by Em Petrova
Two little white buttocks appeared as the little boy dropped his jeans. They puddled around his knees, but Lane was much more used to this. She should look away, but the sight was so amusing that she laughed along with the family.
Seconds later, the pair zipped up and turned back to the fire. Once they’d settled again, Lane fell into a conversation with his brother as though nothing had happened, and the little boy stood in front of Malou begging for the story of the moon man.
It seemed this was a tradition among the Calhouns. As the part-Hopi woman began her story, everyone fell silent. The kids made arm movements to evoke the story’s events. Malou’s intonations raised the hair on Delaney’s forearms. She shot a look across the fire to see Lane’s gaze locked on her, his eyes burning hotter than the flames.
She rubbed her arms to erase the goosebumps that suddenly rose up, but more than Malou’s beautiful storytelling voice had put those chills there. She felt hot and cold at once, flustered in a way she hadn’t felt in years.
Delaney was old enough to admit when she was attracted to a man—and when she lusted after one. She had the worst luck, though. Why did he have to be too young for her?
* * * * *
Lane hadn’t been seated behind the wheel of his truck for two seconds before he pictured Delaney in the passenger’s seat. Her golden hair waving on her shoulders, her eyes bright with laughter as she clung for dear life to the holy shit handle to avoid bouncing out of her seat.
Next time he’d rip the handle off and she could bounce right onto his cock.
Pervert. He heard her tone loud and clear in his mind, and he flashed a grin as he backed out and hit the gravel driveway. He was headed to town to buy a belt to repair one of the smaller, older tractors. The money from the Rope ‘n Ride show had spread far on the ranch, but things were always broken. It was the nature of the business.
All the way to the general store, he replayed the moments he’d shared with Delaney. The way she looked in the firelight, her musical laughter…
With Delaney dancing around his mind, he lost track of time and soon he was pulling into the parking lot of the store that had been around forever. It was also a meeting place for some of the older gents around town. They came in for coffee and spent the morning BSing. When Lane entered, he was greeted with pats on the back and gossip. He declined a cup of coffee and wandered the aisles, past groceries and pet food and bicycle tires until he found the item he needed.
It took him some time to pay for the belt and actually leave. It seemed everyone wanted to chat away his time. After he said his farewells, he made his way to the gas station. While he stood in line to pay for gas, someone behind him cleared her throat. He ignored it, until she gave a purposeful cough. He threw a look over his shoulder at a girl no more than seventeen.
She twirled her braid and gave him a pointed look. “I’d like to order a number 7 please.”
He grunted. “You’re not even old enough to think about the number 7. Have a chili dog instead.” He waved a hand at the menu hanging over the checkout.
Laughter drifted from the back of the line—a sound he’d recognize if he were dead and six feet under. He’d heard it enough in his dreams lately.
He pivoted and saw Delaney standing there waiting to pay for her own gas, a few bills in hand.
Fuck.
Damn that young girl. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about the other three people in line who’d overheard. Hell, he didn’t even care that the clerk had unearthed his phone and was recording the moment. But he didn’t need Delaney thinking he was an ass.
He reached past the guy ahead of him and slapped the money on the counter. “This is for my gas and her gas.” He jerked a thumb toward Delaney.
Then he looked down at the teen who’d made the remark. “Use protection, kid. And if you try number 7, use lots of lube.” With that, he walked out of the store.
Delaney caught up to him before he’d stepped off the sidewalk. She grabbed his arm. “You didn’t have to buy my gas. Here, take this.” She thrust the bills toward him.
He waved her away. “It’s no problem. Please, call it a compensation for pain and suffering. You shouldn’t have to listen to that shit.”
“Neither should you. I can’t believe you told her to use lube.” She burst into peals of laughter that worked under his skin. His anger faded and he chuckled along with her, suddenly seeing the entertainment in the situation.
“What are you doing here anyway?” He threw a glance at her truck. It looked to have a few miles on it, but he didn’t worry about her breaking down.
She sobered and reached out to touch his arm. “Pulling out of town. I have a night shift. I called in this morning and there’s a first-time mother laboring. With luck, I’ll get there in time to deliver.”
He smiled. “What you do is really special, you know that?”
She looked up into his eyes, surprise spelled across her beautiful features. “I appreciate that, Lane.”
It was the first time she hadn’t called him by his last name, and it slammed him hard. Before he knew his intention, he wrapped his arms around her. She let him pull her against his chest. Damn, her head fit perfectly under his chin.
He inhaled. She smelled of shampoo and something herbal, not unlike Malou. Maybe she’d shared some of her oils with Delaney—the pair had hit it off.
“It was nice meeting you, Lane.” She withdrew, but he kept his hands on her shoulders.
“I hope to see more of you.” His low tone didn’t hide his need for her. He wanted her—he was through pretending.
“I… Keep an eye on Kashley for me, will you? She’s under my care, and I don’t want her stressed.”
“Will do.”
“Good.” She wasn’t making a move to walk away. Sparks sizzled between them.
He yanked her into his arms again and pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. When he released her, she blinked a few times as if dazed. She stepped toward her truck.
“Thanks for the laughs, Lane.”
