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His stiff and sudden retreat wasn’t like the Hunter I was used to. There was no warm smile. No teasing shove, like we would’ve done as kids. My gut tw
isted with uncertainty. What was happening between us? Why couldn’t he just tell me what was wrong?
With every step he took further away, it seemed to suck the warmth out the room. A shiver ran through me. I kept my eyes glued to his retreating figure until my Mom, Lexi, and Beth surrounded me, demanding to know what had happened to my pie. By the time I could look for him again, he was gone.
And that pit had returned to my stomach.
Chapter Eleven
I thought things couldn’t get any more country than the 4H fair.
I was wrong.
Harry’s Bar and Grill was like the holy land of everything cowboy, farm hand, and country rolled together. Wooden shiplap covered the walls and dozens of framed posters of old Western movies hung from mounted deer antlers. Twangy country music boomed through the speakers, while the smell of fried greasy food was thick in the air.
Some people had already started up a line dance on the wooden dance floor. Several families ate with their young 4Hers over in the dining section, but a majority of the customers were high schoolers hanging near the bar sipping Cokes and munching on baskets of peanuts. That included Sarah, who was already surrounded by a flock of boys as she sat on a barstool and crossed her bare, shapely legs with just the right amount of flirtation.
I was so not ready to face that tonight.
“Did we just teleport to Texas?” Beth wondered aloud beside me.
With her black Call of Duty t-shirt and track pants with the white stripe up the side, she looked totally out of place. Lexi wasn’t doing much better. She might have wrestled up a pair of red cowgirl boots to wear to tonight’s event, but the perfect upsweep of her hair into a high ponytail and sparkly highlighter on her cheekbones made her look much too high-maintenance to be hanging out in a scene like this.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Texas,” Lexi said, rubbing her hands excitedly. “Come on, let’s go order a Shirley Temple.”
“I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” I said, waving at them. They could head toward the piranha in heels if they wanted. I had other places to be. “I want to find Hunter first.”
We’d left off in such a weird place at the fair today, I’d been itching to see him face-to-face again to make sure we were okay. I wasn’t sure what was up with him lately. Or, why we couldn’t just settle back into our friendship roles as easily as I’d hoped.
Maybe I hadn’t given him enough time to adjust to being back home. I was sure it was hard, moving around all the time. I’d lived in one place all my life, so I couldn’t relate. But I knew that after a few more days, all these growing pains would be gone, and everything would go back to the way it was.
It wasn’t hard to find Hunter, even in the crowded bar. It was kind of like I had a sixth sense when it came to him. As I’d suspected, I found him leaning against the barrier to the mechanical bull, one of his round-toed boots resting on the bottom rung, and laughing as a guy was thrown from the bull to the thick mat-covered floor.
My feet came to a stop several feet away from him, my heart beginning to race. He’d worn a black pearl-snap shirt that was tucked into the top of his jeans. The material stretched across his muscular back, reminding me once again of the bulk Hunter had put on this last year. It looked good on him.
But more distracting than that was the way he laughed. I’d heard that laugh a million times before, but it had never made my gut twist with need the way it did now. He really did have a great laugh. And the soft way his lips curled as he smiled could make a girl swoon. I wondered if I touched his cheek, if the beginnings of his scruffy beard would feel rough like sandpaper or soft, like feather down—
“Who’s up next?” someone called as the mechanical bull wound down.
The question broke me from my stupor and suddenly all the blood rushed to my face. Thank goodness Hunter hadn’t caught me staring at him like that. He would’ve known each and every forbidden thought running through my head.
And I would’ve had to die.
“I’ll go next,” I said, raising my hand high in the air. Maybe the best thing to do was violently shake these impulses out of my head.
Hunter turned around, his eyes lighting up when they landed on me. “Hey, Char. You here to dominate like you promised?”
“Always,” I said, scrunching up my face. That powerful need in my stomach hadn’t gone away yet. Hunter’s hazel eyes slowly trailing over my body wasn’t helping things, either.
“Nice outfit.” His gaze darted back up to my eyes, warmth glinting in them. “I like the boots, too.”
I smiled at him. The lacy cream dress and leggings had been hand-selected by Lexi herself. She’d maintained that this was still a Rodeo Queen event and that she had to dress me. I’d gotten her to tone down the eyeshadow and height of my hair by promising to wear my mom’s old tan cowgirl boots. For the first time in a long time, when I’d looked in the mirror tonight, I felt really good about myself. No more worries about bleating sheep and burnt pies and evil frenemies.
For once, it felt like I could actually relax.
“Thanks.” I came up beside him and leaned on the railing. “Tonight was a good excuse to get dressed up for once. Think I fit in?”
“Well, you definitely look like a cowgirl.” His gaze slid down to my boots again and his nostrils widened as he took a deep breath. “A really...sexy cowgirl.”
