Page 53 of The Rancher’s One and Only

He lingered for a while, but there was no way he could avoid going back to the house without arousing suspicion, and anyway, they’d used the one condom they had. Though he made it abundantly clear that he would’ve been happy to stay even without more sex, which was very nice of him.

When he did leave, Ernestine tried not to feel sad.

She lay back on the bed, and stared up at that glass ceiling, straight through to the stars in the sky. “I’m not a virgin anymore.”

She had done a great many things early in her life. This one thing had been done a little bit late. But it had been worth the wait.

Chapter Ten

“We’ve got tents coming.”

“Cool,” said Dakota. “It’s been a while since I pitched a tent.”

Rowdy laughed. “It is a desert experience out here, I’ll tell you that.”

Jax didn’t say anything, because what could he say? It had not been a long time since he’d pitched a tent, so to speak, nor had it been a long time since he’d gotten satisfaction from it. But he didn’t think he ought to bring that up.

Dakota and Rowdy were both looking at him; he could feel it. “Well, are we going to work on the tents today or not?” he asked.

“We certainly can,” Rowdy said.

He and Ernestine had slept together three days earlier. She had been digging exhaustively since then, and he hadn’t wanted to push the idea of coming over. It was weird to have any space from her, because he’d barely had any at all since she had first come to the ranch, and it was even weirder to give her space after sex, but he was very conscious of the fact that it was her first time. Also, Ernestine was bold. If she wanted something to be different, she would probably show up on his doorstep and say so.

“Yeah,” Dakota said. “But I think you’re withholding information.”

“All information is not edifying for you to possess,” he said.

“You got laid,” Rowdy said.

“I did, Rowdy, but a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.” At this point, being cagey about it wasn’t going to help anything.

He felt hard eyes on the side of his head. “What?” he asked, turning to look at Rowdy.

“You would tell me if it was…”

“Who?”

All he could think of was Ernestine.

“Jessica is my best friend,” he said. “With the exception of you two idiots. And considering you’re brothers, I feel like I don’t actually have to put you in the same category.”

“You honestly think that I would sleep with Jessica? No. That’s ridiculous.”

“Why is it ridiculous? She’s beautiful.”

“She is beautiful,” he said. “But she’s your friend. She’s—”

He didn’t want to say it, but the truth of the matter was they were so close, so tangled around each other’s lives that it was often difficult for him to believe that they were platonic. Even though they gave every indication of being. And Rowdy had said so, several times.

“I’m not crass enough to do that,” Jax said.

“All right. I’m not saying you can’t. Obviously she can do whatever she wants, and things have been difficult for her since the accident. Her self-esteem really took a hit. That’s the thing.”

“Oh, that’s the thing,” Dakota said. Rowdy shot him a deadly glare. “Am I allowed to sleep with her?” Dakota asked.

“Not you,” he said.

“Excuse me, what the hell?”