His mom came out with a compact bag. “This should hold you until morning. Or mid-morning, in your case.”
“Thanks so much.”
“I know better than to invite you for breakfast.”
He chuckled. “Good call. If you’ll be around, though, I’ll stop by for a cup of coffee after I take care of Winston.”
“I’ll be around.” She gave him an assessing once-over. “You look good.”
“Probably the haircut.”
“It’s more than that, although from what I can see it’s a nice cut. You look relaxed and yet purposeful.”
“I’ll give Nicole credit for that.”
“I will, too. She impressed me at the shower on Sunday.”
“I thought she was skittish?”
“She was, but she demonstrated grace under fire. Oh, and one other fun thing. She taught Faith to dance Thriller.”
“No kidding! I would have loved to see that.”
“You might get to. Just one line dance was enough to light a fire under that woman. When she gets ten or fifteen minutes free, she’s up at the house watching dance videos and practicing. She wants to perfect her moves so she can take part in the dancing during the wedding festivities. I’ve helped her with things like waltzes and whatnot. I always was better at leading than following.”
That made him laugh. “I could say something about that but I won’t.”
“Yeah, better not.”
“Couldn’t Cody help her, too? He used to be Mr. Popularity on the dance floor at the GG.”
“I think she wants to learn on her own and surprise him with how well she does it. Don’t say anything to him.”
“Okay.”
“You know, I am curious about one thing. Have you met Nicole’s crazy cat?”
“He’s not so crazy. In fact, he’s—”
“I knew it! I knew you’d get around the cat situation. That’s good. I admired Nicole’s dedication to the cause, but she doesn’t need to have her entire life ruled by her cat.”
“I’m not saying Jimi’s ready for an open house, yet, but it’s a start.”
His mom stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “It is and I’m thrilled. Now ride off into the sunset, cowboy, and finish writing your song. Your public is waiting.”
“Mom, I don’t have a—”
“I’m not talking about millions. I’m talking about the good people of Eagles Nest, who have loved your music ever since you played for that animal shelter fund raiser.”
“You would bring that up.”
“That girl wasn’t worth your time. But I think this one might be.”
He met his mother’s clear-eyed gaze. “She is, Mom. I won’t make any predictions about where this is going because we’ve both been through some stuff, but she has a good heart.”
She patted his chest. “So do you. I’ll look forward to coffee in the morning, son.”
“You bet.” He swung into the saddle and touched the brim of his hat. “See you then.” A few yards away he turned in the saddle and she was still there, watching him leave. He waved and she waved back.
He hadn’t considered how the debacle with Charity must have affected her. He’d been too mired in his own tragedy to take note of anyone else’s pain. But her reaction to his new lease on life said so much. While he’d hurt, she’d hurt. That truth hadn’t sunk in before.
Her command to ride off into the sunset made him smile. She knew him so well. The trail to his favorite spot took him due west and he’d always timed these trips for sundown. His brothers were all about daylight but he was at his best when darkness arrived.
Riding into the campsite was like coming home. He hadn’t been out here in more than a year, but nothing much had changed. The wide clearing was anchored with one ancient juniper that still managed to put out a few clumps of dark green needles. Dismounting, he placed a hand on the gnarled trunk as if greeting an old friend.
Winston snorted and pawed the ground.
“Oh, right. Your carrots. Hope Mom remembered because I didn’t.” He dug out the food she’d packed and found a bag of carrots. He fed several to the horse as the peace of the clearing seeped into his soul and dusk crept over the landscape. “Well, Winston, we made it back.”
By four-thirty in the morning, Bryce had Winston bedded down in his stall. He found some paper and a pencil in the tack room, wrote his mom a quick note and tacked it to Winston’s stall door. He promised to come by for coffee later in the day. Then he hopped in his truck and drove to Nicole’s house.
Damn. It wasn’t even five yet. She needed her sleep. But she’d want to know about this. Okay, he was going in. Grabbing his guitar, he climbed the steps to her porch and crossed to her front door.
He hated to ring the doorbell. That would startle her. Maybe if he tapped on the door, instead, she’d eventually hear that. At least it would give him something to do. He tapped for a while. Nothing. Waited. Tapped some more. Still nothing. Or was that her on the stairs?
She threw open the door and he barreled through it, closing it quickly behind him. “I did it!” Setting his guitar on the floor, he scooped her into his arms and kissed her. His hat fell off, but so what. He just needed to hold her and keep on kissing her because she was the reason, the whole reason…
Eventually he had to come up for air, but he kept a tight hold on her while he dragged in a few quick breaths. “Sorry if I woke you up.”
“Jimi did.” She was gasping, too, but grinning. “You finished it!”
“I did, and I had to come straight here, but it’s really early, and I’m sorry about that.”
“I’m not.”
“I can see that.” The house was dark but enough light from the porch came through the etched glass in the door that he had a good view of her smiling face. And her pink chin where his beard had scratched her. “I gave you whisker burn.”
“I don’t care! Are you going to play it for me?”
“That was the idea. But I had to kiss you, first, and thank you. I couldn’t have done this if you hadn’t come into my life.”
