Secret Pressure (Rhinestone Cowgirls Book 4) (14 page)

The tight lipped expression was back. “How you Walters tolerate the Stones? Oh now that makes me almost laugh, considering your brothers have fallen mad over heels in love with my cousins. I’d say they tolerate us just fine! And, for your information, buddy, I didn’t see you fighting when we got naked at the hotel.”

He drank half the cold beer in one gulp but the tension remained. “We should just agree to disagree.”

“I didn’t intend for us to get stuck here.” Concern etched lines around her eyes. “Em is keeping Jack and I’ve never been away from him all night—” Jobe cleared his throat. “Okay, except for the night with you.”

“At least he’ll be well taken care of.” He knew that Nash and Em had been trying for some time to get pregnant. His brother had mentioned several times that Em was losing hope that she’d ever have a child of her own.

“True, but he’s a mommy’s boy.”

He frowned. “That’s because he doesn’t have a daddy,” he snarled.

“He has one. He just needs to get to know you.” Her eyes turned soft and she looked at him in a way he’d never been looked at before, mingled with her calling him Jack’s dad did something serious to his heart.

He blew out a long breath through the corner of his mouth. “Ruby, I know you’re a good mother. Asking for full custody wasn’t an easy decision.”

“Thank you for the compliment. And as mad as you are at me, you have to see your request is unfair.”

He nodded. Maybe a talk was something they needed. In some way it would release the demons piling up inside of him. He couldn’t live like this, full of anger and despair. A slow burn crawled down his backbone. He’d have to swallow some pride. “I was bitter when I found out about Jack. Well, even further back, when you left without saying goodbye.”

She popped up a shoulder, then let it drop. “I promise you I didn’t do it out of spite. In that moment that I saw you, I decided we would go nowhere. I understand it’s a lame excuse, but it’s the only answer I have. And I did want to tell you.” She plopped down into the chair. “There were many moments I wanted to reach out to you. The first ultrasound. When he was born, looking so much like you. So many firsts that I wondered what it would be like if you knew. But days rushed by in a blur and I didn’t want to disturb your life.”

He scrubbed his jaw. “How would my son disturb my life?”

“You were engaged very quickly.”

“And I already told you what that was.” He sighed.

“But I didn’t know.”

He chuckled dryly. “We could go around in circles about this all day.”

“Yes.” She met his gaze head on. “I’ve walked around with the greatest amount of guilt on my shoulders. Why do you think I’m here, doing this?” She held up her hands. “This isn’t easy. If you were just some guy, maybe I could go on and forget.”

“You can’t ask me just to forgive and forget.”

“Seeing you again, it broke something inside of me. Something I’ve put a lock on and no one could reach. I’m sorry, Jobe. I really am. I hope that in time you’ll forgive me because, whether we like it or not, we’re in each other’s lives now.”

He pushed away from the sink, downed his beer and threw the empty bottle into the trash. The glass cracked loudly. “And I can’t promise that. Right now I have one focus and that’s my son. I can’t hate you—I could never hate you—but I can be angry with you. Those are my feelings and I’m owning them.”

“We don’t have to work everything out in one talk, but sometime, while we’re here, we need to work things out between us. Hiring attorneys will only prolong what’s best for Jack.”

“That sounds fair. In the meantime, I’m hungry. I expected to come up here and find a table laden with good food.” His stomach growled as if to verify his words.

She stood up. “I can see what there is and make something.”

He shook his head. “Risk you poisoning me? No thanks.”

She blinked. “That’s mean and uncalled for.”

“Really?” He lifted a brow. “You think so? And you slashing my tires isn’t uncalled for? Damn woman, those are new tires, too,”

“I’ll pay for any expenses that arise.”

“I would say that we’re even, but after I spent twenty grand the other night I’m a little tight on the change pocket.” He lied. Twenty thousand wasn’t nothing, and hell, it was well worth it. But he wouldn’t tell her that.

He searched through the cabinets and refrigerator, he came up with soup in a can. It wouldn’t be his first choice, but it appeared to be his only choice. He grabbed a pan from the ceiling rack, placing it on the stove and opened the can, dumping the contents inside. However, he couldn’t stop grabbing sneak peeks at the luscious woman sitting at the table. Her hair had dried and hung wildly around her cheeks.

Ruby sparked something within him greater than anger. All the more reason why he needed to get tougher. He wouldn’t allow her to manipulate him. His body could demand a piece of that ass all it wanted, but his mind would stay in control. He wasn’t such a jerk that he’d attempt to sleep with her just because his body ached for release. Hell, they could screw as much as they wanted, but when the end came, the problem still remained. They had a son together and they needed to come up with a solution.

What the fuck had come over him? He shouldn’t want anything from her except a custody paper stating he would have shared time with his son. But there was the problem with location. They lived far enough apart that traveling would be required.

She shifted and tucked her legs up under her bottom showing a good deal of smooth, sexy leg. An image of her completely naked slipped through his mind. She wouldn’t be naked in his arms. That would only complicate things further.

The soup started boiling and he poured it into two mugs. He set one on the table in front of Ruby. She looked up at him, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. Now if that wasn’t a sexy as hell expression. “Bon appetite.” Her eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m texting Em. To check on Jack.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. He’s playing in the pool right now. Em said he could swim.”

Jobe pulled out the chair and took a seat. “He can swim? Damn, that’s awesome. Do most kids swim this young?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I planned to take him to swim lessons when he was older. She said Nash took him into the water and he took off swimming. That little man never stops amazing me. I guess I’m just sad because I missed it.”

