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We both nodded because the implication was clear. He didn’t want us under the same roof with his pretty young niece for a minute longer than absolutely necessary.
He was a smart man.
Because even though Cade and I had made an agreement just a couple of hours earlier, I couldn’t honestly say either of us were strong enough to stick to it.
Especially here.
With Janessa.
Overnight.
Chapter 4
Janessa
I couldn’t sleep.
No matter how much I tried or how many times I tossed and turned in my bed, I just couldn’t clear my mind. Those few moments in the kitchen with Boone when I’d been crying had opened up a floodgate of emotions that I still hadn’t fully recovered from.
God, I could still feel the heat from his hard, muscular body. He hadn’t hesitated to pull me in for a tight hug, and even though it had definitely not been the hot, sexy kind of moment that I would have preferred, it had still been memorable.
Maybe even more memorable because it had been nice. Sweet. Comforting. I’d felt safe in those strong arms. And the way his voice had broken when he’d mentioned his wife…
I took a deep breath before I started crying all over again.
I hated that either of us—or anyone else, for that matter—had to go through that kind of pain, but there was something comforting about knowing that I wasn’t completely alone. I wasn’t the only person in the world who had gone through something unspeakably awful and managed to keep going. There were plenty of days when it had been easy to believe that nobody could ever understand the pain I felt, but… Boone understood.
Turning over again, I made the mistake of looking at my bedside clock. It was seriously the middle of the night, and I had zero hope of getting back to sleep anytime soon.
If Mom was here, she’d make things better.
She had always known exactly how to make everything better, whether it was a cold or a bad dream or just a bad day. It usually involved a hug and some hot cocoa. With whipped cream.
God, how long had it been since I’d had hot cocoa like that?
Way too long.
My feet hit the floor and I was moving before I’d even made a conscious decision to get out of bed. But there was no point in trying to talk myself out of it—I needed something to soothe the pain of all those old memories, and my mom’s favorite remedy seemed like a fitting choice. I was already starting to feel a little bit better just thinking about it as I walked out of my bedroom and started down the hallway toward the stairs.
The old floorboards creaked as I walked past the guest bedrooms, and I stopped, holding my breath and hoping that I hadn’t made too much noise. I knew Cade and Boone had to get up early to go back home, so I didn’t want to do anything that might wake them. Thankfully, Uncle Justin’s room was at the other end of the hall, because I definitely didn’t want to explain to him why I hadn’t been able to sleep.
Plus, I was pretty sure he was a little irritated with me over the whole Cade and Boone thing—first about inviting them over for dinner and then insisting that they spend the night.
In my defense, though, it really had been raining hard all evening, and I really was worried about them driving all the way back to their own ranch.
I slowly exhaled the breath I’d been holding and started to move again, wincing as the top step groaned under my weight. I was going to wake the whole house up if I wasn’t careful.
I took one last look to the left and the right, to each of the rooms where Cade and Boone were staying, and wondered what would happen if either of them did wake up. Would they come out to check on the noises in the hallway? Would Boone give me another one of those great hugs if I told him I hadn’t been able to sleep?
Would he offer to hold me just like that if I was in his bed?
A flood of heat rushed through my body as I hurried down the stairs. Best not to think too much more about things like that. Hot cocoa might be good for frayed nerves, but I wasn’t sure how effective it was when it came to fighting off hot fantasies.
Uncle Justin would be mortified to know I’d been thinking about our guests that way and would definitely do his best to make sure they never came over to visit again.
So yeah, it was in my best interest to make sure everyone stayed in their own beds tonight.
And hopefully, if the hot cocoa did the trick, I’d be back in my own bed soon, too.
