A Sweetheart for Jude Fortune

By the time the OT left, her father’s eyes were drooping and his primary nurse suggested a nap.

“I’ll be back after dinner.” Gabi brushed a kiss across his leathery cheek and felt a surge of love.

“Lloyd and I have a date to play poker,” he told her. “There’s no need to drive back tonight. Enjoy your evening.”

“Are you sure?”

“You spent all day here,” he said. “Besides, I need to win some money off Lloyd, and I can’t do that with someone breathing over my shoulder.”

Gabi smiled. “Okay, then.”

“Don’t have the grilled cheese.” This time the fatherly tone brooked no argument. “Too much fat in it.”

Gabi simply smiled, gave a little wave and left him to his nap.

* * *

The knock on the front door of her father’s small home sounded at precisely 6:00 p.m.

Gabi smiled. Apparently, the man was not only pretty to look at, but punctual, as well. Popular with the ladies. Some of her pleasure dimmed before she shoved the thought aside.

It didn’t matter to her if Jude dated a different woman every night. This was simply dinner and conversation. She didn’t expect more. Didn’t want more.

When the knock sounded again, she sauntered across the room. After glancing through the peephole, she pulled the door open.

“I appreciate a man who’s on time.” With a welcoming smile she waved him inside.

Dressed simply in jeans, chambray shirt and a battered leather jacket, he whipped off his Stetson when he stepped through the doorway then thrust out one hand. “These are for you.”

“Thank you.” She glanced down at the bouquet he offered. Startled surprise quickly gave way to sweet pleasure. “Daisies are one of my favorite flowers. Have a seat. I want to put them in water before we leave.”

She took the flowers into the small kitchen at the back of the house. Instead of sitting in the living room as she’d directed, he followed her.

“Nice place.”

Gabi tried to see it through his eyes. White painted cupboards, grey Formica countertops, speckled linoleum flooring. Perfect, if a person was into retro decor. “My father feels at home here,” she said. “Our home in Miami was bigger, but since it’s just him, he doesn’t need much space.”

“The fact it’s not large and all on one level should make it easier for him when he comes home.”

“Good point.” She rummaged through the cupboards, finally pulling out a red vase. “This will be perfect.”

Her mother had collected red glass, and this little cylindrical vase had been a favorite. She quickly filled it with water then took a second to arrange the flowers.

“You have a knack,” Jude commented from where he stood with his back resting against the doorjamb. “My mother does, too. If it were me, I’d stuff them into a vase and call it good.”

Gabi took a step back and gazed in satisfaction at the arrangement. “They’re too pretty to treat in that manner.”

“They’re pretty.” Jude’s husky voice did strange things to her insides. “But not as pretty as you.”

She smiled. Oh, yes, he was a smooth one.

“Do I need a coat?” she asked, looking at his leather jacket.

“It’s in the forties, so I say definitely.” He paused. “Do you have one?”

“I didn’t,” she told him. “There was no need in Miami. But I went shopping recently in Vicker’s Corners and picked one up.”

In fact, that’s where she’d purchased the crimson sweater and black pants she wore now. From all signs, the small town in between Horseback Hollow and Lubbock was experiencing a growth spurt. She’d seen signs advertising new condominiums and touting luxury estates for sale.

“What’d you think of VC?” he asked as they moved to the living room, where she retrieved her coat from the postage-stamp-size closet.

“I liked it.” She thought of the cute little business district with all the eclectic shops lining the main street. “But Horseback Hollow is nice, too.”

“If I had to compare the two—” with well-practiced ease, Jude took the coat from her hands and held it up “—I’d say Horseback Hollow is the Jones family while Vicker’s Corners is more like their gentrified relatives.”

“Would those gentrified relatives be the Fortunes?” Gabi tried to ignore the brush of his knuckles against the side of her neck as he helped her slip on the coat.

“Bingo.”

“Your mother recently found out she was related to the Fortunes, isn’t that right?” Gabi tried to remember what her father had said, but the comment had been something he’d tossed out in passing and she hadn’t given it much thought.

“That’s right.” He waited for her to pick up her purse then opened the front door and stepped to the side.

Good-looking. Manners. A powerful combination.

