by Zoe Dawson
Chapter 13
“Psst, Cadie?”
She looked over her shoulder and frowned at her brother Trace. “Why are you whispering?”
“Because I don’t want Reese or Harley to hear me.”
“Why not?”
“I need your help.” He looked around like he was guarding government secrets and the security of the free world was hanging in the balance.
She smiled. “You need my help?”
“Yes.”
“With what?”
He came over to her, grabbed her arm, and dragged her down the hall to his room. He closed the door. “I want you to help me pick out a…shirt.”
“A shirt? You want my advice on your wardrobe?” She felt his forehead and he pushed her hand away.
“Yes. This is important.”
She rolled her eyes. “Trace, it’s a shirt. It’s not brain surgery.”
“I’m going out tonight and I want to look good. I helped you in time of your mango need,” he countered, looking more serious than he’d ever been about how he dressed.
“All your fillies don’t care what clothes you’re wearing. They only care about getting you out of them.”
“Ha-ha, Cadie. You crack me up.”
“How come you’re not laughing?”
“It’s a little thing I like to call sarcasm.”
She set her hands on her hips. “Oh, why don’t you pick out a shirt by yourself?” She grabbed the doorknob.
He pressed his hand against the door, his face instantly contrite. “I’m sorry. I just need your help.”
“Trace, why is this so important? You’ve gone out plenty of times without my help.”
He looked at her, his eyes electric, then sighed. “Because, I’m going out with Rafferty and I want to look good.”
Cadie couldn’t help it. She simply had the sweetest brothers. She stood there for a minute. “I really like her. So you better not hurt her.”
“I’m not exactly wanting to talk about my dates. I just want your advice on a shirt.”
“Sorry, buster, but the comments come with the advice.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine.”
She smirked. “Do you have some samples you want me to look at?”
The door flew open and Reese popped his head in. “What are you two whispering about in here?”
“Damn,” Trace said. “I can’t get a moment’s peace in this place.”
“You’ll get peace when you die. What’s up?”
“He needs help picking out a shirt.”
Reese looked puzzled. “Are the fashion police after you or something?”
Trace pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “No. I can dress myself. I just needed a woman’s advice.”
“Why?”
“Ohmigod,” Cadie said. “He has a date with Rafferty and he wants to look good.”
“Oooh, little brother, I think Miz Hamilton already thinks you look good,” he said suggestively.
He pointed at Reese. “This…this is why I was trying to keep it quiet, Cadie.”
She tossed her head and sidled past him to his closet. “Well, suck it up. We’re a family. In fact, Reese, go get Harley and we’ll all give him our advice.”
Trace proceeded to parade around in everything he had, but Cadie dismissed them all. “Wait a second. I’ll be right back.”
Trace, bare-chested and a bit panicked, gave Reese a look as she skedaddled out the door. She ran to the boxes that held all their dad’s old stuff. Searching around inside, she pulled out the perfect shirt.
She ran back to Trace’s room. “Here. Try this on.”
“Where did you get this?” His voice was quiet.
“It’s part of the stuff I saved from when we cleaned out Dad’s room. He loved that shirt. Says that Mom really thought he looked handsome in it. I personally love it, too. Try it on? Please.”
He took a breath and she didn’t have to guess what he was thinking about. They were all remembering their wonderful father. She’d watched Trace take care of their dad. When Trace was twelve and their mom had left for the second time, he was the only one who could persuade their dad out of the bar. He’d always been easygoing, but fiercely protective and strong as hell. Even when it got tough, he worked in the garage when their dad couldn’t. He organized the chores, assigned the duties, made sure everyone was situated for school. Almost every cent he made he sent home, and lived on very little. And, the best thing he ever did was learn to cook and teach her.
He blinked a few times and shrugged into the shirt, snapping up the pearl buttons. He smoothed the material down and tucked the ends into his jeans.
“That’s it,” all three of them said in unison.
His eyes moist, he looked at her and she swallowed the hard lump as he smiled softly. “Thank you, Cadie.”
Yeah, if Rafferty Hamilton didn’t fall completely head over heels for her brother, she had misjudged the woman completely. It didn’t help that Cadie considered her serious sister-in-law material. She just hoped that Trace wasn’t too gun-shy. The fact that Rafferty had been in his bed—okay, so they were still fully clothed—had shocked both she and Reese. Trace never brought any woman home. Ever.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. Only time would tell.
—
The Ride ’em Cowboy Saloon was full of people by the time Rafferty walked into the place with Trace’s big hand wrapped around hers.
As they walked up to the bar, a bevy of beauties spotted him, and there was nothing but disappointment on all their faces when they saw her.
Rafferty wanted to shout at them that it was only temporary, not sure if she was trying to convince herself. Trace ordered them two beers as the music blasted out from the speakers. It was difficult to talk, but Rafferty enjoyed the feel of Trace taking up a lot of her personal space. Her first look at him when he’d gotten out of the truck to tow her car sent her radar way into the hot zone. But now that she’d gotten to know him, his attractiveness was into the danger zone. His looks were lethal, but there were seriously strong personality traits going on here that made her interest in him much more than skin deep.
