Hayley raised her eyebrows. “Because if you’re not, you might finally succumb to Cole’s hotness?”
“Yes! No!” She buried her face in her hands, then pulled them away, squinting. “Oh no.”
“What?” Kyla leaned in.
“My hands are tingly. And I have four of them.”
Hayley laughed. “Our job here is done.”
“Not funny, people.” Jess sat back, urging her eyes to focus. Exactly how much alcohol had she downed, anyway? She looked around the old-fashioned saloon-slash-dance hall, taking in the cedar-planked walls and Western décor. The big dance floor was worn and dented, and the tables had definitely seen better days, but even with a busload of tourists vying for dancing space, it still felt homey.
She’d been to Carefree, Montana enough times now that, as she scanned the crowd, she recognized a few faces. The locals tended to hang closer to the bar, or come early and grab tables in the back corner like she and the girls had. That left the tourist crowd milling around or out on the dance floor. Easy pickings for the ranch hand crew that ambled into town on Thursday and Friday nights, and she could already see some of the guys choosing their targets.
Two years ago, she, Hayley, and Kyla had been those tourists. The three of them had come to Carefree on a mission to get Kyla’s mind and body on the path to healing after a hellish year, and wow, had they succeeded. She’d met Decker, the stars had aligned, and one year later, they’d all been back out here for a wedding.
And then Hayley, who’d sworn off men for-absolutely-ever, finally fell hard for Daniel at said wedding, and bam. Here they were again. Another wedding.
Jess sighed. She loved weddings. Loved weddings. She even loved being a bridesmaid, though it was the most loathed job in the world to most thirtyish single women. Always a bridesmaid and all that. But there was nothing she loved more than watching two people pledge everlasting love to each other.
Especially people who’d never thought of themselves as the marrying kind. Those weddings were the absolute best.
However, this wedding left her as the last gal standing in her particular singles corral, and it was starting to get a little lonely in there. Now that both Hayley and Kyla had moved out to Montana, her Boston circle had shrunk frighteningly. She talked more with her mail carrier than anyone else in the city.
Did she feel abandoned? Yes. More so tonight, but that might be the tequila speaking.
“So Hayley—” Jess held up another tiny cup. “Given the fact that you’re apparently going through with this wedding, I think we need to have a word.”
Hayley laughed. “Are you going to give me the birds-and-bees speech? Because I hate to tell you, but it might be a little late.”
“Nope. I’m not talking anatomy with a veterinarian who’s marrying another veterinarian. I assume you’ve got that covered.”
“I can say with complete confidence that we do.” She winked.
“I wanted to talk about some arrangements we made a long time ago. The kind of arrangements that friends are supposed to honor until death does them part and all that.”
Hayley laughed. “Uh-oh. She’s already forming her words very carefully. Slow down, honey, or Cole will be picking you up off the floor when he gets here.”
“No one will be picking me up from anywhere.” Jess shook her head, waving away Hayley’s joking concern. “And don’t try to change the subject. I was talking about us having a talk.”
“Okay. Let’s have a talk. What supposed arrangements do you want to talk about?”
“I want to talk about you abandoning me.”
Hayley sat back, surprised. “What?”
“You. Abandoning. Me.” Jess felt her pointer finger go outward and then back in, but it looked funny. Uh-oh. “And how much tequila does Salty put in these things, anyway?”
“A lot. And I apologize for abandoning you. In my defense—in our defense—Kyla and I keep trying to get you to move out here, too.”
“I don’t just mean the part about you abandoning me in the big, mean city. I meant in general. We had a plan.”
“A plan.”
“Yes, a plan. You not getting married was part of that plan. Remember? We were going to be the swinging single chicks at the retirement home? Remember? Roommates on the dementia ward?”
Hayley laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll totally outlive Daniel, so we can still be roommates.”
“Pfft. You’ll have eight kids by then, and they’ll be fighting to take care of you. You’ll never have to go to a home. Me, on the other hand—I’ll probably be in that scary, smelly place that only hires ex-con nurses’ aides.”
