One Year to Forever (Halos & Horns Read online

  The song drew to a close and he leaned in to place a soft kiss on her lips. “Thanks for one last dance, Haley.”

  She had the strongest urge to pull him back for more, but that’s not how she was raised. She stepped back and let him take the lead, pulling her along behind him with a soft grasp of her hand. She placed her free hand on her stomach, reliving the kiss from seconds ago. Said kiss may have seemed totally innocent from anyone else’s viewpoint, but Haley suspected that if there was a way to physically see pheromones, they’d be rolling off the man in waves.

  He reached the door, held it open for her to exit first. The outdoor breeze stirred the delicious scent of his cologne, fresh with a touch of spice, carrying it directly to the part of her brain in charge of sexual appeal.

  As she passed him, he lifted one hand to brush his fingers gently along her cheek. Her body’s reaction to his subtle touch was a head to toe shiver that took her by surprise. Haley turned to meet the gaze already locked onto hers, caught the tenderness in his eyes.

  Pheromones. Waves of them. All locked and loaded, and targeting her girl parts like a bull’s eye on a rifle range. Every single one of them dedicated to turning her insides to mush.

  Holy. Crap. If he ever discovered the effect he had on her, she’d be done.

  Suddenly she caught the slight wink, revealing the hint of mischief in his eyes, and knew the warning had come too late.

  She was done.

  Haley concentrated on what she had to do to bring in the best barrel races of the day. She chided herself every time she thought about Ben, fantasizing he was somewhere in the crowd, watching her. He’d asked about her race times, seeming interested, but she knew he had family obligations. No doubt his parents, siblings, and friends all had claims on his time off during the next two weeks. Hope flared when hands covered her eyes from behind.

  A masculine voice whispered. “Guess who?”

  She turned, hoping to see Ben. The sight of Trevor, a guy she’d dated briefly, extinguished her hope in a flash. “Oh, it’s you.”

  “Well hell, Haley girl. That’s a fine greeting.”

  She arched one eyebrow. “Now you know how I felt when I caught you kissing up on that big-boobed blonde during one of our dates.”

  He rested his hand on one hip and waved his index finger in front of her nose. “One time. One time you caught me. Are you ever going to let that go?”

  She shook her head. “That’s the point, Trev. I only caught you once, but there’s no telling how many times you got away with it.” She turned her back on him to rub her hand along Dakota’s satiny nose. “What are you doing here, anyway? I didn’t think you were competing anymore.”

  “I’m not. I was here with a friend but sh—uh, he had to leave.” He got closer and slipped his hands around her waist. “Are you finished here?”

  She gripped his hands and pushed them forcefully away from her. “Not quite, but I’m not alone, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Haley looked purposely at a spot behind him. “You remember my big brother, Matthew, don’t you, Trevor?”

  Trevor faced the man, and seemed to shrink as Matt approached, towering above and well beyond him in all directions.

  “Uh, yeah. Hi, Tex, I remember you.” He stuck his hand out. “Trevor Campbell. Remember me, bro?”

  Her brother’s eyes narrowed to angry slits as he bared his teeth, growling his reply. “Yeah, I do, unfortunately for you.” He ignored Trevor’s outstretched hand. “I ain’t your bro, and only my friends call me Tex. You, little man, can call me Matthew, or sir.”

  Trevor pulled his hand back and wiped it on his pants leg, stammering his reply. “Y-y-es-sir.”

  Haley had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing as Trevor ducked when Matt stuck his finger in his face.

  “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you sneaking around on my sister, asshole. You aren’t worthy to lick the horse shit off her boots.”

  “Yes sir—I mean, no sir—I mean, I know that, sir.” Trevor lifted both hands. “I’m only here as a friend.”

  “Humph, I’d say that’s up to her, but with friends like you …” Matt grunted, sent Haley a wink that said he’d had enough fun for one day, then turned and walked away from them. Trevor took a deep breath, Haley assumed, in order to re-inflate his testicles.

  “Well shit, is your brother always that intense?”

  She turned her back on him and tended to her horse. “Nope, he’s usually a barrel of fun. Must be you bringing out the worst in him.”

