Between Two Sisters (contemporary western romance novella) (6 page)

Billy rested his head in his hands. “You guys are
betting
on me? And why is Melanie part of it?”

“I told you, m
an,” Ramiro replied with a good-natured chuckle, “word has it Marty’s got a lot to be worried about, with you back on the ranch.”

Billy closed his eyes and tried to block the sensation of Melanie’s slim frame against his from his mind. “Marty’s got nothing to worry about! He can keep Melanie; the only Haffner
girl I’m interested in is Cass.”

“If you say so.” Ramiro took a long swallow of his beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You seem a bit touchy, for a guy who’s got this all figured out.”

“I’m just tired,” Billy replied curtly. “It’s been a big week for me, returning here and all. In fact, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get in and get to bed.”

“But it’s not even six at night!”

“Thanks for the beer, and I’d love to do this another time, but I gotta get to bed.” Billy went into the house, leaving his baffled friend alone on his front steps. He closed the door and leaned against it for a moment with his eyes closed. Exhaustion was quickly overcoming him. He would take a quick shower and head straight to bed, and maybe he’d feel better in the morning.

His shower was piping hot, and it felt luxurious to wash the day’s work away. He stepped out and dried off, then hung the towel back on the rack. Naked, he wandered i
nto his little kitchen to grab a quick bite before he hit the sack.

He pawed through his freezer, looking for something
he could make and eat quickly.

“I could make you another sandwich,” Cass offered from his bed.

“Cass! What are you doing in here?” He wasn’t unhappy to see her, he was just surprised she had let herself in, unannounced. Suddenly, he realized he was standing there naked, and he dashed to the bathroom and threw the towel around his waist.

“I
was
enjoying the view,” she smirked when he returned.

“Haven’t you heard of knocking, woman?” he shot back with devilish grin.
Now that her flirty banter wasn’t taking him by surprise, he found himself enjoying it.

“I did, but you didn’t answer, so I stuck my head in, and heard you in the shower. I figured I’d wait for you.
I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“N
o, but I just wish you’d announced that you were here, so I wouldn’t have just waltzed out here with nothing on.”

“If I give you a gander at me naked, will that even things up?” she asked
with mock innocence.

Billy just shook his head and chuckled as he collected some clean clothes to get dressed. “I’m going to go throw these on in the bathroom. I expect you to
still be fully dressed when I return.”

“You’re no fun!” she called to him as he closed his bathroom door.

He smiled to himself as he hurriedly put on his clothes. He was still exhausted, but bedtime could wait an hour or two. It wouldn’t kill him to stay up and visit with Cass a bit.

Things banged in the kitchen, and he stuck his head out cautiously. Cass was busy rooting around the cupboards and she pulled out pots and pans as she found what she needed.

“What are you doing?” he asked her, as he openly eyed her firm behind since it was up in the air as she dug through the lower cupboards.

“Making dinner, silly.”

“C’mon, Cass, you don’t have to do that for me.” He walked towards her and she straightened up and turned to face him with her back against the counter.

“I want
to,” she replied quietly.

He stopped just short of touching her, so they were face to face, and very close. Desire thrummed through him as he caught the scent of her perfume, a light, floral fragrance. She was wearing a long sleeved cotton V-neck shirt, and
a clean pair of jeans. He could tell she had put on makeup, and it was obvious that she had gone home to clean up in between her day on the ranch and coming to see him.

The air felt charged around them as they stood there, just
staring at each other. Billy wondered for a moment why he had allowed himself to get so tangled up in the idea of Melanie, when this gorgeous woman right in front of him wanted to be with him. She was so different from her sister, yet still wonderful. Where Melanie was calm and soft, Cass was energetic and vivacious. Melanie was predictable while her sister was a wild card. They were worlds apart, but why had he been so afraid of that? Now that Cass had toned down her overly aggressive come-ons, he found himself far more open to the idea of them being together.

“I like this. You, here with me, I mean,” he told her frankly. He took in every little detail of her face as she looked at him, doing the same thing. He moved a hair closer, and his heart beat sped up as he neared her. “The thing you need to know about me, Cass, is that I prefer to chase my women, rather than have them chase me.”

“Is that a fact?” she asked breathlessly, and she leaned forward slightly as well.

The air grew thick with
the desire between them as Billy leaned in that extra little bit and she moved to meet him. Just as their lips touched, a knock sounded at the door.

Billy pulled back and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Hold that thought, okay?” Cass beamed at him and nodded.

As he approached the door, he wondered who it would be, and prayed it wasn’t Mr. Haffner again. It would be bad timing, to say the least, if he chose this moment to drop by again. When he opened the door, he
wished
it had been Mr. Haffner knocking. It was Melanie instead.

“Can we talk for a minute?” she asked him quietly.

Billy shook his head and tried to keep the door closed so that she wouldn’t see her sister in his kitchen. “It’s not really a good time for me right now, Melanie.”

“But we need to talk about last night.”

“There’s really nothing to talk about,” he told her, keeping his voice low so Cass wouldn’t overhear them. The words sounded good, but just seeing her again brought the memory of their kiss back to life. He mentally berated himself for letting his mind go there again. He was done with Melanie; it was already decided. Maybe things would be different if she didn’t have a boyfriend, but she did, so that was that.

“Hey, sis,” Cass pulled the door wide open and greeted her sister. Melanie’s eyes grew wide and Billy thought he saw tears beginning
to form in them. “What are you doing here?”

“Cass,
” Melanie said flatly, in a defeated tone. “There you are. Mom’s looking for you.”

