Chasing Trouble (8 page)

Chapter Seven

Jenna awoke to the smell of…bacon? She shoved the hair out of her face and sat up in bed. Glancing at the clock, she took a moment to get her bearings. It was three o’clock in the morning, and she may be alone in bed, but she wasn’t alone in her house.

Getting up, she wrapped a robe around her and padded to the kitchen. Colt stood in his bare feet, blue jeans, and nothing else. His hair was slightly rumpled from where Jenna had been pulling on it, but what caught her eye was the large bruise that took up the majority of his right side.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, realizing that she hadn’t actually laid eyes on his chest or back since he was hurt. Last night, or rather, a couple of hours ago, she had been in a few different positions, and none of them faced Colt.

Colt turned around quickly, obviously startled by her presence. She didn’t miss the small wince when he moved.

“I’m sorry if this—” He waved the fork he held over the bacon but Jenna cut him off.

“You can eat whatever you want. I meant ‘oh my God’ your ribs.”

“Oh.” Colt glanced down at his chest. “It looks worse than it is.”

“I’m so sorry if I did something last night that hurt you.” She started shaking her head, recalling how rough she’d been. “I was clawing at you and grabbing and—”

“Whoa, hold up there. I’m fine, sugar.” Colt smiled and the bacon was momentarily forgotten as he took a few steps toward Jenna, not stopping until his mouth was against hers. “You didn’t hurt me. Don’t ever be sorry when it comes to loving on me.” With that, he stole her breath in one powerful kiss that left Jenna weak in the knees and her own chest aching a little.

“I made eggs too if you want to sit,” he said, stepping back to man the stove.

“Well make yourself at home.” She smiled.

“I always do.” He winked and got out two plates, and Jenna sat at the table, liking the situation she found herself in. A sexy, bare-chested man in her kitchen cooking up food in the middle of the night. Her house, her whole life, somehow felt instantly fuller. She hadn’t realized how quiet and lonely it was in her small place until just then.

“Is there anything I can do to help with your injury? Should you be taking some medicine or something?”

Colt shrugged and set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her, then took a seat across the table with his own dish.

“I wasn’t kidding when I said ice and breathing before. The doc said that exercising the lungs was a good way to help my ribs, and sugar, you did a fine job of that already.”

Jenna blushed, remembering how just a few hours ago she was screaming Colt’s name and doing a bit of gasping herself.

Colt took a bite of his food and Jenna looked at him for a moment. Like this, he seemed so normal. Like a man. Not a legend a lot of the town thought him to be. Not to say he wasn’t worthy of such a title, but Jenna knew firsthand that perception and reputation, good or bad, wasn’t always accurate in describing the real you.

Colt McCade was a man. Flesh and blood. One who got bruised and beaten just like any other. Jenna wondered if people actually understood Colt. If she understood him. Maybe not, but she kind of wanted to. Despite the better part of her brain telling her to wrap this up and send him on his way, she took a bite of her eggs and asked, “Were you afraid?”

He looked up at her. When he saw she was gesturing to the bruise on his chest, he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“That’s the best part. Being scared. Being in control and out of it at the same time. Holding on for dear life and hoping to God you have the strength to outlast what’s bucking you off.”

Something in Jenna’s heart skipped. She’d never heard Colt say anything like that, and yet the few words spoke volumes. “Sounds like a rough life. Always holding on to something trying to throw you off. Getting banged up in the process.”

Colt focused on his food. “At least I’m never still.”

“Is that so bad?”

He ran a hand over his jaw but didn’t meet Jenna’s stare. “I don’t particularly care for it.”

“Why?”

“Because a lot of shit can happen when you least expect it. If you’re constantly moving…” He trailed off, obviously not thrilled with this conversation, but Jenna had to know. It was the first time she’d really seen a part of Colt he kept hidden. And her heart ached for him.

“If you’re constantly moving, nothing can catch you,” she finished for him, and judging by the look he zeroed in on her, she’d guessed right.

“Something like that.”

“And it’s bad to be caught?”

He grinned and his demeanor shifted. Gone was the raw, vulnerable Colt and in his place the confident playboy. “Sometimes I like being caught. Especially when it involves a sexy brunette and a wall.”

She smiled and took another bite of her food. Which was really good. “Did you put hot sauce in the eggs?”

He nodded. “I figured you’d like things a little spicy.”

“You guessed right.”

“So.” He put his fork down and his full attention on Jenna. “Tell me about this program you’re going for. Why is it important to you?”

She was taken aback for a moment by his bluntness, but liked that he took an interest, and started with the spiel she typically gave whenever this topic was broached.

