Hang Tough(93)

“I appreciate that. And I’ll hold off on setting up an interview time until we both have more information.”

He paused. “What else?”

Renner sighed. “It may be in order for you to have the life you want—stability and challenge—you’ll have to wear a bunch of different hats. If you’re workin’ cattle as a ranch hand, that’s not to say you can’t be doin’ stuff in the lab in Casper too. You’ve been an integral part of this operation. I couldn’t have built it into what it is now without you. This was supposed to be a temporary stop in your life while you waited for something better to come along. I understand you wanting to use them fancy degrees you worked so hard to earn. But if you really hated ranching? You wouldn’t have stayed here this long.”

“Amen, brother,” Tobin said softly. He’d been thinking along those lines too.

“Now that I’ve said my piece . . . damn my throat hurts.” He smirked. “I’m goin’ home. And bein’ a husband and a father? That’s who I am—who I’ve always wanted to be, and at the end of the day those are the only things that matter.” He walked out.

Tobin didn’t move for the longest time. He just closed his eyes, leaned back, and let it sink in.



Jade wasn’t waiting on the porch when he pulled up.

Disappointment dogged him. He’d gotten used to that. He climbed the porch steps. No scent of supper cooking wafting out the windows either.

But then he heard it.

Music.

He paused to take his boots off and heard her stop and start the same progression of notes. Her dedication amazed him. Moved him.

Although he’d been hot and dusty all day and needed a shower, he’d wait. He’d rather listen. After he whipped off his shirt and ditched his jeans, he sank into the easy chair and closed his eyes.

Something inside him shifted gears completely when he heard her play. It sounded sappy as hell but through her playing he had an entirely different connection to music. It seemed vibrant. Alive. Hauntingly heartbreaking. Playful. Majestic.

Tobin didn’t mind when she played the same section over and over. He couldn’t tell if the notes or the tone or the rhythm was improving; he wasn’t sure if any of that had been her objective. He just waited for that moment when she played something that made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. That made it difficult to breathe. That suspended moment . . . almost exactly like right before he came.

Every piece had a climactic point. Some were slow buildups—just like sex. Some were fast and furious—just like sex. Some were there and gone so fleetingly you looked around wondering if you’d missed it somehow. He suspected Jade wouldn’t enjoy the orgasm and musical climax comparison so he’d kept that observation to himself.

She’d drilled herself on the runs a dozen times before she moved on to chords.

Dissonant chords.

He loved these. He’d felt completely uneducated last week when he’d called these progressions chords. Jade, the wonder violinist, had gone into a long-winded explanation about partitas as techniques. The sassy woman had no idea how hard her musical instruction made him. So he’d had no choice but to show her. Twice.

The music stopped abruptly and he heard her make a strangled groan and smack her bow on the strings a few times.

Yeah. Her temper made him hard too.

Pretty much everything about her made him hard.

The door slammed open.

Bare feet slapped down the hallway. Words were muttered. The footsteps stopped, as did the feet. “Tobin?”

He opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Hey.”

She squinted at the grandfather clock. “Omigod. It’s after five thirty! Why didn’t you knock on the door?”

“I knew you’d have to come out sooner or later.”

Jade’s gaze homed in on him—specifically that he wore a sleeveless T-shirt and boxer briefs. “How long have you been out there waiting for me?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t keeping track.”

“But . . . you’re probably starved.”

“I’m good.” Tobin held out his hand. “But I’d take a kiss or ten if you’re offering.”

She crawled onto his lap and popped the footrest on the recliner so his body was almost horizontal. Then she fused her mouth to his. Feeding him kiss after kiss. Then backing off. Nipping on his lips. Gifting him with soft smooches. Gliding her tongue across the upper and lower bow of his lips, teasing the seam until he smiled.

Jade smiled back. “Hey.”

Tobin swept his hands down the middle of her back to cup her ass. Then he trailed his hand back up. “Did you have a good day?”