Dance with Me (Cowboys of Crested Butte Book 2)

by Heather Slade

  Why hadn’t he? Because he wanted to have crazy, loud, anywhere-he-wanted-to-have-it sex with her. That’s why. He didn’t want to be confined to a hotel room, where she didn’t feel comfortable, or they had to worry about someone hearing them.

  “I don’t like hotel rooms. I spent too much time in them when I was on the circuit.” That was another thing, he didn’t have sex with Renie, they made love, and it wasn’t something he wanted to do in a hotel room. He’d had too much sex in hotel rooms.

  “Are you officially retired, Billy? I haven’t paid much attention to circuit news.”

  Billy hadn’t announced it yet, but word was out that Billy was raising his kid, whose mother had died. As much as he didn’t want to ride saddle broncs anymore, he didn’t want to face the gossip and small-mindedness there would be out on the circuit. It was time he made the official announcement.

  There was a Bose dock for an iPod in the family room. Billy set his phone in it, scrolled through his music and hit play.

  “Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin,” played through the speaker and Billy put his arms around Renie. “Dance with me, darlin’.”

  Renie melted into him and let him dance her around the room.

  “I love havin’ you in my arms, feelin’ your body up against mine.” His lips trailed down the side of her face, to her neck. She arched back and Billy continued his way down her shoulder. He unbuttoned her shirt, then pushed it off one shoulder so his lips could touch more of her skin.

  He moved her across the floor, to the bedroom, moving her shirt off her other shoulder as they went. Instead of dancing her to the bed, he backed her into the wall, pushing her up against it, while his hands found the zipper on her jeans. He unfastened them, and pushed them over her hips, to the floor.

  He wanted her there, where she was, up against the wall. He wanted to feel her legs wrapped around him, clinging to him. He wanted her to need him, to hold her, to love her, to remind her that he was the man for her. The only man for her. The only man who knew every inch of her, and how to make her feel better than she ever had before.

  “Billy,” she whimpered.

  He grasped her thighs, and she put them around his waist. When he slid inside her, she gasped.

  “Tell me, Renie, tell me how much you want me.”

  “You know I do, Billy. I want you so much.”

  “Only me, Renie. Tell me I’m the only one you want.”

  “Only you.”

  “Say my name.”

  “Billy…”

  “Who do you love?”

  “I love you, Billy,” she cried out.

  “I love you, Renie,” he answered.

  He laid her on the bed, and she watched as he took off his clothes. He stretched out next to her and turned her face toward him, staring into her eyes.

  “Renie?” he said softly.

  “Yeah, Billy?”

  “I didn’t use a condom.”

  “It’s okay. We’re okay.”

  “How are we okay?”

  “I’m on the pill, Billy. I have been for a while.”

  16

  They made love again, and again. Billy was frantic in his need for her. She put her hand on his chest, over his heart, as he moved over her again, pushing her legs apart with his.

  “Billy, stop. We have to get back to the house.”

  “Don’t wanna. I need you, just you, just us.”

  She pushed against his chest with both her hands. “Billy, stop.”

  He stopped. “I can’t lose you.”

  She moved her hands to his face. “You won’t.”

  “Do you swear that to me? That there’s no one else. Is that something you can swear to, Renie?”

  She sat up and moved so she was next to him, instead of under him.

  “Did you hear me? Did you hear what I asked you?”

  “I’m here with you, Billy. I wouldn’t be if there were someone else.”

  The look on her face made his heart stop. He’d gotten carried away in his need for her, his need for her reassurance. He’d never felt this way before. He’d never cared about anyone enough to need reassurance from them. He hated this feeling.

  “Come on,” she said. “Let’s take a quick shower before we have to leave.” She smiled, and pulled him to the bathroom with her.

  “Yeah? You gonna let me get you clean, Renie?”

  She smiled. “Yes I am, right after you get me dirty again.”

  They were late to dinner, but Ben and Liv didn’t seem to notice. Luke greeted them at the front door and threw his arms around Renie’s waist.

  “What’s going on, Luke? It’s hasn’t been that long since you’ve seen me.”

  “I know, but I missed you,” he answered, glaring at Billy when he did.

  “You remember Billy don’t you, Luke?”

  “Yeah, hi,” he said, not making eye contact with Billy.

  Billy reached out his hand to shake Luke’s hand, and Luke turned his back on him. Renie grabbed his shoulder. “Luke, that wasn’t very polite.”

  Luke turned back around and shook Billy’s hand. “Hi,” he said again, but still no eye contact.

  Jake stood off to the side, but approached Billy when he heard Renie admonish Luke.

  “Hi, Billy,” he said, and made the first move to shake his hand.

  “Hey, Jake—wow, that’s quite a grip you’ve got there, buddy.” Billy pulled his hand out of Jake’s grasp.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Liv shouted from the kitchen. “Boys, go wash your hands.” She looked at Renie and Billy. “You two can sit down, almost everything is on the table. Ben will bring in the rest.”

  “I take it I’m on the Rice boys’ shit list,” Billy whispered to Renie.

  It took Renie a minute to realize he was talking about Jake and Luke.