As she passed him, Gabi caught a faint whiff of his cologne. First he brought her flowers, now he wore the scent that had tantalized and enticed her last night. Jude Fortune would be a difficult man to resist.

Which she would, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy his company and the way he smelled. “You added Fortune to your name.”

“My mother asked.” Jude lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “She doesn’t ask for much.”

Gabi walked by his side to the truck parked in the driveway and tilted her head, thinking of her father. “What did your dad think? Mine is so proud of the Mendoza name that I can’t imagine him being happy if any of my brothers decided to make a change.”

Jude waited to answer until she stepped inside the truck. “Like most of us, he finds it difficult to deny her anything.”

As he rounded the front of the massive vehicle, then got behind the wheel, Gabi thought of her mother. Her dad had loved his wife totally, completely. If there had been something important her mother had asked of him, he’d have gone along.

Jude slanted a sideways look. “Red is definitely your color.”

A ripple of pleasure passed over Gabi. “I like your style, Jude.”

He grinned and backed the truck out of the driveway. “Tell me about Gabriella.”

On the short drive to the café, Gabi filled him in. She talked about her brothers and what it was like growing up as the youngest and the only girl. When he pressed for more, she told him she’d had a love for the business world since she’d opened her first lemonade stand at age five and made ten dollars.

“It didn’t sink in until years later that my only customers had been relatives and close neighbors.” Gabi chuckled. “I thought it was this great spiel I had going that drew them in.”

“You enjoy your job.”

“I do. Though the banking industry has taken some hits, the one I work for has done well.” Gabi rolled her window partially down and let the fresh air waft into the cab of the truck. “It smells so fresh here.”

“I bet this has been a bit of culture shock for you.”

“Since I haven’t seen a bodega or a palm tree in weeks, I’d say that’s an accurate statement.” Gabi wondered how she could feel so relaxed around a man she’d just met. She’d been on plenty of first dates, and they were usually awkward, tense affairs. “Still, something about this place feels like home. I had difficulty understanding when my father told me how much he liked it here. Now it makes sense.”

Jude wheeled the truck into an angled parking spot and cut the engine. “I hope dinner tonight only solidifies that impression.”

Seconds later, Gabi stood in the doorway of The Horseback Hollow Grill, affectionately called The Grill by locals, and felt the first twinge of unease. Although clean, the tiled flooring had more than a few cracks. Artificial flowers in hammered coffee pots sat on tables. The tables reminded Gabi of the type you’d see in old-time diners, rounded edges encased in silver metal.

Jude inhaled deeply. “It always smells good in here.”

Gabi could almost see onion rings swimming in a grease pool and hamburgers being flipped on the grill. Her head may have told her to run to the nearest deli for a turkey sandwich on whole wheat—hold the mayo—but her stomach had other ideas. It growled. Loudly.

Jude grinned. “Someone is ready to eat.”

“I may be a little hungry” was all Gabi said as the hostess directed them to a booth by the front window.

“I can vouch for the burgers.” Jude waited until she’d slid into the booth before taking a seat opposite her. “Half pound of pure Angus. My sisters are especially fond of the grilled cheese sandwich, which is a specialty.”

Because of her heart, Gabi limited the amount of red meat she consumed as well as avoiding fried foods. She could already see there wasn’t much on the menu that would get a cardiologist’s seal of approval. Tonight she’d simply have to wing it.

Jude kept the conversation light and entertaining until the pretty blonde waitress arrived to take their orders. He seemed oblivious to the young woman’s attempts to flirt. Fixing his eyes on Gabi’s, he smiled. “Have you decided?”

“I’ll have the hamburger.” Gabi shifted her gaze to the blonde. “Well-done, please. May I substitute a salad for the fries?”

When the woman nodded, Gabi smiled. “Vinegar and oil for the dressing, on the side.”

Jude ordered the hamburger and fries. When the waitress left, he told Gabi, “You can have some of my fries. They’re the best.”

“I might take you up on that offer,” she said, relieved to have made it through the ordering without a lot of explanation. Though she wasn’t ashamed of having had the transplant, she’d noticed that people often treated her differently once they knew. “I told you everything about me on the drive over. Now it’s your turn to dish.”

