Two Dude Ranchers for Dawn [Cowboy City 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (9 page)

“Thanks. I’m freezing.”

“Sorry about that. We didn’t plan to be up here so late.”

They finished dressing and walked back to the truck. Garrett turned the heater on full, guilty at the way Dawn was shivering despite wearing the blanket.

“It’ll warm up in a minute, honey.”

“Come here.” Ben reached over and dragged her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and almost forcing her to rest her head on his shoulder. She looked like she was gonna fight him, but then she sighed and sunk into him.

Garrett eased the truck down the hillside, his attention focused on the terrain. He knew it like the back of his hand, but the land looked so different in the dark that he had to be a little more careful than usual. By the time the ground leveled out and he cast another glance over at Dawn a few minutes later, she was asleep.

Dawn woke atop her own bed, confused for a moment as to how she got there. She squinted against the early morning sunlight streaming in through curtains she’d forgotten to close. Then it hit her.

She hadn’t forgotten to close them. They had.

She yanked off the blanket covering her and realized she still had on her dress from the night before. The last thing she remembered was snuggling up to Ben to get warm. “I must have fallen asleep.”

One memory gave way to another, and then another, and she felt her face grow hot at the thought of how uninhibited she’d been. Dawn slapped her hands over her mouth and rolled over to giggle into the pillow, embarrassed by the memories, but also a little proud of herself. Who knew she had it in her?

Garrett and Ben. That’s who
.

A hard pulse in her groin stopped her laughter and she wondered what the guys were doing and if they were thinking about her, too. She hoped they were.

Standing in the shower a few minutes later, Dawn let the water cascade over her body, groaning in relief as some of the sting went out of her aching muscles. She threw on a clean pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, scraped her hair into a bun and opened the door of her cabin to head over to the restaurant for the only breakfast session that she’d actually woken up in time for all week.

There, on the deck, was a small bunch of wild flowers tied together with a smooth piece of hide.

She picked them up and sniffed them, smiling at the sweet gesture and thrilled that it left her in no doubt how the guys felt about what had passed between the three of them. Dawn went back into the bathroom and filled a tumbler with water, then put them on her dresser. She paused just as she was about to leave the room and went back to pull a yellow bloom out of the bunch and tuck it into her hair.

She walked to the restaurant, passing planted areas of similar-looking flowers on her way and laughed at the thought of the two huge men lumbering through the cultivated flower beds.

“Hey, look who it is!” Julie’s voice rang out from the corner of the restaurant and Dawn turned to find that everyone else had made it up in time for breakfast, too.

“Hi. I thought I’d better try the buffet at least once before we leave tomorrow. Looks great, doesn’t it?” She avoided their eyes, sure they would be able to tell she had a secret to keep.

“What’s with the flower?”

She shrugged, staring down at her hands in case she gave the game away by blushing. “Nothing. It just caught my eye.”

It felt strange not to share everything with them, but this was different. What would they say if they knew? Lucky for her, Jen changed the subject and Dawn didn’t have to find out, at least not for the time being.

“So, we’re all set for the Rodeo and Wild West Show this afternoon? This is our last full day, and I intend to make the most of it.”

A chorus of agreement went up around the table, and Dawn felt another pang of guilt at how little time she’d spent with her best friends over the last couple of days.

The group finished eating and went back to their rooms to get dressed. As agreed, they met an hour later and walked down Main Street, taking a last opportunity to buy some keepsakes for themselves and gifts for family and friends from the quaint stores in the heart of the town.

Dawn didn’t have much time to think about Garrett and Ben during that morning, which was probably for the best. There’d be plenty of time to analyze everything they said, and everything she did, once she got back home to New York. She seemed to be handling the aftermath well, or at least she thought she was, until she found a watercolor painting of an Arizona sunset hanging in a small side street art gallery. Dawn just had to have it, despite the fact it cost the best part of week’s wages.

