Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off (7 page)

"I'll stay as long as you need me to. After three months, I'll chip in, but you have to give me those three months to find a job. I'm not taking a dime from my daddy, well no more than what I already have anyways.” Bethany was not about to tell him how much it was, but she had enough to stay in Vegas a while, so it should be enough to put down roots in Montana.

"Sounds fair. So, we will set this aside and in three months revisit the issue.” He sipped the last of his coffee and stood. “In the meantime, we will act like newlyweds. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be.” Bethany took a deep breath and smiled. This was a new beginning. A fresh start. Her chance of a lifetime. And she was damn sure going to take it!

"I bet you'll hate giving this thing up.” Bethany looked at the truck and nodded.

"Why would I give her up?” He loaded her suitcases and his duffle bag in the back seat. She was wearing some soft, little outfit. It made her curves stand out, and his libido kick into overdrive. He had not been this insatiable since he was a teen, and yet here he was, eyeing her at any possible moment and so turned on by the way she looked at him it was impossible to keep his hands off of her.

"You mean this isn't the rental from the airport?” She gave him a new expression, one indicating she thought he was nuts. He smiled.

"No, ma'am. This is mine.” He opened the front door to the truck and held out a hand to help her up into the cab.

She took his hand and climbed into his truck. He shut the door and looked at her for a moment. She smiled out the window to him. With her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and her face free of make-up, she looked like an all-American beauty sitting there. It was an important test for a woman to pass.

"So, does it have a hemi?” she asked as he opened the driver-side door.

He stopped. Her words smacked him out of his daydream. She looked real good in that seat, but foul language could not be tolerated.

"Woman, there are three things you don't do to a man. You don't curse at his truck, you don't mess with his horse, and you don't poke fun at his dog.” He shook his head. “This is a Ford, not a Dodge. I'll let it slide, this time."

He winked and proceeded to get into his beloved Ford. Bethany rolled her eyes at him. She obviously didn't understand the relationship between a man and his vehicle.

"How long is the drive?"

"About 13 hours, most of it straight up I-15.” He started up the truck. “Listen to her purr."

"You seem a little too excited about being in this truck. I have to tell you.” She smiled.

"I love this truck. It's the only new vehicle I have ever owned. It beats the hell out of my last truck. By the time I got it, it was like the truck on Sanford and Son. I think I pushed it more than I drove it.” He laughed recounting the memory. “Don't be jealous."

"Of a truck? Are you serious?” She crossed her arms obviously jealous. He ignored it and continued to talk about his old hand-me-down truck.

Bethany watched him tell his story and witnessed how his eyes lit up and his dimples popped out. He may think he did not like his old truck, but the memories were good ones. Of course, she had a BMW delivered to the front door on her sixteenth birthday. There was no love or hate for the car. It just was. But then, she never had to ask for anything material, and she never got anything more than material things.

"Jack.” Bethany decided she had to tell him about her father. It wasn't fair to let him risk the ranch he was so in love with. “I don't want you to get worried when I tell you this but..."

"You're not really on birth control, are you?” Jack sighed heavily.

"No, I..."

"It's okay, I mean we are married, we will be together a while and..."

"Jack, Jack. I am on birth control.” She almost laughed at how nervous he was. His fingers had gripped the steering wheel; his head bobbed side to side as if mentally working it out and rationalizing.

"Oh, thank God.” He let out the breath he had been holding. “I mean we could work things out, but I would really like to take this time to get to know you, Bethany. I mean I really want us to be friends when it's over."

She swallowed the lump in her throat. What a sweet man. She wouldn't tell him she thought that way because then his ego would move to macho overdrive, but he was sweet, and if she let him, he would just break her heart in the end. “Of course, we'll be friends. Don't be silly."

"So, what were you worried about?” he asked as if their only problem would be pregnancy. Forget the fact that they did not even know each other!

"Nothing, it was silly. Really, forget it.” She decided not to make things harder on him before they got that way anyhow. When her father found out, and she was sure Rosetta had called and told him she was married and knew about the two of them by now, he would be furious. Dodson's do not face public embarrassment, and Bethany would marry the man he chose.

