Falling Hard (Colorado High Country #3)

  Jesse walked beside them, carrying their skis and boots. “Smart.”

  Ellie couldn’t help but feel drawn to him. It wasn’t just that he looked like every Colorado girl’s vision of heaven in that Ski Patrol parka. It was the fact that he cared about her. She’d seen the worry on his face when he’d burst through the door at the First Aid Center. He’d thought she was hurt, and once again he’d come to help her.

  “I don’t need to go to the ER,” Claire protested.

  “Stop being stubborn. I’m the registered nurse, so I get to make these decisions. Besides, Cedar is meeting us there.”

  Claire looked up at Jesse. “Do you see how she bullies me?”

  Jesse didn’t seem to know that Claire was joking. He kept his silence, the wariness on his face telling Ellie that he felt it unwise to wade into an argument between sisters.

  “We both rebelled against my father. I became a nurse instead of a doctor, and Claire went into woo-woo and became a massage therapist.”

  “Massage is not woo-woo.”

  Jesse glanced over at Ellie, caught the smile on her face, and the confusion on his faded. “Do you always tease each other like this?”

  “Yes,” they answered in unison.

  “What’s the point of having a much older sister if you can’t tease her once in a while?” Claire asked.

  “What?” Ellie feigned outrage. “I’m only eighteen months older.”

  They reached Claire’s SUV.

  “Now what?” Ellie unlocked the doors with the fob.

  Jesse opened the rear passenger side door. “Claire, it would be better if you rode in the back instead of up front. That way, you can keep your leg elevated.”

  Ellie nodded in agreement. “Good idea.”

  “Oookay.” Claire looked confused.

  “Why don’t you stand on your left leg? I’ll climb in from the other side, lift you onto the seat, and help you scoot backward. You can use the other door as a backrest. Ellie, can you support her injured leg?”

  “Absolutely.”

  With Ellie to steady her, Claire got to her feet—or her foot. “Now what?”

  “Stand with your back to the seat.” Ellie helped her get turned around.

  Meanwhile, Jesse climbed in from the other side and crawled across the bench seat toward them. “You ready?”

  “What am I doing?”

  “You’re not doing anything. I’m going to lift you into the vehicle.” Jesse caught her just beneath her breasts and lifted her backward onto the seat.

  The look on Claire’s face as he picked her up almost made Ellie laugh. And for a moment Ellie wished she were the one with the injured knee.

  “Got her leg, Ellie?”

  “Yep.”

  Jesse helped Claire scoot backward across the seat, then climbed out and shut the rear driver’s side door, giving Claire something to lean against.

  “Are you comfortable?” Ellie asked her sister.

  Claire mouthed, “Oh, my God! He’s got muscles!” Then she spoke aloud. “Yes.”

  Ellie turned to find herself looking into Jesse’s blue eyes, warmth skittering through her. “Well, that worked.”

  Damn, he was distracting.

  His lips quirked in a lopsided grin. “Sad to say, but I have a lot of experience putting injured people into vehicles.”

  Ellie was certain that was true. “Thanks so much for your help. You seem to be in the habit of rescuing my family members and me.”

  “Hey, don’t mention it. Can we, um, talk for a minute?”

  Ellie opened her mouth to answer, but Claire beat her to it.

  “Yes! Sure. Fine with me. The two of you need to talk.”

  Ellie glared at her sister and slammed the back car door shut. “Sure. What is it?”

  His brow furrowed, his expression going serious. “I was telling the truth when I said that I didn’t sign up for the first-aid tent to get closer to you. It was pretty much my only option, and Megs would have kicked my ass if I hadn’t signed up for something.”

  So he wanted to make her feel like an idiot again?

  She started to push past him.

  He caught her shoulders. “Would you let me finish?”

  She stepped back, arms crossed over her chest. “We need to get to the ER.”

  He drew a breath, then went on. “I asked you to lunch because I want to get to know you better. And, yes, when I saw that you were running the first-aid tent, I felt a hell of a lot better about signing on. I’m attracted to you, Ellie, and I think you’re attracted to me, too. Look at me and tell me that’s not true.”

