Mister sighed. Faith smiled. Logan shook his head. Cody groaned. And Shelby snapped. Fumbling through her purse, she pulled out her phone and dialed The B-Cubed. Mrs. McKinney picked up on the first ring, as if expecting the call.
“Mrs. McKinney, this is Shelby,” she said in her best principal voice, ignoring the smug look on Ms. Luella’s face and not giving the other woman any time to respond. “I am calling to tell you that I have a full panel of judges since Faith said she’d judge the cook-off—”
“What?” Faith croaked, looking horrified at the prospect.
“She can’t,” Ms. Luella protested. “She works for the competition!”
“Exactly,” Faith pleaded.
Shelby hated putting her friend in this position, but it couldn’t be helped. She knew Faith was too nice to say no and Shelby was at her wit’s end, willing to use that to her advantage.
“And you work for Cody,” Shelby pointed out.
“Not for long,” Cody grumbled. “Because I’m getting ready to fire her.”
Shelby ignored Mrs. McKinney hollering with glee in the background. “I figure that makes this even. Listen good, ladies. The cook-off will be a blind taste test, with the contestants gagged if necessary. No one will know who entered what, and if there is one more issue—” Even though Mrs. McKinney couldn’t see, Luella could, so Shelby held up a finger to reinforce how serious she was. “And I mean
one
more issue, regardless of who initiates, you will both be disqualified.”
“But—”
Mrs. McKinney’s objection screeched over the phone.
“Or I could just cancel this whole cook-off now and be done with it. It’s your choice.”
Silence greeted her. Blessed silence. “Good.” She hung up the phone.
“You want to press charges?” Logan asked.
“No,” Shelby said as Cody said, “Yes.”
Shelby slid her hand into Cody’s and gave it a soft squeeze. He looked at the ceiling and rubbed his forehead before squeezing back. She smiled. He was going to let her handle this. And that made her all warm and tingly inside.
“First, I need to know if you broke into my car yesterday.” Ms. Luella looked genuinely confused and Shelby knew that, although Ms. Luella had been the one responsible for her scare today, she was innocent of yesterday’s breakin. Which meant that someone was still out there. Someone who wanted her gone.
“No, sugar, I didn’t. And I’m sorry for causing you such a scare. I just . . .” Ms. Luella hugged Shelby and whispered, “Well, I guess I’ve got a whole lot to be sorry for with respect to you.”
“All right,” Logan cut in. “I am reinforcing what Shelby said. One more move like this and I’ll arrest you both and lock you in the same cell until you two get this silly feud settled. That goes for you too, Mister. I’m not going to pretend I’m not angry. You know better.”
Cody approached Jake, who’d been awfully quiet the whole time. “I thought we had a deal, partner?”
Jake dropped his head and gave a shrug. “Ms. Luella was really upset about her spoon and I wanted to make sure Mom was okay. You mad at me?”
“I’m not mad.” Cody could have yelled. Could have punished him. Instead he dipped down, getting eye level with Jake. “I should’ve asked if you wanted to come with me to check on your mom. Sometimes I forget that there’s another man in her life who wants to keep her safe. I’m sorry and I’ll work on that. But when I ask you to do something, I need to know you’ll listen. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Cody flicked the bill of Jake’s cap down. “Now, I thought we were done with all that
sir
stuff. Plus, it would sound a little weird you hollering ‘sir’ while passing me the ball this weekend.”
Jake shoved his hat back and glanced up, looking a little hopeful and terrified to be that hopeful. “You mean the fatherson game at the fair?”
“What? You didn’t think I spent three hours in that god-awful heat, tossing around the ball just to let you help the other team win, did ya?”
Jake shook his head. Then they both stood there. Waiting for the other to show some sign of how he was feeling. Shelby’s heart pinched for them. Neither one moved but she had spent enough time with both of them to notice the way Jake kept rocking forward on his toes, and Cody’s arms would loosen only to tighten again. They both wanted to hug the other, they just didn’t know how to go about it.
“Now that that’s all settled,” Shelby said, throwing her arms around both of her guys, and mashing them all together. “Why don’t we all go get that breakfast I was promised?”
