Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (21 page)

He didn’t put them there.

Her shoes and missing panty hose
were lying in a heap near the chair.

He didn’t put them there either.

Son-of-a-bitch.

Looking down at her surprised face,
the reality of what he was doing hit him hard. 

Once again he was taken in by a
city girl. 

Not more than a half hour ago, she
was in this very room having sex with Duke, the evidence was all around them,
and now she was allowing him those same privileges. Well, he sure as hell didn’t
want them.

He sprang from the couch, barely
able to breath, he was so fucking angry.

She reached for his hand. “What’s
wrong, Connor?” Her voice sounded innocent.

Oh, she’s good.

He shook her hand off. “
You
are
what’s wrong, Kerri! I must have been crazy to think…” his voice trailed off as
anger with himself boiled over.

How could he allow himself to be
taken in by a girl like her? Again.

He looked down at the hurt
expression on her face. It was so intense, he almost believed it was real,
except the events of the evening spoke for themselves. She had played him for a
fool, and this was the last time this cowboy was going to let that happen. The
very last time.

“What’s wrong, Kerri? Did I spoil
your plans?” He continued to stare down at her, anger shaking his limbs. “Well,
take a good look, darlin’, because
this
is the look of a man you won’t
have.” And after giving her body a quick dismissing glance, he headed for the
door and didn’t look back.

K
erri glanced at the
German Shepherd sitting in the passenger seat happily staring out the window.
She was going to miss Bullet. He’d been a godsend this past week, seeming to
sense her desolation and didn’t leave her side for much of the time. Still, she
could tell he missed Jordan, and she was happy to be the one to reunite them.

So much for being spared the
humiliation of seeing Connor again.

Maybe tonight her sister would be
so overwhelmed with happiness she wouldn’t catch on to Kerri’s deceit. Her ruse
that nothing was wrong, that deep inside she didn’t feel cold and raw and like
such a failure.

At least, she hoped her sister
wouldn’t catch on.

Fooling her parents was one thing,
but trying to pull something over on Jordan was near impossible.

Sighing, she parked the car and
crossed her fingers for luck before getting out with her excited companion.

The front door opened before she
got there, and Cole ushered them in as the wind picked up. Her chest tightened.
God, he looked so happy. Kerri hugged him and then her sister before taking her
coat off and putting it into the coat closet while the couple reunited with
their happy dog.

Kerri watched the newlyweds and
could sense right away a difference in them.  They had been happy before, but
now...wow...their warm expressions and loose posture just oozed contentment and
pure bliss. Total serenity.

Kerri fought the urge to sigh. She
wanted that, too.

“Thanks for watching him for us,” her
sister said, still on her knees as Bullet continued to lavish her with welcome
home kisses.

Kerri smiled. “It was my pleasure.
He kept me good company.”

“I hated to leave him again,
especially after I promised him I wouldn’t,” Jordan confessed and rubbed him
behind the ears before standing up to look at Kerri. “How about you?  How’ve you
been? Mom said you weren’t feeling well.”

Shoot. Now her sister was studying
her carefully.

“Yeah.” Kerri shrugged. “I had some
kind of bug, but I’m on the mend.”

 Cole stepped next to Jordan, dropping an arm around her sister’s shoulder while looking at Kerri. “Must be
something going around. Seems Connor’s been out of sorts this week, too.”

“Could be.” Hoping her expression
appeared neutral, Kerri turned and headed for the drawing room where she heard
voices.

After saying hello to the families,
she avoided eye contact with Connor and thanked her father when he handed her a
glass of wine.

She was ready for the whole darn
bottle.

Dang, the cowboy looked good enough
to snuggle up to in his red flannel shirt and jeans. Granted, she didn’t allow
her gaze to move passed his neck, but her body wasn’t complaining. In fact, it
was straining against her sweater, already responding to his nearness.

Stupid body.
Yeah, she was
going to require more than one glass of wine in order to get through this visit.
Emma, thank the Lord, came in a few minutes later and asked to speak with her
in the kitchen.