“Oh, Bryce.” She teared up a little. “It’s been my pleasure.” She glanced around. “Where should we do this?”
“Your living room furniture scares me. I’ll break it for sure. Let’s go in the kitchen.”
“That works.”
He reached for his guitar case and then his hat. It was his black one and hard to see in the dark. When he finally spied the murky outline of the hat and grabbed the brim, he encountered resistance. “Oh, my God.”
“What?”
He started laughing. “Jimi’s in my hat.”
“Just dump him out.”
“No, I don’t want to risk agitating him. I’ll worry about it later.”
“You may be sorry.”
“I won’t. It’s only a hat.” He followed her into the kitchen.
“I’ll just turn on the little light over the stove so we don’t blind ourselves.”
“Perfect.” He put his guitar case on the table. “I thought I’d be out there longer, but sometime around three-thirty, it all came together.”
“I’m so excited for you.” She sat on one of the kitchen chairs.
“I’m excited for myself.” He took out his trusty Martin. “I’m lucky I got it nailed down so fast. Saved my fingers a little bit.”
“Let me see.” She held out her hand and he placed his in it, palm up.
“Ouch. Maybe you shouldn’t play it for me.”
“Oh, no, I’m gonna play it. Once through won’t be too bad.” He took a seat and rested the guitar on his thigh.
“Do you have a name for it?”
“I’ve had that for a while. It’s called Whenever I Waltz with You.”
“Bryce!” Her hand went to her mouth and her eyes filled.
“Just listen.” Clearing his throat, he kept his attention on her as he began to sing. He’d put it all in there—the magic, the sensuality, the pleasure, the love—that last one w
as something they might not be ready to talk about yet, but he couldn’t have finished the song without it.
Tears streamed down her cheeks and she swiped them away. She gulped back a sob a time or two, but she never took her gaze from his. When he finished, she swallowed and took a shaky breath. “I love it.”
“I was hoping you would.”
She sniffed and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her pajama top.
“Here.” He pulled a bandanna out of his back pocket.
She took it and smiled through a fresh bout of tears. “That’s…so perfect. You even have a bandanna for when I lose it.”
Happiness filled him to the brim. If he was any happier, he’d pop like a gigantic balloon. “You were supposed to lose it.”
She mopped her face and blew her nose. “No one’s ever written a song for me.” She stood and held out her hand. “If you’ll put down that guitar and come upstairs, I’d like to show my appreciation.”
“What about Jimi?”
“I imagine he’s too busy enjoying his new hat to care about us.”
“Okay, then.” He tucked the Martin back in its case and let her lead him up the stairs and into her bedroom. The cat didn’t follow so he closed the door. So far, so good, but he didn’t waste any time getting out of his clothes.
She was quicker than he was because she had less to take off, but instead of climbing in, she motioned for him to go ahead of her. “Lie down,” she murmured. “And let me love you.”
Heart pounding, he stretched out on the bed. Anticipation had pumped all his blood south, so when she took a condom from the drawer, he reached for it. “I can put that on.”
“So can I. Your only job is to lie there and enjoy yourself.” Smiling, she glanced at him. “Judging from your confused expression you’re not familiar with that concept.”
“I can’t—” His throat didn’t seem to want to work right. “I can’t say that I am.”
“Then it’ll be my pleasure to introduce you to it.” Unwrapped condom in hand, she climbed into bed, straddled his thighs and rolled on the condom.
Watching a beautiful naked woman suit up his bad boy was a treat. But that was nothing compared to the thrill when she braced her palms on his chest, held his gaze and gradually lowered herself, inch by inch.
Her voice was like velvet. “I think you like this.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He ran his hands down the silky expanse of her back and cupped her firm bottom. “I thought I’d only get to play you my song.”
“And then leave?” She eased upward and slid back down.
He sucked in a breath. “There’s Jimi, and work, and…” He moaned softly as she began a slow rhythm.
“And what?”
“I forgot.” He pressed his fingertips into her smooth bottom as she continued to pump. “Damn, that feels good.”
“For me, too.” Leaning forward, she slowed the pace and brushed a kiss over his lips. “I love my song.”
“I loved writing it for you.”
“When you said you were writing one, I never dreamed…” She sighed and kissed him softly. Then she drew back and looked down at him, warmth in her eyes. “Thank you.”
His breath caught. She was falling for him. He was a lucky, lucky man.
Chapter Twenty
The next few nights were magical for Nicole. After closing the GG, Bryce would arrive at her house with his guitar and they’d play duets until a particularly sensual one would make them abandon the music and head upstairs.
Their sweet routine was interrupted by the bachelor and bachelorette parties on Tuesday and she resigned herself to not seeing him until Wednesday night. But halfway through the bachelorette party at the ranch, Mandy announced they were going to crash the bachelor party at the Guzzling Grizzly.
Kendra and Jo must have suspected that was coming because they’d had very little to drink and were prepared to drive. Kendra took a group in the ranch van and Jo took the rest in her SUV. Nicole ended up in the van sitting between Faith and April.
April had been questioning the plan from the moment Mandy had suggested it. “What if they have a bunch of strippers there?” she asked the group in general.
