What the heck else did parents do at these things?
Man, I missed everyone so much right now. Ma, Dad, Janey. She should be the one standing here, fawning all over Maddie, taking embarrassing pictures. Not that I minded standing in for her. I loved Maddie, but this should have been Janey’s moment to beam with pride at her little girl.
Looking around, it seemed the concept of one or two chaperones had gone out the window. Parents back in my day had drawn short straws because they couldn’t bear to go to these things. They’d come kicking and screaming. Parents now crawled all over the place. The ratio looked even. Like every parent was there.
More people to gawk at me.
Never mind me. Those poor kids... All the parents waving. Interrupting dances to take pictures. FaceTiming with Florida grandparents. My grandparents back then would have been fast asleep by now.
So much had changed in my life since I attended this school.
Delsey had changed, too, hadn’t she? The shy girl was now a celebrity. I hoped she handled it well. And didn’t feel overwhelmed. Did she have a bodyguard in Houston? Did she need one? She mentioned one of her security guys, but I thought that meant at her headquarters, which was normal.
No one had security guards around here, not even at Renner Ranch or Sutherland Farms with their million-dollar horses. Delsey was a celebrity in a penthouse apartment with security guards. That was her life now and it burned me because I wanted her on a level playing field. Mine. Leveled out. Beneath me.
Besides getting busy between my sheets, there wasn’t anything I could offer her.
And what if we tried and I messed that up? She’d take off and I’d lose her.
Christ, I was thinking about losing her?
I’d not had a sip of alcohol in about a year. If there were ever a time I needed a shot of whiskey, it was now.
Chapter Twelve
Delsey
Being fawned over in Houston by strangers always made me uncomfortable. Here in Wild Heart, it felt a little victorious. All the kids who ignored me, or didn’t understand me back in high school, now wanted to speak to me. Had all kinds of questions.
Logan stood on the edge of the dance floor peering at Maddie and Marco. Poor kids. In the midst of everyone gushing over me, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I hadn’t been too subtle about it since we’d walked in holding hands.
“You and Logan Grady, huh?” a woman with ebony hair asked me when the others floated away.
What was her name? I knew I’d been told. “It’s nothing like that. I’m helping Maddie out.” I didn’t bother with the details because I wanted to protect Maddie’s privacy about the issues she’d been having about her leg.
“She’s a great kid. So sad what happened to her.” The woman turned around and I heard someone say they were going to grab some snacks, calling her Jesse.
“She’s getting through it.” I didn’t want anyone dishing out pity to Maddie. Pity didn’t help anyone. Compassion, yes. Pity got kicked to the curb. “Excuse me.”
“Just one thing, Delsey.” Jesse gently took my arm.
Here it comes. Stay away from Logan. He’s mine. Or was mine. Or I plan to get him. Get him back. You’re leaving. Blah blah blah. “Yes?”
“Maddie’s dad is a real slimeball.”
The Maddie’s dad pivot caught me off guard. “Okay. I assume so. He’s got a kid who lost her mother and he’s not around.” Not that I thought Logan would give Maddie up. Not without a fight. Except, he was broke.
Uh-oh.
“That’s what worries me. If Kyle Weatherby finds out Logan and you are a thing? He’ll come around asking for money. I guarantee it.”
Kyle Weatherby? The name didn’t ring a bell. But Jesse made a damn good point. I could pay Kyle off in the blink of an eye. Yet it would be another thing Logan wouldn’t allow me to deal with.
It really was best if I sold Logan my house. I just couldn’t make the loan look like a handout. “I’m only in town for a few more days. Logan and I are just spending time together. Because like I said, I’m helping Maddie out.”
Jesse laughed and sipped what smelled suspiciously like Chardonnay from a red SOLO cup. “I’ve known Logan a long time. And not...like that. Not that he hasn’t had his fill of fillies. Since Maddie’s accident though, and losing his family, no one sees him around and as far as everyone knows, he’s become a monk. But seeing him with you, he’s a different person. It’s like you woke him up. And good. He deserves some sugar in his life. Just don’t break his heart.”
