Storm Warning (Broken Heartland) Page 9

  “It’s still not a date.”

  Pull it together, Prescott. He nodded, eyeing her toned backside as she lowered the tailgate of her old-as-dirt truck. She hopped up on it and ignored him.

  “Permission to come aboard?”

  There, that got a tiny smile out of her.

  “Permission granted,” she answered with an eye roll. Even her eye rolls are adorable. Hayden wanted to slap himself. He never thought of girls as adorable. He never even thought the word adorable. Girls were hot. Or sexy. Or do-able. Or none of the above. Period.

  But Ella Jane Mason was all of those. Adorable. Intimidating. Sexy.

  And one he didn’t want to think about. Innocent.

  She practically had virgin stamped on her forehead. And he had a hard rule about virgins. They were a no-fly zone. As in, his fly did not go anywhere near them. Virgins got attached. Virgins expected their first time to mean something. If there was one thing he didn’t do, it was meaningful sex.

  He’d seen enough of his friends get stalked by psycho freshmen they’d nailed to know he wanted no part of that. He and Cami had a good thing going. They did it when they felt like it. Whenever it was convenient. The few girls he messed around with on the side were just that—a few girls who’d made their interest in him obvious. And okay, a few who were older than girls.

  His cousin Brett was a junior at OSU, and he’d tagged along to a few frat parties. He’d always been offered what he wanted on a silver platter.

  And he’d never felt bad about taking what he wanted.

  Until now. Until bright blue eyes regarded him warily. Like she had him all figured out already and she wasn’t amused.

  “So you were kind of a dick today,” Ella Jane informed him.

  He nearly choked on the bite of sandwich he’d been about to swallow. “And yet, you cooked for me.”

  “Um, no. I threw some cold cuts on bread. Which I totally would have inhaled myself if you hadn’t shown up.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. Ella Jane Mason didn’t play games. She didn’t beat around the bush or go out of her way to be cute. She didn’t play coy or worry about what anyone would think about her. She told it like it was. He loved that about her. Almost as much as he loved those smooth, tan legs swinging off the tailgate. “Why would you think I wasn’t going to show up?”

  She shrugged in response. “I guess I don’t know what to expect from people anymore. Sometimes people say one thing and do another. Or they do one thing and say another.”

  He chewed and tried to work out what she was talking about. He had a feeling she was talking about her brother’s buddy. God, he was really hating Joe. Dude came and went, mostly when her brother was in town. But when he came around, Ella Jane stood up and took notice. Even when she was trying to pretend she didn’t, he could tell that she did. They had a history or something. Even if the guy was too chicken to admit it to her brother.

  He could almost respect that the guy was putting bros before hos and all that, but Ella Jane was no ho. Not that he himself was going to be giving her big-ass brother the four-one-one on how interested he was in her. Kyle Mason was good and ripped, and he had that I’ll-beat-your-ass-for-breathing look down to an art form. Getting into it with him would probably suck for the other guy. And no girl was worth a busted face.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to be all Whiny McWhinerson about it. Just been a weird summer.”

  Hayden grinned as he reached for his water bottle. “Naw, I get it. People are shady.” He took a swig of water and watched her watching him. “But I can promise you this, angel face. If I say I’ll show, then I’ll show. I’m a lot of things, but an outright liar isn’t one of them.”

  “Good to know,” she said with a small nod. “I’m kind of over liars at the moment.”

  “So does that mean you’re under me?” He smirked, anticipating the solid arm smack she gave. He had to watch himself with her. Had to play it just right so things stayed light. Last thing he needed was to be spilling his guts about his parents, the pressure, and the crap his dad had him involved in to her. He had to pull back and piss her off so she wouldn’t give him that look she sometimes did. That ‘I will let you kiss me if you do it right now’ look.

  “Only in your dreams, City Boy.” She threw a chip at him, which turned into him trying to catch them in his mouth. After they wasted half the bag, he heard the low rumble. Or more, he felt it.

  “It’s coming,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her down off the tailgate. “We better hurry.”

