Swallowing nervously, he asked, "If you were offered a position with another company would you go back?"
Glancing out the window, she sighed. "I'd have to think about it. The work was exciting and innovative, but dealing with sales people can be difficult. The opportunity would have to be tremendous and I would insist on total control. Now, all my money is tied up in the boutique."
That didn't sound like a positive - I'm never going back kind of statement Cody needed. He didn't need another woman who suddenly decided she liked the big city better than living on a ranch. He couldn't deal with the same rejection again.
No, he required assurances the woman he became involved with would stay in Cupid.
* * *
The little town of Nocona was known for making the best western boots you could buy, but Kelsey had never thought of them being a place that celebrated Mardi Gras. Yet the street was lined with people waiting to see the parade. A man walked up and down the curb, tossing out beads. Vendors peddled their wares, selling everything from Cajun food to tacos.
Kids danced around in excitement, eager for the floats. Nocona promised a family-friendly event, so she doubted they would witness the spectacles the New Orleans parade was notorious for.
"How did your dad meet your mother?" she asked. "If he grew up in Cupid and she was born and raised in Louisiana. Someone had to travel."
"My uncle use to live about five miles from me. As a child, every year, she came to visit. My mother's cousins were friends with my dad. Later, when they were in their twenties, they bumped into each other at a rodeo outside Houston."
He laughed and stared off in the distance, remembering. "You know I'd forgotten, but Dad said a group of his buddies ran around the Cupid fountain the night before he left. That part of the story had slipped my mind, until now."
"So, when are you going to dance around the fountain?"
"I'm not," he said and gazed at her.
Quickly Kelsey changed the subject. From the look in his eyes, she didn't want to know what he was thinking. This thing between her and Cody was fresh and new, and well, she wasn't certain where it would lead. Especially now that her brothers were getting into her love life. Why did they believe they could find her a husband? When the right man came along, they'd connect.
Glancing up at Cody, she gazed into his emerald eyes. His cowboy hat shaded his face from the sun and she had an urge to trail her finger down his strong jaw. Could he be the man Cupid sent to her?
No, she didn't accept the superstition.
"Do you believe in the silly Cupid nonsense?"
"Not really, though my dad met my mother right after doing the dance. Again, maybe it was just chance."
Staring up at him, she didn't dare say out loud the words ricocheting in her brain. The first man she ran into after the Cupid dance was Cody.
Suddenly a second-line jazz band with dancers twirling parasols and waving handkerchiefs came dancing down the street, followed by the first float decorated in purple, green, and yellow. The musicians played an upbeat song and the people along the sidewalk started to sway to the music.
Cody twirled Kelsey around and they danced in the road alongside the other people. As they watched the parade of floats, he pulled her in close against his body and together they caught beads, wrapping them around each other's neck.
Laughing and having fun, she couldn't resist his lips, she reached up and dragged his mouth down to hers right there in the midst of the crowd. While the decorated floats went by, he covered her lips and gave her a kiss promising so much more, but she knew that couldn't happen.
With her heart racing, her breath rapid, she stepped back, and caught more beads. Trembling, she tried to concentrate on the parade, yet the man standing beside her created a passion explosion flowing between the two of them. All she wanted was to toss the bet away and find herself in his arms once again. But she refused.
An hour later, they stood cheering when the last float carrying the king and queen of Mardi Gras came by signaling the end.
"Come on, let's get in line for gumbo," Cody said, taking her hand.
People began to disperse, some families headed home while others were just getting started. After grabbing bowls of gumbo, they sat on the ground under a big tree eating the spicy soup.
"There's a dance starting at nine we might go to. We could two-step all night and if it gets too late to go home, we can always bed down in the back of the truck under the stars," he said with a grin. "Think of it, you and me in a sleeping bag."
"Oh no," she said. We'd look at the night sky and pretty soon, we wouldn't be going to sleep. Remember, I aim to win this bet."
"And I aim to prove we don't need the bet," he said, his voice low, his emerald eyes heating her insides.
This was getting hard, very hard, to ignore his attentions. The touch of his hands, the taste of his lips, and the way her body seemed to crave him, but she would.
Looking away, needing to find something to focus on besides the hunky cowboy beside her, she glanced at the crowd, slowing her breathing, trying to regain her composure. And that's when she saw him...her brother Drew.
A curse slipped out of her mouth. "I've got to get out of here."
Turning, Cody looked to where she gazed and began picking up their paper bowls.
"What's he doing here?"
"I don't know, but Drew will be burning up the airwaves telling the others if he sees me. We've got to be covert about this," she said, watching Drew sitting with some blonde eating gumbo. "Let's sneak around the back of the building."
Drew changed girlfriends almost as often as he changed his underwear. The rotation seemed often enough, she didn't even bother to learn their names.
Reaching out, Cody took her hand. "Why don't we go talk to him. Let's forget this bet and let your brothers learn we're dating."
"No," she said, glancing up at him. "Right now, I'm not ready to deal with the drama my family will create."
