The Reject Rescue Read online

  “Sounds good. Oh, my flight companion just arrived so I’ll let you go.”

  Roxy hung up and watched as Jackson Cornilus climbed out of the car followed by the black lab that he was going to train at Disaster City’s facilities. While the dog was beautiful, her trainer was ruggedly handsome. Unlike her boss and his brothers who were movie-star handsome, Jackson was a real man's man. He reminded her of the cowboys she’d used to drool over in Texas, only he wasn’t a cowboy. No, he had more of the sexy lumberjack thing going. He was probably six foot three, but next to her five foot five, she was always looking up at him. He wasn't football player built but lean and tight. His arms, in the long-sleeve Henley T-shirt, showed every line of muscle. The t-shirt was tight across his chest as well, showing that this was a man in tip-top shape. Not from a gym but from a life of activity and exercise.

  His normally unruly facial hair had been trimmed close to his face making him look less lumberjack more like a guy who just hadn’t cared how he looked for a week. She wondered if it was soft or scratchy that way. Not for the first time, she wanted to rub her cheeks against his to find out. His dark-brown hair also was freshly cut and made his grey/blue eyes really pop. She felt herself heating up, and she reached for the cool bottled water she had brought with her drinking it to try and cool down.

  Roxy could see she wasn’t the only one effected by the sexy survivalist, their flight attendant all but swallowed her tongue when he smiled at her, asking where he could hang his parka and place his backpack.

  “We can stow that pack under the plane if you wish sir.”

  “No thank you, this is my search and rescue gear, I’d like to keep it close.”

  They young woman blushed, and it irritated Roxy at how flirty the girl was being with one of the clients. She would make a note to have Collette contact the charter about the level of professionalism their staff provided.

  Jackson placed his pack in the closet the girl had opened and then asked her for a cup of coffee before he and his partner walked into the seating area. Roxy knew when he saw her because he smiled and headed her way.

  “Rudy told me he was sending someone to Texas for a client he didn’t tell me he was sending his right-hand woman.”

  “Well, it’s a big job, and I’m the most qualified, so he asked me to go.”

  Jackson sat in the recliner beside her. “Who's the client?”

  Roxy smiled at him. “I’m going the same place you are. I’m helping them put together gear packages that are better equipped for less money than their current supplier.”

  She looked down at his dog. “Your new partner is very different than old Bumble was, isn’t she. She’s very pretty for a search and rescue dog.”

  Jackson nodded. “Yeah I wasn’t ready for another Newfoundland so Pinga here was a great choice for me. She’s a chocolate Labrador." He pointed at Roxy “Say hello, Pinga.”

  The dog held up her paw in the shake position and Roxy took it and shook it. “It’s very nice to meet you Pinga.”

  She looked at the man beside her and breathed in his scent without being obvious about it. He smelled like sandalwood and cedar. It was a smell she associated with him and honestly with Alaska. He unclipped the working harness on the dog. “You don’t mind if I let her be free for the flight do you?”

  Roxy shook her head. "No, not at all I’d hate to have to be buttoned up and at work for the whole thing myself.”

  She watched as Jackson pulled the harness off and placed it beside him. “Pinga, free-zone.”

  The dog let out a sigh and shook herself like she’d just come out of the water and then went and found a corner of the plan and laid down. The flight attendant handed him a cup of coffee and turned and asked Roxy if she wanted anything to drink. Roxy asked of a cold cola and then opened up her e-reader, maybe she could finish her book on this trip. Just then her phone dinged with a text message. She looked and saw it was from Clarice.

  You haven’t opened your email from TLC yet have you?

  Roxy frowned; she’d actually been so busy she’d forgotten she’d gotten one. She heard Jackson's phone buzz as she typed in her reply to Clarice.

  No, I forgot all about it. My pushy boss dumped this urgent trip in my lap at the same time. ;)

  The response came back. Look at it now you aren’t gonna believe who your connection is with.

