You Had Me at Cowboy

by Jennie Marts

  She nodded. “I’m sorry.”

  “So you said.” He blew out his breath. “Just tell me the truth. All I want to know is what’s really going on here.”

  This was it. The perfect segue to tell him everything. No more lies.

  Chapter 14

  “The truth is…” Tess paused, swallowing the bitter acid burning her throat.

  Could she really tell him the truth?

  That she had tricked him—and not just about the hotel, but about her whole reason for being here? Could she tell him she’d used him? That this whole weekend was one big calculated move to find out information about his brother?

  It would crush him.

  She might not know him all that well—although she felt like she did, felt like they’d made a real connection—but she did know Mason felt the heavy weight of living in his famous brother’s shadow. She’d gotten a taste of that the night before. And she knew telling him the truth would destroy whatever trust they had been starting to build.

  And it would destroy any relationship as well.

  As much as she wanted to tell him the truth, to come clean about who she was and why she was really there, she wasn’t ready to let him go. Wasn’t ready to let this go.

  Maybe if they had a little more time to build their relationship, to strengthen what they had between them, they’d be strong enough to handle her deceitfulness. Her head was telling her that was total bullshit. They couldn’t build anything real on a foundation of lies. That was like trying to build a house on shifting sand.

  But her heart was telling her it might work, that it was worth the cost to try, that it was worth the risk to have more time with him. Even if he wasn’t truly interested in building anything with her, she wanted more time to live in this imaginary world where a cute cowboy was falling for her. Wanted one more night spent in his arms, in his bed. One more night of feeling wanted, desired, loved—even if it was all in her imagination.

  She would take it.

  Because she wasn’t ready to let go of Mason. Not yet.

  So she wouldn’t tell him the whole truth, but she could be honest about some of it. She could be honest about how she felt.

  She rested her hand on top of his, brushing her thumb across his callused palm. “The truth is that I like you. I really like you. I know this started out because you needed a fill-in date for a big wedding weekend, and I was okay with that. I knew that you couldn’t really be interested in me, that I was just standing in because there was no other choice, but I couldn’t say no. You’re this charming cowboy who’s so handsome, you take my breath away. And then we spent more time together. I felt like I was getting to know you, and I wanted more.”

  A gentle smile played on his lips, but he shut it down, tightening his mouth back into a severe line as his forehead creased in concentration. “I get that. I really like you too. But that doesn’t explain…”

  “Why I was sleeping in my car?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I told you. I’m broke, and I lost my job.”

  “I thought you said you were a writer.”

  “I am a writer, but I still need a day job to pay the bills.” Please don’t ask what kind of job I had.

  She hurried on before he could ask. Kept talking, kept tying together the braid of lies and half-truths. “I apparently wasn’t cut out for the job, and I got fired. Look, it’s been a rough year. It started with a bad breakup, and I closed myself off from dating, from doing much of anything. But I was having dinner with a friend, and she told me her brother had been dumped and needed a plus-one for a wedding weekend. She knew I hadn’t been on a date in a year and convinced me that her brother would be a safe, easy way to ease back into the dating world. It sounded kind of fun, so I figured what the heck. Why not?”

  She stopped and peered at him, trying to convey the emotion she felt. The emotions were real, the only honest things she had to offer him. “Then Mick-the-Dick stood me up, and I met you. And you were funny and charming and so cute, and I wanted you to like me. And somehow leading with ‘Hey, I’m an idiot and just got fired from my job’ didn’t seem the way to impress this hot guy I’d just met.”

  “Okay, I get that. But that was the first day. What about yesterday? Or last night? You could have told me you didn’t have a place to stay. Hell, you could have stayed here. I asked you to stay here.”

  She lowered her eyes, unable to look at him. A thread had come loose on the bedspread, and she stared at the broken strand, feeling as though it somehow represented her—that she’d been going along fine, her life creating neat little stitches, then one thread broke and the whole thing was coming unraveled.

  “I know. And I wanted to. I really did. But I just couldn’t. Look, I lost my job. I don’t have enough money to fill my gas tank or even buy a stupid hamburger, but I still have my pride.” She let out a shaky breath. “Or at least I did.”

  “You still do.”

  “I feel awful…like a total schmuck for deceiving you.” For still deceiving you. “It was a stupid thing to do, and I truly apologize. Can you forgive me?”

  The tightness in his shoulders eased, and his expression softened—just a little. But enough to give her hope. She wanted to reach out, to touch his cheek, to run her fingers through his dark hair, but she kept her hands in her lap, twisting the folds of the sheets between her fingers.

  He nodded, a small shake of his head. “Yes, of course I can forgive you. I feel like a schmuck too. For everything that happened last night with Rock…for jumping to conclusions. For not being the kind of guy you could just talk to. Or that you could turn to. You can tell me anything. Just talk to me. And no more lies, okay?”

  Before she could answer, a fist pounded at the door, and they heard Quinn’s voice through the screen. “Mason? Tess? Are you guys decent? We need to go. The alumni game starts at eleven, so we’ve got to get over there pretty soon and get set up.”