  She stared up at him, stunned. “I … I …”

  When nothing else came out of her mouth, he lowered his head—and kissed her. It was just a fleeting kiss, the slightest brush of his lips over hers, but it robbed her lungs of breath and left her lips tingling.

  He stepped back, his pupils dark. “Call me.”

  Ellie watched him walk away, then climbed into the driver’s seat.

  “Well, well,” said Claire. “I’m almost glad I fell.”

  Jesse walked back to his locker, sat, and removed his ski boots, sure he’d lost his fucking mind.

  He had kissed Ellie.

  He hadn’t planned it. She’d stood there, looking up at him through panicked green eyes, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself. As kisses go, it had been tame—no tongue, no fingers in the hair, no breasts pressed against his chest. But damn …

  He’d kissed his share of women, but that little peck had rocked his world.

  In that moment, he’d forgotten the long list of reasons why he didn’t want to get involved with her—the twins, the fact that he’d known her husband, the baggage he’d brought back from the war.

  Okay, so that was only three reasons. But they were three very good reasons. He ought to write them down and memorize them because right now they didn’t seem nearly as important as kissing her again.

  Jesus! That right there proved it. He was losing his mind.

  And yet even as he yelled at himself, he couldn’t get truly angry. For the first time in what seemed a very long time, he was looking forward to something that wasn’t climbing or skiing. Of course, there was always the chance that she wouldn’t call.

  He shoved his boots in his locker, took off his parka, and hung it on its hook.

  Matt walked up behind him, a piece of paper in his hand. “Hey, Jesse, I made a few calls. Nate West, son of the owner of the Cimarron Ranch, says he’d be happy to team up for the skijoring event. He and his dad breed quarter horses. Here’s his number.”

  “I’ve heard of the Cimarron.” Jesse had been invited there for a trail ride once but hadn’t been able to make it. He took the number, tucked it in his pocket. “Thanks.”

  Ben sat down across from him. “I saw you kiss that hot little number in the parking lot. Who was she?”

  “Hot little number?” Jesse didn’t like hearing any man call Ellie that, but he didn’t get the chance to say so.

  Matt glared at him. “Hey, we’ve got rules about getting it on with guests.”

  “Wear protection!” shouted several patrollers in unison.

  “Damned straight.” Matt walked back to the dispatch desk, chuckling.

  “Who was she?” Ben wasn’t giving up.

  Jesse was torn between irritation and laughing at the kid’s persistence. Had he been this annoying in his early twenties? “That was my neighbor. Her sister fell and injured her knee. I was helping out.”

  “Interesting ‘helping’ technique.”

  Jesse shut his locker, slapped Ben on the shoulder. “Watch and learn, grasshopper. Watch and learn.”

  As it turned out, Claire had torn her anterior cruciate ligament and her meniscus. Based on the MRI results, Dr. Southcott recommended surgery. He discharged her from the ER with crutches, pain killers, and instructions to elevate and ice her knee until she could see a surgeon.

  Cedar drove Claire home in his vehicle, while
Ellie drove Claire’s Outback down the canyon to their home in Boulder. When Claire was inside, Cedar left Ellie to watch over her while he took off to get some Thai takeout.

  Ellie did her best to get Claire comfortable, helping her take a shower and put on her PJs, giving her a dose of pain meds, and settling her on the sofa in front of the TV with an ice bag and a cup of tea.

  “I’m so sorry, sis.” Ellie could see behind Claire’s cheery façade and knew she was in pain. “The codeine ought to kick in soon.”

  “I’ll be okay. My big sister’s a nurse. She’ll make sure of it.”

  “You bet I will.” Ellie sat in the armchair beside the sofa. “Do you want to watch something on TV? I could put in a DVD or—”

  “He kissed you.”

  A thrill shivered through her. “I’m trying not to think about that.”

  In truth, Ellie was finding it hard to think about anything but that kiss. Remembering it brought the sensation back—the softness of his lips, their heat, the nearness of his body.

  What would it be like to be kissed for real by him?