“This after-school program will benefit the kids of Diamond by providing experienced teachers willing to—”

“No, no, no,” Colt cut her off. “I don’t want what you tell everyone or your sales pitch.”

Jenna’s mouth dropped. “Excuse me? This isn’t a pitch. This is important.”

“I agree, which is what I asked. I want to know why this is important
to you
. The real reasons behind the obvious.”

She opened her mouth to tell him he was rude or even to shut up, but only closed it again. Because right then, she realized she’d never said the real reasons out loud before. Mostly because they were more personal than she’d care to admit. But with Colt’s intense blue eyes beaming at her with what looked like genuine care, she couldn’t help but want to open up a little bit.

“I know how it feels to go home to nothing, sometimes worse than nothing.” Like a slap in the face or verbal abuse, she thought, but kept that part to herself. “If I can provide a safe place, help even one kid, then maybe…” She shrugged, instantly feeling like an idiot for even starting down this path.

“Maybe what?” Colt whispered.

“Maybe then what I went through will somehow matter.” Her eyes went wide when she realized she’d said that aloud. “That’s sounds awful, doesn’t it? I’m not doing this for me, I just want to help these kids.”

Colt rose from his seat and walked around the table to kneel in front of her. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then pressed his finger beneath her chin, coaxing her gaze to meet his.

“That doesn’t sound awful at all. What you went through was shitty, Jenna. And when bad things happen, it’s in our blood to try to make sense of it. Find a reason or an answer to the ‘why me’ question.” His fingers lightly skimmed along her jaw, and the heat he left was so powerful it made her blood pressure spike. “You’re strong. And because you went through what you did, it made you the best person for these kids and this program.”

She gave a shaky smile. “You really think so?”

“Fuck yeah I do,” he said with a big grin that made Jenna laugh a little. Somehow, she actually believed him. She’d wanted this job, but there was a part of her that truly believed that because of who she was and where she came from, she didn’t deserve it. But looking at Colt and finding nothing but support in his eyes, her perception changed. Maybe it wasn’t in spite of who she was or the reputation of her mother she was trying to outrun that held her back. Maybe it was
because
of who she was that would allow her to excel at this.

It was a risky notion, but the idea was nice. Still, she had to be careful. Wanting this job, even being the best candidate for it, and actually landing it were very different things.

Colt’s words were sweet, but the way he said them, like he truly meant it, made Jenna want to hug him close. But that was a bad idea. Distance was what she should be thinking when it came to the media proclaimed “Rodeo Romeo.”

“Thank you, Colt.”

He went back to his seat again and dug into his eggs. She couldn’t help but look at his bruise again and wince a little. It looked painful. But what he had said stuck in her mind. Colt didn’t do
still
. He also didn’t seem to like talking about his feelings on the matter. The man was a potent combination of strength and gentleness. He had tried last night to take things slow for Jenna’s sake, and just now he listened to her and somehow saw a piece of her she hadn’t shared with anyone else. Then there was the hard, casual, testosterone-infused side of him that dripped with sexy swagger and muscles and
my God
his skin tasted like spice and man and—

“You keep staring at me like that, sugar, and I’m liable to come back over there and take you for another ride.”

Jenna’s eyes snapped up and she realized she had been staring down his impressive chest while chewing her bottom lip.

“Sorry”—she all but moaned the word—“but no more rides for you. Not until you feel better.”

Colt pretended to pout, but then smiled wide. “Until I feel better, huh? So does that mean you’ve taken me off the ‘never gonna happen list’ and moved me to ‘a shot in hell’?”

Jenna smiled. “I still think we should keep our distance in public.”

Colt sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “In public? But not in private?”

“I’d like to say that distance between us in any capacity is best, but perhaps unrealistic.”

“Glad to see I’m wearing you down, sugar.” He threaded his fingers and put them behind his head, giving Jenna a full frontal view of his chiseled chest and abs. “So I’m to be your undercover kink, huh?”

She cleared her throat and tried to focus on something other than Colt’s body. Like the fact that he was injured and she didn’t want to aggravate that.

“If that’s what you want to call yourself.”

“I kind of like it,” Colt said and glanced at the ceiling nodding. “Sounds like an awesome superhero.”

Jenna rolled her eyes but Colt only smiled wider.

“Well, whatever you want to call it is irrelevant. I want you to feel better and our activity last night hardly helped your healing process—”

“I disagree.”

“Which is just another reason distance between us is best.”

