Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (7 page)

The comfortable navy pants and
lilac, short-sleeved sweater she wore was fine to cook in, but not formal
enough for the party. Her party clothes were hanging up in her old room
upstairs.

Her old room.

Weird. She now had two of them. One
here, and one at the homestead. Although both comfortable, she was beyond
relieved to be at the other house and away from any chance meetings with a
certain virile cowboy.

Shirtless chance meetings.

Her stomach fluttered just thinking
about the last time she’d unexpectedly bumped into the hunk. It had been right
there by the sink. Just before she’d moved back to her parents’ home. She’d
rushed in one night to pull a recipe from the oven she’d been experimenting
with, only to find the sexy distraction drinking a tall glass of water.

Shirtless. And bootless.

It was the beginning of December.
Why the heck was he shirtless, and at eleven o’clock at night, she’d wondered,
and made the mistake of asking.

He just smiled at her over his
glass, dang lop-sided grin dimpling his cheek. She took in his bare feet, bare
chest, and the slight rumple to his short hair. That’s when it had dawned on
her. Her heart had slammed into her ribs and face had heated. Dang man obviously
just had sex and had probably escorted his ‘date’ to the door right before Kerri
had come down.

Oh how she’d wished the floor
would’ve opened up and swallowed her whole. Which was stupid. They were adults.
So he’d had sex. Big deal.

But it had been a big deal, and she
didn’t know why. She also didn’t know where to look, so she’d grabbed the oven
mitts and pulled out her pot pie.

“That smells great, darlin’,” he’d
said, moving to stand behind her. “I worked up an appetite. I’m starved. Can I
have some?”

She smirked as she rearranged a tray.
She bet he’d worked one up. Probably went all out, got very physical and sweaty
when he had sex. And that’s when she’d nodded, putting a stop to that dangerous
train of thought. His lips had twitched, no doubt reading her mind and laughing
at her. She’d handed him a knife and told him to help himself before she’d
exited the room like it was on fire.

The next day, she’d moved out and
hadn’t spoken to him since except for a quick answering wave during her visit
with Emma and Jordan on Thursday, but they hadn’t talked.

Tonight, though, tonight she
wouldn’t be able to avoid him. But that was okay. No doubt the opposite sex would
surround him, and he’d be too busy to spare her more than a passing hello. And
so would she, between seeing her old friends Jen and Kevin again, and dealing
with the food. Although Emma made her promise to forget the prep once the party
started, Kerri vowed to be too busy to pay attention to the red-blooded cowboy
and his dang lop-sided grin.

That man’s mere presence engulfed,
fogged, made her do the stupidest things, and since she hadn’t been firing on
all receptors since the earthquake, she couldn’t afford the fogging.

“Did they set up the Sterno?” Emma
asked, breezing in from the pantry. The cook grabbed the hot pads off of the counter
and opened the oven to check on her salmon. 

Kerri nodded. “Yes, it’s all set up
and waiting for us to start.”

She washed her hands and began to
fill up the appetizer trays. Jordan had insisted on a simple menu, so Kerri
opted to make Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, Cheesy Barbecue Popcorn and her own
favorite, Strawberry Flowers stuffed with a cream cheese mixture of powdered
sugar, almond extract and grated chocolate.

Her mouth watered at the thought.
She loved anything strawberry, the chocolate was a bonus.

For the main course, Emma and Kerri
had split up the duty by each cooking three different dishes. Perfect week to
move into her parents’ house. This gave each cook their own kitchen and space
to create. Emma made Barbecue Beef Short Ribs, Chicken and Drop Dumplings and
Salmon Croquettes, while Kerri made Beef and Beer Oven Stew, Catfish Provencale
and Jordan’s favorite—Three Cheese Lasagna.

Earlier today, she’d borrowed her
dad’s SUV and carted her food over to store in the McCall’s industrial
refrigerator. With a double oven and warming racks, it had been super easy to
heat the food at the ranch.

Kerri just wanted everything to go
well. Jordan and Cole deserved this celebration.

She started to fill the last
appetizer tray when Emma shooed her away like an annoying fly.

“Leave that to me. You go upstairs
and change for the party. Guests have already started to arrive. You should be
out there mingling,” the cook insisted. “There are plenty of servers here to
help me. Now, go and enjoy yourself.”

