Page 41 of Cowboy Stolen Kiss for Christmas

They kissed until a beeping sound from behind them made Ames abruptly lift his head. “I better see what’s going on.” He hurriedly stepped back inside the cockpit and took a seat at the controls. Then he jammed his headset back on and started barking through the microphone. “Mayday! Mayday! We’re losing fuel!”

Losing fuel? How? Why? Laura shakily slid to her knees on the floor behind him, listening dazedly as he communicated with the nearest air traffic control tower.

“I know it doesn’t make sense,” he growled to the person on the other end of the line. “Yes, everything checked out before we took off.”

She could hear the urgency in his voice, and it shook her deeply. They were thousands of feet in the air, and the plane they were in was in trouble. Unsure if they were going to make it safely back to the ground, she closed her eyes and started to pray.

Fifteen minutes earlier

Hearing the drone of a small jet, Lucy glanced up and caught sight of the white lights of a plane flying overhead. Whoever it was had an aerial view of the fireworks below. Lucky them!

“It’s Ames.” A shadowy figure leaped up on the float beside her, making her jump. It was Flint.

She pretended to sock him in the gut for startling her like that, and he pretended to have the wind knocked out of him. Trying not to laugh, she demanded, “Did you know he had this planned?”

“Yep.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “It might not be all chocolate and roses if you hang with us Carsons, but I promise you there will never be a dull moment.”

Her heartbeat stuttered at the question in his eyes, though she knew better than to give in to the tug of attraction that had always been between them. He would soon be gone. For good.

“Like appearing out of nowhere in the dark and scaring me half to death?”

“Yep.”

“Smooth,” she mocked.

“I thought so.” He moved closer to sling an arm around her shoulders, tipping his head back to continue watching the fireworks. “Like I said, never a dull moment.” His voice was low and rumbly against her ear.

She gave a long-suffering sigh. “Are you trying to flirt with me again, Flint Carson?”

“Why? Is it finally working?” he shot back.

“Not any more than the bazillion other times,” she lied.

“Then, no. I’m just a friendly guy being friendly.”

“Lying isn’t your strong suit, cowboy.” She pretended to glower at him. “Better keep your day job.” For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why she didn’t just step away from him. Maybe it was because it was dark outside and they were sort of alone on the float. Maybe it was because she knew he would be leaving town soon. There really wasn’t a good explanation why she let him continue to hug her or why she eventually tipped her head against his shoulder.

He pulled her more snugly against his side. “Dang, you’re sweet when you’re not being nasty.”

She made a sound of derision. “Don’t read too much into it. You’re leaving town soon, and I’m not.” There. She’d finally pointed out the elephant in the room. Or on the float, in their case.

“We’re not selling the chalets, if that’s what you’re asking.” He rested a cheek against the top of her head. “We’re gonna continue straddling Dallas and Pinetop for the foreseeable future.”

But he would mostly be in Dallas going forward. “Out of fifty-two weeks in the year, how many do you honestly expect to spend in Pinetop? Eight? Twelve?” Once he and his brothers returned to running their ranch, she wouldn’t be seeing much more of him. There was no way he could deny that.

“That sounds about right.” He gave her shoulders a gentle shake. The grand finale of the fireworks display started, and he grew silent while the magnificent array of lights and sounds exploded across the sky. Only when it was finished did he continue speaking. “If you’re willing to spend some of your vacation time visiting some cool friends in Dallas, we could easily add another couple of weeks to that tally.”

“Really, Flint?” She wrenched herself from his embrace to give him an irritated look. “You’re angling for a long-distance relationship with me?” You? She wasn’t buying it. She’d pegged him for more of an out-of-sight-and-out-of-mind kind of guy.

He jutted his chin at her. “In all fairness, I’ve been angling for any kind of relationship at all with you. You’re the one who’s been dragging your feet.”

She couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. “Really, Flint? You blame me for being cautious? You don’t exactly have much of a track record when it comes to following through with second, third, and fourth dates.”

He shrugged like it was no big deal. “What’s the point in wasting a girl’s time after you figure out she’s not the one?”

What was the point indeed! She tossed her head. Well, two could play that game. “I’m not some prospective horse purchase you can take for a test ride, Flint. Go bother somebody who’s interested.”

He snorted. “If you weren’t interested, we wouldn’t be arguing about it.”

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