Marrying the Cowboy

by Trish Milburn

  Good grief, either she was having the strangest dream ever or she seriously didn’t get enough rest last night despite the fact that she’d been asleep twice as long as usual.

  She hurried through her shower, but by the time she’d finished in the bathroom Pete was gone. Even with the house empty, she closed her bedroom door once she stepped inside. She sank onto the side of her bed. Her strange reaction to Pete had to be because of the stress she was under. All she needed was to work, get the nursery up and running again, return life to normal. Her being off-kilter, that’s all her weird reaction to Pete was. Nothing more.

  With a shake of her head, she dressed and headed to work. When she arrived, she discovered India and Skyler walking back to India’s car.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Elissa asked as she pulled up beside them.

  “We came to see if we could help,” India said.

  Not so long ago, India wouldn’t have been able to be away from her boutique during the middle of the day. But since getting married and becoming a stepmom, she’d hired some help to give her more flexibility with her time.

  Elissa eyed Skyler as she got out of the SUV. “Not really the type of work you need to be doing.”

  Skyler crossed her arms above her gently rounding belly. “I’m pregnant, not an invalid.”

  “Okay, okay. Grouch.”

  India laughed a little, earning a glare from their hormonal friend. “What? She’s right. You are grumpy.”

  Skyler pointed toward India’s stomach. “Just wait until you get pregnant.”

  India didn’t say anything in response, but the way her mouth twitched at the edges gave her away.

  “Oh, my God,” Elissa said. “You already are, aren’t you?”

  The twitching turned into a smile as India nodded.

  Elissa and Skyler squealed at the same time and wrapped India in a group hug.

  “Wait,” Skyler said as she took a step back. “You knew and didn’t tell us?”

  “I just found out yesterday.”

  Elissa swung a pointed finger between her two friends. “That’s it. No heavy lifting, no stooping, none of that for either of you.”

  “Well, how are we supposed to help?” India asked.

  “Name your babies after me?”

  “What if we have boys?” Skyler asked.

  Elissa smiled. “Mason’s a nice name.”

  Skyler rolled her eyes.

  Elissa laughed. “Those cowboys of yours don’t waste time, do they?”

  “Bound to happen when we stay in bed half the time,” India said.

  All three of them snorted with laughter. It felt good to laugh, to have good news. It felt normal, and that was exactly what Elissa had told herself she needed to get past her temporary lack of sanity earlier.

  “It’s your turn, you know.”

  It took Elissa a moment to realize that Skyler was talking to her. “What, to have a baby? Uh, no.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with babies,” India said.

  “Not when they’re someone else’s little booger and poop factories.”

  India shook her head as if saying Elissa was silly to protest. “You would love a baby if you had one.”

  The image of Pete’s bare chest and arms came to mind, along with the crazy thought that she at least wouldn’t mind the process of making said baby.

  Good Lord, she had somehow misplaced her last brain cell. Maybe it had blown away in the storm and was floating in some Louisiana bayou.

  “Is something wrong?” India asked.

  Elissa shook her head, perhaps too vigorously judging by the curious looks her friends were giving her. “No, not if you two keep your matchmaking endeavors pointed toward someone else.”

  “It’s not us you have to worry about,” India said. “You seem to forget who you live with.”

  “No, I’m well aware I share a house with the Cupid of Blue Falls. But I’ve become adept at avoiding her arrows.”

  Lord help her if Verona were ever privy to how Elissa had responded to the sight of Pete’s half-naked body. Heat whooshed through her at the mere thought of Pete’s name and the word naked in the same sentence.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” India asked.

  “Yeah, just got to get to work. I’m late getting started as it is.”

  “Tell us what to do.” India turned as if she would follow Elissa inside.

  Though their trio spent a tremendous amount of time together, today Elissa just wanted them to leave. Until she purged herself of inappropriate thoughts about their mutual friend, it was too dangerous to be around them. They knew her just a touch too well.

  “Really, there’s nothing suitable for two pregnant women to do. You really want to help me, go suggest someone to Verona to focus her matchmaking hoodoo on. That’s the last thing I need right now.”

  “Fine, but you’re coming with us to the music hall tonight,” India said. “There’s a band from Dallas playing that Liam says is really good.”

  “I don’t have time.” She gestured toward the damaged building as well as the two demolished greenhouses out back. “As you can see, I have a lot of work to do. And the insurance adjuster is supposed to be here today, though I don’t know when.”

  “You’ve been going almost nonstop since the storm,” Skyler said. “You need some downtime.”

  Elissa started to protest again, but Skyler held up her index finger to indicate she wasn’t finished.

  “Plus, it’s common knowledge that you don’t refuse pregnant women. We get whatever we want.”

  Elissa raised an eyebrow. “Does Logan know this?”

  “Intimately,” Skyler said with a wicked grin.

  Damn if that image of Pete didn’t pop into her head again. Her friends were right. She needed to get out, have a night of fun, dance and purge her head of troubling thoughts. Be the person she always was, the life of the party.

