My Texas Sweetheart (book one) (16 page)

Chase: 
April, I just got in touch with Jase. He’ll be out tomorrow to fix it. He wants you to stay with Nana for the night
.

April: 
Oh, really? Is that why you’re standing in front of the diner right now?

“Holy shit, Jase. They’re watching us right now!”
Chase exclaims

“What the fuck do you mean ‘watching us’?” I ask, looking around but seeing no one. My cell goes off:

April: 
Oh, just thought you might like to thank Jake for tipping us off about tonight
.

Jumping out of my truck, I stalk over to where he and Adam were parked. Grabbing him by his shirt, I put my face in his and bark, “Did you tell the girls what we had planned for tonight?”

“What the hell are you talking about?
! I didn’t say anything to anybody!” he spat back, pushing me away.

“C’mon, guys. You do realize that if the girls are watching us, they’re getting a kick out of you two, right?”
Laughed Chase. “You two are giving them exactly what they want. Let’s all get back in our trucks and continue on with the plan. Now, shake hands.” Jake and I laugh, and high five. “Good. Now remember, none of us go in the same direction. Hopefully, this will make them wonder and give us the time we need to set up.”

When Chase and I take off, he says, “Oh, by the way, Nana told me to tell you that she wants us to drop by later for a slice of pumpkin pie.”

“That will be a great reward after our victory,” I say and smile.

Once we arrive down at the river, I pull out my two-way radio and checked in on all the other guys to make sure everyone is in position. Tonight, the ladies can’t hide because we are positioned at every place they went to last night. First, I checked in with Adam, who was to be positioned by the school. “Hey, Adam, Any good games out there tonight,” I say.

“No, man. It’s all quiet out here.”

My cell buzzes:

Maggie: 
Is Adam enjoying himself at the football field?

What the hell? How can she know where Adam is if she was just at Nana’s?
I look over and tell Chase about the text that Mag’s just sent to me. He can’t figure out how she knows where Adam is, either. “Okay, before you check in with the rest of the guys, I think that we should split up, but on foot. Leave the truck here. The school’s close so I’ll go and check on Adam. Why don’t you head up the hill over there and see if you can spot anything,” Chase says, as he quietly shuts the door to the truck.  ”By the way, don’t go leaving your keys in the ignition this time because I have a feeling the girls are close.”

Moments later
, I slide out of the driver’s seat, taking the keys with me, and head up the incline to see if I can see anything.

About a half
-hour later, Chase came back and said that I should check in with the other guys. Picking up the two-way, I say, “Hey, Creed. How’s your spot looking?”
 

“Nothing so far, man. All is quiet.”

My phone buzzed again, but it’s my dad this time:

Dad
:  The cows are in the corn!! HAHAHA
.

“What the fuck?!”
I mutter.

“What’s wrong now?” Questions Chase.

“That was my dad. He just told me that the ‘cows are in the corn’.”

“He said what???”

“You heard me!!

“Okay, if you ask me, this shit is getting weird. So your dad’s in on this,
too, I guess.”  

Then my phone buzzes again
:

Dad
:  Don’t MOOOOve. The ears might hear you. HAHAHA
.

“Holy shit! My dad is as bad as Mags. I think he’s having a little too much fun,
” I say, as I show Chase the text.

“Maybe it’s time we check in with Jade,” Chase says.

Ba
ck on the two-way I go.
“Hey, Jade. How’s your night going?”

At first
, there was no response. This can’t be a good sign. Just as I am about to resend my message, Jade comes across the air. “Sorry, man. Nature was calling. It’s all clear and quiet here.”

Chuckling at his response
, I reply, “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!”

This time, Chase’s phone buzzes with a text. “It’s from my mom,” he
says puzzled.

Mom: 
Tell your boys if they get hungry, there’s some homemade bread in the pantry, and the honey is on the counter.

“I think it’s time to send a mass text to the guys. This shit is just getting too weird. It’s like they know exactly what’s happening before we do anything. How the hell are they doing that?” I say.

Chase mass text to boys: 
Hey, guys. Something weird is happening. Have any of you received strange texts? If you have, forward them to Jase’s phone.

M
y phone starts buzzing:

Adam’s cell message from Amy: 
Anybody up for a ball game?!

Creed’
s cell message from Carol:
Children of the corn, time to come out and play!

Jade’s cell message from Brad: 
Don’t forget to turn on the porch light!

They guys start pulling up beside us
as I finish reading the text messages to Chase. As we’re all getting out of our trucks to regroup, we get a mass text from Heather:

Heather:
You boys should all take a jump in the river to cool off. It looks like your motors are overheating.

