Promise Me Once

by Paige Weaver

  But Miss Beauty Queen wasn’t going to give in so easily. In the middle of the parking lot, she started resisting, pulling away from him. I saw her motion at her friend, saying something heated and angry.

  Her friend jumped to attention and started to run to her friend’s rescue, but before she could get there another man appeared. This one bigger than New Hat Asshole and much more deadlier looking.

  “Goddamnit,” I muttered. I didn’t want to do it. I usually kept my nose down and stayed out of other people’s business. But Jo’s words rang in my ear – ‘She’s your responsibility.’

  And I took my responsibilities very seriously.

  I grabbed my hat and smacked it on my head as I opened the truck door. The rain was now coming down in a fine mist. I kept my eyes on Miss High-And-Mighty and headed her way, silently cursing my stupidity. I should just get back in my truck and leave. The girl’s nothing but trouble.

  But I couldn’t seem to walk away.

  When I got close enough I could hear them arguing.

  “We’re fine. Right, Tessa?” Beauty Queen said in her amazing, seductive voice, trying to pry New Hat Asshole’s arm from around her waist. “We don’t need any help. We’ll just call a wrecker.”

  New Hat Asshole ignored her attempts to escape and just grinned. “Come on, sweetheart, we’ll give you a ride. Isn’t that what you were offering anyway?”

  Beauty Queen’s eyes lit on fire. She was soaking wet, reminding me of a drowned cat ready to scratch someone’s eyes out. Black mascara ran down her face, leaving dark streaks on her porcelain skin. Her hair was stuck to her head, hanging down her back in wet strands. I would have laughed any other time because, god she looked cute, but the asshole was refusing to let her go. I didn’t care if she had led him on, when a woman said no, a man should listen.

  “I think the woman doesn’t want to be touched,” I said, walking up to them. Rain dripped down the brim of my cowboy hat but it didn’t stop me from staring daggers at the asshole.

  New Hat looked me up and down. I was younger than him by ten years or so but there was no question who was probably stronger. My body was leaner with more sinewy muscle thanks to years of hard work on a farm. But I wasn’t a fool. No way in hell would I throw a punch for Miss Beauty Queen.

  But I sure as hell would stand up for her.

  “This is none of your business, cowboy,” New Hat Asshole said, full of piss and vinegar. “Mosey along.”

  My jaw clenched hard. I readjusted my cowboy hat, pulling the brim even lower. Anything to keep my hands from strangling him.

  “She may not be my business,” I said, nodding toward Miss Beauty Queen. “But your unwanted hands on her are.”

  New Hat Asshole sized me up again, taking in my scuffed boots and worn clothes. I kept my expression neutral, letting him look his fill, aware his grip on her hadn’t loosened. Let him figure out if he could take me. Only I knew the truth.

  I stood relaxed. Waiting. Watching. Ready to do what I had to do to protect a woman – any woman - from an asshole like him. But Beauty Queen had plans of her own and it didn’t involve me coming to her rescue.

  “Let me go, asshat!” She raised one small fist and jabbed him hard in the nose.

  He howled and grabbed his face, releasing her. But she wasn’t done yet. Her sundress rose higher, exposing her tanned, firm thighs as she raised her knee then slammed the heel of her boot down on the man’s instep.

  “OWWW!” New Hat Asshole screamed, dancing around on one foot while holding his nose with the other. I wanted to laugh but all I could do was stare.

  Thunder clapped over, matching the hell that was standing in front of me. Fire spit from Miss Beauty Queen’s eyes and anger poured off her. She tossed her wet hair behind her shoulder like she was walking down Fifth Avenue instead of standing in front of a redneck bar. With no thought to her safety, she got in the guy’s face.

  “Try to touch me again and I’m going to bury my knee in your little balls and make you squeal like the pig you are. Got it?” she said with a sweet smile on her face.

  New Hat Asshole glared at her from underneath his wet, soggy cowboy hat. His nose was red but looked fine, unlike his pride. I saw his hands clench into fists, seconds away from exploding and grabbing her again.

