Page 11 of Not Over You (Prosperity Ranch 3)

Jana blinked, then she felt a smile grow. A very traitorous smile. “You wouldn’t be wrong there, Knox. But I can put my agenda off for another day.”

His lips quirked, then he grinned. “Well, I’ll be.” He turned and shut the hood, then he headed her way.

Jana allowed herself a few stolen seconds to admire the cowboy striding toward her. No matter the years and heartache that had passed, Knox Prosper was a beautiful man. On the outside, of course, and something else was peeking through as well. A softer side of him. One that she’d seen in high school when it was just the two of them. He’d always been cocky around everyone else. Perhaps a person could change. Life had a way of knocking you down until you did change.

But right now, with his easy stride, his long legs in those well-worn jeans, the shirt not doing much to hide his sculpted torso created by years of hard rodeo work, the strong line of his jaw, and the quirk of those lips she’d once known so well… Refocus, Jana. Show’s over.

She slid back into her seat, and when Knox was settled next to her, she drove the rest of the way to her house. Once she parked, she couldn’t get out of the SUV fast enough. Before Knox could say anything, she grabbed the jars from the back seat and said, “You know where to find me. Good luck with everything.”

Then she hurried toward the house, feeling Knox’s gaze on her.

“Thanks again,” he called after her.

But she didn’t turn around. She only waved, then walked into the house and shut the door. Leaning against the door, she kept her eyes closed and her body still until she heard him drive away.

Jana opened her eyes, went into the kitchen, and put down her purchases. She needed to focus on the rest of her day and not think about what it was like to be in Knox Prosper’s presence again. It was like they’d come to an understanding. Both of them had made mistakes that caused years of painful misunderstanding, and now… they could each move on. Separately. Knox would be gone in a few days—off to whichever rodeo event was next—and Jana would still be in Prosper, making jam, and saving relationships one column at a time.

It was fine. And now, she could officially move on. Start dating again. Maybe she’d even go to Racoons tonight and live it up a little. Dance and have fun.

As she worked on the next batch of jam, her mind kept tugging to her laptop, where her unfinished novel sat. It was her third one. The first two had been rejected by multiple publishers, and although she knew she could self-publish it in today’s market, if a publisher didn’t want it, would any readers?

Once the current batch was cooling, she washed her hands, then sat on the faded floral couch in the living room with her laptop. She reviewed the previous chapter written, and soon, she was typing away. The words seemed to flow, and so what if she was channeling Knox a little bit? She needed real-life examples as a springboard, right?

Somehow, she lost any sense of time, so when a knock came at her door, she was startled from her story. She set her laptop aside and rose to her feet. By the time she opened the door, she’d collected her thoughts and returned to the real world as opposed to the story world.

She knew it was going to be Knox, but for some reason, she still drew in a short breath when she saw him standing on her porch. It was a sight she’d never thought would happen. Ever. Yet, here he was.

His open collar revealed a damp chest, and his jeans were dirt-stained now.

“Brought your SUV back,” he said, taking off his hat. His hair was a darker blonde than it had been in high school, and it complemented his golden tan.

“Great, how did it go?”

Knox scrubbed a hand through his hair, which looked damp from his hard work.

Jana swallowed and tried to focus on his eyes, which didn’t help settle the awakening butterflies in her stomach.

“Good enough,” he said. “It was nice to get a feel for the arena and to check out the bulls that they brought in. There’s some powerful ones in the group.”

“As there should be, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. We gotta get a feel for what we’ll be faced with at the event.”

“A feel… what do you mean?”

“Well, there’s some intangibles in bull-riding,” he said in a slow voice. “Feel and effort. Yeah, everyone has to learn to go forward on the jump—you know, when the bull jumps, you can’t just sit back or you’ll fall off.”

Jana nodded. She was following so far.

“And timing and balance are important, but they can be learned—trained, really,” he continued. “But the feel and effort can’t be taught. You’ve gotta have instincts. You have to be able to feel how that bull’s going to leave the chute. If the bull’s going to the right or the left, or if he’s going to try to whip you to the outside.”

“That’s a lot of intuition.”

“Sure is.” His smile inched out as his gaze trailed the length of her.

Heat zinged through her. Oh boy. Knox’s lazy gaze had made women turn to Jell-O around him, and it seemed as if that hadn’t changed one bit.

He must have realized at the same time how she felt about him standing on her porch, because he cleared his throat and put his hat back on. Then he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a battered wallet. “Let me pay you for the gas and time.”

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