A storm of emotions had assaulted her as she’d stared into its depths, enchanted by its beauty but acutely aware that it dimmed in comparison to the real thing. A little like her memories?

A dull ache lodged in her chest and she closed her eyes, left almost breathless by the desire to be back on the hillside with Garrett and Ben. The artist saw her reaction to the painting and gave her a discount as he rang up the purchase, telling her he was honored that his work had affected her so deeply.

Dawn didn’t have the heart to deceive him and paid him the full price—how would she ever enjoy looking at it if she knew she’d taken advantage of his kindness?

She carried the painting back to her room, along with a couple of small desert rock sculptures she’d purchased for to give to her mom and sister when they came to stay with her at Christmas, and stashed them in her suitcase.

After a quick change of clothes and a rushed lunch, Dawn and the other girls settled into their seats in the third row of the lower section of a small rodeo ring. Paying the extra bucks to take the individual cabins rather than share a lodge had been well worth it. They hadn’t paid for a single meal or drink since their arrival, and the seats they’d been allocated for the show were almost the best available.

The first few minutes passed in a blur of noise, color, and activity when the show started with a grand parade that involved Native Americans in traditional dress and cowboys wearing pristine white suits and hats circling the ring on horseback. A choreographed routine had them riding toward each other at full speed, barely avoiding a collision. Split-second timing probably made it look more dangerous than it was, but it impressed Dawn along with everybody else in the arena, and the performers left the ring to the sound of rapturous applause.

Dawn found her attention wandering after the first couple of events. At first, the physical prowess of the cowboys impressed her, but then that just made her think of Garrett and Ben. Were they as tough as the men performing in the ring? They’d been so tender and gentle with her that she doubted it. She stared at the action below her without really paying attention to it.

The loud speaker crackled into life again. “Hope you’re enjoying the show. Next up, The Cowboy City Sharpshooters.”

Another flurry of activity saw a few large pieces of equipment wheeled into the ring at the open end of the arena that didn’t have any spectator seating. Another bunch of cowboys rode in, this time carrying rifles. They started whooping and hollering as they shot their guns into the air while their horses galloped around, seemingly unaffected by the noise. All of the riders except one came to a stop at the side of the ring. The remaining cowboy kicked his horse into a fast run and let go of the reins to bring his gun up to his shoulder and take aim, staying on the horse from the strength of his thighs alone.

He hit the target and turned the horse sharply to ride him back up into the center of the ring, yanking off his hat to wave to the crowd, thanking them for the applause.

Dawn bolted upright in her seat.
Garrett?

The horse and rider drew closer, and she could see his eyes were fixed on her. Garrett performed a deep bow, sweeping his hat out to the side with a flourish, and then put it back on his head. The smile he sent her way did funny things to her insides, and she smiled back, giving him a half wave that she hoped the others wouldn’t see. Garrett’s grin widened and he winked before turning away and riding back to the edge of the ring.

She looked for Ben, scanning the faces of the other riders, but he wasn’t there, so she focused on Garrett, even when he was doing nothing but waiting his turn to ride again. She saw him lean over the wooden railing to call someone over, and then Ben appeared. Dawn figured he was helping out with the stock. She didn’t see either of the men again after the sharpshooters left the ring, and a sudden sadness overwhelmed her as it occurred to her that it might be the last time she ever laid eyes on them.

Her mood hadn’t lifted by the time she walked into the farewell party in the town hall later that evening and discovered that they weren’t there either. The guys had known she was at the rodeo and hadn’t made any effort to speak to her afterward, and she’d hoped to see them tonight. Dawn had to assume that they knew she was leaving in the morning and just didn’t care. She looked down at her strapless, pink satin dress, annoyed that she’d gone to so much effort to look nice for two men who obviously didn’t care if they never set eyes on her again.

“What’s up?”

Dawn turned to face Jen, surprised to find they were the only ones still sitting at the dining table, guessing that the others must be on the dance floor. She fixed a bright smile on her face. “Nothing, I’m fine. How are you? Did you enjoy the trip?”