Now I had to laugh as Jesse wandered off, looking tipsy. I would have bet on my success. I would have bet that my daddy retired early. I never would take a bet that involved whether or not I’d break Logan Grady’s heart.
For years, I wasn’t sure he had one.
He had another form of anatomy, though. Good Lord. It was hard to not imagine it. How his cock would feel inside me.
His soaring six-foot height meant he had to be blessed in that department. And his confidence level on the matter probably didn’t come out of nowhere.
“Where are all my parents tonight?” a man on the stage purred.
I scoffed. There looked to be more parents than kids. All the woot-wooting meant they were happy to be there, too. My daddy had dropped me off at these things and gave me cash to call a taxi home.
“Let’s show these young kids how we used to dance. Let’s get some two-step going. Grab a partner, ya’ll,” the band leader coaxed everyone.
I had to jump out of the way or I’d get run over. How desperate for entertainment were these parents?
Avoiding being trampled made me lose track of my surroundings and next, I was under a cowboy hat, sweet minty breath on my face.
“I assume someone taught you how to two-step, darlin’?” Logan asked, taking my hand and pulling me in by the waist.
“We two-step in Houston.”
He growled. “I hate the idea of you in a honkytonk in Houston.”
“I don’t make a habit of it.”
“I can make a habit of you,” he said and choked. “I mean...”
“I know what you mean.” I tugged his hand. “Come on, cowboy. Don’t be a grump. Dance with me.”
Logan’s grip was tight. I felt claimed and owned. Waltzed onto that dancefloor like I was a prize. Damn. I liked how that felt. Liked that others may have wanted me in some way, but the most beautiful man in Wild Heart had me. Wanted me.
Not that he hasn’t had his fill of fillies.
As each day passed, more reasons for me and Logan not to cross that line piled up. Now the new complication—Maddie’s dad. Jesse had made a valid point, but I pushed that complication aside. Of all Logan’s problems, that was the easiest to fix. Hire a PI to pay Maddie’s dad a visit with a briefcase full of cash. And a bruiser forcing him to sign a piece of paper to rescind all his rights as her father.
Logan spinning me around and pulling me into his firm muscular chest sent all thoughts of Maddie’s dad out of my head.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice dropping nearly an octave.
“I was born ready,” I said, giggling. “Sorry, had to.”
“You were born for a lot, darlin’.”
Friends dancing the two-step meant Logan’s right hand should have been just under my left arm. No, his hand had lingered much lower and it automatically pulled our hips together. That’s what kissing this man had gotten me. A dirty dance disguised as a Texas two-step. The bumping and grinding made the dance much harder.
But heck, who was I to argue?
The feel of Logan’s arms, the heat of his body, and pure male power radiating off him made my core and nipples tighten. His strutting forward with such primal rhythm, his hat low on his head, and his tight jaw screamed raw intensity. His quicks were rough stomps and his slows ground into me.
This was so not how anyone two-stepped in Houston. Heck, a glance around the room, no one danced like that. How our feet didn’t get tangled was a mystery. Bu
t our bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. This was a Logan dance.
And he invented it just for me...
Logan
THE BEST PART OF DANCING was touching. For some. I liked to look at my partner. I could know everything there was to know about a lady by the way she danced. Certainly, how she’d feel in my bed.
I didn’t remember it feeling like this. So natural and meant to be. The way Delsey fit in my arms. So fluid, letting me lead with a serene trusting smile on her face. I could quick-quick her off a cliff. At this point, I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t take the plunge with her.
This night was going to end with a serious bang, and I didn’t mean the sexual metaphor because making love to Delsey Mackenzie wasn’t a wham-bam thank you ma’am move. For one, I didn’t think she’d allow it. And I loved that about her. She had class. Self-respect. Confidence. I pushed away any thoughts of how I may have damaged her. I’d apologized again and again.
