One Southern Cowboy - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,20

hold she had on her sanity right now. She needed a lifeline to pull her safely to shore. How easy it would be to lean on Jaxson’s strong, capable shoulders. Was it so wrong to do? If ever she needed help, it was now. Maybe she should just be grateful that he was here instead of second-guessing everything.

He pursed his lips. “Let’s see … something good.”

Something to help me take my mind off whatever terror I can’t seem to face, she added silently.

“You were a cheerleader in high school.”

“I was?”

“Yep.” He slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. His touch was thrilling, igniting her cells with a firestorm of anticipation. His voice grew recollective as he chuckled. “We were quite the pair, you and me. The cheerleader and the quarterback.”

A blip of pleasure ran through her as she giggled. “The cheerleader and the quarterback,” she quipped, “sounds like some cheesy romance movie.”

“Oh, it was cheesy and romantic.”

She stiffened, giving him a questioning look. They had been a couple! The revelation pleased her immensely. Some of the heavy weight left her chest.

He forged ahead in an easy, conversational tone. “If you want a good memory, I guess I shouldn’t tell you about the times we skipped class to go to the swimming hole, or that time we got in a whole heap of trouble for tipping cows.”

Her jaw dropped as she shifted to face him. “We tipped cows?”

He removed his arm from her shoulders, laughter dancing in his eyes. “Nah, that’s a myth. Cows don’t sleep standing up. Only horses do that.”

“Whew,” she sighed in exaggeration, swiping her forehead, “that’s a relief.” She cocked her head, some sort of understanding coming back to her. “You know, I think I knew that about cows and horses.”

“Yep,” he said with a touch of admiration. “You love horses.”

“I do?”

He shrugged. “At least you used to … when we were growing up. You wanted to start a business where you used horses to help troubled kids.”

“Really?” It was good to hear that she’d been somewhat altruistic. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask Jaxson what she’d actually done career-wise, but she was too afraid of the answer. She didn’t know why, but she was.

“We did skip class to go swimming,” Jaxson continued.

Her eyebrow slid up. “Okay, we liked to swim. Good to know.” Her mind added swimming to the list of things that Lemon Massey enjoyed. It was strange and unsettling to realize that she knew nothing about herself. It was like she was a student, trying to learn about Lemon Massey using logic, while pushing aside any feelings on the subject.

“We swam a lot—” his eyes deepened to a rich chestnut color as his voice grew husky “—and we did a few other things.” He made a point of looking at her lips.

She made a gurgling noise in her throat as her eyes flew open wide. “Oh,” she uttered, color rushing to her cheeks. Her hand went up around her neck. The air was electric as her gaze settled on his lips. Would they feel firm or soft against hers? Her heart picked up its pace as she lowered her hand and instinctively moved closer. A mixture of emotions flickered over his features. “What?” she asked softly. Did she dare kiss him? Was Lemon Massey so bold? Yeah, she’d do it, she decided.

His hand moved to her hair. His touch was light. “I don’t want to take unfair advantage,” he murmured.

“Of me?” She forced a laugh. “I hardly think it would be taking advantage. After all, we’re both adults.” She wanted to be here with Jaxson. And dang it, she wanted a kiss!

“I would be taking advantage of the situation. You have no idea who you are or what even happened between us. It wouldn’t be right for me to …” His voice trailed off as he shook his head. “It just wouldn’t be right.” A steely resolve replaced his uncertainty as he removed his hand.

A gloomy disappointment descended over her. She appreciated that Jaxson was trying to protect her … even if that meant protecting her from herself. For all Lemon knew, she could be involved with someone else. Married or engaged. A snapshot of the man with ebony eyes flashed before her face. Alarm slammed against her ribcage like an iron fist. A cold sweat broke over her body. Her lungs squeezed, making it hard to breathe.

“What’s wrong?” Jaxson asked, concern touching his features.

Her throat was closing