Rugged Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,37
in Houston.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Jess said. She paused in the light of the garage. “Well, I’m this way.”
“Thanks for going out with me tonight,” he said, releasing her hand and smiling at her. “I hope we can do something again soon. Maybe without the phone call from my ex and you getting a ride back here with yours.”
She gaped at him for a moment, and then the pair of them both started laughing. “What a disaster,” Jess said. “Right?”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” Dallas took her into his arms, and that got her to sober right up. He was so strong, and smelled so good, and Jess closed her eyes and just let herself be with him for a few moments.
He cleared his throat, fell back half a step, and swept his lips along her cheek. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?” He put more distance between them while her skin felt like something fizzy was bubbling through it.
“Okay,” she finally said, and he turned and went up the back steps to the deck at the Annex. She watched him until he went inside, a loud burst of noise escaping the door when it was opened.
She went up the few steps and into the West Wing, no noise greeting her. It wasn’t that late, but the kitchen sat in darkness, with only the light above the stove to show the path to the hallway that led to the bedrooms.
She’d just reached hers when Hannah opened her door. “Jess,” she said. “How did it go tonight?”
“Good,” Jess said, trying to keep her voice light.
“Listen, I just wanted to say that I’m an idiot.” Hannah folded her arms and leaned against the wall. “I shouldn’t have said Dallas wasn’t your type.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Jess said. “You know I do what I want anyway.” She grinned at Hannah, who smiled back. She was much more reserved than Jill, and she didn’t quite have the confidence Jess did.
“That you do,” Hannah said. “I’m still in awe of that, by the way.”
“You could do it too,” Jess said, nodding into her bedroom. She needed to get out of these jeans and into something with a more forgiving waistband, especially after all that cake she’d consumed. “Who do you want to go out with?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah said. “I met a guy at church a couple of months ago, but I haven’t seen him since.”
“What about someone here?” Jess asked, unbuttoning her jeans.
“Here?” Hannah sounded like she’d seen a ghost. “Really, Jess?”
“Sure,” Jess said. “Spencer is great. He’d go out with you. Bill. Jack.”
“Okay, Bill is way too old for me.”
Jess laughed and pushed her jeans off her ankles. “He is not,” she said. “Spence is older than him.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Spence is almost forty,” Jess said. “How old do you think Bill is?”
“I don’t know.” Hannah sat on Jess’s bed while she pulled on a pair of stretchy pants. “Fifty?”
“Oh-ho-ho,” Jess chortled. “Don’t ever let him hear you say that. Bill is thirty-six, Hannah. He’s actually younger than you.”
“You have got to be kidding. He has a full head of gray hair.”
“It’s silver, baby, and a lot of women like that.” Jess sat cross-legged on the bed. “So Bill or Spencer? Or what about Steve-the-Swann’s-guy?”
“Steve has a girlfriend,” Hannah said, casting her eyes down. “And I can’t order any more ice cream from him, because I made a huge fool of myself to find that out.”
“Hannah,” Jess said, smiling widely. “Why haven’t I heard this story?”
“Because it’s embarrassing.” Hannah looked up and shook her head. “I’m not telling it right now.”
“All right,” Jess said. She could get the story later. “So Spencer or Bill? We can make a plan and you can ask one of them tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Hannah squeaked.
“Yes,” Jess said, deciding for her. “Tomorrow. Hannah, you want to go out with someone. You know you do. Time to be brave and do something.”
“Be brave,” Hannah said, reaching up to tuck her brown hair behind her ear. “Do something.”
“Spencer or Bill?”
“You know what?” Hannah asked, a new spark entering her eyes. “Let’s go with Bill.”
Jess raised her eyebrows but kept her smile in place. “Wow, Bill. I was not expecting that.”
“Really?”
“You just said you thought he was fifty years old,” Jess said.
“Yeah, well, you said his hair was silver, not gray, and maybe I am one of those women who like that.” She grinned then, and all Jess could do was laugh and shake her head.
“Okay, so we just need a good plan for you