Yeah, okay. So, that was obviously the problem.
Pushing all thoughts aside, she concentrated on the guest of honor, laughing, eating, joking with the others. And if her gaze strayed to the guy’s table and lingered on a certain sheriff, then it was just a coincidence, but acceptable since they were still supposed to be a couple. The knot in her stomach tumbled. He looked tired, and haggard, and she longed to touch him and ease the tension from his body. And hers.
Cripes. She was such a Kade whore. But, damn, her body had blossomed under his touch and gone without for far too long. Being in the same room, so close, her good parts tingled to life and need slammed into her, hard. Dammit.
Did he feel it, too?
As if sensing her, his gaze lifted, and for a wonderful moment their connection sizzled, tripping her pulse. But then his expression closed, and she could no longer feel his warmth, just a stark, cold reality. She shivered and rubbed her arms.
An hour and a half later, with food, games and presents all checked off the list, including a bandana wrapped box full of rubber rattlesnakes for Connor, Brandi made the mistake of thinking the party was over.
She should’ve known better when there were McCalls involved.
“Okay,” Jordan said, rising to her feet once more. “Now it’s time for some joint fun. Since there’s an even number of guys and girls, we’re going to do some fun couples games. Sorry, Kevin and Shayla, yes, this means you’ll have to put your differences aside and get along for the next half hour.”
They weren’t the only ones.
Her gaze met an apprehensive gray one. Yeah, he was thrilled, too.
“Ah hell. Can’t you give a guy more of warning? I would’ve brought my cup,” Kevin stated, amusement lighting his blue eyes as he grinned at the redhead.
Shayla groaned and stood. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I need to go check on my daughter anyway.”
“Oh no you don’t.” Kerri jumped to her feet and blocked the exit. “Mom just texted and said all of the children were just fine. So relax. Besides, it’s only one game. And it’s not even really a game. More of a…” She paused as Jordan bought out a covered tray from the kitchen then lifted the lid to reveal Kerri’s famous stuffed strawberries.
No. She couldn’t do it. Not a…
“Joint dessert,” their host finished.
As everyone oohed and aahed, Brandi and Shayla groaned.
“So, girls, grab your strawberry, and guys, grab your girls and enjoy,” Jordan finished with a smile.
“I just remembered,” Kevin said. “I’m allergic to strawberries.”
The redhead snickered. “Figures.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That you’ve still got your panties in a bunch.”
No one moved—or breathed—as everyone watched the exchange, then raised their brows when the cowboy strode to the tray, plucked a strawberry and gently placed it in Shayla’s opened mouth.
“I’ll show you bunched panties,” he stated just before he cupped the woman’s face, bit into the strawberry, and kissed her shocked employee, long and thorough and slow.
“Damn,” someone said.
A second later, people were grabbing strawberries and partners and sharing a very hot cold dessert. A stuffed berry was shoved into her hand. Oh boy. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of finally sharing the decadent dessert with Kade.
He stood in front of her, staring at the strawberry, then her mouth. Heat flooded her body in a wave of need too big to withstand. She swayed forward, unsure how to proceed. God, she couldn’t kiss him. She’d never stop. And she couldn’t not kiss him, not without tipping their hand.
Heart pounding in her chest so loud she swore they could hear it in the next county, Brandi watched as Kade lifted the dessert to her mouth and slowly leaned in. Heaven help her, she wasn’t going to survive.
As the strawberry touched her lips, his radio went off.
He stiffened, dropped the dessert into her hand and stepped back. “Got to go.”
Disappointment flittered through his gaze dark with longing, and a pain so fierce it hit her like a physical blow. She sucked in a breath and stumbled slightly, grateful no one had witnessed her lapse.
A moment later, he was gone. That was the second time a stuffed strawberry went unshared between them.
“I’ll tell ya, buddy, I can hardly believe the day is actually here,” Connor said, standing in front of a mirror at Wild Creek, doing a piss-poor job of knotting his tie.
