Page 23 of The Rancher’s One and Only

Before she could protest, Jax took all of her things, put them in a bag, and hefted it all into his arms. “You don’t have to carry my things.”

“Sure I do. I’m physical.”

He was being silly, she knew, but the truth was, he was muscular, and very tall.

“Bye,” she said to everyone as she followed Jax out to the porch. “How tall are you?”

He looked at her, and he barely missed a beat. “Six-four.”

“That’s very tall.”

“It is kind of tall, yes.”

“Is that why you got into fighting?”

“No. I got into fighting because I needed to do something with my energy. But the side effect of that is you learn to control your energy and anger. It makes you less violent to learn martial arts.”

“Oh. Why is that?”

“It’s about control. I was a kid that was very much out of control. I found it through that discipline. I think anytime you care about something, anytime you put focus and practice into it, it gives you something else to live for. Gives you reasons not to give in to the animal inside you.”

She frowned. “Maybe that’s my problem. I’ve never even come close to the animal inside me because I’ve been focused my whole life.”

“I think you probably have a little animal inside you,” he said.

“Do you?”

“Primordial possum?”

She wrinkled her nose. “That really is a little animal.”

“You like little animals.”

He smiled at her, and it made her heart do something. It was physical. It actually made her heart do something. Jump, leap against her rib cage. How had he done that?

“Well, I don’t know if I want that to be my representation. Considering it’s not very threatening.” She got into his truck, and he got into the driver’s side, handing her the bag of groceries, which she put on her lap.

“Did you want to be threatening?”

“I would think the point of an animal inside you is that it’s…well, animalistic.”

“Woodchuck. Gopher. Groundhog.”

“Why?” She slid her tongue over her teeth. And had a terrible realization. “You think I have rodent teeth.”

“I don’t,” he said. “I mean, I do a little. But they’re cute.”

Cute. Cute? A rush of heat swept over her.

“Oh. Well. I… I don’t know what to say to that.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you lost for words even one time since I’ve ever met you, so I’ll take that as a rare victory of sorts.”

She couldn’t even be mad at him, she supposed. She said strange and forthright things all the time, and just because the forthright thing he said didn’t feel all that flattering didn’t mean she could suddenly hold him to a different standard than she held herself. Probably.

It was annoying, though.

It was a very short drive to her car, and she got out of the truck, still clutching the grocery bag. “Well…thanks. For pizza.”