“Geez, Katie, do you think you brought enough lunch? There are only three of us.” Cade was unloading the saddle bags with Katie, while Chase made sure the animals were in an area where they could eat some grass, too.
Katie tried to keep her mind on her tasks, but she liked to watch the way Chase moved. She caught herself glancing in his direction where he tended the horses, more often than she should.
Katie said, “I hear you talking Cade. We’ll see how much we actually take back with us. The apples are for the horses.”
Cade stood there with a mouthful of apple from the one he’d bitten into. He looked at the apple and then at the horses and back at the apple, shrugged and swallowed. Looking sadly at the apple, he said, “Oh, well, one of them will have to share.”
Katie laughed. “Gotcha. I brought four, since I know you love apples.”
Chase walked up and nudged her. He had a sparkle in his eye that showed he knew her tricks and was just barely keeping his laugh from bursting forth. “Doesn’t he do this every time you bring lunch?”
Katie thrilled that he knew her so well. She grinned back at Chase. “Yep, pretty much.”
“That’s just mean, Katie.” Cade shook his finger at her and she grabbed it.
“Nope, you’re just that easy.”
Chase laughed and nodded. He tossed his brother the other apples. “Dumbasses have to pay, take the other three apples over to give to the horses.”
Cade muttered as he took the apples over and gave one to each animal. Chase and Katie grinned at each other and Katie wished he would kiss her or something, anything. Instead she handed him a plate and started loading food on her own.
They were about finished with lunch and munching on the homemade cookies she’d baked when Cade’s phone rang. He looked at it and groaned. “It’s Tanya.” He punched answer. “Hey, babe.”
Tanya’s loud voice spewed out of the phone. Cade cringed. “It was spur of the moment. Just hanging out with Katie and my brother. Not a planned outing or day off.”
Katie winced, thinking now Cade was really going to be in trouble. From the screeching coming from Cade’s phone, she was right in that assessment. Cade turned red and walked off a few feet, but his voice carried on the wind. “Now Tanya honey, you know Chase and I have been friends with Katie our whole lives.”
Katie turned to Chase. “Maybe we should pack up the picnic. It appears that Cade is going to be dealing with some things. Some cranky things.”
Chase nodded. “Yep, you’re right. Sounds like a good idea.”
“I don’t want her to join us, do you?” Katie stuffed the leftover fruit and cookies into the saddle bags, they’d eaten all the sandwiches and chips, so she tucked the empty wrappers into another pocket.
“Hell no, not even when she’s being nice, and that is clearly not the case today.” Chase shook out the blanket removing crumbs from the picnic plus dirt and grass from the plateau, then rolled it to tie it on his saddle. “We can encourage him to go make nice and we’ll go in the opposite direction.”
She would be perfectly happy alone with Chase for a while, she just wished he would take advantage of their solitude, but she knew he wouldn’t even think of it. “Excellent plan.”
They got the horses ready, then waited a few more minutes while Cade argued with his girlfriend. It was terribly awkward, and Katie felt bad for him.
She heard him say, “I’m coming down now,” before he shoved his phone in his pocket and stomped over to them. “Sorry about that. I’m going to have to cut the day short, while I talk to Tanya. Sorry to bug out on you K, but drama calls.”
“No worries Cade, I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble.”
“Not you darlin’, it’s all her. Maybe it’s time to move on. I’m getting tired of her and her bullshit. I’ll see you guys later.” Katie felt bad for him but could only hope he carried through on his words, that woman was poison.
Chase said. “Good luck, brother.”
Cade climbed on his horse and was gone in no time.
Chase shook his head. “That woman is a pain in the backside. I hope someday he does realize that and moves on. It would be good for him to be with someone I can stand to be in the same room with.”
Katie nodded. “Glad to hear it’s not just me that has issues with her.”
Chase shook his head. “Not even close to the only one. Want to head down to the river? Give the horses a drink?”
“Absolutely, we don’t have to let her ruin our day, but I do feel bad for Cade.” She looked back the way Cade had gone.
Chase shrugged. “His choice.”
As they took the opposite path down the mountain from the one Cade had taken, she wondered if it was true that it was his choice. There were times that she felt like she could do nothing but love Chase. Did she have a choice in the matter? Could she move on? She should work on that idea. She didn’t think she could ever love someone as toxic as Tanya was though. She just couldn’t imagine it.
Chapter 3
Chase and Katie rode the long way around to his land, so they didn’t bump into Cade and Tanya. If Cade had taken her to his designated piece of the Rockin’ K ranch to “talk”, Chase didn’t want to get any closer. Since Chase’s plot was further away from the main house than Cade’s, he felt safe that they wouldn’t come any further out than Cade’s portion.
By the time they got there the horses were tired and thirsty. He was happy to pull their saddles off and let them have a rest. There was plenty of grass and water for them to drink. He felt a swell of pride to look at the land he would eventually build a house on. It was a good section along the river.
Chase was feeling hot too, and the water looked so refreshing. Katie was gazing longingly at the river and he couldn’t blame her. “Want to take a dip? It’s late enough in the summer that the water shouldn’t be too cold. Do you have your suit?”
