Page 28 of Joy Ride
He’s back. Thank God. He’s back.
Chapter Fourteen
“I had to take care of something at Boondocks.” I glance at Jolene, and in that split second, she sends me a private smile, which makes me bite my lip in a grin as I take a seat across from her.
“See?” Chase passes me the platter of Rudolph-shaped pancakes with chocolate chips for eyes that have melted to look more like a unibrow. “I told them something probably came up at the bar. Lexi was worried something happened to you.”
“I wasn’t upset or anything,” she counters, “just wondered where you were, is all.”
“So did I,” Jolene says softly. Chase sets down his fork. Lexi raises a brow expectantly at Chase, and they both turn to Goldilocks who’s now mute.
“Why don’t you stay a little longer, Jolene?” Lexi asks, giving Chase’s elbow a nudge.
“It’s foolish to leave,” Chase is adamant. “It’s a seven-hour drive back, and you just got here.”
Jolene finishes swallowing and dabs her mouth with a napkin. “Well, I um…I don’t want to put you out.”
I zero in on her. “Stay.”
Chase and Lexi glance at each other and then to me. For a second, it’s so quiet at the table you could hear a pin drop until Shenandoah pierces the silence with a shriek.
“Stay!” The little one bounces off her chair. “We can finish my puzzle.”
Jolene pulls her gaze from mine. “I did say I’d help you, didn’t I?” She shrugs. “It’s just my mom was planning on a Christmas dinner rerun tonight. I guess they have a lot of leftovers.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind,” Chase straightens. “If you think you’ll need help convincing her, I’ll call for you.”
“You could talk Rudolph into lending you his nose,” Lexi cracks.
“Let me think about it, okay?” Jolene asks with a soft smile, but I can tell something is rattling her.
We keep the conversation light through the rest of breakfast, and when we finish, Lexi and Chase practically kick us out of the house, demanding we take a walk and enjoy the first sunny day we’ve had in a week.
Jolene’s quiet during our walk, but points out cloud formations, boulders, and how the Ponderosa branches are still heavy with sparkling snow, mentioning everything except the tension between us.
I reach for her hand and clasp it in mine.
“Aren’t you worried everyone will know we hooked up?” she asks, her expression trepidatious and everything it shouldn’t be.
“Hooked up? Is that what you’re calling it?” I ask. Fuck, if that’s what she really thinks happened between us, I’ve got a major problem here. We take the route across the footbridge over Little Creek.
“Well, I don’t know,” She brushes the hair from her eyes. “I guess I was a little disappointed when you weren’t there when I woke up.”
“We didn’t hook up,” I clarify, squeezing her hand. “We bonded. We mated. Fuck I hope you’re pregnant,” I say. She snaps her head to me, and we keep walking. “If you want to cut to the chase, pardon the pun, I don’t give a shit about anyone knowing that I’m crazy about you. Didn’t you believe me when I said you were mine?”
“I’m not used to sexy talk or what people say when—”
“When they’re pumping your pussy with cum?” I ask incredulously. I know she’s inexperienced, but I thought she knew that we’d turned a corner.
She gapes at me. “Really? Did you just say that out loud?”
“Yeah. For all the deer and chipmunks to hear.” I rub my forehead, trying to ease my frustration. “Let’s drop the subject for now and head back, okay?”
“Deal.” She nods, and with our fingers still interlocked, we turn back to Chase and Lexi’s. The walk home is mostly quiet too, but I manage to get her to agree to stop by my cottage where her present is wrapped and waiting.
“This is for you sweetheart,” I say, snagging the gift off the bed and handing it to her. “I didn’t have a chance to give it to you last night.” I laugh. “Obviously, I didn’t expect Jolene Woodman to be here, so I didn’t bring it with me. That’s why I had to go back to Boondocks this morning.”
“Oh.” Her eyes light up as she accepts it. “Can’t believe you did this,” she says taking a seat at the foot of the bed. I sit beside her and watch as she unties the bright red ribbon. “I don’t have a present for you. I’m so sorry.”
