Boots and Twisters (16 page)

Now he found himself saddled with a dog named Otis and a ranch hand who cared about a cow and didn’t mind getting dirty and shoving a tube into its gut to keep it alive long enough for the vet to come in the morning.

She was as fresh as a summer breeze and as sexy as a blanket of stars spread across the sky, and Trent couldn’t seem to get enough of her.

So why was he out walking the highway in the middle of the night?

Because she conflicted him. When he wanted to sell the ranch, she came along and pointed out all the reasons he couldn’t. Zeroing in on the things he’d forgotten or pushed to the side with all the hurts and unhappiness he’d harbored from when he was younger.

He’d seen the ranch as a burden, she’d seen it as a wonderful place full of promise and sunshine.

Trent returned to the saloon at a much slower pace. What was he going to do with Lucky? He’d only known her a day and already he couldn’t imagine the ranch without her. Or his life, for that matter.

He frowned. And his brother had walked her back into the saloon with his hand at the small of her back.

Picking up the pace, he burst into the saloon, his gaze scanning the crowd, searching for Lucky. She wasn’t carrying a tray or serving drinks. Audrey was covering her tables.

Where the hell was she? And where was Isaac?

A loud laugh carried across the barroom from the dance floor. Isaac held Lucky in his arms, teaching her how to two-step.

Trent wove through the tables, leaped over stretched-out legs and finally made it to the dance floor where he tapped his brother’s shoulder. “I’m cutting in.”

“We aren’t done.” Isaac continued leading Lucky around the dance floor, leaving Trent standing in the way of the others.

He moved back to the edge and waited for the song to end. As the music wound to a stop, he was pushing his way through the couples to where Isaac and Lucky were laughing.

“I told you I was hopeless,” Lucky said.

“You weren’t all that bad, you just need more practice. It’s like makin’ love on the dance floor.” His hand drifted lower on her back. “Wanna go another round?”

“I need to get back to work. Audrey shouldn’t have to cover my tables.”

“I was gonna ask if you’d like to have dinner some time.” He cupped her cheek. “I’d really like that.”

Trent chose that moment to bust in. “She’s busy.”

Isaac frowned. “I think the lady can answer for herself.”

“I need to get back to work.” She pulled free of Isaac’s embrace and inched around Trent.

“You can go back after this song.” Trent grabbed her hand and twirled her away from Isaac.

“Hey, we weren’t finished,” Isaac groused.

“Yes, you were,” Trent shot back at his brother.

“Fine. I’ll get a beer.” Isaac stomped away.

“I didn’t say I wanted to dance.” Lucky tugged her hand free.

Trent refused to relent. “Good, because I didn’t ask.”

She stood in the middle of the floor, one fist propped on one perky hip, a toe tapping her impatience. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been cranky since I went on break.”

He glared at her. “I’m not cranky. Are you going to dance with me or not?”

“Not. Especially when you put it like that. I work for you and your brother, but you don’t own me.” She pulled her hand free of his and turned to walk away.

He captured her arm and yanked her around, slamming her against his chest. “Please,” he said through gritted teeth, his voice softening as he stared into her gray eyes and his insides melted. “Dance with me.”

She looked up at him, the anger still there in the rigid line of her jaw. “Okay. But I have to warn you. I’m not any good.” Her cheeks reddened as he wrapped his arms around her.

“You don’t have to be.” He leaned his cheek against her hair. “Because I’m very good.”

She snorted. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Game on.”

Chapter Nine

Though she tried to hold on to her anger, Lucky couldn’t help melting against him, the feel of his body making hers turn to mush. “Cocky much?” she whispered, her lips so close to his neck she brushed them against his skin.

“Only with you,” he said, his breath warm in her hair.

His hand rested against her naked skin at the small of her back, reminding her of how it felt to have him stroke her body with those work-roughened fingers.

“I meant to say thank you,” he said.

“Really? I should be thanking you. I wasn’t sure I was doing it right, considering that was my first time.”

He leaned back and stared into her eyes. “I thought you’d said you’d done it since you were a child with your father.”

Lucky’s cheeks burned and she ducked her head, laughing shakily. “Oh, drenching the heifer. Yes, well, you’re welcome.”

“What did you think I was thanking you for?”

She dared to glance up, embarrassed by the direction of her thoughts.

“You thought I meant the pool.” His hand tightened, pressing her against him and the hard ridge rising beneath the fly of his jeans. “Thank you for that too. Even more so.”

Pressing her face against his shirt, she refused to look up at his laughing eyes. “Do you take all your women to the pool and do…that?”

He stopped in the middle of the dance floor and tipped her chin up. “For the record, I’ve never taken a woman to the swimmin’ hole and I’ve never made love to one there.”

She looked up into his eyes, hers seeming to see straight into his soul. “Technically, we didn’t make love.”

“A technicality I aim to remedy at the soonest possible occasion.”

How would it be to make love to this man in a real bed? It had been pretty tempting on a rocky ledge and in the water. A bed with sheets against her back and the lights down low… A shiver of excitement rippled through her. Then she thought about who lived in the ranch house besides Trent. “What about Isaac?” He was sweet and seemed to really care how she felt.

Trent stiffened. “What about him?”

“I like Isaac.” And she didn’t want to hurt him. In fact, she was starting to have feelings for him. Especially those hot, wet sensations she got when she remembered how he’d made her feel the night before when he sank into her. He was the light to Trent’s dark.

“Like, as in you think he’s nice like a kid brother, or as in you’d like to sleep with him?”

