Elly laughed when she looked at Maryanne.
“What?”
“You should see your nose. You look like Rudolph.”
“Hey, I’m outside and haven’t frozen stiff yet. I’d say that’s an accomplishment.”
“True.” Maryanne hadn’t fled back to L.A. as the temperature had started to dip, earning her respect from the entire Cody clan. “There’s Dusty. Maybe he’ll keep you warm.”
Maryanne waggled her eyebrows before gently nudging her horse forward. “I like how you think.”
Elly chuckled. But the chuckle faded when she scanned the crowd and saw all the happy couples. Walker and Paula chatting with friends. Dex and Josie sitting on the tailgate of Dex’s truck since he still couldn’t ride after blowing out his knee. Dusty and Maryanne looking all googly-eyed at each other. Even Elly’s parents sat side by side astride their mounts. She tried not to think about how it might just be for show, to keep the gossip at a minimum. Because Elly suspected people were talking. At the very least, the rest of her brothers and their better halves had found out. Things had been really strained the past couple of days with no one coming right out and talking about it but doing a lot of avoiding of the subject and their father.
But the situation with her father and Mark wasn’t what was weighing down her heart right now. It was an unfamiliar loneliness born of watching the glances and loving touches between the couples. She felt alone in a sea of people. For the first time in her memory, she didn’t even have Janie to talk to during the trail ride.
They still hadn’t talked, and Elly wasn’t sure how she felt about Janie keeping secrets from her. On one hand, had she done any better when she’d found out about the affair and hadn’t talked to Janie about it? On the other, Janie had known for months—months in which they’d spent a lot of time together. Whether or not she was being fair to Janie, she was still hurt by her best friend keeping such a secret. There were too many secrets coming to light. She hated them all.
Elly stared out at the Greybull as it rolled over its rocky bed. In warmer weather, people fished it for its genetically pure Yellowstone cutthroat trout, but now it looked cold and uninviting—as if it was hurrying to reach a warmer climate. If she wasn’t in the midst of make-or-break time in the rodeo season, she might be tempted to do the same.
The sound of hooves clomping up the trail from the pasture where everyone had parked their trucks and trailers drew her attention. When the man coming into view raised his head, she couldn’t believe whose face she saw below a chocolate brown cowboy hat.
Will’s gaze met hers and he headed straight for her. She didn’t move, struck by how incredibly good he looked in faded jeans, scuffed boots and a tan ranch coat. To think he used to be a spindly boy too allergic to horses to even go near them, let alone ride. Now he looked made to ride a horse. Heaven help her, but he caused her heart to beat double time.
“Howdy, ma’am,” he drawled as he tapped the front rim of his hat.
She laughed. “I’ve heard of cowboy poets, cowboy cooks, but never cowboy lawyers.”
“I’m a man of many talents.”
A flush of warmth made her resettle herself, causing Jasmine to take a side step. Elly experienced an instant conviction that Will was, indeed, good at many things. She tried not to think where some of those things might take place.
“I didn’t know you were riding today,” she said.
“I always wanted to do this when I was a kid. Better late than never, right?” he asked with a wink.
What was the man trying to do, make her melt? How would she explain that to everyone when it was thirty-three degrees?
As if to remind her that she wasn’t in a balmy, tropical locale oozing with longing, a gust of wind laden with snowflakes chilled her cheeks and caused her to lift her collar to protect her neck.
Jesse emerged from the crowd and headed down the trail that wound along the river. Other riders fell in behind him, typically in pairs. Her heart ached for Jesse. He took so much responsibility on himself when he too was trying to concentrate on doing well in the upcoming Finals. As she watched him riding away, it struck her that she wasn’t the only lonely one following the Greybull today.
“You okay?” Will asked.
But she wasn’t lonely anymore, was she?
“Yeah.” She guided Jasmine into the middle of the line, several people back from her mom and Anne’s best friend, Edith Lancaster, and well away from her father. That left the rest of her brothers to fall in farther back. Most everyone had been on this ride before, but her family still took their responsibility for keeping everyone safe seriously since they were on Cody land.
Will guided his mount into line next to hers.
“Where’d you get the horse?” she asked.
“Framingham Stables. Delia got me a good deal.”
Elly couldn’t help laughing a little. “Yeah, because lawyers have to watch their pennies.”
“Maybe we have other things we’d rather spend them on.”
Elly looked at him and felt his words had some sort of deeper meaning, something tied to her. Either something was in the air today or she was slipping off her rocker. She didn’t shake her head even though she wanted to, instead directing her gaze to the west.
“Think we’ll get real snow?” Will asked.
“Nah. Mother Nature is just teasing us today.”
“Just like a woman.”
She eyed him. “Careful. You might find yourself taking a really cold bath in the river.”
He responded with a dramatic shiver. “Then you’d have to save me.”
Elly half expected him to suggest she’d have to warm him up, too, but he didn’t. Probably a good thing because she wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t agree on the spot. His presence today was making her skin tingle, almost as though he was finally really focusing on her fully. That attention was so much more powerful than what he’d paid her before. Something had changed.
