Bear in Mind (4 page)

Jinger had not slept well. In fact, she slept awful, when she was finally able to go to sleep that was. First she avoided two voice messages from her mother who seemed to have some sixth sense when she was in emotional upheaval. And then she tried to self-medicate with jalapeño poppers, which although delicious, was a perfect recipe for heart burn. A few antacids later she fell into a fitful sleep where she dreamed about green eyes and brown hair and big glorious muscles.

Her traitorous brain also managed to construe just what Wyatt Rochon looked like naked. And if real life was even close to her imagination she knew without a doubt this man was out of her league.

She woke up cranky and feeling quite depressed. Jinger knew she needed to push Wyatt out of her head and focus on her work. She probably would never see him ever again anyway. It’s not like they ran in the same circles.

Once she was at work she settled into her desk and tried to show a modicum of enthusiasm while she looked through her emails. Her phone buzzed from the front desk, “Jinger, there is someone here to see you. I hope you don’t mind, but I sent him back to your desk.”

“Sure, that’s fine Mary,” Jinger said disinterestedly. She probably forgot she had an appointment. She was pulling up her calendar when she felt a presence behind her. Spinning around she had to crane her neck back to see who had just invaded her cubicle.

Wyatt Rochon.

Wyatt Rochon was standing in her cubicle sporting a hunky smile and jeans that were altogether too tight and way too close to her face. In his hands was a pink pastry box and in the other a drink carrier holding two cups of coffee with all the fixings spread around them.

“Good Morning, gingersnap,” he said cockily.

“Uh, Wyatt. What are you doing here? Did we have an appointment,” she stuttered. She really was not prepared to deal with him this morning. Because, of course, now her brain was replaying all the naughtiness it had thought up last night and she could feel the blush steal across her cheeks.

Gawd, this was not happening, she thought.

“I figured, the reason you turned down my offer for coffee, was because I forgot the most important part. Donuts! See if I had sweetened the deal with them in the first place you would have of course said yes. So since it was my fault I wasn’t clear, I figured I would rectify the situation by dropping by with breakfast. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind sharing them with me?” Dropping the box on her desk, he sat in the side chair at the end of her desk.

Jinger saw the sticker on the top of the box that said Sasquatch Donuts. Those were best, fresh, extra sugary, and perfect with coffee.

“How do you take it?”

Still sputtering she said, “Take what?”

“Your coffee, black? Cream and sugar?”

“Oh, cream, two sugars,” she managed.

“Should have known,” he said smiling and setting down the coffee to pop the tops off and add her sugar and creamer.

“Known what?”

“You like it sweet,” he teased, flashing that gorgeous grin at her again.

“Umm…” that was all she could manage. She must be hallucinating. She could see her coworkers popping up over their cubicle walls like a bunch of nosey meerkats trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was attached to that stunning voice. And his voice was like honey, smooth and way too tempting.

“I take mine with three sugars in case you’re interested. I also like it sweet,” he said adding the packets to his own coffee. He handed Jinger her cup and then flipped open the top of the pastry box. “You pick first, I didn’t know what you like so I got a mix.”

“I’m not really hungry,” she said remembering she’d already snarfed down a plate of enchiladas in front of him. She wasn’t about to reveal her horrific donut addiction too. She should be in a twelve step group for donut junkies. She loved them, all of them. It was so bad, she refused to even buy them. Not even one, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop.

“Now, gingersnap, I know you’re fibbing. Even if you weren’t hungry, you wouldn’t really make me sit here all by myself when I personally picked out each of these little gems as I thought of you. I found the prettiest ones they sold hoping you’d like them,” he said sticking his lower lip out in an exaggerated pout.

Jinger couldn’t help but laugh at the puppy dog expression he was giving her. He was cute even pouting like a preschooler.

“Fine, is there a maple bar in there?” She figured one donut was manageable, she knew she wouldn’t lose her cool in front of him and hork down the whole box. She hoped.

“Why yes there is, Ms. McCann, there is even one with bacon on it,” he said pointing in the box. Jinger grabbed the donut and took a tiny bite. Heaven.

