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Tate approached and leaned in, kissing Tildy lightly on the side of the head. She pretended not to notice the heavy floral scent of French perfume that lingered on his clothes, especially since Tildy wore sandalwood. Deirdre Fletcher was so practiced at ignoring such a thing that Tildy could scarcely be sure that her mother had noticed it at all. A few moments later, Skylar Harrison breezed in, wedging herself between Tildy and Tate. She also kissed Tildy, though a bit more enthusiastically than Tate had. Tildy held her breath as she embraced her best friend. Apparently French perfume was popular this summer.
Deirdre pretended to care about what Tate had done in Europe last month, while Tate pretended to care that things at the bank were going very well despite ‘this economy.’ Tildy pretended to check her mental calendar to see if she was free next week for a date, while Skylar pretended she wasn’t irritated at the idea. Vera Simmons winked at Tildy from across the living room, pretending that Tate and Tildy were mere seconds from eloping into the night when everyone would be distracted by fireworks.
Tildy wondered how long it would take for her fake life to become her real life. And then she wondered if she’d even notice.
At just after midnight, Tildy made her way up the stairs to her bedroom where she closed the door behind her. She shed her dress, ignored her bruise, and pulled a cotton t-shirt over her head. Once under the covers, she reached into the pillowcase for the familiar feel of the little gold medallion.
“Isa,” she whispered quietly into the darkness. “I’m lost.”
Chapter 3
Hawk let the feisty blonde cowgirl order another drink for herself and he put a ten on the bar for Maria. She was cute, wearing short jean shorts and a white t-shirt that revealed the fact that she was wearing a black bra. Hawk was certain this was intentional. The cowboy boots were cute, too. He might let her keep them on. She’s losing the hat though, he thought.
“You ‘bout ready?” he asked her, lowering his head and his voice. The look on her face said she didn’t have to ask ‘For what?’
She nodded, downed her margarita, and grabbed her purse. “Let me just hit the ladies’,” she declared.
“Okay, honey,” he replied.
She left the bar, but her perfume remained. It wasn’t a bad scent, as far as perfume went, he mused. No sooner had the bar stool been vacated, than it was filled again, this time by a dark-haired woman in leather.
“Hey, Hawk,” she drawled.
Hawk smiled at her. “Hey, honey. How are things?”
“Better since I saw you here,” she purred.
Hawk suppressed the urge to wince. Amazingly for a guy who fooled around as often as he did, it was rarely a problem for him. He chalked this up to his being completely honest with the fairer sex. He was always clear that he was only looking for a good time.
Rapid City wasn’t huge by any stretch of the imagination, though Maria’s had a small but steady supply of new faces. Even so, he did resort to bedding the same woman more than once on occasion. He tried hard not to make it a habit.
Hawk was certain that he’d been with his one more than once. She had a tiny beauty mark above her eyebrow that he thought was familiar.
“Well, I was just leaving,” he declared, standing up. “But it was good seeing you, honey. Take care now.”
Undeterred the woman moved in front of him. “Oh, come on,” she said. “One drink. One dance,” she urged, though she wasn’t really interested in either.
“Can’t,” Hawk declared. “Got plans, honey.”
“Tanya,” she corrected.
Hawk sighed. He hated this when it happened. Contrary to persistent rumors, he did feel shitty when he hurt a woman’s feelings. In his experience, it was best to just rip off the Band-Aid, before things went too far.
Sex was just sex. There were some women who thought they could use it to manipulate him, but they didn’t really care about him.
“Tanya,” he repeated. “Do you know my name?”
Tanya blinked in confusion. “Hawk,” she replied.
“True,” he told her. That was his Sioux name, given to him by his grandmother. “My Christian name,” he prompted.
Tanya stood frozen.
“We had some good nights, Tanya. But that’s all.”
He spotted the blonde coming down the bathroom hallway. He stepped around Tanya and crossed the room.
“My place or yours?” the blonde asked.
“Yours,” he replied automatically. “I’ll follow you on my bike.”
The blonde’s face fell for an instant, but Hawk was resolute. Letting them share the saddle as well as the bed could only end badly.
“Okay,” she agreed.
He followed her to a split-level ranch house on the east side of town much like his own. Once inside Hawk didn’t waste any time. He pulled her in close and took her mouth firmly but gently. He tossed her hat aside and, as soon as he felt her relax in his arms, walked her backwards toward her couch.
