Cowgirl Fever (Novak Springs Book 1) (17 page)

After Ginnifer got out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself and walked out to find out what Tori had planned. She had gone into warp speed to get everything ready while Ginnifer was in the shower. She had dug through her own clothes as well as Ginnifer’s to gather the items she deemed necessary to make her into a sexy cowgirl. Luckily they wore the same size clothing. Tori was a little shorter than Ginnifer, but that only became a problem with her tailored pants. Her skirts and anything meant to be on the short side still fit Ginnifer’s lean body. In this instance, Tori had actually raided Ginnifer’s clothing to pull out a pair of skin-tight black jeans hemmed into a boot cut. When she wore them, she didn’t have any extra room because they hugged the curve of her ass and were tight all the way down her leg until it flared slightly at the ankle to allow for boots. From her own wardrobe she pulled out a black leather vest with three tiny silver buttons down the middle and a cutout in the shape of a
V
at the bottom of it. It curved up over her shoulders in the fashion of a halter top. The back of the vest was nearly non- existent, with only a couple of inches to leave her back almost entirely bare. She finished the look with a black leather belt that held a holster for a knife and a flashlight. She looked closer and thought it looked like a black lasso was thrown on the bed as well. A pair of black cowgirl boots with silver buckles was sitting on the floor next to the bed.

There was no shirt anywhere among the items on the bed. Terrified as to what her answer might be, Ginnifer looked at Tori and asked, “Where’s the shirt? Please tell me that isn’t a whip.”

An evil laugh floated through the room as Tori sashayed over to stand next to Ginnifer. She picked up the vest and showed it to her. “This is all you are wearing. No bra, either. Just this to hug your breasts as you parade around camp. His tongue will be hanging out when he sees you wearing this outfit. I guarantee it.”

Ginnifer was scandalized. She had never worn anything quite like the outfit Tori had laid out for her. So she addressed her biggest issue with it as she said, “Um, won’t this be a little cold to sleep in? I mean, um, it is a camping trip.”

Tori nodded her head in the affirmative as she began giving Ginnifer detailed instructions. “You’ll absolutely freeze. It’s why I’m packing a nice sweatshirt in your backpack for emergencies only. Do not take it out unless you can’t bear the cold. You need to walk around as long as possible in this get-up so Dallas can’t keep his eyes off of you. It’s a sacrifice we women have to make in order to get our point across. Why do you think I wear those nosebleed-inducing shoes every day? It’s a statement. I don’t like wearing them. Now remember you’re not to encourage him. Do not look at him. Do not acknowledge him unless he asks you a direct question. Even then, be abrupt and walk away. It is imperative that you are blasé about the whole situation. It has to appear like what is going on between him and Melody doesn’t mean a damn thing to you. Be your usual sarcastic self, but at a distance. Do you understand me?”

Ginnifer didn’t know if she was going to remember all that. It was a lot of information to process when her brain was barely functioning as it was. She decided to pretend she had heard it all. “Okay fine. I understand all that. But please explain what the whip is for. I get the flashlight, but what the hell do I need this thing for?”

Tori waved her hands at the item in question. “Oh that’s just for looks. I’m going to attach it to your belt loop so it hangs down. Trust me, he is going to eye it up. It’s sure to give him ideas. Just do not give in to them. Oh, and it’s a lasso, not a whip.”

With exasperation Ginnifer asked, “What the hell’s the difference?”

Tori laughed at Ginnifer’s question. “Well normally a lasso is a rope that is used to form a circle and catch an animal, like a calf. I had to look that up after Wes used that damned rope on me. Well, this was part of a costume I bought and had no idea what it was. I packed it up as something I might use. It’s not meant to be used for real. The material of the rope isn’t very strong, and it’s not quite long enough to do a real lasso justice. I’m sure you can find something useful for it, though, so I want you to take it.”

“Fine, it’s not worth arguing over. Besides, if it’s attached at my belt, it’s not like I have to carry it.”

“True enough. Now get dressed. You have thirty minutes before you have to be at the dining hall to leave, and we still need to blow dry your hair.”

