Belonging to Bandera (13 page)

Bandera looked over the side of the basket at the man below him. Six people were gathered round, holding the ropes. “Excuse me,” Bandera said. “You’re about to lose us.”

“Give that burner a little tweak, please,” the balloon owner said. “It’ll keep you safe until we figure out how to get you back down.”

Bandera glanced at Holly. “Welcome to your first experience as an active balloon enthusiast. Give the burner a tweak, whatever that means.”

Holly frowned. “It means we’ll go up. We don’t want that.”

“He seems to think it’s best.” Bandera went over and looked at the burner. “I should have stayed with Mimi’s steaming radiator. It was less complicated.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Holly said. “This is less complicated than a bride’s hairdo, believe me. Ask him how much of a tweak a tweak is.”

“How much of a tweak, sir?” Bandera called over the edge.

“Son, I don’t have time to explain,” the man yelled back. “If you’ve ever wanted to be a pilot, this is your chance.”

“Really, we just want down,” Bandera said.

“I don’t,” Holly retorted, giving the handle of the burner a small twist. “I see what we did wrong last time. No tweaking.”

“Not too much tweaking, please,” Bandera said glumly as the flames roared up into the balloon.

Holly smiled. “It’s good to see you in a worried state occasionally. You’re far too confident. It puts me off.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Bandera said. “You’re attracted to it. Women like confidence in a man.”

“Oh, is that what we’re looking for.” Holly gave the burner another tweak.

“Hey! Enough of that!” Bandera grabbed her hand. “They’re moving us. Can you feel that?”

They were about fifty feet in the air now, being led to a far corner of the festival grounds. “All the people look very small, but even though it’s getting dark, I can still see them,” Holly said. “This is cool. When I plan my business, I’m going to make certain that the location is very remote and private.” She pulled a brochure from her purse. “Look what I got. An itinerary for a hot air balloon
trip in Salzburg, Austria. It’s a luxury honeymoon package.”

Bandera forgot about his hesitation and gazed over Holly’s shoulder. “A balloon ride over Salzburg, Austria, I must admit, tempts even me.”

“You would be scared out of your wits.”

“Not with an experienced pilot, and this says they have them. ‘Late afternoon balloon adventures, skimming over pine trees and meadows tucked away in the foothills of the majestic Alps,’” he read. “Okay, even my brothers, as scattered as their wonderful locations have become, never dreamed of anything this super cool. It may be better than bull riding.”

Holly nodded. “It says you stay in a tower built in 1450 by the prince-archbishop of Salzburg as his private hunting and summer residence. Now, see, we can do something nearly as wonderful for the folks who prefer to see Texas rather than Austria.”

“Yeah.”

Bandera was smelling Holly’s hair, and she moved away from him. “Pay attention. We’re researching.”

They’d stopped, she noticed, and when she peeked over the edge, she saw that the balloon was being tied and anchored in a remote location. “Excuse me,” she called, “you’ll be wanting to let us down now.”

The man in the overalls looked up at her. Cupping
his hands around his mouth, he yelled, “I understand you two are escaped jailbirds.”

Holly gasped. “No, sir, we are not! We are law-abiding citizens.”

“That’s not what she says,” he called back loudly as he pointed to a faraway blonde eating ice cream at a picnic table.

“Mimi!” Bandera exclaimed. “That little vixen!”

“What happened?” Holly asked.

“Mimi is having her fun,” he replied, turning to stare at the burner. “I guess she rented this balloon to keep us up here for a while. Revenge, no doubt, for every inconsiderate thing Mason and the rest of us ever did to her.”

“Aw,” Holly said, “I think it’s sort of sweet. Except for the jailbird part.”

“Trust me, she’s having a good giggle over what she’s done.”

Holly looked the opposite way to keep from smiling.

Bandera turned her back around to face him. “You think this is funny, don’t you?”

“Well, it is amusing how she one-upped you,” Holly admitted.

“She one-upped you, too,” Bandera said.

“No, she didn’t. Mimi likes me.”

“Hey!” Bandera glared at her. “Mimi’s like my little sister!”

“And she’s treating you like a brother. This is exactly what sisters do—get their brothers back for all the years of teasing and terrorizing.”

“We may have played a joke or two on Mimi, but this is unnecessary. However, if I’m going to spend time aloft, I’m going to spend it doing something I
really
want to do.” Bandera pulled Holly into his arms, then sighed with pleasure. “I like holding you. You’re a perfect fit for me.”

It felt better than she wanted it to and every bit as wonderful as she needed. “I don’t see how I can be a perfect fit for you when you’re nearly a foot taller than me.”

“I like it. You make me feel strong and protective.”

