Shrinking Violet (Colors #2) (11 page)

“Boy, you stare any harder and your eyeballs are liable to fall outta your damn head.”

I blinked back into focus to see Kal watching me, a knowing smirk rounding the corners of his mouth. Even grinning, the big man was menacing. And I’d just been caught eye-balling his niece from across the pasture. Even from so far away, my body reacted to how amazing her ass looked in her skin-tight jeans. I had no doubt Kal saw through me and knew exactly what I was thinking. It was at least the fifth time in the past month I’d been working at the ranch that he’d caught me staring at Cassidy. If I was being honest, I was a little shocked he hadn’t punched me yet.

Pulling the baseball cap off of my head, I ran my hand through my sweat-slick hair anxiously before putting it back on. I concentrated on the section of fence we were fixing, trying to ignore the fact that Kal still had his laser-like focus on me. We worked in silence for a few more minutes before he spoke again.

“You know, I might be a simple country boy, but I’m not a fool. I see the way you look at my niece.”

I inhaled a deep breath through my nose, letting it out slowly, trying to formulate a response that wouldn’t get me knocked the hell out by my gigantic boss.

“I can—”

Kal raised his hand, effectively silencing me.

“And I see how she looks at you, too.”

That statement gave me pause. I knew she watched me—I caught her a few times—but I didn’t realize it was obvious to everyone else. I wanted to believe those looks she gave me meant something, that there was a heat in those gorgeous blue eyes that matched my own, but self-preservation was strong in my veins and I had trouble allowing myself to get my hopes up. Kal confirming what I so desperately wanted to be true made the hope that had sprouted a month before grow even stronger.

“Look, I’m not blind. I know I warned ya off, but I can see it’s not just you.”

Don’t do a happy dance, Carson. Do. Not. Do. It.

“Just…” Kal whipped his cap off in frustration like I had moments before, using the back of his hand to wipe his brow. “Christ, just be careful with her, all right?”

I leaned on the fence post and studied his concerned expression. “I’d never hurt her, if that’s what you’re talking about, Kal. You have to believe that.”

“I know, I know. It’s just…that girl is her own worst enemy. She deserves happiness more than anyone I know, even if she doesn’t believe it.”

A ball of dread began to form in the pit of my stomach. “What are you talking about?”

“Not my story to tell, son,” he answered cryptically. “All I know is, in all the years she’s lived here, I’ve never seen her take to a man the way she has you. I just hope that counts for something.” He paused for several seconds, staring out across the pasture deep in thought. “I like you, Carson, I really do. But if you break her heart, I’ll break both your legs.”

Well, all right, then.

I was stowing the last of the tools away in the tack room in the back of the barn when I heard the door open.

“Hey,” Cassidy’s sweet voice spoke from behind me.

The breath stalled in my lungs when I turned to see her standing there, leaning against the doorframe. Jesus, she was beautiful. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to seeing her. Those amazing blue eyes pinning me in place for several seconds every single time she looked my way. Despite the pain that lay beneath the surface, I could stare into those baby blues every day of my life and never get tired of the myriad of emotion that flickered through them.

My lips curled up in a big smile of their own accord and I didn’t miss the way she looked down briefly, her cheeks tinged pink under my gaze.

My shrinking violet.

She held up a bottle of water and took a step closer. “I…uh…I thought you might be thirsty.”

I took a few steps, needing to be as close to her as possible. I made sure to brush my fingers against hers as I reached for the water, enjoying how she shivered at my touch. Her body betrayed the words she told me that night in the parking lot of Miller’s. I knew she wanted me just as desperately as I wanted her.

“Thank you,” I spoke in a low tone as I opened the bottle. I took a fortifying drink, nearly finishing half the bottle in two gulps. It was easy to forget how brutal the Texas heat was when you were used to working indoors. Some days, it felt like it was only a matter of time before I passed out from heat stroke. I never realized how hard ranch work was, but I had to admit, I loved it. I loved the landscape around me, loved getting my hands dirty and feeling every hour of hard work in my bones at the end of the day. Mostly, I loved getting to see the stunning, enigmatic woman who invaded my thoughts every day.

Cassidy stood silently, twisting her fingers together nervously, and I couldn’t help but reach out and touch her. I tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, relishing the softness of her smooth skin.

I closed the last remaining inches between our bodies, no longer able to stand being so far apart. My voice was a deep rumble. “What are you doing to me, Violet?”

Her tongue darted out, running over her full bottom lip. It took everything I had in me not to grab hold of her and devour her mouth like it belonged to me. But every primal instinct inside of me shouted that she was…she was
mine
. I craved the taste of her on my lips again.

