Rodeo King (Dustin Lovers Book 1)

by Chaffin, Char

  “Is that—oh, my—um . . .” Mimi turned a shocked face to her. “Caleb Johnson.” She flicked him another glance. “When did he blow in? Are you two together?”

  Rosemary sighed as she released the boys so they could run to the fence and watch the carousel spin. “He got in about ten days ago. It’s kind of a long story, Mimi. I guess you could say we’re trying it out to see if it fits.” She scraped her hair back from her face with fingers that held a tremble. “Carson adores him.”

  “Does he know who Caleb is?”

  “Oh, yes.” She gestured helplessly. “What else can I do? I have to give this a chance.”

  “Yeah.” Mimi nodded in empathy. “I get it, believe me. You remember what Frank and I went through. I knew damned well the man didn’t want to get married even with three babies on the way. My daddy threatened him with a shotgun.” She winked. “It wasn’t loaded, thank God. Of course Frank loved me back then but he was an immature ass. He’s grown up a lot.” She squeezed Rosemary’s arm reassuringly. “I always liked Caleb even if he was a wild one. He has steady eyes.”

  Before Rosemary could respond, Carson spotted them and screeched, “Mimi Moo!” He broke from Caleb’s grip and tore up to Mimi, flinging his arms wide. With a laugh, she dropped to her knees and cuddled him tightly.

  “Mimi Moo?” Caleb murmured as he stepped to Rosemary’s side and slipped an arm around her.

  She had to chuckle a bit. “You remember Miranda, right? Carson called her that silly nickname because of the calf she and the triplets raised for 4-H last year. It kind of stuck.”

  Mimi got to her feet, and assessed Caleb appraisingly. “As I live and breathe, he’s back.” She gave his cowboy hat a tug and it fell over his forehead. “Good to see you, Caleb. Whatcha think of this short stack?” She tickled Carson under his ear, making him squeal.

  Caleb thumbed his hat back into place. His lips twitched. “He’s okay in a pinch.”

  When Carson launched himself against his legs, Caleb swung him over his shoulder like a sack of feed. “Kind of scrawny but we’ll take care of that.” He swatted his son’s backside and Carson shrieked with laughter, hanging upside down. He dug ten mischievous fingers in the vicinity of his daddy’s ribs and the two of them tussled while Rosemary grinned like a star-struck fangirl. She couldn’t help herself.

  Caleb pulled Carson right side up and hefted him in one arm. He turned to study Mimi’s boys, who were shoving each other noisily as they ran up to their mother. “There’s a rowdy bunch. Yours?”

  She nodded and reined them in with practiced hands.

  “How old are you cowpokes?” he asked the boys.

  “Four!” they hollered in unison. Mimi winced, but her expression held plenty of pride.

  “Miranda, I’m impressed. Good on ya.” Caleb tipped his hat to her and she loosed a deep chortle.

  “Same goes, Johnson. You’ve got yourself a terrific kid. I’m glad to see you back.” She leaned in and added in a not-so-subtle murmur, “Hang smart, y’hear?”

  Rosemary groaned, “Mimi, for cripe’s sake.”

  Winking, Mimi touched her arm. “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you let us take the little stinker for a while? He can jump on some rides with the boys and have lunch with us. Probably Sonic.” She nodded toward Caleb and they both watched him balance Carson on the tops of his boots. He shuffled his feet, bouncing Carson up and sideways, eliciting a fit of giggles.

  Rosemary parted her lips to demur as Mimi raised her voice to catch Carson’s attention. “Hey, squirt, wanna hang out with the boys and chow down on some corn dogs over at Sonic?”

  “Yeah! Onion rings, too?” Carson jumped off Caleb’s feet and ran up to Rosemary. “Can I, Mommy?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, honey—” As she vacillated, unsure, Carson turned to his father with a child’s innate knowledge of how to pit one parent against the other.

  “Daddy, can I, please?” The soft plea in their son’s voice was lethal, and Caleb wouldn’t withstand its appeal any more than she could. Behind her, Mimi coughed rudely.

  “Ask Mommy, and what she says, goes. Okay?” Caleb hunkered down to their son’s level. “And you can have all the tickets we bought as long as you share with the boys. But you have to be really good and do everything Mimi says. You understand?” At Carson’s frantic nod, Caleb squinted up at Rosemary from beneath his hat. “What d’ya think, warden? Should we spring the kid?”