  But by the time she finished work for the day and dragged herself home, she wondered about the wisdom of agreeing to meet her friends at the Blue Falls Music Hall. After all, there would be time for dancing and flirting after she got the nursery back up and running.

  “Hey, honey,” Verona said as Elissa stepped into the house. “Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes if you want to shower and get ready.”

  Elissa gave her aunt a questioning look.

  “The girls told me you all were going dancing tonight.”

  “I’m too tired.”

  “I know you’re tired, but it’ll be good for you to go out. Pete’s already finished with the bathroom, so it’s all yours.”

  “Pete?”

  Verona smiled. “Yeah, he’s going, too.”

  Elissa’s lips pressed together as she took a calming breath. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  Elissa didn’t buy the innocent look Verona shot her. “You know what.” She glanced toward the hallway to make sure Pete was out of earshot before returning her gaze to her aunt. “Pete and I are friends.”

  “Which is why it’s perfect. You already know you like each other.”

  “As friends. Jeez, that would be like dating my brother.” Well, not exactly. If she had a brother, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t dwell on the contours of his chest and abs.

  “Just give it some thought.”

  “No,” Elissa hissed as she heard Pete coming up the hall toward them. “Not one word.”

  Verona sighed and went back to stirring the spaghetti sauce on the stove.

  Elissa turned to head to her room, where she was seriously considering locking herself, but she ceased moving when she spotted Pete. He’d obviously gone shopping because his old, worn clothes were gone, replaced by a new pair of jeans, boots an
d a chocolate-brown shirt. He held a new tan Stetson in his right hand. She’d seen him in similar outfits hundreds of times, but the increase in her heart rate made her feel as if she were looking at him for the first time. Her friend had grown ridiculously handsome without her noticing. And it felt really weird to even think that.

  She forced herself to act normally, which was way harder than it ought to be. “Hit the ShopMart?”

  “Yeah. Not likely I’m going to find my old clothes.”

  “You probably wouldn’t want them anymore if you did.”

  “True.”

  When Elissa met Pete’s eyes, she had the distinct impression he, too, was remembering their awkward run-in at the bathroom door that morning. She hated how her easy camaraderie with Pete felt as if it was slipping away, but she was determined to get it back and put this odd bobble out of her mind.

  “Well, if I’m going dancing, I better clean up. I’m wearing about an inch of dirt. Doubt I’ll get many dance partners like that.”

  As she moved past Pete, she pictured herself dancing with him. She mentally cursed. She’d danced with Pete a zillion times, and it had never been anything other than two friends goofing off and having a good time. As she stepped into the bathroom, she wondered how in the world she was going to avoid dancing with him until the image of his naked torso didn’t taunt her every time she looked at him.

  * * *

  AN HOUR LATER, Pete followed Elissa into the music hall. Even for her, she was walking faster than normal, as if she wanted to get away from him. He couldn’t help wondering if it had anything to do with him startling her that morning. But that shouldn’t have bothered her. It wasn’t as if he’d strolled out into the hall buck-naked.

  But something was definitely up because as soon as they stepped inside she scanned the crowd and headed straight for India and Skyler. Fellow deputy Connor Murphy had to do a quick sidestep with his beer to keep from getting mowed down by her.

  “What’s up with Elissa tonight?” Connor asked as he approached Pete. “She’s moving like she’s on her way to a fire.”

  Pete shrugged. “Who knows? Pressing girl talk, I guess.”

  Connor shook his head. “Women.”

  Exactly. Just when you thought you had one figured out, she up and started acting strange.

  “You been cleaning up your place yet?”

  “Haven’t had time. Got to get a truck first, but haven’t gotten around to that, either. Had to go buy a new life today. It’s bad when you’ve got one pair of underwear to your name.”

  “Ask Greg. He probably knows someone who has a truck for sale.”

  Pete nodded. “Good idea.” In fact, he saw Greg over by the bar, not too far from where Elissa stood. “I need a drink.”

  “Later.”

  Pete made his way around the edge of the dance floor, crowded as usual with locals and tourists. His gaze connected with that of a pretty blonde who smiled at him. He gave her a small smile back but continued on his way to the bar instead of asking her to dance.

  “Hey, Pete,” India called to him over the sound of the crowd and the band.

  He waved, but she motioned for him to come over. As he drew closer, Elissa slipped onto the stool behind her. There it was again, the subtle moving away from him. Or maybe he was imagining it. But why would he be? Shaking off the questions, he directed his attention at India.

  “Liam’s organizing another rodeo to benefit the tornado victims. Do you think you could get us a list of those affected?”

  “Sure.”

  “And include yourself, okay?” Skyler said.

  “I’m fine. I’ve got insurance.”

  Elissa shifted forward on the stool. “You know better than to argue with Skyler, even before she was pregnant and grumpy.”

  “Someday when you get pregnant, I hope you have triplets. And that they’re hell on wheels.”

  Elissa shot Skyler a look of horror. “Bite your tongue, woman.”

  India laughed, and Pete found himself smiling at the familiar banter between Elissa and Skyler. Whatever weirdness had taken up residence in Elissa seemed to have disappeared, thank goodness. It was bad enough he was forced to invade her home, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable while he was at it.