“You said
public
distance,” Colt reminded her, which meant the “private time” was still on the table. Something she couldn’t bring herself to argue at the moment, especially when he was looking all casual and yummy sitting half naked in her kitchen. “So what are you talking here? Like ten feet?”

“You want an actual measured distance?”

“Well, yeah. Whatever extra inches I can get closer to you, I’m taking.”

That made Jenna’s cheeks heat a little and she almost wanted to giggle. Being the object of affection, especially Colt’s affection, was a heady drug she was buzzing on.

He was a temporary kind of man. While he might be interested now, that didn’t mean that would stay true. Boundaries were good, especially when it came to her expectations. She wanted this job and she couldn’t risk her reputation and not getting it because Colt was in town for a summer. She was also starting to worry that risking her heart on a man like him was equally bad. Not that she was getting attached…

“Why don’t we just call it ‘a reasonable distance’?”

Colt nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Well then”—Jenna stood and Colt did as well—“I have an early morning so…”

“You kicking me out?”

“Distance, remember? You can’t be seen leaving my home in the morning. Besides, you need to rest and work on healing.”

“Breathing and ice, I can do both in my sleep,” he said. But it gave Jenna an idea.

“I can help you with that if you’d like.”

“Yes, please,” he said.

“Meet me tomorrow. Seven a.m. at Diamond Park.”

“Outside, huh? I like the way you think.”

Jenna smiled. He may not feel the same way when Mr. Rodeo Romeo saw what was in store.

Chapter Eight

Colt had been away from JJ just over twenty-four hours, and already he was itching to see her. Walking through Diamond Park, he kept his eye out for her as excitement bubbled about what she had planned. The woman had him reeling and he didn’t even care that he got his ass up early, stomping through a public park on a weekend.

She was getting to him. On a level he wasn’t expecting. Of all the questions he’d had over the years regarding his career, never once had anyone asked him what she did. If he was scared. The macho guy in him wanted to scoff and say hell no, but when her big gray eyes had locked on him, he was unable to dish out the same bullshit he had to everyone else. She inspired him to be honest. And the truth was: yeah, he was scared, about a hell of a lot more than a bull at the moment.

The past was something Colt not only avoided, but literally ran from whenever he had the chance. Too much pain came with the memories of what once was. When his parents died, it was clear that life didn’t give a shit about Colt’s or anyone else’s plans, which was why he never made any.

“Hey, you made it,” JJ said just as Colt rounded a tree and saw her standing near the large gazebo in the middle of the park. He choked on his own breath because, holy hell, the woman was smoking hot. She wore a tight little tank top and even tighter spandex pants that clung to every single curve, and when she turned around, presenting her perfect ass, he about went to his knees. “Follow me.”

Colt did, blindly. Mostly because all he could look at was her. From the swinging ponytail to the decadent dance her hips did whenever she took a step…

Yeah, he had it bad for her.

He was hard, ready, and all he needed now was a sturdy tree to take her against—

“Everyone, this is Colt. He’s going to join us today,” JJ said.

Colt’s eyes finally unlocked from JJ and realized that he was standing on the outskirts of a group of women, all sitting on yoga mats in the middle of the park.

Colt opened his mouth to say something, but JJ pointed to an open mat in the back of the group as she took her place at the front. “You can sit there, Colt. Remember to go slow, don’t push too hard, and breathe deeply.”

Deep breathing. Now it hit him. JJ was actually trying to help him heal, not in the sweaty, heavy breathing way he had thought she would. But when she started stretching, Colt couldn’t help but smile.

Watching JJ bend over in tight pants was definitely a good way to spend the morning.

…

“Four ball, side pocket.” Colt lined up his shot. With a quick flick, he knocked the cue ball out, connecting with the four and—

“Ah, shit.”

“Bro, you’re sucking!” Huck laughed. “What is wrong with you?”

Damn it. Colt hadn’t sunk a single shot all night. His mind was on other things, like JJ and all the
things
she did to him last week.

Problem was, those
things
were going beyond physical. And Colt had no idea how to deal with that.

Every time he was around her, it became harder to leave than the last. It wasn’t just the sex. It couldn’t be. Okay, sex definitely helped, because when he was with her it was the best he’d ever had or imagined.

And it kept getting better.

She also took an interest in him. Despite the fact that she kept their personal time a secret, she didn’t ignore him or anything. In fact, what started with a yoga stint was continuing with friendly text messages reminding him to ice his ribs. It was like she cared about his well-being.

So why the hell was he sitting here, shooting terrible shots and thinking, not about her body…but about her smile? The sound of her laugh and the sweet way her eyes lit up when she talked about something that was important to her. He wanted to see that light when she looked at him.