She looked up at him. “You make me feel strong and protected. Somehow.”

“Good. Between us, we’ll beat up on Mimi when she finally lets us down out of this contraption.”

“I suppose we could lower the flame on the burner and gently sink to the ground,” Holly said.

“What would be the fun in that?” Bandera kissed the top of her head. “We’re up here. We might as well…cuddle.”

Holly felt her whole body sigh as he kissed her. It was sweet and gentle at first, then heat rushed all over her. “Better stoke it,” she said, pulling away. “I want it to stay up.”

“It will not go down, I assure you,” Bandera said,
reaching under her blouse to stroke her back. “It hasn’t needed a lot of stoking around you.”

Holly blinked. “Oh, my,” she said. “I meant the balloon.”

“Don’t get all ruffled up, babe,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. He moved to the burner, discharging another blast of heat into the balloon.

Holly watched Bandera’s big hands as he worked, and his lean body as he turned back toward her. She liked the way his hair fell rakishly over his eyes, and she liked his hat pushed down low on his forehead. In fact, she liked a lot about this man, though she’d been resisting him with everything in her.

And for what? Mason and Mimi resisted each other and that had gotten them nowhere.

Holly didn’t want to be nowhere.

“I like being up here with you,” she told Bandera.

“I’d like being anywhere with you.” His hands slipped along her bare skin, and right then and there, Holly made up her mind.

She wasn’t getting out of this balloon, she wasn’t putting her feet on the ground, until she had quit resisting him and everything and life itself. “Are you still afraid of heights?” she asked, melting against him.

“I don’t particularly care where I am right now, as long as you keep doing that,” he said. “It’s sort of romantic to be up in a hot air balloon with you starting
to take on a little come-hither attitude. And I am a romantic guy, in case you couldn’t tell.”

She laughed. “Maybe I will put on a little come-hither.”

He made a hissing sound and pulled her against him. She could feel parts of his body that were hard—rock hard. “Remember when I met you and asked you to kiss me, and you did?”

“Yeah.”

“I liked it.” She ran her hands up his chest and wound her arms around his neck.

“I am always happy to oblige you.” So he kissed her again, for good measure.

“It was the wildest thing I’d ever done.”

He pulled back to look down into her eyes. “Really?”

“Really.”

“We’ve got to loosen you up, babe. Get you wilder.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Hmm, let’s see. One of us is going to lose something in this balloon tonight. Either I’m going to lose my fear of heights,” he said, “or you’re going to lose your fear of rebounding.”

She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him on the lips with everything she had. He couldn’t miss her meaning. “I had losing something else in mind,” she said with a teasing smile. “How’s your balance, cowboy?”

W
HEN
B
ANDERA AND
H
OLLY
were pulled to earth a couple of hours later, he knew everything had changed. For the worse.

Which he couldn’t understand, because they’d made the most explosive love high above the earth that he could have ever imagined. She was a wild woman, and there were moments he’d had to pray that the basket would hold.

As soon as the basket was pulled in, she changed. He wanted to tell the owner to leave them up there for a couple more hours, but that was a fantasy. The reality was that Holly was a different woman on earth. With her fears and insecurities keeping her feet planted somewhere he really couldn’t understand.

“Have fun?” Mimi asked with a smile.

“You’re in big trouble, little sister,” he said, but he could barely manage their normal playful banter.

“How about you?” she asked Holly.

“Very romantic for a business, I think,” Holly answered, walking toward the truck.

Mimi glanced at Bandera. “Oops. Did I make everything worse? I was only trying to help.”

“No, it was a wonderful gag, and one day, I’ll pay you back in spades,” he said absently, watching Holly disappear into the crowd. “She loved every minute of it.” He shook his head, feeling vaguely sick. “But
I think she’s still upset about weddings,” he added, “and I guess she’s all planned out.”

“You asked Holly to marry you?” Mimi asked curiously.

He sighed. “No, that would be too easy.”
I make love to her and then let her walk away.

But going was what she wanted. He’d known that from the moment he’d met her. She wanted a romantic tryst in a hot air balloon, and he’d wanted it, too, and that was that. “I can’t ask her to marry me, because she’d say no. Patience is the order of the day.”

Mimi looked at him worriedly. “Come on. Let’s go home. You’re starting to sound like Mason.”

“I hope Mason doesn’t feel like this,” Bandera said, his heart broken, “because it’s no fun at all not to be with the woman you love.”

“You’ll work it out,” Mimi said anxiously.

“I don’t think so,” he replied. “There is no working this out.”

