by McCoy, SJ
***
Missy sat in front of the mirror in her dressing room. This really was the best birthday ever. She'd had a great time with the girls, getting pampered. It had been far too long since she'd done that. Now she was getting ready for her party. Dan had gone out to collect Scotty a while ago. How could she ever have hoped to find a man who would be so close to her son that he apologized about leaving her to go and help him and his friend before they came home? She didn't mind one bit. It had given her time to take a long soak in her tub. She'd even had a glass of bubbly in there as she'd sat and stared out at the lake. Life was good. So very good.
She was applying her mascara when she heard Scot come bounding up the stairs, followed by Dan. Scot came into the dressing room and started to laugh when he saw what she was doing.
He looked at Dan. “She always sticks her tongue out when she does that.”
Dan smiled at her. “I know, and I don't even know why she does it. She doesn't need makeup, she’s beautiful.”
“You should see some of the other stuff she does to look beautiful,” said Scot, laughing again.
Missy wondered what he was about to give away.
Dan's eyes were twinkling now. “Really? Like what?”
“She pulls her eyebrows out!”
Missy laughed, remembering Scot's face when he'd seen her plucking her eyebrows. As a male, and a very logical one at that, she had not been able to make him understand it.
“Isn't that weird?” he asked Dan.
“No.” Dan smiled at her. “It's not necessary, but it's not weird.”
“Not necessary?” She laughed. “If I were to leave them to grow wild for a couple of months, you'd understand how necessary it is. I'd look like something from Planet of the Apes!”
Scot laughed, but Dan ran a hand over his face. “Do I look like something off Planet of the Apes? I'll shave it off before we go out.”
Missy was horrified. She loved his scruff. He was gorgeous clean-shaven, but there was something even sexier about him stubbly. “Please don't! You look like you with your stubble. You look like you're trying to be someone else when you shave it off.”
There went his beautiful smile again. “I'm so glad you get it. That's how it feels to me, too.”
She smiled back at him, looking into those big brown eyes.
“Enough sappiness guys!” said Scot. “Are you going to put your angel costume on so we can see it?”
“No. You're going to go take a shower and put your cowboy clothes on. I'll see you downstairs.”
She really wanted to walk down that grand staircase in her costume and see their faces.
“Come on, champ,” said Dan. “She's not going to show us ’til we're ready. Let's go get you that hat, and get showers.”
Scot grinned. “I'm going to be cool as a cowboy, Mom. Dan's letting me wear one of his hats to go with that shirt you got me.”
“I know. I can't wait to see. You go get a move on, while I finish up here.”
Scot went off to take his shower and Dan came to stand behind her chair. He bent to drop a kiss on her shoulder, then met her gaze in the mirror. “It's going to be a great night, Miss.”
It would be a great night, even if she never moved from this spot. She could lose herself in those eyes for hours! “It is. I'm so looking forward to it.”
“Not as much as I am,” he said with a mysterious smile. He dropped another kiss on her neck, leaving her with hot shivers racing down her spine as he turned and left.
***
Dan stood in the hallway with Scot, waiting for Missy to appear. He felt more comfortable than he would have ever believed he could be going to a party. Everything about this felt right. It was all for Missy. He was going with her and Scot. They would spend the evening hanging out with people whose company he enjoyed. No one would give him a hard time if he didn't say much, yet with them, he found he usually did have something to say. He was comfortable in his own skin these days. He was definitely comfortable in these clothes. He'd brought them with him when he'd driven back from San Jose. He was wearing black jeans and a black denim shirt, and these black boots were the comfiest he'd ever owned. He'd dug out an old silver belt buckle too and had brought another one for Scot. He'd been a little surprised by the shirt Missy had bought for the kid to wear—a plaid thing that had made him look more like a hillbilly than a cowboy. He'd bought one himself at a big outfitters outlet store on his drive back to the lake. He smiled at Scot now, the shirt was almost the same as his own, and Scot loved it. He'd gotten him some boots too, so now the two of them were dressed almost identically. The kid was thrilled.
