getting hard at the proposition of her legs wrapped around me again. I licked my lips, giving her a playful wink.
“You’re terrible,” she whispered. “But maybe later.”
My mouth dropped open as Hailey jogged for the front door. Her smile almost doing me in as I chased after her. As her sweet laughter filled the log cabin, I could feel my heart starting to soar. I never wanted the sound to leave. I wanted to chase her around the house forever.
18
Chapter Seventeen (Hailey)
Jackson had ordered takeout for dinner, much to my delight. The night before and morning with his parents had zapped the energy right out of me. We sat on the floor of the living room, a movie playing in the background while we ate Chinese. It was strange to see him so relaxed. I found myself wanting to know more about him, even if my own feelings were confusing.
“What was it like growing up with six siblings?” I asked.
He laughed. “Have you seen Animal House? It was something like that. Mom ruled that house with an iron fist, though. Us boys only ever stepped out of line once or twice each. Boy, she smacked us right back into our place.”
“God, I can’t imagine having that many kids! That poor woman must be a saint. You’ve got a younger sister, too, right?”
“Sure do, Allyson. She’s the youngest of the group. You won’t see much of her.”
“I was wondering when she wasn’t at the family dinner. Do your parents keep her locked away in a tower somewhere while she waits for the right rancher to pay her dowry?”
He laughed. “God, my pops wishes. No, she’s off at college right now. Courses don’t start until the fall, but she graduated high school early. Sure was a shock to my parents. A few weeks back, she just upped and announced she was graduating that day like it was nothing. We all scrambled to get there. She didn’t even mention her speech for graduating top of her class.”
“Wow!” I was stunned. “Now, I really want to meet her.”
“She’ll have to come back eventually. That was the only way Mom and Dad would pay for her college. They said she had to go somewhere in the state. Well, she picked the farthest possible point she could get and still be at a good school. I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes a doctor just to avoid them for the next eight years.”
“Can you blame her? That must have been rough being the only girl.”
“I bet she’ll love you and envy the crap out of you too. She would have been a great only child. Did it ever get lonely?”
I nodded. It was hard to talk about my childhood, but turnabout was fair play. I couldn’t very well expect him to open up if I weren’t willing to do the same.
“Sometimes. We lived in a decent part of town so I could ride my bike over to my friends’ houses and hang out with them. My mom was a social butterfly back in the day. So she knew everyone. You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child? Well, I’m the child the village raised.”
“They did a pretty damn good job then.” Jackson smiled.
The heat rushed to my cheeks immediately as I dove back into my food. I couldn’t look at him without thinking about his hands all over my body. It was hard to believe the man casually sitting on the floor next to me in fuzzy blue slippers was the same pompous asshole I’d kicked out of the bar a few weeks ago. Jackson surprised me at every turn with something new and wonderful about his personality.
“Tell me about your brothers,” I said.
He gave a low whistle. “That’s a lot. Where to start? Well, next to Allyson, Hunter is the next youngest. He’s a smart cookie, too, but about as shy as they come. I’d gamble on my parents setting up some trap like this for him as well. He’s almost twenty-four, and the poor kid hasn’t even so much as kissed a woman.”
“Seems like you’d be just the brother to take him out on the town.”
“I’ve tried, Lord knows I’ve tried. He isn’t looking for a good-time gal, though, nope. That boy wants marriage then everything else.”
“Yikes, well, I’m sure he will find someone who shares his views. Everyone has their match out there somewhere. What about the others?”
“Let’s see, there is Junior. His real name is Daniel, but