by Mari Carr
She was almost to the kitchen door when her father caught her by the upper arm, gently halting her escape.
“Not so fast. I want to meet him.” Dad glanced out the window. “Why is he driving your car?”
Lorelie had sort of hoped her dad wouldn’t notice that detail. “His truck broke down. We drove back here from Pitchers together and then I let him borrow my Yukon, so he could get back to his room at the B&B. He didn’t want me driving alone so late at night.”
“I see.” More of the elusive tone.
Lorelie huffed. “Dad,” she started.
“Go open the door, Lori.”
Glen’s footsteps sounded on the porch. Lorelie took a deep breath as her father released her and she headed for the front door. Dad followed closely behind.
She opened the door at Glen’s knock, and then he stepped inside at the invitation her father issued from behind her.
“Dad,” Lorelie said, “you remember Glen Rodgers.”
The men shook hands.
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Carr.”
Dad shook his head. “No need to be so formal. Everyone around here just calls me Coach.”
“Have to admit I feel like I know you. Wade thinks the world of you. Quoted you quite a bit when we used to tour together.”
Dad was clearly pleased to hear that. “Nice to know my boys were listening.”
Glen turned his attention to her. “You look pretty today, Lori.”
She snuck a quick glance at her dad, wondering how he would react to Glen’s nickname. No one had ever used that name for her except her father. As she expected, his gaze was on her face, probably waiting for her to correct Glen.
She didn’t bother. It was too late now, and Glen would think she was nuts if she suddenly pretended to take offense again. Besides…she liked when he called her Lori. And Butterfly. She was really fond of Butterfly.
Then Lorelie glanced down in the face of his compliment to study her attire. She was in faded blue jeans, a Quinn Titans T-shirt and dusty boots. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she’d tossed a cowboy hat on as well. “Oh yeah,” she teased. “I’m a regular rodeo queen.”
“Lori says you’re visiting for a few days before heading back out on tour.”
Glen nodded slowly. “Yeah. That was the original plan.” He looked at Lorelie. “Bertha is officially out of commission.”
“Bertha?” her dad asked, as Lorelie smiled widely, not bothering to hide her delight.
“Oh yeah?” she asked.
“Wade called a local mechanic, Randi, to come out to his place to take a look at it. She said the two of you are friends.”
“We are,” Lorelie confirmed. Randi was part of her gang of girlfriends, though she hadn’t seen much of her lately. Randi was helping Nolan with the book he was writing about Lorelie’s father. Nolan, the bookworm, didn’t know much about football, so he was relying on Randi’s help since she basically lived and breathed the sport.
“So it looks like I’m going to be stuck in Quinn for a couple weeks rather than days. Randi has to order a part.”
“Wow. How will you survive without the bright lights of the big city?”
“I think you’re glad I’m trapped. You’ve raised a cruel daughter, Coach.”
Dad lifted one shoulder, enjoying their banter. “Well, I did my best, Glen. So you’re a city boy?”
“Philly, born and raised.”
“Your folks still live there?” Dad asked.
Glen hesitated. “I assume so. I haven’t seen them in twenty-two years.”
“Seriously?” Lorelie asked, doing the math. He hadn’t seen his parents since he was sixteen?
Glen shrugged good-naturedly. “We weren’t all blessed with great fathers, Butterfly.”
Once again, she felt her father’s gaze on her face and was left to wonder what he’d noticed this time. The lack of parents or the term of endearment. Glen wasn’t trying to hide his interest in her at all. Not that she minded. It was just…foreign territory for her.
Dad was right. She’d never brought a guy home for Sunday dinner. Never dated anyone for longer than a few weeks after high school. And none of those relationships had involved much more than hanging out at Pitchers and occasionally hooking up.
Lorelie had always blamed the boys of fall for her lack of serious boyfriends, but she realized Glen had actually latched onto the real reason for her life of solitude. No man had ever measured up to her dad.
Oakley and Joel appeared at the door. Neither of them looked particularly overjoyed to see Glen.
“Hi, Glen,” Oakley said, while Joel merely nodded his greeting.
Glen, as always, was more amused by their cold shoulder than offended. “Oakley, Joel, good to see you again.”
Joel glanced at Coach. “We were just about to load the truck with the new fence posts. You want to ride out to the south pasture with us in about an hour to show us where we should start?”
Dad nodded then he glanced at Glen. “Lori tells me you’re interested in learning about the ranch.”
“Yeah. Curious to see what goes on around here.”
“Sounds to me like you’re about to have a little time on your hands. If you want a real up-close look at the lifestyle, maybe you’d like to try to live it.”
“What did you have in mind?” Glen asked, his tone laced with what sounded like genuine interest.
“Me and the boys are starting a new project, building a new fencerow. Going to take us some time, as we have our regular chores to do as well. Strong backs are always welcome. Fancy playing ranch hand this week?”
“Me and Oak can handle the fence,” Joel interjected. It appeared he hadn’t given up hope that he could keep Glen away from Lorelie.
She was ready to rip Joel a new one when Glen piped up. “I’d like that a lot, Coach.”
