****
Callie dressed deliberately the next morning, applying a faint dab of pink lipstick to her lips and mascara to her eyes. A dab of concealer hid the shadows beneath her eyes and then she sprayed on her sunscreen.
She wore a different set of bra and panties, the red color of the bra standing out beneath her white shirt. Her jeans hugged her butt sinfully and then tapered down her slim legs to disappear into her boots. She plaited her hair in a French braid that hung down her back to her waist, the softer style accentuating her cheek bones and eyes. When she was done, she grabbed her cowboy hat and strolled out to the outer room. Cade was sitting on his couch polishing his boots when she opened the door.
Without looking up, he grumbled, “Well, it’s about time you made an appearance. I haven’t had a shower yet and I stink to high heavens.”
“Serves you right,” she said, glaring at him.
He looked up and then froze almost comically. His blue eyes trailed over her face, down her body and then returned to her face.
“You’re not going out tarted up like that!” he declared, rising to his feet in one fluid motion.
“Just try and stop me,” she said angrily.
He grabbed her hand as she made to stalk out, praying for patience. “Listen, if this is about last night, then you misunderstood. You are the sexiest woman I have ever met and that has been hell on my mind. But you are also Wade’s sister which means I can’t play around with you. And that is also why I can’t let you go out like this.”
“What’s wrong with my appearance?”
“Not a damn thing as far as I can see. But that red bra has to go; bulls and red you know,” he told her.
Callie grinned at him, batting her eyes innocently. “Of course, Cade; I wasn’t thinking.”
Then she turned and strode into the room. When she returned minutes later, he almost swallowed his tongue. She was wearing a different white shirt which was even sheerer than the last with a scrap of lacy bra underneath. He could actually see her nipples.
He glared at her, then grabbed a jacket from the cushion and thrust it at her, “You made your point. Now put this on.”
“No.”
“For the love of God, put this on! Unless you want me to be so lost staring at your jugs that I rope you instead of the damn steer!”
Callie tried not to laugh aloud at the mental image that evoked. She took the jacket and put it on.
That day, one more team had a mare go into heat unexpectedly. Interestingly, that was the same team opposing Madeline and Moore Glenmore. Maybe there was more to Cade’s theory after all.
Dinner that night was a tense affair with Callie and Cade eyeing each other with mutual distrust over the table. At a point, he reached for her hand and tried to hold her, she jerked it away as though stung.
He sighed. “I’m sorry you’re upset, Callie. But I can’t believe you are angry because we didn’t have sex. So, what did I do wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Talk to me. What is it?”
Callie sighed. She couldn’t very well tell him her anger was directed at herself. She still could not believe she had actually been on the verge of begging him to make love to her. Thank goodness reason had prevailed.
“Nothing Cade. I’m just tired.”
His hand stretched across the table again and held onto her wrist, his thumb gently stroking her pulse point and sending frissons of awareness down her spine. She rose to her feet and started carrying dishes to the dishwasher. Cade came across the table too and placed a hand on either side of her waist.
“You’re driving me crazy, Callie. You’re driving me out of my mind,” he said, his blue gaze boring into hers.
Callie licked her lips nervously. She didn’t need to hear stuff like that; she was falling for him, and fast. If there was one thing she had learned about rodeo cowboys, it was that they were always on the move. What would happen if she fell for him and the time came for him to follow the rodeo?
Slowly she stepped back out of his arms, “I’m sorry, Cade. An affair just isn’t in the cards for me. I’m sure if you did one lap around this place, you would find several women willing to have sex with you for the heck of it.”
Anger tightened his features, his jaw grinding visibly as he said, “So you’re saying it wouldn’t bother you if I was with someone else?”
“I barely know you. Why would it?” she retorted, even though her heart was splintering into a million pieces in her chest. Then, without waiting for a response from him, she disappeared into her room and shut the door with a resounding thud.
Silence reigned on the other side of the door for a bit, and then the door slammed shut.
Callie lay awake all night listening for him; he didn’t return until three a.m.
The unnoticed tiny light of hope inside her flickered out ever so slowly, leaving her dry-eyed as it died out.