“I hardly think you told me everything,” he said, “in a five-minute drive.”

Though his tone was teasing, Gabi froze. She hadn’t thought her father had mentioned the transplant to anyone, but she didn’t know that for sure. “What did I leave out?”

“You didn’t say anything about a man in your life.” He took the iced tea the waitress gave him while Gabi slipped a straw into her ice water.

“That’s because there is no man in my life,” Gabi said honestly.

“I find that difficult to believe.”

“It’s true.” Gabi thought back to Tony, the IT manager from the bank, and the horrified look on his face when he’d seen her scar. She shrugged. “Work takes most of my time.”

“Their loss is my gain.” Jude reached across the table and took her hand, bringing it to his lips. The feel of his mouth against her skin brought a rush of desire as unexpected as it was pleasant.

Gabi wasn’t a neophyte, though she was hardly experienced, either. During her twenty-six years she’d only had two lovers: her high school boyfriend on prom night and a fellow business student in college.

The prom night had been a disaster. A car was not the place for lovemaking.

The relationship with her college boyfriend had taken place over most of her freshman year. He’d been fairly experienced, but looking back, Gabi could see now that he’d been more concerned with his own pleasure than with hers. Still, she’d enjoyed their time together and had believed he cared about her.

Then she’d gotten sick. He’d come a couple of times to the hospital, but by the time she was feeling better, he was out of her life.

“Tell me about Jude.” Gabi fought to keep her voice steady, no easy task since her body had begun to vibrate.

“Not much to tell.” He lowered her hand to the table and casually laced his fingers through hers. “I got my BA from Tech and I’ve worked on the ranch since I was old enough to hop on a horse.”

“Have you ever thought of moving away? Trying something new?”

His blue eyes grew thoughtful. “A few times. But like my daddy, I love what I do. I like the variety and being my own boss. Horseback Hollow might be small, but it’s a cohesive community and Lubbock is just down the road. Vicker’s Corners is even closer.”

“Sounds like we’ve both chosen the right path...for us.” He continued to hold her hand, and the feel of his warm skin against hers sent her thoughts careening down a road she had no intention of traveling. Gabi was relieved when the waitress appeared with a mountain of food and he sat back.

“Oh, my.” She gazed at a burger as big as her plate and a salad big enough for three to share.

Jude grinned. “I told you the food here is the best.”

Gabi carefully considered for a moment then removed the hamburger from the sesame bun.

“Wimp.” Jude stopped, looked stricken. “Sorry.”

“No worries.” Waving a dismissive hand, Gabi stole one of his fries. “I simply prefer to enjoy the meat.”

In the end, she ate half of her burger and a third of the salad and sat back, satisfied.

“They have great sundaes here.” Jude spoke in a persuasive tone when the waitress had cleared their plates.

Though she wouldn’t mind having a spoonful, she doubted her stomach could handle even one more bite. “I’m so full you’re going to have to roll me out of here as it is. But, if you’d like dessert, go ahead.”

“I’ve had enough to eat,” he said. “But I wouldn’t mind taking a walk. Are those boots you’re wearing—”

“They’re very comfortable.” Gabi brightened at the realization Jude didn’t seem in any hurry to have the evening end. “I’d love some fresh air.”

Gabi pulled out her wallet to pay her share of the tab, but Jude had already handed the waitress several bills and told the blonde to keep the change.

“I can pay for my own.”

“You could.” He slid from the booth. “But tonight is my treat.”

Gabi slipped out from her side, and when she stood, he was right there, holding out the coat that she’d hung on a metal hook at the edge of the booth.

He took her arm as they stepped out into the cool night air. They walked down the sidewalk, the full moon hanging like a large golden orb in the clear sky overhead.

“Thank you for the dinner,” Gabi said again.

“You didn’t eat much.”

“It was good.” She gazed into his eyes and had to resist the urge to reach up on her tiptoes and plant a kiss on those full lips. “I enjoyed it.”

His eyes locked on hers. She saw them darken. Held her breath as he took a step forward and lowered his head to hers.

Chapter Four

Jude slipped his arms around Gabi’s slender frame and watched her eyes close. His mouth skimmed the edge of her jaw, testing the sweetness of her skin. He nuzzled her neck then found himself shoved off balance from behind.

