His Sexy Smile

by Jessica Mills

  “You don’t think you’ll get along back home?” she asked.

  I shook my head again. “The last time I was back home helping with the Dude Ranch, it all ended happily. Everything just went well, and I thought I wanted to leave it that way. I figure if I keep my trips short, I can go in and out and always leave on a high note. Balance, that’s the key.”

  She took a long sip of her beer. She looked like she was thinking about something and debating on saying it. Finally, she put her beer down and her eyes sparkled when she spoke. It was almost difficult to pay attention to what she was saying because I was so enamored with how she looked saying it.

  “Well, you know what’s really funny?” she asked.

  “Your friend Macy’s outdated dance moves?” I asked, nodding my head toward her.

  Leah looked over her shoulder and saw the scene that was playing out on what constituted a dance floor. Macy was doing what I vaguely recalled as “the sprinkler.” Leah rolled her eyes and they settled back on mine. She pursed her lips to one side in a grin and I was struck by how she was simultaneously beautiful and adorable. Usually, people only managed one or the other. But Leah Lightning Mason was capable of both.

  “No. While that is technically funny, it’s not what I was going to say.”

  “Then by all means, I’d love to know,” I said, lifting my beer to drain it. I thought I might need another if it meant keeping Leah around to talk.

  “What I was going to say is, this circuit is making its way northwest too. Where in Montana is the ranch?”

  “Green Valley,” I said. “Northwest corner of the state.”

  “I actually know where Green Valley is,” she said. “I passed by it when I got lost with Macy once trying to find an outlet mall.”

  “You won’t find one there,” I said, laughing.

  “Most certainly not. But the reason I found Green Valley then is because it’s only about an hour away from our next stop. We will be right next door to your ranch in about three weeks.”

  “Well,” I said, draining the rest of the beer. “What are the chances of that?”

  I grinned at her as I set the beer down and she returned it.

  “Bartender,” I said, catching her attention. “One more for the road, please. And for the lady.”

  Chapter 6

  Leah

  The handsome stranger, who was at least claiming to be a somewhat famous bull rider, was still chatting me up, and I didn’t want to break it up. But he had called for one last beer for the road, and I had zero intention of driving back, so I was going to enjoy my evening with him or without him.

  Though I would much rather it be with him, if I was to be honest.

  His blue eyes were even more intense sitting just feet from him, and the more we talked, the closer we scooted toward each other so we didn’t have to holler over the din of the room but also just to get a little less space between us.

  The tiny dance floor was filling up, and I could just hear the sounds of both Georgia and Macy tearing it up behind me. It wouldn’t be long before they tried to get me out there with them, and that meant I either had to leave this tall glass of sexy where he was, knowing he was planning on leaving, or try to get him to the floor with me.

  Not joining Macy on the dance floor was simply not an option for a number of reasons. One being she would probably just come yank me out of my seat. For such a small woman, she had the strength of an ox. For two, it was tradition. A silent deal we made years before, where if one of us got up to dance, the other had to join. Those were the rules. Inflexible and unbreakable.

  Sure enough, just as the man who called himself Colt got close enough that I could smell his cologne and our voices dropped lower as we chatted about absolutely nothing of consequence, Macy’s voice rose above the crowd.

  “Lightning,” she shouted. “Lightning, get out here. Bring your boy with you.”

  I looked back over my shoulder, but Macy was already back to concentrating on dancing, one of the local boys doing his best to sidle closer to her despite her somewhat spastic arm movements. If he could get close to her without getting a busted nose, he had as good a shot as any. But those arms flew, and when they did, they flew with force.

  “I should really join them on the floor,” I said reluctantly. As we talked, I could tell there was a lot of depth to this man. If he was who he said he was, he was a man who knew my kind of lifestyle quite well already. Everything from the rodeo circuit to rifts with family, he seemed to be able to respond to something I said with something that happened to him that was similar.

