Mandy's Homebound Cowboys

by Regale, Rhea

  He popped open the container and raised a brow. Mandy still spun in the aftereffects of his short-lived kiss, not quite registering the empty box.

  “Guess he ain’t gonna be too upset. Ain’t nothin’ in here,” Brody said. He handed her the box and pinched her chin playfully, that sensual smile curling the corners of his mouth. “And that kiss is my promise to you that we’ll be seein’ each other soon. Maybe tonight?”

  Mandy nodded, the insinuation not clearly settling in her muddled mind. She didn’t think she had anything planned for the evening. If she did, it wasn’t important enough to alert the red warning flag on her internal calendar.

  “Good. I’ll swing by around six. Dinner and dancin’. Lord knows I’m gonna need good company.”

  * * * *

  Brody pulled the horror Avis considered a car to a stop in front of the garage and cut the engine. To have his truck where he could shift and stretch and alleviate the pain in his balls would be a welcome gift right about now. His cock ached, a resonating pulse that echoed in his head. He couldn’t get the image of Mandy Pearson—little Mandy May—from his mind. When the hell did that lanky teenager with unruly red hair and gaunt features turn into that stunning, sexy creature? When did the timid little girl who would run in the opposite direction of him and his cousins or watch them from behind trees and barn doors become the witty woman whose soulful brown eyes boasted more confidence than he remembered?

  “Cool it, Brode,” he muttered, shifting his dick as he looked up at the two-story country farmhouse he’d grown up in. The morning sun reflected off the window glass. The shady oak towering catty-corner to the porch swayed in the dry, gentle Kansas breeze. He noticed three other cars parked haphazardly in front of the house, none of which he recognized. Birds were perched on the birdbath his momma insisted his pa install in the middle of her petunias.

  Brody unfolded from the car and stretched his arms over his head. The sun beat down on him, mercilessly searing his arms and neck. This was hell on earth at the end of summer. Sweat beaded along his hairline, and he swiped his biceps over his forehead to wipe it away.

  Can’t put it off any longer.

  Grabbing his bag from the backseat and slinging it over his shoulder, Brody pushed his sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose and started toward the house. As he climbed the stairs, he paused, a cold chill spreading through his chest. His gaze landed on the door. The last time he stood here, he stormed away from his pa with anger.

  “Your roots are here, Brody Allen Ryder. Here, in this dirt, in this town. Not traipsin’ around the country. I’ve supported you this long, boy, but your momma misses you, and you’ve been neglectin’ your family.”

  “I don’t neglect my family, Pa. My love is in my music, not in the dirt, growin’ crops.”

  “Boy, don’t you be forgettin’ where you come from.”

  “I haven’t forgotten. But this ain’t where my heart is, and it will never be here, as much as you think it is.”

  That was a few weeks ago, the very last time he saw and spoke with his pa.

  Brody pressed his lips together and sighed. All the people who said never to leave those he loved on bad terms had no idea the terms he had left his pa on that afternoon. Never could he take back the harsh words that shoveled another layer of guilt onto his soul.

  The sobering reality that he would forever live with that guilt quickly killed the effects Mandy had on him.

  Sucking in a deep breath, he squared his shoulder and approached the door. He tested the lock and eased the door open. Soft talk filtered through the disheartening, lifeless house. Sunlight barely slipped through the cracks between drawn curtains. Dust floated like crystal flakes in those precious rays while the rest of the living room sat in dim shadows.

  “Momma?”

  Brody dropped his bag on the floor and followed the voices toward the kitchen, folding his sunglasses from his face and hanging them from his shirt. The apprehension that built inside him dropped the moment his eyes landed on Craig. His brother pushed off his elbows and braced his palms flat on the countertop. His stormy blue eyes darkened, glowering at him with unspent disgust. His mouth drew tight, his lips thinning, and his fingers curled against the granite.

  “Oh, Brody!” Miss Bess said with a sympathetic sigh. She cut between him and Craig and wrapped her arms around Brody. He returned the hug, breaking his gaze from his brother and inhaling the familiar scent of home cooking from his aunt. “We are all so terribly sorry about Leroy. Your momma will be happy that you got here so quick, what with your busy schedule.”

