Double the Trouble (Texas Trouble 3) (26 page)

"
Way
...and of course,
he was
Sabrina's brother-in-law."

Blood surged up her neck and heated her face and she said, "Oh,
my
god...I can't face any of you again.  I'm sorry, Gabe."

Gabe walked over and wrapped his arms around her.  "It's no big deal, sweetheart.  Wade always had an extra dose of testoster
one, Kenny got the adrenaline.  You're right,
he
got
what he deserved for messing with ya'll
.

"
Wow...did I just hear a
ya'll
come out of that mouth of yours?  Did you buy that
Texas
lingo
at the western store
too
when you got your new duds?"

"Yeah, they threw in a cowboy dictionary with the hat..." he told her with a sexy grin.

"You keep that talk up and we might have to skip the party, and have our own in the hayloft," she purred then
nibbled on his lower lip.

He pulled back from her and said with regret in his voice,
"I'd love nothing better, sugar, but I promised Cole I'd help him keep the crowd under control.  He's probably looking for me now
.
"

Karlie snorted then asked him, "The blue hairs going to get rowdy on their hover rounds?"

"Who knows...but he's the boss...and if he smells trouble brewing, I need to be there."

"Can you at least dance with me?  You're supposed to be having fun too...and we need to test out those new boots, get 'em scuffed up a little bit."

"
I got some free two-step lessons with the boots," he said with a grin, "Better cash in that coupon too...save me a dance, and don't be getting too rowdy with those cowboys."

Although Gabe had turned her down on the hayloft romp, Karlie was kind of glad, because she really needed to find
Dixie
and see how she was doing.  That little bulldog puppy she had was adorable, and she wanted to get the scoop on how she'd talked Tommy into getting it for her.
 
It surely wasn't because she'd been
good
, Karlie thought with a chuckle.  Wild children like
she and
Dixie
didn't know the meaning of the word.

Karlie checked the food tent, and didn't see her sister, Tommy or
Dixie
anywhere, then she went to
the tent where the seats
were set up, and they weren't there either.  Finally, she wandered under the tent where the band was playing and caught sight of her sister's red hair on the dance floor.  When the guy she was dancing with spun her around, Karlie's eyes got wide and she almost swallowed her tongue.  Katie was dancing with Wade Roberts, and seemed to be enjoying it. 
Tommy Tucker was standing over by the band, staring at her with his hat pulled low and his arms folded over his broad chest.

It looked to her like Katie was pissed at
Tommy
, and trying to torture
him
.  Karlie felt sorry for
the kindhearted cowboy
...he'd lost his wife, and here her sister was tormenting him. 
In t
he days she'd spent at the Rockin' D, she'd gotten to know him and
Tommy
was a good man, and a good father to
Dixie
.  He didn't deserve what Katie was doing, no matter how mad she was.  And she knew her sister's temper was right up there on the scale with her own.

Walking across the dance floor, Karlie pushed
people to the side, and
went
up to Tommy then grinned,
and asked,
"Hey good looking wanna dance?"

He pushed his hat back and she saw that the normally mild-mannered man was extremely angry.  His face was flushed and his eyes glittered, as he studied her for a second, then looked at the dance floor where Katie was putting on a show with Wade.  His lips twisted, then he swallowed and said, "Sure," then grabbed her hand and stalked to the floor towing her behind him.

It was obvious from the first second their feet hit the parquet, that Tommy Tucker knew how to dance.  He spun her in t
wo
quick circles then moved right into a two step, not missing a beat.  Resting his hand on her lower back, he guided her around the floor and looked deeply into her eyes, his lips curled back into a smile that was a little less than genuine.  At every corner, he spun her, then pulled her back to his chest, and they danced their feet off in perfect harmony around the floor.

She leaned toward him and shouted, "Whew, you sure do dance well, sugar.  This is fun...where'd you learn to dance?"

He pulled her a little closer and leaned next to her ear and said, "My wife liked to dance, so I learned," he
said
then leaned back up and she saw sadness in his eyes.
  Tears stung her eyes, and Karlie looked away.  She had no idea what to say to him.

When t
he song ended
,
Tommy
dipped her
,
then gave her a kiss on the cheek
, and said near her ear,
"Thanks, darlin'...it's been a long time, and that
was
fun."

A slow song came on and
Karlie
grabbed his hand and pulled him to the middle of the floor and put her arms around his neck.  "If we're going to do this, let's do it right.  Can't stop with a two-step, we need to really give her a show," she told him and tiptoed
to give
him a light
, but lingering
kiss on his lips, then
she
eased back down and put her head on his chest.

