Lone Star Burn: Love On Tap (Kindle Worlds Novella) (3 page)

Gray had made a concerted effort at keeping a rein on his temper. “That’s enough, and you’ve gone too far. Your services will no longer be needed at Wolff’s Roadhouse. Come back tomorrow and pick up your final check.”

“You’re firing me because of some cheap floozy?! Keep your damn money.” Burt turned fury-filled eyes on Jennie. “I’m not done with you, bitch!” he said, and stormed out.

Jennie reluctantly stepped away from her wolf and turned to face him. She thought of him as her own, for just a little while. “I’m sorry to cause so much trouble. As you already surmised, he was the one who cut me off. You didn’t have to fire him.”

“Before this happened, I’d decided to end his employment for various reasons.” Gray reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “Let’s go back to the table and I’ll have Brenda bring us fresh coffee.”

“I wasted a lot of energy fighting with that jerk and can probably down a piece of blueberry pie.”

“You’re on,” he said with an agreeable smile. “I like mine with vanilla ice cream.”

“Make that two,” she said, and squeezed his hand.

Numerous eyebrows were raised as they made their way back to the table, especially the way Gray held Malibu Barbie’s hand. Gray, as owner, kept clear of his female customers. Not that he was rude. He was a very private person, and drew the line when it came to invitations to take female companionship to the next level.

They’d just finished their dessert and second cups of coffee when Jennie sensed something was going on. Gray’s customers kept glancing at their table and offered “I know something that you don’t know” smiles.

Gray looked up when Larry approached his table. Laughter danced in his bouncer’s eyes and he was trying not to smile, especially at Jennie. Gray couldn’t imagine what the problem could be, since his feisty dinner companion hadn’t moved since they’d sat down to have dessert.

“Sorry to bother you again, boss, but we have another incident.” He reached in the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a pair of sexy red panties, monogrammed with the letters ‘JR.’

Jennie’s eyes widened in recognition and grabbed them out of his hand. She was too shocked to be embarrassed. “Those are mine! Where did you get them?”

“In the parking lot. You’d better come outside and see for yourself.”

“The parking lot?” Gray repeated. Their problems were usually in-house, but with Jennie, one never knew. He put a hand to the small of her back when they walked out. He intended to keep her close by.

The night air was a dry sixty degrees when they stepped outside. Rows of cars and pickup trucks, along with a few motorcycles, lined the dirt-packed surface. Lights on the corner of the building and parking lot illuminated the large, open area.

The slight breeze caused goose bumps to blossom on Jennie’s arms and legs, and she leaned into Grayson, not just for warmth, but for support. It appeared someone had used the trucks, sign poles, and handles of the motorcycles to dry their laundry. All of the items were hers!

“Oh, my god!” Jennie stepped away from Grayson and moved to the older pickup truck closest to the building. Flying from the top of the old radio antenna was her black lace cheeky-cut panties. It appeared the person had specifically chosen old antennas and handlebars to hang her very expensive underwear.

Gray didn’t know where to look first, and had never seen anything like it. He might have found the sight very funny, but the situation didn’t warrant any laughter.

Larry stepped beside his boss. “Someone broke into the back of her truck and tossed all her clothes out. There are piles on the ground. I can’t imagine a woman needing that many clothes. They also doused them with motor oil and gasoline. There are small pieces of furniture and personal items in the truck, but they don’t appear to be damaged. That’s not all. All the tires on her truck are flat as pancakes. Should we call the police?”

“We can call them, but this isn’t a priority. The police will be out here in a couple of hours to take a report. We already know who’s responsible, and he’ll be paying for the damages. Let’s collect her clothes.”

“Are you okay?” Gray asked Jennie when he handed her four pairs of sexy underwear.

“No, not really,” she replied, feeling sick at heart.

“I hate to tell you, but the damage is a little more extensive,” Gray reluctantly informed her.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on. Let’s check out your truck.”

Jennie was further horrified when she saw what had been done to the rest of her clothes. Her upper-management position required a formal business suit, and she prided herself on a well-dressed appearance. She planned to continue dressing appropriately in her new position as the director of the community center.

“He even destroyed my Jimmy Choos!” Jennie held up one of her brand-new sling-backs, and motor oil dripped from the pointed toe.

Gray had expected to see a lot of beach wear, but was quite surprised at the business suits with high-end labels. Ordinary office workers didn’t wear Jimmy Choos. She had a lot of shoes.

Her anguish was obvious, and he didn’t have second thoughts taking her in his arms to offer soothing comfort. He ignored the inner warning that said,
Don’t touch her
. He liked that she slid her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. He brushed his cheek back and forth, enjoying the silkiness of her hair against his skin.

“Since this happened in my parking lot, I’ll replace all of your destroyed clothing. Give me an estimate and I’ll write you a check.”

“A check!” Jennie shoved out of his arms and jammed her hands on her hips. “You had nothing to do with this. Call the police.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but this isn’t the big city. Fort Mavis has a small local force, and unless it’s a matter of life and death, they’ll get here as soon as they can, to take a report.”

“I had planned to be long gone.”

“That leaves me to the rest of the bad news. All of your tires are flat.”

Jennie moved to stand beside one of the back wheels. “Can we inflate them?”

“Can’t,” Larry said, and held out an armful of clothes. “He slashed them with a knife.”

“I can’t believe he did all this. Thanks for collecting my clothes,” she said, and put them in one of the open suitcases in the back of the truck.

“I am literally stranded, or maybe you can give me a ride to the nearest motel. I’ll contact the car rental company in the morning.”

“Going to the motel down the road poses another problem,” Larry said. “The Board of Health just shut them down because they’re infested with beetles.”

