Then Tyler had to get rid of his shirt stained with blood that came out of the packs Adam had taped to his back and chest before the show—a remote held by one of their assistants outside the ring triggered the bursts of blood at the appropriate moments. Now Tyler rushed to the horse trailer they used as a dressing room and dug around for a clean button-down shirt, changing his dust-coated jeans as well.
By the time Tyler made it to Lanny D’s, the place was packed. It was Sunday, the day families went to church, to the rodeo, and to lunch at Lanny D’s. Tyler scanned the restaurant, hoping the crowd hadn’t made his brothers give up and go elsewhere. He let out a breath of relief when he saw Adam’s dark head over the mob, and next to him, Jessica.
They were sitting at a table against the far wall, so Tyler had to pick his way over, dodging kids, waitresses, and customers coming and going. Mrs. Alvarez, the dark-haired woman of about fifty, sat close on Jess’s right, while Adam squashed in on her left. Dominic sat between Grant and Carter across the table, Dominic’s mouth moving as he talked animatedly.
Tyler ducked around a waiter with a heavily laden tray and reached the table, to find there was no room for him. Six chairs surrounded two smaller tables pulled together, with only a tiny space between those tables’ ends and the crammed-full ones on either side. Tyler’s daydream of snuggling up close to Jess crumbled and died.
His brothers had obviously become friends with her already. He could tell by Jess’s easy smile at whatever Adam was saying, and by the way Grant listened with interest to Dominic’s chatter. Carter’s shoulders were relaxed, his suspicious tension of last night gone. Mrs. Alvarez had joined the conversation with Grant and Dominic, her look that of a woman enjoying a chat.
Tyler had to stand at the corner of the table for five minutes before anyone noticed him. No good shouting at them—he couldn’t hear a damn thing over this noise.
Mrs. Alvarez finally spied Tyler and called, “Someone get Mr. Campbell a seat!”
Jess rose about an inch then sank down, sending Tyler a rueful look. She couldn’t budge. Grant started up, but Mrs. Alvarez had already taken charge.
“Are you using that chair?” she yelled to the people at the next table, a mix of women and men in a huddle so they could hear each other. Mrs. Alvarez pointed to an empty seat on their far side.
One of the guys waved. “No, go ahead.” Tyler couldn’t actually hear his words, but that’s what the man’s mouth said.
Tyler grabbed the chair with a nod of thanks. He turned it around, fitting it at the corner next to Grant. Mrs. Alvarez wasn’t about to move and let Tyler sit next to Jess, and by the looks of things, neither was Adam.
The brothers glanced at Tyler indulgently as they’d done when he and Ross had been the littlest Campbells, stuck at the baby table during holiday dinners. Tyler was twenty-seven now and still his brothers could make him feel like an afterthought. The only reason they didn’t treat Ross, even younger than Tyler, like that was because Ross was usually armed.
They’d already ordered, of course. Tyler didn’t need a menu since he ate the same thing every time he came here, but he had to wait until the server happened by to refill everyone’s iced teas before asking for something to eat and drink. Normally he’d smile flirtatiously at the waitress so she’d hurry back, but today, not only didn’t he want to do something like that in front of Jess, their server wasn’t a woman but a burly young man with a sour look on his face.
Once the server had shuffled away, Tyler strained to hear the conversations around him. Whatever Adam and Jess were talking about, Carter putting a word in every once in a while, was lost in the roar. Grant had his head turned to listen to Dominic, which left Tyler with the dragon, Mrs. Alvarez.
“Carter says his wife is about to have a baby,” Mrs. Alvarez said loudly. “His second. He has a little girl already, right? Grant and Adam are new fathers, they say.” Tyler nodded. Adam’s son and Grant’s little girl were already in danger of being the most spoiled rotten pair in River County, but they’d be rivaled by Carter’s baby when it came. Faith, Carter’s daughter, doted on the cousins like a mother hen. Faith was crazy excited about Carter’s upcoming kid, looking forward to having a brother or sister of her own.
“What about you?” Mrs. Alvarez demanded. “Do you have any children? Are you married?”
