Page 24 of Our Sweet Destiny
Chapter Fifteen
JADE STOMPED AND cursed through the day. She didn’t know if she was angrier at herself for saying they should just be friends in the first place, or at Rex, that ignorant, conceited, beefcake of a man, for agreeing with her. She’d allowed herself to instantly forget her offer and acceptance of their friend status in the space of one five-second leer. What was wrong with her? She was swept up in the hope of something more with a man who didn’t know how to give it. She was done hoping, and trying, and wanting anything more from Rex Braden.
She slammed the plates on the dining room table and was setting the glasses out when her father came into the room.
“What’s got your sugar in a state, darlin’?” he asked as he kissed her cheek.
“Nothing. I’m just having a rotten day.”Month, year…life.
“One of your customer’s animals doing poorly?” He took a bite out of the cornbread her mother had made earlier that morning for Steve’s visit. Cornbread was his favorite, and Jade guessed that with the news they were about to unload on him, her mother was doing all she could to try to butter him up. He worked as a park ranger in Preston, Colorado, just outside of Allure. Steve was two years older than Jade, and although they got along well and she really enjoyed his company, with his schedule, they didn’t get together as often as she would have liked.
She touched her father’s arm. “Dad, that’s for Steve. You know Mom will give you the evil eye for digging in before he gets here.”
He grinned, licking the crumbs from his lips. “Your mother can give me anything she wants. I lived here well before Steven came along.” He laughed at his joke, sitting down at the head of the table. “Tell me about your rotten day, darlin’.”
She flopped into a chair and blew out a breath.I love to be touched by a Braden boy. I love to hear his voice, and I even love to argue with him.“Oh, you know, same stuff, different day. I’ve gotta make some decisions, and I just can’t seem to get my head in the game enough to focus.”
“Tell me what you’re thinking. Maybe I can help.”
Her father could be an excellent listener when he wanted to, and the way he rested his forearms on the table and set his wide jaw, causing his jowls to jiggle, made her want to curl up in his lap like she had as a little girl, just to hear him say,Everything will be just fine, darlin’. You just let Daddy take care of this one.Only now she knew, not only could her father not take care of this one, but he was the reason she couldn’t take care of it herself.
“Daddy, I’m a grown woman living in her parents’ house. I haven’t reopened a practice, and I really don’t know if I want to do that, officially—I mean, with an office and all—or if I want to continue doing what I’m doing. I don’t know where I want to live—”
Her father held up his hand. “Hold up there, Jade. What do you mean where you want to live? You’re not considering going back to Oklahoma, are you? Because as your father, I will stand between you and that decision no matter how old you are. That man is behind you. Leave it that way.”
She smiled at his protective nature. “I know. I’m not considering Oklahoma, but there are a million cities out there, a million states. I just don’t know if Weston is the right place to put down roots. It’s so…small.”I’m lonely, and if I stay here I’ll only ever want to be with Rex. And I can’t. And I hate it. And I want to go back to bed and not come out until I’m old and gray and so senile I can’t remember him.
Her father leaned back and crossed his hands over his protruding belly, nodding his head. “That all makes sense. But, Jade, you’re an intelligent, well-educated woman. You know that in bigger cities it will be harder to carve a niche out for yourself without contacts and referrals. Why, the community here might be small, but they welcomed you back with open arms. You could have a bigger practice than you ever hoped for.”
Thinking of open arms, her mind danced around Rex again.And luscious lips.“You’re right, and I’m very thankful. But, Dad.” She shook her head. How could she tell her father what she was really feeling?
“There’s the most beautiful girl in Weston.”
Jade sprang to her feet. “Steve!” She wrapped her arms around her handsome brother. “I’ve missed you.” She tousled his dark hair. “Are you going for the shaggy look? Look how long your hair is.”
“Yeah, well, when you live in the woods, you tend to forgo the barbershop.” He cracked a wide smile, revealing his slightly crooked, pearly whites.
She hadn’t realized how much she missed his positive energy.
“I like it. It suits you, gives you a…” She spread her fingers wide and washed circles in the air with them. “An artsy, or rather, a hot mountain-man, look. Meet any sweet woodsy chicks lately?”
“Pfft. Women and their nails and hair.” He laughed. “As soon as they hear what I do for a living, they’re usually off to find the next rancher or business owner.” Steve would never earn much as a park ranger, but he enjoyed wildlife too much to ever do anything else. The idea of being cooped up in an office, or even on his father’s ranch, would have been too stifling for him. He was most at home in the wilderness.
“Someone will come along.” Jade began to wonder why so many Weston men remained single into their thirties.Then again, she thought,I’m no spring chicken either.
“Did I hear Steven?” Her mother’s smile lit up the room as she embraced him. “Let me look at you.” She put her hands on his shoulders with an appreciative nod. “As handsome as ever. Are you eating enough? Do you need anything for your cabin? I made a big lunch, so you can take home leftovers.”
“Ma, I’m fine, really,” he said. Steve kissed her cheek and joined Jade and their father at the table. “So, Pop, tell me why it was so urgent that I come down this weekend?”
Jade’s mother cast a glance at her. “Shall we eat first?” she asked.
Jade helped her mother bring the food to the table. She’d prepared a full meal to accompany the cornbread: roast beef, mashed potatoes, salad, and a bowl of cut-up fruit. All of Steve’s favorites.
They filled their plates, but Jade was suddenly too nervous to eat. She’d been thinking about the financial issues that her mother had mentioned, but somehow, sitting down and talking to her father about them would make them real. She scooped a bit of fruit onto her plate and reached for the cornbread.
Steve smacked her hand. “Release the deliciousness.”
She stuck out her tongue at him and took the biggest piece.