  “Ahh,” he said, taking a big gulp of his beer. The bartender had brought him one of the ones we had been drinking, which I knew for a fact had an alcohol level over ten percent. He was a big, strapping guy, but after what he already had and then that, he might be thinking driving wasn’t such a great idea either.

  Still, what got me most was that I wanted to know more about him.

  “You could join us out there,” I said, inviting him to the dance floor. “I’m much less spastic than Macy, so I promise you won’t get hurt. By me at least.”

  He seemed to think about it and then shook his head. “Nah,” he said. “Not my thing.”

  I shrugged. If he wanted to get to know me as much as I wanted to get to know him, he would stick around. But if he was going to stick around and enjoy my company, like TLC said many years ago, he was going to have to get with my friends. At that moment, that meant getting on the dance floor, getting a little closer to me, and avoiding the flying elbows of Macy.

  “Suit yourself,” I said and turned away from him. I walked to the dance floor, only shooting one look back over my shoulder. I could swear that I caught him staring at my ass before meeting my gaze. I grinned. Then I took the step up onto the raised wooden slats that led to the dance floor and stood in front of Macy and Georgia, who let out a wail of delight.

  I decided that either he would be there or he wouldn’t, and I wasn’t about to let that cloud my good night. I finally broke fourteen seconds, dammit, and I had a weekend left of other competitions to make some money and maybe pick up a buckle. The weekend was going to be fun and full of new challenges for me, and I was going to enjoy myself tonight in celebration. He could either be part of it or watch from the distance, but it was happening.

  Joining in with Macy, I let loose, dancing like no one else existed in the bar. I didn’t require alcohol to loosen up on a dance floor, but it certainly didn’t hurt at all. My red boots boogied as hard as they had ridden and I laughed uproariously with Macy, Georgia, and a few other girls from the rodeo that I was friendly with.

  It was how I lived my life. Big and out loud. I didn’t mind if people thought I was silly as long as I was having fun. And fun was dancing to a rocking country song with steel guitars and letting loose with friends and colleagues who I enjoyed being around. At twenty-eight, I’d earned the right to let loose how I felt like letting loose, and with Macy flanking me, I knew that meant I could enjoy the night and have someone to remind me of the bits I forgot the next morning. As long as I could do the same for her too.

  My hands were in the air and I was shaking my hips when someone had the audacity to touch my hips, and I spun to face them. It could have been Georgia, who had slipped off somewhere, and was known to get a little touchy when she got a few drinks in her. Not in a lascivious way, but in a has-no-personal-space way. Instead, I was surprised when I found myself staring into the chest of Colt Montgomery. He stepped back off the dance floor and held out a hand. I placed mine in his and he twirled me to him.

  He moved around the floor with me gracefully, dancing like a professional, his feet moving in time with the music, hips swaying just enough to look natural without looking forced. His body responded to mine and we melded into one another a lot more than we stayed separate as the song reached a crescendo. Then he dipped me and when I came back up, I nearly kissed him. It was impulsive, and I pulled myself back just in time, but it was
almost there.

  Of course, he could dance. It added up. If he spent a bunch of time in rodeos, we knew what the life was all about. He would have spent his fair share of time in tiny bars, dancing with the ladies that saw him ride and wanted to get close to the cowboy. I mistook his declining me as a shyness or an unwillingness to look silly in a bar full of strangers, but instead, it was something else. It was like he knew if he cut loose with me, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Much less a thousand miles to Green Valley, Montana.

  Our bodies moved in time together, and I enjoyed when his hands moved to my hips or clasped onto my hand and held me to him. It was sensual and exciting and fun. I hadn’t enjoyed being out like this in a long time, at least not when a dance partner that wasn’t genetically made up of sharp elbows and knees was involved.

  I felt the world slip away as I melted into the moment. Everything else ceased to exist but my friends, the music, and Colt Montgomery. Any time his fingertips touched my skin while we danced, it was like they set my skin on fire with anticipation and intensity. I didn’t want that feeling to end, and as the night wore on, I pushed and pushed to keep it going.

