by Fawkes, Sara
wrap his arms about my waist, keeping me as close as he can, laughing the whole time.
Finally he leans back, pressing that loaded six shooter right up against my ass. The horse slows.
“You are so bad,” I say once North Star has returned to his gentle, walking gait.
“Thank you,” Connor says, resting his hands back on my hips. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said
to me yet.” Slowly but surely his hands stray, this time up my ribcage to just beneath my bra. His
thumbs move upwards, stroking the underside of my breasts, as if it’s the most natural thing in the
world.
Persistent bastard.
“How does that feel,” he asks softly into my hair.
After everything that happened with Wade last night, I know I should be more resistant to
Connor’s charm. But it’s impossible, particularly when he sweeps my hair to one side and gently
kisses me behind the ear.
He breathes deep. “You smell good.”
“Mmm.”
“You feel good too.”
“Mmm.”
His thumb moves lazily, arousing my nipple beneath the fabric of my shirt. My fickle brain forgets
all about Mr. Wade Messing as I succumb to Conner’s touch, his hands, his soft kisses, the way his
tongue traces the lobe of my ear...
I’m clean out of self-control. Of course, I never had much to begin with.
Before I know it, I find myself leaning back against his chest, eyes closed, mouth open. Sighing.
His hand cups my breast, squeezing, while he sucks the sensitive skin of my neck with increasing
passion. I wriggle against him, sighing some more, until suddenly he draws away.
“Not that I’m not enjoying this,” he whispers, his hands settling on my stomach. “But, you need to
sit up, otherwise the horse won’t move.”
Shit!
I open my eyes and look around. North Star is standing completely still in the middle of the field.
Adjusting my shirt, I sit up and the horse magically starts to walk again.
Wow! What just happened? I’m not talking about the way the horse responded to my change in
posture, I’m talking about the way my body responded to Connor.
Like I want him.
Which...I think I actually do.
Oh, God. I’m so confused!
Wade, Connor. Connor, Wade. How can I be so fickle as to succumb to my desire for both of these
men? There’s something wrong with me. Seriously wrong.
Thankfully, the Big House is not far in the distance and I sigh with self-exasperation. Spending
time with Wade was fun. Delicious, torturous fun. Spending time with Connor? Hell, it’s fun too. In a
totally different but natural way.
A sudden, blindingly erotic thought flashes through my dirty mind. Good God! What if I could
have two hot cowboys, one bossy and stoic, the other fun-loving and irresistible, together? In one
room? Naked? With me?
Jesus!
It would be heaven, carnal, sweaty, cowboy heaven.
“Are you okay?” Connor asks. “You’re breathing hard.”
“Fine,” I squeak. “I’m totally fine.” Or at least, I will be once I have a nice cold shower. Sheesh,
Tessa. It’s only been a day and a half at the ranch and I’m out-of-control-lusting after not one, but two
cowboys.
***
Cowboys are crazy. There is no other word for it. Sitting in the makeshift bleachers beside the corral,
the guests watch as the ranch hands put on a mini-rodeo.
I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s absolutely nuts.
Right now, Brett, the guy who’d come to pick up Sunny, is riding a bucking bronc across the ring,
his body reacting to the horse’s bucking like a whip, arching unnaturally, like his back could snap at
any moment.
There’s a buzzer, indicating the end of the eight second ride—I had no idea eight seconds could
seem so long—and Connor rides close to Brett, allowing him to have something to hang onto so he
can jump off his horse and get to the ground safely. Then somehow Connor manages to ride up close
to the bucking animal, lean over and pull a strap so the horse stops bucking.
I’m sitting beside Alex’s mom, Stacey, and between the two of us, we just keep shaking our heads
and muttering about how dangerous it all seems. Exciting too, but mostly dangerous and definitely
crazy.
“Where’s Alex?” I ask, noticing that the youngster isn’t among the guests sitting and watching.
“Wade’s got him by the chutes.”
My tummy tightens at the mention of Wade’s name. I haven’t seen him since last night—since he
made me come with barely more than a kiss—and I hadn’t realized he was back from the neighbor’s.
She points and I see him, he’s easy to pick out because he’s the tallest of the cowboys, standing at the
opposite end of the corral where they’ve got some chutes to hold the animals before they enter the
ring.
“He’s sure something, isn’t he?” She sighs.
“Who?”
“Wade.” Stacey smiles with a faraway look in her eyes as she watches Wade and her son. “He’s
about as different from my ex as you can get.”
“How long have you been split?” I ask, wanting to change the subject from Wade.
“A year and a half.” She glances at me. “The bastard’s already remarried.” The bitterness in her
voice is as pungent as the scent of manure around the barn.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “Marriage is hard.”
She looks at me. “You’re divorced too?”
I nod, forcing a smile. “It was a long time ago.” I sigh. “It was both the best and the hardest thing
I’ve ever had to do.”
“It’s hard alright.” She scratches at some imaginary dirt on her jeans. “Do you have kids?”