Cass rolled her eyes dramatically. “Can’t it wait?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Cass moved past Billy
and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she left. “We still on for Friday?”

“You bet.”

“Good. Can you give me a ride home?” she asked her sister. “I walked here.”

“Sure.” The two sisters left Billy’s cabin, and he watched them as they went. Cass threw him a wink over her shoulder, and he winked back at her, feeling good about what was developing between them. Melanie stared at him as she climbed into her truck, and the look of sorrow and pain on her face nearly broke his heart
, until he reminded himself he had nothing to feel guilty about. What right did she have to be disappointed in him? She was the one with a serious significant other, not him.

-6-

Friday finally arrived. Billy hadn’t seen Cass, or Melanie, in the days since their impromptu visits to his cabin. He was starting to wonder if Cass had changed her mind about their date. By the end of the work day he was debating what to do, as he had not heard from her at all.

He fo
und a note from her tucked into his cabin door.
Pick me up at 7.
He smiled to himself when he saw the heart she wrote in lieu of a signature. Good- they were still on for their date.

In the shower, he caught himself humming a little tune as he
shaved, and he tried unsuccessfully to recall the last time he had been so excited to take a lady out. With a start, he realized the only other woman he had ever been so excited about was Melanie, and he never actually taken her out on a date.

He wore his good cowboy boots and his best hat, along with a fresh pair of jeans and a
tan button down shirt. Before he headed out the door, he gave himself a quick spritz of cologne and checked himself in the mirror one more time. He looked good, and he knew it. He and Cass were likely to be the best-looking couple at the bar tonight.

His stomach didn’t start rolling until he pulled up to the Haffner’s house. He wasn’t nervous about his date with Cass; it was seeing the rest of the family that had his stomach all in knots. It had been a long time since he dated a girl who still lived with her parents, and he feared he might be a bit out of practice
at impressing the parents. With a shake of his head, he reminded himself that these weren’t just
any
parents, they were the Haffners. He had grown up around this family; there was nothing to be nervous about.

The doorbell sounded throughout the house when he rang it, and a moment later Cass opened the door.

“Right on time,” she grinned.

“Cass…wow.” She wore a super-short denim skirt that showed off her sexy legs, with a pair of pink cowgirl boots and a fitted white sweater that showed her every curve.
Her pale hair was flat-ironed into shiny sheets of gold, and she had on just the right amount of makeup. She was stunning.

“Is that Billy, honey?” Mrs. Haffner
called from the depths of the house.

Cass rolled her eyes. “Sorry in advance,” she whispered dramatically.

“Billy, good to see you!” Mrs. Haffner moved past Cass and came to give him a quick hug. “So it’s Cass you’re taking out tonight?”

It was an odd
phrasing to the question, and he caught the odd expression on her face when she asked it.

“Ah…yes, Cass and I are headed out for the night.” The odd look was gone as she smiled kindly at him.

“Terrific. I heard you two are going to-”

“Billy! You’ll take good care of her tonight, won’t you?” Mr. Haffner came out to shake his hand and see them off.

“Of course I will. I-”

“Mom, Dad, we’ve really got to be going,” Cass cut in. “Dinner reservations and all.”

“Oh, of course, you two go on now. We don’t mean to hold you up!” Mrs. Haffner exclaimed.

The Haffners remained in the doorway and watched Billy and Cass climb into his truck.

“Dinner reservations?” he asked her quietly, once the doors were closed.

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t exactly tell them we’re headed to the bar now, could I?” she replied as she waved to her parents and Billy backed out of his space in the drive.

He was secretly relieved that Melanie hadn’t come to see them off. Maybe she was out with Marty. As he pulled down the drive, he saw a curtain move in an upstairs window. She was watching them pull away. He considered waving to her, and then thought the better of it. Time and space is what he needed from her right now so that they could go back to being friends.

Cass gave him directions to a large bar a few towns away, and it was all Billy could do to keep his eyes on the road as they drove there. He was well aware of just exactly how far her short skirt was riding up, and a time or two he thought he caught of flash of pink panties out of the corner of his eye. He could swear she did it on purpose, just to get him riled up.

When they arrived at the bar, he went around and opened the passenger’s side door for Cass and helped her down.

“What a gentleman you are,” she teased and batted her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.

“For now,” he breathed huskily in her ear. She was wearing that same perfume again, and it was driving him wild.

He slung his arm around her waist as they walked into the rowdy bar. It was a local favorite hangout, and it was already packed even though the night was just beginning. Cowboys and their ladies from all over were kicking back and relaxing with an ice-cold beer after the long work week. Country music blared through the place, and Billy could see some folks line dancing in a far corner, away from the bar.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“Y
ou’d better,” Cass replied with a small smile.

They made their way over to the bar, and as they walked through the crowds, Billy noticed that many of the men there were eyeing Cass. He couldn’t blame them. A surge of pride flooded through hi
m. He had the prettiest girl in the place on his arm tonight. For just one second, he thought of the other prettiest girl in his life. Melanie. He refused to let thoughts of her spoil his evening with Cass. It was time to let her go and move on.

“I’m glad you asked me out, Billy,” Cass told him through lowered lashes as he handed her a beer.

“Look, I’m sorry about the first day. You were always ‘little’ Cass, but here you are now, all grown up. It took me by surprise.”

Cass laughed at his admission. “Imagine my surprise when you showed up! You were always such a dork, catching frogs and snakes and doing everything you could to impress Melanie. Who was way out of your league then, by the way.” He nodded in mock humility. “Now you’re grown up yourself.” She traced a graceful finger down the front of his shirt and Billy’s blood sang with desire. “All grown up, and a mighty fine sight.”