by Debra Kayn
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” He turned back to Chantilly. “I’ll just keep Chantilly close by while you’re here.”
“Where’re we supposed to sit at this shindig?” Stuart came up behind his daughters and threw his arms around their shoulders. “A man would starve standing around jawing all day.”
“Come on, I’ve grabbed us a table over in the back.” Chantilly led the way but glanced behind her every couple of steps and smiled at her family. “I wish Bisette could have come home too. She’s busy rehearsing for that big concert coming up next week in Boston, though. But Margot’s bringing Momma’s lemon pie. It’ll be just like ol’ times, except better.” She gazed at Jack.
“Yep, it does a man proud to have all his chicks back in the nest.” Stuart sat down at the table, removed his handkerchief and mopped his forehead. “Damn this heat…”
Chantilly pushed the plate toward Jack. “What happened to the ribs?”
Jack fiddled with his hat before removing it and laying it on the bench beside him. “Shoot, I—”
“I swear you’d all starve if it wasn’t for me.” Margot approached the table and slid a platter of meat dripping with hot barbecue sauce in front of them. “Val handed me the food. She had a feeling with Florentine arriving you’d forget all ’bout eating.” She hurried over and gathered her sister in her arms. “I’ve missed you so much. Didja just get in town?”
Florentine closed her eyes and leaned her head on her oldest sister’s shoulder. “Yup. I’ve missed you too, sis.” She sniffed. “How’s the clinic?”
“Good. I’m even thinking about hiring another veterinarian.” Margot sat across from Chantilly beside her dad. “It’ll also give me a little more free time.”
“Margot!” Chantilly reached across the table. “You’ve got a boyfriend, doncha?”
“Too soon to tell.” She shook her head. “And not another word ’bout it. I don’t wanna jinx it by wishing too soon.”
“’Bout damn time.” Stuart forked a rib onto one of the rolls he stole from Chantilly’s plate. “It’s high time you all found a man to take over my job of keeping you out of trouble. I’m getting too old to chase after you girls, especially now that Margot’s living across town and Val’s sleeping above the bar. Hell, half the time even Bisette’s out of the damn country.”
The sisters rolled their eyes at Stuart’s old-fashioned notion that they needed men to keep them out of trouble. Between fast conversations and laughter, Chantilly managed to consume a quarter of the food on the plate. She rubbed Jack’s thigh under the table and grinned at him. He’d kept quiet during dinner, but he appeared to be caught up in the lively talk floating around him.
“All right, girls…Jack, I’m gonna work my way through this crowd and speak to the neighbors for a while.” He threw his napkin on the table. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget the pies, Margot. You do your momma proud with your baking.”
“Thanks, Daddy.” Margot leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Although you just said that so I’d bring an extra pie for you to have to yourself…I could never compete with Momma’s pies.”
Stuart ran the back of his hand down her cheek. “Don’t you be selling yourself short. You’re a damn fine pie maker.” He patted his round stomach. “Look what you did to me.”
Chantilly turned and pulled her legs out from under the table. “Let’s go too, Jack.”
“Already?” Jack wiped his mouth on the napkin. “Don’t you wanna stay and dance? I mean…ain’t that what you had your heart set on?”
“Oh, I plan on getting you to dance. You’re not getting out of it if that’s what you think.” She turned to Florentine. “Stay up for me. I wanna catch up on everything, okay?”
Florentine nodded. “I’m gonna stick around here and help Val out until closing time. Someone needs to make sure our innocent baby sister doesn’t fall for the sweet words of a drunken yahoo.”
“Florentine.” Stuart lowered his brows. “No fighting. I don’t feel like dragging your bee-hind out of jail tonight.”
“Of course not, Daddy.” She winked. “I’ve changed my ways. Hell, I’m practically the sweet girl in the family now.”
Snorts came from each one of the McDougals. Florentine laughed. “Man, it’s good to be back home.”
