by SJ McCoy
His haircut should be kind of ridiculous. Who shaved most of their head and left just a strip down the middle? To be fair, she knew some of her girlfriends did something similar, but not with the hair on their heads. She pressed her lips together and looked back into his eyes, and then had to concentrate to listen to him instead of getting lost in the green and gold flecks.
“The shop is the coffee shop,” he explained. “I opened it a few years back and it’s done pretty well for itself. I used to only open until three in the afternoon. It started with just coffee and pastries, then I added sandwiches for lunch and then one of the guys at the center wanted to try his hand at breakfasts, and it all just kind of snowballed from there. Then we started to open in the evenings. I invited a couple bands to play on the weekends to see how it would work out, and now we’re pretty much a full-time music venue in the evenings.”
“Wow!” She hadn’t been able to guess what a guy who looked like him might do for a living, but she was impressed. She was certain there was a whole lot more to his success than he was making out in his brief explanation. “And it’s your place?”
“Yeah. I mean, I don’t own the building or anything. I just rent the space. But the business is just me. I have lots of help, of course.”
She smiled. “You’re modest.”
“I am?” It was a question, not an agreement.
“You are. You’re not sitting there telling me that you’re the shit and that you worked your ass off to build up this great business, but I know that’s how it is.”
He shrugged. “It does well enough. What about you? I know you help out with Owen; you’re his teaching assistant, right?”
She laughed. “We like to say I’m his special assistant. But yeah. I go into school with him on the days he goes, and I help them out with other stuff, too.”
“What did you do before?”
“Before?”
“Before Owen. They haven’t been here that long.”
“Oh. I’ve worked with special needs kids for years. I … I tend to move around a lot.”
He frowned. “Okay. I thought you were from here for some reason.”
“I am. I grew up here. But I’ve moved around a lot since. I rode the circuit for a few years and …” She stopped when she saw the look on his face. “What?”
“The circuit?”
She laughed. “I was a barrel racer.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, my God! You really are a city kid, aren’t you?”
“I guess.” He chuckled. “But go ahead, enlighten me. How the hell do you race barrels around a circuit?”
She threw back her head and laughed. “You don’t race barrels, you race horses around the barrels, and the circuit is the professional circuit, like you have in most sports. You know, where all the competitors travel from one place to the next to compete in different arenas?”
“Oh. I can’t say yeah, I know. But I get it. So, you were a professional?”
She shrugged. “I guess.” All of a sudden, she didn’t want to get into explaining the whole thing to him. It was a way of life to most people she knew. She didn’t think she’d ever met anyone in her life who didn’t know what barrel racing was until him. She liked it.
“Frankie!” They both looked up, and Frankie laughed when she saw Gina standing there grinning at her. “G girl! How the hell are you?”
“I’m good. Great.” She turned to smile at Spider and held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Gina. Frankie and I go way back.”
Frankie should have known that Gina wouldn’t bat an eyelid at Spider’s appearance, even though pretty much everyone else in the place had given him at least a second glance.
She was pleased to see Spider get to his feet to shake hands with her friend. For some reason she didn’t expect him to have such good manners. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m Spider.”
Gina didn’t even miss a beat with that. She just laughed. “Am I allowed to ask why Spider?”
He smiled, and Frankie’s heart beat a little faster. Could you call a smile sexy? As far as she was concerned, Spider’s might just be the sexiest smile she’d ever seen.
“You can ask, but there’s no great story behind the name. I’m Paul Webster.”
“That makes sense. Though, I’ll admit I was hoping for more of a story.” Gina looked back over her shoulder. “It’s great to see you, Frankie. I’ll give you a call; you should come over when the girls get together. I’d better get my ass back over there, though. You know what Mason’s like. He worries if I’m gone for more than two minutes.”
Frankie laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to piss the big guy off. It’s good to see you out. Who’s babysitting?”
