Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (32 page)

 “Hello, there.”

He turned to see the sheriff making
his way to them. George Hester had been sheriff for over seven years now, and a
damn good one. With corruption increasing around the country, Harland County was lucky to have a straight shooter.

“Hi, Sheriff,” Connor replied as
Kade echoed.

The older man shook his hand and
smiled. “Hello, Connor. You brought in some good looking bulls.” He turned and
held his hand out to Kade. “Nice to see you, son.”

“Good to see you too, sir.” His
buddy shook the sheriff’s hand.

George released Kade and looped his
thumbs in his belt buckle. “As a matter of fact, I wanted to talk to you.”

Eyes narrowed, his friend cocked
his head. “Is something wrong? What did my cousin do now?”

“No.” George held his belly and
laughed. “Kevin hasn’t done anything to my knowledge, yet.” He sobered and
cupped Kade’s shoulder. “I wanted to talk to you about my retirement.”

Shit. Connor exchanged a glance
with Kade. Harland County had flourished under George’s careful eye.

Kade voiced their surprise. “You’re
retiring? When?”

“Depends.”

“On what?” his buddy asked.

“You,” the sheriff replied. “Time
to call it a day, son. But I’d feel much better if I knew my replacement was a
respectable, law-abiding citizen like you.”

Kade reeled back. “You want me to
run for Sheriff?”

“Actually, I think that’s a great
idea,” Connor said, in immediate agreement with the sheriff. Kade stood for
everything George held dear. Loyalty. Commitment. Justice.

“I agree.” The older man nodded.
“See? That’s one law abiding citizen already giving you his blessing.”

Kade still wore a frown.

The sheriff smiled. “And as far as
running for election, that won’t be necessary if I appoint you to finish out my
term. When that’s up, then you’ll have to run. By then, maybe you won’t want to,
or by then maybe no one will want to run against you.” George rocked back on
his boots. “I’ve gone unopposed twice now.”

“That’s because we like having you
in office,” Connor told him.

“Much obliged, son. But this old
ticker ain’t what it used to be, and the missus wants to travel.”

Kade cleared his throat. “How soon
are you talking?”

George smiled. He knew he had him,
just as Connor knew the moment his buddy had uttered the question. Yeah, Kade
was interested. And was certainly the perfect fit.

Responsible. Respectable. Helpful.
Everything the county wanted in a sheriff.

“How soon?” The sheriff scratched
his temple. “Well, as soon as I can talk you into it. You’d have to go through
a process, but I’ve no doubt you’ll do well. Why not stop by my office on
Monday, and we’ll get into more detail?”

Kade nodded. “Okay. Sure. I’ll see
you then, sir.”

“See you then.” The older man
turned to Connor. “You boys enjoy the show.”

Once they nodded, the sheriff
turned and walked away.

“Well, now,” Connor said, staring
at his friend. “That was interesting.”

Kade nodded.

“What are you going to do?”

His buddy shrugged. “Go hear what
he has to say. But right now, I’m going to watch my buddy’s girl take the
stage.”

Connor smiled. “Yeah, I can’t wait.”

They grabbed a beer and one of the
few remaining tables and sat down to watch.

A crowd was gathering. Some would
sit, others would stand, and others would dance. All and all, it was a good
time waiting to happen.

And he loved good times. His pulse
kicked up. And spending time with Kerri.
Hell yeah
.  

Spending the whole day at the fair
without complaining about dust, and animals and smells.

Kissing him for luck…without him
asking.

Yeah, he could get used to this.

W
ith her thoughts on
Connor and getting back to him, and her heart light, Kerri exited the stage
after their set... and bumped right into Duke.

“Sorry, Kerri.” He steadied her
bare shoulders, and she had to fight the sudden aversion to him. Something had
changed in the man. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was
different about him since their date a couple months back.

“That’s alright.”

He smiled down, still holding her
shoulders. “I saw you with Connor earlier. You have any more strawberries?”

“Back off, Carver,” Cole practically
growled, stepping to her side, suddenly rigid and fierce.

