Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  He took her hand, lifted it over her head, and twirled her.

  “Dancing?”

  “Mmm-hmm. I mentioned it to Robert to see if he’d be willing to watch Cody for us.”

  Us. There it was again, an offhand remark binding them. As if she weren’t already in danger of melting to the deck in a puddle of quivering giddiness and…. Dare she think it?

  Love. I’m falling in love with him.

  Another voice, smug, said, About time you admitted it.

  “And your dad suggested he and your mom watch all three kids,” he continued, eyeing her with his smile fading into uncertainty. “It seems Robert and Julianne could use a little adult time, too.”

  He waited for her response, but she was incapable of giving one. She could only stare at him in wonder. After a moment, he started talking again, rambling as hopefulness tinted that endearing uncertainty with warmth.

  “As long as you don’t mind them joining us. I figured you might appreciate spending the time with your brother. Robert says he knows of a bar in Casper that usually has a live band on Friday nights. What do you think, Annie? I know we’ve had a long day already, but—”

  She wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised when she clasped his face, stood on her toes, and planted her lips firmly against his. At first, he was too stunned to kiss her back, but then he took her face in his hands and pulled her body against his with such hunger that it snatched her breath away and made her dizzy. It was like he couldn’t hold back, couldn’t resist her.

  Dear lord, she’d never been kissed like this. Never.

  Hoots and whistles from the table barely made an impression on her; there was no room in her mind for anything but Gabe and the way his lips felt and how her body fit against his.

  “Hey, you two!” Julianne called. “Knock it off or get a room!”

  Gabe relinquished her mouth for a moment, then pressed a softer kiss to her lips before resting his brow against hers, reluctant to let her go. When he brushed his thumb over her cheek, she sighed. Finally, he straightened and started toward the table, his hand still linked with hers.

  No one mentioned the kiss when they joined everyone at the table, but Annemarie blushed anyhow. As soon as everyone had a plate of lasagna, garlic bread, and salad, her father said grace.

  “I guess you can’t say you haven’t kissed anymore,” Judy remarked.

  “You’re saying….” Julianne glanced from her mother-in-law to Annemarie. “That was your first kiss? Get out!”

  Annemarie caught Gabe’s eyes for just a moment before he lowered his gaze to his plate and took a bite. His face and neck were adorably red. He was usually so easygoing and confident that the moments like this, when his shyness rose to the surface, hypnotized her.

  “This is delicious, Judy,” he said quietly. “Thank you.”

  Conversation was sparse as they enjoyed their meal and the soft spring sunset that blossomed over the lake. Somewhere out on the water, a pair of loons started calling back and forth, their voices echoing across the lake, long and hauntingly beautiful. Annemarie closed her eyes and smiled.

  “Oh, listen!” Judy sighed. “I love when the loons stop by. It seems like they do less and less as the years go by.”

  “We had a pair that used to nest on our upper pond when I was a kid,” he said thoughtfully. “They stopped coming, until last year.”

  “You think it’s the same pair? I guess they can live quite a while. Something like thirty years?”

  “Could be. I’d like to think so.”

  He stood and started gathering plates, but Judy quickly put an end to that.

  “Oh no you don’t. You’ve already helped enough today for my daughter. Sit and relax.”

  “Actually… Robert and I have a proposition. Bill said he and you wouldn’t mind watching Cody, Elijah, and Erin for the evening so Robert and I can take Julianne and Annie out dancing.”

  “You got it. What do you think, Cody? You want to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa for the evening?”

  “But… can’t I go with you and Mom, Gabe?”

  “Not tonight, kiddo. Your mom needs some grown-up time.”

  Cody pouted, casting a betrayed look at Annemarie. She opened her mouth to chastise him, but Gabe silenced her with a look that said he wasn’t going to let her be the bad guy.

  “I’ll tell you what. Tomorrow, you and your mom and I will do something together. Maybe go fishing, or whatever you want to do. Let your mom have tonight and you can have all day tomorrow. How’s that sound?”