Wyatt grabbed a bavarian cream and took an enormous bite, white cream squirting out the sides and clinging to the corners of his mouth. Jinger watched as Wyatt closed his eyes and moaned around the bite in his mouth.

Dear god, that was sexy.

“Uh, Wyatt,” she said gesturing to the corners of his mouth.

“Do I have a little something on my face?” Teasing he swiped his tongue out to lap up the custard.

His tongue was sexy too, oh man she was in trouble.

Instead of continuing her staring, she took another bite of her donut.

“So, gingersnap. My mother asked me all sorts of questions about you last night and I was embarrassed to tell her I had no answers. Not a one! Can you imagine how bad that made me look? I told her I would make sure to ask you all the pertinent questions and report back to her today,” he finished shoving the rest of the donut into his mouth.

“Your mother?” She parroted, taken aback by even the idea his mother knew about her.

Jinger tried really hard not to screech, but it still came out rather high pitched and panicked.

“Yes, I told her about you. She really wants to meet you. I told her you didn’t seem to like me, but she assured me you would if I just showed you what a great guy I am. So here I am offering up delicious pastries to try and convince you to give me a chance.”

This was said rather smugly as he delved into the box this time coming out with a chocolate cake donut with chocolate icing and chocolate sprinkles.

“You told your mother about me? She wants to meet me? You think I don’t like you?” Jinger finished this with a gasp. She was starting to hyperventilate. This was not how she planned her morning going. Wyatt Rochon liked her, he talked to his mother about her and he brought her donuts. She must have hit her head and was lying in a hospital bed somewhere having the best coma ever!

“Calm down, sweetheart. I was kinda sad last night that you wouldn’t go out with me. My brother Cage called a family meeting, with mom and dad and my little brother Conner. I told them how beautiful and funny you were and how you had turned me down. My brothers thought that part was funny of course. Mom and dad were a bit more supportive. So the final conclusion was I needed to woo you. So here I am, attempting to woo. How am I doing so far?” He asked as he bit into his donut.

Jinger was trying to process as quickly as possible. She took another bite of donut so she wouldn’t have to respond right away. Family meeting to talk about her, okay. Parents were supportive, okay. His family thought he needed to woo her, weird, but still okay. Jinger really needed to get a handle on this situation, pronto.

Clearing her throat, she managed a, “You’re doing okay,” on a quiet whisper. “I really like donuts,” she added. This made Wyatt smile with his mouth full, he swallowed and said, “I’m glad.”

They sat and ate donuts, they talked. Wyatt asked her about everything, her family, her schooling, her life story basically up until this morning.

Sipping the last of her coffee, she realized she had been talking non-stop about herself.

“Oh, Wyatt, I’m sorry I’ve only been talking about myself. That is so rude of me!”

“Nope, it was just what I asked for. Besides, you can ask me anything you want tonight over dinner. I’m cooking.” He stood grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet.

“This was nice, Jinger, I’m sorry I busted into your work. I hope I don’t get you in trouble for me monopolizing your time.”

“It’s okay, I’ll tell my boss you were a scheduled appointment if he asks,” she assured him. She really didn’t care if she got fired at this point. This was the best date she’d ever had.

“Good, I think we’ve made some good progress in the wooing department,” he teased.

“I’m still not sure what that means exactly,” she admitted.

“It’s okay, I do,” he said grinning. Then he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up in a huge hug. Jinger had to quickly grab onto his shoulders to steady herself.

Sweet Jesus, a man just picked her up! Jinger was sure that had never happened in her lifetime. Yes, Wyatt was a big muscle bound guy, but she was no lightweight.

With his arms still wrapped around her, he whispered into her ear, “Thanks for breakfast, gingersnap.” Then he placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

Jinger could hear the sound of him filling his lungs as his head drifted down to her neck, like he was sniffing her. Thank goodness she showered and used the good body wash this morning. Of course, she probably only smelled like donuts and coffee now, gross.

“I’ll pick you up after work, yeah?”

“Uh, sure, six o’clock,” she offered. He said dinner, not a date, right?

Smiling at her and giving her a sweet kiss on the forehead he turned and strode out of her office.