  “What was that puzzled look on your face all about? Who’d you think I was talking about?”

  She had no intention of telling him she thought he was talking about Jace.

  Renie’s prediction had been correct about how Ben’s two sons would react to news that soon they would have a little brother or sister. Both of them were overjoyed, and Luke had a million questions. He told them he thought Liv was too old to have more babies, just as his own mother told him she was.

  “Never at a loss for inappropriate commentary, are ya, partner?” Ben laughed.

  Liv laughed and kissed the top of Luke’s head. “He’s being honest. Nothing wrong with that.”

  Billy was distracted throughout dinner, and nobody missed it.

  “What’s going on with you two?” her mother asked when she and Renie were cleaning up the kitchen.

  “He’s bringing Willow here, for Thanksgiving.”

  “He is?”

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I should have asked first.”

  “Don’t be silly, you don’t need to ask. In fact, Ginny and I were talking about Thanksgiving a few days ago. Ben and I will be happy to host it here. I’ll invite Dottie and Bill. They usually host a big dinner for the ranch hands, so I’m not sure they’ll be able to make it, but it sure would be wonderful if they could.”

  Liv said she planned to invite Paige and Mark too, and asked Renie how she felt about inviting Blythe.

  “Are the two of you speaking yet?”

  “Why wouldn’t we be?”

  Renie hadn’t thought about Blythe at all. Which made her a terrible friend, but they’d gone weeks without talking before, how was this different?

  “She’s hurt and confused that you never told her about you and Billy, and she feels bad about asking you to fix her up with him.”

  “Oh. I hadn’t thought about that.”

  There was so much she hadn’t thought about in the last eight months, much of which involved other people’s feelings. How many other people had she inadvertently hurt?

  “I’ll call her tomorrow. I feel awful about it. It hadn’t occurred to me that Blythe would be upset.”

  “You’ve
been living in your own little world the past few months, and I suppose you’ve been entitled to it.” Liv sighed. “We’re used to you being the strong one in our little patchwork family. It’s been difficult for us to get used to how different you’ve been.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom.”

  “Don’t be. What I’m saying is that we need to cut you some slack and let you show your emotions, the same way the rest of us do.

  “Speaking of Thanksgiving, did you see the postcard that came from Jace?” her mother whispered.

  “No, I didn’t. Where is it?”

  Liv pointed at the stack of mail on the kitchen counter. “You might want to look at it later, when Billy isn’t around.”

  “By the way, he’s not going back right away.”

  “He’s not?”

  Billy joined them in the kitchen. “What are you two jabberin’ about?”

  “Thanksgiving. My mom is asking your mom and dad to join us. Paige and Mark, too.”

  He wrapped his arm around Renie’s waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “We’ll all be back together again.”

  “We’ll do it here. Maybe your folks can get someone else to host Thanksgiving back at your place. They’ve been doing it every year for as long as I can remember.”

  “They’ll figure it out. They’ll want to be here.”

  Liv picked up the phone to call Dottie, saying she was anxious to get the plans in the works since Thanksgiving wasn’t that far off.

  “You ready to leave?” Renie asked him.

  “Whenever you are. No rush.”

  “Why don’t we challenge the boys to a game of foosball, and let them win. Maybe they won’t be…”

  “As mad at me?”

  Renie laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

  “It’s sweet how they’re so protective of you.”

  “I’ve been wretched to be around these last eight months, Billy. T

  She’d been wretched? Hearing so made him happy. If she was miserable, it had to have been because she missed him as much as he missed her. If it hadn’t been for Willow keeping him distracted, he would’ve been wretched too. In fact, he probably had been. He hadn’t seen many people while they were apart, so there wasn’t anybody to call him out on it.

  “Not sure how I’ll be able to stand being away from you again.”

  “I can’t come to Monument, Billy. I’ve committed to working at The Goat for the season, and we’re getting busy already.” It was an excuse. She could take time off if she needed to, but it would cause a hardship for the rest of the staff, so she wasn’t being completely dishonest about it.

  Billy knew it, too. But, he didn’t say anything and Renie was glad he didn’t.

  “What should we do tomorrow?” he asked.

  “I have to work tomorrow night, but during the day we can do whatever you’d like to do.”

  “Hmm,” he said, pulling her closer. “I can come up with a couple ideas to keep us busy.”

  “I’d like to ride Pooh again. I missed her so much.”

  “How come you didn’t—”

  “I couldn’t.”

  “What?”

  “As long as she was with you I knew I’d have to talk to you again someday.”

  “I felt the same way.”

  “Why did you bring her here?”

  It had been a really hard decision, he told her. He had hoped things would work out as they had, although he never dreamed they would work out this well.

  “If you refused to talk to me, maybe I would’ve trailered her back to Monument.”

  Two days later Billy told her he was thinking about going home. They agreed to talk on Facetime, and Billy showed her how to use it on her phone.

  “As long as we both have a cell signal, we can see each other whenever we want,” he told her. “Maybe you could talk to Willow on it, too.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Renie was shutting down again, he could sense it. The last few days had been heavenly. They’d spent every moment together. He’d even gone and hung out at The Goat while she worked. Until the last couple of minutes, it seemed like old times.

