Just Shoot Me (Cowboy Way, #1) by Becky McGraw

I
skipped breakfast this morning. I was excited about the shoot,” she
admitted.
    It looked like they’d be having that picnic
after all. It had taken over an hour to ride back there, and it
would be an hour back to the house. By the time they got back, she
would be gnawing her arm off. Or his. And he had brought lunch for
a reason. If she went back to the ranch hungry and his Mama found
out they hadn’t eaten the lunch she took the time to pack, she was
going to be mad. “Yeah, that was stupid. You’re lucky I had Mama
pack us lunch.”
    Dean wasn’t going to call it a picnic, because
that made this sound too much like a date. Picnics by the lake on a
beautiful sunny day like today were his idea of the perfect date.
They hadn’t been Cindy’s idea of one though. She had liked to party
and dragged him down to the Electric Cowboy. That is where he’d met
her in the first place.
    He thought he’d probably never go back there
again. He hadn’t even gone there for his brother’s wedding
reception because of the bad memories associated with the place.
Those days were over for him.
    Tina gasped, and Dean thought she might have
stopped breathing when he walked Blaze off of the horse path into
the clearing by the lake. He pulled to a stop and waited while she
took it all in. Evidently this place affected her the same way it
did him.
    The sun sparkling on the water was almost too
bright to look at. The browns of the cattails on the other side of
the pond in contrast to the blanket of bluebonnets behind them
looked like they’d been painted by God’s paintbrush. Even though
he’d lived on this ranch his entire life, been to this spot
frequently, the sight did the same thing to him every time he came
here.
    It was that beautiful. And
peaceful.
    Until the other day, he hadn’t been out here
in over a year though. He hadn’t been out here with a woman since
he was a teenager. This was a good necking spot. He brought girls
out here a lot then. The romantic spot was guaranteed to get him
what he was looking for. He hadn’t thought about more than it being
a pretty spot when he suggested riding back here. But now he
realized maybe that’s why he suddenly decided to bring Tina out
here today.
    He glanced down at the top of Tina
Montgomery’s head. The bright sun on her dark hair made it appear
like she was wearing a halo. He could just catch the faint hint of
her shampoo. Something fruity. He inhaled, and Dean knew he was in
deep trouble.
    “ It’s absolutely perfect,” she said
on a breathless whisper.
    Dean kneed Blaze to lead him around toward the
end of the lake. The bluebonnet field would be as good a place as
any for a picnic. For lunch, he corrected in his mind. No picnics,
and no kissing. Kissing her again would make promises his bankrupt
soul couldn’t fulfill. Dean had nothing left to give a woman. Cindy
had sucked him dry emotionally.
    Tina Montgomery was one of those soft, flowery
women who would expect hearts and flowers. Dean’s hearts and
flowers days were long behind him.
    “ I thought it would be a good place
for pictures,” he said gruffly, as he rounded the row of cattails
and walked Blaze into the field. It would probably be too damp
closer to the lake, so he moved a little further into the field
before he stopped. He swung out of the saddle, then reached up to
lift Tina down. He stepped away from her quickly. As soon as her
feet touched the ground. She looked up at him curiously. Dean
turned his back on her to remove the saddle bags from behind the
saddle.
    “ Thanks for bringing me out here.
It will be perfect for the photos.”
    It was perfect for a helluva lot more than
that and that seemed to be all he could think about. He felt her
eyes on his back, but he didn’t look at her.
    “ No problem,” he said as he brushed
past her to kneel down and unload the bags.
    He unpacked the blanket first, spread it over
the ground then laid the sandwiches and fruit out. He yanked two
bottles of water