Jinger spent the rest of the morning explaining to every other female in the office who the hot as hell guy was that brought her donuts and looked like a hero from an action movie.

Six o’clock rolled around way too quick for Jinger. She had managed to not tell her coworkers that Wyatt was coming back to pick her up. She could only imagine them all standing in the front lobby trying to catch a glimpse of him. How embarrassing.

She did make sure she made a pit stop in the ladies to brush her hair and slap on some lip gloss. Her work uniform was less than inspired, but there was nothing she could do about it. After her little donut orgy this morning she decided to forgo lunch so she wouldn’t risk popping a button before dinner.

She tried to casually stroll out of the office at quitting time hoping to make it to the parking lot before Wyatt showed up.

No such luck.

Turning the corner to the lobby, Jinger was smiling at the receptionist to tell her goodnight when she saw the gleam in her eye and a huge grin on her face. Turning to see what was so engrossing she saw Wyatt standing in a pair of clean tight blue jeans and a grey thermal henley. His hair looked wet like he’d recently taken a shower and he was holding a bouquet of flowers. He had one hand tucked into his front pocket as he stood casually like only he could pull off.

“Oh, Wyatt, you’re here,” she started as she came to a halt seeing him.

“Six o’clock right? I’m not too early am I,” he asked cocking his head to the side. He knew good and well what time he said he’d pick her up. And he was early, but Jinger was starting to realize this might have been on purpose.

She could almost ignore the rapid-fire tapping of the receptionist who was probably instant messaging everyone in the office of the lobby goings on.

“No, you’re fine. Am I following you somewhere?” Jinger thought to get the heck out of the office as soon as she could. She was not fast enough as a number of her coworkers all seemed to be leaving at the exact same time. And they were all blushing and tittering behind their hands like a bunch of schoolgirls!

Yeesh.

Wyatt just smiled and tipped an imaginary hat at the women, which of course, caused them all to giggle.

Turning back to Jinger, he held out the flowers. She had no other choice but to take them. They were beautiful, all whites and pinks. Her favorite colors. How did he know?

“I thought you could ride with me. I’ll bring you back tonight for your car. No need to burn the gas on two vehicles.” Walking towards her, he stopped and gave her a peck on the forehead. Jinger swore she heard the receptionist sigh.

She just needed to get out of there. “That’s fine, let’s go,” she said, trying to hurry them out of the building.

Grabbing Wyatt’s hand, she started dragging him towards the door. She called out, “Night Mary.”

Wyatt apparently found her fast retreat funny since he was chuckling. Jinger saw he’d parked right in front of the office doors, his big pickup truck looking intimidating and masculine just sitting there.

Coming around the front of her, Wyatt managed to reach the passenger side door before her and swung it open. Helping her in and handing her the seatbelt, he made sure she was secure before heading to the driver’s side.

They drove for a while down the state highway, eventually turning off on an unmarked road. Another ten minutes at least heading down the dirt road led to a clearing with a large, log cabin home. Turning right, Wyatt pointed out that it was his parents’ house and then pointed to his and past it to Conner’s.

All the houses had roughly the same style. All being made of logs, but each had their own uniqueness to show the different owners. Wyatt and Conner’s houses were smaller than the main house, but still big enough for a large family.

“Your house,” Jinger asked. Yup, she had conveniently missed the “I’m cooking” section of this morning’s discussion. Or maybe she had blocked it on purpose. The idea of being alone with Wyatt presumably in his home was probably more than her overworked brain could handle at the time.

“Well, where else am I gonna cook you dinner, gingersnap,” Wyatt said teasingly. He pulled up to the front of his house and jumped out and was at her door before she even got her belt off.

Walking in the unlocked front door, Jinger turned in a circle. Vaulted ceilings, gleaming wood and it smelled like pine trees inside. It was beautiful, and very masculine with just a hint of style. Throw pillows and some very stylish art deco lamps to accent the rustic charm.

“It’s beautiful, Wyatt,” she said turning to him.

“Thank you, I worked on it for two years. With my brothers’ help, of course,” he said with clear pride.

She should have known he built this stunning house. It looked like him, strong and beautiful.