  He studied Tess’s face. “Do you still want to do this?”

  Her heart leapt. Was he offering her a second chance? “Which this? The game? Or…?”

  “All of it. The game. The rehearsal dinner. The wedding.”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes to which?”

  “Yes, to all of it.” She slid her hand into his and entwined their fingers. “I want to be here. With you.”

  A smile spread across his face. “Good. Me too. With you. You know what I mean.”

  Hope bloomed in her chest as he leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss to her lips.

  Quinn banged on the door again. “Hello? Can you guys hear me?”

  Mason let out a chuckle, his breath tickling Tess’s cheek as he tipped his forehead to touch hers for just a moment, then hollered back to Quinn. “We hear you. The whole ranch can hear you. You can come in.”

  The screen door opened, and in the next second, the bedroom was chock-full of craziness as Quinn burst in with Mason’s dog hot on her heels. Theo jumped on the bed, sending Dewey into a frenzied circle as they barked and jumped on each other in greeting.

  Tessa laughed, holding her hands up to fend off the chaotic licks and slobbery kisses. “Besides the obvious issue of getting mauled by these puppies, I do have a problem with the game though. I don’t have any clothes to wear.”

  “I can help with that,” Quinn said, tossing a blue-and-red Colorado Summit jersey on the bed as she shushed the dogs and scolded them to get down. “We’re all wearing them. To support the guys on the team.”

  Tess lifted the jersey, smiling at the name “James” spelled out across the back.

  Mason nodded to the chair in the corner that held a pile of her clothes. “I washed your other stuff from yesterday.”

  She glanced at him, a secret smile on her lips, silently sending him a message that said she was thinking about the way he’d peeled those wet clothes off her in
the shower the day before.

  His flirty smile in return told her he’d gotten the message and was thinking the same thing. “I also grabbed your bags from your car in case you’d need anything else.”

  Her smile fell, replaced with an expression of remorse. “Thank you. I really do appreciate you helping me.”

  Quinn snapped her fingers. “Hello? You do remember I’m standing here. You two can make moony eyes at each other later. Right now, I need you to get dressed.”

  “All right. Can I have twenty minutes to take a quick shower and brush my teeth?”

  “You can have thirty,” Quinn said, already heading for the front door. “We’ll meet you at the ice arena.”

  * * *

  Forty minutes later, Mason and Tess were driving down the highway toward the ice arena. Tess’s hair was still damp, and the smell of her shampoo—his shampoo, actually—filled the cab of the truck, making Mason a little crazy as it evoked images of her naked and sliding against his skin the way she’d done the day before.

  It had been hard enough trying to find things to occupy his thoughts while she’d been in the shower today and doubly hard not to strip down and join her. But his ego was still bruised, and he wasn’t ready to jump back into the bed or the shower with her quite yet.

  Or so he kept trying to tell himself.

  Mason had driven the newer truck, the one with a center console instead of the long bench seat, and wasn’t sure if he’d consciously made that decision so she would have to ride on the other side of the console instead of in the middle next to him as she’d done before. He didn’t want to think too hard about it.

  He didn’t want to think too hard, period. This whole thing made his head hurt. Which made him think of Tess and her migraine and finding her in her car.

  Dammit—everything seemed to make him think of her.

  She’d only been in his life two and a half days, yet she seemed to already have touched every part of it. She’d met his family, been in his truck, his house, his bed. Heck, she’d even been in his shower.

  Ah hell, now he was thinking about the shower again.

  He needed to do something to get his mind occupied. Start up a conversation. Say something. Anything.

  Anything to get his mind off the memories of her naked curves slick with soap.

  He cleared his throat, readying to speak as he searched his brain for a safe subject to discuss. Anything would do—the weather, the traffic, the State of the Union.

  They’d left both dogs at home, and the cab was quiet without the activity of the pets. The last two days, he and Tess had talked easily as they rode together, but now he couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

  “Have you heard anything from the flyers or the sheriff about Dewey?” he finally asked.

  Tess shook her head. “Not a single call. It’s like his real owners vanished. Or they really did abandon him.”

  “Who would do that to a dog? Especially a cute little guy like Dewey?”

  “I can’t imagine.” She let out a sigh, then gazed out the window as if she was also searching for something to say. “Tell me more about the game today. All I know is that you and your brothers are playing, and it’s some kind of fund-raiser.”

  “We’ve been doing it for five or six years now. It was Mom’s idea to begin with. Probably as a way to get Rock home for a few days in the summer. But it usually raises several thousand dollars that they use toward college scholarships for the local high school. And it’s fun for the kids to get a chance to play against Rock and some of their dads. They break the teams into twenty-and-under and twenty-one-and-over. Anybody who’s played club or for the high school can come out and be on a team.”

  “That sounds fun. But isn’t it a little unfair to have kids playing against a professional NHL player?”

  Mason laughed. “Some of those kids are pretty good. And some of the guys are pretty old and only skate a couple of times a year, so it evens out. Besides, we have a rule that Rock isn’t allowed to score. He can only pass.”

  “Smart.”

