Hot Cowboy Nights

by Carolyn Brown

  “You are beautiful, Lizzy Logan,” he drawled.

  His warm breath on her neck sent a shiver down her spine.

  “Cold?” He pulled her closer to his side, wrapping both arms around her, their naked bodies pressed against each other.

  “Not at all. It’s desire,” she said honestly.

  “I love that about you.” He buried his face into her hair.

  “That I’m not cold?”

  “No, that you say what you are feeling and aren’t dishonest with me.”

  “We agreed that we’d talk about everything,” she said.

  A pang of guilt hit her square in the heart because she was keeping a secret from Toby. But this wasn’t the time or the place to tell him she was his new neighbor. Tonight was one of those special moments that only came along once in a lifetime, and she would not take a chance of ruining it by talking about a ranch.

  She raised her head and caught him staring at her, looking straight into the bottom of her soul, seeing the past, understanding the present, and looking forward to the future without fear. She could get lost in those blue eyes and never surface, not for food or air, just spend eternity in the peace she found that night curled up in the creek water on her ranch with the love of her life.

  The words, the love of her life, echoed in her heart, but they didn’t scare her or put her in flight or fight mode. Instead she embraced them with open arms and decided in that moment that she’d give Toby all the time he needed. If he never fell for her, then she’d have all these fantastic memories to curl up with every night for the rest of her life.

  She slung a leg over him and with one swift movement guided his rock-hard erection into her body. It was totally amazing how easy it was in the water. One of his hands cupped her bottom as they moved together, the buoyancy of the water making it effortless. The other hand tangled into her wet hair and pulled her lips to his.

  The cool water against her skin, Toby’s hot lips on hers as the kisses deepened setting her whole body on fire, and the two of them working together made her forget everything but satisfying the deep need in her body.

  With his hand on her bare butt, he controlled the speed, bringing her to the edge of the climactic cliff time after time and then slowing down the pace, only to speed up until she could see the height and depth of what lay before her. When she could take no more, she pulled her lips from his, dug her hands into his chest, and groaned.

  “Now?” he asked.

  “Thirty minutes ago,” she moaned.

  With one final thrust everything disappeared into a bright array of brilliant-colored fireworks. Her head, her heart, her soul exploded, and only the golden rays of afterglow followed the sparkling lights as they faded into the sky.

  “So that’s where stars come from,” she panted.

  “You are so right.”

  He flipped her to one side and in one fell swoop, she was in his arms and he was standing, water dripping from their bodies as he carried her to the grassy bank. He laid her down under the drooping branches of a willow tree and stretched out beside her, only their hands touching.

  “That was…” He paused.

  “Intense. Amazing. Over the moon.”

  “Doesn’t begin to describe it.” He rolled over on an elbow and brushed a sweet kiss across her lips.

  The reason it was all of the words and more was because they’d made love, not had sex, on Lizzy’s ranch. It was her land even if she hadn’t signed the papers yet. The creek water was hers. The soft grass beneath them was hers. Even the willow tree creating a hideaway with its drooping branches belonged to her. She and Toby had christened the land that night. Maybe someday they would christen the house.

  “I could spend the whole night here, but I suppose we should get dressed and go home before someone discovers us,” she said, and snuggled closer to him.

  “It’s my turn this time,” he said softly.

  She didn’t have to ask what he meant as his hand skimmed its way down her rib cage, sending delicious shivers all through her body in spite of the hot night breeze fluttering the willow tree’s leaves.

  Lizzy had never been skinny-dipping before that night. She’d never made love with creek water brushing against her naked butt. But that was only the tip of the iceberg compared to the way Toby turned her on beneath the willow tree that hot summer night.

  The clock flashed two a.m. when Toby finally crawled beneath the sheets. He’d taken a shower and wished the whole time that he was crammed into the tiny space with Lizzy’s body pressed against his. Worn out, he finally stretched out beneath cool sheets with cold air-conditioned air flowing down on him from a unit above his head.

