Page 30 of Deception and New Direction (Ranger Shield Security #3)

Ellie and I both chuckled at her description.

“So Ruthie , how’s living with my brother treating you?” Ellie asked me as she took a seat next to me now that her shift was done.

I had wanted to ask her—and Cat — about some things but hadn’t been sure of how to do it. This seemed to be a good segue, so I took it.

“It’s fine. We haven’t killed each other yet, though I definitely feel like I’m wearing out my welcome.”

“Has he said something to you about moving out?” Ellie asked, looking almost offended her brother would do that.

“No, of course not,” I explained. “ I just feel like I don’t need to be there anymore because my mobility is much better now, plus I’ll be getting this boot off next week—hopefully.”

“Girl, I understand your need for independence and that’s important.

” Tammy grinned as she walked back over to us.

“ But if I had a man willing to let me live with him temporarily thereby making my life easier, and giving it to me on the regular while I was there—and he was damn good at giving it to me— I would take my time leaving.”

“Jack told me you helped him pick out all the cabinets, countertops, and appliances for the kitchen, as well as a bunch of the furniture for all the rooms.” Ellie looked at me with confusion as she made that statement.

“Yeah, he did, but it’s for his house, Ellie . Not mine,” I told her.

“Honey, I think a huge airplane carrying the point just flew over your head,” Tammy said to me.

“What?” I asked her.

“Ruthie, hear me out,” Cat said next to me. “ I think the point Ellie and Tammy are trying to make is that he wouldn’t ask your opinion on those things if he didn’t see a future with you.”

I let that comment settle in as I thought back to several conversations Jack and I had had over the past few weeks.

He would ask my opinion about something, I would give it to him, and then he would change whatever he was looking at to buy what I had wanted instead.

At the time, I had always chalked those decisions up to him liking my ideas better, but now I realized maybe it was just his way of making me a part of the decision without me knowing it.

“God, that man is so sneaky,” I said, which caused Ellie to chuckle. “ Him and his sass-tastic smirk.”

“His what?” Cat asked me.

“His sass-tastic smirk,” I repeated. “ He has this special smile he makes that’s full of sass but also looks fantastic on him, which irritates me even more.”

The ladies all just chuckled and laughed at me. I didn’t find it funny. I found it annoying. How could I have not seen what Jack was doing? I should have known better.

“People do things like that for two reasons—either to be malicious and to eventually make a fool out of you, or because they mean well and are showing you how much they care instead of telling you, because they know if they tell you, you’ll run,” Ellie said to me, and I knew she was right.

Jack was not like my dad. He cared about me. I could see it in his eyes every time he kissed me, or touched me, or sometimes I’d just catch him staring at me when I wasn’t looking.

“Honey, take the advice from a sage woman with years more wisdom when it comes to dumbass men,” Tammy said, making me smile.

“ Jack is a nice man, and nice men do not keep you around if all they plan to do is make you another notch on their bedpost. The men who are more of the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am type aren’t asking women’s advice on what kinda oven to put in their house. ”

“Especially when that man is never gonna use that oven,” Ellie chimed in, knowing her brother was a terrible cook.

I heard what she was saying, along with the other women. Val had just walked in to join us when she realized we were talking about Jack and decided to ask her own question.

“Did you and Jack make it to a bed yet?” Her smile was huge.

“I don’t want to hear this,” Ellie said, covering her ears and pretending not to hear.

Tammy laughed and walked away to go take care of one of her other customers.

Our food arrived, which gave me a break from talking about Jack , and we spent the next forty-five minutes chatting about the bachelorette party as well as wedding dress shopping.

Vince came to collect Cat from the bar and asked how I was getting home.

All I had told the guys was that there was a small fender bender earlier and I had dropped the car off at our preferred body shop to get the small repairs needed.

I had hoped to get all the work done quickly and pay for it myself before Archer was able to get ahold of the police report.

Since I had Ubered here from the body shop, my only options for getting home right now were Vince , getting another Uber , or calling Jack .

When Vince offered, I took him up on it since he was already here, and I didn’t want to make Jack come back and get me since I knew he had already gone home to let Dash out and feed him.

Plus, I had some things I needed to think about on the ride back. Things I couldn’t think about with Jack sitting next to me.

