How Far Will You Go?

by Barbara Baldwin

  "It's not every year our town has its one hundred fiftieth birthday,” she had said when Kelly asked her why she was adjusting the hours the café was open. Her mom was keeping retail business hours for the next couple days because of all the events, which meant they'd be closing early, but that still didn't mean there wouldn't be tons of people downtown since the sidewalk sale started tomorrow.

  By two, she was exhausted and for one serious minute thought of calling Lou and making up some excuse for not going to the dance tonight. But when she got home and dropped her bag on the chair in her room, she saw the note Lou had left on her pillow. She recalled his gentle touch as he fell asleep with his arms around her. Who was she kidding to think she wanted to go even a single night without seeing him?

  After soaking in a hot tub until the water turned cool, she felt better. She put a coat of polish on her fingers and toes, rubbed lotion into her skin and lay down for a nap. By the time her mom woke her at seven, she felt refreshed and ready to enjoy the evening. She was just putting the finishing touches to her makeup when she heard the doorbell ring, and her stomach did a little flip-flop. She was actually nervous!

  "Don't be a dork.” She made a face at her reflection in the mirror. “You're not seventeen.” But the fact was that even though she and Lou had experienced explosive sex together, they really hadn't been on a date in ten years. Not a pick-you-up-and-take-you-somewhere-nice kind of date.

  Her mom was visiting with Lou when she walked down the hall to the living room and she stopped for a minute just to look at him. He had gotten a haircut—one of those short, spiky in front type of cuts—and it gave him a very sophisticated, urbane look. Couple that with the charcoal gray suit he wore, and it was easy to picture him on the cover of GQ, not American Horseman.

  But his dark eyes and the scar cutting across his cheekbone gave him a dangerous, predatory air. It was the kind of male look that turned women on. She just hoped she wouldn't have to beat women off tonight because she was feeling very possessive.

  She watched him smile and nod at what her mom was saying. She knew he wasn't just being polite; he was actually listening and cared. As she spied on him from the edge of the hallway, he pulled a rose from the bouquet he had been holding behind his back and gave it to her mother, bending down to kiss her cheek.

  Kelly quickly spun around and blindly made her way to the bathroom, knowing her makeup would be streaked from the tears flowing down her cheeks. She took a sobbing breath, her back against the closed door. If Lou hadn't already stolen her heart, it would be doing a free-fall into love at that moment. As she dried her eyes and repaired her makeup, she had to remind herself that Lou was keeping something from her. Otherwise, she was liable to attach “Saint” to his name.

  When she had herself under control, she put a smile on her face and waltzed back down the hall.

  "Hi, sorry I'm running late.” She came to a stop, finding Lou alone. From the look in his eyes when he turned to face her, she was glad she had chosen to wear the black halter dress. She watched as his eyes caressed her, lingering over her bare legs below the miniskirt and then again at the low neckline that revealed a nice display of bosom.

  She wouldn't have worn this dress for anyone but Lou. He would protect her if anyone thought she might be flaunting herself and decided to take advantage of her. More importantly, since she was flaunting her looks, she wanted Lou to be the one to take advantage.

  "Wow.” The single word escaped him in a deep, hoarse voice, full of desire.

  Kelly sashayed up to him, smoothing a hand down his lapel and reaching up to give him a light kiss on the cheek. “Wow, yourself. You don't look like you belong in Dexter, Colorado."

  He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “Did I overdo it?” he whispered before licking a hot trail around the shell of her ear and then sucking the lobe into his hot mouth.

  Kelly immediately ached, rubbing her hips against his, feeling the hard ridge of his desire, which only made her ache more. She didn't think a hundred years would be enough to satisfy her body's craving for this man.

  Her movements caused Lou to nip her ear and groan. “God, woman, I can't even look at you without getting a hard-on. Then you go and wiggle your ass at me and I could totally lose it right here in your mother's living room."

  "Ahem."

  Like two guilty teenagers, Kelly and Lou jumped apart at the sound of her mother clearing her throat. Kelly could feel her cheeks burn and when she glanced at Lou, his dusky complexion definitely darkened. She hadn't thought anything could embarrass him.

