Daring to Fall

by Shannon Stults

  Cowboy chuckled, simultaneously clearing his now-froggy throat. “Maybe if you and Cole ever came out of the bedroom for more than five minutes at a time, you’d get to eat a real meal every once in a while.”

  Lo responded by flipping him off.

  Cole laughed beside him. “That’s my girl. Always has to have the last word,” he said then followed it up with a subtle wink in her direction.

  She grinned and returned it before taking a sip from her beer bottle.

  Cole flipped one last burger and lowered the hood of the grill. “The meat’s almost done. I’m going to run in and grab the rest of the food from the kitchen.”

  “I’ll help.” Lo downed the last of her beer in one big swig. “Need to grab another drink anyway.”

  Cole’s joy was so luminescent Cowboy nearly had to shield his eyes just to look at him. He waited as Lo jogged over to him, then took her hand in his and held it up to his lips. Her smile radiated just as brightly.

  It would be enough to make Cowboy sick if he weren’t so happy for them. Logan and Cole were two of his best friends and that couple he and the rest of the town knew belonged together—even if it took them almost ten years to figure it out themselves. To finally see them together and happy would make anyone believe in true love.

  Well, almost anyone.

  Cowboy had told Harper that he’d never cared enough about a woman to try a real relationship. He didn’t know what he was doing, had no idea how to go about a healthy, meaningful relationship. He wasn’t even sure he was capable of such a thing.

  He would screw it up one day, that much he was sure of. He just hoped it was later rather than sooner. He liked what they had together, and he really didn’t want to go ruining it just yet.

  He approached the firepit and wrapped his arms around Harper’s waist from behind, instantly calming his negative thoughts. “Hey,” he said softly into her ear. He leaned down to kiss her just below the temple of her glasses, then rested his head where the top of hers fit perfectly under his chin.

  “Did I mention how much I like your dress?” He knew he had, many times. The moment he saw her step out of her Jeep and slowly make her way to his front door, he started complimenting the red, white, and blue fabric. He especially liked the way it hugged her chest and waist tightly before flaring out at her hips. And yet he wanted nothing more than to take her inside and tear it to shreds.

  His hands slid over the soft cotton fabric covering her ribs. “It’s very…patriotic.”

  “It’s not every day you celebrate your nation’s independence.”

  His hands gripped her hips and slowly turned her in his arms, bringing them face-to-face. Harper wrapped her arms around his waist. “You, however, could do with a little more patriotism.”

  He looked down at his white shirt and blue jeans. “What’s wrong with this?”

  “You need some red. Otherwise you look like you’re dressed for any normal day.”

  “Well, we certainly can’t have that,” he muttered with amusement.

  “Here.” She unclasped the red, white, and blue bracelet she wore around her wrist. It was a cheap little thing, a long, worn strip of fabric in the design of an American flag. She grabbed Cowboy’s arm and carefully clasped the bracelet around his own tan wrist. “Much better.”

  Cowboy held it up for inspection and laughed. “Oh yeah, real patriotic. You can hardly tell where I end and Uncle Sam begins.”

  “So you’re saying you like it,” Harper said, ignoring his blatant sarcasm.

  “I love it.” Cowboy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Cole and Lo are going to be a while. They’ve been going at each other like crazy since Carly and Darren’s wedding.”

  “That was months ago.”

  Cowboy shrugged, then brought his lips to the top of her head and kissed her hair. “What do you expect? They’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

  “What should we do to pass the time?”

  “You up for a dare?”

  “Possibly,” she said with a wicked grin. Any mention of a dare lately and he could practically see the fire in her eyes. “Only if it’s something you don’t mind your best friend and his girlfriend walking in on.”

  Cowboy’s eyes met hers, and he could swear he saw them get darker and lighter at the same time. And he wanted every last bit of it.

  “Kiss me,” he growled.

