In It to Win It (13 page)

Rocks and frozen debris exploded in an arc behind the rear tires as Grayson lay on the gas and maneuvered the Jeep out of the parking lot. There was only a slight fishtail before Grayson had complete control. He went down First North and turned right onto State Street, which was also US Highway 89, and headed south out of town.

Familiar locales flashed by—as much as they can
flash
when the vehicle is zooming at the break-neck speed of forty miles an hour. The smile that crept to her lips actually surprised her. Jane hadn’t realized she’d missed the sleepy little town, but she had. There were some really good memories attached to the place. The old drug store. The 5 and Dime. The drive-in—burgers, not movies.

“
Before I go home, we have to go to the drive-in.” Her stomach grumbled at the thought of the greasy burger with a side of even greasier fries.

“
You know, I’ve been all over the nation and have yet to find a better burger than right here at home. I won’t let you get out of here without having one, okay?”

“
Okay.”

And just like that, they’d fallen into an easiness that scared her. Jane knew that the man sitting next to her had the power to break her heart all over again. She also knew that no matter how many times she warned herself, every time he looked at her and flashed that grin of his, she melted.

The scenery changed from businesses to circa early twentieth century homes that were only reminders of past generations to sagebrush—and the occasional cow. She recognized every square inch of the landscape but this wasn’t the way to the Pierce house.

But
duh!
—She caught the motion of her hand moving toward her forehead and was grateful it hadn’t made the connection. Her realizations needed to stay inside her head—of course he’d moved.

Mr. Pierce—she realized that she didn’t even know his first name—had died in a mine accident when Grayson was about five or so. After that Maude Pierce had raised her only son by herself. She’d done a fairly decent job. It wasn’t like Grayson ended up behind bars with a cellmate named Bubba. At least not yet. With the insane life he was leading, there was still time.

The house Grayson grew up in had been small, but well-maintained. The local church group saw to it that the Pierce’s received anything they needed. And the Boy Scout troop took turns keeping up with the yard until Grayson was old enough to do it himself. Then, though, his friends would show up to help him mow the grass, milk a cow or re-shingle the roof.

That had been a sight. The entire baseball team had shown up and eventually shucked their shirts, hammering away while the sun bathed their backs. Needless to say, Jane hadn’t been the only girl in the town to notice. Thankfully it hadn’t been Jane’s car that crashed that day. She smiled, remembering the dent in the big ol’ oak across the street.

“
You okay?” Grayson asked from beside her.

The question startled her. Well, not the question itself, but the fact that he’d spoken. She was so lost in her thoughts that she’d forgotten this little rollercoaster-ride down memory lane had someone else with his arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

“
Yeah. It’s just changed so much.” Which was a lie. The fields were the same; covered with patches of snow with rolling hills that eased from one pasture to the next. They’d left Salina and were heading toward the turn off for Aurora. “Where are we going?”

“
My ranch is only a little further.”

“
Your ranch?”

She didn’t expect him to have a ranch. A ginormous house with voluptuous maids, maybe—maids dressed in those little black and white outfits, complete with low necklines and obscenely short skirts, who bent over to pick up napkins and crap—but a
ranch
?

With her luck, it was like the
Chicken Ranch
in that musical with Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds. If one singing whore came down the front steps of his
ranch
,
she was leaving. End of discussion!

“
Do you have any
chickens
on your ranch?”

He shook his head, obviously missing the reference. “No. No chickens, but I do have twenty head of cattle and six horses—almost seven,” he said, his lips lifting in a proud smile. “Daisy is due to foal here any day. It should happen while you’re here. You ever help bring a life into this world?”

It wasn’t until her tonsils began to dry out that she realized her mouth was hanging open. “Uh … no.”

“
No? Not even kittens or puppies?” He looked at her, she guessed he was surprised, but his face was hidden in shadows.

“
Nope.”

“
Well, then, I really do hope that I get to introduce that awesome experience to you.”

“
Great.” She didn’t sound thrilled, she didn’t feel it either.

Her mind was suddenly bombarded with images of blood and birth and …
ew
! Her nose crinkled in disgust and she wondered if she could get out of Grayson’s idea of a great time.

The silence between them was only disturbed by the soft music playing on the radio. It had been years since she’d listened to country music. It was yet another part of her life she wanted to close the door on. But just like the familiar buildings, the country crooner made her feel nostalgic.

More than nostalgic, she realized. It was like she was home.

That made her pause.

She didn’t want to feel comfortable, not with Grayson sitting next to her looking like a million bucks and smelling even better. Not with the way her stomach fluttered and her heart hammered. And she certainly didn’t want to feel like she’d come home.

Her condo was home. KHB was home. Salina, Utah was
not
home.

“
It’s okay if you’re not interested, Janie. But it is something I’d love to share with you. I have a lot I want to share with you.”

Yeah, right!
was her first thought, quickly followed by
and I want to share it all with you.

They pulled off the main highway and bumped along a dirt road, filled with mud and car-eating potholes. A few miles later revealed a gate with a large
P
amongst the wrought iron deer and elk. Grayson pushed a button on what looked like a garage door opener clipped on his visor and the gate slowly swung open.

“
I’m gonna guess this is your ranch?”

“
This is the west end of it, yes.” He accelerated to ease the Jeep through the open gate, and then waited on the other side until it was completely closed again. A few cows came to greet them, mooing a happy greeting. “It’s dinner time,” he said.

She watched as the bovine sea parted only to move in behind and follow them as they drove over the cinder covered road. Even though it was freezing outside, Jane couldn’t resist rolling down the window to touch the rump of a heifer that was walking right alongside. The cow didn’t react, except to turn her head and moo.

