He vaguely heard catcalls as she kissed his brains out. She tasted like heaven and he pulled her closer as she wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth to his. He dove in for more.
When she pulled back he wanted to carry her off into some dark corner. He couldn’t do that, and he had no other thoughts. He couldn’t think of a thing to say as she stared into his eyes and they panted. Finally, he managed to growl out, “Let’s dance.”
He pulled her onto the dance floor. As the music flowed over him he held her close. His thoughts whirled but his body moved in close and enjoyed every bit of her.
He finally whispered into her ear, “I don’t know what to say, or think, or do.”
She rubbed up against him and his eyes crossed in pleasure. “Part of you knows exactly what to do.”
“But we’re friends.”
She let out a huff and pulled back.
He panicked and yanked her in close. “No, I don’t mean it like that. I just don’t want to hurt our friendship. You are too important to me to fuck this up.”
She laid her head on his shoulder for a moment. Then she looked up at him. “Then let’s make a pact not to.”
“A pact?” he said stupidly.
“Yes, like we did as kids.”
He thought back to the hundreds of pacts they’d made as kids. “Blood or pinky.”
“Blood, for sure.”
“As much as I would like to take you up on this idea, and that is an overwhelming screaming desire, I think we need to think about it some more.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine, write up a contract, think it to death and when you’re ready you can let me know.” She sighed. “We both have to work in the morning, let’s go.”
He knew he’d hurt her feelings, but this was too big of a step to take without some serious consideration. There had to be something he could do to lighten the mood.
He leaned in and whispered, “It will give them something to talk about.”
She laughed and grinned up at him. He kissed her soundly on the lips and they walked out of the bar hand in hand.
Katie was disappointed that Chase hadn’t taken her up on her offer. But he hadn’t laughed at her or told her it was a silly idea. He’d looked and felt plenty interested. So, it was possible she did just need to give him some time to think it through. She’d been thinking about it for ten years.
It was a huge change and perhaps a pact wasn’t as silly an idea as how she’d been thinking of it when she’d suggested it. But she wasn’t going to let it drift off into nothing either, she was going to stay in his face, so he couldn’t ignore the idea of them as more than friends, lovers even.
As they walked up to her back door she asked, “Want to play cards tomorrow?”
He looked at her with a surprised expression. Good she needed to keep the man guessing. “We could do that. Do you want to come out to the ranch when you close up?”
“Sure, that would be fun, maybe some of your family would like to get in on the game too.”
He grinned at her and looked more relaxed. “We’re always happy to take your money.”
“I tell you, one day I am going to beat you.”
“You can try, darlin’, you can try.”
He walked up the steps with her and she unlocked the door. Before he could turn around to leave she took hold of his shirt and pulled him in. She didn’t know who kissed who first, but he seemed to be just as eager as she was.
Mouths met and devoured as they kissed on her doorstep. She ran her hands up and gripped his hair to hold him close. He tasted like heaven, and man, and she loved it. Tongues and teeth clashed as they both fought for more. It was glorious. When they needed to breathe he pulled back and gasped for breath. She grinned and said, “Think fast.”
Going inside she locked the door and heard him swear before he walked down the stairs. Yep, she had no intention of letting him forget. Not. For. One. Second.
Chapter 17
Chase had just buckled his belt when his brother walked into his room. He turned. “You’re dressed already, what’s the—”
His brother’s fist smashed into his face and his head snapped back.
“What the fuck is that for?”
“You moved on Katie.”
“I did not.” He saw his brother’s hand fist again. “No, wait, really I didn’t.”
“The whole fucking town saw you. Are you really going to lie to me? Because that makes me furious.”
He glowered at is brother. “No. Now just hold onto your temper and flying fists and let me tell you what really happened last night. Rather than town gossip.”
“Fine, talk.”
“Since you already have some info I’ll do crib notes on the public portion of the evening.”
Cade nodded.
“We went to Karaoke. She sang that Something to Talk About song directly to me. When it was over she sat on my lap and kissed my brains out. I couldn’t think so we danced while I tried to get my brain to work.”
“Go on.” Cade made an impatient gesture.
Chase rubbed the back of his neck. “Then I hurt her feelings.”
Cade frowned at him, so he continued. “I told her we needed to think about this and not jump into anything.”
“That makes sense, why did it hurt her feelings?”
“She’d just declared to the whole town that she and I were going to hook up….”
Cade rubbed his chin. “And you told her no. Yeah, I could see that might hurt her feelings or piss her off. But I heard you were kissing on the dance floor and walked out glued to each other.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want her to be sad, so I told her we could still give them something to talk about. So, we kissed on the dance floor and made it look like we were going somewhere to continue.”
“But now everyone thinks you two are an item.” Cade glowered.
“Nothing to be done about that, they all thought that thirty seconds into the song. Anyway, I took her home and left her there alone.”
Cade pointed at him. “Bullshit. I didn’t get home until after one and your truck was nowhere to be found.”
“That’s because I was driving half way to Grand Junction, thinking. Hell, I didn’t even realize where I was, until I was nearly to Craig.”
