No Limits (16 page)

Everyone knew her secret spot, she thought, and was reminded again that on the ranch there were no true secrets.

“Yes.”

“Good, let's go there now. I want to be alone with you.”

He led her back under the willow tree. The music from the party was softer here. He put the glasses down on the bench with the whiskey bottle and drew her into his arms.

She started to speak, but he put his finger over her lips. “No more talking. I want to dance with my woman.”

He pulled her close, one arm wrapped around her waist, and took her right hand in his left. The radio was playing Sara Evans's “I Could Not Ask For More.”

Jason swayed with her, singing under his breath along with the music. She felt her heart melt and fell even more in love with him. And she knew that she could never be the reason this man didn't go for his dreams. That as much as she needed him here by her side, she needed him to be happy.

She rested her head against his chest and sang along with him. Jason started smiling when she looked up and she caught her breath. It was a real smile, not one of those fake ones he gave everyone most of the time. He swung her out and spun her back into his arms, wrapping his arms around her and singing into her ear.

She felt alive and happy. And suddenly she knew what she was going to have to do. Because she wanted Jason to have the life he'd always wanted. And that life was up in the stars.

17

M
OLLY
LOOKED
AT
herself in the mirror a week later and almost didn't recognize herself. She had few opportunities to get dressed up. With the updo, the makeup and the cocktail dress, she looked like a different woman. Not a cowgirl but a woman who belonged in the big city. The special liaison for the Cronus training facility. Molly found she was excited about the new space exploration program and her part in it.

Next week an administrative assistant would arrive at the ranch, and Molly was going to have an office in the new building. She shook her head in disbelief.

It didn't seem like that long ago that she'd been standing on the porch at the Bar T wondering what she was going to do without her dad by her side. She'd found a new life. A life she would never have imagined. The road had been hard, but she was in a good place here.

The facility would be welcoming its first group of trainees next week and this gala was to thank all the people who'd worked so hard to get them to this moment.

She'd made up her mind that if Jason was cleared for flight she'd encourage him to take the Cronus crew position Dennis wanted to offer. He had been with Dr. Tomlin all day doing tests. Molly tried to convince herself she was prepared for whatever happened.

She'd purchased her dress with Izzy's help at the Neiman Marcus at the Galleria. It was sparkly and slim-fitting, hugging her curves, with a halter neck and a skirt that ended a few inches above her knees. She'd even stopped into Victoria's Secret to pick up some nice new lingerie. She'd been practicing walking around the hotel room in her new high heels for the past hour.

Her dad used to bring her to Houston to go back-to-school shopping every year in August. They'd book a hotel near the Galleria and either Rina or Annabelle would go with her. Dad would meet them for lunch and then they'd do more shopping. It had been a little odd to visit the Galleria without him.

Jason and Molly had booked the same suite they'd stayed in last time since the gala celebration was being held in one of the ballrooms in the same hotel. Rina and Jeb had come to Houston for the celebration, as well. They were going to meet the initial group of trainees who would be using the facility.

She took another look at herself in the mirror as she fastened the large diamond-cluster earrings that had been her mother's.

You look too pretty to be my daughter.

She glanced around expecting to see her dad standing behind her. But it was just his voice in her head. The words felt like a hug, as if she'd gotten his approval—not just for her appearance, but for everything she was doing. She closed her eyes, realizing that the pain she'd felt when he'd died was starting to ebb. She still missed him, but she could think of him now without crying and that was a very good thing.

She gave her reflection a wink before grabbing the small beaded handbag that matched her dress and heading down to the ballroom. The hallway leading to the ballroom was lined with large posters of all the astronauts who'd done the work leading up to the Cronus missions. She saw Hemi's and Izzy's posters before stopping in front of her Ace's. It was impossible to think of him as Jason when she stared into his intent blue gaze. The photo was of him in his flight suit, holding his helmet under his arm. And under the image was a quote attributed to him.

I grew up on a ranch in Texas so nothing is daunting to me. I need to be out there going where no one has before and expanding our boundaries the way the first settlers did in the West.

As much as she wanted him by her side, she knew that Ace really was a space cowboy. A man who should be exploring the universe, not tied to the land as she was. It was what he was meant to do and she loved him more for it.