“Are you nearly ready yet, Mom?”
“Nearly,” Missy shouted down the stairs. “My halo's all wonky!”
Dan smiled to himself. “I'd leave it,” he shouted. “A straight one wouldn't suit you anyway.”
He heard her laugh. She sounded so happy. He looked up and his breath caught in his chest as she appeared at the top of the stairs. She looked more beautiful than he'd ever seen her.
“Wow, Mom!” he heard Scot sa.
He couldn't find any words of his own as he watched her come down the stairs. Her outfit was shorter than anything he'd seen her wear before. She might be small, but she had the longest legs. The outfit was a shimmery gold color. It clung to her, showing off her plump breasts. Little wings peeked over her shoulders and when she turned, he saw a barley covered, shimmery gold backside. He shifted his hands in his pockets. The feelings she was arousing were far from angelic.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she smiled at them. “Now that's what I call a pair of good-looking cowboys!”
Dan grinned. He couldn't drag his eyes away from her breasts. “Now that's what I call a pair of....”
She slapped his arm and pointed at her eyes with a laugh. “I warned you, cowboy! Up here!”
He met her gaze with a smile. “Sorry, beautiful.”
“Hey, Mom! Do you like my shirt? It's the same as Dan's. He got it for me.”
Dan had been concerned that she might be cross with him about it.
“I love it, son. It's miles better than the one I found. You look great.”
Dan felt his heart expand in his chest as she looked back at him. “So do you, Danny. Just great!”
From the look in her eyes and the way she looked in that outfit, he would gladly have forgotten all about the party. The way her halo tipped over to one side, it seemed to be teasing him to find out how naughty a beautiful little angel could be.
“Can we go now?” asked Scot, pulling Dan and Missy back into the moment.
He gave her a regretful smile. “I think we better, while we still can.”
Scot threw a puzzled look back over his shoulder as he headed for the door. Missy took Dan's hand and squeezed it. She knew what he'd meant.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dan sat out on the upper deck of the Boathouse. The party was off to a good start. Missy was inside catching up with some of her old school friends. He'd stayed by her side and she'd introduced him to them, but she'd sensed his discomfort. She'd made it easy for him, like she always did. Instead of making him stay, which he would have done for her, she'd asked him if he'd mind leaving them alone for some girl-talk. He'd gratefully obliged.
Chance appeared out of the shadows at the top of the back steps up to the deck. Dan grinned. He'd wondered whether Chance would really come.
“Hey, Dan.” He came and sat down at the picnic bench. “How's it going?”
“It's going great. She's happy.”
Chance nodded. “She is. It's not just the party that's making her happy though. It's you.”
Dan was relieved that Chance was articulating his approval. “Your dad gave me his permission to ask her. I'd like yours too.”
Chance looked him in the eye. “That's not how it works. You don't need my permission.”
Dan shrugged. “Technically no, I don't need it. I'm asking because I want it. What do you s
ay?”
Chance smiled, the tension completely gone from his face for once. “I say you've got it. My permission if you want it, but you've also got something more than that.”
Dan was puzzled. “What's that?”
“My respect. I told you, in my book respect is earned, not just given. Watching you this last week, seeing you with Miss, and with Scot, you've earned my respect, Dan. I'll be proud to call you brother, not just bro.”
Dan nodded. He had no words that could come anywhere near expressing how much that meant to him.
Ben came to the table with a bucket of beer. “Thought you might be needing these.” He looked at Chance. “And I thought you might want a heads up that the gang are on their way. Pete and Holly just arrived with Michael. I saw Jack's truck pulling in, so that's him, Emma, Smoke, and Laura. And a few of your old buddies are downstairs, talking about coming up when it fills up a bit.”
Dan saw Chance glance back towards the dark stairway from where he'd appeared. Dan of all people understood the desire to escape from too much company.
