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Authors: T. J. Kline

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BOOK: Close to Heart
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“Isn’t she pregnant?” his sister asked, ignoring his attempts to change the subject. “And married?”

“It’s complicated.” It wasn’t his place to tell Lyssa’s story. He headed back toward the truck, Jessie following beside him. “Anything else? Is Jet letting the farrier work with him better?”

“Avoiding the subject. A sure sign my big brother has it pretty bad.”

“Look, she’s only staying at the house until her lawyer says it’s safe for her to leave.” Jessie’s brows rose in surprise and he cursed himself for revealing too much in his attempt to discourage her.

“I may not watch much television, but I’ve seen the press conferences he’s done claiming she’s missing. I also know you, which tells me there is a lot more you’re not saying. You have that murderous look in your eyes you had when Evan went after Julia.”

“By the end of the week, she’ll be on her way again and this will just be a hole-in-the-wall she stopped at.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Justin. A week can be a long time. I should know. Nathan only came out to stay for a week to help me get the ranch back on track. Look at us now.”

“Yeah, well, you and Nathan had history together. I just happen to be the stranger who showed up when she wrecked her car.” He should probably be grateful Jessie had stopped asking questions he couldn’t give her answers to. Justin climbed into his truck and started the engine.

“Please.” She laughed at him. “This is the role you love to play. You always try to be Mr. Protector for Julia, Bailey, and me, and now, when you finally have someone who’ll let you do it, you’re going to blow it off? You have a beautiful damsel in distress literally on your doorstep, big brother. There’s no way you’ll be able to pass up the chance to be someone’s white knight. It’s just too deeply engrained in you.”

“Yeah?” he muttered as he climbed into his truck and started it up. “Well, this knight just gave away his horse.” He backed the truck and headed down the driveway.

A
LYSSA PULLED THE
pan of brownies from the oven, one hand over her stomach as if keeping it safe from the heat, and put them on the stove to cool. Justin had already called to tell her to lock up the clinic and that he would move Lucky when he arrived. It was an oddly welcome feeling, being domestic.

With Elijah, the maids did all of the housework and the kitchen staff prepared their meals. She couldn’t eat anything he hadn’t preapproved with her dietitian. Her every waking moment had been choreographed with gym visits, spa treatments, shopping trips, and various projects and groups he’d insisted she be a part of to help elevate his reputation among his peers. The past few days, Justin reminded her what it was like to have a purpose other than being an accessory. She’d enjoyed the responsibility of the puppies, even though it had meant a few sleepless nights. The hours in between were filled with a few calls to the vet clinic and time to read, something she hadn’t been able to do since she’d stopped accepting scripts. As the smell of the brownies filled the kitchen, she couldn’t wait to eat something that had been off-limits for far too long.

She’d wanted to make a special meal for Justin, something that would let him know how much she appreciated what he’d done, not only opening his home to her but being an integral part of finding her inner strength and confidence again, even inadvertently. She knew a meal could never express the value of what he’d given back to her, but it was all she could really offer him right now. And, with his limited staples in the pantry, even a meal was going to be difficult to manage.

“Hello?” Julia’s voice carried into the kitchen. “Alyssa?”

“I’m in the pantry,” she called back, hearing Julia’s footsteps. She poked her head out. “Doesn’t your brother ever go grocery shopping?”

Julia laughed. “Not for real food. When he wants that, he comes to eat at my house or Jessie’s. We usually end up feeding him and Bailey at least a few times each week.”

Alyssa twisted her lips to one side, trying to figure out what she might be able to piece together from the random ingredients he had. She reached for egg noodles and pasta sauce. She would have to put something together with these.

“You don’t sound like you mind,” she pointed out, setting the pasta on the counter.

“Not really,” Julia agreed. “We’re all pretty close. I came by to see if you needed any help with the puppies. My client is down for a nap and his mother is at the house, so I had a few minutes to escape and unwind.”

Alyssa glanced at the clock on the stove. “It’s time for me to feed Rocky anyway. Justin should be home in about an hour, too.”

“I’ll be long gone before then, but you can tell him I stopped by.” Julia smiled knowingly. Alyssa wondered what it was supposed to mean.

“You sure you can’t stay? I know he’d want to see you.” She held the door open for Julia before walking with her to the clinic and leading her to the puppies. “We’re moving them into the house later. Justin said something about a box in the mudroom.”

“He must mean a whelping box. Basically enough room for the mom to move around but still keep the puppies contained and safe,” she explained. “So, have you found out anything about when your car will be fixed?”

