His Hometown Cowgirl (5 page)

Only one way to find out.

Pushing back her chair, Kelsey stood,
hesitating, not moving. When had she turned into such a coward?
She'd always gone after what she wanted. Sometimes even ruthlessly,
witness her campaign to throw her dad and teacher together all
those years ago.

Pete smiled at her, then his attention was
claimed by Sarah Sue and Harold who'd stepped off the dance floor
when the music ended. Another song immediately started playing, and
they quickly punched in numbers probably to select one of their
favorite classic Willie Nelson tunes.

Kelsey grinned. They were another prime
example of a happily married couple. They'd found each other later
in life and been married for almost ten years, but you'd never know
they weren't still newlyweds, the way they still held hands and
gazed into each other's eyes. She watched the older couple return
to the dance floor, where they Texas Two-stepped along with all the
other couples.

The breeze picked up and Kelsey swiped an
errant blond curl from her face, tucking it behind one ear.

"Go ask him to dance already," a familiar
voice whispered from behind.

Kelsey suppressed a groan and turned to frown
at Maddie who raised a dark knowing eyebrow. "You know you want
to," she said, sipping from a longneck.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. How did you know that's
what I was thinking?" She narrowed her eyes at her cousin, wishing
she were more like the twins.
They
had no problem with
dating and relationships. Both of the girls had dated all the
eligible boys in a three-county radius soon after they came to live
on the ranch. They'd both broken numerous hearts while going to
school in Lubbock. They were bigger heartbreakers than even Pete
was alleged to be.

Maddie hitched a shoulder. "I've been
watching you two all evening. He hasn't taken his eyes off you for
hours. Ask him to dance, Kels."

Kelsey glanced back at Pete. Her stomach
fluttered and her palms felt sweaty. She felt like a
fourteen-year-old again crushing on the older man. But age didn't
enter the equation now. Other factors, more complicated factors,
had to be taken into account.

"It's only one dance, Kels. What can it
hurt?"

Famous last words.

It could hurt a lot, Kelsey thought. Her
heart was still fragile; she couldn't risk it. But she only wanted
to dance with Pete, not marry him. This would be another step
toward shaking things up and healing from the horrible blow of
Chris' death. Putting the past to rest . . .

"Go on!" Maddie gave her a little push.
"Just do it!"

Taking a deep fortifying breath, Kelsey made
her way across the dance floor toward Pete. Her heart hammered in
her chest, and she scolded herself for the cowardly feelings.

It was just a dance. It couldn't hurt that
much, could it?

****

Pete watched Kelsey walking toward him,
weaving a path through the dancers, her eyes never leaving his.
What the hell did she think she was doing? Couldn't she see that
her father was following her every move? Her uncles were watching,
too. None of them were the least bit happy to see their girl making
a beeline for him.

Hell, he'd been trying to keep his distance
from Kelsey all evening, but he couldn't keep from glancing her way
every few minutes. He was like the proverbial moth drawn toward
that flickering flame. He couldn't help the attraction, the sensual
pull.

Damn.
When had his feelings for Kelsey
intensified almost to the point of painful obsession?

Yes, he'd realized years ago he was sexually
attracted to her. But he'd gone away to college, and when he'd
graduated and returned to Salt Fork, to live and work on the
Diamondback Ranch,
she'd
gone away to college.

For all intents and purposes, they'd been
separated by time and distance for eight years or more, with only a
few brief encounters scattered here and there.

As he waited for her approach, Pete admired
the western shirt and short leather- fringed skirt hugging Kelsey's
curves. Red cowboy boots completed her outfit. She'd done her hair
in what his sisters would call a French twist. A few loose tendrils
had escaped, and the brisk October breeze whipped them across the
creamy satin skin of her cheeks.

Kelsey stopped directly in front of him, her
back to the dance floor. Her full lips trembled with a smile. Pete
could smell her allusive scent that was both familiar and arousing.
Taunting him. Beckoning to him. His body went on instant alert.

"Hey, Pete." She folded her arms across her
chest, the motion pushing her breasts against the fabric of her
shirt, revealing the fullness of them, emphasizing her shapely
figure.

