Katherine Garbera - One Hot Christmas

“I am.”

“I’m Watkins.” The man shook hands with Ben. “Glad I caught you. Hey, Molly.”

“Hey, Watkins.” Aunt Sarah had filled her in on the stocky cowboy’s background. Two years ago, after a long courtship, Watkins had won Mary Lou’s hand in marriage. Watkins had a first name, but nobody remembered what it was. He was also one of the guitar players scheduled to perform for tonight’s party.

“Is the saddle under there?” Watkins peered at the tarp.

“Yep,” Ben said, “but we’d better not uncover it again. I think we’ve finally got the blanket tucked around it good and tight.”

“That’s okay. I can wait until the party. I’m not here about the saddle.” He was a good ten inches shorter than Ben and had to push back his hat and lift his chin to make eye contact. “I heard you might be willing to play a little harmonica with Trey and me tonight.”

“I’d like that, if I wouldn’t be in the way.”

“Hell, no, son. We’re not that slick. We’d love to have you, and I thought you might want to come on out to the barn. Trey’s already down there with some of our music and our guitars. If you’ll go fetch your harmonica, we can have a private jam session before the party and see what tunes we have in common.”

“You bet. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“See you then.” Watkins headed for the barn.

Ben gazed at Molly. “What I have to say shouldn’t be rushed, and I’d better go. I said I’d play tonight, so I don’t want to duck out of it.”

“You shouldn’t. It’ll be fun.”

“But we’ll have to talk later.”

“Are you thinking of changing the plan?”

His hesitation gave her the answer.

“Maybe I shouldn’t come to your room tonight. Jack must have put pressure on you to leave me alone.” And she’d deal with Jack, but she might not be able to sway him. She’d also discovered he was stubborn. “I don’t want to jeopardize—”

“Please come to my room tonight. But before we...before we do anything, I have some things to say.”

“You have a crazy wife tucked away in an asylum?”

“No.” His smile was sad. “Nothing that dramatic. Ready to go in?”

“Sure.” They walked around the house and up the porch steps without speaking.

Once they were inside, Ben turned to her. “See you tonight.” Then he bounded up the stairs to get his harmonica.

She debated whether to go up to her room and start getting ready. Normally she wouldn’t need an hour to primp, but tonight was special. She wanted to wash her hair and spend time on her makeup. An hour might not even be enough.

Ben was coming back down as she pulled off her hat and started up the stairs. She gave him a quick smile. “Have fun.”

“Thanks.” His return smile was polite and brief.

With a sigh, she continued to her room. Too bad her situation with Ben had come to a head this soon, but the family would have discovered their relationship eventually, maybe even during the party tonight.

Jack’s reaction wasn’t all that unusual, now that she had time to think about it. She was his youngest cousin from Arizona, and he’d never had sisters. That could make him even worse than her brothers when it came to interfering in her social life.

His concern was sweet, and she didn’t want to be rude since she was a guest at this ranch. Although he wasn’t the only one in charge, he had plenty to say about what went on here. On the surface, it looked as if Ben had taken advantage of Jack’s hospitality by showing an interest in her.

Without giving offense or revealing how far the relationship had progressed, she wanted to convince Jack it was a two-way street. Ben shouldn’t be blamed for something that she’d encouraged every step of the way. As Ben had said, they were both consenting adults and what they did in the privacy of his room was nobody else’s business.

She didn’t intend for anyone to know that she’d spent the night in his bed and hoped to spend tonight there, too. The layout of the huge house made it unlikely that anyone knew. If she was careful not to be seen entering or leaving his room, that part of their secret would be safe.

But Jack had planted a seed of doubt in Ben’s mind. Clearly he was wondering if he should back off. The thought made her stomach twist. They might only have this brief time together, but she’d counted on making use of all of it.

If she were honest with herself, she’d have to admit that she hoped this affair wouldn’t end when she left Wyoming on Monday. Every moment she spent with Ben made him more precious to her. She didn’t want to give him up at all, much less have their time shortened by Jack’s influence.

If Ben’s mind had changed, she’d just have to change it back. Fortunately, she had a killer dress in her closet. She’d brought it even though it might be a bit much for a family gathering. Jeans weren’t right. She’d packed a more casual dress in case that had seemed more appropriate, but she was going for the wow factor tonight.

Thinking about the dress lifted her spirits. If her jeans and sweater turned Ben on, then this outfit would send him up in flames. If he had any thoughts of backing out of their agreement, she wanted him to know exactly what he was rejecting.

An hour later, she descended the stairs carefully, her wrapped gift in one hand, gripping the railing with the other. She looked hot, if she did say so herself. But her hotness quotient would be eliminated if she tripped in her four-inch heels and stumbled on the curved staircase. She also might damage the album she’d so carefully created for Aunt Sarah.

Laughter and the hum of conversation told her most of the guests had arrived. Her beauty routine had taken longer than usual, so she was about fifteen minutes late. The results, in her humble opinion, were well worth it.

She’d picked the knit dress off the rack because the moss green exactly matched her eyes. Then she’d tried it on, thinking that the long sleeves, ankle-length skirt and high neck would make it a fairly conservative choice. Oh, no. The dress slithered over her body like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination.

That alone would have made it sexy as hell, but the skirt was slit up one side to several inches above her knee. She hadn’t noticed that, either, when she’d decided to try it on. Looking at herself in the dressing-room mirror, she’d seen a different Molly Gallagher, a seductive woman capable of driving men out of their minds. This was the dress’s first outing, and after her wild night and stolen afternoon session with Ben, she felt qualified to wear it.

She’d bought teardrop earrings with stones the same color as the dress. She wore no other jewelry. The dress spoke for itself. Her hair was piled on top of her head and she had left a few tendrils dangling in front of her ears.

“Molly?”

She was halfway down the stairs when Ben called her name. She turned and looked over her shoulder. “Hi,” she said. “You look nice.” That was an understatement. He wore a crisp white Western shirt with silver piping that made his shoulders seem wider than ever, and his black dress jeans were sinfully snug.

His black leather belt was intricately tooled, and she wondered if he’d made it. He wore no hat tonight, and his thick hair gleamed in the light from the hallway. The scent of shampoo and shaving lotion drifted down the staircase. She had an almost irresistible urge to climb back up and kiss his smooth jaw. But judging from the heat in his brown eyes, she didn’t dare.

“You look...” He swallowed. “I don’t even know how to describe how you look, Molly. That dress really...it fits you like...I’ve never seen a dress look as good on anybody as that one does on you.”