Crazy For the Cowboy (14 page)

“I do have one request, though.”

She gazed at him. “What's that?”

“If I'm going to be staying in town for a while, and if there's time in your schedule, would you teach me how to use a whip?”

“Um, sure.” Considering how closely they'd have to work together on the trail rides, one more shared activity shouldn't matter. And refusing would seem ungracious. Yet somehow the idea of teaching him to use a whip seemed . . . intimate. Well, she wouldn't allow it to be.

“Great. I'll never forget the way you charged into that clearing. It seemed like you were throwing bolts of lightning.”

“That's what if feels like, too. It's fun.” Her skin flushed with pleasure at the admiration in his eyes. He wasn't trying to be seductive, or at least she didn't think he was. Yet her resistance to him had never been very good to start with, and when he said things like that, she liked him far too much.

“It looked like fun. That's why I want to do it.”

“Then we'll make the time.” But during those lessons, she would
not
allow herself to stare into his eyes the way she was doing now. Seeking a distraction, she pulled her laptop out of her tote. “Now that you've agreed to do this, we need a plan of attack.” She flipped open her laptop and turned it on. “What's first on the agenda?”

“On my end, finding horses. Since you have the computer, we should get together and see what animals are available within a hundred miles or so. Do you want to go with me to look at them?”

“Yes. We might need more down the line and I'll need to understand the criteria.”

“Can you round up a trailer?”

“Ed has one that holds four. Let's see if he can go with us.” She'd set up a chaperone whenever possible. The less time spent alone with Vince, the better. “How many horses are we talking about?”

“Seven or eight. We need to cap the rides at eight people, and if we can use a couple of the horses Ed's boarding, we'll be okay to start with. Eventually you'll need more so you can rotate them out in case you have medical issues with any of them, but might as well keep expenses down at first if we can.”

His responses told her that he'd been thinking about this even though he'd rejected the leadership role. “I'm guessing after the horses comes the tack.”

“Yep. But we might pick up some while we're buying the horses. If not, we'll go back online and see if we can find some used equipment. We'll need bridles, halters, saddles, all that stuff, but maybe Ed has some extras he can loan us.”

Georgie leaned across the table and kept her voice down. “Economizing is good, but Ida has a substantial fortune, and no heirs. She's wanted to invest in a revitalization project for years, but we couldn't come up with something until you suggested this. I know you're not going to throw money out the window, but she'll expect you to get what you need.”

“Probably.” He smiled. “I like her.”

“Then maybe we should take her along on some of these buying trips, too.”

“Does she know anything about saddles and horses?”

“I doubt it. She lived in downtown Chicago until she moved here ten years ago after her husband died. She wanted to live somewhere completely different because her husband had never wanted to leave Chicago.”

“Then I don't know how much help she'd be to us.”

Georgie knew why she wanted Ida to ride along on those trips, but if she admitted that, he'd realize how worried she was about spending time alone with him. She'd have to get over that, though.

He'd agreed to her conditions, so from now on, the responsibility for keeping their relationship platonic was hers. She didn't take that responsibility lightly as she glanced at him sitting across the table from her. She remembered Ida's evaluation—handsome as sin, mile-wide shoulders, narrow hips, and a cute butt. When Ida was right, she was right.

CHAPTER 14

V
ince wondered what the hell he'd gotten himself into. He'd allowed Georgie's intense loyalty to her town to override his better judgment, and now he'd given his word that he'd do this thing. On top of that questionable decision, he'd agreed to behave like a gentleman at all times. Ida was paying him well, but it wasn't nearly enough to compensate him for extreme sexual frustration.

Watching Georgie's fingers flying over the keys as she took notes on her little computer taunted him with how those nimble fingers could work magic on his naked body. She'd never see that naked body, though, let alone touch it. He'd given his word on that, too. He might be a rogue in many ways, but once he promised something, he kept that promise.

Consequently he avoided promises in general, and he'd just made two of them in the space of five minutes. Apparently being around Georgie caused him to become temporarily insane. But as he reviewed the course of events, he realized he couldn't have chosen differently.

Once he'd presented his idea to the council, he'd set the wheels in motion. If he had it to do over again, would he keep his mouth shut? Probably not. He didn't love this town the way Georgie did. He doubted anyone loved this town the way she did. But he hated to see people floundering when he had a possible solution to their troubles. If he'd stayed silent and driven away tomorrow without saying a word about overnight trail rides to see the wild horses, the boarded-up town would have haunted him. Georgie's futile struggle to save it would have haunted him.

So here he was, watching her type and longing to kiss her and invite her up to his room again. He ached for this woman in a way he'd never ached for anyone. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He was about to spend six months in hell.

She glanced up from her computer. “Sadie's doesn't have Internet access or else I'd start searching for horses right now. I could do it on my phone, but we need to look at pictures, right?”

“Right.” He was so busy noticing how her lashes framed her deep brown eyes that he barely came up with the right response.

