Chapter 5
Bailey
I didn’t mean to linger around, wanting to talk to Brett again, but I’d had enough liquid courage to do just that, encouraged by my friends, of course. Apparently, I’m a bit of a pill to be around, and they figure this handsome cowboy might just be enough to take the edge off.
I didn’t come over here to flirt or attempt to sleep with him, but I’m also not a prude…
“If you go home with him, text us and let us know exactly where you’re going,” Sadie insists.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere with him. It’s one drink, and maybe a slice of pie.”
Of course, that’s enough to set them both off giggling.
“You’re so mature,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Seriously.”
“It’s just, you’ve not really smiled since nineteen ninety-six,” JB tells me.
I poke my tongue out. “Ha, ha, I wasn’t even born then, smarty pants.”
Some friends those two are.
But as the night wears on, I realize that I don’t actually hate people like I thought I did.
Just some people because I’m not naturally a people person.
Brett’s different. He’s interesting. Funny.
And yeah, he’s easy on the eyes, so what?
A girl can flirt with the new guy in town.
As soon as the other single girls around here get wind, poor Brett will be heading for the hills.
Brett also makes all kinds of sexy noises while he eats the pie, clearly enjoying it. I try not to imagine what kind of noises he makes in bed, but that is proving a little difficult. I wonder if he’s noisy…
“Hands down the best pie I’ve ever had,” he declares, his fork clanging in the dish as he finishes before me. “Is that ice cream homemade?”
“Duh, everything here is homemade,” I say. “Another perk of living in a small town.”
“I’m sure there are many.”
I nod to his cowboy hat. “Do you ride?”
“Since I was knee high to a grasshopper.”
“Horses are my life,” I tell him. “Sometimes when I get sick of people, I just go visit my horses.”
“I know the feelin’,” he says, surprising me. “Sometimes animals are better than any therapist.”
“Plus, they don’t talk back.”
We laugh companionably. Our eyes meet again.
“Thanks for sharin’ your time with me.”
Wow, southern men really do know how to talk. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have work in the morning. I get up early to feed the animals.” Why I feel the need to tell him that I’ll never know. I’m not usually an over-sharer by nature.
“Let me walk you out. I’m done.” He didn’t even drink all of his beer.
“It’s alright, I’m gonna grab an Uber and get my truck in the morning.”
“I don’t mind drivin’ you. If you’d like.”
I don’t usually get into cars with strangers, but to be honest, I know I could take him if I had to. Plus, I carry a gun in my truck, not that it’ll be any help if we go in his car. I open my mouth and close it again.
“I’m not makin’ a pass at you,” he says, his face serious. “I have a little sister, and she always tells me about how unsafe it is for women these days, especially at night.”
“Well, this is a small town,” I reply. “Nothing bad ever happens in Alpine Falls, everyone knows everyone.” Except, I don’t know you.
“Still, I’d feel better waitin’ with you for the Uber if you don’t want a ride.”
I assess him one more time. I don’t get any weird, murderer vibes, and I’ll text Sadie to let her know he’s driving me home. And again when I get there.
“You’re just full of southern charm, aren’t you, Cowboy?”
Is it just me, or do his eyes darken when I say that?
The chemistry between us is off the charts, and every now and then, I get a little waft of his cologne—it’s warm and spicy with a hint of sandalwood, or something.
If they could wrap sexual tension up in a bottle, this would be it.
And frankly? It’s been a good year since I had a roll in the hay.
Not because I don’t know how to have a good time, I’ve just been busy.
I’ve put my workload and my friends first. Sadie needed me in her time of crisis, and it’s actually been nice not having boy troubles this last year.
Sitting this close to Brett has made me realize how much I’ve missed a man’s touch. And my, what big hands he has. I can only imagine what he could do with them.
He grins, his pretty eyes lighting up. “Nope. Just bein’ a gentleman.”
I suddenly wonder what he’s like when he’s not being a gentleman.
“Fine. I’ll let you drive me home if it’s not too out of your way. My ranch is called Cedar Hollow, just off the main track between the Lawless Farms.”
“Everything is either Alpine or Cedar around here,” he chuckles.
“That’s because of the trees,” I explain. “My cabin is made from Western Red Cedar. It’s not much, but I love it. It’s quiet. Surrounded by mountains and valleys. No neighbors for as far as the eye can see, and the backdrop at sundown is like something out of—” What the fuck am I doing?
I don’t describe goddamn sunsets like I’m Anne of Green fucking Gables. I blame the White Russian. All its fault, not mine.
He raises a brow. “Out of what?”
I clear my throat. “Uh, Yellow Stone, without the guns and violence.” I pull my bag onto my shoulder.