Chance caught his eye. “Are you going to do it tonight?”
He nodded.
“In that case.” Chance plucked a bottle from the bucket. “Thanks for the warning, Ben, but I'm not going anywhere.”
Ben grinned. “Glad to hear it. I'll catch up with you in a little while.”
Once Ben had gone, Dan said, “I might not ask her ’til we get home. I don't know what to do yet. I don't want you to stick around for that, and then me not have the nerve to ask her here.”
Chance shook his head. “Doesn't matter to me when you ask her. It's not that I need to see it. I just know tonight is going to be one of the happiest nights of her life. I want to be a part of it. Have her remember that, for once in her life, I was part of something good. I was there.”
Dan nodded. He could understand that.
***
“Damn, Miss! Look at you,” exclaimed Jack as he leaned down to hug her. “Happy Birthday! You look great. Though I have to say, angels looking like you could get devils in trouble!”
Missy laughed as Emma pushed him away so she could get a hug herself. “Hey, hon. You look great.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but I look good. You look great. As the size of my husband's eyes proves!”
Jack hung his head and gave Emma a sad puppy dog look. “Am I in trouble, baby?”
Emma laughed. “Not at all. In fact, why don't you stay here and admire Missy's costume a while longer?” She was looking over Jack's shoulder as she spoke. “I've just seen your brother and I need to go say hello.”
“To Dan?” asked Jack, looking behind him.
“I think she means my brother,” said Missy with a laugh as Emma disappeared into the crowds who had started to arrive.
Jack's face was a picture as Emma caught Laura by the arm and led her out to the deck. Once there she pecked Dan's cheek and then threw herself into Chance's arms.
Jack turned back to Missy. “I think I preferred it when she was running scared!”
Missy laughed. “We both know you don't mean that. You love that she's got her confidence back, and you're the one that gave it to her.”
He grinned. “I know. It is great.” He glanced back to where Emma was clinging to Chance's arm as she gazed at him adoringly. “But it does ding the old ego a bit to see that. I mean, we're all dressed up as cowboys, and some of us can pull it off, but your brother there is the real deal.”
Missy shook her head at him. “It'd take more than that to dent your ego, Jack. And look, Dan isn't daunted by him. In fact, the two of them have really hit it off.”
Jack nodded. “Isn't that cool?”
Missy nodded happily. “You have no idea how cool that is for me, and looking at the two of them together, you'd think they'd both come straight off the ranch. You Benson boys must have some cowboy in your blood somewhere, cos you can both pull it off. Unlike you!” She turned to Pete who had just joined them with Holly at his side, and Michael and Smoke in their wake.
Pete's eyebrows came down. “Unlike me what? What have I done now?”
“It's what you've not done, Hemming,” said Missy with a laugh. “I'm just saying you're not cowboy enough.”
Holly put a hand on Pete's shoulder and waggled her eyebrows. “Oh, he's cowboy enough, Miss. Why do you think we're late?”
Pete wrapped an arm around Holly. “Yeah, my fiancée is thinking about starting a 'Save a Horse' campaign!”
Missy put her hands over her ears and started to hum loudly.
Jack laughed. “Enough already! We don't need to know!”
Holly laughed and tugged at Pete's hand. “Come on. Let's go meet Missy's brother. See if we can get you any tips from a real cowboy. Catch up with you later, Miss.”
After making the rounds a couple of times, Missy needed to sit down for a while. She was loving the party, loving the attention. She really did feel like the birthday girl in her costume, she'd had so many compliments about how good she looked. What she loved most was finding Dan watching her whenever she'd looked outside to where the gang was sitting. The way he'd catch her eye and give her an encouraging smile. They'd had to pull two of the picnic tables together out there to make room for everyone. As usual, Dan was sitting on the end and she headed straight for him. Chance, who was sitting next to him, shifted up to make room for her to sit between them. She happily slid in between her two favorite men. She was very pleasantly surprised when Dan turned to sit sideways and folded both his arms around her.
