After Love (15 page)

He gritted his teeth and forced a smile. “Unless you want to get right to the dessert, we'd better get out of here.”

“Yeah. Just let me check on Jared.” She disappeared back into the house.

Conversation drifted out to the porch. Nick didn't intentionally eavesdrop, but as the volume increased, it was impossible to ignore. He withdrew to the edge and sat down on the top step with Harley joining him.

“It's none of your business, Jared.” Jamie's raised voice carried outside.

“It
is
my business. I'm your big brother and protecting you is my job,” Jared yelled back. “The last thing you need is another damn cop.”

“I don't need yours or anyone else's protection, and Nick isn't a real cop…and…it doesn't matter. I'm twenty-eight years old. I can make my own decisions, and I can have friends without your approval, so just back off.”

Nick was facing away from the house when the screen door banged against the old wood siding.

“Let's go,” she demanded as she breezed past and headed down the steps toward Nick's truck.

She jerked the passenger-side door open and climbed in.

Nick opened the back door and gave Harley the load command. The dog jumped in and sat, but his tan eyebrows furrowed as he sensed that his woman was upset.

Nick got in and started the engine. But he didn't shift it out of park. “Listen, if this is a problem, we can go another time. It's all right…really.” He turned and looked at her, waiting for a response.

Jamie stared straight ahead, as if she hadn't heard Nick.

After a moment, he dropped the car into drive and began to move forward.

“Wait.” Jamie reached out and covered his hand on the gearshift knob.

Nick pushed it back into park and shut the engine off before turning his full attention to her.

“I'm sorry you had to hear that,” Jamie said, her voice shaking.

“I'm sorry I put you in that position.”

“You didn't. I did. Ever since he got home after Mike died, it's like he found a new mission in life: me. He's never given up on being my big brother. It's what drove him through recovery and therapy. He double-checks every invoice, every bill, and even every person I have contact with…like you just witnessed.”

“Maybe I could talk to him or something?”

“Why would you want to do that? Jared knows I'm not going to get married again, and yet he jumps all over my guy friends if I so much as go to dinner or even lunch.”

“It's good he doesn't know about the other night,” Nick said straight-out. Honestly, his emotions were a little conflicted. On one hand, he didn't want to cause a fissure in Jamie and Jared's relationship. But being a closet stud was exciting, at least for the moment. No strings, no promises.

“That's none of his business, for sure. I'm a healthy woman, and I have healthy needs. I'm responsible for getting them fulfilled…and right now my pressing need is to get some food. Drive on, please!”

As usual on a Friday evening, the Broken Spoke parking was overflowing into the dentist-office lot next door.

“I called ahead and told them we needed a place to protect Harley's tail,” Jamie said as they weaved their way through the pickup trucks in the parking lot, trying to find a spot.

“Harley thanks you.” Nick glanced in his rearview mirror at the dog, who was looking around with interest. Nick finally found a space at the end of the row. As they walked under the Broken Spoke sign, he looked up at the name of the band that was playing tonight. “Are they any good?”

“Thompson's Back Porch? Yeah…contemporary country. With the right break, their female lead singer could be another Taylor Swift.”

“When's their first set?”

Jamie looked at Nick, then walked to the door before answering. “Usually the bands start at nine.”

“That's really late,” Nick commented casually. “Harley needs all the training time he can get.”

Jamie nodded. “Training is important.”

Her response was just what he wanted to hear, and yet it was so low-key, he still wasn't sure if she was referring to sex, as he had been, or if she was actually talking about Harley's training. Crap, if she was, then this evening was going to be a lot less exciting than he had planned.

Once inside, they were seated at a table for two in a corner so Harley would be out of the aisle. He lay down between Nick and Jamie so he could keep an eye on both of them, a detail that didn't go unnoticed by Nick. Usually Harley was 100 percent focused on Nick, but the dog clearly had lingering affection for Jamie.

