Falling For A Cowboy (21 page)

That sounded an awful lot like planning for a future
.
If she didn
’
t watch it, that spark of hope might ignite something.
“
I
’
d consider it.
”

He shot her a slow and sexy grin
.
“
Is that what you want,
to be a teacher
?
”

She loved kids, enjoyed teaching
.
But what she really loved w
ere
horses
,
which was
the reason
she worked the ranch in the summers
.
Maybe it was a legacy from her father. Maybe he had left her that after all.
Pride swelled inside of her
.
Not for herself but
,
for the first time
,
it was for her father.

But she
didn
’
t feel comfortable enough to
confess h
er dream to train horses, yet
.
Besides, what she really wanted would probably
be enough to
send him running.
No time like the present to
find out.
“
I like teaching, but I want more.
”

“
You do?
”

“
I want it all, Clay
.
Home, family.
”

“
Kids?
”

She nodded
—
especially kids
.
“
And a man who comes home at night.
”

“
Can
’
t imagine any man not coming home to you, sweetheart.
”
He gave her a wink
.

Why did he have to be so appealing
?
It was no wonder wom
e
n pulled back the covers for him
.
Just like she had done.
“
And you, what do you want?
”

“
Besides
more time with
you?
I don
’
t know
.
I
’
m just in the process of finding that out
.
But I
’
m looking in the same direction as you are.
”

“
Really?
”

He chuckled
.
“
I hear that disbelief in your voice
.
I don
’
t blame you
.
You had me pegged pretty accurately
.
I have been a player.
A one-night stand kind of guy.
But maybe that
’
s because I hadn
’
t found the right woman.
”
His gaze traveled along her body as if to make sure she had no doubt as to his meaning.

“
You don
’
t even know me, Clay.
”

“
Funny, I feel
like
I do. I feel like I
’
ve known you all my life.
”
He reached a hand across the table and settled it over her
s
.
“
And
I
’
m coming back, darling
, n
ext weekend
,
to
find out even more
. That
’
s a promise.
”

The sun beat down on
Dusty
’
s
back as she sat on the blistering hot seat at the only free table near the edge of the
hospitality
tent. Thank goodness her scrap of
a
black skirt covered enough to keep the back of her legs from getting burned. A bead of sweat channeled down between her breasts. Small but perky breasts, Clay had said
.
She liked the idea of perky. Apparently
,
so did
Clay
because
he
’
d
kept his promise. He
’
d returned
the
last two weekends.

Her mother had still been away and they
’
d spent those Friday nights, Saturday mornings, and Saturday nights
,
after the rodeo, in bed. He
’
d only placed third the first weekend and had gotten bucked off the second weekend, but he
’
d told her he
’
d had the best rides of his life.
So had she.

A smile slipped past her lips as she remembered the
ir
long, slow lovemaking
.
He
’
d made her feel sexy and desirable, shown her
all t
hat was possible between a man and woman. She hadn
’
t been able to concentrate
during the
week, hadn
’
t even worked on getting more teaching interviews,
had
barely been able to keep on task at the barn
.
She wasn
’
t hungry, she wasn
’
t tired,
and
she wasn
’
t interested in doing anything but
thinking
—day and night—about him.

They
’
d
traded
opinions and ideas on training horses,
shared their love of the
Old West, and
swapped names of s
outhern blues
bands they
followed
.
She
’
d told him her real name, Deanna. He
’
d said he couldn
’
t think of her as anything but Dusty, which was fine by her.

She also learned they had
some different tastes, like in movies
. S
he liked
romantic
boy-meets-
girl
movies
,
he preferred action
flicks
with a fair amount of violence.

He
’
d spent the first Sunday teaching her how to lasso the grill.
The next Sunday, s
he
’
d taken him to a craft fair in a nearby town and he
’
d bought a hand-tooled belt for himself and a beautiful turquoise and mother of pearl necklace for her. Life had gotten very good.
So good that hope was now a consuming fire inside her
.
The realization
that
she had fallen in love with him was taking shape. She prayed he felt the same.

Last Monday,
h
er mother had come home
and
read her the riot act
because t
he house was a mess,
she
’
d yet to find a job though the Fort
Davis school
district had called
to schedule a
second interview
, and
Delia
Parker
had
apparent
ly
filled her mother in about the cowboy who
’
d
been staying over
.
Her mother hadn
’
t been as upset over that tidbit of gossip as
Dusty
expected
.
She
’
d only insisted she meet him and asked if Dusty was happy. Dusty had answered truthfully—she was.