Kade watched his friend fumble for another minute before he took pity on the guy. “Come here. Let me do it before you choke yourself.”
The groom twisted around and dropped his hands. “Thanks. I’m all thumbs today. I just want everything to go right for Kerri. She deserves a perfect day.”
He nodded, making quick work of the knot. “And it will be. My deputy helped plan everything. Trust me. Things will be great.”
Connor’s chuckle filled the downstairs guest bedroom the groom and his groomsmen were using since the bride and her bridesmaids were upstairs in the couple’s new suite. “True, Jordan’s certainly whipped my brother into shape.”
“Hey.” Cole rose from a chair, frown disappearing into a broad smile. “You’re right. She did.”
Kevin stepped to his boss and slapped his shoulder. “Would that be with, or without, handcuffs?”
As the younger McCall’s smile broadened, his cousin’s disappeared. Kade snickered along with Connor. Never a dull moment. His buddy slipped into a black suit jacket and turned to check in the mirror.
“Damn.” A lop-sided grin tugged the groom’s lips. “I don’t clean up half-bad.”
“Which means you don’t clean up half-good, either,” Kevin pointed out, to which Connor flipped him the bird. “I’ve no idea what Kerri sees in you.”
His buddy’s expression turned serious. “Me either. But I’m one lucky son-of-a-bitch. It just takes the right woman to make you see it. Ain’t that right, Kade?”
Heart rolling in his chest, he nodded. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about the right woman. He knew he had been lucky to have her, but he also knew Brandi deserved a hell of a lot better. Still, it didn’t mean it didn’t rip his guts out every time he saw her face.
“So, are you going to be the next one to take the plunge?” His friend smiled.
Now his rolling heart ceased in his chest. Christ. Would the ache ever stop? He forced thoughts of pain from his mind and lips into a smile. “Let’s just worry about you today, buddy. You got the rings?”
Connor nodded, then patted his pocket, a panicked expression crossing his face as he patted the other one. “The rings! Where are the—”
“Relax, bro. I have them, remember?” Cole came up behind the groom and handed the cowboy his Stetson. “It’s all good.”
Stiffness melted away and an easy grin crossed his buddy’s face. “Okay, then. Let’s go get me hitched.”
As he stood outside on Wild Creek soil, staring at a make-shift gazebo similar to the one used at Cole’s wedding, decorated in white and purple, Kade mentally braced himself for the onslaught of emotions he knew were heading his way.
Brandi.
She was scheduled to play a song during the wedding, but not at the beginning. Right now, the march sounded from the speakers set up around the backyard. Which meant…he had to escort the beauty down the aisle.
Touch her.
Breathe her.
Be near her.
Christ. He just had to get through this day. One day. He could do it. Wouldn’t be near as tough as that damn stuffed strawberry at the bachelor party a few days ago. Hell, that had sucked. The temptation of tasting the hot, sweet, incredible woman again had been too much. And, Jesus, he’d certainly failed that test.
Thank God Old Charlie had decided to hit the road again.
“Here we go.” Kevin twisted around to wink at him as Brock met Jen in the aisle, held his arm out then walked down
the white runner leading to the gazebo.
With Cole standing up front with Connor, Kade paused to appreciate the momentous occasion. It had taken a few decades and a couple of missteps, but one of the county’s most eligible and beloved bachelors was about to officially be taken off the market. It did his heart good to see his best friend so happy and utterly content. This still left his cousin to hold up the reins, but Kade knew there were several unhappy women crying in their beers today.
“We meet again,” his cousin said to a beaming Megan as he held his arm out to the Californian bridesmaid and escorted her down the aisle.
Steeling himself against threatening emotions, Kade set his shoulders and smiled at Brandi as she hooked his offered arm and stared up into his face with those fathomless eyes, brown gaze open and warm and full of all the things he didn’t deserve.
