“You’re kidding?”
“Not something I’d kid about.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. How’d he die?”
“Fighter pilot, died in the Gulf War.”
“Wow. Gosh. I’m sorry. That must’ve been hard for you.”
“Since it was before I was born, it wasn’t something that I ever thought much about. My mom and my grandparents told me stories about him, and I’ve seen photos. But no, it wasn’t hard.”
He leaned in to kiss her again. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the day you drove into the ranch.”
“I thought you might be part of the welcoming committee.”
“Never helped any of the other wranglers with their bags, before or since.”
“Come on, don’t you try to play me, Jace Rice.”
“I’m serious. There’s somethin’ about you, Irene. You know dating is frowned upon at the ranch.”
“I got that impression. I also got the impression that not everyone follows the rules.”
He laughed. “No, not everyone does. As long as the parties involved are discreet, management looks the other way.”
“How much practice do you have being discreet?”
“You’re somethin’ else.” He laughed. “I can’t decide whether you’re the least confident, or most confident girl I’ve ever met.” He stopped smiling. “But I do know I want to get to know you better.”
Renie found a reasonably modest bathing suit at the hot springs and Jace was right about her muscles needing a good, long soak in the warm mineral water. The other thing she needed was a massage, so she booked one for later that afternoon. Jace thought that was a good idea, so he did too.
“We could get a couple’s massage.”
She rolled her eyes.
“What? I’m serious.”
“I don’t think so, cowboy.”
He pushed her up against the wall in the hallway outside the locker rooms, and brushed his lips under her ear. “Come on, Irene. Let’s make good use of our time away from the ranch.”
It would be so easy to let herself give into Jace, and why not? What was stopping her? Billy. Ha! Wasn’t that the reason she decided to work at the ranch in the first place—to forget all about him? Jace would certainly help that along. It was time she moved on from Billy Patterson, and since Billy was the only man she’d ever slept with, it was time to move on from that too.
“You know, you’re right.”
“Wait right here.” Jace walked back to the spa counter, and Renie heard him change the reservations from two individual massages to a couple’s massage.
He smiled. “All set.”
This wasn’t Renie’s first step in letting go of Billy, but it was definitely her biggest one.
They had rooms paid for by the ranch at the Glenwood Springs Inn on Sixth Street, but they booked a room at the Colorado Hotel since it was connected to the spa, and they could get the massage in their room.
Renie looked at the clock. It was almost seven, and she was starving. Spending time with Jace had definitely been the best way she could think of to work up an appetite. She bit his shoulder.
“Ow. You tryin’ to tell me something, girl?”
“I’m hungry. Feed me.”