Marrying the Cowboy. Trish Milburn

Pete was out of earshot before returning her gaze to her aunt. “Pete and I are friends.”

      “Which is why it’s perfect. You already know you like each other.”

      “As friends. Jeez, that would be like dating my brother.” Well, not exactly. If she had a brother, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t dwell on the contours of his chest and abs.

      “Just give it some thought.”

      “No,” Elissa hissed as she heard Pete coming up the hall toward them. “Not one word.”

      Verona sighed and went back to stirring the spaghetti sauce on the stove.

      Elissa turned to head to her room, where she was seriously considering locking herself, but she ceased moving when she spotted Pete. He’d obviously gone shopping because his old, worn clothes were gone, replaced by a new pair of jeans, boots and a chocolate-brown shirt. He held a new tan Stetson in his right hand. She’d seen him in similar outfits hundreds of times, but the increase in her heart rate made her feel as if she were looking at him for the first time. Her friend had grown ridiculously handsome without her noticing. And it felt really weird to even think that.

      She forced herself to act normally, which was way harder than it ought to be. “Hit the ShopMart?”

      “Yeah. Not likely I’m going to find my old clothes.”

      “You probably wouldn’t want them anymore if you did.”

      “True.”

      When Elissa met Pete’s eyes, she had the distinct impression he, too, was remembering their awkward run-in at the bathroom door that morning. She hated how her easy camaraderie with Pete felt as if it was slipping away, but she was determined to get it back and put this odd bobble out of her mind.

      “Well, if I’m going dancing, I better clean up. I’m wearing about an inch of dirt. Doubt I’ll get many dance partners like that.”

      As she moved past Pete, she pictured herself dancing with him. She mentally cursed. She’d danced with Pete a zillion times, and it had never been anything other than two friends goofing off and having a good time. As she stepped into the bathroom, she wondered how in the world she was going to avoid dancing with him until the image of his naked torso didn’t taunt her every time she looked at him.

      * * *

      AN HOUR LATER, Pete followed Elissa into the music hall. Even for her, she was walking faster than normal, as if she wanted to get away from him. He couldn’t help wondering if it had anything to do with him startling her that morning. But that shouldn’t have bothered her. It wasn’t as if he’d strolled out into the hall buck-naked.

      But something was definitely up because as soon as they stepped inside she scanned the crowd and headed straight for India and Skyler. Fellow deputy Connor Murphy had to do a quick sidestep with his beer to keep from getting mowed down by her.

      “What’s up with Elissa tonight?” Connor asked as he approached Pete. “She’s moving like she’s on her way to a fire.”

      Pete shrugged. “Who knows? Pressing girl talk, I guess.”

      Connor shook his head. “Women.”

      Exactly. Just when you thought you had one figured out, she up and started acting strange.

      “You been cleaning up your place yet?”

      “Haven’t had time. Got to get a truck first, but haven’t gotten around to that, either. Had to go buy a new life today. It’s bad when you’ve got one pair of underwear to your name.”

      “Ask Greg. He probably knows someone who has a truck for sale.”

      Pete nodded. “Good idea.” In fact, he saw Greg over by the bar, not too far from where Elissa stood. “I need a drink.”

      “Later.”

      Pete made his way around the edge of the dance floor, crowded as usual with locals and tourists. His gaze connected with that of a pretty blonde who smiled at him. He gave her a small smile back but continued on his way to the bar instead of asking her to dance.

      “Hey, Pete,” India called to him over the sound of the crowd and the band.

      He waved, but she motioned for him to come over. As he drew closer, Elissa slipped onto the stool behind her. There it was again, the subtle moving away from him. Or maybe he was imagining it. But why would he be? Shaking off the questions, he directed his attention at India.

      “Liam’s organizing another rodeo to benefit the tornado victims. Do you think you could get us a list of those affected?”

      “Sure.”

      “And include yourself, okay?” Skyler said.

      “I’m fine. I’ve got insurance.”

      Elissa shifted forward on the stool. “You know better than to argue with Skyler, even before she was pregnant and grumpy.”

      “Someday when you get pregnant, I hope you have triplets. And that they’re hell on wheels.”

      Elissa shot Skyler a look of horror. “Bite your tongue, woman.”

      India laughed, and Pete found himself smiling at the familiar banter between Elissa and Skyler. Whatever weirdness had taken up residence in Elissa seemed to have disappeared, thank goodness. It was bad enough he was forced to invade her home, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable while he was at it.

      Someone touched his arm. When he turned, the pretty blonde stood there.

      “Would you like to dance?”

      The crazy urge to look at Elissa gripped him, but he resisted. Trying not to read anything into his reaction, he instead smiled and offered his arm to the blonde. “Lead the way.”

      As his dance partner told him her name was Candace and she was in town for a wedding the next day, he tried to pay attention. He was beginning to wonder if he’d been knocked on the head during the tornado because it was hard to pay attention to her. But he made the effort, even pulling her a little closer.

      Before he even thought about what he was doing, he turned his gaze toward where Elissa had been sitting, fully expecting she’d found her own dance partner. Instead, she still sat on the stool, staring right at him.