Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right [The Chisholms of Texas 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (29 page)

* * * *

Eli and Ryder wanted to take the men to a strip club but Dillon and the rest of the men demurred, so they ended up at Dylan’s Dance Hall and Saloon down the strip from the hotel. Although spelled different, all of the men agreed it was meant to be. It seemed appropriate and, according to the concierge at the hotel, was supposed to resemble an authentic Texas country-dance club, touting both a large dance floor as well as pool tables. The men arranged for a limo for the night, as well as one for the women, and headed over in style. When they arrived, Dillon was surprised at how much it reminded him of his brothers’ place in Deseo, Chaps & Spurs, just without all the rodeo memorabilia. Drinking beer and playing pool with his brothers and father created just the atmosphere Dillon was looking for on the night before he got married.

Dillon, Xander, Levi, and his father were playing pool in the far corner of the honky-tonk while Ryan, Ryder, and Eli looked on waiting for their turn. The married men were throwing Dillon little bits of wisdom.

“Don’t ever underestimate the power of a good foot rub,” advised Ryan. “Samantha is putty in my hands after a good rubdown.”

“Giving her flowers is never a mistake. Unless, like Ryan, you’re married to a florist,” said Xander.

“Listen to her when she talks to you but don’t think you always have to fix everything. Sometimes, she just wants to be listened to,” added Levi.

Ryder and Eli laughed at their married brothers’ suggestions. “Man, you guys have turned into wimps. The woman is supposed to give
you
the massage, not the other way around,” declared Eli.

“Yeah, and talking is overrated.” Ryder laughed.

“What do you think, Dad? You must have some advice for Dillon. You’ve been married to mom for nearly thirty-five years. What’s your advice?” asked Eli.

The brothers all looked to their father and waited for the pearl of wisdom that had seen his father and mother through such a long marriage. Alex took a drink from his beer, and said, “Doesn’t matter how the argument came about. You should always take the initiative to make up.” The boys looked on solemnly, sure that their father had more to add. “That way you can always count on makeup sex,” he added with a smile.

“What?” he exclaimed when all of the boys looked at him incredulously. “How do you think we had eight kids, anyway?” He looked at their stunned faces and nearly laughed himself off his stool.

Ryder’s and Eli’s attention was divided between the pool game and flirting with everything in a short skirt or a pair of tight jeans. Eli was recognized by many patrons of the bar, and several buckle-bunny wannabes approached him, offering him room keys and paper napkins with their numbers on them. The women seemed intensely interested in all the brothers until they realized several of them had wedding rings on and were told Dillon was getting married in the morning. After that, they directed their attention at Eli and Ryder. Eli, especially, seemed to eat up the attention.

Dillon worried about his little brother. He knew his mother did, too. Eli rarely came home between events anymore even when he had an extended break. He made it home for most important family events but not much else. Dillon and the rest of the family had been hearing things about Eli’s behavior on the rodeo circuit near the end of this past rodeo year. Eli was seemingly distracted by the sheer number of available women that wanted a piece of his time. His riding had suffered at the end, and he’d hung on by the skin of his teeth to win the championship title for bull riding here in Vegas just a few weeks ago. Now, Eli wanted one more year to defend his title before he came back to the Ranch full-time to head up the Land-Management Division of CRE.

The women, minus Cassie who had stayed behind to babysit A.J. and Hunter, arrived at Dylan’s Dance Hall a little before eleven. They were in high spirits and seemed to have had a great time at Abby’s lingerie shower. Dillon couldn’t wait to see what Abby had gotten for presents.

After giving Abby a gentle kiss and getting her a drink, Dillon walked over to the DJ podium and requested several songs, explaining that he was getting married in the morning and wanted some songs played allowing him to hold his fiancée tightly in his arms. The DJ readily agreed. Pulling her up to her feet, Dillon intended to keep her in his arms on the dance floor until the women left. According to Abby, the women had strict instructions to be back in the limo by 1:00 a.m. His mother was obviously determined that Abby and Dillon not see each on the day of their wedding until the ceremony.

“Come on, baby. I plan to keep you in my arms until they drag you out of here. Let’s dance.”

As “Breathe” by Faith Hill and “I Got a Feelin’” by Billy Currington played, Abby and Dillon got lost in their own world just holding each other and swaying to the music. It didn’t matter what anyone else was doing on the dance floor. Dillon vaguely realized that Jordan and Xander were on the dance floor, as were Levi and Taylor and Samantha and Ryan. Xander was gently nuzzling Jordan on the neck, making her giggle and put her hands around his waist to hold him closer. Ryan was getting as close to his own wife as he could.

Taking a break, he and Abby sat out a few songs as they sat at the large table the group had commandeered earlier, talking softly in each other’s ears and necking. About ten minutes before the women were to leave, Dillon caught the DJ’s eyes and nodded to him, signaling him to play the remaining requests Dillon had made. As the music for “Don’t You Wanna Stay” by Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson started, he pulled Abby back onto the dance floor and into his arms. Next was “I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes” by Dierks Bentley. Just as Jessie was getting up to tell Abby it was time to head back to the hotel, Billy Currington started singing, “Must Be Doin’ Somethin’ Right,” and Abby melted against Dillon as they held on tight to each other, oblivious to anyone else around them.

“I don’t want to leave,” murmured Abby.

“I don’t want you to leave,” responded Dillon.

“Whose idea was it again? To have us spend the night apart?” she asked as he kissed and nipped his way around her mouth.

“My mother’s,” he said dryly.

“What in the world was she thinking?”

“Tradition, I guess.”

“Shit on tradition. I’m not leaving your arms for the rest of the night.”