  In four hours he had to crawl out of the bed and have breakfast with Allie and Blake, possibly with Deke there, too. He sighed as he sunk his face into the pillow and shut his eyes. He didn’t want the feeling to end, but it would when the alarm sounded.

  His eyes popped open and refused to shut. It was only two days until the festival on Saturday. Mitch wasn’t married yet and he would be in Dry Creek that day. When he and Lizzy saw each other, would the old flame fire up again? He’d heard it said time and time again that first loves were never forgotten. If Mitch had been her first serious love, would she take a look at him and forget about all the hot nights she’d shared with Toby?

  He sat straight up in bed, slung his legs over the side, and had full intentions of going to Audrey’s Place to tell Lizzy that he loved her. To propose if necessary so that things would be signed, sealed, and delivered when Mitch rolled into Dry Creek. But the voices in his head said that was crazy.

  He could not rope Lizzy down like a calf. He couldn’t brand her to make her his property. He had to let these next few days play out the way they would and hope like hell that when she saw Mitch, she would realize that man was part of her past and had nothing to do with her future. He hated that old adage about letting something go and if it came back to you, then it was yours.

  For the first time, his heart ached for something he possibly could not have. He wanted Lizzy Logan in his life, but she had to want to be there for it to work.

  And this is the cowboy who wasn’t sure he could live five weeks without the excitement of a chase every single weekend? What happened to that wild Dawson? Is this a passing fancy because of what he sees in his brother’s newfound love? Or is it really happening to him? The voice inside his head asked a lot of questions.

  “His heart found something that it doesn’t want to live without,” he whispered.

  When he shut his eyes the next time, sleep came and with it the sweetest dreams of Lizzy and a hot summer night with cool creek water surrounding them.

  The moment the alarm went off he bounded out of bed and jerked on a fresh pair of faded jeans, a tank top, and his socks and boots. The scent of bacon got stronger with every step toward the house. Work hard. Get through today and then tomorrow. Hope like hell that Lizzy didn’t fall into Mitch’s arms.

  The buzz of conversation, the sizzle of frying bacon, the aroma of hot bread in the oven, all met him when he opened the kitchen door. But it all disappeared in the blink of an eye when he saw Lizzy at the counter, helping her sister make breakfast. She wore a pair of skinny jeans and a sleeveless shirt hanging down past her butt, no shoes, and her hair was in a ponytail. His mouth went dry and he couldn’t force himself to blink for fear she would disappear. Never, not once, had he seen a woman anywhere in the world as cute as the one standing before him that morning.

  “Good mornin’,” he said hoarsely.

  Lizzy whipped around and smiled, lighting up the entire kitchen. Hell, maybe even the whole world. The twinkle in her eye sure put the rising sun to shame that morning.

  “Good mornin’ to you,” Lizzy and Allie said at the same time.

  Toby only heard Lizzy’s voice and he nodded. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, maybe even throw her over his shoulder and forget about breakfast. He could take her back to the trailer, lock the world outside,
and make wild passionate love to her all day. But for all intents and purposes they were fake dating and he could do absolutely nothing except wink.

  Lizzy had no illusions about why her sister left a text message on her phone the night before saying that she expected her to join them for breakfast. It had nothing to do with Toby and their fake/real relationship. It had everything to do with who was buying Deke’s ranch. Allie was good at finding out things. That had always been her job as oldest child, and she took it seriously.

  “Smells good in here.” Toby brushed past her and squeezed her hand on the way.

  “Bacon, fried eggs, hot biscuits, and hash browns with pancakes on the side.” Lizzy poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him, their hands brushing in the transfer.

  “Where’s Deke? I thought he’d be here.” Toby carried the coffee to the table and sat down.

  “He sent a text an hour ago to tell me that he was packing and was eating at home. I guess we are all going over there after work today to help move whatever he gets ready. His cousin has cleaned out a place in a bedroom for him to put his boxes until the end of the week,” Allie answered.

