His Hometown Cowgirl (8 page)

Maddie motioned to the northeast. "I don't
like the looks of those clouds. I didn't know if you'd noticed. You
seemed to be in deep conversation with Mr. Hurley. I swear that old
man's been flirting with you from the get-go."

Kelsey rolled her eyes. "I know. But what can
I do? He's a paying customer. I can't refuse him or his money. He's
harmless. You know that." She gazed to the north. "You're right
though. Those clouds look ominous. We'll turn around and head back.
We'll start our campfire activity early, so everyone can get on
home before the storm hits. I swear I checked the weather for
today. I don't remember rain in the forecast. But we need it, so I
can't complain."

"Right. I'll get these folks pointed in the
right direction." Maddie was gone on the words, making the
announcement in such a way so as not to alarm the trail riders.

Once back at the compound, Kelsey and Maddie
handed the group off to Molly who had the fire already going and
the s'mores ready to make. The wind had died down, and it looked
like the storm had decided to go around instead of dumping a
torrential downpour on top of them all.

Which was really too bad.

She hadn't been kidding when she'd told
Maddie they needed rain. They were dangerously behind for the year.
Any day now, she expected a burn ban to be put into effect, and
that would mean the end of their campfires.

Oh, well. Nothing she could do about that, so
no need to borrow trouble, as Grams always said. And worrying about
it wouldn't change anything anyway.

She headed to the office to work on the
never-ending pile of paperwork that seemed to grow by leaps and
bounds on top of her desk. She was answering email when the door
opened and Pete walked in.

"You busy?" he asked, taking off his Stetson
and swiping his hair back before setting it back on his head.

Her heart lodged in her throat; she quickly
cleared it. "Yes, but I'm always busy these days. Busy is good, you
know?" She hadn't seen him since the night at Defalco's when he'd
reached out to comfort her when her feelings had become all tangled
up inside.

He'd emphasized the fact that they were
friends, and she should have been happy with that, but a little
voice whispered that she might want more from him.

Pete closed the door and stepped toward the
desk. The office seemed to shrink with his strong masculine
presence. He wore a shearling bomber jacket over a blue plaid
western shirt, Wranglers and boots. A hint of his aftershave
floated on the air.

"I cancelled a herbicide application up on
the Cap Rock because of the storm and thought I'd come on over
here. You have time to talk a minute?"

"Sure." Kelsey hit send, then closed her
laptop. "Have a seat. Just shove those catalogs to the floor. I
need to put them in the recycle bin, but I've been super busy, like
I said." Could she sound any lamer? This was Pete. They were
friends. They'd been friends since forever. She'd enjoyed
reminiscing with him over pizza and root beer the other night. The
stroll down memory lane had reinforced her affection for him,
brought back to mind the crush she'd had on him, and amplified the
new feelings surfacing between them.

Most importantly, it made her realize that
Pete was a very significant person in her life. She didn't want to
lose his friendship, so she needed to tread carefully in how she
handled the newly ignited desire she felt for the him. She didn't
think she'd been imagining the sexual tension emanating between
them. But if he wanted to ignore the chemistry and just be friends,
then so would she.

That would be the safest thing to do,
anyways.

Turning her swivel chair to face Pete, Kelsey
gripped her hands together on top of the desk and tried to still
the pounding in her heart. It was beating rapidly, having revved up
a notch the moment Pete had walked in the door.

Pete set his Stetson on top of the stack of
catalogues he'd pushed to the floor. He sat for a moment just
looking at her, tenderness and concern making his brown eyes dark
and rich. A warm feeling simmered low in Kelsey's stomach.

"Listen," he said, "I've been meaning to
apologize for making you cry at Mrs. Ruth's party. We've both been
so busy with work that it got shoved aside, and I don't like the
feeling of distance hanging between us. So, I'm sorry. I hope you
know I would never deliberately do anything to hurt you."