  “I thought you were gonna put up Grandpa’s lights tomorrow.”

  “Your grandpa’s waited quite a while to have those lights installed, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind waiting another day. I can get it done before we leave for home on Sunday. Deal?”

  The little boy held on to his pout for a few moments longer, but then he gave in and sighed. “Promise?”

  “I promise.” Gabe opened his arms for a hug, and Cody didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation. “We’re all yours tomorrow.”

  Judy gripped Annemarie’s knee under the table to get her attention. When she looked at her mother, Judy gave her one of those brows-lifted, bright-eyed, not-quite-smiling looks of approval. Annemarie caught her bottom lip between her teeth, but that did nothing to stop the grin from taking over her face.

  “All right, if you all are going into Casper,” Bill said, “you’d best get going. The kiddos can help Mama and I wash dishes.”

  “By help you mean paint the kitchen with bubbles, right?” Robert inquired.

  “Yep. And we’ll have a blast doing it, too. Won’t we, kiddos?”

  His question was met with exuberant cheers and a roll of the eyes from his wife. Annemarie stood and gave her son a hug and a kiss. “You be good for Grandma and Grandpa, all right? And have fun making a mess of the kitchen. Love you.”

  He nodded solemnly. “Love you, too.”

  “We won’t be too late,” Gabe said.

  “Nonsense,” Judy replied. “Take your time and have fun. But someone had better be the designated driver. I’ve already done my kid raising, thank you.”

  Gabe raised his hand. “It was my idea, so I guess that means I get to be the DD.”

  “I second that,” Robert said.

  “Motion passed,” Julie added.

  “Good.” Gabe held out his hand for the keys to their suburban. Robert didn’t hesitate to hand them over.

  Annemarie tucked her hands around Gabe’s arm and grinning up at him. “I can be your sober navigator.”

  “You don’t need to be. Have a drink or three. Relax.”

  “I don’t want a drink or three. I want to remember every detail of tonight.”

  He surprised her by lowering his mouth to hers in a light kiss. “As you wish, ma’am.”

  Chapter 12

  “I know I shouldn’t feel guilty for excluding Cody,” Gabe remarked, leaning back against the high top table, “because Annie needs this. But I do.”

  “Yes, she does, and no you shouldn’t,” Robert agreed, raising his beer in an impromptu toast. After Gabe clinked his glass of Coke to the bottle, Robert continued, waxing philosophical. “She missed out on all the fun ‘cause she had Cody so young. Didn’t get to let loose and party and do all the stupid, insanely fun crap Julie and I and I’ll bet even you got to do.”

  “Even me?”

  “Yeah, even you. You’re Mr. Responsible now, but I’ll bet you were a hellion back in the day.”

  “I didn’t get much chance. My brothers ruined it for me. When it was finally my turn to be a stupid teenager, my parents had already seen it all, and I didn’t have a chance in hell of getting away with anything.”

  “You poor bastard.”

  Gabe chuckled. “I did total my first pickup jumping ditches on the ranch, though.” He took a sip of his Coke and let his gaze wander back to Annemarie. Her smile outshone the moon as she line-danced with her sister-in-law and several other women to the
Charlie Daniels Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” No, it wasn’t line dancing. Clogging. That was the term. “Annie and Julie seem to be having a marvelous time.”

  “Yes, indeed. Fun to watch aren’t they?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Also, I still can’t believe she lets you call her Annie. She’d kick my ass if I did. And I probably deserve it, ‘cause I called her that when we were kids and I was teasing her. How’d you talk her into it?”

  “It slipped out one day. And then it kept slipping out.”

  “Huh.”

  They lapsed into silence, sipping their drinks while the women danced. The band had declared this a song for ladies only, and the result had every man in the place watching intently, including Gabe. He’d never seen Annie so open and carefree, and the effect it had on him was powerful. He hadn’t had a drop of alcohol, but he was dizzy. He needed a distraction, and fast.

