Belonging to Bandera (14 page)

He sat up straight, his heart jumping. “Hey, Holly.”

She glanced inside his truck. “What are you doing?”

He gazed solemnly at her, drinking in her fresh beauty and the slight smile on her lips. “Having a debate.”

“With who?”

“Myself.”

“Oh. I thought there had to be two people for a debate.”

This was not the dramatic romance he’d been debating. “I don’t have anyone to argue with. It’s just me, myself and I.”

“Oh. Well, my neighbor called me down at the flower shop and told me there was a cowboy sleeping in his truck in front of my house. She wanted to know if she should come shoo you off.” Her eyes twinkled at him.

“I’m glad you came to do it yourself,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be shooed by a stranger.”

“Bandera. Would you like to come in?”

An invitation!
Stay cool, Bandera. Follow her lead.
Getting out of the truck, he said, “I hear you’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, I have. It was sort of sweet of you to send Mimi to check on me.”

He followed her inside the house. “Sort of?”

“Yeah.” Holly went into the kitchen and he looked around at the flowered wallpaper and yellow-covered chairs. “I know Mimi gave you the update.”

“Yes. Proud owner of a new home and business. Congratulations.”

“And I’ve got the bubbly.” She poured him a beer. “Michelob, but bubbly.”

“Suits my taste just fine.” He drank the beer grate
fully, hoping to chase away some of his nerves. She looked more beautiful than he remembered.

“I was thinking about our balloon experience the other day,” she said, handing him a plate of cheese and crackers.

“Were you?” He didn’t think now was the time to mention that he thought about it maybe a thousand times a day.

She smiled. “I’m really glad it happened. Thank you for making it so beautiful.”

Oh, God, he was going to die. She was writing him off. A thank-you was a certain goodbye. In fact, she was probably planning to join a nunnery. He had to act quickly. “My niece and nephew want you to come to our family Fourth of July picnic so you can be my three-legged-race partner.”

Now if that wasn’t romance, he didn’t know what was.

She didn’t say anything. But she was smiling.

“Do you like three-legged races?” he asked.

“I don’t know. But I’m into trying new experiences these days.”

He gulped. “Me, too.”

“I wish I’d met you at a different time in my life, Bandera,” she said softly.

Uh-oh, that didn’t sound good. “No time like the present, I always say. Some things can’t be timed. Actually, the only things I can think of that are suc
cessfully timed are boiled eggs and chocolate chip cookies.”

She looked down at her fingers, but he saw the smile on her face.

“What is it, exactly?” he asked. “Between you and me?”

Her eyes widened. Bandera tensed inside. Well, that was the combination of risky and safe he’d been looking for, he guessed; even Minnie would have to approve of his direct approach.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I want to make love to you again. I think about it all the time.”

He could be very obliging. Wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Right now, the kitchen floor would do just fine for hot, sweaty sex.

But he knew that’s not what she wanted, either.

On the other hand, a man couldn’t go around snatching ribbons instead of showing his true feelings. He stood, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her against him.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Measuring you for the three-legged race. I aim to win, and I need to know if we fit together.”

“If we can make love standing up in a hot air balloon, I think we can run tied together at the ankle,” she said.

“Oh, you just gave yourself away,” he said, sweeping her up into his arms. “I’m going to make love to
you, and when I’m done, I want you to say that you’re coming to our family picnic. You need to get to know the rest of the Jeffersons.” He pulled off his belt. “You need to get to know me better.”

Bending down, he tied the belt around both their ankles. She started to laugh, pulling at his hair. “This is not how a man romances a woman. I’m sure it’s not. I never saw this in any of my bridal magazines.”

He put his arm around her shoulder so they were connected. “You’ve been reading all the wrong periodicals. Run,” he said. “To your bedroom. Or wherever your little heart desires to make love this time.”

She stared up at him.

“Well, go,” he said. “You have to take some initiative in this relationship. It’s part of my plan to break you free from all your pent-up worries and fears. One foot in front of the other now,” he said.

A pretty blush spread over her cheeks. “Bandera, I can’t run with you.”

“Why? You want me to do all the work in this relationship? So far I have, you know.”

Her lips pursed.

“I want you to want me, Holly. Or you can take us apart. It’s only a standard belt buckle, it’s not a wedding ring.”

She bit her lip, then said, “Hold on tight, cowboy. I’m pretty sure you can’t handle heights.” And she headed up the stairs, dragging him. They stumbled,
and he couldn’t keep up with her, so they lay on the staircase, kissing as if they would never stop.

“I will take off the belt, seeing as how I had to drag you up here,” Holly said. “It was like dragging a two-hundred-pound sack of rice. I don’t think we’re going to win the race at your family picnic.”

