Somehow, everything she wore looked sexy these days. Every time they talked, he would see her mouth and remember her taste. Her hands, giving Sundae a rubdown, only made Jesse want the same for himself.
The situation was damn bad when a cowboy envied his horse.
Nonetheless, he was determined not to make a move that would bring Janie closer—a decision for which valid reasons existed. They agreed that no good could come from them being together. He didn’t intend to change his mind.
Part of him, though—a rebellious, spoiled boy he tried to ignore—refused to keep quiet. Just because J.W. had once messed up his love life shouldn’t make a difference to Jesse, thirty years later. Damn Mark, damn J.W. and anybody else who might object. The teenager in Jesse insisted he had a right to do whatever felt best between him and Janie Hansen.
By the time he reached Gardiner, he had a plan in place for the weekend. He’d ride his three bulls, then after the rodeo, he’d hit the bars and enjoy himself. His fellow cowboys would be there—he could shoot the breeze, maybe shoot some pool, do some dancing and find himself a buckle bunny to spend time with. When he got home Sunday night, he’d have smoothed out the kinks a certain black-haired woman had worked into his life.
His plan went to hell at nine-fifteen that evening.
He drew a mean one—Big Bad John—for his first ride, but stayed on until the buzzer, landing on his feet when he jumped off. The crowd roared their appreciation of his score. Jesse tipped his hat, then gave them a wave. As he scanned the stands, still grinning, his eyes focused on the one person he did not want to see to night.
There, in the middle of the stands, stood Janie Hansen, looking as cute as a button in her bright red shirt.
JANIE SAW JESSE’S EYES WIDEN. He’d seen her, despite the big crowd. Judging by the way his grin faded, her presence wasn’t a pleasant surprise.
The people around her were still standing and applauding but she sat down—hiding, she supposed.
Dee Ferris, the friend who’d come with her to Gardiner, joined her on the bleacher. “What’s wrong?”
“Jesse saw me. He’s not happy about it.”
“Too bad for Jesse.” Dee tossed her blond curls back behind her shoulders. “It’s not like you’re chasing him or anything.”
“I didn’t know he was riding until I got here.”
“Right. Maybe he should’ve looked at the roster and seen that you’re competing this weekend. And winning tonight, might we add?”
Janie grinned. “That was a good feeling.”
“You’re damn right it was. So kiss off Mr. High-and-Mighty Cody.” Dee stood and pulled Janie up with her. “We’re gonna enjoy ourselves in Montana. Do us some eatin’ and some drinkin’ and some dancin’!”
Dee jigged down the aisle, stepping on toes as she went, but she was so cute, most people grinned instead of getting mad. Especially the guys. Janie’s pride noted that she got her own share of winks, and one pinch, as she followed.
Unfortunately, the only winks she wanted came from a certain pair of big, blue eyes. She didn’t think she would change her mind no matter how much she ate, drank and danced. This weekend, though, she’d sworn to do her best.
Walking along the midway on their way to the truck, she couldn’t help searching the throng for a familiar white hat. Janie wasn’t sure if she would run away or toward that hat if she found it.
She and Dee were still within range of the announcer in the arena, though, when he called out the bull riding results.
“Our winner tonight—no surprise here, folks—is Jesse Cody with a seventy-eight-point ride. Let’s give ol’ Jesse a big hand! He’s here every year with us at the High Country Christmas Rodeo, doing his best for a great cause by donating his winnings to the kids. Thanks, Jesse!”
“I didn’t know he came up here every year.” Dee stood outside the rented stall as Janie made sure her horse had everything she needed for the night.
“I probably should have.” Janie gave Chica a final rub and closed the door, double-checking the bolt. “But the Codys are always traveling to different rodeos in different states. It’s hard to keep track of who goes where. Mark doesn’t come to this show because he’d feel bad keeping the money he won, even though he needs it. Now I guess I understand why, if Jesse donates his.”