Stuart walked away, shaking his head. Chantilly bounced beside Jack, her arms wrapped around his waist, and she smiled up into his eyes. “We’ll have all day with my family tomorrow. I wanna spend the rest of the evening with you, alone, doing something wild…excitin’…a little crazy.”
Jack growled and hurried them into the bar. “You won’t find me telling you no.”
“Tilly!”
She glanced over and found Val motioning her over. She kissed Jack on the lips. “Let’s go say bye to Val, but if she tries to talk us into staying and helping out, you’ll need to come up with an excuse for us to get outta here.” She winked. “And don’t tell her we have plans to do some boinking or she’ll never let us leave.”
“Boinkin’?” Jack grinned. “I won’t say a word.”
“I thought you might like that idea.” She pulled Jack toward the counter.
Chantilly slapped Roy Lee, Pike’s sheriff, on the back and interrupted him lifting his arm for another bite. “How’s the horses doin’?”
“Great. Windstar had a foal last week. You’ll have to come over and have a look.” Roy Lee eyed Jack. “I heard you got a new guy at the ranch.”
Chantilly nodded. “Jack Grady, meet Roy Lee Hanson. He owns the spread beside us.”
While the two men shook hands, Chantilly slipped over to say goodbye to Val. Carrying two trays full of empty glasses from the counter, she followed her sister into the back room.
“The bar’s sure hopping, sis. Florentine mentioned she was going to stay and help you out tonight.” Chantilly hoped that would help make her excuses go over better.
“Yeah, she called here before she met dad at the ranch earlier.” Val frowned. “Do you know where Dad’s headed?”
“What’re you talking ’bout? He’s here someplace. He said he was going to socialize.” Chantilly stepped toward the swinging doors separating the kitchen from the bar and peered through the round glass window. “Do you want me to find him for you? Jack and I are getting ready to take off, but I can hunt ’im down before we leave.”
“That’s just it, Tilly.” Val pushed through the doors. “Dad left. As in drove off in the truck. I yelled at him, but with the crowd, I didn’t get down the block fast enough.” She slapped her apron down on the counter. “He always sticks around until I close when there’s a celebration.”
Chantilly kissed Val’s cheek. “Margot doesn’t think so, but I have a sneaking suspicion that dad has himself a girlfriend.”
Val scrunched up her nose. “Ick! Get real.”
“I am.” She shrugged. “He’s been missing a lot lately and seems a little scatterbrained. Heck, he doesn’t even say anything ’bout Jack and I being together.”
Chapter Eleven
The low, gentle moos coming from the field, along with the sun falling beyond the horizon, cast the land in an ambiance of perfection. Chantilly inhaled deeply and soaked in the content feelings warming her insides. She could spend her whole life right here on the ranch working side by side with Jack. After evening chores, she’d gladly settle down and become the woman she’d discovered inside her when she was in Jack’s arms.
She sat on his porch and enjoyed the rare quiet time. Her dad had pushed her to take a day off, and she knew Jack was more than capable of doing the chores today. She leaned her head back against the chair. It was hard to admit, but she liked the change of pace.
She never dreamed of taking time from ranch work to start a relationship until Jack came to the ranch. Having this new interest took her by surprise. She always figured she’d be happy enough raising, growing and expanding the ranch. Chantilly closed her eyes. Maybe there is room in my life for a man and the ranch.
Falling in love was the best feeling in the world. It exceeded anything she’d ever accomplished on her own. Her stomach tightened. Love. Who knew?
Now she could see how wrong she’d been, and her priorities had shifted. She was no longer afraid of letting go of the ranch and losing her special spot in her dad’s heart for being the only girl who wanted to follow in his footsteps. Her dad had been right. Love changed everything and made your world a thousand times better.
“Hey, darlin’.” Jack stomped up the steps onto the porch. “You sneaking in some shut-eye?”
She shook her head and smiled. “Just dreaming.”
“’Bout?” He stood in front of her chair and used his legs to rock her back and forth.
“You.” Chantilly ran her hand on the outside of his thigh. “You seem to take up all my free thoughts these days.”
