Hang Tough (19 page)

A calculating look settled on Riss's face. “It sucks that you're short staffed. Lou-Lou . . . she wasn't the baker?”

“Only thing she baked was her brain. Besides, we don't make baked goods in-house; we order them from an artisan bakery in Casper. Lou-Lou is a prep cook.”

“You're kidding! What a coincidence. Jade was a prep cook in New York City.”

Shut it, Riss.

“You don't say.” Dodie's eyes turned shrewd. “Are you just here visiting?”

Everyone asked her that. And it hadn't come up between her and Tobin since the night they'd gone for a run. “I'll be staying longer than I planned.”

Riss hip-checked Jade. “That's because she's hooked herself a gen-u-wine Wyoming cowboy and she's in love.”

“Riss!” Jade felt her face and neck get fiery hot. If Dodie had been at the Split Rock since it'd opened, then she probably knew Tobin pretty well. Hopefully Riss wouldn't share that.

“We
are
hiring, if you're interested. It's only part-time. The shift starts early in the morning and prep is usually done by eleven.”

“Oh, Jade is familiar with early morning shifts. She mentioned that she had to get up at three a.m. to catch the subway to her job that started at the ungodly hour of four thirty.”

“Good lord, I can't even imagine that!” Dodie said.

Riss started tossing the items from her cart onto the conveyor belt. “Great chatting with you, Dodie. We've gotta scoot. But Jade will be in touch.”

“I hope so.”

Jade paid for her purchases and didn't say anything to Riss until they were outside. “What was that?” she demanded.

“Serendipity,” Riss deadpanned.

“No. Seriously. I am not going to work at the Split Rock! Even if they are hiring.”

“Why not? You are qualified.”

“Because it would be weird if I said, ‘Hey, Tobin, by the way, now I'll be working at the same place as you! We can live in the same house and work together. Maybe we can even carpool!'” She slammed the passenger door.

Riss rolled her eyes. “Whatever. But at least ask him about it, okay?”

“I think he's mad at me because I cancelled our date after . . .”
I had a mini-meltdown after the “misunderstanding.”

“I'm not worried. You shouldn't be either. Especially not after what you told me the other day.” Riss looked at her watch. “Cool beans. We're running ahead of schedule. Follow me to the truck stop.”

During the drive, Jade flashed back to the first conversation she'd had with Riss over coffee. Normally Jade had problems connecting with people. She worried about saying the wrong thing or looking like a nerd, so she erred on the side of not saying much at all. But Riss just blew right past her defenses from the moment they'd sat down.

“So what type of guy do you usually go for?” Riss had asked.

Big, built, with a beautiful smile and a skilled mouth.

“I don't know that I have a type.”

“Liar.” Riss laughed. “Level with me. What's going on between you and Tobin? Because he babbled incessantly about you when he was hammered last week.”

“He also asked
you
out on a date,” Jade reminded her.

“Not seriously. It's sort of a joke between us.”

“You have no interest in him? At all?”

“Only as a friend. Don't get me wrong, Tobin is a great guy.”

“But?” Jade prompted.

“But he's almost . . . too good, if you know what I mean. He's like a freakin' Boy Scout. Polite, thoughtful, kind. He always does the right thing, even if it's not the best thing for him. That's not the kind of guy who's a good fit for a woman like me. I'd sour him sooner rather than later and he deserves better.”

“Tobin and I have been messing around,” Jade blurted out. “And trust me; that man is no Boy Scout when he's got that mouth in motion.”

Riss blinked at her. “How long has this been going on?”

“It's been this back-and-forth thing since the day we met. We haven't . . .” Jade blushed.

“What's the holdup? I know Tobin's in total lust with you since he freakin'
told
me that himself.”

“The holdup is that we're living with my grandma.”

“So? Give me a legit reason why after granny goes to bed that you shouldn't be climbing that man like a tree and letting him bang you like a coconut.”

She snickered. “Interesting imagery, Wyoming.”

“You're stalling. Come clean, New York, on why you're not getting down and dirty with him every chance you can.”

“Fine. Tobin isn't a fling kind of guy.”

