The Rancher's Full House, page 15
“Sounds good,” Cassie answered. “Monica, you can help me figure out dinner?”
The conversation grew more muffled and the front door closed.
Jenna relaxed against the chair, contemplating her options. If she went downstairs, she’d have to keep up a conversation and she wasn’t up to it. She was feeling better, loads, but she was tired and bruised feeling—like all the unshed tears had gathered right beneath the surface and could break through at any moment for a potential tear monsoon.
Or stay here and keep an eye on things. From her comfy chair, she could ensure Garrett didn’t maim himself, Shaggy or Buzz without having to interact with... Buzz. No sooner had she thought his name than he appeared. Garrett, three dogs and Buzz all came through the backyard’s side gate. Three dogs? She recognized the two from the first day she’d met Buzz. From the looks of it, the three dogs weren’t strangers. They ran all over, Garrett following, tails wagging, pouncing and all-around general merriment.
She was still smiling when her attention wandered to Buzz, a stack of replacement privacy fence pickets balanced on his shoulder.
His broad shoulder.
Held in place by his well-muscled arm.
An arm encased in a skintight gray T-shirt.
Her gaze wandered—revealing that the shirt wasn’t just tight on his arm but his back, too. From the looks of it, Buzz’s back was just as impressively sculpted as his arm. All those muscles were... She swallowed, zeroing in on the man in her yard.
He was the most manly man she’d ever seen. In real life, anyway. It wasn’t just the ridiculous physique or timber of his voice, it was the confidence he radiated. The fact that she had no control over the visceral response her body had to him was something she still hadn’t come to terms with. It—he—was an anomaly.
When Cassie had shared Buzz’s vow, she’d said again. Again, meaning Buzz had been involved with a woman with children. Whatever happened had to have been pretty horrible for Buzz to make such a promise to himself.
Oh, stop. Now that she knew where he stood on the relationship thing and she’d had time to stop and clear her head and he wasn’t standing five feet from her too tempting to deny, she realized she couldn’t go through with this agreement of hers. If she did, it would take that much longer to get over him.
She shook her head. After the fence-building and dinner thing, she’d talk to him. Get it out in the air and over with.
Buzz was laughing at something Garrett had said, one hand on his hip, the other tipping his straw cowboy hat back enough so that Jenna could see his face. And, oh, what a face. Right. Enough. No more looking.
Dog or no dog, it would be nice to have a usable space where Frannie and Biddy could play. Assuming there were no fire ants or poison oak or snakes or scorpions or... She was out of her chair and down the stairs before she’d thought things through. She hurried down the hallway.
“Hey, Jenna.” Monica was in the kitchen, her backpack on the kitchen table. “You’re up. How are you feeling?”
“Oh, those pajamas are just as cute as the last ones.” Cassie smiled.
“Almost human.” She smiled, holding up her finger as she crossed to the back door. “Give me a sec and I’ll come back and you can tell me all about your day?”
“Sure.” Monica nodded, her brow furrowed.
Jenna opened the back door and stood, barefoot and with wet shower hair, on the wooden porch. “Hi,” she called out, shielding her eyes from the sun. “You two look like you’re about to get things done.”
“That’s the plan.” Buzz was smiling at her, the sort of smile that had his charm-o-meter off the charts. “You look...good.” He chuckled. “Nice pants.”
Nice shirt. She swallowed. “I’m sick. I’m allowed to wear pj’s.” She waved him over. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Yep.” He laid the board he’d had propped up onto its side and walked her way, those blue eyes of his locked on her. “It’s nice to see you—up and around and not peeking over your blanket at me.”
She smiled. “Yes, well... I don’t know if I said thank you for the milkshake?” She shrugged. “But thank you.” She stepped a little closer, lowering her voice. “Is there anything I need to worry about? Is it safe? Nothing rotten or poisonous or...dangerous?”
“We’re not talking about the milkshake anymore, are we?” He grinned.
“No.” She was capable of putting together a perfect sentence. She knew it. He knew it. But... Stop smiling like that so I’m not babbling. “I’m talking about the fence and the yard.” She pointed at the large lot. “Out here. Is it dangerous?”
