Cowboys & Kisses

by Summers, Sasha

  Why me?

  While Levi and Dax and Molly paddled their way to the ledge, I bobbed, hoping to drown the butterflies, nerves, goose bumps, and every other sort of Wyatt-induced reaction in the cold water.

  Dax waved me over. “Come on, Allie.”

  “Your truck here?” Dad asked Levi.

  “Yes, sir. Dallas parked it before he had to go in to work,” Levi said, picking up Dad’s tackle box and following him up the narrow path along the canyon wall. I saw Levi say something to Wyatt, saw Wyatt stiffen.

  “Hasn’t changed much,” Dad said over his shoulder.

  “Catch anything?” Dax asked, following Molly.

  Their voices grew softer as they climbed the hill to their waiting trucks, but I wasn’t listening anyway. Wyatt stood there, watching me. Waiting.

  “Coming out?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

  He smiled. “Why not? Don’t like your mom’s cooking?”

  I frowned at him. Not a playful frown; I wasn’t playing. I was honestly confused and I wanted him to know it. He’d put a wall between the two of us. Told me to date Levi. Okay, maybe I’d put up the first wall. But his had been way higher—and thicker—and now he was smiling at me like that.

  It wasn’t fair.

  He must have picked up on my mood because his outrageous smile dimmed a little. He knelt on the rock, reaching out his hand. “They’ll leave us behind.”

  If I didn’t take his hand, he couldn’t reach me and I was my own little floating island, safe. So I didn’t take it. I stared past him, at the bluff overhead. “I think they already did.”

  He glanced over his shoulder, then back at me. “I’ll take you home.”

  I didn’t say a thing. I closed my eyes and rested my head. My inner tube kept turning in lazy circles. It turned six times before I heard a splash.

  His hand grabbed my ankle, tugging me into the water and flipping the inner tube. I screamed as I went under.

  His hands grasped my upper arms and pulled me to the surface. We came up inside the inner tube, pressed together. He swam us closer to the wall, where he could stand on his tiptoes and…hold me.

  My heart was going crazy. And even if I hadn’t been coughing up water, I knew breathing would be a challenge.

  In the cold water, it was hard to miss how warm he was—or that he didn’t have a shirt on. My bikini top was soaked through, the heat of his chest almost scalding my wet skin. Yes, the water was cold, but it was the look in his eyes and the flare of anticipation that had me covered in goose bumps. Hell.

  I’d never been so close to a guy before, never felt like this… I didn’t even know what I was feeling, but it was seriously intense.

  He was breathing hard too, his gaze glued to my mouth. His arms slipped around my waist, his eyes closing briefly as my chest pressed fully against his. The feel of his arms, his strength, his skin…Yeah, breathing wasn’t getting any easier.

  His heart thumped like crazy, I could feel it. My hands were shaking as I pressed them against his chest, smooth and slick. “This is a bad idea,” I whispered, when I could talk.

  His gaze shifted to mine. “Probably.”

  I shivered as his hand smoothed a lock of my hair from my lower lip.

  “Allie…” His voice was rough.

  I shivered again. Kiss me. My hand slipped along his arm. Don’t kiss me. His hand pressed along my cheek. Shit.

  “You bringing her home?” Dax called down, not bothering to be discreet. “After you’re done…doing whatever you’re…doing.”

  It took a moment for me to process Dax’s words. Even then, I was a little caught up in Wyatt to think of a smart-ass comeback. To think at all.

  Throwing my arms around his neck would be bad. Pressing myself even closer to his holy-hell hardness would be very bad. But I really wanted to. So I pushed off his amazing chest and slipped out of his hold. I dove beneath the water, putting some space between us. When I came up, I headed straight to the wall without looking at Wyatt. If I hurried, I might catch Dad—and run away. And I was running away. I had to.

  I attempted to climb out of the water but it was covered in a lovely slimy moss. When I would have slipped back into the water, Wyatt steadied me…making my stomach hot and heavy. He lifted me up and onto the rock ledge and I scrambled out of his hold.

