Should’ve Been a Cowboy (Sons of Chance #4)(22)
Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson

He heard the shower go on and began to hum to drown out the sound, because he knew, he just knew what she was doing in there. He’d had to open his big mouth. Only a wall separated him from Tyler, who was most certainly standing in that shower using pulsing water as a substitute for him. A soft moan that barely penetrated the wall confirmed it.

His imagination painted a vivid picture of Tyler braced against the shower wall as she moved the spray over her br**sts, her stomach, and at last centered it where it would do the most good. He couldn’t hear her breathing quicken, couldn’t hear her gasp, but he knew how she’d sound, because he’d been there enough times when she was cli**xing.

Teeth clenched, he stalked over to the double-hung windows set side by side and focused on the Tetons, hoping the mountain range would give him some perspective. No such luck. Gray clouds hung low over the peaks, and no doubt at that altitude it was snowing. He thought about the French meaning of teton—tits—which took him right back to Tyler, nak*d in the shower.

Leaning his forehead against the cool glass, he took a deep breath, and another, and another. The shower had stopped running. Thank God. Of course now he pictured her toweling off. She’d rub the soft terry over her wet body and her br**sts would shift gently with the movement of the towel. Would she imagine his hands there? His mouth?

He was a mess.

After what seemed like an eternity, the bathroom door opened and the sound of her bare feet moving over the hardwood floor made him suck in another deep breath to keep from going after her. Then her bedroom door closed.

He grabbed his towel and hotfooted it back to the bathroom. The delicious scents left behind by the woman he couldn’t have assaulted him, but that couldn’t be helped. He shoved back the shower curtain and discovered she’d neatly replaced the showerhead after her little orgy.

Turning on the cold tap, he stripped off his briefs, stepped under the icy spray and closed the curtain. He figured she’d be able to hear him taking a second shower. Oh, well. He’d promised to keep away from her. He hadn’t promised to make it look easy. Managing this new regime was liable to take a lot of running water.

TYLER DIDN’T HAVE to think very hard about why Alex was taking another shower. After she’d allowed the showerhead to do its job, she’d expected to be less needy, but instead she’d kicked her libido up a notch. So she’d shut off the hot water and finished her shower with cold.

If Alex was having as much trouble as she was dealing with their sexual attraction, he might have needed a session with cold water, too. If so, their predicament was bordering on ridiculous. They were indeed behaving like a couple of refrigerator magnets, just as Morgan had said.

She dressed quickly, choosing a pair of tight black jeans with rhinestones decorating the back pockets. She’d bought those on a whim, thinking the bling might be too sparkly for a working ranch, but if she was supposed to be the entertainment, they’d be perfect. High-heeled boots, a black silk blouse and chandelier rhinestone earrings added more glamour to her look. She dried her hair quickly, piled it on top of her head and fastened it with tiny combs and hairpins, several of which were decorated with rhinestones.

Yes, she looked sexy as hell, and Alex wouldn’t appreciate that. But she couldn’t worry about the effect on Alex. She’d spent enough time looking like a bedraggled waif.

Now she intended to show off her other side, the woman who directed activities aboard a luxury cruise ship, the woman capable of dazzling the Last Chance’s open-house guests. If she put them in a buying mood, that would benefit everyone and would ultimately help Morgan and Gabe. Alex would just have to deal with seeing her like this.

As she put the finishing touches on her makeup, she heard him coming down the hall, his booted feet striking the wooden floor with swift precision. He didn’t pause beside her door on his way toward the stairs. Good. They’d made it through their first morning of waking up within twenty feet of each other.

She would have to talk with him, though. They had to work together this morning, unless he’d decided against using her help. She hoped he hadn’t. He needed her, and not only in a sexual way.

On her way down the curved wooden staircase, she spotted Sarah coming from the west side of the house.

Sarah glanced up and gave a low whistle. “You look stunning.”

“Thank you.”

Sarah waited for her at the bottom of the steps. “I love my sons to pieces, but I wouldn’t have minded having a girl, too. Girl clothes are so much more fun than boy clothes.”

“So, are you hoping Morgan has a girl?” Tyler walked with Sarah through the living room where the scent of wood smoke lingered from the night before.

“A little bit, maybe, although I’ll be thrilled no matter what she has. Now that Josie’s pregnant, I have another shot at a girl. I’m hoping for several grandchildren, so statistically at least one has to be female, right?”

“You’d think so.” They headed down the hallway. “In any case, those grandchildren will be lucky to grow up in such a beautiful place.”

“Yes, they will. I only wish Jonathan had lived long enough to be able to teach them to ride and take them on fishing trips. He was so looking forward to that someday.”

“I’ll bet you miss him.” Tyler had a sudden realization of what it would be like to be married to someone for all those years, and it seemed…nice. Sure, their time together had been cut short, but they’d had each other for more than thirty years, and they’d obviously enjoyed that time to the fullest.

