All Jacked Up (Rough Riders #8)(58)

“They’re gonna give you crap for the rest of the day for that lip lock, GQ.”


“I’m up for the challenge.”


“Good. I’ll see you later.”


Lucky for Keely the day didn’t drag as much as she’d feared. She finished at the clinic and drove back to Moorcroft, anxious to see the changes.


Dusk had fallen. The vehicles were gone. She unlocked the back door and ventured inside. She didn’t need a spotlight to see the differences; the place was empty. Completely empty. Walls gone. Ceiling gone.


Plumbing gone. Electrical gone. The space was a blank slate. A clean canvas.


For the first time it felt like hers.


Keely tried to envision where the spaces would be divided into patient rooms. What the refurbished woodwork would look like. If the tin ceiling would gleam after one hundred years of grime was removed.


Giddy, she spun around on the wooden floor, arms flung open wide, laughing. Trying to capture the moment—her dream was finally within reach.


Chapter Fourteen


Jack was ready to walk out the door when Keely whirled in like a tornado. Her mouth ran a million miles an hour.


“So I drove back to Moorcroft after I got off work and I’m stunned. I cannot believe they finished all of it today. I’m peeing my pants I’m so pumped.”


“There’s a visual I needed, Keely.”


She took in his appearance. “Where are you goin’ all duded up?”


“Out with Carter. Wearing clean pants and a sweater hardly qualifies me as duded up,” he said dryly.


“Whatever you say, GQ.” She bussed his cheek. “You look nice and smell even better. What’re you guys doin’?”


“Eating first, then hashing through details for a couple projects I’ve lined up for him.”


Keely looked at him quizzically. “You Carter’s pimp?”


“In a manner of speaking. He’s greatly underappreciated in the western art world.” He adjusted his sleeves. “No big deal. I do what I can to get his name out there. Pass along commercial contacts.”


“I never knew you were so invested in Carter’s career.”


“And you can’t tell anyone, either,” he warned. “He’d be pissed as hell if he thought I’d blabbed to you.”


“But we’re in luurrve. You’re supposed to tell me everything.” Keely left a smacking kiss on his mouth. “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. I’ll see you later.”


“Where are you going?”


“My dart league starts at eight.”


Jack narrowed his eyes. “You play in a dart league? Why didn’t I know that?”


“I figured you’d think it hopelessly lowbrow so I didn’t mention it.” She hopped from foot to foot as she took off her boots. Then she sailed into the bedroom.


He followed her and leaned against the jam as he watched her undress. “How long have you been playing darts?”


Keely whipped off her shirt. “In a league? Six months. But Colt taught me to play when I was a kid. I was a lousy shot with a bow and arrow. He thought darts might teach me hand-eye coordination, but I just ended up liking darts more than shooting bow.” She flipped through the hangers in the closet.


“What other hobbies do you have that I don’t know about?”


“Darts ain’t exactly a hobby. It’s an excuse to hang out with my friends and drink beer. They’ve been trying to get me to join a volleyball league but it doesn’t interest me. I’m in a book club, but half the time I don’t read the damn ‘literary’ books they pick because they’re total downers.”



“What would you rather read?”


“Erotic romances.” Keely winked. “As far as other activities? I’m on the volunteer list for the community center and fill in when someone’s sick or on vacation. Oh, and I like to dance.”


Jack wondered if her excessive social calendar was because she didn’t like being alone. “You don’t ever stay home and relax? Kick off your boots and stay a while?”


“Sure. But my idea of relaxing and yours are way different.”


Why did he bristle? “Meaning what?”


“I relax when I’m asleep. Reclining in front of the TV as a way to relax? No thanks. I’d rather do things with real live people instead of pretending what happens on a sitcom or dramedy or reality show matters. Connections matter to me. And there’s nothing more relaxing than laughing with family and friends.” Keely buttoned the last button of the India’s Ink dart league shirt.


For Christsake. This woman played in a dart league sponsored by a tattoo shop. She had tattoos. She drove a dirty pickup. She had fifty different colored pairs of shitkickers. She had a social life to rival Paris Hilton’s. Did he have a single thing in common with her besides phenomenal sex?


Yes. You need each other to get your careers on track.


Sometimes Jack forgot the big picture. Sometimes he forgot their relationship wasn’t real. What really pissed him off was sometimes he even forgot Keely wasn’t his type.