The idea of having Glen around all day, every day, sounded like heaven on earth, and if her dad wouldn’t think she’d lost her mind, she’d hug him for suggesting it.
“Great,” Dad said. “Then it’s all settled. You can start first thing in the morning. By the way, we get rolling at five thirty.”
Glen’s eyes widened and Lorelie fought to hide her grin.
“A.M.?” he clarified.
Oakley chuckled, while Joel just shook his head.
“I think you’re going to like working here, Glen.” Dad started upstairs, looking back at Joel and Oakley. “Let me finish a couple things around here and then change into my work boots. I’ll meet you boys by the barn in an hour. And, Lorelie, why don’t you give Glen that tour so he’s not lost tomorrow?”
Joel and Oakley left the house, clearly not excited about the new turn of events. She imagined Joel wouldn’t make it twenty paces from the house before he’d texted all the guys to tell them about Glen’s extended stay and new part-time job.
“You didn’t have to say yes,” she said, when they were alone again.
“I like the idea of playing ranch hand. Besides, your dad just handed me the perfect way to spend every single day with you.”
He was right. Her father had done that.
Why had Dad done that?
She added that to the list of “what the hell’s going on” items rattling around in her brain that she’d have to try to decipher at some point. “Thought we’d do the rodeo demo first. Though I warn you, it’s going to be a far cry from what really happens. I’m ten years away from competing and I haven’t tried this in ages.”
He took her hand, the two of them walking to the stable together. “Sweetheart, I wasn’t kidding about the city boy childhood. The fact that you can ride a horse at something faster than a ramble will impress the hell out of me.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I hope you’re ready to be amazed.”
As they entered the stable, Lorelie led him to a stall near the back. Reaching into her back pocket, she handed Glen a carrot. “This is Penny.”
“Penny?”
“Probably n
ot a very original name. She has a shiny copper-colored coat. Reminded me of a new penny, so…”
“Suits her. She’s yours?”
Lorelie nodded. “Yeah. She’s my spoiled baby. She’s a sucker for treats. Give her this and she’ll love you for life.”
Glen stroked the horse’s head as she claimed the carrot, munching slowly and then butting her head playfully against his shoulder.
“You familiar with horses at all?”
Glen shook his head. “I’ve been on one a couple of times, but I’m not going to tell you why.”
“Too late. You can’t say something like that and not divulge all.”
“We were shooting a music video.”
“With Wade or Trent?”
“Trent,” Glen said, never managing to conceal his disdain for the guy. “It was a ridiculous video. I’m sitting on top of this ancient horse with my guitar. Bass player is on one as well. The drummer was sitting on top of some mound of dirt, just behind us, while Trent is strutting and dancing around with three supermodels. I felt like a complete jackass.”
“I’m pulling that up on YouTube the second we get back to the house.”
Glen laughed and tugged on the end of her ponytail. “If you have any compassion in you, you’ll forget that video exists and never go looking for it.”
“Like you said to my dad, I’m a cruel woman.”
“Damn. Now I’m really sorry I mentioned it.”
Penny nudged Glen once more, obviously hoping for another carrot. Lorelie slipped another out of her pocket and handed it to him to feed her horse. Penny rubbed her nose against his chest when he teased her with it, holding it just out of reach for a second before giving it to her.
“She’s a total flirt,” Lorelie said.
“Just my luck,” he said with a sigh.
“What do you mean?”
“Wrong girl is flirting with me.”
Lorelie moved closer. “Feeling neglected?” She ran her hand along his chest, tempted to unbutton his shirt like she had the night before. The man was built, a wall of muscles. She’d always been a sucker for a six-pack. Lorelie attributed that appreciation to the abundance of eye candy in her neck of the woods. Between football players and cowboys and the hot Texas sun, she’d spent a lifetime spoiled by sexy, shirtless man-flesh shows.
She would put Glen’s chest up there with the best of them, which was surprising considering he was neither an athlete nor a cowboy. She played with the top button of his shirt, ready to say to hell to the rodeo show, but Glen caught her hand and stopped her.
“You start that and I’m in trouble. I think your dad likes me. Hate to ruin that this early in the game by dragging you into one of these stalls and doing dirty, dirty things to you.”
Lorelie’s pussy clenched. “That’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
Glen laughed. “Yeah. I’m sure you would.”
She frowned. “How many women have you had sex with?”
It was Glen’s turn to sober up. “Where did that question come from?”
“I told you my number by the creek last fall. Six lovers.”
“I’m not answering that question, Lori.”
“Why not?”
He sighed. “For one, I didn’t keep count, and for another, I’m not exactly proud of how many women there have been.”
“Which proves the point I was hoping to make. It’s just sex for you, right?”
Glen didn’t answer.
“I’m not going to think less of you,” she added, hoping he wasn’t misinterpreting her meaning. “It was always just sex for me too. I’ve never had a real boyfriend. I wasn’t in love with the guys I took to bed.”
“Okay,” he answered slowly. He was obviously confused by where she was heading with this conversation. She was sort of sorry she had started it, but now that she’d gone this far, she figured she’d just take it to the end.