“Dave and Monique decided that they wanted Phoenix for a sleepover, and then they decided that they should take Dylan and baby Frank, too.” She smiled at Spider. “Phoenix is my daughter, Dave and Monique are my in-laws. Sorry, I know how boring it is to hear about people you don’t know.”
Spider was smiling back at her. “Please. You ladies catch up. And I think you might be talking about at least some people that I know. You said Dylan and baby Frank, right?”
Both Frankie and Gina gave him a puzzled look.
“I’m guessing you’re talking about Chance and Hope’s kids?”
“You know them?”
“That’s right.”
Frankie and Gina spoke at the same time. But no one got the chance to say anything else before Mason appeared at Gina’s side. He made Frankie laugh. She’d known him all her life, so the scowl on his face didn’t fool her one bit. He was one big broody cowboy, but he wouldn’t start any trouble, no matter what the look he was giving Spider right now might suggest.
Gina slapped his arm. “Stop it. This is Spider. He’s with Frankie. And he knows Hope and Chance. Do you want to go and get them?”
Mason’s face – his whole demeanor – relaxed, and he nodded at Spider. “Sure, I’ll go bring them over.”
To Frankie’s surprise, Spider got back to his feet. “I’ll go with you.”
As the two men walked away, Gina raised her eyebrows at Frankie. “Want to tell me where you found him? He’s …” She put her hand on her chest and blew out a big sigh. “Hot!”
Frankie laughed when Gina looked over her shoulder for Mason. “But don’t you dare tell my husband I said that!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t. And believe it or not, he’s a friend of Reid and Tara’s.”
“Really? Oh! From LA, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Aww, does that mean he’s just visiting?”
“I think so.”
“You don’t know so?”
Frankie chuckled. “I barely know the guy, G. I met him yesterday when he came to pick Owen up from the barn. And I went over to Reid’s place today and asked him out.”
Gina laughed. “Oh, my God! That is so you! But listen. I’m sorry I landed myself in the middle of your date. You guys just looked, kind of … right together. I’d never have guessed that this was your first date.”
Frankie glanced over at where Spider was now standing talking with Mason and Chance. The other two men might be wearing cowboy hats and boots but even with his hair and all his tattoos, Spider looked like he fit right in with them. She looked back at Gina. “I don’t know the first thing about him, but I do know that he’s a good guy. Don’t you think it’s weird, though, that even though he looks so different he still looks at home with those two?” She jerked her head at the three men who were now laughing together.
Gina smiled as she watched them. “Nah. It’s not weird. He is at home with them. Like I said, the two of you looked like you were right at home with each other before I interrupted. It’s not the cowboy hat or the tattoos that make a difference. It’s what’s on the inside – the heart – that matters, and I’d guess that he has a big one and it’s in the right place.”
Frankie nodded and watched the guys come back over to them. She had
n’t ever given much thought to a man’s heart before. She’d known a few who didn’t have one. But now she couldn’t help but wonder about Spider’s … and why her own seemed to beat that much faster around him.
Chapter Six
Spider looked around as he followed Frankie through the saloon to the bar at Chico. He’d been here before when everyone had come up for Oscar and Grace’s engagement. But they’d eaten in the restaurant which was a higher-end kind of deal, and they’d only come into the saloon for a quick drink first. The place had been quiet then. It was far from quiet now. It was heaving. It seemed to be popular with tourists and locals alike. And it was easy to tell which was which.
There were groups of cowboy hats scattered here and there, some at the bar, some around the pool table, others over by a small stage that looked like it was set up for a band to play later. Then there were tables of tourists, a couple groups of women who were eyeing the local men eagerly. And many more groups of friends and couples. Some of them wore jeans and cowboy hats, too, but it was easy to tell who was the real deal, and who were just wannabes.
