Page 25 of Dairy and Deadly

Josh was silent for a moment. “You know what? Maybe you should sit this one out.”

“And leave you exposed?” Johnny wasn’t looking to be sidelined. He just wanted to be heard. “Not on your life!”

Josh’s jaw tightened. “As much as I appreciate you saying that?—”

“I’m not going home!” Johnny couldn’t believe his friend was even suggesting it. “I’ll admit I’ve been messed up in the head for the past three years, but I’ve always managed to get the job done. Nobody at Lonestar would claim otherwise.”Not even you!

“True,” Josh conceded in a grudging voice. “If you stay in the game, what’s your plan?”

He capitulated so quickly that Johnny suspected it had been his mission all along to goad him into sticking it out for the evening. “My plan is evolving now that you decided to tag along.”

Josh grinned. “Brilliant!”

Johnny gave him a sour look before continuing. “I’ll play the part of Caro’s plus one, but only as a friend. Nothing more.” There would be no goodnight kisses. No follow-up dates. No further expectations in that direction from her or anyone else after tonight. He was making that clear to all parties involved, starting with his boss.

“How will you explain my presence?” he demanded.

“I’ll say something about how your wife is always working long hours.”

“Ah.” He nodded sagely. “A pity invite.”

You had it coming.But Johnny chose to keep that thought to himself. “I’ll remind Caro of her claim that this event is for singles, marrieds, and everything in between. Tactfully, of course, while I discreetly ply her for details about her past, present, and future.” He glanced down at Josh’s combat boots. “It’s a good thing you have your dancing shoes on. Prepared, as always,” he noted sarcastically.

Josh bounced experimentally on his heels. “You think I can’t dance in these?”

“Can you?” He was going to need to do more than bounce this evening, and combat boots weren’t going to glide across the floor as easily as cowboy boots.

“Watch and learn, bro. Watch and learn.” Josh broke into a two-step in the gravel, proving he was up to the task on any terrain.

You’re gonna be sweating bullets in there, showoff!“Final part of my plan is this,” Johnny warned. “I’m ditching this joint early. And now that you’re here, you’re part of my getaway plan.”

His employer looked intrigued. “I’m all ears.”

“You’re gonna call or text me near the end of the dinner hour, so I can claim an emergency back at the farm.” He’d be counting the minutes. “Afterward, we’ll hold our debriefing session at a time and place of your choosing.” It was his way of volleying tonight’s shenanigans back on Josh’s side of the court.

“Alright.” Josh clapped his hands. “Let’s do this!” He joined the next cluster of revelers who passed by them and used their momentum to propel him into the barn.

Johnny had to roll his shoulders to work off some of his irritation before following him inside. The building was vibrating with music, voices, and energy. The dance floor was smack dab in the center of the room. The rotating disco lights above it made his temples ache. On either side of the dance floor were rows of round banquet tables. They were covered in alternating red and white tablecloths. Clusters of roses and candles served as centerpieces.

Nothing about the room felt like a friend zone. There was one thing only in the air —romance.

Caro appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her hands around his arm. “There you are, cowboy!" Her gaze swept possessively over him and didn’t appear to find any fault with his outfit, probably because most of the guys present were wearing jeans and boots.

She looked swanky, as usual. Tonight she was in a red satin cocktail dress that hugged her figure. Her matching heels were as high as stilts, bringing them eye-to-eye.

“Sorry about being late,” he muttered, truly hating the thought of putting a dent in her confidence. Pursuing a man she was attracted to wasn’t a crime. He just wished she’d set her sights on someone else. “Got held up with a calf that’s not thriving.” Though Brie’s condition was nothing new, it would be the perfect excuse for cutting out early.

“That’s what you have farm hands for,” Caro trilled back in a sassy southern accent that grew a layer of frost when she added, “Didn’t you just hire a new one?”

You know I did.“My staff is under orders to call the vet first if she gets any worse. And to call me right after they get off the phone with the vet. Just wanted you to know what’s going on.”

She pouted as she tugged him onward to the dance floor. “It sounds like we’d best get our first dance in right away, sugar.”

Every cell in him rebelled at being called sugar by her, but he offered no resistance as she finished dragging him beneath the disco lights. “Nice dress, by the way.”

“Thanks.” She cocked her head in mock consideration of his own outfit. “You don’t look half bad yourself.” There was a dry note in her voice that told him she hadn’t missed the lack of effort he’d put into his appearance this evening.

Good.He wasn’t trying to impress her, but his goal all along had been to lead her to that conclusion for herself. Not crush her with a bunch of unnecessary words. He sensed a strength in her that others probably overlooked, possibly by design on her part. Either way, he was confident she could handle the truth if he fed it to her gently.

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