B
ANDERA DROPPED
M
IMI OFF
at her town house and waved at the sheriff, but didn’t linger. He had to get Holly home. She seemed to be growing quieter with each passing mile. In another fifteen minutes, she would be totally mute.

He wasn’t about to ask her what was wrong. He knew she liked him; he knew their lovemaking had been the real thing.

Something else was bothering her. But she was going to have to come to him this time. She needed to open up and admit she needed him.

He wasn’t going to pry her secrets out of her.

So he merely pulled up in front of the address she gave him, a few towns north of Union Junction, and watched as she got out.

“Thank you,” she said.

He nodded. “The pleasure was mine.”

“It’s not you,” she said.

“I know.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

She seemed surprised by that. “Goodbye, Bandera.”

He wasn’t about to say goodbye. As he’d warned her, he had plenty of endurance for the chase. Right now, she needed to rest and think. He understood.

Pulling from the driveway, he waved goodbye, leaving her standing in front of a white house with pretty gingerbread scrolls and colorful tulips out front.

As soon as he turned the corner, he stopped his truck and, with hard fingers, dug the tears out of his eyes.

If this was the burden Mason had been carrying around for years, it
stunk.

One Sunday afternoon a month after the magical night that changed her life, Holly had a visitor.

It was Mimi Cannady.

“Hello,” Holly exclaimed, stepping away from the door. “Mimi, it’s great to see you! Come in.”

“This is a nice home,” Mimi said. “It suits you.”

“Thank you. Would you care for a lemonade—or maybe a mimosa?”

“A mimosa sounds wonderful.” Mimi looked around at the garden-print fabrics on white rattan furniture. “Can I help you make the drinks?”

“No. Sit down. The powder room is down the hall if you want to freshen up.”

Holly came back in to find Mimi reading one of her bridal magazines.

“Are you still a wedding planner?”

“No,” Holly said, putting the drinks on the glass coffee table. “I sold my business.”

“Congratulations! Let’s drink to that.” Mimi held up her mimosa and they touched them together with a clink. “I like successful businesswomen.”

“And speaking of successful women, I bought a piece of Marielle’s land.”

“Marielle. That’s the woman whose bike Mason rode on.”

Holly blinked, not knowing how to answer that.

Mimi sighed. “He told me.”

“It was a matter of necessity, I think.” Holly frowned. “I actually thought she might have had an eye for my cousin Mike.”

“That’s good to hear.” Mimi smiled.

“Did Mason find what he was looking for?” Holly asked.

She shook her head. “Not yet. I think Hawk and Jelly are still on the case, though.”

“Have the two of you ever…talked?” Holly asked delicately.

“No, and he doesn’t know about Nanette, but the time will be right, hopefully soon, and I’m going to be brave and just say it.”

“Oh, dear.” Holly had a feeling Mason would probably explode.

“So, have you and Bandera talked?” Mimi asked.

Holly shook her head. “Is that why you’re here?”

“No. He doesn’t talk to me about things. I just wanted to visit you, make sure you were doing all
right.” Mimi looked at her guiltily, then shrugged. “Although I will admit that Bandera asked me to come check on you.”

Holly smiled softly, pleased that he had. “That’s nice of you, Mimi.”

“I think he’s worried that he might have offended you. He wants to know that you’re happy. ‘Mimi,’ he said—” Mimi mimicked his deep voice “‘—even if you find out she married that varmint, that’s fine. I just want to know that she’s all right.’” Mimi shrugged. “So here I am.”

“Oh, no, the varmint and I have little to say to each other. In fact, my mom heard that he and his bride actually divorced. Apparently, his wife caught him with another woman, and that was that.”

“Well, let’s not waste any pity on them,” Mimi said. “Let’s talk about going forward with our lives.”

Holly raised her eyebrows. “So Bandera sent you to make sure I was all right financially?”

“He said something about wanting to make certain your dreams came true. He said he had a soft spot for hot air balloons and all the romance they signify. And strangely, the other night he was watching a movie with this guy flying around in a balloon. He was quite the daredevil, I must say.” Mimi grinned, a light in her eyes. “Bandera said he was studying.”

Holly’s heart rate speeded up. He was thinking
about her! “I really like him, you know,” she told Mimi. “It just wasn’t the right time.”

“I don’t think it ever is. Look at me. Can I lecture you on the way to find the right time? No.” Mimi sighed and drank some of her mimosa. “This is delicious. You are clearly cut out to do what you’re doing. What more does a bride need in a balloon than a beautiful gown and a mimosa?”

“A hot guy,” Holly said.

“I know a few of those,” Mimi stated, “and they’re mostly part of the same family.”

“Okay,” Holly said, “I’ll bite. What else are you supposed to find out while you’re on your errand of inquiry?”