Once the belt was released, he pressed her back onto the carpet-covered steps.

“Good to see you at least won’t lag behind like a broken-down mule. I missed you,” he said. “I don’t like you playing hard to get.” He gave her a little slap on the bottom as he pulled off her jeans.

“And I don’t like you being so easy to run off,” she said, slapping him on the rear end as she pulled his jeans off. “I thought you said you had
endurance.
”

He tore off her blouse, holding it to his nose to smell her fragrance. “On the other hand, I like how you’re not desperate,” he said.

She squatted over him in her sweet little pink-and-white-dotted thong to pull off his boots, which he appreciated. “On the other hand, I like how
you
gave me time to clear my head. I really couldn’t jump from one relationship to another. It would have been weird.”

“And what would we have told the neighbors?” he asked, tossing her shoes to the floor and undoing her brassiere. “Miss Bride on the Fly.”

“Oh, my gosh! My neighbor who called to tell me
there was a cowboy outside my house will be looking to see if you’re still here and if I’m safe!”

He held her down when she tried to escape. “We’ll invite her to the wedding, when you ask me nicely to marry you.”

She gave him a light punch on the chest, so he tore her thong off of her. “So much beauty,” he said, “and it’s all mine.”

“So much pigheadedness, and I’m stuck with it,” she said, moving to be on top of him.

“That’s all right, Miss Independent. You be on top, since you like being in charge, and I’ll just be happy.” He ran his palms over her breasts, squeezing the nipples lightly. “You are the sexiest woman I have ever seen.”

She tugged off his boxers and gave a thumbs-up to his erection, before she settled over him. “You’re definitely the most caveman-man I have ever met.” She slid down him, and he held his breath, putting his hands on her hips so that he could enjoy the feeling of her throwing caution to the wind.

“Let’s always have fun,” he said, flipping her over so that he could get farther inside her. He kissed her so hard he thought he would explode from the heat and the hardness and all the feelings that she called forth from somewhere deep in his soul.

“Crazy,” she said, crossing her legs up over his back so she could hold him tight. “Let’s always be crazy.”

“Crazy works for me,” he said, thrusting inside her just to see her eyes close as she strained for pleasure. “Holly, you’re magic.”

He touched his finger to the hot spot between them, lightly massaging her pleasure zone until she cried out, then he rocked against her until she yelled his name. He kissed her, claiming her, before whispering in her ear, “You are always going to yell my name just like that.”

Pleasure so hot swept over him that he stopped thinking. When it was over and his mind came back to him, he realized Holly was holding him tighter than anyone had ever held him in his life.

Almost as if she was afraid he wasn’t real.

Holly held Bandera tightly, knowing she had to let go but wanting to lie like this forever. With him. Nothing in her life had prepared her for the beauty of passion. He made her happy; he made her feel excitement.

“Hey,” he said, looking down at her.

She finally released him and gave him a smile. “Hey, yourself,” she said.

He kissed her neck. “Standing up or at an incline?”

“Balloon or stairs? Too hard to choose.” She got up and began putting her clothes back on. “So much for me being the girl who waited until the altar.”

Bandera laughed, a throaty growl that raised goose pimples on her skin. He pulled her back down and took her thong from her before she had a chance to get it over both feet. “This has polka dots. Nice of you to remember my favorite pattern.”

“I didn’t. And they’re pink. As I recall, that wasn’t your favorite color.”

“No, but polka dots are good luck.”

“I didn’t know you were superstitious.”

The smile melted off his face. “Oh, no. You shouldn’t have said that.”

Holly sat up. “Said what?”

“The
S
word!”

She giggled. “Superstition?”

“Shh!” He sat up, his brows furrowed.

“Bandera, you’re creeping me out,” she said. “I can handle making love in a stairwell, but polka dots and superstitions make you almost too wild for me.”

“I was going to be the first man to fall in love without invoking the family superstition,” he told her. “I haven’t
hurt
anything.”

“You’re into that kind of stuff?” She got up, snatching her underwear from him. “I’m into crazy. But no pain.”

“Holly!” Bandera began dressing, too. “Every man in my family has hurt something when he met the woman for him.”

She smiled. “Maybe I’m not the one.” Dressed now, she went down the stairs into the kitchen. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you, anyway. That’s sick.”

“No, it’s superstition. And it works for us. It began with Frisco Joe.” Bandera followed her around the
kitchen, trying to be helpful as she set up a tray of veggies, but really he just got in the way. She slapped his hand.

“Ow,” he said.

“There, I’ve hurt you. Does that count?”

“I don’t think so. It’s not significant pain.” He looked at her funny, and Holly’s heart turned over.