God, she was beautiful. In a knee-length dress of deep purple that hugged her ample chest and flared out at the hips, she took his breath. How he got down the aisle he didn’t know, only that he did, because they were miraculously in the correct positions when Jordan walked past and everyone stood to catch a glimpse of Mr. Masters approaching with the bride.
Wearing a white lace dress with purple rose accents, matching white and purple flowers in her hair, and a pair of purple cowboy boots, Kerri positively glowed. Her blissful expression was soft and sweet and exuded so much love for the cowboy waiting for her at the end of the aisle it was nearly tangible enough to touch.
His buddy’s indrawn breath had Kade turning to see emotions brighten the cowboy’s eyes and puff out his chest as adoration and love emanated from his brown gaze. Bittersweet, the happy emotions warmed his heart, yet intensified the hollowness in his gut. Life would be so much easier if he just didn’t feel.
And in front of family and friends, he watched his best friend marry the woman of his dreams in a ceremony he admittedly only half heard, thanks to the pounding in his head.
It had started before he’d walked Brandi down the aisle, then manifested as the beautiful woman played an incredible piece on the violin—the one he’d given her to replace the bow he’d broken. He hadn’t expected her to use the violin, too, although, when he’d seen the used instrument in the music shop where he’d gone to buy a bow, he knew…he knew the violin belonged with Brandi.
And hearing her play, watching her handle and hold the instrument as if it were an actual person she loved and cherished with all her heart, had touched something deep inside him. For a brief, wonderful moment he’d felt warm and good…and whole, as if he was the instrument.
Then reality set in when he’d caught a glimpse of Shayla and the fatherless baby sitting in the back row. He’d condemned the innocent child to a life without her father. Sergeant Nylan would never walk Amelia down an aisle. Loved? Fuck no. He didn’t deserve to be loved. Not when the little girl would never know the love of her father.
Thanks to him.
And an hour later, as he stood behind the bride and groom, staring down into Brandi’s sweet, accepting face, he told himself he didn’t deserve the warmth of her kiss, or the love in her touch he was forced to endure in front of family and friends.
When he drew back, intent on getting away from feeling, she grasped his arms and squeezed.
“Are you okay?”
He was so fucking sick of hearing that damn question.
“I’m fine,” he said, pulling free to go to his seat, and repeated the words in his head for most of the evening.
He’d laughed and toasted, danced and smiled, made all the motions necessary for his best friend to have a great celebration without him ruining the night. But now his friend was getting ready to leave on his honeymoon, and Kade was nearly home free.
“You sure you can handle things here while I’m gone?” Connor asked his smiling brother.
Cole nodded. “I’m sure. You just worry about yourself and your pretty bride.”
“Will do,” the cowboy said, happy gaze turning serious as he glanced from Kevin back to Cole. “You’ll take care of that thing we talked about earlier? ‘Cause if you need me to—”
“We got it covered. Now go. The jet is fueled up and scheduled to leave in two hours,” Cole stated, apparently needing to reassure his pigheaded brother the ranch wouldn’t fall apart without him while the two honeymooned in the Caribbean for a week.
Connor turned and shook his hand. “You take care, and thanks for today.”
He laughed, more than confused by his buddy’s sudden touchy, feely moment. “No thanks necessary. I’m very happy for you and Kerri.”
He meant it. And would be happy when he could leave and get away from such a caring environment, and the woman he loved so close and so willing—
Shit...
His heart crashed into his ribs. No. He didn’t want to love Brandi Wyne. Didn’t want to feel. Didn’t want anything to do with the beautiful, giving woman he did not deserve.
“You okay, buddy?” Connor grasped his arm and frowned down at him.
Son-of-a-bitch. The damn question again. He inhaled and forced his jaw to relax.
“I’m fine, but you won’t be if you miss that flight.”
His buddy’s gaze cleared. “You’re right.” Connor winked, then picked up his squeaking bride, slung her over his shoulder and lumbered from the party.
Downing the last of his cola, Kade mentally relaxed. The bride and groom had gone. He was free to leave now. And, oh hell yeah, he was out of there.