 “All right.” Kerri laughed. “But
I’ll take this last tray out and then go up and change.” With a smirk, she
scurried from the kitchen before Emma could take the tray from her.

Several people were already there,
including her sister, wearing a beautiful, backless red dress. Her fiancé,
equally dapper in black dress pants and white silk shirt, couldn’t take his eye
off Jordan. They were in the middle of the room, talking to the new arrivals. A
few women and Connor, she noted with that dang flutter in her chest, were laughing
off to the side.

Dressed in black jeans and a red
western shirt tucked in and with the sleeves rolled up, he looked more handsome
than a man had the right. He wore his black Stetson, and as she passed with the
tray, she warned herself not to think about red briefs.

Intending to walk by, she was
stopped when a hand with five ruby red polished nails wrapped around her arm.

“Well, if it isn’t little Kerri?
Oh, that looks delicious.” The blonde standing next to Connor cooed as she took
a bacon wrap off of the tray and plopped it into her ruby red mouth.

Little Kerri?

L
ittle?
Kerri
towered over the woman.

“Sure does,” Connor responded
easily as he winked at Kerri.

She nearly dropped the dish.
Holy
smokes
. Was he seriously flirting with her?

“Careful there, darlin’.” Quick as
lightning, he steadied the tray enough for her to gain control again.

“Thanks,
darlin’,
” she
replied. 

Connor chuckled, and Kerri rolled
her eyes as she continued to the buffet table. She’d recognized the girl. Ashley.
The same blonde Connor was supposed to take to a party when Kerri had been
eleven.

That hadn’t gone well.

Laughter tickled her throat. It
really hadn’t been her fault. Ashley made the mistake of making fun of her
pigtails and braces while waiting for Connor. Kerri wasted no time in recruiting
the two golden retrievers the McCalls had at the time, and as the couple stepped
outside, she’d turned off the hose and let the wet dogs loose on Ashley—and her
new white dress. She smiled at the memory. Wasn’t white after that.

Reaching the table, Kerri placed
the tray down and wondered briefly if Bullet was around. He’d help her bring
Ashley down a peg or two if need be. Grinning, she turned around to see her
sister summoning from across the room.

Keeping the grin on her face, she
walked to the happy couple and gave her sister a hug. “You look stunning, Jordan. What’s up?”

“Thank you, hun. I just wanted to
make sure you weren’t over doing it.” Her sister eyed her with concern. “I want
you to enjoy yourself at this party, not work.”  

“That was the last tray. Honest.
Emma said the same thing and threw me out of the kitchen.” Kerri laughed along
with Jordan and Cole.

“It had better be,” her soon-to-be
brother-in-law warned, killer smile on his handsome face. He pulled her into a
hug. “You are supposed to have fun like all the other guests.”

 She returned his embrace. “I will,
I promise. I’m going upstairs to change now, then I’ll be back for the fun.”

“We’re going to hold you to that.”
Cole drew back and smiled down at her before he pushed her toward the foyer. 
“Oh, and Kerri?”

She turned around and waited. His
dark eyes were sparkling. Bugger was up to something. “Yes, Cole?”

“Lose the apron.”

Crud. She glanced down at the
forgotten garment. Great, she’d talked to Ashley and Connor in her apron. Oh
well. No sense in getting flustered. She was training herself to not make a big
deal out of little things.

“What? Not festive enough?” she
asked. She held the apron away from her and matched Cole’s grin before turning to
head upstairs to get ready.

T
he party was in full
swing by the time Kerri descended the stairs in a dark green, velvet dress that
didn’t cling, only brushed her curves to stop just below fingertip length. She
felt sexier in a dress that hinted rather than revealed.

It wasn’t always the case. Heck no.
Just this past summer, she’d lazed around Wild Creek with Jordan in her bikini. Her very small bikini. So used to blending in on the west coast, she hadn’t
really thought much of her lack of clothes at the time. And she refused to
think about it now.

What’s done was done
.

Keeping her new motto uppermost in
her mind, she entered the room with a smile on her face. She actually felt
good. Surprising what a new dress and new sexy, black, strappy heels could do for
a girl’s ego.

