Fencing You In (13 page)

But it made her wonder… Had he been hurt so badly that it kept him from caring about another woman?

“I enjoyed today.” He smiled, reached across the console, and took one of her hands.

She let her hand relax in his and managed a smile in return. “I had a lot of fun, too.”

As he drove, she watched Gage, her heart knocking at her chest as she did. Did she dare trust him with her heart?

And then she realized it didn’t matter. It was already too late.

Chapter 19

Where was Tess?

Harvey narrowed his gaze as he sat in a corner at Nectars. It was Friday morning and she wasn’t serving breakfast in the Hummingbird. He knew her schedule well. After all, he followed her as much as possible when he wasn’t working on the Sanderson Ranch. She should be here.

A waitress he hadn’t seen before reached his table. “What can I get you?” the short brunette asked with a cheerful smile. Her nametag read
Hannah.

“Is Tess out today?” he asked Hannah.

“She doesn’t work here anymore.” The girl cocked her head. “Her last day was yesterday.”

Shock made Harvey go rigid. “Meaning in the Hummingbird?”

“Not in Nectars, either.” Hannah shrugged. “She’ll start working for one of the McBrides on Monday. Gage, I think.”

The rage that shot through Harvey must have been in his eyes because Hannah took a step back.

“Do you want anything?” She sounded wary.

He had to fight to control his emotions and his muscles ached with the effort. “No.”

Hannah retreated another step. “I’ll check back with you in a bit to see if you’re ready to order.”

He just stared at her. Her face flushed and she turned and headed back to the kitchen.

A part of him realized that he shouldn’t have reacted so visibly to the fact that Tess wasn’t working here any longer—that she was going to be working for that sonofabitch, Gage. Another part of him didn’t give a damn what that waitress thought.

Trying to get his anger under control, Harvey got to his feet and headed out of the restaurant. Bright sunlight made him squint as he strode to his old Ford. When he reached it, he jerked the door open and climbed inside, the door giving a rusted squeak as he slammed it shut. It wasn’t until he went to stick the key into the ignition that he realized he was shaking.

He gritted his teeth. Something had to be done.

Gage couldn’t be allowed to take everything from him again. Harvey narrowed his eyes as he drove out of town toward the Sanderson ranch.

Over the course of the time he’d been in prison, Harvey had plotted to get his revenge on Gage. He’d planned to take his time. He’d been in prison for three years, so what was another few months, or even a year before he took out Gage?

But things had changed.

If he didn’t follow through with his plan soon, Tess might get too attached to Gage and would be grieving too much to let Harvey in.

If he took out Gage now, Harvey would be able to lend Tess a shoulder to cry on. He could be there for her.

Yes. That was what he needed to do.

As he drove, he mentally went through plans that he had come up with over the past couple of months, trying to decide which one would be the best. The best plan would be the one where he kept his hands clean, and he’d saved up enough money to do it.

The old truck rattled and bounced hard as he headed down a dirt road, the shocks worn. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number that he’d come to be familiar with.

“Chess,” he said when the man came on the line, “It’s time.”

Chess was silent for a moment. “I thought you wanted to wait.”

“Things have changed.” Harvey gripped the steering wheel with one hand. “I’ll meet you tonight, the usual place.”

“All right.” Chess hung up.

Harvey smiled.

Chapter 20

Tess used a spatula to slide the extra-large sugar cookies from the hot pan to the cooling rack. Jenny and Katie Sue were chatting animatedly behind her at the kitchen table.

It was Friday night, almost a week since her trip to Sedona with Gage and their first night together. He’d had another rough week and she’d only seen him one night when he’d stopped by Nectars during her last few days there. She hadn’t started working for Gage yet since there were things she had to wrap up and take care of at Nectars and the Hummingbird before she stopped working there.

They were supposed to go out tonight, but Katie Sue’s mother had said something urgent had come up and she’d asked if her daughter could spend the night with Jenny.

Tess put six of the large cookies that had cooled already onto a plate and smiled as she carried the cookies to the table and set them between the chattering girls. Small ramekins with different colors of frosting were already on the table along with new paintbrushes that were just the right size.

“Are you ready, girls?” Tess put her hands on her hips as she looked from one to the other.

