Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (12 page)

“Happy New Year, Kerri,” he breathed.

When she opened her mouth to reply,
he covered her lips with his.

And that’s how she rang in the New
Year, in the Dalton’s dark laundry room, sharing heat and touches and soft
murmurs with Connor McCall.

Oh wait, the murmurs came from her,
but man, he felt so good. And kissed even better. A mad rush of sensations
engulfed and she was lost. Just utterly lost.

Warm, and tasting like beer and sin
and long forgotten desire, his mouth moved over hers in a slow, lazy,
open-mouthed kiss. She shuddered and slid her hands up over his broad shoulders
to play with the short hair at the back of his neck. He groaned low in his
throat, then pressed her against the wall, his body hard and deliciously warm.
A zing of heat sliced straight to her core.

Their kiss under the mistletoe had
been incredible, but this,
this
went beyond. Their bodies were lined up,
touching, pressing, stroking…

Oh God
, his tongue entered
her mouth removing all thoughts of the party, their past, the future,
everything from her mind.

Only the
here and now
mattered. Connor, and how he made her feel.

And boy did he make her feel. All
sorts of things. Feminine, and desired, and needed. He rocked into her, nipping,
tasting, drinking her lips like a man thirsty for days.

It was all so incredible and
sensuous, and suddenly, she wanted more.
Needed
more, and with that need
came boldness.

Giving her tongue permission to
explore his mouth, she swept the roof, soft cheek, sliding against his,
delighting in the low groan that rumbled from his chest yet again.

His hold tightened and,
sweet
mercy
, he rocked against her, his arousal thick and hard, making her wet.

Kerri trembled with need. That was
new. She’d never trembled with need before. Ever. The sensation was exciting
and frightening and made her just a wee bit naughty.

Heaven help her, she wanted him to
hike up her skirt, pull her panties aside and take her against the wall.

She should be appalled at her
thoughts, and probably would be tomorrow, but right now…
God, right now
she wanted what she wanted.

Connor McCall inside her.

Apparently, he had other thoughts,
because a second later, he pulled back abruptly and removed his hard, pulsing
warmth from her grasp. She nearly cried out. Okay, she did, but he ignored her,
his expression a mixture of hunger and heat and…fear?

After shoving the hat back on his
head, he lightly touched her lower lip. “Definitely, strawberry,” he said.

And in the next heartbeat, he was
gone.

Like her breathe…and her legs. Did
they still exist? Kerri reached for the washer, clinging to the side as she
worked on regulating her pulse.

What the heck just happened?

He saved you from yourself
.

Too bad. Just when she’d decided
she didn’t want to be saved.

B
y the middle of
January, Kerri and Jordan still hadn’t found a suitable property for their
restaurant. Over the past two weeks, they’d gone out repeatedly to a few of the
local restaurants at the Gulf, as well as several well-established ones in the
Houston area. Having tasted the varied cuisine and experienced the ambiance of
those places, the two of them had come up with a game plan.

Their menu would consist of beef,
seafood and chicken, and they needed a place big enough for an open barbecue
pit. It was also important for the building to have an area that could
accommodate a stage for the locals to come out and show off their talent. A
part of Comets’ legacy they wanted to continue in Texas.

So far, none of the properties
they’d looked at had that expanse.

“Well, sis, today’s the day. I can
feel it,” Jordan said as Cole drove them to meet their realtor at a location Cole
had spotted on his way to work the day before. “You’ve cooked and pleased New
Yorkers, the finicky French and are highly regarded for the magical things you
can do with tofu in So Cal. Are you ready to bring pleasure to the palates of Texas?”

“Yes, I am, actually,” she replied,
and meant it.

The excitement of the challenge had
already started to take root. She’d even begun to experiment in her mother’s
kitchen, thrilling her parents night after night with her concoctions.

Even Mr. and Mrs. McCall had
stopped by, and Jordan and Cole.

But not Connor.

Kerri hadn’t seen the perplexing
cowboy since the party. Since
the kiss
.

