Page 27 of A Family With the Cowboy

Hayden was saved by the band. The members had taken a short break, but they were back behind their instruments and the first notes of a song filled the air.

“Listen to the song…And then he kissed her.” His mom smiled. “An old favorite. Here comes Laura. Loosen those reins you’re holding on to so tightly and ask her to dance with you.”

He looked, spotting her immediately among the crowd. Somehow, he always knew where she was. As he watched, three little girls stopped her. Smiling, she crouched down to talk to them for a few minutes before she got up, hugged each one in turn, and made her way over to the table.

She smiled vaguely in his direction, but didn’t meet his eyes. “They’re so sweet,” she was saying to his mother as she sat down.

He was standing next to her chair, holding out his hand to her without having intentionally decided to do that. “Dance with me?”

Surprised, she looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but instead, she put her hand in his and got up. Without taking his eyes off her, he led her to the dance floor.

And then she was in his arms, her hand lying on his shoulder. He pulled her close and they began to move. Effortlessly, they glided over the floor. He was no dancer, but somehow Laura had quickly adjusted to his rhythm.

The song was all about kissing. Dropping his head he trailed his lips over a petal-soft, naked shoulder. It had been driving him crazy ever since he’d seen her as she’d entered. Like satin. Hot, so hot.

Inhaling deeply, he lifted his head, trying to focus on the lyrics. More kissing, making love, asking her to be his bride… Reality came crashing down.

“Laura…I…this can’t go anywhere…” he stammered in her ear, dropping his arms. He shouldn’t be with her, shouldn’t be touching her. Nothing could come of this. He had to make sure she knew that.

Grimacing, she looked at him. “I know. We’re dancing, Hayden. We’re friends. Let’s enjoy the last few seconds, shall we?” She twirled away before she moved closer again. She was smiling, but she kept him at arm’s length. As soon as the song was finished, she smiled vaguely at a spot somewhere above his head. “Thanks. You’re a good dancer.”

“There you are,” Cooper said as he approached Laura and took her hand. “I haven’t had a dance yet.”

The music changed, and Cooper spun her away. Fed up with himself, his brother, and the whole ridiculous situation, Hayden made his way back to his mother. A hole the size of Texas opened up inside of him.

How the hell was he supposed to stop thinking about Laura? Wanting her? Because that, at least, he could admit to himself—he wanted her with every breath he took.

“Where’s Luke?” he asked his mother. “We have to go.”

“Sit down, Hayden,” his mother said.

“I have to…”

“Sit. Down.”

He sat down. The music was loud, so she moved closer.

“Hayden, my dear son, I love you dearly, as you well know, but at the moment, I want to hit you with something. As the oldest, you’ve always been the strong one, the one who kept everything together, even after our Walker died in that accident, even after Madeline passed away. You blame yourself for not protecting them, for not stopping what happened to them, but Hayden, sweetheart, you’re not to blame. Nobody is. Bad things happen, people get ill. It’s not anybody’s fault. You can’t go on hiding from life because you’re scared of getting hurt again. That’s not living.”

She got up and held out her hand to Hayden. “Dance with your mother before you leave. Come on,” she cajoled when he shook his head.

*

Cooper, the gentlemanthat he was, walked Laura to the front door of her house. She was still a little bit out of breath from all the dancing. They hadn’t missed one and only stopped when the band packed up.

“Thank you for a lovely evening. I’ve really enjoyed it.”

“Thank you for going with me.” Smiling sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I know you and Hayden…what I mean is, I’m not sure what’s going between you two, but I know my brother and he…” Cooper shook his head. “He can’t stop looking at you. I was hoping if I invited you to the dance, he’d come to his senses and admit he feels something for you, but stubborn doesn’t begin to describe him.”

Laura couldn’t help laughing. “So is this your way of telling me you only want to be friends?”

Cooper grinned. “Yes, please?”

“I’d love to be your friend. As for Hayden…” She shrugged. “I’m really happy on my own. I don’t think I have what it takes to be in a relationship—the words of a previous boyfriend, by the way.”

“Who is obviously an idiot. You and Hayden…”

But she didn’t want to talk about him anymore or think about him either. “I was wondering about the dog you mentioned. I’ve more or less settled in, if it’s still available? I was thinking of having a doggie door installed in the kitchen door, but I’m not sure how big it should be?”

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