After saying goodbye to the Masters and McCalls, he was almost through the living room when Brandi cornered him.
“Kade, wait,” she said. “I haven’t had the opportunity to thank you.”
He reeled back. “Thank me? For what?”
“My violin.”
A sweet smile stole across her lips and interfered with his pulse. He clenched his jaw and shook his head.
“Jesus, don’t thank me for that. I don’t deserve thanks. You shouldn’t have needed it. If it weren’t for me—”
Warm fingers pressed against his mouth and cut off his words.
“If it weren’t for you, I would never have had the opportunity to play something so sweet and beautiful and perfect.” Sucking in a breath, she lifted her chin, a sheen of tears evident in her eyes. “So just stop it right there. I don’t want to hear it. I know you didn’t mean to break the bow, but I’m glad you did. That’s all I wanted to say.” She released his mouth, and a lone tear streaked down her face. “Except that I love you, and I miss you. And I know you feel the same way.”
“Brandi, don’t.” His voice was low and rough because, hell, he was barely holding it together. “I have to go.” Grabbing her arms, he picked her up and moved her out of his way, then strode toward the hall.
Would the nightmare ever end?
“Hey, Kade, there you are,” Cole said, walking toward him. “Would you mind coming with me for a minute. There’s something I need your help with.”
Ah hell.
He let out a breath and nodded. Probably something to do with the ranch. The guy had a billion dollar software company to run. No doubt cattle didn’t fall into the scheme of things.
“Sure,” he said, walking into Cole’s home office.
He was a little surprised to find his cousin leaning against the desk. Maybe it was company business he needed help with? He turned to ask, then stopped dead when the younger McCall leaned against the closed door as if guarding it.
“You might want to sit for this, Kade.” Cole motioned to one of the plush leather chairs in front of his desk.
With his head beginning to really pound, he folded his arms across his chest and stared the guy down. “I’ll stand. What the hell is this about?”
“You, you idiot,” Kevin replied, straightening from the desk. “This is an intervention, cuz.”
His arms dropped to swing at his sides. “A what? You’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me.” He strode to the door. “Get out of my way, Cole. Now.”
&n
bsp; The only movement the younger McCall made was a slight lift of his chin. “No. You need to hear your cousin out.”
“I don’t need to do shit. I’m the sheriff, and still on duty.”
“My wife will handle any calls that come in. Now sit down.”
Wrong answer. He swung, Cole blocked, but wasn’t ready for the right hook that followed.
“Son-of-a—”
The guy body checked him, but Kade’s training kicked in and he remained upright. Barely. Jesus, Cole was strong.
“What the hell? Kade, cut it out,” Kevin said, grabbing him from behind, and helping his buddy bring him to the floor.
Kade shook off his cousin, and scrambled to his knees, but McCall knocked him back down.
“Get the fuck off me,” he growled.
“Really, Kade? You’re not that stupid, are you?” Kevin said. “You think we want to do this? You’ve left us no choice. You’re just lucky Connor isn’t here. We had to badger him to get him to leave. But if you keep this up, I’ll call him back.”
He stilled.
Is that what the cowboy had meant about taking care of the thing? Christ. Was he the thing? He hated that his friends were worried about him. Didn’t want to be a burden to anyone.
“I’m fine. Why don’t you all just give it a rest?”
“You are far from fine,” Kevin said, sitting up and resting his back against the nearby couch, gaze intent and dark with worry. “You don’t sleep, barely eat…hardly work with the abused horses anymore. Christ. You love those horses. You would never abandon them. Ever. For you to do so now means you are so far from okay you’re not even on this planet. Brock had to take over the care of that mare. And then there’s this.” His cousin waved a hand at their friend. “You’re not violent, Kade. So how the hell do you explain this odd behavior?”
He closed his eyes and sighed, torn between the urge to continue to fist fight his way out of the room, and reassuring his cousin and friend that he was fine.
Her Uniform Cowboy (Harland County Series Book 3) Page 25