  “He’s avoiding these women,” Blake said from the doorway. “He knows that Allie will pester the hell out of him until he tells who is buying the ranch if he knows and I’ll bet he does. I sure wish we would have had the finances to take on that place. We could haul half of the cattle we’ve still got down around Comfort up here if we had all that cleared land and good grazing pastures.”

  Lizzy vowed that she would tell the whole world after the festival on Saturday but not until then. On that day she planned to tell Toby first and ask him to move in with her. If she’d read him wrong, he could bolt and run right out of their relationship. If he did, then she’d take her broken heart into her new house and get over it. She could live without Toby, but each day would only be breathing, working, eating, sleeping, and starting all over again the next morning. Toby gave her that breathless energy that made it all worth living, and she wanted him beside her through every moment of the rest of her life.

  Today was the last Thursday in June. The festival was Saturday. She could hold out against Allie that long. It would break her record for keeping secrets from her sister because she’d only managed to hang on to something for three days in the past.

  Oh, no! That voice in her head that sounded so much like Fiona’s came through loud and clear. You’ve had a real dating thing going on with Toby for longer than three days and she still thinks it’s a fake relationship. So you are getting stronger. It’s Toby who’s giving you so much strength. You’d better hang on to him.

  Lizzy stole a glance across the room at Toby, only to find him staring at her again. If they didn’t get control of the sparks dancing around the room, Allie and Blake would realize that they’d gone from fake to real. She winked and turned around, but the heat of his gaze on her back only made the sparks even more brilliant.

  “If I guess who bought the ranch will you at least nod?” Allie asked.

  That much she could do because there was no way Lizzy would ever think to say her name. “I guess I wouldn’t be tellin’ then, would I?”

  “It’s not Truman for sure?”

  Lizzy nodded. “It is definitely not Truman. Deke said that he would never sell to any member of that family because it wouldn’t be right to put them next to the Lucky Penny.”

  “Is it Herman Hudson or any of his family?” Allie put the last of the bacon on a platter with the eggs and carried them to the table.

  Lizzy lined a bowl with a cloth napkin and filled it with hot biscuits straight from the oven. “That is more than one name.”

  Blake picked up the plate of hash brown potatoes and carried them to the table. “Okay, then is it Herman?”

  Lizzy shook her head.

  “Sweet Jesus! He’s got half a dozen kids. Do we have to guess each one by name? I might have forgotten a couple of the ones that’s older than we are,” Allie said.

  “Then is the game over?” Lizzy asked.

  “You are wicked. I shouldn’t even let you eat breakfast with us since you won’t tell,” Allie said with a pout.

  “Suck in that lower lip. It won’t work with me anymore.” Lizzy picked up a biscuit and filled it with eggs and bacon. “And if you don’t say the exact name, then I don’t have to nod.”

  “That’s not fair, Lizzy Logan!” Allie said.

  Lizzy came close to dropping her biscuit, but then she remembered that she’d said her sister had to come up with the exact name. It might be splitting hairs but the name on the deed would be Elizabeth Jane Logan, so she rationalized that she did not have to nod.

  “Maybe not, but you made up the rules.” She slid a hash brown onto her plate and reached for another biscuit.

  “Okay, Deke will have to know who the buyer is, so I’ll get him to either tell me when we go over there to help him pack,” Allie said. “And if he doesn’t I’m not helping.”

  “And I’ll tell Deke he doesn’t need you to help when he’s got me to pack for him. Besides, you’ve got that big old baby bump and it’ll get in the way,” Lizzy countered with a smile.