  “Family is always first, Miss Bess,” Brody murmured, lifting his gaze. Craig scowled and gave him his back, pulling open the fridge door. “Where’s Momma?”

  “She’s upstairs with Scarlet and Colette. They’re gettin’ your pa’s best suit ready for Mr. Dawson.” Miss Bess stepped back and gave him a sad smile. She rubbed his arm. “Go ’head. She’s been waitin’ for you.”

  Brody cast his brother one last look. God, if he could only get the words out of that jumbled knot in his throat, maybe three years of this estrangement would end. Instead, just like that fateful day from the past, Brody turned and hurried away, up the stairs.

  He hesitated at the doorway into his parents’ bedroom. His momma stood with the two other women, smoothing over the lapels of his pa’s Sunday best. The gray suit and white shirt laid out without a man to dress wrenched his heart.

  “Momma,” he interrupted. His momma looked up with puffy pink eyes. Brody crossed the room in three long strides and took her in his arms.

  “Brody, baby,” she cried into his shoulder. “Oh, Brody.”

  “It’s all right, Momma. I’m here. We’re all here.”

  Chapter Four

  Mandy glanced at her back end in the mirror and smiled. She loved the way these shorts accentuated her round ass rather than hid it. The low whistle from Heidi confirmed her observation, and she turned to her friend perched on the edge of her bed.

  “Sure hope Brody’s got some defense mechanism against you tonight,” Heidi said. She licked the tip of her finger and pressed it to Mandy’s bare leg, making a sizzling sound. “You’re on fire.”

  “Girl, give it a rest. This ain’t a real date.” Mandy accentuated “date” with her finger quotation marks. “He’s here under no good circumstances, and he’ll be headin’ off to his tourin’ and groupies, livin’ the life while we read about it in the town paper.”

  “I’m not bitin’ that, Mandy. You’ve got Craig, who has more soul for you than you obviously see, and his brother, who was panting at you like a thirsty pup. You went from ghost to goddess, and you’re being a damn pessimist about it.” Heidi narrowed her eyes and shrugged, glancing down at her freshly polished toe nails. Mandy crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at her friend. “Just sayin’. You’ve got two Casanovas lickin’ at your toes. I’d take ’em both.”

  “I ain’t no Caroline whore. Brody wouldn’t be anythin’ permanent, and Craig’s a friend.”

  “With some damn fine benefits, if you’d take advantage of them,” Heidi groused, her blonde hair falling over her face to hide her expression, one Mandy was certain included raised brows and pursed lips. “But when you get to work tomorrow all glowin’ like this damn summer sun and I call you out on it, don’t go denyin’ what I predicted.”

  “All right, Madam Sumter. I hope you have a warranty on your crystal ball.”

  Tires crunched on the blacktop, coming to a halt in front of her house. Mandy and Heidi scrambled to the window and fought for face space between the lacy curtains. The sight of Brody stretching out of his tiny rental car made her laugh. Heidi nudged her with her shoulder and giggled.

  “No fuckin’ in that tin can. You’ll be doin’ the cock dance on the hood,” Heidi teased. Mandy shoved her away and stepped into the room. Her face was a mask of molten heat because the very image Heidi spoke of was the same she imagined in her own fantasy. She definitely wasn’t about to open
her legs entirely to the hunk climbing her porch stairs, but she wasn’t one to deny herself some fun.

  The doorbell rang. Heidi sprinted down to answer it while Mandy stole one last look in the mirror. She felt damn good in her getup of jean shorts, halter top, and wedge sandals. Snagging her jacket from the back of her desk chair, she took her time descending the stairs, forcing the wings in her belly to calm and her heart rate to slow.

  This wasn’t a date. His kiss hadn’t been anything but a tease.

  It sure as hell left you achin’ for more.

  Groaning under her breath, she fluffed her damp curls at the back of her head and stepped into the living room. Brody cut off conversation with Heidi, his gaze drawing up to her. The look on his face made her stumble, and she paused a few feet from him. Never had she seen Brody Ryder look so awestricken, his unusual brown-green eyes glazing as they crept from her face down to her feet and back again. His lips fell open, and his cowboy hat slid from his fingers to the floor, which seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he entered.