Jinger held back the sigh that she wanted to release. She felt like a dandelion in a hothouse full of orchids. She didn’t fit in here, she was much more generic than this. Her home was straight out of the boring side of the Ikea catalog.

Wyatt got her settled onto a stool at the counter of his kitchen. It was nice and big with a large stainless steel stove and matching fridge. She tried to help, but was quickly rebuffed.

“I’m cooking for you, tonight. Next time you can cook for me, assuming you can cook,” he teased.

Hah, joke’s on him, she thought. “Does microwaving count?”

“Hmm, yes, as long as you can at least work the oven to cook pizzas, we won’t starve,” he answered.

“Great, problem solved,” she smirked.

Wyatt was cooking steaks, baked potatoes and was busy chopping up salad fixings when he wasn’t popping out back to the deck that Jinger assumed held a grill.

The smell of charred meat was making her mouth water. She was hungry, the donuts having worn off a long time ago.

“Really, isn’t there something I can do,” she called out as he headed back to the deck.

Jinger watched his head pop around the corner of the doorway, “Plates, napkins, silverware, dig around until you find what you need,” he called turning back to his meat.

Jinger hopped off her stool and started opening cupboards and drawers. Figuring they weren’t going overboard in the fancy department she set the dishes on the high bar where she had been sitting.

She also filled two glasses with water and set them by each plate.

Wyatt returned carrying a plate of grilled steaks. He set them on the counter and turned to pull out the potatoes from the oven. His last stop was the fridge where he managed to grab, butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits, along with a bottle of wine all in one trip. He set them down on the bar with a proud expression.

“One trip wonder, huh,” Jinger asked. She got a wink in return.

Wyatt’s last stop was to grab a bottle opener and two glasses. Gesturing to Jinger to take a seat he made quick work of uncorking the wine.

“You do drink wine, don’t you,” he asked, realizing she might not be a drinker.

“Yes, I like wine, thanks,” she assured him.

Pouring them both a glass, Wyatt sat down next to her and grabbed her plate. He filled it and set it in front of her. It was heaping and Jinger could help but ogle at it. There was a steak weighing at least twelve ounces. Half the plate was salad and the baked potato was big enough to feed three people. He at least stopped before adding anything to the potato. Jinger looked up at him in astonishment.

“Problem?”

“Um, whose plate is this,” she asked mockingly.

With a confused look, then the lightbulb clicking on, he said, “Yours, we don’t belong to the clean plate club. I won’t hold it against you if you can’t finish it.”

“Good thing, I can eat with the best of them, but this is record setting level.”

“Well, I didn’t want you to go home telling everyone I starved you and that was why you wouldn’t see me again. Or maybe it was my master plan to get you so full you’ll accidently fall asleep on my couch and have to spend the night,” he teased with a wink.

“Huh, um,” was all Jinger could manage with the idea of spending the night spinning in her head.

“I’m just teasing gingersnap, dig in,” he assured her.

Jinger decided eating was the better option than continuing down any further uncomfortable topics.

She doctored her potato like she liked and watched in awe as Wyatt manage to double the size of his potato after adding butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, and bacon bits. He also dumped about half a container of ranch dressing on his salad. He must have an incredible metabolism she thought.

The steak was amazing and Jinger couldn’t help but close her eyes and let out a soft moan. That man could cook a steak! Opening her eyes, she saw Wyatt watching her with a hot intense gaze. Swallowing her bite, she saw his eyes follow her movements down her throat. She could have sworn she heard him growl. But she must have been mistaken.

They stared at each other for a minute until Jinger finally broke the eye contact to look back at her plate. Just looking at him was making her girly parts tingle. Gawd, she was a tramp.

Poking at her salad she heard Wyatt inhale loudly. Then she was positive she heard a growl.

Whipping her head towards Wyatt she saw him watching her, his nose flaring, drawing in the air between them.

Looking at his eyes she swore there was a ring of bright yellow around his green eyes.

“Wyatt?” She whispered. He looked angry or aggressive. Something that wasn’t friendly.

Without saying a word, he stood and walked out of the kitchen to the back deck. The door closed behind him loudly. Jinger sat frozen on her stool. What just happened?