Time stood still. Wandering thoughts didn’t exist. Nothing was more important than satisfying that deep need driving them to the top of a climax. Then with a groan and a final thrust they dived over the edge together, her fingers tangled in his hair, his lips on that soft spot on her neck. Before either of them could stop panting, the soft afterglow folded around them like a warm blanket.
He rolled to one side and pulled her against him until her head rested on his chest. “When I can breathe,” he panted, “I will tell you how wonderful that was.”
“When you can breathe…” she panted between words, “you can kiss me and we’ll start all over again.”
“You are amazing, Allie,” he whispered softly.
Getting enough of Blake Dawson might be a lifetime job. She was up for the challenge if it meant winding up in bed like this several times a week…or a day!
Chapter Twenty-four
Blake and Deke had already gone when Allie let herself into the house and went right to work that Tuesday morning. At noon the ceiling was painted, the walls were finished, and she was working her way around the floor doing the woodwork. The door into the bedroom and the one that hung on the closet had been removed and were resting on sawhorses in the third bedroom. Now that some of the Sheetrock had been cleared out, she used that room to sand and then paint one side of the doors before she had started the ceiling that morning. Her goal was to turn them over and paint the other side before she left that evening. Then the next day she would hang them before she started texturing the hallway and living room ceiling.
She’d really dodged a bullet the day before with the gossip hounds in Dry Creek. The big news in town right then was the grand opening tonight of Nadine’s new café. It had only taken a lot of elbow grease and a big trip to the grocery wholesale store to get the place up and running. Katy had helped her cut through a ton of red tape to get a license and rumor had it that Sharlene and Mary Jo were taking vacation time from their jobs to help out the first week as waitresses and dishwashers.
Of course Nadine’s business venture was only part of what was keeping all the phone lines heated up that week. Sharlene was still thinking about cleaning up the old clothing store for a day care center because she was tired of the banking business and Mary Jo was continuing with plans for putting in a beauty and barbershop combination in the building between the café and the feed store.
Some folks thought those three women should be hauled out of Dry Creek by the boys in the white jackets. Others cheered for the ladies and whispered over the backyard fences that Blake Dawson might be the luckiest thing that had happened to northern Throckmorton County in several decades. He was the only thing that had changed in town the past several years and look at what all was happening.
Allie wished all three of them the best of luck in their ventures and could have personally hugged them for taking some of the heat from the rumors away from her that week. She was picturing three stores on Main Street with clean windows and folks fanning in and out of the new businesses when she came to the end of the baseboards and stood up to paint around the door facing.
She caught a whiff of wood smoke but figured a draft had sent it from the fireplace to her nose. Paintbrush loaded, her hand was headed toward the middle of the door trim when two hands snaked around her waist. It startled her so badly that she squealed, flipped around, and threw up the brush, sending a broad swath of white paint across Blake’s face. White went ear to ear, across his mouth, chin, and below his nose, before she dropped the brush on the toe of his right boot.
He pulled her tightly against his chest, tipped up her chin and kissed her, smearing wet white paint all over her face. She tasted wood smoke, cold winter air, and a hint of black coffee mixed with paint. Who would have ever thought that that mixture could be an aphrodisiac?
She rolled up on her toes and then remembered Deke. Sweet Jesus in heaven! She had to get to the bathroom and wash all that paint off her face before he saw it or else he’d have a million questions and at least that many lectures all ready to deliver.
“Deke?” she whispered.
“Is on the way. He wanted to finish up the cord of wood he was working on so that Herman could buy it and take it out of the field. Weatherman says it’s going to snow more, starting tonight and going through tomorrow. Never seen winter like this in central Texas before, but when it’s cold outside we have to get warm inside, don’t we?” Blake pulled her back to his chest.
“You got that right, but first we’ve got to get the paint off before Deke gets here,” she said.
