Trouble in Dixie

by Becky McGraw

  Katie and Karlie came back down the steps of the deck, and he saw in the spotlight that illuminated them, neither was happy. Chase Rhodes was right behind Katie and followed her down the steps and along the path to the neighboring dock, where Tommy saw a huge speed boat docked. It was painted fire engine red with yellow, white and black tribal waves, and had ‘She Devil” emblazoned in between the waves.

  How appropriate, Tommy thought, and how fucking heart-breaking. He fought the urge to go over there and beg her not to get into that boat with the guy, but he didn’t. His hand squeezed the coat hanger tighter, and he hit a hot spot and yelped, then dropped it into the flames. He felt like his heart had just went up in flames too, as he heard Chase crank up his bad ass boat, then saw him look over his shoulder to back away from the dock. Katie sat down beside him in the co-pilot seat and smiled over at him.

  Katie felt like her heart was bleeding when she’d looked over and saw Tommy Tucker standing there with Dixie. Her sister had invited them here, and Katie had a bad feeling she knew why. Karlie was playing matchmaker and messing around with her life. When she went inside the lake house, she had intended to confront her, but Dixie had been with her, so she hadn’t.

  Another reason she’d gone inside is because she wasn’t going to let Tommy see her cry—or throw up the marshmallows that Chase had roasted for her earlier. It seemed like her stomach was on a constant roller coaster ride these days, and she had to be careful what she ate, or she’d lose it. Even smells caused her stomach to pitch. Next week, after the closing, she was going to make an appointment with the doctor in town and make sure she didn’t have an ulcer, or something worse.

  After she seated herself in the boat, beside Chase, Katie smiled and watched his muscles flex as he guided the boat from the dock out onto the lake. Once they were under way, she handed him his hot dog, and said, “Thanks for roasting these.”

  He gave her his blindingly white, mega-watt smile and took it from her, “Thanks for coming out with me. There’s a cove out here that I want to show you, it’s beautiful at night.”

  “This is very relaxing, and I need that,” she said with a chuckle.

  Chase looked over at her curiously with his blue eyes shining in the moonlight, “You been stressed out, or something?”

  “Or something…having a crisis, since my sister got married. I just don’t know what to do with myself,” she admitted and dropped her chin.

  “You said you two were team ropers in the rodeo? Can’t you find another partner?” he suggested.

  “I tried out another partner, and it just didn’t work. Karlie and I have this connection, we were unbeatable. But that’s not what has me upset, it’s a lot more than that. I always took care of her, got her out of trouble, and now I only have to take care of myself. It’s…disconcerting.”

  “Aah…my younger brother is married now, and I had the same problem, when he got married. Suddenly, he grew up, and didn’t need me anymore, so my little sister kind of got all my attention after that. She didn’t like it much,” he said with a hoot of laughter and shook his head.

  This guy was really nice, and really good looking…smoking hot actually, so why the hell didn’t he get her engine revving. He would have a few months ago, that’s for sure. Now, all she could think of was the hurt look on Tommy’s face as he stood by the fire watching them leave. Karlie never should have invited him to the lake house. This was all her fault, and Katie waved goodbye to any hope of relaxing this weekend. She knew why her sister had done it. She thought the reason Katie was upset was because of something Tommy had done to her, and she was right, but damn it, she didn’t need to interfere.

  “So what are you going to do now that you’re not in the rodeo anymore?” Chase asked her with a lifted brow.

  “Raise and train cutting horses, with my sister. I bought a ranch in Bowie, and we’re just getting it started,” she said and took a bite of her hot dog.

  He eased back on the throttle a little, then asked with interest, “Is that a big business?”

  She snorted, then finished her hotdog and said after she swallowed, “If you’re good it is…bloodlines have to be good, and the trainer has to be better to bring out the best in the horse.”

  “Have you trained them before?”

  “Yeah, Karlie trained JoJo, her horse partner from a weanling, and I did the same with Laramie my horse. They’re both the best in the business. We’ve had astronomical offers to buy them, but we needed them to work, and win,” she said with a grin.

  “You gonna sell him now that you’re not roping anymore?” Chase asked her as he turned into a moonlit cove and cut the engine, then pressed a button to release the anchor.

  “No way, he’s gonna help me train the new stock, him and JoJo,” she told him, but that thought did plant an idea in her head. Maybe if she ran short on money, she could sell him. Of course, she’d miss him terribly, but the money would come in handy, since she was leveraged to the hilt in the new property. She could use the money she got for him to buy the new stud, and get a damned good one. “But you never know…I might change my mind. It’s a woman’s prerogative, you know,” she said and winked at him.

  “Oh, I know that, sugar. You want a beer or something?” he stood up and walked around to the cuddy steps to go down into the hull.

