"He'll stay by your side. You can snuggle with whomever you please and he'll behave properly. He's trained not to go on furniture. He's very well-mannered, so you don't have to worry about him not behaving when you take him to someone else's home.
He'll stay by your side and sit by you, even by the dinner table. He won't beg for food."
"Really? So he's my shadow from now on."
"More like your eyes and your best friend."
Cody nodded, his lips just short of a smile, Lyssa noticed.
"Do you like to dance?"
The abrupt change in subject caught Lyssa off guard once again. "Excuse me?"
"Dancing. You know, to music. I used to take my dates dancing all the time. There is a great dance hall a few towns from here."
"I don't dance very well."
She coughed and shifted in place, trying to shake out this green-eyed envy piercing her.
Going to a weekend cutting horse competition was one thing. Tagging along on one of Cody's dates was totally . . . it just wasn't happening. Period.
She struggled, trying to force some professionalism into her voice. This wasn't about her.
It was about Cody.
"Getting out in a public place is a great next step. Maybe trying something smaller before Saturday would be a good idea."
He flashed a quick smile that had her catching her breath and made her knees weak.
"Good," he said.
"But I don't really think my coming on one of your dates is appropriate. This could be a test run for you and maybe—"
She stopped mid-sentence, taking in the tilt of his jaw and the devilish amusement playing at the corner of his lips. He was smiling one of those wide grins that showed how perfectly straight his teeth were and how adorable a man with dimpled cheeks could be.
He knew she was flustered. And damn him, he was enjoying every second of it.
His voice was low and slightly gruff when he spoke. "I wasn't asking if you wanted to come on my date with me, Lyssa. I was asking you to be my date."
Her heart did a flip. And she felt like an idiot. "Oh."
"Is that a problem? I mean, with the school? Is there some handbook rule that prevents you from going dancing with me?"
She chuckled, more with relief than anything. "The only rule is the law of
coordination—in that I don't have any. You do remember the incident by the pool, don't you?"
She fought the scorching blush, but it came anyway, blistering her cheeks until she dipped her head, averting her gaze. Even knowing Cody couldn't see it didn't help.
"I can help you with that."
A nervous laugh escaped her lips before she could catch it. "Believe me. Many a man has tried and found it to be a lost cause." Okay, so maybe the many men consisted only of her father and Chad, but that was enough humiliation for her.
"They're not me."
A cocky remark. One that she was sure came straight from the core.
Her heart hammered. "I don't have anything appropriate to wear."
"You're full of excuses. It's not a black tie affair, Lyssa. It's just some club with some good country music. Brock mentioned at breakfast he'd be playing there tonight. I haven't been out to see him play in a while and I'm sure he'll be happy someone finally dragged me out of the house. Not to mention having a little family support of his own for a change."
Lyssa didn't know much about the two youngest Gentry men, but she'd heard bits and pieces at the dinner table. Jackson, next in line after Cody, had yet to make an appearance at the ranch. From what little Cody had said about him, she knew only that he was in law enforcement.
Brock, the youngest of the brothers, was as scarce around the house as Jackson, although technically he did still live there. He was a musician from the cradle, Cody had said. Every once in a while she'd hear the mellow sound of a guitar playing down the hall, and the haunting voice of a man singing of lost love. She knew it was Brock, but the way he'd hole up in his room, Lyssa thought he was more of a phantom.
She knew Cody didn't think much of Brock's choice to pursue fame and fortune in
country music. She knew Mike Gentry approved of it even less. But at least Cody supported it because he knew it mattered to Brock.
"I don't know," she said, nibbling on her bottom lip.
"If you're nervous about us going alone, we can always ask Beau and Mandy if they'd like to come."
"Sure, more people to witness my fine dancing performance."
She sighed. She was really being ridiculous. There was nothing saying her time at the ranch had to be all work and no play. With Beau and Mandy tagging along it wouldn't really be a date. It'd just be a bunch of people together.
"I guess. Okay."
"Good. And don't worry about the clothes. Anything you have will fit in just fine where we're headed."