Mimi laughed. “I’ve achieved his mission. I’m on mine now. Is there anything I can do to persuade you to come for a visit? I think Bandera’s heart is broken.”

“I can’t, Mimi. Fortunately, I know his heart is not broken. I know how these guys operate,” Holly said. “They’re very protective, very kind, very nurturing.”

“All very good things.”

“Yes,” Holly agreed slowly. “But see it from my perspective. I hadn’t lived. I was going from my parents’ house to my marriage. And it was a huge mistake. The very day I fled, I met the hottest man I’ve ever known in my life. Hotter than hot, even. Dream-come-true hot. And,” she said, lowering her voice, “I
realized I was living my fantasy. With no planning at all. It just happened.”

Mimi leaned forward, her blue eyes wide with interest as she reached for her mimosa. “Sounds like a romantic movie to me.”

Holly sighed. “But real life intrudes, and I realized that fantasies end eventually.”

“Oh.” Mimi leaned back. “You know, you should get to know Bandera better. He’s pretty fun for a cowboy. And you want some fun in your life, don’t you? A girl can’t be all work and no play.”

“I’m feeling pretty good about my life right now,” Holly said. “I’ve got a new business. I’ve bought my parents’ home—”

“You did?” Mimi looked shocked. “Where are they?”

“On a trip around the world,” she reported with a smile. “They said it was time to live life outside the lines. And it’s not a big boat, either. It’s more like a catamaran. They call occasionally to let me know how they’re doing.”

Mimi stood. “Be happy, Holly.”

“You just got here.”

“I know. But I have a youngster at home, and she’ll be wanting to play once she gets up from her nap.”

“Thank you for coming by.”

Mimi nodded. “Congratulations again on your new business.” She paused at the front door. “I know
you don’t want to get hurt again, Holly. I completely understand you feeling the way you do.”

Holly felt her smile slip from her face. “The thing with Chuck…it really was awful, Mimi,” she said. “It was embarrassing, and sometimes I wonder if that’s why my parents sold the house and left to travel the world.”

“Of course it’s not!”

“I know. But it was terribly humiliating. And upsetting. It shattered my faith in the wonder of marriage.”

Mimi handed her a tissue, which Holly took gratefully.

“I didn’t want to tell anybody, but of course I can talk to you.”

“Yes,” Mimi said, “since you’re keeping a pretty big secret of mine.”

Holly nodded. “My heart turned inside out when I walked in that day and found them. How many weddings had I planned, putting my whole heart into every one? And then it was my turn. I knew after I caught him that he wasn’t the right man for me, but it still hurt. And I’m not happy that he’s getting divorced. In a way, it would have been better if everyone knew he’d met a woman he loved more than me. Now everyone just knows he’s a louse. I don’t want to be known for nearly marrying a louse.” Holly laughed and wiped her eyes with the back of her
hand. “I sound like a nut. You can see that I’m not ready for a man like Bandera.”

“But he doesn’t care if you sound like a nut, because
he
is nuts,” Mimi said. “They all are. It’s part of their appeal. Think about it. And maybe after you’ve finished making the changes in your life that you need to make, you can go have a cup of coffee with him.”

Holly shook her head. “I couldn’t. I can barely get him out of my mind as it is now.”

Mimi blinked. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not when you’ve had hot sex in a balloon,” Holly said. “You tend to obsess about how great it was.”

“Ohh,” Mimi said. “Is that why he’s watching that movie with the guy in the balloon?” She giggled. “You two have got to stop longing for each other. Trust me, a bed works just fine.” Laughing, she hugged Holly. “I’ll tell him you’re fine…and thinking about him,” she said.

“Don’t you dare!” Holly squeaked.

“Holly, I am the woman who paid money to get you stranded in the sky with Bandera,” Mimi stated with a wink. “But I promise not to say a word.”

“Thank you,” Holly said. “It’s better this way.”

Mimi turned to walk away, then slowly turned back. “Can I just say one thing, between us girls?”

She nodded.

“I hate to see you make the same mistake I made. Fear is a bad thing to give in to.”

“I know. And yet I feel safer on my own.”

“I understand,” Mimi said. “Letting someone into your life is an adventure in itself.”

B
ANDERA THOUGHT AGAIN
about the note Mimi had left him yesterday, his heart tearing in two.

How could he feel so much for her when she felt nothing for him?

Deep in thought, he rubbed a saddle, looking at the sheen on the leather, before he realized that two kids were looking up at him. “Hey, Kenny, Minnie,” he said. “What are you two rascals doing up at this hour?”

“We wanted to pet the horses before we left. Mom’s taking us to buy sparklers,” Minnie said.

