by Various
"What? Tinkerbell?" He laughed and the sound tickled her insides. "That's who you reminded me of in that elf getup with your red hair and freckles. Those bells on the hem of your skirt tinkled when you moved too."
"You're a Peter Pan fan?"
Cord's smile faded and his hands gripped the arm rests of the chair as the chair started rocking. "Yeah, I loved that story as a kid. I won't grow up. That's the whole problem with me now."
"Cord, it's not your fault," Hope said softly, putting her hand on his forearm.
He stopped rocking and looked down at her hand. "Yeah, it is my fault," he argued then his eyes met hers. "But I'm going to fix it, and I appreciate you staying to help. You did a lot last night, too much."
"I told you I'm glad to be here." His skin heated her palm, and Hope realized she still had her hand on his arm. She pulled it away to wipe it on the leg of her flannel pajama pants. "I'll call Tina this morning and tell her the shoot is off. But I did have an idea."
One dark brow lifted. "What's that?"
"I'd still like to take some photos of you and your friends," Hope started, but he held up his hand. She took it in hers. "I won't interrupt your work. I promise. I want candid shots of real cowboys at work, not posed shots of paper cowboys. I think that will be a better calendar, but I'll have to run it by Tina."
Hope was going to sell it to Tina. She believed wholeheartedly that the consumers at Texas Tomboy would go nuts over it because it would be different and real. Texas Tomboy would have record sales this Christmas. And in turn, they would make a good bit of money on the calendar sales. She didn't tell Cord she wasn't going to take a commission herself. This was for him so he could help his daddy. It was a way for her to contribute to the cause, just like his friends were doing.
"I'm going to take full advantage of my rodeo buddies free labor while they're here to get this ranch back in shape. Come January, the snow will be here. If things aren't fixed soon, it'll be too late." Cord's eyes welled and he looked away.
His daddy could be dead by then. Hope knew that's what he was thinking. She squeezed his hand and reassured softly, "I promise I won't get in the way."
Cord looked back at her, his blue eyes serious. "Working cowboys aren't pretty, Tinkerbell," he warned. "The cow shit is real, and the sweat is real. No amount of photo editing can make them pretty either."
"I don't want pretty, Cord. Pretty has been done to death. I want real. Working cowboys are real. Their muscles aren't from the gym. I think the images will be fantastic. If it doesn't work, I'll scrap it. All that's lost is my time." She shrugged. "That's all I have these days since I quit the elf job."
And that empty time gave her too much time to think about the problems waiting for her back in Dallas. Taking those photos and doing the calendar would give her something to think about to fill that time. Dealing with Bridezilla and the wedding fallout could wait until after the first of the year.
"Okay, then take your pictures," he said. He brought her hand to his lips to kiss the back. His hot breath tickled the back of her hand, and her skin tingled. The warmth of his mouth lingered as he looked into her eyes and smiled. "Be sure to catch me on my good side, Tinkerbell."
As if this man had a bad one. Cord rubbed circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. The combination of his smile, the sexy look in his eyes, and the friction of his thumb on her skin caused a tremor to pass through her body. Hot coffee sloshed over the rim of her cup onto her pajama pants.
Hope gasped and pulled her hand from his to rub the stain. Cord shot to his feet to stand in front of her. Kneeling down, he took the cup from her hand and set it beside the chair, then stooped down to rub the spot on her thigh. "Did it burn you?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
The cold coffee hadn't burned, but his touch sure did. Right through the thin material of her flannel pants. Her inner muscles clenched as heat shot up to her core.
"No, I'm fine," she replied with a nervous chuckle.
"You sure?" he asked, staring into her eyes as his thumb made upward brushes along the inside seam of her pajama pants. Like an electrified train rail, each movement of his thumb sent a wave of heat up that seam too. Hope couldn't speak around the knot of desire in her throat, so she nodded instead.