* * *
As Cody had mentioned, Brock's reaction to having him go to one of his gigs was met with much enthusiasm. Their father regarded the youngest boy's musical aspirations as nothing more than a fleeting fancy and discouraged him at every turn.
But Lyssa had had a chance to listen through closed doors to the haunting words and music Cody's brother created. He had talent. She didn't need to know anything about music to appreciate it. And the fact that Cody not only recognized that talent but acknowledged it had brought a lot of satisfaction to Brock at the dinner table that evening.
Later, when Lyssa was plowing through what little she'd packed to come to the ranch, she tried to convince herself that tonight's trek out to see Brock play wasn't really a date. As she yanked a skirt out of the closet and tried to find a matching blouse from the drawer she continued building the illusion. This wasn't a date. It was merely a public test run, much like the ones she went on with all her students.
She'd exhausted all combinations of jeans, skirts, and blouses, until she finally decided that none of it mattered. Cody couldn't see what she was wearing, only she could. It wouldn't really matter to anyone else anyway.
She finally slipped into a cotton sundress that she realized with dismay looked like a potato sack over her slightly pear-shaped figure. A low pair of white leather sandals and a touch of makeup was all she'd allow herself to fuss with for this evening. Tossing the dress in her bag had been a last-minute whim, but now she was glad she'd had some semblance of foresight to pack it. The only other things she had were clothes she wore when working with the dogs.
She met Cody downstairs in the living room. The house was quiet except for the slap of her sandals against the heels of her feet. Cody rose up from the sofa when she walked into the room.
His colorful western shirt was pressed neatly, most likely by Isadore, as was the seemingly new pair of Wranglers he wore. His boots were polished to a shine and the straw hat on his head looked as if it were his Sunday best.
"You look beautiful," he said.
She smirked. "How would you know?"
"Because I just heard Isadore sigh in the other room when she saw you coming down the stairs, so she must approve. And that's saying something for Isadore." He leaned forward slightly and whispered just below his normal tone, but loud enough to be heard by anyone who was inclined to eavesdrop. "She's watching, even if she doesn't want me to know."
Lyssa heard the sound of what was probably a broom or mop hitting the inside of the pantry.
"See what I mean?" he said, laughing.
"You look nice and it makes me feel a little under-dressed."
"Don't worry about it." He sighed. "I wish I could see you."
Lyssa dipped her head. How did he always do that? How did he always manage to make her feel as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world?
She reached out and lifted his hand to her face. Lightly, he ran his fingers over her newly painted lips and then cupped her cheek. It brought a smile to his face and one to her heart.
"Brock left right after dinner. He had to set up early and do a sound check before everyone arrives at the club."
"Are we picking up Beau and Mandy or are they meeting us here?"
"Ah, they aren't coming. When I called the ranch, Mandy said Beau was wiped out, not that I blame him. He's been doing double duty here and at the Double T. Little Promise has an ear infection, so they're going to sit this one out. It's just you and me."
He extended his left arm for her to hook her own through.
"Right."
Cody stopped short. "No seriously. I asked, but they begged off."
Lyssa shook her head. "Give me your right arm. Use your left hand for Otis," she corrected. "Speaking of Otis, where is he?"
"Oh, I forgot."
"After a while you won't. It will become second nature."
"What I mean is I've decided not to take Otis tonight. He's upstairs in my bedroom."
She frowned. "Why?"'
"I'd like to try this first outing alone."
Knotting her arms in front of her chest, Lyssa said, "What are you going to do when you have to go to the men's room?"
Cody smiled devilishly. "I'll hold it."
She rolled her eyes. "I thought the whole point in going was to get you out in public with Otis?"
"Maybe to you."
"Oh, really. What was your purpose then?"
"Do you really have to ask?"
"As a matter of fact, yes, I do. I can never figure you out, Cody, and just when I think I have, you do something like say you want to leave Otis home when my whole reason for being here in the first place is to help the two of you bond and become best buddies."