Ginnifer grabbed the clothes and put them on quickly. The jeans fit as snuggly as she remembered, and the vest felt decadent against her breasts. It was a little weird not wearing a bra, but it also felt sexy as hell. It’s too bad she couldn’t let Dallas peel it off of her. No, bad Ginnifer. She wasn’t supposed to be having those kinds of thoughts. There was no denying that the outfit did make her feel good. By putting it on, it felt like she had a chance of pulling off indifference. It was something she never would have picked out herself because it would have felt wrong. Ginnifer didn’t generally do blatantly sexual. She preferred the subtle approach. Tori knew how to get a man’s attention. She had a lot more practice at doing this than Ginnifer did, so she trusted her directions. The whole purpose of all of this was to make Dallas lust after her and regret pushing her aside for Ms. Grabby Hands. She laughed in her head again at Tori’s description of her. She was so right in comparing her to the bloodthirsty foliage from
Little Shop of Horrors
.

Once the outfit was on, she sat down and slipped the boots on her feet. After adjusting the pant legs, she stood up so Tori could add her attachments around the belt loops. The rope wasn’t even noticeable once it was attached. The flashlight was mildly annoying, but it was tiny and only lightly tapped her hip as she walked. Tori did a circle around her, inspecting everything to make sure it was in place. “Okay sit down. We are going to dry your hair so it falls down like butterscotch waves across your back.”

Ginnifer seriously doubted it was a good idea to keep her hair down. She didn’t generally like to wear it hanging loose over her shoulders and back. It became annoying pretty fast, so she was constantly pulling it up in a ponytail or braid. She forced herself to say, “Um, won’t it get annoying being down like that, Tori? I mean, it’s camping. Can’t I at some point pull it up in a ponytail or something?”

With a flick of her hand gesturing agreement, Tori said, “Sure, once you are ready to go to sleep, by all means do something else with it. But don’t do anything until then. It needs to float around as much as possible. Even when you pull it up, make it a messy ponytail so strands fall down and entice.”

There was no way to talk Tori into putting her hair up and out of the way, so with a sigh Ginnifer nodded her head in agreement. “Fine.”

It didn’t take long for Tori to have her hair arranged the way she had described it. Then she took some lip gloss and swiped it over Ginnifer’s lips. “This should be all you need. You have a great complexion, Ginny. You should put the lip gloss in your pocket in case you need it later.”

Ginnifer stood up and grabbed the small bag Tori had packed for her. She had no idea what was actually in it, but she trusted her. It was probably filled with items she never would have included, but she chose to look at it as an adventure she would never have again. She looked at Tori and said, “Okay, I guess it’s time to get this show on the road. I have five minutes to get over to the dining hall. Wish me luck.”

Tori folded her arms across her chest and surveyed her handiwork. “You don’t need luck. You’re fabulous and make things happen without it.”

Ginnifer laughed at her friend’s assessment of the situation. “You’re right. Luck and I don’t get along, anyway. Okay, I’m off. I will see you sometime tomorrow.”

“Oh before you run off. I should warn you that Melody was already here. She packed extra light. Grabbed a small knapsack and ran off. I don’t think she wanted to be in the cabin for very long. I have to wonder what that’s all about.”

Ginnifer raised an eyebrow in wonder. “Hmm, maybe she’s avoiding me for some reason. Kind of dumb when we are going on a camping trip and will be required to spend time together. I’m not going to stress over it. I’ll see you in the morning.” She walked out the door and started the journey toward the meeting place. With determination of steel, she kept putting one foot in front of the other so she could make it there in time. At this point there wasn’t a thing that would keep her away from the camping trip. It was a matter of pride. She needed to save face and show Dallas she didn’t care if he got back together with Melody. Ginnifer was an intelligent and independent woman. She didn’t need a man to cement her happiness. Tori was right, she made things happen. She didn’t wait for them to happen to her.

When she got to the dining hall, everyone was already there waiting on her. Dallas looked up and saw her with shock in his eyes. Ginnifer turned away quickly and walked over to Emma and asked, “Are you coming too?”

Emma smiled at her before saying, “No, I wanted to see you all off and make sure everything went well. I’m glad you are going tonight. It’ll give you more things to write in your article. Did you get Dallas to answer all of your questions?”

Ginnifer shook her head back and forth expressing the negative outcome of the interview with Dallas. “Um, no we kind of got sidetracked with the birth of the foal.”

Emma nodded her head in understanding. “Ah. I understand how you’d lose sight of what you had sought him out for in light of that happening. If you make up a list of your questions, I can sit down and make him answer them. I know how difficult he can be.”

That was an excellent idea. If she could get Emma to have Dallas answer those remaining questions, it would be one less thing she had to deal with. If it was Emma that answered the questions, it wouldn’t bother her, but she really had no desire to have any extra conversations with Dallas. So she nodded in agreement. “Do you think I could e-mail them to you? It might be easier that way, and you can work on them even after I leave. I have time to get it all written before I send it to the editor. It’ll be at least two weeks before it’s due for the publication once I return to New York.”