“Sparklers, huh? That sounds like fun.”

Kenny put his hand over the rail to pet the horse. He looked up at Bandera. “Mom says she hopes you bring your girlfriend to the Fourth of July picnic.”

Bandera rubbed his chin, recognizing well-wishing from Kenny’s mother, Olivia. “I don’t actually have a girlfriend, Kenny.”

Minnie’s eyes went round. “Do you want one?”

Bandera gave his horse a long brush with his palm. “I do.”

Minnie wrinkled her nose. “I like this boy at school. I wish he’d just say hi. But he never does. Why do boys not like to say hi?” Her mouth turned down. “He stole my prettiest ribbon on the last day of school.”

Kenny nodded. “Right from her hair. He did it on the playground. I saw him.”

Bandera smiled ruefully. “I don’t have the answer to that question. I can guess, though. Sometimes boys don’t say hi because they’re scared.”

“That’s dumb,” Minnie declared.

“Yeah.” He laughed, thinking that even men were sometimes scared of women. “It’s something you might have to get used to, though.”

“Guys should say hello.”

“And therein lies the first hurdle for men and women. Who should say hi first? Who should call whom?” He ruffled her hair. “Truthfully, I think it’s a good sign he stole your ribbon.” Bandera had a few mementos from Holly, and he wasn’t giving them back.

“You do? Mom said she’d talk to his mother and make him give it back if I wanted her to.”

“I think he might have wanted something to remember you by over the summer.” Bandera laughed as he sat down on a barrel and looked at both kids. “How about this? I’ll ask a lady I know if she’ll come to the picnic to meet you and to be with us.”

“Good,” Minnie said. “She probably wishes you would ask.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but a man’s got to try.”

Minnie and Kenny nodded. Kenny puffed out his chest, trying to be manly.

“And I will take you to the store myself,” Bandera said, “and help you choose a ribbon, Minnie, and a hatband or pinwheel, whatever you want, Kenny, for the Fourth of July. But let’s tell Mom it’s okay for your friend to keep the ribbon.”

“Did you ever steal a girl’s ribbon?” Kenny asked.

“Come on,” Bandera said, walking from the barn with his niece and nephew. “If I tell you I did, you’ll be stealing ribbons with the best of them.”

“No. I’m just going to say hi to girls. That’s what Minnie says I should do.”

“And you should always listen to your sister. She’s very smart.”

“We’re going now,” Minnie said. “Don’t forget to ask the lady. Otherwise you won’t have a partner for the three-legged race.”

“Oh, boy. That’s right.” Bandera waved as they ran toward their house on the ranch property, with its windmill turning slowly behind.

“I’m not sure how much Holly would enjoy being tied to me at the ankle, but I suppose I should be brave,” he murmured thoughtfully. Then he looked
at the note from Mimi again. No sign in there that Holly wanted to see him.

He sat on a rail and contemplated his position as he looked at the sunshine flooding the landscape. Why did a woman give a man her virginity and then disappear? Had that been just a fling? Obviously, they had both been aware of the romance of the moment, but he was certain she had wanted
him
just as much as he’d wanted her.

He hated to think she might have been taking some revenge upon the memory of her ex. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” he said to himself. “Or something like that.” But he knew that kind of dramatic quote really didn’t fit Holly. She was far too gentle.

The only way to discuss how she felt was to find out for himself. He couldn’t snatch a ribbon from her hair, or tease her out of her panties. She was moving on with her life, and if he didn’t quit being a chicken and find out how she felt, the opportunity might be lost to him forever.

T
WO HOURS LATER
, Bandera sat in front of Holly’s home. She wasn’t there. He knew because the newspaper was on the front lawn and the porch light was off. Twilight was falling in the sleepy neighborhood, and a light mist made the streetlights glow. He could see her being happy here in her parents’ home. Holly had said she was looking for safe.

But she was also looking for excitement in her life, or she wouldn’t have sold her business and opted to try something new. Or gone on a balloon ride with him. All very risky.

There were two ways he could try to win her heart. One, safely. He could walk to the front door and ring the bell, hand her some flowers and invite her to the picnic.

Safe.

Or he could be outrageous and fun.

“Flip a coin, Bandera,” he said. “Everything’s hanging in the balance.” What did a woman
really
want? It wasn’t as simple as Minnie yearning for the boy she liked to say hello to her. Love between a man and a woman went deeper than that; it was based on two halves fitting together to make a whole, where needs were anticipated and satisfied.

Risky or safe. What did a woman who lived in the house she’d grown up in and yet made love in a balloon really want?

“Hey,” said a voice by his ear.