He smiled. "If it's all the same to you, tonight I'd rather become your best buddy. If he's going to be sleeping with me later, then we'll have all the bonding time in the world. I don't need him snuggling in between the two of us all night long."
Lyssa stared wordlessly at him, her heart pounding as she fought the image that sprang to mind of the two of them locked in a tight embrace.
"Don't you dare ruin my dog, Cody Gentry," she managed to say after a few moments.
"He will not be sleeping with you."
"I thought you said he was my dog."
Lyssa shrugged. "He's never going to stop being my dog, no matter how long he's here on the ranch. And I will not have you undo all the training that's made him a good guide dog."
"I'll behave."
"You'd better."
"Or what?"
"You're impossible."
The look on his face told her she was as big a wimp as she felt.
"Okay, he can stay home this once," she conceded. "But not this weekend. We're taking him to Fort Worth."
"The Coliseum can get pretty crowded," he warned.
"This is what you do, Cody. Otis needs to get exposure in the places you go frequently.
You can't keep him home all the time, or what's the point in having him?"
His eyebrows raised beneath his sunglasses. She knew he was thinking about the fact that he hadn't been the one who wanted a guide dog in the first place. It had been forced on him from the beginning, first by his father and then by Lyssa.
She sighed. "He stays home tonight, but he goes to Fort Worth."
"I'll agree to that."
Cody reached into his pocket and extracted a set of keys on a leather strap.
"You don't mind driving, do you? I mean, I usually take the Mercedes when I take a lady out, but it's been sitting idle these last months collecting dust."
Lyssa's eyebrow rose in interest. "You want me to drive your Mercedes?"
"Yeah, Brock will probably be ticked off since he's the only one who's been driving it lately, but he'll get over it."
She smiled.
A Mercedes.
It sounded like fun.
* * *
The Dance Hall was more crowded than Lyssa anticipated it would be on a Wednesday evening. It had been fun driving the Mercedes out on the open road, but now that she was faced with parking an elegant car like this in a pot-hole-filled parking lot with cars jammed into every inch of available space, she was starting to sweat. Her stomach jumped as she navigated the car through narrow passages. Beads of sweat sprung out on her forehead. She blew a quick breath of air upward to cool herself down.
"Relax, you can't possibly do any more damage than Brock," Cody had said in response to the little murmur of distress she made when she stopped at the entrance to the parking lot.
"Want to bet?" she'd said.
And he had just laughed, making her nerves all the more jumpy.
Why was she so nervous, anyway? It wasn't just the car. And it wasn't as if she hadn't been out on a date before.
Her hands trembled on the steering wheel as she saw a couple walking arm in arm into the dance hall.
This isn't a date, she told herself. But suddenly Lyssa realized with dread that a date was exactly what this was. She was on a date with Cody. Otis was home. She wasn't in the company of any family members. It was just her and Cody, now walking arm in arm toward the dance hall just like the other couple she'd seen as she parked the Mercedes.
Oh, this evening was shaping up just perfectly.
For most of the night, they sat in a corner table close enough to the stage for Brock to bounce back and forth between their table and a table where some of his friends were gathered.
Another band went on stage before his band.
The music was too loud for Lyssa's liking. That plus sitting too close to the PA system made it difficult to follow the conversation among the other people who stopped by their table.
Cody didn't say much. He mostly listened, leaning back in his chair with his arm draped casually over the back of hers, making it clear that they were together. As if they were a couple.
And thinking about Cody that way, allowing herself to think of him purely as a man and not a student, was something that made Lyssa uneasy.
As usual, Cody kept his sunglasses on while inside, most likely to hide his eyes. And as they sat in the loud room among all the other people, Lyssa wondered about Cody's eyes. What they'd been like before the accident.
There were pictures, of course, scattered around the house, showing the various stages of growth of all the Gentry boys. All the brothers had light eyes. Cody's, though, had intrigued Lyssa from the start. In some pictures, they'd been a mixture of blue and green. Sometimes, when the sun was shining bright, they'd appeared a deep green. Other times, they were almost a dark blue.