Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (33 page)

Cutting across the fairway, he was
passing the horse stable when a glimpse of lilac caught his eye. Kerri? He
backtracked to find Ashley at the door.

The blonde placed her palm on his
chest and blocked his entrance. “You don’t want to go in there, Connor,” she
said, blue gaze soft with compassion. “I’m sorry. I know you thought she was
different than the other city girls.”

What the hell is she going on
about?

He moved her aside and entered the
stable.
Shit…no.
His heart slammed hard in his chest. It
was
Kerri.
With Duke.

Shock stiffened his body while all
the blood drained in a fierce rush to his feet.
Son-of-a-bitch
…She was
kissing the bastard!

The stable spun slightly out of
focus. He grabbed for the nearby stall and sucked in a sharp breath, but not
much got past his tight chest.

Son-of-a-bitch! He fell for her
tricks a second time.

They broke apart, and he watched
Duke brush a strand of hair behind Kerri’s ear, his gaze tender while he wore a
shit-eating grin Connor wanted to wipe away with his fist. But not now. He was way
too enraged to have the good sense to stop.

Air. Distance. Dammit, he had to
get out. He turned on his heel and strode the hell away from the two-timing
broad and her smiling prick.
The fuckers!
He lengthened his strides, brushing
past Ashley and ignoring Kerri as she called after him. He did not want to talk
to her. He was so furious at himself and her right now he had no idea what he’d
say. 

I’m a fool. Again.

God, how could he be such an idiot?

His hollowed gut twisted tight. He had
all he could do not to double over as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

Christ.
The two of them must’ve
planned the basket auction, and he fell right into their trap. All it had taken
was Duke’s smug expression every time the bastard had bid. He took the damn
bait and out bid the prick.
Jesus
, once again, he was the damn target.

Well, no more. Shards of pain
stabbed at Connor’s gut, but he kept moving through the crowd. He needed a
drink. A big one.

W
hat the heck just
happened?

Kerri couldn’t believe Connor just
walked away. She’d turned around, relieved to find him standing there…and he’d
walked away. Her insides twisted into a tight knot, and she rubbed her chest in
an attempt to lessen the pain.

He
left
me with Duke
.

And it wasn’t that he hadn’t heard
her call his name because he’d glared right at her with so much anger and
contempt she’d stopped dead in her tracks.

“Forget about him,” Duke said from
behind. “He’s not worth your time.”

Swiveling around, she stared at the
bastard who’d just ruined something very special. And dammit, it was her fault
to. She knew better. Her instincts told her not to trust the man who’d
approached her a few minutes ago saying Connor had sent him to tell her to meet
him in the horse stable because he was going to be a few minutes longer.

She’d walked in to find the
building empty. Her mind had screamed this was a mistake, so she’d turned to
leave and found Duke. Attempting to go around him, she’d asked him to move, but
he said, “Sorry, this is for your own good,” then spun her around and kissed
her…exactly when Connor must’ve walked in.

It had all happened so fast, the twisting
around, pinning of her arms to her sides, his mouth coming down on hers so hard
she’d tasted blood, but within seconds his head had lifted and he’d pushed her
hair behind her ear. That’s when she’d heard a commotion from behind and had
turned to find Connor glaring. She’d called out, expecting him to help, to…

Instead, he’d left her there,
obviously thinking she’d been kissing Duke for pleasure. God…how could he think
such a thing?
Especially
after the day they’d had…the kiss they’d just
shared by the 4-H building?

“McCall is a pompous ass. You can
do better,” Duke continued, brushing an invisible speck off his shoulder.

Anger rushed through her in a
fierce wave. “Enjoyed yourself did you?”

“Oh, honey you have no idea,” he said
with a ruthless laugh.

B
efore Kerri could
think twice, she reeled back and her fist connected with Duke’s jaw. He flailed
backwards.

“That was for kissing me.”

He rubbed his chin and took a
menacing step toward her. “You bitch!”

Fury flowed free and rapid now. Before
he reached her, she used her training and spun around, hitting the other side
of his face with her foot, thankful her skirt allowed movement.

