noon, facing off for a duel.
“Seriously?” Lemon cut in. “Y’all are family. You work together. It’s about time that you learned to get along.” Sheesh. “Whatever happened is in the past. Don’t you think it’s time to move on—forgive and forget?”
Silence.
“Or maybe not,” she snipped, rolling her eyes. “Talk about stubborn mules,” she fumed.
Lucas cleared his throat. “What do you wanna do about the feeder?”
Jaxson took in a breath. “Call Vance Bryant over at Machine Works. He’ll take care of it.”
“Will do,” Lucas clipped as he strode out, closing the door behind him.
“You wanna tell me what that was all about?” Lemon began.
“Not really.” Jaxson stared straight ahead, his jaw set in stone, the dimple in his chin more pronounced.
She eyed him for one long moment. “Fine,” she huffed, “keep your secrets.” She shifted gears. “Okay, you’ve got two choices here.”
He turned to her, a faint amusement simmering in the depths of his sable eyes.
“Either you call Doctor Jepson and tell him about your fall or else I’m calling an ambulance to take you to the hospital.”
He smirked. “You don’t have a phone, remember?”
“No, but I have two legs and feet. I’ll leave this minute and walk up to your daddy’s house.” She lifted her chin. “I’m sure when he hears that you fell, he’ll either call the doctor or an ambulance.”
Jaxson’s lips twitched around the corners. “You’re a demanding little thing, aren’t you?” He turned to her. The affection in his eyes gave her cause to hope that all was not lost between them.
A smile tugged at her lips. “I can be demanding, when the situation warrants.”
He sighed in defeat. “Okay.” He leaned back and fished his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll call Daddy and get Doc Jepson’s number.” Challenge zinged in his eyes. “Will that do?”
“Yes.”
As Jaxson made the call, Lemon’s thoughts went back to everything that Lucas had said. Questions were picking at her brain, demanding to be answered. She couldn’t keep hiding from the past forever. It was becoming clear to her that she would need to face the darkness sooner rather than later. A shiver slithered down her spine as she hugged her arms. She wasn’t ready yet, but hopefully, she would be soon.
“Daddy said he’d call the doc.”
Lemon nodded. “Good. Now we need to figure out dinner.”
He gave her an apologetic look. “I’m not up to cooking steaks.”
“I didn’t figure you would be.”
“We could order pizza,” he suggested.
She pursed her lips. “Pizza sounds good. What kind do you like?”
A boyish grin stole over his lips. “Same as you—pepperoni and black olives.”
She crinkled her nose. “That’s my favorite?”
He nodded. “Well, it was when I knew you.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Hmm … that does sound good. Can we add some green peppers and sausage?”
“Sure.” His eyes twinkled. “I see you’ve expanded your diet. You used to be so picky.”
“I did not,” she countered, even though she had no clue as to whether or not he was telling the truth.
He grinned. “In some ways you’re exactly the same.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”
Mischief streaked over his features. “You could argue with a fence post.”
She scoffed. “That’s not true.”
“Oh, yes it is.”
“No, it’s not,” she harrumphed.
“Case in point,” he laughed.
She rolled her eyes. “That’s enough, Mr. Hotshot Cowboy.”
He blinked in surprise.
“What?” she demanded.
His voice took on a note of enthusiasm. “That’s what you used to call me—Mr. Hotshot Cowboy.”
Laughter gurgled in her throat. “See, it fits.” She folded her arms, giving him a speculative look.
“What?”
“Tell me about Angelica, Tillie, Jessica—” she twirled her hand “—I can’t remember the rest of your deluxe, super-sized harem.”
Color crept into his handsome face as he coughed. “Lucas was exaggerating.”
“I don’t think so.” She pinned him with a look. “You’re a player, aren’t you?”
His eyes widened. “I plead the fifth.”
“Uh, huh.”
He spread his hands, a contrite smile moving over his lips. “So, I have a past. Big deal. What was I supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for you to come back?”
The hurt in his voice took her off guard. “What happened between us?” she asked quietly.
Several emotions flitted over his features. She couldn’t pinpoint them exactly but thought they might’ve included sadness, regret, resolve. “It’s like you said earlier,” Jaxson uttered. “Time to move on—forgive and forget.”
Her breath caught in the back of her throat. “Are you saying that you need to forgive me?” Yes, that’s what he was saying. She could see it in his eyes. Her stomach tightened. “What did I do?”
He shook his