  We cut loose together, dancing until sweat beaded up on our foreheads and the excitement of the day, coupled with the expenditure of energy from dancing proved too much and we had to sit to breathe.

  Our spot at the bar had long since been swallowed up, but enough people had made an early night of their trip to The Pit Stop that a booth was available in a dark corner. The four of us tumbled toward it. Georgia and Macy slid in one side, leaving me to slide in the other and Colt to take up space beside me.

  It was dark and tight and cozy and I could feel his body breathing as our legs touched, and I could feel the pulse as blood coursed through his veins. My mind wandered to his full lips and how they might feel pressed against mine. How those strong, sure hands that gripped my hips on the dance floor would feel touching the skin that was covered by my tight clothes. How those hips that swiveled on the dance floor could thrust when they were no longer shackled by clothing and expectation.

  I shook my head. I had to get rid of those thoughts for now. He was a stranger, and it was fine to enjoy myself and have fun, but I should keep some semblance of propriety too. I wanted to think that if that powerful hand decided to rest on my knee, I would move it away. That if it slid up my thigh to where the heat radiated from my core, that I would tell him no.

  But I wasn’t so sure that was the case.

  I wasn’t even so sure that I wouldn’t be the one to initiate it.

  The waitress came around and asked if we needed anything. Georgia ordered fries for the table, and I ordered a pitcher of beer and four cups. If we were going to make bad decisions, we might as well make a pitcher full of them, I thought. When the waitress brought them back, I poured enough for all four of us and we clinked the plastic cups together.

  “Here’s to fourteen seconds,” Macy said.

  “Woo!” Georgia said as I raised my cup again.

  “It might be a short ride, but sometimes the best ones are,” Macy said. This got a round of laughter from all four of us.

  “And sometimes, a much longer ride is in order,” Georgia said, beaming and then looking between me and Colt. It was so blatant that I inhaled sharply and a little squeal passed my lips. But Colt didn’t seem fazed. Instead, he just nodded and raised his glass again.

  “Sometimes,” he said and downed his drink.

  Georgia and Macy made their way back to the dance floor as Colt and I continued to talk. Laughter was flowing freely, and when the fries came, both of us began devouring them as we chatted, oblivious to anything that wasn’t each other and my friends making a spectacle on the dance floor.

  “It’s a funny old world,” I said, munching on a fry and marveling at how perfectly crispy it was on the outside and how soft and fluffy it was on the inside. “Two people like us ending up here, competing in rodeos for a living.”

  “It is,” he said. “Although I am pretty much retired at this point. Still, if I didn’t love it and miss it so much, I wouldn’t have stopped in.”

  “Are you glad you did?” I asked, looking up into those ocean-blue eyes.

  “Hell yeah, I am,” he said.

  Chapter 7

  Colt

  It seemed like it was only minutes, but suddenly, it was last call, and the bar was emptying. The lights came on, exposing some barflies to light, which had an effect on the people who they were trying to hit on akin to a vampire suddenly stepping into sunbeams.

  Not that it was a problem for me or Leah. She was just as stunning when the lights flipped on as she had been under the bright lights in the rodeo. She didn’t seem all that upset about me either. A rumor began to spread that a couple of squad cars were outside, waiting to pull over anyone driving away under suspicion of driving intoxicated, and forcing the owner’s hand in actually closing down shop.

  We made our way to the door, practically the last people in the building, laughing and stumbling. The rodeo folks had long gone, outside of Macy, who was waiting on us outside in front of a mass of ride-share pickups and designated drivers who were piling people in. I looked over at my truck and thanked myself for bringing the thick camping blanket. It was increasingly looking like I was going to be wrapping up in that in the bed of the truck for the night.

  “I called us a rideshare,” Macy slurred to Leah, the grin of an intoxicated person who was proud of their ability to make good decisions plastered on her face.

  “Oh good,” Leah said.