HA!

"If you say so.” He shrugged. “Do you have any questions about Montana, my house, my family?"

"Yes, tell me about all of them.” She nodded.

"Well, I have two brothers and a sister,” Jack explained. “My older brother Heath is 35. Rafe is 34. I am 33. See the pattern?"

Bethany nodded.

"My sister Janice, we call her Jan is 19.” He laughed. “My momma thought she was going through the change is what she called it. Sure changed things all right."

"How old was she?” Bethany smiled.

"Let's see, I was fourteen, so that would make her forty-six, forty-seven.” He shook his head. “Doctors say it happens, not often, but it does."

"Wow.” She nodded. It was unbelievable. “She must have been shocked."

"Happy. Especially when she found out it was a girl. She had given up trying for a girl once we popped out, three in a row.” He laughed again then went quiet. A solemn mood came over him. She could see in his eyes that whatever he was thinking about was painful for him. “My daddy died not long after Jan was born. Cancer. Momma stayed in Montana until last year when Jan decided she was old enough to get married, and now my momma lives in Florida."

She considered his statement and then blurted. “She's only nineteen. How can she be old enough to get married?"

"She's legal, Bethany. Believe me, you're preaching to the choir. Heath shot Buck in the ass with a B-B-gun trying to scare him off. Only made the kid more afraid of us and Jan more determined than ever to marry him.” Jack sighed. “Such is life. Momma said we were not allowed to interfere with them. She had married my daddy young, and they were together till he died."

"So, where do they live?” Bethany asked.

"On the ranch. We all have a house there. My grandpa made sure of it.” Jack nodded. “It's a dude ranch. Hadn't been put to use in that manner since my Grandpa was alive. My mom didn't like it, and my dad didn't have the education to run the business, as much as my grandpa tried to teach him, so it went dry when my grandfather died."

"He didn't want to learn, or was it your mother's father?"

"No, he was my dad's father. My momma is from Florida,” Jack explained. “Daddy was a cowboy. He could do work, but he had no interest in learning the books and business end, thought he would have time to learn about those things later. Guess not."

"So, why does everyone live in your house?” She was fascinated by his life story. He had suffered hardships, loss, but he obviously cared about his family and their legacy. It was going to be hard not to fall head over heels for Jack Johnson.

"You know, I don't really know. Heath's house is the one we grew up in. Maybe because I was the first to move out? Next thing I knew they just moved in with me. Then, when momma left, they stayed. Rafe has been making changes to his house over the years. Heath hasn't changed a thing. And Jan, she moved into hers the day she got married, and it has been an uphill climb for her. She won't let us help, but we see them struggling."

"Didn't she get an inheritance, too?” She was trying to remember as much information as she could about his complex family relationships. She was an only child, so there was never anyone to debate with, share secrets with, or any of those fun things. Just her girlfriends, and since they each in their own way thought they were better than her, she kept her secrets to herself. Jack talked more than any man she had ever known, personal conversation anyways. Her father and Douglas could talk business for hours, but she never could hold a real conversation with either of them.

"No, not yet. The will was very clear. We have to be over twenty-five, married, or wait until our sixtieth birthday.” Jack smiled. “I think he did it because he wanted us to at least be old enough to make smart decisions. Of course, we'll be married by the time we are all sixty. It just gave us a little push to think about it sooner rather than later."

"So, why haven't you all married before now?"

"That, my sweet wife, is the question everyone asks.” He looked at her and winked. Strange how such a simple gesture sent goose bumps down her arms. It was delightful to have his attention.

"At first, we rebelled against it. We didn't need the money, and we didn't want it if we had to get married in order to get it. Ranching isn't easy, and women can get in the way. We all worked outside the ranch, saving and building. Of course, a couple years passed, and we realized even with our jobs, especially with our jobs, there was no way to work and build the ranch."