  Toby squeezed her knee under the table and sparks danced across the table like gypsies around a bonfire. She placed her hand on his and squeezed, but that did not mean she was spilling the news to him, either, not even in the midst of a night of scorching sex.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lizzy leaned on the broom and looked around at the house she’d bought that Thursday evening. The hardwood floors had a few scuff marks but nothing that would have to be dealt with right away. The bathroom fixtures were that pink used back in the seventies, but they were in good shape. Built like so many ranch homes in those days, the house had a front door that opened right up into the living room with the big square country kitchen through an archway straight ahead. A hallway led to three bedrooms, a couple of closets, and ended with a door into the bathroom. It was basically the same layout that Allie and Blake had except that the living room was smaller and the kitchen bigger.

  “Deke, I have to tell you something but I don’t want my family to know until after the festival,” Lizzy said.

  He crossed his heart with his finger and held up his palm. “I can keep a secret.”

  “I’m the buyer. I’m the one buying your ranch. You won’t back out will you?” she blurted out.

  Deke threw an arm around her shoulders. “I already figured that out and I’d never back out on you, Lizzy. I couldn’t be happier. Just knowin’ who’s going to be takin’ care of this makes me happy.”

  “How did you know?” Lizzy asked.

  “I know you,” Deke chuckled. “This means you aren’t going to let Mitch talk you into a second chance, doesn’t it?”

  Lizzy stepped out of his embrace and thought about smacking him with the broom. “What in the devil made you say that?”

  “I heard it through the gossip vine that he’s not happy in Mexico after all and that his woman is having second thoughts,” Deke answered.

  “It’s a little late for that,” Lizzy said.

  “Who knows about that? They might be but there’s been so many stories that it could go either way. You didn’t answer my question though. If he’s not married and wants a second shot, what does that do about this ranch? Will you sell it and go with him and turn into that Lizzy that I don’t like?”

  She slowly shook her head. “That ship sailed.”

  “Are you sure?” Deke pressed.

  Allie peeked around the corner of the hallway at the other end. “Sure about what? The person buying this place better not back out at this late date. I’ve got your kitchen cabinets all packed up and cleaned out. Whoever moves in here will have a spotless kitchen. And what ship sailed?”

  “The one with Mitch at the helm. Deke heard that he’s not real happy with his new woman now and she’s got cold feet,” Lizzy answered.

  Allie’s big brown eyes widened. “Promise me you wo
n’t give him the time of day.”

  Lizzy held up two fingers and then crossed her heart. “Too much water has run under the bridge at this time to go back to that pain.”

  “Give me a match and I’ll set the bridge on fire for you,” Deke said. “Thanks for all y’all’s help. We’ll load it and take it over to the new place. Y’all are the best friends ever.” He slid a sly wink toward Lizzy.

  Blake hollered at Allie and she disappeared into the kitchen. Deke followed her, leaving Lizzy alone with her broom and the trash left in one of the spare bedrooms. She took a swipe at it and leaned on the broom again.

  Lizzy would own this place for less than twenty-four hours when Mitch came to town. She played out two scenarios in her mind. One involved Mitch apologizing and admitting he’d made a mistake when he broke their engagement back in February. In the other he would be aloof and more than a little self-righteous with that look that was so very familiar. The one that said the man ruled the roost and the woman was only there to scrape the shit off his boots in the evening.

  Neither one weighed down her heart or made it leap around in her chest. If he apologized, she would accept it. If he was high and mighty, that was okay, too. He’d ceased to matter in her world.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” Toby broke into her thoughts but it didn’t startle her.

  She set the broom in the corner and walked into his open arms. They belonged in this house. It might take a while to convince him, but she wasn’t in a hurry.

  “I’ve got a blanket, a six-pack of cold beer, and a paper sack with sandwiches and cookies. Want to see what’s going on at the willow tree when we get done here?” he whispered as he buried his face in her hair.

  “You sure know how to woo a woman,” she said, and laughed. “I’ll meet you there.”

  He tipped her chin up with his fist and their lips met in a blaze of heat like always. She leaned into the kiss, hands splayed on his broad chest, fire building from a spark into a raging wildfire in seconds.