  “Not today,” he said.

  “What?”

  “I’m not going back today.”

  “Wait. Why not?”

  “Because you still need me here.”

  “You can’t stay here forever, Billy.”

  “Willow is in good hands, happy as can be, and you’re not. So I’m not leaving yet.”

  “It’s okay—”

  “No, it isn’t okay. I’m not leaving until I know, in my heart, you won’t shut me out of your life again.”

  She wanted to tell him he was wrong, that she’d be fine if he went home. But he was right. As soon as he said he was thinking about leaving, she started to freak out about how hard it would be for them to be apart again. She did need him with her, and although she knew he had to get back to Monument, back to Willow, she was thankful she’d have another day or two with him.

  “What about after Thanksgiving?”

  “After? You mean Christmas?”

  “No, in general.”

  “I don’t know, Renie. We have to wait and see how things go. We’ll keep talking, that’s the important thing. Keep talking, keep communicating, and keep making sure we’re on the same page.”

  He sounded so…adult. He had changed in the last few months, more than she had. He’d grown up. But, he hadn’t left her behind. Maybe that was one of the things she’d been worried about. Billy was so much older than she was. What if he woke up one day and realized she was still a kid? She felt like one, whether he saw her that way or not.

  She quit college, gave up her dream of being a vet. She worked as a wrangler at a dude ranch for the summer, and now she was waitressing in a bar. Even to herself she sounded like a kid who didn’t know what she would do with the rest of her life. How could she expect anyone else to view her differently?

  Her mom called Dottie and made arrangements for her and Bill to come to the ranch for Thanksgiving. Dottie promised to come early to help, since Liv had never hosted Thanksgiving before. She also invited Paige and Mark, and said she hoped Blythe would join them.

  “All set?” Renie asked when her mom hung up from the second call.

  “They’re all staying here, we have plenty of room. Oh, and Dottie is ordering turkeys and having them sent directly here.”

  “Is that a thing?”

  Her mom shrugged her shoulders. “I guess so.”

  “Did she say anything about Willow?” The words came out, without her planning to say them.

  “You sure you want to know?”

  “No, but I asked anyway.”

  “She’s fine.” Her mom paused. “I want you to know that I’ve seen her. More than once.”

  “I know, Mom. I eavesdropped on a conversation between you and Dottie. I was mad at first, and hurt, but now I see how silly that was.”

  “Are you ready for this?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know. I won’t know until Billy brings her here.”

  “You’ve agreed to it, though. That’s a step in the right direction.”

  “I know. I wish I could explain the way I feel, but I can’t because I don’t understand it myself. I’m sure everyone thinks I’m a spoiled brat, unwilling to share my boyfriend with his daughter.”

  “No one thinks that, Renie.”

  “I don’t believe you, Mom. If it were Blythe doing this, I’d be all over her to straighten her shit out. It’s like my head knows I need to, but my heart won’t let me.”

  “This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” Billy said. “I wish I didn’t have to go home.”

  “It’s okay. I’m happy you stayed as long as you did.”

  Billy was feeling better about the two of them, so when he hit the seven-day mark, he decided to go home. He’d be back, with Willow, in less than three weeks.

  His parents were coming to Crested Butte on Mond
ay, but he wanted to come the Friday before, so he and Renie had time alone with his daughter. He made arrangements to rent the same place he was staying in this week, that way if Renie was feeling too uncomfortable, or overwhelmed, he and Willow wouldn’t be staying in Ben’s house. She could escape if she felt the need to.

  “You’re being so great about this, Billy. I don’t think I could be as great about it as you are.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re so patient with me. If I were in your shoes, I’m not sure I would be.”

  He put his hands on each side of her face and looked into her eyes. “You are one of the two most important people on the face of the earth to me. I’ll do anything, anything, to make this work. I can be patient. But, I can’t be away from you for very long.”

  Renie watched Billy drive away from the ranch house. She stood outside long after she couldn’t see his truck. A feeling of loss hit her almost instantaneously, along with a feeling of dread. The next time she saw him, Willow would be with him. She prayed she didn’t react to the baby the same way she had the first time she saw her.

  “You should call her instead of showing up unexpected,” Tucker said to Jace while he was packing his bag. “Give her some notice.”

  “Why?”

  “Well mister cock-sure-of-himself, maybe she’s moved on. Got another guy.”

  “Okay, I’ll call her. After I get home.”

  Tucker and their parents were staying on two more weeks, but they’d be back in Aspen in time for Thanksgiving. Jace was hoping he could talk Irene into coming to his parents’ house for the holiday. If she wouldn’t, he planned to finagle an invite to Ben’s instead.

  Renie pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, knowing it was Billy calling. As she hit the answer button, she glanced at the screen. It wasn’t Billy, it was Jace.

  17

  “Hello?”

  “Irene! Hi, it’s Jace. How are you?”

  “I’m good. How are you?”

  “Happy to be back in the States.” Closer to you.

  “I…um…wow. I didn’t expect to hear from you.”