Frankie turned back and took hold of his hand as they got closer to the bar. It was three deep. Spider gave himself a mental shake. He shouldn’t be looking around like some lost tourist himself. He should be looking out for Frankie. If she were with him on a busy band night at the coffee shop, he’d be protecting her, sheltering her through the crowd. Not leaving her to power her way through and lead him. Shrugging off the thought of how much he’d love her to be with him at the shop on a band night, he stepped closer and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side as some big guy almost backed into her.
When the guy stepped back again, obviously not noticing she was there, Spider put a hand in the middle of his back to stop him. He didn’t shove, much as he wanted to. He just stopped him from coming any farther.
The guy turned around with a scowl. “What the – ?” He stopped mid-question as he looked Spider over. Apparently, deciding he wasn’t someone he wanted to get into it with, he held up his hands. “Sorry. Didn’t see you there.”
“No worries.” Spider forced himself to smile. “I just couldn’t have you stepping on my girl.”
The guy smiled back before turning away. Frankie on the other hand, stared up at him. “Your girl?”
Shit. She was probably pissed at him. She wasn’t exactly a fragile little thing who needed someone to look out for her. Looking down into her eyes, though, he couldn’t bring himself to apologize. It was how he saw it. Okay, she wasn’t his girl. But she kind of was tonight while they were out. And … his heart started to race at the thought that despite the fact that he hardly knew her yet, he liked the idea of her being his girl. He smiled and even though he knew it might just piss her off further, he dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Yeah. You’re the one who told me that this is a date. So, while we’re on it, you’re my girl. You have a problem with that?”
Her nostrils flared slightly, and he could tell that she was on the verge of telling him exactly what her problem was, but he pulled her closer into his side and smiled. He felt her shoulders relax, and she smiled back.
“Nah. I don’t think I do. In fact, I think I kinda like it.”
A rush of warmth spread through Spider’s chest, and he dropped another kiss on her forehead. “I do, too.”
They pushed their way to the bar, and it didn’t look like they’d have any problem getting served when the bartender spotted Frankie. He came straight over to them with a big grin on his face. “Frankster! Where’ve you been hiding, sweetheart? Come here and give me a hug!”
Spider could only watch as Frankie vaulted up onto the bar and swung her legs over the other side. When the bartender put his hands on her waist and swung her around, making her laugh, it took everything he had not to vault over there after her and punch the guy.
He swung around and almost did raise his fist when a hand came down on his shoulder. “Cool it, big guy. You’re fine. He’s her cousin.”
Spider sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly as he met the gaze of the man standing in front of him. He still hadn’t taken his hand off Spider’s shoulder, and he had a hell of a grip. Though it felt more restraining than threatening.
To his surprise, the man chuckled. He was older, maybe fiftyish. But he looked fit and strong – as evidenced by his grip. He had fair hair that was touched with gray, and bright blue eyes. His face was rugged, handsome. He looked like something out of an old Western movie. “You got it under control?”
Spider nodded. Now, that the adrenaline was receding, he was grateful to the man for stopping him. He was a laid-back kind of guy most of the time, but after just having that moment with Frankie when he’d called her his girl, he’d hated seeing another man put his hands on her. “I’m good. Thanks.” Figuring the man standing before him must be a friend of Frankie’s, he shot a glance at his shoulder. “Thanks for the …” he smiled, “helping hand.”
The man laughed. “Not a problem. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Frankie letting you stand up for her with that asshole who nearly stepped on her. I knew you two must be in deep. But when it was obvious that you don’t know Tanner,” he jerked his head toward the bartender who was now dancing a two-step with Frankie behind the bar, “I didn’t want you going overboard and ruining everyone’s night.”
Spider raised an eyebrow.
“If you’d gone after Tan, half the guys in here would have wanted to beat the shit out of you, including me and Frankie. Then when people started on you, she’d have started whooping their asses to get ‘em off you.” The man shrugged and finally took his hand off Spider’s shoulder and held it out to shake. “I’m Ace.”
Spider shook with him. “Spider.”