His gaze wandered. “Nice shirt.”
“Buzz.” She sighed. “I’m talking about bobcats and coyotes and fire ants and scorpions and poison oak—”
“Don’t forget cactus and ticks, armadillos and skunks, brown recluse spiders and chiggers, too.”
She blinked, frozen in place. “Are you trying to get me to pack up and go pack to Kansas?” She was only partly joking.
He frowned, taking the steps two at a time until they were face-to-face. “Hell, no.” His voice was pitched low and earnest. “I’m sorry. I was teasing—”
His response rattled her all the more. She hugged herself, wishing he’d step back—or wrap her up in those strong arms and pull her close. No. She stepped back, tearing her gaze from him to watch Garrett and the dogs running around the yard.
He stepped forward. “I get that you’re worried but you know as well as I do that it’s a fence not a forcefield.” He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. “There are some tricks to keeping most things out and away I can help out with—”
“I don’t want to keep relying on you, Buzz.” She took a deep breath. I can’t. The kids were doing well. She didn’t want to confuse them with another man they thought they could rely on leaving them. It had taken her weeks to convince them her and Hugh’s breakup wasn’t their fault. If it happened again, it would be harder for them—she knew it.
He studied her for a long time.
“What?” she asked, pretending like the intensity in those blue eyes hadn’t flipped her upside down and her heart into overdrive.
“You look sad. A little riled up.” He frowned. “Like something’s wrong.” The concern in his voice rolled over her.
Dammit, no. Hold it together. But that look, that voice had the first domino in her emotional domino chair teetering. She swallowed. No. Oh, no. She was not going to erupt into her tear monsoon right here. “Fine.” But it came out garbled so she cleared her throat. “I’m fine.”
He reached up, pressed the back of his hand to her forehead and frowned again. “You sure?”
She nodded. “I need reassurances about...this.” She pointed into the yard. “Right now, I need a sense of control over things—even if I don’t have any. And this stupid fence is impacting my emotional state far more than I’d like.” The fence was a grasp at just that—surrounding herself and her brother and sisters with the illusion of safety and control. Control—the one thing I don’t seem to have when you’re around.
“I’ll make it as solid as I can.” He nodded. “And we will get the bugs and everything else figured out, too, I promise.”
She didn’t miss that he said we. Or that hearing him say we had her heart painfully twisting inside her chest.
“Jenna?” Cassie called from the kitchen. “Is pizza okay for dinner? I volunteered to cook and I don’t cook so—”
“Pizza would be amazing.” Monica’s voice spilled out onto the back porch. “We haven’t had pizza in forever. Since before we moved here so, yeah, like forever.”
“Pizza is good,” Jenna croaked.
“She said yes,” Buzz answered for her before he took a deep sigh and said, “You know you can cut through the bullshit and say whatever it is that’s troubling you. Whatever it is has you down here versus resting in your bed.”
“Maybe I don’t want to tell you. Maybe...” Why would she share anything with him? They were friends, sort of, but not the kind that would pour their hearts out to one another, that’s for sure. “I can’t.” She shook her head, angry at him, this situation and her fool heart for loving him. If they’d had a little more privacy, now would be the perfect time to tell him she was calling off their agreement.
But Garrett was close and anyone could come walking out of the kitchen. “Ever think that you’re what’s troubling me, Buzz Lafferty?” She spun on her foot, pleaded a headache and headed straight for her room—where she stayed until Buzz and his smile and his charm had left. Unfortunately, the ache in her heart didn’t leave with him.
Chapter Eleven
Buzz had done his best to be his normal self all afternoon. Lucky for him, Garrett and Shaggy were too excited to pick up on his moodiness. But, dammit all, he couldn’t figure out what Jenna meant. Only one thing was certain—she’d spit it out like it left a bad taste in her mouth, so he was pretty sure it wasn’t good.
Ever think that you’re what’s troubling me?
