And Then You Fly Read online

  “Which part?”

  “It’s a big start up, and your mama and I aren’t gettin’ any younger.”

  “Come on,” Billy said to his dad. “Take a walk with me. Let’s talk.”

  That left Jace sitting at the table with Bullet and Tucker. Ben came and sat down with them.

  “We need some kind of organizational chart is what I’m thinkin’,” Bullet said to them. He pulled what looked like a paper place mat from a diner out of his pocket. On it were three circles representing Crested Butte, Black Forest and Helena, Montana.

  Under each he had three columns. One was a list of people, the other two were broncs and bulls. Under broncs were two more columns, but off to the side Bullet had a third column with ranch rodeos written at the top.

  Jace took the paper out of Bullet’s hand. “We didn’t talk about ranch rodeos until a few minutes ago.”

  “Yeah, I know. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to consider it, but I think it’s worth bringin’ up anyway.”

  “Interesting.” Jace looked at Tucker and Ben, who were nodding their heads in agreement. Lyric had definitely underestimated her brother. On the other hand, no one worked harder than Lyric. Stood to reason Bullet would be the same way.

  “When’s the last time you saw your dad?” Ben asked Bullet.

  “Couple weeks ago. Why?”

  “He still writin’?”

  “Hell yeah,” Bullet smiled. “Every day.”

  “What would it take to get him here?”

  “Say the word.”

  “Word.”

  Jace had no idea what Ben and Bullet were talking about, but he pretended to be listening. When the conversation turned to music, Tucker got up and walked over to Blythe. Jace wanted to follow him, but he stopped himself. He didn’t know jack shit about Bullet’s dad, or the band he was in, but for the time being he was going to make it look like it was the most fascinating conversation in the world. He knew damn well Bree was watching him, he could feel her eyes on him.

  “I’d love to get together with him and Mark. Shit, how awesome would that be?” Jace heard Ben say to Bullet.

  “That’s right, Cochran. Damn, my dad would be all over that. He loves that band.”

  “From what I’ve heard from Mark, he’s always wanted to collaborate with Satin’s primary songwriter.”

  “I’ve tried to pretend like I know what the hell you’re talking about, and I’m lost. Either one of you willing to explain?”

  Ben turned to Jace. He had the same look on his face Jace saw him get when he talked to his kids.

  “Cochran and Satin, two of the biggest rock bands of the seventies. Before your time, but what you don’t realize is Bullet’s dad, and Bree’s dad, are two of the greatest rock musicians, and songwriters, of their generation. I’d love to get in a room with the two of them and just watch. Bet it would be magic.”

  “Well hell, let’s do it,” said Bullet enthusiastically.

  “Do what?” asked Lyric, sitting down next to Jace.

  “Get your dad together with Mark Cochran,” Ben answered.

  “Hell yeah!” Lyric stood up and high-fived Ben.

  Jace had never felt so out of a conversation he was physically in the middle of, so when Bree tapped him on the shoulder and asked if they could talk, he had two reasons for being the most relieved man in the room.

  “What’s up?” he asked her.

  Bree had been watching him talk to everyone but her for the last hour, and she was annoyed.

  “I told you I didn’t want you to feel as though you have to avoid me Jace.”

  “Wait. What? I’m not avoiding you,” he waved his arm around the dining hall. “We’re both here, with our families.”

  “But it feels different.” She couldn’t look at him. If she did, she knew her eyes would fill with tears.

  “Hey, come here.” Jace put his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. It felt so good.

  Jace held on tight and breathed in the scent of Bree. He hoped it would be a long time before she tried to pull away. He never wanted to let go. He opened his eyes and saw Liv smiling at him from across the room. He smiled back.

  Seeing her reminded him though. He had to do this right with Bree, and that didn’t mean playing games. It meant giving her the space and time she needed. She was responding to games. He didn’t want that. He pulled away, but held on to her arms. Once he started this conversation, it was likely Bree was going to take it the wrong way. He needed to get her somewhere they could talk, or he could talk, and she’d have to listen.