Cord slid his hand away, and Hope fought the urge to grab it and put it right back where it had been. Instead of moving away, he put his hand on her forearm and left a trail of goosebumps up her arm to her shoulder before he cupped her neck. His warm fingers against her cool skin, the brush of his thumb behind her ear, made her shiver. Cord's eyes fell to her mouth, and Hope held her breath wanting to feel his lips on hers again more than she wanted that next breath. His fingers pressed against her neck to urge her toward him, and anticipation buzzed along her nerve endings.
She moved closer and his heat enveloped her. Her eyes drifted shut, and his breath tickled her mouth before his lips finally met hers. The first pass of his mouth over hers was tentative, exploring, but sent heat blazing through her. Her breath rushed out, and she put her hands on his shoulders.
Cord sucked her lower lip into his mouth and nipped it as his fingers tightened on the back of her neck. A whimper pushed up into her throat, but his mouth closed over hers and it was absorbed into his heat.
Sliding forward, Hope opened her legs and he immediately moved between them without breaking the kiss. His free hand slid up her thigh to her waist and he jerked her against him as he deepened the kiss.
The kiss seemed to go on forever, and Hope never wanted it to end. A tremor passed through him, followed by shudders. Suddenly, she realized he was half dressed and must be cold. She pulled her mouth from his. "Let's go inside," she suggested breathily between heated passes over his mouth with hers. "It's cold, and you're half dressed."
He shoved his cold hand under her shirt and Hope squealed. He smiled that smile that evaporated all the moisture in her body. "Nah, it's the middle of summer, baby, and you have too many clothes on," Cord grumbled as he pushed his hand higher under her shirt. Hope tensed as she felt his warm palm close over her breast. His passion-glazed blue eyes met hers and Hope was lost. Cord leaned in to seal his mouth to hers again. Hope moaned, and it was summer. She forgot all about the cold as her insides heated to tropical levels.
"Whatcha doing, Unk?" Jeremy said from the steps. Cord jerked back from her, breathing hard. After a sharp breath, he released it slowly, then pushed up to stand. Hope felt cold from head to toe, and wrapped her arms around her body as she started to shiver.
"Unk, you and Miss Hope need to put on a coat," he said with a laugh. "Grandma will get a switch if she sees ya'll out here half naked." He looked back over his shoulder toward the house as if he expected to see Mrs. Dixon headed across the yard with a limb.
Cord looked at her and his lips twitched. "I remember Mama's switches, and they are always green," he warned with a laugh. "Even in winter."
Jeremy looked back at him and nodded with serious eyes, rubbing his backside as he said, "Yeah, it stings bad."
Cord looked at Hope with his eyes twinkling. He chuckled and extended his hand to her. "We better listen to him. We wouldn't want our backsides stinging, would we?"
The spark in his tone and the playfulness in his voice almost sounded like he would relish the idea. A thrill shot through Hope. She put her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet. Hope didn't know what it was about this man, but when she looked into those eyes, she would agree to just about anything.
Cord dropped his arm over her shoulders, and pulled her to his side. Being with Cord Dixon felt right. Natural. It was almost like they'd been together a long time even though they hadn't been together at all.
He smiled at his nephew, and kept his arm around her as he walked her to the door. Opening the door, he looked back at Jeremy. "What's for breakfast at the house, kiddo?"
They walked inside and Jeremy informed happily, "Daddy's cooking pancakes."
Cord surprised Hope when he put his arm around her
waist, and pulled her against him again. "He cook enough for us?"
"Grandma says he always cooks enough for the county pancake breakfast. She sent me out here to get ya'll so she doesn't hafta put them in the garbage." His wide, toothless smile and sparkling green eyes tugged at Hope's heart.
"Good. Go tell her we'll be up to the house in a few minutes."
"Yes, sir," Jeremy said, dancing from foot to foot before he saluted and turned to run out the door.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The screen door flapped shut behind him. Hope was disappointed to feel Cord’s arm drop from around her waist as he walked to the front door to close it. "He never closes the door. You’d think he was raised in a barn," Cord said with a laugh then shook his head. "And I sound like my mother."
"I like your mother," Hope said softly.