“I know what his problem is.” Ryder Diamond smirked as the four ball Colt had missed rolled into the corner pocket. “Rodeo Romeo over there hasn’t gotten laid in a while.”

Colt gripped the bill of his baseball cap. He hated that title and the media for giving it to him a few years back. His friends had been giving him shit about it ever since.

It was hard to stay silent when he was getting it more regularly than they were. Well, maybe not. Those guys had so many women who’d claw at a chance to share their beds, he was surprised a line hadn’t formed yet.

For the first time, quantity didn’t matter. Colt McCade, a man who loved women second only to his freedom, didn’t give a shit about notches on his bedpost. He cared about just one. And he was chasing after her.

Why couldn’t he just let this be about sex and get her out of his goddamn thoughts?

Colt looked up to find that his three friends had stopped playing and were staring hard at him.

“What?”

Huck leaned over and mumbled to Sebastian, “I think his head is about to explode.”

Sebastian’s frown never wavered, as if waiting for Colt to explain himself.

“Shut up, I’m fine.”

“Really?” Sebastian raised a dark brow. “Because it looks like you’re trying to understand quantum physics.”

Pretty fucking close! He was trying to understand a woman.

Colt shook his head and lined up his next shot. Another miss. “Where’s Penny?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

The girl kept crazy hours, but nine times out of ten she was behind the bar or cooking in the back.

“Rocco is covering this afternoon,” Ryder answered. “She said she had stuff to do to get ready for tonight.”

“What is there to get ready for? It’s a bonfire in the woods,” Sebastian said as he struck the cue ball. Unlike Colt, the attorney had no problem sinking his shots.

Ryder shrugged. “I think Penny is just excited we’re all getting together. Pretty sure she’s baking something special.”

Yeah, Colt was looking forward to tonight. It would be just like the old days when they all took their trucks out to the edge of Diamond property by the lake and spent all night drinking beer by the bonfire and talking about what they wanted to be when they finally grew up and got out of there.

Penny and her friends were several years younger and had never been allowed at the bonfires in the past. But none of them were kids anymore. Colt knew Lily was coming tonight and hoped JJ would too. He imagined the teacher strutting that perfect ass out in the meadow and throwing a few back with the rat pack of Diamond.

Not that she’d show up. Wouldn’t look good for her reputation.

Great, even his inner thoughts were sounding like a little bitch.

“Uh-oh,” Huck said. “Mr. Big Bull rider looks like someone just kicked him in the nuts.”

Colt threw a fry at Huck and hated that a boot to the groin was exactly what it felt like.

…

Jenna watched Lily dart back and forth across her house, shoving things into a small backpack.

“Alex, you want to take your binoculars to Michael’s house?”

“Yes, please!”

Jenna smiled. “Summer’s finally here.”

Lily nodded. “Yep. First sleepover. He’s so excited.” Alex might be excited but poor Lily was nervous.

“He’ll be fine. Michael’s parents are really great and the boys get along well in class.”

Lily nodded. “I know. He’s just growing up. And I…” She put her palms on the kitchen counter. “Michael’s dad is setting up a tent in the backyard and they’re going for a hike in the woods.”

Jenna nodded and patted Lily’s hand. She was an amazing mother. But lately, that same guilt and sadness she wore when Alex was a baby had started creeping into her eyes again.

“One of these days, he’s going to want to know about him, Jenna.” Jenna hated that her strong best friend had tears in her eyes. “What am I going to tell him? What do I say when he asks about his father?”

“Tell him the truth.”

Lily scoffed. “What? That I was stupid, shacked up with a city boy who blew into town, knocked me up, and left right after he found out?”

A lump settled in Jenna’s throat. Lily did everything fiercely, right down to the way she loved.

It must be a McCade thing…

Lily had fallen in love with an asshole. She wasn’t the only woman in the world to have done that.

“Lily, you stepped up when you were young and scared and that man left you with the best thing in the world. And Alex is lucky to have you. Because you’re his mama and his daddy. And you’re damn good at being both.”

Jenna had only one parent herself, and Miranda Justice never gave half a thought about Jenna, unless it was to knock her out of the way. Lily was a hero to mothers and women everywhere.

Lily smiled and tossed up her hands. “How can you hate someone so much but love what they gave you with all your heart?”

Jenna shrugged. “Honey, I am the wrong person to answer that. All I know is that you love Alex. As long as he knows that, the rest will come and you can deal with it when it does.”

“I just want the best for him, you know? Colt’s the only man he really looks up to.”