“Hey! This room is almost finished and it looks great.” He took a step back and looked around at the fresh sandy colored walls and white trim work. “I can move my furniture back in tomorrow evening soon as we pull up this nasty carpet. That means we’ve got a date, right?”
“Thursday evening?” she asked.
“I’ll pick you up at seven at your place. Should I wear body armor?” He led her to the bathroom and turned on the water in the wall-hung sink.
“It might not hurt. Lizzy is a crack shot with a rifle and she’s not budging.” Allie stuck her hands under the warm water.
Blake applied soap to a wet washcloth and held it up to her face. “Let me.”
She turned her face up so he could reach it better. “You scared the devil out of me.”
Blake chuckled. “Then I guess you must be an angel, then.”
“Oh, darlin’, I got my angel wings the first time we went to bed together.”
He wiped away most of the paint from her face and rinsed the washcloth under the warm water. “I scared you when we had sex?”
“No, darlin’, you screwed the hell out of me…that gave me my angel wings and my halo,” she said.
Behind the white painted-on beard, Blake’s face went crimson red. “Your ancestors’ blood is rising to the top today.”
“Yep, it is.” She took the washcloth from him and removed the rest of the paint from her face, then started on his.
“Hey, where are y’all?” Deke called from the living room.
“Cleaning Blake up,” Allie yelled back.
“You are what?” Deke wasted no time getting down the hall. He stopped at the bathroom door and leaned a shoulder against the jamb. “What happened?”
“Never scare a woman who’s holding a paintbrush,” Blake said.
“Good enough for you.” Deke laughed out loud. “Be glad she slapped you with that brush and not her freshly painted wall. For that she might have shot you on the spot.” He left the bathroom and peeked into the bedroom. “Lookin’ good. You’ll have it done by quittin’ time today. It’s amazing what a coat of paint and a new ceiling does for a room, ain’t it? I’m going to wash up in the kitchen sink and then I’ve got something to tell you.”
Allie picked up the washcloth again and wiped away more paint. Cupping his chin under her hand sent waves of desire through her body. Did angel wings and halos have to be earned every day? If so, she was more than willing for more of that hell removal business anytime that her halo and wings started to fade.
“I’ve got the bowls on the table. Y’all going to take all day in there?” Deke shouted.
“Almost done,” Allie yelled back. “Be there in two minutes.”
“Make that three or four. Get out the cheese, salsa, and chips.” Blake raised his voice and bent his head to kiss her again. Her halo was secure by the time he finished the blistering hot kiss that took her breath away.
“Wow,” she muttered.
“It never gets old or dull, does it?” Blake whispered.
“Hasn’t yet,” she said.
“It’s on the table and if you ain’t here in thirty seconds, with or without paint all over your face, I am eating alone. You’ve had time to take off the first layer of skin, Allie,” Deke called out.
When they reached the kitchen, she sat down in her chair. “You must be hungry, Deke.”
Deke got busy dipping tortilla soup into bowls.
“I’m always starving by dinnertime. And, Allie, I know y’all are more than friends so you don’t have to find excuses to stay in the bathroom and make out.”
“What?” Allie sputtered.
“It’s all over your face and Blake’s been whistling more than usual and well, I’m your best friend, Allie, so I know. Now let’s eat before the food gets cold. I’m hungry and talking about hungry”—he blew on a spoonful of soup—“Nadine is having her grand opening tonight. She’s serving hamburgers and two blue plate specials. It’s not a big menu, but tomorrow she’s adding to it. We’re going. My treat for all the food I’ve been getting here and, Allie, this was your idea, so you need to be there.”
“So that’s what you wanted to tell us?” Blake asked.
“Yep. Now admit it. I’m right. You two are dating,” Deke said.
Allie downed the rest of her sweet tea. “Blake and I are more than friends.”
Deke reached for the salsa and added a tablespoon to his second bowl of soup. “I knew it. Have you told Lizzy and your mama?”