"Come on, it can't be that bad. Besides, I'm on the pre-approved list, so I think they'll accept the fact we're adults and we're seeing each other."
Whirling around to glare at him, she said, "Oh yeah? Could be you should ask Ryan Jones about being my boyfriend. Do you remember the brawl in front of our house when they learned Ryan cheated on me? Because he upset me, I thought they were going to beat him within an inch of his life. A neighbor called the sheriff. Not that Ryan didn't deserve it, but my brothers think it's their job to make certain I'm treated right."
A frown crossed his face as he shook his head. "That's not a bad thing. In fact, many women would like if someone cared enough to watch over them."
"Some women. But not this woman," she sighed and put her hand on her hip. "Just once I want to do something on my own, without my siblings being involved. If you want this to work, then you're going to have to give me that chance."
Cody stood frowning, staring at her, and she could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. Finally, he grabbed her hand. "Let's go through the crowd, keeping people between us and then sneak behind that building."
"Let's go," she said.
Perhaps she was being overprotective, but for once she'd like to do something without getting the seal of approval from her family.
Chapter 6
A week later, when Cody walked through the door of Valentino's, he was surprised to see Kelsey sitting with her brothers. Now the invitation to go dancing and drinking made perfect sense.
Tonight, his friends were letting him test-drive dating Kelsey on a chaperoned date. From the look on Kelsey's face, she realized this was their plan, and she didn't appear too happy about the circumstances.
This evening could be fun.
Or it could be disastrous, though he was hoping for the best as he walked up to the table. "Hello. Kelsey, your brothers didn't mention you were going to join us. What a surprise."
Wearing a lacy western top, tight jeans, and the boots from Nocona, she looked beautiful and all he
longed to do was scoop her up and carry her home.
"Just hanging with my family," she said not at all friendly.
This cat and mouse game for her heart was really starting to bug him. And he absolutely hated the fact she refused to tell anyone about the two of them.
"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked smiling at her. "I'm going to pay for the first round and I wanted to make certain you had one as well."
She cut her eyes toward him giving him that look that he both loved and hated. A combination glance of I know what you're doing and don't even go there expression.
Picking up her beer bottle, she smiled. "Thanks, but I bought my own. Plus, I'm winking at that guy across the dance floor, hoping he will come ask me to dance."
Her words were a dig to get to him and her brothers. While he tried not to let it bother him, it did.
"Cody, why don't you dance with Kelsey?" Jim said, looking between the two of them. "That would be safer."
Oh, if Jim knew the meaning behind the looks his sister was sending him, they'd be escorting them to a church. Obviously, he didn't or he would have already stopped this foolish game.
"Kelsey, would you care to dance?"
A twinkle lit her eyes as she grinned sweetly when he took her hand. Soon they were on the floor two-stepping away from the watchful eyes of her siblings.
"Did you get over being mad at me?" he asked, knowing she'd been frustrated with him when he wanted to speak to her brother Drew at the Mardi Gras festival last Saturday.
"I wasn't angry. It's not your fault Drew showed up. Actually, I had a great time. The city of Nocona puts on a grand event. It was fun."
At least it had been until they saw Drew and then it was like a fire lit beneath her ass. They'd moved swiftly to get out of the city before they were seen.
Twirling her around, she came back into his arms, hard against him. "Can we consider this our second date? This damn bet is trouble and I'm ready to put it behind us and move on with us being together."
Moving around the floor, her brown eyes twinkled. "Can you understand for one moment, why I feel the way I do? Don't push or rush me into anything."
"I'm trying to have patience and not rush you, but your brothers weren't around that first time," he said in a low drawl up next to her ear. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
A snort came from her and she glanced up at him. "You're right. But I need to do something in my life without being in my brother's shadow. If this doesn't work, I may try bungee jumping or something equally as dangerous."
"Now, darling, I don't want you to go jumping off a bridge unless I'm there beside you."
Glancing at him, laughing as she gazed at him in astonishment. "We have fun together."
"The couple who has fun together, stays together. Speaking of, why don't you come out to dinner tomorrow night. That would be date three."
"Date two," she said breathlessly as she leaned in closer to him, pressing her body against his.
"Uh, honey, your brothers see us dancing this close and I won't have to worry about what they think about me. They'll take me outside and show me."
As they rounded the dance floor to where her siblings sat, she moved back and smiled. "That was my way of helping you realize, I'm winning this bet. Unless you want to concede now."
"No way am I conceding and we keep dating in secret. It seems like torture, but if I hold off a little longer, we date in public and you're back in my bed. A cold shower will offer me some relief tonight," he replied. "Unless you're going home with me."
Laughing, she gazed into his eyes. "Not happening."
"Can't blame a man for trying," he said.
The music ended and reluctantly they moved apart and walked to the table.
Cody pulled her chair out and she sat. The two brothers stared at them expectantly, like they were waiting on them to announce the wedding date. Maybe he could understand why Kelsey felt the way she did.