“Bandera, I realize you’re not the typical man, but superstitions make me nervous. I’m not a rabbit’s foot kind of girl.”

“That’s it,” he said. “You’re right. We’re not rabbit’s foot kind of people.”

Holly hugged him. “Now see how strange that sounded. Already you’re rubbing off on me.”

“I want
you
to rub off on
me,
” he said, kissing her. “I’m pretty certain there’s more to like about you than not.”

“How do you know that?” she asked softly. “I have never understood what it was that made you so sure of everything.”

“I don’t know. Most of the time, I just go on instinct.”

“No planning.”

“None at all.”

She pulled away, looking up at him, wondering what he was really thinking. “You know, we’re completely opposite.”

“Nothing boring about that.”

But he didn’t sound as convinced as he once had,
and Holly couldn’t help feeling that a little of the magic had just blown away.

B
ANDERA WAVED AT
Holly’s neighbor, who was staring out through her curtains, then got in his truck, wishing he felt better about the evening. Holly was his woman, he knew it in his bones.

And yet something was missing.

“Mason,” he said, a couple of hours later when he walked inside the kitchen of the main house at Malfunction Junction. “What do you remember most about Mom and Dad?”

Mason looked up from an apple he was cutting. “That Mom was always teasing Dad. She could make him laugh even when he was tired.”

So laughter made a successful relationship. Bandera and Holly laughed together.

“How’s Holly?” Mason asked.

“She’s fine. And she’s coming to the Fourth of July picnic.”

“Excellent. I’ll tell Last to put an extra plate on the picnic table.” Mason flipped a piece of apple his way, and Bandera caught it with his mouth.

“You’re good at catching things,” Mason said. “Only you and Last can do that successfully.”

“Speaking of catching things,” Bandera said, “can you catch cold feet?”

“Hell, no,” Mason said. “There’s no such thing.”

Bandera stared at his brother. “Then what the hell is your problem?”

Mason stopped chopping, his frown deep. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bandera ground his teeth, wanting to tell his brother the truth about Mimi, and the truth about their baby. But he knew it wasn’t his place, even if Mason was so stubborn he would never ease up enough for Mimi to tell him. “It means you’ve got the worst case of cold feet I’ve ever seen.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mimi,” Bandera said. “Everybody in this house walks on eggshells around you when it comes to Mimi, but it’s time something got said.”

“No,” Mason said, “it’s definitely not time for you to harangue me about anything.”

Bandera set his jaw. “I nearly proposed today.”

His brother seemed surprised. “Good for you.”

“Only I couldn’t,” Bandera continued, “because I thought about pain. And superstition. And why our family lives at a place called Malfunction Junction.” He took a deep breath. “Then I realized none of us is ever going to lead a normal life until your head is screwed on straight.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Mason’s face turned red. “Do you want me to open up a can of whup-ass on you—”

“Hey,” Last said, coming into the kitchen. “Are
we having another close, enjoyable family dinner tonight?”

“Shut up,” Mason said, reaching for him. “I’m sick of your smart mouth.”

“Hey, what did I say?” Last demanded, edging away.

Crockett came in, nearly catching Mason’s swing. “What in the name of Sadie Grace is going on? Mason, cool it, dude.”

“I don’t want to cool it,” Mason said. “Y’all have been wanting me to express myself, and now I’m ready.”

The last four bachelors of Malfunction Junction began ducking and dodging and throwing light punches as they circled the kitchen. Bandera reached out to test Mason’s reflexes with a little tap to his chest, just a small one, but Mason kicked out with his boot, catching him in the ankle.

Bandera went down, and the last thing he remembered as he fell to the floor was Holly’s face when he’d left her.

She’d been scared—and for the first time, he had been, too.

“B
ANDERA
,” a voice said. “Bandera!”

The voice was small and sweet and reminded him of someone. Someone he liked a lot and who made him feel good. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Holly sat beside his bed.

“Hey, Holly.” The pain in his skull was piercing. “You finally came to me. I told you you would.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, he didn’t knock any of the nonsense out of you.”

“No one knocked me,” Bandera said.

“Mason said he did, and a sorrier brother you have never seen. He’s moping around the house. He thinks he nearly killed you.”

“Hmm. I can’t remember.” Bandera smiled at her, and it was a loopy kind of smile.

“Let me go get Doc. He wanted to see you as soon as you woke up.”

“Why do I have to see Doc?”

“Because you hit your head on the corner of the stove. Crockett wanted to take you to the hospital, but Mason said it was too far, and Doc could get here quicker.” Holly slipped from the room and went down the hall. “Mason? Doc? Bandera’s awake.”