“It doesn’t feel good, does it?” Moisture filed her eyes and he swallowed. Damn, he didn’t want to make her cry. When one tear fell to her cheek, he reacted without thought, leaning forward and wiping it away. Heat zapped his arm. He jerked back, almost knocking over his mug. “No need to cry.”

“She sent a video. Want to see?”

He swallowed. “Sure.”

She handed him the phone and he watched the little tyke splashing around inside of the pool, a big toothless grin. He got choked up, but he managed to stay in control. “Poor little guy. He looks just like the Walter’s clan.”

****

Watching Jobe watch their son on the video made Ruby nervous. Keeping her eyes on him, she admired the sudden proud tilt of his jaw and the admiration in his eyes. Emotion built up inside of her, making it difficult to breathe. Her chest became heavy and her vision blurred, but she couldn’t lose it in front of him, not now. She had to stay brave, for her son.

She tried keeping her gaze trained on his face, determined not to look at his bare, broad chest, or his muscled abdomen that was more than a six-pack. But damn, she couldn’t make her eyes behave. They roved, taking a stroll over him in a slow, needful stare.

She dropped her eyes to the shorts that hugged him tightly. Wow! Oh, shit. She saw movement. Was he getting hard? She jerked her gaze upward, finding him watching her. She cleared her throat. “Uhh, where did you find those shorts?”

“In a drawer upstairs.”

“Couldn’t find something that actually fit?”
Something that wouldn’t make me want to jump your bones.

“Actually, no. Trust me, I can remove them if that’ll be a better choice.”

“No,” she said a little too quickly. Her brain reeled as her inner thighs warmed.  She had to keep her guard up when it came to him.

Could she prove to him that, although she’d made a mistake, she could be trusted? Picking up the mug of soup, she sipped the hot tomato flavor. She wasn’t really hungry, but it was there and it helped calm her nerves. Ruby missed Jack, but Em and Nash were enjoying their time with the toddler, evident in the laughter in the video. Em had been trying for some time to get pregnant with no luck.

“We need to figure something civil out for Jack,” Jobe said,

She looked through the steam at him. “Do you mean that?”

He nodded and scratched his jaw. “I don’t know what the solution is, but hurting you or Jack isn’t part of my plan.”

His eyes were pensive and his lips tight. She couldn’t be angry with him. He wanted to be a father. She wouldn’t want anything less for Jack. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“He could come stay with me two weeks out of each month?”

Her stomach slipped to her toes. “Two weeks? He’s only two years old. We’ve never been a way from each other that length of time.”

“I’d suggest every other weekend but it’s a long drive.” He sipped his soup. “What are your thoughts?”

“I could come to Rhinestone Ranch a week out of the month, and we could do this slowly.”

“Hold it there. I’m willing to take things reasonably slow, but how many more days am I supposed to miss?”

She laid her palms flat on the table, managing the shaking. “I’ve never been away from him, and I can’t agree to two weeks away. It wouldn’t be healthy for him.” She sat back in the chair. “You could come and stay at The Stone Hedge two weeks out of the month.”

He grimaced. “And stay with your family? On top of that, I have a business to help run. Two weeks for one month would work. Long term wouldn’t.” He scooted his chair back and stood. “Want a beer?”

“I’d rather have a glass of wine.”

“Wine?”

“I know there’s some here.” She got up and went to the cabinets, pulling open door after door until she found what she was looking for. “They only keep the best liquor here. Want some?”

“I’ll stick with beer.”

She poured herself a full glass and went back to sit, watching him stroll back to the table. She hurried and took a sip, feeling it pool in heat at the bottom of her stomach.

“We’re not getting anywhere fast or so it seems,” he said with an impatient sigh.

“There’s no easy fix for this.” She rolled her finger around the rim of the crystal glass, staring down into the liquid, wishing the answers would be easier.

“I have an idea, if you’re willing to hear me out.”

“I’m willing to hear anything, but I might not agree with it.”

“You come to the ranch to live—” She opened her mouth when he held up a hand. “You agreed to hear me out. You could live there until he gets comfortable with me and his surroundings, and then we’ll start with one weekend and see where we go from there.”

“Come and live with you?” The words were hard to form.

“Why is that a problem? I have the farmhouse to myself. I’m close to work and you can take your work anywhere you go. Am I right?”

She searched her brain for a good argument and didn’t come up with one, except, “You and I aren’t exactly…” How could she put it into delicate words? “getting along.”

“We will have to work on that. We’re adults and we have Jack in mind. Where could we go wrong?”

No matter which way she went, she couldn’t find a reason to deny his plan. This way she could be with Jack while he got to know Jobe. She wouldn’t have to leave her son, until later. It hurt her to think there would come a time when he would stay with Jobe alone.  It wasn’t that she didn’t want Jack to be with Jobe.  She just didn’t want to leave her son, her world. For two years they’ve been each other’s constant. When her parents died, Jack and her sisters were the only thing that got her through.

She wasn’t the only single parent in the world who had to face times like this. This was part of the deal, whether she liked it or not. And she couldn’t see any other way beyond what he’d suggested. Yet, she couldn’t jump into anything.

“I’ll need time to think it over,” she finally said.

He smoothed his palm down his face. “I understand, but I don’t think there will be a better one.”

“Why would you want this, Jobe? You said yourself you’re angry with me, can’t trust me.” It would be hard enough to be around him every day.

“Although I’m angry with you, I can see past my emotions. I can have a clear head. As far as you and I are concerned, I know exactly where I stand. I’m Jack’s father. Everything else no longer matters.”

“So distancing yourself works?”

“Works for me.” He shrugged. “Now if we can ever get off this hill.”

“First thing in the morning, I’ll call a local repair shop, have them come and fix your tires.”

He nodded. “That’d be great.”