Page 14 of Handling Skylar
He looked away, then back at me, his tone subdued. “I have dealt with my daddy, Jake, and I get it. You’re trying to find your way within your family and in your own life. But leaving unresolved issues between you and Chase is only going to cause more heartache for your sister and your parents, not to mention what it’s doing to Chase. I don’t understand what happened between you, but I would be lost without my brothers, so I can’t relate. All I can say is forgive him, Jake, before you lose too much more time. It’s no secret that I would kill for River. I don’t want to see her unhappy, but I also need to tell you to pull your head out of your ass.”
“What?”
“Anna Kate isn’t going to make you happy. You are respected in this town, but that harpy doesn’t respect you. I’ve seen the way she treats you. You deserve better than that. Someone who’s part of your life, not a fixture. Anna Kate only cares about one thing. Your money. You stand to inherit a fortune. Do you want a sham marriage?”
“No,” I said immediately. I wanted the lasting and loving relationship my parents had. I was caught off-guard. I hadn’t really thought about that before. Damn Brax and his sage advice.
“Then what are you doing?”
It was my turn to look away. “I have no idea.”
I still didn’t have a clue when I pulled up in front of the Blue Coyote. Parking, I walked in the door. I didn’t expect my heart would jump like that. Skylar Bransom was standing at the counter, the light slanted across her jet black hair. She had an ivory lace dressand a short-multi-colored western skirt. Her changeable hazel eyes were outlined with dark liner. I wasn’t used to a girl like that. I dated debutantes and ran with the country club crowd. Even the Colonel’s shame couldn’t ruin our influence in this town. I realized that now. We were the Suttons and always would be. So my heart had no business jumping like that. No business at all.
But it did.
“Jake,” she breathed and I went toward the counter. “What can we do for you?”
Our eyes met and both of us were remembering. “I need a trim,” I said.
“I can take him,” one of the girl’s called out.”
“I got him,” Sky said and was she ever right. She so had me. I didn’t know what I was expecting from her, but not this warmth, the light in her eyes.
“This way,” she said as she led me over to the shampoo area. “Have a seat.”
I complied and she reached up for a small towel and draped it around my neck, her hands on my skin complete torture.
“How have you been?” I asked, the silence charged with the memory of how we’d been the last time we were together.
“Keeping busy. I tried a new soap recipe yesterday and I think it came out great. You should come by and sample my products sometime.” She smiled, but it didn’t go as far as her eyes, and she stared at me with an odd kind of hesitancy, realizing the double entendre, I’m sure she hadn’t meant. It tortured me anyway. The silence stretched between us, and just for an instant I thought she was going to make a reference to what had happened a few days ago. But the moment passed, and I could feel her withdrawal. She said, “Lean back.” With her hand on my shoulder as warm as a brand, she used the lever to slowly recline the chair until my neck was against the cutout porcelain.
I didn’t really want to talk about soap. I wanted to talk about how things could change in my life. How I could actually take something for myself instead of always worrying about how it looked, who would be watching, who would be judging. I had thought the fastest route to restoring our reputation was giving in…again to what I had always given into: tradition. The anger surged again at my brother for leaving me holding the bag—a big bag of expectations.
I felt trapped between my desires and my needs, trapped in…duty. I’d held on so long to what I should do, I wasn’t sure I could do what I wanted to do.
She got the water ready, and when it was hot enough, she sluiced it over my head, her hands were far from impersonal as she caressed my scalp. I was well aware this was my backdoor way of getting close to Sky when I’d told her we had to forget about that kiss. I couldn’t seem to manage that. I closed my eyes and took advantage of the situation, breathing in her scent, enjoying her ministrations. She washed my hair, her hands strong and brisk as she lathered, brushing the tops of my ears and swiping around to the back of my neck. I sunk deeper into the feel of her which was dangerous, given my planned course of action and the way she turned me on, an impulse I seemed helpless to curb.
When she was done, she rubbed my hair with a towel, and the whole damn thing seemed too intimate. I followed her over to the chair and settled in as she draped the cape over me. I watched her in the mirror struggling to remain professional. She grabbed her scissors and started cutting the top.
“I remembered when you had all that hair. I’m sure keeping it short in the heat is a good goal, but it was sexy.” She switched to the electric clippers.
“It is cooler and easier this way,” I said. She glanced at me in the mirror, and I remembered how close we’d been. I remembered those lips. For the first time, I saw past her bravado, her tough demeanor and knew what drove her from the inside. It was barely a glimpse and only the beginning. But I couldn’t have been more intrigued, wanting to uncover more. If I was free…
“You still look pretty handsome, Jake,” she said, her voice softening.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” I said, my voice hoarse, unable to keep the words inside. Then I saw movement at the front window, and my heart dropped. Anna Kate stood there as effective as a bucket of cold water. She arched a brow, her anger at having called me so many times quite apparent. I hadn’t returned one.
She looked at Sky, narrowed her eyes and I was sure of one thing. I didn’t want this woman to get caught up in my crap and deal with the fallout from Anna Kate’s formidable influence in this town. I smiled at her and nodded. Her features evened out. She headed for the door.
Sky had followed my suddenly intent gaze and, aware of the moment she shifted gears, returning to the woman I knew, my heart compressed. The impersonal look was back, the confident attitude. Her whole posture had shifted back into tough cowgirl mode. It made me want to protect her, shelter her and keep her completely safe.
As I hurried to pay, slipping her a Benjamin for a tip while Anna Kate proceeded to criticize my simple haircut, that, to me, looked completely professional. Sky had a way of getting my unruly hair to behave.
I exchanged one last look with her before I opened the door for Anna Kate. Her vulnerability was there, hidden. I watched her as she instinctively pulled back and buried it. That alone made me twitch, drowning out Anna Kate’s chatter. It took enormous willpower to be polite to her, promise I would call, and then make a quick beeline for my car with the excuse I had plenty to do before the upcoming afternoon town meeting.
Ten minutes later, I knocked on my brother’s door, the renovated slaves’ quarters he shared with Samantha.
Do not punch him out.I told myself, my twisted desire for Sky jacking me up. My growing dislike or rather surfacing dislike for Anna Kate causing havoc with my plans. Taking my frustration out on Chase would only make matters worse. He was back in the family, back into our lives, but I couldn’t seem to let him in.
