Between Two Sisters (contemporary western romance novella) (5 page)

Too late now; he couldn’t back out of their date. He rubbed his temples and vowed it would be a one-time thing, and he wouldn’t sleep with her, no matter how tempting the offer was. He could take her out for a few beers, just to hang out together, and nothing more.

His anxiety about Friday night left him tossing and turning in bed again that night. Unable to stand it another minute, he threw on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and headed out the door. No use staying in bed if he couldn’t sleep. He might as well go for a walk and visit Gobie.

The fresh air and walk to the barn did him some good and helped him to clear his mind. He could date Cass, if he wanted to. They would just have to go slow. He was an adult, damn it, surely he could handle this without jeopardizing his job.

As he approached the barn, he saw the interior lights were on. With a frown, he slid open the door and stepped inside, wondering who else was up at this hour. The aisle on his side was clear, so he crossed through the tack room to the other side and stuck his head out the door to see who was in there.

It was Melanie. She was grooming her mare in the aisle, singing a quiet song to her while she brushed her. She was in flannel pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt, with her
hair piled up in a knot on top her head.

Billy watched her for a moment before stepping out into the aisle and clearing his throat to announce his presence.

“What are you doing out here, at this hour?” he asked her as he approached her mare and patted her flank softly.

“I could ask you the same thing,” she mused. “I couldn’t sleep, and the barn’s one of my favorite places, so I thought I might as well come out here. What about you?”

“Couldn’t sleep either,” he shrugged. He tried not to notice how beautiful she looked, even as disheveled as she was.

“I heard you’re taking Cass out this weekend.”

“Does your father know?” he asked quickly. He wondered exactly how many people Cass had mentioned it to.

Melanie threw her head back and laughed out loud. “Yes, he knows, and he’s fine with it. He knows you’re a good man, Billy. Don’t worry about it.”

Relief flooded through him at the news that Mr. Haffner knew about his date with Cass, but didn’t mind. He was slightly embarrassed that Melanie knew though, and he chastised himself for caring. It didn’t matter; she had a man already.

Melanie caught his eye. Her expression was solemn
as she stepped closer to him. “I wish it was me instead,” she whispered.

Billy’s breath caught in his throat when her words reached his ears. “But you’re with Marty.” His voice was husky and low,
and his throat tight.

“I know,” she replied softly, as she grasped his face i
n her hands and drew him to her with a tender look.

He knew he shouldn’t do it, but the years of yearning pent up inside him drowned out his common sense. He met her lips greed
ily, but then reigned in his passion to allow her to set the pace of their kiss.

It was gentle, and sweet, and everything he had dreamed of for most of his life. He rested one hand on the small of her back and pulled her closer yet, so she was flush against him. His free hand found her hair tie and released her waves of auburn hair before coming to rest on her upper back. She moaned softly with pleasure against him as her hands slipped under his shirt and caressed his bare back. His tensed with need as she ran her fingernails softly over his skin.

There was nothing in that moment but the two of them lost in their kiss. A nearby horse kicked loudly against its stall, pulling Billy back to reality. Reluctantly, he broke away from her.

“We can’t,” he whispered. It was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, breaking that kiss.

Melanie looked up at him with sad eyes as he reached up and stroked a strand of her soft hair away from her face.

“I know,” she whispered back as she leaned in to kiss him again.

He released her, and stepped back, his breathing ragged. “No, Melanie, we can’t! You’re with Marty!”

She nodded sadly as tears filled her eyes. “I am. And now you’re here, and I don’t know what to do!”

Her words angered him. It was simple in his mind. “Here’s an idea…either break up with Marty, and be with me, or stay with Marty, and this never happens again.”

Melanie began sobbing as she leaned against her horse for comfort. “I’m sorry,” she wailed. “I’m just so confused. Marty is great, but you… I’ve always wanted you, and here you are!”

Guilt twisted Billy’s insides into a knot. “I’m going to forget this ever happened, and I suggest you do the same. If things ever end between you and Marty, I want to hear about it, but until then, we can’t do this.” His chest heaved as he tried to bring his emotions under control. He wanted her, more than ever, but not like this. Nothing would make him happier than to have her, but it was Melanie, not some random girl from the bar. If he was going to have her, she needed to be his, and only his. He wouldn’t share her with another man. She meant so much more to him than stolen kisses in the barn, in the middle of the night. He wouldn’t degrade her, or himself, like that again.

“I love you, Melanie,” he told her softly. “I have forever, ever since we were kids. But I won’t be with you like this. We both deserve better! If things change in your life, you let me know. Until then, we’re just friends, okay?”

She didn’t answer him but instead cried harder. He took a step towards her, with the intentions of holding her close to comfort her, but then stopped. That wouldn’t help anything. If he held her close again, he didn’t think he could maintain his own self-control.

“I have to go. I’m going to try to forget this whole thing, and I suggest you do the same.” The sounds of her sobbing followed him out of the barn.

He broke into a run, and as he pushed himself to go as hard and as fast as he could on the way back to the cabin, he discovered that punishing his body did nothing to diminish the pain in his heart.

-5-

Sleep eluded him for the rest of the night. He flipped back and forth between being furious with himself for allowing the kiss to take place to begin with, and berating himself for not taking it further, just that once, so that he would have at least one intimate night with the woman of his dreams. The self-loathing consumed him.

Eventually, thoughts of Cass crept into his mind.
What would she think if she found out about this? They weren’t officially an item, so he didn’t feel like he needed to be loyal to her at this point, but he knew she would be crushed to discover he had kissed her sister. He didn’t want to hurt her, or Melanie.