  “It should be here in about, about, um…” She looked down at her phone again, bringing it just inches from her nose. “About four minutes.” She held out her hand, displaying four perfectly manicured fingers to us. Just in case we had forgotten how many four was, I guessed.

  Leah was leaned into my arm, using me to maintain a little bit of balance and also seeming to try to use my body heat to ward off some of the early spring chill. Her head swiveled up to mine, and a look of concern spread across her face as her brow furrowed.

  “Where are you going to sleep tonight, Mr. Colt?” she asked.

  I motioned with my head toward the truck. “In my truck,” I said. “I’m not going to drive it anywhere, but I can either stretch out in the bed of it or curl up on the seat inside. Either way.”

  “That’s silly,” she said matter-of-factly. “Macy, tell him that’s silly.”

  “That’s silly,” Macy automatically replied, her face still buried in her phone. She pulled it away and looked at her friend with a confused expression. “Wait, what?”

  “It’s silly,” Leah repeated, slurring. “Can’t just sleep in a truck. So silly. Not when you could just come back to the rodeo grounds. I have a trailer there. It’s got bunk beds.” A closed mouth smile accompanied slow blinking as she looked up at me, seemingly very pleased with her own sound thought process.

  I laughed. “Bunk beds?” I asked. “I appreciate it, but I don’t think I can fit in a bunk bed.”

  I had a vision of being scrunched up in the bunk bed I shared with Garrett when I was really young. I could just see my boots hanging off the edge of the top bunk, my nose touching the ceiling and both shoulders touching the edge of the tiny single mattress. I laughed again, thinking that it would be a shame to get hard on a bunk like that. I’d end up scraping the ceiling.

  “Come on,” she said, hitting me in the hip with her own, but because of the height difference, she had to hop a little. When she came back down, she stumbled a bit, and I grabbed her elbow to hold her steady. “I almost lost it there.” An adorable giggle bubbled up and I laughed with her.

  “He’s here,” Macy said, pointing at a car pulling into the parking lot. “Hey, mister driver man!” She began to wave, leaning against the wall of the bar in order to do so without having a balance problem like Leah’s. At least she had her heels in her hand, or else it could have gone south in a hurry.

  I looked over at the truck again
and then down into Leah’s face.

  “A bunk bed in a trailer?” I asked.

  “It’s all they had when I joined the circuit. Everybody has a trailer. I got one the owner’s kids used to use.” She shrugged. “It’ll be fine. We can figure it out later.”

  “All right,” I said. There was only so much arguing I could do. Why would I willingly turn down a beautiful woman who was inviting me back to her place? Or trailer, rather. She was gorgeous and funny and enigmatic, and even if nothing happened, I wanted to get to know her better. Might as well start right then.

  “Yay,” she said, walking to the car. Her stumble wasn’t as noticeable as it was when she first stood up and started walking, and the girls piled into the back of the car, leaving me to take the front passenger’s seat.

  The drive back to the fairground was like paid entertainment. The driver was a quiet fellow who apparently was used to picking up people from that bar. He checked the rearview mirror a few times during the trip, a smirk crossing his face as the girls in the bag giggled and blabbered their way down the road. Twice, Macy thought she had lost her credit card, only to find it in her cleavage. They spoke rather openly about how much they enjoyed dancing and how Macy thought that Leah and I “moved well” together, which caused a round of giggling and laughter that ended with both of them in coughing fits.

  When we pulled into the fairgrounds, Macy directed the driver to the area where the trailers were parked and got out. I insisted on paying for the ride and gave the driver a handsome tip, then followed Leah out of the car. She and Macy hugged and had a whispered conversation that ended with Macy giggling and Leah smacking her arm. Then Macy went into her trailer and shut the door.

  “Welcome to my humble abode on the road,” Leah said. “When we are at a big fairground, they set these up for us rather than put us up in a hotel.”

  “I’ve stayed in one similar to this on one of my early runs, too,” I said. “God, that had to be a decade ago.”