“No.” After a few moments of silence, I put a hand on her knee. “I think you’re doing a great job,
though. You’re a really good mom.”
Her lip starts to quiver and she looks away, probably not wanting me to see that she’s blinking
away tears.
Thankfully, our attention is diverted by the blast of a horn. Next thing I know, a cow with horns—a
steer, maybe?—comes running out of a chute followed close behind by Connor galloping hard on
North Star. When he’s right beside the animal, he jumps down from his horse, right on top of the sharp
horns, grabs them, twists the animal’s neck and flops it onto the ground.
“Good God,” I mutter.
“I’m not sure that’s humane,” Stacey says with a frown.
“I’m not sure that’s human.”
She laughs and wipes the side of her cheek where a tear managed to spill out.
“Mom!” Alex is standing at the side of the bleachers, a huge grin on his face. “Mom, did you see
that?”
“I sure did.”
He climbs up to join us. “Guess who’s up next?”
Stacey shakes her head, smiling at the obvious delight on her son’s face.
“Wade! He’s gonna ride a bull. A real big one!” Alex does a little fist pump into the air. “It’s
going to be so awesome.”
Tugging on her son, Stacey says, “Come and sit down so you’re not blocking anyone’s view.”
Alex’s little body vibrates beside me, making me anxious. I can see Wade getting ready to ride in
one of the chutes. He’s surrounded by a bunch of other cowboys and even from the distance, I can feel
the tension and my blood pressure rises. It’s on
e thing to ride a mechanical bull surrounded by soft
padding. But a real live one?
“Boss,” Alex says while tapping his foot with impatience. “That’s the name of the bull he’s gonna
ride.”
There’s a horn and the chute door opens.
“Look at him!” Alex exclaims.
Ho-lee shit! Wade’s a big guy, so of course he’s got to ride the biggest damn bull there is. Boss is
white and muscular with a huge hump on his back. From the way it’s bucking, the animal is angry as
hell that someone is sitting on him. Actually, he doesn’t just buck, he leaps, twisting in the air, doing
his damnedest to throw Wade. But Wade holds on. I have no idea how he does it, but he does. It’s
crazy and I’m tempted to cover my eyes so I don’t have to watch. Yet, there’s no way in hell I can
look away now because the guests—me included—are all on our feet, cheering him on as he rides the
beast. The horn blares, indicating the end of the eight second ride and Wade jumps down, stumbling a
bit as he finds his footing.
It’s all the time the bull needs. He turns, sees Wade and goes after him.
There’s a collective intake of breath.
That’s when I see Connor. He’s not on his horse, he’s in the ring, waving his arms at the bull.
Wade just manages to climb the fence and get out of the way of the sharp points of the bull’s horns
when the animal turns on Connor. Connor weaves this way and that, getting the bull to chase him. Just
when the animal charges, Connor turns the other direction, confusing him and making the animal even
more enraged.
My heart is in my throat as Connor continues to taunt the beast. I didn’t think bulls really pawed at
the ground when they were mad or about to charge, but they do. Boss is doing it right now. This time
when it charges, Connor turns his back on him and...oh my God! He does a back flip, right over the
thing.
“Did you see that? Mom, did you see Connor!?” Alex is beside himself with excitement while I’m
beside myself with worry.
Thank God a rider comes by and releases the strap from around the bull’s hind quarters. Without
the tension of the strap, the bull loses most of its aggression and the rider is able to herd the animal
towards the exit chute.
You’d think it was Connor who rode the bull for eight seconds, because he’s the one standing in
the ring, arms up, welcoming the crowd’s delighted response. After he’s made a show of bowing and
accepting his accolades, Connor shouts, “That concludes our rodeo for today. Thanks for joining us
and don’t forget to come down to the fire pit at six for a cookout and campfire.” He does another
backflip, to Alex’s ecstatic delight, bows one more time and then climbs the corral fence, heading our
way.
Alex can’t wait to talk to him. He scrambles down the bleachers and throws himself at Connor,
crying, “That was so AWESOME!”
Connor musses up the kid’s hair. “Brett said he’d take you out on horseback again if you like.”
Connor looks up at Stacey. “If it’s okay with your mom.”
“Sure thing.” Stacey smiles.
Connor winks and then looks at me. “Tessa. Did you enjoy the show?”
“Um, you are absolutely crazy,” I say, shaking my head.
With a wide grin, Connor says, “I take back what I said early. That is the nicest thing you’ve ever
said to me.”
I sense Wade’s presence behind me, maybe it’s the look on Stacey’s face—wide-eyed and dreamy.
I turn. His expression might not freeze hell over completely, but could certainly cool it off by a degree
or twenty.
“Connor, can I talk to you?” The man is a mountain. I mean, it’s obvious he’s pissed, but there is
no inflection in his voice, whatsoever.
“Uh, oh.” Connor winks at Alex. “I think I’m in trouble.”
Wade seems to notice me for the first time. “Hi Tessa,” he says and his eyes flick to Alex’s mom.