Ace cocked an eyebrow. “Not military?”
“No.” Spider was used to the question. It seemed that military guys liked to give each other nicknames. “Paul Webster.” He laughed at the way Ace rolled his eyes. “Don’t blame me. The name Spider stuck when I was eleven years old. I’ve tried, but …” He held his hands up in a helpless gesture.
Ace just laughed and jerked his chin at the bar where Tanner had just sat Frankie. She was swinging her legs back over. Before he knew what he was doing, Spider grabbed her waist and twirled her around as he lifted her, holding her up so high that his nose was next to her belly button. She looked down at him, her eyes full of laughter, and he loosened his grip so that she slowly slid down his front, torturing his body until her feet hit the floor. She didn’t step away. Instead, she reached up, running her fingers over the bare skin on the back of his head as she pulled him down into a hard, hot, but all too quick kiss. When she finally did step back, she held his gaze as she ran her tongue over her bottom lip.
“Damn, girl. And I didn’t believe you when you said you had a date tonight! Where’ve you been hiding this fella?”
Spider and Frankie both startled as Ace’s words cut through the moment. She recovered quickly, slipping her arm around Spider’s waist as she smiled at Ace.
“I haven’t been hiding him, we only just met. This is our first date.” She raised an eyebrow at Spider and gave him a sassy smile. “But it won’t be our last.”
Spider wrapped his arm around her shoulders and grinned. That sounded good to him. Ace looked from her to Spider and back again.
“No shit?”
Frankie laughed. “I shit you not! And I hope you were nice to him while I was gone.” Her smile faded and she put her hand in the middle of Spider’s chest. “Sorry! I didn’t even think. The guy behind the bar? That’s Tanner. He’s my cousin. I wasn’t … He isn’t …”
Ace spoke before Spider could. “Don’t worry about it, Shorty. I told your man here what the deal was.”
Spider knew he had a stupid grin on his face at being called her man, but he couldn’t help it. It sounded good – it felt right.
Ace winked at him as he continued. “It’s a good thing I was here to explain it to
him. You should know better than to do shit like that. The two of you are obviously in deep, you need to think on a bit before you do something that’ll rightly make him jealous.”
“You were jealous?”
Spider looked down into her eyes. She looked … apologetic? Surprised maybe. She didn’t look like she was happy to make him jealous – not like some women he’d known who’d tried to goad him into reacting badly. He hadn’t cared enough for it to bother him with them.
He was tempted to shrug it off and not answer, but it felt important. “Honestly? Yeah. I was. I reacted before I stopped to think.” He smiled at Ace. “Luckily, your friend here explained it to me.”
He couldn’t figure out what was going on behind the big blue eyes that were still looking up at him. He didn’t think she was pissed – surprised and … something else, but not mad at him, at least.
Ace’s hand came down on his shoulder again. “Wise move, bud. Always tell her the truth. Even if you think she’s not going to like it, she’ll take it way better than finding out that you lied – about anything. Anyway.” He let go of Spider and dropped a kiss on Frankie’s cheek. “I’m not going to be the third wheel on your first date. I’ll leave you to it. I’m glad you were telling me the truth, Shorty.” He lifted his chin at Spider. “And I’ll see you soon.”
Spider watched him walk away, moving easily through the crowded bar as people gave way to him – except a few women who tried to stop him as he passed.
Frankie still had her arm around his waist and poked her finger into his side, making him laugh. “What was that for?” he asked.
“To get your attention back.”
He drew her closer and closed both his arms around her waist. He liked that she was tall; he didn’t have to stoop or bend to hold her. And as he held her against him, her curves fit against his perfectly. “You have my full attention.”
She chuckled and landed a quick kiss on his lips. “I like it. And now that I have it, I want to apologize for jumping on Tanner like that.”
“It’s not a problem. Ace told me he’s your cousin.” He chuckled. “Unless this is the kind of place where cousins are fair game?”
