by Nina Crespo
Tristan leaned in closer. “All of the cameras are up and running.”
“Looks good from here,” Mace said. “With the angle adjustments, you have a better view of the entrances and exits.”
“Thanks for giving a hand with this.” Not only had they made the adjustments, they’d also loaded new software that allowed Tristan to pull up the video feed from his desktop at the cottage and the stable, and Zurie to do the same from her office located down the hall from the restaurant and the upstairs suite she stayed in at the guesthouse.
“No problem. I have to work today and stopping here was on the way.” Mace, already dressed in his uniform, glanced at a call buzzing in on his cell and hit Ignore. “One more thing you should add to your security plan is a nighttime guard working the graveyard shift to monitor all of this and patrol the property.”
“I agree. I’ll speak to Zurie about adding it to the budget.”
“Do you want me to talk to her?”
The offer was tempting. Zurie actually listened to Mace and easily took his advice. Funny considering she used to boss Mace around when he was younger.
“I won’t have a problem getting her on board. When I talked to her last night, she was really concerned about what happened with E.J.”
“Did you get a chance to see E.J. and his father before they left?”
“I did, but he wasn’t in the mood to talk. It seemed like he just wanted to get home, but things seemed better between the two of them.”
“Good. We were lucky he didn’t wander too far off and that you and Chloe found him.” Mace pointed to an image in the corner of the screen at a woman walking past the front desk outside the closed door of the office. “That’s Chloe, isn’t it?”
Tristan didn’t need a closer look. His palms practically itched as he recalled caressing her lush curves as he kissed her.
“So how’s she doing?” Mace’s inquisitive expression made the question more than just a casual one.
“I guess she’s fine. I haven’t seen her until now.”
“Oh?”
“Why do you look so surprised?”
“From the way you and she were acting yesterday, I thought maybe something was going on between the two of you.”
Denying it would have been easy, but yesterday, if they would have finished what they’d started and not been interrupted, that would have been impossible to ignore. “Something did happen. I kissed her again.”
“Again? Back up. When did you kiss her the first time?”
“At the restaurant, when we called a truce after the dart game.”
Mace chuckled. “A truce. Is that what kissing a pretty woman is called now?”
“It wasn’t like that. It was supposed to help us get past the distraction of wanting to kiss each other so we could focus on what was important.” At the time, it made sense but hearing himself say that now, it didn’t, plus the look on Mace’s face confirmed it. “No need to comment on that. I already know what you’re going to say.”
Mace crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the edge of the desk. “Well, now that you know that theory is a total bust, what are the two of you going to do about it. Or are you just going to keep denying you like each other. It was obvious to me when the two of you walked to the guesthouse holding hands after you found the boy.”
“Holding hands? No, we were—”
The moment Mace had recalled played through Tristan’s mind. He’d reached out to make sure she made it over the puddle, after that...he hadn’t thought twice about still holding on to her. It had felt so natural.
“Sure we like each other, but I’ve got a stable to run. She has an audition to get ready for. And she’s going back to Hollywood in a few weeks. It doesn’t make sense for us to get involved.”
“Who are you trying to convince? You or me? ’Cause if it’s me, you don’t have to. You just admitted that the ignore-and-deny strategy isn’t working. Why are you guys stressing yourselves out over nothing? Just go for it.”
“And then what? After it’s over, the next time I see her is on a movie screen or one night watching Netflix? It’s too complicated. Letting a relationship get inside my head, I don’t need that kind of problem right now.”
Mace shrugged. “You honestly don’t know if it will be a problem, but that’s part of taking a risk.”
“You’re telling me to take a risk in a relationship? When it comes to your job, you’ll take the risk all day, every day, but when it comes to women.” A chuckle blew past Tristan’s lips. “The only thing you’ll risk is a one night hookup, maybe two nights if you really like her. Outside of that, you’ll take zero risks.”
Mace sobered. “If I could be with the woman I want to be with, I would.”
The seriousness in his expression made Tristan pause. Mace had said the woman like he was speaking of someone specifically. He and Mace had been friends for almost fifteen years and stayed close even when he was in the army at the same time Mace was serving in the Marines. As far as he knew, like him, Mace had around two long-term relationships that had lasted maybe a little over a year, but that was it and nothing recent. Who was she?
“So is this a real woman we’re talking about that you’d take this risk with or a hypothetical one?”
Mace’s faint smile indicated he wasn’t taking the bait. “If you’re leading up to asking me my advice, my answer is—if you really like Chloe, and you have an opportunity to spend time with her now—take the risk.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tristan peered from under the brim of his black Stetson. A crowd of close to eighty enjoyed food and conversation at the tables set up under one of the two large tents near the pavilion just off the south pasture for Tillbridge’s annual Spring Fling.
It wasn’t mandatory for the staff to attend the noon to five Wednesday event but almost everyone had shown up. Some acknowledged the theme with just a cowboy hat while others went all out from the hat to a Western-style shirt to cowboy boots. A few spouses and significant others had also taken time off to join in and there were a few young children in the mix.
