Chapter Six
“Come on, HW, keep up!”
Sam held the door of the Red Dragon Bar open, allowing the smell of beer and fried food to stream past her appreciative nose. Jay’s mom was a great cook and Sam was looking forward to something hot, greasy, and delicious. The bar stood on the corner of Main and Morgan Streets. It was already jam-packed with locals and tourists, which made her a bit edgy. Ever since Afghanistan, she’d avoided big crowds. She managed to find an empty table and sat down.
The trouble with bringing a Morgan into town was that they knew everyone and everyone wanted to catch up. In HW’s case, he also had to correct a lot of folks who thought he was Ry, so it took even longer. Not that you’d know it. He was incredibly patient and charming with everyone—even signing a few autographs along the way. She could see why the rodeo sponsors loved him.
But from what she’d overheard earlier in the barn, despite finishing second overall in saddle bronc he wasn’t going back. That was a shocker. She’d spent the last evening reading all the rodeo gossip about the new champ and conceded that HW might have a point. But he didn’t look like the kind of guy who walked away too easily, so what else was at play?
“Sam, you’re way too nosy and need to get a life,” she muttered to herself. “Leave the poor guy alone.”
There was no sign of Jay at the bar, where Nancy and Penny were busy handling drink orders with their usual efficiency. HW finally took the seat beside her and let out his breath.
“Now you see why I don’t come into town too often.”
“Yeah, all that adulation might be really tiresome.”
He winced and she put her hand on his arm. “Sorry; I didn’t mean to be rude. You were super-nice to everyone even when they thought you were your more-famous brother Ry.”
His smile was warm and he met her gaze. “I’m so glad you’re around to put me in my place, Miss Sam.”
There were quite a lot of places she’d like to put him and most of them weren’t decent or something she wanted to talk about in public. He was wearing a yellow check shirt that brought out the gold in his eyes and a white straw Stetson. She licked her lips and his eyes narrowed.
“You hungry?”
“Oh, yeah.” She breathed and he blinked and handed her the menu.
“The beef’s good.”
“So I hear. Jay was raving on about it the other day.”
“How come you and he never had a thing together?”
Sam considered the question. Maybe he wasn’t oblivious to her charms after all. “I never thought of Jay as boyfriend material. He was more like a fellow traveler on a particularly sucky road trip. He’s also not my type.”
“You have a type?”
“Don’t we all?”
He rolled his broad shoulders. “I can’t say I do.”
“That’s because as a professional athlete every kind of woman has always been available to you.”
“True.”
“And I bet you took advantage of that pool of talent.”
“No one’s ever called me stupid.” He put down the menu. “Believe me, it got boring after a while.”
Sam fluttered her eyelashes at him and cooed, “You poor, poor man. How did you possibly stand it?”
“I did my best, but eventually I worked out that hookups and one-night stands weren’t my thing.”
“Like you evolved into a decent human being or something?”
“Maybe. Do you want a drink?”
Sam stood up. “I’ll get them. I can order the food at the same time.”
HW started to rise, so she gave him her best stay-put look and he sank back into his seat.
“Okay; thanks. Ask Nancy for my usual, and I’ll have the hamburger medium rare and fries.”
Sam threaded her way through a group of tourists who were just leaving and ended up at the bar, where pink-haired Nancy greeted her with a smile. Nancy wasn’t a particularly tall woman, but her don’t-mess-with-me attitude made up for that. Sam had liked her immediately.
“Hey, stranger. How are you and what can I get you?”
“I’m good and I’ll take two of whatever HW Morgan drinks and two hamburgers medium rare with fries; no rush, seeing as I just ate one of Yvonne’s éclairs.” Sam took advantage of an empty barstool. Her legs were still inclined to shake after a day in the saddle. “Where’s the boss?”
“You mean Jay?” Nancy pointed upward as she poured two beers. “He’s doing the taxes and grumbling like hell.”
“Then I’ll leave him in peace.” Sam glanced over at the pool table, where a rowdy group of bikers were gathered. “It’s noisy in here tonight.”
“Yeah, and those guys are starting to get on my nerves.” Nancy’s gaze followed Sam’s. “If they don’t leave soon I’m going to have to say something.”
“If you need backup you know where I am.” Sam winked as she collected the beers.
“I might take you up on that. Jay said you’re good in a fight.”
“I’m better at breaking them up than starting them, but I’m game.”
Nancy winced as the bikers started singing some kind of chant. “Jeez. They seriously suck. If they don’t shut up or leave in the next half hour I’m definitely kicking them out.”
