26. Lincoln
lincoln
. . .
After a year of wondering if I’d imagined the crazy connection I shared with Josie Hayes, I had my answer.
There was no way in hell the stupid, fluttery feeling I got in the pit of my stomach was wrong. Not as she put her hand in mine and let me guide her to the dance floor.
The music was upbeat, the perfect tune to twirl the girl in my arms round and round until she had no choice but to lean on me for support. Lennox was working her charm on a cowboy at the next table, and he was so lost in her forward nature that he immediately swept her away. Bishop watched the younger Hayes sister with narrowed eyes until he pulled Cleo out after us, despite her protests.
“You okay if I touch you here?” I asked, placing my hand on her lower back. My thumb met her bare skin, soft and creamy. It took everything I had not to throw her over my shoulder and lock her in my truck, but I kept myself rooted to the spot.
Josie sucked in a small breath at the contact but nodded. “Yeah, of course. We’re just dancing,” she said, though it wasn’t with her typical confidence. “Do you know how to dance? ”
“Do you think I would’ve asked you if I didn’t?” I gave her a little twirl, watching her eyes light up as she returned to me. “Give me some credit, darlin’.”
She stood a little straighter, a little smile on her face. “Alright, then, cowboy. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“That’ll be a little hard,” I admitted. “This isn’t really the song to demonstrate the depth of my talent.”
“No, but you can consider this a warmup. We’ll figure the rest out later.”
I knew she was talking about the dancing, but it felt like more. It felt like she was talking about us—how things may have been complicated now, but maybe they didn’t have to be.
By the time we were halfway into the first song, we were all smiles. Bishop knocked into us several times, giggling and laughing when the bumbling young thing Lennox had pulled kept stepping on her feet.
“Oof, that’s gotta fucking hurt,” I laughed softly into Josie’s ear. “He’s stomping on her toes like he’s got something to prove.”
“At least it won’t just be due to the brand-new boots I told her not to wear,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t think she can feel much with all the liquor flowing through her system right now, though.”
“Probably not.”
We stayed like that for the next two songs, laughing and twirling until Josie’s cheeks were tinged with pink under the bright neon lights. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d enjoyed myself so much.
For the first time in years, I felt like I belonged somewhere. I didn’t have much growing up. My family life had been shit. I didn’t have anyone I really considered a friend. I’d only had Frank and a few of his rodeo buddies that joined him at the bar every night.
Pinecrest had always been a place I could rest my head, but Ashwood—and Black Springs Ranch—was a place I knew I could call home. In the span of a day, everything I thought I’d never have was within reach. The job, the ranch, the family… Now, all I needed was the woman, and she was nestled securely in my arms.
As the last song came to an end, the house band slowed down, playing a rendition of Keith Whitley’s When You Say Nothing at All. Bishop and Cleo made their way back to the table, quickly followed by a red-faced Lennox.
“What do you think, darlin’? Are we staying or going?” I asked, pulling away slightly to gauge her reaction.
Josie hesitated only for a moment, looking over her shoulder to where her sisters were watching. They were trying to be coy, but Lennox didn’t have a covert bone in her body. When she swung her gaze back to me, she slid her hand from my shoulder to my neck and ran her fingertips along my bare skin.
I took that as all the sign I needed to sweep her into a languid half-step.
“It’s strange seeing you here,” I said after a beat. We’d settled into a gentle silence, enjoying the other’s company and the lull of the music. “I guess it’s hard to see you in any bar but my own.”
Josie chewed on her bottom lip, and I fought the urge to lean forward and pull it free with my teeth. God, I loved it when she did that. It was distracting and adorable and fucking everything. “Well, maybe if Frank’s had a dancefloor…”
I laughed. “Was that what it would’ve taken to make you stay? Hell, if I would’ve known that?—”
“What would you have done?” she asked, looking up at me with carefully guarded curiosity.
For some reason, the moment felt heavy. We weren’t talking about a stupid dance floor anymore. We were talking about us, about a future, about a whole damn life.
I couldn’t help it. I pulled Josie closer, eliminating the sliver of space between our bodies. She was warm in my hands, a whiskey flush creeping up her neck and coloring those pretty cheeks. “I would’ve cleared out every goddamn table in that place. I would’ve done whatever you asked. Only for you.”
“Why?” Her voice was low, as though she didn’t want to ask the question.
I stayed silent momentarily, trying to figure out how to say what I felt without crossing too many lines. “If I told you I didn’t have a good answer, would you believe me?” She shook her head, and I laughed. “Thought not.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” she quickly clarified. “I just don’t really understand what this is either. I mean, I’ve read my fair share of romance books where the characters say they have this crazy connection, but experiencing it is different. It makes me wonder if this is real, or if you’ll tuck and run when you realize being with me isn’t as great as you believe.”