“They won’t have strippers,” Kendra said. “Not with Ryker in charge of it.”
“Why would they have strippers?” Faith sounded confused. “I don’t get it.”
“Some men think this is their last time to be wild and crazy bachelors,” Nicole said. “So they hire strippers and watch raunchy movies. It’s juvenile, but it happens.”
Faith shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. What a stupid thing to do. I think Kendra’s right. I can’t see Ryker going for that nonsense.”
“I don’t, either,” April said, “but when I asked him what they had planned, he wouldn’t tell me. He said it was special guy stuff and he wasn’t supposed to reveal it.”
Kendra laughed. “I’ll bet that’s what Zane told Mandy, too, which explains why she wants to crash the party. She can’t stand not knowing what they’re up to.”
“I didn’t think to ask Cody,” Faith said. “I just figured they’d get drunk, listen to loud music and eat things that were bad for them. That’s the way the ranch hands I’ve known like to party.”
“That’s exactly what I expect to find,” Kendra said. “We’ll discover the music’s too loud, they’re all wasted and we might as well head back to the good party at my house.”
Nicole agreed with Kendra that was the likely scenario. But as she walked to the front door with everyone else, loud music wasn’t blasting from inside. Instead the noise coming through the door included explosions, gunfire and the revving of high-powered engines. Wait. Was that a cow? And the crash of bowling pins? The guys were yelling, cussing and laughing like fiends.
She glanced at April, who shrugged and shook her head.
Kendra went to the front door and discovered it was locked. She pounded on the door, and when no one came, she pounded louder. “Open up! It’s your mother!”
Seconds later, Ryker peered out. “Mom?” Then he glanced past her. “What are you all doing here?”
Mandy stepped forward. “Crashing your party! What the devil are you doing in there?”
“Hey, Mandy.” Ryker gave her a quick smile before glancing over his shoulder. More yelling and cussing was punctuated with you suck and you suck worse. Ryker whistled through his teeth. “Tone it down! The women are here!”
The yelling stopped immediately but the explosions and other strange sounds continued.
“Why are the women here?” That was Bryce.
“Mandy says they’re crashing.”
“Oh, what the hell.” Zane sounded as if he’d had a few pints. “What the bride wants, the bride gets. Better let ‘em in.”
Ryker opened the door and stepped back. “Welcome, ladies.”
Nicole filed in with everyone else and once she was inside, she started laughing. Not strippers. Not raunchy movies.
Video games. On two big screens. Played by cowboys. Clearly heavy drinking had been going on because several of the guys wore their hats sideways. Not Bryce or Ryker, but Cody, Trev and Zane had their hats at goofy angles, as did several of their friends.
Ryker surveyed the women and cleared his throat. “I don’t know if any of you want to play, but on the left screen, we have the newer games and on the right screen are the old standards.”
Deidre looked to her right and did a double-take. “Holy Moly! You have Pacman?”
“Yes, ma’am, we do. There’s also Tetris, Space Invad—”
“Hot damn.” Deidre snapped her fingers in the air. “Gentlemen, stand back. The Whine and Cheese Club is in the house.” She motioned to Kendra, Jo, Christine and Judy. “Ladies, let’s show ‘em how it’s done.”
April stared at Nicole. “Looks like this is the good party.”
“I’m in,” Faith said. “I used to play these games in the bar when I was hanging out with the ranch hands. They taught me some moves.”
“Okay, then,” April said. “I guess we’re staying. Come on, Nicole. We might as well get a beer. Looks like Bryce is pouring.”
“Sure does.” She followed April over to the bar where Bryce was setting up a row of foaming mugs.
He smiled as they approached. “Hey, you two. Welcome to the Guzzling Grizzly.”
“Thanks.” April picked up a mug. “Whose idea was it to play video games?”
“Ryker’s. He’s a ninja. Wins every game he plays. The guy’s hand-eye coordination is phenomenal, although I probably don’t have to tell you that.”
April laughed. “I’m aware. But I’m no slouch at video games, either. Maybe I’ll challenge him.” She glanced at Nicole. “Want to go play?”
“Sure.” She picked up a beer and sent a wink Bryce’s way. “Thanks. Interesting party.”
“Actually, it’s been great. Good call on Ryker’s part. Listen, before you take off, could I see you for a minute?”
April gave her a knowing smile. “Catch up with me later, girlfriend.”
“Will do.” She put down her mug and looked at him. “What’s up?”
“If you’ll come back to the office for a minute, I need to talk to you.” He walked out from behind the bar.
She’d had just enough wine to put her in a sassy mood. “Oh, do you, now?”
“Sadly, yes. I’d love to turn it into something else, but I’m the host of this shindig and can’t duck out for long.” He held out his hand.
She took it and give it a squeeze. “Then we’ll make it a quickie. I mean quick.”
He gazed at her with a bemused expression. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you tipsy. It’s kinda fun.”
“Glad you’re enjoying it.”
“Oh, I am. Wish I could enjoy it more.” He led her into the office, closed the door and twisted the lock.
“Are you positive we’re not going to have sex in here?”
“Absolutely positive. I don’t even have a condom on me. I have to check with you on something.”
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