“Not yet. I thought maybe since we’re best friends that you’d do that for me,” she teased.
“Hell, no, I want to be out of the county when you tell Lizzy.”
Allie wasn’t a bit surprised to see that Lizzy had gotten all dressed up in a cute little pencil skirt, a turtleneck sweater in the same shade of brown as her eyes, and had even added a clunky gold necklace to the getup. She’d abandoned her cowboy boots for a pair of spike-heeled dress boots. Her dishwater-blond hair floated in curls on her shoulders and her makeup was perfect. Mitch expected her to look beautiful when they went out and she did everything to please him.
Lizzy gasped when she saw Allie wearing a snug pair of skinny jeans, a form-fitting sweater that accentuated her curves and her tiny waist, and a pair of cowboy boots that Lizzy had never seen.
“What?” Allie asked.
“Did you change your mind? Please tell me that you did and you’re going with me and Mitch and Grady.” Lizzy smiled.
“I’m going to the grand opening, but I’m not going with you. And for the last time, Grady is out of the question. I’m going with Blake Dawson.”
Lizzy fell back in the old rocking chair and threw her hand across her eyes in a dramatic gesture that did Scarlett O’Hara justice. “I knew it. I told Mama nothing good would come from you going over there to work. You are weak and you can’t say no.”
Allie frowned and held up her hand like a little girl in the classroom. “Hello. My name is Alora Raine Logan and I am weak and exactly like most of my whoring ancestors. I fall over backward for any sexy cowboy that pushes on my shoulder. My youngest sister is the smart one. My middle sister is the strong one. I’m the failure.”
“God almighty!” Lizzy dropped her hand and glared at Allie. “That is not funny.”
“There’s the doorbell, so that will be Blake. See you at Nadine’s. I hope she made her famous apple pie for tonight.” Allie picked up her coat and purse and left Lizzy sitting there speechless for the first time in her life.
Katy had already opened the door and Blake was standing at the foot of the stairs when Allie started down. Her breath caught in her chest at the sight of him there in his bulletproof jeans bunched up over the tops of black boots so shiny she could see the reflection of the foyer light fixture in them. Holding his black hat in his hands, his eyes locked with hers and his smile said more than words could ever get across.
He handed her a tiny stem with a little white daisy-looking flower at the end. “I should have brought flowers, but I didn’t have time to go into town so this will have to do. Mama calls them snow flowers because they bloom in the winter. I found it this evening right up next to the house. You are stunning tonight, Allie.”
“Oh, Blake, it is beautiful. I’m going to press it and keep it forever,” she said. “Hold my coat and give me a second to put it in water until I get home tonight.” She hurriedly put the flower in a small glass of water, went back to the foyer, and turned to Katy.
“Are you and Granny going to have supper at Nadine’s?” she asked.
“No, she’s already in her room and watching episodes of Designing Women. I’m going to make myself a sandwich and catch up on quarterly taxes while things are quiet,” Katy said. “Give Nadine my best and tell her I’ll be there for lunch tomorrow. Lizzy and I are going to put a sign on our doors and take a thirty-minute lunch break. That way all the school kids will go to Nadine’s and it will stir up a little more business for her.”
“You’ve cooked your last time at the store then?” Blake asked.
Katy smiled. “Yes, I have, and I won’t miss it a bit.”
Blake and Allie walked out to his truck, fingers laced together, ignoring the cold weather and smiling at each other. He opened the door for her and settled her into the passenger’s seat in his truck. They rode in comfortable silence almost all the way to town and then Deke called to tell her that he was already at the café and was holding a table for the three of them and one of Herman’s granddaughters. She was between jobs and came to visit for a couple of weeks.
“Kelly?” Allie asked. “You better be careful. Herman will skin you alive if you mess with her. She’s his favorite since she’s the only granddaughter.”
