Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (3 page)

She took a long sip of the bubbly
in order to calm her jumpy nerves. Why in the world did this uncouth, sexy, reckless…
cowboy
have this effect on her? She didn’t like it at all. Not one little bit. Kerri
always prided herself in being in control but
gosh-darnit
, whenever he
was near that trait seemed to disappear along with her common sense.

Looking up, she caught her father
and Mr. McCall studying her strangely before their gazes darted away.

Ah, great
. Her throat dried.
She knew that look. They were in match-making mode. Again. And this time she
was the target along with…

Her gaze drifted back to Connor. Those
darn dimples appeared, backing up the amused glint in his eyes. He’d definitely
witnessed their fathers’ exchange. Of course he was laughing.
Her and him?
Yeah, biggest mismatch of the century. The sexy, cowboy chick-magnet and the
girl who was more at ease turning on an oven than men.

Well, whatever the case, she didn’t
want any part. No way. And figured Connor didn’t either. As far as she knew, he’d
been engaged three times, and after his last fiancée was arrested for murdering
a husband Connor had no knowledge of, Kerri heard he’d given up on marriage for
good. 

She certainly had.

Just thinking about her former
marriage and all her inadequacies brought a sour taste to her mouth. No thanks.
She’d weathered enough self-depreciation storms, thank you very much.

A sudden need to escape the room
became overpowering. She’d had enough. Needed a breather.

Placing her glass down on the
nearest table, Kerri walked as nonchalantly as possible to the door and slipped
quietly from the room.

C
onnor McCall’s gut
twisted tighter than a rope around a bull’s horns as he watched the beautiful
west coast chef close the door. Their fathers’ were up to something. He’d seen
their exchange.

Well, it wasn’t going to work. Hell
no. He’d already told them. Not on this cowboy. Just because they’d managed to
help bring Jordan and Cole together, they now thought they were experts. But
what the
experts
failed to realize was his brother and fiancée had a
thing for one another since their childhood.

Not at all the case with him and
Kerri.

Sure she’d been a cute, smart,
sweet kid who’d grown up...okay, amazing. Still, despite her beauty, Connor had
absolutely no interest in obtaining a wife.
Been there. Tried it. Failed
miserably. Three times.
And each time it had ended in devastation instead
of marriage.
Cripes
. After the last one, he had absolutely no wish to go
for number four.

She sure grew into a looker
though
, Connor thought with a twitch of a smile tugging his lips.  Long,
straight, chocolate brown hair fell past her shoulders while a smattering of
bangs covering her forehead and temple.  All of this framed a heart-shaped face
that held the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. Eyes that mesmerized and could
stop a bull at twenty paces.

God, they were gorgeous. Big and
brown with lashes so thick he doubted she used makeup. They drew him in, held
fast, tugging deep in his gut. And her lips? Damn. His insides twisted tight.
He’d never forget when he’d briefly touched them with his own a few months
back. 

Full and soft, she’d tasted like
strawberries. Sweet, succulent strawberries. That was the good part. The
dangerous part was the current that’d shot straight to his toes. His toes!
What
the hell?
The unexpected sensation caused him to abruptly end the kiss,
apologize and run away as fast as his cowboy boots would take him.

He was no idiot. That woman could
hogtie and filet him in under eight seconds if he was so inclined. Which he was
not. Hell no. Not him. Never again.

“How’s Kerri really doing?” Mr.
Masters asked Jordan, bringing Connor’s attention back to the conversation.

“She puts on a good front, but
she’s hurting,” his future sister-in-law replied. “That restaurant was her
life.”

Connor set his teeth and resisted
the urge to rub at the unknown ache residing in his chest.

“I know. Poor baby.” Mrs. Masters
sighed. “I wish we could do something.”

Jordan nodded. “Yeah, me too, but I
don’t think she’s going to be here long.”

“Really?” Her father’s frown
matched his dad’s. “We’d hoped she’d at least stay until after the holidays.”

Connor had to admit, half of him
wished that, too. The stupid half.

Scratching the bridge of his nose,
he fought a grin. Cripes. Some days he really was hopeless.