Duke staggered backwards and
cursed.

“This is for Connor.” Kerri pivoted
in the opposite direction before he could right himself, and the force of her
kick hitting his chest sent him crashing through a stall. The jerk landed in a
combination of hay, dirt and manure.

Planting her feet, she grinned, but
no amusement resided in her body. “Now, that’s a look that suits you.” Rage
quivered through her limbs as she stared down at him. “If you ever come near me
or touch me again, I’ll call the police.”

With that said, she turned and went
to find Connor. She knew he was hurting. Knew he thought she was like the
others. That she’d used him.

He should know better
, her
mind insisted, but given the amount of times he’d been hurt, she doubted he
knew anything but mistrust.

The fair was hoping now. Throngs of
people littered the fairway. God, it was going to be impossible to find him.
Since her phone was with her stuff in his truck, she couldn’t call him or text,
although she doubted he’d answer anyway.

Kerri pushed through the crowd,
glancing at every stand, tent and building she passed.

She had to find him. Pain wracked
her body, both physical and emotional. She flexed her throbbing hand. Hitting
Duke had been worth the discomfort. But now she had to find Connor. She
couldn’t just let him go like that, thinking she’d cheated.  

He should know better
, her
mind insisted again. And was right. He should. Disappointment intensified her
ache. He
didn’t
trust her, and a relationship didn’t work without trust.
She wasn’t going to worry about that now. She just needed to find him.

Heading to the next tent, the beer
tent, she didn’t have to go in and look because Connor waltzed out. Relief
pulled some of the stiffness from her body as her steps slowed.

“Connor, there you are. I’ve been
looking for you,” she said, careful to keep the hurt from her voice. “Why
didn’t you wait?”

Smirking, he looked down his nose
at her. “Why? Did you want to make it a threesome?”

She sucked in a sharp gasp of air,
which backed up in her throat because her chest was so tight. He didn’t bother
to wait for her answer. He just turned to walk away.

Kerri lunged forward and grabbed
his arm to swing him around. “Wait just a minute, Connor. What did you think
you saw?”

She knew, but had to hear in order
to disprove it.

A scowl darkened his face. “I saw
exactly what I needed to see, Kerri. You are no better than the rest of them.
In fact, darlin’, you’re worse!”

Anger and sadness mixed to form an
emotional paste in her chest. She could hardly breathe from the weight. “You
know what, Connor? You are almost right.”

A dark brow rose to disappear under
his hair. “You admit you and Duke were up to something?”

“
Duke
was up to something
alright, but I wasn’t. All I was guilty of was waiting for you. But I highly
doubt you’d believe me right now, so I’m not going to bother to defend myself
to you.”

God, she suddenly felt so empty.
She wrapped her arms around herself, then winced when she inadvertently touched
her arm where Duke had grabbed her.

Connor’s gaze narrowed and searched
her face, and for a moment, Kerri thought maybe, maybe they had a chance to get
through this nightmare. But then he shrugged and his dark look returned.

“You’re right, darlin’. I wouldn’t
believe anything you said. I don’t even know why I’m bothering to waste my time
with you now.”

He would’ve continued on his way,
but she ran in front of him and put a hand to his chest.

“Oh no you don’t. I’m not done. I
want to tell you what you’re right about.”

That got his attention. He stopped
and folded his arms across his chest and waited.

She swallowed and pushed through
the pain. “You’re right to the extent that you did see what you needed to see.
Or should I say,
wanted
to see. And you know what I think, Connor?”

Disgust curled his lip. “No, Kerri,
I don’t, and I don’t rightfully care either.”

“That’s too damn bad, cowboy,
because I am going to finish.” Her heart hammered out of control. “
You
are afraid of commitment.”

He reeled, arms dropping to swing
at his sides. “What? You can’t be serious!”

“I am,” she replied. “And you’re
afraid, too. Very afraid. That’s why you unconsciously chose Tiffany and Catherine.
You knew deep down there was something wrong and that marriage wouldn’t take
place.”