“Good,” Doc said. Holly followed him nervously. The sight of Bandera laid up in bed was difficult to bear. When Last had called and asked her to come out, she had immediately jumped in her car and driven to the ranch. He’d said there’d been an incident and Bandera had gotten hurt. By the tone in his voice, she knew Bandera was really hurt, more than his superstition called for.

Doc examined Bandera’s eyes and checked his skin.
“I still think he needs a scan,” he told Mason. “I don’t know that this is your garden-variety coldcocking.”

“I don’t need a scan,” Bandera said. “I’m fine.” He smiled at Holly. “You’re pretty.”

“Oh, boy,” Mason said as Last and Crockett came to stand beside him.

“That was mushy even for Bandera the poet,” Crockett said.

“Poet?” Bandera frowned. “I’m not a poet.”

“A little look-see by the city docs can’t hurt, Mason,” Doc said. “Your bell is a bit rung, Bandera.”

“I’m just tired.” Bandera closed his eyes before slowly opening them again. “Don’t leave,” he said to Holly. “You’re the only one looking at me like you know me.”

She reached out to hold his hand, which made him smile.

“I don’t know,” Doc said. “It’d be best if he had his condition—”

“No,” Bandera said. “I probably just need something to eat.”

“How about chocolate chip cookies?” Holly asked. “I was baking when Last called, so I brought some with me.”

Bandera opened his eyes and smiled at her. “I know you, and you are someone I feel very comfortable with.”

She sighed. “You might not be comfortable in an
emergency room,” she said, “but at least you’d have better medicine than cookies.”

“I’m staying here.” Bandera’s mouth flattened, and his face turned a bit pale.

“All right,” Mason said, then he, Doc, Last and Crockett filed out silently.

Holly looked at Bandera. “You’re too stubborn.”

He closed his eyes, then opened them again. “When the bees quit buzzing in my head, I want to marry you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know why. I just know I do.”

Holly shook her head. “Bandera, you and I agreed to do a three-legged race together, and that required major commitment on both our parts. I don’t think we can go from a three-legged race to a marriage proposal.”

“Go ahead. Ask me.”

She smiled. “I can’t. The man asks the woman.”

He moaned, touching his head.

“All right.” Holly took a deep breath. “Bandera, will you marry me?”

He grinned from ear to ear. “I always knew you had it in you, Holly.” Pulling her into the bed beside him, he kissed her deeply. “I’m crazy about you, girl.”

She beat on his arm. “You were
faking.
”

“I was not. I have a helluva headache and I’m going to whip Mason’s ass when I can see straight. But the one thing I see just fine is you.” He kissed
her palms and then each of her eyes. “And you’re good medicine for me. I loved hearing you ask me to marry you, in that sweet little voice.”

“Let me up,” she said. “I’m going to concuss you myself.”

“My little firecracker,” he said. “All these fireworks in bed just in time for the Fourth of July. And you know what would make me have a one hundred percent recovery?”

“Bandera!”

He laughed. “Some of those chocolate chip cookies you brought.”

“Go ahead, have your laugh,” she said. “You’re the one lying in a bed with your head splitting. I’m feeling no pain whatsoever.”

He grabbed her fingers. “One day, my little wedding planner, I’m going to make love to you in a bed, in a traditional nod to marital bliss, and you’re going to think heaven is in a standard four-poster. We’ve made love, and you know that on some level you belong to me.”

She jerked her hand away. “I take back my proposal. You’re a faker.”

He let go of her, and she made her escape, though part of her wished she was still with him, snuggled up next to his strength.

The realistic side of her knew she had to leave. She was falling for him.

So she left the bedroom and went to the kitchen. She put the cookies on a plate, then took them into the den to Last. “I think the patient is coming around. Here’s the medicine he requested.”

“Aren’t you taking them to him?” Last asked. “He seems to respond better to you.”

“Actually, I’m not. I need to get back home.”

“Oh,” Last said. “It’s like that, is it?”

“Yes,” Holly said. “It’s like that. But thank you for calling me to let me know he was hurt. I don’t think the superstition worked the way he thought it would.”

“Superstition?” Last asked.

“The one about pain and injury.”

“Oh, that’s just a crock of sh— I mean, that’s bull malarkey,” Mason said. “I’ve never been hurt.”

“Neither have I,” Last said.

“Yeah, and neither of you have ever been in love,” Crockett said. “I believe in the Curse of the Broken Body Parts, and I stay away from painful occurrences linked to women.”

These men were committed bachelors, every one of them. They honestly believed that they had to experience pain to make it to the altar. That love was inherently painful in some way. She understood. She’d been through a painful experience at the altar herself.

Holly walked out of the ranch house, sorry to be going but knowing that she had to leave.