"I assume you mean sex."
"Hell yes I mean sex! That woman is so tightly wound she might blast off at any moment. I was doing her a favor."
"I'm sure you told her so."
"Something like that. But instead of being grateful she got pissed off and kicked me out! With no pants on!"
Jake almost fell off the couch he was laughing so hard. I failed to see what was so amusing about the situation. That's when Elle came in. She took one look at the two of us and shook her head.
"What now?"
"Jackson is just telling me about his visit to Angelina's yesterday."
"How did it go?"
My future sister-in-law was just as interested as everyone else in pairing me off. Just because my brothers had settled down, didn't mean I had to. It was a recent and not so subtle change around here that I did not appreciate. In this case however, I was open to suggestions.
"She kicked me out."
"Awwww, so you do like her."
"I want her. 'Like' has nothing to do with it. But she's not interested."
"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that."
I felt hopeful for the first time as I stared at Elle.
"Why do you say that?"
She shrugged.
"Women's intuition. Just tell her how you feel about her Jackson. Women like that."
I scowled. There was no way I was going to lower myself to admitting I had feelings for her when she'd treated me so shabbily. I would not beg.
Real men did not beg.
"Maybe, if I ever see her again. I doubt she's going to open the door if I go over there again. Even if she does have my damn tools."
"Just bump into her then. Shouldn't be too hard. She does live right next door Jackson."
They were both looking at me like I was slow witted. I grit my teeth. I knew I was desperate if I was asking for advice.
"What am I supposed to do, hang around outside her damn driveway?"
Elle laughed.
"Actually, I just saw her."
I perked up immediately.
"Where?"
"She's out walking her dog."
"She has a dog? She didn't have one yesterday."
"She does now."
I put my drink down and grinned, feeling a fresh surge of energy. Elle was right. I'd just spell it out for little Miss Angelina Randall plain as day. She was going to be my woman from now on. It was very simple. Even she could understand it.
"Where are you going?"
"For a ride."
I saddled my horse myself. I'd been neglecting him, which was unusual for me. I knew who was to blame for that. Angelina and her long legs, long hair and surly disposition.
I mounted my stallion and turned him out towards the road.
"Come on Thor, let's go and get our woman."
Angelina
"Come on boy. I need to wear you out."
The puppy Casey had picked out at the pound was adorable but way more rambunctious than I'd imagined. He'd already knocked over two chairs and a stack of papers I was trying to organize. I was grateful for the way he made Case smile though.
And I needed the distraction.
No matter what I did, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about him.
He'd almost gotten what he wanted yesterday. I had no excuse for it either. I hadn't been drunk. I hadn't been caught off guard. I'd known he was going to try it at some point.
I should have been prepared for his moves. Instead, I'd let it happen. Hell, I'd enjoyed it.
Until he'd opened his damn mouth.
"Come on D."
I grimaced, refusing to use the name. Casey had named him after one of the characters on her silly vampire shows. Even I had to admit that the actor playing the bloodthirsty vampire was pretty cute.
None of them had a thing on Jackson Delancey.
I sighed. I wished it wasn't true, but it was.
The man was literally sex on wheels.
I shook my head and turned my thoughts to my first project. I had no time to waste. It was already early spring. I had to turn the soil, amend it, and start growing seedlings as soon as possible.
I had decided to start small. A vegetable garden by the house to try out different crops and see what grew easily and well in the soil.
I'd already started a compost heap, with plans to create a whole row of them behind the hedges that separated our yard from the rest of the farm.
I was so lost in thought that I nearly ran into the damn dog. I stared down at him in consternation.
D's ears had perked up. His tail had stopped wagging, pointing straight for the sky. He was frozen, staring behind me with rapt attention. I turned to see what he was looking at.
Before I even saw him, I knew who it was. I knew the instant I heard the whistling.
Jackson Delancey was whistling at me.
Not a wolf whistle.
He was whistling at me like I was a dog.
I turned around and ignored him. I would not give him the time of day, no matter how good he looked on a horse. The dog kept stopping and looking over his shoulder. I tugged on his leash and whistled at him but it was no use.
I stared down at the stupid dog in disgust as Jackson rode towards us on an enormous horse.
"Traitor."