Chapter 27
Alison
His dancing had improved since high school, when he had been too self-conscious to enjoy himself much.
“You’ve had practice. Do you remember how hard we had to work on the dances when we were both in High School Musical ? Every time I hear the main song, I have flashbacks to practicing in your basement.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. That’s a period of my life I have tried to block out.”
She smiled as the band moved from a honky-tonk cover to one of their own ballads. After an awkward pause, he pulled her close
to slow dance.
The heat of his body was seductive in the cool summer night, and she was suddenly intensely aware of the hard muscles against
her.
She licked her lips, telling herself not to be ridiculous. This was Xander. One of her dearest friends. He was too important
to her. She wasn’t about to screw things up with him by allowing herself to suddenly develop romantic feelings for him and
make things weird between them.
It was tough to remember that under the café lights and the star-speckled night sky.
“Are we still good to go on our trip?” she asked.
“Planning on it.” His voice sounded a little strange to her, but she put it down to the loud music and the echo up here on
the roof.
“Lindsey is looking forward to a sleepover with Aunt Sylvia. She said it will be good for Jake to have the kids overnight, and she and Aunt Sylvia can paint their nails and watch rom-coms until the early hours of the morning.”
“Ooh. That sounds fun. Maybe I should ditch you and go get my nails painted and watch movies all night.”
He shrugged and his shoulder muscles rippling under her hand sent funny little tingles through her.
“Your choice. I’m heading up to the lake regardless. Though I will remind you the whole thing was your idea.”
She smiled, ignoring her inappropriate reaction. “I know. I was just kidding. I’m looking forward to it. Anyway, I happen
to be a woman of many diverse interests. I can love having my nails painted as much as I love taking a horseback ride into
the backcountry to catch Arctic grayling.”
He smiled. “I’ll pick you up at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. Does that work?”
“Should be great. I still have to gather my gear, but I should have time tomorrow after work.”
He smelled really good, she couldn’t help noticing. Some kind of subtle aftershave, sensual and tantalizing, a cross between
warm solar notes and the cold salty sea.
For one wild instant, she wanted to rest her head against his shoulder and sniff his neck. That wouldn’t make things weird,
would it?
Before she could do something so reckless and irrevocable, the band announced they were taking a break, and Xander released
her.
“Thanks,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as breathless as she suddenly felt.
“You’re welcome.” Was it her imagination or did his voice sound more husky than usual?
When he returned her to the table, she discovered the three Danish tourists were still chattering with Tank and Smitty, and
they all had fresh drinks in front of them.
Clint had moved their drinks to a small, more intimate, table in the corner.
“You should probably get back to your date,” Xander said.
She was reluctant to leave him, for reasons she didn’t understand.
Why did he have so many photos of her in his room?
“Right,” she finally said. “Thanks for the dance.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Give my love to Sylvia,” she said.
“I’ll do that. Have a fun night.”
She had no reason to feel so forlorn when he turned and walked back toward his table.
She felt breathless and sweaty when she sat down across from Clint. “That was fun. I’m sorry the band is taking a break, but
I’ll be glad for the chance to sit and catch my breath.”
He smiled before taking another sip of his beer. “Looks like you and Xandork had fun.”
She frowned, annoyed at the nickname on Xander’s behalf. Seriously? They had been out of high school for nearly a decade.
Wasn’t it time to move on and be adults?
“We always have a good time together.”
“You’ve stayed friends over the years?”
“Yes. We try to connect whenever we can. We text a lot and try to connect through video calls. And of course I feel like I
travel right along with him when I watch his YouTube channel. He has over two million subscribers. Can you believe that?”
Who’s the Xandork now? she wanted to say.
He didn’t respond and they spent the rest of the band’s break talking about other social media accounts they followed and
about his efforts to create a website and social media presence for his family ranch.
When the band returned, they danced for a few songs before Ali’s energy level seriously started to dip.
Between songs, she tried to hide a yawn.
“You’re tired,” Clint said, concern in his eyes.
“Sorry. I took an early-morning ride trying to acclimatize myself to being on horseback again then worked all day at the bookstore. I’m working in the morning, too.”
“Yeah, my days start early. Should we head out?”
“Good idea. I think the band’s about done, anyway.”
To her dismay, Ali almost fell asleep on the drive back to the ranch. His truck was warm and he had soft jazz music playing,
which surprised her. She would have taken Clint as strictly a country music kind of guy.
“That was really fun,” she said when he pulled up in front of her house and walked around to let her out of the truck. “Thank
you so much for inviting me along with you.”
“I had a great time. The best I’ve had in a long time. I would love to see you again while you’re in town. What do you think
about dinner this weekend?”
“Not this weekend. I’m sorry. I’m heading up to Hidden Lake. But I’m free most evenings next week.”
“Perfect. I’ll be in touch. I should have asked you this at the bookstore, but let me make sure I have your phone number.”
They exchanged information and entered it into their phones.
“I’ll reach out,” he promised.
“Great,” she answered. “Thanks again.”
“I would like to kiss you, Ali. I know in this particular day and age it’s better to ask than to just swoop in.”
She was shocked at how much she wanted to simply say a polite good-night and slip into the house. This was Clint Maclean,
though, and she had spent her teenage years dreaming about doing exactly this with him.
She didn’t answer; she simply took a step toward him and lifted her face. He made a low sound and wrapped his arms around
her, lowering his mouth to hers.
For the first few seconds, Ali felt dazed. Was she actually here, kissing her teenage crush? His mouth was warm and tasted
of beer and cinnamon.
It wasn’t quite as earthshaking as she had once dreamed long ago, but it was nice. With everything in turmoil, she hadn’t gone on a single date since her father died, and she had forgotten how much she enjoyed first kisses, that initial intimate connection of mouths and bodies touching.
He made that low sound again as he deepened the kiss. It wasn’t quite a growl, more like a grunt. She wasn’t really into it,
but she did like kissing him.
He smelled good, too, but not quite as enticing as she had found Xander during their brief date.
And why was she thinking about how delicious Xander smelled right now, when she was smack in the middle of kissing Clint Maclean?
She tried to focus on the moment and push thoughts of any other man out of her head.
She did enjoy the kiss, but she wasn’t quite prepared when she felt one hand on her butt as he pulled her against him.
She eased away, though it wasn’t exactly easy. He was hard-muscled and tough, probably from years of fighting fires and working
on a ranch.
“We should probably stop there,” she said, her breath coming in little gasps. “More than likely, my grandmother is hovering
on the other side of the door.”
He groaned and lowered his forehead to hers. “You could come back to my place. I live by myself now since my mom moved down
to Durango to be closer to my sister and her kids after my dad died.”
She should be at least a little tempted, shouldn’t she? Instead, all she wanted to do was go inside, take off her bra and
relax.
“I’d better not. It’s already been a long day and I have to work tomorrow.”
“I could make you forget all the things you have to do tomorrow.” He gave her a smoldering look that, again, did nothing for
her.
He really was gorgeous and she wanted to feel all tingly and alive. Maybe she was simply too tired.
Or maybe he wasn’t the right guy.
“I really do need to go. Thanks again for a great night, Clint.”
“Too bad,” he said with an expression of disappointment. “I understand, though. I’ll text you about next week.”
He gave her another quick, heated kiss then she opened the door and hurried inside before he walked down the porch steps toward
his pickup truck.
She slipped into the house, where she was greeted by two of the cats. After following the sounds of the television, she found
her grandmother asleep on the sofa, snoring softly with Chaucer stretched out next to her. One of the late-night talk shows
was on with an actor she liked, pushing his latest movie.
She sat down and pulled a cat onto her lap while she watched the clip of the romantic comedy, making a mental note that she
should arrange a girls’ night to go see it at the three-screen movie theater in town. She didn’t think she made any sound
but after a few minutes, Loretta opened her eyes.
Her grandmother blinked and pushed up her glasses that had fallen down her nose. “Oh. You’re back. What time is it?”
“Nearly eleven,” she said, glancing at her watch.
“You’re earlier than I expected. I thought you and the Maclean boy would be partying the night away. How was it?”
“The band was great. I hadn’t heard them before. I guess they’re friends with Xander’s brother-in-law Jake and Jake’s brother
Ty.”
“Oh? Were they there?”
“Yes. All three of them came together. They seemed to enjoy it.”