“Hey, guys, I'm Jackie. I'll be your server tonight. Can I get you something to drink to get started?” The server was a twentysomething college student wearing a Longhorn T-shirt, two sizes too small, tied in a knot under her ample breasts. She gave Nick a sultry look.

Another place…another time, and he might have been tempted to check it out. But tonight he, like Harley, was interested in only one woman.

“I'd like a draft…whatever's easiest.” Nick gave his order to the server.

“And for you, ma'am?”

“That sounds good.”

“I'll be right back.”

Jamie smiled. “Living dangerously, huh?”

“How's that?”

“Letting the server pick your beer.”

Nick laughed. “I don't like surprises in my job. But off duty, why not relax and go with the flow? Never know what cool thing you might discover.”

“Hmm…from now on, I'll let the servers pick. It may seem like it's not a big deal, but I'm a control freak.”

“You're a my-way-or-the-highway kind of gal?”

“I guess you could say that. Most of my clients are men, so I have to be tough.”

“Were you like that with Mike?”

The smile evaporated from Jamie's face.

“Here you guys go…two server's choice.”

“And what did our server choose?” Jamie asked as she gave Sandy her undivided attention.

“Shiner Bock drafts and a bowl of tap water for the dog.”

“Great…a Texas beer,” Nick commented.

“You ready to order?” Sandy asked.

“Give us a few minutes,” he said.

“Take your time. I'll be back.”

Jamie drank a sizable portion of her beer, and Nick put some effort into keeping pace.

Finally she put her empty glass down and leveled a sober stare at him. “My way or the highway? How long were you married?”

Not the direction he'd had in mind when he started this conversion. The last thing he wanted to talk about was his marriage. “Ten years…Why?”

“Then you know about give-and-take.”

“Not if you listen to my ex. She said I was all take.” Nick shrugged. “She was probably right. I was pretty intense back then.”

“Gee…you, intense? Imagine that,” Jamie teased, then got serious again. “Mike was the most generous person I've ever met. Even when he got his way, he could make me feel like I won.”

Nick took another drink of beer. “Mine was a little different. Whenever I won, she had a way of making me feel like a loser…and that's when things were still good.” He finished off his beer. “Mike sounds like a great guy. Must have been a big loss.”

“It changed me forever. I know there's no one like Mike out there, so why look? It's all about the here and now, nothing permanent, you know? The lesson I learned is that love is not forever.”

“You sound like a guy.” Nick smiled.

“Yeah, I guess I do. Hadn't thought about it like that. But if guys can enjoy sex without letting their heart get involved, then so can I.”

Nick couldn't think of a reason to contradict her. Men had been doing it for years…Nick included. Since his disastrous marriage, he had sworn off love. It was easier to take his pleasure, then walk away. He looked up and saw Sandy heading their way. “Uh-oh.” He grabbed a menu and opened it. “What's a good choice for dinner?”

“Their steaks are excellent. That's what I'm going to get.”

“You guys ready to order?” Sandy asked, looking first as Nick but then forcing her attention to Jamie.

“I'll take the rib eye, rare, with the baked potato and a Caesar salad, dressing on the side,” she ordered without opening a menu.

“And you?” Sandy asked Nick, leaning forward to flash a generous view of her cleavage.

“Same, but no salad.”

“Cool. Another round?”

They nodded.

“So your marriage lasted ten years? That's a long time.”

Nick snorted. “About eight years too long.”

“Sounds a little bitter….Was it?”

“That was six years ago, and I've tried to let it go. I went deep for nine months once, and it was like a first date the day I came back.”

“Undercover?”

“Yeah. Then a couple more assignments took me away for a year at a time. She made some new friends while I was away, and I picked up some bad habits. It never headed in a healthy direction after that.”

“Rough divorce?”

He didn't mention that he'd come home unexpectedly when she was six months pregnant to find her on her knees, giving some dude a blow job. The image was burned permanently on his brain. It was the ultimate betrayal, and after he'd thrown his La-Z-Boy recliner out the patio door of their second-floor apartment, he'd gone back to throw the guy after it. But the guy had had the good sense to pull up his pants and escape out the front door. Fuck…that had been Nick's favorite chair, but after he'd seen the dude's naked ass on the leather, he couldn't stand having it in his sight.