  He tossed the inner tube up before swinging himself onto the ledge beside me. I tried to ignore the trail of water that ran down his throat, down his chest. He didn’t move or say a thing. But when my gaze met his, it was impossible to ignore him. I moved, heading up the path.

  He was right behind me. I could hear my heartbeat racing in my ears, loud and heavy.

  When we reached the top, the others were gone. Just Wyatt’s truck and me, in the twilight. Wet, half-naked, and alone. “Shit,” I whispered, spinning around.

  Why did he have to look at me like that? His nostrils flared, his jaw locked. He walked past me to his truck, tossing the inner tube into the truck bed.

  I knew I should say or do something.

  He opened his truck door, leaning across the seat for something—all rippling muscles. And I felt…everything felt constricted and tight and hot and heavy. Even though I had no experience with guys—had never seriously thought about being with a guy—I knew what I wanted…and I wanted him to touch me. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him. And it scared the crap out of me.

  If there was one thing Lindie’s string of relationships had taught me, it was that sex made things harder.

  Why am I thinking about sex? I am. I’m thinking about sex. My cheeks burned.

  He turned around, holding the shirt he’d had on that morning. His eyes wandered over me, toes to head. It was quick, but I saw his jaw go rigid again. “Here.” He walked back to me, shaking out the shirt and offering it to me. “It’s dry. A little dusty, though.”

  I took it, my fingers brushing over his. It was like he was radiating some yummy heat.

  “Guess it didn’t work out with Levi?” he asked.

  “Levi?” So he wasn’t having a freakish reaction to me? I’m thinking about sex and he’s wanting a relationship status update? I tore my gaze from his and slipped his shirt on, snapping up the front. It hung down to my knees, the sleeves falling over my hands. I rolled back the soft sleeves, rubbing my cheek against the fabric. It smelled like him.

  “He left. So…” His voice was low.

  “Friends only. And even that’s going to be a challenge for me.”

  Wyatt laughed then, chasing some of the tension away. “Yeah, Levi, he’s…well…”

  “Not my type.” I was smiling too—his smile was contagious.

  “This morning…” He put his hands on his hips and looked at his truck. “You said things had changed.” He looked at me then, confusion lining his face.

  I swallowed the knot in my throat. “It…things have.”

  He ran a hand over his face. “Allie, I’m in knots here. I almost kissed you, knowing Levi wants you. I don’t want to be that kind of guy.”

  I can honestly say I was speechless. In knots… Good knots or bad knots? What does knots mean exactly? “Why?” Why am I asking him why? Was I asking about the knots or the kissing or what kind of guy he was or what exactly?

  He frowned. “I didn’t…couldn’t think.” He shrugged, his gaze traveling over me. “You make things…mixed up.”

  Don’t screw with his head.

  “I don’t mean to,” I murmured.

  He was still frowning at me, almost angrily. “No Levi?” His voice was hard.

  I shook my head, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. I don’t want to screw with his head. I just want to be with him. I did. I wanted to be with him.

  I looked him in the eye and said, “This morning, I was talking about you and me.” And then I held my breath.

  12 CHAPTER TWELVE

  His eyes went round, his nostrils flared, his jaw locked—every muscle in his gorgeous body tens
ed for five seconds. His hands lifted, landing on my shoulders and running down my arms to take my hands in his.

  “I’m a mess,” I whispered. “You know that.”

  He shook his head. “You’re strong.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yes.” His hands tightened around mine. “And loyal.”

  “Are you…will you kiss me now?” I asked.

  “I know it’s not a good idea,” he said, his voice low, husky, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

  “Because?” I needed him to explain why I shouldn’t launch myself at him.

  “Allie…” His hand tucked my damp hair behind my ear. “You’re…skittish. I don’t want to scare you off.”

  “You think kissing me would scare me off?” I asked, completely confused.

  He didn’t say anything for a minute, looking tense yet thoughtful all at once. “I think once we start, it’s gonna be hard to stop.”

  Every hair on my body was on end then, every inch of my body hot. For a moment I thought my heart would literally thump its way out of my chest. “O-okay,” I breathed.

  He led me to the truck, opening the driver door and standing back so I could slide in first.