“If I have eight kids, I’ll be in the dementia ward long before you get there, honey.”
“But you’ll be happy, right? You’ll be there with all your friends— friends who maybe will just live in your head, but still. Friends! You’ll have friends who stay with you and love you.”
Hayley reached for Jess’s cup, which Jess realized was a little wobbly. Then she handed her an icy glass.
“Okay, sweets. Time for some water.”
Jess took a gulp. “Water feels so good out here.” She closed her eyes tightly. “Tastes. I mean it tastes so good out here.”
She saw Kyla raise her eyebrows at Hayley. “Maybe it’s time to dance off some of that alcohol?”
“No, I just need to water it down a little. You guys go ahead. I’ll guard the table.” Right. She’d guard. Then she wouldn’t have to try to get to her feet and find out how wobbly they were. How had she gone from being determined not to drink a drop, right straight to flat-out tipsy?
Hayley smirked. “Oh, come on. You probably haven’t danced since last year when we were here.”
“I danced yesterday, sweets. And I think I’m not going to do it again. Not in public, anyway. Cole could come anytime, and I am not dancing in front of him. He’s already had enough entertainment at my expense this week. And furthermore—”
Kyla laughed. “She just said furthermore.”
“Mm-hmm.” Hayley smiled. “And we know what that means.” She made a slicing motion across her neck.
Jess growled. “But I think I discovered I actually like Salty’s tequila. You can’t shut me off now. I’m just getting good at it.”
“Come on, tequila girl. Let’s dance.”
“Nope. I’m fine. You guys g’ahead. I’ll just be sitting right here.”
Hayley smiled. “I’ve already abandoned our life plan. Can’t abandon you at the table, hon. Let’s show these tourists how dancing is done at Salty’s.”
Before she could argue, Kyla had one hand and Hayley had the other, and then she was out on the wooden floor, and her feet were moving. The rhythm of the song was a little screwy—her feet were fine—but other than that, it was okay. She could do this. So maybe she didn’t have the natural grace Cole had. Maybe she’d never learned to line dance. She could still hold her own in a little country bar, right?
She lifted her eyes from where they’d been glued on her feet, and found Kyla and Hayley looking at her with matching expressions. “You two do not look like you’re having fun.”
“Of course we are!” Kyla’s voice was overly bright. “But how about you? You doing okay?”
“I’m fine. Totally fine. Absolutely, splendiferously fine.” Jess nodded her head once, emphatically. “See? I can even say splendiferous. That’s how fine I am.”
They exchanged another look.
“Stop looking at each other. It’s giving me the creepies.”
“The creepies?” Hayley laughed.
“Yes, the creepies. You keep looking at each other like I’m one step shy of the nutter-house. Jeesh, I’m just a little tippy. Tipsy. Yes, tipsy.”
“Tipsy isn’t really your thing, that’s all.” Kyla smiled gently. “We probably should have cut you off about four Jell-Os ago.”
“I’m fine! Totally great! We’re getting married in a few days! I mean, Hayley. Hayley’s getting married in
a few days. But we get to be there, too!”
Jess paused. Looking at her two friends, she felt a sudden and overwhelming urge to hug them both. She reached out and pulled them close, hearing her voice as if it wasn’t quite coming from her own body. “Have I told you how much I love you two?”
—
“Oh, boy.” Cole spotted the women as soon as he and Daniel walked through the door. “Looks like somebody’s been hitting the Jell-O already.”
“What is with these three and their Jell-O?” Daniel sidled toward the bar. Cole followed him, hardly taking his eyes off from Jess as he walked. God, she was gorgeous tonight. She’d pulled her hair into some sort of half-up, half-down configuration so it draped down her back, but he could see every curve of her face.
She had on a sleeveless, dark pink sundress, and her wrists sparkled with bracelets. As he watched her, it was all he could do not to march right out onto the dance floor and take her in his arms.
But no. Hadn’t he told Daniel just the other day that he wasn’t going to even try? Hadn’t he told himself that just yesterday—one hundred times?
