Oh my crimeny. I was dancing with Jake and it was clear he and Anna Kate were on the outs. Friends he’d said which didn’t really float my boat. But I always believed that relationships started out better when folks were friends first. Geez, he felt so hard and muscular, so warm against me. I tried to stay focused, but ever since I clapped eyes on this strapping man, I’d wanted to be right here. But, in those blue eyes of his, those enticing blue eyes he looked so…lonely.
“You really want to hear about pecans?” His tone skeptical.
“I’m nuts about pecans.” He chuckled and I smiled. “Yes, of course I do. I personally could talk about hair and beauty products all night, but I’m guessing blush, mascara and lipstick are not quite up your alley. I’m sure you probably don’t exfoliate and moisturize.”
He chuckled. “You do that a lot.”
“What?”
“Make me laugh.”
“I like your laugh and your smile. Very nice. You don’t do it often enough.”
He looked away as if he was trying to keep something from me, afraid I would see it in his eyes. Jake liked me. I knew it. He had his eyes on me all night, and they weren’t friendly looks at all. He was kidding himself, but it wasn’t my place to point that out to him. I believe that people had to see their own sins to change their ways. If he was hell-bent on being with Anna Kate, there wasn’t really anything I could do about that. I wasn’t going to be inappropriate with him. That wasn’t my style. I was a strong, independent woman and had a lot to offer. I didn’t need to feel at all self-conscious about that. Nothing Anna Kate could say to me would hurt me as much as losing my parents. Of never getting a chance to say goodbye, make amends. I regretted that bitterly. But the way I managed myself? I was proud as punch and confident in my own self. Anna Kate, in my opinion, was a bully, and really, at heart, bullies were very insecure. I could two-step around her without breaking a sweat, and I suspected she knew that.
Just let her try to take my lunch money, and she’d see this Wyoming girl get real. “So, pecans?” I asked to ease the tension we were both feeling. Trying to stop my thoughts about how it would be to kiss him was like holding back a stampeding herd, but I had to make an effort.
“What exactly do you want to know?”
“Everything, but why don’t you start with history because that’s really where the story begins, doesn’t it?”
“Sutton history or history of the pecan?”
“You have a very analytical mind. Obviously very smart since you went to Harvard and I suspect will breeze through a Ph.D. You talk, Jake. I’ll listen.” It would be no hardship to pay attention to that husky Southern accent and the slow, delicious way he had of talking.
“The very beginning of pecans started with Native Americans. The nut was a staple in their diet starting around the 1500s. Then Spanish colonists cultivated orchards, English settlers planted pecan trees, and both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson enjoyed them with the economic potential for pecans discovered in the late 1700s. Mostly due to the Port of New Orleans and its ability to export the nuts. But, the propagation started with Antoine.”
“He only needs one name like Cher?”
I grinned when he smiled. “Yes, he’s the first-name-only slave-gardener from New Orleans who is credited as the first person to successfully propagate pecans. By grafting a superior wild pecan to seedling pecan stocks, he was able to create a new pecan plant or what is called today; an improved variety.”
“Very impressive. I know that groves are natural and orchards are planted.”
His eyes sparkled, turning them into a quicksilver blue. “Now you’re flirting with me.”
I threw my head back and laughed. One of those deep belly ones that you can’t help. This was the teasing man I wanted to see.
Jake shot me an amused look, the half-smile deepening into something warm and disarming, something sensual and oddly intimate—something that was enough to make my heart pound. He had no idea how seductive he was. Anna Kate had no idea what to do with all this gorgeous man. She was not only a bully, but a mite dumb one at that.
“How do you know about groves and orchards?”
“I grew up on a ranch and we planted orchards, and I learned a lot from that. I loved working with my hands and being one with the land. Cattle punching is hard, dirty work, but it was honest and rewarding.”
“Cattle punching,” he said. “You were a tough cowgirl, then.”
“I still am,” I said, punching him in his rock-solid arm.
“My mistake. You have experience in managing crops, farming?”
“Not exactly. The orchards were my dad’s hobby, but they ended up producing well. We were involved in hay production for obvious reasons. I wasn’t exactly involved in the science of it. To me it’s just grass that’s dried in the sun and feeds livestock. No, that was my dad’s thing.” I got a lump in my throat remembering my big, boisterous, wonderful father. I looked away, tears flooding so unexpectedly. Grief had a way of sneaking up on a person when it was least expected. But, the memories of him only reminded me of the hole in my life.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to bring up something sensitive.”
Drawing a steadying breath, I waved my hand and he gave me his handkerchief. I dabbed at my eyes and shot him a stern look when I handed it back, feeling all kinds of vulnerable. “I suppose this is mandatory in the South?”
“My momma would box my ears if I wasn’t a gentleman and offered a lady a way to dry her tears.” He pocketed the square.
“It’s all soGone With The Windcharming.” I sighed. I loved that novel and the tempestuous relationship between Rhett and Scarlett. “Everyone has their traditions and ceremony, don’t they? In Wyoming it was a strong backbone and lots of gumption.”