Irritation spiked. Jude whirled. If Chris was screwing with him again, his brother wouldn’t find him so understanding this time.

“Sorry ’bout that, dude,” the young shaggy-haired cowboy called over his shoulder as he lurched down the sidewalk, laughing with his friends, all three men obviously intoxicated.

When Jude turned to Gabi, he discovered she’d taken a step back. Just a small one, but enough to tell him the moment had passed. Still, the heat simmering in the air practically guaranteed there’d be another moment, another opportunity, before the night ended.

“There are so many out tonight.” Gabi gestured toward the business district. People stood in front of the Superette, the saloon and The Grill. They talked, flirted, and one couple kissed as if no one else in the world existed.

The same way he’d felt only moments ago, Jude realized.

“I didn’t know this many people lived in Horseback Hollow,” Gabi said.

“It’s Saturday night and unseasonably warm.” Jude raised a hand in greeting to several ranch hands then refocused on Gabi’s beautiful face. “Most of the cowboys from nearby ranches come into town to eat, drink and dance.”

Her eyes went round as quarters. “Dancing? Really? Where?”

“The Two Moon Saloon,” Jude said, mentioning the business adjacent to The Grill. “The owners bring in bands on Saturday nights. In fact—” he glanced at his phone “—the party should be getting started anytime now.”

“I like to dance.” A wistful look crossed Gabi’s face. “Salsa mainly.”

“We mostly two-step around here.”

She inclined her head, her brown eyes thoughtful. “Is it difficult to two-step?”

The way she looked at him told Jude she could be persuaded to prolong the date...if dancing was part of the package.

“Naw.” He took her arm. “Easy. Want to give it a try?”

After a second’s hesitation, she nodded. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”

He looped an arm companionably around her shoulders as they walked. “Have I told you I like a woman with an adventurous spirit?”

Gabi simply laughed, the moon scattering light on the dark hair that hung past her shoulders.

As Jude expected, the place was packed. He’d hoped to find a quiet table in a corner where he and Gabi could be alone when they weren’t on the dance floor. But the second he walked in and saw friends and relatives scattered throughout the bar, he knew there would be no alone time. Not this evening.

They ended up at a table with two of his brothers and several ranch hands. When one of the cowboys kept talking to Gabi, Jude gave the guy a dark glance, making it clear the lady was with him.

But was she? Though Gabi didn’t flirt with the other men, she also didn’t cling to him. It was almost as if they were buddies, out for a night on the town together.

If that’s the way she wanted it, he’d be her buddy. In time, they’d be more. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Liam and Sawyer she was The One. The moment she’d run into him, he recognized her as the woman he’d been waiting for his whole life. Corny, but true.

When the band began to play a current country classic, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the dance floor. As predicted she picked up the steps easily. Two quick. Two slow.

“You’re doing great. That’s it.” Approval mixed with the encouragement in his tone. “Let your feet glide.”

Gabi had a natural sense of rhythm. Her lithe but curvy body surprised him with some great moves within the simple step. As they danced, her cheeks flushed with color and her smile flashed often.

The band took a brief break, and he and Gabi were on their way back to the table when they ran across Sawyer and Laurel. While Gabi chatted with them, Jude excused himself.

When he returned, her head jerked up at the Richie Ray tune that the band had begun to play.

“That’s salsa music.” Delight filled her eyes even as they narrowed suspiciously. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

“Do you want to stand here and talk?” he asked then held out a hand. “Or shall we dance?”

“You can salsa?” Delight filled her voice.

In answer, he led her to the dance floor and proceeded to show her some of his moves.

The night passed quickly. Jude couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun or danced to so many songs. By the time she grabbed his arm and pulled him from the dance floor, his breath came in short puffs.

Gabi’s own breath wasn’t all that steady. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”

Her cheeks were pink and her lips reminded Jude of a plump, ripe strawberry from his mother’s summer garden. She looked so pretty, and he wanted her so badly that he almost kissed her right then, in front of half the citizens of Horseback Hollow.

Then he remembered what Sawyer had said about her father being overprotective. If Jude Fortune Jones kissed Orlando Mendoza’s daughter on the dance floor of the Two Moon Saloon, news would be all over town by morning.