Shelby’s head dropped back, her back arched as she rose up and slid down the length of him, slowly, taking in every inch, getting used to his size. He was everywhere, filling her in the most delicious way. Cody groaned, his eyes sliding shut, one hand resting loosely on her hips, the other gripping her ass and moving with her as she rode him.
He allowed her to set the pace, content to lie back and experience the moment. She loved it when he was like this, taking pleasure instead of always trying to give it. Shelby had worried that he would never let go, and he still hadn’t, not completely. But ever since that morning at the clinic, three days ago, he’d been less guarded, more approachable. There even had been moments, like this one, where he dropped his shield completely and gave her a glimpse of the life they could share, how great they could be together. Which was a dangerous thought.
After that terrifying moment in the parking lot, they had gone to breakfast, laughing and smiling and every moment of it had felt wonderful and real. Cody had treated them to a movie at Artie’s Cinema and then opted for ice cream in lieu of lunch. He’d been affectionate and open, brushing hips while they walked, holding hands, joking with Jake. Shelby allowed herself to wish for more.
But the moment they drove through the metal gates of Tucker’s Crossing, something changed. It was as if his smile was manufactured and his affection forced. Although he always made time for Jake, Shelby and Cody spent their days each focusing on the tasks at hand—Cody on the ranch and running his business remotely, Shelby on the cook-off. Then, at night, they would come together and make love until neither could move.
Some nights, Cody would hold her in the moonlight and ask questions about her pregnancy, if she liked being pregnant, about Jake growing up. Wanting to know everything so he could imagine being there, he said. He even opened up a little about his time in Austin, how he’d spent the past decade, the success he’d found with his business.
Even though each answer was prompted and short in its delivery, what little Shelby had learned made her sad for him, sad for a man who seemed to have closed himself off from the entire world and decided to go it completely alone. The only people he talked about with any amount of affection were his brothers, who it seemed were also busy trying to escape their memories of The Crossing.
Cody was just as secretive about his feelings. Besides their day in town, he had never brought up marriage again. And when people were around he was very hands-off. There was no mention of a wedding or even a ring. As far as Shelby could tell, no one even knew they were engaged.
She understood that Cody was a private person, tried to remind herself of the way he grew up, but her patience was wearing thin. When she was in his arms, it was almost enough to make her forget the lonely days, because she knew in her heart that he cared deeply for her. She could feel it in his touch, the way he caressed her, looked at her, and the words he murmured as they made love. Because that’s what it was, making love.
But what if she was wrong?
“Damn,” Cody whispered. His eyes were riveted to her breasts, watching them sway with every roll of her hips, studying their every nuance. “How big?”
Shelby bit at her lower lip to keep from smiling. The size of her breasts was the topic about her pregnancy he had been the most interested in. She didn’t stop moving as she slid her own hands up her body, caressing her breasts, rolling and squeezing them, feeling sexy and daring as she watched his face flush with desire. He tightened inside of her, grew bigger if that was even possible.
“Twice this size.”
Cody sat up, his hands covering hers, gently lifting one then the other, as if weighing them and measuring them. Bending, he finally took one hard bud into his mouth, starting out gently. Then suddenly with one deep pull, Shelby’s body expanded and tightened all at the same time. Needing to feel him fill her every space, she moved up and slammed back down.
“God, that’s good,” he moaned before squeezing her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, continuing to work the other with his mouth. She picked up the pace, clawing at his back, riding him hard and loving how their bodies fit together.
“Come on, honey. Come for me.” Cody gripped her hips, lifting her so he could push up into her. Every nerve ending exploded with his thrust, but she needed more. Because as much as he was driving her wild, she needed him to want her with the same abandon.
“More, Cody. Let go with me.”
Cody gripped her harder, flipping her onto her back and he plunged inside of her. She screamed out with pleasure. He was so big and so hard and for a moment she thought he was right there with her, crazy with need as he took her again and again. Shelby was torn between never wanting this moment to end and needing to reach the explosion with a desperation that made her eyes water.
And there, lying on the bed, staring up into the eyes of the man she had once loved so much, Shelby’s heart dive-bombed before coming back up with a dizzying swiftness that choked her.