“That’s a hard act to follow.” Dee popped her gum as they got into the truck. “So, where do we feel like going? I hear the bars specialize in types of food—you’ve got pizzas at one place, ribs and burgers over here and Mexican over there. What do we feel like? The rib place has a dance floor and a band.”
Janie pulled in a deep breath. She was going to do this thing and she was going to enjoy it. “I’m feeling like ribs.”
“Good choice.” Dee tuned the radio to a country station, turned the volume up and sang along to the cowboy song. Off key.
“I hope the band sounds better than you,” Janie teased.
Dee nodded. “They’d have to, wouldn’t they?”
JESSE JOINED UP WITH a couple of the bull riders he knew who were looking for a ride into Gardiner. They congratulated him on his win, then spent the rest of the drive dissecting their own efforts, seeking Jesse’s opinion on almost every point of their rides.
At the edge of town, he asked where they were head ed.
“Well, there’s The Bear Claw,” Pat Winfrey said. “They’ve got a dance floor and a country-western band tonight.”
Ace Christopher leaned forward from the backseat. “Ruffians has pool tables and a jukebox. I could eat a double order of the chiles rellenos without any help.”
“We’ve got two nights,” Jesse said, trying to get into the spirit of the weekend. “We can hit one now, one tomorrow.”
They decided on The Bear Claw because the service was faster. “And the girls like to dance,” Pat added.
Judging by the crowded parking lot at The Bear Claw, most of the rodeo riders had come up with the same idea. Country music blared through the open door and windows into the cold night air, where groups of smokers stood huddled together, talking, drinking and puffing.
The wait for a table would be a good thirty minutes, Ace was told at the front desk, but they were welcome to hit the bar. A layer of drinkers three bodies deep made a chore out of even asking for a beer.
Finally, Jesse got a deep draw of cold brew. He could have stood in the same place and downed the entire mug, but Pat grabbed him by the elbow.
“Let’s check out the dance floor. Most of the unattached girls will be there, waiting for an invitation.”
“Sure.” He saw that Ace had already started plowing through the crowd between the bar and the dance floor in the other room.
Taking another gulp of beer, hoping that would lift his mood, he followed.
The band on the stage could hardly be seen behind the lines of dancers on the floor and the spectators surrounding them. Being a little taller than the average rodeo rider, he could see over most of the heads in front of him.
And the first thing he saw when he focused on the line dancers was a curvy figure in a bright red shirt and black jeans. She wore her hair braided down her back and bangs cut straight across her dark eyes. Janie.
Jesse wanted to turn around and walk out, but the crowd pressed in and he was stuck standing there, staring. He already knew she was a good dancer. Her rounded hips and bottom accented the words in the song, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. She’d rolled her sleeves up to her elbows to reveal her slender arms and wrists, accented with silver bracelets. Long silver earrings dangled against her neck. He remembered the smooth skin along her throat, and behind her ears….
After what seemed like forever, the song ended with the dancers in their final pose. As she applauded, Janie turned to grin at a calf-roper type who’d been dancing behind her. Next thing Jesse knew, the roper had Janie by the hand and was twirling her around under his arm.
The lead singer for the band stepped up to the microphone. “For a breath
er, ladies and gents, let’s try out a two-step!”
Like pieces of a kaleidoscope, the dancers reorganized into mostly pairs, with some singles still working in lines on the outside. A fast four-beat tune started up and couples began to move. Jesse kept his eyes on the crowd as he eased through a gap that had opened up in front of him.
There they were. Janie and her roper, together again.
He stood there through two more numbers, finishing his beer while watching Janie and the roper dance. Woody was his name, Woody Black. He was a big guy—roping was the only rodeo event where size was an advantage—and fairly handsome, if she liked the dark-haired type.
Maybe Janie did. She’d danced with the same guy three times in a row. Had she come up to Gardiner especially to see him?
Maybe the kisses between them really had been “no big deal.”
Ace turned up beside him. “Lot’s of choice this weekend. See somebody who looks good?”