The woman didn’t pull any punches. She eyed Tyler with sharp assessment as Tyler answered.
“Never married. No kids.”
“Why not?” Mrs. Alvarez’s dark eyes were shrewd. She’d seen plenty of the world, those eyes said.
Tyler shrugged, struggling a little more with the truth. “Right one never came along?”
Mrs. Alvarez looked him up and down. Tyler could follow her thoughts—here was a healthy man, young but not too young, with a well-off family and a job, if you could call jumping onto horses and falling off them a job. The business was lucrative, anyway, and Tyler got his cut. So why was he single? Tyler should have married a girl from the next ranch and settled down by now.
It was more complicated than that, but Tyler wasn’t about to yell his life story to Mrs. Alvarez over the crowd at Lanny D’s.
“Girlfriend?” the dragon went on.
“Not at the moment,” Tyler admitted. This was certainly true. Tyler’s relationships never lasted long. A few months was his record.
Mrs. Alvarez firmed her mouth as though she could read his thoughts. Tyler couldn’t blame her for being suspicious. In a way, he was glad she was so protective of Jessica.
Tyler wanted to ask Mrs. Alvarez all about Jess, picking her brain about Jess’s life, but the noise level in the restaurant only increased. Finally it became impossible to talk at all, and Mrs. Alvarez went back to watching Dominic.
Adam had no problem leaning down to speak into Jess’s ear—whatever he said had her laughing. Tyler hoped Adam wasn’t telling her hilarious and embarrassing stories about him.
The food came for everyone else, and Tyler had to watch while they ate. Jess shot him a glance and pointed to her fries, offering to share, but Tyler shook his head.
Much more fun if he’d been sitting beside her while she fed the fries to him. He imagined her fingers at his lips, wiping off the clinging salt. He’d kiss her fingertips, maybe nipping one.
The vision made the noisy barbecue house abruptly fall away, until only Tyler and Jess existed. Together, alone, she looking at him in the sultry way she’d done when they’d finished making love the first time. She’d watch him nip her finger, then she’d take his hand and slide it down the front of her shirt while she leaned to him and kissed his lips, tasting of salt and Jess …
A kid shrieked behind him, slicing through Tyler’s thoughts. The boy was in a highchair not far away, bouncing, laughing, screeching—another person having fun while Tyler ate his heart out.
Jess lifted a fry and took a dainty bite. Tyler grabbed his iced tea and gulped it down to halt his hardening cock. He longed for a beer, but the brothers had a rule that they always went into the ring sober. Their trick riding depended on balance and timing—if one thing was off, they’d be heading to the ER, or worse.
The waiter jostled Tyler’s arm as he dumped Tyler’s barbecued beef sandwich in front of him. Tea sloshed into Tyler’s face, and he started to cough, grabbing a napkin to mop up.
Jess flashed him a look. Her face was pink, her mouth bunched up as though trying politely to hold in her amusement, but the next second, she gave up and let out a laugh.
She was lovely when she laughed. Tyler couldn’t hear her over the chaos but her face lit up and her dark eyes sparkled. Gone was any tension in her face, any tightness.
Again, the restaurant fell away, and he and Jess were the only two people in the world. She’d laugh at him as she pulled him closer. Tyler would lift her shirt and lean down to lick the path of her tatts. He swore he felt Jess’s fingertips on his face, her breath on his skin, her heartbeat under his lips.
Something clattered then
smashed. Tyler jerked out of his daze and realized the others had finished their meal. The waiter had been grabbing up the dirty plates and dropped one.
While other servers came out of the woodwork and helped him clean up, Adam and Carter gallantly assisting, Tyler bolted his sandwich, trying not to choke on it. He wiped his mouth on the last bite, and the waiter snatched the plate out from under him. The guy hadn’t been this attentive when Tyler had sat down.
Now everyone was leaving. Time to get back to the arena and prep for the evening show.
Tyler was cut off from Jess as they pushed their way out of the restaurant. He’d never realized his brothers were so damned big, but they blocked his way every direction he turned. They didn’t do it on purpose—they were just natural obstacles.
