waspishness failed her. “I was just stating the facts.”
* * *
Jake stroked Rand’s side, listening to the soft snores emitting from her lips and trying to fight the warm glow her words had caused.
There’s nobody better than you.
Rand had always had his back, but she was never the type to be overly affectionate, yet in the last few weeks, he’d watched her soften. She’d really started to open up and blossom, and though he was happy to be a part of it, it also sent a part of him into panic mode. The last thing he wanted to do was let Rand down.
* * *
Jake woke up Monday morning and checked his phone. His mother had called a couple of times, and if he knew her, she was ready to call the police.
Heading into the bathroom, he called his assistant manager and asked her to open for him before he called his mom. He definitely felt better, but he wasn’t quite ready to work a ten-hour day.
When he dialed his mom’s number, he wasn’t surprised when she picked up on the second ring, shrieking, “Dead! I thought you were dead!”
“Believe me, there were a few times I thought I was dying,” he said.
“What happened? Were you in an accident? Why didn’t they call me?”
“I was sick, Mom. Rand’s been taking care of me out at her place. And besides all that, you do know I’m a grown-ass man?”
“Of course I do! Doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass up one side and down the other if you ever scare me like that again!”
Jake chuckled. “All right, Mom, I won’t. Is that all you called for?”
“No, your brother called me yesterday. He’s coming home.”
Jake’s stomach dropped out, and he gripped the cell to his ear. “When?”
“He’s driving out today.” There was a pregnant pause on the line. “He’s bringing his son with him.”
Jake sucked in his breath. “When did that happen? Last time you talked to him, he was in the middle of the fucking desert.”
“Watch your language. I guess he met a girl before his last tour, and they had a fling. She sent him a letter months later with a picture, and since then, she’s kept him updated and he’s spent his leaves with them. When he came back the last time and said he was getting out, he moved them in with him on base and was going to marry her, but she took off and left her son with Dustin.”
“Is he even sure he’s his?” Jake asked.
“If your brother says he’s his and he’s claiming him, I’m not putting any doubt on him or that little boy and neither will you,” his mother said firmly.
“Rand and I were going to get married this weekend,” Jake said tiredly.
His mother’s joyful cry about busted his eardrums. “Lord be praised! Wait, this weekend? That’s not nearly enough time to organize a proper reception.”
“Mom, we just want to keep it simple and small. Nothing crazy.”
“Well, it’s you that’s plum loco if you think I’m letting my baby get married without having any say in the planning.”
“Really, it’s more like a business arrangement than a real marriage.”
His mother scoffed on the other end. “If I really believed that, Jacob Hansen, I’d be putting my foot down, but I know better.”
The trouble was, Jake did too. His friendship with Rand felt deeper than anything he’d ever experienced with another woman, but he wasn’t ready to admit what that might mean.
“Like I said, we want simple and intimate,” he said.
“Oh, you don’t know what you want. Better make it next weekend, though. Just leave everything to me. It will be perfect.”
* * *
Rand woke up alone and heard the shower going. Slipping out of bed and getting dressed, she cursed herself for being a sentimental fool and went out to feed the animals. It was frustrating as hell that she’d let her mouth run away with her.
You’re just afraid to be vulnerable.
Well, hell, who wouldn’t be? Red was right about one thing, Jake’s affections weren’t the most reliable, and she was crazy if she didn’t remember that. Unless she wanted to be left brokenhearted when Jake said good-bye.
She was brushing her horse, Sun, when she heard the barn door creak open. She glanced over to find a still-pale Jake leaning against the stall door.
“Good morning,” he said, grinning at her. She tried to quiet the stomach-flipping joy that seemed to be constant whenever he was near.
“Morning. You feeling better?”
“Yeah. Going to take the day off and head back in tomorrow. Talked to my mom this morning.”
She stopped currying Sun’s side long enough to ask, “What happened?”
“Well, she’s thrilled about the wedding, so whatever you wanted to have, you should probably voice now or forever hold your peace.”
She finished brushing Sun down and dropped the brush into the bucket, mulling over his words. “Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to tell me to be afraid?”
“I am. Very afraid.”
She came out of the stall silently, heading for the tack room with him trailing behind her. She hung the bucket on one of the wall hooks and went to wash her hands in the sink. As she dried them off, she turned to find him right behind her, and his arms came around her waist.
“Thank you. You took really good care of me this weekend.”
She rested her hands on his arms and felt them flex under his plaid shirt. For some reason, his close proximity helped her relax, and she teased, “Hey, I need you healthy. At least for the next year. After that, you might just be on your own.”
“Might, huh?” He leaned down, and his mouth found her bare neck, nuzzling the skin below her jawline. “Are you thinking about keeping me?”
Rand caught her breath. He had no idea how close to home his joke hit. She started to pull away. “I didn’t say that.”
“Hmmm.” His mouth moved up to the shell of her ear, and when he ran his tongue along the edge, she held on for dear life as her knees turned to grits.
He slid his big hands down and grabbed her butt, lifting her against him so she could feel how much better he was, if the hard length of his cock was any indication. She couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her lips as she arched closer, her hands slipping up over his shoulders to rest behind his neck.
“Ahem.” Someone cleared their throat, and Rand stilled, her gaze shifting to find Andy standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we were supposed to go look at that tractor today.”
Rand pulled away from Jake and ran a hand over her braid. “Right. I’ll just grab my keys from the house, and we’ll head out.”
Andy nodded and turned to leave. Jake chuckled behind her, and she whirled around with a scowl. “It’s not funny!”
“Kinda was. Could have been worse. The way I was headed, your shirt could have been halfway across the room when he walked in.”
She started to stomp away, but he caught her arm and reeled her back in, holding her tight against him. “Don’t I get a kiss good-bye?”
“I need to go,” she snapped, avoiding his seeking lips until she was squealing with laughter. “Stop it, you obnoxious man.”
“Give me a kiss, and I’ll let you go,” he promised.
She pursed her lips tightly, and he laughed. “Now that’s just mean.”
When she opened her mouth to give him hell, he took the opportunity to kiss her stupid, thrusting his tongue inside as he cradled the back of her head with his hand. Her mouth softened as she returned his kiss, unable to stop herself from wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into him. When he finally broke the kiss, his dropped his forehead to hers, and she fought a smile as she listened to his uneven breathing. The fact that she seemed to affect him the same way he did her only made her fall harder.
“Have a good day, honey,” he whispered, giving her one more peck before letting go of her neck. He started walking toward the door, pausing in the doorway with a smile. “See you tonight?”
Words failed her, so she simply nodded. Before she knew it, a huge grin threatened to split her face in half, and she left the tack room to meet Andy, happiness putting a bounce in her step like nothing she’d ever felt before.