Page 63 of Sunrise & Serenity

It’s impossible not to smile. “Maybe. If I get out on the dance floor again.”

He takes a glass of beer the bartender hands him. “I’ll keep an eye out.” With a tip of his hat, he saunters away, disappearing into the crowd.

I turn back to Taryn and Riley, who are both beaming at me.

“Do you know who that was?” Taryn asks.

I shrug. “He said his name is Cash.”

“Cash Calloway. He’s one of the bull riders in the running for this year’s world championship.”

“If he asks you to dance, you should definitely say yes,” Riley says.

I wrinkle my nose at them.

He was very good-looking, though. Maybe sharing a dance with him later wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Especially if it takes my mind off a certain broody cowboy.

CHAPTER 16

HOLDEN

The noise hits me as soon as I open the door, and I try not to wince. It’s been months since I’ve set foot in this bar, and I instantly regret it. I never thought I’d prefer the quiet of my cabin to blaring country music and people shouting to be heard over it, yet here I am.

My first stop is the bar. I don’t even know why I’m here, except that the glimpse I caught of Sage when my siblings picked her up had my pulse accelerating dangerously. My gaze had dragged over her, taking in her hair skimming the straps of her short dress and her legs, bare from mid-thigh all the way down to her cowboy boots.

I had no doubt what reception she’d get looking like that.

After they’d left, no matter which TV channel I flicked to, nothing could wipe the vision of her from my mind. I ended up pacing back and forth, adrenaline I hadn’t felt in far too long burning through my veins. Before I knew it, I was showered, changed, and racing toward Silverford, even as I questioned what the hell had gotten into me.

Now that I’m here, I might as well stay for a bit. Just long enough for a couple of beers. Then I’ll head back to the cabin and pretend that was my plan all along. That I didn’t come here to keep an eye on a woman I wanted nothing to do with a few short weeks ago.

With my hat tipped low to avoid people’s gazes, I claim a space at the end of the bar and lean against it. When Allie spots me, her brows shoot up, and with a grin, she heads my way.

“Long time no see, stranger.”

I manage a smile back, even though the expression feels stiff. “Enjoy the moment while you can. This place is getting too busy for me.”

Laughing, she pours my beer of choice without needing to ask. “I’d say I’m sorry our popularity is off-putting,” she says, handing me the cold glass, “but I won’t lie to your face.”

I nod my gratitude and take a long sip.

She tips her chin toward the dance floor. “The McBride and Co. table’s over there if you want to join them.”

“Thanks,” I say, making no move to leave.

She searches my expression, then smiles and taps her knuckles on the bar. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

Like any good bartender, she’s a pro at reading moods. And she knows me well enough to leave me alone down here at the far end of the bar.

Once she’s gone, I lean back against the lacquered wood and scan the crowded room. It doesn’t take me too long to locate my siblings and their friends. They’re relaxing on a pair of leather couches on the other side of the dance floor.

It’s impossible not to focus on Sage. She’s sitting between Taryn and Knox, sipping a beer, then smiling at my sister.

Knox leans close, speaking into her ear. When she laughs in response, the muscles in my back and shoulders coil.

Is he flirting with her? Is she flirting back?