Page 6 of Christmas Eve at Bluff Creek

Jesse finished and motioned Cannon to go out the door.

“Do we need to do anything else?”

Jesse walked back to the bike, their feet crunching on the gravel. “No, she’s probably crying and won’t want us to see that. She was our piano teacher growing up and her daughter was Sarah’s age. Her daughter usually played the piano and led the singing at the town’s tree lighting.”

Cannon got on his bike and waited for Jesse to settle behind him. He started up the bike and guided it back onto the road. He wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t needed their money for presents. She’d needed the connection of another human letting her know she mattered just for a little while. They’d shared cocoa and cookies. He hoped she joined them for lunch tomorrow because he’d like to get to know her better. She reminded him of his grandma when she was alive. She’d lived to see him graduate from the police academy but died from pneumonia the following winter.

After she was gone, his family had become the men he worked with. He wasn’t sure where his dad was, and he didn’t care.

“Where to next?” Jesse had been in charge of the schedule.

“Back to the barn to drop off the suits and cuts, then we’re done for the night.”

He’d dreaded being with Jesse, but seeing her with Mrs. Hall had shown him a different side of her. She irritated him constantly, but he could see the good in her. Maybe too much because he needed to keep it platonic. No wanting and fantasizing about the hot mechanic who was the daughter of an original and one of his club brothers. Thinking about any type of relationship with her wasn’t in the cards for him. He was better off alone.

Jesse was quiet on the ride back. Cannon didn’t know if he should be worried or thankful. She’d chatted the whole evening, so hearing the silence was unnerving.

He parked his bike and waited for her to get off. Then he followed her into the barn, trying to keep his eyes off her butt cupped in her tight jeans. Maybe he did actually like the shapeless overalls because Jesse, without them, was too tempting.

He took his Santa suit off and put it where Jesse motioned. She took off her cut and laid it inside a red tote, then picked up his and did the same.

“Did you drive here, or do you need a ride to your house?”

Cannon wanted to kick himself for asking the question, but no matter how much Jesse made his blood boil, he couldn’t, in good conscience, not make sure she got safely home. If she was his sister, he’d want someone to make sure she was okay. Sure, she was a strong, fierce woman, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need someone to look after her.

If he thought the price would be worth what he’d gain, he’d love to see if their coming together would be as fiery as he imagined, but it wasn’t to be. He liked his control. No, he was lying to himself. The vagabond lifestyle he’d lived as a kid had created his need for control in everything, but especially in the bedroom. He needed a woman who knew how to follow directions and wanted him in control. He wished Jesse was that woman.

She intrigued him, and he couldn’t get enough of her scent. Who knew the scent of warm woman and motor oil would be something he’d come to crave?

JESSE DEBATED ANSWERINGCannon. Each second around him had become torture. She’d been attracted to him from the first, but he rubbed her the wrong way. She’d fought to be accepted in what was basically a man’s world. She wouldn’t settle for anyone less than someone who supported her job.

Sure, she wanted a family someday, but she could have both a family and a career. Her mom had done it and pioneered it when women still weren’t allowed their own checking account or credit account. If her mom could do it despite the odds against her, Jesse knew she could too.

If only everything about Cannon didn’t make her want to know more. Watching him interact with the families and kids tonight had shown her a kinder, sweeter Cannon than she normally saw. She didn’t understand how one man could make her want to climb him like a tree while at the same time wonder if the next time he opened his mouth her blood would boil in anger.

She’d actually avoided going into the gun shop after he’d smarted off about her not knowing about what type of gun she was looking for. She had known, but sometimes she got so tongue-tied in his presence she couldn’t say what she wanted.

“I rode with Winnie. I’ll just wait until she gets back.”

“That’s stupid. I’ll take you home.”

And there again was one of the times she just wanted to wrap duct tape around his head a couple times. Duct tape did fix a lot of issues. He could have just offered to take her home, but instead, he denigrated her choice.

“I’m trying to figure out why you can’t be civil when we talk. You seem to have no problem with other people, plus you were a police officer, so I know you have to have tact. Why am I the exception? What is it about me that makes you think it’s okay to act like a jerk to me?”

Jesse turned to walk away because she was done. If the snowplow wasn’t covering the entrance to the tunnels, she’d probably open the hatch and push him in to get him out of her sight.

Why did the one man who fascinated her have to be such a jerk to her? Sometimes she’d think she’d see a hint of interest in his eyes, then he’d cut her down with his words. It was like he had two personalities. The one he showed to everyone else and the one he reserved for her.

She’d have to figure out how to deal with it because unless he transferred to the Texas Chapter she would be never get rid of him. She loved her home, her job, and her sisters. No one was driving her away.

A hand grasped her arm and turned her back around. A shiver slid down her spine at his touch, despite her anger still boiling inside.

His hand ghosted across her cheek, then his fingers tunneled into her hair, gripping her hair and tilting her head to the side. She had seconds to feel his warm breath on her face, then his lips took hers. There wasn’t any other way to describe it besides a claiming.

The barn and the smell of the cool night air fell away, and all she could concentrate on was him. His touch and how it made every nerve in her body stand up and scream, “Yes!”.

Cannon’s kiss didn’t coax. He took, but his taste was something she knew she could come to crave. When he finally pulled his lips away, her breath was sawing in and out of her chest and her heart was pounding.

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