Not until he burst into the sunny parking lot was Tyler able to sidestep around Carter and reach Jess.
“Can I talk to you a minute?” he asked.
Chapter Eight
Jess at least turned back to Tyler, flushing a little as she waited for him. Tyler knew he was about to embarrass her, but there was no use hoping for a fortuitous moment or a second alone with her—Tyler knew that wouldn’t happen with his luck.
Dominic headed for them. Mrs. Alvarez, with canny perception, caught his hand. “Let’s go see the Campbells’ truck.”
Dominic pivoted and trotted readily away with her, following Adam. This finally left Tyler alone with Jess—that is, alone with half of Dallas who’d decided to come to Lanny D’s today.
“Your ticket will let you into the second show,” Tyler said, stammering over the words. Smooth. Real smooth.
He knew as soon as Jess dropped her gaze that she wasn’t staying, and something churned in his gut. “Dominic has school tomorrow,” she said. “Summer is over—it starts this week. He can’t be out too late.”
“Yeah.” Tyler couldn’t tell a mom to blow off her son getting a good night’s sleep before school. Carter had all kinds of rules for Faith that he wouldn’t let anyone break.
Tyler cleared his throat and adjusted his hat—a backup for the backup he’d given Dominic. “Maybe after the show, you and I could—”
Jess was already shaking her head. “Mrs. Alvarez doesn’t babysit on Sundays. She came with us today for the fun of it, not to work.”
“Okay, then.” How pushy could Tyler let himself be? A hell of a lot more than this, he decided, if it meant not saying farewell to Jessica forever. “I could stop by after the show, just to say good-bye. Tonight’s our last night in Dallas.”
Her eyes flickered, pain flaring before she hid it from him. “Dominic would be too excited to sleep if you came over. Like I said, he has school tomorrow.”
Damn it, why was Tyler trying so hard? Jess obviously wanted him to walk away, so why wasn’t he walking away?
Because she was worth the fight. Worth anything he had to do.
“You still have the card I gave you, right?” When Jess nodded, Tyler drew on his courage. “I wasn’t kidding when I said you could call. You call anytime. Next weekend, I don’t have any shows. Riverbend is only four hours away. Easy for me to drive up here—”
“I have to work.” Not a lie, but again, Jess was grabbing at an excuse.
Tyler’s stomach turned over again, and he knew it wasn’t because of the barbecued beef he’d eaten too rapidly. “So tell me when you’re not working, and I’ll come. Anyway, you need to get yourself out of that dive. It won’t do Dominic any good if you get hurt there.”
Oops. Tyler, who had the right line for every woman on every occasion, had just managed to say exactly the wrong thing. Jess’s head came up, defiance sparkling in her eyes.
“I told you, it’s fine,” she snapped. “It’s the best I can do for now. And it’s none of your business.”
Tyler raised his hands and took a step back. “Okay. Excuse me for caring.”
Jess’s face was dark red. “Thank you for the tickets. It was fun. Dominic! Let’s go.”
She was going to walk away. Out of his life. Gone, like she’d never been there. The emptiness that kicked through him not only hurt but scared him to death.
Tyler caught her arm. At first Jess resisted, then she relaxed and let him pull her close to him. “Promise you’ll call me. If you need help, if you need anything. Please, Jess.”
Tyler Campbell never pleaded, not with women. He loved them and walked away. But, this was different.
Jess’s chest lifted in a sharp breath. Tyler stilled until Jess gave him a barely perceptible nod.
Tyler exhaled in some relief. Now he should release her, suck it up, and walk away.
Instead, he laced his hand behind her head and pulled her to him for one hard kiss. Jess started beneath him, then she did what she’d done last night—gave into the feeling and kissed him readily in return.
Her mouth was heat, spice, the sweetness of Jess. Tyler slowed the kiss, savoring her as long as he could, while Jess held on to him as though the crowds that swept by didn’t exist. Hot wind swirled around them, the sun pounded down, and the blast of voices pushed at them.
None of it mattered. Jess was his for the moment, still under his touch, her kiss the best thing that had happened to him in a long time.
When Tyler finally eased away, he and Jess simply looked at each other, too much between them for words.