He stands first, then his hand is on the back of my chair. “Ladies first.”
Yep, gotta visit Nashville someday, the men are very polite.
I slide off the stool. “Uh, thanks.” He lets me go ahead of him and I make my way to the door.
“If you want, I could drive your truck for you, then Uber back to get mine. Save you a job in the mornin’.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” I say. He is way too nice. Something must be wrong with him.
I don’t know why I wave self imposed red flags when there aren’t any. I just have a suspicious mind. When you’ve been cheated on more than once, that isn’t something a girl forgets in a hurry.
“It’s no problem, truly.”
Once outside, I pull my thin jacket around my shoulders. It’s cooler than I thought tonight. A few moments later, I feel movement behind me. When I turn, Brett is placing his jacket over my shoulders. Nope, no way.
“Uh, thanks.” I point to my blue, beat-up ‘63 Chevy. Exactly like the one in the Twilight movies, except for the color. She’s old, but she’s sturdy. Plus, I don’t really go anywhere that requires me to get myself into debt for a shiny new toy. “This is me.”
Brett doesn’t do what other people have done in the past when he sees my truck.
Usually, it’s some comment about if my truck should be in a museum or on the scrap heap.
It’s then I let said person know this truck has withstood every snowstorm from here to Colorado, sub-below temperatures, blowouts, moose collisions, and skating on the ice. Yep, trusty old Bessie has done it all.
“She’s a beauty.”
I balk, waiting for the punchline but it never comes. “Bessy has been with me since I could learn to drive.”
“Bessy,” he says, a smile on his lips. “Now I know I’m in a small town.”
“Speaking of which, I’m just texting Sadie to let her know you’re driving me, and then when I get home safely. So if you try anything funny, just know I carry a gun and I have mace spray in my purse.”
He blinks in surprise as he opens the passenger door. Yeah, my doors don’t lock anymore.
“You never have to worry about safety with me,” he says, that serious look on his face again. “But protecting yourself is the smart thing to do.”
I swallow hard as he offers me his hand to get up into my truck. I mean, I know I can do it myself, but the gesture is nice, and that White Russian is still rolling around, making my thoughts a little hazy, and my actions. Taking his hand, I swing up into the truck.
He closes the door and jogs around to the driver’s side.
I tilt my head and inhale the scent on his jacket.
Holy fuck. You could bottle this and label it as an intoxicating mix of cowboy and sex.
It’s doing things to my lady bits, and I had no intention of jumping his bones. Now I just might. If he’s up for it…
He pulls himself up and into my truck, settling his big body in the seat, and it’s a damned sexy sight, too.
I nod to the visor. “Keys are behind there.”
He pulls it down, and sure enough, my keys tumble out. He smirks again. “Of course they are.”
“Nobody is gonna steal this truck,” I say. “Not if they want to live to tell the tale, anyway.”
He starts her up, and the familiar rumble of my truck’s engine springs to life. It’s such a comforting sound. “I don’t doubt that.”
“What part? Nobody wanting to steal it, or them living to tell the tale?”
He side eyes me. “Both.”
Then he does the one thing that could truly make my ovaries never recover again. He puts my truck into reverse, swings his arm to sit on the back of my headrest and begins to pull out.
Why is that one single move so damn sexy?
Cool it, Bailey.
Well, it’s been a while, and I’m definitely feeling something from down under. This man is just so damn hot it’s off the charts.
“Gonna give me directions?” he asks, and I realize I’m gawking at him.
“Oh, shoot, yes…” I reel off the directions, which aren’t hard to follow, and we roll through town.
As we drive, I hear my phone ping from my bag and I just know it will be Sadie messaging back with eggplant emojis.
I reach for my phone and a few moments later, I’m not disappointed to find I’m correct.
I don’t know why, but I wish my place was farther away. That way I’d be able to spend more time being in his close proximity, with him smelling like that. His jacket is warm and cozy, too warm for this time of year, but I’m not complaining.
“So?” he says when we’re out of town, heading past the big sign that says Lawless Christmas Tree Farm. “I guess we’ll be seein’ each other around for a little while?”
“Can’t really help that in a small town.” Wait, was that him flirting? Or is it innuendo for wanting my number? Or is he just being nice?
Damn it, I’m so rusty at this. Tragic, some would call it.
“Maybe we can hang out again sometime?” he asks.
Oh, he is chipper. I pull his jacket around me tighter, enjoying the warmth and his scent. For a second I can dare to imagine what it would be like if I invited him inside for a nightcap.
Would he say yes? Or is he too much of a southern gentleman for a one-night stand?
It’s not my usual MO, but I’ve had one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time, and he’s hot as fuck.
“Maybe,” I say, biting down on my lip. “If you play your cards right.”