His words took the wind out of her sails, just when she was going to launch another verbal volley. They were only two simple words, yet she knew that, for this new version of Jake McBride, they were two of the hardest to say, just as coming on her property to say them hadn’t been easy either.
“Okay,” Branna said, and saw the flash of relief cross his face that she was not going to challenge him further.
“Hey there, Mikey, how’s it with you?” Jake lowered his head to look at the boy, the intent expression changing. His smile was genuine, as was the soft look in his eye as he looked at the child.
“Real good, Jake. We’re going to get ice cream.”
“Nice day for an ice cream, it has to be said.” He kept smiling, one of those slow ones that made the recipient’s, who unfortunately was Branna, insides turn to liquid by the time it reached his eyes. It was especially potent because she knew they were rare these days. It seemed Jake McBride still had some of the boy inside him, if only for a child.
“The apologies are done with, so you can leave now, McBride.” Branna had always found that confrontation was the best way to deal with attraction or any kind of intense emotion, and as she was feeling a little vulnerable after her crying jag with Mikey, she thought defense was what she needed right now.
“You should try a simple hello, Rosebud. It’s how we do things in the US of A.”
His drawl was deliberate, as were the eyes he ran over her face and down her neck. Heat trickled over her body and landed right between her thighs, but she ignored it. Her body may betray her when he was near, but her head would remain clear and her expression calm.
“Hello. Now go away. Mikey and I have places to go.”
“You see, now there’s where the problem starts for me, Rosebud.”
Branna pushed her spine back into the seat as he braced himself on the roof and leaned his head further in the window. God, she could smell him now, that sexy man scent of outdoors, sweat, and the bite of citrus, which she thought may be coming from his hair.
“Wh-what problem?” Branna cleared her throat as his smile grew wider, and she wanted to close his head in the window to wipe it off. Turning away, she stared at the steering wheel instead.
“This is a stick shift, and you have an injured wrist that currently is in a sling, which I’m glad to see you had the sense to wear. So, to my way of thinking, that rules you out of driving.”
“Then we’ll take my van. It’s automatic,” Branna said.
“Now, that would be a shame, seeing as you’re both ready to go, seated right here as you are.”
“We can take it out when I get better, McBride.” Branna looked at him again and saw the spark of humor in his dark eyes, even though his face was still serious.
“Tell you what. I’ll do you both a favor, seeing as Mikey has his heart set on taking Geraldine out. You shift your cute little butt over, Rosebud. Mikey, you climb in the back, and I’ll drive you both into town for that ice cream.” Jake opened the door as he spoke. “It’ll be a sacrifice, as my day is full, but for friends, that’s what you do, make sacrifices.”
Some may be fooled by that innocent face, but Branna was not one of them.
“Gee, Jake, that’s real good of you,” Mikey said.
“You’re not really falling for that line of bull, are you?” She looked at the boy, who had done as Jake asked and climbed into the backseat.
“Jake’s one of the good guys. Georgie told me he was.”
“She was usually such an astute judge of character. Still, we all make mistakes one time or other,” Branna said these words softly, but Jake heard them, because he snorted.
“Said if I’m in trouble to go to him, even if he looks angry, which she said you do a bit these days, Jake, no offense,” Mikey added.
“None taken.”
“And that I could count on him.”
She looked out the side of her eye and saw Jake’s jaw clench then release after Mikey had finished speaking.
“She’s right, Mikey. If you need me, you only got to holler.”
“Well, now that this touching moment has come to a close, you can take your offer and—”
“Come on, Rosebud, stop being difficult and move over so I can get in.” This time, he pleaded, looking like a small boy who was about to touch his favorite toy for the first time.
“I wanted to be the one to drive it.” Branna hadn’t meant the words to sound whiny, but knew they did.