“I like hearing that, darlin’.” He removed his hat, ran his hand through his hair and stepped toward the door. “You ain’t gonna run off if I jump in the shower real fast, are you?”
“No.” She laughed.
He disappeared inside the house and the door clicked behind him. Chantilly sucked in her bottom lip and caught it between her teeth. He had no idea she still planned to make him dance with her.
She stood up and wandered off the porch. Kicking off her shoes, she hummed under her breath and strolled around the outside of the house, following the flowerbed that lacked the pretty annuals she always planted at the main house during the summertime. For a few minutes, she envisioned turning this house into their home.
Jack’s dog would lie on the porch during the day while Jack rode the fences, and she’d spend her days mixing bread dough together to set in the southern window to rise. She snorted. Where were these thoughts coming from?
She’d no sooner become Betty Crocker than Jack would move his whole life around to adjust to her life dream. Chantilly bent over and picked a dandelion out of the grass. She wasn’t sure how the future would take shape, but the last few days made one thing very clear—wherever Jack was, she wanted to be right beside him.
A ball of excitement welled up inside her stomach and spread into her chest. She threw the yellow weed up in the air and laughed. It’d taken her twenty-five years, but she’d finally bloomed. She’d experienced what her sisters had gone through before her, and she finally understood how they’d come to the decision to branch away from their family home. It was possible to love without giving up your dream; Jack showed her it was worth the effort. The same way her momma and daddy had done. This was her time. She could have it all.
“Chantilly?”
“Over here.” She skipped toward the porch. “Oh, Jack.” She lunged at him, wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him.
“Whoa, darlin’.” He held her to his chest and picked her off the ground. “What’s got you so excited? Hm?” He kissed her cheek and worked his way to her lips. “This is all I could think ’bout in the shower…holding you in my arms, tasting you.”
His bare chest was warm from the shower, and he drew her closer. She ran her hands over his shoulders. So strong and dependable, he carried so many responsibilities.
Pulling her head back, she grinned. “It’s time.”
He licked his bottom lip and stared at her mouth. “Damn straight.” Without letting go, he turned toward the house. “I’ve wanted this all day.”
“Nuh-uh.” She pushed against his shoulders. Once on her feet, she grabbed both of his hands and dragged him out farther in the grass. “That’s not what it’s time for.” She winked. “That comes later.” She swayed back and forth. “Right now. Tonight. Out here, with no one watchin’…you, Mr. Grady, are gonna dance with me.”
He stepped back, but she refused to let go of his hands. His eyes grew big and he shook his head. She laughed. He didn’t stand a chance at winning this time.
“Please, cowboy.” She dropped her hold on him and stepped back. “I know big, tough saddle riders like you don’t like to move fast on your feet.” She slowly started unbuttoning the front of her blouse. “But what you don’t know—” her blouse slipped off her shoulders, down her arms, and floated to the grass at her feet, “—is dancing is a lot like riding a horse.”
She reached behind her, unclipped her bra and let it fall to join her shirt on the ground. Jack’s eyes dropped to her breasts. Her nipples peaked under his gaze with the breeze caressing her skin.
“You know how to move atop a horse at each pace, right?” She unsnapped her denim shorts and wiggled them past her hips. “You just hafta pay attention to my body the same way.” Lifting her foot, she stepped out of the rest of her clothes. “When I move, you move. You hafta stay close and focused.”
Chantilly trailed her fingers over her hips, her waist, and raised her arms in the air. “Like this, Jack.” She swayed her hips in a loose circle. “Now imagine your body pressed…tight against mine.” She reached out, hooked her fingers between his belt and bare skin and pulled him closer. “Belly to belly.”
Jack placed his hands on her hips and ground into her. “Shit, Chantilly.”
“See.” She tangled her fingers in his hair. “Mm…just like that.”
Jack never moved his feet, but his body picked up its own rhythm. His hands explored the curve of her lower back and slid over her ass. She leaned her shoulders back, thrusting her hips tight against him.
“You’re dancing, cowboy.” She was surprised that her words came out breathless.