  She could no more resist those bedroom eyes of his, any more than the puppy-dog looks Carson bombarded her with. “Oh, all right. But if I hear of one single problem, you’re in for it.” She braced herself for Carson’s whoop of joy and the impact of his sturdy little body against hers.

  A few minutes later the Bensons were off, with Carson holding two of the triplets’ hands and Mimi clutching the third boy. Probably Kenny, who she recalled was the most rambunctious of the three. Kevin and Keith would willingly stick by Carson.

  As Rosemary waved at Mimi, she felt a strong arm slip around her waist. Caleb pulled her into his chest and she shivered at the feel of those hard muscles at her back.

  His free hand nudged her hair out of the way, then trailed along her neck. His lips followed, brushing over her skin, the tenor of his breathing accelerating when she relaxed against his body in surrender. Loving the way he nibbled and licked, Rosemary refused to think of who might be around, watching or judging her. It didn’t really concern anyone but them.

  “Let’s take a walk,” he whispered unsteadily in her ear.

  She could feel the mad thump of her heart. Everywhere their bodies touched, heat was generating, blistering what remained of her common sense.

  I don’t give a damn at all. She turned in his arms and met his seeking lips. Against them she moaned, “Hell, yeah.”

  Chapter Ten

  His hand warm on the back of her neck, Caleb guided Rosemary along the nature path connecting one side of the park to the other. His thumb stroked gently under her hair, over her ultra-sensitive nape. She could have easily melted in her boots.

  When she swayed slightly, Caleb’s knowing chuckle stiffened her spine and she flashed him a glance, wavering between irritation and affection. Overconfident smartass.

  Though she loved being alone with him, a mother’s natural worry kicked in and she found she couldn’t completely relax. It wasn’t so much a safety concern. Miranda would care for Carson as one of her own and Rosemary fully trusted her. It was more than that. Despite their reconnection the night before and a new understanding growing between them, she still couldn’t completely trust Caleb to stick around for Carson. That made every hour with him as part of a family unit precious. Lord knew, she wanted to trust him. She wasn’t quite there yet.

  Then she told herself to stop being an idiot and just enjoy what she could.

  They passed the adult pool area with its heated Jacuzzi, the water a comfortable temperature year-round. “We should have brought our swimsuits,” she commented idly.

  Caleb snagged one of her hands and swung it between them, like he used to do years ago. “We can always come back another day, Rosie.” He tugged her closer and brushed a teasing kiss across her nose. “Or sneak in after dark and go skinny-dipping.”

  “Oh, yes. Great idea especially since last year they upped the security system with about a hundred extra cameras.” She gave his shoulder a playful shove. “It’d be all over Youtube.”

  “Hey, I’d download it. Late at night when I’m lonely.” Caleb yanked her up hard against his chest. “Lucky for me, I’ve got the real thing right here.” In the shade of a cottonwood he sucked gently at her throat, and everything went right out of her head, wiped clean by those warm, full lips and tongue stroking fire on her skin.

  With a breathy sigh Rosemary tunneled her fingers through his hair, fisting the heavy strands, encouraging him to take anything he wanted. On a public path like this, half of Dustin could mosey on by at any time and gawk at them. She couldn’t bring herself to care.


  She pulled until he raised his head enough that she could kiss him. Then she swallowed his mouth, his tongue, and the thick groan he uttered as his hands dug under her backside and hoisted her high, easing her against the cottonwood trunk.

  “Wrap your legs around me,” he demanded hoarsely, and she made her rubbery limbs obey.

  Tree bark poked her back, but she barely acknowledged its scrape. Her head, her heart and soul so full of Caleb, what he did to her . . . nothing else mattered. And those small remnants of mistrust—that he’d up and leave when it suited him—shattered under the pure strength of his body against hers, hot and vital. But she felt the tremor in his fingers where they gripped her, the shiver that moved up his spine when she slid her tongue over the firm flesh along his jaw. And she knew what exploded between them affected him as much as it did her.

  “Ah, Rosie . . . I’d give anything to have you naked right now.” The words burst from his throat, low and rough. His hips had begun a not-so-subtle thrust against her center, the hard ridge beneath his button-fly hitting her just right.

