Wild Wyoming Nights (10 page)

 
Her gaze dropped to the food in front of her and she put the last bit in her mouth. “That’s not the impression I get.”

She pushed back her chair, picked up their plates and took them into the kitchen. After she had rinsed them off, she slid them into the dishwasher, put in some soap and shut the door with a decisive snap.

He struggled to his feet, tucked the crutches under his arms, and followed her. When he stopped behind her, he stood close enough to smell her scent as he let it wrapped itself around his senses.

“That’s the problem. I want you around—I want you here.”

She turned and faced him with the question clear in her eyes. “I don’t understand, then.”

“I want you. Period,” he whispered as he let his fingers caress her arm. The goose bumps rose on her skin, following the trail of his fingertips. His hand reached her shoulder, and slid across the top until he was able to grasp a piece of hair between his fingers.

“You’re the type of woman who wants a man on a permanent basis. I can’t give you that.”

“I don’t, Chase. I won’t give my heart away again. I can’t. It hurts too much.” Her fevered whispered declaration sent bells ringing in his head.

“Are you saying you would be satisfied with only a physical relationship, Abby?”

Chapter Eight

“I…uh.”

Letting his hand drop, he turned away and murmured, “That’s what I thought.”

Abby sighed. “Can’t we just be friends?”

“Fine. If that’s what you want,” he said hobbling toward the sofa.

I don’t know what I want, that’s the problem.

“Would you like some coffee? I can make some.”

“Sure.”

In no time, the machine sputtered when the coffee finished. Abby poured them both a cup before moving into the living room and setting a cup near him on the table.

She curled up on his couch across from him, tucking her feet under her. “Tell me about the horses.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Chase rubbed his thigh, drawing her attention to his hand. Her thoughts scattered for a moment when she thought about his hand on her arm. Just his touch seemed to send her heart into overdrive, and she wasn’t sure she liked how her body reacted to his.

 
“They are quarter horses and bred to be strong—barrel racers, cutting horses, calf roping—the work horse of a ranch. I sell them all over.” He picked up the coffee cup and sipped the steaming liquid before setting it back on the table.

“Well, maybe after your leg heals, we can go riding. I haven’t been horseback riding in forever. That’s why I asked if you needed any exercised.” Her gaze fixed on the cup in her hand for a moment.

“You can ride any time you want. Just stay away from the stallion. He’s an ornery shit.”

“The one that was prancing in the arena?”

He nodded and said, “Yeah. He’s the one who kicked me.”

She chuckled softly as she asked, “What were you trying to do, keep him away from the mare in the stall?”

A rueful smile rippled across his lips. “I know, stupid move on my part. Even though she’s not in season this time of year, he didn’t like me keeping them apart. Those two are running mates.”

“I wasn’t going to say a word.” She laughed and held up her hands in surrender.

For the next couple of hours, they sat on the couch and he told her about growing up on the Rocking W with his parents, two brothers, and younger sister.

“Are they older than you?” Her fascination with the man, who plowed into her life with the force of a hurricane, held her spellbound.

“I’m the middle brat. My brother, Justin is the eldest and he lives in Nevada. My younger brother is Cole. He doesn’t have a place yet, just bums around a lot. Then there is Jamie, our sister. She’s the youngest.”

“Does Justin have property, too?”

“He has a place where he runs cattle, and Cole rides rodeo a lot right now. He hasn’t figured out what he wants to do yet, I think. Jamie lives with our parents in town.” A dry laugh trickled from his lips, drawing her attention like a moth to flame. His dimples peeked out, teasing her, taunting her as they whispered to her to caress them with her tongue. Abby shook her head in a vain attempt to clear the tantalizing temptation.

“What about you?”

“My parents live in Albany, New York. They have property there and dabble in horses, but not like you—not on a serious, sell for profit kind of basis. I’m an only child. Dad is an architect by trade, and Mom is a stay at home mom.”

“That’s right, your mom told you to check on me.”

Abby blushed, and dropped her gaze from his face. Her vision fixed on his broad chest and the hair peeking out at the top of his shirt. Her palms itched to touch the curls. She shifted her gaze elsewhere, only to find them resting on his hands again. “Yeah, she did.”

“You said your mom is sensitive. What do you mean?”

“How do I explain?” Shifting around on the seat of the couch, she drew one knee up, looping her arm around it and cocked her head to one side. “She creeps me out sometimes. She has feelings. Not that she’s psychic or anything, she just has these feelings when something isn’t right. Like my car accident. She called when I was in the emergency room.”

“So she had a feeling you were hurt?” Skepticism was written all over his face, but at least it wasn’t out right disbelief.

“Yeah. I guess that’s one way to put it. Then when she and I were talking, I told her you had brought me home the night before. As our conversation wound down, she said to check on you. That’s why I tried to call. I’ve learned over the years to listen to her.”

He chuckled and she giggled. “I bet it was hard to sneak out when you were a teenager.”

“Yeah. Try impossible.”

Chase cocked a questioning eyebrow and asked, “You were a rebel girl, weren’t you?”