  “I could feel his muscles when he lifted me into my car. Good grief, girl! I can only imagine what he looks like naked. But then you got a glimpse.”

  “Yes! Yes, I did. And he was ripped, okay? He was gorgeous. Part of me wanted to run my hands over his chest just to enjoy the feel of him.”

  “So call him. You’ve got his number, right?”

  “I’m not sure I can.”

  “You’re not sure you can call him? Did you forget how to use a phone?”

  “No! I’m not sure I can sleep with him. What if we’re in bed together and all I can think about is Dan?”

  “Did you think about Dan when he kissed you?”

  The answer to that question hit her squarely in the forehead. “No.”

  “Call him, Ellie. Give him a chance. How many more years are you planning to live this sexless existence? You deserve happiness. Dan didn’t want you to be lonely. He wanted you to have a full life. You know that.”

  Dan had told her more than once that she was to live her life to the fullest should anything happen to him. She’d promised to do just that. But she’d never imagined how hard it would be to live with that promise.

  Ellie nodded, her throat tight.

  “So you’ll call him?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Ellie was still thinking about it when her father came to pick her up and to check on his younger daughter. She thought about it all the way up the canyon. She thought about it when she gave the kids their bath, read them stories, and put them to bed.

  She walked into the kitchen to pour herself some wine. But rather than getting a glass out of the cupboard, she walked to the rear window and looked across her backyard and up the mountainside toward his cabin. There, among the trees, she caught a glimpse of golden light spilling from his kitchen window.

  She picked up Jesse’s business card, which still sat on the kitchen counter, then reached for the phone.

  Chapter 7

  Jesse had turned off the water in the shower when his cell phone rang. He reached for a towel, strode naked into the living room, and grabbed the phone off the coffee table. His heart gave a hard knock when he saw the name on the display.

  Ellie.

  He answered. “Moretti.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “Hi, Jesse. It’s Ellie. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

  “It’s not quite my bedtime yet.” Tomorrow was his day off.

  “I wanted to thank you for helping my sister this afternoon.” The nervousness in her voice told him this was not why she’d called.

  “I was happy to do it.”

  “Also, I appreciated your honesty. I know it’s not easy sometimes—you know, communication and relationships. Not that you and I are in a relationship or anything. I didn’t mean to suggest that.”

  Okay, this was funny. “I got what you meant.”

  “Anyway, I’m grateful we had a chance to talk today.”

  “Yeah. Me, too.”

  Another pause.

  “I wondered whether you’d like to come over for a glass of wine. The kids are asleep. I have scotch if you don’t like wine. I could make tea or coffee if you don’t drink alcohol. I just thought maybe we could ... get to know each other. You know, talk. And, just to be clear, I’m not suggesting anything else.”

  So fucking was probably out. “Got it.”

  “Would you like to come over?”

  Hell, yes, he would. “Give me ten minutes to get dressed, and I’ll walk down. You caught me getting out of the shower.”

  “Oh! Oh. Okay.” She cleared her throat. “See you in ten minutes.”

  He ended the call and walked back to the bathroom, feeling a foot taller and energized. He towel-dried his hair, then slathered his face with shaving cream, and shaved away two days’ growth of beard.

  Was it the kiss that had gotten to her? Had she been thinking about it all day the way he had?

  You’d like to think so, wouldn’t you, dumbshit?

  Forget kissing anyway. Ellie had said just talking.

  Yeah, okay. Jesse could respect that.

  He finished shaving, rinsed his face, and walked off to his bedroom to get dressed. He stared into his closet at the broad assortment of battered blue jeans, T-shirts, flannel shirts, sweaters, and climbing clothes he owned, and he found himself wondering what a classy woman like Ellie Meeks would like to see on a man.

  She was married to an army pilot, remember?

  Okay, right. She wouldn’t be expecting a skinny tie or pleated slacks. Besides, Jesse didn’t own anything like that anyway.

  He pulled on a black T-shirt and slipped a gray flannel shirt on top of that. A clean pair of boxer briefs, some jeans without holes, and a pair of wool socks, and he was good to go. Just to be on the safe side, he tucked a condom into his pocket.