  Seeing the single rose in the vase her mother held must have reminded Lou he had flowers in his hand. He thrust them out to her. “These are for you,” he said. “Uh, minus one, that is.” He grinned sheepishly.

  Flowers. Just like a real date. Kelly gave him a smile and murmured so her mother wouldn't hear, “Eleven is just the right number.” She inhaled the rich, sweet fragrance before adding, “Thank you, they're lovely. I'll just put them in water.” She turned to go into the kitchen.

  "Mom, are you going to the dance tonight?"

  "No, dear, I think I'll stay home and enjoy the quiet. It's going to be a very busy weekend."

  "You should go, Mrs. Baker,” Lou said. “Why, I'll bet you'd have so many fellas asking you to dance, you wouldn't sit down all night."

  Kelly smiled as her mom blushed. Leave it to Lou to flirt with every woman he met. But it was a kind thought, not a jealous one, because she enjoyed seeing her mom smile. It had been too long.

  Yet another surprise awaited Kelly when they stepped out into the summer night. Instead of Lou's beat up truck, a shiny silver Lexus sat in their drive. Just like a real date. “You are really stepping out, Mister,” she commented as he opened the door for her.

  "It's Mom's.” He grinned as he slid behind the wheel. “I wanted to impress you."

  "And you thought a suit, roses and a fancy car would do that?” Kelly asked with a lift of her brow.

  He turned to face her, placing his warm hand on her bare thigh. “Well, if all that didn't, maybe this will."

  His lips were hot and firm as they covered hers, and Kelly sighed with contentment. While the flowers were nice, loving Lou didn't mean she needed fancy things. She only needed him. She conveyed that by opening to his questing tongue and sliding her hand behind his neck to hold him tight.

  The kiss turned hotter still as hands groped and by the time they came up for breath, Kelly's dress was twisted about her waist, one nipple peeked from the plunging neckline, and she was wet. Extremely wet, aching, aroused and unsatisfied. Lou wasn't in any better shape because even though she hadn't been able to get his trousers unzipped, she still had her hand on his crotch, clutching and caressing his hard length.

  "Do we have to go to this dance?” Lou panted between laps at her nipple.

  Kelly groaned, but managed to mutter, “I thought we were going on a date."

  Lou gave her breast one more kiss, then tugged her dress back in place. His eyes, when he finally dragged them away from her chest, were still smoldering with desire. “We are on a date. Remember what we did on our first date?"

  Kelly couldn't help but smile at the petulant sound of his voice. “At least then we waited until after the dance."

  Lou relented, letting go of her and straightening in his seat. As he started the car, he gave her one last devouring look. “If you had worn that dress ten years ago, you would have never gotten to that dance, either."

  His comment and the look in his eyes made Kelly feel warm all over. Only Lou could melt her with a single glance.

  She laughed as she slid her hand up his thigh, stopping short of where she knew he wanted her to be. She leaned close to whisper a provocative promise in his ear. “Later."

  He groaned as he stepped on the brake and put the car in gear. “It's going to be a damn long night."

  * * * *

  Lou hoped there wouldn't be any trouble tonight. Tasha and Dom both had hi
s cell number, and he would leave his phone on, but he had told them not to call unless it was an extreme emergency. He hadn't wanted anything to interfere with his date with Kelly.

  Damn, she looked hot. He watched her slide out of the car, her long bare legs golden in the muted light. Everything from her painted toenails in those strappy black high heels to her bare back had him panting.

  There didn't look to be a yard of material in that dress, and while it covered the essentials, it left enough skin exposed to kick his imagination into overdrive. A thin strap curving around the back of her neck was the only thing holding the front of her dress in place. The back ... well, there was no back, nothing, clear to her waist. He frowned as he put his hand on that bare skin to guide her into the dance, wondering how many fingers he would have to break tonight if he saw any other guy touching that soft, warm skin.