  Guess it was time I broke up this little party.

  I took my time, stepping between Miss High-And-Mighty and the man that looked like he wanted to beat the living hell out of her. Can’t say I blamed him for being mad – the girl was trouble with a capital T – but he would have to go through me in order to touch her again.

  “I think the girl got her point across,” I said to New Hat Asshole, trying to ignore the heat of Miss Beauty Queen’s body so close behind me. “Walk away while you still can.”

  The man stood up straighter, favoring his injured foot and wiping his nose. He looked over my shoulder at the girl, the contempt rolling off him like the raindrops falling down his hat.

  I watched him and his friend closely, knowing guys like them didn’t take too kindly to being one-upped by a girl like her. And I was right. New Hat Asshole suddenly shot around me, going right for her. But I was quicker. I stepped in his way, blocking him and keeping her safe behind me. My gaze never left him. He was in my sights and I was about to pull the trigger.

  “You got three seconds,” I said, my voice low and menacing.

  He popped his knuckles then smirked. “And what happens in three seconds, cowpoke?”

  I shrugged, cutting my eyes over to the front of the bar. “That.”

  He turned to look the same time we all did.

  In the misty rain stood Jo, staring down the barrel of a shotgun. It was pointed straight at New Hat Asshole, unwavering in her solid, steady hands.

  “Get off my property, boys!” she shouted, cocking the gun for effect. “Now!”

  I looked back at New Hat. He was scowling at Jo, looking her up and down. I started to think he didn’t have a brain in his head and was going to test her, but he took a step back instead, nudging his buddy.

  “Let’s go,” he said, sliding his eyes over to the Beauty Queen behind me. “The bitch ain’t worth it.”

  He and his friend backed away, keeping their eyes on Jo and me until they were a safe distance away. As soon as they were, they turned and took off for their truck, moving fast in the drizzling rain.

  I watched them go, keeping Miss Beauty Queen at my back and her friend within an arm’s length of me. As soon as the asshole’s truck pulled out of the parking lot, I relaxed and turned to Jo.

  “Thanks,” I said over the sound of thunder in the distance.

  Jo lowered the gun and jerked her double chin toward the road. “Y’all git home before you cause any more trouble.”

  I tipped my hat to her in response and turned to face Miss Beauty Queen. I didn’t know what I expected to find but it wasn’t her frowning at me.

  “Ugh,” she said, rolling her eyes. With a swing of her wet hair, she spun around and started across the parking lot, followed by her short, round friend.

  I had a perfect view of Beauty Queen’s little dress clinging to her curves. The material was soaking wet and see-through. I swallowed hard, seeing the roundness of her ass underneath the thin cotton and the space between her legs.

  “Shit,” I repeated for the hundredth time since meeting her.

  As I followed them to their broken down car, I had a feeling the night was far from over.

  And her and I were far from done.

  Chapter Four

  Cat

  The rain was coming down in a fine mist. The thunder was loud and the lightning close. And me? I was shaking in my damn boots.

  Daryl had been nice. Decent. But then he changed. When he demanded I pay for the drinks he bought me with a quickie in the men’s bathroom, I balked. I did many things but I suddenly didn’t want to do them with him.

  Knowing when I was in over my head (because I had been there many times before), I grabbed T
essa and left, only to find my car wouldn’t start and Daryl had followed us outside, still wanting payback for those drinks.

  Now here I was - soaking wet, stuck in the parking lot of a rundown bar, and just wanting to go home.

  “Please tell me that did not just happen,” Tessa said, hurrying to match my pace as we headed to my little car.

  I lengthened my stride and clamped my teeth together tightly. “I wish I could but it just did.”

  “Damn,” Tessa said, pushing her blonde, dripping wet hair out of her eyes. “No strike that. Double damn. I mean fuck, Cat, you really know how to pick them.”

  I sighed, glaring at her from underneath my spiked lashes. “Don’t start, Tessa. Let’s just get my car running and get the hell out of here.”

