Falling in the Rain

"Do you really want to know?" When she didn't say anything and didn't move, Josh sighed and concluded that she did. "Her name is Cheryl O'Brien. She is an ex-girlfriend my dad never let me forget. He asked her to come up here, and she did." When a hurt look appeared in her eyes, Josh knew he had achieved the one thing he had been telling himself to avoid. "I begged her to leave, I really did. Please, believe me, Jess." With out thinking, he closed the distance between them and took her shoulders into his hands. "Jessica, I don't want to be anywhere near her anymore. Can you believe me?"

"You looked pretty comfy locked in that hug. She looked nearly as blissful as you did." Jess said stepping backwards, hoping he would drop his hands from her shoulders. Wrong, he followed her instead.

"We don't mean anything to each other," Josh tried to explain.

"Liar."

"What do you want me to do? Apologize for something as stupid as a hug?" He hadn't meant to shout his question.

"No, you idiotic, chauvinistic, arrogant-" Jess screamed at him.

"I apologize! There are you happy now? I'm sorry." Josh yelled at her, letting his anger control his words for the moment.

"Fine!"

"Fine!" Jess turned to walk away from him, but Josh grabbed her by the shoulders again and made her face him. "Let me go!" Jess looked up in to his eyes as she struggled against him. Josh thought he had died. Looking into those ghostly blue eyes that belonged to Jess, he felt oddly complete, and it scared the hell out of him. Changing his focus from her eyes to her mouth. "What are you thinking about?" Jess asked abruptly, her voice a strangled whisper.

"I'm thinking about kissing you." His whisper was just as strangled as hers.

"DON'T!" Jess suddenly screeched in his ear.

"Why not, Jess?" he asked, pulling his head away, from her screech.

"Cuz I said no, you stupid, pig headed, ass-" Josh's lips closed off her protests. His lips were hard on hers, almost forceful with out actually being forceful. Sighing against his lips, Jess suddenly felt limp. She let Josh hold her up as he kissed her.

Josh felt her go all pliant on him and softened his kiss. Slowly he pulled his lips away, and began to nibble on her lips tenderly. He couldn't believe he had gone this long with out giving in to his urge to kiss her. Now that he had, he had been richly rewarded.

Pulling his face away from hers, he looked down into her face. Her eyes were closed, her checks slightly blushed. She looked beautiful. "Your so beautiful," Josh murmured, and caressed her cheek with the rough palm of his hand. At his soft touch, Jess opened her eyes, and felt completely undone. "Sorry. Hands are a little rough from all the work." He explained, hopefully she wouldn't mind. He leaned his forehead down until they were touching. Sliding hid head down, he rested it in the crest of her shoulder and neck. Inhaling her scent, he prayed that if this was a dream, that he never wake up.

Jess stepped away, as if she had herd his prayer. Josh looked up, watching her back away. She backed away enough that he stopped laying his head on her shoulder, but not enough that he let her go.

"I. . .I should g-go," Jess mumbled as she stepped out of his arms and rushed toward the exit. She quickly ran the distance separating the barn from the house. Running into the house, Jess crashed into the kitchen. Almost crashing into Maria. "Sorry Maria," Jess said, and watched the little Mexican woman shake her head.

"Slow down, senorita Jess." Maria smiled at her and walked out the kitchen door and toward the hen house. "Jess, is there something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?" Jess sighed and shook her head.

Walking over to the kitchen counter, she tried not to replay what had just happened in her mind and failed. Heat flooded to her cheeks, and stayed there. What was going on with her? Her stomach felt like it had butterflies in it, and her heart was racing quicker than it ever had. Her blood felt hot rushing through her veins, and she felt herself trembling all over.

Placing a hand on her forehead, she felt for a temperature. Nothing out of the ordinary. She could just be hungry. She nodded to herself, thinking that would be an acceptable solution to the problem. Walking over to the refrigerator, she opened it and stared inside blindly. Feeling her stomach roll, she closed it quickly. No, she wasn't hungry. The mere thought of food made her suddenly nauseated. What was it then?

The answer was sudden and obvious.

Josh.

"Thought you were outside. Swear I just saw you walking out to the stable." Jess jumped at the sound of her father's voice. It had been a long time since anyone had snuck up on her. Her hearing was so sound that she usually heard anyone who approached.

Gripping the door handle of the refrigerator tightly, Jess squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "I was. I came back." She answered just as tightly. "I came back to the house to tell Josh he was needed back in the stables. I walked in on him and his girlfriend embracing."