  Without a second’s hesitation, Harper reached up on her tiptoes and slowly, agonizingly slowly, brought her lips to his. The kiss was soft and sweet at first while he let her take the lead. But when the featherlight brushes of her lips became too much of a tease, he soon took the reins from her.

  Harper groaned, and her hands found their way down to Cowboy’s waist, under his T-shirt, and then up over the sensitive skin of his abdomen. His hands moved down the curve of her back. They settled on her hips, pulling them even closer into his. The contact made his body ache.

  Harper pulled back, putting too much space between him and the intoxicating drug taking over his senses. They’d done this many times in the last few weeks, getting so caught up in each other that it felt nearly impossible to pull away. He kept expecting the rush of desire and excitement to lessen with each one, but it never did. He wasn’t sure it ever would.

  He’d also expected to feel the kind of frustration that generally crept up after weeks with no sex—not that he’d ever had to go that long himself before, but he’d heard about it from several guys on the football team whose girlfriends wouldn’t put out—but all he ever felt when Harper pulled away was longing and affection, just like now. He was panting, but he grinned as he brought his hand up to her left cheek.

  “I think that might be my new favorite dare.” He stopped, remembering the night they went skinny dipping at the lake. “Well…definitely in the top two.”

  “You know you don’t have to dare me to get me to kiss you. But since you did, I believe that means I get to ask you a question.”

  He laughed but ultimately nodded. He didn’t tense up the way he usually did when one of these questions was coming his way. For the first time, he felt like he could truly be open with someone. Like Harper could ask him anything and it wouldn’t matter. Wouldn’t change the way they felt together in this moment.

  She took a deep breath. “I couldn’t help but overhear Cole talking about us having sex.”

  His eyes narrowed, this train of thought far from what he was expecting. “That’s not really a question,” he finally said. “But I haven’t said anything to him or Lo about our sex life, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “It’s not. I just…are you sure you’re okay that we’re not…? I know you’re not used to waiting. And I’m not trying to be a tease or anything. It’s just that it’s all so new to me—”

  “Hey.” His other hand came up to cup her right cheek. “I told you, this is new to me, too. I like what we’re doing.”

  “You’re sure?”

  He nodded and placed a small, quick kiss on her nose. “I’m positive. This, with you, right now, it’s more than I ever thought I’d want with anyone. And part of me is so incredibly happy and amazed that a woman like you would even give a guy like me the time of day. But the other part of me is terrified I’m going to screw it up because that is the kind of guy I am. I’m not the boyfriend type. I may not be a relationship expert, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let myself ruin it all over something as stupid as sex.”

  Harper’s brow furrowed. She stared at him for a minute before gently laying the back of her hand against his forehead. “Are you feeling okay? I’m pretty sure you just said that sex was stupid.”

  He carefully pulled her hand from his forehead and kissed her palm before placing it on his chest. “I’m serious, Midge. I want you. God knows I want you. But I will wait as long as you need me to if it means I can keep this.”

  “Geez, you keep making speeches like that and you won’t have to wait too long.”

 
Cowboy chuckled. “What can I say? I’m just that good, even when I’m not trying to be.” He pressed his lips to hers again.

  “All right, you two, save it for later tonight.” Harper jumped out of Cowboy’s embrace as Logan’s voice filled the backyard. Cowboy had no idea when they had returned, but judging by the suggestive waggle of Lo’s eyebrows, he guessed they weren’t out here long. “Right now, food is ready, and I’m starving, and the fireworks show is supposed to start in fifteen minutes. Surely, you two can wait until after that.”

  Cowboy scoffed. “You’re one to talk. No need to ask what you’ve been doing the last ten minutes to work up that appetite.”

  Cole, who’d been busy moving food onto the picnic table this whole time, chuckled knowingly under his breath. Lo, however, played innocent. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure. Just promise me you two washed your hands before you touched the food.”

  She scowled. “You wanna keep talking about my sex life, or do you wanna come grab a plate before I eat it all? ’Cause you know I will.”

