Page 32 of Jake

“I’m always open to you pulling me away.” She leaned over and dropped her head on his shoulder.

He noticed that sometime between when she’d come out here and he’d knocked on her door, she’d kicked off her shoes and now sat here barefoot, her toenails were painted a deep purple that oddly, he found endearing.

“I’m here for you, and while it’s nice that the other women are friendly, they’re not you.”

“That’s sweet. Did you have a good time today?” He wanted to lift his arm and wrap it around her, but wasn’t sure how she’d take it, so he sat there, letting her rest her head against his shoulder, trying to watch her despite the awkward positioning.

“I did. But its been a long day, between the drive, setting up then all the stuff here. I just needed to get away for a bit.”

“No worries. There’s no problem with that. I did want to check with you about tomorrow though.”

“I know there’s some kind of trip tomorrow. The women were excited, but I never caught where you are going.”

“We’re going to Rushmore. I wanted to invite you along if you want to go. But if you’re too tired, I don’t want you feeling like you have to.”

She sat up, turned sideways on the sofa so she faced him, folding her legs in front of her on the seat. “Invite me how?” She wiggled until she was more comfortable.

Jake twisted to face her, pulling one leg up into the seat, but staying careful to keep his boot off the upholstery.

“I want you to come. I think it would be fun, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to,” he said, watching her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

“I’ve never been to Rushmore. I’d like to see it, but I want to know more about the trip? I’ve only gone on the one trip with a group of bikers, that’s where I ran into you. Somehow, I think that’s not typical of your usual ride.”

“It’s not. First, every club does rides a little different. Each has their own traditions and things they do, so a typical ride with the Kings wouldn’t be the same as a typical ride with the Souls. The ride to Sturgis was a special thing in that we were meeting up with the Kings. We’re not doing that this time. We also don’t typically bring along a grill and enough food for an army like it seems they do.”

“So if you don’t take food, what do you do?”

“I didn’t say we don’t take food. Just that we don’t take a grill, especially not one big enough to be it’s own trailer, though now that Lurch has seen that, we may get one. It was a nice setup and could be used on the ranch too. But food is sometimes taken, and sometimes a planned stop along the way, depending on how we’re doing it, and if someone wants to take cars instead of their bike. Tomorrow the plan is to stop in Custer on our way back.”

“How would I ride along? I don’t have a bike and after today, I don’t want to drive all day again, even if I’m not towing.”

He watched her for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. Was she deliberately missing his meaning when he invited her along? He reached out, covering her hands where they sat on her lap, fidgeting with each other.

“Lynnie, when I say I’d like you to go on the ride with me tomorrow, I mean I want you with me. I want you on the back of my bike.”

Slowly, she lifted her gaze until it met his. “You do?” Her voice was soft, as if she wasn’t sure if she should believe him. “I know that’s a big deal. I mean yeah, I rode with Matt, but he’s family and that’s different.”

“How big of deal it is varies by the club, and even by the guy. I won’t lie to you and say I’ve never had a woman on the back of my bike, but I’ve never taken one on a run. But I want you there.”

Her eyes went wide. “Never?”

“Never, Lynnie.” He squeezed her hands, hoping she would understand what he was trying to get across without his having to come out and say it. He hated talking about his feelings. What man didn’t?

“You’re sure you want it to be me?”

Jake took a deep breath and searched for the right words. He needed to do this right, so she understood how much she meant to him. Yeah, they’d only recently encountered each other again, but she had always been the one for him. The one he thought about when things got tough. The one he’d always wondered what if about. The one he’d always regretted never making a move on. But now was his chance not to regret it again.

“I want it to be you. I’ve always wanted it to be you, even when I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.” He let his gaze drop to where his hand still covered his and told her about the thoughts that had been haunting him for some time. “Sometimes I wish I’d asked you out way back then, even knowing we would be leaving. It would have been hard leaving, but then I would have known if you felt the same way I did and not been left wondering for the last twelve years.”

“I wish you had too.” Heather’s voice was little more than a whisper, but he heard it.

He looked up to find her watching him, liquid pooling in her eyes. “As much as I think it might have been better if I’d done that, I know better. I know that if I’d asked then, we wouldn’t be the same people we are now. Who knows if we would have lasted back then. I don’t know that I had the experiences to recognize the best thing that’s ever happened to me. What I do know is that now that I’ve found you again, I don’t want to waste another minute, Lynnie.” He lifted his free hand to cup her jaw.

“Me either.” She leaned close, her gaze flicking down his face, then back to his eyes.

Jake knew what she was looking at. He wanted the same thing, but he wasn’t going to push her before she was ready. Slowly, he leaned forward, giving her time to back away or tell him to stop if this wasn’t what she wanted.

24

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