“Yes!” Jenny clapped her hands. “I want to make a clown.”

“I want to make a clown, too.” Katie Sue was on her knees in her chair and she reached for a paintbrush by the thin blue frosting.

“Mine is going to be a girl clown.” Jenny grabbed the pink frosting’s paintbrush.

The doorbell rang and Tess wiped her hands on a dishcloth before heading to the front door. She opened it to find Gage standing there holding a bottle of wine and a two-liter bottle of strawberry soda.

She couldn’t help a grin. “I see you brought the finest to drink for the occasion.”

“Yep.” He stepped past her as she opened the door wider to let him in and stole a quick kiss.

“Red wine,” she said as she took the bottles from him. “That will go terrific with the pizza and spaghetti I ordered.”

They walked toward the kitchen and as Tess followed Gage, she admired how nice his ass looked in his Wranglers and how broad his shoulders were beneath his T-shirt.

When they reached the kitchen, Tess laughed as she saw the frosting smears already all over the faces of the girls, and Gage chuckled.

Jenny yelled, “Hi, almost-Uncle Gage.” She jumped up from her chair and gave him a big hug, wrapping her arms around his legs.

“Want to see my clown?” Katie Sue held up a cookie with a white face, blue hair, and a big red nose.

Gage walked over to the table. “Good job, sweetheart.”

Jenny slid back into her chair and pointed to her cookie that had a white face and pink hair with a pink nose and a broad smile, also in pink. “Mine’s a girl clown,” she told him.

“That’s a great girl clown, Jenny,” Gage said as he made a point to look it over.

Tess watched Gage interact with the girls. Since she’d met him, she’d seen how good he was with kids. He had an easy manner, a good sense of humor, and the girls loved him.

“Do you want to make a cookie?” Jenny held up an unfrosted sugar cookie.

“Do we get to eat them later?” A teasing look was in his eyes.

The girls shouted, “Yes!”

“Then let’s get busy,” he said with a grin. He took the large cookie and pulled up a chair between the girls. He looked up and winked at Tess and she felt a nice warm tingle in her belly.

She grabbed a couple more plates from the cabinet, set one in front of Gage, and then sat on the other side of the table with a plate in front of her.

Soon she and Gage were decorating cookies with the girls. Gage painted a cowboy with a big cowboy hat and Tess made a horse on hers. Jenny’s second one had a house and Katie Sue painted flowers on hers. By now the girls had frosting smeared everywhere and Tess and Gage had it on their hands.

“Can we eat one now?” Jenny gave Tess a pleading look when they had finished with the cookies.

“After dinner.” Tess shook her head. “Go wash up, you two. Make sure you get all of the frosting off your faces as well as your hands.”

The girls set down their cookies and ran for the bathroom.

Tess stood and Gage joined her. She carried the plate of decorated cookies and Gage helped with the ramekins that had held the frosting. “Put them in the sink for now,” she said as she set the plate on the counter. “I’ll let these dry before covering them.”

When she set down the plate, she turned to find Gage smiling at her.

“What?” she said. “Do I have frosting on my nose?”

“Being a mom looks good on you,” he said and kissed her.

While the girls were washing up, the delivery guy arrived with the pizza and spaghetti. Gage insisted on paying and Tess finally relented. The house was filled with the warm aromas of Italian food and the girls gave excited cries as they ran back to the kitchen.

When they returned to the kitchen, Jenny and Katie Sue chose a big slice of pizza each while Tess and Gage ate spaghetti with giant meatballs. Between the girls’ chatter while they ate, Tess found it hard to hold an uninterrupted conversation with Gage.

After dinner, the girls went to Jenny’s bedroom to play Barbies, and Tess and Gage cleaned up in the kitchen. Cleanup was minimal since they’d used paper plates and disposable plastic cups.

When they finished, Tess watched as Gage peeked out of the kitchen in the direction of Jenny’s room and saw the coast was clear. He backed her up against the counter, put his hands to either side of her on the Formica, and held her gaze for a moment.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you properly since I walked in that door.” His mouth hovered over hers.

“I’ve had a hard time waiting,” she whispered and moved her mouth to meet his.

