Falling For A Cowboy (5 page)

She w
ould not
turn around and say thank you
, though
. She hadn
’
t asked for it, didn
’
t want it
,
and certainly didn
’
t want to encourage them.

“
Ohhh
.
Here they come
,
”
Tara
Lynn
said in a voice that sounded almost like a squeal.

Dusty felt like running
.
But she
’
d never been a coward
.
So what
?
These cowboys would leav
e
tomorrow and she
’
d never see them again
.
If they wanted to waste their money on a beer
,
so be it. She took another slug.

“
Hey Dusty,
”
Jesse said
, pulling in close
.
“
Tara
Lynn
.
”

Clay
nodded and pushed beside
Tara
Lynn
. S
taring
down at her from under the brim of his hat
,
t
he shadows crossing his face took away the boyishness and left
the chiseled planes of a
fine-looking man.
A man with a self-satisfied
smirk
riding
his face
.

“
You up for a dance
,
Dusty?
”
Jesse said and held out his hand. Dusty glanced at Clay
.
Did she imagine it or was there a dare in his eye
?

“
Sure,
”
she said and plopped her bottle on the bar.
“
Why not
?
”

Jesse knew his country dancing
.
He twirled her around the floor like they
’
d been dancing together for years, a big ol
d
grin on his face the whole time.
With Jesse k
eeping her in constant motion, she could only catch glimpses of Clay talking to
Tara
Lynn
.
Clay may not have asked
Dusty
to dance
,
but surely
Tara
Lynn
would have asked him. So why weren
’
t they?

The music shifted to a slow dance and before Dusty could form the words to suggest they
part
, Jesse had her in his arms
.
He pressed her to him
, his thin body hard and strong. She looked into darkened brown eyes.
Nothing
.
She felt nothing and that was good
.
He was a nice guy, no doubt. But
fortunately,
there were no sparks
.
She didn
’
t want sparks with a rough stock rider
.
Not ever. S
lowly, s
he relaxed.

“
So tell me, Dusty, what do you do when you
’
re not at the rodeo?
”
Jesse breathed in her ear.
“
Besides having the most beautiful hair I
’
ve ever touched.
”

She
’
d let her hair down as soon as she was done at the rodeo. Naturally wavy
, blond
,
and long,
it
was
her best feature
—
though her mother was
constantly
at her to cut it off
,
claiming it was too much for such a little girl. Bradley had liked it—only not enough.

“
I just graduated Texas Tech and I
’
m hoping to get a teaching position come fall. I
’
ve been interviewing.
”

“
Teacher
?
”
He pulled back to look at her
.
“
I knew it.
”

“
What do you mean you knew it?
”
She stared at him again and
still
didn
’
t feel a thing. Not a thing.

“
Well, I didn
’
t
know
it
. B
ut being a teacher, well
,
it
seems
right
for
you.
”

Seem
s right
?
Was he saying she was predictable?
A
certain type?
A
staid
teacher type?
S
he decided to change the subject
.
“
What about you?
”

“
I
’
m a cowhand
.
Work the Double
T
ranch near M
arfa
.
”

“
So you
’
re a real cowboy?
”

He chuckled
.
“
Yes ma
’
am
,
and proud of it.
”

“
What about your friend?
”

“
Ah, not a cowhand,
exactly
.
But definitely a cowboy.
”
Jesse seemed reluctant to say
more
.

“
A
bronc
rider though?
”

“
Yep
.
He
’
s definitely that. His destiny is busting
broncs
.
”

And breaking hearts she
’
d bet.

“
Your hair smells nice
,
”
h
e whispered in her ear.

That had to be the
trite
st
line
she
’
d heard in a while.
“
Thanks,
”
she muttered as the music stopped
.
The band would be going on in a few minutes as it was closing in on
nine
.
Time for her to exit, especially if she would be working tomorrow.

“
I
’
ve got to get going
.
It was nice to see you again
,
Jesse,
”
she said, smoothing her skirt.

He grabbed her arm
.
“
Can
’
t you stay a little while longer
?
I
’
d like to spend some time with you
.
For real.
”

Well, he was
good at sincerity
, she
’
d give him that.

“
No. I can
’
t
.
Good luck tomorrow.
”
She tossed him a smile as he let go of her.

Without bothering to say good-bye to
Tara
Lynn
,
who was in conversation with Clay, she headed toward the front door. For some reason she just had to get outside and g
arner
some fresh air
.
And go home
.

“
Hey B
en
,
”
Dusty called to the older man
stationed
in the foyer
to
collect the cover charges
. Pushing
open the double glass doors
,
s
he
breathed in the night air
as the blue neon sign flashed above
. It was dry and dusty and hot as hell during the summer, but
Langley
had clean air and starlit skies
,
and it was home.

Through the full parking lot, s
he made a beeline
for
her shiny silver pick-up
,
parked toward the back. She
’
d
bough
t
it
with her own money
,
the start she needed toward independence and a new beginning.
Walking across the gravel, she kicked at the ground
with her boots
sen
ding
a spray of pebbles
and dust
in all direction
s
. She did it again and again until she reached the truck. F
ingers on the
cool metal
door handle, she stilled when she heard her name called.

She turned around to
the sight of Clay
bearing down on her
. H
er heart skip
ped
a beat
.
His white shirt almost glowed in the moonlight while
the rest of
his
body
was etched in black against the gray night sky.
He
moved
with the rolling gait of the cowboy he was, all fluid motion and power
, a trim muscled torso on long lean legs.
H
e held up his hands in surrender
.
“
Don
’
t I count
?
You gave Jesse a dance
.
Don
’
t I get one?
”

H
e
sure
was a hunk of man
.
Her heart thumped
hard
inside her chest.
She couldn
’
t tell his expression
with
the brim of
the
Stetson shadowing his face but she guessed it wasn
’
t a happy one.

“
I didn
’
t know you wanted one
,
”
she managed to get out
,
just as he
stopped
short in front of her.

His looming height m
a
de
her feel
small.
She
looked up at
a set of
unyielding lips,
m
idnight blue eyes
,
and the
gray
shadow of a beard etch
ing
his strong jaw
.

“
I want.
”
His voice had
a
husky
timbre
to it.
He reached for her and she
endured the slight brush of his hand against her shoulder as he fingered strands of her hair. Goosebumps
danced where he
’
d
touched
.
“
Your hair is down
.
I knew
it would be worth seeing.
”

She couldn
’
t move.

He smoothed a tendril back behind her shoulder
with the barest touch
.
“
I
’
ll take this instead
.
”
H
e bent down.

He was going to kiss her
.
She knew it and still she rooted in place. Firm lips
gently
br
eezed
across hers
.
T
he taste of hops filled her senses
.
H
is lips
brushed again
as his
hand
touched her sh
oulde
r
and
tugged
her closer
.
She tingled clear to her toes. H
is lips pressed
harder
against her
s
, seeking a response
.
She opened and his tongue slid inside.
A
whimper
of
surrend
er
escaped
. He reacted to the sound by pressing her head closer to him
,
holding her for his taking
as his mouth devoured her
.
She barely noticed the stubble of his beard scraping her cheek.