With no time to waste on her hair,
she’d twisted and clasped it at the top of her head, while her bangs and a few
pieces fell loose about her face. Going for simple sophistication, she probably
only got the simple part right. Oh well. Didn’t matter.
Insert motto here
.
Her smile widened.

What’s done was done
.

The more Kerri said it in her head,
the more she liked the motto. Between that and what her sister always told her—
don’t
sweat the little stuff
—her outlook on life had improved the past week. And Jordan was right. Time to stop
sweating
.

So she was homeless and unemployed.
So what. She was also loved by her family and friends. That’s what counted.

“Oh, hun, you look lovely,” her mom
said, pulling her in for a quick hug.

“Thanks.” She stepped back, eyeing
her mother’s pretty navy and silver dress. “So do you.”

Her dad kissed her cheek. “Well, I
don’t look lovely, but I am loving your appetizers,” he said, before popping
another bacon wrap in his mouth.

The McCalls readily agreed, lifting
their plates.

She smiled. “Good. I’m glad. But
save room for the entrees, too.” Her gaze shifted back to her dad. “Emma’s made
the salmon you love.”

“Not to worry.” He winked, slapping
his gut. “I’ve got room. But first, we’re going to mingle.”

People were already lining up at
the buffet table, so she began to make her way there when a familiar voice
called out from behind.               

“Kerri, you look stunning as
always.”

She’d wondered when she was going
to bump into their handsome neighbor.

“Hello, Kevi
—
”
She turned to greet him and burst out laughing. Cole’s best friend wore a
headband that dangled a piece of mistletoe above his dark head.

The blue-eyed, black haired cowboy
smiled down at her. “What?” he asked innocently.

What indeed. Kerri grinned. “Leave
it to you, Kevin Dalton, to come up with a way not to miss out on the free
kissing.”

“That’s because it’s the only way
he’s going to get any,” Connor teased, approaching from the side.

With her pulse suddenly leaping in
her chest, she turned to watch the gorgeous cowboy lumber closer.

“You’re just upset you didn’t think
of it first,” she said before she could curb her tongue.

He laughed, dimple glaring, brown
eyes twinkling. “True.”

Breath hitched in her throat, and
she wondered for the umpteenth time why she had such a reaction to the teasing
hunk.

And was there a way to make it
stop.

“Actually, he doesn’t need it,”
Kevin informed. “Girls have been cornering him under the mistletoe his parents
hung over there.” He pointed to a sprig hanging near the window seat in the far
corner of the room.

She looked at the corner, then back
to Connor.

He shrugged. “What can I say? When
you got it, you got it.” A self-satisfied smile tugged his lips as he rubbed
his knuckles in a back and forth motion across his chest.

Smug bugger.

“Well, be that as it may, I am the
one standing here under the mistletoe so, unless you’re going to kiss me
Connor, I think it’s time for Kerri to do her duty.” Kevin smiled and added a
wink.

Normally, she’d make an excuse and
run for the exit. But not tonight. Not now. Not with the smug cowboy looking
on. No way would she give Connor a reason to call her chicken.

Kerri was only too happy to oblige.
“Don’t mind if I do, Kevin.” She grinned as she pushed Connor out of the way
and stood in front of the blue-eyed dreamboat.

About to put her arms around his
neck, she only got as far as his broad shoulders when Kevin reached down and
lifted her right up off the floor.

“Oh,” she gasped, and that’s when
he kissed her, a pleasant kiss, lingering a few moments before placing her
gently back down.  

“Mmm…Strawberries,” Kevin murmured
as he licked his lips and grinned. “You tasted like strawberries. Remind me to
corner you again later.”

She laughed, ignoring the fact her
face heated and Connor hadn’t stopped staring. Make that glaring.

“And you really know how to sweep a
girl off of her feet.”

Smiling, she nodded at the grinning
Kevin and surly Connor as she left the two heartthrobs to join her sister at
the buffet.

Wow. So that’s what it felt like
to do the teasing for a change…

“That was interesting.” Her sister
smiled.

Ah, swell
. Who else had
noticed? Her parents? Probably.
Insert motto here
. Knowing better than
to play dumb, Kerri just shrugged as they loaded their plates with food.