  “Let’s go for a ride,” he whispered. She nodded her head, and followed him out of the dining hall.

  He opened the passenger door of his truck, and put his hand on the curve of her back as she climbed in. He drove down the road to Billy and Renie’s place, and parked the truck next to the house.

  “Come on,” he said when he opened the door for her. She jumped out of the truck and followed him around to the other side of the house where there were stairs that led up to the deck that wrapped around the back of the house.

  He lit the patio warmers and pulled two of the Adirondack chairs closer together.

  “We have a lot to talk about,” Jace said to her after they sat down. “Both of us. I think there was something you wanted to tell me a couple days ago, and I didn’t do a very good job of listening to you. Wanna try again?”

  She folded her arms in front of her, and looked at him. “You sure you want to do this?”

  “Wanting to do this and wanting to hear what you have to say are two different things. Yeah, I want to do this. Will it be hard for me to listen? Sure will, but I’ll do it anyway.”

  She was unprepared for this. When they talked the other day, she knew what she wanted to say. Now she couldn’t remember. She looked out at the forest, trying to collect her thoughts.

  “It was something Red said to me, while I was still in Idaho. It made me think about you and me.”

  Jace was quiet, his eyes focused on her mouth, he didn’t look as though he was breathing.

  “Is this real Jace, or are we just keeping each other company until someone better comes along?”

  “That’s what Red asked you?”

  “No, he just made me think. He asked what our story was. When I started to tell it, everything became very clear to me.”

  “Go on.”

  “You said it yourself. You’re a detour. You don’t want to be a detour Jace. I can’t let you be. And I can’t let myself go down that road. It’s as much self-preservation as anything else.”

  “Stop talking about roads and detours and just tell me how you feel.”

  He wasn’t going to make this easy for her. She probably didn’t deserve for him to.

  “You’re…you. And I’m…me.”

  He smiled. “Profound Bree. Yes, you’re right on both counts.”

  “Shut up,” she smiled back. “I’m trying to make a point, although I’m not doing a very good job of it.”

  “I’m listening to you Bree.”

  He was. He was staring at her and he was listening. She needed to choose her words carefully.

  “I’m afraid.” Wait—that wasn’t what she wanted to say. Why did she?

  “Keep talkin’ Bree.”

  “Think about it. I mean, I just lost my husband. Or when we met I had. And you were so…wrapped up with my sister, and Tucker. You didn’t even like me Jace.”

  “I’ve told you before, I liked you more than you liked me.”

  “Maybe. But you have to admit, we didn’t like each other. Not at all. And then all of a sudden we were…”

  “What?”

  “You know, thrown together. I was hurting, drowning really. And you were distraught over Blythe, and Tucker.”

  He didn’t say anything; she wished he would.

  “I’m not saying that there isn’t a physical attraction, at least for me.”

  “Come on Bree,
you know there is for me too.”

  “But, when it comes down to it, I doubt I’m your type Jace.”

  “My type? This will be good. What’s my type Bree?”

  “Someone more like Renie, or my sister. Young, pretty, fun.”

  “And you’re old, ugly and boring.”

  “Essentially.”

  “Get over yourself Bree. Blythe is your sister, not your granddaughter. And I don’t need to tell you that you’re right, you’re not pretty, you’re beautiful, and—”

  The look on her face made him stop mid-sentence. She thought he was bullshitting her. She didn’t believe him. Words weren’t going to convince her either.

  He stood and pulled her out of her chair and into his arms. He put his hand on the back of her neck, and kissed her, the way he’d wanted to since this morning. He kissed the daylights out of her. He pulled her against him, so she could feel exactly how attractive he found her.

  He backed her up so she was against one of the floor-to-ceiling windows between the deck and the inside of the house. He put his hands on her bottom and lifted her up, so her legs were around his waist.