Until this year, he’d always
regarded Kerri as an adorable little sister. One he enjoyed teasing and
laughingly tolerated. 

Boy, had that changed drastically
in April. When he’d come out of the stables with Cole and saw the tall,
elegant, curvy woman standing in the driveway next to Jordan, his stomach had gripped tight and his damn heart nearly beat a hole clean through his chest.

And now, jeez, now his foolish body
suffered the same abuse every time the gorgeous cook was in his presence. Every.
Single. Time. Connor didn’t like it. Not one damn bit.

Kerri was a city girl.

A
city
girl.

That in itself was a big enough
strike against her, and a hell-of-a-good reason for him to keep his distance.
So then, why did he still entertain thoughts of doing exactly the opposite?

All three of his former fiancées
were city girls, and he’d long vowed never to get involved with another one
again. Ever.

Even though Kerri was born in Harland County and spent the first fifteen years of her life in Texas, her time in California had been almost as long and recent. Her west coast residency easily cancelled
any redeeming qualities from the former. Take her jeans, for instance. As a
youngster, she’d lived in them. As an adult? He had yet to see her in a pair.
Did she even own any? Doubtful. All she seemed to wear were fancy dress pants
and heels.

Yes. The cook was a regular city
girl now, and despite her beauty and its affect on him, Connor wasn’t going to
fall for his father’s well-meaning, if not totally misplaced, matchmaking
attempt.  And he could tell by the apprehension that sometimes flittered
through her gaze that she wasn’t interested or was afraid of him for some
reason, which was unfounded…and unimportant. It didn’t matter
what
put
that look in her eyes. He wasn’t interested.

Swallowing down what was left of
his champagne, Connor walked over to the table and set his glass next to Kerri’s.
They needed to talk. And fast. Telling his body and his brain that the pretty
cook was just his little sister and nothing more, Connor felt better able to
seek her out and head this matchmaking off at the pass.

A
s soon as the door closed,
Hannah Masters turned to her husband Nate and smiled. “Well now, that was
interesting.”

“It certainly was, sweetheart,” he
said with a grin.

“I’ll say,” Alex McCall agreed,
slapping Nate’s back.

Cole groaned. “You’re not seriously
going to try to set Connor up with Kerri, are you?”

Hannah watched as Alex turned to
his son, brows raised. “We didn’t do so bad with the two of you, did we?”

“No,” Jordan replied, hugging Cole
close. “But we’ve always had a thing for each other.”

“True,” Cole agreed.

He looked at her daughter with so
much affection it warmed Hannah’s heart.

“There’s the difference.” Jordan smiled before kissing Cole’s cheek.

Alex and his wife Leeann exchanged
a look before Hannah turned to her daughter and frowned. “You don’t think Connor
and Kerri are attracted to each other?”

“Yes, I do,” Jordan replied. “But that’s not the point.”

Nate stepped close and dropped an
arm around Hannah’s shoulders. “Then what is?” her husband asked, looking at
their daughter.

Jordan exhaled slowly as she shook
her head. “Kerri has a lot on her plate right now. The last thing she needs is
to be badgered. Besides, I really don’t see her staying past this weekend.”

Not exactly what any of them wanted
to hear, but Hannah had to admit, she’d gotten the same impression from her
youngest the second she’d stepped foot on the ranch. They hadn’t been here more
than five minutes when her eyes took on a look of flight.

“We aren’t going to badger,” Alex insisted.
“Just give a slight push when needed.”

“Yes. That’s all,” Leeann agreed.

But Hannah knew her husband was
going to do whatever it took to make sure their daughter stuck around long
enough to realize something amazing happened to her whenever Connor was close.
She lit up. Came alive, didn’t walk around just existing. And even better was
the fact the same thing happened to Connor when Kerri was near.

Those two belonged together, or at
the very least, could help each other to head in the right direction. And none
of that could take place if Kerri left so soon.

She wasn’t about to let that
happen. No. She just needed a little help.

Hannah smiled at Jordan and Cole. “Oh,
I think we can guarantee Kerri will stick around.”

“You do?” Her oldest blinked at her
and frowned. “How?”

