Cowboy Dreamin' (Thunder Creek Ranch Book 8) by Lorraine Nelson Page A

glad to help.”
    She passed Jack the other fifty.
    “What’s that for?” he asked.
    “Gas, helping. Take your pick.” He opened his mouth to refuse it, but a quick shake of her head and a silent motion toward Terry had him closing it again.
    He gave a brief nod. “Thanks. The tank is getting a little low.”
    Terry cleared his throat and got their attention.
    “I’m taking off now. I hope you’ll be happy here. If you ever need anything else done, call me.”
    “I certainly will. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
    “I will. Bye now.”
    After Terry left, the silence became awkward—expectant—as if something special was about to happen.
    “Well, I’ll leave you to get settled in. If you need anything, holler. Otherwise, I’ll see you on Monday.”
    “Oh. All right. See you then.”
    She walked him to the door and out onto the patio. “Drive safe.” Then, before she knew what was happening, he took her in his arms and looked into her eyes.
    “I’ve been wanting to hold you all day.”
    “Yeah, well, we’ve been kind of busy,” she said, her hands resting against his chest. She could feel his muscles through the t-shirt he wore.
    “Uh-huh. And we had company.” His hands came up to tangle in her hair, now loose and disheveled from moving and unpacking.
    “True.”
    He lowered his head, slowly, ever so slowly, giving her time to push away, she supposed. Instead, she reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss. And wow, what a kiss. The moment their lips met, passion exploded. She felt its impact from her head all the way to the tips of her toes. If he hadn’t been holding onto her, she’d be nothing but a puddle of heat at his feet. All too soon, he broke the kiss, and she strived to remain upright.
    “Until we meet again,” he said as he drew away, still holding her.
    What? Was he leaving? “Would you like to come back for dinner?” she asked, her voice sounding breathless to her own ears.
    “Not tonight. I ordered a few things for the ranch. Mom called earlier and told me they had arrived, so I need to get them set up. I’ll take a rain check, though.”
    “Anytime.” Damn. Why did she say that? It made her sound wanton.
    He gave her another quick kiss, a brief meeting of the lips, and then he was gone. She watched as he got into his truck and drove off. He hadn’t even once looked back. Had kissing her senseless meant so little to him? Maybe he was used to kissing and running away, but she felt bereft after he’d left. Allison struggled for a composure she didn’t feel and finally decided to finish her unpacking.

Chapter Five
     
    Jack relived that kiss the whole way home. He’d wanted to turn around and go back, finish what he’d started. Allison had started a fire within that he didn’t know how to deal with. Well, he knew, but wasn’t sure she was ready to take their friendship in that direction. Hell, he didn’t know if he was ready. Everything seemed to happen so fast. He needed time to think this through. His plans after graduation certainly hadn’t involved a relationship of any kind.
    He parked beside the house and went inside, half-expecting his mother to ply information from him with her questions, but neither she nor Lucas were home. He ran past a stack of boxes as he went upstairs where he grabbed a shower and changed into clean clothes. Then he went back down and carried all the boxes into the den. He figured it was high time someone brought the ranch into this millennium, and he was just the man to do it.
    Once everything was in the den, he opened boxes and set up the computer and printer on the big walnut desk his father had used. Then he installed the programs he’d bought. Jack smiled and thought of Allison when he got to the Simply Accounting package. His stomach growled, and he glanced at the clock on the mantle. Eight o’clock? Four hours just to unpack and hook up the equipment?
    He pushed back the chair to go rummage through the fridge for something to