“
They’re pretty comfortable around people,” Jane noted.

“
Yeah, they see a lot of me.”

She felt her brows crinkle and she turned in her seat to look at him. “But how can … I thought you were on the road a lot.”

“
Yeah … well, I am.” His fists had tightened on the wheel and the muscles in his jaw jumped and he very blatantly didn’t look back at her. “If it’s okay, we’ll go to the barn first.”

Okay, so obviously he didn’t want to talk about going on the road. Which meant she did—really bad! What was he hiding? The question was going to drive her crazy. The time to ask her questions would come though, that much he’d promised as his end of the deal. She would bide her time and bite her tongue. For a few days anyway.

A fork appeared in the road. Off to the left was a roofline that was decked out in Christmas lights which twinkled all bright and cheery in the darkness. Jane couldn’t see the whole house because of the low rolling hills and wondered if more ‘Joy to the World’ would greet her when she could.

Grayson took the right fork and in a matter of seconds another roofline appeared, followed quickly by an entire building. The barn. It was big and red with a black, shingled roof—white x’s over the doors and all.

Grayson stopped in front of said doors. “You can wait here if you’d rather.”

“
That’s okay. I’d like to help.”
Help?
Where the hell had that come from? She wasn’t a cowgirl. Never had been, even when she’d done 4-H and had taken care of a lamb.

Grayson smiled at her and got out. As she stepped out, she slipped on some ice. A gasp—and yes, a squeal—escaped and she grasped for anything to keep from meeting the ground in what was sure to be an inelegant display. Her hands fisted into the soft down of Grayson’s parka and his strong arms wrapped under her armpits, pulling her against him.

His breath formed little white puffs that mingled with hers. He held her close and she let him, basking in his warmth, in his strength, in him. It felt good to stand so close to Grayson. Too damned good.

In that moment, it was as if time stood still. Neither of them moved. Surely she imagined that Grayson’s eyes had darkened, that his lids dropped dreamily. And he wasn’t even now leaning close. He definitely wasn’t going to kiss her.

Except that he was.

And she was going to let him.

Her own eyes drifted closed and she tipped her chin to give him easier access to her lips. Wrapped in his arms she was heated from the inside out and as his mouth touched hers she darn near burst into flames. His lips were warm and soft and firm—and everything she’d ever imagined.

His hold tightened and she slipped her hands up around his neck, sliding her fingers into the short wisps of hair that weren’t covered by his knit cap. Every part of him scorched her. She couldn’t get close enough, and the way he held her against him implied he felt the same.

Another quick brush of his lips across hers, then a kiss pressed to each cheek and the tip of her nose brought an end to the intimacy, although the moment still sparked with desire. He rested his forehead against hers and his breath sawed from his lungs. The heat of his breath and the cold of the night made the action visible, puffs forming in quick succession. Jane liked seeing that he was as affected by their kiss as she was.

“
Oh Janie, I’ve wanted to do that for a long, long time.” His thumb stroked over her cheek. “I love your freckles. Always have.”

As cold as she was his words iced her to the bone.
Always have. Always…

“
Don’t.” She pulled away, almost jerking herself out of his hold. The last thing she wanted was for Grayson to pretend that there was more between them than there was. He had the gall to pale a little under his cold-reddened cheeks. She put her hands on her hips and glowered at him. “You promised no games.”

“
You’re right, I did.”

He backed another step away from her and even though she’d pushed him away she felt his retreat with a sting that made her heart sink and her eyes burn. She was grateful when he turned his back to her and walked into the barn seconds before her feelings leaked out of her eyes and tumbled in streaks down her face.

Rubbing the sleeve of her coat over her freckled cheeks, Jane followed Grayson knowing that there was little hope of leaving this week with her heart in one piece.

WOUNDED PRIDE TENDED TO HURT WORSE than a punch to the jaw. A broken heart was more excruciating than any broken bone. Grayson knew both from firsthand experience. Knew both thanks to the woman who had once again pushed him away.

Their kiss, their first kiss, had been perfect. When he’d initiated it, he wondered if she would gasp and slap him. Instead she’d responded, wrapped her arms around his neck and even played with his hair. He loved when women played with the hair at the base of his neck. But knowing that it was Jane’s nimble fingers weaving amongst the strands had done very pleasurable things to his body.

She’d melted against him. She’d kissed him back. For a moment, she’d been his.

He wasn’t sure how telling her that her freckles were adorable killed the mood. But it had, just as if he’d doused her with a bucket of cold water. That was what he needed now. He needed a cold shower—in a bad way.

Wounded pride aside, his body was still hot. More than hot—he was nuclear!

The moments he’d spent with her on the road had proven that he was still attracted to her, but after tasting Jane, just a small, miniscule taste, he wanted her with an intensity that made him nuts. The feelings he’d thought might have been diluted over the last fifteen years were fully concentrated and stronger than ever.

Grayson wasn’t too proud to admit to himself that he’d loved Jane in high school. He’d loved the insecure, nerdy girl. He’d never thought she was plain, he’d thought she was beautiful—in a girl next door kind of way. He saw through the braces and glasses and acne. Back then, in his mind’s eye, he pictured what she’d be as a woman—as his wife.

His imagination hadn’t come close.

The grown-up version of his Jane was drop-dead gorgeous! He wanted to feel her long hair spread over his bare chest. He wanted to swim in the depths of her seafoam green eyes as they darkened with desire for him. He wanted to melt into her soft luscious red lips. He wanted lose himself in the soft curves of her body.