Hot Cowboy Nights (22 page)

T
oby eased down on the porch beside Lizzy and laid a hand on her knee. He’d removed his chambray work shirt, and his white undershirt was dirty and sweaty. A line across his forehead gave testimony that he’d only taken his beat-up, old straw hat off a few minutes ago.

She passed him the red plastic cup that she’d been drinking from, and he gulped down the rest of the iced tea. When he handed it back, she refilled it and offered it to him again.

He drank down a third of it before he came up for air. “Thank you. I made a mistake when I didn’t go to the bank and get a loan for this place, Lizzy. But we didn’t want to be in debt while we’re trying to make the Lucky Penny work.”

Lizzy swallowed hard. “It is peaceful here, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “Reminds me of my grandparents’ place. They raised a pretty good-size family in a little house like this. When things got better, Grandpa offered to build my grandmother a new house but she refused. She said that there were too many memories in her house to leave it behind.”

“I’m sure that’s one of the reasons that Deke wants the other place. That’s where his grandparents made their home. This one belonged to their daughter, Deke’s mama, but he was back and forth between the two places,” Lizzy said.

“Good land and already cleared. Someone got a bargain. Maybe in a few years they’ll want to sell and I’ll pick it up then.” Toby drained the rest of the tea. “Can I take you home?”

She smiled. “I’d rather you took me to the trailer.”

His blue eyes twinkled. “We’d have to get pretty up close and personal to take a shower together in the trailer.”

“Who said anything about a shower?” she teased.

“Darlin’, I’m not going to bed with you without a shower.”

“Who said anything about a bed?”

He grabbed her and pulled her toward him, tipped her chin up with his knuckles and kissed her, long and lingering, leaving her whole body limp and begging for more.

“That answer your question?” he asked.

“Let’s forget the shower and go skinny-dippin’ in the creek at the back of this place,” she whispered. “It’s not far from the barn where Deke keeps his hay, so we might watch the moon from the hayloft once we cool off.”

He took her hand in his. “Lead the way.”

It took twenty minutes, crawling over two fences and shooing a dozen cows out of the way, to get to the creek but when they did, Toby moaned. “Now I’m really mad at myself for not buying this place. I had no idea a creek ran through here.”

“Don’t kick yourself too hard.” She unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it over the top of a low-growing mesquite tree. “This is Dry Creek, and it’s running good right now, but we’ve had an unusual spring and summer. It will be completely dried up by mid-July and there won’t be a drop of water in it until next spring. Sometimes it never has water in it. Won’t be nothing but a gravel and sandpit, and darlin’, the water might be clear but it’s only knee-deep, so callin’ it skinny-dippin’ is for real. It’s sure not skinny-dunkin’.”

He shucked out of his dirty shirt and jeans, stuffed his socks down into his boots, and waded out into the cool clear water. His back against a rock, the water cut around his naked body, rippling past him, flowing over him. The moonlight defined the angles in his face and lit up his muscles.

She was so involved in watching him and trying to remember to breathe that she almost took the first step into the water without removing her shorts and sandals. In a few swift movements, the rest of her clothing lay on the grassy bank of the creek and the cool creek water was up to her knees.

“Would you lay with me in a tiny creek?” Toby opened his arms.

“I recognize that song, only I think the lyrics said a field of stone, and yes I would.” She curled up in his arms, her head on his chest, a blanket of clear water covering them.

Hot night air has a scent all of its own. Add that to the smell of the water, the remnants of Toby’s aftershave, mixed with the sweat of hard work and the musty aroma of green grass. Lizzy wished she could bottle it and take it home with her.

With a wet forefinger, Toby started at her forehead and traced the outline of her face, then went lower, barely touching her neck and arm until he reached her hand. Lacing his fingers in hers he brought her hand to his lips and kissed each dripping knuckle.

“You are beautiful, Lizzy Logan,” he drawled.

His warm breath on her neck sent a shiver down her spine.

“Cold?” He pulled her closer to his side, wrapping both arms around her, their naked bodies pressed against each other.

“Not at all. It’s desire,” she said honestly.

“I love that about you.” He buried his face into her hair.