By the time he rolled up to the barn at 8:00 to begin work for the day, he had come to a decision. The kiss he shared with Melanie had been glorious, but he was closing the door on all of that. He couldn’t allow himself to be consumed by her anymore; he couldn’t take the stress of waiting to discover if she would leave Marty or not. He would take Cass out Friday night as planned, and see what developed from there.

He tried to act natural as he approached Marty, who was waiting for him in front of the barn.

“So, we’re branding today,” he told Billy.

Billy relaxed as he noticed no animosity in the manager’s voice. He clearly didn’t know about the kiss that he had shared with Melanie.

“All right, let’s go.” They rode one of the Gators over to the cattle barn, and it was a busy morning as they branded the calves. Try as he might to find a reason not to like Marty, Billy found that he did. Guilt burned in his gut. One night stands were one thing, but sneaking around with another guy’
s girl was another entirely, and that wasn’t him. He took solace in the fact that it would never happen again.

They broke for lunch, and his heart hammered faster in his chest when he spied Melanie waiting for Marty, sitting on his truck bed flap.
Her short, frayed, cut off denim shorts showed off her legs beautifully.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Marty waved to her as he climbed out of the Gator. Billy swallowed hard as he tried to act casual.

“Hey, Melanie,” he called, giving her a stiff wave. He didn’t wait to see if she replied, but instead headed right for his truck. He tried not to look at the pair as he pulled away from the barn.

Back at his cabin, he threw off his shirt and
flopped onto his bed with a sigh. He thought about leaving the Haffner ranch. What was he staying for, anyway? Melanie wasn’t available, and now things were awkward between them.

A knock at that door interrupted his thoughts.
He opened the door, expecting it to be one of the ranch hands, or maybe Cass, and came face to face with Mr. Haffner.

“Hello, Sir. P
lease some in.” He put a smile on his face but inside he was a nervous wreck. He was suddenly convinced that he somehow knew about his secret embraces with Melanie the night before.

“Billy, how’re you finding the place?” he asked as he stepped inside and removed his cowboy hat.

“Oh, it’s great. I love it.”

“Good, good, but that’s not why I’m here today.” Billy gestured to the little kitchen table and Mr. Haffner took a seat. “I came to talk to you about Cass.”

“Cass?” Blood pounded in his ears as he waited for his employer to forbid him from taking his daughter out.

“I hear my little Cass has caught your eye, and you hers.” Billy nodded, unsure of how to respond. “A lot of men have chased my Cassandra these last few years, and I suspect she’s chased a few of them herself. There’s been a lot of broken hearts, both ways, with all of that.” He paused, and looked Billy square in the eye. “I just want to be sure you’re serious about her, and this isn’t just fun for you. My Cass doesn’t need any more men chasing her for the wrong reasons. You plan to do right by her?”

Billy nodded again, and finally found his voice. “I do, Sir.”

“I thought as much,” Mr. Haffner tipped his chair back and rested his hands behind his head as he studied Billy. “My Margaret was delighted to hear about your upcoming date, as was I, but I wanted to swing by and make sure we were square on things.”

Billy tried not to squirm under his scrutiny. This man had dropped by to make sure he had the best intentions towards his younger daughter, and it would have made him nervous any day, even if he hadn’t just shared a stolen kiss with his older one.

“We are. Cass is a great girl; I’ll be nothing but respectful towards her, Sir.”

“I’m delighted to hear that, and that’s exactly what I expect from you.” Mr. Haffner rose to leave, and Billy stood as well. “I hope things work out for you two; she’s a great gal, and she needs a good man to pull her back a bit. Perhaps you’ll be that man; we’ll see. Well, I’ve gotta get home for lunch, but it was good speaking to you, Billy. I assume we’ll see you up at the main house, to pick up Cass for your date?”

“Of course.” It hadn’t crossed his mind, but Mr. Haffner clearly expected him to collect his daughter for their date in the proper fashion, so that’s what he would do.

Mr. Haffner left, and Billy half-heartedly picked at a cold cut sandwich. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and food was the last thing on his mind. He had another busy afternoon of work ahead of him, so he forced himself to eat.

On his ride back to the barn, he spied Cass out in the meadows, cantering along on a roan horse. She was without her hat today, and even from a distance he could see her pale blonde hair flowing behind her in the wind. Seeing her made him wish he could talk to her again, and soon. The awkwardness of their
initial run-ins had been erased by the pleasant lunch they shared the day before. He found himself thinking Friday night couldn’t come fast enough. He couldn’t wait to spend more time with Cass again.

Melanie was not with Marty when he returned to the barn, and he was relieved about that. He didn’t expect to be able to avoid her forever, but he thought at least a few days distance in between them
would be good. It was his hope that she wasn’t furious with him for turning her down, but he was steadfast in his decision to distance himself from her unless she ended it with Marty.

Billy was relieved when 5:00 finally rolled around. He had been up two straight days with
little sleep, and all he wanted to do was go home and sleep straight through until morning. When he arrived back at the cabin, Ramiro was sitting on his front steps, waiting for him, with a six pack by his side.

“Don’t tell me it’s that she-devil
’s getting to you already?” he asked with a grin when he saw Billy’s worn-out face.

“No, it’s not Cass,” Billy repl
ied as he joined his new friend on the steps and cracked open a beer.

“I heard you’re taking her out this weekend.”

“Does everybody know about that, already?” Billy asked crossly.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, man. That one’s trouble!”

Billy bit back the rude reply that rose to his lips and tried to tactfully tell Ramiro to mind his own business. “She seems like a nice girl, and I’ve got the Haffner’s approval to take her out, so I guess whatever happens next is just between Cass and me.”

Ramiro shrugged. “It’s your funeral, man.
But the guys have already started placing bets on which sister you end up with.”