“I miss him every day,” Sarah said. “But—and I hate to admit this—now that he’s gone, the boys are coming into their own in a way they might not have if he’d lived. Even Alex is part of the new order. Jonathan would never have hired someone to handle marketing. He thought he could do a better job of selling horses than anyone.”

“Did he?”

“He was good, but that made us dependent on his personality to turn a profit. He was the brand, not the Last Chance. Alex wants to make the Last Chance a brand that will endure regardless of the people involved. It’s a better way to move forward, and we wouldn’t be there if Jonathan had lived.”

“That’s such a positive way to look at it.” Tyler already respected the heck out of Sarah Chance, but this discussion added a new layer of high regard. As they walked into the empty dining room, sounds of frantic activity, including Alex’s laughter, came from the kitchen.

Sarah smiled. “Now, that’s the sound of progress.”

“You’re really good about accepting change, aren’t you?” Tyler thought she could take a lesson from Sarah on that subject.

“It’s a survival mechanism, sweetie.” Sarah glanced at her. “Change comes whether we embrace it or not. I’ve decided to embrace it.”

“That makes you a very wise lady.”

“I don’t know about the wise part, but I sure as hell am flexible. Come on. This will be a big day, and I need coffee.”

Chapter 13

ALEX KNEW HE had to talk to Tyler, but at least here in the kitchen, with Mary Lou bustling around getting ready for the caterers to arrive, he wouldn’t be tempted to haul Tyler off into a dark corner and kiss her until they were both breathless.

“Hey there, cowboy.” Mary Lou gave him a smile. “Emmett and Jack just left. Get yourself some coffee and I’ll be back in a sec to fix you something.” She ducked into the walk-in cooler.

He got a kick out of her calling him cowboy. He wasn’t sure he deserved the label yet, but he was working on it. He poured himself some coffee and took a sip. Ah, that helped unscramble his brain. Mary Lou made terrific coffee.

She emerged from the cooler carrying a wheel of cheese. “How about some bacon and eggs?”

“I don’t want to put you out.” If he’d arrived earlier instead of angsting over Tyler, he could have eaten with Emmett and Jack and saved her the extra trouble. “I’m late getting down, so I’ll just grab something.”

“Oh, no, you don’t. People can’t just ‘grab something’ in my kitchen. Not while I’m still alive and kicking. You need a proper meal.” She set the wheel of cheese on the counter. “And breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

Alex smiled. “My mom used to tell me that all the time.”

“So sit yourself down and make both me and your mom happy.”

“Thanks. That would be great.” Alex pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat, although he wasn’t sure how much he could eat, as keyed up as he was over Tyler.

“What do you hear from your folks?” Mary Lou turned on the large griddle, tossed several bacon strips on it and cracked eggs into a bowl. “Are they coming back out this summer?”

“They already have reservations with Pam at the Bunk and Grub for August.”

“They should stay here.” As the bacon began to sizzle, Mary Lou nudged it with a spatula and grabbed a wire whisk for the eggs. “We have the room, and we’ll get the plumbing fixed on that other wing before August.”

“Yeah, but Sarah won’t take any money from them, and they want to stay a couple of weeks. Pam’s willing to let them pay for their lodging, although I’m sure she’s giving them a cut rate.”

“But they’re family,” Mary Lou said. “They shouldn’t have to be paying for anything.”

“I know.” Alex was distracted by the sound of Tyler’s and Sarah’s voices as they made their way toward the kitchen. When he raised his mug to take another sip, his hand shook. Damn it, Tyler was driving him batshit crazy. “Maybe I’ll get them to buy a place out here and that will solve the whole problem.”

“Good idea.” Mary Lou turned toward the doorway as Tyler and Sarah walked in. “Just in time for some bacon and eggs. I made extra just in case.”

Alex had prepared himself for the sight of Tyler walking into the kitchen. Or rather, he thought he had. But he wasn’t nearly ready to see her looking like this.

He’d wisely put his coffee mug on the table once he realized his hand was shaking. If he hadn’t, the mug would have dropped from his nerveless fingers when he caught his first glimpse of her.

Lord almighty. He’d seen her in an old-fashioned bridesmaid outfit last summer, in a sexy turquoise dress yesterday, and in jeans and knit shirts after that. In between he’d been treated to the sight of her in a terry robe, and not least of all, gloriously nak*d. But he hadn’t seen her dressed to dazzle.

“Good morning.” He managed a smile that encompassed both Sarah and Tyler, although he couldn’t have said what Sarah had chosen to wear if his life depended on it. Tyler was the only person in the room as far as he was concerned.

“Same to you, Alex.” Tyler glanced his way briefly before sauntering over to the coffee urn in her high-heeled boots.

Her jeans fit with amazing precision, and the rhinestones on the back pockets winked at him when she shifted her weight. Dodging that cock-stirring sight, he lifted his gaze to her upswept-hair arrangement that exposed her tender nape. The updo seemed sexier than when she wore her hair down, maybe because he imagined pressing his eager lips to the back of her neck, burying his fingers in that glossy hair and coaxing it loose as he breathed in the scent of shampoo and desire.