Piper, though, remained loyal to Zeke, stepping into his cupped hands to mount Lucky.
Once she was in the saddle, Zeke turned to address the group. “Since Teague’s offered his assistance for these lessons, we’ve decided to shake things up a bit. We tacked up the horses, but at the end of the lesson, we’ll have a hands-on session on removing the tack and grooming the horses. Next Monday, you’ll learn how to tack them up yourself.”
“Yay!” Tatum glanced over at Piper. “Aren’t you excited?”
“I am, but these saddles look heavy and the horses are tall.”
“All true, Piper,” Teague said. “So we’ll give you techniques to deal with those issues.”
Val leaned close to Nell. “I love a man with techniques.”
“I think Claire’s counting on it.”
“She did this?”
“He works for the lady who’s giving her barrel racing lessons.”
“Oh. I didn’t put that together. What a little devil.”
“Are you upset?”
Val chuckled. “Not exactly.”
“Didn’t think so. Let’s go mount up.” She glanced at Val. “Unless you want that broad-shouldered cowboy to assist you?”
“Heck, no. If he’s drawn to the helpless female type, then he’s not for me. Let’s get this show on the road.” She buckled her helmet, marched over to Sundance and swung into the saddle as if she’d been doing it all her life.
Nell envied Val her long legs. She approached Butch with the same show of confidence, but her mounting technique had a herky-jerky quality. Although she made it into the saddle, it wasn’t pretty. She cussed a little under her breath.
“Something wrong?” Zeke’s soft question caught her by surprise. He stood beside her, hat pushed back, head tilted so he could meet her gaze.
Her heart did a stutter-step. “I wish I could get on and off more gracefully. I know I need the stirrups to be adjusted like that because my legs are shorter than Val’s, but it’s harder for me to reach the stirrup with my foot. And after I do, I’m off-balance.”
He nodded. “Which means you might have to start doing push-ups.”
“Why? I’m just holding the reins.”
“That’s after you use your strong arms to pull yourself into the saddle.”
“Oh. Pushups, huh?”
“It’s a simple way to build up strength in your arms and upper body.”
“I suppose it is, but I’m a dunce when it comes to working out. I aced all my high school classes except gym. I nearly flunked gym. How sad is that?”
“Tell you what. I’ll give you some pointers tomorrow night.”
She stared at him, her heart racing. “Wh-what?”
His gaze was steady, but laughter gleamed in the depths of those dark eyes. “Perfect opportunity, right?”
“I can’t believe you said that. Now I’m thinking about—”
“Exactly what I’ve been thinking about for three solid days. Welcome to the club.”
Chapter Seventeen
“You look great in that black shirt, Dad. Are you excited about your date?”
“Sure am.” It took all he had to make that response sound casual. He put the truck in gear and pulled away from the bunkhouse. “Are you excited to be spending the night at Gramma Henri’s?”
“I can’t wait! We’re going to have so much fun. Those trains in the basement are awesome, Dad. I can’t believe you and my uncles haven’t been down there yet. Georgie loves them, too.”
“We keep talking about it. To tell the truth, I think some of your uncles are afraid they’ll get emotional.”
“That’s what Gramma Henri said. She was at first, but she got over it. She said Charley would want someone to enjoy them.”
“I’ll bring it up with Jake. He’ll give me the straight scoop.” He loved being able to count on that.
“I have my fingers crossed for Uncle Teague and Miss Jenson. I hope they have a good time.”
“They probably will.” He had to admit Val and Teague had gravitated to each other from the get-go. Val had already planned to go to the Moose with the Buckskin gang. Teague’s offer to pick her up on his way into town made perfect sense. But none of that would have happened without Claire.
“I had a feeling they’d like each other. Wish I could be there to see how it goes. I don’t suppose you would—”
“Spy on them?”
“Not spy, exactly. I’d just like to know—”
“Sorry, sweetie. I won’t give you a report on their date.” Or mine.