And yet, there wasn’t enough. Tyler would never have enough of Jess McFadden.
Jess slid from his embrace, gave him a look that held tears, and walked away, hurrying to join Dominic and Mrs. Alvarez. Tyler watched her go, her legs in form-hugging jeans something he’d dream about in the lonely nights.
But this wasn’t over. Tyler had pissed her off, pushing her too hard—he would learn how to talk to her. He wouldn’t give up, not by a long way, until he saw Jess again, and made her give him a chance to coax her into his life.
* * *
Monday morning after a show meant letting the horses who’d performed rest—light exercise, nothing more. The brothers didn’t get to rest though, Tyler thought grumpily. Ranch work went on, plus they had their post-show meeting.
They gathered at the dining room table, the only place big enough for all Campbell brothers to sit with their notebooks and charts, plus food and drink. Adam and Carter were in full swing by mid-morning, discussing what had gone right and gone wrong in the show, Grant joking around as usual. Tyler doodled on the piece of paper in front of him and thought about Jess.
He’d had plenty of show fucks in his life. Once that weekend was over, Tyler would retain fond memories of the fun, but he moved on. He focused on horses and helped run the ranch. He didn’t draw loops that reminded him of Jess’s tatts and daydream about her like a teenager.
But as he kept telling himself, Jess was different. She wasn’t like the women who followed the rodeos, looking for a cowboy and another notch on her bedpost.
Jess’s surrender had been honest, an opening up that had startled him. She hadn’t held back, giving all of herself. He could still feel her beneath him, relive every thrust, every touch of her hands, every taste of her. She’d been incredible.
Then when he’d suggested they continue what they’d started, Jess had closed up and shut him out. No woman had ever done that to Tyler. He and his show lay would either part in mutual agreement, or Tyler eased himself out, letting the woman down as gently as he could.
He should take the hint, walk away, never look back. Dallas was a big city—too damned big in his opinion. He’d never seen Jess before when he’d gone up there, and if he didn’t seek her out, he probably never would again. Cities swallowed people, made them anonymous.
Tyler drew another curl, like the one that encircled her nipple.
“And we’ll finish by blowing up Tyler’s head,” Grant said. “Or maybe his balls.”
Tyler blinked. He realized he’d been drawing on their show schedule for the next year, blotting out all of September. “What?”
His brothers were staring at him.
Grant waved a big hand in front of Tyler’s face. “Oh, good, he’s still in there.”
“I think he’s still in Dallas,” Adam said. “With a pretty bartender.”
“She’s nice,” Carter said, which was high praise from the taciturn man. “But trouble,” he went on. “Lots of baggage. Watch yourself.”
“What’s wrong, Tyler?” Grant said as Tyler scowled. “She give you the boot?”
“I barely know the woman,” Tyler growled. “I just thought her kid would like the show.”
Grant shook his head. “Yeah, that’s why you took her to your hotel room, I get it. To convince her to bring Dominic to the show.”
“So she did give him the shove,” Adam said with sympathy.
Grant suddenly became serious. “Don’t take no for an answer, little brother,” he said. “Go back next weekend and try again. You gotta let a woman know you want her.”
They all watched Tyler, Carter with caution, Adam with some understanding.
“Like you did with Christina?” Tyler said to Grant. “Yeah, you two had a relationship we all want to model.”
“I know,” Grant said without offense. “This is how I learned. Take it from me. Be up front with what you want—don’t let Jess walk away because of a misunderstanding.”
“There wasn’t a misunderstanding,” Tyler snapped. “You have to have a conversation for a misunderstanding. I couldn’t get next to her at the damned restaurant to say two words to her.”
“Meaning the night before you didn’t have a conversation either?” Grant asked, eyes twinkling. “What were you doing all that time in your room?”
“Not saying two words,” Adam said, then let out his deep laughter. Carter unbent to chuckle with him.
Tyler’s brothers’ amusement and knowing looks irritated the hell out of him. They did this all the time, teased Tyler about his women. He remembered the day they’d started, about five years ago now, and he’d actually been grateful that they’d quit tiptoeing around him.
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