Cade laughed. “That’s a hell of a long way for a thinking drive.”
Chase shook his head. “It’s a lot to think about.” He flopped down on his bed. “I don’t want to fuck this up and there doesn’t seem to be any way to turn back time. She’s too important to me, to both of us, to the family even, to blow it.”
“Yes, she is. So… don’t.”
Chase huffed. “Cade, you know very well I’ve never had a girlfriend over six months. I suck at relationships.”
“But those women were not Katie. She won’t let you suck at it. Not that I’m fully in favor of all this.”
“Join the fricken crowd. I’m not fully in favor of it either. But Katie seems to be. Can you imagine declaring in front of the whole damn town that you want to… well… do whatever it is she wants to do.” The idea of that made him sick to his stomach, the woman was clearly made of stronger stuff than he was, there is no way in hell he would declare himself before the whole town.
“Have sex with you? Be your girlfriend? No, I can’t imagine doing anything of that sort in front of the whole town. I can’t imagine Katie doing it.”
“Believe me I was shocked as hell by it.”
They both sat there in silence for a while.
Chase sighed. “She’s coming over tonight to play cards.”
Cade’s head snapped toward him. “After you shut her down?”
“I didn’t shut her down, exactly. I told her we needed to think about it. Maybe make a pact on how to handle it.”
Cade guffawed. “Blood or pinky?”
Chase shrugged. “Blood, too important for anything else.”
Cade shook his head. “You are such a dumbass.”
“Believe me, I know. What in the hell is she thinking anyway?”
Katie was plotting. She’d made her move last night and Chase hadn’t told her she was an idiot or laughed at her. He’d taken her seriously and wanted to think about it. That was good, right?
Now how was she going to get past the thinking, to the doing? That was the question. She’d felt his interest in his body, which had responded to her song, and kiss in a very gratifying manner. But he clearly was not some kid who was led around by his dick, he hadn’t acted on that arousal. Dammit.
She supposed she should be grateful that he didn’t want to screw up their friendship by leaping in before they both had time to think about it. But she was frustrated by the whole idea. She didn’t want to wait, she’d been waiting ten years already and he was finally looking at her like a woman.
So now she was plotting how to keep him interested. She had to think of ways to tempt him into taking the next step.
The door chimed, and she looked up from her notes to see the homeless girl slink in. The girl scanned the empty store and came over to her.
“Hi, how are you today? I’m so glad you stopped by. I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”
The girl just looked at her. So, she continued, “I’ve been so busy the last couple of days I haven’t had time to sweep. I was wondering if I could pay you to help me with that.”
The girl looked around the empty store and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, I know it doesn’t look like I’m busy, but it’s… um… inventory time and I have to get my books together for that.”
The girl looked at the counter and saw the paper she’d been doodling on.
Katie looked down and saw it was filled with hearts and Chase’s initials. She flipped it over. “That’s some designs I’m working on for some… um… advertising. Anyway, would you be able to help? I’ll pay you eight dollars an hour, that’s a little under minimum wage but you probably aren’t old enough to fall under that law. Plus, I thought I could just pay you cash so it would be kind of as a favor to me rather than a full-fledged employee. Are you interested?”
The girl looked at her like she was trying to decide if she was being honest, which she mostly was. Not the needing help part, but all the rest.
Finally, the girl nodded, and Katie felt relief slide through her. “Oh, and lunch is part of the job too. Come with me.”
Katie showed her where the broom and dustpan were and told her to start wherever she wanted. When they stopped for lunch Katie was going to see if she could get the girl to tell her her name, or at least something she could call her.
Katie got the financial ledgers out and brought them up to the counter that way it wouldn’t look like she’d lied to the girl. She should have thought through her story a bit more before voicing it. But she was thrilled the girl was going to take her up on the offer. She decided she would come up with something the girl could do every day for a few hours, at least that would give her enough money to eat.
As she fussed with the books, checked out customers, and plotted against Chase, she wracked her brain for projects for the girl to do. When it got to be lunch time Katie called the café to see if they could run her a couple of sandwiches across the street.
When the sandwiches arrived, she asked the pharmacist to watch the store while she and the girl ate some lunch in the break room. Which really was a tiny room with a coffeepot and a microwave and a tiny table with two chairs. But it worked for her purposes.
She grabbed some water and then thought the girl needed milk and brought some of that with her too. She walked up to the girl carefully sweeping up a lot more dirt than Katie thought she would and asked her to come join her for lunch.
The girl nodded and carefully swept the dirt into the dustpan and emptied it, before carrying it all with her to the back. Katie had to wonder if the girl had some retail knowledge, because most kids her age would just drop everything where they were and go to lunch.
Katie washed her hands in the little sink and the girl did the same before sitting down at the tiny table. Katie handed the girl her food and drink. They both started eating and Katie watched and waited to see when the girl relaxed.
When the girl had nearly finished her lunch Katie casually asked. “So, can you tell me your name, or is there something I can call you?”