  “Agreed.” Tessa glanced behind us and dropped her voice to a whisper. “So…who’s the cowboy?”

  I looked over my shoulder. The guy from the bar was following us. His head was ducked and his face was hidden under his hat, but I had gotten a good look at him earlier. When I did I had gone still, struck silent for the first time in my miserable life. The guy was just that good-looking.

  And irritating.

  “I have no idea who he is.” I shrugged. “Who cares?”

  Tessa sneaked a peek again. “So why is he following us?” she whispered in a loud voice, looking him up and down.

  I heard a chuckle behind me and I swear my face turned beet red. It almost made me stumble, catching me off guard. When was the last time I blushed? Or got rattled by a guy? My answer was clear-as-day. The last time was a year ago.

  When I had to watch a man be buried. Luke.

  I silently cussed the rain that splashed around my boots. I cursed life and my very existence. I swore obscenities in my head at the cowboy who had saved me from Daryl. I did it all to take away the pain and hide my tattered soul.

  With anger in my step, I hurried to my car. It was a three-year-old BMW. My baby. The hood was popped open. Big fat raindrops made pinging sounds on the exposed engine. I stopped at the front end and peered down, cursing the storm, the car, Daryl, and myself.

  Always myself.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Tessa asked, looking down at the engine too.

  I shrugged. “How the hell should I know? Its been making some weird noises.”

  The cowboy appeared beside me. I looked him up and down, a scowl on my face but a glimmer of awareness sparking in my body.

  His hat still hid his face, shielding his eyes from me. His wet shirt was plastered to his body, outlining solid, lean muscles. Low-slung jeans hugged his legs and hips. From underneath his hat I could see dark strands of hair against his tanned face and neck. But it was what was hidden under his cowboy hat that had caused me to draw in a shaky breath earlier.

  His face was perfect, all chiseled angles and strong features, but his eyes…his eyes were amazing. They were the color of the sky on a stormy day. The color of my favorite cashmere sweater. They were the color of Luke’s headstone the day we buried him. The color I felt everyday since. When the cowboy looked at me in the bar, the crystal gray of his eyes had shocked me.

  And that was hard to do.

  I stiffened when he stepped closer to my side. His arm brushed along my abdomen as he reached past me to fiddle with something in the engine. I tried to keep my focus on what he was doing but finally gave up and let my gaze travel down his back instead. Fat raindrops hit his already soaked shirt and molded it even more to the well-defined muscles in his back.

  He was hot but he was not my type. He didn’t gawk at me or try to flirt when I had talked to him at the bar. He had kept his hands to himself and seemed uninterested, at best. I liked men to pay attention to me. I fed on it, survived because of it. Then why did parts of me clench and grow wet when I looked at him? When I felt those gray eyes on me?

  I cleared my throat, irritated with him for affecting me so strongly.

  “You plan on telling us your name or you just gonna fix our car, mute-like?” I asked, the bitch in me coming out. My go-to defense mechanism.

  The cowboy checked one last wire in the engine then straightened, still staying close by my side. When he looked at me, his eyes didn’t drop down to my breasts or run over my thighs and legs. Most men would have salivated at the sight of my see-through dress. It’s what I expected. What I counted on. Instead, the cowboy stared straight into my eyes, seeing me not my body. Me.

  And I didn’t like it at all.

  I gritted my teeth. “Name?” I snapped, curling my lip up. “You got one?”

  The corner of the cowboy’s mouth lifted in a lopsided smile.

  “Yes, ma’am. It’s Cash,” he said in a deep voice that washed over my skin and down into my core. It was both smooth and rough. Gravelly and perfect. I had no doubt that his voice alone could make a woman scream in ecstasy and come in seconds.

  Speaking of…a shudder passed over my body. I blamed it on the rain. No way in hell would I acknowledge it was anything else.

  Without another look at me, he leaned over again and did something to the engine, dismissing me like I was unimportant.

  I glared at his back, hating him. Despising him. Not understanding why I was interested in him. I didn’t chase guys; guys chased me. I collected them like I collected shoes. When I got tired of them, I tossed them to the side and moved on to the next one. Just to fill a void and help me to forget.