His body shook as he stared down at
her, and she knew he was barely holding on to his anger. Good.

“If you know so much about me and
my love life, then how do you explain Monica?”

“Monica was the start of it all,” she
replied. “You did love her, and she did betray you. You never wanted to be hurt
like that again, so you chose women who never held that power over you. I’m not
saying those break-ups didn’t hurt, but you knew the relationships weren’t
going to last almost from the start.”

His jaw worked as he clenched his teeth
and drew in a breath. “I see. So I asked Tiffany and Catherine to share my life
knowing full well they were going to betray me, and I therefore wouldn’t have
to settle down. Is that about right,
Dr. Phil
? Did I leave anything out?”

He looked at her with so much
distaste, she had to fight the urge to step back. “Not quite. And yes,” she
said quietly. “You left
me
out.” Sorrow funneled into her chest and she
had to stop to take a breath.

“You did that by yourself, Kerri,
when you decided to scheme with Duke.”

God, he was so clueless. She felt
sorry for him.

“I did nothing with Duke, but
because your feelings for me are getting too strong for you to handle, you saw
what you wanted to see, so you could have a means for an out.”

Dammit
. Her vision blurred.
She did
not
want to cry in front of him. He’d only think it was a ploy,
anyway. She turned to walk away.

“Oh, hell no. Now it’s my turn.”

His hand closed over her, and he turned
her around. Pain banded her arm. She winced and shook free. He’d grabbed right
where Duke had. She rubbed the throbbing while he looked from her bruised arm
to her face.

“Christ, Kerri. I’m sorry,” he
said, regret momentarily replacing his anger. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t.
It—”

“
Jesus!
I can see it plain
as day.” He cut her off, pointing to the discoloring, anger back to darken his
gaze. “I’ve no idea why you’re denying it.”

She opened her mouth, wanting to finish
telling him the bruise had been from Duke, but he held his hand up to stop her.

“Save it. You lie about everything.
Duke, your arm…whatever. It’s my turn,” he rasped. “So, you’re saying I saw you
kissing Duke because my feelings for you are too strong, and I’m afraid of
them.”

She wasn’t sure if that was a
question or not, but she nodded. He shook his head and laughed without mirth.

“That’s priceless. You’re good. I
catch you cheating and
you
turn it around to make
me
the bad
guy.”

She stepped closer. “It wasn’t like
that.”

He ignored her. “Tell me something,
Kerri…” He looked down at her, mouth thin, face pale, gaze full of hate and
contempt. “Did you really ever stop seeing Duke? I obviously had it right the
first time. You did sleep with him that night I walked out. You’ve been playing
me all along. And damn, you were good, too. Pretending to be shy and
inexperienced.” He stopped, and his eyes narrowed as if he just thought of
something. “You probably fucking lied about Lance being gay, as a way to make
me feel sorry for you.”

This time, Kerri reeled back as if
slapped. “God, I can’t believe you just said that.” Her hand was back on her
chest in a vain attempt to block the pain. It didn’t work. She hurt. God, she
hurt so bad her body was rapidly turning numb. “I don’t see the point in
discussing this anymore since we obviously don’t have a future. Excuse me.”

She pushed him out of the way,
ignoring the uncertainty that crept into his eyes. He could think what he
wanted. She didn’t care at this point. She had enough trouble trying not to
throw up.

Weaving through the crowd, she
found a clearing and made her way to a tree. She was dragging in a few breaths
when she heard someone call her name.

“Kerri, are you all right?”

She turned to find Brandi heading
her way. Her eyes filled with tears, but she swallowed past her hot throat and
nodded, then shook her head. “I thought you’d left.”

“I did,” her friend said. “But I
had to come back to meet a client to look at some homemade furniture they
wanted in their new den I’m designing.”

Kerri nodded, fighting more tears
threatening to spill over. “Can you give me a lift home?”

Brandi frowned. “Sure, but…I
thought…did something happen between you and Connor?”

“Yeah.” She hiccupped. Darn it. Air
funneled into her lungs as she drew in a deep breath. God, she just wanted to
get out of there.