Cowboy Dragon Page 12

  “Hey, what’s the matter?” he asked tenderly. The worry in his gaze was always genuine.

  “Nothing. Just tired.”

  “Last time I saw you tuckered out, there weren’t tears involved.”

  Would she always come second to work and land and freedom?

  Her heart said no. That Harrison wasn’t like that. But her brain held all the memories her heart wanted to sweep aside when love got involved.

  “Things are busy. I’m worried you’ll be too busy for me someday too, Harrison. That it’s only a matter of time before whatever’s got you bothered now becomes more important than me.” She wrapped her hands around his shoulders, feeling safe in his embrace.

  “Whatever happens, you will never come second to me, Marian. You’re my everything. I…” He paused, fingers where he held her tensing just slightly. “I love you. And I ain’t never said that to another person in my whole life.”

  She laughed in relief, wondering what Beck or Clancy would say to their boss suddenly finding his soft spot. “I love you too, Harrison. I have for a while now. I just didn’t want to push my luck. Things have already been so good since…”

  “Since you came into my life.” He nuzzled her nose, and seeing him so utterly romantic was almost enough to make all the worries go away. “I’ll make sure everything turns out all right. I promise.”

  “I trust you. Just come to me first when something’s worrying you, okay?”

  “Even if I’m the boss?” He laughed, a low and steady sound that always eased her heart.

  “I mean, even the boss has to have someone to take their problems to, right?”

  “Nope. Bosses exist to solve problems, not create problems.” The air was getting warmer as they came closer together.

  “Then don’t think of your worries as problems. Think of them as… opening the floor to a second opinion.”

  “Namely yours?”

  “Of course mine. Would you prefer Beck’s?”

  “Hell no,” he said emphatically. And at that, his lips sealed over hers. Behind her, the campfire was dying down, leaving them bathed only in the pale-blue hue of a full moon far above them in the sky. Millions of stars twinkled, only adding to the magic of the moment as he kissed her so deeply it was like he could reach her soul.

  There would probably still be worries about life with a cowboy. But so long as Harrison was so sweet, so patient with her, Marian didn’t think it was something they wouldn’t be able to overcome.

  Especially when he kissed her like this. All those worries could disappear for a moment.

  He broke away from her, but they were still nose to nose. And when he looked up at the sky, she did so as well.

  “Y’know, for the longest time I’ve been telling people that the prettiest sight in all the world is a full moon over the Texas sky. But now I finally found something better than that.”

  “What?” She was already turned on by the kiss, eager for him to carry her back to wherever he’d be taking her, to pleasure them both senseless.

  “That would be you, Marian West.”

  And with that, he kissed her again.

  19

  The next evening, Marian walked out of the house to see Reno and Dallas fussing with a table a dozen or so yards from the side of the big barn, and she noted that a large tarp had been draped over the side of the barn, creating a large, white surface.

  “What’s this all about?” she asked.

  Reno grinned as he hit a button and a big blue screen projected onto the side of the tarp, as big as a movie theater. “It’s movie night. Didn’t Harrison tell you?”

  He’d mentioned something about it, but she thought they were going to somehow cram around the little wood-paneled box they had in the living area that barely had enough seating for two.

  “It’s good to do things as a crew. Builds character, loyalty.” Reno puffed his chest up and tipped a pretend Stetson. “The crew that plays together stays together.”

  Marian tried to stifle a giggle, not because the interpretation was accurate, but because Reno’s interpretation was hilarious.

  Just then, Harrison’s big blue truck backed into the yard, the bed facing the screen on the barn. Then Harrison poked his head out of the driver-side window as he parked. “Now when did I say such trite bullshit?” He turned the engine off and got out.

  Reno let all the air in his lungs out with a sputter, then scratched his arm. “I mean, not those words exactly.”

  “Is Reno doing bad impressions again?” Beck came out of the house, several bags of pre-popped popcorn dangling from one hand and a canvas bag and a pair of DVD cases in the other.

  “He sure is.” Harrison opened the gate to the truck bed, and she saw two comfy-looking camping chairs already set up in the back, along with blankets and a box with other things she couldn’t see in it.

  “Do Clancy. That one’s better.”

  Reno pretended to put his hands on a vest like the one Clancy was often seen wearing, walking with his head high and chewing a make-believe blade of grass like she’d often seen Clancy doing when at work. “Well, li’l lady, yer lookin’ finer than a polished spur at high noon, I reckon.” He extra-emphasized the drawl, and Beck just chuckled as he pulled a folding chair out of the bag and set it up for himself.

  Marian full on laughed at that, though. Beck was right.

  “You plan on sharing with the crew?” Harrison asked as he appraised the small mountain of popcorn Beck was already starting to eat by the handful.

  “Nope,” he said with his mouth half full. Then he looked at his bounty, grabbed a bag, then tossed it toward Marian. She barely caught it, fumbling before finally getting a grip on it, and Beck managed to look impressed for a second.

  “Now that’s just spiteful.” Though Harrison didn’t actually look too bothered as he stood between her and Beck. In the background, Dallas hooked up a DVD player next to the old projector, working silently.