"How do you know it was his girlfriend. Maybe, she was just a friend."

"Highly doubtful."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Because, when I first walked into the room, Josh was embracing her, so I walked out so he could have his privacy. When I came back a few minutes later, they were still embracing. If that is a definition of a friend, then I don't want one." Jess sat down next to her father at the kitchen table. Laying her hands on the table, she laid her head on top of them. If that were true, she said to herself, then why the hell was he kissing her?

"Not feeling well?" Jim interrupted her thoughts and brought her careening back into the present.

"A little stomach upset and a headache." When Jim Mills didn't answer. Jess looked up to find him smirking. "What?" She asked her father, totally befuddled. Her father didn't want her to not feel well did he?

"Looks like my daughter got bit by the green monster."

"Huh?"

"Jealousy."

"What me? Jealous? Of. . .?"

"Cheryl."

Jess laughed nervously. If he only knew. "Yeah. That's right. I'm jealous of a big haired, city girl, who smells like the city she came from." Jess sneered. "Yeah, I'm so jealous." Jess said sarcastically and shook her aching head. No, she felt like crap for kissing another girls' boyfriend.

Jim shook his head in return. "Not of her," he corrected, "but because Josh likes her." Jess gave him a blank look.

"And he doesn't like me? Is that what you are trying to say?"

"No, I'm sure that Josh likes you just fine." Jim corrected again. "But Josh likes her likes her." Jim said with emphasis. "Understand now?" He asked. At Jess's odd look, he knew without an answer that she didn't.

"Hardly." Jess answered, thinking her father was completely off his rocker. Her? Why would she be jealous of whom ever Josh held affection for. They'd just kissed, and that didn't mean anything. It's not like she loved him or anything. That would be different. Wouldn't it?

"Let's go to the movies tonight, Jess." Jim said. "Just you and me. Come on. It'll be fun." Jim looked pleadingly at his daughter.

"I suppose." Jess agreed and headed up to her room after giving her father a quick hug. She was hoping she wouldn't have to see another living soul until she left with her father. Closing the door, she stepped over to her closet, and pulled out the only dress she ever recalled owning. The knee length blue dress had belonged to her mother. Jess only wore it on the special occasions that she went into town for a movie or dinner with her dad.

Chapter Seven

Josh continued to muck out each of the stalls in turn, and before he realized it, night had over taken the countryside. "Hey, kid," Jed said. The older man walked into the last stall Josh had begun to clean. "You almost done in here?" He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the job the he had done.

"Yeah, I'm just finishing up in here. Couldn't take me more than ten more minutes." Josh said as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

"Good," Jed nodded. "When your done, clean up the tack room, and you can head on up to the main house and get some grub, okay?" Josh nodded almost absent mindedly, and turned back to the duty at hand. "Oh, and, kid," turning back to Jed, Josh felt sweat drip down his cheek and spatter on to his sweat encrusted t-shirt. "Good job on the stalls. They haven't been this clean since Jim cleaned them last, and that was a while ago." Jed turned on his heel and left Josh to finish his duties.

Turning back to the job at hand, Josh tried once again for the umpteenth time to focus on the job and not that infuriating little minx that had his boxers in a bunch. When she fled after his kisses, Josh had experienced a wide variety of emotions. First disappointment because his wish hadn't come true, then amusement that she had fled so suddenly. Soon after he was in denial. He simply couldn't believe he had done that. Just kiss her like that with no swaveness in it, nothing. Now he was into anger. Not with Jess, but self directed. How could he do that? She'd never really been around guys, and he'd taken total advantage of that. God, did that make him a letch?

