Page 49 of Wrangling a Texas Hometown Hero

“Hallie?”

Hallie mouthed, What the fuck? All Jace could do was shrug like the idiot he was. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone from him.

“Hey, Mama. What’s going on?”

Since Darla wasn’t talking softly, he had no trouble hearing her. “What’s going on? I’ll tell you what’s going on, young lady. Your daddy, Mimi, and I have been worried sick since we arrived home from the Hellhole to discover you weren’t here. Mimi is now calling all your sisters and Daddy is calling Decker to see if he can put out a missing persons alert. That’s what’s going on!”

Jace cringed and Hallie glared at him. “I’m sorry, Mama. I just . . . stopped by Mrs. Stokes’ on the way home to talk with Jace about the game and we sorta lost track of time.” Darla said something he couldn’t hear. Hallie cringed. “Well, I don’t know why Jace left his truck at the Hellhole. I guess he had too much to drink and someone gave him a ride home. Well, how do I know who gave him a ride home, Mama?” She lowered the phone. “Who gave you a ride home, Jace?” She sent him a warning look and he knew he was supposed to give her a good answer. But he didn’t have one. If he gave a name, Darla could easily prove him a liar by asking that person. Hallie’s mama wasn’t dumb. It was obvious by her questioning that she’d already figured things out. If him answering her daughter’s phone hadn’t given it away, Hallie’s frantic behavior had.

Jace took the phone away from her. “Hi, Darla. I’ll have Hallie home in a few minutes.” He hung up the phone and set it on the nightstand.

“You’re right,” she said. “There’s no need for us to explain anything to my mama. Or to Daddy or Mimi. The less we say the better.” She climbed out of bed and started picking up her clothes. “We’ll just stick to the story that I stopped by to talk football.”

He grabbed his boxers and pulled them on. “I’m sure that will be believable when you haven’t shown up for one game.” He glanced at the clock. “And when it’s past one in the morning. And why didn’t you just say you drove me home because I was drunk?”

She stopped in the process of tugging on her jeans to glare at him. “Well, pardon me for not thinking fast enough. Might I remind you that we wouldn’t be in this predicament if you hadn’t answered my phone.”

“I didn’t realize it was your phone.” He pulled on his jeans. “And I’m sorry, but I’m not going to lie to your mama.”

She stopped buttoning her shirt and stared at him. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’m not going to pretend we were talking about football or someone besides you brought me home.”

“So you’re going to tell her what we did?”

“No, but I’m not going to act like we’re just friends. We’re more than that, Hallie. And regardless of the fallout, I’m tired of acting like we aren’t.”

“Because you aren’t the one who fooled around with your sister’s ex-boyfriend!”

“I get it. Believe me, I get it. When I found out Decker and Sweetie got together, I tried to pull the cousins-don’t-fool-around-with-other-cousins’-girlfriends card. But that was just because my ego was hurt. Sweetie and I weren’t meant for each other. She and Decker are. No dumb cousins’ rules or silly sisters’ oaths would have changed that.”

Hallie’s eyes widened. “Are you saying we’re meant for each other?”

Was he? If the horrified look on her face was any indication, he shouldn’t be.

“I’m just saying you can’t let your life be ruled by oaths you took as kids. Decker didn’t let what Sweetie and I had interfere with what he felt for her. I don’t think we should either. That’s all I’m saying.”

Her gaze zeroed in on him. “And what do you feel for me, Jace Carson?”

His heart moved up into his throat and he had to swallow hard to get it back where it belonged. “I like you, Hallie Holiday. I’ve always liked you. You’re funny and feisty and . . .” His gaze lowered to her breasts peeking through the strands of long golden hair. “Hot as hell. And I don’t want this to be the last time we see each other.”

“Are you saying you want a repeat of tonight?”

He did. But that wasn’t all he wanted. “I want to dance with you. I want to spin you around until you’re dizzy, then I want to waltz you in my arms until closing time. I want to take you to Tito’s Tacos and watch you eat your favorite shredded beef burritos with extra cheddar cheese and green chili. I’m assuming those are still your favorite.”

When she nodded, he stepped closer and continued. “I want to ride with you like we used to. Once we’ve ridden until we’re both sweaty and tired, I want to head to Cooper Springs and go swimming.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Swimming or skinny-dipping?”

“Whichever you prefer. I don’t care as long as we can do it together. And then I want to sit in the hayloft and watch the sun lower on the horizon like a big orange beach ball and the stars come out like thousands of twinkling diamonds.” He lifted a hand and traced her cheek. “With you, Hallie. Just you.”

It took her a long time to reply. Which made his stomach more than a little queasy. So did the fact that she refused to look at him. Her gaze was pinned to his chest. Finally, she spoke.

“That’s a lot to get done in two weeks. Especially when you have a football team to coach.”

She had a good point, but he couldn’t deny his desires anymore. “I know. That’s why I don’t want to waste a second of it pretending we’re just friends.”

She lifted her gaze. “There will be gossip.”

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