Page 28 of The Maverick’s Legacy

“Wow,” he said. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself,” she responded.

Jesse grinned at her before placing his hand on her back—a move she was getting a little too used to. She took a subtle breath of the woodsy cologne he wore as he guided her to his truck. He smelled so good. After he shut her door for her, he rounded the truck, and they were soon on their way.

“Am I allowed to know where we’re going now?” she asked.

“I thought we might try some line dancing at the Grizzly tonight.”

“You know how to line dance?” she asked.

“Not really.” Jesse laughed. “But how hard can it be?”

Carly snickered. “Oh, tonight is going to be so much fun.”

“Should I be nervous?” he asked.

“I guess we’ll find out,” she joked, feeling herself relax. “How’s the house coming along?”

“Good,” he answered. “Grayson and I were able to get the drywall up in Oscar’s room. I think we should be able to paint it soon.”

“What does Oscar think about this?” Carly had to ask as she waved her hand between the two of them.

“He thinks you’re already much cooler than me,” Jesse said with a self-deprecating smile. “But yes, he’s happy that I asked you out. He’s been really supportive about it, actually. I think he likes that I have something to focus on other than him.”

Carly tried not to look too pleased at that statement. “You focus on me a lot?”

“Oh, nonstop, night and day.” Jesse said it as a joke, and she laughed, but the glance he gave her as they turned down Central Avenue toward the Grizzly made her wonder if she was reading him right.

“Are you ready for this?” Carly asked him as they watched people enter the Western-style saloon. The exterior had a flat roof, like most of the commercial buildings in town. The entrance had a large orange door with weather-beaten benches to either side of it and a rough facade of bricks made from natural stone. A driveway beside the building led to a small parking lot behind the bar where they found a place to park.

Jesse smirked before offering her his hand. “Let’s do it.”

As they headed inside, Carly took in the crowded place. The floors were wood, and there was a long bar. Next to it was a jukebox blasting classic country music. Booths ran along the wall, and on one side of the building were some people playing pool. An antler chandelier hung overhead.

Carly glanced at Jesse and snickered when she saw his eyes go wide as he watched the line dancers moving in perfect sync to the music.

“Come on,” she said, offering her hand. He took it, and they made their way to the dance floor.

An hour later, Jesse had a light sheen of sweat on his cheeks as he tried to follow her moves. “How’d you get so good at this?” he asked as he stumbled over his own foot.

“My sister Elizabeth and I would go line dancing in between shows while we toured Australia. We didn’t get a break often, but when we did, we made the most of it.”

It was some of her favorite memories from the circuit, spending time with her sister. Sometimes they’d go dancing with Elizabeth’s husband; other times, it was just her and Elizabeth, and they would go shopping or lie on a beach somewhere and talk. It was nice, like she and her sister were taking on the world together. It was after Elizabeth’s husband died and she moved back to the States that Carly got so homesick, she’d bought the property in Tenacity.

The music changed to something slow and romantic.

Jesse’s mouth turned upward. “Can I have this dance, Ms. Hawkins?”

“You may, Mr. Abernathy.”

She placed her hands on his shoulders, and his went to her waist. They began to sway to the melodic sound. As they moved, she was slightly aware that there were a lot of people looking in their direction. But it was white noise. Carly was too distracted by the feel of Jesse’s body under her palms, the weight of his hands on her waist.

He smelled so good, like cedar and fresh hay. As Carly slowly raised her eyes to his mouth, she wondered what it would feel like to finally be against her own lips. Against other parts of her. As she finally met his eyes, he stared intently back before his own gaze dropped to her mouth. The air around them changed, becoming electric. Her breath hitched as he tightened his hands on her waist, pulling her more firmly against him until there was no space between their bodies.

Carly wanted to feel more of him. All of him. She was just about to tell him that when the music changed and a sharp honky-tonk song came on that had the crowd cheering.

Her face felt hot—whether from dancing or from fighting back the temptation to make a public exhibition of herself, she didn’t know. She pulled back so suddenly, his eyebrows shot up.