* * *

I hopped out of Vince’s car and said goodbye to them both as I made my way through the back door to Jack’s house.

“How was ladies’ night?” Jack asked when I walked into the kitchen.

I smiled at his characterization of happy hour with his sister and Cat . Dash had left his spot of sitting at Jack’s feet and came over to sniff me up and down as if he could figure out everywhere I had gone during the day just from smelling my clothes.

“What did you ladies talk about?”

I filled him in on a little bit of the conversation, but I also didn’t want him to know we talked about him, so I tried to steer clear of those parts.

“Cat drank one of Vince’s healthy protein shakes, but apparently they taste like bittersweet chocolate and disappointment. We also talked about the bachelorette party for your sister, and I think she is genuinely scared that Tammy and Val are planning it.”

He chuckled at that comment then moved to relax his arms, crossing them over his chest casually. Jack was leaning with his back up against the counter in the kitchen. It caused me to look around the room and think of all the suggestions I had made that he’d encouraged.

“What’s that look for?” he asked me.

Time to find out if Tammy was right.

“You said you originally wanted a dark kitchen, but then I told you white cabinets would bring more light into the space, and you pulled a one-eighty, and went with my suggestion. Why ?”

“Cause you were right,” he responded as though it were obvious.

Alright, time to try a new detail. “ Okay , but what about the furniture? You originally wanted black leather. But when I told you to wait until Dash and I were gone so he didn’t tear it with his nails, you decided to order what I had picked out instead. Why ?”

He moved off the counter and started to walk closer to me. He got within inches of my face and placed his hands on my hips. “ Because I want you to feel comfortable here, as well as Dash , and if you’re worried about him on the furniture, you won’t feel at ease.”

The ladies were right. He wanted my opinions on stuff because he saw me being in this house beyond when my boot was taken off.

I didn’t have the right words to respond, so instead I just sighed and leaned into him putting my forehead against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me to hug me, which felt so nice.

I knew I was likely sending him mixed signals, but it felt too nice at that moment to break away.

Ever since my mom died, I’d never had anyone like that who I could lean on for support.

My brother wasn’t a complete dick like my father, but he also was never affectionate or caring.

My granddad cared, but he wasn’t a touchy-feely person.

“Be honest,” he spoke, his mouth just above my left ear. “ What are you thinking about right now?”

“This feels nice,” I told him truthfully. “ Having you hug me.”

He didn’t respond, but one of his hands moved so that he was rubbing up and down my back in a comforting manner.

I let his comforting gesture roll through me. I sank into his embrace even more. It calmed me. Made me feel…loved.

I leaned back to look at him, and I realized Jack made me feel these things a lot.

I think the girls were right. I knew Jack was a nice guy, but it hit me that he likely would have given up already and moved on if he was only in it for the sex.

Maybe he really did want to be with me—to actually stick around.

“Ahhh…she gets it now,” he mumbled.

“What?” I asked softly looking right into his gorgeous eyes.

“You’re not just another notch on my bedpost, Ruthie .”

Sometimes I hated that he could read my inner thoughts. At the same time, that comment was super sweet.

“I care about you,” he continued. “ Not because I think you can’t take care of yourself but because you mean something to me.”

God, this man. I saw the honesty in his eyes. He meant those words. He might be stubborn and annoying, but he wasn’t a liar.

I didn’t know what to do. I knew what I wanted to do, so did my body, which enjoyed being pressed up against him. But that didn’t mean that what I wanted to happen should happen.

But for once, I decided to take the risky road. To take a chance. To do what I wanted to do, rather than what I thought I should do.

I kissed him. I poured everything I could without saying words into that kiss. I tried to tell him that I cared too without actually having to give him the words.

I may come across as a ball buster, but I didn’t have an emotional backbone when it came to stuff like this.

Jack broke the kiss, looking directly at me, and spoke softly. “ Ruthie ?”

It appeared he needed words. I cared for Jack , and I now knew he cared for me too, but I wasn’t sure if it was more than that. So , I stuck with vague honesty.

“I want this,” I told him honestly. “ I want to try this with you.”

“You want to try this with me,” he repeated back to me, more as a statement rather than a question.