“Isn’t this just about sex between us? I don’t mean to sound callous or insensitive, but I’m a Quinn girl, Glen, and you’re only here for a week or two. Seems to me like you’re wasting a lot of time wooing me. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m sort of a sure thing here. I want you. You want me. I’m not expecting flowers or chocolates or love songs.”
She thought perhaps her comments would set his mind at ease. Maybe it was the overprotectiveness of the guys working on him, making him feel guilty or something. However, rather than smile and take her up on her offer to get down to business, his expression darkened.
“It’s not just sex.”
His response caught her off guard. “What?”
“You’re right, Lori. I am leaving in a couple weeks.” He released a long, frustrated breath. “I can’t tell you why you’re different, but you are. Two weeks is the longest I’ve ever stayed anywhere at one time with the exception of Nashville. And even when I’m there, I’m always working nonstop. I’ve had way too many one-night stands because that’s all there have ever been time for. I don’t want to do that with you. I want to get to know you. I want to watch you ride your horse, go out on a date with you, eat Sunday dinner with your family and then, well…fuck it. I want the damn romance. I’ve never had that. And from the sounds of it, you haven’t either.”
Lorelie didn’t have a clue how to respond. For the first time ever, the woman who was never at a loss for something to say couldn’t form a single word if her life depended on it.
She stared at him, wondering if she’d ever heard anything more wonderful in her life. More romantic. More…just…God. If he put that to music, it would be the most beautiful love song in the world.
She’d started the conversation as much to convince herself as him that she could do this. Do casual. Start the affair with no expectations and end it the same way. He just made damn sure that would never happen.
“Freak you out?” he asked when the silence drifted on too long.
“No,” she whispered.
He grinned, the look so affable and sweet, she had no choice but to return it.
“Because you look completely freaked out.”
“I’m not freaked out.” She wasn’t. She was…what? “I’m sort of touched and amazed and…” He’d laid it all on the line for her, so didn’t she owe him the same?
“And?” he prompted.
“Really happy. Everything you just said made me feel happier than I think I’ve ever been in my life. You should put all that in a song.”
He grinned. “Might just do that. John Denver had ‘Annie’s Song’. I’ll call mine ‘Lori’s Song’.”
“I find it hard to believe you’ve never done romance before. Because you’re really good at it.”
“Pent up for thirty-eight years. Guess I finally found the right outlet.”
She reached up on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. Then, because she was that girl and she could never resist a joke, she took them right out of romance and straight back to raunchy. “Yeah, well, speaking of pent up, I haven’t had sex in well over a year, so while the sweet words are nice and all, I’m going to need you to dig deep to give me a little bit of that bad boy rock star action too.”
“So noted. And not a problem. I’m fairly certain we can reach a compromise where we both get what we want…and need.” He reached around her, cupping her ass to pull her against him. She felt his erection pressing against the denim of his jeans.
He released her too quickly for her tastes and turned back to Penny. Stroking the horse’s nose once more, he said, “When do I get my rodeo?”
Lorelie sucked in a deep breath, hoping to clear some of the horniness away. It didn’t help much.
As she issued instructions, Glen helped her saddle her horse. The man really didn’t have a clue when it came to working on a ranch. Twice, she’d laughingly showed him what she meant when she’d used lingo he didn’t understand.
Once the horse was ready, she held on to the reins as she explained what she was planning to do. “This is going to be the lamest demonstrat
ion of team roping ever. I asked Oakley to move one of our steers into the corral this morning. Typically, the steer is released from a chute and given a little bit of a head start. I’m lacking my heeler, so basically all I’m going to do is chase a steer who probably won’t run all that fast and rope him. You’re missing the second part, where the heeler ropes the legs. Unless you want to try that part, of course.”
“I’ll be fine…on the other side of the fence.”
Lorelie tsked. “If you’re going to be a ranch hand, you’re going to have to give up this aversion to horses.”
“Pretty sure I can do my duties in that truck we passed on the way over here just as easily.”
Lorelie laughed and didn’t tell him that—for the most part—he was right. “Go on out there and find yourself a spot.”
Lorelie found her rope and made sure everything was adjusted correctly. So much of what she was doing was second nature to her, she couldn’t imagine not knowing anything about horses. Despite his hesitance, she hoped Glen would give her the chance to teach him how to ride while he was here.
When she was ready to go, she led Penny out of the large stall and climbed onto her back. They entered the corral at a slow pace so that Lorelie could figure out her best approach. The steer wouldn’t have too much time to build up speed once she and Penny started.
Checking her grip on her rope, she spurred Penny to run. The steer—startled by the approaching rider and horse—took off. Giving chase, Lorelie lifted her arm, swung the rope and released, delighted when it fell into place, perfectly wrapping the steer’s horns.
Once secure, she leapt off the horse to release the rope and the steer ran to the far end of the corral. That was when she realized Glen was clapping and cheering for her. She climbed back onto Penny and rode over to where he stood by the fence.
“That was great.”
She crooked her finger. “Come here.”
His brows furrowed in confusion, but he climbed the fence anyway, jumping down into the corral.
“Hop on. I’ll give you a ride back to the stable.”
Glen laughed, but took the hand she proffered, straddling the horse behind her. His cock felt even harder and bigger than it had earlier.