  “You have any wine?” she asked not really in the mood for beer.

  “I do…a bottle of white, want some?”

  She nodded and he went down below, then came back up a minute later with a beer for him, and a red plastic cup half-filled with white wine for her. “Let’s go sit back here and watch the stars,” he said and handed her the cup, then she followed him to the bench seat at the back of the boat.

  Chase sat down and leaned against the back of the seat, then Katie sat beside him and sighed, as she did the same. They sat there silently looking at the stars, which stood out like diamonds on black velvet above them.

  After a few minutes, Chase took a swig of his beer and broke the silence as he asked, “So, who was the cowboy with the little girl that showed up earlier?”

  Katie tensed up and squeezed her cup, which caused some of the wine to slosh over the cup onto her lap. She vaulted up and swiped at the cold liquid. Chase grabbed a towel off the floor of the boat then dabbed her thighs.

  “You okay? I’m sorry, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine…” he said then threw the towel down and set his beer on the deck. “Come here, sugar, you’re wound tighter than my daddy’s Cuban cigars.” He leaned back in the corner of the seat and opened his arms to her.

  She eyed him warily and he snorted then said, “I want to rub your shoulders, that’s all, I promise.”

  Katie slid over the seat to sit between his legs and turned her back to him. When his magical fingers began to knead the muscles at her shoulders, Katie felt some of the tension that seized her muscles in the last hour ebb, and she relaxed back into him some. Closing her eyes, she moaned when his fingers moved to her neck and his thumbs worked away the tension there. “My god, if you ever want to change careers, you could be a masseuse, you’ll have the women lined up for miles,” she said on another moan.

  He chuckled and said near her ear, “I aim to please, darlin’….glad it’s helping.”

  “It is…so good…thank you,” she moaned again, her arms were starting to feel like noodles.

  He stopped and gave her one last squeeze, then said, “That’s enough, I don’t want you falling asleep on me…let’s go for a swim,” then stood up on the seat and walked to the ladder at the back of the boat.

  Katie gathered her senses then walked to the side of the boat and poured the rest of the wine out of her cup and dropped it to the floor. Standing on the seat, she followed the path he’d taken to the ladder. Chase stood on the bottom step and put his hands at her waist to help her down into the cool water. His hands stayed at her waist when she eased in the water, then he kicked and moved them away from the boat.

  “Le
t’s float and stargaze it’s prettier here. He eased onto his back and pulled her on top of him, and they floated. His arms were right under hers and she was laying across his chest. Katie let her mind wander into what-if land and soon she was tenser than she’d been before he’d given her the massage.

  “You need to relax, Kate…” he told her then stopped and brought them upright again, and started massaging her shoulders in the water. She moaned and he pulled her into his arms, and kissed the side of her neck. She felt a little tingle, and tilted her head a little, and he kissed along her neck to her shoulder, and then he turned her in his arms and closed his mouth over hers.

  She slid her arms around his neck as a couple of sparks flickered, but pulled back when they failed to ignite. With a frustrated breath, she told him, “The cowboy is someone I was involved with recently, I worked for him, and it went farther than it should have. I can’t do this right now, Chase,” then she kissed him gently and finished, “If I wasn’t in the place I am, I’d definitely be interested.”

  “Well maybe you’ll be there one day soon, and we’ll pick up where we left off,” he told her, his voice was low and sexy, then he kissed her one more time then let her go.

  “Maybe so…but I don’t know, he hurt me pretty badly,” she admitted then swam back toward the boat, and Chase followed her to the ladder.

  “What did he do?” Chase asked curiously as he stood on the back of the boat looking like an ancient water god, risen from the deep. He walked to the seat and stepped down beside where she was sitting, and reached for the towel on the floor, then dried his hair and handed it to her.

  “He called me his dead wife’s name when we were having sex,” she said and shook her head.

  “No, shit?!?” Chase shouted incredulously, “What a moron! No damned wonder you’re put out with him.”

  “Yeah, it was kind of a shock,” she admitted with a wry smile. “Not good for the old ego, that’s for sure.”

  He huffed out a breath and then told her, “Well, if we were having sex, I guarantee you I wouldn’t be calling anyone’s name other than yours or Jesus.” He put his hand on her shoulder, then said, “You are an incredibly beautiful woman, Kate, and incredibly sweet…I’m sorry that guy hurt you.”

  His words soothed her battered soul, and she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks for saying that Chase…and really if I wasn’t so messed up, I’d be on you like white on rice, sugar,” Kate told him with a chuckle.

  “I look forward to the day when you get there, darlin’. Now, let’s go back, I have to leave early in the morning, but I’ll leave the boat for you guys to use.”

  “Where do you live?” she asked him. It was crazy he was only here for Friday night…she’d kind of looked forward to seeing him tomorrow.