  “She earned it this week,” Beck said, spouting kernels as he spoke.

  “How?”

  “By not asking stupid questions about what I do with my hard-earned popcorn.” He stuffed another handful as he handed the DVDs to Reno.

  “So what are we watching tonight?” Clancy asked as he appeared with a box and unraveled what looked like an inflatable couch, and there was the whir of a machine as it began to puff up.

  “No date tonight?” Reno asked.

  “Y’know I don’t bring dates to crew activities. Not unless said activities require a partner.” The couch was almost inflated after a minute.

  While they argued about how he had, in fact, brought someone to whatever they’d done a month ago, Harrison led her to the back of the truck and lifted her easily up onto the truck bed. He then lifted himself up and led her to one of the chairs where she took a seat with her popcorn. In the box, she could see several bags of popcorn, along with boxes of candy and some sodas as well.

  She just set Beck’s bag beside her while Harrison laid a warm blanket on her lap.

  “So what are we watchin’ tonight?” Harrison called.

  Reno had already set up a camp chair between Beck and the couch that Clancy was sprawled out on.

  “We got Dirty Harry and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid tonight,” Reno said as he looked at the two cases.

  “Did Beck choose those?” Harrison replied.

  “I told you before, Butch Cassidy wasn’t nuthin’ like the movies. Just an asshole who was good with a gun,” Clancy said, arms propped behind him as his long body took up the whole of the inflatable couch he was on.

  “I feel like we’ve seen these before, Beck,” Reno said, disappointed.

  Beck grunted. “I like those movies.”

  Marian finally chimed in. “Wait, I think I have one. Want me to go see?” Harrison and everyone who wasn’t Beck eyed her with curiosity. “It’s just in my stuff. One sec.”

  Beck hmphed. “As long as it ain’t a damn kids movie.”

&nbs
p; “I’m pretty sure you liked Stuart Little that one time the store mixed up the tapes,” Clancy responded with a laugh as Marian let herself off the truck bed and jogged to her room. Several minutes later, she appeared with a beat-up case in her hand, one of the few movies she’d held on to even after she’d had to move around so much it was just what she could fit in Freddie and nothing else.

  Reno took the DVD and looked at it. “The Notebook?” Then he handed it to Dallas, who raised an eyebrow in suspicion as he popped the DVD into the player.

  “What the hell could be good about a movie involving a notebook? Where are the guns, the fightin’?” Beck folded his arms, still downing popcorn.

  “You’ll just have to see, I guess,” she replied.

  “Since the crew has unanimously decided Beck’s selections sucked, I suggest we give this a try,” Harrison said as he lifted her back into the truck and got her comfortable again. Voices of assent rose from the other men.

  The movie started, surprisingly clear even though all they had was a barn with a tarp hanging off the side, and to her surprise, the sound came out from two big speakers Dallas must’ve set up in the shadows when she hadn’t been looking.

  She felt Harrison’s big hand entangle with hers, squeezing it, and she leaned against his arm, enjoying the warm satisfaction she felt whenever life seemed to slow when she was with him. After so many years that had gone by like a blur, it was nice to have times where she could just relax and unwind and take each moment as it came.

  “What do these old people have to do with those two kids?” Beck asked, talking at the movie.

  “Shut yer trap and we’ll find out, goddammit!” Clancy threw something at Beck, and it bounced off his shoulder and into the darkness. Beck didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered.

  There was relative silence as the first half of the movie played. Every now and then, Clancy or Reno would make a comment, which would start some sort of argument, and then Harrison would have to tell everyone to be quiet or else he’d take the movie inside and only he and Marian would get to watch it.

  That shut them up every time.

  She just enjoyed watching the fated love story play out on the screen in front of her while she nestled against Harrison and he handed her snacks to munch on. She’d seen the movie at least a half-dozen times, but each time it got better, she felt.

  “That boy screwed up bad. Shouldn’t have run like that,” Harrison said under his breath as he leaned into her ear. “Had a perfect thing right in front of him.”

  “Sometimes we act on impulses that aren’t good for us, I guess. We assume something else is more important in the short term when what we should be doing is holding on to love with both hands.”

  “I have a feeling this movie will have something to say about that, won’t it?” His white teeth flashed in a smile as he looked over at her, making her hairs stand on end whenever he did that.

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  Two-thirds through, Beck started shifting back and forth in his chair uncomfortably, all but one of his popcorn bags now gone. The part where the viewer is led to believe all is lost, when in fact it turns around. Beck got up and disappeared for a few minutes, then came back, and Marian wondered what the big guy had been doing out of sight.

  Once the kissing in the rain scene happened, there were hollers of approval from Reno and Clancy. Even Dallas nodded in assent.

  Harrison just leaned over and said, “I think our kiss in the rain was better.”

  “It’s not a competition.”

  “Maybe not. But ours still topped that.”

  Granted, he was right. Getting drenched in a Texas storm while being completely overwhelmed by Harrison as lightning crashed in the distance had been amazing.