“What the fuck is going on?!”
Adam shouts, sounding pissed.

“Not sure, but it looks like we’re losing the game again,” retorts Jade.

“You just wait until I get my hands on them!” exclaims Adam.

“Aww, c’mon, guys. We have to admit that they’re good, and they got us again,” Chase chuckled. “But I’m too hungry to keep going like this. Who wants to join me at Nana’s for a slice of pumpkin pie?!” We all pile back into our trucks and head towards the diner.

Nana beams when she sees us. “Did you boys have a good night?” she
questions. Something seems different about her tonight. There is a twinkle in her eye and a slight grin on her lips.

“Let’s just say that it’s been an interesting one, Nana,” I say, as I wrap my arms around her and kiss her on the forehead. “Now, where is that famous pumpkin pie of yours?”

“Why don’t you boys find a
table? I’ll go fetch you each a slice.”  She disappears into the kitchen.

As we
are just sitting down, the kitchen doors fly open and out comes each and every one of them…the girls, our parents, and Nana, each of them carrying two pieces of pie.  “Girls rule, boys drool.” Maggie batted her cute little eyelashes at me.

“We just let you think that, baby,” I say, smiling.

She smiles
and, with that, they all threw the pies in our faces! “Oh, you think so, do you?” She giggled. “Now you can have your pie and eat it, too.” Bursts of laughter come from everyone, but little did Mags know that I had another sort of surprise in store for her, one that only she and I are going to share.

“Oh, damn. You are all gonna pay for that!” Adam yells and we all run to the kitchen.

“Food fight!” yells Nate.

We
hear the front door shutting. “Son of a bitch! They ran off!” Jade laughs.

Just then
, I get a text coming in:

Maggie:
Hey, hot stuff. Meet me at the swimming hole.

Jase:
Baby, just wait and I’ll drive us there. I don’t want you there alone
.

Maggie:
Amy is staying until you get here, babe.

Jase:
Alright, baby. See you in ten minutes.

Heading back to the kitchen
, I put the pie I am holding down and make my way to the restrooms so I can clean up before going to meet Mag’s. “Hey, bro, where you headed?” Adam asks.

“Meeting up with Maggie,” I say and he nods.

Chapter 26 (Maggie)

Amy and I
are sitting at the swimming hole, waiting for Jase to show up. “I loved the look on the boys’ faces when we came out of the kitchen at Nana’s. It was priceless,” Amy laughed.

I laugh.
“Yeah, that was awesome. We need to do that again. It was so much more fun with the parents.”

“The text Quinn sent them was funny as hell.”
I had to agree with her. Quinn really enjoyed toying with the boys. My father and he loved removing their sparkplugs.

“I would have loved seeing them trying to figure out how the hell we knew where they were, and watch their faces every time a text came in after they checked in with each other.” I laughed.

Just
then, we heard a truck pulling up behind us. Both of us turned to see Jase. “Lover boy is here.” Amy grinned.

“Let’s just hope that he isn’t too pissed.” I grin warily at her.

“He would never be mad at you…for long, anyway.”

Amy and I both stand up
. “Hey, Jase, good game tonight.” Amy grins.

Jase shakes his head at her and laughs
. “Yeah, gotta say that you girls got the best of us.” He walks over and wraps his arms around me. “Hey, baby. Have fun?”

I grin at him
. “Hell, yes! Most fun I’ve had in ages. Your dad had a ball. I never knew he was so funny.”

Amy and Jase laugh
. “Dad is a pretty fun guy when he wants to be. Hell, both old men got to act like kids again. Really? The sparkplugs?” Jase laughs.

“That was their favorite part of the night,” I say.

“I bet.” Jase lowers his lips to mine for a quick kiss.

“So where’s Adam? We figured he’d be with you,” Amy says. “As far as I know, he’s still at Nana’s with everybody else.” I raise my eyebrows. Wow, that’s a first.

Just
then, we hear Jase’s cell beep. “Adam will be here in ten minutes,” he says with a crooked smile.

Yeah, I knew
it wasn’t gonna last long. Oh well, maybe we can get rid of him fast. “I know that look. Don’t worry. He’s not staying long,” Jase says. Thank god!

Wait
, what if they have plans for getting us back. Looking over at Amy, I see she is thinking the same thing. “So, sexy, are you boys planning on throwing us in the water or something?” I ask him warily.

Jase laughs
. “No, not tonight. It’s gonna be when you least expect it.”

