Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“That was—”
Colt cut off my protest with another kiss. We still didn’t know what we were doing, but at least no one’s nose got broken. He imitated what I’d done with my tongue, so I parted my lips, letting him explore more. His tongue touched mine, and I almost came in my pants. My skin felt feverish, hot and clammy.
Colt made a low, needy noise, so I chased his tongue back to his mouth. He sucked lightly on my tongue, and my toes curled inside my dress boots. I did him one better and sucked on his lower lip. He growled, moving against me. He was hard too, and I needed to do trigonometry in my head to keep from coming in my tuxedo pants. Finally, he pulled away, panting hard.
“Holy hell, Colt. I don’t know what that was, but if you say nice, I’m gonna deck you.”
“I liked that.” Colt’s voice was a revelation, like some old-time preacher talking about the second coming. “I really liked it.” He moved against me again. “I want more.”
“You’re drunk.” I needed to remember that. We both were. He was likely to either forget this or regret it tomorrow.
“Just kissing.” Colt’s tone turned pleading. “Please?”
“Like I can say no to your face.” I groaned, pulling him in for another kiss.
“Gotta do something till one of us sobers up enough to drive.” Colt gave a very uncharacteristic giggle. Yeah. He was drunk, and clearly, I was too because I giggled right along with him.
“What am I gonna do with you?”
“Kiss me again, I hope.” He was so damn earnest.
And even knowing everything had just changed and would change again in the morning, I was powerless to do anything other than continue kissing my best friend under the stars. A dozen meteors could have fallen, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere other than right here.
Chapter 9
Colt
Now
“I can’t wait to show you all my new tricks.” Willow bounced along in the passenger seat as we headed to her Saturday riding lesson.
“I’m excited to see them.” I was looking forward to seeing Willow ride because anything that made her happy made me happy, but I was less than thrilled with the where. Thanks to an arrangement I’d worked out a few years back, Willow’s horse boarded at Lovelorn Ranch, and she trained there with a ranch hand who was one of Betsey’s former barrel racing buddies. The ranch meant the possibility of seeing Maverick, but I’d brave it for Willow. “Sorry I haven’t been the one bringing you for a few weeks.”
“It’s okay.” Willow shrugged her slim shoulders. “A sheriff’s work is never done. Grandma says you have the weight of the whole county on your shoulders.”
“Grandma’s not wrong, but you come first. Always.” I made a mental note to talk to my mother about what she said to Willow. Mom worried about me constantly, but she didn’t need to pass that anxiety on to Willow.
“I wish I had a sister. Someone. Or a friend who lived closer.” Willow groaned and threw her head back against the seat. Like me and my siblings, Willow went to the county school that served not only Lovelorn but the other tiny towns that made up Disappointment County. After the loss of her mom, she’d struggled with finding friends in middle school, and the few she had lived much farther out from our place in Lovelorn. “Summer is so boring. Grandma. Aunt Georgia. Aunt Peg. Aunt Tiffany. I’m tired of the aunts.”
“I’m sorry.” I said that a lot with Willow. I was sorry she was bored. Sorry that her horse lived all the way out on the ranch. Sorry that I wasn’t her mom. Sorry that I worked so much. “I’m not comfortable with you home alone, even if you are in middle school now.”
“I’m not gonna use the stove,” Willow said like fire was the only risk of a bored kid home alone for hours during the summer. I’d seen too much as a deputy to leave Willow completely to her own devices, which meant a cobbled-together schedule of my mom, sisters, and aunts.
“I know you’re a good kid, Willow.” I made my tone upbeat, hoping she’d drop the home-alone question for now.
“Aunt Tiffany is trying for another baby.” Willow brought up an even less welcome subject. My sister was worse than my mom when it came to what she said in Willow’s hearing. “Did you and Mom ever try for another kid?”
“That’s kind of a personal question.” I pursed my lips. I’d always made a point of being honest with Willow, but sometimes that meant confronting uncomfortable truths. “Your mom was busy with barrel racing and teaching riding lessons. I was busy with deputy work. The timing never seemed quite right, I guess. And we won the kid lottery the first time around.”