“And you're worried he'll want more than a fling?”

“I could end up hurting him if I say ‘screw it' and start screwing him. I don't want that. And I live in New York.”

“Tobin knows where you live, dumb-ass,” Riss said crossly. “And I . . .” She paused and smacked the table. “Omigod.
I'm
the dumb-ass. You're not the fling type either, are you? If you start this with him, chances are good you'll fall for him too and it'll—”

“Be too late? I think it already is . . .”

Loud pounding on the car window startled her out of the memory.

Riss grinned and opened the door. “Grab your stuff and let's do this thang.”

As they crossed the parking lot, Jade said, “We're really getting ready at a truck stop?”

“Not a lot of female truckers. So the women's bathroom is super-duper nice since it's hardly ever used.”

An hour later they walked into the Prickly Cactus looking as
hot as a prairie fire
—Riss's words, not hers. The joint was a total dive, filled with kitschy western memorabilia—what little Jade could see of it since the only light in the place came from the neon bar signs. They found a table in the middle of the bar area and set it up as their base since it wasn't quitting time for the blue-collar patrons.

“Another hour and this place will be full.” Riss smirked around the straw in her margarita. “The cream of the crop will come to us.”

“So you're here . . . ?”

“To get laid? Yeah. Pretty much. Been a while. How about you?” She leaned in. “Please, please, please tell me that you and Tobin have done the nasty like five times a day since the last time we talked.”

“No. We're still trying to get the timing right. The night it was supposed to happen it didn't. I haven't heard from him at all today . . . so he's probably mad or something. I don't know.”

“Did you tell him what you wanted?” Riss asked.

Jade sighed. “I'm used to hanging back and waiting for someone to approach me.”

“I think you'll be surprised at how many times you get hit on tonight. Babe, you've got to know that you're—”

“If you say exotic looking, I will karate chop you.”

Riss choked on her drink. “Fuck, woman. You are funny. I'd totally do you if I was a lesbian.”

She laughed.

Guys started coming in one after another. First they'd order a drink, then they'd look around.

“Okay, show time,” Riss said.

T
obin mumbled to Garnet on his way past her.

A long-ass day in the truck driving back from Nebraska meant a shower was an immediate necessity. He took his time cleaning himself up, so when he emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later, Garnet had resorted to pacing in the hallway.

She stopped and pointed at him. “It's about time.”

“I didn't use all the hot water, I swear.”

“I know that. I need to talk to you about something. So after you're decent”—she gestured to the towel—“come into the kitchen because we have to talk. Make it snappy. Time is wastin'.”

He slipped on a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He'd plugged his dead cell phone in before hitting the shower and quickly checked his messages.

Three. From . . . Riss? What the hell?

The first was a selfie of Riss and Jade in a bar.

His stomach cartwheeled at seeing Jade's sweet smile. She just did it for him. On so many levels.

He squinted at the next shot. Jesus. Was that a picture of Jade's ass? He enlarged it. Oh yeah. Jade's ass in tight jeans with sparkles on the butt that just made him want to sink his teeth into that curve below the pocket.

But why had Riss sent him a picture of Jade's backside? Judging by the way Jade stood, she had no idea her friend was secretly snapping pics of her butt.

In the third pic, a guy had his hand on Jade's shoulder. The time stamp on that one was half an hour ago.

Tobin texted:
Where are you?

RT:
The Prickly Cactus . . .

Garnet appeared outside his door. “Tobin, I really need to talk to you.”

“Make it fast, Miz G. I'm on my way out.”

“Jade called me.”

Tobin whirled around. “When?”

“Earlier. She's out with Riss and she told me not to wait up.”

“Christ.”

“She's an adult entitled to her fun. Heaven knows I resist when anyone tries to end my good times. I just worry because she's never had much use for a pixie dust night.”

He remembered the one time he knocked back a few pixie dust shots. Or maybe he should say, he didn't remember—the next morning he woke up naked on his deck with a sunburn in places the sun don't shine. Ever since that incident, the Mud Lilies referred to a night out making questionable decisions a pixie dust night.

