Chapter 14 #2
Pretending the former dialogue exchange never happened, we moved again, our lips meeting halfway. I drew her bottom lip into my mouth then she did the same. We were well on our way to losing control again when a burst of masculine laughter down the corridor split the silence.
I jumped away from Hollie, putting as much distance between us as the tack room would allow. She struggled off the table, her sandaled feet dropping to the floor. Her eyes were wide with fear as she pinched her dress straps, righting them as quickly as she could.
My hands fumbled over my buttons, clasping the ones Hollie had undone and tucking my shirt back in. But our attempts to look innocent made as much sense as sweeping a dirt floor. Her hair was disheveled, the updo she’d had now flopping to the right side.
And if my lips looked anything like hers, there was no way we could cover what we’d done. Walking out of the room would be walking into plain sight and our chances at being undiscovered were higher if we stay put. I lifted my index finger to my lips, and she nodded, understanding the signal.
For a long moment, we stood there, facing each other. Just breathing and wondering what we’d say when we were found. And I’d recognize that bout of laughter anywhere.
It was Cooper and Harlan.
Shame burned my neck. Grown adults or not, I just crossed some personal boundaries. I considered myself the kind of man who didn’t toy with a woman or give affection away easily. With Laurel I doled it out so carefully, slowly.
My stomach turned and acid rolled up my throat.
I was seconds away from leading her somewhere private and doing something I could never take back.
A beat of panic sliced through my chest. What if Cade had walked into the barn?
He would’ve seen me with my hands all the places I had said they shouldn’t be.
After our conversations about waiting for marriage, here I was—a breath away from intimacy with a woman I hardly knew.
This was impulsive, ravenous. What was my plan here? I didn’t use and discard women—I wasn’t that guy. And Hollie deserved better than stupid games.
“Hello? Who’s there?” Harlan’s voice. “Jesse?”
I paused. Do I give us away? Or call out?
My voice cracked. “Back here.”
Hollie’s eyes widened, and she crossed her arms over her chest. We had nowhere to hide and could only accept our fate, whatever it might be. As soon as the duo stepped into the light of the doorway, she rolled her lips and looked to the ground.
“Well, well, well.” Cooper crooned and the pleasure in his voice made my skin crawl. “What are you two doing back here?”
“Talking. Now go on. I’ll be out in a bit.”
Cooper’s gaze dropped below my belt and he laughed, spreading a hand over his gut. “You were not talking.”
I clenched my jaw, struggling to hold my voice steady. “Hollie, it might be best if you go.”
The two men cleared a path as she slipped out of the room.
Harlan said, his voice rough and raspy, “I’m gonna head too. Nothing to see here.” He turned, leaving me face to face with Cooper, who I had no problem putting in his place if need be.
Ever since Cooper got released from his short stint in the county jail, I’d been in charge of training him to be a cowboy.
But a cowboy he was not.
Cowboying required grit, determination, courage. And he had as much as a tulip. To say he’d pushed me to my limits in the last four months would be an understatement.
“Wow.” He huffed in disbelief. “I didn’t realize Hollie was the easy one. I’ve already tried one of the sisters and she about ripped my head off.”
Jackie, no doubt.
He smiled as if he enjoyed the rejection. “Maybe Hollie saved some fun for me.”
My chest tightened to the point I thought my ribs would snap.
Purposefully agitating other men was how Cooper found his place in this world. It was a power play, and I knew that. But it made me so mad. Usually, I could ignore him, but right now, I wanted to break his jaw.
Cooper leaned backward out the door, looking up and down the corridor. He clicked his tongue and then sang, holding every syllable out. “Ohhh, Hol-lie.”
I grabbed his dress shirt by the collar, throwing his body against the wooden wall.
“Whoa! Whoa!” His hands flew up by his face in surrender.
“You touch her and I’ll hurt you.”
He wheezed out a laugh. “So you can have fun, but I can’t? That’s not fair, boss.”
“I don’t care about fair.”