  Yes, he’d heard what she’d said. Yes, he would respect her limits. But sometimes sex just happened. If it did, he wanted to be ready.

  He put on his boots, slipped into his parka, then grabbed his keys and stepped out into the night.

  Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!

  Ellie stared at her reflection in horror. She had invited a man over to her house—and not just any man, but a sexy man who had kissed her today, her freaking neighbor!

  What in God’s name was she supposed to wear?

  Unable to decide, she scurried from her bedroom to her bathroom, brushed her hair, washed her face, and put on mascara. She was ready from the neck up, at least.

  She hurried back to her bedroom and stared into her closet. Casual. She should keep it casual. It was nine o’clock on a weeknight, and they were getting together in her living room. What could be more casual than that?

  She put on a clean pair of panties and her sexiest, pushiest push-up bra, then yanked her skinny black jeans off their hanger, put on a white lace camisole, and pulled her heather blue V-neck cashmere sweater over her head. She’d just smoothed her hair back into place when a knock came at the back door.

  Shit!

  She gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror—and froze. Dan had given her this sweater for Christmas one year.

  Panic shot through her.

  She glanced at the wedding band on her finger. What the hell had she been thinking to invite Jesse over like this?

  Another knock.

  It was too late to change her clothes—too late to change what she’d set in motion.

  She flicked off her bedroom light, hurried to the back door, and opened it. Every thought in her head vanished.

  He smiled down at her, clean shaven and smelling of shampoo and fresh air, snow clinging to his jeans up to his knees. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” She might have stood there staring at him if the air hadn’t been freezing cold. She stepped aside to make room for him. “Please, come in."

  He did his best to stomp the snow off his boots outside,
then stepped inside onto the little doormat. “The snow was a deeper than I thought.”

  While he took off his boots, she grabbed a dish towel. “You can probably brush most of it off with this.”

  “Thanks.” He set the dish towel on the table and slipped out of his parka, revealing a gray flannel shirt layered on top of a black T-shirt that stretched across the muscles of his chest.

  You’re staring.

  She retrieved two red wine glasses from the cupboard, set them on the counter, and chose a bottle of shiraz from her wine rack, her mind racing for something conversational to say. “Did the rest of your day go well?”

  She was amazed by how calm and collected she sounded. She hadn’t felt this nervous with a man since … well, she didn’t know when.

  She glanced over her shoulder, saw he was brushing snow off his jeans.

  “A kid hit a tree.”

  What was he saying? Oh, yes. She’d asked him about his day.

  “Ouch,” she managed to say. “Was he okay?”

  She reached into the drawer where she kept the wine opener.

  “He had a head injury. We evacuated him via helicopter.”

  She turned, wine and corkscrew in hand, to find Jesse standing a few feet away, his gaze fixed on her. Her pulse skipped. “I forgot how big you are.”

  An image of the bulge in his boxer briefs flashed into her mind.

  Her cheeks burned. “Tall … I meant tall. You’re very tall.”

  Without breaking eye contact, he took the wine bottle from her. “Let me.”

  “Why did you join the Rangers?”

  Jesse sat on one side of the sofa, while Ellie sat on the other, looking good enough to eat, her jeans and that fuzzy sweater hugging sweet curves, pink polish on her toenails, her hair hanging thick and blond to her shoulders. Until tonight, he hadn’t seen her up close without a bulky winter coat. He certainly wasn’t disappointed.

  Wine had taken the rough edges off her nerves. She’d been so tense when he’d arrived that he’d made extra sure to keep his distance. And so here they were, on opposite ends of the sofa, just talking.

  Not that he was complaining.

  “I grew up in a tiny town in Louisiana. My grandfather, my uncles, my dad— they either worked on fishing boats or in the refineries. I just couldn’t do that. I wanted to get away, see the world, be a part of something bigger. I’d always been bigger and stronger than the other boys, so I figured I’d join the army, try for my Ranger tab, and kick some terrorist ass for Uncle Sam.”