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“You are?” She couldn’t hide the surprise from her voice. Her chest was already tightening with regret. This little fling with Knox would have been better off not happening at all. She was glad to know what had split them up in high school, but reality was that they couldn’t ever go back to what they used to be. Too much had happened since that time.
“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Knox left it at that as he continued to drive down the dark, country road. She wasn’t sure where they were going until he turned on the road that led to Prosperity Ranch. This surprised her more than anything.
“Aren’t your parents asleep?” she asked as they neared.
“We’re not going into the house.”
He parked before the road curved to the driveway, then he popped open his door, still holding her hand. “Come on,” he said, tugging her so that she scooted to his side of the truck.
She stepped out, and Knox shut the driver’s side door with a quiet click. Then he led her around the back side of the property, an area she knew would eventually take them past the farthest barn. She hadn’t been to Prosperity Ranch for ages, since high school, really. The velvety night was warm, and the barely-there breeze raised prickles on her neck. Knox still held her hand, and she relished the warmth and strength of his fingers. She was already missing him. Wishing he didn’t have to leave so soon.
“Did Ruby like the rodeo?” she finally asked, because she was truly wondering if Knox was going to say something, or if they were just walking the ranch in the middle of the night.
He seemed to come out of whatever deep thought he was in. Looking over, he pulled her to a stop. They were next to the small arena, and she assumed that in the daytime, it was filled with the horses that Holt was training and caring for. Right now, though, only silence came from the barn.
“She loved it. Asked me about a million questions, too.”
“I can imagine,” Jana said. “The rodeo is pretty exciting to a little girl.”
“That’s not what her questions were about,” Knox said in a slow tone. He lifted his hand to her neck, and his thumb did a slow caress along her jaw.
Jana involuntarily shuddered as heat pulsed through her at his touch. “What did she ask, then?”
“About you,” Knox said, his tone a low murmur. “She wanted to know everything, and then she promptly told my parents that I had a girlfriend.”
“What?”
His mouth quirked. “Do you want to know what I told her?”
“I don’t know,” Jana said. “Do I?”
Knox’s hand slid lower, across her shoulder then down her arm. When his hand reached hers, he interlaced their fingers. “I told her yes.”
Jana didn’t know what to say. She and Knox had barely started talking to each other after years of not speaking, and—
“Jana,” he said. “You don’t look too happy about it.”
“You told your daughter that I was your girlfriend in front of your parents? Knox, we aren’t even dating, not really… You’re leaving tonight, and then what?”
Knox brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. “Do we need all the answers right now?” He lifted her hand to his shoulder, then drew her hand to the back of his neck, which brought their bodies flush together.
Jana’s breath stuttered. The heat between them only increased by the second. “You kissed me, Knox, and it was amazing. But it was only a kiss. Not an exclusive dating commitment.”
“Hmm,” his voice rumbled. “Are you a player, Jana Harris?”
She wanted to laugh, but his tone had been completely serious. “No. I’m not a player, but…”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “You don’t trust me, do you?”
Jana closed her eyes. “I do trust you. Or at least, I want to.”
Knox’s exhale was slow. “I guess I deserve that. I’m sure you’ve heard all the rumors. Most of them are probably true. But I want you to know that you can ask me anything, sweetheart, anything at all.”
“I’m at a disadvantage here,” she said, opening her eyes.
“How so?”
“You’re Knox Prosper,” she said. “Every woman in the town has been in love with you at one point or another. But I’m just plain Jana. I make jam for my parents’ tiny company. I write novels that no one wants to buy. I’ve been on maybe ten dates since high school. Believe me, no one is lining up to date me. No one even cares enough to gossip about me. Unless it’s connected with you, of course.”