“Hello, gorgeous.”

She turned to find him standing behind her in a tux. She almost forgot to breathe he was so handsome. His hair was neatly combed and he smiled when he bent down to kiss her. They'd come so far since he'd walked up to her porch on that warm May evening.

She threw her arms around him and started laughing. He joined her, swinging her in a circle.

* * *

J
ASON
HAD
AN
engagement ring in his pocket from Deutsch & Deutsch Jewelers. They had been in business in Houston for more than eighty years and their motto—Where Life Happens—seemed to suit him and Molly. He'd picked it up earlier in the day, after he'd finished the battery of tests Dr. Tomlin had run.

She'd been excited by the test results for the blood samples he'd been sending her each week via private courier. His calcium levels were normalizing. She hadn't seen the same results with her other patients so he mentioned Hemi's mom's diet and the supplements she'd sent him. Dr. Tomlin had immediately gotten on the phone with Mona and he had a feeling that the meals at the Mick Tanner Cronus Training Facility were going to be heavily influenced by Mona's nutrition plan.

Jason was happy being back on the base. Dennis had called him earlier, but Jason had been at the jewelers. He'd wanted a special ring for Molly and had been examining the one he'd ordered to make sure it was perfect.

He hadn't returned his boss's call because he wanted to ask Molly to marry him before he knew if there was an option to go on more missions.

There were a lot of astronauts who were married, and many balanced work and family. But Jason knew himself. He was either Ace or Jason—he didn't know how to be both.

He'd made a promise to Molly that day by the pond and he wasn't going to back out of it now. She needed him and he was coming to realize how much he needed her.

She was the first person he'd wanted to call when he'd heard the news from Dr. Tomlin.

And tonight...she was beautiful. She shone more brightly than the stars in the night sky and she was holding on to him and laughing with such joy. He didn't want to dim it. Couldn't be the man who made her eyes lose their sparkle.

“That dress is making it hard for me to remember why we have to be here. I want to scoop you up in my arms and carry you back to our room.”

She blushed and then winked at him. “There's no reason why we can't have everything we want tonight, is there?”

“No reason at all,” he said. Everything she wanted. This was her night. They'd saved the ranch and were getting ready to open the training facility. They were a couple. They had the rest of their lives together.

“I want to take a picture of you by your poster,” she said, fumbling in her handbag for her cell phone.

“Why?”

“So I have both handsome sides of you in one photo,” she said.

She knew. He hadn't realized it was obvious to everyone else, or maybe it was just because Molly knew him so well that she saw he was two different men. Not balanced at all.

The ring in his pocket felt heavy and he wanted to propose before he went inside and the lure of his old life took over.

He went over to the poster. Saw the brash, confident astronaut staring back at him. The man in the photo wore a hint of a smile along with tons of self-assurance and swagger. He posed next to his poster and she snapped the picture just as Hemi and his brother Manu came around the corner.

“I told you it wasn't odd to take a picture with myself,” Hemi said.

Manu shook his head. “Ace, are you for real? I get this egomaniac wanting to pose with himself, but you aren't as into yourself as he is.”

Hemi punched his brother on the arm. “Hey.”

“I asked him to do it,” Molly said.

Manu glanced over at her and then held his hand out. When Molly took it, Manu brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Apologies, my lady. I'm Manu Barrett, this one's older and more handsome brother.”

“She has eyes. She can see that you were a warm-up for me. I'm the perfect one,” Hemi said.

Jason just shook his head at them.

“This is Molly Tanner,” Jason said, introducing her to Manu.

“Are you part of the astronaut program?” he asked as they all moved into the ballroom.

“Not really. I'm a cowgirl normally. But Ace and I inherited some land that is now housing the new Cronus training facility,” she said.

Jason thought it curious that she'd referred to him as Ace. She almost always called him Jason.

“That is really cool. I'd love to hear more about it,” Manu said. Hemi left them to go talk to Izzy.

“What do you do?” Molly asked Manu.

“I'm in football. Special teams coach for the professional football league. I used to play for San Diego.”

“I think I might get kicked out of Texas for admitting this, but I don't really like the game. I'm more of a basketball fan.”

“You were almost perfect,” Manu said with a wink.