What had he done? As far as he was concerned, he’d done everything she asked. She wanted him to back off—he had. Garrett had wanted to stay at the clinic—he’d brought him to Jenna’s class later. She changed her mind and wanted a casual arrangement—he agreed. She’d wanted a milkshake—he got her one. Her brother and sister needed picking up—he’d been ready and waiting. Her fence needed fixing—he was fixing it.
After he was done scrolling through everything he’d done or said, something else had become certain. He could no longer say a word about Kyle doing things for Skylar. All this time, he’d been teasing his best friend, saying he was beaten. That wasn’t the truth of it. Kyle did it because he wanted to make Skylar happy. The same reason Buzz had done everything he had.
Plus, the kids were pretty damn adorable. Even though every damn thing about the situation with Britney and her kids and Jenna and her kids was different, they had that one thing in common. He loved the kids.
“I think we did a great job.” Garrett stood back, the hammer in his hand, admiring his handiwork.
“It couldn’t get any straighter, that’s for sure.” Buzz nodded, tilting his hat forward. “I don’t know, Garrett, if you decide veterinary medicine isn’t your thing, you could also go into engineering. You’ve got quite an attention to detail.” He stood, hand on Garrett’s shoulder, to survey their work. “I’m pretty sure the fence guy Bobby told me about couldn’t have done it any better.”
Garrett smiled up at him, the tip of his nose and his cheeks red.
“You know, Garrett, we need to get you a cap or a cowboy hat so you don’t burn your face. The Texas sun is nothing to play around with.” Buzz was pretty sure he had an old one he could pass along to the boy for times like this.
Garrett nodded, glancing from the fence to Shaggy, Roscoe and Scooter—sleeping in the sun—to the fence again. “You sure Shaggy can’t get out.”
“I’m sure.” Buzz gave the boy’s shoulder a light squeeze. Even if Shaggy did manage to dig his way out, Buzz didn’t get the feeling Shaggy would wander all that far. The dog was smitten with Garrett. As soon as he heard the little boy’s voice, Shaggy’s tail was wagging and he was up and waiting for Garrett to get to him.
“I hope not. I know he’s only been my dog for an hour but...he’s my dog, you know?” Garrett glanced up at him, all serious and one hell of a cute kid.
“I do.” Buzz nodded. And it was plain to see that Shaggy knew Garrett was his. As it should be.
“Looks good,” Jan Mitchell called from the back porch. “You two must have worked up quite an appetite.” She carried a tray with two tall glasses of lemonade out to them.
“Thank you.” Garrett took the glass. “Do you think it’s straight enough, Miss Mitchell?”
“I should say so.” She nodded. “I saw you with that level, Garrett. I’ve always appreciated someone who rechecks their work before they hammer in that first nail. That way you don’t have to go back and fix it all over again.”
Garrett stood a little taller from the woman’s praise.
“You two have done some good work. Come on in and wash up. I’m sure Cassie will have something whipped up for dinner shortly.” Jan took their glasses and carried the tray back inside.
“Are you staying for dinner, Buzz?” Garrett asked, walking at his side.
Good question. Initially, he’d been planning on it. But that had been before Jenna got sick and the two of them were planning on enjoying some time together after the kids had gone to bed. Clearly, that wasn’t happening now. If he stayed, there was the chance they’d talk but she was still recuperating so it was probably best for her if he didn’t. “Probably not.”
“Oh.” Garrett drooped.
Buzz grinned, clapping Garrett on the back and holding the back door wide. “There will be other times.” Maybe. Hopefully.
A quick sweep of the kitchen and there was no sign of Jenna.
“She’s not feeling well,” Monica offered before he could ask.
Buzz nodded. So much for being discreet.
“She’s really hiding from you.” Monica sighed and shook her head. “Why do grown-ups make everything so hard?”
Buzz wasn’t going to argue. Thirteen or not, Monica had a point.
“I mean, it’s not that hard. Can’t you just say, ‘Hey, Jenna, I like you.’ And Jenna won’t say anything because Hugh made her think that no guy would want to marry her because of us so, yeah...” Monica stopped talking and blinked. “You did know about Hugh, though, right? I mean, I didn’t totally just dump Jenna’s stuff out there. I did, didn’t I? Oh, no, I can’t believe I just did that.”