  Harper giggled, and Cowboy reached for her hand, his fingers intertwining with hers. He kissed her knuckles before leading her toward the picnic table.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Harper took another sip of her sweet tea and let out a moan that sounded inappropriate in the middle of Byrdie’s Café. After a few apologetic nods to some of the other diners, she adjusted her glasses and focused back on the laptop on the small table in front of her. She’d been getting lunch at the cozy café nearly every day for the last week, ever since her unfortunate mistake at attempting to cook two baked potatoes in the microwave for her and Sadie’s dinner. Once they’d finished cleaning up the mess, Sadie had given Harper strict instructions not to touch any of the kitchen appliances—not even the blender or the toaster.

  Harper couldn’t say that she minded too much. She loved coming to the café. The atmosphere, the quiet mumble of conversations around her, the owner’s sassy personality. They all reminded her why she’d loved coming here as a child. And being around Byrdie, her mom’s closest friend, was like being around her mom again.

  She’d just finished up edits to an expense report she’d created for the work being done at the B&B when Byrdie’s bright white smile found its way to her table. “You want anything else to eat, sugar?”

  Harper glanced down at the empty bowl her Caesar salad once occupied and shook her head. “That’s all right, thanks. But I wouldn’t say no to a refill on my tea,” she said, indicating the nearly full pitcher in the woman’s hand.

  “Of course.” Byrdie filled the glass, and Harper took a greedy sip, her eyes rolling back as she fought another moan. No one on Earth made sweet tea like Byrdie.

  “You’ve been working real hard in here the last few days. Everything good?”

  “Everything’s great,” she said with a mix of surprise and excitement. Harper could hardly believe it herself. Keith Tucker’s work at the B&B was running smoothly so far, everything exactly on schedule. He’d just finished updating the plumbing and electrical all through the house. Now it was just a matter of closing up the walls before they could move on to the aesthetics. Everything was going perfectly.

  Even things with Sadie were great. Ever since their heart-to-heart over Sadie’s country fried steak, it was like the two were kids again, laughing and joking with each other the way they did before Harper left for college. They weren’t quite the best friends they once were, but they were well on their way. Harper hoped deep down that one day they could be again.

  “I’m certainly glad to hear that.” Byrdie’s free hand came down to rest on Harper’s. “I hope you know how proud of you I am. Not just for the B&B but for coming back here and handling everything the way you have. I know for a fact your parents would be, too.”

  “Thanks, Byrdie,” she said with a tiny sniffle. “That means a lot coming from you.”

  Byrdie squeezed Harper’s hand. “I mean every word. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some more glasses to fill and orders to take.”

  Harper glanced at the time on her laptop. “Sure. I need to get going anyway. I’m supposed to meet up with someone at the Willow Creek Weekly in a few minutes. The editor wants to do a piece on the B&B.” She searched her bag for her wallet. “How much do I owe you?”

  Byrdie waved her off. “Don’t worry about it, sugar. I’ll put it on your tab.” She spun away and ran over to help an older couple across the room before Harper could protest.

  “You’re the best, Byrdie,” she called out for the entire room to hear. Byrdie sent Harper a quick wink over her shoulder before taking the elderly couple’s order.

  Harper carefully packed up her things, making sure to leave a generous tip. Her phone beeped—a message from Sadie asking if Margot could come over for dinner and a movie tonight. Harper slung her bag over her shoulder, grabbed her cup of sweet tea from the table, and made her way to the café’s exit as she carefully typed out a response with one hand.

  Eyes on her phone, Harper finagled the door open with her sweet tea hand, stepped out, and immediately crashed into a wall of sweaty cotton, muscle, and musk. She nearly toppled backward before a strong arm caught her around her waist.

  “Whoa, sorry about that.”

  Harper’s head snapped up at the familiar voice and her stomach did a somersault. She’d been carefully avoiding Cowboy for more than two weeks, ever since the day she’d actually wanted him to kiss her at Willow Creek Beach. She’d hoped that some time apart would help clear up the confusion of feelings she got whenever he was around. But judging by the flutter in her stomach and the pain in her chest as he held her close, two weeks hadn’t been enough.