His lips were firm as he took possession, took control. A soft moan escaped her as she returned his kiss. How she loved his kisses. Her belly fluttered and she ached for his touch.

She thought of her night in his arms and she had no doubt she’d be in bed with him again. Not tonight, but soon. She wanted to be there right now, feeling his lips and hands on her body, taking her to incredible heights.

Could she tell him about that side of her that she kept hidden? The side she wanted to explore…maybe with him?

He raised his head, breaking the kiss and he smiled down at her. “We’d better watch ourselves in case the girls come out.”

She nodded as she took a deep inhale to catch her breath. “My thoughts, too.”

They moved to the couch where they sat close, but not too close. She longed to be snuggled up against him, in his embrace, but she wasn’t going to introduce Gage as a man she was dating to Jenny. That could come later…if he stuck around…and if her and Gage’s relationship developed into something more permanent.

Permanent? The thought took her off guard. She didn’t think Gage was capable of a long-term relationship.

Or was he?

Tess mentally shook off the thoughts as Gage took her hand and linked his fingers with hers. His smile sent crazy sensations throughout her, his touch adding to the wildness building inside her.

The sound of Jenny’s door opening had Gage and Tess releasing their hands. Tess faced the girls with a smile as they ran into the living room carrying Jenny’s beauty parlor set. The set was complete with nail polish, lip-gloss, brushes, combs, and a mannequin head with long blonde hair.

“Will you play beauty parlor with us?” Jenny put the set on the coffee table in front of Gage and Tess.

Tess glanced at Gage and he gave a little grin and a shrug. She turned back to Jenny. “What do you want to do first?”

Jenny put her hands on her hips. “We need to do something about your fingernails, Mommy.”

Tess held back a laugh as she extended her hands for examination.

“I’m going to make them pretty with nail polish.” Jenny reached for the bottles.

Katie Sue moved beside Jenny. “I want to paint Uncle Gage’s nails,” Katie Sue said as she took one of Gage’s hands.

Tess held back a snort of laughter as she looked at Gage’s expression.

He glanced at Tess. “Will the stuff come off?”

She grinned. “We have nail polish remover.”

He turned his attention back to the girl. “I’m all yours, Katie Sue.”

She clapped her hands and reached for a bottle of green nail polish. Gage looked at Tess again and she laughed.

Jenny already had a bottle of bright red polish out and she started to paint Tess’s fingernails as she held her hand out for her daughter.

Katie Sue took Gage’s thumb and painted the nail green. Instead of painting the next nail the same color, the girl chose canary yellow. She painted the nail of his forefinger with the bright color. She got some of the polish on his finger, too.

Gage’s hands were large, his nails big, and the different polishes were vivid on them as Katie Sue went through all the colors that Jenny had and used them on Gage. Blue, pink, red, purple, and orange in addition to the green and yellow. Tess started giggling at one point at the silliness, and Jenny admonished her to be still.

Jenny, on the other hand, painted all of Tess’s nails in the vivid red color she’d chosen. The polish was uneven, but most of it stayed on Tess’s nails rather than her fingers.

Because Gage’s nails were so big, and because Katie Sue was using so many different colors of polish, it was taking her longer. So while Katie Sue continued to work on Gage, Jenny grabbed a brush and pulled it through Tess’s short curls, fluffing her hair up even more.

When the girls were finished, they stood back and admired their work. “It looks great, Mommy,” Jenny said.

Katie Sue nodded. “So does Uncle Gage.”

Tess glanced at the clock. “That’s enough beauty shop for the night, girls. You can have one cookie and then it’s time for bed.”

The girls started toward the kitchen but Tess called them back to put away the beauty shop.

After they ate their cookies, Tess ushered the girls to Jenny’s bedroom. Both put on their nightgowns and climbed into Jenny’s bed.

“Now get some sleep, girls,” Tess said. “No talking.”

The girls giggled and Tess knew they wouldn’t be falling asleep immediately. While they waited for the girls to drift off, Tess helped Gage take off the nail polish, and she couldn’t help giggling as she did.

When everything was quiet, they picked out a movie, this time an action flick. As she thought about the last movie they’d attempted to watch, and how they’d ended up in her bedroom, she felt a tingle in her belly. That wasn’t going to happen tonight. Unfortunately.