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  “That’s not what she says, and Eric said he’s—”

  “Eric is a self-absorbed asshole who will do just about anything to get into a woman’s pants, or have you forgotten about him making a move on me while we were dating.”

  The silence on the phone grew until it became deafening. Of course, Preston had forgotten considering he’d easily forgiven Eric, actually suggesting she’d led Eric on, as if his hands on her ass was her fault.

  “Your point?” Preston asked.

  “Just read the other articles and then stay away from me, my family, and JW. Have I made myself clear?”

  “I was just trying to look out for you,” he said quietly. The one he used when he knew he was wrong, but wouldn’t dare admit it.

  “I’m not a small child. I’m a grown woman, and I can take care of myself. Good night.” She hit the end button and dropped her head to the back of the sofa. “King and Kong, how the hell am I going to win JW back? If he was ever mine to begin with.”

  Chapter 11

  JW WAITED UNTIL well after two in the afternoon before heading back to the main house. He avoided going back there until after he knew Kitty had to leave to catch her flight; he had plenty to deal with, considering he almost lost a cow last night. Thankfully, he’d been able to save the cow and the calf. Both were thriving, and there was no reason for him to hover over them. Hell, technically, he was still on vacation, and everyone on the ranch had reminded him of that.

  He checked with the housekeeper who had informed him that the dogs had been let out and fed. He hadn’t asked if Kitty had done it or if she’d left the ranch, and his housekeeper hadn’t offered the information. He had to assume Kitty was now tucked away on a plane somewhere in the sky. He thought about checking with his driver, but figured if there had been a problem, his driver would have called.

  He pushed open the garage door, heading into his house through the family room instead of the foyer. King and Kong greeted him in their usual fashion with their tails wagging, but Kong kept rushing toward the entrance to the kitchen. “What is it, Kong?”

  He jumped on his hind legs and yelped, something he did when he was happy, which sent JW into a darker mood. If his dogs were happy she was gone, that said a lot.

  Digging into the jar of treats by the door, he pulled out some jerky. “Here you go.” He patted the dogs on their heads before dropping the treats to the ground. They were all he needed. They were loyal and understood that actions spoke louder than anything else, including stupid, outdated newspaper articles.

  He reminded himself that Kitty leaving had been for the best. No need to drag out a long-distance relationship that was doomed regardless of whether she believed in his innocence or not.

  After kicking off his boots, his nostrils picked up the scent of buttered potatoes and if he wasn’t mistaken, beef and onions, much like the Shepherd’s Pie he’d experienced at Pat’s Irish Pub.

  Wishful thinking on his part.

  All he needed now was a hot shower and a bed, but not his bed. Not until he got the sweet smell of strawberries out of his sheets.

  Kong stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and started barking, non-stop. It was more like a frantic yelp. King started running in circles and growled.

  “What the heck has gotten into the two of you? Do you need to go out?”

  Neither dog stopped their insanity.

  “If you’re missing Kitty, get over her. She’s not coming back.”

  “I never left,” Kitty’s voice slapped his ears like a bull stepping on his chest.

  His pulse jumped right out of his skin. Standing in the opening to the kitchen, he tilted his head, staring at the red-headed raven who wore an oversized apron.

  He raised his wrist, glancing at his watch. “You missed your flight.”

  “I know,” she said, tossing a dish rag over her shoulder like she’d done a dozen times in the pub.

  The dogs continued to go nuts.

  “To your beds,” she commanded as if she’d been dealing with King and Kong for their entire lives.

  The dogs stopped barking and stared at her for a long second before scampering off to the doggie beds they almost never used, unless commanded to when people other than family had been in the house, so the fact they did what she asked, was beyond amazing.

  “Classes start on Monday,” he said.

  “There is a flight tomorrow morning at seven.”

  “That is going to make for one exhausting first day of classes,” he said, setting his hat on the counter as he pulled back the kitchen stool. Last night, when he’d gotten closer, she’d moved away from him out of fear.

  Today, she held her ground.

  He wasn’t sure if that was good or not.

  “We need to talk about what happened last night,” she said, bending in front of the oven. “Are you hungry?”

  “I am,” he admitted. He wanted to let his guard down. He cared more about this woman than he dared to admit, but he didn’t want his heart stomped on again.

  “Good, I made one of my favorites.” She pulled out one of his glass dishes. The fond memory of corn, onions, peppers, meat, and potatoes assaulted his good senses. “I’ve come to love that dish.”

  “I’m glad,” she said, scooping out a healthy portion, and slapping it on a dish.

  He desperately tried to hold onto his anger. He told himself he was just protecting himself from the kind of pain that could kill a man.

  “I’m sorry about I how reacted last night. You came home at about the worst time possible.” She leaned on the counter, her elbows resting on the granite, her hands cradling her cheeks. She held his gaze, her soft, blue eyes lulling him into a world where Kitty became the center of attention.