“I do, and that does sound nice. It was a hot ride going the long way to avoid Cade.” She glanced around, then said quietly, “And Tanya.”
“Yeah, it was. Go change in the girl bushes and I’ll change in the boy bushes.” When they were young they had designated the different sides of his land with bushes for changing clothes.
It still made him smile to think of themselves back then. They’d run tame on the ranch, playing out in the fresh air and sunshine, knowing they had to be back before it got dark. Sometimes Katie would spend the night and all of them would play hide and seek in the evening for hours. Occasionally their parents or some of the hired hands would join in the fun, and they would have a bonfire to roast hotdogs and marshmallows. It was a good way to grow up. He hoped, if and when he had kids, they would do the same and not be glued to electronic devices.
Chase stripped out of his clothes and pulled on his swim trunks. He tossed his clothes down onto his saddle as he walked toward the river. He had a nice calm inlet, that was just deep enough to swim around in, where some rocks blocked off the rushing of the river. He waded in and sank down, so the water would cover him. It was chilly, but not freezing.
As Chase waited for Katie, Tim Jefferson’s words about her returned. He still didn’t like it, but he’d never really thought about Katie in terms of her being a woman. She was his best friend, plain and simple. Was she hot? Maybe she was, but he’d never thought of her that way. He’d pay attention when she came out of the bushes and into the water.
Dolly, his brother’s pet cow, ambled into the area just as Katie came out of the bushes, and he was damned glad too, because it gave him a moment to get his equilibrium back. The woman who’d just walked out of the changing area was not just hot, she was smoking hot.
She went over and was talking to Dolly, giving her a rub and scratch behind her ears like you would a dog. Katie had on a neon purple one-piece swimsuit. It was cut high on the hips and low in front and had nearly no back at all. She wasn’t tall, but she was built like a goddess, curves in all the right places. How in the hell had he never noticed, in all th
e years they’d been friends, that she was gorgeous?
She kissed Dolly on the nose and as she bent to do so, he had a fine view of her ass. He groaned to himself at the delectable sight and tried to distract himself. Her long hair was pulled up in a ponytail, it was brown on top with the ends turning a golden color. He didn’t think of her as having blond hair, so he wondered if she’d colored it.
She turned and gave him a huge smile. She had a wide mouth, made for kissing, with high cheek bones and large finger dimples on both sides of her mouth. Her brown eyes sparkled with mirth, under arched eyebrows. “Dolly came to play.”
She was speaking to him and he had to respond, but he was too confused and lustful to think. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I see that.”
She laughed, gave Dolly one last rub and walked over to join him in the not nearly cold enough river.
“Is that a new suit?” he asked, casting around in his mind for something to say to get his mind off the sexy woman joining him for a swim. The sexy woman, who fifteen minutes earlier, had been his best friend. He wasn’t sure he would be able to stuff her back into that box, now that his eyes had been opened. But he was damn well going to try, and succeed, even if it killed him.
“Nope, it’s nearly as old as we are. But I still love it. You can’t find this color much these days, so I keep wearing it.”
“It’s nearly fluorescent.”
“That’s why I love it.” She dove into the water and he felt her brush up against him, right before his legs were yanked out from under him and he fell backwards into the river. As his head slid below the surface, the lust was pushed away, and the water fight was on.
Katie wondered why Chase was acting all stiff and weird. If she hadn’t been completely convinced that he would never look at her that way, she would have sworn he was looking at her with desire. Sexual desire even. But that was ridiculous. They were friends. He’d never even looked at her with appreciation, let alone anything nearing lust. It must have been wishful thinking on her part. When she’d walked out into the clearing and seen him all wet with his muscles glistening in the sun, she’d nearly melted into a puddle of want.
She’d never been so happy to see a cow in her life, especially Dolly, since she could love up on the bovine while she fought to get her emotions under control. Then she’d turned around and seen the look on Chase’s face, and she was hot and bothered all over again.
She was damn well not going to make an ass out of herself, by reading anything into it, so starting a swimming war was just the thing she needed. The water was wonderful, not too hot and not too cold, exactly the right temperature to be refreshing. She felt bad again for Cade to be missing out and wondered how his talk with Tanya was going.
She didn’t have long to think about Tanya and Cade, as Chase came up from behind her, lifted her into the air and threw her into the water. She barely had time to draw and hold her breath before plunging into the cold depths. She stayed submerged deciding about her next plan of attack. She swam around behind Chase and then pushed off the smooth rocks below, to launch herself onto his back.
She didn’t have the strength to push him down, he was a head taller than she was, and outweighed her by seventy-five or even a hundred pounds, but she was determined to do something. What she was going to do, she didn’t know.
He laughed at her feeble attempts. “I seem to have a monkey on my back. A wet squirmy monkey.” He leaned back and disengaged her arms, so she fell back into the water. She let go with her legs and floated away with a small kick off his ass to propel her along.