I understood what she meant. Our connection did feel crazy when I stopped to think about it. Most guys wouldn’t have thought twice if the woman they’d spent five days with had up and left. Normally, I’d have done the same—just chalked it up to a great time and went on my way.
I hadn’t been able to do that with her. From the moment I’d woken up that morning, something felt wrong. It’d felt like I’d lost something, and I’d been sick to my stomach wondering if I’d ever get it back.
My thumb stroked her soft skin, enjoying the way she trembled in my arms. “I don’t have much, Josie. I’m a simple man with simple needs. And for the longest time, I thought I’d be okay living alone. Frank had done it, and I thought he’d fared well, but then I met you. Something just clicked.” She rolled her eyes, but I tightened my hold. “I know it sounds cliché, and maybe it feels like a cop-out, but dammit, Josie… I don’t think I fully understand it either. All I know is some things are certain—the sun will set, it’ll rise again, and you’re it for me. That’s just the truth.” I took a de ep breath and laid down my last card. “And I think you feel it too—otherwise, you wouldn’t have told your sisters it would always be me.”
Her lips fell open like she was going to protest, but she didn’t say a thing. The song had come to an end, but she was still in my arms, staring up at me. And it broke me in that moment to know that she’d never been cared for in the way she’d deserved.
Some might call me crazy, and honestly, I wouldn’t argue. Who falls in love after five days? But this woman had completely wrecked me, and I wasn’t about to fight it.
I’d overheard her conversation with her sisters before we left for the bar. I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help myself. I was damn glad I hadn’t spoken up sooner.
Josie deserved so much more than a handful of meager words. I’d done my best, but I wasn’t a damn poet. I hated that I couldn’t explain why I felt the things I did. My love for her had become part of who I was, stitched into the fabric of my soul. It ran as deep as the oceans, as pure as freshly fallen snow. It existed and was tangible and beautiful, just like her.
And yet, she didn’t see what I could. She didn’t see how worthy she was. I could see it in the way she was staring at me now—the subtle way she averted her eyes and tensed beneath the weight of my words.
My god, everyone around her loved her. The amount of people who smiled and went out of their way to talk to her as she walked by was staggering. It didn’t look like she’d ever met a stranger.
But I wanted to tell her. I wanted her to know my feelings without a shadow of doubt. I wanted to run on stage and grab the microphone away from the balding man in the house band and tell this whole damn town how much I loved Josephine Hayes.
“Josie, I?—”
My heart fell as she shook her head and stepped out of my arms. “No, don’t,” she whispered. “Not yet. ”
Not yet? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was there a good time to do this sort of shit? I mean, maybe waiting until she didn’t have a boyfriend would’ve been a good start, but I’d done my fair share of waiting.
I opened my mouth to try again, but Lennox came running up to us. She skidded to a halt next to me, and rested her hand on my shoulder. “Hey, cowboy, mind if I have this dance?”
If I wasn’t so damn in love with her sister, I’d have thought she was flirting with me. Lennox wouldn’t do that, though, which begged the question… What the hell was going on?
“Lennox…” I began, but she shook her head and locked eyes with Josie.
“Listen, Ellis is about to walk in, and I don’t think you want him seeing what we just saw. Let me step in so that you can handle that .”
Josie’s face drained of color, obvious even in the low-lit bar. God, I hated him. I didn’t have any right to—by all accounts, I was the asshole in the wrong, chasing after a woman who wasn’t mine anymore. The thought of her having to deal with that asshole set my blood alight.
Josie quickly thanked her sister, leaving me standing in the middle of the dance floor with Lennox as dancing couples tried to maneuver their way around us.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away as Josie sat on the stool and downed the rest of her drink. Then she reached for mine, whiskey dripping down her chin as she chugged it down. Cleo leaned in, saying something that had Josie’s brows furrowing.
“Stop staring at her,” Lennox whispered as the band said their goodbyes. They began gathering their equipment so the next act could set up. The bar kicked on one of their old playlists as Lennox took her sister’s place. She wrapped my arm around her waist and forced me back into the dance.
Like her sister, Lennox was a natural. She moved with ease while I tried not to bump into every couple we encountered as I tried to catch a glance of Josie and Ellis. We were on our second pass when she squeezed my hand and brought my attention back to her. “Don’t break her fucking heart.”
I blinked, turning my gaze toward the petite blonde in my arms. “Pardon?”
“You heard me, cowboy. I mean it. If you break her heart, I’ll kill you. There’s a lot of places to hide a body on the ranch, and I won’t think twice about shoving your dick back up?—”
“I’m not gonna break her heart,” I mumbled, glancing back at the table. “But I’m afraid she’s gonna break mine.”