Buzz wasn’t exactly sure who Hugh was but he was certain he didn’t like the man.
“Why would they have talked about Hugh?” Garrett was glaring up at her. “Why do you have to keep making this weird? What’s wrong with you? They can just be friends. You should stop trying to fix up Jenna. She’s happy with us. And we’re happy with her and that’s enough.” Garrett stomped out of the kitchen, up the stairs and slammed the door right about the time Skylar came into the kitchen with Biddy and Frannie.
“Everything okay?” Skylar asked, glancing between them all.
“I messed up.” Monica sniffed. “Again. It’s my fault.” She tried to smile. “I can’t help it, okay? I guess I worry. A lot, okay? Like, all the time. And it’s stupid, I get it, but my mom was fine until Dad died. She was like, totally happy. Always. Then he died and she was always unhappy and...and she died.” She blinked rapidly, the end of her nose going red. “I mean, I know it’s stupid, I do, but... I just want Jenna to be happy. Like really happy. And, even though I didn’t like him, she did seem happy with Hugh until we came into the picture.” She shook her head. “You’re a boy, Buzz. Is Garrett right? Is there something wrong with me?”
He shook his head, his throat too tight to speak. After everything she’d just shared, he was hurting for the girl.
Frannie let go of Skylar’s hand and hugged her sister. “You awe pewfect, Monica. I love you all the way to the moon—”
“And back,” Monica said, scooping up her sister and holding her close. “And I love you, Frannie-Bananny.”
“Don’t cwy.” Frannie’s lower lip flipped out. “Please don’t cwy, Monica.”
Buzz wanted to say the same thing. He’d no doubt they’d cried enough. Losing their father and their mother... He couldn’t begin to imagine the grief they’d endured. Feeling hurt and loss was normal, but that didn’t make it easy for him to stand there doing nothing. They were hurting, here and now. Awkward or not, he was going to offer them comfort.
“Frannie’s right.” Buzz rested his hand on Monica’s shoulder and gave Frannie a wink. “There’s no reason to cry. There’s not a thing wrong with you, Monica. You’re trying to take care of your sister. I know that can be challenging.” He grinned, giving Monica’s shoulder a light squeeze.
“Hey, I heard that,” Cassie called back, but she was smiling.
“I know.” Buzz was relieved to see Monica smiling now. “I think, in his own way, Garrett’s trying to do the same.” He cleared his throat, knowing full well all three women in the room were watching and listening. “I’ll tell you something important, something I know for a fact. Jenna is happy. When the right fella comes along, he’ll fit in and add to that happiness. But, until then, you don’t want her wasting time on someone like...”
“Hugh.” Frannie made a monster face. “Garrett calls him Hugh the poo,” she whispered, giggling. “Hugh the poo.”
Buzz had to laugh—partly from the insult and partly from Frannie’s contagious giggle. “Oh, really?”
Monica nodded. “It’s probably the worst thing Garrett’s ever called anyone. Ever. But he did dump Jenna. Who does that? She’s...awesome.” She rolled her eyed. “He is totally poo.”
Buzz couldn’t have said it better himself. Not that he’d have used poo, but close enough. “And you don’t want any more of those for Jenna. Might be part of the reason she doesn’t want to be fixed up?” Buzz shrugged.
“I guess that makes sense.” But Monica didn’t look fully convinced yet.
“Your heart is in the right place.” Cassie slid her arm around Monica. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to fix up my brother—Buzz here—with someone.” She sighed. “It’s never worked.”
Skylar laughed.
“These things just...happen.” Jan Mitchell sounded off. “Though I can see why you’d think Buzz and your sister would get on, Monica. They have a whole lot in common, it seems. I’d say it’s a smart match.”
“Right?” Monica nodded. “That’s what I thought. They both like animals and kids and science and all that. And Jenna said—” She stopped. “Whoa, I can’t believe I almost said that. If I finished that sentence, she’d be so mad at me.”