  She didn’t hesitate. Didn’t ask any questions. Didn’t squeal about getting her hair messed up or her shoes dirty. They ran down the hill, wind chafing their faces as they did. The craziest part? She didn’t let go of his hand.

  Hayden Prescott had never thought a girl holding his hand would make his heart race. But it was pounding in his chest when the sound of steel and wood slamming together hammered down on them.

  She ran ahead of him, almost a foot too close to the boxcars blowing by them. He didn’t know if it was the vibration of the train flying past or if she was trembling when he pulled her back and into his arms. “Careful. Jesus.” He held her close, watching as she closed her eyes and smiled. Her face held a peaceful bliss he’d never known. “Tell me why you come here. Why you do this.”

  “Reminds me that I’m alive,” she breathed out in excitement. “That I won’t always be stuck in the same place, won’t be the same person forever.”

  Her words sent his world spinning off its axis in overdrive.

  That was exactly the same reason he couldn’t stop edging so close to the line when it came to making a move on her.

  BY the time the train disappeared from sight and they made it back up to her truck, he’d regained most of his equilibrium. Sort of.

  “Did you walk?”

  “Huh?” She means here, idiot. “Yeah, yeah I did. My car is in the shop and my grandparents just have the one truck.”

  “I can give you a ride home…if you want.”

  Typically, this was the part where he acted like an ass, made an inappropriate comment about how he knew she wanted to give him a “ride” all right. But she was still holding his hand. And he just couldn’t bring himself to ruin it yet. So he just said, “Sure. ’Preciate it.”

  The tension in the truck cab was so thick it nearly suffocated him. At least she’d finally let go of his hand. Though his palm still felt like he’d grabbed a live wire while soaking wet. He’d actually touched one of the underground lines when he’d dug too close to one at work and it had shocked the shit out of him. Almost literally.

  “So, um, thanks for coming tonight.”

  He cleared his throat. Again, perfect opening for him to say something dickish. And yet, he didn’t. “Yeah, it was fun. We still on for the Fourth?”

  “I’ll be there.” He watched as she shrugged. “Always am.”

  “Guess I’ll see you then.”

  At that, she laughed. “Hayden, I’ll see you at work on Monday. The Fourth isn’t until Tuesday.”

  He shook his head at his own stupidity. This girl did serious damage to his game. As in, he had none around her. The way his name sounded in her mouth made him uneasy. He liked it. Way, way too much.

  He’d wanted a lot of things in his life. A new car, the latest cell phone or whatever gadget was better than the ones the other guys had, the hottest girl in the room just because. But he’d never wanted anything as bad as he wanted to kiss that mouth. Her naturally pouty lips practically begged him to. But they were pulling up in his grandparents’ driveway so it was time. Time for him to say something stupid so she wouldn’t go home thinking there was more to this than there actually was.

  But when he opened his mouth, all that came out was, “Night, Ella Jane.”

  SUNDAY, he thought he wouldn’t see her. His grandparents had dragged him to church on the one day he should’ve been able to sleep in. But it turned out to be worth it.

  As he stepped out
of the small, white building with his grandma on his arm, Ella Jane Mason slowed to a stop and turned his way.

  “Mornin’, City Boy,” she drawled with a wink that made his knees go weak. “You come to repent for using the Lord’s name in vain?”

  He took in her short, flowery dress and the fact that she even wore her cowgirl boots to church, and the images assaulting his mind gave him a whole other list of things to ask forgiveness for.

  “Hayden Tanner Prescott, have you been using foul language around my sweet little EJ?” his grandma asked as she tightened her grip on his arm.

  He grinned, considering telling his grandmother her EJ was neither sweet nor little. And if he got his way, which he typically did, she’d be his EJ by the end of the summer. “No, ma’am. I have no idea what she’s referring to.” He winked at Ella Jane and jerked his chin up slightly as Joe Dirt appeared beside her.

  “Hope the Good Lord doesn’t strike you down for lyin’,” Ella Jane said quietly to him.

