Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(46)

“Now, folks, let’s all get back out on the dance floor and you ladies stand still and let your cowboys show you their swagger.” The steel guitar came to life and the singer started Josh Turner’s “Your Man.”

Fiona started for the bar but Jud grabbed her hand and twirled her around to stand before him. “My turn. Listen to the words, darlin’.”

Jud’s granny always said what was good for the goose was good for the gander, so he moved slowly, teasing her with his eyes and his dance moves but not touching so much as her pinky finger. Her shallow breathing told him all he wanted to know.

When the song ended, they were alone on the floor again and the band broke into another Josh Turner song, “Why Don’t We Just Dance.” The singer told them this one was for both parties and it was a fast swing dance. Jud had never danced with anyone like Fiona. She totally lost her soul and body to the beat of the music, as if no one was around but her partner.

The scent of her coconut shampoo mixed with a floral perfume perfectly to take his imagination to a beach where they were dancing under the stars. The sand was warm on their bare feet and his heart kept a steady beat with the sound of the ocean waves lapping at the seashore. He opened his eyes to realize they were in a bar full of people and not all alone on a deserted island with no one else around. His hand grazed the curve of her waist as he adjusted his hold on her and his breath caught in his chest. He’d held women in his arms, so why was this one different?

A question that would take some pondering but right then all he wanted was to never let go of Fiona, to dance off into eternity with her still in his arms. He remembered his conversation with the guys when they were painting. Not one of his previous women were anything near as hot as Fiona and none of them had ever made him turn a blind eye to everyone else in the bar.

Jud caught Sharlene’s eye as she was going back to the bar for more tequila shots and she winked. Deke bumped him on the shoulder during one dance. Jud dreaded giving up the best dance partner he’d ever had, but Deke just gave him a thumbs-up and two-stepped away with his tall blond lady.

The song ended and Fiona blinked, grabbed Jud’s hand, and started toward the bar. “I’m thirsty.”

He pointed toward the bottle someone was holding and then held up two fingers to the bartender. His long arm shot over the top of a dark-haired Latina beauty to get the beers. The sultry way she stared him up and down, starting a few inches lower than his belt buckle and then up to his face, would have had him inching closer to her a few weeks ago. Tonight he noticed, but he wasn’t interested.

When he turned around, Fiona was gone and the dance floor was filled with line dancers. He finally caught sight of her making her way through the crowd to Sharlene’s table. Taking the longer but faster route around the edge of the room, he made it to the table at the same time she did.

She took the beer when he offered it and sat down beside Sharlene, leaving him the one empty chair in the whole place. Sharlene touched Fiona on the arm, leaned over, and cupped her hand around Fiona’s ear to say something, threw back the last tequila shot, and patted the kid on the cheek when she stood up. Evidently, the therapy session was over and Sharlene was ready to dance.

“She’s a good lady,” the kid slurred.

“What’s your problem, cowboy?” Jud asked.

“Woman problems. What else would drive a man to drinkin’?”

Jud held up his beer and the kid nodded; then suddenly the dullness left his eyes and he pushed back his chair. A woman wearing a long denim skirt and a bright green Christmas sweatshirt stopped right in front of him. With her ponytail swinging and her mouth set in a firm line, she popped her hands on her hips and glared at the grinning kid.

He laid a hand on her shoulder. “Darcy, darlin’.”

She flipped it off like it was an irritating fly. “This is your last chance, Tommy. Next time, the wedding is off.”

“I’m so sorry,” he slurred. “I won’t ever do it again.”

“If you do, it’s over. Go home, sober up, and I’ll see you in church Sunday morning.”

“Will you walk me out to my truck?” he asked.

She took his arm and they disappeared into a fog of smoke and line dancers.

One of the perks of a loud bar is that a person has to get close to another to be heard when they speak. Jud moved his chair around so he was right beside Fiona and touched his beer bottle with hers.

“To never needing one last chance,” he said.

“Wonder how many chances he’s already had?”

“I’d say by the look in that girl’s eyes that it’s been too many. What’s the odds they’ll make it to the altar?”

“Pretty good. The girl evidently wants a wedding. It’s the odds that they’ll stay married that are slim,” she answered.

“Speaking from experience?”

“I didn’t give a damn about a wedding. Got married at the same courthouse where we got our divorce. So, no, I’m not speaking from experience.”

Deke slid into the chair the kid had left and set a fresh mug of beer on the table. “Band is fixing to take a ten-minute break, so figured I’d better get something to drink before the bar is so crowded that I couldn’t get to it. Y’all looked real good out there.” The last song ended with a fancy bit of play from the drummer and then the noise factor dropped by fifty percent.