His Hometown Cowgirl by Anne Marie Novark Page B

much as hurt a hair
on his precious niece's head.
    Pete shook his own head as he took a sip of
beer. It was the height of irony that Tyler was so protective of
Kelsey. Austin, he could understand. A father naturally worried
about his daughter. But the uncle who'd been such a lady-killer
himself?
    On second thought, maybe Tyler did have a
good reason. Well, hell.
    The doorbell buzzed and interrupted Pete's
train of thought. Great. Probably Dr. McCade stopping by to
check him out and ask him what his intentions toward Kelsey were.
He'd seen the glimmer of laughter in the man's eyes when he'd
bandaged his nose. The only McCade who hadn't voiced a protest was
Dallas. And Sam Garza . . . although he would probably sympathize
with Pete, because he'd had to face the McCade brothers himself
when he'd been dating their sister Tori.
    Mess with one McCade, you mess with them
all.
    How many times had Pete heard Tyler say those
words during all the years they'd worked together? He'd lost count,
but that truth had been hammered into Pete's psyche since the first
day on the job at Lone Star Wings.
    The doorbell buzzed again. Damn, he did not need this. "Coming!"
    He jerked open the door and stood staring not
at an angry McCade male whom he'd been expecting, but instead a
very beautiful McCade female who was beginning to become an
obsession with him.
    Kelsey smiled a brave wobbly smile and lifted
up the box she held in her hands. "I brought cinnamon rolls from
Sarah Sue's. I know how much you like them, and I thought it was
the least I could do for causing you so much trouble with my dad
yesterday. And my Uncle Cam."
    Pete opened the door wider. "Not to mention
Tyler. Come on in."
    Kelsey tilted her head back in exasperation,
exposing the silky expanse of her neck. Pete's stomach churned as
the overpowering desire to brush his lips across her smooth skin
hit him square on.
    "Oh my God!" she said. "Not Uncle Ty, too?
Damn it! This is getting to be ridiculous. And embarrassing. Maybe
I should just drop off the cinnamon rolls and be on my way."
    "Really? You're not afraid of your dad and
uncles, are you?" Pete asked, knowing he'd get a rise out of her,
enjoying the play of emotion in her sapphire blue eyes. Kelsey
McCade did not like to be thwarted in any way. She'd been like that
all her life. He'd always admired her spirit. That's why it had
nearly killed him seeing her so subdued since she'd moved back to
the ranch.
    Kelsey took a deep breath and lifted that
stubborn chin of hers. "I have a good mind to make you eat those
words, Pete Lafferty." She walked into the apartment with a defiant
bounce to her step.
    Oh yeah. That was more like it.
    Pete closed the door and followed her to the
kitchen, admiring her shapely butt encased in worn denim. She set
the box down on the table, then turned to face him. Gripping her
hands in front of her, she wrung them together, obviously feeling
awkward, distressed. She cleared her throat. "A lot happened since
you walked into my office yesterday. We . . .uh, never got a chance
to talk. I think we need to talk, now more than ever."
    "I agree." Pete pulled out a chair for her.
"Why don't we sit down and be comfortable?" It would also be safer.
He wouldn't be tempted to pull her into his arms and kiss her
worries away.
    Kelsey took the seat. "Thanks."
    Pete sat across the table from her, keeping a
careful distance.
    She lowered her gaze and stared at her
clasped hands on the tabletop. She sighed heavily. Damn, he hoped
she wasn't going to cry again. Seemed like he was always making
Kelsey cry lately.
    Not good, Lafferty. Not good at all.
    In his heart, he knew they should never have
kissed. But Jesus Christ, he'd never experienced anything like it
before in his life. He really, really wanted to kiss her again,
taste her sweetness, swallow her moans of pleasure, feel her body
beneath him, push into her moist heat.
    Pete adjusted his position on the hard
kitchen chair. He stared at the box of cinnamon rolls,