Trouble In Dixie (15 page)

"Aah...my younger brother is married now,
and I had the same problem, when he got married. Suddenly, he grew
up, and didn't need me anymore, so my little sister kind of got all
my
attention
after that. She didn't like it much," he said
with a hoot of laughter and shook his head.

This guy was really nice, and really good
looking...smoking hot actually, so why the hell didn't he get her
engine revving. He would have a few months ago, that's for sure.
Now, all she could think of was the hurt look on Tommy's face as he
stood by the fire watching them leave. Karlie never should have
invited him to the lake house. This was all her fault, and Katie
waved goodbye to any hope of relaxing this weekend. She knew why
her sister had done it. She thought the reason Katie was upset was
because of something Tommy had done to her, and she was right, but
damn it, she didn't need to interfere.

"So what are you going to do now that you're
not in the rodeo anymore?" Chase asked her with a lifted brow.

"Raise and train cutting horses, with my
sister. I bought a ranch in Bowie, and we're just getting it
started," she said and took a bite of her hot dog.

He eased back on the throttle a little, then
asked with interest, "Is that a big business?"

She snorted, then finished her hotdog and
said after she swallowed, "If you're good it is...bloodlines have
to be good, and the trainer has to be better to bring out the best
in the horse."

"Have you trained them before?"

"Yeah, Karlie trained JoJo, her horse
partner from a weanling, and I did the same with Laramie my horse.
They're both the best in the business. We've had astronomical
offers to buy them, but we needed them to work, and win," she said
with a grin.

"You gonna sell him now that you're not
roping anymore?" Chase asked her as he turned into a moonlit cove
and cut the engine, then pressed a button to release the
anchor.

"No way, he's gonna help me train the new
stock, him and JoJo," she told him, but that thought did plant an
idea in her head. Maybe if she ran short on money, she could sell
him. Of course, she'd miss him terribly, but the money would come
in handy, since she was leveraged to the hilt in the new property.
She could use the money she got for him to buy the new stud, and
get a damned good one. "But you never know...I might change my
mind. It's a woman's prerogative, you know," she said and winked at
him.

"Oh, I know that, sugar. You want a beer or
something?" he stood up and walked around to the cuddy steps to go
down into the hull.

"You have any wine?" she asked not really in
the mood for beer.

"I do...a bottle of white, want some?"

She nodded and he went down below, then came
back up a minute later with a beer for him, and a red plastic cup
half-filled with white wine for her. "Let's go sit back here and
watch the stars," he said and handed her the cup, then she followed
him to the bench seat at the back of the boat.

Chase sat down and leaned against the back
of the seat, then Katie sat beside him and sighed, as she did the
same. They sat there silently looking at the stars, which stood out
like diamonds on black velvet above them.

After a few minutes, Chase took a swig of
his beer and broke the silence as he asked, "So, who was the cowboy
with the little girl that showed up earlier?"

Katie tensed up and squeezed her cup, which
caused some of the wine to slosh over the cup onto her lap. She
vaulted up and swiped at the cold liquid. Chase grabbed a towel off
the floor of the boat then dabbed her thighs.

"You okay? I'm sorry, if you don't want to
talk about it, that's fine..." he said then threw the towel down
and set his beer on the deck. "Come here, sugar, you're wound
tighter than my daddy's Cuban cigars." He leaned back in the corner
of the seat and opened his arms to her.

She eyed him warily and he snorted then
said, "I want to rub your shoulders, that's all, I promise."

Katie slid over the seat to sit between his
legs and turned her back to him. When his magical fingers began to
knead the muscles at her shoulders, Katie felt some of the tension
that seized her muscles in the last hour ebb, and she relaxed back
into him some. Closing her eyes, she moaned when his fingers moved
to her neck and his thumbs worked away the tension there. "My god,
if you ever want to change careers, you could be a masseuse, you'll
have the women lined up for miles," she said on another moan.

He chuckled and said near her ear, "I aim to
please, darlin'....glad it's helping."

"It is...so good...thank you," she moaned
again, her arms were starting to feel like noodles.

He stopped and gave her one last squeeze,
then said, "That's enough, I don't want you falling asleep on
me...let's go for a swim," then stood up on the seat and walked to
the ladder at the back of the boat.

Katie gathered her senses then walked to the
side of the boat and poured the rest of the wine out of her cup and
dropped it to the floor. Standing on the seat, she followed the
path he'd taken to the ladder. Chase stood on the bottom step and
put his hands at her waist to help her down into the cool water.
His hands stayed at her waist when she eased in the water, then he
kicked and moved them away from the boat.

"Let's float and stargaze it's prettier
here. He eased onto his back and pulled her on top of him, and they
floated. His arms were right under hers and she was laying across
his chest. Katie let her mind wander into what-if land and soon she
was tenser than she'd been before he'd given her the massage.

"You need to relax, Kate..." he told her
then stopped and brought them upright again, and started massaging
her shoulders in the water. She moaned and he pulled her into his
arms, and kissed the side of her neck. She felt a little tingle,
and tilted her head a little, and he kissed along her neck to her
shoulder, and then he turned her in his arms and closed his mouth
over hers.

She slid her arms around his neck as a
couple of sparks flickered, but pulled back when they failed to
ignite. With a frustrated breath, she told him, "The cowboy is
someone I was involved with recently, I worked for him, and it went
farther than it should have. I can't do this right now, Chase,"
then she kissed him gently and finished, "If I wasn't in the place
I am, I'd definitely be interested."

"Well maybe you'll be there one day soon,
and we'll pick up where we left off," he told her, his voice was
low and sexy, then he kissed her one more time then let her go.

"Maybe so...but I don't know, he hurt me
pretty badly," she admitted then swam back toward the boat, and
Chase followed her to the ladder.

