Champagne and Cowboys
Page 60
He laid his head back, closing his eyes, and an image of Charlie came to his mind. Always did. He didn’t know what his future held, but he had to believe she had feelings for him too.
Minutes passed and the door came open. Storm lifted his head. Max was smiling ear to ear. “You ready?” he asked.
“For the show?”
“No, son. For company.” Max pushed the door open wider and Charlie stood in the hallway.
Storm jumped up, but didn’t make a move. “You’re here.”
She stepped into the room, her hands clasped tightly at her waist and Max shut the door. “I was hoping I wouldn’t be late.”
Storm smiled. “I would still be here waiting.”
“I hope I’m not overdressed.” She smoothed her hands down her red satin covered hips.
He skimmed his gaze down the close-fitting dress that showed off her firm breasts and ample hips. The hem ended at her knee, exposing her slender legs down to the three inch heels. “You’re beautiful.”
“So are you.”
He tugged at his designer black jacket. “I thought it was fitting for the holiday.”
She took a step closer, moistening her lips. “Storm, I’ve been foolish. When it comes down to it, I don’t care what you do for a living. You could rustle up pigs and wallow in the mud for all I care. I pushed you away because I was scared. Opening my heart isn’t easy, not when there’s a chance I’ll get hurt.”
He moved across the room and stood several inches in front of her. “Love isn’t easy, sweetheart. I’m scared too.”
“Love?” She looked up at him through the veil of her lashes.
“I’ve written many love songs over the years, but for the first time I’ve written my own. I never thought it would be possible to fall so quickly.”
“I love you too, Storm.”
He reached out, grabbed her waist and tugged her against him. He bent his head, but a rap on the door stopped him. “Yes?”
Max poked his head around the door. “Sorry to interrupt, but five minutes until you’re due on stage.”
“Do you have the best seat in the house set up and ready?” Storm asked.
“Do you doubt me?” Max sighed. “Now come on.”
“Best seat in the house?” Charlie questioned.
He entwined his fingers with hers. “For you, my love. Right next to the stage so when I sing my newest song to my most precious inspiration, she’ll hear every word. Not to mention, it’ll be easier for you to get onto stage this way.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.
“That is lovely…wait! What did you say?” Her skin paled.
“I need you on stage with me while I sing Charlie’s Eyes.”
She stopped. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I have stage fright,” she mumbled. Her bottom lip trembled and she lowered her gaze to the floor.
“I do too. We’ll do this together.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “I’m here for you, always.”
The End
From the author:
Thank you for reading. Please leave a review and let others know your thoughts. Like my author page.
Hugs,
Rhonda Lee Carver “Writing Men Who Love to Get Their Hands Dirty…”
At an early age, Rhonda fell in love with romance novels, knowing one day she’d write her own love story. Life took a short detour, but when the story ideas were no longer contained, she decided to dive in and write. Her first plot was on a dirty napkin she found buried in her car. Eventually, she ran out of napkins. With baby on one hip and laptop on the other, she made a dream into reality—one word at a time.
Her specialty is men who love to get their hands dirty and women who are smart, strong and flawed. She loves writing about the everyday hero.
When Rhonda isn’t crafting sizzling manuscripts, you will find her busy editing novels, blogging, juggling kids and animals (too many to name), dreaming of a beach house and keeping romance alive. Oh, and drinking lots of coffee to keep up with her hero and heroine.