She shrugged. “Like I think he’s sexy and sweet, and he lives in the same house with you. And maybe…”

“
I
live in the same house.
I
want you.”

“What if I don’t want to choose between you two? Won’t that cause friction between the two of you?”

His grip tightened around her. “I’m not sharing you with him, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Up until I met you and Isaac, I never gave a threesome much thought. I’ve heard of such things, but I’ve always been one of the guys. All this getting naked in a swimmin’ hole is new to me.”

“You learn quickly.” He rested his cheek against her hair. “And though you look really hot in those shorts, you look even hotter naked.”

“That doesn’t resolve the issue of your brother. You and I might only be a flash in the pan. Family is forever. I don’t want anything you and I might do to come between you and your brother.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“How would you feel if I decided I liked your brother better?”

He leaned back and stared into her eyes, a frown pulling his brows together in a deep V. “Do you?”

“He’s very handsome.” She tipped her head. “He looks a lot like you.”

“Are you tellin’ me you like my brother better?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I’m saying I think it’s too soon to know either one of you.”

“You know a lot more about me than you do him.”

“Not necessarily.”

“Does that mean you’re going to sleep with him to get to know him better?” His tone and his jaw hardened.

“Contrary to what happened this afternoon in the pool, I don’t play around with cowboys. I just think we’re moving too fast.”

“I don’t think we’re moving fast enough.” He pulled her against him, rubbing the hard ridge of his fly against her tummy.

Yes, he was excited. But lust was different than love. “What will happen when you get bored with me?”

“Who said I’d get bored with you?”

“You don’t strike me as a man who stays with a woman for long.”

“What do you know about me?”

“Not much. Again, that’s my point.” Lucky stepped out of his embrace. “I don’t know anything about you. What we did this afternoon was completely out of character for me. This whole situation with you two isn’t something I’m used to. Although all this attention is great, I’m still not sure it was a good idea.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Will you be mad if I decide I want a relationship with your brother after you decide you’ve had enough of me? Will it create hard feelings between the two of you?”

“Woman, you’re talking in circles.” Trent leaned his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why don’t we discuss this tonight after you’re off work?”

Lucky leaned into him and whispered in his ear, “Trent?”

He sighed. “Are you going to give me the brush-off now?”

Her eyelids drifted over smoky-gray eyes. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re good. Very good.” She patted his chest. “As a dancer.” She left him standing in the middle of the dance floor and went back to work, wishing the time would fly so that they could continue the discussion back at the ranch. She had a feeling the continuance would have little to do with talking.

To avoid staring at Lucky, Trent studied his brother as he tapped his fingers on the table.

Isaac’s eyes narrowed, his gaze on Lucky as she wove through tables, carrying a tray of drinks. “What did you say to Lucky to leave her frowning?”

Trent scratched his head. “I’m not sure, but I think she wants to sleep with you to decide if she likes you better than me.”

His brother’s eyes lit up. “Really? Why didn’t she say so?” He clapped his hands together, a grin spreading across his face. “After you two returned from fencing, I thought she’d never even glance at me again. I mean, you did it in the creek, didn’t you?”

With his back teeth grinding together, Trent fought to keep his mouth shut.

Isaac slapped his palm on the table. “Good for Lucky!”

Confusion, frustration and anger bubbled up inside Trent. “What do you mean?”

“She’s single, independent and intelligent. Why shouldn’t she sample her options before she settles?”

“I’m not into sharing my woman with other men, even if the other man is my brother.” He jerked a hand through his hair. “Hell,
especially
if he’s my brother.”

“You’re kidding me, right? Are you really that uptight? I thought for sure living in Houston for the past decade, you’d have loosened up about sex. Welcome to the twenty-first century. Women are taking charge of their own sexuality. If they want to have sex with more than one partner, they can and will.”

Trent didn’t want to hear it. He lifted his beer and downed half of the warm brew before slamming the mug on the table. “I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy, and damned proud of it.”

“I guess if you’re into Lucky, you’ll get over it. How will she know it’s you she wants if she doesn’t try out some others?” Isaac grinned and pointed to his chest. “Like me.” His lips twisted. “Unless you’re afraid she might like me better. Is that it?”

That was exactly it, and Trent didn’t like that his little brother had nailed it before even Trent could figure out what had him so bothered. “I’m going out for some air. You coming?”

“No, I think I’ll stay and keep an eye on Lucky. This night is becoming more interesting by the minute.”

Trent lurched to his feet and headed for the door before he started a fight. And he really wanted to fight. Lucky had him tied up in a knot and he would dearly love to land his fist in a cowboy’s face. Sadly, his brother’s face was the one he most wanted to punch.

Lucky had a point about her causing a rift between him and Isaac. And Trent wasn’t liking it one damned bit.

When Lucky had left Trent on the dance floor, she’d been so conflicted, she could barely get her orders straight. Working for the two Jameson brothers was proving more complicated than she’d thought.

Her father had worked on the same ranch for nearly forty years without running into anything like this. He’d never been fought over by two owners or fallen for the owners. Hell, he’d never been attracted to the owners, that Lucky knew of.

He went to work each day, trying to make ranching turn a profit so that he could keep his job and a roof over their heads. Why did working on a ranch have to be so difficult?

If she had a lick of sense, she’d get back to the basics and concentrate on the animals. Animals were so much less complex than the humans who considered themselves superior. Ha! Humans were just plain messed up. Even she was confused, finding herself liking the role of an Ugly Stick Saloon waitress a little too much. For the first time in her life, she felt really feminine and she liked the attention. Maybe she wouldn’t like it so much on a regular basis.