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“Seven.”
She studied the picture then moved to the next one. His graduation from Rice University, and when he became sheriff, Cooper and Max as pups, Cisco and Lady as fawn, the day he bought the land for his house, the day his house was done. He had to admit, he took all of that for granted. Kind of always assumed his parents would be there, but putting himself in Cedar’s shoes, all the firsts that her parents wouldn’t be around for, it caused a pain in his chest, and not for him, but for her.
“I love this wall,” she said then glanced over at him. “The steaks smell amazing.”
He reached for her hand, wanted the connection, as much for himself as her. “We’ll eat outside.”
A few hourslater, they were at The Barrel. Thinking about earlier, Cedar had eaten her steak and some of his, didn’t pick at her food, but enjoyed it with an appreciation he rarely saw in women, especially on a first date. And it was a date. He hadn’t been sure when he suggested it, and not because he wasn’t interested; he was thinking about her, but she wanted to seize the day. And fuck but he wanted to seize her. Dinner at his place was for them. You learned a lot about a person over a meal. He learned that she went all in. She didn’t hedge. If she wanted something, she just did it. She’d showed that with moving to Wyoming, with the work she was doing on her house. Not phases for her. She had the vision, and she wanted it done. Considering all she lost, she knew better than most, how fleeting life was…how short.
Dinner had been for them. The bar was so everyone else would know he was staking his claim. He knew she wanted him. Every thought in her head showed in those green eyes. He wanted her, too, so he was letting the rest of town know she was off limits.
They arrived an hour ago. She’d finished the bottle of wine at his house, was nursing a glass now. He had a feeling it had been a long time since she’d let her hair down. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, so he watched her while she taunted Liam at a game of pool.
“Ten bucks a shot,” she said.
“You a hustler, Cedar?”
She grinned. “I’ve been playing for years,” she said, leaning against the table. “Years.”
Liam was damn good at pool, and not one to turn down a challenge, he racked the balls. “You’re on.”
“Alright,” Cedar said, putting her glass on the table behind her, and then walked over for a pool stick. “I hope I’m not taking your lunch money,” she teased, making a production of chalking the tip. A few guys moved closer, but one look from Killian, and they backed off.
“Ladies first,” Liam said.
She grinned, moved into position, leaned over the table and lined up the cue. No one was behind her, or he’d be across the room. He wished he was, so he could see her long legs, the hem of her dress rising higher. That dress. It was bright as fuck, but it was sexy as hell. He wanted to pull the string of the halter, wanted to see her breasts spilling out. She wasn’t wearing a bra, a fact not lost on any of the men in the bar. Her nipples were hard, pressing against the fabric. Fuck, he wanted her dress around her waist and his mouth and hands on her. The crotch of his jeans grew tight. He took a long pull from his beer, watched her line up the shot, and then take it. Silence followed because the ball missed all the other balls, bounced right off the table, hit the floor and rolled.
His focus shifted back to Cedar. She was grinning. All that shit talk and she couldn’t play. All in. He thought, and looked down at the floor to hide his smile.
“You suck,” Liam shouted. “All that shit and you suck. Fuck, I should have made it twenty dollars a shot.”
“I do, I really suck, but I love the idea of it,” Cedar confessed.
“Let’s continue on,” Liam said enthusiastically.
Cedar leaned on the pole. “Double or nothing, you can’t run the table.”
Liam looked wicked. “It’s your money, Sweetheart.”
“Less talk, more play,” she said, in what Killian assumed was her gangster voice.
Liam ran the table.
After she settled up with Liam, she returned to their table, but she didn’t take a stool. He was leaning against the wall; she leaned up against him. He wrapped an arm around her belly and pulled her closer. Felt the heat of her skin through the thin fabric of her dress. He wanted to let that hand drift down, lift her skirt, and explore her. Wanted to lick her taste off his fingers. If the corner were darker, he’d have been tempted. She rested her head back on his chest, the long line of her throat exposed. His cock twitched. All the things he wanted to do…
The shout came from the bar, right before the first punch was thrown. A calm settled for a split second, before all hell broke loose.
“Liam, get her out of here,” Killian shouted. He turned her to him. “Go with Liam.”
Wide eyes moved to the fighting.
“I’m the sheriff. I got to handle it.”
She nodded and didn’t resist when Liam grabbed her hand. He waited until she was out of the bar and then he walked right into the heart of the chaos.
Two hours later, he wanted to murder someone. This was not how he saw the evening ending. “None of these fuckers get out of the cage until the last fucking second we can hold them.” Then he muttered under his breath, “Fucking cock blocked by drunken idiots.”
Johnny walked over, jerked his head to the cages. “Don’t know half of them.”