"Hey, kid." Pete swallowed hard and shoved
his hands in the pockets of his Wranglers to keep from reaching out
to touch her. Where was his control? What the hell was wrong with
him?

This was Kelsey, for Christ's sakes.

He shouldn't be feeling this way about her,
yet the strength of his desire for her continually astounded him.
He'd never felt anything like it before in all his twenty-nine
years.

He inhaled deeply, trying to throttle his
wayward body and thoughts. He had
no
business thinking about
tangled sheets and hot sex with Kelsey McCade. Maybe he should go
to Billy G's up on the Cap Rock real soon. The honky-tonk was a
good place to hook up with someone. Someone who knew the rules.
Someone just wanting to have fun.

Pete shook his head. That plan pretty much
left him cold. The tight feeling in his stomach and groin told him
that his body wouldn't be satisfied with any other woman than the
one standing so close in front of him right now. And once again,
that wasn't going to happen.

Kelsey looked at the floor and traced an
invisible pattern with the toe of her boot. Pete stared at her bent
head, itching to untwist the French braid and let her silky hair
cascade down her back and over his fingers.

Kelsey's shoulders lifted with a deep inhale
and a long-drawn out breath, like she was gathering courage or
something. Pete resisted the urge to place his hand on her head,
rub her cheek with the back of his knuckles, to giver her a hug, to
offer comfort. It would be better to keep his hands to himself.

Better for her. Better for him.

She cleared her throat and raised her head.
"Wanna dance?"

Pete blinked. The question seemed to come out
of nowhere and knocked him for a loop. Immediately, his body
hardened painfully.

Did he want to dance with her?
Did he
want the opportunity to hold her in his arms? Feel her body close
to his? Inhale her sweet scent? Gaze into her eyes?

His body yelled:
Hell, yeah. Let's go!
His brain whispered:
Are you fucking kidding me?

The silence between them was thick enough to
cut with a knife. Pete glanced beyond Kelsey and immediately saw
Austin McCade's scowl from where he was dancing with Kelsey's
stepmother. Theresa placed her finger on her husband's chin and
turned his attention back to her, all the while frowning and
speaking to him earnestly.

"Never mind, Pete. Bad idea." She turned on
her heel, ready to leave.

Pete jerked his hands from his jeans' pockets
and grabbed one of her arms. "Kels, wait!"

She bit her bottom lip and Pete nearly
groaned. This idea of dancing with her had trouble written all over
it. But his surprise and hesitation had hurt Kelsey. He'd be damned
if he'd let her think he was rejecting her.

She stood passive before him, pain and
something else glimmering in the depths of her clear blue eyes.

"Hey, it's okay." He smiled and rubbed the
spot on her arm where he'd clasped it, smoothing it with his thumb,
not wanting to let go. He forced a smile. One more quick glance
toward the dance floor, one more searing glare from Austin . . .
well, damn. This wasn't about his feelings or Austin's feelings.
This was going to be just a dance between two old friends. Nothing
more, nothing less.

Right, Lafferty.

"I'd love to dance with you, kiddo. Come
on."

She rewarded him with a tremulous smile. With
his hand on the small of her back, Pete led Kelsey onto the dance
floor. She looked up at him with a guarded expression. What was she
thinking? he wondered.

A new song began to play on the jukebox. A
slow love ballad.

Great. Just great
.

He took her in his arms and together they
moved with the other couples circling the dance floor. They fit
together perfectly. Her soft curves aligned themselves with the
hard angles of his body.

Pete pulled her closer and she didn't resist.
Instead, she melted against him. His hold tightened as they swayed
to the music. She felt so good in his embrace. Familiar, yet
exhilarating. A lot like how he felt when he fought wildfires: Fear
and excitement, and a thrilling kind of terror clawing at his
gut.

He tucked her head into his shoulder, and she
snuggled closer. Her soft sweet smell invaded his senses. Each move
of the dance generated a sensual friction between their bodies.

