“It looks like you’ve done that before,” I said, finally making my presence known.
Connor turned around, looking a bit shocked.
“Damn, Emily,” he said. “You scared me. I didn’t know you were standing there.”
I giggled and then stepped closer to him.
“Sorry,” I said. “I was just watching you do your thing.”
Connor smiled and then motioned me to come closer.
“Come here,” he said. “I’ll show you what I’m doing.”
I walked into the barn, following Connor to one of the horses.
“This one’s Willy,” he said. “The other one is Nelson. I’m sure my dad told you that, though. He thinks it’s the funniest thing ever.”
I laughed and nodded, watching as Connor knelt down next to Willy, grabbing his front hoof and lifting it slightly off of the ground.
“Sometimes, their shoes get all messed up and bent,” he said. “And you have to take them off and re-form them before you nail them back on. A horse can get hurt pretty easily if its shoes aren’t fitting correctly.”
I knelt down next to Connor, watching as he put the horseshoe back onto Willy’s hoof. He then attached it with some tiny nails, hammering them in one-by-one with a small hammer. Within a couple of minutes, he was done.
“And there you go,” he said. “Good as new.”
Connor stood up from the ground and dusted his knees off. I noticed that the top few buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his muscular chest.
God, he’s gorgeous...
After a moment, I broke my gaze from his incredible body and looked into his eyes once again.
“So, I’m sure you heard the news...” I said.
Connor placed an arm over Willy’s back and leaned against him.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “My dad told me this morning about his proposal to your mom. It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?”
I nodded in agreement.
“Yes,” I said. “I’d say so. It all seems kind of sudden.”
Connor shrugged and then responded, “Yeah, I suppose. But sometimes you just know when it’s the right thing.”
He gazed gently at me as he spoke, melting me with his beautiful blue eyes. After a moment, he continued.
“But you know what’s really crazy about the whole thing?” he said. “You and I...we’re going to be step siblings.”
He shook his head as a disappointed expression suddenly crossed his face.
“It just figures,” he said. “I randomly meet the most beautiful girl ever, yet I’ll never even be able to take her on a date because she’s about to become my stepsister.”
He turned around and started walking toward the other side of the barn. He was clearly upset about the situation and I guess I couldn’t blame him. I felt the same way.
“Connor,” I said. “Wait.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me. I approached him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.
“I completely understand where you’re coming from,” I said. “It seems like life always gives us a glimpse of what could be possible, but never lets us actually have it.”
My words seemed to resonate with him. He locked eyes with mine, nodding in agreement as he listened.
“But that doesn’t mean we have to just write off our feelings,” I said.
I started thinking about what my mom had told me earlier that morning, about following your heart no matter what.
Connor faced me completely and placed his hands on my hips, gently pulling me toward him. We gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment and then he brought his hand to my chin, cradling it with his fingers. I thought for sure that he was going to kiss me. But to my surprise, he didn’t.
“Gosh, I would love to kiss you right now,” he said, quietly. “But it just wouldn’t seem right.”
I wrinkled my eyebrows at him, suddenly confused.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, it wouldn’t seem right kissing you but having never taken you out on a date before,” he said, as he flashed his boyish smirk.
I smiled coyly and felt myself begin to blush. Nobody had ever spoken to me so sweetly before in my life.
“I guess we could probably make that happen,” I said.
Connor nodded and immediately responded with, “We’re going out tonight then. I’m going to take you dancing.”
Yes!
I was so excited to hear it, but then I instantly thought of my mother and Richard.
“That sounds really fun, Connor,” I said. “But what about our parents?”
Connor shrugged as he responded.
“Well, I guess I don’t really want to upset anything between my dad and Mary,” he said. “So tonight’s date is going to have to be our little secret...”
Chapter 9
So there I was, standing in the guest room and digging through my suitcase, looking for something cute to wear for Connor and I's "secret date". I had to admit, that still felt a little weary about the whole thing. If my mom found out that I was going to be going out on a date with my stepbrother, or soon-to-be stepbrother as it were, then she would have flipped out. But my gut told me to go with him. And like my Mom said, I should always listen to my gut.
It was strange for me to feel so attracted to someone. I mean I think that I had felt that way about my ex-husband at some point, maybe when we first met. But even so, this felt a little different. Every time I saw Connor, butterflies would release into my stomach and a tingly feeling would fill my body. I started to think that maybe it was the very first crush I had ever experienced in my life.
It's just too bad that it has to be kept a total secret...
I got to the bottom of my suitcase and pulled out a cute, black skirt. I decided to wear that, along with a white tank top. I didn't bring my whole wardrobe by any means, so the outfit was going to have to make do.
After stripping down to my panties, I quickly got dressed and then made my way over to the mirror to check myself out. The outfit looked cute, hugging my small curves just right. I turned to the side and pushed my chest out, pulling the shirt down slightly at the same time in an effort to reveal as much of my cleavage as possible.
I hope Connor likes the way I look...