"What did he do?" Chase asked curiously as
he stood on the back of the boat looking like an ancient water god,
risen from the deep. He walked to the seat and stepped down beside
where she was sitting, and reached for the towel on the floor, then
dried his hair and handed it to her.

"He called me his dead wife's name when we
were having sex," she said and shook her head.

"
No, shit?!?
" Chase shouted
incredulously, "What a moron! No damned wonder you're put out with
him."

"Yeah, it was kind of a shock," she admitted
with a wry smile. "Not good for the old ego, that's for sure."

He huffed out a breath and then told her,
"Well, if
we
were having sex, I
guarantee
you I
wouldn't be calling anyone's name other than yours or Jesus." He
put his hand on her shoulder, then said, "You are an incredibly
beautiful woman, Kate, and incredibly sweet...I'm sorry that guy
hurt you."

His words soothed her battered soul, and she
leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for saying that
Chase...and
really
if I wasn't so messed up, I'd be on you
like white on rice, sugar," Kate told him with a chuckle.

"I look forward to the day when you get
there, darlin'. Now, let's go back, I have to leave early in the
morning, but I'll leave the boat for you guys to use."

"Where do you live?" she asked him. It was
crazy he was only here for Friday night...she'd kind of looked
forward to seeing him tomorrow.

"Amarillo, but my sister is having some
sorority thing at A&M tomorrow, and I have to be her date," he
said with a big grin. "So many women, so little time," he chuckled,
then said, "Too bad they're not a little older."

"I hear that doesn't matter much these
days," she said with a snort. "My sister's husband is eight years
older than her.

"He's a pretty cool guy...a Sheriff right?"
he asked then stood and grabbed her hand to walk back to the front
of the boat.

"Yeah, that's how they met, I've gotta tell
you the story, you'll die," she said then they sat down and chatted
amiably, until they got back to the dock. She'd just reached the
punch line of the story, about Karlie tying Gabe up on the side of
the road, when he killed the engine, and their laughter could be
heard all across the still lake. They stood up and he pulled her to
him for a hug, and a chaste kiss on her lips and she rubbed her
head into his muscular chest.

"Thanks for a great day and evening," she
told him then tiptoed and kissed him gently, then added with a
shake of her head, as she stepped back from him, "Damn, what the
hell is wrong with me?"

"You have a soft heart, and it's been
stomped on...you'll get over it, baby," he told her gently, before
he pulled out his cell phone and asked for her phone number. He
rattled his off, and it was one that was easy to remember, so she'd
put it in her phone when she got back to the lake house. With one
more hug, he got out of the boat, then lifted her down, and put his
arm around her shoulders and walked her to the steps of the
deck.

With a gentle kiss on her cheek, Chase gave
her a squeeze, then let her go and said, "It's been fun,
baby...give me a call when you're feeling better."

Katie stood there and watched him walk
toward the house next door, until he disappeared inside. She sighed
then walked up the steps to the deck. All the lights in the house
were out and the deck was dark too, so she felt around to make sure
she didn't trip over any furniture.

She stubbed her toe on a table and yelped,
then hopped around and sat down on a lounger. Hearing an oomph
behind her, Katie looked back over her shoulder to see Tommy was
laying there, shirtless in a pair of low-riding board shorts. Her
mouth dried up, and she grabbed the side of the lounger, then stood
up.

"Sorry...I didn't know you were there," she
said then went to go inside, and Tommy grabbed her arm.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Katie yanked on her wrist, but Tommy held it
firmly, and asked her in an angry voice that was a slurred mess,
"You have a good time with
Chase
?" It was obvious to Katie
he'd been drinking, a lot, and she didn't want to deal with his
anger right now, especially with him drunk.

"Yeah, we had a good time," she told him and
tried to jerk her wrist from his grasp again.

"Did he kiss you, Katie?" he asked and his
voice had a tortured edge to it.

"That's none of your busin--," she spat and
tried to pull her wrist from his grasp again, but this time he
yanked back and she wound up sprawled on top of his body.

He grabbed her head and put his mouth over
hers, and ground it into hers punishing her, but exciting her at
the same time. Although, she shouldn't, she liked rough and out of
control Tommy, in comparison to his counterpart. Katie moaned into
his mouth and opened hers in invitation.

She felt his erection pressing at her hip,
as he forced his tongue inside of her mouth and deepened the kiss
with a groan. His hands moved to her ass to shift her, so she was
fully on top of him, and his hardness was pressing at the apex of
her thighs. Sliding her hand up his chest, she reveled in his firm
muscles beneath her palm, that twitched as she made her way up to
grip his shoulder, then tangle in the hair at his nape. Her heart
rate was through the roof and her breathing unsteady, when he
pulled back from her and asked angrily in a low dangerous voice,
"Did he kiss you like that, Katie?"

Anger shot through her and Katie tried to
stand, but his arms closed around her, and he hissed, "Answer
me!"

Her muscles gave out and she laid back on
top of him, and said breathlessly, "Yes, he did...but not like
that."

She felt a tremor pass through his body and
he admitted in a choked voice, "Katie, I think I'm in love with
you, and I know I've hurt you, I'm so sorry, baby..." his breathing
was ragged as he hugged her to him and begged, "please don't hate
me."

His words, although encouraging, didn't make
her feel any better, because she knew he was as confused as she
was,
thinking
he loved her and
actually
loving her
were two entirely different things.

Katie sighed, then put her hand on the side
of his face and rubbed his stubbled cheek. "I don't hate you,
Tommy...I don't know how I feel...and yeah, you hurt me," she
admitted then kissed his chest. "You need to figure out what you
want...the mixed messages are killing me," she told him.