Cassidy’s eyes grew wide as she looked up at me, shaded darker with passion. “I’m not…I’m not doing anything,” she stuttered.

“You have no idea how bad I want to kiss you right now, Violet. I can’t think about anything else when you’re around.”

The erection I’d been sporting since she walked into the tack room hardened further at the sound of her sharp inhalation. She didn’t say a word, but the glassy-eyed expression told me everything I needed to know.

“You want it, too, don’t you?”

“Y-yes,” she answered with a nod. I had to rein myself in from jumping and fist-pumping in the air.

I leaned in even closer, wrapping my arm around her tiny waist to hold her firmly against my body. “Ask me to kiss you, Cassidy.” Our lips were only a breath apart. One slight move and I’d be able to taste her.

“Carson…”

It was coming; I could feel it in every fiber of my body. And I couldn’t fucking wait.

“I want—”

Then just like that, a thousand gallons of ice-cold water were dumped on top of us. “
MOMMY!
”

I let out an audible groan as I dropped my forehead against Cassidy’s. Just like that, I’d been cock-blocked by an adorable three-year-old. Part of me—the part that had been pressing insistently against the zipper of my jeans—wanted to punch a hole in the wall. But I couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Cassidy’s lighthearted giggle.

“Busted,” she whispered as the sounds of Willow’s feet against the dirt ground grew closer and closer.

“Mommy, where is you?” Willow shouted.

The two of us stepped apart quickly, each pulling in a long, ragged breath. “Tack room, Doodle Bug,” Cassidy called out to her daughter.

The Texas Tornado came barreling into the room like the hounds of Hell were on her heels. The moment she saw me, her blue eyes grew wide. “
Carson!
” Willow ran straight for my legs, and I had to maneuver quickly to prevent being hit in that all-too-sensitive place. Her arms locked around both my thighs in a tight hug.

In the month I’d been working at the ranch, I’d developed somewhat of a soft spot for the mini-version of Cassidy. I might not have had a clue how to act around kids, but it was damn near impossible not to fall for the little spitfire. Something else she and her mom had in common.

Reaching down, I managed to untangle her from my legs and picked her up, resting her nearly weightless frame against my hip. “Hey there, Bug. Whatcha up to?”

“I wanna go swimmin’!” Good God, the child needed a volume control something fierce. Wiggling my finger in my ear to try and get it to stop ringing, I set Willow back on the ground. The girl could only stay still for so many seconds before she started wriggling around.

“Mommy, can we go swimmin’?
Pleeeeeeeeeease
.”

“Okay, okay,” Cassidy relented with a laugh. “Let’s go get your stuff.”

“I want Carson to come, too.” Willow looked back at me with wide, pleading eyes. If I didn’t have so much work left to do, I’d have jumped at the chance. The Sheffields had a pond about two miles away, toward the back of their property. It was completely surrounded by trees, creating the perfect sense of privacy. On hot, humid days like this one, the thought of stripping down and diving into the cool water was definitely tempting…almost as much as the thought of seeing Cassidy in her bikini.

But I needed to keep my job. Between the ranch and Miller’s, I’d managed to save up a good little nest egg for Navie. I was determined to earn as much as possible. New York was expensive as hell, and I didn’t want Navie to struggle.

“Sorry, sweetheart. I’d love to, but I have a ton of work to do.”

Cassidy took Willow’s hand as she pouted up at me. “Come on, Bug; let’s let Carson get back to work. We need to get your bathing suit and floaties.”

Willow let out an excited “
Yay!
” as she took off out of the room with Cassidy following behind. As she exited the tack room, she glanced back over her shoulder with a shy smile on her face.

This isn’t over
, I mouthed with a devilish grin of my own.

It sure as hell wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

“Someone’s got a crush,” Lana sing-songed. I spun around from where I’d been doing dishes at the kitchen sink…well,
attempting
to do dishes would have been a more accurate statement.

“Jesus, Lana! You scared the hell out of me.”

“My momma always said if you get scared it’s because you aren’t livin’ right.”

“Shut up.” I laughed, flicking some soapy dishwater at her.

Lana stood beside me on her tiptoes, peering out the window to see what I was staring at. “What had you over here drooling on the clean plates, anyway—Well hello, Mr. Ranchhand. No wonder you didn’t hear a damn word I said when I first walked in.”

A small sigh escaped my lips as I turned back to the window. There was no doubt that Carson was one fine man, but a shirtless Carson was a thing of wonder, like the statue of David, or the Sistine Chapel, or….really,
really
good porn.