Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (6 page)

“Then make her stay.”

“Yeah.” Joe nodded. “Change her
mind.”

“Use the old McCall charm,” Cal suggested. “Your brother did, and he hooked one of the west coast beauties.”

Connor sipped his coffee and shook
his head. “Forget it. It’s not the same. Those two always had a thing for each
other.”

Hank folded his arms across his
chest and studied him. “So, you’re saying you don’t have a thing for Kerri?”

“Are you dead?” Pete stared at him
like he’d gone bonkers. “How can you not find her attractive?”

“Of course I do. And, no, I’m not
dead. Just realistic,” Connor replied. “Why start something that’s going to end
with her leaving in a few months?”

Cal frowned at him. “Who said it
had to be something permanent?”

“Yeah.” Pete’s head bobbed like a
troubled mare. “Why can’t the two of you have a little fun?”

Fun? Kerri?

Connor’s insides tightened again.
He’d like to have a few months of fun with the beauty. Hell…he’d like that a
lot. But, could they? His pulse galloped a few beats then slowed to a realistic
trot. No. “She’s not the type.”

“How do you know? Ask her,” Pete
insisted.

Ask Kerri to have an affair? That
was the stupidest suggestion he’d ever heard. Connor laughed in their faces.
“You’re all crazy.”

Off their rockers. Off their meds.
Maybe they needed meds.

Why the hell were they having this
conversation, anyway? It was getting out of hand. He slammed his empty cup down
on the wooden counter by the coffee pot. “Look, guys, I know you mean well, but
drop it. She’s a city girl, and you all know I’m allergic to them. End of
story.”

He turned around, and son-of-a-bitch
if that city girl wasn’t standing in the doorway turning a deep shade of red.

Ah hell
. How much of the
conversation had she heard?

“Kerri.” He stumbled forward, and
the guys turned to the doorway, guilt coloring their own faces.

“Hi,” she said weakly, then thrust
a paper at Hank. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to give you the recipe
I promised your wife.”

The foreman took it and smiled.
“Thank you. It’s right nice of you to share. Meg says not a lot of chef’s give
up their secrets.”

“Nothing secret there.” She smiled
as she backed out of the room. “Well, I’ve got to go. Have a nice day.”

Connor sent his men an agitated
look as he rushed out after the well-dressed woman, surprised to find her fancy
shoes had carried her halfway through the barn already.

“Kerri, wait,” he called, but she
ignored him. “Dammit, Kerri.” Rushing forward, he grabbed her elbow and pulled
her to a stop. “Would you wait?”

“I—I can’t. I’m supposed to meet
Jordan and our mothers to go shopping.”

Shopping? Jeez. He tried to keep
the scowl off his face. She couldn’t let a whole week go by without the need to
hit the stores? What was it with city girls? Okay, that wasn’t fair. Most
girls, no matter where they lived liked to shop. Especially the weekend after
Thanksgiving. But still, she hadn’t even been on Wild Creek five days. “I won’t
keep you from your fun. I just wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“How much of that conversation did
you hear?”

Her gaze dropped to his boot while
the flush reclaimed her cheeks. “Not much.”

“Liar.”

Her head snapped up, and heaven
help him, righteous indignation sparkled in her eyes, turning them whiskey
brown.

She stole his breath.

“For your information”—she yanked
free—“this
city girl
isn’t shopping for fun. It’s out of necessity.
Nothing I’m wearing is my own.” She waved a hand at herself. “I had to borrow this
coat from your mother, and the pants, shoes and top are Jordan’s. Even the bra is hers. And you know what?”

Dear God, she unzipped the coat and
held it open like a flasher. His heart rocked in his chest, and without looking
down the walkway to see if his men were watching, Connor grabbed her arm and
tugged her into the nearest stall. “What are you doing?”

“These clothes aren’t me.” She
ignored his question. “It’s too revealing. Jordan’s just more comfortable with
herself,” Kerri said.

But he’d only half heard, thanks to
the blood rushing through his ears at the sight of black lace peeking out from
under a body hugging navy top. Damn she was mouthwatering. And he knew exactly
how mouthwatering her body was. He’d seen her in a blue bikini last spring, a
blessed scrap of blue material that hardly covered her luscious curves. Curves
he’d fantasized about all year.