Deeper than Sean, and it made her think about her misgivings about him when they first dated. The warning signs that she ignored or explained away because he seemed the right guy for her to fall in love with, marry, and build a life. He fit the corporate profile, was definitely strong enough to interact with her father, and it sounded like he was looking for all the things that she’d been looking for.
Speaking of him looking good. “That is a beautiful shirt you’re wearing. I love the black and white, and the pearl buttons. It looks authentic cowboy, and you look devastating in it.”
He stared at her for a moment, his expression intent, then he looked down at the floor, his hand curled around hers, big and warm.
His reaction was powerful. There was impact in her compliment, and she caught her breath at the connection she had with this man, driving the realization home that she’d never had that with Sean. It wasn’t authentic; it was manufactured by her own misconceptions of what was right. After Sean left her, she was a mess, but no one knew. When people said she was better off, she kept her emotions in check and nodded. In private, she let herself break down, more because her judgment had been so off. Everything seemed less shiny after that. She saw her job as one where she deceived people until it was time to reveal Hamilton’s plans. She didn’t work with the town to build something; she foisted their vision on the town.
It hit her then. She’d traveled more because she was unhappy, dissatisfied, and getting away had been a temporary fix.
This was so different from her total lack of connection with Sean. Rafferty looked away while her throat cramped up. She wasn’t sure why.
Yeah, it scared her a little, too.
It was like she and Trace met someplace cosmic. She couldn’t describe it any better than that. The way he’d kissed her. She was still getting goose
bumps and thoughts. Plenty of thoughts.
“What did I just say?”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Why? I sense there’s a story here.”
“There is, but I will tell you about it later. Right now, I want to dance with you.”
She pulled back when he went to step forward, his hand still around hers, her confidence a little shaky when it came to this environment and this man. “Trace, I don’t know how.”
“It’s easy. I won’t let you fall. I promise. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
She punched him in the shoulder and laughed at the serious way he’d said he wouldn’t let her fall. It sent her heart into a crazy tailspin. “Pun intended.”
His grin was huge. “Yeah, totally intended.”
He tugged at her again and she took a deep breath, chugged her beer, much to his amusement, and let him drag her out to the dance floor.
“Two-stepping is just like any dance. You gotta let the guy lead.”
“What exactly are you saying? That I’m pushy and opinionated?”
“Yes.”
She stared up into his gorgeous blue eyes. Then they both laughed. “And, in this case, I’m happy to say I have the upper hand since you don’t know the steps.”
“You really are quite the charmer and rather cocky.”
“You have no idea,” he said suggestively. “But we can talk about it later, darlin’.”
“Oh, now that tone I like.” She leaned in and breathed in his scent. “I really like that about you, too.”
“You flirting with me?”
“Yes, and if you don’t get that, I’m doing it all wrong.”
“Oh, I get it, and you ain’t doin’ nothing wrong.”
He stole a quick kiss. Sliding his arm across the back of her neck, he said, “Grab my hand.” She clasped his hand. “Two-stepping is about side-by-side dancing, but we could do it in hold, too. But we’ll try this first. The movement is quick-quick, then slow-slow.”
He was a good teacher. He had her moving along and after a few times around, he was twirling her. She’d been to fundraisers and gallery openings, balls and teas that weren’t this much fun. Of course, having Trace as a partner was what really made the difference.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered in a soft voice that she’d never heard from Sean or any man. It sent chills down her spine. “I’ve wanted to tell you that from the moment I met you.”
“That’s not just sweet talk, is it? So you can steal another kiss?”
“I’ll steal as many as you want me to, unless you’re giving them away for free.”
“I’ll give them away,” she said, smiling at his mischievousness, realizing that everything had a price, and Trace’s mouth and the rest of him would cost her. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew it would.
That raised every defensive wall she had erected to keep on track during all her land-scouting missions. It was partly as an instinctive security measure to protect herself against the possibility that any element of her true purpose would be ferreted out. She made a mistake, and now it was proving almost impossible to pull back and away from this enticing man.
She’d come to care about what happened to his family, to his brother Harley and his sweet and sassy sister Cadie. Reese seemed low key, and she had no idea what was going on with him because of it, but the situation with his brother affected him just as deeply.
There didn’t seem to be any way to now get them out of her heart. Then there was Anzu and her mother Eden. Both wonderful in their own ways and also now ingrained into her heart. Clem, too. They had been texting nonstop about everything, especially her unexpected visit by the hot Dr. Fighting Hawk. Clem had one wicked sense of humor and a dirty mind for such an innocent-looking girl. The pull of that new friendship was hard and deep.
But her life was in New York. Her life had been pledged to her father, to be his wingman as they worked at keeping the legacy of Hamilton going strong now and in the future. She’d been working for him all of her adult life. Her home was New York City, but the bright lights seemed to dim every time she looked at these people and this shabby but exquisite small town.