Alyssa paused midstep, realizing how much had actually transpired over only a few days. The last time she’d talked with Julia had been two days ago, after the accident and delivering puppies. She’d been planning on calling her father to come get her. Her life was still in complete turmoil and chaos, but at least now she’d started to make some decisions about her future. It was controlled chaos.

“I’m actually selling it,” she confessed, not meeting Julia’s gaze.

“Alyssa, you don’t owe me an explanation, but I’m happy to listen if you want to talk,” she offered.

“You sound like your brother.”

“Yeah,” she agreed with a laugh. “We Harts tend to be more alike than we care to admit. And I really don’t mean to pry. You just have a look in your eyes, like someone on the run.”

“I . . . ” Alyssa avoided the other woman’s perceptive gaze.

Julia held up a hand. “Like I said, you don’t have to talk until you’re ready, but if it helps I recognize that fear, and Justin was there with me, every step of the way.” She turned toward the puppies. Julia squealed with delight as Lucky looked up at her with her tongue hanging out happily. “They are so sweet!”

Alyssa found herself wanting to tell Julia the entire story, wanting to find out how she seemed to know exactly what she was going through, but apprehension kept her lips sealed. Franklin had promised to file the papers right away, but she wasn’t sure it was done. Until she knew she’d taken that first step, it was better to keep quiet. There was sure to be a fallout when Elijah and the media got wind that she’d filed for divorce. She had to make sure she and Franklin were one step ahead of Elijah with every move. She couldn’t risk anything getting back to him until then.

Chapter Eleven

T
HE SCREEN ON
the front door slammed as Alyssa pulled the pasta from the oven. She blew her bangs back from her eyes just as Justin came through the kitchen doorway.

His eyes were playful and he smiled, that dimple creasing his cheek, as he moved to grab a pot holder and take the casserole from her hands, setting it on the stove top. “Well, this wasn’t what I expected.”

“Why? Because you have absolutely nothing to make up a decent meal in this house? How do you even look like that when you only had potatoes in the pantry? Haven’t you ever heard of vegetables?” she teased.

“Why, Ms. Cole, have you been checking me out?” She blushed furiously and he laughed before lowering his voice. “Don’t worry, I’ve been checking you out, too.”

Justin leaned over the casserole and inhaled. “That smells delicious.” He glanced back at her, his eyes still gleaming impishly.

She wanted to resist the pull of him, to keep some emotional distance between them, but Justin had a way of breaking down any resolve she convinced herself she had. With Julia, she’d been able to pretend they were nothing more than friends, that the mere thought of him didn’t send heat sizzling through her veins, but in the flesh, the man caused too much chaos in her body for her to ignore. Alyssa tried to catch her breath and regain her composure. This man could send her senses reeling so that she didn’t know which direction was up any longer.

A loud bark from the mudroom interrupted the quip she was about to make.

“Is that Lucky?” Justin moved toward the mudroom and looked inside where the puppies were nestled in a wiggling pile next to their mother. He turned back toward her. “I told you I’d do it when I got back. How did you get everyone moved?”

Alyssa crossed her arms over her chest. “I can manage to walk a dog inside.”

“But the puppies needed to be moved all—”

“Together?” She shook her head. “Which is why Julia and I both did it.” She felt a measure of satisfaction when the all-knowing frown slipped from his brow.

“Neither of you should have been carrying them in your condition,” he scolded.

“My condition? You mean because I’m pregnant? You don’t mind me cooking and cleaning your house, but I can’t move a plastic tote, with help, from the clinic to the house?” She arched her brow. “That’s a bit sexist, don’t you think?” Alyssa spun on her heel, appalled by his caveman attitude.

“Whoa, there,” he said, reaching out and grasping her wrist, pulling her back toward him. “In case you’ve forgotten, I told you
not
to clean my house. And I don’t expect you to cook for me.” Justin let go of her and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and the frown returned. “I’m not trying to be sexist, Lyssa. You’re eight months pregnant and I’m worried that you’re going to overdo it.”

“Ugh!” she groaned. “Are all cowboys this pigheaded or just you? This country-boy charm of yours isn’t working. Some women might find it endearing, but I’m finding it annoying. I’ve spent the last six years being told what I can and can’t do. I don’t need you doing the same thing. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean—”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“What?” His admission stopped her midtirade. She’d been prepared to storm out, expecting him to disagree with her argument.

Justin took a step toward her, his eyes soft with adoration. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, enunciating each word. “I know exactly how capable you are, Lyssa. You’ve amazed me since the moment you arrived.” He didn’t bother to hide the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “You didn’t even hesitate to pitch in and deliver those puppies.” He reached for her hand and pulled her into his arms, brushing the hair back from her face. “I like seeing this side of you.”