For other titles by Rhonda Lee Carver, please visit: www.rhondaleecarver.com Find me on Facebook, too! www.facebook.com/rhondalee.carver
Other Books by Rhonda Lee Carver
Diamond in a Rose
Double Dare
Delaney’s Sunrise
Second Chance Cowboy (Book 1, Second Chance Series)
Second Ride Cowboy (Book 2, Second Chance Series)
Second Round Cowboy (Book 3, Second Chance Series)
Second Dance Cowboy (Book 4, Second Chance Series)
Second Song Cowboy (Book 5, Second Chance Series)
Second Burn Cowboy (Book 6, Second Chance Series)
Second Hope Cowboy (Book 7, Second Chance Series)
Second Sunrise Cowboy (Book 8, Second Chance Cowboy Series)
Castle’s Fortress
Dreaming Ivy
Friends With Benefits
Sin With Cuffs
With Honor
Wicked Pleasures (Book 1, Wicked Wolves Series)
Wicked Lust (Book 2, Wicked Wolves Series)
Fighting Flames
UNDER PRESSURE (Book 1, Rhinestone Cowgirls)
PRESSURE RISING (Book 2, Rhinestone Cowgirls)
PRESSURE POINT (Book 3, Rhinestone Cowgirls)
SECRET PRESSURE (Book 4, Rhinestone Cowgirls)
RESISTING PRESSURE (Book 5, Rhinestone Cowgirls)
Under the Mistletoe
Cowboy Paradise (Cowboys of Nirvana)
Leather for Two, Wings of Steel MC
An Unexpected Hero (Buttermilk Valley)
A sneak peek at Hell Yeah! Letting Go!
Chapter One
Brooke Winslow heard a child’s laughter and looked across the lobby, spotting the little girl cheerfully playing with a set of building blocks. Her blonde hair hung in one long braid down her back and she wore a pretty yellow dress. She had beautiful bright green eyes. “Look, Mommy. I built a tower.”
Her mother glanced up from the magazine she was flipping through. “Oh sweetheart, what a stable tower it is too.”
Feeling a sudden twinge in her chest, Brooke turned away, barely able to catch her breath. Why was she doing this? She stood up, gained her equilibrium, then started for the glass doors that would take her back out to her car—away from the possibility of having a panic attack in front of the people waiting in the lobby. She’d gotten better at staying in control, but on occasion she found herself coming unglued from the demons that still haunted her.
She gripped the cold handle of the door just as she heard her name being called, “Ms. Winslow. The doctor will see you now.”
Her mind raced. Her heart skipped a beat. She could easily scurry out and skip the appointment. Being here didn’t help anyway. She hated talking about the tragedy that turned her world upside down. Why couldn’t people just understand that not everyone needed to talk about their feelings?
Fingers touched her shoulder and she spun around, coming face to face with the receptionist. “Ms. Winslow, Dr. Forester will see you now.”
Several people had turned to watch her. She wondered if they too wanted to break free?
“Ms. Winslow?”
Oh, phooey. Brooke had no other choice but to let go of the handle to freedom and follow the receptionist. Part way down the hall Brooke heard sniffling coming from a room to the right. She caught a glimpse of a woman with her head bowed and her shoulders shaking. Brooke’s breath hitched and she clenched her hands into fists. Crying happened a lot here. But not for her—not anymore. After three years, the tears had dried up. Too bad the memories were as fresh as newly picked blueberries.
“How are you today, Ms. Winslow?” the receptionist asked as she motioned for them to continue on their way.
The question came more as a distraction than civil conversation. “Peachy.”
Continue reading…
A Cowboy’s Midnight Kiss
Romancing
by
Victoria Vane
Chapter One
Boca Raton, Florida
Cassidy watched numbly as the movers packed up the remnants of her life. “Are you okay?” her best friend Liz asked softly.
“Yeah. I’m okay,” Cassidy replied automatically. “I’ve been in limbo for so long. I’m eager to put all of this behind me.”
“What are your plans?” Liz asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Cassidy replied. “Now that this place has finally sold, there’s nothing to hold me here anymore. I can afford to explore my options. I’d like to take some time off to think about it.”
“I can understand that,” Liz replied with a light laugh. “I took a ten day cruise after my first divorce and ironically met ex-husband number two. After that fiasco, I went on holiday at one of the big ski resorts in the Tetons and met number three. Gavin and I later invested in a place up there. We decided to keep it after the divorce and now split the time between us. The weeks that we don’t use it, we lease it out. It’s worked out great so far. Mandy and I are going up for the holidays. Wanna join us? Or were you planning to go home for Christmas this year?”