Sam took her time getting back to the table, her gaze fixed on the glasses. The last thing she wanted to do was trip and throw beer all over everyone. She almost lost it when some biker idiot pinched her ass as he went by, almost making her stumble. HW leaped to his feet and placed his large, capable hands over hers, steadying the tray.
“You okay?”
She sat down and glowered behind her. “Someone pinched me.”
His expression darkened. “Who was it?”
She waved him back to his seat. “If I knew that, do you think I’d be sitting here complaining? Let it go, He-Man.”
HW stayed where he was, but he didn’t look any happier. “This place is usually as safe as a house. Jay doesn’t tolerate anything else. Where is he?”
“Upstairs doing his taxes.” Another roar from the pool table made Sam wince. She still hated uncertainties and volatile atmospheres. “Nancy says it’s that biker gang. She’s going to ask them to leave pretty soon if they don’t keep it down. I told her we’d be her backup if she did.”
“I’ll certainly help her out.” HW glanced back at Sam. “You, however, can—”
Sam interrupted him. “If you’re going to continue that sentence by telling me to sit tight, you can stop right now.”
His eyebrows drew together. “Why shouldn’t I want to protect you?”
“We’ve had this conversation before, HW. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
“Sure you can. Maybe I’d like the chance to show you how macho I am so you’ll fall at my feet and worship me forever.”
“Just like all the other women in your universe?” Sam scoffed. “So not happening.”
HW picked up his beer. “You’re a hard woman, Miss Sam.”
“Thank you.” They clinked glasses and then drank. “This is good.”
“Yeah, it’s a local microbrewery Chase invested in. It’s based in Morgantown and doing great so far.”
“Your brother certainly has good taste.”
“And money to burn.”
“Like you don’t?”
HW shrugged. “It’s not cheap, competing all over the country and keeping up with training.”
“But still . . .”
He grimaced. “I did some stupid stuff with my money when I first got some. I eventually settled down and started saving, but I’m no multimillionaire.”
“Damn.” Sam pretended to sigh. “And there goes your last chance of impressing me.”
“You’d rather I was poor?”
“Absolutely. I’ve always wanted a boy toy.”
His appreciative chuckle warmed something close to her heart. Whatever she might think about him, he could sure take a joke. After a week of working closely with him every day, she might even admit to liking him.
“So you’d rather I was down on my knees?” HW asked.
“Yes, please,” Sam, said fervently.
“Hey, HW?”
They both jumped as Nancy appeared at the side of their table.
“What can I do for you?” HW asked.
“Can you fetch Jay?” Nancy grimaced. “I’m going to ask those biker guys to leave and I might need backup.”
HW stood and flexed his biceps. “Sure. Can you wait until we come down?”
“Will do.”
Sam rose to her feet as well. “I’ll come with you, Nancy. Maybe they’ll be so overwhelmed by our great beauty that they’ll go quietly into the night.”
HW touched Sam’s shoulder. “Hold on to that thought and wait until I get back, okay?”
With a decisive nod, HW pushed his way through the crowds and headed for the back exit that led to the kitchens and the private apartment above it.
“He’s gone all macho again.” Sam glanced at Nancy. “Shall we see if we can get this done without the boys?”
“Works for me.” Nancy squared her shoulders.
They approached the pool table side by side and Nancy cleared her throat.
“Seeing as you guys have settled up your bill, I’d really appreciate it if you would consider moving on out.” She waved at the gathering crowd by the desk. “We have a lot of new customers trying to get tables and we’re running out of space.”
A big guy with a black beard and a red bandanna wrapped around his throat sauntered up to Nancy, one hand lingering on his studded leather belt.
“What did you say, little lady?”
Nancy raised her chin. “I said that it might be time for you to move on so others can relax and enjoy the bar.”
“You trying to get rid of us?”
“That’s one way of putting it, yes.”
“It’s a free country last time I looked.”
“Indeed it is,” Sam chimed in. “And you’ve all been given the opportunity to prove it by behaving like gentlemen and moving on.”
Big beard guy laughed and looked around at his companions. “Ain’t she sweet? Now, how exactly are you two girls going to make us leave?”
Sam leaned in and murmured, “If I were you? I’d just go right now before I make you look really lame, okay?”
He laughed so hard Sam could see the gaps between his teeth and his one gold filling.
“Whatcha gonna do to me, baby girl? Beat me up?”
“If you like.”
The smile disappeared from big’s face. “Don’t be silly, now. I don’t want to hurt you, sweetheart.”
