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He shrugged. "Sorry. It's just women like her rub me the wrong way."
"Women who are kind and generous, not to mention drop dead gorgeous?"
He swallowed half of his drink in one gulp, sucking in a breath at the bite of the liquor. "No, fake, superficial, posers from California."
"First of all, Sarah was born and raised in Colorado. Second of all, she's my best friend. Do you really think I'd be friends with someone who's fake and superficial?"
"You married Gregory, didn't you?"
She drew back, felt a pinch in her stomach. "Harsh." She and Liam had always busted each other's chops, but this was below the belt.
He shook his head and rubbed his hand over his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was a low blow. I've had a crap day and shouldn't have let JT convince me to stay for the evening. Doesn't excuse it, though. I'll apologize to Sarah too."
"Apology accepted. And I'm sure Sarah will too. She's amazing and I wouldn't have gotten through the last year without her. I may have crap taste in men, but my friends are the best."
"In that case, you're lucky to have her. And I'd say your taste in men is improving." He lifted his chin towards the lodge, where she caught a glimpse of JT and Sarah twisting in a pretzel before he swung her out and twirled her under his arm.
"So, what's going on?"
"It's Colin. He called me today, crying about coming home."
"I thought he missed you and was excited to see his friends."
"He is, but I think it's finally sinking in that his mom will be living a thousand miles away and he won't be seeing her as much."
She reached out and took her brother's hand. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard it is for you."
"Yeah, it's one thing for me to be hurt, but I'm a grown man. But to see how her choices are hurting my kid... there's nothing worse." After a few seconds he said, "I know what you went through was really painful, losing the baby and everything, but—"
"Please don't say it was a blessing." She went to pull her hand away, but he stopped her.
"I'm not. I would never say that. But it's really hard, having to be tied to someone forever, watching your kid get hurt by his other parent's decisions and not being able to do a damn thing about it. Don't get me wrong, Colin is the best thing that ever happened to me—the only good thing that came from me marrying Kristie—but that means I'll always be tied to her. You don't have to worry about that. Once you settle the house stuff, you never have to deal with Gregory again. You can start over, with a totally clean slate."
She followed his gaze over to where JT was emerging from the lodge. She looked past him and saw that Sarah was now in the capable arms of JT's cousin Charlie.
"Hey, Nate," JT called to one of the wranglers who was cozying up to a cute waitress named Michelle in a dim corner of the courtyard. "Come over here and cover for Colleen for a little bit."
He turned to Liam. "Okay if I ask your little sister to dance?"
Liam shrugged, a little smile teasing at his lips. "Have at it, man. Pretty sure you dancing with her is the least of my worries."
Before Colleen could come up with a retort, JT was pulling her into the lodge. The scruffy bearded lead singer was belting the lyrics to a George Strait classic as JT maneuvered her through the crowd of couples swinging and spinning away to the music.
She couldn't keep the grin off her face as he pulled her close and moved them across the dance floor in a quick two-step. He swung her out and spun her under his arm until she was breathless.
Then the music slowed, and he settled his hand against the small of her back and pulled her close. With her right hand tucked securely in his left, she moved her left hand onto his shoulder, sliding up until her fingers brushed the back of his neck.
She sighed and settled against him, her nipples puckering as they brushed against the hard wall of his chest. The heat of his skin seeped through their clothing, making her wish with everything she had that she could get him somewhere alone, strip him down so there was nothing in between them.
"God, I've missed you," he whispered, thinking along the same lines. "I suppose you're going to hang out with Sarah after this?"
"That's the plan, yeah." At that moment, she caught a glimpse of her friend, watching them with an almost wistful smile on her face. "But I promise I'll make it up to you soon."
"Speaking of that, I was thinking next week, when you go to Billings, maybe I could join you."
Her stomach turned a cartwheel. "It's in the middle of the week. Don't you have to work?"
"Guest numbers drop after tomorrow and we're only half full. Paulina can hold down the fort for a couple of days."
