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“Damn. I forgot the beer,” I sighed as I pulled out the food. “I can go back.”
“No,” she said quickly. “Sometimes beer keeps me up. The water is fine. Look at this! Chicken salad sandwiches, potato chips, and carrots. Is that chocolate cake?”
“It is. Debra brought it over this morning.” I held up a carrot to her mouth and felt desire stir as she took a bite. “It’s not a candlelight steak dinner, but I thought you might like it.”
“It’s perfect,” she sighed as she leaned against me. “It really is beautiful out here, Brendan. I have a hard time seeing how you left it all behind you. Especially now, knowing how much you love it.”
“I was young and rebellious. My independence meant more to me than the land did. My father and I used to fight bitterly, but now I can kind of see where he came from. This ranch is a part of me, and I didn’t respect that. Still, if he had even bent just a fraction for me, I probably would have stayed. But then I would have never met you.” I kissed the top of her head as I broke off half a sandwich and handed it to her.
“We had many good times, didn’t we?” she said with a smile. “Followed by a lot of pain. Did you ever think that it wasn’t worth it? That maybe we were better off never meeting each other?”
“Not a chance,” I said instantly. “Did you?”
“I thought it in anger.” Her admission was quiet. “But I never meant it. Not really. You were my family.”
There was a sigh in her voice. It was an opening. A chance for us to talk about what we’d lost, but I was too afraid to take it. It was better to just look ahead. “You’re here now.”
“Only because you blackmailed me.” Taking a bite of her sandwich, she resettled so that she was lying down with her head in my lap. Around us, the night creatures danced and sang. The howl of the coyote could be heard in the distance, and it was joined by the tree frogs and the crickets. It was loud and yet peaceful.
“You’re a stubborn woman. I had to pull out all the stops to get you here,” I teased her. “You know, when I found out that we were still married, I was relieved.”
“Relieved?”
“I saw you everywhere I went. Thought of you with everything I did. Heard your voice every time I went to sleep at night. You haunted me, Jillian. When I realized that it wasn’t over, I thought maybe I could finally get some closure. Chase your ghost away for good.”
She frowned. “You did the opposite of that.”
“I did. I took one look at you and realized that I didn’t want to chase you away. I wanted to hold you again. Taste you. Love you.”
Sighing, she gave me a dreamy smile. “That’s so sweet. I actually thought that I was hallucinating when I saw you. I thought maybe the pressure of school had finally gotten to me, and I was losing my mind.”
“You are a horrible woman,” I growled playfully. “I’m trying to share a moment with you.”
“I was just being honest.” She popped a chip in my mouth and leaned up to kiss me. “Open and honest communication. That’s what our marriage counselor would advise.”
“I’ll show you what a marriage counselor would advise,” I grunted as I hauled her off my lap and settled between her legs.
“Brendan,” she laughed. “You’re not serious?”
“Nobody can see us,” I assured her. “And I have half a mind to bless every inch of this land with your body.”
She protested half-heartedly until my mouth was on her, and then she grew more and more demanding until we were both straining for a sweet release.
Tomorrow. I’d let her catch up on her sleep tomorrow.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jillian
“It’s absolutely disgusting how happy you look,” Debra said with a frown as I walked into the stables. I’d just finished helping Kim with her work so she could squeeze in a little training time with Starlight, and I wanted to check in on Silva.
“Kim said I was doing pretty well for a city girl,” I said as I pulled out some carrots. By now, Silva trusted me and didn’t even hesitate to take the snacks that I offered and then nose around my pockets for more. He was even more comfortable with Ben and Brendan and some of the other male ranch hands. The vet said he was almost at his normal weight, and soon, he could run around with the big boys.
“That’s not why you’re glowing, and we both know it,” she said with a sigh. “I’m jealous.”
“Really?” Cocking my head, I studied her. She looked like a frustrated woman. “Things not going well with you and Ben?”