Now Jenna had to nod because Colt was amazing with Alex. She had no doubt that he’d be a wonderful father someday, too. Like she said, the McCades did everything fiercely.

Lily stuffed two sandwiches and a bag of crackers in the pack, then zipped it up.

“I’m going to drop Alex off, but I’ll see you tonight, right?”

“About that…”

Lily slammed her hand down the counter. “Don’t you dare try to weasel your way out of this, Jenna-Jayne Justice!”

“It’s just a bonfire.”

“It’s all of us, getting together. Penny is so excited, and with Colt back in town it’ll be all of us in the same place for once. Remember how we use to sneak out there and see what they were doing?”

“Yeah, I do. We were sixteen and they were seniors.” Jenna shuddered. “That image of Huck making out with Dolly Page on the back of his daddy’s truck still haunts me.”

Lily gave a look like she just tasted something bad. “Oh yeah, that was gross. Dolly Page, her bad dye job, and braces will be nowhere near our guys tonight.”

Our guys? Jenna kind of liked the sound of that.

“And don’t try to pretend you have something better to do, either.”

Jenna snapped her mouth shut. She wanted to see her friends. They were more like her family. But being next to Colt after what they’d shared? It was a bad idea.

Jenna found herself thinking about Colt more and more. Every single time she saw him around town, she had the overwhelming urge to run up and kiss him. She had thought that distance was good and public was safe. She was starting to worry that she may be wrong. Because even with people around, her blood still heated and her skin zinged with tingles, silently begging for Colt’s touch.

The only thing worse was how
badly
she wanted to go tonight.

Jenna envisioned him with his worn jeans and baseball cap looking all sexy with two-day scruff and laughing by a fire.

“Wait…” Lily’s blond brow furrowed. “Did something happen? With Colt? Is that why you’re trying to get out of going?”

“What?” Jenna said, trying to keep the shock out of her voice. “I…no. I mean, I invited him to yoga last week to help with his injury and breathing.” Which was true, Jenna just left out the part about how she slept with him before that.

Lily just examined her face and suddenly Jenna felt the urge to squirm under the scrutiny.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but Colt was asking about you last week.”

Jenna’s entire body flushed hot. “He was?”

Lily nodded. “He said it was just a friendly inquisition, but I know my brother.”

Jenna leaned in a little and fiddled with her earlobe, trying to look casual but feeling everything but. “What did he say?”

“He was just hinting around about taking you out.”

Jenna folded her lips because for some reason, a smile was trying really hard to split them. “Like a date?”

Lily glanced at Jenna. “I don’t know. I shut down his idea before it got that far.”

It took everything Jenna had not to ask why. She knew that Lily loved them both and wasn’t trying to keep them apart. For goodness’ sake, she didn’t even know they had been “together.” But Lily protected those she loved, and Jenna knew that Lily was trying to do just that.

“Well, he hasn’t asked me out. We’re just friends. Like we’ve always been.” It wasn’t a lie, but definitely not the whole truth. They were friends, but not like they’d always been.

Lily seemed content with that answer. Jenna, however, looked down the front of herself, her standard attire feeling suddenly boring and drab. Was Colt really considering asking her out? Enough so that his sister was questioning him? Lily would never be the source of gossip, so Jenna wasn’t worried that Colt had slipped or tried to talk to Lily and she was onto him. Actually, Jenna was kind of…giddy.

“Why don’t I head home and change first, then I’ll go to the bonfire.”

Lily smiled and clapped. “Perfect. I’ll swing by and pick you up after I drop off Alex.”

A ping of excitement rang down her spine. “See you soon.”

…

“Well, look at you, little girl.”

Jenna screamed and clasped the shirt she was just about to try on to her chest.

“Easy, now. It’s just me,” Miranda said, walking into Jenna’s bedroom.

She turned to face her mother. “What are you doing here?” And what was up with people barging into her home lately? “I thought you were in Wichita.”

Miranda ruffled her box-blond hair, fluffing it up and causing the fat bangles on her wrist to jingle. She sat down on Jenna’s bed. The scent of cigarettes and Wild Turkey wafted from her and Jenna recognized the familiar smell from her childhood.

“Ox and I broke up, so I came home early.”

Her mother tended to pick men named after animals—she’d never forget the summer when Miranda had an affair with Rooster Miller and his brother Hound at the same time.

Something very sick and awful settled in Jenna’s gut.

Colt
. Technically an animal name. Oh God! She threw her shirt on quickly, hating the thought of having something in common with her mother. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to get back to the point of why Miranda was here.