“That I’m not cold?”

“No, that you say what you are feeling and aren’t dishonest with me.”

“We agreed that we’d talk about everything,” she said.

A pang of guilt hit her square in the heart because she was keeping a secret from Toby. But this wasn’t the time or the place to tell him she was his new neighbor. Tonight was one of those special moments that only came along once in a lifetime, and she would not take a chance of ruining it by talking about a ranch.

She raised her head and caught him staring at her, looking straight into the bottom of her soul, seeing the past, understanding the present, and looking forward to the future without fear. She could get lost in those blue eyes and never surface, not for food or air, just spend eternity in the peace she found that night curled up in the creek water on her ranch with the love of her life.

The words,
the love of her life,
echoed in her heart, but they didn’t scare her or put her in flight or fight mode. Instead she embraced them with open arms and decided in that moment that she’d give Toby all the time he needed. If he never fell for her, then she’d have all these fantastic memories to curl up with every night for the rest of her life.

She slung a leg over him and with one swift movement guided his rock-hard erection into her body. It was totally amazing how easy it was in the water. One of his hands cupped her bottom as they moved together, the buoyancy of the water making it effortless. The other hand tangled into her wet hair and pulled her lips to his.

The cool water against her skin, Toby’s hot lips on hers as the kisses deepened setting her whole body on fire, and the two of them working together made her forget everything but satisfying the deep need in her body.

With his hand on her bare butt, he controlled the speed, bringing her to the edge of the climactic cliff time after time and then slowing down the pace, only to speed up until she could see the height and depth of what lay before her. When she could take no more, she pulled her lips from his, dug her hands into his chest, and groaned.

“Now?” he asked.

“Thirty minutes ago,” she moaned.

With one final thrust everything disappeared into a bright array of brilliant-colored fireworks. Her head, her heart, her soul exploded, and only the golden rays of afterglow followed the sparkling lights as they faded into the sky.

“So that’s where stars come from,” she panted.

“You are so right.”

He flipped her to one side and in one fell swoop, she was in his arms and he was standing, water dripping from their bodies as he carried her to the grassy bank. He laid her down under the drooping branches of a willow tree and stretched out beside her, only their hands touching.

“That was…” He paused.

“Intense. Amazing. Over the moon.”

“Doesn’t begin to describe it.” He rolled over on an elbow and brushed a sweet kiss across her lips.

The reason it was all of the words and more was because they’d made love, not had sex, on Lizzy’s ranch. It was her land even if she hadn’t signed the papers yet. The creek water was hers. The soft grass beneath them was hers. Even the willow tree creating a hideaway with its drooping branches belonged to her. She and Toby had christened the land that night. Maybe someday they would christen the house.

“I could spend the whole night here, but I suppose we should get dressed and go home before someone discovers us,” she said, and snuggled closer to him.

“It’s my turn this time,” he said softly.

She didn’t have to ask what he meant as his hand skimmed its way down her rib cage, sending delicious shivers all through her body in spite of the hot night breeze fluttering the willow tree’s leaves.

Lizzy had never been skinny-dipping before that night. She’d never made love with creek water brushing against her naked butt. But that was only the tip of the iceberg compared to the way Toby turned her on beneath the willow tree that hot summer night.

The clock flashed two a.m. when Toby finally crawled beneath the sheets. He’d taken a shower and wished the whole time that he was crammed into the tiny space with Lizzy’s body pressed against his. Worn out, he finally stretched out beneath cool sheets with cold air-conditioned air flowing down on him from a unit above his head.

In four hours he had to crawl out of the bed and have breakfast with Allie and Blake, possibly with Deke there, too. He sighed as he sunk his face into the pillow and shut his eyes. He didn’t want the feeling to end, but it would when the alarm sounded.

His eyes popped open and refused to shut. It was only two days until the festival on Saturday. Mitch wasn’t married yet and he would be in Dry Creek that day. When he and Lizzy saw each other, would the old flame fire up again? He’d heard it said time and time again that first loves were never forgotten. If Mitch had been her first serious love, would she take a look at him and forget about all the hot nights she’d shared with Toby?