“So I need a huge favor.” Garnet twisted her gnarled fingers. “Make sure Jade is all right.”

“How, Miz G?”

She blinked. “By spying on her, of course.”

“Not happening. I'll check on her to make sure she's not doin' anything illegal like
some
people who tend to get carried away on pixie dust nights. But whatever else she's doin'? Ain't your business. Got it?”

“I hate when you shoot down my ideas with logic.”

Tobin smiled. “I know. You'll be all right by yourself? I probably won't be back tonight.”

“Where are you goin'?”

To get a tiger by the tail.

His grin told her that wasn't any of her business either. “Have a good night.”

She stomped her foot. “Dadgummit. You oughta be taking me along.”

“Nope.” He touched her nose as he walked past her in the hallway. He could only handle one Evans woman at a time.

Tobin made a call as soon as he turned onto the main highway.

Ike picked up on the second ring. “T, what's goin' on?”

“Riss and Jade are drinking at the Prickly Cactus.”

“Are you kiddin' me?”

“Not even a little.”

“Hang on.” Ike muffled the phone but Tobin still heard some background noise. “I've gotta go, sugar.” Then thirty seconds later, he heard, “On my way.”

“See you in a few.”

Tobin had worked himself up pretty good by the time he'd reached Rawlins.

Ike leaned against the side of the building, looking disheveled. “Hey.”

“You been in there yet?”
Does Jade have some asshole's hands all over her?

“Nope. Waiting for you.”

“Let's go.”

“Ah ah ah. Not so fast. You lookin' for a fight?”

Tobin shook his head. “Doesn't mean some dumb fuck won't give me one.”

Ike muttered something about dental insurance as Tobin brushed past him.

The look on Tobin's face kept the bouncer from stopping either of them.

The music wasn't overly loud yet. There weren't as many people inside as he'd imagined, and most of them waited at the bar. Tobin scanned the tables for a sign of her.

Bingo.

His elation at seeing Jade didn't extend to the half dozen guys hanging around the table. If the bar area wasn't so swamped, he might have ordered a beer and observed the situation for a bit before approaching.

Instead he marched right up to her, inserting himself between her and the guy about to lose his fucking hand for putting it on her.

When Jade saw him, she smiled. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“I was in the neighborhood.”

“Liar,” she stage-whispered. “We live in the same house and I haven't seen you in our neighborhood for . . . two days.”

“I had to go to Nebraska, remember?”

She licked the rim of her glass.

Fuck. That tongue. “You look gorgeous.”

“Riss taught me how to get dolled up cowgirl-style.”

He ran his knuckles down her cheek. “I can teach you to ride cowgirl-style.”

She laughed. “You are in rare form tonight.”

Riss whooped and stepped right between them. “Hey howdy, Tobin. Fancy meeting you here.”

He snorted.

“This doesn't seem like your kind of place.”

“It's not.”

“The ambience is lacking.” She cocked her head. “Are you here to listen to the band?”

Tobin didn't look away from Jade. “Nope.”

“The drink specials end at nine, so maybe you oughta toddle on over there and get us a round.”

“Sure. You want another one of those?” He pointed at Jade's glass.

“I'd love one.”

“Make it two,” Riss said. “And buy fuckface a beer. He looks annoyed to be here.”

Ike flashed his teeth at Riss. “Annoyance is my permanent expression around you.”

“I thought you were just constipated.”

“Be right back.” In the fifteen minutes it took for drink service, Tobin watched three different losers approach Jade. None of them stuck around, thank fuck.

Back at the table, when everyone had drinks in hand, Riss raised her glass for a toast. “To friends, lovers and foes; may they not be one person.”

With each sip of her margarita, Jade inched closer to him.

He tamped down his impatience over how long before they could get the hell out of here.

“So, Tobin, dude, I'm afraid I have to put you on the spot a little,” Riss said.

Fucking awesome. “About what?”

“Why you aren't considering coming to work for Jackson Stock Contracting? When I heard you've sent out resumes to other places?”

He felt Jade's curious gaze on him and Ike avoiding his eyes. “Might be awkward with Renner.”

