Cowboy 12 Pack

by Cynthia D’Alba, Paige Tyler, Elle James, Donna Michaels, Shoshanna Evers, Randi Alexander, Cora Seton, Beth Williamson, Sabrina York, Sable Hunter, Lexi Post, Becky McGraw

  “Ruth, wait.” Emma emerged immediately behind her. “You’re too drunk. You can’t drive.”

  “Have to get away.” The woman named Ruth sat back on her haunches, her head hanging down, hair covering her face. “That jerk.”

  “Honey, let me help you.” Emma soothed her with a hand stroking her back while the other hooked the woman’s arm and tried to lift her. Her voice was soft, gentle, caring.

  Cooper’s heart swelled. Emma was one of those women who’d do anything for a friend, even take her car keys to keep her from doing something stupid.

  “No.” Ruth shoved Emma’s hands away. “I got this.” She staggered to her feet, dug in her pocket for her keys and half-walked, half-fell toward a tiny, bright red Mazda Miata with a rag top.

  Emma chased after Ruth and snatched the keys from her hand. “I’m not letting you drive like this.”

  Cooper stepped away from Ace’s truck. “Need a hand?”

  Emma jumped and spun to face him, dropping into a ready stance.

  Cooper suspected she was ready to kick butt to protect herself and her friend. He grinned and raised his hands. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. You look like you could use a hand.”

  “Don’t need a man,” Ruth slurred and fell against the car. “Nothin’ but trouble…” The woman’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slid toward the ground.

  Before Emma could catch Ruth, Cooper leaped forward and scooped her up. The alcohol on her breath made him reel. “She’s not driving.”

  “I can take her home,” Emma said.

  “No.” Ruth’s head lolled. “Call my brother.”

  Emma touched a hand to the woman’s cheek. “It’s not a problem, really.”

  “Brother.” Ruth passed out again.

  Emma shrugged, tugged her cell phone from her purse and scrolled through her contact list before punching one. She pressed the phone to her ear and stared at Cooper over the inert drunk woman. “Pete? Emma Jacobs. Ruth asked me to call you. Yeah, she’s sort of okay. She needs a ride home from the Ugly Stick. Yeah, a little too much. Five minutes? Great. We’ll be waiting in the back parking lot.”

  Emma’s gaze never left Cooper’s as she spoke to Pete on the phone.

  The heat her gaze generated made holding a drunk well worth the effort.

  When she hung up, Emma tipped her head sideways. “When Pete gets here, we need to talk.”

  Cooper tipped his head.

  He could tell she wasn’t happy about seeing him. But something about the way Emma carried herself—self-assured, determined, yet vulnerable—made Cooper keep coming back. Maybe he had some masochistic tendencies, given the pain of her consistent rejection. Perhaps he saw something behind the wall she’d erected around her heart.

  All he knew was he had to find a way through that wall. He suspected that beneath the rubble piled over her heart, he’d find a treasure. Cooper hoped she’d give him enough time to mine for the truth.

  Chapter Seven

  ‡

  FIVE MINUTES OF semi-silence, laced with the thrum of muted music radiating through the walls of the saloon, and with Ruth’s occasional rise to consciousness and incoherent slurs slid by like molasses in the winter.

  The entire time Emma alternated between anger at Cooper’s appearance and a strange joy she found more disturbing than she could have imagined.

  Pete pulled up in a rusty pickup and settled his sister in the front seat. “Thanks, Emma.”

  Emma sighed. “She’d do the same for me.”

  Pete shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that drunk. Ever.” He hugged Emma. “Thanks for keeping Ruth off the road.”

  When the truck pulled away, Emma chose anger over joy and faced Cooper, hands jammed on her hips. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Cooper grinned. “Nice to see you, too.”

  Guilt forced Emma to soften her voice. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.”

  “I know.”

  “So, why are you here? Don’t you live in Dallas?”

  “I have a place not far from here. Felt like having a beer, so I dropped in.”