She let her eyes widen in pretend shock. “Not me!”

Those dimples peeked out again and her heart thumped in her chest.

“Why can I imagine you on the back of a Harley, hair blowing in the wind?”

“Um…never been on a Harley.” She smiled and peeked at him through her eyelashes. “I used to try to get past her, though. Sometimes, just to see if she would figure it out.”

“Did it ever work?”

“Nope.”

“Not once?”

She shook her head and smiled. “Never. I finally gave up.”

Giving her a secretive smile, he said, “Well, we’ll have to fix the Harley thing.”

* * * *

Chase liked it much better when they seemed to be joking and laughing than the seriousness of their kiss earlier.

I just have to figure out how to keep my hands to myself.

“And just how do you propose to do that? Are you hiding one somewhere?”

“Actually, yeah. Well, not hiding one. It’s in the garage out back.”

Real shock rippled across her face. “You, wearing a leather jacket?” She shook her head and grinned. “I can’t imagine that at all.”

He struggled to his feet and her eyes widened. “I’ll be right back.”

Her hot gaze settled on his back as he approached the closet by the door. Pulling out the thick leather jacket he always wore when he rode, Chase held it up for her inspection. Abby’s laughter was contagious when it reached his ears, and he joined her.

“If I could make it to the garage, I’d show it to you.”

“We may just have to wait for the snow to melt some.”

He slid the coat back in closet and hobbled back to the couch when her cell phone rang.

Abby stood and walked to the countertop where her purse rested. She pulled out her cell phone and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. His fingers itched to do the simple task for her, and he frowned.

“Hello?”

Chase settled himself back down on the couch and picked up his coffee cup.

“Oh, hi.”

Murmurs of words met his ear, but he couldn’t make out the actual words.

“Um…sure. I guess that would be okay.”

Abby turned her back to him.

“Yeah, six-thirty is fine. I’ll see you then.”

The click of her cell phone brought his gaze up to hers as she slipped it back inside her purse. The green of her eyes made his heart hammer in his chest and slam against his ribs.

He wasn’t going to ask, didn’t want to. Who she went out with or who she slept with, for that matter, had nothing to do with him.

It’s none of my business.

Uncomfortable silence filled the space between them that was filled with laughter just a few moments before.

Abby cleared her throat. “You told me your wife died in a car accident on the interstate.”

Chase rubbed his hands over his eyes. “Yeah.”

“How long were you married?”

Air rushed from between his lips as he sighed. “Five years.”

“You never had any kids?”

“No, we were too busy, I guess.” He shifted on the couch, uneasy with her line of questioning. “I was too busy. She wanted kids, but I kept telling her it wasn’t the right time.”

“How did you meet?”

“We went to school together. We never dated during that time. In fact, she dated Cole for a while. We met at our five-year reunion and started seeing each other. Things just happened from there.” He didn’t know why, but it was so easy to talk to her. Avoiding talking about Krista had become a habit since her death, but with Abby, he felt like he could tell her anything. Abby didn’t know any of the same people, didn’t grow up in Laramie, so they were all strangers to her. “What about you?”

A rueful smile drifted across her mouth. “Nope. I didn’t date Krista.”

 
Her teasing words lightened the mood and he shot her a questioning look.

“Joshua and I met through a friend. One of my girlfriends dated his best friend. She played matchmaker for a blind date.” She twisted the diamond on her finger in what he decided had to be a nervous gesture. “We dated about a year before he proposed one night at the firehouse.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“It’s okay. It still hurts some times.” Abby sniffed and rubbed her nose. A watery smile drifted over her lips. “It’s just hard.”

“Come here.” He opened his arms and she slid across the couch into his embrace.

Why does it feel so right to hold her?

Abby didn’t cry like he thought she would, not this time. Her head resting on his shoulder and her warm hand lying against his chest sent desire racing through him. He prayed he wouldn’t get an obvious erection from her touch, but he knew it was inevitable as the blood rush between his legs. He closed his eyes, trying desperately to get control of himself before he did something stupid, like kiss her again. Trying to control the groan that rumbled in his chest, he felt her tip her head back and her warm breath flittered across his neck.

Big mistake! Good Lord, this was a big mistake!

He couldn’t help himself. When he looked down into her eyes, he was lost. The green depths turned dark with a mixture of gold, and her pupils dilated. Her lips were so close, looked so soft, and when she parted them slightly, he couldn’t stop himself even if he wanted to. With a tortured groan, his mouth met hers as he slipped his hand along her jaw, into her hair, and grasped the back of her head to fit her mouth better against his. She tasted so good, so right, he couldn’t stop. He let his tongue caress along her lips, wanting her to accept him because she wanted to, not because he pushed. Her lips parted, and he heard her moan as the tip of her tongue met his.

* * * *

Abby heard an ear piercing screech in her ear. Pulling her mouth from his, she looked into his eyes, but from the desire shining there, she could tell he hadn’t heard it. His mouth moved closer in an attempt to take her lips again, but when they brushed against hers, she heard the sound again.

What the hell?

She pushed against his shoulders until he lifted his head. “Did you hear something?”