  Roxy’s eyebrow went up and she quickly opened her email app on her phone scrolled until she found her TLC email. Then as she read, she almost choked on her drink. “Our scientific matchmaking algorithm has found you a 95.8% True Love Connection in your area. Your TLC is Jackson Cornilus of the greater Anchorage area. Then it gave Jackson's email to her if she wished to pursue the connection.

  She quickly typed a question to Clarice. Is this for real or are you pranking me?

  The response came quickly, and she saw Jackson was typing furiously on his phone a slight frown on his face. That’s funny Jackson just asked me the same question. It’s not a joke or a prank that’s who the algorithm picked for you. Small world isn’t it?

  Roxy took a deep breath. That’s going to make this flight awkward he’s sitting right beside me.

  There were several bubbles showing Clarice was responding. Plenty of time to get to know each other better and see if there’s chemistry as well as compatibility.

  Roxy’s fingers flew across the keypad. There’s always been chemistry just not good timing on his part. He always has a model or trophy girl on his arm.

  Clarice’s answer came back a little slower. Maybe the two of you should talk and see what could be while you're both in Texas.

  Roxy thought about that, she was attracted to him. Sure they would both be busy, but they might be able to spend some time together. She needed to think about it a bit more. She wasn’t really processing that the algorithms, that had told her boss and best friend they were almost perfect for each other, had now said she and the hero she’d had a secret crush on since the Holliday Brothers wedding might be her True Love.

  Jackson

  Roxanne Kowalski, of all the people for him to be matched to and with a near-perfect score. At first when Clarice texted him and asked if he’d opened the email, he’d forgotten he’d even gotten it. He’d been so busy getting ready to leave for a month that he didn't open it. Now that he had, his first thought was that Rudy, or one of his brothers, had put Clarice up to pranking him.

  She’d assured him that the algorithm really connected him to Roxy. Roxy, the perfect pin up girl sitting beside him on this six-hour flight. Clarice’s last text tempted him to see what could happen. Maybe the two of you should talk and see what’s what while you're both in Texas. Give her a real chance Jackson but be careful she was hurt really bad in the past.

  Jackson leaned back in his seat sneaking looks sideways to see what Roxy was doing. Had she opened the email she got it? If so, why hadn’t she said anything? Was she waiting for him to say something? He’d always thought she was lovely looking, but he’d always been involved when they came in contact with each other. The closest they’d come to any kind of connection was the one dance they’d shared at Gordon’s New Years party. He’d had a date, and after his and Roxy’s one dance, the woman had become irate and clingy. What had that woman’s name been again? That showed how much she’d stood out he couldn’t even remember her name. What he did remember was after that Roxy had cooled toward him and seemed to avoid him. Now he wondered why. There was no time like the present was there to get some answers they had plenty of time to kill and maybe talking would show them if they should take Clarice’s suggestion.

  “So, that was Clarice. She talked me into trying her computer matchmaking company.”

  Roxy blushed. “Yeah me too. She just asked if I’d opened the result email I got earlier this week. I hadn’t until just now.”

  “Yeah me too. Honestly Roxy, I’d decided not to open it since I was going to be gone for a month. I didn’t want to start something then just put it on hold for a w
hole month. It just didn’t seem fair to the woman.”

  “Yeah I just got busy and I forgot I even had the email. What do you think about the fact that we were matched that highly together?”

  Jackson smiled. “I ain’t upset by it. I mean, I think we definitely have some chemistry, at least I thought we did during our dance. But then you started avoiding me.”

  Roxy bit her bottom lip and Jackson couldn’t tear his eyes off her. He wanted to pull her from her seat into his lap and sooth that bite. She looked at him. “You don’t know why I avoided you after that dance?”

  He frowned, she looked upset. “No, I just assumed that you didn’t feel the same attraction I was feeling.”

  Roxy shook her head. “I felt it. Your lady caught me in the bathroom and let me know that you only danced with me because Rudy asked you too so I wouldn’t feel bad about being alone on New Years Eve. She said you did it for him even though you thought I was a pathetic overweight disaster.”