“You won’t if you leave.” From the corner of her eye, Sam saw Jay and HW looking like two gunslingers approaching from the back of the bar. “Please go.”
The other guys laughed and big stepped into Sam’s space, which was a mistake, his arm raised. Instinctively, Sam moved in, dropped her weight onto her right leg, and rammed him straight in the gut with her head. Even as he attempted to recoil, she leaned in even further, put her shoulder into the motion, and used his momentum to bring him over her shoulder and flat on his back on the floor.
“Nice one!” Nancy said, clapping.
Big wasn’t enjoying it as much as Nancy and rolled over and onto one knee, cussing like a sailor. “What the hell was that for?”
“Don’t move or I’ll shoot,” Jay said.
“About time you showed up, Jay.” Sam kept her gaze fixed on the biker. “Where’s the Navy SEAL when you need him?”
“Getting his gun out of the safe and loading it, where do you think?” Jay said. “I knew you’d have things covered.”
Sam stepped back to allow Jay access to the jerk at her feet, who wasn’t looking quite so happy now that he was facing a coolheaded killer.
“Get up and get out of my bar before I call the cops,” Jay said politely.
Big got to his feet and held up his hands. “No need to get all serious, dude. We were just having some fun before the ladies decided to get all hysterical on us.”
“Hysterical?” Nancy muttered to Sam. “We were doing just fine.”
“All I see is a bunch of guys not doing what my deputy manager requested. If you’ve finished your beer, get going,” Jay repeated.
Big stuck his hand in his pocket and came as close to Jay as he dared. He lowered his voice.
“Listen, man, we’re not looking for trouble. We’re just a bunch of accountants who like to bike out here in the gold country on the weekend. I didn’t mean to scare the little girl. She’s obviously a bit skittish. Maybe we got a bit loud tonight, but there’s no need to shoot anyone.” He handed Jay some folded notes. “Tip the nice ladies and say thanks when they calm down, okay?”
“Thanks for not kicking his ass, he means,” Nancy said loud enough for big to hear. “And trust me, we’re quite calm, so quit with all that mansplaining, okay?”
Sam had no idea what that meant, but it sounded good. She eased back to allow the bikers to exit and found herself right in front of HW. He wasn’t looking particularly happy and she had a fair idea why. He took her by the elbow and propelled her toward the back of the building by the stairs. After shutting the door into the bar, he turned on her so suddenly she flattened herself against the wall.
“What the hell were you thinking, Sam? I told you to wait.”
She shrugged. “And Nancy and I decided we didn’t need the cavalry to get rid of some overloud forty-year-old fake bikers.”
He still wasn’t smiling, which wasn’t like him at all.
“Come on, HW.” Sam patted his arm. “It was funny. You have to admit that.”
“Watching you take on someone a foot taller than you? Knowing that you might have gotten hurt? That’s not funny, Sam.”
She punched him lightly, amazed at how tight the muscles in his arm were. “Oh, come on, HW. Lighten up.”
He slammed a hand over her head, caging her against the wall.
“Don’t do it again,” HW said.
She met his ferocious golden stare with one of her own.
“Says who?”
“Says the man who’s responsible for making sure you stay in one piece while you’re on Morgan Ranch!”
“I’m not on the ranch,” Sam pointed out in her most reasonable voice. “I’m in town, enjoying my downtime.”
“By picking fights with bikers?”
“He was rude to Nancy.”
“So let Jay deal with it!”
Sam blinked at HW. “Wow, your eyes get really yellow when you’re mad.”
“I’m not mad.” He set his jaw. “I never get mad.”
“Really? You sure look mad.”
“Stop trying to make this about me. You were the one throwing people over your shoulder, you—”
“One person.”
“What?”
“I threw one biker dude over my shoulder because he came at me. I’ve been trained to react to a threat against my person, so I disposed of it.” She poked him in the chest. “You are overreacting.”
He stared at her for what felt like forever and then let out his breath.
“You’re impossible.”
“Thanks.” She smiled and went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. He smelled absolutely delicious, like hot, enraged male, and it was all for her.
With a choked sound, he turned his head until his lips brushed hers, and suddenly they were kissing and kissing and—
“Whoa ! Sorry about that!”
The bar door opened, almost hitting HW on the ass as Jay came through. HW leaped away from Sam like she had cooties.
“Jeez, sorry, Sam, I—”
“I was just telling Sam to be more careful.”