  This was a bad idea. He knew it as sure as he knew there would be a storm later tonight. His Dakota heritage had taught him to read the signs when the weather was changing. But it was strictly primal male instinct that made him glower at every man who so much as turned their way when they walked into the Community Center.

  The band—The Scotch 9, he recalled Maggie saying—was already playing and he decided to stake his claim from the get-go. Putting a possessive hand on Kelly's back, he led her right onto the dance floor.

  "You're not wasting any time,” she said as he pulled her close and began a slow step in time to the music.

  "Sweetheart, I figure the quicker I start dancing, the quicker I get to the later part.” He watched as a becoming blush stained her cheeks.

  "Thank you for being so nice to my mom.” Kelly changed the subject and he let her, knowing he wouldn't last the evening if he thought too much about having her naked beneath him.

  "Your mom's nice, so it's easy.” He shrugged. “Besides, she makes the best peach pie I've ever eaten. I might have to ask her to marry me just so I can have her pie."

  "I'll have you know for the past three weeks you've been eating my peach pie,” Kelly retorted and Lou knew she didn't even realize what she was implying. He already knew she made the pies for the Crystal Water Café and she had played right into his hands.

  He tugged her closer as he stepped into a spin, bending down to whisper in her ear. “Well, then, maybe I'll just have to marry you."

  She reared back so quickly, he almost lost his hold on her. Her blue eyes widened then blinked in disbelief as her mouth dropped open. Just as the music ended, she snapped her mouth closed and stepped away from him. “Yeah, right. Like that's going to happen."

  Before Lou could ask her what the hell she meant, half a dozen of her friends circled them, all jabbering at once.

  "Did I not tell you the band would be great?” Maggie grabbed Kelly's arm. “Come on, let's get some drinks.” She looked over her shoulder and said to the group in general, “We've got a table over by the west doors. Go hold it down and we'll bring the beer."

  Lou looked at Kelly, who refused to meet his gaze. Did she think he was kidding about marrying her? Okay, so it wasn't the most romantic proposal, but after all they had shared, you would think she could have taken him seriously. She had acted like ... well, hell, he didn't know, but something wasn't right.

  Had she brushed him off because she thought he was just a cowboy and she wanted something more? He honestly didn't think Kelly was that shallow. He watched her hips sway as she walked away with her friend and a thought struck him that was too incredible to comprehend. Surely she wasn't just using him for sex?

  * * * *

  "He what?” Maggie squealed.

  "It wasn't like he meant it,” Kelly hissed as they walked towards the bar. She had quickly told Maggie about Lou's comment.

  "How do you know?” Her friend sounded dumbfounded that Kelly didn't believe Lou's proposal.

  They ordered the beer for the group and turned to look at the crowd.

  "Well?” Maggie prompted.

  Kelly sighed. “What man proposes to a woman because he likes her peach pie?” For an instant when Lou had made the statement about marrying her, Kelly's heart had skipped a beat. She loved him with an intensity that hurt and she wanted nothing more than to marry him and have his babies. But almost as quickly, she recalled the times he wouldn't talk to her; wouldn't confide in her and she knew she couldn't commit to any relationship when he didn't trust her completely.

  "They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach,” Maggie said.

  Kelly shook her head. “Maggie Logan, would you listen to yourself! What woman in our generation believes that crap?"

  "Honey, if I had a man who looked like Loukota Kincaid wanting my peach anything, I would handcuff him to my bed and never let him go."

  Kelly only heard about half of what her friend said. She had been scanning the crowd and her gaze landed on Lou dancing with Suzie Franklin, a girl Kelly never could stand in high school. At the moment, she hated her with a passion. The music was one of those upbeat songs you could dance about anything to, and Suzie was doing her best to do a little hip grinding, dirty dancing with Lou. Kelly could feel her eyes narrow, a green haze filtering the scene.

  Suzie had her arms locked around Lou's neck, and from where Kelly stood it looked as if they were close enough to occupy the same square foot of dance floor. Lou had his hands on her hips and even though Kelly could see him shaking his head slightly, he was grinning ear to ear.