Instead he said, “It was a bad time. She owned a successful commercial cleaning business, so she made more than I did. I wanted no part of it, and I couldn't go for sole custody, so we ended it quickly. I just wanted out. Fuck, it took longer to get the marriage license than the divorce decree.”

“Do you still go undercover?”

“Not like that. There's enough activity in this area to keep me busy. Right now I'm trying to find the source of those loosies that are killing kids. But I go home every night.”

“And walk Harley,” she prompted.

Harley lifted his head when he heard his name, and Nick reached down and scratched the dog's ears.

“Yeah. Harley's been a good add. I've gotten used to having him around,” Nick admitted.

“They can be a real comfort.”

“What kind of dog do you have?” Nick asked. “I mean, one that's all yours and not a service dog being trained for someone else.”

Jamie moved her glass of beer in circles, leaving wet rings on the table, before answering. “Mike and I had a beautiful Australian shepherd named Bingo. He would run through the barns and outside pens and herd the other dogs into small groups just for fun. He was more Mike's dog than mine. Mike played catch with him, and they would go for walks in the woods.” She paused and took a drink. Nick noticed her hands were shaking. When she put her glass down, he enveloped her much-smaller hand in his. She smiled up at him in appreciation before continuing. “When I came home from Mike's funeral, Bingo wouldn't leave my side. For weeks, he'd walk next to me everywhere I went and even lie next to me on the floor by the couch. He was so sure that Mike was coming home that he would jump up every time someone came into the house. Bingo died within six months of Mike…and I believe it was because his heart was broken. He was only six years old.”

Two weeks ago, owning a dog or having dinner with a woman who raised dogs had not been on Nick's radar. Now her story about her dead husband's dog who died of grief made him profoundly sad. No one had ever loved him like that…woman or beast. If he died tomorrow, no one would grieve his loss. He glanced down at Harley, who looked at him with alert eyes. Well, Harley might grieve a little, his boys would miss him every Sunday, and Grammy would be upset. For the first time in his life, Nick wished he had someone who loved him as much as Jamie loved Mike.

The discussion weighed heavily on Nick's mind as he watched Jamie dig into her salad. He was unable to tell if she was hungry or keeping her mouth full to avoid further personal conversation.

The steaks arrived, and they were as good as Jamie had promised. After they finished, Nick paid the bill, and they left before the band even got onstage to warm up.

All the way back to Woof Gang, they made small talk, but Nick was afraid the mood was broken. He parked in his usual space, then shut off the engine and the lights.

“Good, Jared's in bed,” Jamie said as she exhaled heavily.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“I may not answer.”

“Your option.” Nick stared at her in the semidarkness. “Your barn room…When did you build it?”

She looked away. “I couldn't stay in our bedroom after Mike died. I got some of Ralph's friends to add on an office/bedroom in the kennel for me.”

There was a long moment of silence. Nick was just about ready to give up any hope for the evening when Jamie opened her door and turned to him.

“Coming in?” she asked.

Nick was ridiculously pleased. “I thought you'd never ask.”

They climbed out of the truck and let Harley run free in the yard to do his business. When he trotted back to them, Nick clipped the leash back on his collar. “Ready to get started?”

She gave him a curious look and led the way into the main kennel building. They walked into the arena and she turned, waiting for a cue from Nick.

This was the point where the evening could go either way. They could spend the next two hours working with Harley, refining his training and improving the quality of the man-and-dog-team. Bobbi would definitely approve of that option.

Or they could strip off all their clothes and forget about the rest of the world.

For Nick it was a no-brainer. He dropped Harley's leash and stepped forward until he was only inches in front of Jamie. Digging his fingers into her hair, he cradled her face and his mouth captured hers in a hungry kiss. Had it been only a week since he'd last held her in his arms? It felt like forever.