He was there. And she wanted.
It couldn’t be.
But then the light went on in those eyes, and even she could recognize the expression there, because she’d eaten dinner with the man last night.
Hunger.
And she felt it. She felt an answering appetite low and deep.
He moved, and she didn’t know if it was toward her or away from her, because she dropped her shovel and ran out of the barn.
Ran.
Like the devil and all of hell was coming after her. Ran and didn’t look back. Ran past his truck, through the fence, and out into the middle of the field. She stopped, panting, her forehead damp with sweat. She planted her hands on her knees, and only then did she realize what she’d done.
She had run from him.
He must think she was insane. She was acting insane. Except...
Why?
The word was more a groan in her soul than a real, actual word. A deep, enduring sadness that made her feel like she might be crushed with it.
It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair. How in all the world was he...
The one man, the only man, that she had ever felt this for?
She was sick. There was something wrong with her.
You always knew there was something wrong with you.
Yes, but she hadn’t thought this.
She made a rough sound of distress. Out loud, and she didn’t care if it carried all the way back to the barn. She couldn’t care.
She looked around suddenly, wildly, to see if he was behind her. He wasn’t.
Why was this happening to her? She had thought she had finally been on her way to finding her place. She had been resolute in winning over Jackson, in getting to know him so she could approach him about their potential connection...
And what if he had been moving toward her? What if he had been about to kiss her?
Well, then everything was ruined. Absolutely everything.
Cricket wasn’t one to cry. She wasn’t one to give in to despair. But she wanted to now. Yes, she did. She wanted to now because she had thought she’d found a way out. She had thought she’d found a way to change her life. To change everything. But she hadn’t. She was just weird, awkward Cricket, who would never find a place that felt comfortable.
Because this certainly wasn’t comfortable. This was an abomination.
And you’re not a baby. You’re going to figure out how to face him, apologize and get your head on straight.
Yes, but she couldn’t face him now. So she spent about an hour picking through the field and ignoring the fact that she was going to have to face him eventually. And when she finally went back to the barn, his truck was gone, and so was he.
And it left Cricket to wonder if she had hallucinated the whole thing.
Four
Jackson had decided to go to town to get some things for the ranch, and check on his own spread. Anyway, a drive to town was good for a little bit of self castigation. Obviously, he had terrified Cricket earlier when he’d moved in on her. He could pretend that he hadn’t been about to kiss her. But he had been. And he knew better. Earlier, he had decided that he wouldn’t. But for a minute there, she had seemed like she wanted him to, and his reasoning had gotten lost.
He hadn’t felt like an ass for having ulterior motives for agreeing to the bet, knowing he’d lose. Knowing it would put him in a prime position to convince her to sell. Until now.
Because one thing he wouldn’t do was get into a personal relationship with her while trying to get her land.
That was a step too far.
He had thought about going after her, but he had figured it would only create more problems. She had run for a reason, after all. It was pretty clear she didn’t want him to go after her.
Now, of all the reactions he’d had from women he’d made a move on, running full tilt the other direction wasn’t one of them. Sure, sometimes they might decide they weren’t into it, and then all it took was a simple no thanks. He wasn’t a man to push himself on anyone. And anyway, he didn’t have to.
But Cricket had run like he might. And that made him wonder things about her. And he didn’t want to wonder about her. Not any more than he already did.
He also figured that while he was out, he should go and check in on his father. Honey still lived at the ranch, and he knew she took on a fair amount of responsibility. Probably more than she should. It suited him that she was relatively sheltered, he had to admit.
And that got him right back into guilty thoughts and feelings about Cricket. She and Honey were roughly the same age. And if a man his age made a move on Honey, she wouldn’t be the one running away. He would, with Jackson right after him.
He maneuvered his truck down the driveway, up to the winery show room. The place was no less grand to him now than it had been when he was a boy. It always would be. But he would also always picture his mother standing there, waiting with a smile. No matter how many years she was gone, that’s what he would see.
But she wasn’t there. It was Honey.
“What brings you around?” his sister asked, pushing the door open to the tasting room. “Aren’t you in indentured servitude to Cricket Maxfield currently?”
“Currently.”
“Honestly, I’m glad you lost the bet. I can’t imagine having her working the tasting room.”
“What do you have against Cricket?”
Honey shrugged. “I just don’t really know her. Anyway, she’s not all that friendly.”
He frowned. “She’s not particularly unfriendly.”
“I don’t know. She’s weird. Don’t you think?”
He thought about all the things Cricket had said. About feeling out of place. And that his sister’s take, that she was weird, made him feel...
Sorry for her, he supposed.
“That’s not a very nice thing to say.”
“Since when do you care?”
“I don’t.”
“You must, a little.”
He shrugged. “She’s a nice kid. Anyway, I feel bad for all of them.”
“Maybe someday I’ll get there. I still can’t believe Creed married Wren.”
“You like Wren.”
“I know. But... Isn’t it weird? Switching allegiance like that.”
“The problem was James.”
“I don’t know. I think it’s deeper than that. Dad really...”