“Sorry to pull you away,” Emma
said, looking a little nervous as she twisted her apron. “I wanted to tell
you…well…the community fair is coming soon, and I hope you don’t mind, but I
signed you up for a few things.”

Kerri’s heart stopped. “What sort
of things?”

“Just the Chili Cook-off and the
Lunch Basket Raffle.”

Now her stomach rolled. “Oh, Emma I
wish you hadn’t.”

“Why?” The cook frowned. “This is a
good opportunity for you to show off your cooking skills
and
advertise
your restaurant. It’ll be opening up soon afterwards, right?”

“Yes.” Kerri sighed. “It would be
good advertising, I’m just not sure about the raffle. Doesn’t that mean I will
have to share lunch with whoever bids the highest for my basket?”

Emma smiled broadly. “Yes. Won’t
that be fun? All those young, handsome men vying for your goods.”

Kerri groaned. “That’s what I’m
worried about.” 

“But why, for goodness sakes?” Now
her mentor was frowning. “Just think about all the good that money will do. You
know each year a charity is chosen to receive half of the fair’s proceeds along
with all the money from the raffle.”

Actually, Kerri had forgotten about
that, but she nodded and continued to listen.

“This year, all the proceeds will
go toward building a gymnasium and indoor swimming facilities for the local
physical rehabilitation center.” Emma’s eyes misted over. “Some of the children
there will finally be able to go swimming for the first time in their life. And
they’re going to be adding some veteran’s programs in the fall.”

Ashamed, Kerri’s stomach soured at
her selfishness. Her discomfort at having to share a lunch with one of the
local males was nothing compared to what the veterans or those children had to
go through on a daily basis.

“You’re right, and that’s a great
charity this year. When is the fair?”

“It’s the first week of April.
Thursday thru Sunday.” Emma’s voice was filled with pride as she’d been on the
committee for decades now.

“Okay.” She smiled. “Then that
gives me a month to come up with a killer lunch.”

“Oh child, I suspect the men will
be bidding on your basket to spend time with you, not so much to eat your
lunch, no matter how delicious it is.” Emma’s eyes twinkled.

Kerri’s stomach turned. That was
exactly why she didn’t want to do it. She was so unsure of herself, and even
more so since her disastrous encounter with Connor.  The cowboy’s reaction to
her kisses once he’d gotten her on the couch confirmed what she’d suspected.
She didn’t live up to expectations. Her lack of sensuality left little to be
desired. Literally. First, with her ex-husband, and now, with Connor. She’d
been looking for validation, and boy, that was it.

Cripes. She wished with all her
heart she could fly back to California and leave that cowboy and his words
behind.

“I’d better get back,” she said,
and left Emma and headed to the dining room where everyone had settled.

Kerri took her usual seat. Unfortunately,
it happened to be right across from Connor. Another sip of wine was in order.
Maybe two.

Content to let the newlyweds relate
a few details of their trip, Kerri discovered they’d also stopped off in L.A. afterward so Jordan could pack up her belongings.

Homesickness for the coast hit
Kerri full force, tightening a band across her chest. She’d been happier there.

No, not true, but that’s her story,
and she was sticking to it.

Another sip and she managed to ask
the right questions at the right time. But Kerri’s nerves began to increase
with the pointed glances her sister kept throwing her way.

Since she and Connor were
noticeably quiet tonight, Kerri guessed they looked suspicious. Probably...
hello
…because
they were. She bravely stole a few glances at him, but was relieved he had his
gaze on his food and not her.

God, she really couldn’t bear it if
he looked at her with disinterest in front of everyone.

Kerri was not surprised when, an
hour later, her sister asked her to join her upstairs. Yeah, busted. At least
her sister had the decency to grill her in private.

Once Jordan shut the door behind
them, she motioned for Kerri to sit on the loveseat near the lit fireplace,
which cast a soft glow about the bedroom.

Jordan sat down next to her and
placed her hand on Kerri’s knee. “All right, we’re alone. Spill it. What’s
going on, Kerri?”

Raising her brows she managed to
ask calmly, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you and Connor barely ate
a thing, barely said a word and didn’t once look at each other,” Jordan replied firmly. “Now, please tell me what is going on. Did something happen between
the two of you?”