Her spins and leaning into my chest with a sexy smile told me I’d been forgiven. That didn’t mean I felt scot-free. Sorry was a word, I needed to do something to make amends. But what? I couldn’t even pay my rent.
Maybe taking some of her generosity, at least toward Maddie would do it. Funny how taking was a way to fix a problem.
“I’m very impressed,” I said to her, swizzling my hips in rhythm with hers, gliding along with the crowd.
“My schedule keeps me busy, but this isn’t something you forget.” She melted into the spin and let her head rest on my shoulder briefly. But she didn’t stay there for long. She popped off and got back into the stepping rhythm.
A few people fumbled here and there. But this was Texas. You learned to walk. You learned to two-step. Maybe not in that order, if your parents did the dance with you as a baby in their arms.
A flash hit me, leveling me out. A baby. Of my own. Sure, I’d smothered Maddie with love even before the accident. With her snake-of-a-father absent, I’d always been the man in her life. But in those days, I got down and crawled around with her, lifted her over my head, and then went home. Babysitting gigs were about watching inappropriate shows on television and eating ice cream for supper.
Falling into the stare of Delsey’s eyes, I saw my life shoot off in a different direction. Something clear off from where I was. The surroundings felt different, too. Maybe it wasn’t real. Just some misplaced fantasy because Delsey was going back to Houston.
Period.
“We’re gonna slow the music down folks,” the guy on stage said.
I searched the gym and exhaled, finding Maddie sitting on the bottom bleacher, Marco sitting across from her. They looked lost in conversation. No touching. Good. I wanted her attention, but didn’t want to flaunt Delsey in my arms. I’d understand if she wanted me and Delsey together. They’d bonded in the last couple of days. Given any other scenario, I’d go for it with Delsey. I had that right. To have a woman in my life. Especially one that Maddie really liked who liked her back.
Except, Delsey lived too far away. I worked too many hours. Maddie had too many therapy appointments. Scheduled phone calls and chasing down emails would get in the way. I didn’t want Delsey to feel neglected. She deserved more than that.
Then there was also the issue of money. Her having a ton and me having none. And me owing back-rent.
I also suspected back in Houston she was a different person. Wild Heart wasn’t the place to flaunt money and power. Everyone knew the Renners were rich, no need to be flashy. Rafe Sutherland got back on his feet and he’s still the same jerk, but money had nothing to do with it. Jamie and Harper, too. You had to keep it real in Wild Heart or you’d be shown to the town line.
“Do you see Maddie?” Delsey followed my gaze.
“Yeah, she’s good. I got her.”
“I like how you say that. Very...protective.”
“How can I not be?”
“You’re a good man. She has a dad who...”
“Don’t bring him up, I’m having a good time.”
She smiled. “Me, too.”
Out of nowhere, she slid her arms across my shoulders, bringing our bodies together. The rhythm and sway of the gut-wrenching song had my mind in a whirl. I wanted to kiss her again. Make her breathless and melt in my arms.
“You said something about wanting me badly,” she said softly, cautiously.
I’d been in blurt-mode since she got into town. I was surprised I hadn’t been more graphic. “Are you doubting me?”
She leaned into me. I’d been hard since I touched her ten minutes earlier. “Not at all.”
“I just got a little crazy. That’s probably not a good idea. And you know it.” Each word burned against my lips. It couldn’t have been anything further from what I wanted.
But I didn’t trust what I wanted. Because what I actually ‘wanted’ about anything, got crushed along with my dad’s truck last year. Not getting what I wanted had become my new normal.
“No-strings sex is never a good idea.” She breathed. “That’s what could make it fun.”
That answer didn’t help me talk myself out of taking her good and hard later. I didn’t want her to feel pressured. Or think I could fix my financial problems with her in my bed. Because if I were being honest, owing her money killed me. Only, she’d done everything humanly possible to give me a pass. To make me see that I’d gotten myself in financial trouble because I chose to take care of Maddie.