“Yeah.” Jesse tapped the bottom of his mug against his palm.
“Well, go for it, man.” Ace clapped him on the back. “Time’s a’wastin’.”
“Okay.” Jesse handed Ace his mug and stepped through the press of bodies, polite but undeterred. At the edge of the dance floor he paused, catching sight of his quarry again. He snagged lots of other glances, too—blue gazes, greens and hazels, blondes, redheads and brunettes. All of them signaled a willingness to hold his hand and dance.
Instead, he followed Janie to a tall table on the side of the room where she stood with Woody Black, a blonde girl and a bareback rider who already had his hand on the blonde’s butt. Jesse knew him, and that was his standard operating procedure.
“Hey, Ted.” Stepping up to the foursome, he nodded to the bareback guy. “Saw your ride tonight. Good job.”
“Thanks, man. Here’s hoping we both win again tomorrow night.” Ted picked up his mug and toasted in Jesse’s direction. The blonde beside him was staring at Jesse with round eyes and an open mouth. Next to her, the roper was frowning at him.
Only one person hadn’t looked in his direction.
“Hey, Janie.” He turned sideways and put his elbow on the table. “I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”
“She’s with me,” Woody Black said before Janie could answer.
Jesse opened his eyes wide. “Really? You brought her here? You paid her cover charge?”
“Well, no—”
“You bought her dinner?”
“Stop it,” Janie told him. “He’s just being nice.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, no problem. I just wanted to understand the situation, so I’d know if I could ask you to dance.”
Finally, her gaze met his. “Why?”
“That’s what you do here, right? Find somebody you like and dance with them?”
“Sometimes you dance with a person just to embarrass them.”
Jesse saw the fear in her eyes. She didn’t trust him. “I’d never deliberately embarrass a lady.” He hoped she could hear the promise he was making. Holding out his hand, he smiled at her. “Would you like to dance?”
“Janie—” Black put a hand on her arm. “I asked the band to make the next one a waltz.”
“Thanks,” Jesse said as Janie placed her fingers in his. Then he walked her to the floor. Her hand came to his shoulder and their palms connected, skin to skin.
He drew a deep breath, feeling Janie shiver as he slipped his arm around her waist. The band started up a George Strait cover, perfect for a close-contact dance.
They moved around for a minute in silence, getting used to the tempo and each other.
Finally, Jesse drew his head back so he could see her face. Janie lifted her chin and gazed at him for several turns.
Her shoulders lifted on a sigh. “Now what?” she asked.
Chapter Nine
“We keep dancing,” Jesse said. “It’s a waltz.”
Janie turned her head to look away, trying to get her feelings or her reactions—something about this situation—under control.
“I didn’t chase you up here,” she said into his ear. “I didn’t know you were riding.” The problem with talking was she had to bring her lips close to his face, allowing her to inhale traces of sweat and soap and the scent that was so much a part of him.
He nodded, increasing the torture. “I read your name in the program after I saw you. I should have told you I was coming. You should have told me.” When he shrugged, she felt the movement with her whole body. “We could have driven together. Although—”
“Although?” She waited as he led her through two turns.
“That wouldn’t make things any easier.”
Janie took a deep breath. “No.”
The remainder of the song passed in silence, but there was plenty of communicating going on, as Jesse’s body spoke to hers. His arm tightened and loosened around her waist and his fingers splayed across her hip, guiding her with small changes in pressure that felt all too much like a caress. His thighs brushed hers or pressed into her as he led in a different direction. Janie stared at the V formed by his unbuttoned shirt collar, mesmerized by the tanned skin and the hint of chest hair, the movement of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.
The song ended, but Jesse’s hold on her didn’t loosen until the band leader stepped up to the microphone.
“Okay, folks, let’s get everybody out on the floor with an easy line dance. Come on, you all know the Electric Slide!”
Lines of dancers started to form around them and Jesse finally dropped his arms. “I guess we should find a place,” he said loudly into her ear.
