“Not too much further,” he said. “I know a nice spot that shouldn’t be too crowded. It’s tree lined and in the bend where Whiskey River splits off from the Pedernales. Technically it’s on private property, but I know the owners so we should be okay.”
“I trust you, Red.”
“Do you?” he asked. “Is that why you said yes?”
She thought about it. At this point in the relationship they had, there was no harm in being totally honest. They were sort of friends who had a lot of people in common. She’d noticed that once there was more at stake—like the fear of losing someone else—people started to hide things. She knew that it was mainly influenced by the secret her mom had kept for all those years about Amelia’s real father.
“Sort of. Mainly I just thought it was about time to see if there was more than a spark between us. What about you?” she asked.
He glanced over at her and then put his eyes back on the road. “Same. I figured it was time to make my move before Gavin did.”
“Gavin? He’s just a friend. We have a buddy-reading club where we read and discuss books. That’s all there is between us,” she said. Gavin was a great guy, but she didn’t like him, not the way she did Red. He didn’t have Red’s forthright gaze or daring attitude. Red didn’t seem to be scared of trying anything. He lived his life large for everyone to see. Gavin was more like her. Content with reading about adventures instead of going on them. On paper that might make them seem right for each other, but the truth was he bored her a bit.
They’d had dinner together when he’d first got to town but there just hadn’t been a spark.
Heck, she’d felt more heat with Red just touching her hair than she had kissing Gavin.
“What’s a buddy-reading club?”
“We have an online group where people post what they are reading and then we all decide which one we’ll discuss. Gavin started it a few months ago,” Emma said. “We’re reading a suspense thriller set in Tokyo right now.”
“Sounds interesting,” he said.
“It is. I wouldn’t have read the book otherwise—it’s not my usual read.”
“What is your usual read? Jane Austen, right?”
Emma looked over at him, surprised he knew that. “Yes, I love her books, but I also like mysteries and romance. I’ve been reading a few cowboy westerns lately. Dad had a box of them in the attic.”
“What’s a cowboy western?”
“Mainly books set in the old west. Usually there’s a bounty hunter or Texas Ranger who’s going after a bad buy.”
“Like the old spaghetti western movies?” Red asked. “My dad loves those. I should tell him about the books you’re reading.”
“I can give you a couple to loan him if you’d like,” she said. “I’m going to add them to the library once I’m done reading them all.”
“That would be nice,” he said.
“Do you have a favorite genre?” she asked. She knew he wasn’t a big reader but didn’t know if he liked movies or not.
“I don’t know. I’m not much on going to the movies. I do watch a lot of fishing shows on TV but that’s about it.”
“Fishing shows?”
“Yeah, they show different fishing competitions or there’s a show I like from Alaska that’s all about the different types of fishing you can do there.”
“Sounds interesting,” she said.
“Hey, I know what that means because I used that earlier when you were talking about your book.”
“What does it mean, Red?”
He signaled and turned onto a dirt road and then let the truck coast to a stop and put it in park before pushing his sunglasses up on his head. He turned to face her. “I guess it means both of us are doing something that the other doesn’t want to say sounds boring.”
She had to laugh at that. “Maybe. Or maybe we just haven’t done it ourselves so we’re not sure.”
“We can go with that if you want—your explanation sounds better than mine,” he said. “You okay to walk about ten to fifteen minutes?”
“I am. I’m wearing comfy shoes,” she said.
He glanced down at her bare legs and she shifted them, crossing one over the other. He just kept looking at them and she realized that both of them could pretend this was just a picnic but the spark between them was burning hotter than the Texas heat.
“Let’s go,” he said, reaching into the back seat to grab the picnic basket and his hat before he got out.
She got out and followed him up the dirt road and then off it to a shaded spot right near Whiskey River. He set the basket on the ground and then turned to face her and she realized how long she’d been waiting to be alone with Red. She hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted that until this moment.
Keep your gear simple.
~A Texan’s Guide to Fishing
Chapter Three
Red propped himself up on his elbows as Emma started getting items out of the picnic basket she’d packed. He hadn’t realized that Emma was a good cook but one look at the contents told him that the food gene hadn’t been shared with only Delilah. “This looks delicious. I hate to admit it, but it took three weeks to perfect your grandmother’s lemonade recipe. I could never put something like this together.”
She flushed a little as she pulled out two fabric napkins and handed him one. “I didn’t make this. Delilah did. I do try to cook but I just get distracted by why an ingredient should be used in a recipe and then end up going online to read about it and then buy a book and then I’m starving so can’t cook and end up eating out.”
He smiled. “Sounds like me. Except for the reading part. I would rather fish or take the kayak down the Pedernales than cook. I’m pretty much either grilling or eating out every night. I don’t see you out much.”
“I eat early with the old folks,” she said with a wink. “Also, I always ask for a booth in the back and read the entire time. I try to project an aura of invisibility while I do it.”
He sat up as she handed him a reusable container with his lunch in it. “What do you mean by that?”