"I know that, Pete." Kelsey's throat burned,
and just like that, she wanted to cry. "It wasn't your fault; it
was mine. Chris' death hit me hard, and I'm having a difficult time
getting over it. As if you didn't know that. I thought dancing with
you would, oh I don't know, help me make progress." She bit her lip
and felt a blush stain her cheeks. "But then it felt so good
dancing with you that I felt guilty. Sometimes, I don't think I
deserve to feel that happy ever again. Dancing with you made me
feel like I was doing something wrong and betraying Chris. I know I
wasn't, but that's how I felt. Obviously, I still have a lot of
issues to work through."

Pete nodded. "I can only imagine your pain.
And believe me, I don't want to add to it. So, are we good?"

Kelsey gazed across her desk at him. His
features were so familiar, comfortable, friendly, yet at the same
time, there was an excitement mixed in with the new discovery that
Pete was a good-looking male who made her insides turn all mushy.
Yes, he'd always made her insides go all quivery. But now, there
was the added element of sexual tension and chemistry zinging back
and forth between them. It made her feel more alive than she'd felt
in over a year.

She'd known Pete all her life, yet since
she'd moved back to the ranch, she was seeing him in a new light.
Her teenage crush was morphing into a strong case of adult
attraction . . . and lust.

Why did things have to change? Why couldn't
they stay the same? These feelings for Pete were making her life
even more complicated than they already were. She was still
recovering from the loss of Chris, slowly learning to move forward
with her life. Farmtime Trails had been her salvation, preventing
her from falling into a deep chasm of sorrow.

Pete watched Kelsey and wondered what was
going on in that clever brain of hers. Would they ever get back on
track in their relationship? Because whether he wanted to admit it
or not, he
did
have a relationship with her. There'd had
always been something special about Kelsey McCade.

Raw emotion flitted across her beautiful
face. She was hurting bad, and he wished with all his heart there
was something he could do to help her, to somehow ease her sadness
and pain. When a single teardrop slipped down one smooth cheek, he
thought he'd die from the helplessness engulfing him.

"Oh, honey," he said. "Please don't cry
again. You don't know how bad it tears me up inside to see you so
unhappy."

"I can't help it." She wiped her cheek with
the back of her hand, blinking and sniffling as more tears fell.
She raised soul-sad eyes to his. "Don't you think I'm tired of all
this? Tired of crying? Tired of being sad?" Her voice broke on a
sob. "Why did he have to die?
Why?
God, I feel so alone. So
very much . . . alone."

Pete pushed back his chair and quickly walked
around the desk. He pulled Kelsey from her seat and into his arms.
"Shush now. You're not alone. You have a loving family and good
friends to support you."

And me.
But he didn't say that. They
didn't belong together. He wasn't the right man for her. But that
logical argument didn't seem to matter to his heart. He was
constantly fighting an internal battle against wanting Kelsey with
an urgency that nearly brought him to his knees and knowing he
couldn't . . .
shouldn't
start anything with her, especially
when she was in such a vulnerable state.

Hell, what was he thinking? He couldn't start
anything with her
ever.

He held her close while she sobbed her heart
out. Poor kid. He rested his chin on the top of her head, the scent
of strawberries and woman filling his nostrils. He rubbed her back
with one hand, while hugging her to his body with the other. She
wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him, her head
tucked in the crook of his shoulder like when they'd danced
together last week.

Only, now it was just the two of them. No
family, no friends, no interested spectators.

Pete let her have her cry out. After several
minutes, her tears finally stopped. She hiccoughed and stood frozen
in place, plastered against him. Damn, why did her body have to fit
him so perfectly? With a will of its own, his libido kicked into
full throttle; he couldn't control the flash of heat hardening his
body to almost painful intensity. He gritted his teeth trying to
rein in his unseemly reaction to the circumstances.

Kelsey slowly unwrapped her arms from around
his waist and moved her hands to the front of his jacket. She
patted the damp fabric right above his heart. "I got you all wet.
I'm sorry." She tilted her head to look at him, her eyelashes
spiked with tears.