But he wasn’t the one the jerk
needed to worry about. Heck no. Jordan had gone stalk still. Not good. Not good
at all. Kerri had seen that look in her sister’s eyes before. When two very big,
very amorous, very drunk bikers wouldn’t leave Comets after last call last
year. Her former cop sister had persuaded the men. Their faces became
acquainted, up-close-and-personal, with the bar. Twice.

So, yeah, Duke needed to heed
Cole’s warning before
his wife
made a move. Okay, maybe
she
better do something before the situation got out of hand.

“Nope, but I hear they’re selling
some over at the farmer’s market section.” Kerri brought her hand up between
them to lightly tap Duke on the shoulder and break his grasp in the process.

Two strong hands clammed around her
arms, and before she knew it, Cole pulled her behind him, shielding her with
his body, forming a wall of hunk in front of her. Sweet. But unnecessary. She
had a Jordan.

And, uh oh, her sister was stepping
up to Duke.

“I’d like to make a suggestion,” Jordan said, cupping his shoulder. “If you’re going to sniff around, go to the barn. My
sister’s taken.”

Duke looked unconcerned. He even
shrugged. “We’ll see about that.” Then he sent Kerri a look that said he wasn’t
finished yet, before he disappeared into the exiting crowd.

“Jackass,” Jordan muttered under
her breath. “He’s lucky I restrained myself.”

“No, he’s lucky Connor wasn’t
here,” Cole said. “He would’ve ripped Duke’s arm off and beat him with it.”

His brother and Jordan smiled, but
Kerri wasn’t amused. She was worried. What if Connor
had
seen that
exchange?

Her gaze bounced through the crowd.
There was a bit of a mass exit going on. Looked like a sea of cowboy hats.

“Hey.” Cole dropped an arm around
her shoulder and squeezed. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just hoping your
brother didn’t see that.”

Limb-ripping wasn’t on her agenda
for the evenings events.

A
fter what seemed like
forever, the crowd dispersed, no doubt to get ready for the main event at the
arena, bull riding. His donated bulls would be crowd pleasers, but Connor had
no intentions of watching. Once he met up with Kerri, he’d make arrangements
for the bulls’ transportation back to the ranch, then concentrate on the sexy
cook for the rest of the night.

As he stood with Kade off to the
side while the audience left the area, he spotted Cole and Jordan and the
beautiful woman in his thoughts. His pulse picked up, then galloped when she
spotted him and smiled. Her whole face lit up, and a soft blush crept into her
cheeks, deepening the sparkle in her mocha eyes.

The urge to kiss her ripped through
him so fierce, he had a hard time standing still and not rushing up to meet
her. Out of nowhere, their parents appeared to congratulate the singing trio,
but he only half heard, thanks to his still thundering pulse. When his gaze met
hers, his whole body tightened, and he barely managed to hold back the groan.
Heaven help him, she looked like she wanted to kiss him.

His buddy stepped forward. “Well
done.”

“Thanks,” the girls said.

Cole slapped Kade’s shoulder. “Maybe
next year you’ll give us something to cheer about in the rodeo?”

The Guardsman laughed. “We’ll see.
Right now, I’d better try to round up my Casanova cousin. I’ll catch you later.”

“See you later,” he said, then
turned back to Cole.

His brother thrust out a hand.
“Thanks for staying, bro.”

“Ya, goof.” Connor shook Cole’s
hand and laughed. “You’re not the reason I’m here.”

Jordan patted Cole’s chest. “Well,
I’m here for you, sweetheart. Let’s go buy some strawberries.”

As he watched his sister-in-law
pull his brother away, Connor rejoiced. Finally, he could get Kerri alone and…

A blur of blonde wearing a red
shirt, short jean skirt and red cowboy boots pressed against him.

“Where’ve  you been, stranger?” Ashley
asked, then yanked his head down and kissed him with fervor.

Shit.
Right in front of
Kerri. He hoped she didn’t think he was seeing the blonde.

He grabbed Ashley’s shoulders and
broke the kiss. “Busy. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some celebrating to
do.” He detangled himself and chanced a look at Kerri. She didn’t seem to be
mad. No frown. In fact, she almost looked like she was smiling.

He dropped an arm around her shoulders,
then led her away from a dumbstruck Ashley.