They played in the water for a while longer until the cold started seeping into their bones, then they got out and sat on the picnic blanket, so they could dry off enough to put on their clothes. They munched on the fruit and cookies leftover from their lunch.
Chase asked, “So what are you working on?”
She knew he was referring to the home crafts she made and sold on the internet. “I just finished a string art project for an author. It’s a peacock feather. It took me some time to design the pattern, but I think it turned out great. Want to see?”
She got up and retrieved her phone out of her jeans, so she could show him. He’d always been very supportive of her hobby. She did all kinds of kitschy decorator crafts; string art was just one of them. The most popular was wine racks. She had several different designs people could pick from and then she would personalize them with their name or a favorite saying.
She showed him her most recent project and he made approving male grunting noises, which from him was high praise.
When they were mostly dry they pulled on their clothes and saddled the horses. Katie got the blanket and rolled it up to give to Chase. Before she could hand it to him, Dolly bumped into her back propelling her into his arms. He caught her and then looked into her eyes as the air became charged. He looked at her mouth, then back into her eyes. Her breath backed up in her lungs. She was sure he was going to kiss her.
Disappointment and relief warred in her body and mind, when he pushed her back, making sure she was steady on her feet again. They both looked at Dolly, who almost seemed to shake her head at them and amble away.
Katie laughed nervously, thrust the blanket into his hands and went over to mount her own horse. When Chase was on his horse she didn’t look at him. She said, “Race you.” Then wheeled her horse around and took off toward the house.
Chase didn’t know what in the hell had just happened. One minute they were getting the horses ready to ride back, and the next minute Katie was in his arms and looking at him with such a sweet look. She smelled like heaven, like sunshine and river and Katie. He’d wanted to kiss her wide luscious mouth and had almost done so, before his brain reengaged itself and reminded him she was his buddy, his pal, his best friend, and to kiss her would destroy those things. He’d freaked out and practically shoved her away. He’d seen a flair of something in her eyes, but he had no idea what it had been. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.
As he raced back to the house he put that pulse of desire and the accompanying terror into a locked cage in his mind, never to be opened again. He couldn’t bear to lose her as a friend, so he wasn’t willing to act on the desire he felt. Damn Tim Jefferson, for putting ideas into his head.
Chapter 4
Katie was excited to be attending Beau and Alyssa’s wedding. It was a perfect day for it. The skies were clear and blue, but the temperature was not too hot. At the bridal shower she’d heard that Alyssa’s favorite color was red, so she was wearing her short red dress. It hit her mid-thigh and had long sleeves. It wasn’t skin tight, but it did fit her like a glove. She decided to wear her knee-high leather boots, because they made her feel powerful and sexy, at the same time.
She’d locked up the store and put the sign she’d made in the window that said they were closed for a wedding and would reopen tomorrow. If someone needed something they would have to drive into Granby. This was the first marriage in the Kipling family for this generation, and she was certain the entire town would be there to celebrate.
Katie reapplied her lipstick, fluffed her hair and was ready to go. The church was just down the street and the reception was at the Grange, just one street over, so she would walk. With the parking in town as it was, she probably wouldn’t get any closer than the store anyway.
She’d dropped off her gift at the ranch earlier this week. It was a string art design for Beau and Alyssa’s future house. They were just starting to build on the land that had been designated as Beau’s. The gift had their first initials in a heart, with their last name below it. It would look great over a fireplace or a door.
Katie walked down the street to the church and noticed a lot of people were milling around. Some were townspeople she’d known all her life, and others were strangers that she assumed were from Alyssa’s home town in eastern Washington. Nervousness settled in her belly as she caught the eye of several men. She wasn’t normally someone that attracted attention.
She knew she was pretty enough, but nothing spectacular. Then again, nearly everyone she saw on a daily basis was someone she’d known all her life, and even when it was tourists she was always dressed in work clothes. So, she supposed her red dress had something to do with the attention.
She looked around for someone to go stand with and was thankful to find Summer, whose family ran the feed store. Summer looked relieved to have Katie join her. Katie had seen Tanya with Cade and figured their discussion the other day had been smoothed over, since they were together today.
Summer smiled. “Thanks for coming over here. I was feeling a little out of sorts. The only woman I recognized was Tanya, and you know how she and I get along. Who are all these people?”
Katie shrugged. “I assume people from Washington. Alyssa said their town was smaller than ours, but I’m finding that hard to believe with so many coming here.”
“They must have closed down the town and rolled up the sidewalks,” Summer said with a grin.
“Well, hello ladies.” Katie looked up into the eyes of Tim, Alyssa’s brother.
“Hi, Tim. Do you know my friend Summer?”
“I can’t say that I have been introduced to this lovely lady. Hello, Summer. I’m Tim Jefferson, one of Alyssa’s older brothers.”
Summer held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Tim.”
He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “The pleasure is all mine, I can assure you.”
Katie rolled her eyes at him. “You are such a flirt.”
Tim tried to look wounded, but his eyes sparkled. “Only when such lovely ladies are present.”
Tempting Chase_Burlap and Barbed Wire Page 2