“Maybe when you’re done with her—”
“Cooper, I swear!”
“Alright! Alright! Damn.”
I let him go and he slid off the wall, brushing the front of his shirt like I’d gotten him dirty. I warned, “I mean it. Leave her alone.”
He rolled his eyes and fished a box of cigarettes out of his pocket. “Holy hell, man, you and Tag both need to find a way to de-stress.” He lifted the Marlboros. “Highly recommend these.”
I just shook my head and stalked past him. “No thanks.”
He stayed on my heels and flicked his lighter.
“Don’t light that in here. You know better.”
He sighed, following me into the barnyard. To my surprise, all the wedding guests had moved into the barnyard around the main drive. I whipped around to face Cooper, who had his Bic raised and glowing. “Wait. Is everything over?”
He pulled in a long draw and shoved the lighter in his back pocket. “Yup. We’re about to see off the happy couple.” He said happy couple as if such a thing didn’t actually exist.
I couldn’t hide my shock. How long were Hollie and I in the barn?
Cooper chuckled and slapped me on the back. “Time flies when you’re having fun, huh?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know, I’d really appreciate you not blabbing what happened all over the ranch.”
“Mum’s the word.” He made a boy scout symbol with his right hand. “Scout’s honor.”
The idea of Cooper being a boy scout or having any honor whatsoever made me laugh. “Alright. Thanks.”
Sure enough, Tag and Bea came through the crowd toward his truck as everyone cheered them away.
I pushed forward, wishing I would’ve had the chance to say goodbye to Tag, but the moment vanished within seconds and the gravel rumbled beneath the tires as he drove off into the night with his bride.
The small crowd of people lingered, and I scanned the group for Hollie.
She was nowhere in sight. Was she okay? Did she regret it?
A hand clapped on my shoulder and I turned to see Jack Barkley and Peter Thompson. Peter smiled, “Jesse, hey. We have a random question.”
A feminine laugh pierced from across the barnyard and my eyes followed the sound until they landed on Estelle. Not Hollie. I needed to focus—my brain felt fuzzy, numbed to reality.
I forced my head into the moment. “Yeah. What can I do for you?”
“Jack and I were talking”—he cast a glance at Jack—“and we were hoping you might be able to teach us how to throw a rope before Jack has to leave tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, I’d love to. When do you have to go?”
Jack answered, “We have to leave around eleven.”
I took a deep breath, marveling at the way I could smell her on me, but hoping no one else could. “Let’s do first thing tomorrow then. Maybe nine o’clock?”
We chatted for a few more minutes and every second required an excruciating amount of effort on my part. When suddenly, I heard my son call out. “Dad! Dad!”
I turned to find Cade rushing up to me, his forehead connecting with my ribs. I wrapped an arm around his back. “Hey! You okay?”
Thankfully, Jack and Peter took Cade’s arrival as a cue and slinked off to find their wives.
Cade’s entire body trembled beneath my arm. “I didn’t—know where you were.”
I bent down, lowering my voice. “Hey, hey. Everything is fine. I’m right here.”
“Where—” His voice cracked. “Where were you?”
“Buddy, I was just in the barn talking with someone.”
He squeezed me so hard, I grunted.
“Cade.” Guilt unfurled in my chest, and I stooped to pull him into a hug. “I’m sorry for not communicating. You were hanging with Izzy and Nora and I didn’t think to tell you. I had every intention of coming right back, then just got…hung up.”
His arms circled me, holding me tight. “It’s alright.”
“I’m not going anywhere though, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You wanna help me break down tables?”
He nodded, abruptly pushing away.
For the next hour and a half, we cleaned up, folded tables, and put away decorations. But my mind was still elsewhere. I scanned the distant parts of the ranch over and over. Waiting for Hollie to come out of the shadows. But she never did.
Every passing minute made me sicker with dread.
When I retired to my cabin, her own cabin windows were dark.
And I had a sinking suspicion I would never see her again.