  “How so?”

  “I’d read only the link my ex sent me.” She held up her hand, cutting him off from saying something really stupid, because the words forming in his brain would have come out sarcastic, not helping the situation at all. “All I knew the second you walked through the front door was that you’d been arrested, not that your ex had falsely accused you of something you didn’t do.”

  “But you believed it.” He stumbled over the words, wishing he could forget the fear etched on her face. He appreciated she stayed to apologize, and he’d accept her apology, but it in no way erased that she thought the worst of him.

  “That’s not true. I couldn’t fathom you doing anything like that, but the images were fresh in my mind. I hadn’t had time to process it and search for more information.”

  He pushed the food around on the plate, taking a couple of bites. He could imagine the shock of finding out the man you’re sleeping with had been accused of physically hurting a woman. “You were still afraid of me,” he said.

  “Not of you, but of what I read. I wish you would have told me. Finding out like that made it feel like you were hiding it from me.”

  He lifted his gaze. Her blue eyes filled with anxiety, not horror. “It’s not something you toss out there on the first couple of dates, especially when it’s supposed to be a one-night stand.”

  She cocked her head. “The second I got on that plane, we entered new territory.”

  “Put yourself in my shoes. I was accused and arrested for beating a woman. Doesn’t matter that I didn’t do it, people still think I did. For months after I was vindicated, women still crossed the street when they saw me coming. To see that kind of distress in your face killed me.” A knot of anger fisted inside his gut. His family had thought he should have been more outspoken about his innocence from the beginning. They also thought he should have trashed his ex every chance he got, but that would have just made him look like an asshole.

  In silence, Kitty untied the apron, folded it neatly, and set it on the counter. She dragged her fingers across the counter as she made her way to his side.

  He swiveled the stool, and she eased herself between his legs, resting her soft hands on his shoulders.

  “I’m sorry I doubted you for e
ven a second. I can’t take it back, but I’ll try like hell to make it up to you.”

  “The Shepherd’s Pie was a good start.” He smoothed his hands over her hips. “Staying tonight might help.”

  “Might help?”

  He nodded, biting back a smile. “Letting me pay to rebook your flight might seal the deal.”

  She pressed her chest against his, her fingers clasped behind his neck. “I might let you do that since I choked on the change fee when looked into it.”

  “There is something you should know before you head home.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Well, two things. First, I’m coming with you.”

  “I’m going to be working, and I’ve got school,” she said with her lips less than an inch from his. “I’m not going to have a lot of free time.”

  “I’ll take the bread crumbs.”

  “What’s the second?”

  This was certainly going to be a buzz kill. “Bella is in Baltimore.” Her named burned his tonsils as if he’d swallowed the stick he used to brand his logo onto his cattle.

  “I know. She sang at the pub last night.”

  He jerked his head back. “How’d you know? I just found out the day we got to the ranch.”

  “Remember the guy Preston came into the pub with? Bella is his girlfriend.”

  “Poor bastard,” he muttered.

  “I don’t know. He’s pretty much a womanizing asshole. She’ll just be another notch in his bed post.”

  He slipped his hands under her shirt, his fingers tickling her spine, forcing her to arch into him. “You’re the only notch I’ll ever want again.” When his lips touched hers, a spark ignited deep in his soul. “I want this—us—to work.”

  “It’s not going to be easy,” she said. Her eyes seemed to search his face for some kind of answer, or maybe understanding. “I’m not going to give up school. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am, and I want to be a teacher.”

  He cupped her face, fanning his thumbs over her cheeks. “I’d never ask you to give up your dreams for me. I only ask that maybe there is a place for me, and this ranch, in your future.”

  “In less than six months, I’ll need to put applications in for Grad school. Let’s see how things go, and maybe I can get my master’s degree here.”

  “Now I know I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

  Epilogue

  One year later…

  JW LEANED AGAINST the wall, staring at Kitty while she talked to her brother. She had removed her cap and gown, but the smile on her face when the dean handed her her degree probably would remain forever. He’d beamed with pride when they called her name and she walked across the stage. The last year had been tough and long. He’d flown out to Baltimore every chance he could, but it was never often enough. She’d only been to the ranch twice in the last year. Once during the holidays and once shortly after for an interview at the university. Teaching jobs were scarce in his community, but he knew how much teaching meant to her and how much taking care of his employees meant to him.

  She could create whatever educational program she wanted on the farm. He hoped she’d say yes to the offer.

  Now, all he had to do was ask her.

  And not just about the job.

  He dug his hand into his pocket, fingering his mother’s engagement ring, second guessing whether he should give it to her or not. The last woman had refused because it wasn’t glitzy enough.

  “You look like a man who’s terrified of what he’s about to do,” Patrick said as he handed JW a drink.