Emma nodded her head affirming the suggestion. “Sure, that would work. Are you excited about the camping trip?”

That would be a negative, Emma. The camping trip was going to be awful. She didn’t want to tell the woman that, so instead Ginnifer said, “Yeah, I’ve never been on a real rodeo campout. Are we using tents?”

A voice from behind her said, “Of course not. Cowboys camp under the stars.” Ginnifer turned to find Dallas standing behind her as he said, “We’re leaving, Gin, are you ready?”

He kept clenching his hands open and closed into a fist. It looked like he wanted to grab a hold of something but thought better of it. His face was contorted with frustration. Ginnifer chose to only give him a courtesy nod in concurrence. “Yes, lead the way.” After that she ignored him as she turned back toward Emma. “I’ll e-mail that to you sometime tomorrow after we get back. I already have it written out, I need to attach it to the e-mail before I send it to you.”

Emma nodded at her. “Okay, I’ll remember to look for it. Have fun.”

Avoiding Dallas, Ginnifer turned and walked toward the rest of the group. She stood next to Cassidy and Shelly, hoping Melody would leave her alone. There was no way she would be able to handle being around her for long. She looked over and realized there was no reason to worry that Melody would be a problem. Like a leech out for blood, she had latched on tightly once again to Dallas’s arm. Dallas turned to stare at her with confusion pouring out of his eyes. The poor man looked lost. Well, Melody was his problem, not hers. He needed to find a way to extricate himself from her grasp all on his own. If that’s what he wanted, anyway…

In the meantime she would have to find something else to occupy her mind with. Ginnifer turned and walked over to Wes with a sultry smile on her face. “Are you our leader, cowboy?” It was time to get to know her best friend’s current nemesis.

With a smile dripping with sin, he looped her arm around his. “Well darlin’, I’d happily lead you anywhere. Just follow me. I promise I won’t steer you wrong.”

The group started walking toward the campsite. They had been informed that everything they needed was already there and set up. There was a chance they would need to gather extra firewood, but there was a small amount already in camp. All they had to bring was the small bags they had brought with them. So they all started the journey toward the pasture they would be camping under the stars in. Wes and Ginnifer led the pack. As they sauntered past Dallas, she saw his mouth form a grim line of displeasure. Well looky there, Dallie isn’t happy. Melody better do something fast because her hook wasn’t quite as tight as she thought it was…

Dallas had no idea what was going through Gin’s mind, but if she was trying to piss him off, she was doing a splendid job of it. When she had walked up, he had to use every bit of his self-control not to drag her away and strip that outfit off of her. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind she wore that outfit to drive him crazy. She had fuck me written all over her from her long blonde tresses floating down her back to her skin-tight black jeans. He eyed the vest and wondered if she was bare underneath it. Dallas hoped not, or there was no way he would be held responsible for what he did. There was a very high possibility he’d go all cave man on her. She needed to learn exactly what would happen if she wore an outfit like that in his presence. This really wasn’t the time or place to give her that lesson. Soon though, very soon, she would know what she was doing to him.

As much as he wanted to get Ginnifer naked, he also wanted to strangle Melody. He was trying to be polite and not embarrass her, but her constant petting and groping was starting to get on his nerves. What the hell had I ever seen in her? The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to distance himself. Melody was the most irritating female he knew. He couldn’t understand how he had expected to spend the rest of his life with her. True, she was beautiful, but she was also annoying as hell. Had she always been this buoyant? The level of her enthusiasm was grating on his nerves. Melody was bubbling over with unrepressed energy. Damned if he couldn’t remember anything about her except that she had been wild in bed. That had to be the reason he’d been so attached to her five years ago. The more he pushed her off of him, the harder she latched back on when she got the chance. Melody’s sugary sweetness was making him miserable. If she didn’t stop touching him, Dallas would get mean and fast. She wouldn’t be happy with his reaction, but at least he’d be able to finally shake her free.

In the meantime he was making plans on how to murder his own brother and exactly where to bury the traitor’s body. He couldn’t believe how he had grabbed a hold of his Gin and led her to the campsite. Admittedly, Wes didn’t know that Dallas considered Gin to be his, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t deserve to be bashed in the head for his actions. It pissed him off watching them walk in front of him, laughing each step of the way. Each stride their legs made along the weathered path caused Dallas’s anger to grow. He was a hot kettle about to burst wide open, releasing some trapped steam. The only benefit to following them was that he got a good view of Ginnifer’s ass. After they were settled in the camp, he was going to have a long talk with her. Besides he had her phone in his pocket. It gave him a good excuse to force her to talk to him.