  Along with everything that came after that…

  Clancy just grumbled as the young couple went into the mansion and made love on the screen. “That young buck. He should be doin’ other things, like putting his tongue to better use, instead of just looking down at his mate with lovey-dovey eyes.”

  “They can’t show stuff like that in movies, Clancy,” Harrison said flatly.

  “How are men supposed to know how to properly please a woman, then?”

  “There aren’t a lot of guys that watch these kinds of movies anyways,” she said.

  There was stunned silence in the courtyard while the movie continued to play.

  Apparently, these five guys were much more invested in the story than even they had initially let on.

  “Well, it’s their loss,” Clancy added, then slumped back against his couch, watching, arms folded.

  “No story better than a love story,” Reno said thoughtfully, attention pinned to the screen even more than it had been from the start.

  In what felt like no time at all, the movie reached its dramatic climax. Marian, thankfully, wasn’t the only one crying this time, as Reno was practically bawling, eyes wet as he tried to wipe his eyes with the collar of his shirt.

  “You okay over there?” Harrison asked, his voice a little tight in his throat. Even the big guy beside her didn’t seem unaffected.

  “It’s just… so sweet. They loved each other so much,” Reno said, voice choked.

  Meanwhile, Harrison pulled a clean kerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Marian, leaning in and kissing her forehead as she dabbed her eyes. “You’re too damn cute, you know that?”

  “It’s just a movie. I know that. But it is romantic.”

  “And I love that about you.”

  Beck grunted, slapping Reno on the back, even as Marian could see the huge man’s grimace, face tightened as if he could hold back all emotion from showing on his face. Off to the side, Clancy was trying to hide his sniffle, looking up at the sky or over at the shed, pretending a speck of dust had caught the corner of his eye or that he suddenly had a case of hay fever.

  For a man who spent all his time around hay, she’d never heard him have allergies before…

  By the time she’d composed herself, the other men were putting their chairs up, and Dallas was starting to put things away. Reno’s eyes were still bloodshot as she got down from the truck, and he wondered if there was a sequel or anything.

  She said no, but that she had other romance movies in her car.

  Beck grunted as if annoyed, but when the others expressed curiosity as to what the next crew movie night would bring, she caught him listening in as she went over possible options with them.

  A moment later, Dallas appeared at her side with an oddly calm smile on his face, making his features—which were always stoic and hard—seem suddenly softer just in contrast. Even his orange-amber eyes seemed warmer, less cold and appraising like they usually were.

  “Good movie,” he said quietly and handed her the DVD case before taking the projector and DVD player with him and taking them behind the barn.

  Leaving just her and Harrison alone in the courtyard of the ranch.

  “Once again, you have the ability to show a bunch of cowboys that think they’ve seen everything something they’ve never seen before,” Harrison said, taking her hand in his and walking aimlessly toward the entrance of the ranch.

  “I don’t think your men are as hard or unfeeling as they like to think they are,” she replied. The nights were getting warmer, the cicadas starting to wake up with their droning, buzzing sounds.

  “What about their boss?”

  “I think he has a heart as big as the state of Texas, though he’d never admit it.”

  He smiled again, disarming her as they took a few more paces before he put an arm around her and faced her, looking down with that handsome, unforgettable face.

  “There’s something I’ve been thinking about.”

  “About what?”

  “About us.” He let out a long breath, suddenly appearing a little nervous. “I know I said this was temporary, that I wasn’t looking for anything permanent, but the picture in my head is getting clearer every day.”

  S
he just listened with her full attention.

  “I’m serious about you, Marian. So much more than I ever thought possible about another person. I want to be with you. I know my life ain’t simple, that I can’t offer the sort of fancy living everyone seems to be after on TV. But I can offer—”

  “I’m serious about you too, Harrison.” She already knew what he brought to the table. And even with whatever trouble had been hovering over him the past week, she knew she’d never feel about any other man like she did him.

  He pleasured her. Watched out for her. Spent long nights talking with her. Looked out for his own and would be a stellar father to boot.

  Though whether dragons could have kids was certainly a discussion for a different night.

  “So just you and me, then. You’re my woman, and I’m your man.”

  Just the admission was enough to make her heart soar. Going steady, heading toward a future where she could picture them both together, living a life of peace and quiet away from all the stuff that had brought her down for so many years.

  He leaned down to kiss her ear, making her body jump. “What would you say to your boyfriend taking his girlfriend back to the house and showing her what that scene in The Notebook should really look like?”

  “If that means the two of us, then yes, Harrison.”

  She squeaked in surprise as he lifted her into his arms and strode for the front door, whispering sweet nothings and nibbling on her neck the whole way.

  She didn’t know where everything with Harrison was going. Whether the adventure would keep going like she hoped or not. But for now, she was simply glad they were together.

  20

  Harrison paced in the yard, checking weather reports on his phone while a cordless radio droned in the background.

  Unless the storm that was heading northwest changed course this afternoon, it would land right on top of them.

  Which could be trouble.

  He’d been happier than a horse with a pasture all to itself the last couple weeks. Especially as he got to know Marian better, know all of her quirks and turn-ons and everything about her.