I stopped myself mid-thought.
No, Emily. No... I said to myself. You can't think like that. You're going out on a friendly date with him, that's all. You're not trying to impress him and you're not going to fool around with him...no matter what.
I had to do everything in my power to keep myself from doing anything physical with Connor. It was tough, though. It was like my mind was having a back and forth battle with itself. One minute, I felt like just letting go and becoming physical with him. And then the next minute, I'd think of what my mother's reaction would be if she found out. It was horrible. My mind was complicating the things that my heart was telling me.
"Just go out with him and have some fun," I whispered to myself, as I gazed at myself in the mirror. "Exercise some self-control, Emily."
I sighed and then shook my head, trying to get rid of the naughty thoughts that were sneaking into my mind. I thought back on earlier that morning when Connor had almost kissed me in the barn and the memory caused a moist heat to present itself in my crotch.
"Fuck..." I said, as I turned away from mirror and stepped back to my suitcase. "I've got to stop thinking about him like this."
I reached into my suitcase and pulled out my perfume, pumping a few sprays of it onto my chest. Then I grabbed my brush and ran it through my hair a few times, before glancing at the clock.
It was 9:45. Connor and I had agreed to meet out by his truck at ten, after our parents had gone to sleep. Since I was ready to go, though, and I was pretty sure my mom and Richard were already in bed, I stepped out of the room and made my way outside.
The moon was bright overhead, illuminating my way as I walked toward the barn where Connor's truck was parked. He
was already sitting inside of the truck, the window open and his arm hanging out. He was wearing a black cowboy hat and a white and blue flannel shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. He looked over at me as I approached.
"Hey there," he said, in his deep and sexy voice.
"Hi!" I squealed, like an excited little girl.
Connor started the truck and I ran around to the passenger side, hopping up into it.
"You ready to go have some fun?" Connor asked.
I nodded eagerly, but then felt the need to state a disclaimer.
"Yes, let's go have some fun," I said. "But we need to be good."
Connor raised an eyebrow as he looked at me, as if he didn't know what I was talking about.
"Don't look at me like that," I said, playfully. "You know exactly what I mean."
He chuckled and then put the truck in drive, pulling slowly away from the house before turning on his headlights.
"I feel like I'm sixteen and sneaking away from home," I said, laughing.
Connor laughed with me, as he turned onto the main road. He then pressed on the gas, picking up speed. I rolled down my window, letting the cool air flow through my hair.
"So, where are we going?" I asked, over the sound of the wind.
Connor glanced over at me, flashing his boyish smile.
"Well, unless we want to drive two hours, there's really only one place we can go," he responded. "It's the only bar in town. It's called, “The Horseshoe”. But it's actually a lot of fun. I think you're going to enjoy it."
Chapter 10
After a twenty-minute drive, we pulled up to a single-story building in the middle of nowhere. Out front, there were a lot of cars and motorcycles parked and as soon as we neared the building, I could hear the country music coming from inside.
"This is it?" I asked.
Connor pulled into a parking spot and turned the engine off.
"Yep, this is the horseshoe," he said. "The one and only."
We stepped out of the truck and Connor took my hand, walking side-by-side with me as we stepped into the bar. The building was completely filled with cowboys, cowgirls and motorcycle riders. The country music blared and I looked to the opposite side of the room, where there was a large dance floor with people line dancing in perfect unison. A smile crossed my face immediately and I squeezed Connor's hand.
"Line dancing?" I cried. "I've never done that! Will you do it with me?"
Connor nodded and smiled. "Of course. I'll show you how. But let's get a drink first."
We stepped to the bar and Connor shook hands with the bartender. It seemed that they knew each other, which didn’t surprise me too much. Everybody always knows each other in small towns.
"What would you like, Emily?" Connor asked.
I shrugged and responded, "Whatever you're having."
I should have probably just told him that I wanted a beer, because a few seconds later, he turned around with some shots of whiskey.
"Whiskey?!" I stated, my eyes widening.
Connor shrugged, "You said you wanted what I was having."
I laughed and we held the shot glasses up in the air, clinking them together. Then we swallowed the fiery liquid down. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, though, and a minute later we both took another one.
I might as well cut loose tonight. I'm on vacation, after all.
After Connor and I drank our shots, I grabbed him by the wrist and said, "Come on, let's dance."
Connor nodded in agreement and then we stepped away from the bar. On the way to the dance floor, we passed a group of bikers, all covered in leather and tattoos. I felt one of them reach down and squeeze my ass. At the same time, he looked toward Connor, yelling, "Are you going to fuck this, cowboy? Cause if you aren't, I will."
Connor stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the man. There was anger in his eyes, an expression unlike anything I had ever seen in him before.
"Did he just touch you?" Connor asked, bringing his gaze to me.
Connor looked like he was ready to kill someone and I didn't want to see a fight, so I shook my head and lied.
"No," I said. "He's just drunk and talking nonsense. Let's go dance."
