“How many beers have you got?” she asked.
“Two cases of the regular stuff we like, and a six-pack of Jack Daniel’s Watermelon that I picked up when I came through Sherman on the way home.” He crossed the room and found the folding table right where she said it would be. He popped it up in the middle of the living area and stretched out with his face in the hole on one end.
She brought a bottle of unscented lotion from the bedroom and squirted some into her hands. “That might be enough to pay for tonight’s session, but if you want to book another one in a week, you better make a beer run for another six-pack of that JD Watermelon. I like it a lot, and we can’t get it except at liquor stores,” she teased as she began a deep massage on his neck.
“Oh, honey, I’ll buy a case next time for a massage like this,” Jesse groaned.
“You’ve had massages before, haven’t you?” She filled her hands again with lotion and started on his shoulders.
“Only one, and that was two years ago. We’d come in from a tense, ten-day mission and every muscle in my body ached. The doctor on post suggested a massage rather than pain pills. He was right,” Jesse said. “You could make big bucks in this area doing this kind of thing.”
“I don’t need the money, and I’m already committed to being a full-time nurse, part-time ranch hand for Sonny, and a helper for Pearl. Don’t have the time or the inclination,” she told him.
“That means I get you all to myself. Oh, darlin’, right there, that feels so good,” Jesse said.
“I hope this place isn’t bugged. Can you imagine the rumors if Lylah O’Malley overheard what you just said?” Addy giggled.
“Don’t even mention that woman to me,” Jesse growled. “I might not have known about Mia until a few days ago, but she’s mine, and just the thought of Lylah’s son talking her into leaving with him makes me—”
“Tie up in knots,” Addy finished for him. “I can feel it in your shoulder muscles.”
“She caused trouble between us in high school,” Jesse reminded her.
Addy moved down to his sides. “I’d forgotten about that.”
“I’ll never forget it,” Jesse declared. “Those two days were horrible. We didn’t talk, and I was so lonesome for you that I couldn’t even eat. How could you ever forget?”
“I guess I just packed it away and shut the lid on it, but I remember confronting her about the whole thing. She threatened to whip my ass, and I told her to bring her lunch because it would take all day. The whole thing was something over the Student Council election, right?” Addy asked.
“She said that the reason I won over her was that you counted the ballots wrong, and that I paid you to do it. When I stepped down, you got mad and said she was getting her way, and it made me look guilty. I just wanted to protect you,” he said.
Addy moved slowly back up to his neck. “I knew that, but I didn’t need protecting, Jesse. I still don’t. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me. Guys want a pretty little rose, like Mia said, who they can watch over. They don’t want a sassy, independent woman who can take care of herself.”
“Not me,” Jesse said. “I want a woman who loves me for me and who doesn’t see a hunky, retired military guy who can field dress wounds.”
She slapped him on the shoulder. “Your ego is showing.”
“Downright sexy, ain’t it?” he teased.
“Yep, and now, your thirty minutes are up, so roll over and put your shirt on before I start hiring you out as a male escort,” she told him.
“Will you be my first customer?” he asked as he pulled the shirt over his head.
“Nope. I got a baby when I slept with you the last time. Now, put the table away while I wash my hands and then drink the rest of my beer,” she told him.
“Even though she’s ornery, sassy, and willful, you wouldn’t take a million bucks for her.” Jesse broke down the table and put it away. “Thanks for the massage. That was wonderful. I’ll sleep really well tonight.”
He sank down on the sofa, picked up his beer, and downed the rest of it even if it was warm. “Want another one?” he asked as he got up and headed to the kitchen.
“Yep, one of those JD things,” she answered.
Jesse took two from the fridge and twisted the tops off both before he took them to the living area. He handed one to her and then sat down again. “I really like living out here rather than in the house. It gives me privacy, something I haven’t ever had before. Cody had gone to college when I left for the Air Force, but Lucas and I were still home, and I’ve lived in barracks ever since then.”
“Why didn’t you get an apartment?” she asked.
“Seemed like a waste of money since I would hardly ever be there. Mostly, I was on one mission after another. There’s never any rest for a combat medic. Sometimes, I would be in the field six months at a time, and sometimes, for just a few days, but I was never home more than a week at a time,” he answered.
“Do you ever have nightmares about the missions?” she asked.
“Not very often. I was fortunate. We only lost one team member, and that was more than ten years ago. He got shot all to hell, and I couldn’t patch him up enough to get him back to base. We were over there in the sand box, and he died on the way back. I blamed myself, drank too much, and pretty much fell apart. My captain refused to let me go back out with the guys until I had some therapy.” He was telling her things that only his teammates knew, but then he’d always been able to talk to her.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you during the rough times,” she whispered.
He held his bottle over toward her. The two of them made a clinking noise when they tapped them together. “I could say the same thing, but the two of us are back together now.”
“Yes, we are,” she said, “and on that note, it’s time for me to leave or else sleep on this sofa tonight. I’m emotionally drained from this day, but I want you to know I couldn’t have survived it without you.”
“This coming from the woman who doesn’t need protecting?” he teased.
“I still don’t, but I do need a friend to lean on occasionally,” she said.
“Give me time to get my boots on, and I’ll walk you up to the house,” he offered.
“Just to the door is good enough. I know the way home.” She smiled.
He stood up and offered her his hand. She downed the rest of her drink, set the empty on the table, and put her hand in his. “Quite the gentleman,” she said.
“I’m almost thirty-nine years old, but Mama would still take a switch to me if I was anything but a country gentleman.” He kept her hand in his all the way to the door. “Thanks again for the massage and for keeping me company this evening.”
“Thanks for the beers and for being here for me,” she said.
He tipped her chin up with his fist, looked deeply into her eyes, and kissed her—not a quick brotherly peck on the cheek or forehead, but a scorching hot one that told him that he had deep feelings for Addison Hall.
When the kiss ended, she took a step back and said, “Do you think that’s wise?”