“I was considering it,” Cassidy said, chewing her lip. The holidays were only a few weeks away. She didn’t know yet where she was going to spend them other than not in Florida. It had never felt like Christmas since she and Doug had moved south. “It’s been several years since I’ve been to North Carolina,” she continued, “but I’m not really in the right frame of mind to embrace a big family gathering. You know how much my family was in love with Doug, especially my mother. What woman doesn’t dream of her daughter marrying a cardiothoracic surgeon? She thinks the divorce is the biggest mistake of my life. I’d really like to get away from here, but I dread all the prying questions. Then again, I don’t really want to be alone either.”
“Then come with us,” Liz insisted. “It’s the perfect answer. It’s a gorgeous place, three bedrooms, ski-in ski-out, complete with a hot tub. We have it for the entire month of Mandy’s school break, but she only wants to spend a couple of weeks up there this year. New boyfriend,” Liz explained with a roll of her eyes. “She begged me to let him come too, but I’d planned on us having some girl time. We hardly see each other since she started college.”
“It hardly seems possible,” Cassidy replied. “She was thirteen and still in braces when I first met her.”
Liz sighed. “Time flies way too fast.”
“It does indeed,” Cassidy remarked wistfully.
Where had the years gone? She felt like she’d lost half a decade. She’d always thought she’d be happily settled in a quiet suburb with a couple of kids of her own by this point in her life. Nothing had turned out as she’d imagined when she left North Carolina to chase Doug’s dream. Once he’d risen to chief of cardiothoracic surgery, rather than starting a family as he’d promised, he’d gone out and bought a boat. After working so hard to get ahead, he wanted to enjoy his down time with sailing and traveling. Kids, he argued, would only tie them down.
His success had changed their lives but not for the better. Doug’s working hours had become longer and their time together shorter. Before she knew it, their lives were all about keeping up appearances. Bored and unfulfilled, she’d thrown herself into the kind of lifestyle she’d always despised. One day she woke up realizing that she too, had become someone she didn’t recognize. Doug saw nothing wrong with their life and refused to make any changes. Over time, they only drifted further apart until there was nothing left to bind them.
“I’m serious about the invite, Cass. You really should come with us. Mandy loves it up there. I’m sure you would too. Besides, you never know who you might meet in a place like that,” Liz added with a wink.
“Let’s not go there,” Cassidy said. “I’m not ready to date yet.”
“Doug hasn’t wasted any time,” Liz countered dryly.
That much was true. He’d hardly waited for the ink to dry on the divorce papers before taking up with one of his nurses, which only confirmed her suspicions about his late working hours. She’d never confronted him about it because part of her didn’t really want to know. She’d chosen to leave with fond memories instead of ugly ones. She chose to ignore the remark.
“I’ve never been out west,” Cassidy said. “I’m really tempted, but I haven’t skied since I was a kid. I’d probably just end up breaking a leg.”
“Then take a few lessons or just stick to the bunny trails,” Liz suggested.
She flicked a glance at her diamond beveled Cartier watch and gasped. “Oops! I’d better go. I’ve got a showing at Sanctuary Point in twenty minutes.” Liz was one of the most successful realtor’s in southern Palm Beach County. They’d met when she’d brokered the deal on the penthouse and had become almost instant friends. Think about it, okay?” Liz added, almost running to the door. “It’ll be fun and we’ve got plenty of space.”
“Thanks, Liz. I’ll let you know by tomorrow.”
After following Liz to the door, Cassidy closed it quietly behind her. She then moved slowly from room to room in a daze of detachment. The vacant space only seemed to symbolize her empty life, an emptiness magnified by the echo of her Christian Louboutin heels against the Italian marble tiles. Shouldn’t she feel something? She didn’t. She had no attachment to the place because it had never felt like a real home, at least not the kind she’d grown up in, or the kind she’d always imagined. Her life aspirations had never included a multi-million dollar condo, an Audi A8, or six hundred dollar designer shoes. These were the fruition of Doug’s ambitions, not hers. That was not to say she hadn’t been seduced by the material trappings of success; she had been, but it hadn’t made her happy. Although she was glad to be free again to follow her own dreams, she didn’t even know what those were anymore, and dreaded the prospect of starting all over again.
