are on the same page. That means we have to do something more than run cattle. It’s just not paying the way it used to. We’ve still got the oil wells, but they’re not producing like they did back in the ’70s.”
She walked back to the table and pulled out a chair, sitting down as she drew her bag toward her.
He thought about something Dennis had said before Ace had left Houston. About bids for the new training facility and how he wanted the facility to be close by and have more ties to NASA than the civilian team.
What if the Bar T was the location of the facility? It was a long shot. Still, they wouldn’t know unless they tried.
He put his hand on hers. “I’ve got a suggestion, but it’s a bit unusual.”
“What is it? So far all I’ve come up with is some sort of B&B spa and no one really wants to do that.”
“NASA. I’m part of a team preparing for long-term missions designed as precursors to the Mars missions we hope will happen one day. Much like Project Mercury was preparation for the moon landing. These missions would set up a way station between Earth and Mars. And they are looking to develop a dedicated training facility.”
“How would that work?”
“Well, the facility would be developed and paid for by a company that we agreed to work with. We’re close enough to Houston for it to be a good fit. What do you think?” he asked.
* * *
MOLLY LOVED HIS IDEA. From what Jason said, it would bring in money for the ranch without too much disruption. The financing would come through the government and private companies. Jason’s plan was for her to be a director of the facility along with him. As an experienced astronaut, he’d provide the NASA expertise and with her management skills and some additional training, Molly would be a good candidate for handling many of the day-to-day operational details.
“So you’d be here on the ranch?”
“For now. Once I get cleared for missions it’s my intention to go back into training for the Cronus program,” he said. “At that point, NASA could hire another qualified person to take on any hands-on responsibilities I would have to give up.”
He wasn’t going to stay forever because his place was up there, but she could have him for a little while. She was tied to the land. She couldn’t imagine living in the stars, but he did. He wanted it.
To agree to this idea of his. “How good do you think our chances are?”
“What?”
“You said bid. That means there are other potential places they could use, right?” she asked.
“Yes. I don’t know how many, but I can go to Houston and talk to my boss. If Dennis likes the idea, then I will ask him for some contacts with a company that wins a lot of bids.”
“Like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Right? They built the Mars Rover and do a lot of work for NASA.”
“Yes. Like JPL, but smaller. This is a newer program and while everyone is excited about going to Mars one day and doing more long-term exploration, the risks are high. Many companies aren’t sure they want to invest in what could be a very short-term project if something goes wrong. But we’ve got nothing to lose and a good shot at winning the bid. I think my involvement will help. I’m one of only a handful of people who’ve spent a year in orbit.”
She knew he was kind of a big deal with NASA. They’d invested a lot in him and she imagined his knowledge of the training requirements would be a boon. “Okay. I guess we owe it to ourselves to give this a shot, don’t we?”
“We do,” he said. “How should we word this on the form?”
She looked down at the papers Rupert had given them, tucking a stubborn lock of hair behind her ear as she read. She tried to focus, but she was very aware of Jason standing close. Watching her.
She’d made a decision... She wasn’t sure when but there was a surety in her now that hadn’t been there before they’d walked into Rupert’s office. She was going to take this time with him and not look back. She had thought she’d have her dad with her forever and if his death had shown her anything, it was that she couldn’t wait to say and do the things she wanted. Time would keep moving on, of course, and the people who came into her life might move on, too. She had no guarantees of anything with Jason. Even if he never went back to active duty he might leave.
“I’m not sure,” she said at last. “You want to read it over? I’ll go get Shirley and see if she can help us.”
He came closer and she caught a whiff of his aftershave, remembered how she’d breathed it in when they’d laid on the grass and held each other. She closed her eyes and then pushed herself back from the conference room table.
Business. She needed to get this taken care of first, and then put this passion between the two of them to the test. See if it was going to be one quick burst or something that might last longer. There was no denying it. And she was tired of pretending she didn’t want him.
She patted him on the ass as she walked by him toward the door.
“Be right back,” she said.
But he was quick. She’d had no idea he could move that fast. He reached past her and put his hand on the door. Then he turned her in his arms and leaned over her, his hands on her shoulders as he pressed his body to hers.
“I thought you were mad at me?”
“Don’t think. That’s been the problem all along. We’re young, we want each other and if we know anything it’s that life goes fast and we aren’t guaranteed anything beyond this moment.”
“Really?”
“Hell, yes. I’m tired of being smart and pretending that I don’t want you, Jason—I mean, Ace.”
“I like that you call me Jason, even though I asked you to call me Ace. Reminds me that I’m a man, not just an astronaut,” he said, putting his forehead against hers.
This time she framed his face with her hands and kissed him. She didn’t care about anything except the way his mouth felt against hers. How impossibly right everything about this kiss was to her. She needed. Needed to believe that she was living and not just waiting for something to happen to her.
She was taking what she wanted with both hands.
SHE GRABBED HIS WRISTS and pressed his body into the door. Her breasts brushed his chest and he hardened in a rush as she leaned up against him and bit his earlobe.
“What are you doing?”
“Is it really that confusing?” she asked with a wink as she kissed his neck and then bit him lightly. “I’m taking control. I realized that I have been standing still for too long, rocket man.”
Rocket man.
His profession meant something to her. He heard the inference in her voice, but he was so turned on by her body close to his that he couldn’t figure it out. He couldn’t think.
He felt her hair on his neck, soft and smooth, smelling like summer strawberries, and he remembered his long year in orbit and how he’d started craving things. One of them had been sun-warmed strawberries.
He was hard and everything in him was focused on her breasts against his chest, her lips on his skin. The way she held him as if she wasn’t going to let go until she had what she wanted from him.
He wanted to give it to her, whatever she needed. Wanted this moment to never end. The air-conditioned coolness of the room contrasted with the heat that was burning inside him. He was inflamed by the way she kissed him, the passion that she’d let slip until it consumed the both of them.
He