Cord turned back toward her and stared at her a moment. "I think she likes you too, Tinkerbell. You're so damn adorable. How could she not?"
Adorable? Pleasure danced through her. That description definitely fell short of sexy, and was a mile from hot as hell, but it was a start. So was that kiss he'd laid on her. She wondered what it was about. What it meant. She knew one thing. She wanted more of them. Hope put her fingers up to rub her still tingling lips. She could only imagine what those talented lips of his could do to the rest of her body. Instead of going up to the house and facing his brother, she would much rather stay here with Cord and find out.
"Your brother doesn't feel the same way, that's for sure." She laughed. Cord frowned and Hope looked away. Saying things like that weren't going to do a thing but cause more strife between the brothers. But sitting at that table with Dean's angry glare on her wouldn't make choking down pancakes easy. "I just wish we had something to cook out here."
Cord walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "It's not you. I promise," he said with frustration. "It's all him, sweetheart. The fact that you kind of look like his ex-wife probably compounds his problem," he said. "She had red hair and green eyes too."
That's where the similarity between Cindy Dixon and Hope Carlisle ended. Surely, Dean could see that. His brother was just being a stubborn ass because he was still mad at him. Cord wasn't going to put up with him taking it out on Hope. He would tell him that after breakfast.
"So, if I dye my hair brown and wear contacts, he might like me then?" she asked with a short laugh. Cord heard the insecurity behind her laughter. It irritated him that she was so set on gaining his brother's approval. That she cared if Dean liked her or not.
His fingers moved up to stroke her silky auburn hair then he trailed his fingers across her soft cheek. "You aren't dying anything. You are perfect just the way you are."
That was the truth too. Too perfect. For him. That kiss on the porch proved it to him, and that scared the shit out of Cord. He shouldn't have kissed her, but he couldn't stop himself. Now Cord wanted more from the tasty elf. Pancakes were the last thing on his mind as his eyes strayed to her full lips again. Cord forcefully dragged his eyes up to hers and took a step back. "Let's get dressed and go eat."
When they walked into the ranch house, Jeremy's boots tapped a hasty beat on the hardwood floor then he launched himself against Cord's legs, knocking him back a few steps. "Unk! Grandpa is back early!" he squealed, hugging his legs tightly.
Tension shot through Cord, and his heart cranked up a few notches, but he ruffled Jeremy's hair and set him on his feet. He closed his eyes, sucked in a breath, and fought hard against the burn behind his eyes and the powder keg of emotion building in his chest. Cord felt Hope's hand at the center of his back and it calmed him.
He dropped his chin to his chest then looked at his nephew. "That's great, kiddo." Even Cord could hear the lack of conviction in his statement.
His daddy was back, which meant it was time for him to deal with the elephant in the room. Silas Dixon was dying. And he wasn't doing a damn thing to try to stop that from happening. Because of money. The fact that he hated his youngest son for leaving him was going to make things doubly hard. Cord had no idea how he was going to bear the guilt. A shiver passed through him, and he knew he needed to compose himself before facing his daddy, or things would probably go really bad.
"Go tell them I'll be there in a minute. I need to go outside for a second. I forgot something," Cord said and ruffled Jeremy's hair. Jeremy ran back through the living room toward the kitchen, but Cord stood in the entryway like his feet were planted there.
Hope stepped around him and put her hand on his chest. "It's going to be okay, Cord," she assured him and laid her face on his chest.
"I don't know how. Dealing with Dean was just the prelude," he said darkly, his voice trembling. "This is gonna be bad."
"I'll help you get through it," she said with determination. "Just tell them you're here to help. Show them you care."
Cord swallowed down the lump in his throat. "Too little, too late, baby. That is what my daddy is going to say. And he's right."
She pushed back from him, but planted both palms on his chest. Cord looked down into her eyes and saw anger. "You are here to fix things and you have a whole crew coming to help you. What more could they want?"
"That won't keep my daddy from dying, Tinkerbell."
"I'm sorry he's sick, Cord, but dying is a fact of life. Why won't he get treatment?" she asked softly.
