Page 53 of Our Sweet Destiny
“Yeah, because you reeled me into your devious world,” he said.
She knew he was teasing, but she had no idea how to respond. Had he not wanted to do it? Had he not enjoyed it? What was he telling her? Instead of asking, she held her breath, contemplating how to respond.
“Don’t get me wrong. I want to be in your devious world.” He ran his hands beneath her hair at her temples and pulled it from her face, then held on tight, so her neck craned back and her chin tilted up. “I’m a thirty-four-year-old man you are turning into a seventeen-year-old bundle of hormones. I barely lived through those agonizing years. How am I going to live through this, with you so…?” He raked his eyes down her body. “Supple and frisky?”
She wiggled out of his grasp and snuggled into his chest. “I think you’ll figure it out.”
They sat in the grass, side by side, beneath the moonlight.
“I had dinner with my brothers and Savannah tonight, and all I could think about was how much I wanted you there,” he said.
“I came by.”
“I know. I saw you riding away on Flame. How’s his leg?”
She loved that he remembered to ask about Flame, but she loved even more that he’d wanted her there with him when he was with his family.
“He’s good. Better, actually.”
“I told Josh and Savannah about us. Dane and Hugh weren’t there, but I would have told them, too, if they’d been there. I just haven’t figured out how to tell my father.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You told them? I thought you told me not to tell anyone. You said—”
“I know what I said, but Treat already knew, and they’re always there for me. I figured they’d ride me about not being loyal to the family a bit, but instead they supported me. They supportedus.”
Jade blinked away tears. She laced her hand into his and wondered what his family had said to him, if they thought he was crazy, falling for a Johnson.
“So, what now?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I need to figure out a way to get through to my father about the feud, but I still don’t really understand what happened. He’s pretty tight-lipped about it all, so it’s hard to decipher what really went on.”
Rex leaned his arms on his knees, and she put her head against his side.
“All I know is that there was some kind of a deal that went bad, but I got the feeling that it didn’t have to do with the land at all, that the land was just a product of whatever the other thing was. I can ask my mom, but I’m not sure my dad is being honest with her about things. He says he’s downsizing so that if anything happens to him, she won’t have as much land to look after, but she thinks they’re doing it for financial reasons. I don’t know what to believe.”
He kissed the side of her forehead. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out, and if we don’t, then we have some decisions to make.”
She pulled back from him. “What do you mean?”
“The way I see it, if we can’t get past this with them, then we have to decide if we stay here in Weston and build a life together and hope they come around, or move out of town to escape their scrutiny.” He shrugged.
Jade was at that point. Actually, if she’d been more in tune with her heart and less dedicated to her studies, she would have realized it long ago about herself—but she hadn’t been sure that Rex was thinking that far into their future.
“You’re thinking about our future.” She wasn’t asking, just stating a fact.
“Shouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t want you to do anything to drive a wedge between yourself and your family, but selfishly, I don’t want to live without you, either.” She gathered her courage and told him the truth of what she’d been debating. “Before tonight, I was playing with the idea that maybe I should move away so you can live your life with your family without the weight of me around your neck. I have to find a place to live any—”
Rex shot to his feet. “You were going to leave? Just like that? Jade…”
The hurt in his voice was palpable.
She rose to her feet. “No, I wasn’t going to leave just like that. I was just thinking through what was the smartest thing to do. I know how close you and your family are, and I don’t want to be the one to ruin that for you.”
He pulled her closer, searching her eyes with his. “The only way my life could be ruined would be if you weren’t in it. But if you would be happier without me, I’m a big boy. I can understand not wanting to battle your family for a man.”
“No,” she said quickly. “That’s not what I want at all. I want to be with you. I just hate the hiding, the lying, the inability to pick up the freaking phone and call you.”
