daughter, he had better find out and be done with it.
84
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High-Riding Heroes
Victoria let go of Katie’s hand and watched as the girl flew to her father, to be lifted and put up on his shoulders. Wes let out a yell when she playfully covered his eyes with her small hands, and he pretended he was about to fall.
Katie squealed, moved her hands up to his forehead, and hollered, “Horsey, Daddy, horsey.” Wes broke into a sloppy gallop and ran off across the yard with her. Victoria hadn’t missed the words of his beautiful song or the tone or the way he had looked at her. At her core, she felt the heat, in her stomach she sensed the flutter.
Victoria wandered through the crowd talking and exchanging hellos with a lot of people. She ended up sitting on the sidelines of a volleyball game, watching. The watching lasted only ten minutes. Hiking her skirt up above her knees and tying it, she joined in. It had been years, but it came back soon enough.
It was her turn to serve and she popped the ball across the net with a powerful bam.
Dessert was being served now and in answer to the cook’s triangle most everyone went back to the tables to indulge in strawberry pie, butterscotch with graham cracker crust, and every kind of iced cake in the free world. Some people refused to get out of the pool long enough to eat and splashed and swam and jumped from the diving board. She wished she had brought her bathing suit.
The last time she had spotted Wes he was again surrounded by a crowd of people, Katie jumping around at his side. They seemed to seek him out. The people. And there were a lot of important people here. She heard talk about politics, schools, and the community as a whole.
Popular. J. Weston Cooper was a popular man whose opinion was sought…and highly respected.
Feeling masculine hands on her shoulders, she looked around to see him standing behind her.
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85
Joey Light
Wes saw she had strawberries and whipped cream on her lips. Sweet.
Tempting. Inviting. Bending down, he removed them with his own mouth. The touch of her…No, he wasn’t interested in this lady because of Katie. It was all for him. Just him.
“I didn’t think to tell you to bring a suit but we have plenty of extras in the house. Mom will show you if you ask her. Ummm. That’s good. Pass the pie.”
All she could do was grin at him. It hadn’t even embarrassed her that he would kiss her in front of all these people, small a kiss as it was. A few minutes later, Katie wiggled up on the seat between them, swinging her little feet over the edge of the bench, grinning up at them.
Late afternoon rolled into evening. The dance music changed from square dancing tunes to slow ballads. Full and sleepy, Victoria leaned her head on Wes’s shoulder and let him lead her across the dance floor. On his other shoulder rested his daughter’s tired little head. She was nearly asleep. Victoria was nearly in love. Her heart beat hard against her chest. The warm, loved, and protected feeling that enveloped her was so new and so long waited for. She had a lot of questions about all of this. But now was not the time for thinking. Just enjoying.
She sighed and Wes pressed a kiss to her hair.
The sweet music floated all around her. Beneath her cheek, Victoria could feel the soft cotton of Wes’s shirt smoothed over his hard shoulder, the muscles flowing as he moved. Wes brought his hand to the middle of her back and pressed her closer. She yearned to snuggle against him, wanted all of her body to be pressed against all of his body. Wanted him alone in some shadowy place…
The hayride was announced for the children over a loudspeaker.
Katie’s head came up wide awake and she grabbed her daddy around the neck. “Let’s go, Daddy, you promised.” Victoria snapped out of her daze and stepped back, smoothing her skirt.
86
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High-Riding Heroes
She didn’t miss Wes’s amused
84
www.samhainpublishing.com
High-Riding Heroes
Victoria let go of Katie’s hand and watched as the girl flew to her father, to be lifted and put up on his shoulders. Wes let out a yell when she playfully covered his eyes with her small hands, and he pretended he was about to fall.
Katie squealed, moved her hands up to his forehead, and hollered, “Horsey, Daddy, horsey.” Wes broke into a sloppy gallop and ran off across the yard with her. Victoria hadn’t missed the words of his beautiful song or the tone or the way he had looked at her. At her core, she felt the heat, in her stomach she sensed the flutter.
Victoria wandered through the crowd talking and exchanging hellos with a lot of people. She ended up sitting on the sidelines of a volleyball game, watching. The watching lasted only ten minutes. Hiking her skirt up above her knees and tying it, she joined in. It had been years, but it came back soon enough.
It was her turn to serve and she popped the ball across the net with a powerful bam.
Dessert was being served now and in answer to the cook’s triangle most everyone went back to the tables to indulge in strawberry pie, butterscotch with graham cracker crust, and every kind of iced cake in the free world. Some people refused to get out of the pool long enough to eat and splashed and swam and jumped from the diving board. She wished she had brought her bathing suit.
The last time she had spotted Wes he was again surrounded by a crowd of people, Katie jumping around at his side. They seemed to seek him out. The people. And there were a lot of important people here. She heard talk about politics, schools, and the community as a whole.
Popular. J. Weston Cooper was a popular man whose opinion was sought…and highly respected.
Feeling masculine hands on her shoulders, she looked around to see him standing behind her.
www.samhainpublishing.com
85
Joey Light
Wes saw she had strawberries and whipped cream on her lips. Sweet.
Tempting. Inviting. Bending down, he removed them with his own mouth. The touch of her…No, he wasn’t interested in this lady because of Katie. It was all for him. Just him.
“I didn’t think to tell you to bring a suit but we have plenty of extras in the house. Mom will show you if you ask her. Ummm. That’s good. Pass the pie.”
All she could do was grin at him. It hadn’t even embarrassed her that he would kiss her in front of all these people, small a kiss as it was. A few minutes later, Katie wiggled up on the seat between them, swinging her little feet over the edge of the bench, grinning up at them.
Late afternoon rolled into evening. The dance music changed from square dancing tunes to slow ballads. Full and sleepy, Victoria leaned her head on Wes’s shoulder and let him lead her across the dance floor. On his other shoulder rested his daughter’s tired little head. She was nearly asleep. Victoria was nearly in love. Her heart beat hard against her chest. The warm, loved, and protected feeling that enveloped her was so new and so long waited for. She had a lot of questions about all of this. But now was not the time for thinking. Just enjoying.
She sighed and Wes pressed a kiss to her hair.
The sweet music floated all around her. Beneath her cheek, Victoria could feel the soft cotton of Wes’s shirt smoothed over his hard shoulder, the muscles flowing as he moved. Wes brought his hand to the middle of her back and pressed her closer. She yearned to snuggle against him, wanted all of her body to be pressed against all of his body. Wanted him alone in some shadowy place…
The hayride was announced for the children over a loudspeaker.
Katie’s head came up wide awake and she grabbed her daddy around the neck. “Let’s go, Daddy, you promised.” Victoria snapped out of her daze and stepped back, smoothing her skirt.
86
www.samhainpublishing.com
High-Riding Heroes
She didn’t miss Wes’s amused
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