  She jerked around to the bar, grabbing two bottles with each hand. “Does that look like a man who's only interested in one type of pie?” she hissed to Maggie, her anger preventing the tears that she could feel stinging the back of her eyes.

  Kelly heard Maggie gasp and knew she had located Suzie, a girl who had been notorious for stealing boyfriends in high school. Her friend looked back at her with wide eyes and Kelly was sure her face betrayed her emotions.

  "Oh, lordy,” Maggie groaned, “I figured if there was a fight tonight, it would be between a bunch of drunk cowboys."

  * * * *

  Even if Lou hadn't been in a business where powers of observation were a necessity, he would have noticed that Kelly was livid over him dancing with Suzie. That knowledge spread like fine whiskey through his blood, warming him and taking away the worry he'd had about her earlier behavior.

  She cared. He could see it in the rigid set of her shoulders as she stalked; actually stomped defined her movement across the floor better. He tried to keep a straight face when her snapping blue eyes, tinged with green at the moment, flashed between him and Suzie. As he tried to untangle the woman's arms from around his bicep, Kelly slammed the beer bottles down on the table, the clanking of glass warning him of the explosion about to be unleashed.

  For just a moment, he thought about sitting back and watching the fireworks, but then decided it probably wasn't in the interest of his own health to do so. That thought was confirmed when he glanced at Maggie, who raised her brows and shot him an “if you know what's good for you” look.

  He was just about to ask Kelly to dance when the bandleader interrupted. “Is Lou Kincaid here?"

  The general noise in the room died to a hum and Lou turned towards the band platform. What the hell?

  "We have it on good authority that you used to sing."

  Oh, Christ. Lou swung his gaze to the group at the table. Nobody looked guilty. In fact, except for Kelly, everyone looked surprised. He had been in choir in high school and had even sung with a band for a while in college, but that was years ago.

  "Come on up and join us.” The man waved an arm. When Lou didn't move, he added, “Come on, folks, give him a hand,” and everyone started clapping and yelling encouragement.

  "You sing?” Suzie asked, rubbing her breasts against his arm.

  Lou looked from the woman who had literally dragged him out on the dance floor across the table to Kelly, who looked ready to strangle someone. She wasn't going to listen to what he had to say at the moment, and he couldn't shake off Suzie
and her oversized breasts if he stayed put.

  So he bailed. Prying Suzie's red-tipped fingers from his arm, he wove his way through the crowd to the band platform. Singing would be a helluva lot less embarrassing than being in the middle of a catfight.

  * * * *

  Kelly watched in amusement as Lou conferred with the band. He knew she was mad but she found it funny that he would latch onto any excuse not to talk to her. She had forgotten he sang in school. Along with FFA and rodeo, being in the choir had labeled him a nerd to the umpteenth degree, but it hadn't mattered to her at the time. And although she hadn't been the one to rat him out to the band, she was glad he went up there because it saved her from having to gouge out Suzie's eyes.

  The band hit the opening chord and Lou began singing a George Strait favorite, True.

  "True in this modern world when two lovers get together,

  Chances of ‘em ever makin’ it to forever

  Couldn't be better than two in a million hearts.

  Girl this ain't just another run of the mill emotion

  What I'm feelin’ is the definition of devotion,

  My love for you is true."

  It's just a song, Kelly told herself as his voice carried across the dance floor. The words weren't his words. Even so, his voice melted the anger she had felt upon seeing him dance with Suzie. She stared at her beer bottle, idly peeling the label off, but the timbre of his voice, the husky quality as he sang the chorus, coursed through her veins like hot, molten lava.

  "...Right as the rain fallin’ from the sky,

  Girl, my love for you, is true."

  She had to look. When she did, her heart skipped a beat. The entire audience was mesmerized. Even those on the dance floor were not dancing, but stood still, listening. Some invisible force pulled Kelly's gaze to Lou and she found herself staring into eyes so dark and a face so intense, she forgot to breathe. For the entire song, his gaze never wavered from hers. It was as though he were singing to her alone.