“I really do feel responsible.” Gray glanced down at her clothes and determined ax murderers didn’t wear expensive business suits and Jimmy Choos. “I can offer you a room at my house until we can get you a replacement truck. Is there anything in this pile worth saving?”

“No, not really,” she replied with a great deal of regret, then remembered what he’d said about a room at his house. Stay with her gorgeous gray wolf? He could eat her alive and she wouldn’t care, but offered a practical, polite excuse. “You don’t have to do that, and I don’t want to put you out.”

“You’ve said that numerous times tonight. It won’t be an imposition. I’ve got five bedrooms and only two are occupied.”

“Tell me you’re not married and don’t have kids.”

Gray heard the distrust in her voice, and smiled. “No, I’m not married, never have been. I wouldn’t get married if they hog-tied and dragged me down the aisle. My nephew lives with me.”

“In that case, I’ll accept, but only till I can get a new rental truck. I’ll sort the clothes we just collected and order whatever else I need and get one-day shipping.” Jennie glanced once more at her ruined clothes and got sicker. “Everything on the ground can be tossed.”

“How about I get a couple of guys to help me transfer your stuff to the warehouse in back of the bar?” Larry offered. “You don’t have to worry about theft because we lock it up every night. We’ll bag everything else and put it in the dumpster.”

“Thank you, Larry, for your Texas hospitality.”

“No, thank you. We don’t always have the pleasure of having Malibu Barbie visit Wolff’s Roadhouse.”

“I vowed to punch the next guy who called me that, but you said it kindly.”

It felt good to laugh after her hellish day and night, but then again, not all of it had been hell. Fate had dumped her on Grayson Wolff’s doorstep. No, make that lap. She liked that position better. Despite the slight nighttime breeze, heat swept her cheeks, conjuring what she could enjoy sitting on her wolf’s lap.

“Tell the guys, whoever gives you a hand, dinner is on me,” Grayson added, and quickly turned to Jennie. “Don’t say, ‘You don’t really have to do that,’ because I want to show my appreciation.” He wondered what had caused the deepened flush to her cheeks.

“Ah, thank you,” she blurted. It was a good thing he couldn’t read her lusty thoughts. She’d just thanked him for giving her the best orgasm she’d ever experienced bouncing on his lap.
Get your mind out of the gutter, Jennifer.

“I have to check a few things in my office and we can leave in about twenty minutes.” 
How the hell am I going to keep my hands off her?,
he asked himself when they walked back to the Roadhouse. This time he didn’t take her hand. He couldn’t.

They drove for a half-hour down a two-lane country road. Gray’s vehicle of choice was a late-model black truck with four doors. The interior smelled like his Polo cologne.

You must be out of your mind,
Jennie silently argued,
getting into a truck with a guy you met a couple of hours ago and accepting his invitation to sleep at his house in the middle of God knows where
. The children she used to teach showed more common sense. She could hear her younger brother screaming at her to use her head. Her hormones spiked off the chart and just the thought of Grayson’s name made her want to swoon. Swoon! Who the hell said that anymore? He hadn’t bothered to turn on the radio, and the silence was deafening.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, and from what I can tell, the land is totally flat. How much further is your home?”

“Another five miles. Our ranch is on the outskirts of Fort Mavis.”

“Ranch? Like horses and longhorns?”

“No. When I purchased the place three years ago, it was advertised as a ranch. It’s only fifty acres. There are ranches on either side of me, and Mathew likes to pet the horses when they come to the fence.”

“How old is he?”

“He’ll be ten next week.”

“Guess he’s looking forward to his birthday party.”

Gray slowed down to let an armadillo cross the road. “I wouldn’t know. He’s never mentioned a party.”

Jennie glowered at him, even though he hadn’t taken his eyes off the road. “Did you ask him?”

“No. If he wants a party, he’ll ask.”

“That doesn’t sound like any ten-year-old boy I’ve ever met.”

Gray’s cell phone broke the silence, and he picked it up immediately. “Hey, Matt, I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“That was your ten-year-old nephew calling you at eleven o’clock at night?”

Gray shrugged a shoulder. “It’s Saturday and he can stay up as late as he wants. He’s with a sitter, but knows he can call me at any time.”

“How late does he stay up during the week?”

“Whenever he runs out of excuses that he isn’t tired and wants to finish a game on his tablet.”

Jennie bit her tongue.
You’ve never been a parent and your womanly countdown clock has just about run of time
.
You are not here to interfere in the child’s upbringing.

When they turned down a paved driveway, she was surprised by the warm-looking ranch-style home. Two big windows in the front had lights on in welcome.

Gray parked beside an old Chevy Nova. He kept a respectable distance when they walked up a wide flagstone walk bordered by a neat post and rail fence and short halogen lights. She wondered at the change in him shortly after he spoke to his nephew. The sexy, flirty man was gone, and he’d become more distant.

Grayson opened the door to a great room with a cathedral ceiling. Two earth-tone couches formed an L-shape in the front of a white brick fireplace, matching the stark white, unadorned walls. Dark walnut accent tables complemented the red-clay-tiled floor.

A teenager, looking to be about eighteen, got up from the couch. She was dressed in the typical jean and tank combination. She set her tablet aside and removed the buds from her ears.

“Hey, Mr. Wolff. Matt just went in to take a shower.”

“Marsha, this is Jennie, a friend of mine. She’ll be visiting for a couple of days.”

A couple of days
. Jennie silently choked. What happened to just overnight? She offered the pretty teenager a friendly smile and watched Gray give the girl three twenty-dollar bills before excusing himself to walk the babysitter to her car.

She wrapped her arms around her waist and tried to determine the layout of the house. This room appeared to be the focal point. Off to the sides were hallways with more doors that probably led to the bedrooms. It was terribly plain. The room felt cold, and it wasn’t from the air conditioning. The outside appeared more welcoming than the interior.