“Well, she is for me,” Jason said, putting his arm around her.

“Not perfect,” Molly said, smiling. “I'm as real as they come.”

Manu laughed and then moved off to find his brother. Jason took Molly's hand in his and started to lead her away from the crowd.

“Where are we going?”

“I want to be alone with you for a few minutes before everything starts tonight,” he said.

She bit her lower lip and then nodded. “I figured we'd talk later, but I can do this now.”

Do what?
he wondered. He led her to a quiet corner and put his hand in his pocket, feeling around for the ring box. She stood there watching him. And the lights dimmed as the emcee came out on stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, NASA is proud to welcome you to the Cronus Kickoff Celebration. If you will all find your seats, we have a few announcements to make before we get this party started.”

“This is going to have to wait,” Molly said.

He was afraid she was right. She turned to walk toward their table and all he could do was follow.

* * *

E
VERYONE
SCURRIED
TO
their seats and Molly knew what was coming next. Dennis had called her earlier when he couldn't get in touch with Jason, looking for him. Since he'd met her and Jason had introduced her as his girlfriend, Dennis had shared that he had some really good news from Ace's medical evaluation. That was all, nothing more specific, but Molly was certain that tonight Jason was going to learn his place in the Cronus missions had been assured.

“Wait, before anything else happens, I want to ask you something, Molly,” Jason said, tugging on her arm.

She turned toward him, saw the ring box in his hand and felt her heart sink. She put her hand over his, the one holding the box.

“Oh, Jason. I don't want to be the reason you can't have your dream.”

“You wouldn't be,” he said, but she let go of his hand and went to their table.

As he followed her, Dennis intercepted him and she glanced back. Saw the intensity of the conversation. A selfish part of her wished she'd let him ask that question, but she knew it wouldn't be right.

Rina and Jeb were seated at her table along with Lynn and her husband, Jimmy. They were a cute couple, funny and lively. They almost distracted her from the fact that Jason hadn't come back and that the emcee was back on the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure all of you are as excited to be here as we are to welcome you. There are many phases for the next program that NASA has been developing. Our eventual goal is to get to Mars, but before we can do that we have to see how our astronauts tolerate extended missions outside of Earth's gravity. To that end, NASA is launching the Cronus missions. I'm pleased to introduce you to Dennis Lock, Deputy Program Manager for Cronus.”

Molly sat back in her chair, feigning a calm she was far from feeling. She was ready to smile and stand up when Dennis introduced her, but she wished that Jason was by her side. The fact that he wasn't meant her suspicions were right. He was cleared for flight and would be going on the first mission to establish a way station between Earth and Mars. An eighteen-month mission that would be the next step in fulfilling his dreams.

She wasn't going to worry about where that would leave her.

Really
. She wasn't.

Rina reached over, took Molly's hand and squeezed it. “Whatever happens, you'll be okay.”

She would be. She was stronger from having loved Jason and spending the last three months with him. He'd given her new excitement for life and he'd helped her save the ranch. There was nothing to worry about.

Except a broken heart.

Everyone applauded as Dennis took the stage. He wore a tuxedo and walked with purpose. He was definitely the right man to be in charge, Molly thought. She knew how much the astronauts respected him. Had heard stories about his own missions that night she'd been at Rocket Fuel waiting for Jason.

That night she had seen him surrounded by his team, in his element. She loved Jason. He cared for her and had said he'd found a home with her. But was that because he'd thought he could never return to his real home?

“Thank you, everyone, for that warm welcome. This isn't a press conference and there will only be one new announcement tonight. You've all contributed to getting the Cronus missions off the ground. All of your hard work is the reason we are here tonight celebrating.

“I need to thank Lynn and her team at Axiom who put together a top-notch bid for our new training facility and got it built in record time. Where are you, Lynn?”

She stood up and waved as the spotlight found her. Molly felt the tension inside of her grow. She couldn't stay another minute. She leaned over to Rina.

“I have to go. Just smile and wave for us,” Molly said, talking loudly to be heard over the announcement.

“Sunshine—”

She just shook her head and got up, walking swiftly through the tables with her head down. She heard Dennis talk about the Bar T Ranch and how the facility had been named after Mick as she got to the doors that led to the hallway.