Rugged Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,42

to say. How could she explain what dating meant to a six-year-old? “And Thomas?”

“He said, I knew you were kissing her last night, Dad.” Dallas chuckled. “I asked him what he thought about that, and he said kissing is gross.”

“Oh, well, I disagree with him about that,” Jess said, watching the boy dismount. He took his horse’s reins and walked him back to the group, handing them to Spencer.

“Me too,” Dallas murmured. “But I did tell him I wouldn’t kiss you in front of him again.”

“Good plan.”

Thomas approached, and Jess asked, “How was it, Thomas? You’re on week four, right? Did you get to go up the hill?”

The boy’s face lit up and he nodded. “Yeah, and I got Ginger to do it before any of the other riders.”

“You did?” Jess looked over to the tawny horse named Gingerbread Castle. “That’s amazing. Ginger is kind of a softie, so I’m surprised she went first.”

Thomas looked at where Dallas held Jess’s hand. Instinctively, she tightened her fingers in his, and he squeezed back. “What time are we going to dinner?” he asked.

“Six-thirty,” Dallas said. “I have to get back to work for minute, and I’ll come find you.”

“I’m going to go ask Missy about her oral report,” Thomas said, walking away. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Dallas called after his son, and they stood there and watched for a few more seconds.

“I think that could’ve gone better,” Jess said.

“He just doesn’t know what to think,” Dallas said. “And he’s not happy he has to stay with his aunt and uncle this weekend instead of coming out here.”

“We’d take them,” Jess said. “Me and Emma and Hannah.”

“I know,” Dallas said, and that was all. His ex-wife’s sister was coming, though, with her husband, and Dallas’s stance on that hadn’t been swayed no matter how many people offered to help him with his kids this weekend.

“I do have to get back to work,” he said. “I’ll see you in a bit, okay?” He swept his lips across her forehead, and Jess nodded as he walked away from the corrals and toward the equipment shed. When she turned back to the mass of horses and all the kids who’d arrived for the next riding session, she caught Spencer staring at her.

He looked like a combination of Thomas and Remmy—partially indifferent and partially like he was afraid to come talk to Jess. Her heart sent out a couple of extra beats, and she turned away from his curious stare. She didn’t have to explain anything to anyone, least of all him.

He’d asked why she’d needed a ride home the first time she and Dallas had gone out, and she’d given him an excuse about not having a reliable ride. Was it her fault if he assumed her truck had broken down again?

Guilt dug at her though, all the way back to the West Wing. She showered quickly, because she didn’t want the scent of horseflesh to go on her date with her that night. Dallas would likely carry the hint of grease with him, as he didn’t have the luxury of showering before dinner. She didn’t mind; she simply wanted to look and smell her best.

She put on a pair of long, white pants that flowed around her legs as they were wide. She imagined herself a beachcomber, and she’d paired the pants with a pale pink blouse that left her shoulders bare and accented the darkness in her hair and eyelashes.

She’d put her semi-permanent lip stain on last night after she’d gotten home from Dallas’s new rental, and that meant her lips were the perfect shade of pink for tonight. She evened out her skin tone with a few brushes of foundation, added some color back to her face with some blush, and looked at her hair.

“What do I do with this?” she asked. She had half a mind to cut it all off, because then she could style it with a blow dryer and call it good the way Jill did. As it was, she spent the next twenty minutes taming her thick hair with a round brush and a hair dryer.

Hannah came down the hall just as Jess finished. “Going out with Dallas?” she asked, taking in Jess and her fancy, non-ranch clothes, her shiny hair, and the makeup.

“Yes,” Jess said. “With his kids.”

“Oh, wow,” Hannah said, her eyebrows going up. “That’s a big step.”

“Yes,” Jess said. “It is.”

“Wear my silver flats,” Hannah said. “They’ll look amazing with those pants.” She went to get them, and