"So, you decided to come to Vegas and get hitched?” She nodded, ignored the part about women getting in the way, and smiled. “I understand."

"No. You don't. I was supposed to bring my ex-girlfriend to Vegas and get hitched.” He snorted.

"What?” She sat up straighter and looked at him. Something inside her was fired by his revelation. It was not anger exactly. Maybe hurt, but that did not make sense. As the next words fell out of her mouth, she knew exactly what it was. Jealousy. “What bitch were you planning on marrying, Jack Johnson?"

"Christina, we dated off and on since high school, so I figured it had to mean something, right?” Jack shrugged as though it meant nothing. “She's a nice girl really."

"No. That doesn't mean anything.” She still peered at him as she crossed her arms. Christina. The word was permanently branded on her skull. What did she look like? Had they been lovers? She snorted. Of course, they had been lovers. She could feel the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She had never been so angry in all her life. To think of some other woman draped on Jack just fueled her more.

"Okay. I thought it meant something, but then she told me she wouldn't divorce me unless I gave her half.” He shook his head again. “I have no plans of giving our money to anyone. We need it for the ranch."

"You didn't think she knew, and you weren't planning on divorcing her, were you?” She knew the feeling in the pit of her stomach now. Loss. She had experienced it over and over with her father. Now, she knew Jack was not hers. He really cared about some other woman, and in three months, she would be out the door.

"It's not like that at all.” He shook his head.

"I need to use the bathroom. Can we pull over at the next stop?"

"Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asked in a sincere tone, which alone was like tossing gasoline on her already burning flame. The nerve of him! Marrying her when he was planning to marry another woman instead! Was she okay? Yeah right, she was fine, now that she knew what kind of man he really was.

"Fine.” She bit out.

The cute little smirk was back on her face. Her nose was tilted up to the air, and she was sitting straight as a board. Jack knew he was in it. He just didn't know how deep.

Bethany marched into the ladies’ room, handled business, and marched back to his truck. He reluctantly took his turn in the men's room. When he came back, her rump was hanging half out of the backseat of the truck. Her flip-flop sandals were on the pavement. She seemed to be digging for something in the bags.

As he reached past to help her, she jumped and screamed.

"It's okay.” He stroked her back and tried not to laugh as she bumped her head on the roof of the truck. “What did you need out of here? I'll pull it out."

"Everything!” She wiggled past him and out of the truck. “I'm leaving."

"I was afraid you might say that.” Jack shut the backdoor, leaving the bags inside. He leaned against the truck and crossed his arms then his legs. She slid the shoes back on her feet, and he took note of the bright pink nail polish and how cute her toes were. Good Lord, he was getting a foot fetish! “You're not leaving me. We had a deal."

"Well, you broke it.” Bethany pointed at him. She was pouting one minute and ready to attack the next.

"How?” He clenched his jaw and tried not to get mad. He had no idea she would react this way. He was explaining how he thought his old girlfriend would be a good friend and not try to rook him. He was wrong.

"You loved her. You probably still love her. You were going to marry her for real. That's not a bad relationship, Jack. Love's not something you walk away from. It's..."

He could not take it any longer. She was really pissing him off, but more than pissing him off, she was turning him on. She was jealous, and no woman had ever been so sincere about it. He did not love Christina, not since high school, and even then it was puppy love. Bethany mistook his intentions, and she was mad. They were making a scene in the parking lot, and he had to shut her up.

He lifted her off the truck, grabbed her face, and kissed her mid rant. He ate the words right out of her mouth. Her hands moved to his chest to push him away, but they ended up grabbing his T-shirt and pulling him closer instead. Once Bethany whimpered, he knew it was safe to let her up for air.

"It doesn't change anything,” she said with the weakest protest he had ever heard.

"You changed everything. I didn't love her. I couldn't be with you like this if I did.” He kissed the top of her nose and opened the front door. What had his grandfather gotten him into? “Well?"

Bethany tried for her air of indifference, but it was lacking since she was now all warm and fuzzy from his kiss. “Well, I don't want to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere."