Page 36 of Riding the Storm
Caison looks confused. “Changed her?”
“Yeah.” Charli smiles. “She used to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. Never taking time to enjoy herself. Now she laughs more. Let’s go of things easier. You made her load lighter. She’s lucky to have you.”
He shakes his head. “Nah, I’m the lucky one.”
Charli studies him a moment longer, then nods. “You’re a good man, Galloway.”
He chuckles. “Don’t spread that around. I’ve got a reputation to protect.”
When the laughter dies down, Evelyn starts stacking dishes. The girls stand to help, but she waves them off.
“Uh-uh. You young folks go have fun. Albert, Earl, Boone, and Irene can help me clean tonight.”
Albert groans dramatically, but there’s no sincerity to it. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t you sass your momma. I’ll still take you over my knee,” she says, swatting him with a dish towel as the girls head upstairs to get ready and us fellas make our way out to the porch.
Outside, the sun’s dropping low behind the Tetons, the horizon painted gold and pink. Cabe hands out cold beers he snagged from the fridge, and the three of us—Caison, Cabe, and me—settle onto the porch steps while the sisters get ready.
“Feels like a damn postcard out here, and it’s so quiet,” I murmur, taking a pull from my bottle. “I forgot what a real country night felt like.”
Cabe nods, glancing around. “Quiet’s good for the soul.”
We sit in companionable silence for a while, listening to the crickets starting up, the occasional whinny from the barn.
Caison leans back on his elbows, eyes on the darkening horizon. “I thought I’d miss my luxury apartment and Texas more when I moved back. But I don’t miss it one bit.”
I glance at him. “Where about in Texas?”
“Dallas.”
“Me too. Well, I have a condo on the riverfront in Fort Worth.”
“Nice area,” he says. “Lots of people.”
I look away because there’s something about the way he says it.
The screen door creaks open, and whatever air was left in my lungs disappears.
They step out one by one—Shelby first, in a denim skirt, off-the-shoulder blue blouse, and turquoise jewelry; Harleigh in a strapless, wide-legged black jumpsuit; Matty follows in a floral dress and cowgirl boots, her hand slipping into Caison’s.
And then there’s Charli.
My brain short-circuits.
She’s wearing a strapless cream-colored dress that hugs every curve before flaring slightly at her knees. A brown leather belt cinches her waist, and matching knee-high boots make her legs look endless. Her long, dark hair falls in loose ringlets down her back. Thin gold hoop earrings dangle above her bare tanned shoulders. Her makeup is soft, natural, just enough to make her cheekbones glow and her lips look like they were made for sin.
My mouth goes dry.
She catches me staring and arches a brow. “What? Like you’ve never seen a woman in a dress before?”
“Not like that,” I mutter before bringing my beer to my lips.
Her mouth twitches into a smile as she brushes past me and whispers, “Who’s staring now, cowboy?”
I cough, choking on the sip I just took from my bottle.
Charli shakes her head, cheeks flushing slightly, but there’s a spark in her eyes that wasn’t there earlier.