  Rosemary could almost feel her eyes roll back in her head. When Caleb propped her on one brawny arm and snaked his free hand inside her gapping shirt collar, she gnawed her bottom lip, hard. It was either that, or scream loudly enough to flush birds right out of the cottonwood branches above.

  He flicked open a few buttons, his fingers shaky, then hissed out a curse when he found bare skin. “God almighty, baby. How could I not know you’ve been braless all day?” He bent his head and covered her nipple with hungry lips.

  Her lids fluttered shut, then snapped wide open as she looked around furtively for others on the walking path. Though she didn’t see anyone, the sane and yet-unscrambled portion of her brain told her it was just a matter of time before someone caught them doing illicit, probably illegal acts in public. Still, she couldn’t help but cup his neck and keep him close as the feel of his mouth and tongue sent her into boneless submission. And she needed to watch him do it. She had to see.

  She shuddered when Caleb met her gaze with hooded passion, his lips rosy and eager against her pale flesh.

  ***

  A beam of sunlight filtered through the cottonwood leaves and set a fiery glow over Rosemary’s tangled hair. Caleb had lost track of how many kisses he’d scattered over her bared skin. The urge to strip her naked and take her against the damned tree grew with each sigh she uttered in the quiet surrounding this section of the park. And her hands, Christ . . . what the woman could do to him with those soft, pretty hands should be outlawed. He leaned in for another kiss, shifting her body even closer, choking out a growl when her breasts pushed against his tee shirt and her legs clamped his hips.

  “Grandma, cotton candy!” The childish screech echoed along the path. Breaking their kiss, Caleb looked up and spotted an elderly couple about seventy-five yards away, meandering slowly, swinging a little girl between them. Right now they were too far out to see much of anything. But the park only got more crowded in the afternoon and early evening when various free concerts started up and a few food booths opened for business.

  He sidled along the tree and held Rosemary steady as she eased her feet back to the ground. The little wriggling movements she made along the way just about killed him. Caleb groaned softly and pressed his forehead to her shoulder. He could feel her shake as she formed a chuckle.

  “It’s not funny.” He discreetly adjusted himself.

  Rosemary shook her head as if to clear it. “You recall the last time we got rousted from this very park for necking in public?” She swiftly buttoned up as he shielded her from Grandpa and Grandma’s steady advance down the path. By the time the old geezers reached the heavier copse of cottonwoods, she was tucked and smoothed out, leaning against the trunk, the picture of innocence. Caleb nodded a greeting as the towheaded little girl—about Carson’s age—dragged her grandparents toward the shack selling cotton candy.

  “She’ll wear them out in no time.” He snared her wrist and pulled her in for a fast, voracious kiss.

  Rosemary came willingly enough but a touch of hesitancy in her response told him, better than words, their bubble of intimacy had probably popped for the day. Even so, he had to ask. “You all right, Rosie?” He brought her hand to his face and held it there, inexplicably relieved when she stroked him gently.

  “I’m good. But I think we should head back to the carousel and find Carson. It’s getting late and I still have to figure out dinner and scrub about ten pounds of park crud off our son.” Rising on tiptoe, she brushed her lips over his cheek.

  Caleb cradled her tenderly, thinking that of all the wonderful events of today, all the laughter and kisses, the sweetest had to be the words, ‘our son’ coming from those gorgeous lips now pressed to his cheek. He wondered if she knew how deeply she’d touched his heart.

  He wondered if she knew he’d never let her go.

  They collected a very excited boy on the short path between the carousel and the picnic area. Carson’s hair stuck up in wild tufts, his plaid shirt half in, half out of his cargo shorts, clutching a stuffed alligator almost bigger than him. Mimi and the triplets trailed behind him, all grinning widely. The boys’ faces were smeared with what looked like cotton candy and mustard.

  “Look, Daddy!” Carson shoved the silly looking purple gator at Caleb. “Mimi Moo and me won Fred!”

  Caleb held the gator up for inspection. It wore a bright yellow cowboy hat and hot pink hi-top sneakers on each foot. “This is quite the stylish lizard, huh?” Then he blinked down at his son. “‘Fred?’”

  “Don’t ask,” Mimi snorted. She opened her arms to Carson. “C’mere, short stack, and give me some sugar.”