  Someone touched his arm. When he turned, the pretty blonde stood there.

  “Would you like to dance?”

  The crazy urge to look at Elissa gripped him, but he resisted. Trying not to read anything into his reaction, he instead smiled and offered his arm to the blonde. “Lead the way.”

  As his dance partner told him her name was Candace and she was in town for a wedding the next day, he tried to pay attention. He was beginning to wonder if he’d been knocked on the head during the tornado because it was hard to pay attention to her. But he made the effort, even pulling her a little closer.

  Before he even thought about what he was doing, he turned his gaze toward where Elissa had been sitting, fully expecting she’d found her own dance partner. Instead, she still sat on the stool, staring right at him.

  Chapter Four

  Elissa jerked her gaze away the moment Pete looked in her direction. What was up with her? She was beginning to think she’d taken leave of her senses.

  “Are you okay?” Skyler asked.

  Elissa shoved away her sudden, brain-addled interest in Pete and slipped off the stool. “No. I didn’t come here to sit on my butt. This place is for dancing.”

  “Then go dance.”

  Elissa made a vague gesture around the room. “Slim pickings tonight. You won’t mind if I steal your man, will you?”

  Before Skyler could answer, Elissa grabbed Logan’s hand and dragged him toward the dance floor. He laughed in her wake.

  As they found a spot on the dance floor just as an upbeat tune started, Logan twirled her into the crowd. “One of these days, if you’re not careful, Skyler is going to sock you one.”

  “I’m quicker than her on a normal day, and she’s only going to get bigger.”

  Logan winced. “Be glad she didn’t hear that.”

  “Already touchy about her figure?”

  “You have no idea. We had a Chernobyl-style meltdown this morning when she couldn’t fasten her pants.”

  Elissa glanced through the crowd toward Skyler. “Maybe I should lay off for a while, though that’s a little like asking everyone in the world to stop posting their cat pictures online.”

  Still, maybe Skyler and India both could use a little pampering. If she got a bit further along in her cleanup and rebuild of the nursery, maybe she’d suggest a spa day for the three of them. She could even get into shopping for baby things. Being a mom might not be on her radar, but by golly she was going to be the best honorary auntie the world had ever seen. She was going to spoil those kids so rotten their mothers would never forgive her. She smiled at that thought.

  “That smile is never good.”

  Elissa looked up at Logan. “What, this?” She pointed toward her mouth. “I’m as innocent as innocent can be.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Elissa laughed and for a few minutes let go of all the things she could be worrying about if she let herself. She wasn’t a natural worrywart as her friends could be, so the past few days had been exhausting both physically and mentally. She had to find a way to deal with restoring her business without letting it fritz her brain and turn her into someone she wasn’t.

  At the end of the song, a very determined-looking Skyler reclaimed the love of her life.

  “Thanks for letting me borrow him,” Elissa called after her, then laughed.

  In the next moment, Greg Bozeman pulled her into his arms and began guiding her around the dance floor.

  “So, when are you and I going to run off and get married?” G
reg asked, a big grin on his face.

  Elissa smiled back. “As soon as I can stop seeing you mooning the town from the top of the water tower.”

  “Lord, I’m never going to live that down.”

  “You are a town legend.” Elissa laughed at the memory from their senior year when after a big win that sent the Blue Falls High football team to the playoffs, Greg and a few other players had convinced someone in Austin to buy them a keg of beer. They’d been relatively fine out on the back of Taylor Binghamton’s family’s ranch. But then Greg had gotten the big idea to moon Blue Falls under the light of a full moon. The only reason he hadn’t been arrested was that the sheriff hadn’t been 100 percent sure of his identity and Greg had hightailed it. By the time the sheriff had found him the next day, Greg was sober. Still, everyone knew it had been him. And despite his protest now, Elissa was pretty sure he liked being the star of that particular story.

  “I guess I’ll have to settle for being a swinging bachelor for a while longer.”

  “Yes, I’m sure it will be a hardship.”

  Over the course of the next three songs, Elissa found herself dancing with three more partners, two friends and one insurance adjuster from Austin in town meeting with policyholders who’d suffered losses from the tornado. Despite his bore-her-to-death job, he was a fun guy. But as soon as their dance ended and she turned to find herself face-to-face with Pete, she totally forgot Insurance Boy’s name.

  Pete pulled her into the next song, and she had to fight the totally stupid urge to plant her feet. She had no idea what was going on in her noggin, but if she refused to dance with Pete, she might as well skywrite that she was having odd feelings toward one of her best friends. They’d danced countless times before, just as she always ended up dancing with Greg and a lot of the other regulars at the music hall. Why it suddenly felt different didn’t make one lick of sense. But it did. He felt too close, and she was aware of every point at which their hands touched and where Pete’s other hand rested at her waist.

  She had gone completely loony.

  “Something wrong?”

  She met Pete’s eyes and saw genuine concern there. It touched her more than it should. Pete was just a nice guy, one who cared about everyone.