“Stacey.”
We say ‘hi’ in unison. Our voices sharing the same breathy quality. So embarrassing.
“I hope to see you both at the cookout.”
“Oh, I’ll be there,” Stacey says before getting tugged away by Alex who is intent on starting his
riding lesson from Brett.
“I hope to see you later too, Tessa,” Wade says, though I don’t think the intensity in his dark gaze
is meant for me.
I nod. Unable to find my voice.
“Good.”
Right in front of Wade, Connor walks up to me, grabs my shoulders and places an exuberant kiss
on my parted lips. “That’s better.”
“Connor!” I shove him away.
“Aw c’mon. We’ve both wanted to do that all day.” He raises his brows at me as if daring me to
contradict him. Then he looks up at Wade and, with his typical carefree tone, says, “What? You don’t
like it, you shouldn’t have left me alone with her.”
Apart from giving me a little nod, Wade doesn’t say a word and I watch the two of them walk
away, Connor with his cocky, bow-legged gait and Wade with his long-legged strides. I wander across
the yard to where some horses are grazing behind a fence. I figure the best way to get over my fear of
them is to spend more time with the animals.
With a handful of grass, I move close to the barn to where one pretty brown horse is grazing. I
hand her the grass and she takes it, her eyes large and liquid, her nose snuffly soft.
That’s when I hear the voices coming from the barn.
“What the hell were you thinking? You could have been killed.” There is barely repressed rage in
Wade’s voice.
“Well, I wasn’t, was I?” Connor replies. “God. How did I ever manage to make it through twenty-
six years without you telling me what to do? It’s a miracle I’m still alive.” He laughs, but it sounds
forced.
“Dammit, Con. Not everything’s a joke.”
“You sure? Because your concern for me is highly amusing.” I hear footsteps and Connor exits the
barn without seeing me as he heads toward the Big House. I expect Wade to emerge any moment, but
he doesn’t. Maybe he went out the other way, or maybe he’s still in the barn doing some chores.
I stay where I am, scratching between the horse’s ears, thinking about the two men. First, Wade,
the man who made me shatter last night and then Connor, the man who’s been coming onto me all
day.
I can’t quite figure them out. Are they friends? Competitors? What?
And, what am I to them? A conquest? A bit of fun? A bet?
Why hasn’t Wade sought me out after what happened last night? Does he regret it? And, why the
hell did he ask Connor to take care of me on the trail ride?
I shake my head. Too many questions. Not enough answers. All I know is, I was hoping for more
cowboy fun tonight, but by the way things are going, it might not happen. Or, if it does, it’ll be with
Connor, not Wade, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Chapter Seven
October evenings in the Canadian foothills are chilly. Thank God for the roaring bonfire, otherwise I
don’t know how long I’d last at the cookout. My stomach is full. Tonight Spud made buffalo burgers
with all the fixings, new potatoes, Caesar salad and some kind of corn salsa. As I went through the
food line, he said, “Hold up there, girlie,” and pulled an apple from his pocket and
plunked it on my
plate.
“Thanks, Spud,” I said, giving him a warm smile. “Everything looks delicious.”
“You’re not going to find better.”
Before I could move on, he added, “Speaking of not finding anything better,” he looked around,
seeing if anyone else was listening, “be careful with them two boys.”
“Who?”
“You know who.”
“O-kay,” I said slowly.
“They got enough going on between them already. They don’t need to be messed around.”
Before I could ask Spud what he meant, he moved on to the next guest, dolloping food on their
plate with a grim expression.
Now, I’m sitting, staring into the fire, mesmerized by the leaping flames, feeling full and satiated
and tired and puzzling over Spud’s statement. Was he warning me off of Wade and Connor? Is there
some history there? Has there been competition before? Am I causing undue friction?
Maybe I should just head back to my cabin and go to bed. My flight for New York leaves at two
tomorrow which means I need to be at the airport by noon. It could be I’ve had all the cowboy action
I’m going to get this weekend and I’m okay with that. I watch Wade from across the fire. He’s sitting
beside Stacey and Alex. By the looks of things, he’s telling Alex a story and both Alex and Stacey
hang on his every word.
I don’t feel jealous of the attention he’s giving them. They’re his guests, as am I. In fact, I’m
pretty sure Stacey needs his attention more than I do. There’s nothing like special kindness from a
handsome cowboy to make a girl feel good about herself, which is exactly what Stacey needs. I sigh. I
may not be jealous, but I am a little melancholy that my time with Wade may have come to an end so
soon, just when I was getting to know him. There are some people you meet in life where there is an
instant connection, like you’ve known them forever. Like you’ve spent time together in a past life or
something. That’s how I felt about Wade the moment I saw him. I kind of thought he felt the same
way about me.
I sit apart from the group, not in the mood to make small talk tonight. Stifling a yawn, I rub the
front of my jeans where I can feel the strength of the fire. I’d found my denims washed and folded,
left on the chair just inside the door to my cabin. The thought that Wade had been in there when I