  He looked over his shoulder to make sure Matt wasn’t within ear shot of them. “You need me to hang around to help out with your horse? Which one is this, anyway? Is this Blue Montana, or whatever the hell you named the damn thing?”

  “Her name is Miss Red Dakota and she was already named when I got her. And no, I don’t need any help with her. If you want to hang around, I guess it’s okay.”

  “Cool. Are you, uh … going home tonight?” He threw his arm over her shoulder.

  Before Haley could shake Trevor’s long, lanky arm from her shoulder, Dakota swiveled her large head around. She nipped at his elbow, almost as though she sensed her mistress’s annoyance with the man.

  “Shit!” He jerked his arm away and rubbed at his elbow. “She bit me.”

  Haley grinned, thinking her girl had earned a couple of extra apples tonight. “Yep, she does that every now and then.” Especially to people who rub her the wrong way. “Horses are very astute judges of character, you know.” She hugged Dakota’s neck as she gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. “So far, you haven’t made very good impressions on members of my family.” She turned to face him. “And not that it’s any of your business, but no, I’m not going home. Matt and I are staying at the house of an old military buddy of his.”

  “Army … huh.” Trevor snorted. “A man’s gotta be a damn fool to serve in the military these days.”

  Haley turned for the sole purpose of giving him a verbal reaming. However, the sight of Matt approaching from behind had her yearning for a little more payback, courtesy of big brother. “You think so, huh?” She sent him a brilliant smile, in hopes he’d keep talking long enough to hang himself.

  “You bet your ass. They couldn’t pay me enough money to join the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, or Coast Guard …” He guffawed loudly. “And sure as hell not the Marines. I heard those dumb jarheads don’t have minds of their own. They couldn’t think for themselves if they had to.”

  “The hell you say.” Matt’s deep rumble of condemnation sounded disturbingly lethal.

  Haley stared, totally transfixed at the sight of Trevor’s Adams Apple bobbing up and down rapidly as his shoulders hitched upward toward his neck. If he shrank any more, she’d have to enlist Matt’s help to pull the poor guy’s head out of his own ass.

  Trevor turned slowly toward Matthew, and to his credit, attempted a little bravado through his obvious terror. He made a slight attempt to redeem himself, but his ignorance and insanely bad judgement ultimately did him in. “Yeah, you know what I mean. You always hear everything about the Marines, like they’re all that. It must be ass-chapping to an Army man, like yours-s-e-l-f-f.”

  Haley held her breath, deciding that from the hitch in Trevor’s breath and the distinct stall in his speech pattern, he’d caught sight of the tattoos on Matt’s enormous, flexed bicep.

  “Tell me what you see, ass-wipe.”

  Haley found herself thanking the stars Matt was her brother. Otherwise, the ominous growl he emitted would have had her shaking in her Ropers.

  “I-it s-says S-Semper Fi-fidelis, sir.”

  Matt nodded, lowered his arm, and then raised the opposite bicep. “And here?”

  Haley couldn’t hear Trevor’s swallow over the background noise, but that Adam’s apple bobbing up and down was proof enough. She stifled another laugh, thinking she almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost.

  “USMC, sir.”

  Matt threw a heavy hand on Trevor’s sho
ulder and leaned in so close their noses nearly touched. “I bet you’re wishing right about now you’d been a little more observant, aren’t you, ass-wipe?” When Trevor kept his silence, Matt straightened and looked at his sister.

  “I’m going to get a beer. You need anything, little sister … other than a better choice of friends?”

  “No thanks, I’m good.”

  He nodded, looked at Trevor and made a half-assed lunge for him before he pulled back—enough to make Trevor flinch and take a step in the opposite direction. Matt turned and walked off toward the nearest concession stand, his massive shoulders shaking with laughter.

  Haley kept her silence as Trevor collected himself and finally turned to face her again, trying to look as though he hadn’t come close to soiling his own Wranglers.

  “Now, what were we saying?” he said, attempting to get back some of his macho facade.

  Haley crossed her arms and took a step back before letting her gaze trail down to his crotch.