  “Just happened to drop in?” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Cooper. She didn’t believe him. Had he come to see her? Butterflies stirred the beer in her gut. “Funny, I’ve never seen you at the Ugly Stick.”

  “Probably because most of my business keeps me busy and running to Dallas. I haven’t taken much time to go out lately. Something I vow to change.”

  Emma rummaged in her pockets for the keys. “Well, I hope you enjoy it. I’m headed home.”

  “Look, since you’re here, do you think you could spare a single dance?”

  Her heart fluttered, heat pooled low in her belly, and her breath came in tight, shallow pants. “No.” She hadn’t danced with a man since Marcus left for the war. “No.”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve done a two-step. If I’m to give Leslie’s program another shot, I could use a few lessons.” He smiled, an eyebrow lifted. “I promise not to step on your toes too often.”

  The reference to Leslie did the trick. “You do realize you’re using emotional blackmail, don’t you?”

  Cooper’s grin broadened. “Yes, ma’am. Whatever it takes. I have two left feet and I couldn’t possibly jump back into the dating scene without a little help.”

  Emma hesitated. Her mind told her to run as fast as she could, but her body leaned toward Cooper. An errant thought pushing its way into her subconscious. What would it be like to be held by the tall dark cowboy? To have his arms close around her and guide her to the rhythm of the music? A long time had passed since she’d had a man’s arms around her…arms that didn’t belong to one of her brothers.

  “Just one dance. That’s all I’m asking. Then we can both go our separate ways.” He lifted her hand, his fingers closing around hers, sending electric shocks skittering along her nerve endings. “Please.”

  She snatched away her hand. Emma’s head told her this was a bad idea. But when she opened her mouth… “Fine. But only one. Then I’m headed home to bed.”

  As soon as the last word left her mouth, she could have bit off her tongue. The mention of bed led to more lusty thoughts than she’d intended.

  “Shall we go back in?” Cooper waved one hand toward the saloon.

  Emma didn’t want to face her brothers. They’d consider the night a success if she danced with Cooper in front of them. And she didn’t want to add to their disappointment when she left Cooper behind. “No, the music is loud enough we can do it out here.”

  Cooper’s lips curved upward. He reached for her hands and drew her into his arms.

  Emma held back, keeping a distance of six inches between them, afraid of her body’s reaction. Lust was a natural instinct, one that could spike as skin touched skin and music stirred the soul. The emotion didn’t replace love, she reminded herself—the love she’d shared with Marcus.

  But the heat sure muddied the waters.

  “You’ve done the two-step before, right?” She stared up into Cooper’s eyes. Another mistake. He tipped his head, allowing the light from overhead to shine beneath the rim of his cowboy hat and into his face, making the blue of his irises sparkle like diamonds.

  Emma caught her breath.

  “I did the two-step back in my college party days, but I’m pretty rusty.” The muscles of his shoulders bunched beneath Emma’s palm as his hand slipped down low on her waist, his fingers warm and firm.

  “It’s easy,” Emma squeaked, finding breathing hard with Cooper’s hand heating her back and other areas farther south. “You start out on your left foot with a step-together, then a full step and another step.”

  “Like this?” His grip tightened and he stepped out with a quickstep.

  Emma moved with him easily, the pattern simple and easy to follow with the music thrumming through the tin walls of the Ugly Stick. “Yes. That’s it.” They moved around the gravel parking lot, sw
aying to the beat, perfectly synchronized as if they’d danced together for a lifetime.

  The moon shone full and bright, stars twinkled from the heavens and a soft late summer breeze lifted the hair off the back of Emma’s neck.

  For a moment, she could pretend they were alone in the world, only the two of them. No brothers interfering, no past, no future, no expectations, just the present and a single dance. Emma relaxed and let the music and Cooper’s lead carry her.

  As the song ended, another started—this one slow, sensuous, a song meant for belt-buckle-polishing closeness. Without missing a step, Cooper pulled Emma closer.

  She melted against him, her cheek resting against his chest. The scent of soap, aftershave and male wafted through her senses as the hard ridge beneath his fly pressed into her belly.