Hang on a tick, Josh suddenly thought, she didn't exactly stop him. Maybe she had wanted him to kiss her. Anger lifted from Josh's mood, replaced by mild curiosity. Would she want him to kiss her again? That was a possibility worth thinking about.

~~~~~~~~~~~

When Josh opened the door to the kitchen a little while later, Jess was leaning causally next to the kitchen sink, sipping hot coffee. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress, and was eyeing Cheryl, who sat at the table arrogantly sipping her own cup of coffee. Disgust and disapproval shone bright in her eyes, although masked on her face.

"Why don't we look fancy?" Josh teased gently as he walked into the kitchen. Jess looked up at him with disdain for him showing clearly on her face. She could mask her distaste for Cheryl, but not for him. Great, this was going to be fun, Josh thought with stifled sarcasm. The only thing better than mucking out the stalls all day, then cleaning the tack room, was coming home with a scorned woman inside, or worse, Jess on PMS.

"You don't look,-" Jess sniffed and her nose wrinkled, "or smell that fancy." Josh rolled his eyes, and shook his head. Looking at Jess, he found himself unable to pull his eyes away from her. She was just to darn pretty to ignore.

"You're staring." Cheryl pointed out.

"Can you blame a guy?" He asked in self defense, never looking away from Jess. "She's the best looking thing I've seen in six weeks." Then, two things happened that he hadn't believed could ever happened. Jess blushed and Cheryl told him to get a room, and left the kitchen. He should have figured that little trick out earlier.

"What about your girlfriend? Chelsea?" Jess prodded, nodding to the still swinging door she had exited from.

"She doesn't count. She's a something I gave up with out so much as a qualm two years go." Josh smiled, and sat down at the kitchen table. "You look really good, Jess." Too damn beautiful for your own good, Josh thought as he looked at her, blushing lightly. Why was this happening to him now? He didn't need an infatuation, not when he was leaving soon.

"Thanks." The thank-you was unexpected and almost inaudible. Josh wasn't sure if he had heard it or if it was his imagination until Jess looked up from her folded hands at his face, expectantly.

"For what? The compliment?"

"Yes. It was kind of you." She said averting her attention to her coffee cup once again, fiddling with the handle.

"So, what's the occasion anyway?"

"Dad and I are going to a movie in town."

"Mind if I tag a long?" He asked, his enthusiasm clear. "Could be fun." Jess was prepared to turn him down flat, but he had just said something really nice about her, so maybe she wasn't as ready to turn him down as she thought.

"What about Chelsea?"

"Cheryl won't go. She doesn't like to go out very much unless it's to a party of some sort. Rich girls like parties." Josh rolled his eyes. "One of the reasons we were never really matched. She likes the sicioety sh- stuff, and I am a much more go to the movies and chill at home with Chinese food, kinda guy."

"Oh." Jess wasn't prepared for a rebuttal for that comment.

"Do you think I could go?" Josh asked again when Jess didn't elaborate on her short reply.

"I guess so."

"Great," Josh said, "I'll just go take a quick shower and change."

"Okay." Josh stood and headed toward the door, knowing full well Jess's eyes were on his back as he retreated. Turning abruptly, Josh flashed her a wide grin, a very male grin and winked before letting the door close behind him.

What was wrong with him? He'd been acting like this for the last few days; winking at her before leaving a room and smiling unexpectedly at her all the time. Jess shook her head. Whatever was happening with him, needed to stay with him.

Jess stood up to go tell Josh he couldn't come with her and her father to the movie just as Jim walked through the kitchen door. "That was really nice of you, Jessica, inviting Josh to come with us to the movie. I'm proud of you." Jim smiled down at Jess with a loving look only a father could give.

"Uh, thanks, Pop." Jess said, ashamed she had almost made it out the door to tell Josh he couldn't go.

"Well, when I ran in to Josh, almost literally, I was on my way to cancel our date. I'm sorry, honey. I'm tired tonight, and I think I'm just going to go to bed early. Now that you and Josh are going though, you should go and have fun."

"Pop, if your not feeling well, I'm just gonna stay and keep you company." Pushing away from the counter, she sat down next to her father at the kitchen table. Placing her coffee on the table, she began to reach for her father.

"No, Jess." Jim's voice was stern.

"Why is this such a big deal?"

"It's not." Jim assured her. "I just want you and Josh to go out and have a good time." Jim slouched in his chair slightly, and sighed. "That's not all Jess. Josh is leaving soon," Jim confided, "Roger is really going to miss him when he leaves."

"When is he leaving?" Everyone on the ranch had heard Josh's spiel on third world countries and why he was going there. He had planned to leave weeks ago but remained. Jess had forgotten he was leaving at all. The reminder was a wake up call.

"I'm not sure. Next week, the week after." Jim shrugged his shoulders. "It really doesn't matter to Rog. All he figures is that his son is leaving, and let's face facts here, Jessica. He may not come back." At that slow ominous tone in her father's voice, Jess felt a shudder run through her. "For the rest of the time that Josh is here, I want you two to become at least friends."

Jess stared down at her coffee cup on the kitchen table, Josh may not come back. The realization flowed through her. It was the least she could do, be nice to her father's friend. She could be nice to him.

Jim suddenly shrugged his shoulders. "Now that you two are going to a movie together, I think you should get to know one another better." Jim began to dig in his jean pockets before pulling out a wad of bills and setting them in front of Jess. "Here," he said, gesturing to the bills, "go to Georgio's in town, and get some pizza or something else Italian, after the movie."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Pop."

"I think it is."

"I'm not going to take Josh on a date."

"I'm still your father, young lady," Jim reminded her, "and your not taking Josh on a date. He's taking you on one."