“Just that I kind of send this vibe out…never mind. It sounds weird when I say it out loud. And Delilah and Amelia both told me not to be too odd on this date.”
“You talked about our date with your sisters?” he asked. That had to be good, right? She was kind of shy and it was a bit different just talking to her like this. But he liked it.
“Yes. I mean everyone saw you and me talking at the rodeo,” she said. “Did you talk to anyone about it?”
“Just Braden but he was the one who told me to stop waiting and just do it,” Red admitted. Which made this entire date a bit odd in his mind. It would be different if they were just going out and getting to know each other, which on one hand they were, but also everyone who knew them in town was aware of the date. So, if it didn’t work out…they were going to be answering a lot of uncomfortable questions. Or he was going to be. No one was going to believe that Emma hadn’t done everything right.
“Why has it taken you so long?” she asked pushing her sunglasses back on her head so that he could see her brown gaze clearly. “I thought you might ask me for New Year’s.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t want to get into all of the reasons. This was a first date and the news he’d gotten just after Christmas was still…well he wasn’t ready to talk about it even with Emma. “I had to do some winter chores at the outfitters and that took a bit of time. Also, you were hanging out with Gavin a lot. Figured I’d bide my time and see what happened.”
She shook her head. “It seems like you are a waiting kind of guy.”
“You’re a woman worth the wait,” he said with a grin.
“Flattery? I didn’t figure you for the kind,” she said.
“Just the truth, ma’am. What kind did you figure me for?” he asked. He freely admitted he had no idea what Emma thought of him. They were friendly and he’d flirted with her a time or two, but beyond that,
he had no clue. Which was why he was using all of his skill at coaxing reluctant fish to try to woo her.
She took a bite of one of the crackers she’d made from the fixings in her lunch box and chewed it carefully. He realized that the bobber on his line to Emma was bouncing in the water. She was intrigued and he had the feeling she might be toying with him. Letting it bob up and down so he thought he might hook her before she answered.
She took a swallow of lemonade and he watched her throat move as she swallowed, and he realized how delicate her neck was. The way she had her hair down, it brushed her shoulders and he noticed that she had a smattering of freckles on her upper chest. His gaze dipped lower to the bodice of her sundress and he reminded himself he was a gentleman so just allowed himself to linger there for a moment before forcing himself to look down at his own lunch box.
“You’re a man of action. In fact, I was really surprised you suggested a picnic. I thought you’d want to do some canoeing down the river or maybe some off-road cycling. You’re a guy who does,” she said.
“That’s a fair assessment,” he said. “I do like all of those things, but you don’t. You like cycling but only during bicycle safety month when you make a point of riding your bike to work every day wearing your helmet. And I’ve never seen you canoe so I figured it might not be your thing.”
She put her lunch box down and shifted her legs to curl them underneath her. “You’re right. My thighs really aren’t up to cycling all the time, though I imagine if I did it, I’d be in better shape…but I’d much rather read than go out and ride.”
“Which is why I suggested this picnic,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing that you do like.”
“You confuse me,” she said. “I expected you to be more…well not romantic. It’s not your usual thing.”
It wasn’t. He wasn’t about to pretend that he’d suddenly become Mr. Romance. He was never going to be that guy. In fact, he wasn’t too happy with the skimpy lunch he was eating. But he was enjoying sitting here with Emma, and as the breeze blew and Emma lifted her face toward it, he realized that he could get used to it. His life was at a crossroads and he was trying to decide if he should follow the path he knew or take a chance on this untried one.
*
Emma knew she had a reputation for being a bit standoffish around town but the fact that Red had spent so much time planning to ask her out made her wonder if she was getting maybe a little too demanding. It was easy to use work and her volunteering as a reason why she didn’t date more but the truth was, she didn’t want to have her heart broken again. And she’d observed that most of the time people she loved lied to her. Not out of malice but regardless of the intent it still hurt, and she hadn’t been willing to risk her heart on a man who would break it.
Though many people assumed she was too picky because of having lofty standards from reading too many books, the truth was her dad was an amazing man and had set the bar really high. But mainly she kept to herself because she wanted to fall in love but was afraid to let herself because of her experience. Every relationship she’d observed had a lie somewhere in it. Her mom and dad. Amelia and Cal. Others as well but those two were close to her. She was afraid that the reality of love wouldn’t live up to her fantasy. And rather than take the chance of ending up with a broken heart, she’d always opted to back away.
Red was watching her she realized as she turned back toward him. He was a quiet sort of man despite being an action guy. He had no trouble just letting the world settle around them and that was one thing she liked about him. She was tempted to see what he’d do if she pulled out a book and started reading but that could wait. She knew that would come off as rude, instead of her just trying to hide from her own emotions.
As much as she wanted to know what happened next in the book she was reading, she’d much rather be here with Red. He watched her in a way that most men didn’t. Her skin felt too tight for her body when she looked at him lying on his side and leaning on one muscled forearm as he ate his lunch and talked to her. She saw the way his shirt sleeve clung to his shoulders and she knew from watching him around town this summer that he was in really good shape.