  Molten heat roiled through her body, and as if of their own volition, her hands rose to circle behind Cooper’s neck.

  Both of his claimed her lower back, nudging her even tighter against him as the muffled music droned on. They swayed slower and slower until they came to a standstill.

  The music flowed on around them, but Emma couldn’t move. Her gaze rose to the sparkling blue of Cooper’s, reflecting the starlight.

  His mouth came down over hers, gentle at first, then with increasing pressure, his tongue pushing past her lips and teeth to stroke the length of hers.

  Emma’s fingers laced through Cooper’s dark hair, knocking the hat from his head.

  Something about exposing the cowboy’s head to the moonlight made Emma’s nipples tightened and rub deliciously against the lace of her bra, a leg circling behind Cooper’s.

  “Hey, get a room,” a man called out.

  Emma pushed away from Cooper, her eyes wide, her heart hammering against her ribs. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

  Cooper reached out with both arms. “But it did.”

  Her head shaking back and forth, Emma pressed a fist to her lips. “No. It can’t. I love Marcus.”

  Cooper’s jaw tightened and his arms fell to his sides. “Emma, Marcus is gone.”

  With pain radiating through her chest, Emma pressed a hand against her breast to ease it. “I have to go.” She spun and ran for Ace’s pickup. Once inside, she blindly jabbed the key into the ignition. She took three tries to get it in. Then she yanked the gear into reverse and spun out of the parking lot.

  Despite her determination not to, Emma glanced in her rearview mirror.

  Cooper scooped his hat off the ground and stood in the glow of the overhead light, watching her. Then he ran his hand through his hair.

  Emma’s fingers tingled with the remembered texture of that hair. She forced her focus on the road, her hands tightening around the steering wheel, the night blurring past as she sped home.

  Once inside the ranch house, she raced for her room and dragged a box from beneath the bed. One by one, she pulled out pictures, keepsakes and articles of clothing. All belonging to Marcus and their life together. Nelson trotted into the room and lay down beside her, his golden chin resting on her thigh.

  “Why is this happening?” Emma stroked the dog’s head. “I loved Marcus. There’s no other man I want in my life.”

  Nelson whined and nudged her hand when it stopped the stroking motion.

  Emma lifted Marcus’s dog tags from the bottom of the box and held the chain in her fingers. Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes.

  “Why did you leave me?” More tears followed the first. Emma stared at the picture on her nightstand of Marcus and her. When she closed her eyes, the image faded, replaced by Cooper standing in the moonlight after a kiss that should never have happened.

  Emma clutched Marcus’s dog tags to her chest and curled up beside the golden retriever on the braided rug. “Why did you leave me?” she whispered.

  As exhaustion claimed Emma, Marcus’s voice seemed to whisper through the open window, “I never did and never will.”

  *

  COOPER DROVE HOME that night, his thoughts in more of a turmoil than when he’d set out earlier that evening. When he walked through the door of his ranch house, the phone rang.

  He ignored the first ring. Then he thought, what if the caller was Emma? He snatched the device from the cradle and slammed it against his ear. “Hello.”

  “Coop, the suspense is killing me. What have you found out?”

  “Tag?” Cooper glanced at his watch. “Do you know how late it is?”

  “Past midnight. I couldn’t sleep.”

  “What if I’d been asleep?”

  “With a woman on your mind?” His friend snorted. “Right. Stop stalling. What did you find out?”

  Cooper jerked his hat off his head and tossed it on the table beside the phone base. “Her brother Ace managed to get her to go out tonight to the Ugly Stick Saloon outside Temptation. I just happened to be there.”

  Tag whooped. “Way to go. The more she sees you, the more she’s likely to fall for you, man.”

  “I’m not so sure.” Remembering the stricken look on her face, Cooper raked his fingers through his hair. “She’s really hung up on her late fiancé.”

  “He’s out of the picture.”

  “Yeah, but if she does go for me, will I be her rebound?”

  Tag sighed. “Hmmm. You have a point. What you have to decide is if she’s worth the risk.”