  “Since we spent most of the evening talking about your dad’s lights, I never got a chance to ask what everyone does for a living. I think Annie mentioned that your mother is a teacher and your father does something for the city.”

  Robert nodded. “High school math. Dad works for Casper’s city planning department, and I am a city engineer for Laramie. Julie’s a kindergarten teacher.”

  “A lot of math in the family. No wonder Annie’s such a good accountant. Pretty amazing she finished school.”

  “Yes, it is. Don’t you dare tell her this, but my little sister is my hero. She’s twice as strong as me, for sure. I don’t think I could do half of what she’s done.”

  “She’s an amazing woman,” Gabe murmured. So much for a distraction. His gaze sidetracked to her again. It was impossible to keep his eyes off her, and it was only the distance between them that made it possible to keep his hands to himself.

  “Why the hell we talking about my family’s jobs?” Robert asked suddenly. “The devil’s long gone from ol’ Georgia, so you should be out on the dance floor with my sister or reenacting that kiss.”

  He wasn’t going to address the second question. Not when that kiss was still branded on his lips two hours later. Not when the memory of it demanded a repeat… and a whole lot more. “I care about her, and I want to know her. Knowing her family is part of that.”

  “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.” Robert gripped his shoulder. “Apparently my sister isn’t the only one who needs to let loose a little tonight. C’mon. We’ve spent enough time warming these stools. Time to go set the dance floor on fire. Yo, Julie!”

  Gabe watched Robert saunter across the crowded dance floor to his wife with the rolling steps of someone half-inebriated. Julie was steadier than her husband, but he doubted that would last much longer. Fine by him. With three-year-old twins at home, they needed this chance to unwind as much or more than he and Annie did.

  Annemarie joined him at the table and drained the rest of his Coke before draping herself around him. She wasn’t panting, exactly, but the exertion of the dance had her breaths coming and going in a fast rhythm that had his pulse racing to catch up.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve had this much fun,” she said breathlessly.

  “Me, too.”

  “Sorry my brother and sister-in-law are already half-drunk.”

  “Why? They’re having a good time. You up for another dance, or would you rather sit this song out?”

  “I think I’ll sit this one out, but you’re on for the next one.”

  She tipped his glass back to drink the tiny pool of ice that had melted in the last minute, so he flagged a waiter. They sat in silence, enjoying the band’s cover of Tim McGraw’s “Indian Outlaw” and Robert’s and Julie’s not-entirely steady but entertaining dance moves. More than once as she watched her brother and his wife, Annie let out a quiet laugh. Shortly before the song ended, she returned her attention to Gabe with the excitement of the day giving way to a gentle affection.

  “Thank you for this,” she said. “Not just for taking me out so I could remember that I’m more than Cody’s mom or a broke wannabe rancher but also for making it so I could enjoy some time with my brother.”

  “You two are pretty close. Closer, I think, than even Lilah and me.”

  She nodded. “He’s my best friend in the world. Growing up out on Alcova got pretty lonely sometimes, and we only had each other for company.”

  “I guess that explains how you can deal with being by yourself out at your ranch.”

  “That’s a little harder than I let on.” She pursed her lips and studied him with narrowed eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why have you been so insistent on taking our relationship so slow?”

  “I told you. I want—”

  “I know what you told me, and I appreciate the sentiment, but we’re getting to a point that I’m beginning to think there’s something else. I get that you’re way more self-conscious than you need to be… but even about kissing? I don’t think that’s it, either. Not after the way you kissed me back tonight before dinner. So what is it? Are you afraid I’ll turn out to be like Leigh, that I’m only—”

  He grabbed her by the chin and dragged her mouth to his, kissing her fiercely to stem the flow of doubt. After half a second’s hesitation, she reacted in kind, sliding off her stool and slipping willingly into his waiting arms. She tasted sweet in a way that had nothing to do with the Coke, and he gave his desire a little more rein, crushing her to him and demanding more. When she gave it, he nearly lost it. Damn, the woman could kiss.