Yeah, he had, and he’d meant it. But damn, the woman intrigued him. Despite his best attempts at self-preservation, all he could think about was getting closer to her, making her trust him—helping her chase away her demons, whatever they were.
And that was getting him nowhere fast.
He signaled Salty, and though there was a sea of tourists between him and the bar, Salty handed over two brews and waved off Cole’s money. “Save it for the dollar dance,” he winked.
“So”—Cole clinked his bottle against Daniel’s as they turned to scan the dance floor—“too bad about this wedding thing. You could have had your pick of hot singles tonight.”
Daniel laughed. “Little late to back out now.”
“No ring on your finger yet.”
“Would you want to be the guy who left Hayley Scampini at the altar?”
“Not if I wanted to keep all my parts intact.”
“Exactly.”
They surveyed the crowd in silence for a few minutes, but Cole was only pretending to look at anyone but Jess. She and the other gals were still dancing, but they were looking decidedly uncoordinated.
Daniel pointed his beer at their table, which was littered with tiny white cups. “How much Jell-O do you think they’ve downed already?”
“Enough that they’re going to be reaching for the Advil in the morning.”
“Whose idea was it to do this combined-party thing, anyway? And how did they get such a head start on us?”
Cole laughed. “It was your fiancée’s idea, remember? It was the best way she could guarantee we wouldn’t hire a stripper for you.”
“Would you have hired me a stripper?”
“No. Hayley would’ve castrated us both.” Cole looked toward the door. “Where’s the rest of the crew?”
“They’re probably with the stripper.” Daniel mock-sighed. “Oh, well. Should we head for the girls? Looks like they might need us to hold them up soon.”
Cole felt his eyes narrow as he scanned the crowd protectively. Almost everyone looked harmless, but there were a couple of cowboy-yokels he didn’t recognize over in the back. They were upending their beers as their eyes glommed onto the trio of Whisper Creek women in the middle of the dance floor.
“Who are those guys by the back door?” He pointed with his beer.
Daniel followed his gaze. “They work out at the Double-K. Brody hired them about a month ago.”
“You know anything about ’em?”
“I know they’re eyeing our women.” Daniel took another drink. “Which might worry me, if I thought said women couldn’t hold their own.”
“They might be able to hold their own, but I’m not sure how well they’re holding their liquor. Hayley might come with steel-toed stilettos, but I’ve gotta watch out for the other two. Decker’ll have my head if somebody makes a move on Kyla under my watch.”
Daniel laughed. “I don’t think you need to worry about Kyla. She’s been out here long enough to recognize the type. She’ll be fine. Plus, she’s got the go-away ring on her left hand.”
“And we all know how many guys see that as a challenge, rather than a deterrent.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s not Kyla or Hayley you’re worried about, buddy.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “Not going there.”
“Bullshit. You’d go there in one second flat, if you had the chance.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He watched Jess put her arms up in the air and turn a slow circle, wide smile on her face. “Maybe.”
Daniel tipped his head. “I think you should go for it. What can you lose?”
“Let’s see. My dignity? My self-esteem? All hope for my future?”
“See? Totally worth the risk.”
“Right. Thanks. It’s not that simple.”
Daniel laughed. “Really? You’re going to talk to me about simple? I met Hayley when I was up to my ears in pink laundry and had my mother-in-law threatening to sue me for custody of the girls. I think I might get the prize for complicated. Sorry.”
“Okay, okay.” Cole nodded. “You’re right on that score. Still can’t believe she signed up for marriage with the likes of you, but there’s a touch of crazy in everybody, right?”
Daniel socked his arm. “You’ll see. Someday you’ll want it, too. You’ll want the crazy right along with the rest.”
“I don’t know.” Cole shook his head. “Not sure I’m equipped for any of it, especially the crazy.”
“You say that now.”
“I mean that now.”
Daniel nodded. “I know. But seriously. That woman’s going to be on a plane again, heading east again, and where are you going to be? Right here where you started, right here beating yourself up over not at least giving it a try.”