“I knew you’d say that.” She sighed. “I get it. Whatever happens is their private business.”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to report on your date with Miss O’Connor, either.”
“Good.”
“I don’t need a report, anyway. I know you’ll both have an amazing time. I—oh, look! There’s Uncle Garrett and Aunt Anna with Georgie. We arrived when they did. Hey, they could leave their truck here and ride into town with you!”
“Well, actually—”
“No, you’re right. Bad idea. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
His breath caught. Was she aware he’d be spending the night at Nell’s? If she was, that made him a little uncomfortable. She was eight, so she probably had some knowledge about what went on between couples.
But he hadn’t ever discussed the birds and the bees with her. He’d figured on waiting until she was… nine? Hell, he had no idea when it would be appropriate. He needed some advice on that before long. In fact, he should—
“You can’t all ride in your truck, Dad. Your backseat’s way too small.”
“You’re so right, sweetie.” He shut off the engine and breathed a sigh of relief. The talk could wait a while longer.
No sooner was Claire out of the truck, her overnight bag in her hand, than she was assaulted by Georgie. He grabbed her free hand and tugged her toward the porch steps. “Sissy! Come on! We play trains!”
Anna laughed and glanced over at Zeke. “You’d think they hadn’t seen each other in months.”
“To Georgie, last Sunday probably feels like months.” Zeke lowered his voice as he drew closer to Garrett. “Appreciate you taking Claire for the day on Sunday. I was…” He trailed off and managed a sheepish grin. “Not quite with the program.”
“Glad to do it.” Garrett squeezed his shoulder. “She’s a big help to us.”
“That’s for sure,” Anna said. “I love having her around and Georgie really loves it.”
“Claire does, too. She talks about him all the time. He’s the little brother she always wanted.”
“I see that.” Garrett smiled as he watched Claire slowly climb the steps so Georgie could keep up with her. “We’d offer to repeat the situation tomorrow, but I’m escorting a large group on a trail ride and Anna’s taking Georgie to day care. Jake desperately needs her at Raptors Rise. They’re crazy busy.”
“That’s good to hear, and I would never assume you’d cover for me every weekend. I’ll be in better shape tomorrow. I’ll make sure of it. Clare’s supposed to be shadowing me this summer, so I’ll be introducing her to the joys of digging post holes.”
“Funny thing is, for her it will be a joy. I’ve never seen a kid so excited about ranch chores as that girl.”
Zeke nodded. “This is her happy place, all right.” He glanced at his phone. “I need to get going, but first I’m going to pop in and tell Claire goodbye.”
“We’re right behind you. I’m not sure Georgie cares whether we say goodbye. He’s usually too involved in whatever he and Claire are doing. The goodbye part is more for Anna and me.”
“Right. We want them to be self-sufficient, but…”
“We still hope they need us,” Anna said. “At least a little bit.”
Henri had the kids in the living room taking pictures of them in the engineer’s hats she’d bought them.
“Oh, my goodness!” Anna grab
bed her phone and hurried to do the same. “Henri, you realize you’re spoiling these children.”
“That’s a gramma’s privilege.” She picked up a baby version of the hat. “This one’s for Cleo Marie. She won’t be here for another fifteen minutes or so. When I get one of all three of them, I’ll send them to you.”
“Great.”
The goodbye scene was short and sweet, because Claire and Georgie were impatient to head for the basement. Zeke thanked Henri for the hat and her willingness to keep his daughter overnight.
“I have more fun than they do,” Henri said with a smile.
“I just want you to know how much I appreciate—”
“I know you do, Zeke. You’re a good man and a wonderful dad. Now go have a great time with Nell. You deserve some fun, too.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” He put on his hat, touched two fingers to the brim, and left. He was running a few minutes behind, so he swung into the driver’s seat and sent a short text to Nell. Leaving Henri’s now. Be there as soon as I can.