“That's it?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“I'm looking to do something different. You guys are running on a tight margin and there's no money to pay me. I'm sorta fond of not livin' in a homeless shelter and panhandling.”

“But you do have another commodity, don't you?” Riss pressed on.

“Not one that'll pay me.”

“So the bulls . . . BB's offspring. You own them?”

What was she getting at? “Yeah.”

“How many?”

“Four.”

“See? That's four potential—”

“There's the word that means nothin'. Potential,” he complained. “Zero plus potential? Still equals zero.”

“Semen collection is out?” Riss asked.

“Without a state-of-the-art facility and the ability to offer buyers something they can't get anywhere else? Yes. Zero potential for profit. Huge potential for a huge building with . . . oh, an arena in it.”

Ike laughed and held his bottle up to touch Tobin's.

Jade looked confused.

Tobin nudged her. “Fun stuff, huh?”

“I have no idea what you guys are talking about.”

“Funny. Neither does Riss,” Ike said.

Riss flipped him off. Then she flounced off and Ike followed her.

Tobin put his arm across the back of Jade's chair. “I'm happy to see you out having fun.”

“Riss is hilarious. Vivien tricked me into going to the Beauty Barn and Riss rescued me.” She groaned. “I was so happy to escape that I left GG's order there.”

His gaze turned sharp. “Tricked you? How?”

“I think she followed me to the grocery store. Then she claimed GG's order was in or something. I called Riss before I left the grocery store so I had a backup plan. And good thing because Bernice had decided to treat me to a makeover—whether I liked it or not.”

Shit. That was not what he'd asked her to do.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Miz G told me when I went home to change. She said you were out havin' a wild night with Riss.”

“And you thought you'd check up on me? Or GG sent you to check up on me?”

“I'm here of my own accord, Jade. I'm pretty sure you know that. But darlin', if you need proof . . . well, pucker up. That seems to work best for us.”

Jade's focus dropped to his mouth. “Maybe later.”

Oh, definitely later. “You don't look like you've been knocking back shots.”

“I've had four margaritas in three hours. Why would you think I'd be doing shots?”

“Miz G said it was a pixie dust night. That's what pixie dust is, darlin'. A very potent shot. After one, you're dancin' on the tables. After two, you're
under
the table.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Good thing I haven't had any.”

“Very good thing.” He angled his head closer, letting his mouth touch the spot below her jaw, then he moved into her hairline and inhaled the scent of her. He growled, “Christ you smell good.”

“I can't think when you whisper in my ear like that.”

“That's our problem; we both think too much.”

Jade's hand landed on his chest. “Is that what you've been doing the past forty-eight hours since our plan for alone time bit the dust? Thinking?”

“I'm a man of action. I have a plan in place and a place for us since I've thought of little else the past forty-eight hours. You can feel how hard my heart is beating. And if you moved that sexy ass closer, you'd feel how hard my cock is.”

“Tobin.”

“Would you like to get out of here?” Maybe it made him sound desperate. But fuck, he was damn near desperate for her.

She pushed his face away with the side of her head. Then she placed a single, soft kiss on the pulse point on the side of his throat. “Yes.”

Thank fuck
.

When Tobin eased back to kiss her, she pressed her fingers over his lips.

“Not until we're truly alone, okay? No interruptions this time.”

He uncurled her fingers from his shirt and kissed the center of her palm before clasping her hand in his and pushing to his feet.

Riss and Ike were standing by the bar.

“We're taking off.”

“Have fun. Text me later, New York.” Riss scowled at Ike. “Feel free to hit the road too, since you weren't invited.”

“Am I scaring away the dirtbags you planned to get down and dirty with, La-riss-a?”

“Dirt washes off. I'll take that over your asshole behavior any day, Ike.”

“Really?” Ike leaned closer to her. “Hate sex can be really fuckin' hot. Don't you think?” But he might as well have said,
Don't you remember?

Riss said, “I don't think about things I hate, douche bag. Ever.”

“Do I need to warn security there might be a bloodbath?” Tobin asked.