And now his mouth wasn’t the only
thing watering.

“So, you don’t have to worry about being
allergic to this
city girl
,” she continued, zipping up her coat,
covering the delectable view.

Damn. He liked that view.

“And I already told you, I’m not
here to land a husband,” she added.

That last part was delivered on a
long sigh. He studied her slumped shoulders and downcast gaze.

“I know that,” he said when he
found his voice. “And I’m not sure what you heard, but I’m sorry. Seems my men
have jumped on the matchmaking wagon.”

Her gaze shifted to him before her
eyes closed, and she shook her head and groaned. “I’m sorry, Connor. I didn’t
mean to disrupt your life like this. It’s bad enough mine is disrupted.” Her
eyes opened and they locked gazes. “I’ve no idea what has gotten into
everyone.”

“My guess is they want to see us
happy.”

She nodded. “Yeah, but, we can be
happy being single.” Her spine straightened and chin lifted. “We
are
happy being single. Why don’t they see that? Why do they have to make
everything so hard?”

He shrugged. She was the one making
things hard. Cripes. Unable to get the image of lace-covered cleavage out of
his head, he was back to being that block of wood again.

“I mean, it’s silly, really.” A
small smile tugged her full, luscious lips.

“What’s silly?”

“You and me.” She snickered.

Oh, now he was curious. “What
exactly is so funny about you and me?” He frowned down at her. “You think I’m
too much of a hick and couldn’t attract a girl like you?”

“What? N-no.” Her head shook
vigorously, knocking a lock of hair in her face. “Just the opposite. Why would
they think you’d be interested in me?”

Was she was being coy, fishing for
compliments or actually that clueless as to her sex appeal? Either way, he
decided to play along.

“Well now, darlin’,” he said,
lifting his hand to brush the strand of hair behind her ear. “That isn’t much
of a stretch.”

Her eyes grew round. “It’s n-not?”

“Nope.” He shook his head, skimming
his finger along her cheekbone to her lower lip.

Darn woman was soft. Real soft.

She sucked in a breath and backed
up until she hit the stall wall. Hard. With his finger still stroking her face,
he drew closer. Which was stupid. He should’ve let her go and walked away. Ran
away.

But he couldn’t. He couldn’t break
her wide-eyed gaze. That apprehension was back, and darn it all, he couldn’t
go…
wouldn’
t go until she looked at him differently.

“Kerri.” He bent slightly at the
knee to make eye contact. “You know I would never hurt you, right?”

She blinked. “I—yes, of course.”

“Then, darlin’, why do you look at
me like you’re afraid.”

“I-it’s nothing like that. In fact...it’s
not you...it’s me.”

He dropped his hand and squeezed a
fist as disgust soured his mood.
God, how he hated those words
. They’ve
ruined his life on more than one occasion.

“I’ve heard that before and it’s a
bunch of bull.” He turned around, ready to do that walking thing when slim
fingers wrapped around his arm and stopped him.

“Connor, wait. I’m not sure why
you’re mad, but what I said was true. It’s not you. I’m the one with the
problem,” she said again, coming to stand in front of him, gaze open and honest.
“I’m the one who’s a mess right now. Since my divorce, I’m…I’ve been…”

Her voice trailed off as if she
struggled for words to convey her meaning.

His darn heart squeezed and
compassion flowed through him.
Sucker
.

His hand lifted to touch the
softness of her cheek again. “It’s all right, darlin’. Relationships can get
messy.” That was an understatement, and he was living proof. “I don’t know what
happened between you and your ex, but whatever he did to put that look in your
eyes, I hate him for it.”

Her fingers tightened around his
arm, and her eyes filled with tears.

Ah hell. What did I do to cause
that?

“Thank you,” she said.

Kerri closed her eyes for a moment,
and he wasn’t sure if he should crush her close, stay put or run like hell. A
moment later, they reopened and were clear.

Thank God.

A genuine smile softened her
expression. “Sometimes, you say the nicest things. I swear, Connor, you’re the
sweetest man I know.”

Normally, he would’ve taken
offense. He’d much rather be the sexiest, or strongest, or greatest, but when
she lifted on tiptoe and kissed his cheek, he decided being sweet had its
perks. It got her to put her lips on his body, and that was all right by him.
More than all right.