~~~~~~~~~~

Josh quickly peeled off the sweat encrusted clothing he worked in all day and stepped into the shower. He took the quickest shower of his life and jumped out. He dressed in his favorite jeans and a regular white undershirt with a plaid blue long sleeve shirt over it. Leaving the first three buttons open, he tucked the shirts into his pants as he shoved his feet into his Nike cross trainers.

Running full force out of the door, he nearly knocked Cheryl over.

"Whoa!" He said as he skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Where are you going all dressed up?" Cheryl inquired with a sneer. "Cow tipping or on a manure run?" Josh looked into her face and remembered why he had broken up with her. She was an awful person, and he couldn't stand looking at her.

"Look, Cheryl, I don't have time for this or you. I have to go."

"I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm going back to Dallas."

"So?" Josh inquired. "Does it look like I care?"

"Don't be cold, Josh. It isn't very becoming. Well, I was thinking that you could come into my room tonight. We meshed very well in bed. I think we mesh very, very well in bed." She added running a suggestive finger down his shirt front.

"Actually, Cheryl, thanks, but no thanks. Not interested."

"What?" She practically shouted as she snapped back as if he had slapped her. "What do you mean your not interested? Have you turned gay since we broke up?" With out waiting for a response, she continued. "It's that Jessica girl, isn't it?"

"You don't know what your talking about." Josh stated angrily.

"Oh, I don't?" Cheryl put her hands on her hips and thrust her chest toward him, as if trying to entice him. Little did she know she was hamburger and Jess was his filet mignon.

"No." Pushing her out of the way, Josh quickly continued on his way.

Running down the stairs, Josh hoped Cheryl wouldn't follow him. Breaking into a dead run when he hit the main floor, he burst into the kitchen with the force of a small tornado. Jess sat at the kitchen table. She looked awful pale. "You feeling all right?"

"Yeah," Jess said. Standing quickly, she grabbed a wad of something from the table top and headed out the back door. "Come on. Let's get a move on." Jess said over her shoulder, not really looking back at him.

"Wait, Jess," Josh said. "What about your Dad?"

"He decided not to go. He's tired." Jess mumbled under her breath, as she let the screen door slam behind her.

"Wait Jess," Josh touched her shoulder gently. Turning Jess looked up at him, a look completely foreign to him on her face. "Jess, did I do something? You look like your pissed at me or something."

"Why does everything have to revolve around you, Josh? Could it be that maybe I'm fine? That maybe I just want to go?" Letting her temper get the best of her for a moment, Jess ranted. Between Chelsea or Christi or whatever her name was, hugging Josh like nobody's business, and then Dad telling her she was actually jealous of her, Jess felt like pulling her hair out.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Josh demanded in a rush.

"I don't hate you!" Jess fumed at him. "You make me crazy!" Jess hit her forehead with the palm of her hand as she spoke, emphasizing her point.

"Yeah," Josh said, looking remarkably solemn suddenly. Touching her shoulder, Josh leaned closer to her. "You make me crazy too. Crazy for you. . ." Before Jess could respond, Josh leaned down and grazed his lips against hers. When she didn't deny him, Josh pulled her closer and kissed her fully.

When he finally pulled away, Jess's eyes were closed and she leaned her body against him, and her arms had wound their way around his neck. Strange how he didn't remember any of that happening.

Opening her eyes abruptly, Jess pulled away from him and almost ran out the door. It looked as if she had the devil chasing her.

This was going to be one hell of a night, Josh thought, smiling ruefully. And damn him to hell if he wasn't looking forward to it.

Chapter Eight

The ride to the movie was quiet with hardly any word spoken between them. Josh took his truck, figuring he should use it, since he hadn't driven it since he arrived on the ranch weeks earlier. When the silence finally got to him, Josh turned the stereo on and hit the compact disc button. He didn't remember what was in the player, but it was his truck, his music, so he'd like what ever was in there.