  “I’m afraid she’ll say no,” JW admitted.

  “She’s moving to Idaho, I doubt she’ll say no.”

  “There is room at the ranch for everyone.” JW had offered it before, and her family knew they were always welcome, even if they wanted to make it permanent.

  “Trust me, we’ll be visiting on a regular basis.” Patrick slapped JW on the shoulder. “Now tell me what is bugging you, son.”

  Over the course of the last year, her father had become more than possibly a future father-in-law, but a man JW valued and looked up to. Patrick had worked hard his entire life to support his family. He was a proud man.

  A good man.

  The kind of man, husband, and father, JW aspired to be.

  “I’m honestly afraid she’ll hate the ring.” His mother’s elegant, but small diamond was nothing like the extravagant ring set he’d seen in pictures from when she’d been married to Preston. Sure, JW could more than afford to buy her whatever she wanted, and he would, but having the woman he loved wear his mother’s ring meant the world to him.

  “You’re overthinking this.” Patrick gave him a nudge. “Now get over there and ask my daughter to marry you before my wife lets the cat out of the bag. Twice today, she’s taken Kitty by the hand, looking at her finger, then frowning when there is nothing there to scream over.”

  “What, here? Now?” JW swallowed the thick lump that had formed in his throat earlier that day, making it impossible to propose anytime they had been alone. What made her father think he could do it in front of her family?

  “Yes. Hey, Kitty.” Patrick waved. “JW needs a word with you.”

  “I can’t believe you just tossed me under the bus,” he muttered.

  “Break my little girl’s heart, and I’ll drive the bus over you.”

  “Not helping.” JW sucked in a deep breath as Kitty glided across the room like an angel floating down from heaven. Everything about her made him want to be a better person. Her smile filled the room and his heart with love.

  “Hey there, Cowboy,” she mused, gliding her fingers up his one and only sport coat. “You dress up real nice.”

  “I feel naked without my hat, which by the way, I’ve finally broken in.”

  “I was thinking that one might look better—”

  He pressed his index finger to her moist, plump lips. “Break in your own and before I lose my nerve.” He cleared his throat. “I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” With a shaky hand, he held up the ring.

  She gasped. “Is that an engagement ring?”

  Butterflies filled his stomach. Kitty was his life. His future. Nothing made sense without her. But the memory of his mother was equally important in a different way. He wanted to honor her in a way that would have made her proud. “It was my mother’s.” He slid it onto her finger.

  “Oh my God, JW.” She covered her mouth. “It’s beautiful.”

  “You like it?”

  “I love it, and it’s that much more special that it was your mother’s. Are you sure your siblings won’t mind you giving it to me?”

  “They approve. The only question now is will you marry me?” The words tumbled out of his mouth like a summer breeze jostling the flowers in the meadow. This didn’t just feel right, it was right.

  A single tear pooled at the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek.

  He wiped it away with his thumb.

  “Yes. Yes. A million times yes.” She nodded, tossing her arms around his shoulders, smacking her lips against his.

  “Finally,” her mother exclaimed. “Now, when can I except a grandbaby?”

  “You know,” he whispered in her ear, “I’m not opposed to starting a family right away.”

  “Neither am I,” she said.

  “Heaven is right here with you.”

  THE END

  Books by Jen Talty

  NY State Trooper Series

  IN TWO WEEKS

  DARK WATER

  DEADLY SECRETS

  MURDER IN PARADISE BAY

  TO PROTECT HIS OWN

  DEADLY SEDUCTION

  WHEN A STRANGER CALLS

  Other novels

  REKINDLED

  JANE DOE’S RETURN

  Dare to Love Kindle World by Carli Philips

  DON’T DARE ME

  The Omega Team Kindle World

  THE LIGHTHOUSE

  HER LAST
HOME

  THE LAST FLIGHT

  THE RETURN HOM

  The Phoenix Agency Kindle World

  THE LOST SISTER

  THE LOST SOLDIER

  THE LOST SOUL

  THE LOST CONNECTION

  Dallas Fire and Rescue Kindle World

  STEALING HIS FIRE

  IGNITING HIS FLAME

  Special Forces Operation Alpha

  BURNING DESIRE

  BURNING KISS

  BURNING SKIES

  BURNING LIES

  BURNING HEART

  About the Author

  Jen Talty is an award-winning author of Romantic Suspense. Dark Water hit #10 in Barnes and Noble and her books have been in the top 50 on Amazon. Jen grew up in Rochester, New York. She recently retired from being a full-time hockey mom as her children hung up their skates. She and her husband still live in Rochester while her children travel globe. Jen is the co-founder of Cool Gus Publishing with NY Times Bestselling Author Bob Mayer. To learn more about Jen Talty please visit her website: jentalty.com

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