  Giggling, Carson took a running leap and hung on Mimi like a little monkey, his arms and legs wound tight. He gave her a smacking kiss. “Thanks, Aunt Mimi. For helping me win Fred.”

  “And?” Rosemary prodded gently.

  “And for feeding me, and letting me ride the camel for like a hundred times.” He laid his head on her shoulder trustingly. “Can I come see you sometime? And play with the guys?”

  She swung him around a few times and got him squealing. “You betcha, cowboy. Anytime. But make sure it’s okay with your folks. Don’t just jump a club car and ride those rails to Cheyenne, y’hear?”

  As Carson’s eyes got big at the mention of stowing away on a train, Rosemary groaned. “Oh, jeez. Don’t give him any ideas.” She knelt and scooped Mimi’s herd into a communal snuggle, laughing as they peppered her cheeks with sticky kisses.

  Carson wriggled from Mimi’s arms and ran to Caleb. “Can we ride the rails, Daddy? Like a hobo?”

  Caleb coughed out a chuckle. “What do you know about hobos?” He grabbed for his adorable boy, deftly flipping him upside down, then shared a knowing look with Rosemary. “You buy the tickets, we’ll ride in style all the way to Cheyenne, deal?”

  “Okay!” Carson flapped his arms like a bird. “Can you carry me this way?” His voice sounded garbled from the rush of blood to his face.

  Caleb swung him right side up and planted him firmly on the ground. “No can do, tough guy. Not upside down. But you can piggy.” He knelt and thumbed toward his back. “Hop on.”

  Carson didn’t need to be invited twice. He clambered up and clung. Caleb handed Fred to Rosemary, then slipped his hands under Carson’s legs to stabilize him, while Rosemary used Fred’s sneaker-covered paw to wave goodbye at Mimi and the boys.

  Heading for the parking lot, Caleb bounced Carson with every other stride as Rosemary waltzed in circles with Fred in her arms. Their son giggled all the way to the car, the best sound in the world.

  ***

  “I’m in the mood to cook,” Rosemary announced, as Caleb pulled up to one of a handful of traffic lights in Dustin. “Maybe fried chicken and cheesy mashed potatoes. What do you think? You guys hungry for real food?”

  In the back seat, Carson immediately started jumping up and down. “Yeah, yeah! Chicken a
nd po!”

  “Sit still, buddy,” Caleb warned. “And put your seat belt back on, okay? Don’t want you flying out the window.”

  “Aww, gee.” But he did as he was told, sitting quietly. Caleb gave him a commiserating grin toward the rearview mirror, understanding how hard it was for a kid to sit still.

  When Rosemary hooked her hand over his thigh, he turned the grin into a comical leer and murmured, “I could go for chicken. Maybe a breast.”

  “Shh, jeez.” She pinched him in a tender spot, then rubbed it in apology. “We’ll have to stop by Safeway. My supplies are pathetically low. You remember where it is? On Sprig, near the bakery.”

  “Yep. Hasn’t been a whole lot of changes in Dustin, you know.” Caleb made the turn onto Sprig Street, then dropped a hand from the steering wheel to cover her fingers and hike them higher on his thigh. “Only the important stuff changed and for the better,” he stressed.

  “Whatever do you mean, Mr. Johnson?” She wore a demure expression but her cheeks had flushed.

  He slowed down to enter the Safeway parking lot and whipped into a slot next to a cart return. Killing the engine, Caleb leaned in and pressed a kiss to her mouth, warm and soft under his lips. Before Carson could start squirming impatiently, he murmured, “All you’ve given me, that’s the most important change of all.” He cupped her chin tenderly. “Carson. A chance to prove myself to you.” His voice dropped to a rasp. “Your love.”

  She swallowed convulsively. “Caleb—”

  “Mommy, let’s go!” Carson hollered from the rear.

  Caleb shuddered out a sigh as he pulled away. “You heard the peanut gallery back there. Let’s go chase down a chicken.”

  Inside, Rosemary consulted the shopping list she’d slapped together before they left Hawthorn. Caleb tossed Carson in a cart and wheeled him up and down the aisles, making silly engine noises to the delight of their son. Each item on the list was passed off to Carson who carefully laid them in the cart, then did his best to keep his feet from squashing anything. In between grocery placement, Carson kept up a chattering commentary ranging from multiple corn dogs at Sonic to how many times he rode the carousel without throwing up.