Jen blushed and looked down at her hands. “Yes, it’s been wonderful. I–I wish we could have stayed longer.”

“Me, too.” Dawn answered carefully, worried by her friend’s mood. Was she having doubts about marrying Alan. “It’s been fun.”

“The thought of leaving makes me sad.” Jen’s voice quivered a little. “I’m just being silly, I guess.”

Dawn picked one of Jen’s hands up from the table and shook it gently until her friend looked her in the eye. “Look, Jen. I wasn’t going to say anything but–”

“Oh my God!” Julie lunged into the gap between them, screeching with barely contained excitement. “They’re here.”

“Who?”

Dawn cast a glance at Jen, a little annoyed that Julie had interrupted their conversation, but Jen looked as if she’d suddenly cheered up. Dawn saw her smile at someone across the room, and she tried to turn and follow Jen’s gaze but couldn’t see who she was looking at.

“My guys.”

“Jesus, Dawn. Are you still leading them around by the nose? Haven’t you decided which one of them you want yet?”

Julie shrugged and gave Dawn a brilliant smile. “I can’t decide. They’re all too handsome. What would you do?”

Dawn shrugged, trying to seem blasé about the subject despite the fact Julie’s question had just made her stomach drop. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“You’ve got to dance with me.” Julie grabbed Jen and Dawn’s hands, yanking them to their feet with a surprising display of strength.

“Jesus! Calm down.” Jen laughed and rubbed at her wrist. “You nearly tore my arm off.”

“Sorry, I’m just a little nervous.”

Dawn stared at Jen, only to find her staring back and looking every bit as amazed as Dawn felt.

“Since when were you ever nervous?”

“All the time. I just don’t go around blabbing about it, that’s all.” She cast a quick glance over her shoulder in the direction of the rapidly approaching men. “We better move now, or it will be too late.”

Dawn and Jen followed her on to the dance floor, right to the center of the crowd where Sally and Ruth were dancing with a group of gay men.

“Ooh! More gorgeous divas,” one of them said, turning to shimmy his shoulders at Jen, sending her into fits of laughter.

They guys were just what Dawn needed to lift her spirits. She’d always known that straight women and gay men were drawn to each other like moths to a flame, but she’d never really experienced it until now. Dancing with them was liberating and exhilarating. She let herself go, relieved to discover she was actually having fun.

Garrett watched from the shadows at the edge of the room as Dawn left the dance floor, looking breathless and hot, and his cock throbbed at the memory of the last time he’d seen her looking that way.

A couple of her new friends followed her to the bar, and he heard one order a bottle of champagne in a loud voice intended to draw the attention of the people standing around him. She took the glass he offered and drained it dry and slammed it back down on the counter and turned as if ready to go back and rejoin her friends to dance a little more.

He’d been staring at Dawn so hard that he didn’t realize Ben had moved until he saw the other man block Dawn’s path. She wasn’t looking where she was going and bumped into his chest, grabbing on to his arms to steady herself. Garrett walked over to stand at Ben’s side.

She smiled, looking as if she was genuinely happy to see them, but the way she’d been flirting with the bunch of guys standing behind her made it clear that wasn’t true. “I didn’t expect to see you both. I’d given up on the idea you were coming.”

Garrett cast a glance over her shoulder toward the men at the bar. “So I see.”

Dawn flapped her hand in their direction. “We were just dancing, that was all. I–I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Are you?”

Ben’s tone made her smile fade. “Of course I am. Or at least I was, until you started acting weird.”

Some of the anger drained out of Ben’s face, and he tried to smile back at her. “Sorry, we’ve had a rough day.”

One of the guys, the loudest of them all, chose that moment to approach her and wrapped an arm around Dawn’s shoulder to drag her back to the dance floor. “Sorry boys, you can’t have her. She’s mine!”