When they reached a fairly secluded
spot by the 4-H building, he stopped and looked down at her. “Kerri, I’m sorry
about Ashley. I—”

She put her finger to his lips and
silenced him. “It’s alright, Connor. I know
she
initiated that kiss.”

He stared down, well, shocked. “You
mean you’re not mad?” He couldn’t think of one women he’d ever been with who
wouldn’t have been.

“Of course not.” A smile crossed
her lips and lit her eyes as she glance up at him. Then her gaze narrowed. “As
long as you didn’t enjoy it.”

“Well, now, I didn’t say that.” He
grinned and she punched his arm.

“Hey…you’re supposed to say, ‘No,
Kerri. I didn’t.’”

Her playful tone and warmth in her
eyes when she stared at him had his insides heating. God, she was wonderful. He
backed her up against the side of the building and gently traced her chin. “No,
Kerri. I didn’t.”

Her playfulness continued as she
prompted with a smirk, “And, ‘No one is as good as you, Kerri.’” Her eyes never
left his while she ran her hand up and over his abs, then stopped when she
reached his chest.

His heart tried to make a break for
it and reach right for her palm. He couldn’t blame it. That was where he liked
to be. In her grasp.

His pulse increased as he watched
her lift up on tip toe and nip playfully at his lips, always pulling back when
he was just about to kiss her.

She laughed and didn’t try to
escape when he pressed into her and captured her mouth for a very hot, very
deep kiss.

God, yes, this was what he’d wanted
for the past hour.

He groaned at the first contact, the
first taste of her kiss. It had been nearly two hours since he’d held her like
this, which was four hours too long.

He pressed closer, but it wasn’t
enough. With one hand on her waist, he shoved the other under her hair, the
soft strands like silk on his skin as he cupped her head, holding her at an
angle best suited for possession of her mouth.

Her moan rumbled straight through
him, testing his mettle. He would
not
take her up against the building.
It was too public. But, oh hell yeah, he wanted to. She still tasted of
strawberries and sangria, and when she sighed in his mouth, he nearly lost his
resolve.

This kiss was more. Different.
Unguarded. Was it the adrenaline from watching her sing on stage or something
else? Connor didn’t know. Didn’t care. For the first time in years, he dropped
his guard, too, and just went with it.

A small sound escaped Kerri’s
throat. Did she sense it? Could she tell he’d just knocked down all his walls
and welcomed her in? She had an arm up around his shoulder, holding tight,
while the other found its way to the back of his neck where she played with his
hair. The light stroke of her thumb sent waves of heat straight down to his groin.

All too soon, or maybe just in time
because he was lightheaded and so turned on he practically hummed, they broke
for air.

He buried his face in her hair. “What
do you say we leave this place?” he asked through ragged breaths.

Her hold tightened. “I’d like that.”

Hell yeah, that was exactly what he
wanted to hear. He drew back, and she opened her eyes and
hot damn
, they
smoldered.  His gut twisted with need.

“My place?” she asked, voice husky,
gaze dark with the same need. “I have more strawberries...” She trembled in his
arms.

“I love your strawberries,” he
said, forcing himself to release her, otherwise they’d end up back against that
building. Instead, he captured her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles.
“I’ve got to go make transportation arrangements for the bulls I donated. Why
don’t you wait here? I won’t be long, then we can head out. Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

She smiled warmly, and it took him
a second to remember what she was agreeing to.

He drew in a breath and smiled as
he exhaled. “Okay. I won’t be long.”

Forcing himself to back away
without kissing her, he turned around and rushed to the pens, as fast as his
tight jeans would allow.

This interruption was good. Tonight
was special. And he wanted to slow things down, not go off like a horny
teenager. She deserved a slow hand, and he couldn’t wait to worship every curve.

He entered the pen, oblivious to
the activity, his mind intent on his task so he could get back to Kerri as soon
as possible. A few signed papers and a quick talk to Pete who was there helping
at the rodeo, and the transportation was taken care of.

Now, to take care of Kerri.

Smiling, Connor made his way
through the crowd, stopping to shake hands with a few friends when it was
unavoidable.
Christ
. He’d been gone over ten minutes now. His stomach
tightened as apprehension skittered down his back. Maybe he shouldn’t have let
her alone.