He tipped his hat in answer and watched her drive away.
Chapter Three
For five miles down the road, Delaney could only think about that kiss Lane had pressed to her cheek. His lips had lingered there. Hell, he’d breathed her in, and a small twist of her head would have put her mouth under his.
She didn’t feel remotely motherly right now. She didn’t feel forty-two and a mother of a college kid. Nope, there was only bold, raw desire.
If he’d brushed his lips over hers, would she have resisted?
Stop it. He’s too young. He’s a few years older than your son, and he’s Kashley’s brother-in-law. Nothing good could come from an entanglement with Lane Calhoun.
But it would be damn fun. She’d thoroughly enjoyed her time spent with him. Working in the field on that fence, she’d forgotten all about age differences and simply appreciated good conversation with a sexy, hardworking man.
What was it that set him apart in her mind? He was gorgeous, sure. But she’d been around long enough to receive a smile or two from a hunky guy. He might have a country twang in his deep voice, but it was his intelligence that rang out and gripped her by the lady parts. In her profession, she spoke with a lot of smart men, but often they were stiff and dull. Lane seemed to hit all the high points for her.
She threw a glance in her rearview mirror, though he was long gone. She would be spending more time checking in on Kashley, but that didn’t mean she’d run into Lane. She shouldn’t even want to.
Her body continued to tingle in the places where he’d touched her. Those big callused hands had been so warm and confident on her. She had a feeling that even if the magazine article didn’t reflect his true sex life, he’d definitely know how to treat a woman.
Push it out of your mind, Delaney. He’s off limits.
As she hit the open road, she tried to focus on her job ahead. She’d missed her work, but it had been nice to get away for a few days. She’d sadly negle
cted her family for far too long. Her dear sister had actually cried when she’d hugged Delaney, making her feel like crap about her absence. And she’d missed a lot of Kashley’s life while too busy with her own.
One thought led to another and pretty soon she was wondering if she’d done a decent job of raising Brant. Or had she immersed herself so thoroughly in her career that she’d ignored him?.
No, she’d fought for balance every day of his life. She doted on him, which was how she’d ended up with a whole ranch full of animals she didn’t have time for. Lane was right—it was time to take control of her life and downsize. Maybe if she wasn’t stumbling home after a sixteen-hour shift and feeding animals, she would have time to sit down and watch an episode of the Rope ‘n Ride show.
Though from what Kashley said, Lane wasn’t really a focus in the past few seasons. The last season had focused a lot on the families expanding. Babies were all Kashley thought about right now, and Delaney couldn’t blame her. She’d seen many women, broken and devastated by infertility. But she wouldn’t allow her niece to get into a dark place. She had the odds stacked against her with endometriosis, but plenty of women with the condition had successful pregnancies. Delaney had confidence that she’d pop out a little Calhoun soon.
It had been odd to be around a family who was constantly being filmed. The cameras made her nervous, but the families seemed to ignore everything. Only Malou, the newest addition to the family, had expressed some annoyance. And Delaney had laughed at the story of Malou kicking the cameras out of her delivery room when little Chosovi was being born.
The miles stretched before her, and she let her mind bounce around. When she felt scattered, it was best to let her thoughts run their course so she could focus. Soon Brant would be coming home for Thanksgiving and she had a full workload once she got into the office.
Looked like she’d be pulling a twelve-hour shift today. Getting up early and riding with Kashley and then driving across the state would make her day even longer. She’d be bushed when she finally found her bed.
But she had a feeling that she’d be aching for someone in that bed with her.
Not Lane.
Maybe it was time to start dating again. She hadn’t gone on a real date in years. The last one she’d had was a blind date set up by one of the nurses from her office. The man had been nice and kind of cute in a boyish way, but…
Her mind snapped right back to Lane. She sighed. Now she was comparing old dates to him. Okay, fine, get on with it then.
Her date’s shoulders weren’t as broad. His hug hadn’t been as good. At the end of the evening, he’d given her a slightly sloppy kiss goodnight, whereas Lane’s had been a simple dry brushing of his lips in a place that shouldn’t have turned her on so much. One platonic kiss shouldn’t have raised all the hairs on her body and hardened her nipples.
She definitely needed to stay away from the Calhouns for a spell, at least until she got over this weird obsession she had for a much younger man.
A little devil on her shoulder stabbed her with his pitchfork and said, He’s got the stamina, and you’re in your prime.
“Shut up,” she said aloud.
Man, she was really losing it. She pushed Lane firmly from her mind and concentrated on her ranch. She’d been thinking on it a lot since her talk with Lane—dammit, there he was edging in again—but she couldn’t decide what animals she’d sell off and which she’d keep.
The barn cats could stay. They didn’t take any work besides the occasional vet visit. Chickens didn’t require much, but it was a daily gathering of eggs and ensuring their coop was clean. The goat was a pain in the ass. Last year it had climbed up on a few crates and made it onto the shed roof, where it had stood eating off the shingles like they were delectable leaves of lettuce.
The goat would go.
But Brant loved that goat. He’d gotten endless amusement from it.
Her son was away at college, living his own life. He was too busy to spare a thought for Billy the Kid.