“Don’t make me call you Doctor Phil again.”
“I’m not kidding. Mark my words. You sit back and let this opportunity go by, you’re going to regret it. Next time she comes out to visit, she could bring somebody with her. Maybe a boyfriend, maybe a fiancé. Hell, maybe you’ll be heading to Boston for her wedding.”
“Shut up.”
“Would suck, right?”
Cole shook his head, taking a long drink of his beer. Suck didn’t even begin to describe the fist that clenched his gut when he thought about Jess with someone else. For these past two years, he had kept her single in his mind, because the thought of someone else touching her— kissing her, loving her—was too much to handle.
He looked at her, laughing as the three of them sang along with the cheesy country song the deejay was playing. Yeah, maybe he’d be playing with fire. But hell if he could think of anything but her these days, and that thinking was getting him nowhere but frustrated and agitated.
Daniel was right. Next year at this time she could be engaged, married, or hell—maybe not even come back out to Whisper Creek. He sighed. Shit.
But if he moved too fast, she’d shut down and he’d have lost his chance forever. Hell if he knew where the sweet spot was there.
But he’d be damned if he didn’t want to find out.
Tonight.
Chapter 14
“I hate tourist season. We might be safer standing up.” Hayley grumbled as yet another tipsy woman jostled into her head. “It’s like a ranch town version of reality television.”
Kyla laughed. “You mean beer-soaked and loud?”
“You know it!” Hayley swept her arm in an arc. “And before you say it, Kyla—I know. You depend on tourist season, so I’m trying to learn to love it. I mean, look around, ladies! Check out all of the eligible men!”
Jess raised her eyebrows. “I see two, and they’re not pretty.”
Hayley smiled. “That might be two more than the usual pickings. I think those are Brody’s new guys.”
Jess wrinkled her nose. “Brody obviously hires by skill alone.”
“He can�
��t help it,” Kyla said. “Our ranch already has all the hot cowboys.”
Jess sat back in her chair, perusing the crowd on the dance floor, trying to get her eyes to focus properly. “I still can’t believe you’ve convinced Decker and Cole to pose for a Whisper Creek calendar. What did you have to promise them, anyway?”
“Nothing.” Kyla shrugged.
Hayley snorted. “Baloney. Tell the truth. Wait. Let me guess. Pies.”
“Oh, please.” Kyla shrugged. “I like baking pies.”
“You like baking two a week? For the next year?”
She sighed, smiling. “I will learn to like it, I guess.”
Jess laughed. “You bribed the men with pie? How classic fifties of you!”
“I know. I’m not exactly proud. But it worked, right? Those calendars are going to fly out of here!”
Jess shook her head. “Stop rubbing imaginary money between your fingers. I think Hayley has already acknowledged that you’re a genius.”
“Ha.” Hayley shook her head. “I only acknowledged that it was refreshing to see someone put an MBA to actual use.”
“Selling calendars?” Jess laughed.
Hayley shrugged. “You take what you can get, right?” Then she turned to Jess. “Speaking of which—”
Jess tipped her head. “Speaking of which—what?”
“Cole’s here.”
Jess’s stomach jumped. Of course she’d chosen the one chair that faced the wall. “He is?”
“Yup.” Hayley smiled. “And he hasn’t taken his eyes off you since he walked in.”
“Stop it. How long has he been here?”
Kyla looked at her watch. “About ten minutes, and it’s true. He’s trying to pretend he’s not looking, but he’s looking.” She paused. “Ooh! It looks like he and Daniel are on their way over here to play knights in shining armor—or leather, as I prefer mine.”
Jess fought the urge to turn around, but didn’t have to do so for long. Cole was suddenly at her shoulder, and as he leaned down toward her ear, she caught a subtle whiff of his aftershave.
“How’s it going, cowgirl?” He pointed to the tiny tower of cups she’d just finished building. “Are you drinking these to get ready for the dancing? Or to recover from it?”
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