Pete closed his eyes for a minute, relishing
the experience. Savoring the moment, then cursing it. Never before
in his life had he known what it was like to be in heaven and hell
at the same time.

He knew now.

****

Kelsey closed her eyes and leaned her head on
Pete's strong shoulder, melding her body to his as he expertly
guided her around the dance floor. She inhaled his masculine scent
and listened to the heavy thud of his heartbeat beneath her ear.
She hadn't felt this safe and secure since before Chris had
died.

Pete wasn't built like Chris, she noticed.
Didn't feel like Chris. Didn't smell like Chris. The two men were
exact opposites in both physiques and personalities. Both were hard
working and responsible . . .

Give it a rest, Kels. Quit comparing them.
Chris is dead and gone. Pete is right here and very much alive.
Enjoy the moment for what it is.

She took another deep breath and tightened
her hold on Pete, nestling her head deeper against the hard contour
of his shoulder. He was tall and lanky and lean, and he'd filled
out nicely since he'd grown into a man. His neck was thicker, his
chest broader and his biceps bulged--not in a bad way, just enough
to make her heart flutter foolishly.

She blinked back a tear. There was no reason
to cry now. She was determined to take control of her life and move
on. Her throat burned, and she swallowed a small sob.

Pete pulled back a little and looked down at
her with tender concern. "You all right, kid?"

She managed a nod. "Yes . . . I'm sorry. It's
nothing." Kelsey gave him a watery smile, then leaned against him
again. He smoothed the back of her head with several gentle sweeps
of his hand. His touch felt both soothing and sensual.

"It's okay," he whispered in her ear.
"Everything's going to be okay."

Kelsey hoped so. She was having such a hard
time putting it all behind her. Her body's reaction to Pete almost
shocked her, making her feel as if she were cheating on Chris.
Pete's deep voice had always stirred delicious sensual feelings
inside her.

She'd had such a big crush on him. Remnants
still lingered even though they'd grown up and apart. And the
feelings he stirred now were more adult, more mature and had more
to do with passion and desire.

It felt so good to dance with Pete. To feel
his arms holding her close. Their bodies were practically plastered
to each other. Even though she was wearing a leather vest and
skirt, she could feel his masculine heat with every move of the
dance.

She closed her eyes again and tried to recall
whether they'd ever danced together before. She didn't think so;
surely, she'd remember. The difference in age had always gaped wide
between them, a chasm of years and experience separating them.

There'd only been one time she'd ever felt
his arms around her: when he'd carried her into Grams' house after
she'd been injured. She'd been on cloud nine, delighting in the
feel of him holding her close to his chest.

After that, Pete had gone back to college.
And on every trip home, he'd kept his distance, always bringing a
date to the Diamondback Ranch parties or making himself scarce,
going off to spend weekends with whichever woman happened to be
holding his interest at the moment.

When he'd graduated and hired on at Lone Star
Wings with Uncle Tyler, Kelsey had been the one to move away from
the ranch to go to school at Texas Tech. She'd only had fleeting
glances of Pete during that time. A
long
time. Things
changed. They'd both changed.

But time and distance hadn't really lessened
Kelsey's crush. For a while, she didn't think she'd ever find
another man who would turn her insides to mush like Pete did.

Every guy who ever showed an interest in her
was held up to the ridiculously high standards she'd set for any
prospective relationship. Her father and uncles had been first to
heavily influence her judgement of the male species.

But Pete had been the main influence. She
knew it was only a crush she'd felt for Pete, she hadn't been
in
love
with him. But she'd never met anyone who made her feel the
way he did.

Not until she'd met Chris Jacobs. She'd been
relieved and grateful that she'd found someone she could honestly
love. Because the way Pete had been going through women, Kelsey
knew her crush was destined to be just that--a crush and no
more.

Kelsey blinked back a sudden rush of tears.
Had she settled on Chris as second best? The horrible thought
clutched her heart and squeezed painfully.

The music ended, and Pete stopped them in the
middle of the dance floor. Kelsey didn't move. She didn't want to
face the reality of trying to deal with all the emotions bombarding
her brain. Conflicting emotions. Treacherous thoughts and
feelings.