Cord dragged his eyes away to stare at the aged knotty pine paneling. "Because he doesn't want to spend the money. The ranch is mortgaged to the hilt from the first round of treatment, and the note is coming due in January."
Hope gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, Cord..."
"Yeah, it's a bad situation. According to Dean, my daddy only has a few months if he doesn't get treatment to try and fight this."
"The calendar sales—" Hope started, but Cord cut her off.
"Won't be enough, and won't come fast enough," he said with frustration. "We probably won't get paid on that until spring. I know how that works. By then, it won't matter. That's why I was canceling the shoot."
Cord saw indecision swirling in her eyes. Hope's lips pinched together for a moment before her face relaxed and she said bluntly, "Marry me."
The words echoed off the walls of the foyer and rang through his skull like a strike off a gong. Surely that isn't what she said. He shook his head and fought off the panic that squeezed his chest. "What?"
"Marry me. I'll inherit my grandmother's estate, and we'll have enough money to get treatment for your daddy. And I'll still have enough to settle the suit with Bridezilla," Hope repeated then shrugged as if they were discussing the weather. "It's a win, win situation."
"You want me to marry you for your money?" he asked incredulously.
She dragged her eyes down to stare at his chest. "We don't have to stay married, Cord. My grandmother's will only states I have to marry before December twenty-sixth, my twenty-sixth birthday, to get the money. We can get an annulment after that. I—uh—I'm not ready to get married for real either. But you need the money, and so do I."
"If my daddy knows that, he's not going to take the money. Hell, he's so stubborn, he probably won't take it anyway."
"Just tell him it's your money from modeling," she suggested quietly, looking over her shoulder. "That you want to atone for leaving. Use the money you made from leaving to help the ranch. Help him."
It all made crazy sense. His daddy would probably buy it, but how the hell could he take Hope's money in good conscience? How the hell could he not do it? That would be letting his pride take precedence over saving his daddy's life. Saving the ranch. Doing what she suggested went against everything he believed in and had been taught, but he was going to do it —with conditions. "Only if you agree to let me pay you back when I cash in my investments," he said firmly. "I don't want your money, Hope. Your grandmother left that money for you."
"Fine, pay me back. But we need to do this now so we can help your daddy."
Hope said she wasn't read
y to get married for real, but Cord wanted to make sure there weren't any misunderstandings between them. "And we're going into this with our eyes open," he said and took her shoulders in his hands. "We're not going to get attached to each other. I don't want to ruin your life or hurt you."
Cord was serious here. She was beautiful. He would be a lucky bastard to have her forever, but he wasn't ready for that either. Right now, he needed to focus on what was important. The ranch and his family. One relationship at a time.
Her lower lip trembled and she bit it. "Okay," she said softly and looked away.
"Good." Cord leaned in and kissed her gently then dropped his hands from her shoulders to ask, "How much money are you going to get?"
"Millions," she replied with a smile that lit up her face.
Cord swallowed down the bile that threatened to choke him. He dropped to one knee and took her hand in his. "If we're doing this, we're doing it right." He kissed the back of her hand then held it as he looked up into her shiny green eyes. "Hope Carlisle, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Her smile faded. "We don't have time for formalities, Cord," she said seriously, putting her other hand on his shoulder. "We need to go to the Justice of the Peace first thing Monday. I can contact my grandma's attorney on Tuesday, and probably have a check by the end of the next week."
"I need to get you a ring," he said, stroking her ring finger with his thumb.
Hope rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away to rub it on her pant leg. "I don't need a ring, Cord. This isn't real. We just need to make it fast so you can take care of your daddy and pay off the mortgage."
With those words, his new fiancée set the tone of their temporary relationship. She also cleared up any concerns he had about her making too much of it. So why, instead of being relieved, was Cord disappointed that she was taking it so lightly? He was slightly insulted.
Cord rested back on his heels and stared at the beautiful, generous, and totally puzzling woman standing before him. "You're getting a damn ring," he said gruffly as he pushed up to his feet. The ring would solve the problem of his friends hitting on her.