Absently running a finger across
her bottom lip, Kerri recalled his taste. The way he felt all hard and
masculine, and how that made her feel all soft and feminine.  She never had
that reaction with Lance. Ever. And they’d been married for fifteen months.

Actually, she’d never felt the fierce
need to be taken that had hit her when she and Connor had kissed.

Kissed
.

Goodness, it was just a kiss, but boy
she’d felt more in that little spec of time than she had her whole marriage.
Correction, make that the whole relationship with her ex-husband.

They’d both been eighteen when she met
Lance while working together at a restaurant. The two of them had a lot in
common and became fast friends, eventually best friends.  After a year, they’d
both applied and were accepted at The Culinary Institute in New York, making
her time away from her family not such a hardship. In fact, it had been
wonderful. Lance had understood her obsession and love for cooking because he
had it, too. 

They’d shared an apartment while in
New York, and eventually, the small confines had led their relationship to the
next level. After graduation, he’d asked her to marry him, and it seemed like
the natural thing to do. Within a month, they were husband and wife working in Paris where they furthered their experience as cooks in many of the smaller cafés and
restaurants all throughout the beautiful city.

Lance had been the only lover she’d
ever had, and although they didn’t make love every night, they did it often
enough that she was unaware there was a problem.

Looking back on it now, there were
signs leading up to
the incident,
but at the time, she’d been clueless.

“Well, it’s time for a change,”
Cole said, bringing her mind back to the present.

She gladly switched off thoughts of
the past.

“This place looked big enough on
the outside for what you girls have in mind. Apparently, it just went on the
market yesterday. I’m glad Ms. Harper was able to get such a quick appointment
with the listing agent.”

“Me, too,” Jordan said as Cole pulled into the parking lot of a large two-story, cinder-blocked building, and next
to their realtor and a large truck.

Kerri’s pulse increased. They were
in Bay Beach, a quaint Gulf community she’d often frequented as a child. They
were a few miles east of the bigger tourist locations, and she loved the area
for its small shops and boardwalk with an equally small pier and beautiful
beach. And although it had been hit by a recent hurricane, as usual, Texans
bounce back. So far, the property appeared promising. The building had
weathered well, and the size was right. More than right, and the parking lot
could easily accommodate a big crowd.

Oh please let the inside be
doable
, she prayed as Cole turned off the ignition and groaned.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Jordan narrowed her eyes.

“That’s Duke Carver’s truck. This
must be one of his listings,” he answered with a shake to his head.

“And?” her sister prompted.

“And he’s always had a problem with
the McCall brothers…especially Connor.”

Kerri was a little surprised.
Connor generally got along with everyone. A little too well. She turned to get
a better look at the guy in question, but their realtor’s car was in the way.

“Really? Why?” Jordan asked.

“One of my brother’s fiancée’s used
to be Duke’s girlfriend, and although they were through before Connor and
Tiffany started dating, Duke got it in his head that Connor stole her from
him.”

Her sister placed a hand on his
arm. “Do you want to leave?”

“Yeah, Cole.” Kerri leaned forward
from the back seat. “I’m sure there are places still out there. We don’t need
to make this uncomfortable for you.”

But…
darn
, she really liked
the look of this place, and the seaside area.

“No, that won’t be necessary. Duke
has some of the best property, and we’d only have to deal with him eventually anyway.”
Cole turned and smiled at her. “And
he
was wrong, not Connor. Although, my
brother should have let him have the woman.” He cocked his head, then added, “Besides,
a McCall never runs from a Carver,” before he got out.

Kerri glanced at her sister and
laughed when Jordan rolled her eyes. She silently agreed.
Men
. She’d
never understand their need to chest-pound. Seemed like a waste of energy.

She slid out of the passenger side
of the car and greeted their realtor Marcy with a nod and a smile before
turning her attention to Connor’s nemesis.

Duke Carver was six-foot-one and
all man. He wore a black Stetson, western shirt, jeans and snakeskin cowboy
boots under a long black coat she could envision a gunslinger wearing a hundred
years ago.