  The cowboy finished whatever he was doing to the engine and straightened, looking straight at Tessa and ignoring me. “Turn it over and see if it starts.”

  Once again, his voice made me burn with need and squirm, more than my dress becoming soaked.

  Tessa’s eyes gleamed with love and devotion at him as she jumped to attention like the good little girl she was. I rolled my eyes as she hurried to the driver’s side, slipping once in her wedge heels. She had my keys since I had drank one too many but right now I wanted to kill her for leaving me standing alone with the cowboy.

  He – Cash – continued to ignore me. He laid both hands on the car and studied the engine like he expected it to talk to him.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot, annoyed. Most men ate out of the palm of my hand, but he didn’t seem to care who I was or what I looked like. Sure, I was soaking wet and my makeup was probably nonexistent thanks to the rain, but I knew I still looked good.

  At least good enough for this cowboy.

  Okay, yeah I was pissed. The guy was ignoring me and I wasn’t used to being ignored. My dad gave me whatever I wanted and men never told me ‘no’. My older brother was the only man that actually stood up to me, calling my bluff and telling me I was full of shit when I was.

  But no man ignored me. I made sure of it.

  The engine popped then roared to life, startling me. I heard Tessa squeal from inside the car, almost bouncing up and down in the seat. I frowned. How she could be so happy all the time? I didn’t understand it. Of course she didn’t bury someone she loved a year ago. She hadn’t seen him lying on the ground, bloody and broken, knowing it was her fault.

  I had.

  I blinked, the disturbing image disappearing as Cash slammed the hood shut.

  “You’re good to go. Night,” he said, tipping his hat then turning and walking away.

  I spun around, speechless. I wanted to call out to him, get his attention. Prove I could. I didn’t want him to leave. There I said it. Ugh. What was wrong with me? He was the first man to show no interest in me. For that, he got my undivided attention.

  “Let’s go!” Tessa yelled, sticking her wet, drenched head out of the driver’s side window and waving at me with impatience.

  I ignored her and watched the cowboy stroll away.

  “Jerk,” I muttered, frowning. I hated that my heart was pounding. That I suddenly wanted something, but he was not offering it to me.

  Abruptly he turned, his gaze going straight to mine.

  “You gonna tell me your name, or just let me walk away,
mute-like?” he asked with a cuter-than-hell lopsided grin.

  I blew out an aggravated breath. Outside I knew I looked irritated but inside a tiny thrill went through me.

  “Cat,” I called out over the sound of the soft rain. “My name’s Cat.”

  Cash’s grin grew wider, his gaze warm. “Fits you.”

  Something twisted inside me, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I turned and headed for the passenger side of the car, fighting the urge to run. I was reaching for the handle when I glanced back at Cash.

  He was walking backwards, watching me. This time his gaze dropped down my body, taking its time, traveling over my rain-soaked dress. Finally he met my eyes again.

  “It was nice meeting you, Cat. See you around.” He tipped his hat at me then turned and strolled away.

  Disappearing from my life forever.

  Well, maybe.

  Chapter Five

  Cat

  Two days later

  “You little brat! Get the hell back here!”

  “Make me, ass-wipe!”

  I woke up to the sound of fighting. Loud male voices boomed throughout the house.

  “You little shit!”

  “Fuck off!”

  I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach, pulling a pillow over my head. It didn’t help. I could still hear them.

  “Dad said—”

  “I don’t care what Dad said! He’s not here and I am. If I tell you to clean up your shit, you’re cleaning your shit!”

  The sound of booted feet running on hand-scraped, hardwood floors followed. A door slammed somewhere, shaking the pictures on my wall.

  I groaned again and rolled over, tossing the pillow to the foot of the bed. Could a girl not get a decent night’s sleep around here?

  Bright sunlight streamed in through my bedroom window, making me squint then wince when I tried to open my eyes. I picked up a small, satin pillow and threw it across the room, missing the window by at least a good foot.