“It's better to do that on the computer. How about we set a time for you to come over to the store? I have Wi-Fi there and we can browse to our hearts' content.”

To her heart's content, maybe, but he didn't think his heart would be content for some time. “Okay. When do you want me there?”

“Let's say nine thirty. I don't have many shoppers then, which is why I think I can shorten the hours, no problem. I'm thinking ten to three for the new store hours. People here are all retired. They don't need me staying open any longer than that.”

“Guess not.” Her mouth was perfect, absolutely perfect. He'd thought so all along, but after kissing her yesterday evening, he knew for sure that her lower lip had the right amount of fullness to allow for a soft landing while he gently explored with his tongue . . . and now he was getting hard. Better ditch that train of thought ASAP.

“Let me see if the council members can come to the store about ten thirty so they can hear what we have going on so far. I wanted to have some preliminary plans before we called them together, but I think we have those.” She gazed at him as if expecting him to say something.

“Yes. We definitely have preliminary plans.” He'd chimed in a beat too late but that couldn't be helped, now.

“You're tired, aren't you? You probably need to go to bed.”

Dear God, if she only knew how much he needed to go to bed—with her. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Then let's call it a night.” She turned off her computer and closed the lid. “I'm excited, Vince.”

He wished she could be excited in a different way than what she meant. He shouldn't wish that, but he was only human. “Good. Me, too.”

“You'll see. This will be wonderful. We're going to transform Bickford.”

“That would be great.” He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she looked right now. She had a big heart, and her vision of the future included what was best for all. That selflessness gave her a glow that mesmerized him.

He wasn't as good and pure as Georgie, which was another reason they were so wrong for each other. She thought of others while he mostly thought of himself. But maybe some of her influence was rubbing off on him, because helping her get this project off the ground would mean making some sacrifices.

It felt sort of weird, too. He wasn't sure how good he'd be at self-sacrifice because it was so new to him. He should make sure that he taught her well, because he might hit a point where self-sacrifice didn't work for him anymore. If Georgie was trained to take over, then he could walk away with a clear conscience.

She tucked her laptop in her tote and stood. “We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. We should both get some sleep.”

He left his chair when she did. If she was going home, he had no reason to stay. “You're closing the store at three tomorrow afternoon, then?”

“That's my idea. I'll open at nine in the morning, like usual, and then I'll post the new hours so everyone who comes in will see them. The word will spread fast. It always does in Bickford.”

He thought of their kiss, which had been common knowledge in less than twenty-four hours. “Kind of hard to sneak around in this town, isn't it?”

She nodded. “For me, it's difficult. For you, it would be impossible.” She gazed up at him. “Were you thinking of trying to sneak around?”

He laughed as he fished some money out of his wallet. “Not anymore.” He walked beside her toward the front door of the saloon.

She hooked her tote over her shoulder as she glanced at him. “You don't have to walk out with me. After all, you're already home.”

“I want to walk out with you as a point of honor. You wouldn't let me do it before, but now we've set our boundaries, so we should be fine.”

“Well, yeah, but . . .” An emotion shimmered in her eyes for a second and was gone. “It seems pointless.”

“Actually, it isn't. I'm also going to walk you home. On the way you can tell me your plans for what will go on once the town's up and running again. I'm curious about what you envision. I know you've thought about it.”

“You're right. I have.”

He held the door for her and they stepped outside. “Brr. Chilly out here.”

“The temperature really dropped. Too bad I decided not to bring a jacket.”

“I know. I would've borrowed it.”

She laughed. “Go back inside, Vince. We can talk about my dreams for the town another time.”

“Manly men don't run inside because they're cold. They shake it off. Come on. We'll walk fast.” He started off at a good clip. When she didn't follow, he turned back.

She stood in a pool of light given off by an ancient fixture over the door to the saloon. The way it settled on her golden hair made her look angelic, except for the goofy grin on her face. Angels didn't usually wear that expression.

She hurried toward him. “Sorry. I got distracted.”

“Okay.” After Ida's comment about his butt, he figured that was the distraction. He wasn't going to ask, though. They passed the boarded-up movie theater, so he asked about that instead.

“I would love to have the theater reopen,” she said. “It wouldn't even need renovating. The last owners reupholstered the seats and put down new carpeting. But when they were losing money hand over fist, they closed it down.”

“Same with the ice-cream parlor, I guess.”

“Yes, and that was such a great combination. People would go to the movies and then have ice cream afterward. Old-fashioned fun. This has to work, Vince.”

“I think it will.” But he was having trouble concentrating on the subject. Instead he thought about her standing back by the saloon ogling his butt. If she was going to do that on a regular basis, she'd add to the tension they'd both be under, so maybe he should ask about it, after all. “Back there, when you got distracted, were you ogling my butt?”

“Um, no. Not really.”