“I must be doin’ somethin’ right then, baby. I’ve still got the keycard to our room. Obviously, Eli and Ryder are busy. The room is either being used or empty. Either way, there won’t be any witnesses caring about where I sleep. I’ll let myself in after everyone’s settled in for the night. Wait for me.”

“Always, Dillon,” she said breathlessly.

“Okay, you two. Time for Abby to go back to the hotel. You guys have fun, but don’t get too snockered or get to bed too late. The wedding is at 11:00 a.m. Be there and be ready. We’ll make sure Abby doesn’t chicken out,” Jen teased.

Two hours later, Dillon’s mom caught him trying to sneak into his suite where Abby was supposed to be staying by herself. One look from his mother and he felt like a twelve-year-old little boy with his hand in the cookie jar. He retraced his steps to Ryder and Eli’s room and texted Abby about being caught by his mom. Her responding text of “Giggles” made him laugh out loud. He took a cold shower and went to bed. After falling into a fitful sleep, he was woken up at 4:30 a.m. when Ryder came rolling into the room. Ryder passed out fairly quickly after telling Dillon to wake him up by 9:00 a.m. Dillon never heard Eli come in, but when he woke up at 8:30 a.m. his little brother was sacked out on the couch sawing logs. Ordering breakfast for the three of them from room service, Dillon went to take a hot shower and shave. It was his wedding day.

* * * *

Abby woke up alone in the big bed reaching out for Dillon’s warm, hard body. After receiving Dillon’s text last night, she had fallen asleep rather quickly and slept well. She was woken up by the ringing of her cell phone playing Tim McGraw’s “Real Good Man.” Dillon’s ring tone. She had programmed it herself.

“Hello, tall, dark, and handsome,” she drawled after punching the connect button.

“Hello, baby. Did I wake you? I missed you last night.”

“I missed you, too. I was just lying here in bed thinking about you. What are you doing?”

“I just showered and shaved. I’m waiting for room service to drop off breakfast for me, Eli, and Ryder. Not that either one of them are awake yet.”

“Did you guys go back out after your mom caught you?” she asked with a giggle.

“No. I went back to the room. Eli and Ryder hooked up with some girls before the rest of us left the bar last night. I’m not exactly sure what time they got back in. Must have been pretty late. Or early, depending on how you look at it. Don’t worry, though. I’ll roust them when breakfast gets here. Nobody is going to be late to my wedding.”

“I think your mom and the rest of the girls are coming over this morning to help me with my hair and makeup. We’ll probably order something from room service, too. I love you, Dillon. I can’t wait to be your wife.”

“I love you, too, baby. I can’t wait to be your husband.” There was a muffled sound and he came back on the line. “Room service is here with breakfast, baby. I gotta go. See you in the chapel. Oh, by the way. I’ll be sending over something ‘new’ for you to wear to the ceremony with Xander in a little bit, so make sure you let him in when he knocks.”

“I’ll tell the girls. Bye.” She hung up just as there was a knock at her door.

“Abby. Are you up yet?” called Jordan. Abby could hear that the rest of the women were with her by the noise level in the hallway.

“Coming,” Abby called back as she got out of bed and put on her robe. She made her way quickly to the door. When she opened the door, the women were all waiting outside along with two waiters from room service with enough food to feed an army.

“Happy wedding day,” cried the women when they saw Abby. Smiling, Abby just stepped out of the way and let the Chisholm women take over.

* * * *

The guests were all assembled in the hospitality suite, where the caterer had set up a sit-down luncheon after the ceremony. Everyone but Taylor and Abby was drinking champagne. Abby knew her new mother-in-law had figured out she was pregnant when she gave her a knowing smile when the waiter brought Abby her water. Everyone was milling around waiting for the bride and groom to show up after the legalities and more pictures were taken of the happy couple.

Once lunch had been enjoyed by the family, the couple cut the small, two-tiered, ivory cake and, with many shouting suggestions as to how, fed each other a piece of cake. They didn’t have a DJ, but Dillon had brought a mixtape that he fed into the CD player and programmed the player to play three particular tracks. The photographer would be able to get the requisite pictures. Then, while Dillon took his new bride back to bed in the honeymoon suite, the rest of the family went sightseeing. Taking Abby into his arms in the middle of the sitting room of their suite, the first song started playing. Holding her close, he knew she could feel the outline of his cock straining against the front of his dress pants. “I want you, Mrs. Chisholm. I can’t wait any more.”

Looking into his deep emerald-green eyes, she giggled. “Must be doin’ somethin’ right, huh?”

Lea Kinkade lives and writes in the Midwest where she lives with her husband of twelve years, their three young children, and their two Yorkie-Poos, Cubbie and Pixie. Yep, that’s Cubbie for the Chicago Cubs. What can ya do? It’s too late to change it now. He actually answers to it. Pixie just because she’s so small. She weighs four and a half pounds.

Lea became hooked on romance books in her early teens and fantasized about being an author when she was younger. Real life crept in and Lea went to college and graduate school still fantasizing about the what-ifs of becoming an author. She finally took the plunge last year and, with the continued support of her husband and children, Lea has now written the third book in The Chisholms of Texas series and is working on the fourth and fifth stories in the series.

When not writing or doing research, Lea loves to volunteer at her children’s school and read other people’s writing. Scrapbooking is also a longtime hobby and Lea has a whole room in her house dedicated to this obsession.

Visit Lea on Facebook or e-mail her at [email protected]. She’d love to hear from you.

Siren Classic: The Chisholms of Texas 1:

Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?

Siren Classic: The Chisholms of Texas 2:
I Got a Feelin’

Available at

BOOKSTRAND.COM

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com