Page 115 of Roping Her In

“Your momma seemed to think you might be starving to death.” Hailey teased. “So it’s your funeral if you want to shower first.”

Jake moved toward her, and every cell in Hailey’s body tingled in anticipation of touching him.

“It’ll take twenty minutes,” he said softly. “I just haven’t showered in a couple of days, because I’ve been sick.” His eyes dropped to her mouth, then scanned all the way to her feet and back.

“I just need twenty minutes to shower.” He threaded his fingers through hers, sending a shock up to her shoulder and across the back of her neck.

Hailey nodded, as the electric charge between them had rendered her voice mute. She opened her mouth to speak, and the words caught in her throat. She cleared it and closed her eyes as Jake came closer and lowered his head toward hers. But he didn’t kiss her, and instead buried his face in the hollow of her neck.

“It is so good to see you,” he said. “Thank you for bringing real food.”

“It’ll keep,” she managed to say.

Jake straightened with a new smile on his face. “I’ll kiss you after I’ve brushed my teeth, okay?”

“Yes, please,” Hailey said. She let him hurry down the hall, though she wanted him to stay next to her for a good, long while. She missed him more than she thought possible, and more than she’d ever missed anyone before.

She didn’t know what to do with these feelings, so she put them on hold for a moment and blew them out with her breath as she turned her back on the hallway and took in Jake’s cabin.

He’d texted on Friday morning to say he was quite sick, and that he didn’t want to do it, but he should probably cancel their date that night. She’d offered to bring him food then, but he’d declined, citing the fact that he didn’t want to get her sick either.

It looked like he’d been living on his couch, and seeing as how Hailey had already committed herself to being here with him and taking care of him, she moved over and picked up the blankets from where he’d been sitting. She went out on the front porch and shook them out and laid them over the railing of his porch to air out as well.

Back inside, she cleaned up the obvious remnants of his breakfast—a bowl with a tiny bit of milk at the bottom and a spoon—and took it into the kitchen. He obviously hadn’t done his dishes in a couple of days either, and Hailey set about doing those.

She pulled the top tray of rolls off the casserole dish and started getting out fresh plates and utensils so they could eat when he came back from showering. Her pulse skipped every few minutes, and she wasn’t sure why—other than she hadn’t seen Jake in a while, and she didn’t exactly know where they stood.

She thought of what Camila had said at dinner a couple of nights ago: You want him, though, right?

And Hailey did.

If that meant she needed to start driving out to Three Rivers every night to see him, she’d do it. Now that her life had settled down a little bit, she knew what to expect every day.

“All right,” Jake said as he re-entered the living area.

Hailey got off the couch and moved into the kitchen with him. “So it was the church potluck today,” she said. “And when I found out you wanted your momma to bring you food, I told her I would instead.”

She started peeling off the tinfoil on the top of the dish. “My momma made her chicken pot pie casserole for the potluck, and I asked her to make an extra pan for us.”

The creamy gravy with peas, big chunks of chicken, and carrots came into view with biscuits strategically placed on top. They’d been browned nicely, and practically covered the filling beneath.

“This looks amazing.” Jake reached for her, and Hailey willingly stepped into his arms.

She gazed up at him, and it suddenly seemed like they hadn’t spent any time apart. “I’m sorry I’ve stayed away,” she said. “It’s stupid, because I want to be with you, but you asked me for time, and I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I don’t need any more time,” he said.

Surprise coursed through her and caused her eyes to blink. “What do you mean?”

Jake grinned down at her, and he sure seemed different than before. “Sometimes we stand in our own way,” he said. “That’s something I’ve learned in the last couple of months. And I’ve been the idiot, and I only pray that you’ll be able to forgive me.”

Hailey reached up and ran her fingers down the side of his face. “What are you talking about?”

He swallowed, and her own nerves sang when she saw the evidence of his. “I quit my job here at the ranch.”

Hailey sucked in a breath and fell back a couple of steps, putting distance between them. “Jake, you did not.”

“I did.” His smile hadn’t dimmed a single ounce. “I did, because I can’t stand not being with you.” He sobered slightly. “You’re the one for me, Hailey. I’m in love with you, and an hour and ten minutes is too far for me.”