Country's lip twitched. "My balls are conjoining with my spleen. I'm going to warm up unless you need anything else?"
Polk stripped off his gloves. "Only an explanation for why you were with Jenna last night."
Country flipped him the bird as best he could with his gloves still on, then turned and stalked to his truck. When he got home, he rounded the house to the back door and walked into the boot room. Licorice jumped up, wagging his tail and trying to reach high enough to lick his face. Polk had let him in while Country was at GCBN.
Country laughed and let the dog out, then filled his food bowl and retreated back into the house. He stripped off his frozen, muddy clothes and dropped them in a pile on the floor. He'd let them thaw, then soak and wash them later. It was Sunday, which meant he had brunch and then the team Sunday Supper, but he didn't feel up to either. His head felt thick, and his toes and fingers were numb as he stalked into the bathroom and turned the shower on hot. Once it got up to temperature, he stepped in and cringed as the steaming water streamed over his frozen extremities.
He stayed under the spray until his skin was flushed, and he no longer felt like his bones had just come out of the freezer, then towelled off and threw on joggers and a long-sleeve cotton shirt. Then he crawled into bed, pulled the quilt up to his chin, and closed his eyes.
_____
Jenna stirred as sunlight broke through the gaps in the blinds, creating stripes of gold on her comforter. She rolled over and reached out to the other side of the bed before she remembered why she was sleeping on the opposite side of the mattress.
Gentry. He'd been there the night before.
Jenna shot up, then held a hand to her head and waited for it to stop spinning. When it did, she opened her eyes and scanned the room. The bed was empty, and the bathroom door was open, just as it had been the night before. The Coke was still sitting on the nightstand, and?—
Jenna crawled across the mattress and picked up the piece of paper sitting there.
Jens, pipe burst at the ranch. Had to help Polk. Sorry to leave without saying goodbye.
- C
She reread the note three times before setting it back on the nightstand. She didn't know what she wanted it to say, but it wasn't that. Jenna slumped back into her pillows, folding her arms around herself. He'd come over and brought her a Coke. He'd lain next to her and run his hands over her skin. Her pulse quickened as she remembered their conversation. I did that to you. There are a lot of big things, though, Jens.
Jenna knew exactly what he was trying to say because she'd struggled to find words for those sentiments for years after their breakup. I still love you. I still want you. I know that's not good enough.
Knowing why she left wasn't enough to make them right for each other. That at least brought her comfort. Even if she had gone to Gentry and told him everything, it still wouldn't have changed the last thirteen years. Maybe they would've suffered less. Perhaps they would've suffered more.
Jenna's stomach grumbled for the first time in three days, and she grabbed the room-temperature Coke from the nightstand. It was watered down, but it was something. She took a long drink, then forced herself out of bed and down the stairs, gripping tightly to the railing. After eating a bowl of cereal, then scrambling two eggs because she was already hungry again, Jenna threw her dishes in the sink and struggled back up the stairs to shower.
She rechecked her phone, hoping to see a text from Country, but only had two notifications from work. Kessler, of all people, had texted to ask how she was. She sent back a quick note saying she was fine and she'd be tackling her backlog of work that afternoon, then hopped under the hot water.
Jenna worked all afternoon from her couch, eating enough between the hours of three and five to make up for at least three of her missed meals. When she got up to go to the bathroom, she didn't feel dizzy. When she returned to see Country's name scrolling across the screen of her phone, she almost passed out. She dropped back onto the couch cushion and fumbled to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hey. You doing okay this evening?”
"Yeah, thank you so much for last—I mean, for the Coke and . . ." She trailed off. For sleeping with me? Her heart thumped like helicopter blades, and she couldn't say the words out loud. "How's the pipe?"
"Fixed."
"That's good. Was it inside the house?" Jenna fiddled with the edge of the throw blanket.
"No, next to the barn."
"That must've been freezing."
"I took a hot shower."
A flush crept to her cheeks imagining Country dirty and sweaty from working in the barn standing under a shower head sprayer. She cleared her throat. "Good. You're warmed up then?" Jenna slapped a hand to her forehead. What kind of question was that?
Country's breath hit the speaker, and Jenna couldn't tell if it was a sigh or a laugh. "I have a story for you that might help with your job prospects. If you want it."
Her ears perked up. "What kind of story?"
"Jack, the new winger Sean signed to our team, just got called up to play for the Flames."