She sighed. This was too difficult. Breaking up the animals on her little ranch felt like splitting up a family. She’d have to think on Lane’s idea to hire someone to help. Could she afford it? It wasn’t as though she had time to spend the money she made. After the bills were paid, she ate out or grabbed a yogurt and a granola bar for dinner. Most of her extra income went to paying Brant’s tuition and giving him some pocket money to cover what he didn’t make at his part-time job.
The animals cost a lot to keep, too.
Dammit, she had no clue what to do. Better to just stop thinking about it and drive.
Driving gave her too much opportunity to wander back to Lane, though. She laughed again over Nutcracker Road. And his joke about breast exams. It was something she’d heard over and over, but from Lane, it had amused her.
Lordy, what he’d said to that young girl in the convenience store…
She rolled down her window and let some of the cooler fall air into her truck. She could blame her hot flash on hormones, but she knew better.
Lane Calhoun had her fired up.
Even if they just had a short fling, it would make for awkward times when they ran into each other again. And nothing long-term could happen. He’d want to get married and have kids like his brothers. She wasn’t out of the range for bearing children, but she would be higher risk.
Holy shit. Am I seriously sitting here thinking of having his baby?
She was losing it. She had to get a grip—now. What they had was attraction, and she had the will to fight that. At least work would consume her again soon. Such a relief, because she couldn’t spend another minute thinking about that man without losing her mind.
* * * * *
Lane dashed off ten signatures without looking at the paper scraps and tipped his hat to the screaming fans. As he walked away from the group, he kept his head down and his mind fixed on his event.
He’d taken the top scores in the last seven events, and the pressure was on. Why didn’t he give a damn?
Didn’t matter how he felt—he’d do his best, ’cause that was what a Calhoun did. But he was losing his give-a-shit. For weeks he’d been thinking a lot about making a change.
The only thing he’d decided on was that he was pretty well trapped. The contracts wrapped him up for a whole year to come. Besides, he couldn’t walk out on his family. He was the last son left to be the scapegoat bad boy of the show. If he didn’t do it, Wynonna would probably give it hell. She’d do a much better job scandalizing everyone, but he couldn’t let his baby sister act that way. She needed to keep her nose clean. It was bad enough she’d had that affair with the last producer and gotten wrapped up with a porn king.
Ahead, he spotted a familiar blonde. He stepped up next to Kashley.
“Hey, Lane.”
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“Oh, you know. Giving interviews and selfies with fans.” She didn’t exactly look happy to be here either.
“Hang in there. We’ll be out in a day. How’s your aunt?”
At that, Kashley’s eyes brightened. “She’s well. Texted with her yesterday.”
He perked up. Maybe he could ask for her number. They’d shared some witty banter, and hearing from her again would give him something to look forward to.
Kashley grinned and nudged him with her shoulder. “You like her.”
He fought back a stutter. Playing it cool was rough when he wanted to act like a teenager. “Sure I do. She’s nice and good at building fence.”
“I don’t believe for a minute you only like her for her fence-building abilities. You like her.”
The urge to say, “Shut up, booger,” twisted his lips. They weren’t kids anymore, and when it came to Delaney, the last thing he wanted was to appear less than a man.
Kashley bumped him again. “C’mon, Lane. We all know you couldn’t look away from her when she was here.”
Great. Everyone was talking about him?
“I d
on’t remember meeting her back in the day.”
“She didn’t come around much. She was busy with work and Brant. Plus, you were annoying and Ridge didn’t let you come to my place with him very often.”
“Lane, wanna try the number 6?” a woman called.
He didn’t look at her, just held his gaze on Kashley.
“Was that the thing with the legs hooked over the shoulders?” she asked.
“Pretty sure,” he said blandly.
“Maybe Ridge and I will try it later.” She giggled.
He nudged her shoulder. “Too much information.”
“Have a sense of humor. Everyone in the world’s talking about it. Just grin for the cameras and make them think you’re doing all ten positions at once.”
“That’s not the image I want to portray. I don’t want to be the most eligible anything. I just wanna wrestle steers and go home to the ranch and work.”
She arched a brow. “That’s all?”
“Yes.” No. I want to see your aunt again.
His life was becoming too much—the press, the spotlight. All he wished for was a bit of peace.
“Lane, tell us about your sex positions.” A microphone was shoved in his face. He jerked to avoid it, but the reporter followed him.
“He doesn’t have a comment right now,” Kashley defended him, but he rested a hand on her forearm. He’d fight his own battles.
“Who are you trying out all these positions on, Lane? Is it Michaela Roberts?”
He wasn’t going to grace the reporter with an answer to such a stupid question. Not only had he never met the actress but she might as well live on a different planet. She attended the Oscars, for God’s sake. He was just a cowboy trying to make his way.
The crowd started to push in on them, and he wrapped an arm around his sister-in-law. He glanced around and saw the bodyguard shoving his way toward them. “Get her outta here,” Lane said and pushed Kashley at him. The bodyguard brought his big arms around her.
Before her blonde head was swallowed by the fans and reporters, she twisted around and stared at Lane. “She asked about you too!”