  His lips trailed from hers, down her neck. She had her hands in his hair. She could stop him, pull away, but she didn’t.

  One hand held her against him, and he unfastened the buttons on her shirt with the other. His lips trailed down further, until he grazed the skin where it met the lace of her bra.

  “I need you Bree. Do you hear me?”

  “Yes,” she answered. It came out between a whisper and a gasp.

  He put his other hand around her, and carried her, holding her as close to him as he could, inside the door he knew they always forgot to lock.

  Once inside, he lowered her onto the leather sofa in front of the fireplace. She stayed still, and watched him. Her shirt was mostly open to her waist; she didn’t make an attempt to cover herself. He lit the fire, and came back to where she was. He grabbed her legs and turned her, so her back rested against the arm of the couch. He lowered himself on to her, nudging her legs apart with his knee.

  He unfastened the remaining buttons on her shirt, pulled it apart, and then cupped her breast through her bra.

  “Stop me,” he murmured before his lips traced the lace against the skin of her other breast. “Stop me now Bree.”

  “I can’t,” she pulled him closer. “I don’t want you to stop Jace.”

  “I’m going to make love to you Bree.”

  “I want you to. I want it so much.”

  He pulled away from her, but only so he could slide his arm under her knees and behind her back. He lifted her from the couch and carried her toward the master bedroom.

  “Wait—”

  “Are you stopping me?” he asked.

  “Not here. Take me downstairs.”

  He understood. There were bedrooms downstairs that were rarely used. He turned toward the staircase.

  “I can walk—”

  “No.”

  Before she could say anything else, he covered her mouth with his.

  He pushed the door open with his leg and laid her on the bed. He reached over and turned on the light sitting on the bedside table. The way she looked, just as she had the night they spent in Hailey, at his friends’ place. He wanted to see her that way now.

  “Take your clothes off Bree.”

  She rolled to the other side of the bed, and turned the other light on. She threw her legs over the side of the bed, and stood. She turned and faced him. He watched as she slid her shirt off her shoulders. Her fingers worked the zipper of her jeans, and she slid them off her hips. Her eyes never left his. She stood before him in her bra and panties, waiting.

  “All your clothes Bree.”

  She reached around and unfastened her bra. She let it drop to the floor. He took a deep breath. Was this really happening?

  She wrapped her fingers under the sides of her panties and shimmied them down to her knees. She bent her leg and stepped out of them. “Your turn,” she whispered.

  He unsnapped the pearl snaps on his shirt as one, and pulled it off as he watched her climb back onto the bed. Her eyes still hadn’t left his. His hands lingered at the top of his jeans, waiting to see if she’d say anything, as she had that night.

  “Come to bed Jace.”

  She didn’t disappoint him. Those were the words he wanted to hear.

  Bree’s eyes were closed. Jace lifted the blanket to crawl in next to her. He slipped his arms around her body and his tongue inside her mouth at the same time. Soft at first, then it deepened, lengthened, growing more urgent.

  His hand slid to her breast, cupping it, harder, until he could feel her heartbeat quicken underneath.

  He heard her moan softly, the way she did in her sleep. He loved that sound. He felt his control slipping away, he couldn’t be gentle with her any longer. He had to take her.

  “Open your eyes and look at me,” he growled.

  Bree looked at him, but his eyes weren’t on hers. At all. Heat flooded through her veins as she watched his eyes wander across her body. His mouth followed. He used it in ways that made her purr.

  Moments after he slipped inside her Bree felt herself imploding. Every part of her body trembled as he brought her to the brink of bliss, and then eased off, only to take her back to the edge again. He did this over and over until she gripped his shoulders, digging her nails into his back.

  “Please,” she begged him. “Please Jace.”

  He stopped instead and dragged his hungry gaze over her body again. “I want you to remember this moment,” he leaned down and whispered into her ear. “And who made you feel this way.”