  He cleared his throat and picked up his hat, brushing the brim on his thigh, which was delectably encased in dark-blue jeans that highlighted the muscle lying beneath. Mandy refrained from chewing her bottom lip, her nerves malfunctioning. His stunned perusal was nothing like a man looking for a night of wild sex would give. No way. Brody appeared genuinely captivated, and that spark of realization left her pussy in an itching frenzy without her even walking out the front door.

  Man, she was in trouble.

  “Good evenin’, Mandy. Don’t you look, well, quite amazin’,” Brody greeted, his voice a low husk that poured along each and every heightened nerve. Apparently he forgot to look at himself in the mirror, because he could do tornadic damage around women, all with his jeans and cowboy boots, collared shirt unbuttoned to his chest, and sleeves rolled to his elbows. Mandy glimpsed the hint of well-defined pecs below the V of his dark shirt. He didn’t wear any fancy jewelry or watches, an observation that left her feeling quite pleased. The man had money, from family and his rising fame, but he did well not to flaunt a dime.

  Heidi waggled her brows once and bounded into the kitchen, leaving Mandy alone with Brody. He coughed into his fist and smiled. “What do you say? I have dinner reservations at some swanky hole-in-the-wall that serves beer on tap and whiskey neat. The best thing on the menu is the pork ribs. Wooden floors covered in peanut shells and good ol’ local country bands playin’ tunes.”

  “Sounds like my kinda dive,” Mandy said, flashing him a smile that came too easily as she stepped onto the porch.

  “Take care, kids!” Heidi called. “Be safe in every way!”

  Brody closed the door and pressed his hand to her lower back. Her blood warmed from his touch. He guided her down the stairs and angled in front of her to open the passenger door. She murmured a thanks and buckled into the compact confines and turned to see how the hell he fit in behind the wheel. With the grace of a confident cat, he settled into the seat and started the engine.

  “Hope you don’t mind if we stop at the Avis next town over. They’ve got an SUV waitin’ for me. My knees can’t take this thing,” Brody said with a lightness to his voice.

  “That’s fine. I was wonderin’ how you managed this long.”

  “Definitely not a car for a grown man over six foot.” Brody pulled onto the road and drove toward the edge of town. “In the meantime, I want you to tell me about you.”

  “What do you want to know?” Mandy asked, casting him a playful grin.

  “Well, you can start with where you’ve been hidin’ all this time.”

  Boy, if that wasn’t a line, she sure didn’t know what was. Mandy looked away and smoothed her jacket over one knee.

  “That’s quite simple.” She leaned back in the seat. “I’ve been here all along.”

  * * * *

  That plain stung. Yeah, Mandy had been standing in front of him for years, most of the time in perfect sight. He remembered when she was a little girl tearing up her momma’s store. Then she grew into an awkward teenager who had her head in schoolbooks when she wasn’t spying on him and his cousins.

  Now she was damn gorgeous and did something brutal inside him.

  “You put me to shame, Mandy. If I’d been more observant, I’m pretty certain I would’ve taken you out a long time ago,” Brody admitted lightly.

  He tried to shove his damn seat back, but it was at the end of the rail. Every time he got into this box, he hoped that maybe the thing was jammed and would, at last, give his knees a little more relief. He rested his left foot flat on the floor, bringing his knee off the dash and shifting onto his right hip to alleviate the pressure in his right knee. With his elbow on the narrow console, his arm came awfully close to Mandy’s. Even at a small distance, he definitely felt currents of warmth spread between them as he watched her face flush. She snuck him a glance and gave his hand a sharp tap.

  “All talk, cowboy. You Ryders are good at talk.”

  “Ouch.” Brody grimaced, resting a hand over his chest. “That hurt.”

  “I ain’t a stranger to this town. I know how y’all roll.” Mandy gave him a playful jab in the chest. “Especially you, rock star. Trouble see, trouble do.”

  Man, was this woman a piece of fine art that demanded appreciation. Brody paused at a stop sign and looked her over. He’d gotten a hefty eyeful when she first arrived in the living room. The sight made his cock shoot up, and a dozen different scenarios tumbled through his head, leaving him at a loss for breath and words and sense. Never before had a woman affected him so, and he doubted a woman ever would after her.