They rode in silence for a few minutes until they reached a wider, higher part of the trail and Will steered his gray gelding off to the side. He sat staring out across the valley, his eyes seeming to miss nothing.
Elly stopped, admired the image he made there. She pulled her camera from the bag that kept it thickly insulated against the cold. As quickly and quietly as she could, she lifted it and shot several photos before he turned in her direction. And one more even though she typically didn’t take shots of people facing her. They never seemed as real or honest as profiles and silhouettes.
“With the views here, there’s got to be something more interesting to take photos of,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips.
Not really.
“Nobody’s safe from the camera.” She tried to sound teasing, flip, and wasn’t able to tell if she succeeded. She turned and took several shots of the line of people approaching where they sat and then some of those who were farther along the trail as it followed a bend in the river up ahead.
“I’d forgotten how beautiful it was here,” Will said, reflecting the wonder she often felt while staring across the land, no matter how many times she’d seen it.
“Yeah. I can’t imagine any place on earth being more beautiful.”
He looked at her. “So during all your travels, you’ve never been tempted to relocate?”
“Considering what I mostly see in those places are horse barns and arenas, no.”
“Good point.” He smiled, making Elly focus on his lips. Would they be chilled by the snowy air or warm and welcoming?
She jerked on Jasmine’s reins a little harder than necessary. “Better catch up with everyone else.” By now, the entire line of riders had passed them by, leaving them to bring up the rear of the column.
“It’s nice riding back here,” Will said as he fell into place beside her. “Leisurely.”
And she only had to hide how he was making her fidgety from him and not a bunch of neighbors who knew her perhaps too well for a mask to work.
“How are your practices going?” he asked after they’d also rounded the bend in the river.
“Well. I wish I could just go compete tomorrow instead of having to wait.”
“Impatient?”
“Just ready. Waiting for something I want to do so badly is torture.”
“I know the feeling.”
The way he said it made her look over at him, only to find him watching her with an intensity that made her want to leap onto his horse with him, kiss him silly and then have him wrap his arms around her as they rode on.
She swallowed and searched frantically for a response. “What about you? Do any of your outdoor activities in the winter?”
“I’ve done some winter backpacking and camping, some skiing, but have to admit I like the other seasons much better.” He looked out at the frigid surface of the river. “And I have no desire to try kayaking anywhere in the state of Wyoming until, oh, say, June.”
“Wimp.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Wimp, huh? How about you join me for some mountain climbing in the spring and we’ll see who the wimp is.”
“You’re on.”
The idea that spring couldn’t come fast enough bounced around in her head as the string of riders crossed the river and started making its way back to the starting point.
“So, how are you liking living in Cody?” she asked.
“It’s nice. More choices than Markton, obviously.”
She laughed. “Hard to be less.” Markton had its own charm and would always be home, but sometimes one wanted more dining options than the Sagebrush. “You don’t miss Denver?”
“Parts of it, sure. I have friends there. Would definitely be easier to make a living in a city that size. But living here has its benefits, too.”
The way he looked at her made Elly think maybe she was one of the benefits in his mind. That thought caused happiness to spread through her like a warm current.
When the ride came to its conclusion and riders made for their trailers, Elly panicked. She didn’t want the day to end. Well, it wasn’t ending because the barn dance that always came after the ride still lay ahead, but she didn’t know if Will would be there. She’d opened her mouth to ask him when Maryanne and Paula rode by.
“Elly, your friend knows about the dance, right?” Maryanne asked, a mischievous look on her face.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Will said to Maryanne. When he looked back at Elly, the bright look in his eyes warmed her chilled skin.
“Guess I’ll see you later, then,” she said. Before she made a blithering fool of herself, she kicked Jasmine into a trot and headed for home.
It wasn’t until she came within view of the homestead that she realized she’d been with Will for several hours and not once thought of Mark Hansen or Will’s involvement in the situation.
Maybe she didn’t have to hold herself away from what she wanted more every day after all.
THE BARN DANCE WAS BY no stretch of the imagination a formal affair. Still, Elly locked herself in her room and changed into clean jeans and a bright aqua shirt, things that didn’t smell horsey. She washed her face and applied a smattering of makeup, just enough to give her pale complexion a little color.
After brushing out her hair, she considered leaving it down. But that seemed like too obvious a gesture. Sure, she wanted to figure out if Will was really interested, but she didn’t want the entire barn full of people wondering what was up. After all, she hardly ever wore her hair down. So a fresh ponytail it was, even if she did use the curling iron to add a little extra femininity to the end.
She slipped a pair of silver hoop earrings in, then stood straight to examine her appearance in the mirror, wondering if Will would like what he saw.
Only one way to find out.
She heard the band begin to play as soon as she stepped outside. People were still making their way from their vehicles, and she joined the stream heading inside.
“Going to save me a dance, Elly?” Chester Goodlaw asked her as she walked in next to him.
Chester, who was eighty if he was a day, was nonetheless as cute as he could be.