  Joe ignored his greeting but gave a curt nod to his grandma. “Come on, Ellie May. Mama’s makin’ your favorite lunch. She’s expectin’ us.”

  Hayden cut his eyes coolly to Brantley Cooper. So Joe wanted to play this game? Tough. He’d seen the way he wussed out on her and made her cry. Missed your shot, buddy. Hate that for ya.

  He opened his mouth to invite her to have lunch with him and his grandparents instead, but his grandma beat him to it. “EJ, I see you have lunch plans already. Won’t you join us for dinner tonight? Hayden and his grandfather are firing up the grill. And I’ll make that caramel apple pie you love so much.”

  Hayden raised a brow and waited for her response. Joe Dirt was breathing a little more heavily, but what could he do? They were at church, and no one argued with his grandma. Not even him.

  “Yes, ma’am, I’d like that. Can I come early and help with the pie?”

  With her cat-ate-the-canary grin, his grandma nodded. “Of course. Tell your mama she’s welcome to join us.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Um, see y’all this evenin’, I guess.” Her voice was soft, sweeter than he was used to, and it did something to him. Something he couldn’t understand fully. He tried to figure it out as she walked away. Yeah, he wanted her. As in, wanted to get her naked or just get under that dress with every body part she’d allow. He’d even let her leave the boots on. But this feeling, this was…something else.

  The clear blue in her eyes was brighter in the sun. He wanted to kiss that sweet Sunday girl with eyes shining in the sunlight. He wanted to hold hands with the wild, free version of her as she ran alongside the night trains she loved.

  But she made him hungry in a way he’d never felt. He wanted to claim her, punch Joe Dirt in the face, and grab her up, sling her over his shoulder, and carry her away to their own private island where no one would ever interrupt.

  Most girls, even the hot ones, bored him. Or maybe who he pretended to be around them bored him. Ella Jane Mason electrified every nerve ending in his body until he felt raw and exposed. Just her very presence sent his heart pounding, pumping testosterone and adrenaline through him so hard he couldn’t think straight. He could spend every day with her and never get bored, never feel like he knew everything about her there was to know.

  He wanted to know what she looked like when she first woke up, what movies she liked, what made her laugh, what made her cry. Well…he already knew what made her cry. But the rest of it, he was determined to find out. Joe Dirt could deal with it.

  “You’re welcome,” his grandma said as he opened the truck door for her. “Don’t make me regret being your wingman.”

  A hard jet stream of freezing cold water on his back snapped him out of the fantasy he’d been having about kissing Ella Jane Mason. Whirling around, he saw her feigning innocence as she watered the flowers up near the front porch.

  Since dinner with his grandparents Sunday night, things had been different between them. He’d walked in the house and found her bare legs swinging from his grandma’s countertop as the two women made pie.

  Hit with an image he hadn’t been prepared for, he’d nearly lost his breath. She and her mother had chatted easily with his grandparents all through dinner. He’d answered questions when asked, but he couldn’t even concentrate on the food or the conversation with Ella Jane’s knee brushing against his under the table. He’d spent most of the night trying to figure out if she was doing it on purpose.

  When she left, she’d given him a shy smile and a hug goodnight. A hug. If any other girl he was interested in had tried to hug him, he’d have been checking his text messages behind her back. But the subject of her dad had been briefly mentioned, and he knew from his grandfather that he’d run out on them earlier that summer.

  She needed that hug, and the fact that she wanted it from him instead of Joe? Well that pretty much made his whole life. So he’d wrapped his arms around her, inhaled her sweet honeysuckle and clean, girly scent, and squeezed as hard as he could without hurting her.

  “I’m glad you came, angel face,” he said low in her ear. He didn’t miss the fact that she looked a little dazed when she stepped back.

  “Um, me too. See you at work tomorrow?”

  He didn’t know why it was a question. There wasn’t anything that could keep him away. “Not if I see you first.” He gave her a wink, stepping back so he didn’t pull her into his arms and give into the urge to press his mouth to hers. Not with her mom getting in the truck four feet away, anyways.