It had been hot and the days long. Many men had been shirtless as the long afternoons lingered and she’d been pretty much unaffected by all of them except for Red. He’d come over to her memaw’s house to help her rebuild her garden shed and Emma had dropped by…
“Emma?”
“Hmm?” she asked but in her mind’s eye was the image of his low-slung jeans and the padded muscles of his chest and lean washboard stomach as he’d come over to say hi. She’d barely been able to speak or to keep her eyes off of him. From that moment on, the hero in the book she’d been reading looked like Red. Sounded like Red. Made her want…
“Emma, you okay? Is the heat getting to you?” he asked.
“Oh, what? Yes, I’m fine. It is hot today,” she said. Well dang. The heat of Red was getting to her much more than the Texas summer. But she needed to keep her wits about her. She wasn’t sure enough of Red yet to let her guard down. She knew that. But he tempted her like no other man had in a very long time.
“Want to walk down to the river and put your feet in it to cool off?” he asked.
“Will that help?”
“I think so,” he said.
“Then yes,” she said, packing up their lunch leftovers and Red took the basket and blanket and piled them up before holding his hand out to her.
She reached for it and a tingle went up her arm as he joined their fingers together. She caught her breath as he squeezed her hand and then let it out in one long exhalation as they started moving toward the riverbank. The Pedernales was a largish river that ran through the area and this spur they were on was Whiskey River, which led to one of Last Stand’s neighboring towns.
The bank had a walking path that was maintained by the parks and recreation service for their county and it was easy to get down close to the river. Red toed off his shoes and she did the same. He took a moment to scout around and then came back and held his hand out to her again.
“This is the best way down. Follow me,” he said.
As he moved with agility down the bank toward the water, she realized how right she was when she had labeled him a man of action. Even the way he did this was efficient and left no room for mistakes. When they were almost to the water’s edge she slipped on the grass and started tumbling forward but Red pivoted and caught her in his arms, lifting her off the ground. Her chest was pressed against his and their faces were so close she could see the small scar in his left eyebrow.
His eyes widened and his pupils dilated as her hips brushed over his. His mouth parted and he cleared his throat, letting her slide down the front of his body until her toes and then her feet were on the ground. She knew she should step away. That would be the sensible thing to do.
But Emma didn’t want to be sensible.
Not with Red.
Not on this hot summer day when she’d spent too much time worrying about rules and trust. She wanted to just have that kiss that she’d been craving since Christmas. The one she’d told herself she didn’t need and that she could live without.
But she knew she’d been lying to herself. And she didn’t like that.
She shifted her hand from Red’s shoulder to the side of his face, cupping his jaw and feeling the smoothness of his skin under her palm. He tipped his head to the side and his hands settled more firmly on her waist as he licked his lips.
“I’ve been wondering about something,” she said.
“What?” he asked.
“If you’ll kiss as well as I imagine you will.”
He groaned.
She looked up. “Should I not have said that?”
“Yes. No. I’ve wondered too but I don’t want to screw this up. I don’t want to make a mistake with you.”
“Just be yourself and you won’t,” she said, leaning up and brushing her lips over his.
*
/>
Holding Emma felt better than he imagined it would and her mouth…it was even more erotic than he had thought it would be. Her kiss was tentative and slow, as if she had all the time in the world. He knew that patience was the key but for once in his life he couldn’t find it.
Emma Corbyn was in his arms, her mouth pressed to his and, honestly, he didn’t want to stop until he knew the taste of her as well as he knew his own. She parted her lips as her fingers moved on his jaw, just lightly rubbing back and forth and sending sparks all the way down his body. His blood felt heavier as it flowed through him. His heart was a big solid thud that echoed in his ears.
She smelled of lilacs and like spring. Her hands were cool despite the heat of the day and the way she felt against him was light, but it left an imprint all the way to his soul. He knew that was just his hormones talking. No one had ever touched him that deeply and as much as he wanted Emma, he was a loner. The kind of man who had always done his own thing.
But with her he wanted to be different. He wanted to heft her up in his arms and carry her someplace private so he could make this kiss last all day and all night. Just keep her in his arms until neither of them had any energy left.
But he couldn’t do that. He had to play it cool. This was just step one of his plan to woo Emma and if he broke his rules now…well he’d seen how well that had worked in the past. He didn’t want to mess this up.
So he kept his touch on her waist light, just to help remind him that this was a first kiss. He wasn’t going to push it too far or take more than she offered. Except when their lips brushed and he tasted her for the first time, he stopped thinking. She tasted so good. She tasted just right. He wanted so much more. He wanted it all. Wanted everything she had to give. He ran one of his hands up her back and felt the cool silkiness of her hair against his hand as he caressed her shoulders.
She wrapped one arm around his waist and pulled him closer to her and eagerly he went to her. Needing that feel of body-to-body to ground him. To ensure that this was happening and he hadn’t fallen asleep by the river dreaming of her. Again.
Red Hot Texan Page 3