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Authors: Sandra Dailey
Tags: Contemporary
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coffee,” Alex said. “Can you make me a cup with three sugars and no cream? I need a strong jolt to get me started in the morning.”
Lacey and Jenna looked at each other with surprise and then laughed. Jenna clued him in to the joke. “Jerrod takes his coffee the same way. At least the two of you have one thing in common.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to compare notes,” Alex informed her. “I’ve got the whole weekend off. And, since Jerrod has a bad leg, I’m going to help him with his chores.”
Jenna pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. “I’ll be stuck in the house all day, cleaning and doing laundry. I wish I could get some help, and then I could go outside with you guys.”
“Sorry.” Jerrod snatched an apple and bit into it. With his mouth full, he added, “Daylight’s burning and if we helped you we wouldn’t get everything done.”
Alex turned to Jerrod. “By the way, how’s that leg feeling?”
“It’s a little stiff, but I’ll live. When you work on a farm, you can’t let a thing like that keep you down. We can’t afford time off, like soft desk jockeys from the city.”
The day was harder to get through than Alex expected. It wasn’t because of the work, although the work seemed to never end. They’d painted the porch and shutters, hoed a two-acre garden, and cleaned the carburetor on a small tractor that Alex guessed was about as old as he was.
They only took a break long enough to eat lunch. Jerrod had packed cheese sandwiches and bottled water. Alex knew the boy was trying to make him miserable, but it would take a lot more than a cheese sandwich. He also knew Jerrod wanted to keep him away from Lacey. That wasn’t working either. They could see the horse pens from everywhere they went. The pens were located between the house and barn, and in front of the garden.
Watching her was the hard part; or rather the way Lacey distracted him. Seeing her work with her horses was a thing of beauty. She exercised each one and only saddled the boarded horses. Seeing her straddle the bare backs of the sleek powerful animals, her bottom bouncing, her skin glowing with perspiration, gave him ideas he didn’t need right then. Several times, while racing them back and forth between barrels, she’d come so close to the ground his heart nearly stopped. His stomach leapt into his throat every time she flew over an obstacle. He had to keep reminding himself that she knew what she was doing. This was her job. She didn’t need him. It was a relief when she’d finished grooming the horses and returned them to their stalls.
****
Lacey had worked the horses harder than she needed to. She’d used them to pull herself away from the gravitational draw to Alex. Every time she’d looked up he’d been watching with lust filled eyes. The distraction made her work twice as hard in order to concentrate. Now that she could slow down, she felt boneless with fatigue.
Alex and Jerrod must have worn themselves out as well. They’d fallen asleep in front of the television as soon as supper was over.
She’d sent Jerrod to his room and Jenna followed soon after. Now she was spending the best part of a second night soothing away Alex’s nightmares.
She wondered if this was a problem for him all the time or if it had been brought on by the past coming back to haunt him. If she wasn’t losing so much sleep caring for him, she might be having nightmares as well. No, her dreams would probably be just the opposite. They’d probably be more of the erotic variety. Alex was proving hard to resist. She just couldn’t decide why she was resisting. She knew they’d be explosive together. Maybe it was the fear of him leaving again.
Chapter Nine
Lacey and Alex followed the kids as far as the front porch. When an old white church bus pulled to a stop in the drive and beeped its horn, Jenna gave her mom a quick hug, and then hugged Alex as well. Jerrod didn’t say good-bye at all. He shouted to a couple of
Lacey and Jenna looked at each other with surprise and then laughed. Jenna clued him in to the joke. “Jerrod takes his coffee the same way. At least the two of you have one thing in common.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to compare notes,” Alex informed her. “I’ve got the whole weekend off. And, since Jerrod has a bad leg, I’m going to help him with his chores.”
Jenna pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. “I’ll be stuck in the house all day, cleaning and doing laundry. I wish I could get some help, and then I could go outside with you guys.”
“Sorry.” Jerrod snatched an apple and bit into it. With his mouth full, he added, “Daylight’s burning and if we helped you we wouldn’t get everything done.”
Alex turned to Jerrod. “By the way, how’s that leg feeling?”
“It’s a little stiff, but I’ll live. When you work on a farm, you can’t let a thing like that keep you down. We can’t afford time off, like soft desk jockeys from the city.”
The day was harder to get through than Alex expected. It wasn’t because of the work, although the work seemed to never end. They’d painted the porch and shutters, hoed a two-acre garden, and cleaned the carburetor on a small tractor that Alex guessed was about as old as he was.
They only took a break long enough to eat lunch. Jerrod had packed cheese sandwiches and bottled water. Alex knew the boy was trying to make him miserable, but it would take a lot more than a cheese sandwich. He also knew Jerrod wanted to keep him away from Lacey. That wasn’t working either. They could see the horse pens from everywhere they went. The pens were located between the house and barn, and in front of the garden.
Watching her was the hard part; or rather the way Lacey distracted him. Seeing her work with her horses was a thing of beauty. She exercised each one and only saddled the boarded horses. Seeing her straddle the bare backs of the sleek powerful animals, her bottom bouncing, her skin glowing with perspiration, gave him ideas he didn’t need right then. Several times, while racing them back and forth between barrels, she’d come so close to the ground his heart nearly stopped. His stomach leapt into his throat every time she flew over an obstacle. He had to keep reminding himself that she knew what she was doing. This was her job. She didn’t need him. It was a relief when she’d finished grooming the horses and returned them to their stalls.
****
Lacey had worked the horses harder than she needed to. She’d used them to pull herself away from the gravitational draw to Alex. Every time she’d looked up he’d been watching with lust filled eyes. The distraction made her work twice as hard in order to concentrate. Now that she could slow down, she felt boneless with fatigue.
Alex and Jerrod must have worn themselves out as well. They’d fallen asleep in front of the television as soon as supper was over.
She’d sent Jerrod to his room and Jenna followed soon after. Now she was spending the best part of a second night soothing away Alex’s nightmares.
She wondered if this was a problem for him all the time or if it had been brought on by the past coming back to haunt him. If she wasn’t losing so much sleep caring for him, she might be having nightmares as well. No, her dreams would probably be just the opposite. They’d probably be more of the erotic variety. Alex was proving hard to resist. She just couldn’t decide why she was resisting. She knew they’d be explosive together. Maybe it was the fear of him leaving again.
Chapter Nine
Lacey and Alex followed the kids as far as the front porch. When an old white church bus pulled to a stop in the drive and beeped its horn, Jenna gave her mom a quick hug, and then hugged Alex as well. Jerrod didn’t say good-bye at all. He shouted to a couple of
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