And even some sixty miles away in Lubbock, before Orlando finished his breakfast, someone would mention the incident to him. There was no reason to get the man stirred up when he was trying to recover. Besides, the way Jude saw it, what happened between him and Gabi was personal. That’s how he preferred to keep it. For now.

Gabi paused at the edge of the dance floor, leaning close to ensure he could hear her over the twang of the steel guitar. “My father’s house isn’t far so—”

“Hey, Jude.” A leggy redhead he’d dated last summer sidled up to him, her fingers traveling up his sleeve. “I got the band to promise they’d do the electric slide next. Told them it’s our song.”

“Sorry, Lissa.” He put his hand on the small of Gabi’s back. “We were just leaving.”

Gabi opened her mouth as if to protest, but he closed it with a brief, hard kiss.

His pretty Latina’s long lashes fluttered, and when he pulled back, she appeared slightly dazed.

“Oh.” Lissa frowned, her gaze shifting between Jude and Gabi. “I saw you dancing, but I didn’t realize you two were together, together.”

“We are. Great seeing you, Lis.” Without giving the redhead a chance to respond to his pronouncement, he took Gabi’s arm and propelled her out the front door.

Once they reached the sidewalk, Gabi dug in her heels. “Stay. Dance with your friend. My father’s house isn’t far. I can walk myself home.”

“Not alone.”

The flat quality to his voice must have raised red flags. Concern filled her eyes. “Isn’t it safe?”

“It’s not that.” No matter how much Jude wanted her to stay with him and not take off on her own, he refused to lie. “You’d be perfectly safe. The fact is, I’m not nearly ready for the night to end.”

“Oh,” she said, then again. “Oh.”

“Unless this is your way of saying it’s been fun but it’s time for me to get lost?”

Gabi slowly shook her head and the tight knot in his belly dissolved. She rested her hand on his biceps. “I enjoy being with you.”

“Good.” He tucked her fingers more firmly around his arm.

In no particular hurry, they strolled down the sidewalk, soon exchanging the noise and lights of the downtown district for an occasional barking dog. Still warm from the dancing, Jude let his coat hang open.

Gabi kept hers firmly cinched around her waist. Thin blood from the hot Florida weather, he decided.

Jude gently locked his fingers with hers. Their hands swung slightly between them as they walked. For a second, he could see his parents strolling down the lane in the evening after supper, holding hands in companionable silence.

He and his siblings had thought it strange. For the first time, though, he understood that contentment. Feeling the warmth of Gabi’s hand against his, seeing her face bathed in moonlight, he was happy sharing this moment with her, simply being with her.

They were almost to her father’s house when out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her lips twitch. “Something funny?”

“Just remembering my high school days.” She gave his hand a squeeze and smiled. “Back then my father would be waiting up for me with the porch light blazing.”

Her dad didn’t sound much different than the fathers of some of the girls he’d dated in high school. “I bet he’d miraculously appear on the porch just as you and your guy reached the steps.”

Your guy.

Jude didn’t like the sound of that, then reminded himself that while someone else may have been the first to kiss her, to caress, to make love with her...he would be the last.

“He wouldn’t immediately appear.” Gabi offered a wry smile. “Once the car hit the driveway, I had, oh, thirty seconds to get inside before the light began to flash. If I ignored that warning, he’d come outside.”

“Half a minute doesn’t give much chance to say good-night,” Jude observed.

“Any good-night kissing had to be done before I got home.” Gabi grinned then sobered. “Not that I dated all that much.”

“That surprises me.”

“Why?”

“You’re pretty,” he said honestly, knowing the word didn’t do justice to her beauty. Long, dark, wavy hair and big brown eyes. A slim, compact body with curves in all the right places. A smile that arrowed straight to his heart. “I’d have thought the boys would be flocking around.”

“Two words.” She exhaled a sigh and wiggled four fingers. “Older brothers.”

Jude thought of Stacey and Delaney. He and his brothers had considered it their mission to protect their sisters from predatory males. “I can relate.”

“I bet you can.” Gabi rolled her eyes. “Because of my brothers and my dad, most guys ended up dropping me off in front of our house and speeding away.”