Connor gave the biker an evil glare and then turned around, leading me out to the dance floor. Within a second, his attitude went back to normal and we stepped into the group of people who were line dancing.
"Okay," Connor said. "So you want to start out like this."
He then hopped in line, showing me how to do it.
"Come next to me," he said. "Just follow what I do."
We started line dancing and I found that it actually wasn't too difficult. I just followed Connor's lead and looked at the other people who were dancing, emulating their movements. It was so much fun!
We danced for a couple of country songs and by the end of it I pretty much had it down. But I was ready for another drink and a quick break, so I grabbed Connor's hand.
"You want to take five?" I asked.
Connor nodded and we stepped away from the dance floor and back toward the bar. The bikers were still standing there and I instantly noticed the one who had grabbed my ass before. He was tall and muscular, and every inch of his visible skin was covered in tattoos. On his face was a thick, black beard and both of his ears were pierced, adorned with silver earrings. I looked away from him, but as soon as we neared, he stepped up to me and grabbed my ass again, right in front of Connor.
Connor noticed immediately and stepped between the man and I.
"You mother fucker," Connor said, as he got in the guy's face.
He then grabbed the stranger by his shirt and stepped forward, pressing his back into the bar. Immediately, people started yelling and screaming.
"A fight's breaking out. Fight!!!" the people in the bar shouted.
Connor looked into the guy's eyes and I could see fear coming from the man. Their faces were just inches apart as Connor lifted his free hand in the air, forming a fist.
"If you ever touch her again..." Connor growled, as the music stopped and the crowd got quiet. "I will find you and I will fucking kill you. Do you understand me?"
The stranger looked at me and then back to Connor. Then he nodded nervously.
"Yeah, man," he said. "I'm sorry. I don't want any trouble, bro."
Connor held him by the shirt for a moment longer and then finally released him.
"I'm not your bro," Connor said. "Now get the fuck out of here. You and your friends."
The biker then turned to his buddies and a moment later, they all walked out of the door with their heads hung in utter defeat. I listened as they started up their motorcycles and rode off.
"Oh, my God," I said, as I approached Connor. "You're insane."
Connor chuckled as he ordered us more drinks.
"No, I just don't want anybody touching you like that," he said. "I’ll protect anybody that I care about. Nobody messes with me or my own. Nobody.”
Chapter 11
Connor and I danced for at least another hour and then we left the bar, making our way back home. I still had a nice little buzz going from the whiskey, but I wasn’t drunk at all. I guess all of the dancing kept the alcohol from going to my head.
I had a smile on face as we drove. I kept thinking about what had happened at the bar, with Connor protecting me from the biker. That guy was much bigger than Connor, but still, it didn’t seem to matter. Connor wasn’t afraid to get in his face and show him who was boss.
Of course the incident make me feel even more attracted to Connor. It made me feel so safe around him and I loved the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his own safety for me.
I looked over at him as we drove. He had one hand on the wheel and the other out the truck window. His black cowboy hat was tilted slightly to the side as he leaned his head back, relaxing into the seat.
“Look at the sky,” he said, pointing upward. “The stars are out tonight.”
I looked out the windsh
ield, where a sea of stars blanketed the night sky. It was beautiful. It was a view that was impossible to find in the city.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said.
Connor looked over at me and then placed a hand on me knee.
“It’s an alright view,” he said. “But not nearly as nice as the one I have right here in the truck.”
I smiled at his compliment. It was a little cheesy I’ll admit, but it was also very sweet. I placed my hand on top of his as we pulled into the driveway.
“Wait,” I said. “Stop the truck. I don’t want to go home quite yet.”
It was only midnight and mom and I had been planning on driving back home the next day, so I wanted to spend as much time with Connor as I possibly could.
Connor turned off his headlights as he stopped the truck. Then he put it in park and turned off the engine. I watched as he opened the truck door and stepped outside.
“Come outside,” he said. “You should see the stars from out here.”
I stepped out of the truck and we both walked toward the back. Connor hopped into the bed of the truck and then held out his hand, helping me up. In the back were two hay bales.
“Have a seat, my lady,” Connor said, playfully.
We both sat down on the hay bales and then leaned our faces toward the sky. The stars were breathtaking. I wouldn’t have been able to count them all if I had tried.
A cool breeze kicked up from the cornfield nearby and I crossed my arms, shivering.
“You cold?” Connor asked.
I nodded as my teeth began to chatter. He immediately wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close to him and warming me up an instant.
“I really had fun dancing with you tonight. And I wanted to say thank you for protecting me at the bar,” I said. “But is it just me, or is this starting to feel like more than just a friendship?”
He gently moved his hand up and down my shoulder, caressing my skin. Then he turned toward me.
“I think you said it yourself this morning, Emily,” he responded. “It’s better to just follow your heart, right?”
Our faces were just inches from each other’s and I felt myself becoming hypnotized once again by his words and his sexy voice.
Kisses From My Cowboy Stepbrother Page 4