There was a moment of panic in her eyes, but she fought it back and murmured, “Gwen.”
Katie felt like throwing confetti. “Gwen, what a pretty name. Did I ever tell you my name is Katie?”
Gwen nodded.
“You know I noticed what a good worker you are. If you aren’t busy tomorrow I could use some help again.”
Gwen looked at her and nodded, then she picked up her trash and threw it into the can, and went back to sweeping.
Chapter 18
Katie was ready for phase two of her campaign to tempt Chase into a romantic relationship. She had on some jeans that fit her to perfection, and a dark blue flirty top with most of the shoulders cut out, and some of the cutest boots ever. Her makeup was understated but brought out her eyes and lips. She wanted him looking at her lips, so he’d think about kissing them again. Her hair was loose but curled in big fat curls, and she’d spritzed on the perfume he’d bought her for Christmas.
She was armed for battle or should she just call it what it was, seduction. Yes, she was going to try to seduce the man and she didn’t care if the whole family was there to watch. They’d probably all heard about her antics last night anyway, so it didn’t matter much. She hoped like hell he wouldn’t be able to resist her.
In her purse, which she tossed into the front seat of her car, was the pact she’d written up. It was fairly simple, basically just saying that if they decided to break up, they would not let it get in the way of their friendship. She wasn’t quite sure how that would work but he was right, their friendship was too important to give it up over a failed relationship. On the other hand, she wasn’t going to wonder for the rest of her life what might have happened if they hadn’t given it a shot.
She pulled her old jalopy onto the road pointed out of town. One of these days she needed to think about getting a new car. She’d had this one since she’d graduated from high school, many years ago.
As she drove, Katie contemplated the fact that she fully intended to tempt Chase into giving them a chance at love. Maybe she could get Cade on board to help her convince Chase. That is provided she could convince Cade this was a good idea. She had no idea how he would react to her plans for his brother. He might think it was great fun and help her, or he might not like it at all.
She didn’t think he would be jealous, he was always with some woman, mostly Tanya if she was honest. Although he and Tanya broke up several times a year, and it never took Cade long to find a new girl to date. He was too much fun, every woman she’d ever known had wanted to date him.
The ranch came into view and she turned into the long driveway that led to the ranch, she drove under the sign showing the Rockin’ K brand, up the gravel drive, and parked to see Tony playing in the back yard. He whooped and ran toward her as she climbed out of the car.
“Miss Katie, what are you doing here? Are you here to ride horses with my uncles? It’s gonna be dark soon, so I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He shook his head to emphasize his point. Then brightened and grinned at her. “Did you bring candy with you?
“I came over to see you and your whole family. You’re right it’s too late to ride horses so perhaps we will play cards instead. Of course, I brought candy.”
“Yay for candy. I play slap jack with my uncles sometimes. Are you going to play slap jack too?”
“Probably not tonight. Do you want to help me carry in the candy?”
He jumped up and down. “Yes, yes, yes.”
She laughed and handed him a small bag she had ready for him to carry. Just then Chase walked out of the barn and her heart skipped a beat. Dear God, the man was sexy, she had to
work to keep from melting into a puddle of lust. He’d clearly been working out in the fields. His shirt was hanging from his back pocket and he was covered in sweat, dust and hay pieces. She wanted to help him wash that dirt off that fine chest and back.
He grinned at her like he knew what she was thinking, and took the larger bags of candy out of her hands. His eyes roamed her body and then came back up to settle on her lips before finally reaching her eyes. “Howdy, Katie. You’re looking mighty pretty tonight.” He sniffed. “And you smell good too. Is that the perfume I bought you for Christmas?”
She couldn’t speak. The man had just sniffed her. She nodded stupidly.
He gave her a hot look. “Let’s get this candy in, so I can go take a shower and wash this dirt off. You can distribute your candy while I do that, and then I’ll be happy to take your money.”
She followed him into the house, into the kitchen without saying a word. When she could finally think again she pointed at him. “I plan to take yours tonight, Chase.”
He barked out a laugh. “Right. Keep dreaming, sweetheart.”
Katie watched him walk away and kept staring at where he had disappeared until someone cleared their throat and reminded her she had an audience. She turned and saw expectant expressions on each family member and ranch hand.
So, before anyone could say anything she cleared her throat. “So, I imagine most of you have heard about me singing Karaoke last night. Yes, it was all me. I picked the song and I sang it to Chase, fully intending to seduce him. I decided that it was time to let my feelings be known, so I picked a very public venue to do it in, that way it can’t be ignored or swept under the rug. In light of that I will tell you all that I plan to push Chase into giving a relationship with me a chance, other than that of just best friends. I hope you won’t mind or feel odd about it. In fact, I hope you support me. I’ve wanted to do this for ten years. I’m asking you to approve.”
They all nodded slowly. Grandpa K spoke up, “You and Chase are adults and can do as you wish. You’re like family, Katie, and always welcome.” He looked around at the rest of the family and crew gathered around. “But what we’re really doing here is waiting for our candy.”
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