A few minutes later
, Adam and Jake show up. “Hey, Dad said that there’s a bonfire going.”

I nod
. “Yeah, we had it planned out earlier.”

Jake just stands there
, glaring. “What’s wrong, Jake?” Amy asks.

“Oh, Jake is still pissy about today,” Adam says.

“Seriously, get over it. There’s always another night for you to prove you’re better than we are,” I said.

“Were you two planning on going swimming tonight? Because I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Adam says.

“We were thinking about it, but I guess not,”
I
grumble. Laughing, he pats me on head, then ran away. “Screw off, Adam,” I growl at him.

Amy walks over and pushes him towards his truck
. “Time to leave, big boy. Your sister and Jase need some time alone.”

“Thanks. Amy!
” Jase yells. She nods, but keeps the two boys walking.

“Finally, it’s just the two of us,” I sigh.

Jase smiles at me before he leans down and presses his lips to mine.
We get lost in the kiss, then Jase rips his lips away from mine. He’s breathing hard. “We gotta stop, baby. I don’t want to end up doing something that you’re not ready for yet.”

I’m pretty sure I want to
, but not tonight. By the look on Jase’s face, he isn’t ready yet, either. “Alright, but I want to take that next step with you soon.”

I know we can’t keep going like this
, but I want to do this with Jase. I love him and I know he loves me. I can’t let what Christian did to me keep me from making love with Jase. I won’t let
him
stop it from happening, either. “Soon, baby. I promise. Just give yourself some more time,” Jase says.

I look at him like
he’s crazy. Damn, I do not need more time. I have had enough time to work through it. I really wish everybody would stop telling me I need ‘time’ because I don’t. I know what I need and that’s this next step. “No, Jase, I don’t need more time,” I grumble.

Jase looks taken
aback. “Okay, maybe you don’t.”

I am starting to get pissed and I am really not sure why
. “Wanna go back for the bonfire?”
I ask, not looking at him.

He puts
two fingers under my chin to get me to look at him. When I do, he gives me the sweetest kiss. “I’m sorry, baby. I just don’t want to push you and end up losing you. When you want to make love, we will.”

I think my heart just melted a little more. “Okay, I can deal with that. I’m sorry, too.”

He nods and starts pulling me towards his truck. “Let’s head back, roast some marshmallows, and bug your brother about what happened today,” he laughs. I giggle.

Jase opens the
passenger door for me, then runs around and slides into his seat. “I love you, Jase.” I smile over at him.

He grabs my hand, kisses the back of it, and laces our fingers together. “I love you, too, baby.”  The love shining in his eyes has me on the verge of tears. We both fall into a comfortable silence on the way back to my parent’s ranch.

As we pull up to the house, I can see that everyone is here. Jase pulls in and turns off his truck. As we are both getting out, Jade runs over and grabs me. What the hell?  I look over at Jase, who looks just as shocked. “Baby girl, we’re playing hide-and-seek, and I call dibs on you.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “Alright, big guy, if that’s what you want.”

He nods, then looks over at Jase. “Sorry, Bro, but I need her.” He grins. 

“It’s alright, Jade,” Jase laughs.

We all walk over to the group and Jade yells out, “I called dibs on baby girl!” 

“Well, let’s get this game started then!” Chase yells.

For the next few hours, we play hide-and-seek.  Jade and I are the last to be found. Our parents and Jase’s parents play with us, too, so it was even better.

By the end of the night, everyone is exhausted. Soon, people were either leaving to head home or heading inside.  “Hey, girlie. I’ll meet you upstairs in your nice warm bed.” Amy grins at me.

“Okay, I’ll be there. Leave room for me.”  

I turn back around to face
Jase. He smiles slightly. “Amy gets to sleep with you, huh?” I nod, smiling shyly. He strokes my face. “You look tired, baby. Go get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you, Maggie.” My heart melts every time he says that.

“I love you, too,” I say. Jase bends down to give me a quick kiss, but I wrap my arms around his neck and I kiss him deeply.

After
a few minutes, I pull away.
“Damn, baby, you’re gonna be the death of me.” I giggle, and he jumps in his truck and pulls away.

When I get inside
, I say goodnight to Chase and his buddies, and head upstairs. Amy is already asleep so I change into my pajamas and crawl into bed.

****

The next morning, Amy and I help mom out with breakfast. “Do you girls want coffee?” Mom asks.

“Yes, please,” we both answer.

“It feels nice making breakfast in my PJs with my girls,” my mom says.

“I love this, too, Mom.” She beams at me.