Janie glance toward the table where Dee—and Woody Black—waited. “I should probably go—”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Jesse grabbed her hand and dragged her into an empty space. “We’re not finished yet.”
Three line dances later, Janie begged for a break. “Really, I’ve got to slow down and catch my breath.”
“That last one was fast.” Jesse cupped her elbow and steered her toward the back of the room, away from Dee and Woody, who’d glared at them the entire time they’d been dancing. “Let’s get a drink.”
The noise from the crowd at the bar drowned out any attempt at conversation. Standing next to Jesse as he waited, Janie would have thought she was dreaming except for the press of bodies around her, the smell of cowboys and beer and, most of all, the clasp of Jesse’s hand around hers.
Just as he stepped up to the bar, a wave of cold air swept across Janie’s back. She turned her head to see people backing away to her right and her left as Woody stalked directly toward her.
“Let’s dance,” he said, in a tone laced with anger. “Now.”
“I’d like a drink first.” Janie held up a hand as if she could stop him. “Then I’ll be glad—”
Jesse turned around just then, a mug in each hand. He surveyed Woody with a cool blue stare. “You’re in the lady’s way. Get lost.”
Woody clutched at the hand Janie held in the air. “She’s coming with me.”
Jesse narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think so.”
Janie could already see where they were headed. “This is ridiculous. I’m thirsty. Let me cure that problem, Woody. Then we’ll dance.”
The two men just stood there, facing off like bulls in the pasture. Eyes locked, neither of them moved a muscle.
Janie turned to Jesse and pulled the mug of ginger ale from his right hand, sloshing some on his fingers. She took a sip, then another. Two more, then she’d go—
“Well, well.” The man’s voice, pitched to be heard over all the noise, came from somewhere deep in the crowd. “Looks like The Iceman has finally started to melt.”
“You losers better start counting your money,” someone else yelled. “If you been betting against The Iceman ever finding a cutie to warm him up, looks like you’re gonna be payin’ out. He’s only human, after all!”
Janie took her last sip and shoved the mug back at Jesse, slo
shing yet again. “Okay,” she said, turning to Woody. “Let’s go dance.” She had to separate these two before the situation got out of hand.
“Hey, Woody, weren’t you in pretty deep against ol’ Iceman, here?” Another anonymous voice.
Woody snarled. “Yeah. And I’m holdin’ to my bet. She’s comin’ with me.”
He pulled Janie toward him and she let herself move forward, just to end the confrontation. But she couldn’t help a backward glance of apology toward Jesse, left standing with a mug in each hand.
She was almost out of the bar when the first voice sounded again. “Hey, Iceman, now you know what life’s like when you’re not J. W. Cody’s oldest boy. Sucks, don’t it?”
The two plastic mugs bounced against the concrete floor. Jesse strode through the splash and sliced into the crowd.
Janie found herself suddenly free as Woody dropped her hand and joined the fight.
Within seconds, most of the men present were throwing punches and taking hits. Most of the women were standing just behind Janie in the wide doorway to the bar, screaming and screeching.
Janie stood with her arms crossed, furious that her night out had to be spoiled by a bar brawl. A bar brawl that Jesse started.
The sound of sirens approaching didn’t diminish the violence. Men still wrestled with each other as the sheriff’s deputies waded in to separate bodies and write up tickets. Among the last to be hauled outside were Jesse and Woody.
“You’re Jesse Cody, right?” A young deputy flipped open his notebook as Janie came up close behind Jesse. “The Iceman?”
“Just Jesse Cody,” he said wearily, supplying the address and phone number requested.
“I understand you started the fight?”
“I didn’t stop it, anyway.” Jesse glanced over at Woody, answering the same questions a hundred feet away. “I wouldn’t say I threw the first punch.”
“You had an argument with that guy?” The deputy nodded at the roper. “What were you arguing about?”
Jesse: Merry Christmas, Cowboy Page 11