Today she
’
d
finished her work at
Sweet Water
early so she could be
in time
for his
ride and she
’
d
actually
watched
.
No near panic attack ensued
,
even though he
’
d
got
ten
bucked off four seconds in. He
’
d jumped to his feet, waved his hat in her direction
,
and trotted off
.
Now she was waiting for him in the picnic area as planned
.
And looking forward to a reunion
t
onight
,
i
n his room at
T
he Corral
, since
her mother
had returned
.

The new black lace bra and
silk
panties
, courtesy of the Victoria
’
s Secret catalog,
felt
deliciously sinful
against her skin.
As
did
the weight of the necklace he
’
d bought her.
S
he felt sexy, womanly,
and wholly
feminine. Swinging her leg back and forth in
time
with the
Trace Adkins
tune blaring from the speakers, she
turned her attention toward the opening where the cowboys entered and exited
the arena and prepared to
wait.
A steady stream of people flowed in and out of the tented area
.
Kids ran and parents walked
.
Young, old
,
and in-between, the rodeo drew them all.

Even with sunglasses on,
Dusty
had to
shade her eyes as she scanned for Clay
.
Her heart was hammering to beat the band. She bit her lip as several cowboys emerged from the black opening
, carrying their
saddles
.
None was Clay. Then
the
form of a tall, lean cowboy
materialized
,
a saddle over his shoulder
.
Alongside was another, slightly shorter cowboy.
Clay and Jesse.

Clay had said Jesse was mending nicely but surely he wouldn
’
t be riding bulls in his condition. He couldn
’
t want boots that badly.

She stood and waved. Clay gave a nod and headed toward her, his stride visibly lengthening. She wanted to run into his arms
,
but with the crowd closing in, she was afraid to give up their table
.
No doubt Clay was hungry—he always seemed to be—
and he
’
d want to catch a bite.

“
Hey, honey,
”
he said as
he dropped the saddle to the ground
with a thud
and removed the shades from his eyes
.
He tucked the sunglasses into his shirt pocket before he
wrapped his arms around her and squeezed.
Leather and horse and fresh air greeted her as she buried her nose in the soft fabric of his white shirt
.
She felt like she
’
d come home. He kissed her hair.

“
Well, well, well.
”
Jesse stood beside Clay
. With those sunglasses on it was hard to tell if Jesse was
glad
to see her.
“
Is this how it is now?
”

Clay
grimaced
as he
gazed at
her
.
“
He
’
s not too happy.
I
told him we were dating. I don
’
t think he believed me
.
”

Dusty turned a smile on Jesse
.
Jesse
had
never really had a chance
,
but she couldn
’
t tell
him
that
.
It was flattering though to know they
’
d both been interested
.
Wonders never did cease. Jesse met her smile with a frown.

“
He took advantage of my being out of commission.
”
Jesse scowled
.
“
Some friend you are
,
Clay.
”

Clay stepped back, keeping one arm around
Dusty
’
s
shoulders and motioned toward the table
.
“
All
’
s fair,
”
he said, but the smile he
’
d plastered on his face didn
’
t quite meet his eyes
, as if there was tension between the two friends
.

Jesse climbed over the bench and sat down on one side
of the table, leaving
Dusty and Clay on the sunny side. Dusty cuddled close to Clay
’
s hard body. He
gave her a chaste kiss on the head
.
Jesse
’
s pique must be an act, Dusty thought
.
They
’
d only had one dance together.

Jesse removed his hat to the table and finger combed his blonde hair.
“
So am I to assume we
’
ve got separate rooms at
T
he Corral tonight
?
Or am I just supposed to high-tail it to the B
eehive
and stay put all night
?
Alone.
”
He stared hard at Clay.

Clay
’
s Adam
’
s apple moved with a hard swallow.
“
I
’
ve paid for separate rooms.
”

Jesse nodded
with
a tight
-
lipped smile
.
“
Oh you paid,
did
you
?
Anticipating my hundred dollars, are you
?
”

“
No. That was just
funnin
’
,
Jesse
,
and you know it.
”
Clay
’
s voice had gone gruff
.
Something was going on between them.
Something to do with her.
Dusty shifted from Clay
’
s arm.

“
What hundred dollars
?
”
she asked.

“
This hundred.
”
Jesse
pulled a bill from his pocket
and
slapped
it on
to the rough-hewn
table.
A hundred dollar bill
.
“
I was going to put this toward those boots
Shirley May
is making me
,
but here.
”

Clay
’
s face had turned red—and angry.
He glowered at his friend.
“
Put that money away, Jesse. You don
’
t owe me anything and you know it.
”

“
Sure I do
.
A bet is a bet
.
I lost
,
but I
’
m not sure it
was
fair and square.
”

H
eat climb
ed
Dusty
’
s
back like lava from an erupting volcano.
“
A bet?
What bet?
”