Page 57 of Texas Made
Puzzled, he looked at her. Then he remembered and smiled. “Making love outside.”
“That’s right. You don’t want me to leave here frustrated, do you?”
“Absolutely not.” He kissed her again and soon forgot about everything but being inside her. Everything but loving her.
*
Jaclyn was stillin a daze when she drove home Sunday night. She and Marshall had spent the weekend immersed in each other, either in Marshall’s room with both of them making brief forays into the kitchen for food or to the barn to care for the horses.
Sighing, she remembered their ride that morning. More particularly making love by the creek. Marshall had made sure she was on top, saying he didn’t want her to get bruises from the rocky ground. She hadn’t argued. There was something amazingly freeing about making love outside. And it had been love, not simply sex. Being without him even for just two weeks had made her realize how much she loved him. Being here with him made her realize how narrowly she’d escaped losing him.
But the ride hadn’t been only about making love. It had been a commitment. She’d felt honored to know that he’d never brought anyone else to his special spot.
She’d been crazy to think she could be happy without him. She wouldn’t be. Marshall had said he wanted to marry her. He’d only said it once—right after they made love. Neither of them had brought it up again. They’d just been so happy to be together again, there was no point in bringing up something that made even less sense than being involved in a long-distance relationship. A long-distance marriage? That sure as hell wasn’t what she wanted and she didn’t believe Marshall would be happy with it either.
Oh, people did it, she knew. People in the service or with other jobs that took them all over the country or the world. There were a hundred reasons why people who were married lived apart for some of the time. She just didn’t believe that Marshall and she were that couple.
No matter how hard she thought, though, she couldn’t figure a way to move her company that made any sort of sense. Not business-wise or in any other way, frankly. But who said she had to move Divinity? What if she didn’t? What if she did something even crazier? Something like…start a new division to manufacture lotions and skin creams in addition to makeup? She’d need a new campus anyway. Why not put it in Whiskey River?
It wasn’t a totally impulsive idea. She’d thought about it before. More than once. Even talked to Rachel about it, though it had been a while since they discussed it. Of course, that had been before she and Marshall were together, so she’d only imagined placing it in Dallas. But locating the new division in Whiskey River could work.
She’d be competing with Lavender Dreams to some extent, but her products would be positioned differently. Plus she had no intention of opening a storefront.
Even though it had been hard, she’d loved starting up Divinity. Sometimes she missed the excitement of the challenge. Not that the current company couldn’t be challenging. But maybe she was ready for something new. A new challenge.
It would be easier this time because she’d know what she was doing now. She hadn’t really known anything the first time. She’d know how to organize it and have a good idea of how many people to hire with what type of skill sets. She had contacts. Sure they were in Dallas, but she could either use some of the same ones or find new sources closer to Whiskey River. Obviously, there was a lot to consider, but the more she thought about it, the more excited she grew.
But she couldn’t run two businesses—even if one was an offshoot—by herself. Even if she could run two eventually, she couldn’t start up something new without being able to concentrate fully on it. Which meant someone else would need to concentrate fully on the original Divinity.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Munching on chipsand hot sauce, Jaclyn waited at one of her favorite Mexican food restaurants for Rachel to meet her. It had been too late to call when she got home yesterday, so she’d texted her instead.
Jaclyn:Can you have dinner with me tomorrow night?
Apparently, Rachel was up because she answered right away.
Rachel:Sure. What’s up?
Jaclyn:Tell you later. Tequila Mockingbird @ 6:30
*
That evening whenRachel came in Jaclyn waved to get her attention.
“Uh-oh,” Rachel said, sliding into the booth. “What’s wrong or should I ask?”
“Nothing’s wrong. In fact, all is right with the world. Kind of.”
“Kind of?”
“Yes, that’s what I want to talk to you about.”
The waitress came by and gave Jaclyn the margarita she’d ordered. The place served Tex-Mex food but with flair. Along with the traditional fajitas, tacos, enchiladas, and rice and beans, they also served a variety of those entrées with uncommon ingredients. Tequila Mockingbird was also famous for its fifteen varieties of margaritas, but Jaclyn liked the traditional one.
“I’d like one of those too,” Rachel told her. “But no salt on mine.”
“Would you like to order or do you need some time?”
