Prologue
The group of men my father is talking to look rough. Most of them aren't shy about the guns strapped to their hips. I'm used to it, strange meetings with violent-looking men. Father drags me along to these things like I'm his prized possession, never lets me out of his sight.
Until this trip.
He doesn't have time to watch me round the clock and after meeting Jake last week when we visited a cattle ranch, I have snuck out at least a dozen times. I don't know how long we're staying in town, but I'm soaking up every second of it.
I lean on the door frame and listen to what the men are saying, talking about cattle thieves or something. It's boring to me. I'd much rather be back in the city with my friends seeing the latest movie or just hanging out in my bedroom, which is about the only two things my father lets me do anyway. But this summer has been nothing but one trip after another. It will be August soon and school will go back in session, and all I want is one adventure for myself.
Leaving the men to their meeting, I creep back up the stairs where my solitude is torture. I try to avoid the creaking step but I hit it every time. I swear it doesn't have a silent spot. And this old farmhouse turned bed and breakfast has stairs made for a giant, so I can't take them two at a time. The banister wobbles a little too, which makes it impossible to traverse the steps silently. Thankfully, my movement in the old house doesn't draw attention.
I sink into the mattress and pick up my book, an old cowboy romance left in the nightstand drawer next to the Gideon Bible common to almost every place we've stayed. The book is steamy, though I skip the dirty parts because if Father knew I was reading that he'd beat me for sure. I curl into a ball, turning the pages eagerly to see where the damsel gets rescued from the horrible militants that have attacked her farm, and I hear a click on the windowpane.
I put the book down and listen intently, focusing on the silence around me. The ugly floral comforter smells like old lady perfume, but it's better than the stench of tobacco and beer we normally encounter in small hotels. The clicking ceases and I return to my book, hungry for more romance. My life has been void of romance, though my friends tell me to give it time. Cici is a few years older than me, and she says at seventeen she hasn't encountered it yet either.
The heroine of my current read is in her twenties. I thought maybe that was when it would happen for me too, except Jake is about the most handsome boy I've ever met. I wish we could stay here in Mustang and make it our home. I'd live on a ranch if Jake was there with me. His smile and the way he talks to me so kindly--my cheeks warm just thinking about him again.
I find myself distracted by thinking of my time spent with him the past few days, lunch by the river, climbing the fence in the horse pasture to feed the horses carrots, and my favorite was walking barefoot through the tall grass. The picture hanging on the wall here reminds me of that pasture where he held my hand and we talked about opening the doors in our hearts that have always been shut to others. I'd let him open any door in my heart he wanted.
The tapping returns, this time louder. I set the book aside and climb out of bed. My feet hit the cool wood planks beneath them and I shiver. It 's warm out during the day, but nights beneath the open, cloudless sky the temperature drops to chilling temps. And when the breeze comes down off the mountains to the west I can almost smell the coffee brewing in Seattle.
Tiptoeing up to the window, I shut the light off so I can see outside without being spied on from below. I have to let my eyes adjust to the dim light of the full moon overhead, but when I do, I see the most wonderful sight. Jake stands with his hand curled around some rocks, throwing them one at a time at the window of the room I share with my father.
I pry at the window trying to make sure it doesn't squeak as it rises. No screens mean I can lean out and call to him in a loud whisper. "Jake! Is that you?"
I hear him chuckle. "Who else would be throwing pebbles at the window of the most beautiful girl in Mustang?"
I grin and notice the old TV antenna firmly rooted in the ground only a meter from the window. I glance back at the door, not knowing when Father will come to bed. "Hold on, I'm coming down!"
Whipping around to find my shoes, I stuff a few pillows under the covers on my bed and douse the other light on my father's nightstand. I cram my feet into the shoes and head back to the window. With the curtain drawn, hopefully he won't notice the window is open. It's a risk, but one I'm taking because I have to be with Jake.
The antenna sways a bit as I reach for it, straddling the windowsill and stretching with my toe toward the metal rungs. Jake stand below my precarious position, arms out as if he can catch me should I fall. When my feet hit the ground, he is there taking my hand. We run toward the edge of town, feet pounding the dusty earth. I wish I'd have brough a sweater, but Jake sees me shivering and offers me his jean jacket. We stop beneath an old apple tree where he has stretched a blanket out.
"I didn't think you were going to hear the pebbles. I was afraid your dad would wake up." He pulls me down with him and we collapse. I lie on the blanket looking up at the dark sky. Stars sparkle there, watching over us as we catch our breath.
"He's having some sort of meeting. I have a while." I press my palm to my chest, feeling my heart race, as much from the running as from seeing Jake. I can't believe he likes me. No boy has ever liked me.
Jake rolls over next to me, propping himself on an elbow and resting a hand on my stomach. I've never let a boy touch me like this before, but I would let Jake do it all night long. He looks down at me and I can see the sweat glistening on his forehead.
"You're so handsome, Jake Blackwell. I don't think I've ever met a boy like you." I rest my hand on his and smile at him. He grins, showing a single dimple on his right cheek.
"Mia, I think you're about the prettiest girl I've ever met too. Girls in this town are hateful. Small town drama... everyone knows everything about you. I like that I don't know nothing about you." His hand moves and for a moment I think he will touch me in a more sensitive place, but he reaches for a strand of my dark hair and curls it around my ear. "I think I'm falling for you."
"You do?" I swallow hard, unsure what he means by that.
"I do." He licks his lips and his forehead scrunches up. "You know, I'd like to do something with you."
My chest tightens. Momma warned me about boys who want only one thing, and I don't want Jake to be one of those boys. I want Jake to be the sort of boy who respects me, who cares about my mind and my dreams. I feel nervous asking him what it is that he wants to do, but I can't help but feel anxious that I've made a mistake.
"What's that?" I brace myself as he rests his hand on my hip. His thumb brushes over my hip bone, bare because my shirt has ridden up on that side.
"Well, I'd like to kiss you, if you give me your permission." He is serious, but the corner of his mouth lifts in a half smile. "It's okay if you say no."