“Don't lie to me about this. Ogling isn't going to help us behave ourselves. You weren't really behaving yourself if you were doing that, come to think of it.”

“I promise I wasn't ogling.”

“Then what the hell was so distracting?”

“I was just fascinated by . . . your walk.”

That brought him to a screeching halt. “My
walk
? What about it?”

“Well, you were going fast.”

“Because it's cold out.”

“Right. But usually cowboys amble along.”

“Unless it's cold. Then we get a move on. I still think you were ogling my butt.”

“No, I swear I wasn't. It was in my field of vision, of course, but—”

“Aha!”

“But the thing is, you're slightly . . . bowlegged. It's very cute to watch you walk fast, especially from behind.”

Vince groaned. “Remind me never to do that again. Even if I'm being chased by a damned bear, I will amble. Now let's amble on down to your house. We don't have much more to go, although it'll take a little longer now that we're ambling.”

“See, that's why I didn't tell you.” She fell into step beside him. “Now you're self-conscious about it.”

“No man wants to be told he has a cute walk, Georgie. A steady pace? That's fine. A determined stride? Even better. But never, under any circumstances, does a man want to hear that he has a cute walk.”

“You asked me!”

“I thought you were ogling my butt, and that had to stop.”

“I wasn't, and I won't. I can't tell you to be a gentleman and then ogle your butt. That's a double standard.”

“I'm glad we agree on that point.”

“Now let's change the subject.”

“Fine with me.” He still thought she might have been checking him out while she watched his
cute walk
, but he'd let it drop.

Then he wouldn't have to admit that while they'd been standing there arguing, he'd noticed that the cold air had made her nipples hard enough to show through the fabric of her bra and her silky blouse. He'd looked away the minute he'd noticed, but he was currently replaying the image in his head. A guy could only be so good.

She pointed to her left. “One of these old shops would be perfect for Anastasia's studio. I'd like to see her have a space somewhere other than in the house. My stepmother isn't particularly supportive, and that has to affect her creativity.”

“Her mother's not supportive? I don't get that when she's such a good artist.”

“That's not the path Evelyn wants her to take. It's a long story, too long to go into right now, but my hope is that she can move into an actual studio, and something on Main Street would be great. That side of the street would probably give her the kind of light she needs, too.”

“I wouldn't know the first thing about that.” But he thought Anastasia was lucky to have Georgie looking out for her interests, especially if her own mother wasn't doing that.

“I only know a little, but I think one of these shops might be right for her. She could work in the back and have a place in front where she could display stuff. She could use the second floor for storing paintings, or maybe even live there if she wants to be more independent.”

“Have you mentioned it to her?”

“Not yet. There's no point until we see whether the trail rides are successful. I will say that having you come on board gives me more confidence.”

“But you didn't want me to do it at first. And don't deny that, because I saw your face when Ida told everybody I'd be perfect.”

“I can't deny it.” They'd reached the low gate at the end of the walkway to her house, and she turned toward him. “I was afraid if you stayed around here, I would eventually give in and . . . you know.” She waved a hand.

“Believe me, I do know.” And the thought wasn't far from his mind at the moment.

“But now that we've agreed to keep everything strictly businesslike between us, I'm okay with you being the trail boss. I'm thrilled about it, in fact.”

Businesslike. He carefully squelched his urge to kiss her. Something about leaving a woman at her gate cried out for a warm embrace. “Just don't go putting too much importance on my part in this. I'm a small cog in a big wheel.”

“Not exactly. You're more of a—”

“Small cog in a big wheel. And a replaceable one, at that. I need you to think in those terms. We'll get along much better if you do.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. I'll give it my best shot.”

“Thank you.”

“Good night, Vince.” She put her hand on the gate latch. “I'll see you in the morning.”

“Good night, Georgie.” He touched the brim of his hat and turned to start back down the street. “Just so you know, I'll be ambling away. No need to stand there and watch, because there'll be nothing cute to see.”

Her soft laughter had him racking his brain for some excuse to turn around and go back. But going back would achieve nothing. He still wouldn't be allowed to kiss her, per their agreement. And he definitely wouldn't be allowed to pull her into his arms and feel the softness of her breasts against his beating heart.

And it was beating at a fairly brisk pace, too. When she'd taken that deep breath a moment ago, she'd expanded her rib cage and lifted those inviting breasts in a way that had made his mouth water. Those were off-limits, too, so he kept walking.

He'd love to know if she'd gone inside or if she was still standing there watching him. He'd never know, because he wasn't about to turn around and look. Instead he did his best to walk with a determined stride that wasn't even remotely cute.

Sure, he was a little bowlegged, as she'd noticed. Nearly every working cowboy he knew was that way from all the hours they spent with their legs wrapped around a horse's belly. Most also had broken a bone or two while on the job. Vince's left wrist and his left ankle had taken a beating when a horse had rolled on him. Those two spots tended to ache when a storm was coming in.