“I always save room on my dance card just for you.” Elly leaned over and kissed him on his cheek, weathered from many decades of riding the range in all kinds of Wyoming weather. Chester’s family, like her own, had been in Wyoming since the territory had more Shoshone residents than white settlers.
Elly adopted a casual demeanor as she made her way through the crowd, chatting with neighbors and accepting good wishes for her upcoming ride in Denver. When she arrived at the refreshment table, her mom poured her a cup of punch.
“You look pretty, dear.”
Elly shrugged. “Just cleaned up a little.”
“Wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain young man, would it?”
Elly took a drink while she tried to come up with a response.
Anne laughed, and the sound lifted Elly’s heart. It amazed her that her mom could still find joy in teasing her about a man when her own husband’s actions should have destroyed any belief she’d ever had in romance.
“Have to say that boy grew up very nicely,” Anne said.
Elly decided not to deny it and said, “Yeah.”
“Go ask him to dance.” Anne pointed toward the far corner of the barn. “He’s back there talking to your brother.”
Elly spotted Will with Jesse and her heart dropped.
Surely they weren’t discussing the case here, among all these people.
“Go on,” her mom urged.
Elly gulped down the rest of her punch and placed the empty cup on the table. “I owe Chester a dance first.” Without waiting for her mom to say anything else, she started weaving her way through the guests.
Instead of making her way to Chester, however, she edged along the back of the crowd surrounding the dance floor, not making eye contact with anyone. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk. Laughter, music and the thump of boots on the wooden dance floor that had been pulled together for the occasion filled the barn.
Elly found a less populated spot and leaned against the wall. She watched as the couples spun around and two-stepped like pros to the band’s enthusiastic playing of new and classic country tunes. She wanted to be among them—with Will.
She couldn’t see him and Jesse from where she now stood, and maybe that was best. The pang of loneliness she’d experienced before the trail ride swamped her again. Not just for a man, but for the life she’d led before her world had tilted on its axis. And for Janie. Her absence weighed heavier now than it had even on the trail ride. Everything was just…wrong. And Elly was left feeling like she was grasping for something, anything to hold on to.
“May I have this dance?”
She almost thought she’d imagined the request, but when she looked to her side, there stood Will with his hand out, waiting for hers. The oddest sensation of being a princess at a ball enveloped her as she placed her hand in Will’s and let him lead her into the whirl of dancers.
“So, lawyers dance, too?” she teased.
He leaned close to her ear. “Men dance when there are pretty women to dance with.”
Elly loved the delicious warmth those words sent through her.
Will proved to be a good dancer, which made him even sexier. Even if he’d been atrocious, Elly didn’t think she’d care. Just being this close to him and having him touching her was enough.
No, it wasn’t enough. But she wasn’t going to demand or hope for anything more because fate might decide she was greedy and take away this bright spot in her life.
One song led into another, and Will didn’t show any sign of freeing her for any other partners. Her heart swelled at the same time her commonsense brain was telling her not to read too much into the situation.
After one song ended, Chester pecked on Will’s shoulder. “Hey, pup. You’re hogging the prettiest girl in the place, and this little lady owes me a dance.”
Will handed her off t
o Chester with a smile and a wink for her.
“Got it bad, do ya?” Chester asked as she watched Will pair up with Delia.
Elly returned her attention to her dance partner. “Just being neighborly,” she said in a halfhearted attempt at denial.
“Uh-huh. My eyes ain’t that bad yet.”
Elly realized Chester wasn’t the only one who’d noticed when she glanced toward Will. Delia played at wrapping her leg around him then laughed her infectious laugh.
Elly’s brothers didn’t look as amused. Walker, a veteran of the war in Iraq, stared at Will like he wanted to toss him in a dungeon and try some interrogation tactics on him. Dex and Dusty just looked as if they wanted to put the fear of God in him. She didn’t dare try to find Jesse in the crowd.
They all made her want to scream. When the song ended, she thanked Chester for the dance then made her way toward Will, not caring what anyone thought. She was an adult, and she could dance with whomever she wanted to.
“I kept him warm for you,” Delia said as she backed away from her boss.
Heat suffused Elly’s cheeks.
“I’m going to dock your check for being ornery,” Will said.
“No, you won’t.” With a little wave, Delia sashayed her way through the crowd, her shiny, deep-red bob swaying.
The band struck up a slow song, and Will wasted no time pulling Elly into his arms, close. He was indeed warm, causing her to want to wrap herself in him. He smelled so deliciously male—musky, simple with a hint of the Wyoming outdoors. She found herself stepping even closer, inhaling, nearly laying her cheek against the fabric of his cream-colored shirt.
She closed her eyes and let him lead her, focused on the feel of his larger, calloused hand clasping hers, felt his breath atop her head.
She caught her brothers’ stares a couple more times, including the dark look on Jesse’s face. But Will seemed oblivious. That or he just didn’t care. That possibility caused a ridiculous amount of happiness to well up inside her—a welcome sensation since so much of her life was turned upside down.
Toward the end of the dance, Will leaned close to her ear. “Can I walk you back to the house?”
Elly: Cowgirl Bride Page 7