Oh, God, no. No no no. This was not happening.
“Oh, God, too soon,” Cody groaned and slowed the pace. And she wanted to cry.
I know it’s too soon. But I love you. I love you, Cody Tucker.
Shelby couldn’t breathe. She wanted to say the words so badly she ached, but held them in her chest, because she also wanted him to say them back, and mean it. And she was afraid that he couldn’t. She thought back to the pain, how it felt to love so much only to have it not be enough, and knew that this would be a million times worse. But she was willing to take the risk, willing to see if he’d take the leap and meet her, even partway.
“Give me a minute or this will be over too fast, honey.” He began to pull out.
“No, way.” Shelby tightened her legs around him, needing him to give her something of himself, a promise that this was more than hormones and sexual attraction. She surged up. And God it felt amazing. Lifting her hips. She did it again, and this time he met her, and it felt even better.
He pinned her to the bed with his body, setting the pace, slow and deep and steady and somehow not complete. She didn’t want to be on the bottom where he could hold back. Fearing that if they slowed down here, he would pull back altogether, she pushed up again, harder. Faster. And then she was coming. And so was he. They both cried out.
Shelby closed her eyes so tight she could see stars and held her breath until she thought she would pass out. Although her body was humming with pleasure, and they were still connected in the most intimate way, she had never felt more alone.
“Hey,” Cody whispered into her ear, his voice gentle with concern. “You okay?”
“Perfect.”
Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry.
Too late. Because Shelby had, once again, stupidly put it all out there, given her heart fully to a person who could never give her his in return. “Everything was just
perfect
.”
Shelby’s bottom ached, and she probably had a thousand different kinds of waffle-marks branded into the backs of her thighs. She shifted on the metal bench, careful not to touch any more of the scorching metal than absolutely necessary, and causing a current of pins and needles to shoot down her right cheek. Yup, her butt was totally asleep.
“Told you to bring a seat cushion,” Gina mused from beside her. “You’re burning too. As in nasty tan lines come next week. And you still haven’t told me about Cody’s reaction to the contract.”
Gina sat on a sports-mesh, goose-down bleacher-seat that came complete with an umbrella, backrest, and dual-insulated cup holders. She only believed in excess when it came to sports.
Shelby shifted again, stoically not screaming when some of her skin actually stayed behind on the bleacher.
“You’re distracting me.” Shelby studied the field below, not that she liked football, but it was easier to focus on the herd of dads and kids, half in red, the other in blue, than look at her friend.
“You hate football.”
“Yeah, well, I love watching my guys.”
And her two guys were easy to spot. Middle of the field on the fifty-yard line, in the perfect Ford-F-250-Dually-truck blue, Cody and Jake each palmed a football. Cody pulled his arm back, took a few steps and drilled it downfield, Jake’s eyes widening with every yard it gained.
After a brief high five, and several manly grunts, Jake copied Cody’s every move, even the way he hitched up his left hip the second before he released the ball. But no matter how perfectly he mimicked his dad, the ball fell short of the desired mark, just like the last fifty had.
“No. Way!” Gina accused. “Look at me.”
Shelby kept her eyes on the field. Not only did she not want to look at Gina, but she was here to support her guys. This was an important day, the last practice before the big fatherson football game, and she wanted to share in that.
Cody grabbed another ball from the pile. Standing behind Jake, he positioned all of his son’s little fingers into the correct hold, maneuvered his feet into the right stance, and whispered something in his ear. Jake nodded and Cody gave him a manly pat on the tush and backed up.
Face puckered, tongue peeking out, Jake pulled back the ball, took a step forward and—snap.
It landed no more than a foot and a half farther than his previous attempt. But by the way Cody smacked hands with Jake and shouted out words of Tucker domination, one would think he’d just delivered the winning pass in the Super Bowl. And Shelby finally found something about the sport to like.
She heard the rustle of sports-mesh and Gina’s face filled her view, her eyes scrutinizing before going wide at Shelby’s guilty red glow. “Ohmygod, you had sex with Cody Tucker,” she denounced and Shelby squeezed her eyes shut.