He sat straight up in bed, slung his legs over the side, and had full intentions of going to Audrey’s Place to tell Lizzy that he loved her. To propose if necessary so that things would be signed, sealed, and delivered when Mitch rolled into Dry Creek. But the voices in his head said that was crazy.

He could not rope Lizzy down like a calf. He couldn’t brand her to make her his property. He had to let these next few days play out the way they would and hope like hell that when she saw Mitch, she would realize that man was part of her past and had nothing to do with her future. He hated that old adage about letting something go and if it came back to you, then it was yours.

For the first time, his heart ached for something he possibly could not have. He wanted Lizzy Logan in his life, but she had to want to be there for it to work.

And this is the cowboy who wasn’t sure he could live five weeks without the excitement of a chase every single weekend? What happened to that wild Dawson? Is this a passing fancy because of what he sees in his brother’s newfound love? Or is it really happening to him?
The voice inside his head asked a lot of questions.

“His heart found something that it doesn’t want to live without,” he whispered.

When he shut his eyes the next time, sleep came and with it the sweetest dreams of Lizzy and a hot summer night with cool creek water surrounding them.

The moment the alarm went off he bounded out of bed and jerked on a fresh pair of faded jeans, a tank top, and his socks and boots. The scent of bacon got stronger with every step toward the house. Work hard. Get through today and then tomorrow. Hope like hell that Lizzy didn’t fall into Mitch’s arms.

The buzz of conversation, the sizzle of frying bacon, the aroma of hot bread in the oven, all met him when he opened the kitchen door. But it all disappeared in the blink of an eye when he saw Lizzy at the counter, helping her sister make breakfast. She wore a pair of skinny jeans and a sleeveless shirt hanging down past her butt, no shoes, and her hair was in a ponytail. His mouth went dry and he couldn’t force himself to blink for fear she would disappear. Never, not once, had he seen a woman anywhere in the world as cute as the one standing before him that morning.

“Good mornin’,” he said hoarsely.

Lizzy whipped around and smiled, lighting up the entire kitchen. Hell, maybe even the whole world. The twinkle in her eye sure put the rising sun to shame that morning.

“Good mornin’ to you,” Lizzy and Allie said at the same time.

Toby only heard Lizzy’s voice and he nodded. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, maybe even throw her over his shoulder and forget about breakfast. He could take her back to the trailer, lock the world outside, and make wild passionate love to her all day. But for all intents and purposes they were fake dating and he could do absolutely nothing except wink.

Lizzy had no illusions about why her sister left a text message on her phone the night before saying that she expected her to join them for breakfast. It had nothing to do with Toby and their fake/real relationship. It had everything to do with who was buying Deke’s ranch. Allie was good at finding out things. That had always been her job as oldest child, and she took it seriously.

“Smells good in here.” Toby brushed past her and squeezed her hand on the way.

“Bacon, fried eggs, hot biscuits, and hash browns with pancakes on the side.” Lizzy poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him, their hands brushing in the transfer.

“Where’s Deke? I thought he’d be here.” Toby carried the coffee to the table and sat down.

“He sent a text an hour ago to tell me that he was packing and was eating at home. I guess we are all going over there after work today to help move whatever he gets ready. His cousin has cleaned out a place in a bedroom for him to put his boxes until the end of the week,” Allie answered.

“He’s avoiding these women,” Blake said from the doorway. “He knows that Allie will pester the hell out of him until he tells who is buying the ranch if he knows and I’ll bet he does. I sure wish we would have had the finances to take on that place. We could haul half of the cattle we’ve still got down around Comfort up here if we had all that cleared land and good grazing pastures.”

Lizzy vowed that she would tell the whole world after the festival on Saturday but not until then. On that day she planned to tell Toby first and ask him to move in with her. If she’d read him wrong, he could bolt and run right out of their relationship. If he did, then she’d take her broken heart into her new house and get over it. She could live without Toby, but each day would only be breathing, working, eating, sleeping, and starting all over again the next morning. Toby gave her that breathless energy that made it all worth living, and she wanted him beside her through every moment of the rest of her life.