  Now he was mad, he’d known that woman was clingy, but he had no idea she had been cruel too. “Roxy, I promise you, I danced with you because I wanted to. It had nothing to do with Rudy, and I honestly didn’t and still don’t see you as any of those things. I’ve always thought you were too perfect for the likes of me. I mean look at you.”

  She frowned, “What do you mean look at me? I know I’m not as beautiful as the women you normally date. I’m just an overweight, small-town girl from Texas. I’ll never be a model, not even a plus size one. I like my food too much, and I’m too plain.”

  Jackson couldn’t help it; he started to laugh. “You think you’re plain? Roxy you are so much the opposite of plain. Whoever told you that you were overweight or plain is an idiot. You my dear are classic pinup girl perfect. If you’d been alive during world war one or two, your likeness would have been painted on some flyboy's airplane. You, would have given Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Paige a run for their money. You, sweetheart are sexy and beautiful. I see you come into a room, and it takes all my willpower not to stare. I watched other guys drool over you too. I suspect that my date on New Years saw the chemistry between us and how attracted to you I was. She said what she did to keep you away from me.”

  “Stop it! I know I’m not beautiful. I know I’m not what guys want. f we were to even try to see if that algorithm was right, I’d be the one everyone would wonder about. Why would a handsome sexy man like you want to be with that chubby slob?" She turned her face away from him, and he wanted to pull her back around to look at him. “I know I’m not like the woman you normally are with.”

  He couldn’t help it; he got up out of his seat, lifted her to her feet and then sat down with her on his lap. “You’re right, you aren’t like the woman I’ve dated in the past. But I want you to realize something. I’m not with any of those women. I asked Clarice to find me a match because I realized I wasn’t finding what I wanted in those skinny society women. I want a woman, not a plastic play toy. That you were who the computer matched me too is more than I could have asked, and I’m going to prove it to you right now.”

  Roxy looked at him her brow lowered in question. “How?”

  “I’m going to kiss you now Roxy, and I’m going to keep right on kissing you until you feel the attraction between us. Then I’m going to ask you to give me the month to convince you that the algorithm was accurate." Before she had a chance to protest, he took her face in both his hands and slowly brought his lips to hers. He could feel her resist at first, sitting stiff and unyielding and then after just a few moments, he felt her give in and start kissing him back. He moved his hands on around their bodies drawing them closer. His other hand slipped around to the back of her neck and wound into that soft, silky blonde hair. He crushed her to hisself, teasing her lips to open to him for a deeper taste of her. He almost lost it when she not only opened but moaned into his mouth. While her mouth might look like fresh ripe strawberries, her taste was more like fresh peaches and cream, and he couldn’t get enough of her sweetness. He plundered her mouth until he had to let her up to grab a breath, and as soon as he sucked it in, he was back at her lips for another taste.

  Jackson had no idea how long he kept Roxy on his lap, his lips plastered to hers. All he knew was that she was perfect. The perfect fit in his lap, the prefect taste of her mouth. He moved from her lips to her neck, starting just below the ear and traveling, kissing, sucking, licking and even taking a nibble or two before coming back to her mouth. The whole time her hand was fisting his shirt pulling him closer and closer still. The whimpers and moans from her throat were making it hard for him to remember he was a gentleman. It wasn’t until his lips hit the cloth of her blouse and her collarbone, he knew he needed to move back to his seat, or he was going to lose all control.

  He went back to her mouth and gave her several, small, teasing kisses before he stood and placed her back in the seat, returning to his own. “That should make it very plain to you, my beautiful temptress, that I’m seriously attracted to you. I need to go get a cool drink before I forget myself and do something we both aren’t able to take back.”