  His mouth fastened on hers, hard, and he began to move again, taking her body back to the precipice. If he stopped again, she’d flip him over and take what he was unwilling to give. This time, though, his buildup wasn’t gradual. He forced her to the brink and pushed her over with the strength of his body.

  She tried to rip her mouth from his, so she could breathe, or gasp, or even scream, but he was relentless. With one hand he held her, and kissed her roughly, owning her, possessing her. As the wave of pleasure slowly rolled to a quiet stillness, she looked up at him. His gaze penetrated in the same way his body had.

  “What?” She tried to hide her face in his shoulder, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “No hiding from me. Let me see it.”

  “See what?” she tilted her head slightly, just not far enough that he could look into her eyes.

  “The look you had on your face when you came darlin’. I could get very used to seeing that look. I want to see it, again and again,” he said. He lowered his lips to hers, this time softly, gently, lovingly, not with the hunger he had just a few minutes ago.

  He ran his tongue over her bottom lip, and grazed it with his teeth. “Bree,” he murmured. “Open your eyes darlin’.”

  He said it without looking. He knew she’d closed her eyes, but he needed to see into them, no matter how afraid he was of what he’d see. Would he see regret? Or sadness? Had she been thinking of Zack when their bodies were joined together? Did she imagine Zack’s hands caressing her body, instead of his?

  But the look on her face when she came, he’d never forget it. Or the sound of her begging him, not Zack, to bring her there. He couldn’t wait to see that look in her eyes again.

  He forced himself to look, to see what her eyes said now that their passion was spent. What he saw instead of what he’d feared ignited the fire in him.

  He whipped the pillow from beneath her head, so she lay flat on the mattress. This time she didn’t close her eyes.

  Instead of letting his gaze wander as it had before, he kept his eyes on hers. Waiting, watching, wondering. When he saw the heat match his, he kissed her. Her soft moans, reverberated in his mouth. Her lips were soft, warm, willing, eager. He let his kiss linger, drawing out the exquisite feeling of being this close to her.

  When her hand caressed the side of his face, he shuddered
. How long had he waited to feel her hands on him?

  “I want to touch you,” she said. “Everywhere.”

  He groaned and rolled onto his back, letting her take her time exploring his body. Her fingertips swept from his Adam’s apple across his shoulder and down his arm. Her touch was so soft, it almost tickled.

  When she ran her lips across his sternum, he groaned again, willing himself to give her this time to explore, and not ravage her body the way he was so tempted to. He ran his hand through her hair, and weaved it around his fingers so he could stop her, if he needed to. And soon he would, or she would unman him.

  “What are you doin’ to me Bree?”

  “Exploring,” she murmured. “Learning.” She ran her lips down his torso. “Memorizing.”

  Jace closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting Bree continue her exploration.

  Chapter 12

  When he woke the next morning, she was gone. He couldn’t have been asleep more than an hour. Neither had gotten much sleep.

  He thought about the things she said yesterday afternoon. Her words confirmed his fears, and even the power of their lovemaking couldn’t drown their message.

  You’re a detour. You don’t want to be a detour Jace. I can’t let you be.Those words played over and over in his head. He was so tired of being a detour. He wanted to be the main road, the right road to take, the one that always brought the girl home. He needed to tell her so.

  He got out of bed and pulled his Wranglers up over his hips. He left the top button undone, and climbed the stairs in search of Bree.

  He smelled coffee, and then realized he and Bree were probably not alone at the house.Shit. He’d gotten so used to Billy and Renie being in Crested Butte when he stayed here. He hadn’t given any thought to them coming home last night.

  He came around the corner and found Bree sitting in the kitchen, across from Renie. They both turned and looked at him.

  “Shirt might be nice Jace,” Renie smirked at him.

  He ignored her and walked straight over to Bree. He stopped behind her, leaned down and kissed her neck. “Good morning.”