  He puffed up like a rooster and lowered his hand to adjust himself. “Ah, I see you eyeing the merchandise. Think you might be interested?”

  She met his ridiculously smug gaze and gave her head a slow shake. “Nope. I was checking to see if you’d peed yourself.”

  Remarkably, Trevor stuck around for the rest of the day. For the life of her, Haley couldn’t figure out why. God knows, she hadn’t given him one iota of encouragement. She’d even mentioned Ben’s name several times in conversations with her brother and Mitch, who’d shown up to meet them at the arena. Mitch had urged her to let him get rid of her shadow, but she actually didn’t see the harm in Trevor being around. Her parents hadn’t raised her to be out and out rude to anyone, whether they deserved it, or not.

  He must have overheard Matt and Mitchell’s conversation about how they should finish in plenty of time to make it to Red’s club by seven o’clock. She’d waved goodbye to him when he left the arena the same time they had, around 5:00. They’d gone to Mitchell’s place to take care of Dakota, where they’d taken turns showering the smell of horse from themselves. By the time she, Matt, and Mitch reached the club that night, Trevor was waiting at the door.

  “Well, shit. Look at that, would you?” An agitated groan accompanied Matt’s comment.

  “He’s a persistent little son of a bitch, isn’t he?” Mitch shook his head. “You should have let me get rid of him for you, Haley.”

  “Yup, one little accident and he’d be out of your hair, Sis. For good, if need be.”

  She grabbed both of their arms. “Be nice, you two. It’s a free country, and he can go anywhere he likes. Besides, he’s a friend.”

  “Fine, but that doesn’t mean I have to talk to him.” Matt proved his point by totally ignoring Trevor’s presence.

  Trevor strutted forward. “Hey, I was hoping I’d run into you here tonight.”

  “Well, looks like you did.” She walked into the club first, with Trevor hot on her heels.

  Mitch took the lead, and they painstakingly made their way over to Meagan’s end of the packed bar.

  The barmaid looked up at their approach, and grinned. “Hey, I’m glad to see y’all back.”

  Mitch pointed his thumb at Haley. “She’s coming to collect her birthday shots.”

  “Ah, that’s right, Miss-21-year-old gets a bottle of her choice. If my memory serves me, you wanted to think about it. Have you made your decision?”

  Haley smiled and slapped her hand on the bar. “I’ve decided to support the Louisiana sugarcane farmers and try the Bayou Rum. Ben said it’s really smooth.”

  Meagan beamed at her. “Ben would be correct. It’s fabulous mixed with cola, but smooth enough to shoot straight. I highly recommend it. You want the Silver or Spiced?”

  “Let’s start with the Silver, please.”

  Meagan set out a large plastic tray, placed the bottle in the center and added a few cans of Coke and four shot glasses for their corner table.

  Within minutes Haley had spotted Ben. Her stomach flipped pleasantly when she saw him speaking to Meagan, and then when he stopped to shake Mitchell’s hand. As Mitch used his beer bottle to point in her direction, she averted her gaze, not wanting him to know she’d been watching the exchange. She waited another minute, and no Ben. She’d just begun to think he’d changed his mind about approaching her, when he called out to her. She whipped her head around at the sound of his voice.

  “Hey, Benjamin. I thought you weren’t going to be able to make it tonight!” She didn’t even attempt to stem her excitement at his presence, no matter how cool she should have played it.

  “I didn’t know for sure until this afternoon. I cancelled some plans to be here.”

  “Did you?” She laid a hand on her chest, thrilled that he’d thought enough of her to do that. “I’m honored. Now, come shoot a round of birthday rum with me.”

  He smiled, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “I’ve already had a couple of beers, so I’ll pass on the rum. But how about if I watch you shoot and offer to hold your head when you’re hugging the porcelain throne later?”

  Trevor, with his irritatingly impeccable sense of timing, stepped up and threw an arm possessively around her shoulder. “Uh, excuse me, but that’s what I’m here for, buddy.”

