The north wind had picked up and blew Allie’s hair across her face, snowflakes as big as dimes sticking in it. Blake reached out and tucked the errant strands behind her ear. “And you look mighty lovely in that pretty dress. You drive over to my house and I’ll give Deke a call. We’ll unload the trailer for you if you’ll keep that dress on so I can enjoy the view a little longer.”
“Does that pickup line work for you?” She grinned.
He leaned on the hood of his truck and grinned down at her. “Don’t know. You tell me.” His eyes smoldered. “Is it worth writing down in my pickup line book?”
Allie giggled. “You’ve got a book?”
“That’s classified information. See you at the ranch,” he said with a wink.
As she drove from her place to his, she wondered how many names were in that book and how many pages were devoted to pickup lines. Could he tell by looking at a woman which lines he should use and which ones wouldn’t work? Or did he fly by the seat of his pants, using whatever came to his mind in the moment?
Why did she care anyway? She slapped at the steering wheel, which seemed to be a regular thing these days. But dammit anyway! Blake infuriated her with his flirting. She wanted him to back off, but then she loved the excitement in his eyes, in his touch, and in his kisses. Her breath caught in her chest and her hands went clammy when she thought about that heat in his eyes just minutes before. It was one of those damn conundrums that drove her batshit crazy. She couldn’t have it both ways. Either she had to make him step back or trust him, and how in the hell did she do either one?
Deke was already waiting in the yard when Allie arrived in the van. It took some fast work but everything was in the house before snow changed to big cold rain drops falling from the sky in buckets. He and Blake shucked out of their coats and hung them on the rack. Blake headed for the sofa and Deke headed toward the kitchen. “Anyone besides me want a beer?”
“Well, make yourself right at home,” Allie scolded.
Deke landed a brotherly kiss across her cheek on his way to the kitchen. “Don’t gripe at me like I was your little brother. If I can be called on to help a friend, then I can make myself at home, right, Blake?”
“That’s right and so can you, Allie.” He turned around and went back to help her out of her coat.
There it was again when his hands brushed against that soft spot on her neck. An intensified surge of emotions rattling through her body wanting more than a touch, more than a kiss. Then her brain kicked in quite loudly and reminded her that he was wild and wicked and not to be trusted. God Almighty! Which one did she listen to anyway?
“I hate Sunday nights,” Deke said. “They are the most boring hours in the whole week.”
“Why is that?” Allie asked, as breathless as if she’d had an actual argument with someone.
“The rest of the week we need forty hours in a day to get everything done. Friday we celebrate the week ending with a trip to Frankie’s or a good cowboy bar and maybe Saturday night, too. But Sunday night is downright lonesome,” Deke said.
“That’s the gospel truth.” Blake nodded in agreement. “At home at least there was family that stuck around until bedtime.”
“We could make some popcorn and watch a movie and be bored together. It would keep Allie from havin’ to go home.” Deke sighed.
Allie would watch Shooter sleep if it would keep her from having to spend time playing Monopoly or watching the kind of movie Lizzy and Mitch picked out. She wished that Frankie’s was open on Sunday evening. Listening to Etta James and Ray Charles, dancing with Blake, maybe indulging in just one more of those steamy kisses, watching Deke flirt with the women—now that sounded exciting.
“I haven’t got cable yet, but there are a few western movies that I brought along with me and it would be good to have some company,” Blake said. “Y’all want to follow me and we’ll pick one out together.”
“How many did you bring?” Deke asked.
“A boot box full,” Blake answered.
“Y’all choose. I’m going to the restroom,” Allie said. “Meet you back in the living room.”
“Allie is quite a woman,” Blake said. “Beautiful, talented, and smart.”
“Yep.” Deke nodded. “I like this one.” He held up Quigley Down Under starring Tom Selleck.
“That’ll do fine. Between me and you I’d rather be at Frankie’s than doing this.”
“Me, too, but Frankie is religious. He’s closed on Sunday.”
“You’ve got to be kiddin’ me! Moonshine, hookers, and he’s religious?” Blake drawled.
“There’s layers to everyone, my friend. Frankie attends church over there in his community and leads the singin’.”
Blake shook his head all the way up the hall to the kitchen. “So tell me about Allie’s layers.” He found a box of instant hot chocolate in the second place he looked and set three oversized mugs on the counter.
Deke put a bag of popcorn into the microwave. “She is a woman underneath those work clothes. She has a heart as big as Texas. She is a good sister even though she and Lizzy argue all the time. She’s a damn fine granddaughter and the best friend a man could have.”
“I’ve never had a woman for a friend,” Blake said.
“Then start with Allie. She’s the best.”
“Who is the best?” Allie’s big brown eyes looked from one cowboy to the other.
“You are,” Deke said.