I led her onto the full dance floor, pulling her into me until her chest was pressed to mine. With her hand in mine, I placed her other hand on my chest. I gripped her hip, just letting us sway to the music.
As the music picked up, I took a step forward, leading her into a slow two-step, and I watched her eyes grow big in surprise. I spun her out and then pulled her back in, dipping her.
“Holy fuck,” she breathed. “You can dance.”
I winked. “I have party tricks, too.”
She beamed then as she came up from the dip. I held her to me, grinding my hips with hers before I repeated the steps.
The whole time, we couldn’t take our eyes off each other. Nothing seemed to matter at that moment. All the bullshit with Penn’s mom, with Junior, the trouble on the ranch. None of it mattered with her in my arms. With Lina—this fierce, independent woman who was full of sass but had the biggest heart—I just knew we’d be able to conquer anything.
27
lina
This quiet, sometimes brooding man was full of surprises tonight. First, whisking me away to fuck me in the bathroom, and now he was spinning me around on the dance floor as if his shoes were made of glass. Who was this man? Where had he been hiding? He actually knew how to have some fun.
My cheeks were hurting because I couldn’t stop smiling. I hadn’t had this much fun since … well, maybe since I met him.
He led me in one two-step after another, some of the music quicker than others, but he didn’t miss a beat.
“Where did you learn to dance like this?”
“My mother. My parents went out a lot.” A brief shadow crossed his face with whatever memory that provoked. “Usually, we would be waiting for my dad to come home from work, she’d put on some music, and she’d have me practice with her until they left for the night.”
“They left you at night?” It made me sad to think of Reed as a little boy being left home alone.
He shrugged before spinning me out and bringing me back to him. My hand landed on his chest, feeling his heartbeat quicken beneath my palm. “Sometimes the neighbor would sit with meuntil I went to bed. They weren’t the best parents. Neither one of them were very involved.”
My smile broke. “I couldn’t imagine not wanting to be involved in my child’s life, but I understand. My mom has never been interested in what I was doing. She kind of has her own life and family. I didn’t exactly fit in with it.”
“She doesn’t come to any of your events?”
“She used to … early on. I mean, that was her life before I was born—when she met my dad. You know he was a bronc rider?”
Reed nodded. “I’ve made the mistake of asking about it.”
I laughed. “Yeah, Dad likes to talk about it.”
“It almost always turns into bragging about you, though.”
“That man.” I shook my head with a grin. “I don’t have to question whether he’s proud of me. Apparently, he was wild when he was younger. He always had all the buckle bunnies following him to his trailer. That’s how he met Mom.”
“Then they had you?”
“Yeah, but they were never together. I think it was more of a fuck–buddy type situation. She never wanted to move out to Willows and live on the ranch.”
“Did you just live with your dad then?”
“Nah. Probably for the first fourteen years of my life, I went back and forth between my mom’s place in Portland and the ranch. Once I got more involved with barrel racing, I told Mom I wanted to live with Dad. She seemed to think that was a great idea.” I laughed, but there was little humor in it.
“I’m sorry.” Reed frowned.
“Don’t apologize. Mom and I are like oil and water. We chat, but it’s hard to carry on a conversation with her for very long. We’re nothing alike. She’s my mother, but the woman is a little vapid. Everything is surface level with her, ya know? So I let her live her life with my half brothers and stepdad in the city, andshe lets me live mine with Dad on the ranch while I race. Do you have any siblings?”
Reed shook his head, dipping me before helping me back up. “One and done for my folks. Being parents wasn’t really part of their lifestyle.”
“Were you lonely?”