She had to be pissed off about Melody fawning all over him. A part of him agreed with her. He didn’t like it, either, but he felt he owed Melody a certain amount of respect, even if she had been the one to break things off and break his heart. Looking back, he realized she had done him a favor. They wouldn’t have lasted very long before their relationship fizzled if they had stayed together. The clues had always been there, and Dallas had chosen to ignore them. Melody had been his everything back then. Not a damn thing would’ve made him sit up and say hey maybe we aren’t meant to be together forever. He was blinded by his love for her. It’s funny how clear things looked when you took the time to glance back. At the time, it had devastated him to the point he hadn’t let anyone into his heart again. It led to Dallas’s belief that love was for fools. His faith in that emotion had been crushed to oblivion with Melody’s departure from his life. She had been his reason for losing all trust in a woman’s ability to stick around. They were not reliable. Until he had met Ginnifer, he hadn’t believed he would ever find a woman worth fighting for. Dallas still wasn’t sure that she was, but he wanted to find out. She made him want to believe love was possible.

Melody was walking next to him. She had tried to grab hold of his arm, but he had shaken her off a while ago. She had settled in for incessant chatter as they made the trek to camp. Thank God they were almost there. Dallas had no idea what she was talking about because he had blocked her out. Listening to her was akin to shooting yourself in the head. If given the choice, Dallas would have asked for a gun to end his misery. Clearly, listening to Melody was a fate worse than death. Again he had to wonder what he ever saw in her; she drove him insane in a very short time. That was when he remembered how he used to shut her up. The quickest way to get her to stop talking was to keep her mouth busy doing something else. Dallas almost stopped in his tracks at the memory of what else her mouth was good for. Oh yeah, it was definitely a good reason to keep her around back then. It didn’t mean he still felt that way. The last thing he wanted was to get intimate with his ex-fiancée. He looked up and sighed with relief when he saw the campsite a few feet in front of them. Ginnifer and Wes had already stopped and were idly chatting as they waited for Dallas and Melody to reach them. Cassidy and Shelly were trailing a short distance in front of him. Dallas had insisted that one of them lead and the other follow to ensure they didn’t lose anyone on the way. So the other two ladies walked in between them on the way up.

As Dallas reached camp, he looked Ginnifer directly in the eyes, letting her know without words that he wasn’t happy with her. The saucy wench smiled seductively at him and nodded her head. She bent down and adjusted her pant leg and gave him a good look down her vest. The damn woman wasn’t wearing a bra. His fucking brother probably got a good look at her perfect breasts the whole way to the back pasture. Oh yeah he was going to kill him, making sure no one found the body. Wes was going to pay for laying his grubby hands on Ginnifer. As soon as he got a chance, he was going to show his little brother why it was wrong for him to touch her in any way. Right now he had other priorities. For instance the women needed to get settled into camp. The faster that happened, the quicker he could have a little chat with Ginnifer. Dallas strolled over to Wes. “Let’s divide them up and show them how to set up their bedrolls. Do me a solid and keep Melody occupied before I slap her. I can’t take any more of her right now.”

Wes nodded at him. “Is she who I think she is?”

“Yes. Don’t say another word about it. Keep her away from me.” Dallas stalked over to Ginnifer’s side.

He stopped in front of her as she picked up a bedroll, examining it. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrow questioning, “Yes?”

“Do you know how to set that up?” he asked.

With a shrug she said, “Not exactly, but I think I can figure it out.”

He shot her a pissed-off look. “Or you can let me help you.”

With sarcasm lacing through her voice, she expressed her displeasure at the idea, “No, I think I’ve got this.” Then gesturing toward the other two females in the group, she attempted to send him in a different direction. “Shelly and Cassidy might need help. Why don’t you go do the manly thing with them?”

She turned her back and ignored him. She was fucking putting up a wall between them, and he wasn’t going to have it. He went to grab her and shake some sense into her when he heard a scream. He looked over and saw Melody jumping around and pointing at the ground. Wes, a short distance away, didn’t get to her in time before they saw a snake slithering near her. “There’s a snake!” she shouted at them.

“Damn it, Melody, stand still so we can figure out what kind of snake it is. I’d hate for you to feel what it’s like to get bitten by a snake. If it’s poisonous, we might not have enough time to get you to the hospital for antivenin,” Wes told her.