  “Sorry,” she managed to stammer out. She quickly righted herself and pulled out of his arms. “I should’ve looked where I was going.”

  He shrugged. “No harm, no foul. And I even managed to save your drink.” His face beamed as he nodded to her cup of tea still safely in her hand, easing the ache in Harper’s chest and causing the butterflies to beat double-time.

  Her lips turned up against her will as she returned his smile. “My hero.”

  His gaze shot to his feet before he knelt to grab something from the ground. “Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for your phone.” He handed her a rectangle of chipped metal and smashed glass.

  “Dadgummit,” she muttered. Now she’d have to put buying a new phone on her list of things to do this week. Cowboy’s low chuckle filled her ears. “What?”

  “It’s nothing. Just haven’t heard you say that in a long time.”

  “Oh, right.” Her eyes wandered as she examined her ruined phone and the mostly empty sidewalk. Anywhere but at the warm eyes that threatened to suck her in deeper.

  A throat cleared. Harper’s head snapped up, and she noticed for the first time that Cowboy wasn’t alone. Beside him stood a man in a red T-shirt, jeans, and boots. He was almost as tall Cowboy but had dark hair, amber eyes, and a stoic expression betrayed only by the way his eyes darted back and forth between them.

  Holy crap. How had she literally gone through an entire conversation without realizing he was there?

  “Oh, sorry. Harper, this is Caleb. He works over at the equestrian center.” He turned to Caleb. “This is Harper, the friend I told you about who’s reopening the B&B in town.”

  Caleb held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Harper. Cowboy’s told me a lot about you.”

  She met his hand with her own. Something about him looked familiar, but she couldn’t seem to place him. “Nice to meet you, too.”

  “I thought maybe you could get discounted riding rates for your guests. Maybe even some boarding room, if you’re interested,” Cowboy offered.

  “That’s a great idea.” She smiled hopefully at Caleb. “Is that really something you could do?”

  “I don’t see why not. I have to talk to the owner about it first, but I think it could be great for business.”

 
; “Wow, that’s—thanks.”

  “I’ll run it by my boss and give you a call.” He looked at Cowboy, gesturing toward the café. “I’m going to go in and get us a table. I’ll talk to you soon, Harper.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Caleb smiled and nodded before entering the café.

  She and Cowboy stood on the sidewalk, neither of them looking the other in the eye, until he finally cleared his throat. “I haven’t seen you around much lately. I take it you’ve been keeping busy.”

  “Yeah, well, turns out there’s a lot of work that goes into starting a business.”

  “You know, I think I do remember Cam groaning on about business plans and bank loans and all that stuff when we first started, but after a while I just learned to tune him out.”

  Harper glanced up, grateful for the carefree, teasing look in his eye. “Speaking of work, isn’t that something you’re supposed to be doing?”

  “It’s a working lunch. We’re about to do a big install at the equestrian center, and we need to go over the plans. I figured why not get one of Byrdie’s famous salads while I’m at it?”

  “Salad, huh?” Harper’s gaze ran over Cowboy’s massive build. “Still watching your figure, I see.”

  There was a time, when she’d first started hanging out with Cowboy, that she would have balked at the big, burly man living off of sandwiches and salads or plain chicken and veggies.

  “You think a body like this comes from eating Big Macs and super-sized fries every day?” he asked, patting his rock-hard stomach.

  No, she guessed not. “It’s funny. You never had a problem eating my grams’s food,” she said.

  “For her, I made an exception. Besides, aside from my mom and Mrs. Tucker, Grams was the only woman who ever cared enough to cook for me. There was no way I could turn that down.”

  Harper’s ears buzzed. She wanted so badly to ask about his mom, to know if they’d started talking again in the last three years. But it wasn’t her place to ask. Not anymore.

  “Thanks for talking to Caleb. That really was a great idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself.”