“Well, Cole McCall. It sure has
been awhile.” The man in black was on the other side of the car, extending his
hand to Cole.

“Duke.” Her soon-to-be
brother-in-law shook the man’s hand, eyeing him warily.

“I hear you’re engaged. This must
be the lucky lady now.” Duke turned his attention to Jordan rounding the car to
slip her arm around Cole.

Her sister sent him a killer smile
to go with her handshake. “Yes, it is. I’m Jordan. Jordan Masters.”

Kerri tried not to laugh as Duke’s
eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,
Jordan. Is this the same Jordan that used to follow you around, Cole?  The one
you used to talk about when you started college?” Still shaking Jordan’s hand, Duke glanced at Cole, waiting for a reply.

“Yes.”

The enigmatic man released Jordan and nodded. “I see why you’ve stopped running. Good for you,” Duke said, his tone
earnest before turning his gaze on her as she neared. “And you must be Kerri. Marcy
said the two of you were looking for commercial property for a restaurant, and
that you were a great chef, but she never told me you were beautiful.”

His blue eyes flashed their
approval as he eyed her up and down before bringing her hand to his lips.

A
little unnerved and
intimidated by his directness, Kerri blushed and quickly pulled her hand away.
“Thanks.”

He stared a little longer before
shaking his head and got down to the business of showing them around.

“It definitely has enough parking
space,” Kerri remarked.

“Yes, and room for more if you need
it.” Marcy pointed to the weeded area to their left. “That land is also part of
the listing.”

“It is,” Duke confirmed. “As well
as another acre out back.”

Turning their attention to the
building, Kerri felt the stirrings of hope and excitement coursing through her
yet again. A steak and seafood restaurant with ribs and barbeque would fit in
great in this town. She remembered hanging out with her friends here often,
going to the beach, renting bikes, eating ice cream, and even playing miniature
golf, which were all still offered across the street.

She turned to look. From where she
stood, Kerri had a beautiful view of the Gulf and a wave of nostalgia hit her
full force.

She’d been happy here. Very happy
back then. Maybe it was a good sign. Maybe this was a good place to open their
restaurant.

Their
Texas
restaurant.

She was still going back to L.A., but having committed to helping her sister, this area wouldn’t be such a hardship on
Kerri.

The locale was quiet yet
well-traveled even in the off season. Foster’s Creamery was open year round,
and she made a mental note to stop in for some ice cream real soon.

“It looks big enough on the
outside,” Jordan said, stopping next to her.

Kerri turned back to survey the big
concrete square. “I agree. I just hope it’s workable on the inside.”

“Well then, ladies, what do you say
we check it out?” Duke asked with a knowing smile.

“Yes,” they echoed each other and
laughed.

Duke unlocked and held the door
open for them. As they stepped inside, Kerri knew the instant he turned on the
lights they’d found their future restaurant.

Big enough for both a barbeque pit
and a stage, and a fleet of buses or maybe two private jets, the building did
indeed have promise. The walls were wired but mostly unfinished. A pile of
two-by-fours and sheetrock each sat in the middle of the room. Perfect. The
place was practically a blank canvas.

“How’s the building codes?” Cole
asked Duke.

“Everything that has been done so
far is up to code. This place was originally built last year. The owner I
represent was going to open up a feed store, but the economy tanked and then
the hurricane hit, he ran out of money and decided not to go any further.” Duke
waved a hand around. “The electricity, heat and plumbing are started down here,
but the upstairs is finished.”

“And what’s upstairs?” Jordan asked.

“A huge storage area, or whatever
you’d want to use it for, as well as a two-bedroom apartment.”

Kerri’s heart leapt.
Holy smokes
.
She turned to Duke and grabbed his arm, forgetting her shyness. “Are you saying
there’s an apartment, and it’s finished?”

He smiled. “Yes, ma’am, I am. The
owner just moved out last week. Would you like to see it?”