“That’s nice.” She sat up and gave Ali a careful look. “And what about you? Did you have fun with Clint? You evaded my question
before.”
She was almost tempted to tell her grandmother that yes, she had enjoyed the date, but not as much as she might have expected.
Oh, and also that Clint had wandering hands.
“I had fun.”
“Did he?”
“Well, he said he wants to go out again. So I guess.”
Loretta gave her a careful look. “Will you go out with him again?”
“We’re talking about dinner next week.”
“You’ve always had a bit of a crush on him, haven’t you?”
How had Loretta known that? Her grandmother’s perception and insight into Ali’s inner thoughts were often unsettling.
“No,” she protested. At her grandmother’s skeptical look, she sighed. “Okay. Yes. A little. But he had been with Angel Herrera
since seventh grade. We were friends and I knew that was all it would ever be.”
Loretta opened her mouth, then closed it again.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m glad you had fun.”
This time she was the skeptical one. “Grandma. You were about to say something and changed your mind. Do you know something
about Clint that I should know?”
“Nothing important.”
“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that? I’m the one thinking about going out with him again.”
“You won’t like what I have to say,” Loretta predicted.
“How do we know that unless you tell me?”
Loretta rearranged the throw over her bathrobe and paused before she spoke.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, darling.”
In her experience, nothing good ever came after that sentence.
“I believe any man would be a fool not to be interested in you. You’re smart and funny and beautiful. And kind, too. But you
also should remember that you are now the sole heir to your father’s estate, which includes a working ranch of more than two
thousand acres. Even if you weren’t all those other things I said, I would imagine that makes you even more attractive to
certain people.”
Yep. She was right. Nothing good ever came after don’t take this the wrong way.
“Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Loretta frowned. “You are an amazing person. Even if you had nothing, I believe any person you might be interested in should
thank their lucky stars that he caught your eye. But the harsh reality is that Clint Maclean’s ranch is deeply in debt. Rumor
is that he’s in danger of losing it if he doesn’t figure a way out of the mess his father left behind.”
Loretta gave her a sympathetic look. “And the fact is, marrying the sole heiress of the thriving neighboring ranch—an heiress
who also happens to be a beautiful young woman—would be an extremely clever move on his part.”
She considered her grandmother’s words of caution with a touch of hurt and a great deal of wariness.
Loretta was right. Ali had never really thought about all the assets she would bring to any relationship.
Her dad had been frugal with his money and invested wisely. As a result, his estate was considerable. Not only the ranch,
but the potential future earnings from his books, as well.
She would far rather be penniless and have her dad back, though.
She supposed it was a good thing she hadn’t been too attracted to Clint.
“I will keep that in mind, Grandma.”
Loretta rose and hugged her. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It just struck me as odd that Clint would ask you out now when
he has never paid any attention to you before. It could be that he is genuinely interested in you, not the ranch. I only wanted
you to be on guard. I would hate for any man to take advantage of your tender heart.”
Did she have a tender heart? Ali wasn’t sure. Her other relationships in college had been mostly casual. Fun while they lasted,
but nothing that left a lasting bruise on her heart when things ended.
She had never been in love. Maybe she wasn’t capable of it.
“I’ll keep that in mind and be careful, Grandma. Thanks for looking out for me.”
“Always,” Loretta said.
Ali hugged her, kissing the top of her grandmother’s head.
“Thanks for waiting up, but with the flash sale you’re having at the bookstore tomorrow, we’re both in for a long day.”
“True enough.”
“And don’t forget that I’m leaving Sunday morning to head up to Hidden Lake with Xan.”
“That should be fun for both of you,” Loretta said as she started turning off the television and the various lamps around
the room. “Maybe I’ll throw a wild party while you’re gone.”
“Sylvia and Lindsey are having a slumber party and doing their nails while they watch rom-coms. I’m sure they would be happy
for one more.”
Loretta chuckled. “I might just do that. That sounds much more fun than sleeping in a tent and dealing with hordes of mosquitoes.”
“That’s what I said,” Ali said with a smile. “But Xander has his heart set on going and I don’t want to disappoint him.”
As they went to their respective bedrooms, Ali had the sudden realization that she was far more excited about spending two
days with Xander than she was at the idea of going out to dinner with Clint Maclean.
Something was definitely wrong with that picture.