  He’d spent the rest of the evening thinking about kissing her. Judging from the way she’d watched his mouth as he told her goodnight, he was willing to bet she’d done the same.

  The past four days they’d both been edging around doing something about it. He was going in-freaking-sane. She consumed his every thought, something no other girl had ever done.

  On Monday, he’d been sent out with the crew to help with a mowing job, and when he came back, she had been waiting on the porch with a glass of sweet tea. Tea never tasted so good.

  Tonight was the Fourth of July celebration in Hope’s Grove, and they were going to watch fireworks on The Ridge. Well, she was going to watch fireworks and he was going to watch her. Until she turned his way and they made some fireworks of their very own.

  “OF course it would be Bitch Boy’s granddad who holds our fate in his hands,” Cooper mumbled to himself. He was still burning over the fact that his Sunday lunch with Ellie May had been tainted by the knowledge that she’d be having dinner with him later that night. She’d seemed distracted and just…different somehow ever since.

  He and his dad were headed over to the Prescotts’ to discuss getting an advance on the crops this year. Last year’s crop hadn’t paid out very well, and according to Coop’s dad, they were running short on money already this year.

  As his dad pulled in front of the old farmhouse the Prescotts called home, it was no surprise to find Edwin and Netta sitting in the two white rockers on the front porch.

  If he wasn’t at Harwell’s drinking coffee or out driving by the fields the Coopers farmed for him, you could bet your paycheck the man the whole town called Pops was sitting on the porch with his wife. And it was the Fourth of July—Harwell’s was closed, along with every other business in town.

  They’d sit there all day and wave at the cars, trucks, and tractors that drove by. Coop often imagined him and Ellie May doing the same thing one day—reflecting on the life they’d built together. Of course, a future with her would mean he’d actually have to make a move and fess up to his feelings.

  “Mornin’, Edwin,” Jim called out as he and Coop made their way up to the porch. “Netta,” he added with a nod and a smile.

  “Hope you’re coming to tell me the crops are looking good,” Edwin asked in his down to business fashion as his wife gave a quiet smile and wave.

  “Absolutely,” Jim confirmed. “We’re looking at a solid haul this year. Weather’s cooperated and harvest should come early.”

>   “Good to hear.” Edwin nodded before leaning back. “Something on your mind, Jim?”

  Coop could tell his dad was nervous about asking for the advance. He watched him dig his hands into his pockets and rock on his heels the same way Coop did when he thought about confessing his feelings for EJ. Netta Prescott must have had the same observations, because before Jim could say a word, she excused herself to the house.

  “I’ll let y’all talk business,” she smiled sweetly, letting the screen door fall shut behind her.

  Jim leaned up against the porch railing and took in a deep breath. Coop looked up as the screen door creaked and the one person he was hoping like hell wasn’t around stepped out.

  “Gran asked if I’d bring this tea out,” Hayden said as he set the tray down on the small table between the rockers.

  “Thanks, kid.” Edwin grabbed a glass of tea and took a drink.

  Coop couldn’t help but roll his eyes when Hayden sat down in the empty chair beside his grandfather. This was just freaking perfect. It was bad enough that his dad had to ask for a handout, but now Hayden was going to witness the entire thing. The two Prescotts sitting on their high and mighty thrones.

  “Out with it,” Edwin said to Jim.

  “I was wondering if there was any way we could get an advance on the crops this year. Like I said before, we’re looking at a solid profit, and it seems I’ve hit a bit of a rough patch. I wouldn’t be asking if I had another option.”

  Edwin rocked in his chair and nodded, letting Jim’s proposal sink in. Coop held his breath, right along with his dad. The cocky little smirk that crossed Hayden’s face when he looked from his granddad to Jim made Coop want to put his fist through a wall. Or at least bust up that pretty little face of his.

  “I wish there was something I could do to help you out, Jim, I really do, but my funds are pretty tied up,” he finally said.

  “Yeah,” Jim sighed. “Don’t worry about it. Recession’s hit us all hard. Thanks anyway.” He started to walk away with the first answer he was given.