  Taking her face in his hands, he nipped at her lip and whispered less than an inch from her mouth, “Don’t ever again liken yourself to that bitch. You are not like Leigh.”

  “Do you really believe that? Because I’ve been taking advantage of you just like she did.”

  “I’m serious, Annie. You aren’t taking advantage of me. If anything, it’s the other way around. Maybe I’m so willing to help you around the ranch because I miss it. Even as much as I love what I do for a living, I miss that life. And—”

  He bit back the words. What would she think if he admitted that she and her son had proven beyond a doubt that he was tired of being alone? Tired of being asked by his family when he was planning to settle down—not because the probes annoyed him but because they reminded him that he hadn’t found the woman he wanted to make a family with. Because the one he’d thought was that woman had burned him so badly that he’d lost faith in his own judgment.

  “And what?” she pressed.

  “And I didn’t know how much I was beginning to want a family of my own until I met you and Cody. I didn’t let myself think about it, but you and your beautiful son… you’ve made it impossible to ignore.”

  “But…?”

  “Leigh screwed me up pretty good. It wasn’t about the money, as terrifying as it was trying to figure out how I was going to pay it all back without going under. But I think you know that.”

  She nodded. “I suspect she’s the bigger reason for your self-consciousness, too, much more so than your brothers. All she wanted was your paycheck—the least important thing about you.”

  She pressed a tender kiss to his lips, deepening it after a moment and combing her fingers through his hair. Delightful tingles soothed away the surge of despair, and he pulled her onto his lap. She draped an arm around his shoulders and continued to brush her fingers through his hair.

  “What I can’t fathom is how she could be so blind. If she would’ve just opened her eyes for a second….”

  He opened his eyes again, and she leaned back, searching his face with a thoughtful frown.

  “Selfishly, I’m glad she couldn’t see what I do. You’re an amazingly generous, kind, sexy, compassionate man, Gabriel Collins.” She kissed him lightly. “And if she’d realized that, you never would have given me a second thought because you would’ve had a wife to go home to.”

  “In that case… I’m glad she didn’t see what you do.
”

  He didn’t give her the chance to analyze that, sweeping her into a slow dance as the band took up a familiar song he had the feeling would forever remind him of Annie.

  My Annie. How right Thomas Sr. had been.

  She fell easily into step with him—of the two of them, she was undoubtedly the better dancer.

  “Oh!” she breathed. “That’s the song you were singing when we left Cody!”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Would you… sing it for me again?”

  He tilted his head and looked down at her with a self-deprecating twist of his lips. “Really? You want me to sing? In front of all these people?”

  “As if they could hear you over the band. Please? You have a beautiful voice.”

  He suspected he’d have a hard time ever saying no to her. With those big blue eyes that still somehow managed to exude innocence despite her hardships, she was irresistible, and everything in him yearned to do whatever it took to make her happy. Once upon a time, he’d felt that way about Leigh, but the second time around, something had changed, and it hadn’t been nearly so difficult to draw a line with her. Hell, the crack that had finally shattered the spell of their relationship had been his refusal to let her live with him rent-free. He couldn’t imagine ever giving Annie that ultimatum, and not only because he knew how hard she worked and how much she struggled despite it.

  She was what he hadn’t known to look for. Honest. Loyal. Determined. Compassionate.

  I love you, Annie.

  He didn’t dare say it. Not yet. Neither of them was ready for it, true though it might be. And he was in no more hurry to pressure her emotionally than he was to pressure her physically. He wouldn’t do to her what Tom had, what Leigh had done to him. He could’ve had a future with Jen if Leigh hadn’t shown up on his front step with a heart-wrenching story she’d known would ensnare him. Now, with Annemarie’s slender body swaying in time to the music with his and the brilliant glow of love in his heart, he was glad Jen hadn’t worked out, either—for the first time since she had walked away, rightly unwilling to put up with Leigh’s blatant advances.