  His pa always told him and Craig they’d know when that one woman stepped into their lives. Intuition would stop them dead in their tracks and make everything around them seem so trivial, and that angel sent down from heaven would consume every piece of them.

  Amanda Pearson might very well be his angel. Her witty comments should’ve aggravated him, but instead, he acknowledged the truth in her words and smiled the sting away.

  “I wasn’t the best behaved kid on the block. You’ve got that right. None of us were,” Brody said. He followed the perfect curve of her jaw with a single finger, swallowing down the urge to throw the box in park and kiss her. Her glossy lips parted on a breath, and those dark, soul-searching eyes of hers misted. “But who, or what, is to say a man can’t change?”

  “A man can change, Brody. I didn’t say a man can’t.”

  Mandy’s hand wrapped around his. He turned his palm around, slipping his fingers between hers. Her skin was unbelievably soft and satiny, like the curls that caught in his grip. Her hand was small and delicate in his rough, callused one, and it fit perfectly. He drew his thumb down the center of her palm and lightly stroked her wrist, watching her pupils swallow the chocolate of her irises. She blinked her thick-lashed eyes, feathery shadows casting along the creamy skin of her cheeks. His gaze lowered to the swells of her breasts that rose and fell, short and shallow.

  He curled one finger around her pointer and drew the tip of her soft pad across his lower lip then kissed it lightly. He couldn’t tear his gaze from her, loving the way her cheeks darkened and her nostrils flared.

  Her tongue swept across her lips. The small action left him on a dangerous cliff. If he fell, nothing would save him.

  Brody closed his eyes, soaking in the warmth that radiated off this woman. Her hair smelled sweet, like springtime lilacs that his momma grew back in the garden. Her perfume was light and clean, something that reminded him of sunny summer days and orchards. Everything about her was sweet and delicious, enticing and sophisticated.

  His mouth watered, his cock throbbed, and his heart was a mad, racing mess in his chest. He caught her heavy-lidded gaze and leaned closer to her, their noses brushing.

  “I’ve changed since then, Amanda,” he murmured, using their entwined fingers to tip her chin. Her breath spread against his lips, hot and moist.

  “You called me Ama
nda.”

  He moistened his own lips and brought his mouth within a hairbreadth of hers. His breath hitched, that smooth current he felt a moment ago lighting fireworks against his flesh. He had wanted more than a simple kiss earlier, but he refrained from making a fool of himself.

  “I did,” he whispered, closing that crackling space between them. The charge bolted through him as he tilted his head, sweeping his tongue through her pliant lips, coaxing her tongue to move in a slow dance with his. He caressed her collarbone with the backs of his knuckles before unfurling his hands and combing his fingers up through her hair.

  Her hand came to rest against the side of his face, her warm skin singeing his feverish flesh. She followed his kiss, each slow, lazy sweep of his tongue as he explored the wonders of her mouth. His muscles bunched in an effort to keep from plundering her with the hungry kisses he wanted to deliver. Her short nails scraped over his brow, sending chills down his spine to spiral through his balls.

  He groaned, tilting her head and pressing his kiss deeper. He drank her in, from the taste of her sweet mouth to the heat of her breath. He curled his fingers in her hair to keep them from dropping south, as they itched to do. Her breasts, those lovely twin mounds, were calling for his touch by the subtle arch of her back. Her fingers played along his temple before they slid along the short strands of hair above his ear.

  A horn honked. Mandy jerked back, blinking away the sexy mist. Brody chuckled, touching his bottom lip as he glanced through the back window. A large pickup had pulled up practically on his back bumper. He settled in his seat and turned onto the small stretch of barren road that connected to the main road into the next town. The pickup turned the opposite direction, speeding down toward Colt’s wheat fields.

  He caught Mandy chewing her bottom lip. His own burned for more of her kisses, for more of her flavor. Their date hadn’t even begun, and he was quickly wondering how far into it they’d get before he couldn’t stand the thought of being proper any longer. His cock pulsed powerfully. The idea of forgetting dinner and going somewhere private was awfully tempting, if he had a bigger rental.