"You're a mess, you know that?" Tommy told her with a chuckle, then put his hands on her ass and pulled her closer to him
.
"You and your sister are nothing but trouble, sugar."

"But the kind of trouble you like, right?" she asked
with a saucy grin
.

"
It's starting to grow on me
," he told her then added, "
I never realized how boring my life
was
until ya'll came along
."

She looked up into his eyes and smiled
.
"If there's one thing that can be said about the
Upton
twins, we're never boring,
sugar,
" she said with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"Tell me about Wade Roberts and what happened..." he asked her solemnly.

"Just suffice it to say that he doesn't think the
Upton
twins are boring either.  We taught him a little lesson he's not likely to forget anytime soon," she said with a chuckle then added seriously,
"We
didn't sleep with him, Tommy...
.
"
because it was obvious
that's what he thought, since s
ister
evidently
refused to talk about it.

She felt him relax a little and he huffed out a breath
.
"Thanks for telling me.  I was worried about the influence she'd have on
Dixie
if I kept her on at the Rockin' D.  I have to be careful," he said.

Surprised, Karlie pulled back from him a little and asked, "So this isn't about you
liking
her?  As a woman, I mean?"

"Oh, sure it's about that too, she's a beautiful woman,
and I like her
a lot
,
but protecting
Dixie
is my first prior
i
ty."

Karlie mulled that over in her mind, and was glad that he felt so protective of
Dixie
, but she also wondered where Katie would fit into his circle, if they wound up getting closer.  Maybe
Katie
was wondering the same thing.  Karlie wished she knew what was said when they'd talked, what had her sister
so
mad.  Maybe she'd have time to talk to her later.
..if Katie wasn't too mad at
her
for dancing with Tommy.
 

When the song ended, he pulled her to him and gave her a hug, then a kiss on the cheek, and they walked over to the bar to get a drink.
  They passed a table and she saw Katie sitting there
alone
, biting her lip and twirling a beer in her hand.  Her whole posture said she was not just mad, but really upset with
Karlie
,
and
Tommy.  When Karlie tried to catch her gaze, she looked away at the dance floor.

Karlie got her beer and winked at Tommy, then told him, "Follow me..." and walked right into the hornet's nest to sit down at the table by
Queen Hornet
.
  "Need another beer, sis?"

Katie didn't respond
for a minute
, she just turned her body away from Karlie and folded her arms over her chest,
then finally told her sulkily,
"Go dance and leave me the hell alone, Karlie."

Karlie snorted, then told her "Looked like you were doing enough dancing for the both of us...have fun dancing with the jackass?"

Katie grunted then told her, "That
should
be my question for you, sister."

Karlie looked back over her shoulder at the jackass her sister spoke of and grinned at him.  Tommy wasn't smiling, his face was a thundercloud, and he too had his arms folded over his chest.
 

"Yeah, Tommy is such a jackass, huh?  And just butt ugly...I swear if he didn't wear a hat, buzzards would be gnawing on him..."  Karlie
told her,
just barely able to suppress the laughter bubbling in her chest.  "I swear there's not a cowgirl in
Texas
who would hookup with that loser.
 
I just danced with him out of pity
,
" she
sa
id snarkily
,
then added for effect, "A
nd that kid of his
...
what a little pest
.
" 

Evidently it worked, because her sister growled then spun around
toward her
and her face was furious, when she grated,
"Don't you
dare
talk about
Tommy
or
Dixie
like that!  He's damned good-looking and
a good man, and
you know it!  Any cowgirl would be
lucky
to have him!"

Tommy stepped into her line of vision with a smile on his face and said, "Is that so?"
then he walked over to
Katie
and grabbed her hand
, then pulled
her to her feet
,
before
he said, "Dance with me cowgirl, and show me how lucky you are."

Katie's face flushed and she tried to pull her hand from his, but he held on and dragged her to the dance floor.  A slow song was playing, and he pulled her to him, then kissed her right there in front of everyone.

"Dance with me cowgirl, and show me how lucky
you
are," a deep voice rumbled near her ear.  "That was quite a maneuver, Karlie...well done."

Karlie shifted in her seat and looked up into the mischievous brown eyes of Wade Roberts.
  "I don't think so, jackass," she harrumphed then turned away from him.  He sat down beside her and put a beer on the table,
then leaned near her ear and said,
"Peace offering...I'm sorry I got you into trouble with your boyfriend.
  I was just a little surprised to see you
here
.
"

"No more surprised than I was to see you..." she told him, then asked, "What the hell are you doing in
Bowie
,
Texas
anyway?  Shouldn't you be in
Steamboat Springs
or something?"