His voice was gentle, soothing, and she had a hard time resisting the smile that wanted to match his. “The irrational, emotional side that lets hormones take over? Why?”

“Because you get this light in your eyes, like you’re alive, and you lose the fear that always seems to be just below the surface. You’re a passionate woman, Lyssa, but for some reason, you don’t want anyone to see it.” He tipped her face up toward his. “The fire in you is beautiful, something to be stoked and tended, not something to hide.”

She curled her fingers against the solid wall of his chest, knowing she needed to keep some distance between them but unable to resist the seduction of his words. When his lips met hers, it was a slow kiss that made her burn from within—gentle, tender, and so incredibly erotic. His touch was soft, barely there, and she craved more. She wanted all of him. It was a physical ache, making her body throb with need, but she longed for more than just the act of making love. She knew she couldn’t ask Justin for more than he’d already offered her, shouldn’t even want that, but she’d been unloved for so long. Her hands moved to cup his face, holding him to her as she opened to him. Her desire was needy, wanting, and unwilling to back down.

His lips teased, caressed, and tormented her. Against her better judgment, she wound her hands around his neck, and she couldn’t help but lose herself in the taste of him, the feel of the solid muscles of his shoulders under her fingers, the scent of him—like animals and soap and all male. Justin pulled her closer, his arms winding around her back, pressing her belly between them. She heard him groan deep in his chest just before slowly releasing her. He smiled against her lips and ran a hand over the side of her stomach.

“We should probably go eat,” he murmured against her lips. “If we don’t, I can’t promise where this will lead.”

A part of her didn’t care where it led, unless it was to the bedroom. But he was right. She hadn’t heard from Franklin yet that the papers were filed, and she didn’t even want to consider the repercussions to Justin’s and his sisters’ reputations if Elijah found out they’d slept together. And she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to use every contact he had to make them look bad. Disappointment slipped around her like a heavy fog. Even away from Elijah her fear of what he could do still controlled her.

J
USTIN HELD OUT
a hand, waiting for Alyssa to take it. When was he going to learn to keep his mouth shut?

He was getting as bad as Bailey, speaking without thinking how it might sound. This was about Lyssa’s newfound independence and how, by telling her what she shouldn’t do, he’d inadvertently reminded her of the man who’d stolen it from her. Controlling Lyssa was the last thing he wanted, but he’d let his concern for her override his common sense. He wanted a partnership. To know he could make her smile as often as she did him. To be able to stoke the passion he saw hiding in her. Soon, he promised himself.

As soon as Franklin informed her she was free, he’d show her what it was like to be worshiped by a man who could appreciate fire in a woman.

Desire, hot and languid, still curled in his belly as he thought of her in his arms moments ago. He was going to need a cold shower just to put his raging libido back into its cage. A shower wasn’t a bad idea considering he’d just arrived home, but right now, he wanted Alyssa in there with him, and the images in his mind were creating the opposite effect, doing little to cool his lust. He cursed his body’s reaction to her. Damn if he hadn’t been about to take her to his room, forget her soon-to-be ex-husband, and spend the next few hours exploring the heaven that was her body.

He was headed for trouble. He could feel it the way he felt a coming thunderstorm, and he was just as helpless to stop it. He’d avoided relationships with women his entire life. Justin knew he’d broken more than his fair share of hearts, but he’d always been clear—no attachments, nothing permanent. But Lyssa made him long for a commitment, from the one woman who couldn’t give him one. He needed to keep this relationship in proper perspective. She was leaving once Franklin said it was safe, and he didn’t want her taking his heart with her.

Too late.

He wanted to deny it, to laugh it off the way he would if anyone suggested it to him, but he couldn’t and that worried him. He was falling for Alyssa Cole, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it. His heart was like a car going downhill without brakes—out of control and headed for disaster. The worst part was that he didn’t
want
to stop.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked, especially since there wasn’t much in the pantry, so I did my best with what you had.”

Her sweet voice broke into his thoughts. “I guess I should head to the store. I don’t usually see the point in cooking for one, so most nights I fix one of the frozen dinners in the freezer and take it back to the clinic.”

“Sounds lonely.”

Justin shrugged. It was at times, he realized. “My clients love that they can catch me anytime if it’s an emergency,” he pointed out. “Plus, some nights I’ll have dinner with Jessie or Julia.”