  “Amarillo, but my sister is having some sorority thing at A&M tomorrow, and I have to be her date,” he said with a big grin. “So many women, so little time,” he chuckled, then said, “Too bad they’re not a little older.”

  “I hear that doesn’t matter much these days,” she said with a snort. “My sister’s husband is eight years older than her.

  “He’s a pretty cool guy…a Sheriff right?” he asked then stood and grabbed her hand to walk back to the front of the boat.

  “Yeah, that’s how they met, I’ve gotta tell you the story, you’ll die,” she said then they sat down and chatted amiably, until they got back to the dock. She’d just reached the punch line of the story, about Karlie tying Gabe up on the side of the road, when he killed the engine, and their laughter could be heard all across the still lake. They stood up and he pulled her to him for a hug, and a chaste kiss on her lips and she rubbed her head into his muscular chest.

  “Thanks for a great day and evening,” she told him then tiptoed and kissed him gently, then added with a shake of her head, as she stepped back from him, “Damn, what the hell is wrong with me?”

  “You have a soft heart, and it’s been stomped on…you’ll get over it, baby,” he told her gently, before he pulled out his cell phone and asked for her phone number. He rattled his off, and it was one that was easy to remember, so she’d put it in her phone when she got back to the lake house. With one more hug, he got out of the boat, then lifted her down, and put his arm around her shoulders and walked her to the steps of the deck.

  With a gentle kiss on her cheek, Chase gave her a squeeze, then let her go and said, “It’s been fun, baby…give me a call when you’re feeling better.”

  Katie stood there and watched him walk toward the house next door, until he disappeared inside. She sighed then walked up the steps to the deck. All the lights in the house were out and the deck was dark too, so she felt around to make sure she didn’t trip over any furniture.

  She stubbed her toe on a table and yelped, then hopped around and sat down on a lounger. Hearing an oomph behind her, Katie looked back over her shoulder to see Tommy was laying there, shirtless in a pair of low-riding board shorts. Her mouth dried up, and she grabbed the side of the lounger, then stood up.

  “Sorry…I didn’t know you were there,” she said then went to go inside, and Tommy grabbed her arm.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Katie yanked on her wrist, but Tommy held it firmly, and asked her in an angry voice that was a slurred mess, “You have a good time with Chase?” It was obvious to Katie he’d been drinking, a lot, and she didn’t want to deal with his anger right now, especially with him drunk.

  “Yeah, we had a good time,” she told him and tried to jerk her wrist from his grasp again.

  “Did he kiss you, Katie?” he asked and his voice had a tortured edge to it.

  “That’s none of your busin—,” she spat and tried to pull her wrist from his grasp again, but this time he yanked back and she wound up sprawled on top of his body.

  He grabbed her head and put his mouth over hers, and ground it into hers punishing her, but exciting her at the same time. Although, she shouldn’t, she liked rough and out of control Tommy, in comparison to his counterpart. Katie moaned into his mouth and opened hers in invitation.

  She felt his erection pressing at her hip, as he forced his tongue inside of her mouth and deepened the kiss with a groan. His hands moved to her ass to shift her, so she was fully on top of him, and his hardness was pressing at the apex of her thighs. Sliding her hand up his chest, she reveled in his firm muscles beneath her palm, that twitched as she made her way up to grip his shoulder, then tangle in the hair at his nape. Her heart rate was through the roof and her breathing unsteady, when he pulled back from her and asked angrily in a low dangerous voice, “Did he kiss you like that, Katie?”

  Anger shot through her and Katie tried to stand, but his arms closed around her, and he hissed, “Answer me!”

  Her muscles gave out and she laid back on top of him, and said breathlessly, “Yes, he did…but not like that.”

  She felt a tremor pass through his body and he admitted in a choked voice, “Katie, I think I’m in love with you, and I know I’ve hurt you, I’m so sorry, baby…” his breathing was ragged as he hugged her to him and begged, “please don’t hate me.”

  His words, although encouraging, didn’t make her feel any better, because she knew he was as confused as she was, thinking he loved her and actually loving her were two entirely different things.

  Katie sighed, then put her hand on the side of his face and rubbed his stubbled cheek. “I don’t hate you, Tommy…I don’t know how I feel…and yeah, you hurt me,” she admitted then kissed his chest. “You need to figure out what you want…the mixed messages are killing me,” she told him.

  “I know…I’m a fucked up mess, and you deserve better,” his voice rumbled in his chest and tickled her ear where her cheek lay.

  “I deserve someone who doesn’t want me to be their dirty little secret, someone who’s not afraid to tell the world they’re mine…and someone who puts me first. I don’t think you’re that man, I don’t think you can be,” she told him seriously.

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