Seeking solace from her own thoughts, Cassidy stepped out onto the balcony. It was early December but the mercury still hovered at eighty plus degrees. When she’d first arrived in Florida, it had seemed like paradise with all the gorgeous tropical flowers and palm trees, but after a time she’d stopped noticing them. She recalled the sense of wonderment she’d always felt at the first spring daffodils that poked their yellow heads through patches of snow back in North Carolina. But here, it was all too easy to become desensitized to the beauty when nothing ever changed.
Leaning over the rail she gazed out over the glittering turquoise waters, breathing deeply of the briny air, but rather than soothing her, the balmy breeze suddenly felt stifling. She longed for the invigorating nip of frost and the earthiness of evergreen—the remembered scents of home.
Wyoming wasn’t North Carolina but it had bigger mountains and plenty of wide open spaces—and the distance that she needed to put her broken life back together.
Chapter Two
Dubois, Wyoming – December 22
“That one, Uncle Griff!” Kaden shouted, pointing to a twenty-foot Douglas fir. “That’s our tree!”
“Sorry, Kaden,” Griffin shook his head. “Even if we could fit it through the door, the ceiling’s not high enough.” He chuckled at his nephew’s obvious disappointment. “You’re gonna have to pick a smaller one.”
“But I don’t want a smaller one,” Kaden protested with a scowl. “Santa won’t be able to fit as many presents under it.”
“Ah! I see the problem now. It’s not so much the height but girth that’s needed, so let’s look for the fattest damned tree in this whole forest.” A few minutes later Griff circled the ATV around a particularly paunchy blue spruce. He put on the brake and turned to Kaden. “This guy looks like a likely candidate. What do you think?”
Kaden flashed a grin that displayed two missing front teeth. “Can I start the chainsaw?”
“You aren’t strong enough yet,” Griff replied. “Eat more meat and maybe you’ll have enough muscle on your bones next year.”
Griff threw a leg over the seat and gave the six year old’s biceps a squeeze. “I stand corrected,” he said. He pulled the chainsaw from the utility card and held out the pull starter. “Go ahead and give it whirl.”
Kaden grunted as he gave a yank. The starter cord barely gave an inch in response. Knitting his tawny brows, he tried again without success. On the third attempt, his hand slipped, landing him on his ass. Griff stifled a laugh.
“It’s not funny, Uncle Griff!” The little boy glowered. “You just wait. I’m gonna be as big and strong as my daddy one day.” He squinted at Griff. “He’s even bigger than you, isn’t he, Uncle Griff?”
“Yeah. He’s bigger.”
“I bet he’s stronger too.”
“I s’pose so,” Griff confessed reluctantly. “He’s meaner too. Eats nails for breakfast. All Marines do.”
“Really?” Kaden asked wide-eyed. “I don’t bemember that.”
“Nah.” Griff ruffled his hair with a laugh. “I was just pulling your leg, but he really is a tough sonofa—gun.”
“I wish Daddy was here,” Kaden remarked. “Is he gonna be home in time for Christmas this year?”
“We don’t know yet, but your Mom sure hopes so.”
They still hadn’t heard for certain. It’s why Griff had waited so long to get the tree, in hope that his brother would be there too. Derrick’s deployment had been hard on everyone. Denise had been pregnant and delivered Kelsey while he was away. Griff had promised Derrick to look after Kaden, Denise, and the baby, and he’d kept that promise, though it meant, putting all of his own plans on hold.
He’d graduated with a business degree and had aspirations of bigger and better things than ranching, but his family’s needs had come first. Although Derrick’s discharge would allow him to reclaim his own life, Griff no longer wanted the same things he’d wanted before. The past five years had changed him. Now he wasn’t sure what he wanted after his brother returned home to take over the ranch. He’d become so accustomed to his surrogate father role that he didn’t know what he’d do without the kids in his life. That wasn’t to say he wouldn’t enjoy some freedom from responsibility. He was looking forward to cutting loose, but with a population of fewer than one thousand, the entertainment options were slim in Dubois. He always thought he’d leave one day for greener pastures, but now that he had business interests outside of the ranch, staying didn’t seem so bad. Not that he minded getting away for a while.