Philippa walked between the two buffet tables under the other nearby tent like a general inspecting her troops, making sure there was an endless supply of coleslaw, potato salad, corn bread and other side dishes along with the grilled chicken and her much anticipated smoked prime rib.
Other tables were laden with Rina’s pies, cupcakes, and brownies and assorted beverages, and a far table had navy-and-white gift bags for each of the staff.
Rina walked up beside him wearing a beige cowboy hat. “We done good. Too bad Zurie isn’t here to see it. This is our biggest one yet.” She smiled softly. “I think they would have loved it.”
By they, she meant their parents. When they’d first started holding the event, Jacob and Mathew had been the ones manning the grill, while Aunt Cherie had organized the side dishes with the help of the staff. Someone’s friend, uncle or cousin, who considered themselves a DJ, had provided the music, and he, Rina and Zurie had been responsible for keeping the coolers filled with ice and soda, and the pitchers topped off with iced tea and lemonade.
Today Philippa was completely in charge of the food. Her cooks had helped prepare most of it the day before, but staff borrowed from a friend’s catering company were actually cooking and working the event to give her people a break. There was still music—a local DJ was set up on the far end of the pavilion with space for people to dance, and they played horseshoes, cornhole and ball games with the kids.
One thing was missing. Mathew, Jacob and their fathers’ friends sharing “back in the day” rodeo stories. Hearing about how they’d won buckles and awards, despite the hardships they’d faced, had given him the will to literally pick his butt up from the dirt.
Rina nudged him before she walked off. “Relax and grab a plate. Everyone’s having a good time.”
<
br /> Everyone. Aside from stories of the past, there was also one person missing who he’d expected to see. Chloe.
He hadn’t talked to her or really seen her since the weekend. He’d had meetings in Baltimore that had required him to stay overnight. After that, he’d been busy overseeing setup and other details for the Spring Fling.
Calling her had crossed his mind more than once, but what if she wasn’t interested in “taking a risk” with him?
Just as he was about to ask Rina about her, Chloe walked into the area. She’d released her hair from the ponytail she’d been wearing lately and her dark wavy curls brushed her shoulders. A peach sundress highlighted her rich brown skin. The skirt of it fluttered above her knees. She wore cowboy boots. Once again, a vision of her wearing his Stetson appeared and his heart thumped a little harder in his chest.
Adam and Blake waved and called her over to their table where they sat with other grooms, trainers and staff from the restaurant.
Smiling, she joined them and took a seat. In less than a minute, one of them had handed her a beer and someone else had passed her a chocolate-frosted cupcake. She was immediately enveloped into their conversation.
But what if she viewed that last kiss under the run-in, and what almost happened, as a result from finding E.J.? That it had just been an impulse that they’d acted upon to release the tension and adrenaline after they’d found him?
He’d actually considered that as the reason. But hell, Tillbridge was on his mind and schedule 24/7. He hadn’t gotten involved with a woman, seriously, over the past two years because he couldn’t give her the time and attention she deserved. If she did want to be with him, what did he have to offer her over the next few weeks she was at Tillbridge?
The friendly, animated banter at the table grew louder. Chloe laughed along with everyone as she licked frosting from her fingers.
What she was enjoying with her friends, having a good time, she wouldn’t want to give that up for the few hours here and there he’d be able to give her. Would she? A strange empty sensation of doubt that he’d never felt before opened in his gut. It was tempting to have another beer and try to drink the feeling away. He couldn’t.
What Mace had said that past Sunday had really made him think. Could he accept her leaving without even taking a shot at being with her for the time they had left?
* * *
Chloe finished the cupcake and was hit with the giddy warmth of a sugar rush. Or was the rush from seeing Tristan when she’d first walked in?
Now she understood why her hair stylist at home swore by three Instagram accounts to get her past a lonely weekend: hot men holding tiny creatures like babies, kittens and puppies, hot men in uniform and hot cowboys.
Chloe could vouch for the latter. How could any woman not notice him? He was all kinds of sexy from his hat to the light gray button-down tucked into his jeans to his dark boots.
Only seeing brief glimpses of him at the stable for the past couple of days had been nothing short of frustrating. Especially since she couldn’t stop wondering how he’d felt about their kiss over the weekend. And those photos of him in full cowboy gear that Rina had showed her that past Sunday hadn’t helped the cause of staying focused on horses instead of him.
Maybe she should pull him aside later and ask if they could talk about it. But what would she say to him? That she was glad things hadn’t gone further? That a moment like that couldn’t happen again?
Her gaze wandered to where she’d spotted him when she first walked in standing near the pavilion with Rina. As always, he was on the move, stopping to talk to Philippa before heading off to undoubtedly handle some needed task. As busy as he was, maybe they didn’t have to worry about anything happening again. His schedule would solve the problem by ensuring they weren’t in proximity of each other. Her heart sank in her chest with a deep thump.
“You eating?” Adam sat next to Chloe at the eight-seat folding table. He was preparing to head to the buffet. “If you want prime rib, you should hurry. It’ll be gone soon.”