  “It evens things out a little. And there’s no checking allowed.”

  “That makes sense.” She absently twisted a length of her dark hair around her finger. “How about you? Are you excited for the game?”

  He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I mean, it’s kind of fun to get on the ice with my brothers again, and we have a good time with the kids. It’s usually a pretty fun deal. But the timing sure could have been better. I wish it weren’t in the middle of Rock’s wedding stuff, but it couldn’t be helped. The date had already been set months ago.”

  “Do a lot of people come out for it?”

  “Just about the whole town.”

  “That sounds exciting. Too bad I’ll miss the game.” She held up her hand. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to help out in the snack bar. Your mom helped me so much last night that I’ll do whatever she needs me to.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t worry. You won’t miss the game. Mom never wants to miss out on it either, so the snack bar is only open before the game and in between periods. You’ll be able to come out and watch all the action.”

  A smile curved her lips, and she offered him a shy glance. “Good. I wasn’t much into sports in high school, but I’ve always kind of wanted to go to a game and cheer for my guy.”

  A twinge of pride bloomed in his chest at the idea that she wanted to watch him play. When they were younger, all the girls had come out to see Rock. It was a new feeling to have someone who would be there just to watch him.

  Besides his mom, that is. Vivi didn’t count.

  And he didn’t miss the fact that Tess had just said “my guy.” Was he her guy? Did he want to be?

  She reached over and tentatively rested her hand on his.

  His head might still be asking that question, but his heart had already made up its mind. He turned his palm over and entwined her fingers with his.

  He might be only holding her hand, but she was holding his heart.

  * * *

  What the heck am I doing here? Tess thought as she approached the snack bar. She could see Vivi and Quinn inside, laughing and talking easily as they set out paper plates and plastic cups.

  Her heart yearned to be part of that easy sisterhood. She liked these women and enjoyed laughing and joking around with them. Who was she kidding? She loved being around this whole group. She wanted to be part of this family.

  A pain in her chest, like a stab of heartburn, reminded her she wasn’t part of the family and never would be. She might have had a chance if she’d met Mason in a different place, in a different time. But she hadn’t.

  She took a deep breath, pushed back her shoulders, and walked through the door of the snack-bar area. “Tessa Kane reporting for duty.”

  “There she is,” Quinn said, crossing the room to give her a hug. “Thanks so much for helping us out.”

  “I’m happy to. What can I do to help?”

  Vivi narrowed her eyes, studying her face. “You sure you’re feeling up to this? Your head okay?”

  Tess smiled, the heartburn pain flaring again. Except that it wasn’t due to gastric issues; it was a real burn, a hard ache to her heart. An ache caused by the knowledge that she was deceiving this incredibly nice woman who needed her help but was more concerned about her health.

  “I’m fine. Really. The migraine is gone, and I’m ready to go.” She looked around the snack bar. “So put me to work.”

  “Me too.” A petite, curly-haired brunette woman poked her head in the door.

  “Hey, Chloe. I’m so glad you could make it. Here, put this on,” Quinn said, grabbing the last hockey jersey from the counter and tossing it to her. “Team James is now complete.”

  The brunette woman flushed, her cheeks turning pink with color as she twisted the fabric of the jersey
in her hands. “Oh gosh. It’s fine. I’m glad to help,” she mumbled. She wore a light blue T-shirt that read “Don’t make me use my teacher voice,” which seemed funny for the soft-spoken woman and made Tessa like her immediately.

  Quinn chucked. “Then get your jersey on and get in here.”

  Chloe pulled the shirt over her head and rolled up the sleeves as she stepped into the room.

  Tess guessed her to be in her late twenties, early thirties, but with her cropped jeans, Converse sneakers, and the too-big jersey, she could have passed for much younger. Her face had a youthful appearance, with big blue eyes and a small pert nose, and her hair was a mop of gorgeous unruly curls that other women paid top dollar to try to emulate. She pulled an elastic from her pocket and tried to confine the mass to a messy bun, offering an apologetic smile as if she were asking forgiveness for her chaotic hair.

  “Tessa, this is Chloe Bishop. She was Max’s teacher last year. And will be again this year, I guess,” Quinn said, nodding her head between the two as she made the introductions. “And this is Tessa Kane, Rock’s brother’s new girl.”

  The other woman’s face paled. “Colt has a new girl?”

  Chloe couldn’t see it, but Tess couldn’t help but notice the intrigued smiles that flashed between Quinn and Vivienne.

  “No. Rock’s other brother,” Quinn explained. “Tess is Mason’s girl, or his date for the weekend or whatever.”

  Tess offered the other woman a little wave. “Nice to meet you, Chloe.”

  “Oh yes, of course. And I didn’t mean anything by that.” Her cheeks were crimson again as her hands fluttered in front of her, smoothing down the folds of the jersey. “Colt could absolutely have a new girl. It wouldn’t mean anything to me. I don’t even really know him.”

  Tess offered the woman a kind smile. She had a feeling it did mean something to Chloe, and if she didn’t really know Colt, it was only a matter of time before that situation would be remedied.