Feeling my way through this murky water, I said low and with grit in my voice, “I assume you don’t have someone back in Houston.”
“Not...anymore. I was engaged for a while. But that ended.” She looked away.
That nugget hadn’t made its way to her Instagram account. My heart took a jolt at the idea she could have flippin’ married someone else and I’d have missed my chance with her. An idea so appalling it made my stomach twist in knots. “I’m sorry.” Not. Not if it meant she were single and maybe somewhere we stood a snowball’s chance in hell.
“I’d rather not talk about it. I feel foolish. He was cheating on me and I didn’t know it. Until I caught them. They were being careless. Like...he wanted to get caught.” She shook her head. “I hadn’t thought about it like that until now.”
“That’s a good thing, right? That you didn’t really lose something. And you didn’t get married and then had to deal with a divorce.”
“I guess.” She nodded. “What about you? Anyone serious? Ever?”
“No. Work’s hard in these parts and takes up a lot of hours. Most nights I just fall into bed.” And thought about you...
“Hard work should have some kind of reward. We all work hard, Logan.”
“Where is this coming from, Delsey? I’m trying to figure it out. Maybe I shouldn’t be wondering alone.” Examining our attractions would be a way to drown out what we were feeling.
“Something made you kiss me senior year,” she said softly.
“That, I have an answer for.” I pulled her in closer. “Senior year, I saw you in a different light. You seemed more relaxed. More confident. The scared, shy girl was something I couldn’t relate to.”
“That’s so interesting. The summer after junior year, I knew where I wanted to go to school. We took a trip to Baltimore and visited Johns Hopkins’ campus. The East Coast is a whole other world. But I felt free there. Like I fit in somewhere finally. And I had the grades. I knew that was where I’d end up. I was able to...relax.”
“It showed.” After high school, I’d been so impressed with her awards and degrees. Except, all of that had pulled her away from me. Not that I thought I had any real shot with her. What would such a smart girl have wanted with a lug like me? I knew what my future held. Hard work on a horse ranch which at first included shoveling a lot of shit. I hadn’t been destined for college like she was.
“What are you guys talking about?” Maddie’s voice popped up out of nowhere. I’d stopped glancing over at the bleachers enough to absorb Delsey.
Was the ki
d trying to play matchmaker with us? Or was she bored with Marco and using us as a diversionary tactic?
Delsey pivoted and said, “About our senior year in high school. I was telling him what it felt like to know I was going to Johns Hopkins.”
“The pictures of that school are really amazing,” Maddie said, her eyes lighting up.
“Everything okay with Marco?” I asked, catching the lanky kid still sitting on the lower bench looking at his phone.
“Yeah, his parents have to get up early tomorrow. They work weekends, so they’re picking him up soon.”
“We could drive him home if you want to spend more time with him,” Delsey said, volunteering my chauffeur services. Which I really liked, we felt like a team. Damn.
“Actually,” Maddie said and the rocking began.
Oh good Lord, what was she going to say? I squeezed Delsey’s hands which I just realized I’d not let go of. And she held on, too. Maddie had waltzed over and wasn’t looking at us like we had ten heads. In one darn week, she’d gotten used to me and Delsey getting cozy.
“Actually what, Mads?”
“Christina invited me to a sleepover. Can I go?”
A sleepover.
Tonight.
Maddie wouldn’t be in the house.
Tonight.
Don’t look at Delsey. Don’t look at Delsey.
“Do you know Christine well?” Delsey asked and then cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Logan, this isn’t for me to discuss. I’ll let you two talk.”
She let go of my hand, the cold that followed killed me. Watching her walk away, a sway still in her hips, buried me further. She put that damn two and two together, too. And she left to go figure out an excuse to turn me down.
Because there was no way in hell, I wasn’t going to ask her to spend the night.
The Cowboy's Rebel Heart: An Enemies to Lovers Second Chance Romance (Wild Texas Hearts Book 4) Page 12
