AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Words pushed at his throat, but he swallowed them back down and changed the subject.“Want to go to dinner with an awesome guy?I was thinking about taking you to Houston tonight on a real date.”
“I would love to go on a real date with an awesome guy, but my sisters are leaving in the morning and it might be the last family dinner we have all together in the house.”
He hated that he wouldn’t get to be with her tonight, but he was thrilled she wasn’t leaving like her sisters.
At least not for a while.
To show his gratitude, he kissed her.When he finally drew back, her eyes were dazed and passion filled.
“Does that kiss mean you aren’t too prissy for another tumble in the hay?”
He tumbled her.Not even the itch of the hay stopped him from giving her a tumble she’d never forget.And one he’d never forget.He’d never forget the liquid green of her eyes when he brushed his lips over her wet heat.Never forget the tight hug of her thighs or her soft breathy hiccups as he used his tongue to delve deeper.Never forget the way she gasped his name when he pushed her over the edge.
“Decker,” she whispered like a prayer.
After he had pleasured her, she used her mouth to pleasure him.When they finally climbed down from the hayloft, they looked like they had been tumbling around in the hay.
“If you walk in the house like this, your family is going to know what we’ve been doing,” he said as he plucked hay out of her hair.
She brushed at his shoulders.“My family already knows what we’ve been doing.Or least my sisters do.”
He stared at her.“You told them we’re having sex?”
“Of course.I tell them everything.And it’s not like they couldn’t have figured it out on their own.Mimi loves retelling the story about how you tossed me over your shoulder and carried me off.”
“Shit.Your parents and grandma must think I’m a caveman.”
Sweetie laughed.“My daddy was pretty angry until I assured him you were just horsing around.I don’t think Mama believed it.Neither did Mimi.She thinks you have gumption.She said if you had money and were a rancher, you’d be top on her bridegrooms’ list.”
He pulled her closer.“Then I guess I need to go buy some lottery tickets and brush up on my ropin’.”As soon as the words were out, he wished he had them back.Marriage talk was sure to send Sweetie bolting.But she didn’t look upset or uncomfortable.In fact, her smile got even bigger.
“I guess you should.”
On the way home, he took a detour to a truck stop where he bought twenty lottery tickets.He knew it was foolish.The chances of him winning were slim.And even if he did win, the chances of Sweetie agreeing to marry him were even slimmer.But he hadn’t thought she would stay for longer than a couple weeks and she was.So maybe, just maybe, his luck was changing.
“Jolene” came on the radio station he’d recently programed in and he sang along loudly and obnoxiously.He stopped singing when he got home and saw the rental car parked in his driveway right behind his sheriff’s SUV.Since few people in town ever rented a car, he was wary.As a law enforcement officer, he had been trained to be cautious, so he took his gun out of the glove box and tucked it in the waistband of his jeans before he got out.He had only taken two steps toward the house when the door opened and George and Dixie Chick raced out.
Followed by a man.
Decker didn’t need to see the face beneath the shadow of the cowboy hat to know who it was.The athletic body and swagger gave him away.
“Jace!”Decker hurried over to greet his cousin with a tight hug.
Jace thumped him on the back.“Hey, cuz.”He drew back and grinned.He still looked like a golden boy.His hair was as blond.His eyes as blue.But there was a harder edge to his features that hadn’t been there the last time Decker had seen him.“You haven’t changed at all,” Jace said.“What’s it been, five years?”
“Six.My college graduation was the last time we saw each other.”Decker gave George a pat on the head before he scooped Dixie Chick into the crook of his arm.“When did you get here?”
“A couple hours ago.I was gonna wait on the porch, but then figured I’d see if the key Nana gave me still worked.”Jace squinted at Dixie Chick.“That’s some watchdog you got there, Deck.She tried to chew my leg off when I stepped in the door.”
“She’s a feisty one.You still have a key to the house?”
Jace shrugged.“You know me.I never could get rid of anything.”He glanced at the old truck sitting in the driveway.“Looks like you can’t get rid of anything either.You didn’t mention you still had my old truck when we talked last.I’d thought for sure you’d sell it.”
Decker shook his head.“I knew you’d come home eventually.”
“Yeah.It’s been too long.”Jace’s eyes turned sad.“I wanted to come home for Gramps and Nana’s funeral, but it was right in the middle of the season and I—”
Decker cut him off.“I know.It’s okay.”