Her reply came zipping back. I’ll be waiting. Don’t speed.
He’d planned to do exactly that and keep an eye out for cops. Okay, I won’t. So now he couldn’t. And the limit was fifty-five.
He kept the needle on the double nickel and tapped the steering wheel, his nerves screaming at him to push the pedal to the metal. Other vehicles passed him, which was humiliating but bearable because he didn’t know them. Then CJ swerved around him while honking and waving out the window. Cheeky bastard. To be fair, though, hardly anyone did fifty-five on this road, especially when it was still light out.
After an eternity, he arrived at her bungalow as sunset bathed the house in golden light. Parking quickly, he jumped out and hurried up the walk, the blood pumping through his veins as he took the porch steps two at a time.
She pushed open the screen door. “Hi. I’m glad you wore that black shirt.”
“You said you liked it.” He stepped inside and reached for her. Then he paused and gazed at her carefully applied makeup. It was much more elaborate than she’d worn last week and included sparkles on her eyelids and something that made her red lips gleam like satin. “If I do what I intended to do, I’ll mess you up.”
“I could repair it.”
“No, that wouldn’t be right. You look beautiful, Nell. Not more beautiful than you are without it, but I’ll bet you had fun putting it on.”
“I did. The fancy stuff matches my mood. Tonight, I’m not Miss O’Connor, circumspect grade-school teacher.”
“Oh?” He smiled. “Who might you be, then?”
She stroked a hand up his chest. “I’m Eleanor, sex goddess, worshipped by handsome cowboys like yourself.”
He swallowed. “You’ve got that right. And if we don’t head out to my truck immediately, I’ll start worshipping ASAP.”
“Then let’s go.” She grabbed the same small purse she’d had a week ago, picked up her keys lying next to it, and started out the door. “We promised each other we’d go to the Moose tonight and hang out with the Buckskin gang.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He followed her out and waited while she locked the door. “But I didn’t know I’d be dealing with Eleanor, sex goddess.”
She laughed. “Neither did I, but I went shopping today and bought a few things.”
“Like that outfit?” He’d been so focused on not kissing her that he hadn’t paid attention to what she had on. He stepped back to admire the combo of a low-cut white knit tank top and a swirly white skirt, both decorated with silver beads. “I like it.”
“It kinda goes with your black shirt. A yin/yang thing.”
“That round symbol with the black and white parts curved against each other?”
“Yes, that.”
“That always seemed sexual to me.”
“It is, in a way.” She tucked her keys in her purse and started across the porch. “I bought party boots, too.”
“Sexy.” The short white boots also had silver bling. The memory of stroking her shapely calves made his fingers curl.
“The party boots suit Eleanor. Everything does, including my undies.”
He sucked in a breath. “You really shouldn’t have told me that.”
“Oh, but I had to. That’s how a sex goddess operates. She teases you with the possibilities and then makes you wait for it until you’re crazy with lust.”
“What if the crazy-with-lust part has already happened?”
She glanced over her shoulder and flashed him a grin. “Then you’re in for a challenging evening.”
He groaned.
“Don’t feel too bad. It’ll be challenging for me, too. My lacy white panties are already damp.”
Her shenanigans might be the death of him, but he’d die a happy man.
Chapter Eighteen
Nell had never made a grand entrance in her life. But walking into the Choosy Moose on the arm of Zeke Lassiter while wearing a sexy outfit qualified. Maybe everyone in the room didn’t turn and stare, but many did.
“Hey, look at you, girlfriend.” Val came over from the bar, a drink in her hand and Teague right behind her. “Look at both of you. Did you coordinate your outfits?”
Nell laughed and shook her head. “Not exactly. I knew Zeke had a fancy black shirt with silver piping and I bought my outfit thinking it would be a fun matchup if he showed up in the shirt. And he did.”
Teague grinned. “I hope you’ve been practicing your dance moves. Folks are gonna expect a performance.”