HW stuttered like a teenager as he rearranged his hat, which Sam had almost knocked off his head during their all-too-brief kiss. Did he look as guilty as he felt? Had Jay seen the kiss? Was Sam’s best friend going to beat him up now?
“Careful doing what?” Jay had stuck his weapon in the waistband of his jeans. “I told you she was a handful.”
Jay turned to Sam, who was still leaning back against the wall, her cheeks flushed and her lips red from the pressure of HW’s mouth on hers. HW glanced down at the front of his jeans and hoped neither Jay nor Sam noticed he was aroused.
“You okay?” Thankfully, all Jay’s attention was on Sam.
“I’m good.” Sam nodded.
HW stared at them both. “That’s all you’re going to say? Aren’t you going to tear her a new one for being stupid enough to intervene in a situation that could quickly have gotten out of hand?”
Now they were both looking at him as if he was the stupid one.
“It’s not my place to tell Sam what to do,” Jay eventually said. “She makes her own decisions.”
“Even when they put her in danger?”
Jay glanced at Sam. “Yeah. Even then. Thanks for your help, HW. Go finish your dinner—it’s on the house—and I’ll see you both on Sunday, okay?”
Jay went up the stairs, leaving a strained silence behind him.
Sam turned toward the bar.
“Where are you going?” HW asked.
“To eat. I’m starving; aren’t you?” She held open the door. “Come on.”
* * *
HW was clearly chewing on something and it certainly wasn’t the hamburger, which was as tender and moist as a steak. Sam ate some more fries and hummed through her nose like a happy pig. Nancy had brought them both another beer and disappeared back behind the bar. The noise had decreased to a reasonable level and Sam was feeling just fine.
“Spit it out, HW, before you choke on it.” She pointed a fry at him. “You’ve already told me I’m irresponsible, and suggested that ladies don’t get involved in fights, so what am I missing?”
He took another sip of his beer and studied her for way too long before finally opening his mouth.
“I guess you think I overreacted.”
She rolled her eyes. “Duh.”
“What exactly did you do in the Army?”
“I was an MP. Trained to intervene in conflicts, break up fights, that kind of thing.”
“Like you just did?”
“Exactly.”
“Tough job.”
“Yeah, but someone had to do it.” She wiped her mouth with her napkin. “I probably did overreact, but I have this thing about big guys closing down my personal space.”
“You didn’t seem to mind me doing it.”
“You’re different. You’ve had your hands all over my personal space this last week getting me riding again.”
“How about just now?” He wasn’t sure why he was pushing the issue, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
“When I kissed you?”
“That was hardly a kiss, Sam.” He scoffed. “I had to kiss you back to make it real.”
She put down her glass with a thump. “Like you would’ve kissed me if I hadn’t started it. You looked like you wanted to strangle me.”
“I did.” He paused. “Doesn’t mean I didn’t want to kiss you as well.”
“From what I’ve read about your past exploits, you probably say that to all the girls.”
He grinned. “You’ve been checking me out on the internet? I’m flattered.”
“You’re my teacher. I had to know you were of good character.”
“Bullshit. You wanted to know if I’d be a good kisser and I am.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You call that good? Man, you need some practice.” She held up her glass. “Do you want another beer?”
“Seeing as I’m driving you home, no, but you go ahead.”
“Seeing as it’s on Jay tonight, I will. I’ll be back in a minute.”
* * *
HW contemplated his joined hands as Sam made her way to the bar. She wore a red Morgan Ranch T-shirt, jeans, and riding boots and looked the same as almost every other local in the place. But he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Couldn’t imagine how she exuded such confidence after everything she’d been through. She made him feel like a coward, and yet he couldn’t stop wanting to get to know her, to bask in her strength, to ask her how she’d survived.
He raked a hand through his hair and replaced his hat on his head. He was in no position to start a relationship. His focus had to be on the ranch and working out what the hell he was going to do with his life now that he’d stopped competing. It was all he’d known since he and Ry had left home at eighteen. If he couldn’t find a place for himself in his own hometown, where else was he meant to go?
“You okay?”
He glanced up to see Sam hovering over him, her green eyes full of concern.
“Yup. Just thinking.”
She patted him on the head. “Be careful doing that, blondie; we don’t want your brain to explode or anything.” She sipped her beer. “What are you thinking about?”
“What to do next.”
“Like in the next hour or are we talking longer term here?”
“Like what am I going to do if I stop competing.”
She sat back. “Oh, that. I was surprised to hear you say you were even considering stopping. You’re pretty much at the top of your profession right now.”