  Roxy was panting, and her cheeks and neck showed the marks of his passion for this lovely Texan transplant. He should be ashamed that his beard had left traces of their make out session, but he wasn’t. They’d fade before they got off the plane, but he’d make sure that he left more and often. He wanted any Texas cowboy she came across to realize this pin up girl was taken and belonged to him. She might not be willing to admit it yet, but she was his and his alone.

  “So where do we go from here Jackson?”

  He smiled down at her. “That is entirely up to you Roxy. Where do you want to go? We can keep exploring this attraction, get to know each other while we're both in Texas and see if this connection is worth holding on too. We could ignore it all together, and you can keep denying that I want you more than any woman I’ve ever met while I keep trying to convince you otherwise. We can put everything on hold until we get back to Alaska and try then. Personally, I want to just scoop you up and keep kissing you until you agree to belong to me and only me. You take a minute and think about what you want to do while I go soak my head in some cold water. You got me so hot I’m boiling sweetheart.”

  He turned and walked into the small restroom at the back of the plane, but not before seeing Roxy’s fingers go up to her kiss bruised lips with a little smile on her face. He wasn’t going to let this one go, no matter what it took. He’d convince Roxxane Kowalski she belonged with him and he with her, or he’d die trying.

  Three

  Roxy

  OH, EMM, GEEE! Jackson Cornilus had just pulled her on his lap and made out with her like it was Saturday night and they were in the back of a pickup truck at Lookout Point! Roxy’s hand was still touching her thoroughly kissed lips the other one sitting on her chest trying to get her galloping heart to settle down so she could think. She looked up to see the flight attendant handing her a cool bottle of water. “You looked like you might need this. That was seriously some hot and heavy going on. I should have known he’d have someone like you on his arm. He’s so…” She waved her hand in front of her face. “You two were burning up all the oxygen in the plane just now.

  Roxy blushed. “Yeah we are still new. Heck honestly, I’m not sure what we are. We were connected by an online matchmaker and still trying to figure things out.”

  The girl shook her head. “I don’t know either of you, but girl that man isn’t trying to figure anything out. Look at your lips and neck. He’s claimed you and made sure anyone who sees you knows your claimed.” She walked back to the front of the plane and took a seat. Roxy pulled out her phone and turned on the camera, so she could use it like a mirror. She snapped a picture of her kiss bruised and swollen lips and the little bite marks, beard burns and sucker marks on her neck and sent them to Clarice. What do you think this means?

  It wasn’t long before she got back a response. I don’t know what you’re asking me, but it l
ooks like someone has been making out with you. Since I know Jackson is the only one on the plane with you. I’m going to assume it’s him.

  Roxy smiled. Yes, he pulled me into his lap and started kissing me this is the result. What do you think he meant by leaving all these marks on me?

  Her phone rang, and Roxy answered it. “Hey.”

  She calmed the minute she heard Evelyn’s voice. “You are freaking out aren’t you Roxanne?”

  The calmness of the older woman’s voice was soothing, and she knew that Clarice and Evelyn must have been together for the motherly Mrs. Holliday to call her. “Just a little."

  “I thought so. Relax, take a few deep breaths, and then tell me how you came to be so well and thoroughly marked up.”

  Roxy took a swallow of her cold water and those two huge breathes then told Evelyn everything that had happened with Jackson since her last text with Clarice. “He told me to decide what I wanted to do. I just don’t know what to tell him when he asks me again.”

  The older matchmaker chuckled. “Well my dear what do you want to do? Obviously from the look of your face and neck in those photo's, there is chemistry and attraction. So do you explore it or avoid it? You came to us because you didn’t want to be alone and were looking for a True Love Connection. Do you think this attraction could develop into that connection? Not what your fear tells you, or even Clarice’s fancy computers say, listen to your heart and your desires. Could Jackson be the one true love you are looking for?”

  Even the question caused her pulse to race and her heart to flip. If she didn’t think about why it couldn’t work and only followed her heart cry, then the answer was yes. But she’d thought that before hadn’t she? Winslow had seemed like could have been too didn’t he? And she'd been so very wrong.