Hannah exchanged a quick look with
a smiling Leeann then glanced back at her daughter and grinned. “Well now,
that’s where the two of you come in.”

I
t took all of five
seconds for the jumbling inside Kerri to subside. She poured herself a glass of
ice water and leaned against the counter feeling much better, much calmer. Looking
around the McCall’s quiet kitchen, she understood why. This room represented
nothing but fun and happy times. A smile tugged at her lips as she recalled the
many lessons their cook, Emma, had given to a young and eager protégé when
Kerri had only lived ten minutes away.

Twirling an ice cube around in her
mouth, she pondered her homeless situation. For the past three nights, she’d
been staying with Jordan at their friend Megan’s house, and now with her
sister’s engagement
—
which Kerri was sure wouldn’t be a
long one
—
her job situation was suddenly unknown.

Just happy to be alive, she hadn’t
given any real thought about her unemployment. She naturally assumed she and
her sister would rebuild, but now that Jordan would soon become Mrs. Cole
McCall, her sister wasn’t going to leave Texas. And she wouldn’t expect her to.

But, where does that leave me?

“I figured I’d find you in here,
kiddo,” Connor said.

Caught off guard, her heart kicked against
her ribs like a bucking bronco while a startled gasp ripped up her throat,
propelling the ice cube from her mouth.

Of course, it couldn’t just land on
the floor and make the situation only mildly embarrassing. No. The sucker had
to shoot straight across the room and hit the handsome cowboy square in the
chest.

“Well now, darlin’, for a city
girl, you’ve got a heck of an aim,” he drawled.

The sexy dimples made an appearance,
and her face heated beyond scalding.

“Oh, Connor, I…I’m so sorry.” Hand
to her throat, she blinked. Feeling like an idiot, which lately wasn’t much of
a stretch, Kerri grabbed a napkin from the counter, rushed forward and dabbed
at the wet spot centered over his heart.

It leapt.

No, she had to be wrong. Why would his
heart leap? It wouldn’t leap. Okay, now she was imagining things, just like she
was imagining the thundering taking place under her palm.

Thundering
. How silly.
Her
heart was thundering. Not Connor’s. She was such an idiot. No way would this
virile cowboy’s heart leap or thunder because of her. No way. Her rapid pulse
was starving her brain for oxygen. That’s what it was. She was hallucinating.
Because if not, that would mean…that would mean he…and it couldn’t mean…

He cleared his throat. “Ah,
darlin’, a little water isn’t gonna hurt me none.”

The deep timber of his voice had no
business being breathless as well. Darn him. Now he wasn’t the only one who was
wet.

Big and broad and hard, the man
smelled clean and fresh, like he’d just stepped out of the shower. And he was
hot. Really hot. Steam rising hot. Heat emanated from his body, engulfing her
in a searing, sensual embrace.

Suddenly tingling from head to toe,
she realized just how close they stood. Very close. Too close. She had to fight
the urge
—
really,
really
fight the urge
—
to lean forward and nuzzle his neck.

A tremor started at her toes, and
before it could reach midway, she stumbled backward, and,
oh, look at that
,
stepped on what was left of the ice cube.

As she slipped and headed for the
floor, two strong hands clamped around her arms and held her upright.
Dang,
he’s quick and strong
.

Nervous laughter bubbled up her
throat. “Found the ice cube,” she said, staring at that neck still beckoning
for a nuzzle.

His hold slackened as a chuckle
rumbled through him. She chanced a quick peek at his face, and her pulse
hiccupped.
Holy smokes
. The man was just too darn gorgeous. Amusement
tugged at his tempting lip while laughter sparkled from his warm, brown eyes.
Forget nuzzling his neck, she wanted to taste him.

“God, you’re adorable.”

And just like that, her urge to
taste disappeared.

Adorable?

Lovely. First he called her
kiddo
,
now
adorable
. Just what every woman wanted to hear while in the arms of
such a potent male. Her knees stopped mid-buckle and pulse instantly leveled
out. There was nothing like a good wake-up call. He just gave her one, loud and
clear. She found him hot, like a red-blooded male, and he found her adorable,
like a box of puppies. Yeah, they were definitely not on the same page. Worlds
apart…cities apart.