  “I’m still a little wet,” I said.

  He smiled down at me. “I don’t mind.”

  I slid across the bench seat. There was plenty of room this time, but I still sat right in the middle, one leg on either side of the gear shift. He got in, looked at me, at my legs, and let out a long, slow breath.

  “I can move over,” I offered.

  “No,” he whispered tightly as he started the truck, the engine roaring to life. His arm rested along my thigh, his hand resting on my knee once he’d changed gears. Every time he shifted, I felt another jolt of heavy-hot tingles. His fingers brushed my knee, and I shivered.

  “Cold?” he asked.

  “A little,” I lied.

  He lifted his arm. “Come here.” His voice was rough again. I loved the way it sounded.

  I burrowed into his side, resting my head on his chest. It didn’t seem weird to be so tangled up in him, just good and right.

  “You have fun?” he asked.

  “Today?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Guess so.”

  His fingers slid through my hair. His heart was beating crazy fast. “What?”

  I shook my head. “Next time we’ll go when you can come too.”

  His arm tightened around me. I liked it, a lot. We drove like that the rest of the way home. It was only when he had to shift gears that I moved, and once that was done, his arm was warm and secure around me again.

  I was kind of bummed when we pulled onto the gravel drive. “Staying?” I asked as he parked.

  He looked at me, smiling. “I can’t. Rodeo in Kerrville tonight. Gonna be tough enough to get everything ready and get there on time. Not that I’m complaining.”

  “No. Sure. Of course. Is there…can I do anything?” Like there was anything I could do.

  “Will you come tonight to the rodeo?” His brown eyes watched, waited.

  “I think I can squeeze it into my busy schedule,” I teased, smiling.

  His gaze fell to my lips and he gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

  “Wyatt? You okay?” I asked, placing my hand on his leg.

  He blew out a slow breath. “I’m wishing I’d kissed you when I had the chance.”

  I was warm and tingly all over. “What’s wrong with right now?”

  He nodded to the front porch, where Dax stood…and Mom. Dax was watching us with a huge smile on his face. But Mom looked anxious—distracted. Something was up.

  Wyatt opened the truck door and slid out, holding out his hand to help me down.

  “Want your shirt?” I asked, reaching up to unsnap it.

  He shook his head, the muscle in his jaw bulging as his attention focused on my hands. “Keep it. I’ll get it later.”

  Huh. Who knew I could do this to a guy? Guess it was a good thing Mom was here, since I was definitely rethinking the whole launching myself at him thing.

  “Not staying for dinner?” Mom called from the porch.

  “No, ma’am. But thank you for the offer.”

  I was impressed with how together he sounded. Not at all the rough-voiced, nostrils-flaring guy that—I suspected—wanted to rip his shirt off of me.

  Whoa. Getting way ahead of things here… Then again, the shirt did snap. All sorts of images ran through my mind. And for the first time in my life I wanted to know what it would be like to…to be with a guy. No, not a guy. Wyatt.

  “It’s a standing invitation, Wyatt,” Mom answered. “You’re missing out on my lasagna.”

  “You are missing out,” Dax agreed. “She rocks the lasagna.”

  “Sorry, Dr. Cooper. Rodeo tonight.”

  Mom looked at me, then Dax. “You kids going?”

  I sighed. Subtle, Mom. Like we didn’t all hear the slight inflection on the word kids. Guess Wyatt and I weren’t being too subtle either.

  “Are we?” Dax asked me.

  “Molly going?” I returned, knowing that would be the deciding factor for him.

  “Don’t think so.” Dax looked pathetic. “I’ll take you tonight, if you want.”

  Wyatt nodded, glancing at me. “Probably a good idea.” The words were for me only. “I’ll see you later, then” was loud enough for Mom and Dax to hear.

  We stood looking at each other. Do we just say good-bye? I mean, nothing had really changed, had it? It wasn’t like we had defined or labeled what we were exactly.

  “Be safe,” I said, my hands twisting in the hem of his shirt.

  He nodded, a small smile on his mouth.

  “I’ll see you later,” I added.

