by Roni Adams
Shifting in her chair, she tried not to think about the next two weeks. Having Tyler home again was going to be awkward at best, hell at worst. She shifted her eyes and watched him, unable to help herself. He laughed with his brothers and it was more than apparent that they’d forgiven his desertion. The prodigal son returns home and all that. Well, she wasn’t going to be such an easy sell.
She wasn’t about to forgive or forget, holiday or no holiday. His leaving made a mockery of every dream they’d ever had.
She half listened as he explained about a new breeding program he was developing with Chase Boyd. Her eyebrow raised and she picked up her already empty glass of wine and then set it down again. Chase Boyd was an old friend of the family and had a ranch in Abilene. That’s where he’d been? Only six hours away? So much for his big talk of traveling the world. Hah. He’d made it all the way to Abilene, what a world traveler!
“I’m going to check out the buffet—anyone else coming?” Cord said.
Beth almost gagged. She couldn’t eat now if she tried. The others stood up to follow and suddenly she was alone between Cole and Tyler. Very cozy.
“Don’t you want anything to eat?” Cole asked.
Beth knew he wanted to go with the others, but didn’t want to leave her alone.
“Actually I think I’ll use the ladies room, you go ahead and get something I’ll meet you back here.”
“I’ll get you some of those riblets you like so much,” Cole told her, touching her shoulder as he walked away.
Beth stood and left the table without looking at Tyler again. Once inside the ladies’ room, she walked in and closed the stall door behind her, leaning back against it. Closing her eyes, she drew several deep breaths. Images spun in her head and she practiced her breathing lessons to quell the anxiety attack. Long minutes later, she pushed a hand through her hair and walked out.
The band had started playing again as she headed towards the table. She hadn’t gotten too far when a hand at her elbow stopped her. She froze beneath the electrification of her skin.
“Dance with me.”
His words weren’t a question, but they weren’t quite a command either. She could have refused. Tyler turned her to face him and her brain screamed, No, but her hand settled into his palm.
When his arms came around her, her body soaked him in as if she were a sponge. The song, a familiar tune about being home for Christmas, was way too fitting. Her body tingled everywhere it touched his. A strange sensation flowed through her, as if she was a plant that hadn’t been watered in way too long and slowly came back to life with a good dousing. She took a deep breath and then another. I can do this. She’d danced with Tyler and only Tyler for most of her life. It came as natural to her as taking a breath. His six-foot-four, lean frame was over a foot taller than her, and she couldn’t see past him, so, instead, she focused on a spot on his black shirt.
“So, you’re in Abilene? How’s that working out?” she asked with as much nonchalance as she could muster.
“Business is good. Brisk,” he said shortly.
His scent drifted to her nostrils. It was the cologne she’d always bought him. The smell wrapped around her like an old quilt on a cold night. It was a struggle not to drop her head to his chest and snuggle in. The natural impulses of her body were confused by the orders her head dictated.
“You’ve cut your hair,” he said.
She didn’t miss the disapproval in his voice. He’d loved winding his fingers in her long hair when they made love. He used to drape it over her bare back and make her promise that she’d never cut it. Her body flushed with the memory, then she lifted her chin. He’d once promised her forever, too. So much for promises.
She shrugged. “It was getting in the way. Besides, I rather like it like this.”
Another couple bumped her from behind and she stumbled against him. Tyler caught her, but instead of moving her back to a proper distance, held her tight. Her body immediately responded, her nipples hardened inside her red dress as her temperature rose several degrees. Traitor, she scolded. For two years she hadn’t been able to feel anything. Now, with one dance, she was suddenly alive.
“I’m sorry. These are new shoes. I’m not used to the height,” she said self-consciously, trying to act like it was no big deal.
“They’re pretty high. So’s that dress. I bet Susan picked it out. It’s not you.”
That got her dander up. “She bought it and didn’t like the way it fit her. I bought the shoes to match when we Cole and I went into Houston last week.” She emphasized the name, hoping it would through a little cold water over her emotions.
He looked down at her steadily. “I didn’t know you two were dating. No one told me.”
The trip had been completely innocent, Doc had gone with them, but he didn’t need to know that. “No one knew where you were. Besides, why would they? It has nothing to do with you.”
He looked past her, revealing no emotion. “No I don’t suppose it does.”
His thigh brushed against hers and the old familiar desire tugged at her insides. His grip tightened—was it happening to him as well? Her body ached for what it no longer could have. She closed her eyes against the feelings. Oh, God, she so wanted to scream at him, beg him for answers. To rant and rave like a lunatic. Proud of herself that she was, instead, handling herself like an adult , she raised her chin only to find him frowning down at her.
“At some point while I’m home, maybe we could talk.”
When pigs fly! The time for that conversation was two years ago. “I’m very busy this time of year, especially with Grant going on vacation,” she replied coolly.
“Yeah, I heard the practice is really busy. Isn’t his being gone going to make it harder on you?”
Beth tossed her head, loving the way her new short hair shifted on the back of her neck. “I can handle it because it’s more important for him to be with his family at this time of year. Family is everything, don’t you think?”
His grip on her tightened. “That’s why I came home.”
“So, what? They weren’t important last year, or the year before?”
“It couldn’t be helped.”
She scoffed, and he dropped her hand to grab her chin, forcing her to look up into his face.
“I don’t expect you to understand,” he said, his tone quiet but stern. “And I don’t even expect you to forgive me, but you could give me the courtesy of hearing me out.”
Beth narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t want to talk to me when you left. I don’t want to talk to you now.” Tears sprang to her eyes and they made her even madder that her weakness was showing. She cast an angry glance around his face, deciding she didn’t like the beard or the moustache. They made him look sinister and nothing like the Tyler she once knew. Pulling out of his arms, she stepped back and stared purposefully into his frowning eyes. “The man I loved left, and he’s not coming back. I accepted that a long time ago. I don’t need to hear anything you have to say now.”
A word about the author…
Roni Adams resides in a tiny hamlet in Upstate New York nestled along the Erie Canal. She's been married for 22 years and she and her husband, Scott, have three sons ages 11- 19. Much to her heartache the two older boys will both be leaving the nest this August, one for the Marines and one for an internship at Disney World in Orlando. She thinks the timing for her to get the stories she's worked on for years out has never been better. Escaping into the lives of her characters takes her mind off the fact that her family is growing up.
Roni is an active member of RWA and the San Antonio Romance Authors. She credits many of her published author friends at SARA for helping push her down the right path towards publishing in short stories. She also credits them for help with all her Texas research.
"I have always had a fascination with the state of Texas and horses and cowboys in general. For my 40 th birthday gift I flew to Bandera , TX and stayed on a dude ranch where I could ride horses all da
y. Until then, I never really knew what John Denver meant when he sang about, "coming home to a place I've never been before." I'd arrived at the home of my heart.
She is also one of the founding members of www.rosescoloredglasses.com a writers community devoted to helping new writers grow and learn.
Roni loves to hear from readers and you can contact her at [email protected] . You may also visit her web site at www.roniadams.com.
Thank you for purchasing this Wild Rose Press publication. For other wonderful stories of romance, please visit our on-line bookstore at www.thewildrosepress.com.
For questions or more information contact us at [email protected].
The Wild Rose Press
www.TheWildRosePress.com