He grunted and moved his hips against her. She mewed. The temptation to close her eyes and let the friction building between their bodies consume her grew.
“Sorry, darlin’, but the dancing is over.” He scooped her up in his arms so fast she screamed. “The only kind of swaying I’m gonna do tonight is on top of you with your legs wrapped around me, and those pouty lips of yours screaming my name.”
She laid her head on his shoulder and nibbled the side of his neck. His pulse throbbed under her lips, and she suctioned her mouth on his skin. She’d brand him with her love bite, marking him as taken.
He kicked open the front door, stepped into the room and tossed her in the middle of his bed. She leaned up on her hands. Jack undid his buckle faster than a rookie at the rodeo rides the bull. Not taking the time to remove his boots, he pushed down his jeans and boxers to his knees.
“I do love a man who knows what he wants.” She pursed her lips as he pushed her legs apart and hovered over her. “Show me how you dance, cowboy.”
He captured her mouth at the same time as he plunged between her legs. She moaned. The minty familiar taste of his lips, his tongue, became a heady aphrodisiac, setting her body on fire. Her hips thrust back and forth, picking up the rhythm of music only she and Jack heard.
A dance so raw and filled with emotions, she couldn’t imagine sharing it with anybody but Jack. She gasped and clawed her fingers into his back, urging him for more.
“Jack!” She held her breath, her back arching off the bed. “Oh, sweet Lord.” Her breath whooshed out only to be sucked back in. “God, Jack.”
“Dance with me, baby.” He lowered himself to his elbows and used his hands to hold her head still. “Open your eyes, darlin’.”
Her lashes fluttered until she locked her gaze on him. The tenderness and love shining in his eyes sent her womb into a spasm and spread pleasure throughout her insides.
Jack groaned, thrust one more time and shuddered as her body quivered around him. She cupped her hands on each side of his face. Her feelings were too enormous to put into any other words than the simplest way she knew possible.
“I love you.”
He kissed her tenderly and leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you too, darlin’.”
Chapter Twelve
Sitting at the kitchen table with Stuart, Jack watched the five McDougal women maneuver around the large farm kitchen. Jack linked his ankles under the table, leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. It fascinated him how
Chantilly and her sisters took up specific roles in the kitchen.
Margot appeared to be in charge of cooking the food, Val cut up vegetables at the sink, Florentine loaded the dishwasher and Chantilly ran around between them wiping the counter down with a wet dish towel. He’d never seen Chantilly in a domestic situation where she wore a frilly-laced apron and seemed right at home inside the kitchen, and it intrigued him.
He was used to seeing her rope steers and train horses. He inhaled. She had so many different sides to her that he’d be lucky to have her as a wife.
Jack sat up straighter, glanced at Stuart and caught the man gazing at him. Jack rubbed his jaw, the whiskers rough against his hand.
“They’re a sight to see, aren’t they, son?” Stuart leaned over. “Shannon, my wife, taught Margot everything she knows, and she in return made sure her sisters knew how to run a household.” He chuckled. “Of course it wasn’t all smooth sailing.” He motioned with his head. “Florentine can’t cook worth beans, but she keeps things cleaner than a rich man’s tack room. Bisette, the one who’s missing today, would forget she was cooking something in the oven and burn the food every time it was her turn to make the meal.”
“And Chantilly?” Jack turned his head in Chantilly’s direction. “Was it easy for her to learn how to do all this?”
“She’s the responsible one in the family.” Stuart frowned. “If someone complained ’bout doing chores, she’d do it for them. If the other girls slacked off, she didn’t come to me complaining. She’d double up on her household tasks to make sure the job got done. That girl can do anything she sets her mind to and more.”
“Yeah, I can see her doing that.” Jack never took his gaze off Chantilly.
Stuart cleared his throat. “Tell you the truth, Jack. Her falling head over heels for you is the best thing that could happen to her. She’s more relaxed and the ranch…I think she can finally see how it won’t fall apart if she enjoys life for a change.” He sat forward and leaned his elbows on the table. “I want her to be happy and let someone else take care of her for a change.”