  Wondering why she hadn’t let Mitch get rid of him when he’d offered, she jabbed Trevor in the side with her elbow. “Don’t be a jerk, Trev. You don’t own me. Trevor Jameson, this is Ben Bonin. I met him here last night. I ended up dancing with a human octopus and he rescued me.” She heard herself speaking too quickly, practically rambling. She turned away to pour some shots, and tried to relax.

  Haley turned with the tray, in time to see Trevor and Ben shaking hands. She tried to ignore the crackling vibes of clashing male testosterone in the air. She pretended not to notice Trevor flexing his hand after the handshake, as though he was in pain. She lifted the tray before her. “Here’s to being twenty-one.”

  Her big brother appeared to take the tray from her before handing her a shot. Mitch approached in time to clink his beer bottle with her glass. “And all the fireworks that go along with it.”

  Trevor reached for a shot glass. “Here’s to free booze.”

  Matt growled at him as he pulled the tray out of his reach. “Go buy your own damn drinks, you pain in the ass.”

  Ben clicked his own beer bottle to Haley’s shot glass, and gave her a sexy grin. “Here’s to you, Haley. I hope you have nothing but great birthdays from here on out.”

  Haley smiled at the toast that certainly seemed sincere. “Thank you.” She barely had time to throw her first shot back before Trevor grabbed her arm.

  “Come on Haley, you love dancing to this song.”

  She nodded, recognizing Blake Shelton’s Sure be Cool if You Did. “You’re right,” she said, pulling her arm from him and looking expectantly toward Ben.

  She didn’t think the man’s chest could have gotten any broader than it already was. But he seemed to swell with pride before her eyes as he reached for her. She placed her hand in his and he led her to the dance floor.

  He laced his fingers through hers and pulled her close with one arm around her waist. About halfway through the song he lowered his mouth to her ear and spoke over the music. “You know, I’ve been kicking myself since you left here last night. I forgot to get your number.”

  “But you knew I’d be here.”

  “I know, but I kept thinking you may not show. Sometimes things happen …” His voice trailed off.

  She smiled, keeping the fact that she’d run home and found him on Facebook to herself, both a personal account, as well as one from the base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. She’d barely kept herself from sending him a friend request. “But I’m here.”

  He nodded. “Didn’t stop me from worrying about it.”

  “Aw. I hope you didn’t lose sleep over it.”

  “As a matter of fact, I did.” He shifted his head slightly, and looked down his nose at her.
“As soon as this song ends I want that number.”

  “Okay.” She stared straight ahead into the huge expanse of chest, hoping to hide the huge Cheshire cat grin she wore. “I’m on Facebook and Twitter, too,” she said, loud enough to be heard. His instantaneous “I know” had her grin widening to a face-cracking level. “You looked me up?”

  “Sure did.”

  “I didn’t receive a friend request from you.”

  “I wanted a face to face request.”

  She nodded, tapping her fingers lightly on his shoulders in time to the music.

  “What are you thinking, Haley?”

  She let her head drop back to meet his gaze as the melody started fading to a close. “I was thinking how much I like being your reason for losing sleep.” Ben lifted one hand to caress her face gently as he leaned in for a kiss that had her toes wanting to curl.

  He pulled back and spoke, the sound of his deep voice carrying over the background noise. “That’s good, because I doubt it’ll be my last sleepless night over you.”

  Sweet baby Jesus.

  Haley let Ben lead her back to their table, and then excused herself. She made her way to the ladies room, more to collect herself than anything else. She stood before the mirror placing the palms of both hands on her flushed cheeks.

  Within seconds, Meagan exited a stall and stepped forward to wash her hands. She caught Haley’s gaze in the mirror. “Girl, that’s some serious sparks flying between you two out there.”

  Haley fanned her face with both hands. “Oh God, is it that obvious?”

  Meagan’s eyes widened. “Uh, yeah. You look like you need a cold shower.”

  “I know. He’s so …” She waved her hands frantically. “Full of potential, you know? Nobody … I’ve never …” She stopped, not having the slightest clue how to express her feelings.

  Meagan took a step toward her, placed both hands on her shoulders. “I do know. I know exactly what you mean. But Haley, you can’t let this thing move too quickly.”