“Hey, sweetie, I was hoping you’d drop by some time,” Carly said asshe finished up with a customer. “I want a minute to chat. What can I get you first?”
Figuring Cal was a regular coffee drinker, I ordered a medium roast for him and a caramel mocha for myself along with some pear tarts to share.
“Step on back here while I make the mocha,” Carly invited, so I went around the old-fashioned wooden counter. I’d just leaned my hip against the workstation when Carly shot me a sly smile and began talking. “Would you mind if I ask Cal Pierce out?”
“Huh?” I was a little flabbergasted. Carly wanted to date Cal? Did she know he was only temporarily in town?
“He’s the hottest thing to land in Poplar Springs in a long time.” Carly ran a hand across her forehead as if wiping away the sweat. “His buns in those jeans. Well, they’ve just got my wheels a-turnin’. And I’m not the only one. He wouldn’t lack for female company—but only if you’re okay with it.”
“Why does it matter what I think?” I wasn’t Cal’s personal secretary. I didn’t keep his date book.
“Well, you know.” Carly frothed the milk for the mocha as she talked. “He looks so much like Luke that we all kinda thought it might be weird for you—watching him flirt with someone else.”
It wouldn’t be, actually—weird, that is. Luke had been a flirt. It was harmless, he’d never cheated on me, and I hadn’t really minded. But the idea of watching someone who looked like him smile and chat with another girl? That wasn’t a problem. The thought of that lookalike beingCal? That was a whole other story.
Carly mixed the mocha and poured it into a paper cup before drizzling caramel across the top. “So what do you think? Is it okay? Or should I tell the gals in town to hold their horses?”
Hell, no, it’s not okay!I wanted to shout. But I couldn’t say that. Because my objection wasn’t because Cal looked like Luke. It was something else, something I was just letting myself realize. Carly went to the counter to wait on a customer, leaving me a minute to think. My imagination was running wild picturing Cal kissing Carly or any other of the local single women. Carly, who was blond and busty and way too pretty. Was that Cal’s type?
I didn’t like it. Not one damn bit, which was ridiculous. I had no claim on him, and I’d never minded when Jake or Brian dated, so it wasn’t family protectiveness. I lifted the steaming hot mocha to my lips. Did I want to kiss Cal myself?
Oh, God. I put the drink down untasted. I might, but not because he was some sort of replacement for Luke. He’d already shown me that he was very much his own man.
So my sudden possessiveness of Cal was from my attraction to him? It was a little…alarming, really, when I let myself process it all. Getting involved with him was fraught with potential problems. He was leaving, which was problem number one. Then I worried about what Laura would say. And what about Jake and Brian? What kind of dynamic would that set up in the family?
And truth be told, I wasn’t sure it would be wise to put myself emotionally in the hands of a cocky cowboy again. I’d done that once, falling head over heels for Luke. But I was older now and wiser. Shouldn’t that mean I knew better than to make the same mistake?
“Well, sweetie, what do you think?” Carly returned and took the mocha from my hand, capping it and fitting it into a drink carrier with the coffee for Cal. “Is he fair game?”
“Sure, of course,” I said with a forced smile. I really wanted to snarl and grit my teeth, but I’d worked in public relations long enough to know how to control my features and tone. “He comes with a warning,though. He has no plans to stick around these parts. As soon as the rodeo’s over, he’ll be on his way, and I don’t think a relationship would be enough to keep him around. He’s mentioned that small towns aren’t for him.”
I wanted to screech “don’t date him” but hoped my warning would have the right effect.
“That’s perfect. I just broke up with Todd,” Carly said with an eye roll. “You know him, he works at Martin Ranch Supply. Trust me, sweetie, I’m not ready for anything serious after that. I want to have some fun, and I think your rodeo star is just the ticket. You know, that whole ‘save a horse, ride a cowboy’ mentality. Am I right?”
She definitely wasn’t right, but none of the responses that came to mind were appropriate, so I just smiled, wished Carly good luck, picked up my order, and left. Before starting my car, I rested my head against the steering wheel for a few seconds, trying to erase the mental image of Cal and Carly in an amorous embrace.
The only way I could do that was to replace Carly with myself. I was shocked at how easy it was to imagine. My mind instantly began playing out a scenario of Cal’s rough hands gripping me in a lover’s embrace. Kissing Cal under a star-filled night sky. Cal helping me to shed my clothes before gently spreading me beneath him on a blanket on the hill behind the main barn. Cal nude, gripping his dick as precum?—
I slammed the door shut on those thoughts. I wasn’t interested in a little fun and games, sothatscenario was never going to happen. Just the same, I filed that fantasy away to think about later. Preferably when I wasn’t behind the wheel.
TWELVE
CAL
As soon as I climbed into Amy’s car, she shoved a cup of coffee and a pastry bag in my face with a shrill, “Good morning, hope you slept well.”
I hadn’t, but it had nothing to do with her—mostly. The real problem was that lumpy mattress. I’d managed to flip it over and remake the bed, but it was only slightly better.
“Uh, thanks.” I took the coffee and bag from her noting her pink cheeks. I’d barely managed to snap my seatbelt in place before she was pulling away. I took a sip of the drink to give me something to do and almost choked on the black coffee. Opening the bag, I found a couple sugars and cream inside and added them to my cup. I couldn’t find a stirrer, so I put the lid back on and swirled the cup in circles before taking another sip. That was better.
Nestled in the bag was some sort of tart and I pulled it out. “It’s pear,” Amy said, looking toward me before putting her eyes back on the road. “One of Carly’s specialties.”
I bit into it and groaned. It was almost as good as what I’d had at the diner. “How is it that a town of this size has such good places to eat?”
Amy grinned. “Oh, you have no idea. There are at least a dozen places here that you absolutely have to try. When you work on a ranch, you burn a lot of calories, and no one wants to eat crap.”
We drove to Beaumont in relative silence. I’d hoped we could use the time to talk, but every time I opened my mouth to say something, she’d adjust the radio dials or make reference to the scenery. So, I took the hint and kept my mouth shut assuming now wasn’t a good time for her. She had a lot on her plate with the rodeo and maybe she didn’t want to mix business with family.