“And I still haven’t won the overall championship. I’m getting older, the competition is getting younger, and my body hurts like hell.” He sighed. “I’ve already told my agent I’m not competing next year.”
She whistled. “How did he take that bit of news?”
“Like you might expect. He’s frothing at the mouth.”
“That sucks.” She hesitated. “Do you think you’ll settle on the ranch?”
“I don’t know.” He forced a smile. “They seem to have gotten everything organized without me.”
“Probably because they weren’t expecting you to quit the rodeo right now. Maybe you just need to give them time to find you a place.”
“That’s what Ry says. He never intended to return either, but then he got back in contact with Dad and Blue and eventually Chase and decided to test the waters again. Seems to have worked for him.”
“You left the ranch together at eighteen, right?”
“Correct. The day after we graduated high school. We took our two best horses, a trailer, and an ancient truck and headed off into the sunset. We couldn’t wait to get away from Chase’s nagging.”
“Siblings can be annoying. I have two brothers and they used to drive me nuts when I was young. I quite like them now, but it took a long while.”
“Yeah. Ry insisted I had to meet Chase again last year. He wasn’t how I remembered him at all.” HW scrunched his paper napkin into a ball and dropped it on his empty plate. “Chase was left helping Ruth bring up two five-year-olds whose mother and baby sister had disappeared and whose father ended up drinking himself half to death from guilt.”
Sam winced. “Ouch. That must’ve been terrible for all of you. Did your mom come back?”
“No. But Chase discovered that she was alive for a long time after she left and that she just didn’t want her old life back. She changed her name and moved on.”
“Wow.” Sam put her hand on HW’s arm. “That sucks.”
He managed a smile. “Hey, she was alive. For awhile the police thought my dad had murdered her and dumped her somewhere on the ranch.”
Her mouth was a round o and he wondered why he was still running his mouth off when he usually kept all this shit buried deep inside. Maybe seeing Sam fighting off that man had unsettled him more than he’d realized.
“But it all worked out in the end. Dad came home and we got to meet our sister Rachel at Chase and January’s wedding.” He pushed back his chair. “I’ll just check in with Nancy and then, when you’ve finished your beer, we can get going, okay?”
“You’ve finished sharing?” She leaned back to look up at him.
“Yeah.”
“Just like that?”
“I figured you’d probably heard enough old history for one night.”
He winked and walked away, carrying the empty beer bottles and the tray. Why was he making himself out to be a loser? Was he looking for sympathy? Was he that keen to get her attention? Maybe she was right about him expecting every woman to pay attention to him. Had he really become that arrogant? Ry certainly thought so, which was why he’d refused to stay on the rodeo circuit with his twin for another year.
HW didn’t need Sam’s sympathy. He didn’t need anything from her. She certainly hadn’t gone out of her way to flirt with him. He just had to get a grip. So why was he still thinking about the taste of her, the press of her body against his?
“Sex starved,” HW muttered.
“Come again?” Nancy took the tray from him. “Or maybe I should rephrase that because if you are sex starved, HW Morgan, there’s something wrong with the universe and there’s no hope for the rest of us.”
“He’s what?”
HW froze as he realized Sam had sauntered up behind him.
“Nothing.” He shot Nancy a death glare, but she grinned at him.
“HW said he’s not getting any.”
“Probably because he needs to work on his overbearing personality.” Sam shook her head. “Or maybe no one here is famous enough for him to hook up with.”
HW ignored them both and turned toward the exit. “You ready, Sam?”
Outside, the air had cooled down considerably and he paused to fill his lungs with the scent of approaching winter. He loved it when the ranch got snowed in and cut off. Not everyone could stand it. His mother had hated every second . . .
“Jeez, it’s cold.” Sam shivered.
Without thinking, he wrapped an arm around her. She fitted just right against his shoulder. With a sigh, she rubbed her face against the soft cotton of his shirt.
“I love this place. You were so lucky to grow up here.”
HW let his gaze follow the line of fairy lights strung up along both sides of Main Street and took in Yvonne’s café, the post office, Maureen’s general store, and the bulk of Hayes Historic Hotel. Not a lot had changed since he’d left home. The town was still hanging in there, even prospering, much like the ranch. He’d never understand why his mother had thrown it all away . . .
Weird to think his great-grandparents had walked the same streets, conducted their business at the store and at the old Morgan Bank. He’d never thought about it when he was a kid, but he’d missed it on the road.
“Yeah. It’s a special place.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Come on; let’s get back to the truck.”