Kerri snorted. Yeah, nothing.

Her sister’s sigh mingled with the
crackling from the fireplace. Jordan gave her knee a squeeze. “Kerri, tell me
what happened. You can’t keep it bottled up.”

Yes, she could. In fact, she was
real good at it.

“Kerri, come on.”

She shook her head.  “No, Jordan. I
have to keep it in, otherwise, I’ll fall apart.”

Jordan’s frown deepened. “What in
the world did Connor do to you?”

“Nothing.” That was all she could
manage and could see it only worried Jordan all the more.

“Maybe I’d better go have a few
words with my handsome but clueless brother-in-law.” Jordan stood and turned to
the door.

“No!” Kerri jumped to her feet and
placed a hand on her sister’s arm. “Please, Jordan, don’t.”

Her sister turned and looked her
straight in the eye. “Kerri, honey, something is terribly wrong, and if you
can’t tell me then I am going to ask Connor. I can see you’re in pain, and you
know I won’t stand by and watch you suffer.”

“It...It isn’t Connor’s fault,”
Kerri stammered.

“What?”

“I said it isn’t really his fault.”

Jordan took her hand and led them
back to the loveseat. “Okay, I think you’d better start at the beginning.”

 Kerri looked at her sister’s
concerned face and a tear trickled down her cheek. “Jordan, I can’t.” She
closed her eyes, pushing out a multitude of tears in the process.

Jordan squeezed her hand. “Kerri,
you’re scaring me. What could be so bad?”

She opened her eyes and shook her
head. God, she just couldn’t voice it.

With a sigh, her sister wiped
Kerri’s cheek. “I also brought you up here to tell you that Lance wants to talk
to you.”

Kerri’s stomach lurched.

That was the last thing she needed.
Hysterical laughter bubbled in her throat, working its way out, startling
Jordan who looked at her like she’d grown two heads. No. just two
un
-admirers.

“Well, that’s just great. I can
make it a convention then.” Kerri laughed some more. “We can hold a contest to
see who could humiliate me the most.”

Jordan’s frown scrunched her whole
face. “What are you talking about? Both Lance and Connor did something to
humiliate you?”

Hearing her sister say it out loud
sobered Kerri, sucking the smile from her face faster than steam through an
overhead fan. “Something like that.”

“Kerri.” Her sister’s voice was soft.
“Lots of women are cheated on.”

She couldn’t help the snort that
escaped.

“I always thought there was
something more to your divorce than you told me. I’m right aren’t I?”

Jordan tried to look in her eyes,
but Kerri shot to her feet and walked over to the fireplace, staring at the
blaze. Her sister was in bulldog mode now. Her teeth were sunk in with no
easing in sight.

Sure enough, Jordan followed her,
then laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Kerri, it’s okay,” she encouraged
softly. “Whatever it is, it will be okay. You need to get it out.”

She knew this to be true. She
really did. And cripes, she was so darn sick of carrying the secret around. So
sick in fact, Kerri found she suddenly needed to tell it and get it off her
chest.

So, with her eyes trained on the
orange tipped flames, Kerri did just that. “You were right about Lance and me.
I told you the truth about finding him in bed with someone else that day, but
what I didn’t tell you was with whom.” Kerri paused for a breath, and Jordan
remained silent, just squeezing her shoulder to give her the courage to go on. 
“I found him in bed with Ian, the man that managed the restaurant we both
worked at.”

The shock and humiliation came back
full force. She drew in a shaky breath, then continued in a wobbly voice, “And
do you want to know what the worst part was? I needed my best friend, but
couldn’t go to him, because
Lance
was my best friend. God, Jordan, I never felt so alone or desolate before.”

Once she finally said it, Kerri
felt sad, but also a little relieved, like a weight lifted off her shoulders. Jordan turned her around, and Kerri noted tears in her sister’s eyes.

“Oh, Kerry, why didn’t you tell me
this sooner?”

 “You’d just lost Eric a few months
earlier,” she replied. “You barely knew what month it was, and I didn’t want to
burden you with that kind of nonsense. God, what you were going through was so
much worse than what I was.”