  He nodded again.

  We still stood there, staring at each other. The screen door slammed. I glanced over to see Mom and Dax were gone—then there was no more space between me and Wyatt. He pulled me against him, fiercely at first, then gently. He pressed a kiss to my temple, his breath caressing my forehead and unleashing new shivers and tingles and…

  He let me go, sighed, and climbed into his truck. I wrapped my arms around myself and watched him back down the driveway, loving the smile on his face.

  ***

  “Dad just went off.” Dax shrugged, driving onto the right shoulder to let a huge truck pass us on the country road we were travelling. “They haven’t fought like that since…”

  “Before we moved,” I finished for him. “No idea what set it off?”

  He edged his truck back onto the road and glanced at me. “Mom got a phone call this morning.”

  “O-kay. You shooting for cryptic or is it just coming naturally?” I didn’t want a lot of build-up or drama.

  He laughed. “Ass. You tell me. If Mom got a phone call from someone and Dad stormed out of the house, who do you think it was?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I made no effort to hide my irritation.

  Dax was just as irritated. “Were you really that self-absorbed?”

  I punched him on the shoulder. “At least that was past tense.”

  “You seem to be getting…better.” He was reluctant.

  “Gosh, thanks.” I hoped he was right. I didn’t want to be that girl anymore. “I thought it was part of teenager-dom.”

  “Allie, in your case, it was a full blown episode.”

  Guilt twisted my gut. “Back to Mom, please.”

  “You know Todd Dowdy.”

  “Dr. Todd?” I asked. “From the vet hospital? Taffy Todd?” Dax and I had nicknamed him Taffy Todd because he’d kept a bowl of saltwater taffy on his desk just for us. Dax and I had spent a lot of time at the teaching hospital growing up, our home away from home.

  “Yeah, that one.” His mouth was pressed flat.

  “What about him?”

  Dax let out a long, low sigh. “Mom and he…well…they…”

  “Are besties?” This wasn�
��t news. Todd had been hilarious, always making Mom laugh.

  “You could say that,” he ground out.

  “Dax, what about Mom and Taffy Todd?” As soon as I said it out loud I got it. And I felt vaguely nauseous. “Mom…a-and Todd?”

  “I don’t know what happened between them, exactly, okay?”

  I couldn’t think. “But…how…what do you know?”

  “We, Dad and I, caught them kissing.” He paused. “The night of your accident.”

  Officially wanting to throw up here. “Oh my God.”

  “It was…Dad went nuts. He punched Todd in the face, broke his nose.”

  “Mom?”

  “Dad hardly spoke to her. He said you were in the hospital, that Lindie was dead.” He paused over the last part, looking at me.

  It hurt to hear him say it out loud. But this—Mom and Dad? Had I always been so fricking self-absorbed? A wave of self-loathing washed over me. “I’m a horrible, horrible person. How could I not know?”

  “You kind of had a lot going on.”

  “Dax. Oh my God.” I paused, still trying to process everything he’d said. “Poor Dad.”

  He snorted. “It was a kiss. They weren’t eating each other’s faces, you know? Dad’s been kind of MIA for the last two years.”

  “So you’re defending her?” I asked, astounded.

  “I’m not defending or blaming either of them, okay? I just know their marriage isn’t a rock, it’s rocky. I don’t know what Todd called about this morning. But when we got home from the river, Dad heard Mom say something on the phone, and took off.”

  “When did our family get so screwed up?”

  Dax was quiet for a while. “I think all families are screwed up. The older you get, the more obvious it is.”

  I looked at my brother. “Get that from a fortune cookie?”

  He laughed. “Nope, I’ve always been wise and philosophical.”

  We turned in to the fairgrounds and parked. The sun was dropping and the sky was turning a peachy-pink, with streaks of feather-white clouds. A few stars were beginning to appear, reminding me of that night with Wyatt. The dark, the cliff, the stars…feeling safe and secure and…loved.

  We made our way to the gate entrance. “Twenty dollars, honey.” The ticket attendant with helmet-hair and bright red lipstick smiled at me. “Aren’t you a pretty thing?”