Dallas shook his head and walked over to deal with it. When he got closer, he saw that it was another gopher snake. “It’s all right, Wes. It’s not poisonous. Let me get it out of the way so we can set up camp. We don’t need any more screaming females.” Damn Melody for distracting them. He grabbed the snake and walked it away from the camp. He turned around and saw that Ginnifer had her bedroll in place and was helping the other two women with theirs. Wes had his hands full comforting a crying Melody. Dallas started to walk away when he saw Melody look up and stare at him. Wes’s arms were still wrapped around her, but she was doing her best to try and lure Dallas to her side. Well she would have to be disappointed. As far as Dallas was concerned there wasn’t any good reason to take over for his brother. Wes had her under control, and he wasn’t about to get between them. That was a headache he didn’t want or need. Instead, he went to find out if he could help the other females set up their bedrolls.

“Do you ladies have this all figured out?” he asked.

“Oh yes, Ginnifer has been great about helping us,” Cassidy told him.

“Please tell me that snake is long gone.” Shelly shuddered.

He shot them an evil grin. “Yeah it was slithering off in the opposite direction when I left it. They are harmless, anyway. It’s the rattlers you have to keep an eye out for. Let me know if you see one of those, but remain as calm as possible so they don’t strike you.”

The color drained from Ginnifer’s face. “Oh God.”

Cassidy and Shelly nodded their head at him in agreement. “We’ll do that. What’s a rattler look like?” she asked

“Very similar to a gopher snake,” he told them.

“Well how can we tell the difference?” Cassidy asked.

“Well if it hisses at you and there’s a rattle in its tail, there’s a good chance it’s not a snake you should mess with.”

With a grimace on her face, Ginnifer shook her head. “In my opinion no snake is worth messing with. They can all keep their distance from me.”

Dallas nodded at her. “Well, Gin, if you see another one, let me know. I will gladly untangle it from your legs.”

“Right. ’Cause that would be my damned luck a snake would choose to twine itself around my leg again,” Ginnifer muttered under her breath.

A smirk on his face, Dallas looked at her. “Well, they are mighty fine legs. Can’t fault their taste.”

Ginnifer rolled her eyes at him and with heavy sarcasm made her displeasure known, “Sure I can. Snakes are evil creatures. I don’t want them slithering all over me leaving a taint on my skin. It’s best to avoid that at all cost.”

Dallas frowned and heard her double meaning laced through her words. She was warning him away from her. Damned if he was going to let her go that easy, so he said, “No reason to take out your anger on the poor snakes, Gin. Make sure you aim at your true target with that pessimism.”

With disdain in her eyes, she looked directly at him. “Oh, I thought I had. Snakes. Evil. Taint. Those are all things I’ll avoid as much as possible in the future. Isn’t that clear?”

Pissed that she thought of brushing him off like garbage, he returned her look with equal measure. “Crystal.” Fuck if he was going to deal with her while she was in this mood. He would have to wait until she was alone and deal with her then. He saw a small rope around her belt loop and thought it might be a good idea to make use of it. If he tied her down, she wouldn’t be able to escape him. It would definitely ensure she had to listen to him. He didn’t give a damn if she was mad about Melody. She could have at least given him some time to explain the situation. Instead she had gotten all moody about it and decided they were done. Gin was wrong. They were far from done, and he was going to prove it. He had a plan, and once everyone was asleep, he would make it happen. While he waited, he would make sure everyone else was settled in and the campfire was lit. They were going to roast some food over the fire for dinner and tell stories around the fire. He had a good one about snakes sure to make his Gin a bit nervous.

His plan firmly in his mind, he walked over to Wes and told him he was going to gather some wood for the fire.

Wes looked at him in confusion. “But we already have some gathered.”

Was his brother seriously that dense? “I know that. I need to get away. Gathering more wood is an excuse. Just pretend it’s a good one and let me leave.”

“Ah. Okay. Take as long as you need.”

“Please keep the women busy while I’m gone. I need a breather from all the estrogen,” he said as he walked away. In reality he needed a bit of time to cool off and solidify his strategy for dealing with Ginnifer. If she thought they were over, she was dead wrong. He didn’t give a damn about Melody. Their relationship had ended years ago. She was next to nothing to him. Dallas would have a long talk with both women so they knew where he stood. Melody was going to be sent back to whatever hole she had crawled out of. Ginnifer, well she was going to get a lesson in what would happen if she ever ignored him again. She needed to realize there were penalties for her actions. It was time she got that spanking she wanted so much…