And she couldn’t stop thinking about that inn with the rainbow and what she would do with it if it were hers. She was dying to see inside it, but she had this deep fear that if she did, something inside her would change irrevocably.
“I couldn’t pass that up, princess,” he drawled, and her heart skipped at the way he said that endearment, or it might have been the kiss he was supposed to have stolen. Instead he lingered over it.
After dancing most of the night, they left the honky-tonk and headed for his truck. Once inside, he blasted the heater as the temperature had fallen. “Winter’s on its way,” he murmured. She wrapped her arms around herself as he drove back to Laurel Falls and parked in front of Eden’s.
“Have a good night, princess,” he said.
“Just princess tonight, huh?”
“Yeah,” he murmured. “Just a beautiful princess.” He didn’t lose that amazing eye contact with her. Just as straightforward as he always was, she just couldn’t define the look, a kind of reflective, rigidly contained expression, as if he had acquired something he hadn’t expected to acquire. It made her chest ache just to look at him. She was a little disappointed that there wasn’t someplace they could go for privacy. But neither his home, nor Eden’s held any of that.
When he put the truck in gear, she made no move to get out.
As if against his better judgment, he cupped her face. “Go, darlin’. It’s safer if you go now.”
Her system overloaded, her pulse heavy, her heart laboring against it, Rafferty stared at him, sure that if he removed his hand, she would crumple. And he was as caught up as she. His thumb stroked across her mouth.
“You’re not going.”
Mesmerized by the look in his eyes, she somehow managed to swallow, her voice so uneven it didn’t sound like her own. “You’re not helping, cowboy.”
Smiling slightly, he stroked her lips, his voice softer, huskier, and more seductive. He removed his hand and she still didn’t move.
“You’re being as stubborn as a bucking bronc, and the ride is just as bumpy.” He slid his fingers along her neck, his touch making her shiver, then he rubbed his thumb against her frantically beating pulse point.
“You’re spurring me on, mister.”
“Yehaw. Ride ’em, cowboy,” he said, his voice sexy gruff. “I’m going to need more than two minutes.”
That admission did unbearable things to her heart, and she closed her eyes against the sudden fullness in her chest.
Trace shifted his hold, taking her face in his hands. “Look at me, babe,” he whispered. “I need you to look at me.”
Feeling as if she were drowning, she opened her eyes, drugged by sensation, paralyzed by his touch. He stared at her, his expression strained. She wanted to be in his arms, and with a soft curse, he was already reaching out for her, hauling her across his lap. Then he tipped her face up and slowly lowered his head, and Rafferty made a helpless sound and let her eyes drift shut. Exerting pressure on her jaw, he opened her mouth, then covered it with a wet, deep, searching kiss that drove every ounce of strength out of her body and made her knees buckle.
Gathering her up in a hard, enveloping embrace, he drew her between his thighs, working his mouth hungrily against hers, drawing her hips even closer. Rafferty couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think; all she could do was hang on and ride out the thousand sensations exploding in her. Trace caught her by the hips and molded her flush against him, his mouth wide and hot as he ran his hand under her coat and shirt and up her back. He emitted a low sound of approval when he encountered nothing but bare skin, and he slid his hand up her bare torso, cupping her breast, stroking her with his thumb.
His touch drove the breath right out of her, and she made another helpless sound against his mouth. Trace tightened his arm around her back and dragge
d his mouth away, his breathing labored. Her heart racing and her pulse thick and heavy, she turned her face against his neck, the warmth of his hand filling her with a heavy weakness.
“God, princess, you feel so damn good,” he whispered raggedly, dragging his fingers against her hardened nipple. Her whole body trembling, Rafferty turned her face tighter against the soft skin of his neck, hanging on to him with a frantic strength, the feel of him against her totally disabling her.
Dragging his hand free of her clothes, he slid it under her hair to cup the back of her neck, holding her even closer. “We’re not going to do anything in this small space and certainly not in the center of town,” he murmured unevenly, his touch meant to comfort as he stroked her skin. He took a deep breath, rubbing his hand up her neck, then spoke again, a hint of amusement in his voice. “I want room to explore and maneuver.”
“Spoken like a true marine.”
He found her mouth again and his kiss branded her all the way down to her soul.
This had started off as nothing but a broken-down car in a broken-down town. Stranded with no hotel, no amenities, and all these wonderful, hospitable people around her. And now she was here in this terrible predicament. She’d found land that she wanted to bid on, but she was keeping it a secret from everyone, including Trace, who was on the town council. She couldn’t tell him. It was strictly against Hamilton policy, but this was a different situation. She had to keep her head on straight. She had to hold onto her sanity.
This wasn’t supposed to happen this way and she was just going to be here for a few more days. Her feelings would fade once she got back on the road.
When he broke away from her, his breathing labored, his voice whiskey soft, he said, “I know this is temporary, but I want to see you again. I want to…” He swore softly. “I want it. I know you’re leaving, and I’m not being exactly rational or articulate at the moment.”
“That makes two of us,” she responded, breathless and just as jumbled up inside. “We’ll have a good time together for however long it lasts, agreed?”