Blake sitting across from them snorted a laugh. “Yeah, Chloe, you better hurry. Considering how many times he’s been to the buffet, I’m surprised there’s anything left.”
“Whatever, dude.” Adam balled up a paper napkin and tossed it at Blake. “Your plate hasn’t exactly been empty either.”
More teasing went back and forth, but in the end, she and Adam ended up agreeing to bring back chicken, prime rib and corn bread for the table.
While they were at the buffet, the DJ switched from an upbeat instrumental mix to popular dance music with lyrics familiar to the crowd. The mood amped up a little as people got up to dance.
Chloe couldn’t help but move just a little to the beat while she held empty plates that Adam loaded with the requested food items.
He glanced over. “Someone’s up for dancing.”
“Yeah, I might get out there.”
“Might? I’ll drag you out there if I have to.”
Adam was so darn sweet. She’d been careful not to encourage what she sensed was a possible crush on her. “Won’t Bethany mind?”
Last she’d heard, the two had started going out with each other. She watched for any signs that Bethany minded her being friends with Adam. Chloe hadn’t picked up on any bad vibes from Bethany, so far, but for some girlfriends, their man dancing with another woman was strictly off-limits, and Chloe wasn’t about to violate girl code.
He glanced at the table they’d just left. Bethany sat next to his empty seat. He grinned. “No. She won’t. Bethany will probably be out there before both of us.”
While they were still eating at the table, Bethany jumped up to dance with a blond trainer that worked at the stable, one of the male servers and a front desk clerk.
Chloe had barely finished her food when Bethany was motioning to Adam that the two of them should join them on the dance floor.
“Go ahead.” Chloe waved him on.
A group dance song from way back blasted through the speakers.
A collective cheer rose from the group. Staff members of Tillbridge jumped up from the tables around them and headed for the floor.
“You have to dance to this one.” Adam grinned as he pulled her along with him. “It’s tradition.”
He wasn’t lying.
Blake, Rina, Philippa, even Gloria jumped up, leaving her husband at a nearby table, to take a place in line, following the lyrics to roll it, cha-cha and two-step turn.
As Chloe stepped right like the song said, she spotted Tristan returning from whatever errand he’d left to do.
Everyone else saw him, too, shouting for him to come to the dance floor.
Would he?
He didn’t seem like the dancing type, but with a slight smile on his face, he walked to the line ahead of her, and without missing a step, he joined in.
Tristan moved his hips with a casual ease.
Chloe’s mouth went dry as she stared.
He hit the next cue for a two-step turn, but she missed hers.
Bethany grabbed her by the shoulders and pointed her in the right direction. Her nape tingled as she thought of Tristan, now behind her.
The song transitioned into a more recent group dance song. The floor cleared out a little as Rina and Philippa and a few others sat down, but Chloe remained and so did Tristan.
The now shorter lines compressed and Tristan ended up right in front of her.
Breathe, baby girl, just breathe. He wasn’t the first man she’d witnessed on the dance floor with all the right assets, but she could barely remember the steps the lyrics called for with him so close.
Chloe glanced over and caught him looking at her. Before she could stop herself, the sassy girl inside of her took over, and she put a little more movement in her hips. Was it her imagination or had he put a little more swagger in his?
>
A breeze blew over her, wicking away a small bit of moisture on her hairline. Usually, that was her cue to stop dancing and cool off, but she didn’t want to. Every left and right step, dip, sway and turn seemed to bring their steps in perfect sync. Even when the song switched to a new line dance she didn’t know well to a song with a pop-country flair, she hung in, not caring if she didn’t execute it perfectly. It felt almost as if she was just dancing with him instead of with everyone else on the floor.
“All right, people,” the DJ called out over the mic. “I’ve gotten a few requests to change it up.”
A country song pumped through the speakers, and Adam, Bethany and other couples paired up.
Well, the fun was over. Chloe reluctantly started to head back to her seat and almost ran into Tristan. A small shudder of awareness zipped through her.
She stared up at him, suddenly unable to speak, searching his face for a sign or an inkling that she wasn’t the only one who’d felt it. Chloe didn’t realize her hand was raised in his or that his other hand rested on her back until a dancing couple bumped her closer to him.
Chloe held on to his arm for balance. He wanted to dance with her. “But I don’t know this one.”
Tristan leaned in near her ear. “I’ll teach you. Trust me. It’s not complicated.”
Not complicated? Every cell of her being was awakened by his proximity and his familiar scent warming on his skin. She’d probably make a fool of herself. “Okay. I’ll try.”
He moved back a little. “It’s just a simple two-step. When I step forward with my left foot, you step back with your right. Then it’s quick-quick, slow-slow. Quick-quick, slow-slow. I’ll guide you through it.”
Right away, she jumbled the steps.
Tristan chuckled. “Wait. Let’s do that again. Start with your other right.”
Meaning not her left foot. Instead of cringing with embarrassment the humor in his expression made her laugh, and she tried again. A few steps later, she followed his lead finally easing into the smooth easy movements without stepping on the toes of his boots.
