Rugged Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,27
has two kids, Jess. And he’s an ex-con.” She shrugged again. “I mean, I get that we don’t judge men like him here, but you were never very interested in the guys we’ve had from the re-entry program before.”
“He’s not in the re-entry program,” Jess said. “And I like kids.” Dallas’s were nice enough, and she didn’t find them annoying like some of the eleven-year-olds that came for their first riding lessons.
“Okay,” Hannah said. “Forget I said anything.”
“Thanks for letting me wear this.” She smiled at Hannah and down at the tank top. “You’re sure it looks okay?”
“It looks amazing,” Hannah said, looking at her again before she picked up her tablet.
Jess lingered for a moment, sensing something in Hannah. “Hey,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at the brunette. Really looking. “What’s wrong?”
Hannah shook her head, sighed, and then let her shoulders sag. Without saying anything, she turned her tablet toward Jess, so she could see what was on the screen. Warm Hearts sat there, their highly recognizable logo with a handprint placed over a heart right at the top of the page.
Jess sucked in a breath, her eyes round as she looked from the screen back to Hannah.
“Why are you signing up for this?” she asked.
“Because Jill met Mike at the wedding, and now you’re going out with Dallas, and Ginger is married now, and Emma’s engaged, and I just….” She blew out her breath and rolled one shoulder again. “I’m just lonely, and I want to meet someone too.” She turned the tablet back to her. “So I’m signing up for this thing. If someone messages me, and I’m not interested, I don’t have to answer.”
Jess had never used a dating app, and she was truly surprised Hannah would. She could hear the loneliness in her friend’s voice though, and Jess didn’t know how to make her feel better. She wasn’t great with feelings and explaining them to herself or someone else.
“I love you, Hannah,” she said, and the other woman raised her eyes to Jess’s again. She stood, bent down, and hugged her, glad when Hannah sniffled and said, “I love you too, Jess. Have fun tonight.”
The doorbell rang just as Jess said she would, and pure terror tore through her. “It’s him, and I don’t even have shoes on yet.” She darted out of Hannah’s bedroom and into hers, her mind quickly moving through her available footwear. Almost anything would go with a pair of jeans and a tank top, but Jess wanted to stand out.
She felt like she had to with Dallas, and she quickly stepped into a pair of black sandals that added a couple of inches to her height. Nothing too drastic, and nothing she couldn’t walk in for the whole night. In fact, she’d once gone dancing in these sandals, and her feet hadn’t complained once.
She hurried out into the kitchen to find Dallas standing there, chatting with Jill. He wore a pair of jeans too. Nothing too fancy, and nothing too light. He’d put on cowboy boots, and for some reason, Jess found that adorable. He was definitely more mechanic than cowboy, but she sure did like the idea of a cowboy mechanic, so she clung to that.
He wore a dark purple shirt with only a couple of bright yellow stripes across the chest, and if Jess hadn’t found him appealing before, the cowboy hat he wore tonight would’ve changed her mind. Big time.
He caught her staring at him, and he reached up and touched the brim of that dark, delicious, cowboy hat with two fingers. She got herself moving in the right direction, her smile genuine and real as she approached.
“Hey,” he said. “Don’t you look great?” He grinned at her and reached for her hand. She willingly laced her fingers through his, snaps and crackles and pops moving through her whole body. Her teeth almost chattered from the electricity bouncing between them, and when she met Jill’s eyes, it was obvious she could see something happening between the two of them too.
“Thanks,” Jess said, grinning from Jill to Dallas. “You look amazing too.”
Dallas ducked his head as if examining his own clothes, as if he hadn’t dressed himself. “I cleaned my car and everything.”
“Let’s go then,” Jess said. They turned toward the front door, and she had to let go of his hand. Thankfully, he took her other one as they walked away from Jill, and once they settled in his car he