When it was all done
, Amy and I set the table while Mom called for the boys. Chase and his buddies were at Nana’s for breakfast so there wasn’t as many people to feed. Dad and the boys walked in, smiling. “Look at this. My girls still in their PJs, making breakfast,” Dad laughs. Mom slaps his arm.

“Hey, Mom, are Mark and Gabe coming home this weekend?” I ask.  

“
I believe so.” Dad was thinking about getting a football game started this weekend, and having a picnic with Jase and his family so he wanted everyone here for that.

After everyone was done
eating, Amy and I did all the cleanup, telling mom to go relax. As soon as we are done, we go into the living room.

****

A few hours later, Adam comes walking in. Taking one look at me, he smiles. “Jase is here.”

Shit,
I haven’t even showed, and I look like crap! Adam, Mom, and Amy laugh at the horrified look on my face. “Don’t laugh at me!” I snapped.

“But the look on your face is priceless,” Adam says.

I glare at him and was about to run upstairs when Jase and Creed
walk into the room. Damn it, why didn’t I move faster?! “Still in your jammies, baby?” Jase smiles. The three behind me are still laughing.

I turn around to glare at them
. “Seriously, it isn’t that funny.”

I
hear Creed clearing his throat. “What isn’t funny?” he asked. I look back at him and Jase. They both seem to be holding in their laugher, too.

“You should’ve seen her face when I said Jase was here!” Adam snickered.

“Baby, I think you look great. Cute jammies.” He winked.

Amy
walks over and grabs my arm, pulling me towards the stairs. “We’re going to shower and change.” At least one of us was thinking.

Amy and I run
upstairs and gather clothes together. “You go first, sweets,” I tell her. She nods and heads off to the shower.

While she is in the
bathroom, I go over what we’re going to do for the day and, later on, what I want to do with Jase. I just hope he is ready because I am. We’ve waited a long time.  Amy comes back into my room, interrupting my thoughts. “Shower’s all yours.”

Heading to the bathroom
, I pass Jade. “Finally getting dressed?” he says, laughing. I stick my tongue out at him and close to bathroom door.  I can still hear him laughing.

After
I’m done showing, I throw on my bikini and put a sun dress over it. I towel dry my hair before I put it up into a ponytail, then put on some make-up. Amy is sitting on my bed when I get back in there, and she hands me my flip flops. “Thanks, sweets.” I smile.

We
head downstairs, grabbing blankets and towels to take with us. Mom says, “There’s a picnic basket with food and drinks for you all in the kitchen.”

“
Thank-you, Mom. I love you.”

She smiles
at me and says, “Love you, too.”

As Amy and I are heading towards my jeep
, Jase runs over to us. “Are you heading to the water hole, baby?” I nod my head, while I put my arms around his neck. “Alright, I’ll meet you there in a few hours. You two be careful,” he tells us, then kisses me. Amy makes gagging noises behind us, which only makes Jase kiss me harder.

“Hey, enough of that,” Amy teases.

Jase breaks the kiss and smirks at her
. “Nah, deal with it. I like kissing my girl.”

She rolls
her eyes at him and grabs my arm. “We gotta get going so you need to stop kissing MY GIRL.”

Jase quirks up a brow at her
. “Yours, huh?”  

“Alright, you two. Enough. We’re gonna head out. I love you and I’ll see you later,
” I tell him and give him a quick kiss, but he pulls me into him and deepens it. 

“Dude, really. Let’s finish the game,” Adam says from behind him.

Jase lets go of me and heads back to the game with Adam
, turning around about half-way there. “I love you, too, baby!” I smile at him and jump into my jeep.

When we get to the swimming hole, both of us jump out of my jeep and grab everything
. Walking over, we put the blanket down, setting the basket on top of it. ”So, should be swim or tan first?” Amy questions.

“Swim first, then tan,” I say. Shrugging out of our dresses, we put them on the blankets and walk towards the water. Amy jumps in, but I just walk in. We swim around for a while before we get out and dry off, then settle on the blankets to tan.

****

A couple of hours later
, I wake up to someone kissing my neck. I try slapping the person away, but he just laughs and keeps kissing until I open my eyes and see Jase smiling down at me. “Hey, baby. Looks like you need less sun and more water.”

I smile at him and look over to see where Amy is.
“Both of you fell asleep,” Adam states.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I say and sit up, Amy sits up next to me.

“You girls ready for food? Lily told us what she made,” Jase says.

I roll my eyes at him
. “Of course you boys are ready to eat. You know that there’s pumpkin pie in there,”
I say and Jase smiles.