  Exactly what Cooper had been thinking. Visions of Emma staring up at him in the moonlight and the tingle of warmth still emanating through him from her body pressed close as they’d danced and then kissed… “Man, I think she’s the one for me. The question is if I’m the one for her. I don’t think she’s ready to move forward.”

  “Have you kissed her?”

  Cooper hesitated, his own cowboy code kicking in. A man didn’t kiss and tell.

  “You did,” Tag responded for him. “And?”

  His lips tingled. He could still taste Emma. “None of your business.”

  “Must have been good if you’re not sharing.” Tag chuckled. “I’m guessing she kissed you back. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have your chaps in a twist.”

  Cooper shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re annoying?”

  “All the time. Part of my charm.”

  “So you called to torment me?”

  “Just following up to see if you made any progress today. Did you learn anything more about her likes and dislikes?”

  “Ace gave me a few pointers.”

  “Good. Tomorrow, you have to put them all to work. Oh, and since you didn’t want to hire a private investigator to look into your Emma’s background, I did.”

  Cooper was already shaking his head. “I didn’t hear that. I wouldn’t violate her privacy any more than I have by asking her brothers about her. I felt bad enough as it was.”

  “Hmm, then I guess you don’t want to know she’s planning to buy a spread of her own.”

  That got his attention. As a man who’d only recently purchased his own three-thousand acre ranch to plant some roots, Cooper was keenly interested in land deals and sales. But then, this was Emma. “She lives on her family’s ranch. Why would she want to buy her own?”

  “Got your interest, did it?”

  Cooper shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

  “If you do. I can tell you where it is and how much the owner is asking.”

  “If Emma and I make it as a couple, I want it to be based on truth and honesty. I want her to be with me because she loves me. Not because I can buy her anything her heart desires.”

  “What good is money if you can’t spoil the people you care about?”

  Cooper could only shake his head at Tag’s attitude. “Not everyone wants to be spoiled.”

  “My point exactly. Apparently, your Emma has been saving her money to buy this piece, refusing to let her brothers buy it for her.”

  Emma rose another notch in Cooper’s estimation. The woman had enough spunk and gumption for
two. “Please don’t investigate further.”

  “Doesn’t hurt to know as much as possible about the woman. Gets you past the awkward silences of getting to know each other. Speaking of which…good luck tomorrow on your first real date together.”

  If Emma didn’t cancel on him between now and the following evening. “I gotta get some rest.”

  “Yeah, you want to be in top form when you sweep the future Mrs. Johnson off her feet.”

  “Hey. I’m taking her out, not asking her to marry me. I’ve only known Emma for a day and a half.”

  “You’ve heard of love at first sight, haven’t you?”

  “I don’t buy into all that crap.”

  “Time will tell.”

  “Goodnight, Tag.”

  “’Night.”

  Cooper hung up, more disturbed than when he’d walked through his front door.

  Love at first sight?

  Nah.

  That experience couldn’t happen to a man who grew up in the foster system. He didn’t believe in love at first sight or happily-ever-afters. The concepts didn’t exist.

  Or did they?

  He strode through house, viewing it with a fresh eye. The single-story home had been tastefully decorated in Southwest ranch style with floor-to-ceiling windows in most rooms and raised ceilings. Completely furnished, the place was his retreat from the hustle of Dallas and the constant motion and churning of traffic and humans.

  At the ranch, he had everything he needed to be self-sufficient. He’d worked hard over the past ten years to accumulate enough wealth to never again be dependent on anyone. The foster homes had taught him that much.

  Still, the house felt empty…incomplete.

  Cooper kicked off his boots and stripped out of his jeans and shirt. Emma’s scent clung to his skin as he lay across the king-size bed in the master bedroom. The hum of cicadas drifted in through his open window, making the room feel bigger, like he was sleeping in the vastness of the outdoors.

  Alone.

  He wanted to rail against Leslie and her damned match-making program. Before he’d met Emma, he’d thought he had everything.