“I didn’t think of that.” Nell grimaced. “You mean like Dancing with the Stars? I wasn’t trying to—”
“Nah, I’m just teasing you. You both look terrific. Come on over. We saved you a place.”
“In the booth?”
“The booth was maxed out when we arrived. They tried to squeeze us in, but since I knew you two were coming, I grabbed us a four-top right next to the booth. Sitting at a table will give us easier access to the dance floor.”
“Good idea, Teague. Thanks.”
“It’s a great idea,” Nell said. “I just want to take a minute to say hello to everybody.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Nell stepped over to the booth, Zeke by her side, his arm around her waist. Judging from all those smiling faces, the gang approved the matchup. “Hey, everybody.”
“Hey, yourself,” Isabel said. “Nice outfit!”
“Thanks. How’s Cleo Marie’s teething situation?”
“Better, thank goodness. You have to see this shot of her with Claire and Georgie. Henri gave them all train engineer’s hats.” She pulled out her phone and tapped on it before handing it across the table.
“Oh, my gosh.” In a large easy chair, Claire held the baby on her lap and Georgie snuggled next to her. They each wore a gray-and-white striped cap. “I love it. Look, Zeke.”
“Very cute. I’ll bet I have one on my phone. Henri said she’d text one to me once Cleo Marie was there.”
“Which reminds me,” CJ’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Why were you poking along the road into town like you were out for a Sunday drive?”
“I… um… promised Nell I wouldn’t speed.”
Her breath caught. Clearly he’d taken her request very seriously. She slipped her arm around his waist and gave a little squeeze as she murmured a quick thank you.
“Dude, nobody does fifty-five on that road. It’s—”
“He was keeping his promise to his lady,” Jake said, warmth in his voice. “My brother and I are big on keeping our promises, right, Zeke?
“Yes, sir.”
“Come to think of it,” Matt said, “So was Charley.”
“That he was.” CJ lifted his cider bottle in Zeke’s direction. “I stand corrected. Well done, Zeke.”
Jake lifted his bottle, too. “Here’s to you, little brother. I imagine you’re thirsty after that long, slow drive. I recommend you and your lady snag yourselves a cool one.”
“Will do.” His
hand tightened on her waist as he started to turn around.
“See you all on the dance floor,” she called over her shoulder. Then she leaned closer to Zeke. “That was very sweet. I had no idea you’d take me that literally.”
“Couldn’t see a way around it. Anything over fifty-five is technically speeding.”
She glanced up at him. “I have the urge to kiss you right now.”
He smiled. “Nice to know. Hold that thought.”
Their table was only steps away. When they reached it, he pulled out her chair and helped her into it. That’s when the reality hit her.
She was on a date with Zeke Lassiter. He was hers for the evening—for dinner and for dancing. And for… her whole body flushed with anticipation.
“Nell?” He touched her hand where it rested on the table. “You okay?”
She met his gaze. “I’ve never been better.”
“Glad to hear it. When you didn’t answer me, I got worried.”
“What did you say?”
“I asked what you’d like to drink. The wait staff looks busy, so I’ll go to the bar and fetch it.”
She glanced at Teague and Val, who each had a glass of what looked like champagne. An ice bucket sat on the far side of the table “Is that what I think it is?”
Teague lifted his glass. “We felt like celebrating. If you’d like some, I’ll get us a couple more glasses and order a second bottle.”
She hesitated. It might be more expensive than regular wine. Probably was.
Before she’d made a choice, Zeke spoke up. “Is that the kind Ed likes?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go with it. If you like champagne at all, Nell, you’ll love this one.”
“I do like it, but—”
“Then it’s decided. Teague, I’ll head over to the bar with you.”
“Alrighty.” Teague pushed back his chair. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us.”
“Of course.” Valerie winked at him. “Gives us a chance to talk about you while you’re gone.”
Teague’s eyebrows lifted. “Women do that, too?”
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