Kelsey turned to him, winked and said, "You're still that boy my brothers like to play cowboys and Indians with. What a shame my best friend from college isn't here, you two would make a perfect couple. Just think if the two of you married, I could be the auntie to your children."
Well aware of what she was doing, Cody's chest tightened. Trying to make her brothers think no connection existed between the two of them, it still rankled him. The time for subterfuge was over and he was ready to tell them, not play games any longer.
Under the table, he grabbed her thigh and gave it a squeeze, before his fingers begin to walk toward the center of her tight jeans.
Shifting in her seat, her eyes grew large and she gave him a heated glance of both excitement and fear. Smiling at her, his touch continued until they reached their destination. When Jim glanced away, she put her hand beneath the table and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched Kyle and Jim shake their heads, they believed Kelsey, so tonight he would tease and torment her all evening. At least until she gave up and went home with him.
* * *
Cody stood out in the yard anxiously awaiting Kelsey. The steaks were ready to grill, he tossed a bag salad, baked potatoes and had ice cream for dessert. He hoped she was hungry and this meal led her straight back to his bedroom.
A man could be hopeful.
A little red sports car pulled down his drive and he couldn't help but smile. The woman was gorgeous and every time he saw her his chest warmed.
Stepping out of the car, she said, "You've got a problem."
"What? What's wrong."
"Some cows are grazing outside your fence line," she said.
Cursing, he gripped his fist. Now was not the time for the dang fence to break and his new heifers to get out. His plans for a nice evening, grilling on the grill, sipping wine and seducing Kelsey just took a backseat. Chasing cattle did not induce seduction.
Those heifers were his livelihood. The thought of them getting hit by a car or causing a deadly accident, and he realized dinner must wait.
Meeting her in the driveway, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and held her in his arms. "This is not what I had planned for tonight. The steaks are marinating, a bottle of wine is chilling and the rest of our meal ready to cook. But I need to round up my cattle before they disappear or get hurt."
Reaching up, she pulled his mouth down to hers and kissed him like she missed him and he thought his chances of taking her to bed tonight increased.
With a sigh, she released his lips, her brown eyes gazing into his. "Let me help you. I've had some experience in rounding up cattle."
The idea kind of stunned him, but then he thought she was right. Her brothers didn't give her much credit. The girl grew up on a ranch and everyone participated in the roundup.
"Okay, I'll saddle you a horse."
A smile flitted across her face. "Give me a moment to put my purse in the house and grab a jacket in case it gets late."
A warm feeling filled him and he almost felt like he had a partner. Never would his ex-wife help him fix a fence or round up the cattle. She would have told him to hurry back and whined when it took him several hours.
Ten minutes later, he hoisted her up into the saddle, knowing she knew how to ride, but still a little uneasy. They took off and she commanded the animal giving her encouragement, but also strict commands. In no time, he realized she sat comfortable in the saddle.
"When was the last time you rode?"
"Last summer. It's been a while. There is something about the rhythmic movement of the saddle and the creak of the leather that I find so peaceful."
"Hopefully this won't take long. How many cows did you see?"
"At least three if not more. We better get there, darkness arrives soon."
It didn't take them long to find the hole and the cattle happily grazing on the other side.
"Start working on the fence and let me get these jailbirds back in," she said.
"You're going to herd them in?" he asked not
certain she understood what to do.
Shaking her head at him, she laughed. "Ye of little faith. Watch me. If this horse is as good as I think she is, we'll be done, in no time."
Mending the barb wire while trying to keep an eye on Kelsey was hard. No matter how he tried, his eyes returned to watching her working together with his mare to herd the animals back where they belonged. The show of good horsemanship and skills amazed him and she was right. The brothers didn't give her credit.
Soon the cattle trotted back inside and she kept them moving away from the opening. With the heifers safely on the right side of the railing, she rode back to him and climbed down.
A smile spread across his face as he watched her. "What can I say? You continue to shock me at every turn. I knew you could ride, but I didn't know how well."
"Thanks. Did you forget I was a barrel racer for several years?"
The memory of a small girl on the back of a horse racing around barrels, winning trophies returned and he smiled. At the time, she'd been nine and he was twelve and girls were a mystery.
"Yes, I completely forgot. Today you and the horse worked well together."
"Let me help you," she said and walked over to the fence. "I'll hold this side while you make the necessary repairs."
For a moment, Cody didn't know what to think. The woman continued to surprise him. No woman had ever fit into his world like Kelsey. And she was a good helpmate, which he'd never experienced before.
But did she still want to return to Dallas?
* * *
Kelsey rode her horse into the barn and dismounted. Bone aching, drained and sore, yet she'd enjoyed working with Cody. No, this evening hadn't gone as planned, but the ride invigorated her and reminded her of the joys of country living.
And they had worked well together, which made her ache with the need to be closer to this man who caused her heart to leap each time he glanced at her.
She began to uncinch the saddle and remove it from the animal. Chasing after the wayward heifers she put the mare through her paces, leaving them both exhausted.
Cupid's Dance: Western Small Town Contemporary Romance (Return to Cupid, Texas Book 3) Page 7