“Are you having fun, beautiful?”
She nodded and leaned against him. “How about you, are you doing okay?” She knew this wasn't exactly his comfort zone, but he did seem to be enjoying himself.
“Couldn't be happier,” he murmured into her hair.
She turned to look up at him inquiringly. “Honestly?”
He smiled. “Well, honestly, I'm hoping I will be even happier later.” He rubbed his nose against hers. “But that will depend on you.”
The tingly excitement rippled through her as she thought of ways she could make him even happier later.
“What do you say, Miss?” asked Ben. “Do we need to reinstate this as an annual tradition?”
Missy nodded. “I'd love to. What do you all think?”
“Definitely!” said Emma.
“You can put my name down for next year,” said Smoke.
Missy smiled at him. He seemed like a good guy, and was certainly easy on the eye. She hoped he and Laura might hit it off, if they ever got the opportunity to spend some time alone together.
“If you're coming, then maybe we should make it pilots and flight attendants,” said Holly.
“Can we stick with cowboys and angels?” asked Chance. “That way I can enjoy the views and feel at home.”
Dan laughed and held Missy a little tighter. “That one gets my vote too. In fact....” He cocked his head to listen as the band played the first few chords of a new song. “They're playing it now. Come dance with me?”
Missy took hold of his hand and followed him out onto the dance floor. She looped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. He rested his hands at her waist. As she pulled him closer, his hands slipped down and closed around her ass cheeks. She looked up at him, shocked.
His eyes twinkled. “It's the only place to put them, Miss. I don't want to damage your wings.”
She couldn't help but smile back at him. He looked so pleased with himself. Her eyes widened as he held her closer, pulling her against his arousal. “Dan! Everyone can see!”
He brought his lips to her ear. The feel of his words against her skin had her clinging to him, just to stay upright. “I keep telling you, beautiful. You've gotta dance like nobody's watching.”
She looked deep into his big brown eyes. She was starting to think he was trying to tell her something whenever he said that. “What does that mean to you, Danny? To most people it just means don't be afraid to act like a goof
ball if you're having fun. That doesn't sit right with you though.”
His gaze was so soft. “You're right. It does mean something different to me. It's more about being brave enough to do what you really want to do. Even if it doesn't fit what everyone expects of you. Even if it doesn't fit what you would expect of yourself. When I was a junior in high school, we had a formal dance. I really wanted to go. No one expected me to go, or to be able to dance. I was making myself miserable, cos I wanted to go, but I thought I'd mess up and make a fool of myself if I did. I made myself so miserable that Jack was worried about me. When he found out what was wrong, he told me I needed to figure out a way to do what I really wanted to. He helped me. He went to all kinds of dance classes, cos I was too shy to go. He would come home and teach me what he'd learned in this big old barn near the house.”
Missy smiled at the thought of Dan and Jack as boys, dancing together. “Did you go to the dance?”
“Yeah, and a lot of the girls wanted to dance with me. I was that good by then. The point is, I wanted something that it didn't seem logical for me to want. Dancing didn't seem to fit with who I was, but I wanted it anyway. Once I stopped trying to only do the things a guy like me is supposed to do and started doing what I wanted to, I got good at it. It changed my life. I learned about confidence and I learned about trusting myself. I believe I became a better person, because I became a stronger person.
She smiled as he closed his hands tighter around her ass.
“Being with you is the same thing, Miss. I wanted you so badly, even though on paper we don't make any sense. I wanted you anyway. I didn't think I was the kind of guy who could fall in love with a woman and start hoping and dreaming about forever. Once I stopped focusing on who I thought I was supposed to be and started going after what I really wanted, that's exactly what happened.”
She drew his head down ’til his lips were an inch away.
“I love you, Missy. Please be my forever,” he murmured before his mouth came down on hers.
There was nothing clueless about his kiss. He explored her mouth, tongues tangling. They clung to each other as they kissed. And danced. Like no one was watching.