He felt her stiffen in his embrace, her eyes
widening, dilating with awareness. His body flexed in response to
that primal signal of desire. Well, hell. How was he supposed to
resist that? Resist
her
? He was only human after all.

"Pete?"
Her voice was breathy, a
whisper, bedroom soft.

Never before had his name sounded so good, so
sexy on anyone's lips.

Her breath hitched, and before Pete could do
something stupid like act on his inappropriate hunger for her,
Kelsey took his choice away. She stood on tiptoe, draped her arms
around his neck and pressed her mouth to his.

Instant sexual combustion blind-sided him.
His mind went blank and instinct took over. She was female to his
male. He wanted her in the most elemental way. He'd wanted her for
weeks, months, years, and now she was in his arms, kissing him like
there was no tomorrow.

All Pete could do was yield to the sensations
bombarding him. He swiped his tongue across the fullness of her
bottom lip, and she immediately submitted to the silent demand. He
tightened his arms around her and without breaking contact with her
sweet hot mouth, walked her backwards until she was pressed against
the wall. He held her there with his hard, aching body and dove his
fingers into her golden hair, holding her head, tilting it just a
bit so he could gain better access with his mouth on hers.

He took the kiss to the next level, thrusting
his tongue deeper, forcing her to open even more for him. She was
quick to oblige, tangled her tongue with his, then sucked. He
thought he might lose it right then and there and pulled back for
just a moment.

"Don't stop!"
Kelsey wiggled her body
closer and with hands not quite steady, she jerked his head back
down until their mouths were joined once again.

The impact devastated his last defense. Pete
slid his hands down her shoulders and sides, gripped the firm flesh
of her shapely butt, clenching, kneading, yanking her against his
pelvis, rotating and grinding himself into her softness.

He trailed kisses down her neck, nipping
softly with his teeth, then licking and kissing some more. He eased
a hand between them and caressed one full breast, weighing it in
his palm, brushing the pert nipple with his thumb.

Her body trembled beneath his touch, and she
moaned into his mouth. "Oh God, yes. That feels good . . .
so
good."

Kelsey lost herself to the mesmerizing
sensations of Pete's kiss, finally yielding to the searing hunger
that had been building for weeks. The touch of his hand on her
breast was almost unbearable in its tenderness. She wanted more,
craved more. She couldn't get enough of him and pressed closer,
aligning their bodies, her softness nestling against his
hardness.

She felt his arousal rigid against her belly,
threatening to make her knees go weak. She thought she might melt
into a puddle at his booted feet, but then his arm on her back
gathered her closer, holding her upright as he deepened the
kiss.

His lips were hungry, searching. He plundered
her mouth, tasting, taking, playing hide and seek, demanding,
sucking.

Kelsey followed where he led, exploring every
inch of his mouth with her own tongue. When he cupped her breast
and rubbed his thumb across her nipple again, she thought she might
explode in ecstasy. Her nipple beaded against the satin lace of her
bra. She arched her back into the caress, seeking more, offering
herself for his pleasure . . . and hers.

He didn't disappoint. Trailing his hot lips
down her throat, Pete kissed her nipple through the fabric, nipping
it gently with his teeth. She felt the exquisite pressure gather
down below. Her body ached for more. Much more.

Pete's control was hanging by a thread, and
he knew they were going to have to stop this madness soon, only he
wasn't ready to let Kelsey go just yet. He'd dreamed of holding her
like this, kissing her until her lips were swollen, her nipples
taut and her body pliant. His dreams had fallen far short compared
to the reality of the moment.

She tasted like honey, sweet and hot. She was
liquid fire in his arms, and his body burned with desire.

Slowly, he straightened and removed his hand
from her breast. He gripped her shoulder, to anchor her, to anchor
himself. He didn't want to lose control of the situation. He didn't
want to scare her off, either. Although at the moment, she was
completely immersed in a sensual web, not thinking, only reacting.
He leaned his forehead against hers, laboring to drag air into his
oxygen-depleted lungs.

Damnation.
Kelsey's kisses were
addictive, intoxicating. He should have known they would be.