He urged her toward the table, pulling out a chair. “You sit.” He leaned close to her ear, and the scent of her invaded his senses. He could smell his soap on her, and it wasn’t a far stretch to imagine lathering her with it, letting his hands explore and learn every inch of her. “I can’t have you thinking I’m a chauvinistic pig.” Lyssa looked over her shoulder at him as he pushed her chair in, but he could see the twinkle in her eye. “Even if I
sounded
like one.”

She laughed quietly as he moved to the stove, dishing her a plate of the pasta. “Why, Dr. Hart, your sisters would be shocked to hear you admitting that you can be a jerk.”

He brought both plates back to the table and slid into the chair next to her, giving her a wink. “I hope my secret is safe with you. I can’t have them thinking they can bully me any more than they already do.” Lyssa tried to hide her smile as she quickly looked down.

He took a bite of his food and let the rich flavor of Italian spices burst in his mouth. Justin couldn’t help the groan of pleasure from slipping past his lips. “What is this? There is no way I had anything this good in my kitchen.”

Lyssa laughed, filling him with contentment. He loved the sound and wanted to hear it more often. This was the woman he’d seen from the beginning, the one Franklin described. He met her gaze and congratulated himself on being able to fully remove the fear that usually took up residence in her eyes, at least for the moment. She was completely relaxed.

“It’s not that great,” she said, blushing as she brushed aside his compliment. “If you’re this excited over some pasta and tomato sauce, wait until you have dessert.”

Did she have any clue what her words did to him? Just the thought of dessert with her had his mind conjuring up fantasies of things they could do with whipped cream and caramel syrup. Justin shifted in his chair, trying to adjust his jeans without her noticing.

“I had the ingredients for dessert?” The only thing he remembered having in his food stashes were some cookies and possibly some freezer-burned ice cream.

“I dug around and found what I needed for something I used to make in college. You’ll see.” Her eyes held a wicked gleam he could only hope wasn’t just about the food.

“With a buildup like that, we could skip dinner and get right to the good stuff.”

Her eyes flashed and he could see the yearning in them. He hadn’t meant to say it that way, but damn if it wasn’t exactly how he was feeling right now. He wanted to skip every bit of this meal and just take her to his room. The longer he stared at her, the more his need seemed to build and pulse within him, like a living animal wanting release.

“No way,” she argued but the smile never left her lips. “I worked too hard putting all of this together. You better enjoy every bite.”

He watched as she ate, delicately picking at the food on her plate, barely eating. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“I picked while I was fixing it.” She looked at her plate, avoiding his gaze. Justin knew she wasn’t telling him everything and wondered why she would feel the need to lie about eating.

“You’re sure that’s all?” Her eyes flicked toward his, and he saw the trepidation had returned. “Are you feeling okay? No more contractions?”

A tender smile spread over her lips and her eyes softened. “I am.”

“Tell me more about the baby. You said you’re eight months along. Do you know if you’re having a boy or girl? Have you picked out a name?”

Her smile widened even as she seemed surprised by his questions. “Do you really want to know?”

“Of course I do, Lyssa.” He finished off his meal and leaned back in his chair. “Tell me.”

She rose, reaching for his plate, but he stilled her with his hand over hers. Electricity seemed to shoot between them, igniting a smoldering fire. As she turned to look at him, her eyes glowed with yearning.

“Let me.” He stood and took the plates to the sink. “Why don’t you get our dessert and we’ll go in the living room?”

She watched as he cleaned up the table and put the leftover pasta into the refrigerator. Her nearness alone was enough to set his body burning, but touching her nearly sent him over the edge. He’d hoped talking would distract him from the desire that was making it hard for him to breathe. He couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty of her as she tugged her sweater around her belly, setting some sort of brownie on a napkin.

“Do you want me to meet you in there?” she asked, holding a brownie in each hand.

He knew she’d caught him staring at her, like a kid with his crush. She was probably used to men ogling her, and he didn’t want to be one of those guys. He didn’t want her to see him as just another fan, one of the men who chased her. And he didn’t want her to see him the way she saw her ex-husband. For her to see him differently, he had to treat her differently than she’d ever been.

She watched him curiously, waiting for him to answer, but he continued to stare at her, unable to speak. He just nodded and spun toward the dishwasher. What the hell was wrong with him? He usually had a dozen or so lines for every situation, but Lyssa had him tongue-tied and twisted in knots as he’d never been around a woman before. If he was smart, he’d drive her into town and deliver her on Franklin’s hotel doorstep, wash his hands of this entire matter, and go back to running his clinic. Justin looked toward the family room, where the most beautiful woman he’d ever known was waiting for him, and dried his hands on the dish towel, feeling grateful brains had never been his biggest asset.

BOOK: Close to Heart
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