“It’s not a date. It’s only a chair at a table. She was waiting. It’s a packed house, I’m tellin’ you,” Deke said. “And Nadine has apple pie. I told her to save three pieces and one of pecan for Blake since he hates apple pie. It’s going fast.”
Blake had to park all the way down to the end of the block and across the street. Dry Creek usually rolled up the sidewalks at five o’clock when Katy and Lizzy closed up shop and there wasn’t another car seen on the street until the next morning. But that night there wasn’t a parking place on either side of the wide street.
Blake crawled out of the truck, shook the legs of his jeans down over his boots, and circled around the front side to open the door for her. They walked across the street hand in hand and when he tried to pull away as they entered the café, she tightened her grip.
The place was almost as noisy as a rock concert until they saw that Allie was with Blake and holding his hand and then the only racket that could be heard was the pots and pans in the kitchen area.
Allie marched right over to Nadine’s mama, who had held the crown for the biggest gossip in Dry Creek for nearly three decades, and laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Hello, Willa Ruth. Have you met my boyfriend, Blake Dawson? He’s been to church a couple of times but I don’t think everyone has been properly introduced to him. Blake, darlin’, this is Nadine’s mama, Willa Ruth. She taught Nadine everything she knows about Southern cooking so this should be written up in the magazines before the year is out.”
“I’m right pleased to meet you, ma’am.” Blake nodded. “Deke is waiting for us so I expect we’d best get on over there. I’m looking forward to a lot of good meals right here.”
Willa Ruth mumbled something that sounded like she was pleased to meet Blake and then threw her hand up over her mouth to whisper something to the women sitting with her at the table.
Between that area and the corner Deke had saved, Allie stopped by two more tables to introduce Blake as her boyfriend. By the time they were seated with Deke and Kelly the whole place was buzzing. Allie didn’t need a PhD in rocket science to know exactly what they were saying or that a few of those phones up to their ears were calling everyone else in town to give them the news.
“Well, that was bold as hell.” Deke said.
“Did I hear you right? Did you say that Blake is your boyfriend?” Kelly asked.
“I think she did,” Blake answered seriously.
“I wouldn’t have a bit of trouble crawling up here on this table and telling the whole place if you were my boyfriend.” Kelly pushed back her red hair and batted her thick lashes at him. “But I don’t mess with another woman’s feller.”
Lizzy, Grady, and Mitch pushed
through the door and Deke nodded that way. “She’s liable to tear the place apart when…and there is Sharlene whispering in her ear right now.”
Everyone in the place saw Lizzy’s expression, but Allie smiled and blew her sister a kiss from across the room. With those mixed signals the poor old gossip hounds wouldn’t know what to say or do next.
“So I’m your boyfriend?” Blake leaned around the corner of the table and kissed Allie on the cheek. “I’m lucky to have a girlfriend as beautiful as you are.”
Kelly sighed. “Damn the luck. I would’ve gone to cut wood with Grandpa, but I was lazy and look what it got me.”
“I’ll be your boyfriend as long as we are at this table,” Deke said.
“Why not longer?” Kelly asked.
“Because your grandpa would make sure they never found my body and that would make Allie sad since she is my best friend,” Deke answered.
“Quite the charmer, you are.” Kelly smiled.
Deke gave her a crooked little smile. “Do my best, darlin’.”
Blake glanced at the menu, which was stuck between the sugar bowl and napkin holder. “I like being your boyfriend, but you could have given me a little notice.”
“You brought me flowers. Doesn’t that mean we are in a relationship?” she asked.
Before he could answer, Mary Jo appeared at the table with a little order pad and pen. “Well, you stirred up things. Nadine says to thank you because gossip is good for business.”
“I want a big greasy hamburger with mustard, fries, and a Dr Pepper. Not diet,” Allie answered. “Tell Nadine she’s welcome. We are glad to be a help.”
“Make that two,” Blake said. “Double meat and add cheese please. Sweet tea instead of a soda.”
Wild Cowboy Ways Page 25