Chapter Three
Three days. It had been three days since he’d dropped his bomb on Ellie, and he’d yet to see hide or hair of her. And that was hard to do considering she worked for him and Luke.
He hadn’t wanted to push her this soon, but in light of her most recent antics, he’d say it was time. Well, she was getting one more day before he hauled her out of her hidey hole kicking and screaming.
Jake uncurled the rolled-up plans and splayed them out over the hood of his truck. Then he glanced back at the building site and swore under his breath. He propped his foot up on the bumper and leaned in closer to try and figure out just how his foreman had managed to fuck up the design this badly.
The weather was downright balmy. Not a cloud in the sky. No threat of rain the entire week. A miracle for the southeast region of Texas this time of year. He couldn’t afford to lose any time on this project, because sure as shittin’, rain would move in the next week and they’d be sitting around with their thumbs up their asses.
A truck roared up next to his, and Luke Forsythe got out, a frown on his face. He strode over to where Jake stood.
“How much is this going to set us back?” Luke asked.
“Money or time?” Jake asked dryly.
“Both.”
“The money depends on whether they can salvage the awning. Time lost is at least three days. Days we can’t afford to lose if we’re going to finish on time. We need this done by Christmas.”
Luke bent over the plans, his lips drawn into a grim line. “Did you fire Shelton?”
“Hell, yeah. This is his second screw-up in a week. I put Colin in charge. He’s over cracking the whip now.”
Luke nodded his approval. He studied the schematics intently then said in a casual tone, “I hear there was a bit of excitement over at Zack’s Saturday night.”
“Fuck you.” Jake glowered at his partner. He’d have to remember to have a word with Colin. Damned big mouth.
Luke chuckled. “Well, it’s not every day Big Jake Turner is seen hauling a woman out of a bar over his shoulder. Especially when the woman in question is our secretary.”
Jake made a few derogatory remarks pertaining to Luke’s parentage.
Luke laughed again. “You’re too uptight, man.” His expression grew serious for a second. “Speaking of Ellie, I see Ray seems to be doing well. He just got a big write-up in the Beaumont paper. Contract extension. Two more years.”
Jake’s disposition went even further south. He hoped to hell Ellie wasn’t reading the damn paper. Like she needed Ray’s name splashed across her consciousness. Bastard didn’t deserve squat.
“Maybe he’ll take a sack and break his fool neck,” Jake muttered.
Luke raised an eyebrow. “You know, I’m curious, Jake. And feel free to tell me to mind my own fucking business, but why is Ray still off in the NFL prospering and doing well? I don’t get it. Why didn’t Ellie go after him with both barrels?”
Familiar anger seethed within Jake. He rolled his fingers into balls and clenched them at his sides. Then he turned to Luke.
“Would you have believed Ray was capable of what he did if I hadn’t told you face-to-face?”
Luke looked away then down. “Probably not, man. He’s snowed a lot of people.”
“Bastard laid the groundwork well in advance, making it impossible for Ellie to be taken seriously. She actually went to the police once. They didn’t do a goddamn thing other than listen to Ray’s excuses and laugh it off as a marital spat. Then he made her sorry she ever tried to get someone to help.
“He made her out to be a jealous, spiteful wife. Even now, she gets her fair share of scorn for divorcing the local golden boy.”
“It’s been hard for you,” Luke said quietly.
“What do you think?” Jake asked, rounding a bit too ferociously on him. “He was my best friend. We played football together through high school and college. Even got drafted by the same pro team. I mean, what are the odds? Never once did I imagine what a bastard he was, and I’ll never forgive myself for not seeing it. For not getting Ellie the hell out of that situation before he hurt her so badly.”
“It’s not your fault, man.”
Jake scrubbed a weary hand through his hair. “Yeah, Luke, it is. I was in love with her long before I had any idea what was going on. If I hadn’t been so all-fire determined to keep my distance, I would have seen what was going on. As it was, I turned my back on her when she needed me most.”
“Shit, Jake. You can’t carry around that kind of blame. The only person at fault here is Ray.”
Jake shook his head but refused to pursue the subject any farther. He didn’t like to talk about Ellie and Ray. It was something he’d just as soon forget. Only he knew Ellie never would.
“How are Jeremy and Michelle doing? I heard she’s having a boy? Did you go hunting with the gang this weekend?”
Luke nodded, accepting the topic change. “Yeah, we celebrated this past weekend. We spent Saturday and Sunday at the hunting camp, and damn it if Gracie didn’t bag a fucking monster of a buck. Pisses me the hell off.”
Jake laughed. “She’s still running circles around you, huh?”
“Wes is getting it mounted for her, and now I’ll have to see it every time I go over to her house.”
Jake shook his head at Luke’s mournful look. He liked Luke’s circle of friends. Jeremy and Michelle had been married a little over a year. Both Jeremy and Wes were cops with the local police department, and Gracie was Michelle’s best friend. Jake hung out with them every once in a while, and they were a hoot as a crowd.
“So, uh, have you seen Ellie this week?” Jake asked, changing the subject again.
Luke shook his head. “Nah, I figure she’s laying low after the Saturday night deal. I know she’s been in the office because all the paperwork’s been done.”
“I’m way too fucking easy on her,” Jake mumbled.
Luke chuckled. “Fire her, then. It was your idea to hire her.”
Jake glowered at Luke.
“Ah well, there’s the answer to your question,” Luke said. “That looks like her now.”
Jake peered around, following Luke’s line of vision to an older model Toyota Corolla turning onto the gravel road leading up to where he and Luke were. It was her, all right, but what the hell was she doing out on the jobsite?
“I, ah, think I’ll head over to talk to Colin,” Luke said with barely suppressed amusement.
Jake strode over to meet Ellie before she could even get out of the car. She wiped her palms down her slacks as she stepped out.
“Where the hell have you been?” he demanded.
She bit her bottom lip, and he cursed the fact that his eyes tracked every movement of her mouth.
“I, uh, wanted to talk to you,” she said nervously.
He took a deep breath then sighed. “Ellie, why the hell are you so jumpy? You’ve never been nervous around me. You act like I’m going to bite you or something.”
She flushed a delicate pink, her cheeks blooming as her eyes flared.
“Yes, but I’ve never said what I have to say before.”
His pulse surged and ratcheted up about twenty beats per minute.
“What is it you want to say to me?” he asked softly.
“You said…you said that I’d have to come to you.”
He arched an eyebrow. Did this mean what he thought it meant?
“That I did, sweetheart,” he drawled.
“Well, I’m here,” she blurted.
He closed the remaining distance between them in a split second. They stood only inches apart. She looked hesitant. Soft and unsure. Her eyes gleamed with need. She took his breath away.
“Do you know what you’re saying?” he asked hoarsely.
She nodded. “I want you, Jake.”
He cupped her chin in his palm. As much as he’d sworn never to touch her while she was married to Ray, he now ached to kiss her. He’d waited too damn long fo
r her to tell him she wanted him.
He lowered his mouth to hers. She let out a small feminine gasp before touching him sweetly with her lips. Her hands feathered over his face, her fingertips touching and stroking as he deepened the kiss.
She tasted of mint and the sweet tea she always drank. He inhaled, wanting her scent deep inside him. Her tongue brushed lightly over his upper lip, and he opened his mouth to let her inside.