Besides, it removed the
apprehensive look from her eyes. Now, she stared at him through a warm gaze,
rapidly turning hot as he stroked her lower lip.

When the hell had he given his hand
permission to touch her again?
Jesus
. He had zero control when she was
near. Zero.

“I think you’ll find I can be full
of sugar, darlin’.” Might have come out corny, but it made her smile widen, and
that was worth it.

Whatever kind of pull she had on
him, increased, tugging him closer in a stranglehold he couldn’t break. And
maybe he didn’t want to break it. Even though they both had issues, he was
beginning to wonder if maybe they shouldn’t give into this attraction and try
to heal each other.

She wet her lips, and he swore he
felt the soft swipe of her tongue as if she’d touched his flesh. He inhaled and
let her berry scent wrap around him tight, filling his senses to the brim.
Yeah, fighting something this strong was foolish. It was much smarter to give
in.

Cupping her face, he continued to
stare into her eyes, giving her plenty of opportunity to run. She didn’t. Hot
damn, he had to admit, he was a bit surprised. His pulse pounded heavily
through his veins, to the point of vibrating.

Wait, not him, but her phone pressed
against his ribs.

She blinked and stepped back, color
rising in her cheeks as she fished the cell out of her coat pocket.

“Hello?” She inhaled again, keeping
her gaze on anything but him. “Hi, Jordan. Yeah, I’m ready. I’m in the cattle
barn giving Hank a recipe for his wife.” She sent Connor a quick glance and an
equally quick nod before twisting on her heel and heading for the door, phone
still stuck to her ear.

As he leaned against the corner of
the stall, Connor watched the sexy, vulnerable, sweet west coaster disappear,
and battled a few emotions of his own. Disappointment and relief claimed top
billing.

He drew in a breath and released it
on a slow exhale.

That was close. Too close
.

A smile tugged his mouth. Saved by
the bell. He’d have to thank his future sister-in-law later; she’d
inadvertently halted the runaway steed. Thank God.

Connor didn’t know what it was about
the cook, but he needed to up his resistance. She was a city girl. No matter
how sweet and innocent and vulnerable she may seem, he needed to remember that.

A trying feat when she was near. Much
clearer when she was not.

Drawing in another breath, he straightened
from the wall. Now, if he could just do something about his sudden hankering
for strawberries.

T
he first week went by
fast as Kerri obtained a new wardrobe, moved into the old homestead with her
parents, and helped Jordan and Emma plan and prepare Cole and Jordan’s
Engagement/Christmas Party to be held that night at the McCall Ranch. In less
than an hour.

She hoped she made enough food.

Since it was practically winter,
the celebration would be indoors, although a few heaters were set up outside
should the guests feel the need to wander onto the brightly lit patio.

White lights and red and white
poinsettias decorated the large gathering room, and a huge Douglas Fir was
ornamented then centered at the far wall.

One half of the room was set up for
eating while the other half was sectioned for dancing. The band, having already
put up their stage and checked their sound this afternoon, was due back in a
half hour.

The routine was becoming old hat,
and Kerri discovered she enjoyed the challenge of preparing for parties and
wondered if her sister felt the same.

Maybe catering and party planning
was something they should check into, even though Jordan would be in Texas and Kerri would be in California. She ignored the pang in her gut and refused to think
about her future away from her family. Catering still held possibilities. So
did opening another restaurant. Or working as the top chef in one. But, right
now, it didn’t matter. What mattered was her sister’s engagement party due to
start in a little while.

The happy couple wanted to keep things
informal, so a buffet table was set up along the wall opposite from the band,
allowing enough room to use either side. Covered in red with green linen
napkins, the tables each had a white poinsettia centerpiece. Festive yet
simple.

Having promised her sister she’d
take care of last minute details so Jordan could get ready, Kerri went back to
the kitchen to put some finishing touches on the hors d’oeurves. Satisfied with
the good variety of finger foods, she glanced at the desserts, and her mouth
watered at some of the delicious concoctions Emma had made. A piece of the
death-by-chocolate cake had her name on it. If there had been time, she’d sneak
a piece now, but somehow time had gotten away from her, and she needed to
finish getting ready herself.